Sara de Waard answers #13Questions in OA's Debut Author Spotlight Plus a Book #signedcopy #giveaway

13 Questions shine Operation Awesome's Spotlight
on this
2022 Debut Author

White Lies by Sara de Waard

1- Please give us two truths and a lie:

• I worked alongside Paul Stanley of Kiss.
• I’m one of 9 siblings.
• I lived in Maui for a year.

2- Would you please, in 160 characters or less, give a #WriteTip ?

Just get it done. There are millions of masterpieces sitting half-complete in folders. Be brave and finish yours.

3- What emotions do you hope your book will evoke for the reader?

I hope my book evokes a full spectrum of emotions in its readers. I want people to feel sadness, joy, pain, relief, embarrassment and resilience along with Missy.

4- In your opinion, what makes Wordle a fun game?

Wordle is a fun game because when you just go with it and plunk in 5-letter words you know (or words you are surprised are words), you get instant feedback that either declares you a winner or taunts your intelligent quotient. The international aspect of the competition is cool, too.

5- Would you share a picture with us of your book in a fun setting?



6- How do you support your fellow debut authors and have any of them supported you?

Social media has played a major role in how I support fellow debut authors, and how they support me. Considering I dove into this process in the heart of a world-wide pandemic, options were little to none for meeting people face-to-face. So, we took to Twitter and Instagram (mainly) to increase social currencies, offer words of encouragement and share away. I feel like the world is challenging enough these days, so when you’re in a position to interact with fellow artists, hold back on criticism and choose kind.

7- Time to double-down on social media! What's your Twitter handle, and do you have two or three writer friends on there to shout-out to for #WriterWednesday ?
Also, can you please recommend a favorite #bookstagram account profile?

My Twitter handle is @deWaardSara and I’d like to shout out to: @pauljcoccia , @melissahilfers and @nicsigni for their talent, support and sense of community.

I have to give a huge shout out to @CBCBooks for their bookstagram work – I was thrilled when they announced White Lies as a must-read for May because I’ve long respected and followed them, keen on learning about the books and authors they highlight. Then, I was one of them! Surreal!

8- What is your favorite creative non-writing activity to do?

I would say it takes a lot of creativity to plan engaging lessons for my students and when I have full ownership over a successful task or unit, it feels satisfying.

9- In what ways are the main characters in your book diverse? diversebooks.org #WeNeedDiverseBooks

The love interest of my book is Metis and the supportive characters integral to the story include Chinese, Indian and Black ethnicities.

10- What's the biggest writing goal you hope to accomplish in your lifetime? #WriteGoal #BucketList #WriterBucketList

I’ve always said, and maintain, that my goal is to evoke a variety of strong emotions in my readers. I want them to be present with the material and ride an emotional roller coaster.

11- What was the query process like for you?

I researched how many Canadian publishers were accepting unsolicited manuscripts at the time and there were SIX. I looked at their criteria, wrote them an email and attached my manuscript. One said yes. The rest is history.

12- Would you please ask our audience an intriguing question to answer in the comments?

This novel deals with mental health issues post traumatic events. Missy is in therapy for her tendency to dissociate from reality. What are some ways you know of to stay present/in the moment, and enjoy life so it doesn’t pass you by?

13- Anything else you would care to share about your book and yourself?

My intention behind this book was to show the reader that despite grave trauma and dysfunction in a person’s upbringing, life can still be beautiful. It may take therapy and some hard work, but life will throw you a rope with supportive people in the least-expected ways. Be open to healing and look for those who seek to build you up. The reason why I care so much about this is because I had a traumatic past and now at my age, I find myself with very few memories of my childhood, teens and adulthood because I wasn’t living in the moment. Only now, as I do the work to heal, am I able to embrace the good and bad of my days, and truly live. I wish I had known what I know now, then. White Lies is my gift to readers that will hopefully remind them of the importance of self-love, compassion and forgiveness.
Please find me on Twitter (@deWaardSara ) or Instagram (@saralee_dw) to interact and build each other up. Life is too short, for otherwise.

Which was the lie from #1? I did NOT live in Maui for a year… however, I wish I could live there forever.

GIVEAWAY

You'll need to answer question 12 in the comments of this post in order to enter the giveaway on Rafflecopter.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Teacher's Guide and more: https://www.dcbyoungreaders.com/white-lies


White Lies by Sara de Waard