Today, I would like to introduce a
friend and fellow YA author to the Realm. Sheenah Freitas started writing when
she was in elementary school. By the time she graduated high school, she was
well on her way to being a published author. She has published two YA fantasy
books in her first series, The
Zincian Legends, which she has recently relaunched. She is currently
writing the final book in the trilogy, The
Guardian.
Sheenah has also published Musings from Yesteryear: A ShortStory Collection, and has
been featured in several anthologies.
As if writing isn’t enough, Sheenah
is also the proud owner and proprietor of Paper CraneBooks, a small press company. She currently works with three
authors, has published several books, short stories and an anthology. Five more
books are already scheduled to be released.
Welcome Sheenah! You have been a
busy girl. How old were you when you published your first book?
Hello Andrea and thanks for having
me! I think I had just turned 20 (or a couple months after) when The Chosen was officially published.
I love that your first book is
also called The Chosen.
Small world! What was the experience like for you?
I had mixed feelings. I went
through Lulu at the time and had no idea what to expect. I decided to pay for
their services and although Lulu is a great company, I had certain expectations
that they didn’t meet because I had no idea how any of the behind-the-scenes
publishing stuff really worked. I think I was a bit disappointed when I first
held my book in my hands. Now, several years later, I’m really proud to hold
the new edition of The Chosen and tell people, “Yeah, I wrote this.”
How did you manage your writing
career while going to school?
The truth is: I didn’t because I
had no idea I wanted to go into writing. Writing was just a hobby in high
school and all of my studies aligned with the medical career I initially
pursued. I did take a journalism class as an elective early on because it was
writing based and that was exciting, but I knew I didn’t want to be a
journalist. The non-fiction format didn’t feel right to me. It wasn’t until I
miserably failed a class despite staying up long nights to study the material
that I wondered if a medical career was right for me. I knew the material, but
I couldn’t apply it correctly. And I didn’t want to be miserable for the rest
of my life, so my dad suggested I start focusing on writing. So my senior year
became full of classes I thought would help me creatively.
Isn't it amazing when someone
sees something so clearly you don't? I had a similar experience after my
sophomore year of college. I was also going to go into the medical field, but
couldn't pass the classes needed to do so. When I started questioning,
"What do I want to do now?" my sister said, "You love to write.
Why not do that?" Amazing. What type of classes did you take Senior year?
That is amazing. That’s pretty much what my
dad said to me!
We didn’t have a lot of classes dedicated to
writing, though luckily there was a creative writing class, which I took. I was
already taking Latin because I was setting myself up for a medical career, but
it actually turned out to be really helpful since it helped break down language
and made me understand English and the usage of words better. I don’t think
anyone needs to necessarily take Latin, but any foreign language class is, I
think, beneficial.
I also took an English and drama class which
helped me understand storytelling on different levels. You really learn to
appreciate how essential it is to have a great character and how narrative and
style can be so unique.
What made you decide to start
your own publishing company?
My dad. Again. He suggested it
after the small press I was with folded. By that time I was more comfortable
with book production and I had a lot of the skill sets to pull off operating a
publishing company. I still had a lot to learn but I feel like I’m finally in a
place where I feel comfortable and confident of the way the books look and read
that I produce.
How are you managing your
writing and publishing career?
It’s been difficult. The first two
years of running Paper Crane Books, I put my writing on the back burner. It
wasn’t until this year that I told my authors, “Hey, I’m going to pull back a
bit and focus a bit more on me.” I’ve been so wrapped up in book production, I
feel a bit rusty diving back into the creation side of things, but I’m slowly
getting there. One day a week is now dedicated to what I need to do for my
books and my writing. I haven’t been consistent with it, but I’m trying. And
now I’m getting up at ridiculous hours to try to cram more stuff into my day.
It’s day two of that right now, so we’ll see how it goes since I’m not a
morning person.
Figuring out a schedule can be
tough. Do you have any type of planner you use that my readers could try for
their busy lives?
Disclaimer: I’ve downloaded a TON of
planning and scheduling apps and bought a ton of planners.
Out of all the planners I’ve tried both
digitally and physically, I’d have to say that the best planner out there for
me is a physical one. There’s just something about writing things down
physically that helps me remember what I’m supposed to and keep me on track.
Right this very moment, I’m using a whiteboard to keep write down all of my
tasks and then I prioritize the tasks in my physical planner. I’m currently
using the Passion Planner, which has been overall a good experience, but it’s
still not exactly perfect for me.
I just learned about Midoris (seriously,
look it up) and I made myself a Fauxdori (which is like a DIY Midori) to test
it out instead of dropping a ton of money on one. My Fauxdori isn’t perfect
YET, but once I finalize the design on my planner insert, I think I’ll finally
have the perfect planner. I’m such a planner nerd. I’m so excited about my
Fauxdori.
Do you have any further ambitions?
I’d like to see Paper Crane Books
get bigger. Not so big that it becomes a huge publishing house, but big enough
to where I’m not doing everything and can put more time into my writing. One
idea has been to evolve the press into a sort of co-op where people who worked
on the book would get a portion of the royalties (so for example, an editor
gets 10%, author gets 40%), but I’m not sure. We’ll see.
I’d also like to reach out to more
media. The press is re-building and re-branding our podcast. Eventually, I
think it’d be kind of neat to have regular content on our YouTube channel
that’s slowly collecting dust.
What advice do you have for
young adults who dream big?
Keep dreaming big and reach for the
star. Walt Disney has been quoted as saying, “If you can dream it, you can do
it.” I just love that quote. It’s so motivating, but it doesn’t tell you that
you can do what you dream if you put in the work. After all, you don’t wake up
one day and say, “I dream of being an A-list movie star!” and expect to land
your first audition. There’s work that needs to be done. Study the craft.
Embrace the craft. It doesn’t matter if your passion is creative or industrial
or whatever. Look to the masters. Look at what they’ve done. Surround yourself
with inspiration. And then—and only then—grasp your dream. It might take years
to get there, but keep going. Don’t give up.
Thank you so much for visiting
the Realm today, Sheenah. You truly are one who has reached for the stars, and
made your dreams come true. Where can readers find you and your books?
Thanks
for having me! It’s been a blast. Readers can find me at my website
And I have a Facebook page, but it gets neglected a lot.
My Tumblr and Instagram are linked to it, so you could like it and get those
two feeds in one.
Sounds good! You
heard her, readers. Now start stalking!
Sheenah was born on the island of
Oahu, but raised in the much less tropical atmosphere of Ohio. She can’t really
pinpoint the time when she decided to pursue the starving artist path of being
a writer, but she suspects it may have originated sometime in elementary school
when she wrote her very first (but incomplete) fanfiction.
She loves to read. Although she
likes the regular mainstream book, her preference is young adult. She’s quite
convinced that if she could only draw better, she might have run off to
California to get into the legendary CalArts and work for Disney. Room A113
awaits her in her dreams!
Her first novel, The Chosen,
was based heavily on her love of magical fantasy, anime, and adorable heroines.
If she was capable, she would have made the characters sing and have the story
unfold in classic animated musical Disney style — but still in book form!
Thanks so much for this, Andrea. I learned about your blog through Suzanne Lieurence's WorkingWriters so thought I'd drop by. Glad I did. This is an inspiration! I started out young, too, and gave it up for a while. Not something I'd ever recommend to anyone. It is one my life's regret.
ReplyDeleteHi Carolyn. I'm so glad you stopped by the Realm. Sheenah's story is very inspirational. I'm glad you got back into your writing.
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