Lately, the Internet has been wild with this “25 things others don’t know about you” tag game.  I’ll pass, but give you the one really important thing to know.  It comes with (surprise, surprise) a story.

When I was a young writer–think 13, 14, 15–I had an idea.  What if I took ten life topics like love, money, fate, and family, and wrote an article about them once a year, every year, until I died?  How would I change?  How would my writing grow?  I suppose even then I knew I would forever be in evolution, or at least hope to be.

I say hope to be because there was another idea I had when I was young, and this one kept me up at night.  It started to haunt me one night at a school sports event and has yet to let up, even to this day.  Read the rest of this entry

This guy wrote what might be the best book in the world–The Alchemist–at least for great story with all kinds of omens and signs and journeys and all that…and this is his sage advice on how to climb mountains (i.e. be who you are on the long rough road). Just touch the edge of the page and it will turn…Enjoy!

Mayden—She’s 16, daughter of a very rich father in his late 50’s and a bombshell, 32-year-old step-mother (her third). She doesn’t know exactly who she is, and she’d rather be rejected for reasons she understands than reasons she doesn’t. She’s super smart, but not bookish; pretty but not typically beautiful; anti-social but very socially aware. She’s dying for something interesting to happen. She will soon meet both Josh and Michael, and both will fall for her. But who will she fall for? Scottie is her beloved cat. But what animal spirit is she truly related to?

Anna—She’s 88, and though they look nothing alike, considers herself the “twin” of Bea. She’s been in a nursing home an endless 2 years because her daughter, Helene, put her there. The official diagnosis is that she has Alzheimer’s. In reality, prescription drugs are keeping her insane. When she goes out into the woods, she comes alive for brief moments. Deep inside, she’s related to the spirit of the mountain lion.

Helene—She’s 64, the wealthy daughter of Anna and the niece of Bea. She’s Mayden’s father’s “silent” business partner. She knows all about her mother’s magical world, and will do anything to keep her from it. Her grandson, Josh, is already lost to the magic, and for this she will never forgive Anna or Bea. She knows the animal spirit family she’s related to, but rejects it completely and will never tell a soul.

Bea—She’s 88, born on the same day of the same year as Anna. They have different mothers (Bea’s mother part Italian, part Indian, while Anna’s mother was from the Old Wealth East Cost of the United States), but they share the same father. Long ago, there were rumors a third sister was born that same day. Bea’s grandaughter died giving birth to her great-grandson Michael. Bea promised her granddaughter on her deathbed that Michael would not learn to “shapeshift” into his spirit animal until he was old enough to decide for himself if he really wanted a magical life. Bea lives on a patch of land owned by the government with Josh, and her magic helps them both hide who they really are. Her spirit family is that of the black panther.

Josh—He’s 17, the grandson of Helene and great grandson of Anna. He’s rash, handsome, angry, and as yet unable to control his shapeshifting (so he must stay with Bea, away from the world, until he learns). Mayden is the first girl he’s seen in years, and it doesn’t take him long to know what he wants. His spirit family is that of the leopard.

Michael—He’s 17, the great-grandson of Bea. His mother died at childbirth, and until recently, he’s been raised in European boarding schools. Now living with his father, he is eager to get to know his maternal great-grandmother, especially if she can explain the magical events that keep happening to him. His old girlfriend in Italy keeps texting him, but Mayden is far more interesting. Who can say what animal spirit family he will be related to, once he reaches the age that Bea will allow him to learn the magical ways in which a person can find out?

Rod—one of Mayden’s two closest friends from childhood…but does he want more than friendship now that she’s so much more grown up?

Author’s success in her jeans:

Tells teens power is in their purses

By RUTH MOON For The Sun

Author Ann Brashares asked teens to recognize their power and use it wisely in an appearance Wednesday in Downers Grove. About 100 teen girls and their moms met the woman behind the popular “Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants” movie and book series at the event, sponsored by Anderson’s Bookshop, at the Tivoli Theatre in Downers Grove. Brashares, author of the four-book “Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants” series, including the newly released “Three Willows: The Sisterhood Grows,” spoke about her life, read a portion from her book and answered questions from the audience.  Read more about her advice about teens, power, writing, and doing what you love…

“You have a boyfriend,” Anna says, more a statement than a question, and as if she doesn’t really like the idea. Or maybe she’s just frowning at the small slug she’s got up close to her eyes.

Either way, I’m not thrilled to have her bring up the one topic I’ve been brooding about forever. No, I don’t have a boyfriend. In fact, I’ve never had a boyfriend. There, the cold hard truth. Not even a date at the mall. I realize this makes me a bit of a freak at age 16. But really, the vast majority of guys at school are idiots, and those that are decent like girls that are… well, not me. Not that I’m going to confess all this to an old lady.

“Not really,” I reply.

“But I’ve seen that brown boy around you,” she argues, her thin eyebrows squeezed as she squints at the slug and then peels him off of her finger. Read the rest of this entry

I received this letter from Charlotte in Sweden the other day, and was given permission to post it here.  It is EXACTLY what I am hoping to get as comments from readers of Mayden! Listen to HER courage, then read her question and my answer. 

Hej Robin!

This is Sweden/Stockholm calling! I am following the adventure of your Mayden Chronicles…and I soak up every wise word you have on the subject of process and creativity/writing. I grew up with an full-time artist mom, which was magical in itself, but since I decided that she was such a wonderful artist, I would never dream to think of myself as one. Painting was out of the question, but writing…? Read the rest of this entry

SYDNEY (Reuters Life!) – Most Australian teenagers spend their summer holidays on the beach or playing sport but Alexandra Adornetto used one vacation to write a novel, and she hasn’t looked back with three books published and she’s only 16.

Adornetto, who is just about to start her final year of high school in Melbourne, Australia, wrote her first novel, “The Shadow Thief,” at the age of 13 after shutting herself away one summer. It was published in 2007 when she was 15 to high acclaim.

A year later, “The Lampo Circus” confirmed her talent as a writer and this month the third and final installment in the series hits the stories with the title “Von Gobstopper’s Arcade.”  She spoke to Reuters about writing while trying to maintain the life of a typical teenager, with her fourth book underway:  Click Here To Read The Full Article On Reuters

I am unwritten
cant’ read my  mind
I’m undefined
I’m just beginning
the pen’s in my hand
ending unplanned…
        — Natasha Bedingfield

As a writer, my characters are always “becoming” and, over time, they become more and more authentic.  As a person, I’m also becoming authentic (hence my first website, www.BeWhoYouAre.com). Becoming me is never a done deal.  It’s a constant reevaluation.

I thought, when I was a teen, I’d get past this introspective phase, find myself, and that would be that.  I thought it again each time a new era in my life came along. I didn’t expect to have to go back to the drawing board so often–something about that felt like failure, like I wasn’t getting it right.

Read the rest of this entry