The day has arrived for the reveal of Sentinel Peak by Jay Chalk! The cover, done by the talented Jenny Eickbush, is perfect for the alien-themed mystery. If you follow our social media channels, a special discount code will be beamed into your inbox for following @inksmithpublishing on Instagram and liking our Cover Reveal photo! Remember to do both to get that discount off our pre-order sale launching September 15!
Wait for It, a contemporary young-adult novel with fantasy elements by new Ink Smith author, A.L. Glennon. In Wait for It, three teens take the journey of an afterlifetime, traveling to Hell and back, looking for meaning in great art, bakery-fresh éclairs, and, of course, their relationships with each other.
For Glennon, writing a story is easy and fun. “Rewriting and revising it, though, are torture! I stress over every word and punctuation mark,” she said. She started writing poems and stories in the first grade and has been writing on and off ever since. For Glennon, it’s not an interest, it’s an obsession.
While writing Wait for It, Glennon said one thing she learned was that you have to trust your characters to take you where you need to go next. Even if those characters are leading you straight to Hell, like her characters Martin, Zeke, and Zelda!
Writing is not an easy feat, and writer’s in the past have told us that if they could go back and change something about the book they would. But not Glennon. “Perhaps in hindsight I’ll feel differently, but after all the years of editing, tweaking, adding, and deleting, I think I’d like to leave it just as it is now, thank you very much.”
Inspiration comes from many places, but Glennon thinks it all leads back to one. “Love. I might even go so far to argue that love inspires everything humans create.” But Glennon isn’t just a romantic, she’s got a little bite!
When asked about her writing style, Glennon asked, “Could sarcasm be considered a style?” We think so! She noted that she tries not to take herself or her fictional friends too seriously, even when writing about serious subjects. Her light, flowing words in Wait for It can attest to that—but Glennon still manages to make you feel what her characters are feeling without drowning you in every emotion.
If there is any takeaway to her novel, Glennon wants readers to know that everyone deserves a second chance, “Or in Zeke’s case, sixty chance[s]!”
And if you’re an aspiring writer, Glennon has some advice too. “Just keep writing! Enjoy the process and the time you get to spend alone with your characters in those precious weeks/months/years before you let anyone else meet them.”
Glennon’s debut novel with Ink Smith Publishing, Wait for It, is due out Summer 2019. Make sure to keep an eye out, the cover reveal is coming! And with it, an opportunity to win a signed copy!
“Thank you so much for taking this journey with Marin, Zeke, and Zelda! (And me!)” Make sure to follow A.L. Glennon on Twitter @ALGlennonAuthor for updates on her book Wait for It!.
Early in the morning
Before alarms or the sun
I hide from my anxiety
Content with feeling none
Once I go about my day I start to feel it creep inside
But for now, I feel peace
Anxiety is at low tide
I’m with the love of my life
Cuddling in bed
He’s laying into my chest
While i rub his hair and head
We listen to songs
Or simply just be
Here, in our little cocoon,
I don’t ever want to leave.
He tells me he dreamt of our future
Where we have both a son and a daughter
“She was beautiful and had your eyes,” he says
I can’t wait to see him as a father
This life I am living
Feels as though it’s from my dreams
Sometimes it feels too good to be true
And it’ll be ripped from me at the seams.
So when these thoughts sneak in
And scare away my calm
I take a deep breath and cuddle into my love
Content with knowing this is where I belong.
About Bella
Bella Larsen is a writer, poet, pisces, dreamer, empath, and overthinker. You can find her work on her blog, My Soul Told Me To and on Instagram @mysouldtoldmeto.
I’ve taken my expectations
I have for myself
And dropped them down
Down
Down
D
O
W
N
From where I kept them held high
And now they’re on the ground.
Maybe now I’ll stop feeling like I am
Not enough, not doing enough
If I let the air out
I mean
The pressure
If I take away the pressure I put on myself
Maybe I’ll learn again how to let
Just being
Be More
Than enough
About Bella
Bella Larsen is a writer, poet, pisces, dreamer, empath, and overthinker. You can find her work on her blog, My Soul Told Me To and on Instagram @mysouldtoldmeto.
There’s a small light
A very tiny flame
Growing inside
That is the fire
Pushing me to
Demand respect.
But just one thought
Of uncertainty
Blows the flame out
Like the last stubborn candle on a birthday cake
And
I am very insecure.
About Bella
Bella Larsen is a writer, poet, pisces, dreamer, empath, and overthinker. You can find her work on her blog, My Soul Told Me To and on Instagram @mysouldtoldmeto.
Sometimes I fight
Against my demons
I fight for control
Of my mind
So I do not lose myself
To their darkness
But other times
Like tonight
I am so very tired
I take a long, deep breath
And I let them win.
About Bella
Bella Larsen is a writer, poet, pisces, dreamer, empath, and overthinker. You can find her work on her blog, My Soul Told Me To and on Instagram @mysouldtoldmeto.
Robert Frost is one of the most notable poets in history. He has been the recipient of four Pulitzer Prizes, and even served as a consultant in poetry to the Library of Congress. Additionally, in 1962, he was presented with the Congressional Gold Medal.
Robert Frost was even asked to read a poem at the presidential inauguration of President John F. Kennedy. His work has spanned multiple genres of poetry, with subject matter ranging from self-reflection to inanimate objects as his focus.
According to The Poetry Foundation, “to accomplish such objectivity and grace, Frost took up 19th-century tools and made them new.” He wrote most of his poems in regular verse, not straying to far into the free verse realm. He was most known for portraying ordinary people in everyday situations which allows readers to connect immediately with the poem.
His most notable poems, The Road Not Taken, Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening, Birches, and Out, Out— are cornerstones to any literature enthusiast or student. Today, we note the affect that Robert Frost has had on the poetry community in honor of National Poetry Month.
About Corinne
Corinne has her MFA in Writing from Lindenwood University and her MPS in Publishing from George Washington University. She has been an editor at Ink Smith Publishing and Native Ink Press since 2013, taking over the company in 2019. Since her first trip to the library when she was a toddler, Corinne has been collecting books, recommending her favorites, and providing commentary on the less-than-stellar. Her belief is that if you have a problem, it’s nothing that a good book can’t solve.
Edgar Allan Poe is one of the most known writers/poets among readers and non-readers alike. His name, and his work, are dark and emotional. “I became insane, with long intervals of horrible sanity,” is one of Poe’s famous quotes. And done of the best quotes to describe his work, in my opinion.
And everyone recognizes Poe’s raven. “‘Tell me what thy lordly name is on the Night’s Plutonian shore!’/Quoth the Raven, “Nevermore.”‘ When Poe’s name is mentioned, the first thing I picture is the raven flying; and of course a heart under the floorboards.
His work was one of the turning points in my interest in poetry as a high school student. I know that a lot of my peers felt the same way. Even those who were not avid readers like myself have found great interest in Poe’s works. The darkness he portrays, the madness, the use of symbols most often related to omens (both good and bad!), and the vivid imagery all have played a significant part in the macabre curiosity in Poe’s work.
Today we recognize Poe for his writing and influence in the poetry realm. Happy National Poetry Month Poe!
About Corinne
Corinne has her MFA in Writing from Lindenwood University and her MPS in Publishing from George Washington University. She has been an editor at Ink Smith Publishing and Native Ink Press since 2013, taking over the company in 2019. Since her first trip to the library when she was a toddler, Corinne has been collecting books, recommending her favorites, and providing commentary on the less-than-stellar. Her belief is that if you have a problem, it’s nothing that a good book can’t solve.
Over the last few years, poetry’s presence on Instagram has been growing. The ability to mesh two mediums, imagery and beautiful words, has been around for centuries. But today, the accessibility to quickly put together a lovely phrase and an even lovelier image is so easy that it has taken Instagram by storm. Mashable did an article, titled The radical, democratising power of Instagram poetry, in October 2018 about the rise of interest in poetry via mediums like Instagram. Interest has exploded in millennials particularly, per the article. Millennials, who are the leaders in social media trends have spurred this revolution, and revival of poetry interest . Mashable noted that while literary leaders have scoffed at the Instagram poetry movement; young readers are loving it.
If you’ve never considered purchasing a book of poetry, I encourage you to check out some of the poets below. You can view snippets of their work on their Instagram accounts and whet your appetite. Take a poetic tour of the internet and enjoy this artistic medium wherever you are! And while you’re at it, check out @poetryfoundation to meet even more authors and writers during National Poetry Month.
These are some of the top Instagram poets that we follow.
Do you have a talented Instapoet that you follow? Make sure to share their information in the comments so other readers can discover their craft.
The Inkwell And Quill 