Alleece Balts's Blog, page 2
August 18, 2017
Kindle Countdown Deal!
To celebrate the launch of The Journey, I’m running a Kindle Countdown Deal on The Crowd. From now until Sunday, August 20th at 6PM, you can download the e-book for only $1.99 – that’s over 50% off the regular price!
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August 17, 2017
The Journey – Now Available for Preorder!
Some stories are just works of your imagination, but others are deeply personal. Writing The Journey turned out to be a little of both, even more so than writing The Crowd. In some moments, it was incredibly fun and other times, it was incredibly difficult.
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During the past year, as I was finishing the manuscript for The Journey, I had to say goodbye to two great men who helped shape who I am today, and that loss is reflected on the pages of the book. This spring, my grandfather passed away. He was a born storyteller who entertained family and friends around the campfire with songs, poems, and stories for most of his life, and was a spiritual pillar for our entire family. This summer, the pastor from my childhood church also passed away suddenly. Not only did he preach at my church from the earliest days I can remember, he also baptized me as a little girl, and later performed the wedding ceremony for me and my husband. Losing such immense figures in your life forces you to come to grips with your own mortality, and assess what you’re doing with your future.
Much of the book focuses on choosing to take risks, to having adventures, to making your mark with the time and resources you’ve been given, and those passages were – of course – a pleasure to dwell on, to outline, and to write.
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But The Journey also deals with pain, with fear, and with loss. I experienced a prolonged illness when I was a teenager. There were days when it was difficult for me to get out of bed, days when I didn’t know what the rest of my life would hold. At one point, my parents pulled me out of public high school and I was tutored at home until I had the energy to return my senior year and graduate with my fellow classmates.
Now, looking back, there is little that I would change about that time. The experience – those quiet, empty days – instilled in me a love of reading, writing, music. And I developed a hunger to travel – to meet new people and see new things – that would later carry me to a number of destinations across the world. In many ways, my illness brought me closer to God, to my family, and also revealed my true friends. But it was difficult to relive some of those experiences through Ella’s eyes as she goes on a similar journey of uncertainty and suffering.
The Journey is a story about romance and heartache. It is a story about hope and grace in seasons of victory and – ultimately – bravery in moments of defeat. It was a challenge to write, but it was also a tremendous learning and growing experience.
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I hope it is encouraging. I hope it is inspiring. I hope it is entertaining. And I hope you enjoy reading The Journey as much as I did writing it.
Best regards,
Alleece
The paperback edition of The Journey will be available from Amazon on August 23rd, and you can preorder your e-book copy now!
July 27, 2017
Top 10 YA Books About Kindness
I’m gearing up for the release of The Journey next month, and thinking a lot about major themes in both this sequel and its predecessor, The Crowd.
Of course, one of the main themes in The Crowd is the importance of kindness. So I wanted to share (in no particular order) a list of YA fiction books that focus on teens and young people having compassion and kindness for others, and how their attitudes about hope and friendship affect their lives and the lives of others.
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1. Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli
Stargirl. From the day she arrives at quiet Mica High in a burst of color and sound, the hallways hum with the murmur of “Stargirl, Stargirl.” She captures Leo Borlock’ s heart with just one smile. She sparks a school-spirit revolution with just one cheer. The students of Mica High are enchanted. At first.
Then they turn on her. Stargirl is suddenly shunned for everything that makes her different, and Leo, panicked and desperate with love, urges her to become the very thing that can destroy her: normal. In this celebration of nonconformity, Newbery Medalist Jerry Spinelli weaves a tense, emotional tale about the perils of popularity and the thrill and inspiration of first love.
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2. Anne of Green Gables
by L.M. Montgomery
Anne, an eleven-year-old orphan, is sent by mistake to live with a lonely, middle-aged brother and sister on a Prince Edward Island farm and proceeds to make an indelible impression on everyone around her.
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3. Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella
An anxiety disorder disrupts fourteen-year-old Audrey’s daily life. She has been making slow but steady progress with Dr. Sarah, but when Audrey meets Linus, her brother’s gaming teammate, she is energized. She connects with him. Audrey can talk through her fears with Linus in a way she’s never been able to do with anyone before. As their friendship deepens and her recovery gains momentum, a sweet romantic connection develops, one that helps not just Audrey but also her entire family.
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4. The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare
Sixteen-year-old Kit Tyler is marked by suspicion and disapproval from the moment she arrives on the unfamiliar shores of colonial Connecticut in 1687. Alone and desperate, she has been forced to leave her beloved home on the island of Barbados and join a family she has never met. Torn between her quest for belonging and her desire to be true to herself, Kit struggles to survive in a hostile place. Just when it seems she must give up, she finds a kindred spirit. But Kit’s friendship with Hannah Tupper, believed by the colonists to be a witch, proves more taboo than she could have imagined and ultimately forces Kit to choose between her heart and her duty.
Elizabeth George Speare won the 1959 Newbery Medal for this portrayal of a heroine whom readers will admire for her unwavering sense of truth as well as her infinite capacity to love.
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5. I am the Messenger by Markus Zusak
By the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller The Book Thief, this is a cryptic journey filled with laughter, fists, and love.
Ed Kennedy is an underage cabdriver without much of a future. He’s pathetic at playing cards, hopelessly in love with his best friend, Audrey, and utterly devoted to his coffee-drinking dog, the Doorman. His life is one of peaceful routine and incompetence until he inadvertently stops a bank robbery.
That’s when the first ace arrives in the mail. That’s when Ed becomes the messenger. Chosen to care, he makes his way through town helping and hurting (when necessary) until only one question remains: Who’s behind Ed’s mission?
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6. Freak the Mighty by Rodman Philbrick
Two boys – a slow learner stuck in the body of a teenage giant and a tiny Einstein in leg braces – forge a unique friendship when they pair up to create one formidable human force.
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7. How to Save a Life by Sara Zarr
Jill MacSweeny just wishes everything could go back to normal. But ever since her dad died, she’s been isolating herself from her boyfriend, her best friends — everyone who wants to support her. When her mom decides to adopt a baby, it feels like she’s somehow trying to replace a lost family member with a new one.
Mandy Kalinowski understands what it’s like to grow up unwanted — to be raised by a mother who never intended to have a child. So when Mandy becomes pregnant, one thing she’s sure of is that she wants a better life for her baby. It’s harder to be sure of herself. Will she ever find someone to care for her, too?
As their worlds change around them, Jill and Mandy must learn to both let go and hold on, and that nothing is as easy — or as difficult — as it seems.
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8. A List of Cages by Robin Roe
When Adam Blake lands the best elective ever in his senior year, serving as an aide to the school psychologist, he thinks he’s got it made. Sure, it means a lot of sitting around, which isn’t easy for a guy with ADHD, but he can’t complain, since he gets to spend the period texting all his friends. Then the doctor asks him to track down the troubled freshman who keeps dodging her, and Adam discovers that the boy is Julian–the foster brother he hasn’t seen in five years.
Adam is ecstatic to be reunited. At first, Julian seems like the boy he once knew. He’s still kind hearted. He still writes stories and loves picture books meant for little kids. But as they spend more time together, Adam realizes that Julian is keeping secrets, like where he hides during the middle of the day, and what’s really going on inside his house. Adam is determined to help him, but his involvement could cost both boys their lives.
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9. The Summer I Saved the World . . . in 65 Days by Michele Weber Hurwitz
It’s summertime, and thirteen-year-old Nina Ross is feeling kind of lost. Her beloved grandma died last year; her parents work all the time; her brother’s busy; and her best friend is into clothes, makeup, and boys. While Nina doesn’t know what “her thing” is yet, it’s definitely not shopping and makeup. And it’s not boys, either. Though . . . has Eli, the boy next door, always been so cute?
This summer, Nina decides to change things. She hatches a plan. There are sixty-five days of summer. Every day, she’ll anonymously do one small but remarkable good thing for someone in her neighborhood, and find out: does doing good actually make a difference? Along the way, she discovers that her neighborhood, and her family, are full of surprises and secrets.
In this bighearted, sweetly romantic novel, things may not turn out exactly as Nina expects. They might be better.
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10. Wonder by R.J. Palacio
I won’t describe what I look like. Whatever you’re thinking, it’s probably worse.
August Pullman was born with a facial difference that, up until now, has prevented him from going to a mainstream school. Starting 5th grade at Beecher Prep, he wants nothing more than to be treated as an ordinary kid—but his new classmates can’t get past Auggie’s extraordinary face. WONDER, now a #1 New York Times bestseller and included on the Texas Bluebonnet Award master list, begins from Auggie’s point of view, but soon switches to include his classmates, his sister, her boyfriend, and others. These perspectives converge in a portrait of one community’s struggle with empathy, compassion, and acceptance.
February 18, 2017
Review from Books for Christian Girls
“I literally cheered when I saw there was a sequel at the end.”
I loved this mention of The Crowd by Lindsey from Books for Christian Girls in her January wrap up on YouTube, as well as her review of the book on her blog in January.
Check out the video and the review and show some love in the comments!
I promise the sequel is coming soon!
February 1, 2017
Review from Book by Book
What a pleasure to read Hallie’s review at Book by Book! If you’ve read The Crowd or plan to read it, please check out her blog – it is brimming with great recommendations, fun reading challenges and even giveaways.
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You can find her full review here, and be sure to add your thoughts in the comments section!
January 19, 2017
Review from Readable Mélange
“It was one of the sweetest books I’ve ever read…and I. Can. Not. WAIT for the next book! I hugely recommend The Crowd.”
I loved this review from Elodie at Readable Mélange! For those who don’t know (I didn’t!) the word “mélange” means “mixture” and her site is just that – reviews on a ton of different books in lots of different styles. So if you have a wide or varied taste in books, I encourage you to check out her blog!
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You can find her full review here, and be sure to add your thoughts in the comments section!
Review from Reveries Reviews
“The Crowd by Alleece Balts is a simply fantastic novel. That is the only word to describe this book: fantastic. I was, as the blurb says, immersed from the very first page. I loved it to death, and I can’t wait to get my hands on book 2!”
What a wonderful review from Kellyn at Reveries Reviews! She has such an extensive archive of reviews on her site, I could get (happily) lost for days reading her commentary and adding her recommendations to my growing to-be-read pile!
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You can find her full review here, and be sure to add your thoughts in the comments section!
January 9, 2017
One Year Anniversary!
Download your copy of The Crowd FREE TODAY ONLY!
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I can hardly believe that I published The Crowd a year ago today! I feel very fortunate to have a hobby that not only makes money but that also connects me to people I wouldn’t have ordinarily met in my regular course of life or starts a different conversation with someone I see every day.
Although writing can take an enormous amount of time and effort, I try to keep prices low so that the book is easily accessible to everyone. Seeing a person’s eyes light up when they talk about a particular character or scene is more valuable to me than what I make on any sale. The late nights and early mornings spent writing are worth it for that sudden connection through words on paper.
So to celebrate The Crowd‘s one year anniversary, I wanted to say thank you. Thank you for all of your support over the past year. Thank you for reading it and sharing it. Thank you for commenting on blog posts and YouTube videos. Thank you for leaving reviews on Goodreads and especially Amazon.
Please pass this on to anyone you think will enjoy the book as much as you did, or download the ebook for yourself if you only have the paperback.
And – once again – thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!
December 29, 2016
Booktube Review by Jacqueline @Jbooklover
I love hearing that I’ve been keeping people up until 3AM (does that make me a bad person??), and especially that they felt invested in the characters! I so appreciated Jacqueline’s lovely review. Check it out here and go show Jacqueline some love in the comments!!
Book 2 is coming soon, I promise!
December 13, 2016
Booktube Review by Kelly’s BookSpill
I loved this great mention of The Crowd from Kellys BookSpill on YouTube, especially that her sister finished the book in one night!! Check it out – be sure to ‘like’ the video if you enjoy Kelly’s charming Southern accent as much as I do – and go show Kelly some love in the comments!
