By Jacqueline Davidson Kopito
As an identical twin myself, I always wanted to write a book about twins which I’ve finally done with Twintastic, my new fiction book for tweens & twins.
All of our lives my twin sister, Amy, and I always had a bond so strong that we were able to tell what the other was thinking, or even feel her pain or happiness. I still quietly laugh to myself when I think about the mischief Amy and I got ourselves into when we were younger, through the daily grind of middle school, the mean girls, and our first crushes who probably didn’t even know we existed. These memories gave me a few ideas for the manuscript. Then, I thought it would be great for the twin protagonists to have magical powers because who doesn’t love cool, magical powers.
From the time I was a little girl, I was very close to my Grandma who I called Nona. She was the best listener and friend and family meant everything to her. Nona had a razor-sharp mind so no one could ever get away with anything on her watch, even as she aged. She made a huge impression on me and having her in my life was wonderful. As a result, another character based on Nona came to life.
Many of the friends I made during my childhood are still my friends today. When we were kids, we’d go bike riding, raspberry picking, have sleepovers, help each other with homework, and engage in the usual tween shenanigans. The times spent with these friends were always full of laughter, even when drama sometimes tried to interfere. We didn’t have cell phones and all the social media of today, but that didn’t matter. Instead, what was most important was having the support, loyalty and love of friends. Another layer was added to the story.
Being a spiritual person, I love having crystals (for positive energy) and lighting candles (to bring light to my wishes) throughout my house. These elements also ended up in the manuscript.
All of these life experiences provided the material to create a story. Slowly, my manuscript evolved into Twintastic, with its exploration of family dynamic, trust, friends and, the consequences of the misuse of power – each of which is so important for tweens to absorb.
Writing Twintastic was an amazing process. There were days I would sit at the computer first thing in the morning and not leave until evening—when a writer gets into the zone there is no stopping. Other days, I would write for a while and then pace around the house or throw in a load of laundry, and then try again to finish a sentence, paragraph, page or chapter. Next to my bed I always kept a pad and pen, and I would carry them with me as well, never knowing when an idea would hit. Even though at times, working on the manuscript would be frustrating and all-consuming, I truly enjoyed the journey.
Have a Twintastic day!!
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