R.A. Desilets's Blog, page 4

Success: The New Approach Works!

As you guys know, I'm approaching my goals a different way this year. By creating a chore and create box, I've forced myself to have concrete deadlines for my goals every day. I have 24 hours finish two items: one is a chore, one is creative.

We're 22 days into January, and right on time, I finished all the chores in my chore box. Time to rinse and repeat, but since I'm trying to be more

YA Gets Real: Invisibility

No one could see me. I was standing in the middle of the crowd at the park, and no one bothered to look my way. I finally did it. I found a way to become invisible, and this moment was the most glorious of my life!

I threw my arms out and tilted my head back, indulging my face with the warmth of the sun. The breeze blew around me, making the fine hairs on my body tremble. I needed something more

Books, Cats, and a Giant TBR Pile

A photo posted by R. A. Desilets (@radesilets) on Jan 7, 2016 at 1:01pm PST






While I was doing my daily chore*, I had this horrible thought: how many of my books have I actually read? Stricken, I stared at my shelves and realized, "Oh... oh no."



The idea for this photo blossomed. I must have it. I must have this ridiculous photo in my possession to prove I have an awful book

Keeping up Heart

When you enter any kind of contest or query any agents, you are putting yourself and your work out there to be reviewed and judged. So first, congratulate yourself on making the first step. You've done something other people are terrified to do. You also, presumably, have completed a novel. Congratulate yourself for that, too. The Pitch War contest just happened, hosted by the fabulous Brenda

Building a Backlog

Greetings! I'm back from a "writing my pants off" hiatus, and while I still don't have any books published this year, I have quite a large backlog of work now.

This past week, I've been in New Hampshire visiting my family and doing some soul-searching. Often on the road to publishing, challenges can often feel insurmountable. This happens with any creative art, and it's good to get away and

YA Gets Real: Four Years Later

This is a bit of a continuation from one of the earlier YA Gets Real posts called "Chosen One." Read it here!

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A knock sounded on our cabin's front door, so loud and harsh that it shook the nails in our walls. I snatched a frame, steadying it with my fingers. Our wedding photo, a bit of a rarity these days. There was one photographer who knew the art of developing film, and he hadn't told

YA Gets Real: Werewolves

My friends and I had gathered around the campfire. Orange and red hues danced across our faces. Malcolm had told the most gruesome tale he could think of, which made Barry wretch in the bushes a few minutes earlier. I shrugged, telling him he had nothing on me.

“Fine,” Malcolm said, leaning back against in his folding chair. “You tell a better one, Dylan. Make someone other than Barry heave, and

YA Gets Real: Love Triangle

I watched from my spot on the couch as Gavin and Xander strummed on their bass and guitar. We’d been hanging out a lot since we met a few weeks back. I had met Gavin first, who introduced me to Xander, and both... well, they had asked me to choose between them. They were band mates and best friends, and both had crushes on me.

If I chose one over the other, it would ruin their friendship. To

YA Gets Real: Chosen One

“Jude,” he snarled, grabbing a hold of my wrist. I shook him off and crossed my arms, glaring daggers at him. He pressed on, unabated. “We need you, whether you want to come to terms with it or not. Without you, the entire world as we know it ends.”

I rolled my eyes. “I hardly think the entire world will end. People will find a way to move on after the society crumbles and the war ends.” I

YA Gets Real: Information

These posts are silly, parody posts of some scenes that can be found in YA tropes. These fun shorts should make you smile on your Monday morning.

I love YA books, as a reader and a writer. Still, there are some tropes that deserve to become real. While these stories are still fiction, they provide a more realistic version of those tropes we know and love.

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"One hundred and fifty years ago,