Every story I’ve written comes to me in a different way. Sometimes it’s a song that spurs an idea. Other times, it’s a dream that starts the creative thoughts. When I was still teaching, my first grade students were excellent muses that would say or do something funny or touching that planted a seed in my mind for a picture book. There were plenty of days when I had to scribble down a new story in a notebook or on a few post it notes while I wolfed down my lunch in the teacher’s lounge. Wooded Discovery started for me with the characters. Specifically, the main character, Zaidyn Mitchell. He is mostly based off my oldest son. (Shhh! Don’t’ tell him because he would be so embarrassed.)
Zaidyn is a shy-ish guy who doesn’t feel like he quite fits into his world of peers. He’s smart, loves to read, and doesn’t see anything wrong with telling his parents most of the things he has going on. My son didn’t tell me everything, but I know he told me more than most guys would—according to my husband at least. I wanted to capture that kind of essence for my character because not every YA teen has to be the popular kid who everyone likes. Mama’s boys need their time to shine, right? (I told you he would be embarrassed!)
Once I had the character figured out, building the story around him was fun. I usually build an outline of the story structure to keep me on the right path for the plot, but I don’t have to stick to it completely. My favorite part of writing is when the characters decide for themselves what they want to happen. They’re usually right. That definitely happened in Wooded Discovery and the story is better for it.
His senior year just turned magical. Now if only he can win his crush’s affections without getting killed.
Seventeen-year-old Zaidyn Mitchell would rather not be weird. But nothing can be stranger than when the self-proclaimed bookworm wakes up one night, floating several feet above his bed. Still desperate to fit in after his parents unceremoniously unlocked his abilities, all Zaidyn wants is to date the girl of his dreams.
With his magic a little uncontrolled, the budding wizard finally makes a move and promises his beautiful classmate to help stop a construction project from destroying the nearby woods. But when an unknown force attacks and tries to separate them, Zaidyn fears this supernatural world is about to send them to their doom.
Can the teen would-be hero find a way to save them both?
Read sample here.
Wooded Discovery is available at Amazon.
BB Swann is a twenty-seven-year retired elementary teacher who writes books for children and young adults. Her issue-driven stories focus on characters who face difficulties most readers can relate to, and how they succeed through perseverance, ingenuity, and hope. She is also a literary agent at FinePrint Literary Management in New York representing a diverse group of authors that write picture books through adult manuscripts mostly in the genres of sci-fi, fantasy, or speculative fiction. You can visit her at Facebook, Instagram and TicToc.
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