I’d never heard of whole-word reading until recently and my immediate reaction was… Why?I learned to read by sounding words out. So I was fascinated to discover that for years many schools moved away from systematic phonics and instead encoura…
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The most valuable writing lesson I learned from beta readers had nothing to do with praise.Of course it’s nice to hear things like, “I loved this chapter.” Every writer appreciates that. But if I’m looking to improve my work, those comments don’…
It took me years to realize writing and math had something in common.I was good at math. Really good. In high school, I happily gave up two hours of sport each week to study university-level math. The more complicated the equation, the happier I…
Before anyone jumps on me, I’m not talking about beta readers or ARC readers. That’s a completely different relationship with different expectations.I’m talking about the reader who spots your cover, reads the blurb, sees a social media post and…
What people think writing is:✨ Inspiration strikes. ✨ You sit down. ✨ The words flow effortlessly. You type “The End.” ✨ Your book is published. ✨ Readers magically discover it.What writing is actually like:• Staring at a blinking cursor wonder…
Trigger warnings (or content warnings) are one of those topics that seem to spark endless debate in the book world.Some readers appreciate them. Others feel they act as spoilers. Some authors worry they reduce a complex story to a checklist of d…
I stopped chasing the perfect first draft a long time ago.Like most writers, I started out wanting every line to be perfect. I’d polish paragraphs, tweak dialogue, and rework scenes before moving on. Eventually, I realized I was wasting my time …
Writing a book isn’t hard. Finishing one is.The beginning is exciting as the world expands and the characters come to life. Jumping back in front of the keyboard is pretty easy.Then comes the middle. That’s when you hit the trenches, keeping the…
One of the most important questions a writer can ask is: What is my character’s “why”? Not what they want. Not what they do. But why they do it.A strong “why” gives context to every decision a character makes. Take “The Social Network” for examp…
There’s currently a lot of discourse on social media about readers skipping descriptive passages and only reading dialogue. Some authors seem genuinely alarmed by this. Readers have been skipping chunks of text for decades. Long before BookTok, …
If you’ve spent any time studying screenwriting, you’ve probably heard some variation of this advice: “Your protagonist must be likable.” “The audience should want to be them.”That advice made a lot of sense in the era of Ferris Bueller. I still…
When I wrote my first novel, I barely thought about POV. Honestly, I hadn’t even planned on writing a novel in the first place. “Cecilia: The Last Croilar Tier” started as a ballet story that completely took on a life of its own. Images would po…
I was interviewed today and a question came up about the difference between a story arc in a limited book series versus a feature film, and it got me thinking just how difficult Book 2 of a serialized Trilogy can be. I use the word “serialized” …
CECILIA is a First Prize Winner for CHANTICLEER INTERNATIONAL BOOK AWARDS – Dante Rossetti Awards for Young Adults. Book 2 and Book 3 of the Trilogy are scheduled for release in early 2021. Chanticleer Reviews was founded in 2011 as a response to the growing need for a company invested in the success of authors,…
CECILIA has been selected as a DANTE ROSSETTI semi-finalist. Winners will be announced at the 2020 Chanticleer Authors Conference, Book Room, and CIBA Ceremony & Banquet on April 17, 18, & 19, 2020. Read More . . .
Growing up in Sydney, Australia, Sandra’s favorite childhood memory is hanging out with her mum when she was supposed to be at pre-school. When she has a story that needs to be told, writing makes her feel euphoric. Ms. Rostirolla brings the characters to life. Her strong narrative makes her books a must-read. Read full…
A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of being interviewed by Aaron Gendle for his Daily Authors Podcast. We talked about CECILIA and my writing process in general. Aaron was terrific and very welcoming. If you are interested in learning how I deal with writer’s block, story and character development, the podcast is now…
HOW DID YOU GET THE IDEA FOR YOUR AWARD WINNING BOOK? The story was initially written for a ballet that I was working on with my husband, composer Kurt Oldman. We knew the story would center around good vs evil and that there would be an underlying love story. Using Leonardo da Vinci artwork to…
Last night, I had the honor of being interviewed by Aaron Gendle for his DailyAuthors.com podcast. Aaron is a terrific person. I mean, the guy is an author who dedicates his time to interviewing other authors. How fantastic is that! The interview will go up in about four weeks. In an update on other events,…
Last Friday I attended the Author Academy Awards Gala at the Hilton Polaris in Columbus, Ohia. The awards are part of the Igniting Souls Conference which carried on over the weekend. Part of the processes included pitching our story to a panel of judges (and also in front of our peers). I must say, I…
“CECILIA”, written by SANDRA L ROSTIROLLA, has been nominated for a 2019 Author Academy Award, an honor bestowed for literary merit and publishing excellence in the writing and publishing industry. SANDRA’s book is up for an award in the YA & MIDDLE GRADE category. Set in post-apocalyptic times, this book tells the story of a…
My interview with Alistaire Cross, Tamara Thorne & QL Pearce on their Haunted Nights Live! radio show was terrific. For those of you who missed the live event, here is the podcast: Haunted Nights Live! – Sandra L Rostirolla
Hi all, I’m being interviewed today, Thurs May 30th, 5pm (PST) on Thorne & Cross: Haunted Nights LIVE! I’ll be talking about my writing journey, the genesis of my YA/Fantasy, CECILIA, and how I over came story pitfalls and the dreaded writer’s block. Here’s the link to listen in: Haunted Nights LIVE! – Sandra L…
I am running a promo to give away 25 free Audible audio books of CECILIA. All you have to do is repost this offer on Instagram or Twitter and tag me “@SLRostirolla” or repost on Facebook and tag “CeciliaTheNovel”.Those who already have the audio…
Hi All,GABfest was fantastic. Along with meeting some brilliant writers, I met new fans and got to see some awesome South Dakota sights: Deadwood, Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse and the unexpected Wonderland Cave.Rapid City is delightful and one of t…
I will be attending the GABfest to pick up my two awards for CECILIA. I will also be doing a reading and book signing.Great American Book FestivalSaturday, May 11, 2019Main Street SquareRapid City, South DakotaCome join me!For More Information i…
I’m excited to announce that CECILIA is a finalist for the Wishing Shelf Book Awards. Hosted in the UK, this Award is decided by the intended audience for the selected books: Children & Young Adults. The books were read and judged by childre…
While curled up in bed fighting the flu, I came across Ashley Carman’s TheVerge.com article: Comedians are coming for one of Instagram’s biggest joke aggregators. The tagline: #fuckfuckjerry is spreading piqued my interest. I had recently binged…
Hi All,I’m super excited to announce that CECILIA has won two Literary Classics Awards:- GOLD for Best Adventure- SILVER for Best FantasyMay 9th – 12th, 2019, I’ll be attending a writers’ conference, awards ceremony, formal gala, and will be hos…
Hi All,The audiobook for CECILIA is currently underway. We expect the release sometime early November. The auditioning process was difficult – so many talented narrators out there.One piece of advice I will give to any would-be narrator, don’t j…
Hi All,A week after embarking on my Vegan adventure, I experienced a sudden bout of dizziness and muscle pain. A brief Google search revealed a possible cause – Dairy Detox. I had no idea that such a thing existed. I’ve gone off coffee before an…
Hi All,It has been a long time since my last blog. For the past two months, I was back in Sydney for a two-fold purpose: Mum had a total knee replacement and I came back to help, & I took the time to finish my second novel, “Making Friends W…
Some pretty great news arrived the yesterday. My novel, Cecilia, received the Literary Classics Seal of Approval.Literary Classics writes that the CLC Seal of Approval is a designation reserved for those books which uphold the rigorous criteria …
My blog post is supposed to go up every Friday. The reason I missed posting the last couple of Fridays was that I was in two minds as to whether or not I should post what I had written about. The piece was titled: “The Dark Side To Hollywood’s G…
If the art of receiving feedback is a skill level akin to a preschooler’s coloring book, then giving feedback is up there with Leonardo da Vinci.When receiving feedback, first and foremost, all one need do is shut the hell up and listen. In othe…
If passive voice were a crime punishable by death, I’d be long gone of this world.As I embarked upon my first novel, I hit upon the terms: active and passive voice. After abundant research, I thought I had it all figured out. Boy, was I wrong.I …
When people find out that I’m an author, one of the most common responses I get is: “I’ve always wanted to write a story too. I have this great idea, I just don’t know where to start.”Undoubtedly, starting is always the hardest. Many agents and …
Activities which I consider mundane – cooking, folding the laundry, exercising – are like medicine and tend to go down easier with a spoonful of sugar. The sugar I gravitate to is easy to watch films, usually in the comedy vein.My go to favorite…
…The Best Ones Need Time to BrewWhen writing CECILIA, sometimes a story block would stop my writing for days at a time. One school of thought says I should plow through no matter what. To a certain extent, I agree. Other times though, it’s goo…
Starting today, CECILIA is available for FREE DOWNLOAD on Amazon! 5 Days only. Download CECILIA
Starting March 8th, CECILIA eBook will be free for download on AMAZON.Start: Thursday, March 8, 2018, 12:00 AM PSTEnd: Monday, March 12, 2018, 11:59 PM PDTBookmark these dates and get your FREE copy of Cecilia.Cecilia on Amazon
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I’m lucky enough to be part of a great Writer Group that meets once a month, and we’ve been doing so for the past 3 years. Each month, we set ourselves goals and hold each other accountable. Because of this, in two months, I’m 50k words into my …
The idea for Cecilia actually started as a ballet. My husband is a composer. After visiting a modern ballet in Bern, Switzerland, we tossed around ideas for writing our own ballet. Inspiration for many of the characters came from Leonardo da Vin…
Several of my readers have asked if I’m planning a Cecilia Part 2. My answer is: yes. I deliberately left the ending somewhat open-ended in order to have a jumping off point for Cecilia: Eifa’s Revenge. Before I can get to this story though, I d…