vksieversrightwaytowriteit

[vksieversrightwaytowriteit]

Not me thinking I’d post consistently on a different platform…

I disappeared, but I’m back, with another character birthday drawing!

(Which we’re pretending isn’t a month late…)

Here we’ve got Francis Keller (birthday: July 26), and on his shoulders, his brother, Casey Larson (birthday: May 18).

These two are the silliest and sadly don’t have enough interactions in my book, Out of the Park.

In case the photo quality is atrocious, here’s a transcription:

fj_keller is bisexual and bad at baseball. at the play he strikes out over & over again because he’s swinging all over the place. when the inning changes he’s still up to bat. he’s on the lineup for both teams. do not play baseball with him he is bisexual. (@themighty_caseylarson is a menace and wrote this caption)

That caption is inspired by THIS lovely shirt:

Soooo yeah! Fun character birthday time! Enjoy!

[vksieversrightwaytowriteit]

Did I mention I draw sometimes?

Last December, over on my Instagram, I challenged myself to draw something for each of my character birthdays.

Despite the transfer, I plan to continue that challenge here.

So... meet Nancy Collins (left) and Basil Han (right)! They're major side characters in OotP, and both have main roles in the next book I plan to write... (More on that another time.)

Nancy's birthday is June 22 (aka today), while Basil's is April 20th (I missed posting a drawing then). As it's pride month (and Basil is nonbinary), that's where they're hanging out.

Happy birthday and belated birthday to these two, and happy pride!

[vksieversrightwaytowriteit]

Intro to the WIP:

Huzzah! The time has come to talk about my book!

Basic Info:

Title: Out of the Park (OotP)

Genre: contemporary, realistic fiction, YA, drama, romance, sports

Themes: community, family and found family, friendship, mental health, grief

Style: 3rd person present tense, alternating POVs

Statistics:

Started: August 2022

Stage: editing Draft 4 + getting alpha/early reader feedback

Current length: 616 pages (~198650 words)

Setting: Greeley, New Mexico. A fictional small town in the Southwest U.S., full of gossip, people who need therapy, and a whole lot of baseball.

Parts of the book also take place in the neighboring, equally fictional town of Bravo, and a fictionalized version of Santa Fe.

Major Characters:

Jamie Davidson: The new kid in town, trying to reclaim happiness while ignoring his past.

Dalton Alvares: The second baseman, desperate for a better life, but hesitant to abandon his current responsibilities.

Tony Coniglio: The catcher, so busy pleasing everyone around him that he neglects to consider his own feelings.

Francis Keller: The star pitcher, hiding family troubles and trying to make the people he loves stick around.

Kathleen Pressler: The owner's daughter, intent to prove herself to her father and find a career she enjoys.

Mari Coniglio: A softball pitcher, learning how to make space for herself and accept love from those around her.

Enrique Butrón: A foster kid from Santa Fe, used to disappointments and convinced that things will never get better.

Felix DeGuzman: The third baseman, certain that he's not good enough, and resigned to stop trying to be.

Sonia Wong: The rival pitcher, ready to escape her home life, and certain that asking for help will derail her plan.

Blurb (still a work in progress):

The Greeley Gators are the best amateur baseball team in New Mexico. Each summer, the whole town rallies around them, packing the stands at the local ballpark. 

At least, they used to. 

These days, the crowd shrinks every game, the team can barely fill its roster, and to make matters worse, this season kicks off with the head coach getting arrested. 

Jamie Davidson couldn’t care less about the doomed Gators. He’s got bigger concerns. Namely, wishing his summer in Greeley would last forever, and dreading his family’s return to Chicago.

But he’s happy. He’s fine.

To prove it, Jamie joins the Gators, where his list of concerns grows to include: 

A second baseman who hates his guts.

Impossible expectations from the new coach: win the season or lose the team.

The super optimistic catcher, who’s determined to help Jamie face his anxiety.

Influenced by his new friends and teammates, Jamie learns to accept hidden parts of himself, while concealing the hardest truths with a fake smile.  

Every Gator– from the star pitcher to the recently traded third baseman– has something to hide, but all of them prefer to ignore reality and focus on winning. Nothing, not even a team tragedy, will shake them hard enough to jeopardize their success. 

They’re a team, and no one on a team ever feels alone. Right?

Three strikes, you’re out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So. there you have it. That's OotP, my pride and joy. Throw a question in the comments, if you'd like to know more, and I'll do my best to answer. :D

[vksieversrightwaytowriteit]

An Introduction?

Hello there! The name's V.K. Sievers, but that's a mouthful, so feel free to call me Ronnie. I'm a 19-year-old writer from the (good?) old U.S. of A, currently hard at work editing her first book. I love books, music, and live theater, and used to swim competitively.

My current WIP is called Out of the Park, a book about loss, belonging, and small-town baseball (among other things). It's a contemporary sports drama with hints of romance, and you'll hear all about it in another post.

Now, you may be asking yourself, "Who is this 'Ronnie'?"

In answer... all I know how to do is list things.

Assorted Likes:

Cats and some dogs

Country music

Classic rock and oldies

Character development

Seafoam green

Chocolate (all kinds)

Rom-coms

Funny and spooky podcasts

History

Musicals

YA novels

Baseball (lowkey)

Breakfast food

Assorted Dislikes:

AI

Anxiety

Coffee

Most EDM music

Spiders and most creepy crawlies

Trying to function on social media

Current BIG Interests (aka things I can obsess over):

Flanagan-verse horror shows

Becky Albertalli books/characters

Bridgerton (show)

How I Met Your Mother

EPIC the musical

Music by Zach Bryan, Kacey Musgraves, and Megan Moroney

Spider-Man movies (all iterations)

Percy Jackson (all things)

The Summer I Turned Pretty (books and show)

The Outsiders (book and musical)

My own characters tbh

Three Random Recommendations:

Movie: Yesterday (2019)

Show: The Haunting of Bly Manor (Netflix original)

Book: Far From the Tree (by Robin Benway)

So... yeah. That's basically me. And what am I doing here?

Hopefully going to post writing advice, and probably some random fandom thoughts. (Maybe book recs/reviews?) If I can stick to a schedule, posts will go up on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays (plus intermittently on my character birthdays).

Other than that, I'm looking for a platform to talk about my book, and hoping Tumblr will do in wake of Instagram's AI messiness. We'll see.

I'm also on Instagram (@vksievers_rightwaytowriteit) but not incredibly active.

Consider sticking around here if you're interested in hearing about the book I'm working on! Or just for vibes. Vibes are great too. :D