Amy Kay
Hooked on Books
If you’re an aspiring novelist, November is the perfect time to hone your craft! National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo, is a simple challenge put forth for any and all to participate: write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days. NaNoWriMo is an inspiring and positive month for writers of all ages, with several places for would-be writers to find structure, community, and encouragement to reach their creative goals.
Here are some popular titles that started off as NaNoWriMo projects, all available in a variety of formats from L&A Libraries. Check out www.CountyLibrary.ca for more information on our events or to place holds on items in our catalog.
My all-time favourite book, Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen is a darkly beautiful tale about the characters who inhabit the less-than-greatest show on earth. Orphaned and penniless at the height of the Depression, Jacob Jankowski escapes everything he knows by jumping on a passing train — and inadvertently runs away with the circus.
Wool by Hugh Howey is a post-apocalyptic thriller that examines a toxic future and an underground community. Sheriff Holston, who has unwaveringly upheld the silo’s rules for years, unexpectedly breaks the greatest taboo of all: He asks to go outside. His fateful decision unleashes a drastic series of events and potential uprising.
The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory is a romantic comedy about the misadventures of a charming couple who realize that they might be meant for each other. Two high-powered professionals, Alexa Monroe and Drew Nichols, have a meet-cute while stuck in an elevator, they decide on a whim to be each other’s date for an upcoming wedding.
In Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell Cath is obsessed with the fictional Simon Snow series of books. Her twin sister, Wren, loved the books too, but her obsession wanes as they grow older and start college. Cath still spends her days writing fan fiction and dressing up as her favourite characters from the books. Fangirl explores first love, family relationships and the meaning of letting go.
Karma Brown, bestselling Canadian author, wrote the draft of Come Away With Me during NaNoWriMo. In Come Away With Me, Tegan Lawson has everything she could hope for: an adoring husband and a baby on the way. The next, a devastating accident that will change her life in ways she never could have imagined.