The Secret Benefits of Invisibility

The Secret Benefits of Invisibility

by C. W. Allen

 

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GENRE: Middle Grade Adventure Fantasy

 

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BLURB:

 

For Zed and Tuesday, adjusting to life in modern-meets-medieval Falinnheim means normal is relative. Lots of kids deal with moving, starting new schools, and doing chores. But normally, those schools aren't in underground bunkers full of secret agents, and the chore list doesn't involve herding dodos. The one thing that hasn't changed: all the adults treat them like they're invisible.

 

When a security breach interrupts a school field trip, the siblings find themselves locked out of the Resistance base. With the adults trapped inside, it's up to Tuesday, Zed, and their friends to save the day. And for once, being ignored and underestimated is coming in handy. After all, who would suspect a bunch of kids are capable of taking down the intruders that captured their families, let alone the murderous dictator that put them into hiding in the first place?

 

Turns out invisibility might just have its benefits.

 

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EXCERPT

 

Snowflakes the size of baseballs were falling outside, which was ironic, since baseball didn’t exist anymore.

 

Zed had never cared much for organized sports, so the loss of baseball wasn’t so horrible, in his opinion. He cared a great deal about snow, however. In his last house, he’d had a favorite windowsill in the upstairs hallway that was deep enough to sit in and read while looking out the window. Cloudy fall afternoons made for excellent reading weather, but an early morning snowfall was even better, because school might get canceled, and then he’d get to stay home and read as long as he liked. That was before the move, though. His new home had school too, of course, but no windowsills. You don’t need windowsills in a place with no windows.

 

His older sister Tuesday was not such a fan of the “organized” aspect of baseball—she’d had some unusual barriers to making friends in her last town, not least among them her name, and it’s tough to play baseball by yourself—but she did enjoy sports, because sports are something you can win. You can’t win at reading a book in a windowsill. And anyway, she reminded Zed, baseball technically still existed, somewhere. It’s just that no one else in Falinnheim had ever heard of it.

A Word With the Author

1. Did you always want to be an author?

I really did! For some reason though, I grew up thinking that authors were magical people who were naturally good at writing, and that the stories they told would just come out on the page perfectly formed when they sat down to write. I knew that didn't happen to me, so I didn't think I could make it as an author. I didn't realize how much time and work went into writing a book. Once I learned that even my favorite writers had to study and struggle and go through lots of drafts to work their way to a finished book, the process felt more attainable for me. I realized I didn't need some magical, perfect talent—just an idea and the willingness to work with it. It didn't matter how long it took, or how rough it looked in the beginning. I am so excited to be living my childhood dream!

 

2. Tell us about the publication of your first book.

I spent about three years writing my first book, and another three working through the process of finding the right publisher. I'm so pleased to be working with Cinnabar Moth Publishing on my novels! They are incredibly supportive of the stories I want to tell and my goals as a writer, and we have lots more books in the works together.

 

Along the way to getting my foot in the door with that first book, I joined professional writing organizations so I could meet other authors and work on improving my craft. I read a lot of books in my genre—both classics and new releases, from authors both famous and obscure. I wrote (and rewrote, and deleted) thousands upon thousands of words for the next stories I want to tell. I learned how to write in other genres besides my favorite, middle grade. I learned all about writing as an art, and publishing as a business. By the time I finally signed a contract to publish my first book, Relatively Normal Secrets, it was like all those years of effort paid off all at once. Within four months I had the opportunity to teach at statewide writing conferences and was offered contracts to publish four more novels and five short stories. That consistent, daily effort feels at first like it won't matter, but all the work adds up and pays off!

 

3. Besides yourself, who is your favorite author in the genre you write in?

Oh no, don't make me pick just one! My favorite middle grade authors from my childhood were Ellen Raskin (The Westing Game), E.L. Konigsburg (The View From Saturday), and Barbara Robinson (the Herdmans series). My favorites still publishing new books are probably Trenton Lee Stewart (The Mysterious Benedict Society), Garth Nix (Frogkisser!), R.A. Spratt (Nanny Piggins), and Kate Milford (Greenglass House).

 

4. What's the best part of being an author? The worst?

There's something really magical that happens when writing fiction—I've heard other authors talk about this experience too—where once in a while, your characters take on a life of their own and do or say things that take you completely by surprise. I've been in the middle of a writing session and had a character tell a joke that made me laugh out loud because I didn't see it coming. I also love being able to share the worlds and people I construct in my head with my readers, and hearing about their favorite parts of the story.

 

The flip side, of course, is that writing can't be that effortless all the time. I have to make myself sit down and write whether or not I'm feeling particularly inspired and motivated that day. There are lots of days I end up staring at a blank document, or writing pages and pages I know aren't working and I'll end up deleting later. Feeling like there's a story trying to get out of you and you just can't make it work the way it does in your head is incredibly frustrating. Authors also have to deal with lots of rejection and criticism, both from publishing professionals and book reviewers, so it requires perseverance and a thick skin.

 

5. What are you working on now?

The Secret Benefits of Invisibility is the second book in the Falinnheim Chronicles series. I'm hard at work right now on the third book in the series, Tales of the Forgotten Founders, which is scheduled for publication in 2023. I also have a humorous science fiction story coming out in an anthology later this year (probably November) and I will be teaching classes for writers at the Quills Conference in August. https://www.leagueofutahwriters.com/quills-conference

 

I have several more middle grade novels in the works, but I'm not able to give details about them yet. Sometimes publishing likes to keep its secrets! I keep my website updated with links to all my publicly-announced work: https://www.cwallenbooks.com/books and I make all announcements about new projects in my newsletter: https://www.cwallenbooks.com/contact , so those are the best ways to keep up with my writing news.

 

 

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

 

C.W. Allen is a Nebraskan by birth, a Texan by experience, a Hoosier by marriage, and a Utahn by geography. She knew she wanted to be a writer the moment she read The Westing Game at age twelve, but took a few detours along the way as a veterinary nurse, an appliance repair secretary, and a homeschool parent.

She recently settled in the high desert of rural Utah with her husband, their three children, and a noisy flock of orphaned ideas. Someday she will create literary homes for all of them. (The ideas, not her family.)

Relatively Normal Secrets (Cinnabar Moth Publishing, Fall 2021) is her debut novel. She writes fantasy novels for tweens, picture books for children, and short stories and poems for former children. Her work will appear in numerous anthologies in 2021. She is also a frequent guest presenter at writing conferences and club meetings, which helps her procrastinate knuckling down to any actual writing.

 

https://www.amazon.com/C-W-Allen/e/B098Q2PRGY

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-secret-benefits-of-invisibility-cw-allen/1141285744

https://www.booktopia.com.au/the-secret-benefits-of-invisibility-c-w-allen/ebook/9781953971494.html

https://mobile.twitter.com/cwallenbooks

https://cinnabarmoth.com/cw-allen/

 

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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION 

C. W. Allen will be awarding $10 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

 

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