Guest Post - Holly Schindler

Hi! Holly Schindler is a award winning author (she'd just won a Gold Medal in the IPPY Awards for her debut novel, A BLUE SO DARK) having two novels under her belt. The two novels have gorgeous covers :

A BLUE SO DARK           PLAYING HURT

I'm thrilled to host a guest post for Miss Holly. Now, here are the her views on  The Classics

________________________________________________________________________ 

The Classics 

Guest Post by Holly Schindler 

I’m an old literature major.  I could still recite the first half of THE LOVE SONG OF J. ALFRED PRUFROCK from memory (used to know the whole thing), and can also recite a good deal of Dickinson, Anne Bradstreet…Passages from JANE EYRE, PRIDE AND PREJUDICE…

I know that a lot of readers who far prefer contemporary fiction think this is a bit of a throwaway ability…kind of like knowing a bunch of useless trivia…

Actually, though, it’s not…

I don’t really think that an author’s voice is something that a writer’s born with…It’s something that develops over time.  And part of that development is being exposed to as many other voices as possible…

Sure, you need to be familiar with the current works in the genre you want to write for…But your voice, the thing that makes you, well, you, is something that can be deepened, enriched by writers from other genres and other time periods…

Writers of classic literature have different voices, in part, because their worlds were different.  Their realm of experiences were different (Jane Austen certainly never relied on a phone or rode in a car…)  And if you can find a way to identify with those voices, if you can feel for characters from another time-frame, whose lives are so incredibly different from your own, the easier time you’ll have empathizing with the characters you create—and by expressing your empathy in your work, you will bring about an emotional response from your reader, as well…

   

_________________________________________________________

Facts On Miss Schindler :

1. Holly has a blog at hollyschindler.blogspot.com

2. She welcomes you to follow her on Twitter : @holly_schindler

3. Her other blogs : YA Outside the Lines and Smack Dab in the Middle

4. Remember to check out her books :

A BLUE SO DARK  

Fifteen-year-old Aura Ambrose has been hiding a secret. Her mother, a talented artist and art teacher, is slowly being consumed by schizophrenia, and Aura has been her sole caretaker ever since Aura’s dad left them. Convinced that “creative” equals crazy, Aura shuns her own artistic talent. But as her mother sinks deeper into the darkness of mental illness, the hunger for a creative outlet draws Aura toward the depths of her imagination. Just as desperation threatens to swallow her whole, Aura discovers that art, love, and family are profoundly linked—and together may offer an escape from her fears.

PLAYING HURT  

Star basketball player Chelsea “Nitro” Keyes had the promise of a full ride to college—and everyone’s admiration in her hometown. But everything changed senior year, when she took a horrible fall during a game. Now a metal plate holds her together and she feels like a stranger in her own family.

As a graduation present, Chelsea’s dad springs for a three-week summer “boot camp” program at a northern Minnesota lake resort. There, she’s immediately drawn to her trainer, Clint, a nineteen-year-old ex-hockey player who’s haunted by his own traumatic past. As they grow close, Chelsea is torn between her feelings for Clint and her loyalty to her devoted boyfriend back home. Will an unexpected romance just end up causing Chelsea and Clint more pain—or finally heal their heartbreak?

Miss Holly posing for the camera