Ask the Author: Bethany Wiggins
Answered Questions (23)
Bethany Wiggins
It is out. IT's called The Dragon's Revenge. It is only for sale on Amazon.
Bethany Wiggins
Hi, Spira! You made a playlist for STUNG on youtube, and I thank you. Sometimes I get on there just to listen to it. To answer your question, it is more of a medieval setting than high fantasy. It has magic and dragons, travel, battle scenes, sword fighting and romance, and some other surprises. I think it is pretty awesome. Hopefully you will too!
Bethany Wiggins
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Bethany Wiggins
When I write a man/boy, I try to write a person who chooses good things no matter how hard it is. I think that is the number one, most attractive characteristic of a man. Bowen, despite the imaginary past I made up for him, which was rife with struggle and hardship, falls into that category, maybe even more than my other male characters. Maybe that is why he is so appealing--because doing the right thing is so hard! A boy who used to live in my neighborhood partially inspired Bowen. This boy would ride his longboard around the bock over and over, in ZERO degree weather with no coat, he always needed a haircut, and he always looked hungry. It made me wonder what went on at his house. He was my young-Bowen inspiration.
Bethany Wiggins
I did not go to college, but I always loved reading. As a teenager, I thought being an author would be so awesome, but I didn't have enough confidence in myself to pursue it. One day, when I was in my 20's, my sister dared me to start writing an hour a day for a year and see if I could write a book. I discovered I loved it. It took me years of writing and FIVE manuscripts, and nearly 300 rejections before I got an agent and publisher. (BTW, thanks for reading STUNG!)
Bethany Wiggins
I sort of outline . . . mostly in my head. I know about five key plot points throughout the book (one of which is a rough idea of how the story is going to end) and then I start writing and let the story sort of spontaneously flow out of me. Some of the things that happen in the plot are total surprises!
Bethany Wiggins
First and most importantly, CONGRATULATIONS! Getting that first manuscript written from beginning to end is a huge accomplishment! Now, here is my advice: edit the crap out of the thing! No one wants to read a manuscript that is full of errors. After that, let people read it. If you want to be published, you could try to get a literary agent (for help with that there is an awesome website and forum--both free--called querytracker.net.). Good luck!
Bethany Wiggins
I am currently writing a trilogy called The Dragon's Price. When I have that done I will start a third STUNG book. It will be a while, and I apologize in advance for the wait!
Bethany Wiggins
Thank you SilverLily! How do I give my books a realistic feel? I've been through a lot of crap, and a lot of good things, and I remember how it all feels. When I write, I try pull those feeling up and TRY put them into words. I do my best, so I am thrilled that you connected with the story.
Bethany Wiggins
Yes! I will eventually write a third book from Jonah's perspective. I have a trilogy to finish first. There is a short story written in his perspective here: http://bethanywiggins.com/?p=89985
Bethany Wiggins
Yes! I will eventually write a third book, probably from Jonah's perspective.
Bethany Wiggins
Three things gave me the idea for this book. First a nightmare that became chapter one. Second, the swine flu scare from about five years ago that had everyone storming the health clinics for a vaccine, and all the while I was thinking what if the government put something into this vaccine that will change us into mindless beasts? Third, I got a magazine that had a story about the declining bees. I put those three things together and Stung was born. The action in the book came from me trying to make sure there wasn't a single paragraph in the book that was boring. As for characters, I have a neighbor who is a piano prodigy, and I found that fascinating, so I used that piece of reality for Fiona. Another kid used to ride his long board around my neighborhood in the dead of winter with no coat on. He looked way overdue for a haircut, and he always seemed hungry. I based Bowen on him a bit.
Bethany Wiggins
Yes! I am going to write a third book, but it won't be for a while because I have to finish writing a trilogy.
Bethany Wiggins
Dear Kat,
Dear Kat,
The bees never went completely extinct. There were a few high elevation areas where they were able to avoid science gone wrong. So people started hives with them to help increase the bee population, and gradually they started spreading and pollinating again. As for Jonah, there is a short story about him on my web page (www.bethanywiggins.com), and he meets his perfect match, so yes. He gets a girl.
Dear Kat,
The bees never went completely extinct. There were a few high elevation areas where they were able to avoid science gone wrong. So people started hives with them to help increase the bee population, and gradually they started spreading and pollinating again. As for Jonah, there is a short story about him on my web page (www.bethanywiggins.com), and he meets his perfect match, so yes. He gets a girl.
Bethany Wiggins
Dear Bethany (I love your name!),
Here is how I judge whether or not a book I am writing will hold a reader's attention: it has to hold my own attention. If I think something I am writing is boring, then so will someone else. But the most important piece of writing advice I can give EVER is finish your story! You will never write a book if you don't see the project through to the end.
Here is how I judge whether or not a book I am writing will hold a reader's attention: it has to hold my own attention. If I think something I am writing is boring, then so will someone else. But the most important piece of writing advice I can give EVER is finish your story! You will never write a book if you don't see the project through to the end.
Bethany Wiggins
I wanted them to be a couple because I love romance, so there had to be romance in there. They needed a lot of background history to make the story work.
Bethany Wiggins
No, just the the two.
Bethany Wiggins
Ugh. I have no good answer for this. I have had periods in my life where I have writer's block so badly that the mere thought of sitting at the computer desk brings me to tears. I have discovered if my personal life is not in order and I am not happy, the stories, the creativity, die in me. :( Sad truth. But when I am happy, the stories are there, and even if I get a touch of writers block, if I keep plugging along, it works itself out.
Bethany Wiggins
Writing really exciting stories that I love, and then putting them out into the world and hearing from my readers how much they love them, too.
Bethany Wiggins
Write for an hour a day, for a year, and you will have a book. Don't expect to be a great writer right away, though! It takes a lot a practice to get good at anything. I had to write FIVE full novels before I was good enough to get an agent. SHIFTING is the fifth book I wrote, STUNG is the tenth, CURED is the eleventh.
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