Kellyn Roth's Blog: Kellyn Roth, Author, page 56

Fitting In by Rebekah A. Morris

Title: Fitting In

Author: Rebekah A. Morris (http://readanotherpage.com/)

Genre: Christian historical fiction

Age-Range: middle grade/young adult

Era: early 1900s, I believe?

Setting: a little town, presumably out west

Publisher: Read Another Page, Rebekah A. Morris

Source: author (in exchange for honest review)

Rating: 4/5 stars

Content: 1/5. Nothing that made me uncomfortable. A character who was mentioned but never met in the story was a drunkard.

Cover Review: 3/5. It’s not bad, but I’m not a fan of the cover model. She doesn’t look at all like Elizabeth! (yes, yes I do know what Elizabeth looks like …)

Newly married, Elizabeth Leffler moves with her husband to his farm in the foothills of the western mountains. Eager to be a part of the town and community, she is disappointed by the cool welcome she receives. In her eagerness to fit in and find a place for herself, Elizabeth does the unthinkable.

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I really enjoyed Fitting In, but there were a few things that made me give it less than five stars. I’ll just get them out of the way so we can move onto the positive.[image error]

First, I didn’t get as good a feeling for the setting as I’d like to. I wasn’t sure where or when we were! Second, I felt that at times it was rushed and could have, perhaps, been made into a little longer story. I would have liked a little more background for Elizabeth and her husband – like how they met, for instance. Sometimes the writing seemed to lapse into ‘show not tell.’

Now, for something positive after all that negativity! The characters were amazing. It’s been a while since I’ve read a book in which the characters just jump out of the pages. I don’t know why, but people tend to develop without enlivening their characters! I especially loved Elizabeth! She reminded me of one of my own characters – except maybe a little more excitable – which of course made me love her even more.

The plot was interesting. I really liked it a lot. I especially enjoyed the scene where Elizabeth yells at the town. So amusing!

I think one of the reasons I liked this little short story was because Ms. Morris’s writing style somewhat resembles my own. At least, we have the same strengths – characters – and weaknesses – show not tell, for instance. She’s way better at plots that me, though. All my plots die savage deaths.

Overall, definitely worth the read. You can pre-order it now on Amazon for just $0.99!

~Kellyn Roth

Quick Update

Posts will now be on Tuesdays and Fridays. Usually there will be two posts a week, but I may not be able to keep that up, so occasionally there will only be one per week.

And that’s it!

Au revoir,

~Kellyn Roth

August 2016 Spotlight ~ Character Theme Songs and Important Updates

One of my dearest friends in the blogging world is Lana from The Music of Words. Which is a great blog, by the way. one of the few I actually read through every word of every post. *guilty grin*

Anyways, moving on …

Lana started doing this thing recently called ‘spotlights.’ She’s done two so far (find #1 here and #2 here). And Lana’s explanation of what that is …

What is this “Spotlight” you speak of? you may be asking. Well, I’ll explain it to you. During the week or two I’ve been gone from the blogosphere did you notice? I was (as well as procrastinating from Camp NaNo) thinking a bit about how to improve my blogging. And I decided I wanted to share more writing with you more often, but I can’t exactly write a short story every week. Then I thought of writing a novel solely on this blog, which would be fun, but I have no ideas, let alone motivation to actually do it.

So I came up with the idea of the Spotlight. Basically, weekly I will “shine the spotlight” on some of the writing I worked on that week, which will probably include excerpts of some of my favorite parts, anything that I really enjoyed writing, cool descriptions, thoughts, etc. Basically anything that I feel really struck me gets to be posted here!

That means that not only will you get to read more of my writing through excerpts, you’ll also get to know my characters a lot better and get a feel for my novel. Are you in? I hope so! (source)

She’s letting me steal this idea (at least, I think she said it was okay … didn’t she? Lana?), and so here I am. Stealing the spotlight.

A Refuge at Highland Hall by Carrie Turansky

Title: A Refuse at Highland Hall

Author: Carrie Turansky (carrieturansky.com)

Series: Edwardian Brides, #3

Genre: Christian historical romance

Age-Range: young adult/adult

Era: WW1 (1915)

Setting: England with some scenes in France will our darling Alex.

Publisher: Multnomah Books

Source: library

Rating: 5/5 stars

Content: 2/5. Okay for any highschool teen. One of the characters (a servant) has a child born out of wedlock (this happened in Book 2). She’s still around. Treated as wrong. It’s set during a war, so there are people dying and getting wounded, although it’s not described in detail. Romance is clean and beautiful. Mentions of childbirth and pregnancy. Mentions of a miscarriage.

Cover: Oh. My. Word. It’s just so … so … perfect! *sobs* Really, though, the girl looks just like I imagined Penny and the biplane in the background (okay, technically it’s not a biplane …) is just so awesome! I adore this cover.[image error]

The Refuge at Highland Hall by Carrie Turansky

In this third and final book in the Edwardian Brides Series, you’ll be swept away to England and France in 1915 as the Ramsey family and their staff and friends face the dramatic challenges and losses of World War One, yet they also experience the hope and triumph that comes as they put their trust in God to carry them through.

Penny Ramsey helps the family welcome a group of orphaned children to Highland Hall, but she soon discovers caring for them is more difficult than she’d expected. She writes to Alex Goodwin, a daring British pilot, who chases German zeppelins across the sky over the Front Line in France, and longs for the day she will see him again.

You’ll be delighted by two pure and heartwarming romances: Penny and Alex, and Lydia Chambers and Marius Ritter, a lady’s maid and a prisoner of war. But most of all I hope you’ll be inspired by the characters’ examples of trusting God through the trials they face.

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Oh. My. Gosh.

I’m going to warn you right now that  this whole review will contain nothing more than me telling you  HOW AWESOME this book is. Because it is one of the best books I have read in a while.

I have often called Carrie Turansky’s Edwardian Brides series my ‘clean, Christian Downton Abbey.’ They are like Downton Abbey in that they include peeks into many people’s lives. However, we are never distracted away from the main plot, and every story becomes important to us so that we don’t mind moving from one to another. It is less dramatic than Downton Abbey, too, but it has the same … I don’t know. Beautiful vintage feel, perhaps?

The plot was AMAZING. I was so miserable when it ended, yet it was perfectly resolved. Although I think Julia should have had more children …

None of the characters got more or less screen-time than they deserved. I loved Penny to death (she was just such an awesome person) and Alex was cool, too. I like to see Lydia’s story resolved. Of course, every minute I spent with Julia and William was excellent. I just love Julia … she’s by far one of my favorite book characters. I want more of these guys!

The Christianity was inspiring and yet not too much. I think any Christian would vastly enjoy this book.

To Middle (To Write or Not To Write, #1)

Today I will have a few tips on writing a middle. I was inspired by Liv (who suggested this post) and Cora, who started the blog tag To Write or Not to Write and nominated me. To find out more about that, go here.

I’m calling this the first, as it is the first on Reveries, and I have no idea what number to use. Anyway, time for the tips.

Some things I’ve learned about writing the middle of a novel …

Don’t drag it out too much. Build suspense and tension, but don’t bring the reader to dozens upon dozens of false climaxes! Remember, your novel doesn’t have to be War and Peace! It can be short; it can always be short. I can’t stress this enough. A novel can be as short as 40,000 words before you move it down to novella status, unless if it’s a children’s book. I’d say middle-grade fiction doesn’t necessarily have to be more than 30K.
Don’t timeskip without accounting for the time in-between. (Yep … my mom made me add that one in …) If nothing exciting or important is going to happen for a couple months, you don’t have to describe every day in detail. However, you don’t want to let anything important (like, at all!) happen in that time. That’s right! I’m talking to you, Henry James! Since when is Pansy grown-up enough to have suitors? Why don’t we have Isobel’s POV anymore? WHY!? And why is she so different? I LIKE THE OLD ISOBEL EVEN IF SHE WAS AN IDIOT!!!
Remember to build up … and up … and up … There’s a reason the middle is called ‘rising action.’ Everything – everything, I tell you! – is aimed at the climax! If it doesn’t point towards the climax in some way, say good-bye to it. It ain’t goin’ in.

And … that’s all I have to say.

What?! These are supposed to be short posts. Besides, I’m beta-reading for a friend today. I have a lot of beta-reading to do. And reviewing. And … watching Studio C.

Wisteria Writer’s Challenge

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Hi y’all! Today (it being Tuesday), we’ll be doing a blog tag. We’re … referring to ourselves in plural, apparently. We must stop. We are awkward. We is just I. Yep …

Anyway, we were nominated by Esther over at The Sounds of Grace. We really like The Sounds of Grace, and you should check it out.

On a side-note, we were also nominated by Liv, but we don’t have time to do Liv’s questions. Hopefully Liv doesn’t mind? Sorry Liv. Your questions were awesome … but we want to write from the rest of we’s afternoon.

Is it just we, or does ‘we’ sound waaaay eviler than ‘I?’ We feels like Gollum. Or Hamlet’s uncle from Hamlet. He dies. We are glad.

Rules

Thank who nominated you
Answer ten questions given
Add questions you thought of
They have to be book or novel related
Nominate ten people

Nominating ten people seems like a stretch to we, but we will try it.

Esther’s Questions

How do you deal with writer’s block?

We just … die. Death is the best and only way to deal with writer’s block. Trust we.

Where do you get your ideas for stories?

We get them from … we get them from … other stories we wrote. Yeah, we don’t have ideas springing from anything but we. So we end up being very unoriginal after a couple novels.

The Movement of Kings by Nadine C. Keels

Title: The Movement of Kings

Author: Nadine C. Keels (https://prismaticprospects.wordpress.com/)

Series: The Movement of Crowns, #3

Genre: Christian romantic fantasy

Age-Range: young adult/adult

Setting: Diachona (fantasy world)

Publisher: Nadine C. Keels

Source: author (in exchange for honest review)

Rating: 5/5 stars

Content: 2/5. Some innuendo-ish stuff, falling in love & the emotions, some kissing (few to no details). By far the cleanest of the three … although all three were very clean.

The Movement of Kings by Nadine C. Keels

The order of things, the nature of succession, and a nation that must march on…

At a time of political and cultural uncertainty, the charge of the Eubeltic Realm has been passed over to a young monarch known for his intelligence, agility, and brooding ways, as well as the “way” he has with vibrant ladies at court. Can this inexperienced king handle the current rise of domestic and colonial crises, the bereavement of his family, and his curious attraction to a councilman’s unassuming daughter, or is everything in his untried hands on the verge of falling apart?

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This was my favorite of the Movement of Crowns series. I really enjoyed it, as you can see by the five-star rating. I’d recommend it to any lover of non-magical fantasy, clean romance, and an exciting plotline.

I was a little disappointed by the time skip between Rings and Kings. But I soon got over it (like … after the first page …), the same as I got over the death of my favorite character. Kings was well-written and well-plotted. I liked the story – that of a young man trying to take the place that’s been set out for him despite his inexperience and the fact that this wasn’t supposed to happen yet.

I really loved the characters. Of course Alexander was cool (I totally sympathized with him), and I can tell that Prince Joshua is going to be an awesome person.

I adored Vale! She was just so sweet and kind and understanding, and while she was uncertain, she wasn’t annoying uncertain. You know, like those stupid characters who are like “I’mnotgoodenoughIcan’tdoitI’mawimpstopreadingaboutmeaaaaah.” They drive me nuts. Vale wasn’t at all like that.

The Movement of Rings by Nadine C. Keels

Title: The Movement of Rings

Author: Nadine C. Keels (https://prismaticprospects.wordpress.com/)

Series: The Movement of Crowns, #2

Genre: Christian romantic fantasy

Age-Range: young adult/adult

Setting: Diachona (fantasy world)

Publisher: Nadine K. Keels

Source: author (in exchange for honest review)

Rating: 3/5 stars

Content: 3/5. Not recommended for younger teens. Mentions of childbirth, some innuendo-ish stuff, falling in love & the emotions, some kissing (few to no details). The main character (Naona) is a member of the king of Munda’s harem, no details. It was tastefully handled. Mentions of abortion.

The Movement of Rings by Nadine C. Keels

A time to remember what lies deeper than one’s fears…

The Mundayne empire has seen years of prosperity under the rule of King Aud, a man of war known the world over for his ruthlessness. Naona, a high-spirited imperial servant who holds Aud’s favor, occupies herself with pulling pranks on her peers around the king’s estate, but the time for laughter spoils when the citizens of Munda begin to oppose increasing taxation. After meeting the princess of Diachona, Naona finds herself having to choose between maintaining loyalty to her king and becoming a personal ally of another nation. With the rise of unrest in Munda, can Naona’s heart survive intact: intact enough, even, for an unforeseen chance at love with a foreign man?

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It took me a little while to get into this one (I didn’t want to meet a new character; I wanted to reunite with the old ones!), but once I did, I really enjoyed it. It was interesting to see a Mundayne’s perspective on the war with Diachona.

The world-building was very complete. I got a great idea of the culture of Munda. I kind of want to go visit there now … it sounds really interesting.

The characters were developed and believable. I would have liked to know a wee bit more about them at the beginning, though (as I said before, it got off to a ‘slow start,’ at least in my mind, because I was unwilling to leave Constance.

Relatable Things for Homeschoolers

I know I’m not supposed to post on Sunday … but to be fair, this isn’t posting. It’s reblogging. Reblogging is very different from posting.

Anyway, this as a great post from The Upstairs Girl (a cool blog you should check out) and … yep. It’s about homeschoolers. It’s pretty hilarious.

#homeschoolawesome

The Girl Upstairs

Hi guys! *waves*

First off, I want to thank all of YOU for the lovely feedback you left me on my survey.

IT'S MY BIRTHDAY!!!

Well, I don't think there's anything else to say that the title doesn't! :) Read a celebratory post on my blog! ;)
~Kellyn Roth