Savannah Lacy - Part 2

The book I always recommend (and never shut up about) is Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo, which is the same book that finally convinced me and gave me the courage to write Torn . The layers of that book were unending, and I remember that as I read a bit of the main character’s development, I thought, “I want to write like that.” The way Bardugo describes the setting was  immersive,
and I decided that I wanted to be able to do that, too.

Another book series I drew a lot of inspiration from is the Summoner trilogy by Taran Matharu. I’m still working on it, but I want to be able to add humor like his, and express that, even while my characters are committing crimes and going on a wild chase, they’re still just teenagers.

I got alot of ideas from Pinterest. In fact, that’s how I came up with all of my characters (so far) with the exception of two, Key, and Tarek. I’ve also still got dozens of backups saved on my phone. I took posts to get a visual of the characters, then typed out stories in notes on my phone.

Here’s a little bit of the first chapter of Torn :

He let death touch the man, let him feel it’s arms wrap him in a sheet of terror, numbing him. He knew his reputation would hurt if he allowed the man to die. Did he deserve to die? Ambrose hadn’t confirmed it, so he assumed that saving Kahn was his only option, though he knew that to be false. Ambrose could always refuse to heal his patients and claim they were beyond his aid. That was the only luxury he couldn’t afford, the son of the third flushest family in Kamen.

Ambrose swept over the last thirty minutes of the night. A man, likely in his early twenties stood in a market on the outskirts of Scosh. A crazed woman, appearing to be on the verge of starvation, begged Kahn to spare some food. Prices were high, and Kahn had a business to run, so he blatantly declined. The woman pleaded to no avail, and when he turned her away for the last time, she pulled a knife on him, took the home-grown fruit he was selling, and ran. The Vektor caught her within a couple of jagged sprints.

Kahn bled out, but to his good fortune, Ambrose left on an outing. Kahn agreed to pay him a hundred Fytle for his efforts. Ambrose couldn’t deny the greed of this man. Kahn would pay him so much more than the price of an apple to keep his life, yet wouldn’t
spare the apple itself so save the girl from starving.

Thanks for sharing with us, Savannah. Looking forward to seeing your book in print some day. Keep writing! 

Savannah's passion about Six of Crows led me to read it. It's definitely not my genre, but I found it compelling. I'm reading the sequel now, Crooked Kingdom.

Meet Savannah - Part 1

This is 16 year old Savannah Lacy. I have the privilege of tutoring her in writing. It's really one of my favorite hours of the week. Her enthusiasm makes me think of those lyrics "This girl is on fire!"  Savannah has won writing awards from the writer's group in her area, and has been featured in her local newspaper. We have the most fun and inspiring talks about all things writing and books. She's encouraged me to read books that I would never have picked up otherwise. Sometimes I think I'm learning more from her than the other way around. This is a name to watch in the future, so I thought I'd like to host an interview.


When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?

I began writing in 2013, but I had no skill or clue where to go once I had an idea. I wrote a little bit anyway, but gave up on it a few months later. I really got my inspiration to write in the summer of 2015, after I started reading a lot more.

What is your work schedule like when you're writing?

 I write almost every day, usually starting at 8:00 p.m. and finishing at midnight, however, that's mostly when I write for fun. I write my current work-in-progress, Torn, in the morning from about 10:30-12:30, Sunday through Wednesday. That just seems to be when I get inspired for it.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

I have different habits depending on what I'm writing. For example, when writing my work-in-progress, I procrastinate actually writing, but bottle up all my ideas, then write tons in a single setting. For my other story that I'm collaborating to write, I write it all down the moment I think of it, and come up with more possibilities in advance.

Tell us about your current work-in-progress.

I'm writing a book with "Torn" as the working title, about a 15 year-old named Ambrose Emmerick Braeden, who, years after discovering he's adopted, sets out to find his birth parents. The most convenient way to get to them is to join a team of Summoners like himself (people with special abilities of different varieties), who want to go looking for Relics that may not exist, but could enhance their powers. Ambrose discovers he has a younger brother, and to save his brother's life, he must continue on the journey for lost Relics.

Coming soon: Part 2 - Savannah will talk more about Torn, and about the books that she is inspired by and recommends in Young Adult Fantasy Fiction. 

If you'd like to say Hi to Savannah, or have a question, you can comment below. Thanks for stopping by!