\u00c2\u00a0 Amber:<\/strong> How did you find out about Book Blogger Appreciation Week?<\/p>\n Tess:<\/strong> A thoughtful and sneaky writing friend nominated my blog for an award. I still don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know who it was but will take this opportunity to give a shout out of thanks.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Amber:<\/strong> Do you have one or two books about writing that you recommend to all of your writing friends?<\/p>\n Tess:<\/strong> There are so many wonderful craft books out there and, honestly, I have friends who write in all genres so it is hard to choose one that is applicable to everyone.\u00c2\u00a0 My favorite instruction has come from conferences and from reading other writing blogs.\u00c2\u00a0 That is one of the best parts about blogging, we all share our ideas and insights and help one another stumble along this path toward publication.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Amber:<\/strong> A lot of published authors advise reading as a way to learn how to write.\u00c2\u00a0 Are there any authors or genres you like to read?<\/p>\n Tess:<\/strong> I read all things Middle Grade.\u00c2\u00a0 If you are unaware, Middle Grade fiction encompasses ages 7-13. Great novels such as The Witch of Blackbird Pond<\/em>, Island of the Blue Dolphins<\/em> and even the earlier Harry Potter<\/em>books are considered Middle Grade.\u00c2\u00a0 Some of my favorite Middle Grade authors include (but are not limited to) Kate DiCamillo, Patricia Reilly Giff and Richard Peck.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Amber:<\/strong> Looking at your blog I found out you’ve spent six years sitting in your chair and writing.\u00c2\u00a0 Getting the writing done is often the hardest part about writing.\u00c2\u00a0 Do you write novels and short stories?<\/p>\n Tess:<\/strong> I write middle grade novels.\u00c2\u00a0 I have written three novels, but the blurb for my novel currently on submission is:<\/p>\n With A Name Like Love<\/em> is a middle grade murder mystery set in Binder, Arkansas.\u00c2\u00a0 In the early summer days of 1957, Ollie\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s daddy pulls their green and gold teardrop trailer into town with the intent of offering a three day revival.<\/p>\n On their very first day, Ollie meets a boy whose mother is in jail for murdering his father \u00e2\u20ac\u201c and who asserts her innocence.\u00c2\u00a0 But, even if Ollie were to believe the boy, could she convince her daddy to stay long enough to help him?\u00c2\u00a0 And, if the Love family did stay, how could two thirteen year olds free a woman who has admitted to the crime and signed a full confession?<\/p>\n If you want to take a peek, I have a book trailer up on my blog for this particular novel<\/a>.<\/p>\n Amber:<\/strong> This is the year you became represented by an agent.\u00c2\u00a0 Is it anything like you imagined?<\/p>\n Tess: <\/strong>It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s wonderful to have someone who believes in your work and who has the ability to help you toward the goal of publication.\u00c2\u00a0 Steven Chudney is my agent and he is fantastic.\u00c2\u00a0 He is communicative, insightful and encouraging. \u00c2\u00a0Acquiring representation has been a true blessing.\u00c2\u00a0 But, it has also been a lot of work.\u00c2\u00a0 The saying goes no rest for the weary, but I think it should be no rest for the aspiring author!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u00c2\u00a0Amber:<\/strong> What is your favorite tomato salsa recipe?\u00c2\u00a0 (I am up to my ears in friends’ tomatoes and could use a good recipe.)<\/p>\n \u00c2\u00a0Tess:<\/strong> I could tell you, but then I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d have to kill you \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" You haven’t met Tess Hilmo yet?\u00c2\u00a0 Well, let me fix that for you. She’s a writer!\u00c2\u00a0 Tess is currently revising her Middle Grade novel, With\u00c2\u00a0A Name Like Love, so her agent can begin submitting it.\u00c2\u00a0 Her blog is all about her journey to publication.\u00c2\u00a0 The agent is a new addition to her adventure.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0After you read\u00c2\u00a0the… Continue reading Meet Tess Hilmo during Book Blogger Appreciation Week<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[32,86,194,193],"class_list":["post-1930","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-event","tag-book-blogger-appreciation-week","tag-interview","tag-tess-hilmo","tag-with-a-name-like-love","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.amberstults.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1930","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.amberstults.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.amberstults.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.amberstults.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.amberstults.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1930"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"http:\/\/www.amberstults.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1930\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4647,"href":"http:\/\/www.amberstults.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1930\/revisions\/4647"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.amberstults.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1930"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.amberstults.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1930"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.amberstults.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1930"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"tesshilmo\"](\"http:\/\/www.amberstults.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/tesshilmo.jpg\" "\\"tesshilmo\\"")
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