R.M. Archer's Blog, page 24

August 31, 2020

August 2020 Wrap-Up

We’ve survived another month of 2020 and we’re one month closer to the monster year being over. So let’s look back on it, shall we?

Writing

August 22nd marked the completion of my Calligraphy Guild rewrite! I finally finished the structural fixes and ended up with a 64.5k draft to build off of. I started on my character and worldbuilding edits almost immediately, but so far I’ve only gotten through chapter three (of eighteen). I’m hoping that I’ll be able to pick up the pace some in the coming month.

I also started a short story this month, based on a random idea I had that I thought for sure was just a random fun scene that would never go anywhere. XD I haven’t done a whole lot with it yet, but you’ll probably hear about it again sometime in the future.

Reading

Where Do I Start? An Overview of Indie Publishing by Molly Evangeline
The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien
Of Myth and Monster by The Phoenix Fiction Writers
From Scratch by Tembi Locke
Sword and Verse by Kathy MacMillan
Circle of Shadows by Evelyn Skye
The American Spirit by David McCullough
Ships, Secrets, and Survivors by Sarah Rodecker and Helena George
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

I read a decent amount in August, though only a handful of the books I read were really fantastic.

Of Myth and Monster was amazing, and I’m super excited to share my review of that one next week.

The Two Towers and Fahrenheit 451 (both rereads) were great.

Where Do I Start? was a little bit outdated, being written before CreateSpace and KDP merged, but does provide a good overview of what goes into good indie publishing.

Sword and Verse had amazing worldbuilding… but a romantic thread centered around one character cheating on a betrothal ruined it for me.

Plans for next month

If I’m able to recharge and improve my mental health, next month is going to be pretty busy, since I have some big projects planned. If I can’t get my mental health up, I’ll just have to drop a project or two. But ideally…

I’ll be working on finalizing Preptober Prompts. The official announcement, including who’s co-hosting this year, will be going up on Friday, and I’m really excited for this year.

I’ll be editing Calligraphy Guild. If I keep up a consistent pace, I can probably be done with the third draft within the month, which will be super cool.

I’ll be starting independent classes. I’m kind of “unschooling” my own school year, even though I’ve graduated, and taking this year to study a variety of subjects I’m interested in. A lot of my classes will be done through Coursera, but then there are others (such as the Early American History & Civics subject I swapped in last-minute) that are mostly composed of books from around our house or from the library.

I’ll finally be testing for my driver’s license! I have an appointment with the DMV on the 26th, and I can’t. wait. My driver’s license has been pushed back so many times, and I’m so glad to be finally coming up on the freedom to leave the house when I’ve had too much of my siblings and just need to breathe somewhere quiet and peaceful. (I love my siblings, but having them around 24/7 for months on end has been a little much.) And to do grocery runs when my parents can’t, and to get together with friends, and to explore, and… I’m just very excited to finally be able to legally drive on my own.

September TBR:

The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien
Women of Kern, Book Two by Maris McKay
Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi
Cloak of Night by Evelyn Skye
A Shadow Bright and Burning by Jessica Cluess
Whatever else I’m in the mood to read

How was your August? What are your plans for September? What projects have you been working on lately?

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Published on August 31, 2020 05:00

August 28, 2020

August 25, 2020

Book Review: Ships, Secrets, and Survivors by Helena George and Sarah Rodecker

Blurb

An assassin trainee fleeing his profession.

A princess risking her reputation.

A talking ship with a mad captain.

Ravin should be dead. No one forsakes the assassin profession and lives. Attempting to evade capture and certain death, Ravin hides on a ship as part of the crew. Then his name is announced on Selection Day for the annual Scaera Dumeda, despite him never taking the entry test, declaring to the entire world—and the assassins hunting him for revenge—that he is alive.

Princess Adima Radi Kashinda dreams of more than someday ruling Antovan. She desires to make a true difference for her people. When her name is called on Selection Day, she throws away her title, despite the uncertain future ahead. This may be the opportunity she hoped for.

When some of the other selectees are murdered, Ravin and Adi are among the suspects. With the help of Ravin’s captain and crew, they sail away to hunt down the killer and clear their names. Can they catch the murderer when he always seems to be at least one step ahead?

Review

Ships, Secrets, and Survivors is a pretty classic seafaring fantasy novel, with a couple of fun twists. The most notable twist being ships that talk. The Red Wind is one such ship, and it’s her and her crew that we follow. Honestly, Red Wind herself was one of my favorite characters. She cares for her crew, she’s steadfast, and she likes music; what’s not to love?

The rest of the characters were something of a mixed bag. I liked Ravin and Adi, even if I was a little disappointed with how the latter’s arc ended, and I appreciated seeing the story through their eyes. Ravin’s assassin etiquette was interesting, and I enjoyed seeing his skills, knowledge, and connections employed throughout the story. Arrow and Josiah were also fun characters, though I wish they’d been fleshed out more. The rest of the characters mostly felt underdeveloped, so I was never really able to connect with them. Shade was the only character I can think of that I really didn’t like; he didn’t get a lot of time “on screen,” and his character development felt rushed and inconsistent. I also wish we’d learned more about Bonnie, because she mostly left me confused.

The worldbuilding was primarily your standard fantasy fare, but I enjoyed the talking ships and the Scaera Dumeda; I wish there had been more time to focus on the Scaera Dumeda and see it fleshed out more. I also enjoyed the snippets of Jay’s thoughts surrounding Red Wind and her legends at the beginning of each chapter, giving insight into the larger world’s thoughts on the ship.

Overall, Ships, Secrets, and Survivors was an enjoyable read that I’d give about 3.5 stars.

Add on Goodreads | Buy on Amazon

Giveaway

US Giveaway:

1 Annotated Copy of Ships, Secrets, and Survivors

1 Mug

Tea

3 Bookmarks

1 Sea Dragon Sticker

A Map of the Red Wind

And a Book Sleeve

International Giveaway:

An ebook copy of Ships, Secrets, and Survivors

A PDF of Fearless, a Pirate Hunter Chronicles short story

And a phone wall paper

Enter the US giveaway!
Enter the international giveaway!
About the Authors

Sarah Rodecker and Helena George have done countless crazy things together since they first met in 2005. One such thing was write Ships, Secrets, and Survivors on a dare. It went so well, they decided to expand it into a series and publish it together.

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Published on August 25, 2020 08:17

August 21, 2020

The Liebster Award #8 and Sunshine Blogger Award #5

It’s time for another pair of tags! This time, thanks are due to Felicity at The Wondrous World Around Us!

Rules:

Thank the blogger who nominated you. (Thanks, Felicity!)
Display your award.
Answer the questions you were asked.
Nominate 5 bloggers.
Ask 6 new questions.
Let your nominees know they were nominated.

Questions:

1. What was the most interesting quirk that you ever gave to a character you created?

Oh wow. Quirks tend to be one of my weak spots, lol. Let’s see… Maybe the character whose bionic eye twitched all the time? It was kind of a cheap bionic eye that constantly needed to be recalibrated. ;P

2. What’s your favorite character from any fandom, book, or movie? Why is that your favorite character?

Eeek! So many amazing choices! As I’ve reread The Lord of the Rings, I’ve fallen in love with Sam Gamgee all over again. He’s loyal, compassionate, loves his garden, he pushes through even though he’d rather be back home, he always has hope… He’s just an amazing character. Also, he lobbed an apple at the head of someone who’d been spying on the hobbits in Bree, so…

3. Which musician, band, or group would you go spend an entire paycheck on to go see in concert?

THE FAMILY SOWELL. *cough* I mean… The Family Sowell. I’m perfectly calm.

They’re a bluegrass family band, and I love their performance style, their personalities, how much they clearly love each other and their music, their love for people… They’re just amazing. Plus their music is also good. ;D

4. What process do you go through as you’re trying to develop and figure out a character’s brain/thoughts/inner voice?

It depends on the character and the story. A lot of times, I figure out a handful of traits and details about them and then write them to flesh them out more. Sometimes that means RPing with them, sometimes it means just diving into their story… But sometimes they require some more work, and I’ll fill out a bigger character sheet or I’ll write an unrelated snippet to try to learn more about them or something like that. It depends.

5. What’s your character more likely to do: Help flip bugs over when they’re stuck upside down, but kill someone without a bat of an eye? Or help people, but squish a bug without mercy?

Which one? XD I’ll go with Duyên Lai, since she’s the MC of my current project. She’d help both, lol. But she’d be more likely to help people but squish a bug without mercy. Especially if it was a spider or other particularly creepy crawly.

6. Have you ever started reading a book and then couldn’t bring yourself to finish it? If so, what book was it, and why couldn’t you finish it?

I have a very short list of DNF books. The most recent was The Evil Queen by Gena Showalter, which… I could have finished if I’d really wanted to? It was fairly interesting. But it was super long, and the overall tone of it wasn’t one I really wanted to steep myself in for 500 or 600 pages, so I let it go at about 15% of the way through.

7. What are your three favorite words?

Snickerdoodle. It’s such a fun word, and snickerdoodles are amazing.

I actually have a whole list of fun words, but I can’t access it at the moment. The only others I’m thinking of off the top of my head are phrases rather than words. “Je suis avec toi,” for instance, which is French for “I’m with you.” It has so many potential meanings behind it, and it sounds so beautiful in French, and I just love it. And “I miss you,” which just… means a lot to me; I wrote an entire… free-verse poem, I guess? about it once.

8. What are your three least favorite words?

I don’t really have a lot of words I dislike? Besides curse words. ;P

I guess “pus” would be a least favorite. That word is just always gross, lol.

“Squelch” is coming to mind for some reason, but I actually love the onomatopoeia of that word.

I don’t know. I like most words for some reason or another.

9. What’s your least favorite character trait? (In real life or otherwise)

Arrogance, in real life. I can appreciate it in fiction, but in real life it’s just frustrating and off-putting.

10. What’s your favorite character trait? (In real life or otherwise)

A sense of humor. And firm belief in something. I greatly admire people and character who will stand up for what they believe in and won’t back down.

11. What’s your FAVORITE character trope of all time, that gets you excited when you see it used in stories?

The boyfriend/love interest who’s kind of a joker but who’s also super compassionate and deep when the situation calls for it. Does that count? Is that a trope? XD I don’t know, but I adore those characters.

Rules:

Thank the blogger who nominated you and provide a link back to their blog so others can find them. Thanks again, Felicity!
List the rules and display an award logo on your blog post.
Answer the 11 questions the blogger asked you.
Nominate 11 new blogs to receive the award and notify them by commenting on any of their posts.
Ask the nominees 11 new questions.

Questions:

1. What’s your favorite beverage flavor you’ve ever had and why?

Does cream soda count? It’s just delicious. Sort of vanilla-ish and creamy. It has kind of a warm flavor.

2. You’ve just created a small shop that sells drinks and small eats. What would your shop sell, and what’s your shop’s aesthetic?

Fun fact, Allie and I once had the thought to start a café themed around the song “My Favorite Things,” and each item would have been themed after an item in the song. So you’d have something like… a cream soda float for “cream colored ponies,” and white-iced shortbread cookies wrapped with blue ribbons for “girls in white dresses”… It was one of our restaurant conversations, like when we plotted the end of the world in Taco Bell. ;)

At this point… I think I’d have a sort of… I don’t feel like “rustic” is the right word? A sort of raw, dark wood, lots of windows, houseplants everywhere, cozy sort of aesthetic? It would be constantly filled with the scent of coffee (which is amazing, even though I hate the taste, lol), with hints of caramel and sugar. I think the menu would be book-themed, with items hosting book-related names. I’m not sure of any specifics, though, lol. But yeah. It would be really cozy and calm. ^-^

3. Have you learned to play an instrument? If so, what is it? If not, what instrument would you like to learn, and why?

I don’t currently play any instruments. I’ve never had the discipline to learn one. ;P As far as what I’d like to learn… There’s a list. XD

I’d kind of like to learn to play violin, because it’s one of my favorite instruments overall (following the saxophone) and it was one of the first I ever wanted to learn.

I’d kind of like to learn the piano, just because it’s pretty basic (for starters) and I feel like everyone in my choir can play piano except me. XD

I’d kind of like to learn the ocarina, because I have access to one and I find it pretty easy to hold and play and whatnot. I’m naturally not terrible at it, lol.

And finally, I’d kind of like to learn to play the drums, because I enjoy rhythms and I feel like I could pick up on the drums pretty quickly. There are no notes involved, just sounds, so I feel like it would be easier for me to wrap my head around. (Despite 12 years in choir, I can’t really read music. :P)

4. The city, suburbs, or countryside?

Countryside. Hands down. The suburbs are fairly boring (I’ve lived in the suburbs almost my whole life), and I’ve just… never really clicked with the whole neighborhood idea? And the city would be way too busy and crowded for me. The countryside allows for space to run, space to garden and spread out, space to have some peace and quiet… But I also don’t want to live too far from civilization, because I love people and want my country house to also have space for lots of guests. XD

5. What was your dream job growing up? Where would small 5- or 10-year-old you dream of working?

When I was 5, I think I wanted to be… a ballerina, probably? Maybe a waitress. I don’t remember for sure. I might have already been thinking toward being a librarian, but I don’t think so. When I was ten, though, I wanted so badly to be a private detective. XD I would have bombed at being a private detective, so it’s a good thing I decided a couple years later to pursue writing instead. XD

6. What do you do when you get stuck in a writer’s or artist’s block?

Usually just procrastinate and feel guilty… Not the best option. I don’t recommend that method. XD Other times I’ll take a purposeful break and think through the problem. Or there are other times I just push through it and write anyway because it’s not really writer’s block, it’s just lack of motivation and I need to get over it. XD

New Questions:

I’m just going to pass on the Sunshine award this time and drop the Liebster Award, so here are 11 questions:

What’s your favorite character trope?
What’s your least favorite character trope?
What’s your favorite thing about the writing community?
What was the last indie book you read, and what did you think of it?
What’s the last song you listened to?
How do you outline your stories, or do you figure out your story as you go?
What are some of your favorite writing blogs? (Share links!)
Are there any elements you find make their way into most/all of your stories? What are they?
What’s your favorite non-fiction book?
What are a few of your favorite quotes?
Houseplants: yea or nay?

Nominees:

Chalice at Lionhearted Art
Noah at Noah Litle Writes
Evelyn at The Rain-Drenched Writer
Eden at The Happy Hedgehog
Alabama at Alabama Rose
Grace at Literature for the Light
Sarah at The Sarcastic Elf
Allie at Of Rainy Days & Stardust Veins
Dawn at Rosy Dawns and Radiant Musings
Lavender at Always Write the Good Write
You!

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Published on August 21, 2020 05:00

August 14, 2020

A Prayer for the Christian Writing Community

Today’s post is a little out-of-the-ordinary, and I was anxious to get it up, hence a Friday post. Story Embers is running a challenge to encourage support and interaction in the writing community, and one of the prompts last week was to pray for the writing community. I’ve done a really bad job of keeping up with the prompts, but I did write up a prayer for the Christian writing community a few days ago, and I wanted to share it to hopefully encourage those of you in that community. So without further ado…

I pray for the Christian writing community, that You’d place in us a blazing passion to tell stories that point toward You and glorify You.

I pray You’d push us to strengthen our craft so that we can be skillful in our work and reflect Your nature through striving toward excellence. Strengthen us to work as unto You rather than unto men. And provide editors—good, skillful editors—to serve the community and help further that goal.

I pray that we would produce high-caliber work in all genres, stories that reflect Your truth and Your light in natural ways.

I pray that we would be honest in our portrayal of darkness, with tact, and equally as honest about the power of the light.

I pray that we would include all sorts of people in our stories, and that we would be thoughtful and considerate and honest in our portrayals.

I pray that we wouldn’t shy away from the hard things or uncomfortable because they’re hard or uncomfortable, and that each of us would include issues that we’re passionate about, our God-given passions, to produce a well-rounded selection of Christian fiction.

I pray that we would be aware of the power of words and seek to use that power wisely; that we would look to You for that wisdom and seek Your guidance in all our works. I pray our words would not be empty, but that they would bring grace to those who read them.

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Published on August 14, 2020 11:50

August 11, 2020

5 Tips for Writing a Great Montage

Several weeks ago, a friend of mine asked for advice on how to write a montage and I, having no tips off the top of my head but being aware that I’d really admired the montage in 100 Days of Sunlight by Abbie Emmons, decided to study said montage for some pointers to pass on. So this post is thanks to Maple for the question and thanks to Abbie Emmons for writing a montage well-worth studying. ;)

1. Envision it as a movie first

Montages are a pretty visual storytelling element, so try playing out your ideal montage in your head as if it were a movie before you start. See what the key elements are that you want to show off; see where the key “beats” are, so to speak. If there’s a training montage, for instance, figure out where the character’s main points of growth are so you can focus on them. If there’s a relationship montage, think about where the characters would naturally connect most or have the most meaningful interactions. Think about what scenes you’d see if you were watching your book as a movie and use that as a tool to help your written montage flow naturally.

2. Think about the transition

In movies, there’s often a moment where we’re zoomed in on the character, their expression changes, and you know something’s about to change. There’s an “I’ve got this” smirk, or a determined expression… Or, alternately, it could be the character about to tell a story and the movie shifts into showing the events directly instead of using the character’s spoken story. Whatever the case, this is what cues the transition into a montage. What is your transition moment? What is the moment that your character realizes he can, or wants to, overcome his weakness, for example? Or when you cut from the characters starting their plot to their preparations? Or from the moment a character realizes they’re attracted to someone to a montage of their relationship developing? Or whatever it is you’re showing in your montage. What cues your transition? Is it one of those expressions? Is it when a character begins telling a story? Is it a character’s thought that they’re falling in love?

In 100 Days of Sunlight, the montage starts after the MC’s brother gives him an idea, and it begins with him taping pieces of a comic book on his wall as a sort of vision board.

3. Consider the obstacles within the montage

Generally, a montage is a series of scenes leading up to a goal being accomplished—whether that goal is a point of character growth, a skill acquired, or a relationship strengthened to a certain point—and any well-constructed goal will have obstacles in the way. What do the characters have to acquire to accomplish their goal? Are there skeptics mocking them or saying something’s impossible? Does one character flub up and communicate something wrong to another? Show these moments in your montage, as well as how they’re resolved.

4. Narrow your focus

Make sure you’re emphasizing the points you want to emphasize, and then emphasize them for all they’re worth. Really make them pop. Sensory details are super important to this point. If the character is going through a physical struggle, make the reader feel that alongside them. If you’re building up a sweet relationship, focus on the character’s warm fuzzies and all the details they notice to heighten those feelings. If you’re doing something like a heist planning montage (which are some of my personal favorites), where some details can be omitted for intrigue purposes rather than solely to conserve time and space, be careful to show and emphasize only what you want the reader to know prior to the big event and then reveal the rest once the event actually takes place.

5. Make it a staircase

Every scene in your montage should serve a specific purpose and contribute to its conclusion (much like your story’s overall structure). Show the growth steps of whatever your montage focuses on (a character’s training, a relationship, a mission, whatever). Show it coming together. Choose the scenes that are going to most effectively act like a staircase from one level of goal completion to the next. Make each scene a notable step toward the final goal, and then conclude when that goal is near completion and transition back into the primary story as you’re ready to show the goal’s accomplishment.

Have you ever included a montage in a story? What are some of your favorite montages (either from books or film)?

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Published on August 11, 2020 05:00

August 4, 2020

The Mystery Blogger Award

I was tagged for this… three months ago, and it managed to fall through the cracks and never get done. Because I’m an excellent blogger… But we’re here now! So let’s get into the tag. :)

Rules:

Put the award logo/image on your blog. (see above ^)
Thank whoever nominated you and provide a link to their blog. (Thank you, Miranda, for tagging me!)
Mention the creator of the award and provide a link as well. (This was created by Okoto Enigmas)
Answer the five questions you were asked.
Nominate ten – twenty people.
Notify your nominees by commenting on their blogs/linking to their most recent posts.
Ask your nominees any five questions of your choice with one weird or funny question.
Share a link to your best post(s).

Questions:
1. What book do you think held the best mystery? (doesn’t have to be a mystery book, but it has to be one that you have read)

Hm… The False Prince had the best plot twist, but it wasn’t really an ongoing mystery… Maybe the Incarceron duology by Catherine Fisher?
2. What is your favourite genre to read in the most?
Fantasy. Contemporary can be really fun, too, but I have to be really careful about contemporary to find the good (clean) ones. So I definitely end up reading more fantasy, and I love the creativity of the genre.
3. How do you feel about rain?
I love it. Unless it’s cold. But then the rain isn’t really the problem; it’s just the temperature.
4. What movie was really inspiring?
For life? For writing? Um… *every movie I’ve ever watched disappears from my brain* Instant Family, maybe. That was a good one.
5. What would you do if you woke up as a vampire?
Starve? XD I’d probably be very confused, and then I’d probably starve because I’d have no idea where to find blood, aside from the people around me.

Best Post:

I’m not sure if it’s still my top favorite, but I’m still quite partial to my post about YA romances.

New Questions:

What’s one genre you’d really like to try but haven’t yet? (Reading or writing)
What’s your favorite breakfast food?
What’s the most random thing you’ve ever studied?
Would you rather have a lime green octopus with pink stripes or a bright yellow octopus with blue polka dots?
What’s the most recent book you’ve read?

Nominees:

Leila at Wildflowers & Cosmic Tea
Allie at Of Rainy Days & Stardust Veins
Syberyah at atTAGirl
G.H. Mitchell at Stardust and Wanderlust
Maple at Maple Quill Penning Magic
Edna at Bleeding Ink
Lavender at Always Write the Good Write
Adria at The Works of Adria Avalon
Kitty at Minds Unknown
Winter at Waiting for Spring
Mattie at The Blossoming Writer
SJ at When Ice Sings and Stars Fall

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Published on August 04, 2020 11:33

August 2, 2020

Three-Year Blog Anniversary

Sooooo, there’s another birthday this week. And it’s my blog’s! It’s officially past the terrible twos and into its childhood. (Is that weird? That’s weird…) ANYWAY. To celebrate, I’ll be answering y’all’s questions, sharing some of what I’ve been up to… and making (what I think is) an awesome announcement! So without further ado, let’s go!

Questions:

What is your favourite Disney movie?

I have to pick one??? D:

The first thing off the top of my head is The Emperor’s New Groove. I’ll go with that one if only so I don’t go into options overload. XD It’s an awesome movie in so many areas.

If you could choose five books to suddenly own (as in you wouldn’t have to pay for them), which books would you pick?

Ooooooh… I really want to pick PFW books, but I’m torn on that since I also want to buy them to support the authors. So… Hm… Maybe

A Time To Speak by Nadine Brandes
A Time to Die by Nadine Brandes (love her, too, so I want to support her also, but… maybe I’ll just use reviews to do it. I really want to know what happens in the rest of this series. XD)
The Phoenix: An Unnatural History of a Mythical Beast by Joseph Nigg
The Boy Who Steals Houses by C.G. Drews
and Write Worlds Your Readers Won’t Forget by Stant Litore

(Going through my lists, so many of them were “But I want to buy that one to support the author!” XD)

What do you think of peanut butter on pancakes?

I’m pretty sure I’ve never had it, but it sounds peculiar.

What is your favourite mythical creature and/or being?

THE PHOENIX. I’m sorry. They’re just really cool. XD Dragons are a pretty close second, though.

What is your favourite genre and why is it?

Fantasy. Because it doesn’t have rules (relatively speaking), you get to see (or create) things that have never been created before, and it allows for exploration of real-world issues in a fictional world where they can be explored from different angles and in different contexts.

What is your favourite story that you’ve written or planned?

Calligraphy Guild. I have a few others that I really like, too, but Calligraphy Guild is the one that I consistently adore, that I’m super passionate about finishing and polishing and putting out, that has a huge list of things I love about it when I need motivation… So definitely Calligraphy Guild. ^-^

Do you like or love nature?

Depends on the nature. Cold weather and (biting) bugs are unpleasant, but pretty much everything else falls under the “love” category. The ocean, forests, mountains, flowers, trees, animals, peace and quiet, birdsong, soft breezes, sunshine, rain, thunderstorms, mud between toes, soft warm grass… The list goes on and on.

How has God grown you through your stories?

Oooh, that’s a deep question. *thinks a minute* He’s taught me to depend on Him more, even in the “little” things. He’s deepened my knowledge of Him as a Storyteller. He’s led me to speak more through my writing, instead of mostly skirting around faith because I don’t want to alienate readers (I still don’t write overtly Christian stories, most of the time, but I don’t avoid it anymore; and when a story calls for it, I will be overt). So… several things. And probably more I’m not thinking of off the top of my head.

How do you arrange your bookshelf?

Currently it’s arranged in alphabetical order by title (more or less; a few things are fudged to keep single authors’ books together, but only in one spot that I remember), and I have it split into the following sections: traditionally published books, indie published books, writing books, other non-fiction books. But I want to re-integrate my traditional and indie books, because they haven’t been split very long and it’s annoying me that they’re not the way they were. XD My best friend thinks I’m crazy for sorting them alphabetically by title, but if I sorted them any other way I don’t think I’d be able to find anything. XD

What was the first story that you wrote about?

It was a mystery story that made no sense, had no original characters, and involved a kidnapping that was resolved through true love (because that’s not at all messed-up). I would burn it, but it’s long-gone somewhere.

What are your top three favorite authors (or books)?

Three? That’s it? D:

Nadine Brandes
100 Days of Sunlight by Abbie Emmons
Hannah Heath

Or something like that. But this list doesn’t include Tolkien or Wayne Thomas Batson or any of the other PFW authors or Love and the Sea and Everything in Between by Brian McBride or Do Hard Things by Brett and Alex Harris or ANDREW PETERSON. DRAT. He’s definitely in the top three. THERE ARE TOO MANYYYYY. D: D: D:

What’s been your experience with indie books?

It’s been somewhat mixed, but for the most part it’s been good. Almost all of them are in need of further proofreading, which hurts my grammar-loving soul. But as far as storytelling is concerned, I think I’ve had more good experiences than bad. Though the bad ones tend to be… pretty bad. :/ I always cringe to write reviews of those, because it makes me sad to not be able to just say good things about all indie writers always, lol.

If you could meet any writer, from any time, who would they be?

YOU’RE MAKING ME CHOOSE FAVORITES AGAIN. *long sigh* I have a top… four.

But I guess if I have to choose one…

Probably Andrew Peterson.

But Nadine Brandes is super close second, and Hannah Heath is way up there, and Tolkien would be amazing, so…

What is one book you’ve always wanted to read, but haven’t yet?

…I know I must have an answer to this.

Ah! The Myriad Constellation series by Wayne Thomas Batson. I started reading the first one… last year, maybe? But it was on Kindle and I forgot about it. ;P

Have real world events effected your writing/blogging?

Somewhat, at least. They’ve affected my mental energy to write or blog several times, lol. If book releases count as real-world events, those affect my blogging at least a few times a year. And I’ll semi-frequently write posts based on conversations I’ve had with people.

My second blog is definitely impacted by real-world events, lol.

As far as writing is concerned… it’s impacted by my beliefs about real-world issues. And sometimes things I’m going through will end up in stories (which happened with The Shadow Raven back when I was working on that). My writing is usually impacted less directly by big things going on, but they definitely start my mind spinning with situations, themes, characters, etc. that might end up in books later.

What is your favourite book?

(I’m noticing a lot of you use British spelling. Are you from Britain? Australia? Canada?)

100 Days of Sunlight makes me super happy every time I read it, so I’ll go with that one.

If you were to pick a book and be able to tell the author to make a connected book but about a different character in that universe, what book and what character from that book?

I know I have someone. *thinks* *looks at bookshelves* WAIT. NEWT. From The Maze Runner. He deserved better. Soooo much better. We don’t even find out his name in The Fever Code, even though multiple opportunities are RIGHT THERE, and clearly I’m still salty.

What is the most boring book you’ve ever read?

The Last of the Mohicans. (Sorry, Eden!) I was assigned to read it for school and I couldn’t stand it.

If you could meet any fictional character, who would you meet and why?

Choicessss… Y’all are really trying to make me suffer today, aren’t you? XD

I think Tom Bombadil would be cool to meet. He’s so fun and quirky and hospitable, plus super wise and mysterious, and I just feel like he’d be really fun and interesting to spend time with.

If you could meet anyone from history (*as in, who is currently dead*) who would it be and why?

Ooh! I can use this one to pick Tolkien!

Now quick, next question before I think of a bunch of other people.

If you could live anywhere in the world where would you live and why?

Tennessee. I don’t know where in Tennessee. But Tennessee seems like a really Southern-hospitality, sunshine, music, lots-of-cool-people place to live. (Maybe I’m just biased because all of the people I know from Tennessee are awesome. XD)

If you had to change your name what would you change it to?

Autumn. It’s been my screen name for forever (though I’m working on retiring it, which is a little bit sad), to the degree that I respond to it almost the same as my real name. XD Plus it’s pretty and I feel like it fits me.

What’s your favourite colour?

Maroon/burgundy for clothes. Various shades of blue-green for pretty much everything else.

What I’ve been writing:

My writing projects have changed so much since a year ago. XD I haven’t worked on The Half-Elves since… maybe early this year? And I went on indefinite hiatus with The Shadow Raven early this year, also. I still haven’t touched The Masked Captain to work on editing it. I did continue working on short stories, including one of the two I mentioned (Caithan), which went on to be featured in the new edition of Short Story Collection vol. 1!

Calligraphy Guild

Calligraphy Guild is the one that’s stuck around. I was only in the outlining stage a year ago, and now I’m almost finished with my first rewrite! Maybe in another year it’ll be on its way to publication?

My current goal for Calligraphy Guild is to finish this rewrite, which has been going fairly smoothly (if rather slowly). But I’m coming toward the end, which needs serious pacing help, and I’m kind of dreading that part of the process, lol. But! After I’ve finished this rewrite, I can tweak a few other structural things that came up during this rewrite, and when those are finished I’ll be able to put the first chapter up on the blog for my “newsletter subscribers”! (You’ll understand why that’s in quotes in a minute.)

I’ve been sharing this draft with alpha-readers, which has been a lot of fun, as well as super helpful and super encouraging. (Thank you, Emma and Maple! ^-^) It’s mostly satisfying the nagging “I want to share this story!” feeling for now. XD

After this draft, and the structural edits I mentioned, I’ll move onto several rounds of more specific edits (to deepen characters, flesh out settings, etc.), then line-edits, and then beta-readers! Which you’ll hear about again when the time comes. ;) (If you want to hear about it first, you can sign up for my street team newsletter.)

What I’ve been reading

I’ve read a lot this year, but some highlights include

The Tomb of the Sea Witch by Kyle Robert Shultz (book 2 of the Beaumont and Beasley series)
The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen
Dear Author by Laura A. Grace
This Changes Everything by Jaquelle Crowe (Ferris)
100 Days of Sunlight by Abbie Emmons (reread)
A Time to Die by Nadine Brandes
The Lord of the Rings (reread)
Steward Stories by Beth Wangler
To Best the Boys by Mary Weber
Not Write Now by Kyle Robert Shultz
and Love and the Sea and Everything in Between by Brian McBride

I’m currently reading

The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien
Circle of Shadows by Evelyn Skye

Mild language warning for 100 Days of Sunlight, violence warning for A Time to Die, and several warnings on Love and the Sea and Everything in Between (Love and the Sea doesn’t pull any punches, but it still handles everything pretty well and I’d still recommend it to older readers. If anyone wants more specifics, feel free to email me).

Exciting Announcement

And now for the exciting news! Drumroll please…

I started a Discord channel! :D

It’s intended to replace my newsletter with something more personal and interactive, as well as more flexible. By joining, you’ll gain access to the same benefits (the resource library, blog post updates, writing snippets, and, when available, novel first chapters), as well as be able to chat with me and other readers/writers! I hope to see you there! ^-^

Join the Discord!

As always, thank you so much for being here, for reading my posts, for commenting, for subscribing, just for all you do to support me and my blog. And to all you silent readers out there, thank you, too. I know you’re there. :)

Here’s to another year of blogging!

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Published on August 02, 2020 05:00

August 1, 2020

Best Birthday Ever Tag – 2020 Edition

RULES:

~ Link back to the Creator of the tag ( LITAFLAME.BLOG )

~ Answer the questions!

~ Have FUN!!!!

THE QUESTIONS:

1. Describe your Birthday day!

It’s still early, but so far I’ve gotten a handful of birthday wishes, I’m wearing my favorite dress (and some new earrings that I really like), and I’ve had some amazing new tea that a friend of mine sent me. ^-^ And also my sister predicted that I’ll be killed by a catapult this year, but I’m sure that’s nothing to worry about this year.

2. How old are you turning?

18. *confetti* I have to be an official adult now and vote and stuff.

3. In your opinion, what’s one thing in all the world that makes everything better? (obviously the correct answer here is ice cream XD)

Ice cream is pretty awesome. But I think chocolate wins. Or maybe cheesecake. I’m really in the mood for cheesecake lately.

4. What’s one thing (don’t take this literally) that you couldn’t live without?

Books.

5. What’s your life’s motto?

Hm… It’s hard to pick one, because there are so many I could use. But I like the Peter Pan quote, “To live will be an awfully big adventure.”

6. Tell about a time in your life when you failed at something, but kept on trying.

Every time I didn’t finish a novel? Or… every time I’ve dropped the ball on my blog… Or… I don’t know. *shrugs* I can’t think of anything particularly huge or any specific… event? It’s just a bunch of ongoing things, lol.

7. If you could GIVE any gift – regardless of price or impossibility – to any one person, what would you give and who would you give it to?

I want to buy one of my friends a convertible. It’s a crazy wish. There’s no way it’ll actually happen. But he loves driving and adventures and… yeah. If I could, I’d buy him a convertible.

8. Cake, ice cream, pie, or candy?

Ice cream.

9. Do you prefer surprises or knowing everything for your B-Day

Hm… I’m not sure. I like both. XD

10. Where do you see yourself in a year?

I honestly have no idea.

11. Looking into the far (FAR) future…what would you like to/plan to be doing? (career wise, etc.)

I want to get married, work in youth and music ministry, adopt teenagers, have that house everyone goes to when they need someplace to stay, be the person who always has an encouraging word, start a youth ministry training conference, and continue writing and editing.

12. Set one goal that you have to accomplish before your next Birthday!

Painting my bedroom. I’ve been wanting to paint it for years, I’ve been really wanting to paint it since… April-ish? And I haven’t gotten the paint for it yet. But I really, really want to paint my room sea green. (Currently, each wall is a different primary color, plus there’s a green one. It was originally the younger kids’ room, and I’m not a huge fan, lol.)

Thank you for the tag, Julia! It’s always super fun! ^-^

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Published on August 01, 2020 06:37

July 29, 2020

Book Review: Steward Stories by Beth Wangler

Blurb

“What was there in life, if not an endless wrestling against an unconquerable foe?”

*****

Freedom doesn’t bring the peace the nation of Maraiah hoped for.

Giants, soldiers, and nomads fill the promised homeland—and they’ll do anything to hold onto power.

Thrown into an unfamiliar landscape and constant danger, Maraiah struggles to maintain her identity.

It’s a time of faith. Aia raises up Stewards to stand between His people and death. He works great miracles through them, reshaping the very ground of the promised land.

It’s a time of disappointment. Home looks nothing like Maraiah had dreamed. Generations drag on, and still violence, confusion, and doubt abound.

Will a Steward ever truly establish peace?

*****

These seven short stories take place between Child of the Kaites and The Steward’s Apprentice, providing snapshots of key figures whose struggles with pride, trust, courage, and identity shape Maraiah’s future.

Goodreads – Amazon

Review

Rating: 5 stars

Overall Thoughts

This book was beautiful. I loved getting to see snapshots of Maraian culture, as well as the other cultures around Maraiah, through the years. Each was vivid and fascinating, and together they communicated a well-developed world with interesting relationships among cultures. I also loved the focus on family (and other relationships, as well, but family in particular) across all of the stories, and how different characters showed their love for family in different ways.

Catam Chieftain

Catam’s perspective was not the tone I was expecting to jump directly into, but it wasn’t a bad thing. It was really interesting to see the vastly different culture of Aimar, compared to Maraiah, from the perspective of a character who finds it normal. Wangler does an excellent job of showing the Aimarine culture’s (significant) flaws through her writing and through the reactions of the Maraian characters without compromising Catam’s voice. And the family relationships that are a staple throughout this collection start here in the very beginning, giving the Aimarine characters a bit of relatability and a redemption of sorts in the reader’s eyes, making this story enjoyable to read despite the flawed culture it’s placed in.

The Temple Builders

FAMILY. I cannot stress this enough: Wangler’s portrayal of family is both beautiful and spot-on. Tiran’s relationship with Nihal’s family hooked me from the very start, and it was such a joy to read. This particular story also starts off in a beautiful city, which Wangler’s vivid writing brings to life wonderfully. The minor characters and the little worldbuilding details slipped in bring such character to the city and make the world feel real.

I also appreciate the genuine portrayal of doubt and fear, as well as the conquering of that fear and the consistent pushing away of doubt (because it doesn’t just all go away at once).

Irellia the Night Walker

Irellia. Is. Awesome. I love her determination, her strength, and her spunk. The writing in this story is beautiful, and Wangler did an excellent job of painting vivid settings throughout the story without the use of sight. And this story is another that does an excellent job of showing genuine struggles and building a satisfying arc to resolve them.

Jennoevre the Glowing

Lewka was kind of a fascinating character to read about, because his motivation is so clear and understandable even though his actions are often (if not always) questionable, so you can clearly see how he ends up where he does. Once again, the family dynamics were critical and definitely interesting to read, and the end (or almost-end)… It was somehow heartbreaking and satisfying all at the same time.

Tailor Eilamir

Everything in this story revolves around family and the different relationships and priorities that each family member has, not only around the main character but also when it comes to the antagonist, so that was super fun to read. We also get a clearer look at a couple of the world’s cultures and their customs again, which is super cool.

Matron Gaia

This story focuses primarily on the Xendroqite culture, which was interesting (if a little dark, sometimes) to read about. We’re also introduced to the Maraian’s custom of arranged marriage, which was also interesting and sort of helps set up the following story. In both this story and the next, Wangler does a great job of handling messy situations tactfully without glossing over them, which is something I really admire and appreciate.

Steward Duecatoh

This is the kind of arranged marriage I want to read about! The kind where the characters don’t consider themselves suited to the match in the beginning, but learn to make it work. Where they mess up and have to learn to love each other better (which is true of any marriage, arranged or not). Where they end up happy even though they never would have expected to in the beginning. I so dislike angsty arranged marriages, and while this one does start out angsty, the end result was a refreshing change from the norm.

Check out my review of the first book in the series: Child of the Kaites!

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Published on July 29, 2020 12:46

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