Few authors can handle writing as a duo, and fewer still can do the same with their mom! Amie and Bethanie Borst, however, have found the perfect balance.

About ‘Snow Fright’

Sarah White is gorgeous even if she is a little bit rotten. A mirror arrives on her 12th birthday and she thinks it’s the perfect gift, but when the mirror swallows her whole, Sarah finds herself in the dead center of the Underworld. Sarah now has to deal with her decaying flesh and sudden craving for brains. By the time Sarah escapes the Underworld, she finds her new zombie life less than appetizing. Even worse, she needs to return to the Underworld to save her friends, Cindy and Scarlet. With a poisoned apple, a crow named Raven, and a glowing necklace, Sarah sets off to rescue her friends. She must succeed, or she’ll be a brain-craving zombie forever.

The adventures of a mother-daughter writing duo by Amie Borst

Bethanie was only nine years old when she came home from school with the idea for Cinderskella, the first novel in our Scarily Ever After fantasy series. She’d created a stapled together booklet containing the story idea and illustrations. When she showed it to me, I knew it would make a fantastic middle-grade novel, so I proposed writing the book together. She agreed and we got to work. That’s how we came to be co-authors. But not just any co-authors — a mother-daughter duo!

It’s been seven years since that day and Bethanie is now 16. We hoped our book would eventually be published, but we never dreamed we’d write an entire series together. Even now, it’s hard to believe that our third book, Snow Fright, will be heading to bookstore shelves in October. When we started writing all those years ago, our partnership was much different than it is now. As she’s grown, so has our relationship. Roles have shifted to accommodate this change. Sometimes change is hard. But, no matter what, we love crafting stories together.

Here’s our top 10 list, which Bethanie made sure to edit, of why our author-duo works so well!

1. Editing: When the manuscript is complete, I print it out for Bethanie to edit. She crosses out all the incredibly beautiful things I’ve written lame stuff and makes the story cool again.
2. Acting: When Bethanie was younger, she used to act out the scenes she wanted in the story. I would type them up as she talked and moved about in the dining room. Now the only acting that happens is when I read the stories aloud to an audience.
3. Plotting: We plot our novel on a storyboard with color-coded post it notes. No detail is too small, no mountain high enough, no Underworld dark enough, no… That’s it. We plot our story.
4. Role reversal: I’m not always never the one in charge. That’s Bethanie’s role sometimes.
5. Pizza: When we’re writing, that means there’s not much time for cooking. What’s for dinner? Pizza! That makes everyone happy.
6. Coffee: One cup? No, two cups? No, three cups? Keep going. Yes, coffee is a staple that Bethanie isn’t allowed to drink enjoys with the correct two to one milk to coffee ratio.
7. Chocolate: I keep a well-stocked stash hidden away from my family that is delicious.
8. Shopping: Of course this is part of our writing routine! We can’t write without pearls and lace sweatpants, hoodies, and slouch socks.
9. August: It’s the best month of the year because it’s my birthday! Halloween decorations are finally in the stores! Inspiration!
10. Murder and mayhem: As a parent-child writing team, there are bound be to arguments because, let’s face it, kids parents are always wrong. When we get mad, we can torture and kill off characters then pretend it’s each other. Neither of us will ever I always know!

In spite of our creative differences, writing as a team is lots of fun. I hope there are more books in our future!

About the authors

Amie Borst loves glitter, unicorns, and chocolate. But not at the same time. She’s a PAL member of the SCBWI as well as a founding and contributing member of The Mixed-Up Files…of Middle-Grade Authors, a group blog dedicated to middle-grade books. Bethanie Borst is 16 and the author of three books. Bethanie is fluent in both sarcasm and humor and is prepared for the zombie apocalypse and/or spontaneous combustion of the world. Because, let’s face it, both of those things are totally realistic. The final book in their Scarily Ever After series, Snow Fright, is out October 4.