deborahjross | A New YA From Sherwood Smith

Once upon a time, I was just a writer. Just a writer being more than I could possibly hope to well. But I persisted, churning out story after story, listening hard to critiques, honing my critical as well as my creative skills. Being in a writers workshop gave me ample opportunity to read other people's work with those same critical skills. I learned from feedback and from feedback-on-feedback what was helpful and what was infuriating. Eventually, I got to work with professional editors. I learned the difference between workshop-critique-feedback and editorial revision requests. More time passed, like decades, and I got to sit in the editor's chair. Four anthologies later, I also dipped my toe into book editing and related cooperations. (I say "cooperation" because good editing, proofreading, beta reading, copy editing, you name it, is aimed at helping the author make the story the best it can be according to that author's vision.)

There is a special thrill in seeing your own name (or one that means you) on a printed story. Or holding a copy of a book in your hands and thinking, "I wrote it!" There is also a particular delight in playing a small role in midwifing a story. So I get to brag a little. I worked on this. It doesn't matter exactly what I did, only that I got a peek at its evolution.

So here's the blurb: In this sequel to The Spy Princess, Lilah, newly made a princess, teams up with Atan, the hidden princess of the oldest country in the world, Sartor. The girls set out to free Sartor from a century of enchantment.

Capture, escape, a forest beyond time, ancient beings, civilizations secreted in caves, and a deadly enemy await the girls. Atan knows that if she survives, the challenges facing a fifteen-year-old queen are only beginning.

You don't have to have read The Spy Princess -- I hadn't -- but Sartor may make you run out and get it. Sartor stands nicely on its own.

One of the things I most loved about this story is how resourceful the young characters are. They're not short adults or super-kids. They have limitations, both of physical strength and social privilege. But they're smart and determined. And loyal to one another. We should all have such friends and such companions-to-adventure.