New Novel: THE TWO SISTERS

My new novel, THE TWO SISTERS, is available for purchase: The Two Sisters by Terri Dawn Arnold. The story has crime, drama, and mystery. Lannie and Kellie suffer from manic depression. They are unable to manage the mental health problem, and clash with university classmates.

New Novel Published

My second novel is titled I MADE IT. It is available here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B5KXD3J2?ref_=pe_3052080_397514860.

In I MADE IT, Rena is raised and lives in San Francisco. After getting married, she realizes she chose the wrong man and must gain strength to live with her decision or find a way out of the situation. Along the way, she raises two children and experiences challenges in finding a job that is a good fit for her.

I MADE IT is also available in large print (book size is 8.5 x 0.3 x 11) and there is a Kindle Edition (digital):

Large book in large print: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B3M5YPFQ?ref_=pe_3052080_397514860

Kindle Edition (digital): www.amazon.com/I-Made-Terri-Dawn-Arnold-ebook/dp/B0B3VKC67B/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

A Wrinkle in Time

I looked forward to watching A WRINKLE IN TIME (2018), because I read the book by Madeleine L'Engle and taught it to sixth grade students. The novel helped students expand their vocabulary and discover the science fiction genre. They were also inspired by lessons the young characters learn in the story.

A WRINKLE IN TIME has a solid cast. Viewers see Oprah Winfrey (Mrs. Which) in a very different type of role from what she usually plays, and the young performers--Storm Reid (Meg), Levi Miller (Calvin), and Deric McCabe (Charles Wallace)--are outstanding. Reese Witherspoon is a good choice for the Mrs. Whatsit role, as Mindy Kaling is a good Mrs. Who.

Jennifer Lee and Jeff Stockwell are the screenwriters who adapted the novel and focus on main points of the story: Meg is an awkward girl who other kids pick on at school. Her brother Charles Wallace is a precocious child. For the most part, both children are smart. Their parents (Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Chris Pine) are scientists who discover a way to travel the universe by tesseract. It actually works, but their father is held captive and unable to return to earth. As a result, the children, with help from supernatural beings--Mrs. Which, Mrs. Whatsit, and Mrs. Who--travel by tesseract to bring their father back home. One of the noticeable differences is Meg's twin brothers, Dennys and Sandy, are not in the film. Also, planet Ixchel is not shown; therefore, the Aunt Beast character is not in this adaptation. However, the themes of good versus evil and triumph of love are in the movie.

Overall, director Ava DuVernay provides a vision of the characters' lives and the planets Camazotz and Uriel. While reading the novel, one must imagine how these characters and places appear.  A WRINKLE IN TIME is currently playing in theatres.  The official Web site is http://movies.disney.com/a-wrinkle-in-time.

Creative Writing: The Mystery, Suspense, Crime Story

I am teaching Creative Writing: The Mystery, Suspense, Crime Story on the Udemy Web site. The course is intended for beginning mystery-suspense-crime writers, literature students, and writers interested in writing thrillers.  In the class I show the creative writing process (plot structure) and how to maintain awareness of the genres of mystery, suspense, and/or crime.

I teach students how to get started by planning the story with an outline and a treatment. During the course, students will write either a novel, teleplay, or screenplay. Since I have written all three, I include instruction for the different formats: novel, teleplay, and screenplay.

When writing a story, research is important and I share the research process I utilized for my crime-drama screenplay, THE TWO SISTERS, which is an independent film I also produced and directed, receiving Best Screenplay award nominations from film festivals.  Overall, the course is for people who enjoy mystery, suspense and crime, and individuals who want to learn the story writing process. For more information and to enroll visit https://www.udemy.com/creative-writing-the-mystery-suspense-crime-story/.