R.L.S. Hoff's Blog, page 6
July 12, 2021
A Voice that Thunders
In A Voice that Thunders, Cully Mack plays around with that weird bit from Genesis 6. You know the bit–where Nephilim are on Earth, and sons of God are having children with daughters of men.
That bit is a mysterious and intriguing glimpse of something odd going on in ancient times. As such, it has given rise to more than a few fascinating stories (including Many Waters by Madeleine L’Engle). Mack’s story doesn’t have as strong a setting as L’Engle’s, but I like the way it explores temptation. The story is about Mirah, a captive of a band of warriors from a far off place. Before capturing Mirah and several of her friends, these warriors slaughtered everyone else in Mirah’s village.
As Mirah and her friends seek to survive, to escape, and perhaps even seek revenge, they receive amazing, powerful tools. Unfortunately, those tools come at a great cost. That’s where the temptation comes in. Do they use the tools they’ve been given? Or do they figure out another way to survive and defeat their enemies?
If you like young adult stories, especially ones with magic and romance sprinkled in liberally, you’ll probably enjoy A Voice that Thunders. I enjoyed it, and I suspect I’ll go looking for the rest of the series at some point.
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June 14, 2021
Broken Skies
Theresa Kay’s Broken Skies is a young adult science fiction novel about Jax, a traumatized young woman, living in a post-apocalyptic world. Disease has decimated the human population, and aliens are colonizing Earth.
Then some of those aliens kidnap Jax’s brother, leaving one of their own behind, wounded. Jax makes a deal with the wounded alien. She’ll help him get back to his city if he gets her in, so she can rescue her brother.
What follows is a journey that’s as much about self-discovery as about surviving in a world become savage. There’s also a fair amount of romance.
I like Jax in this piece, and I think there’s lots of great conflict–both internal and external. The world-building is decent. Even better, the plot comes to a relatively satisfying conclusion for the first part of a series. I will probably eventually want to read more.
I’d recommend Broken Skies for people who like science fiction, especially dystopian. Interested in other science fiction recommendations? Check out my take on Beyond, The Left Hand of Darkness , or Cinder.
The post Broken Skies appeared first on The Pencil Princess Workshop.
Broken Skies
Theresa Kay’s Broken Skies is a young adult science fiction novel about Jax, a traumatized young woman, living in a post-apocalyptic world. Disease has decimated the human population, and aliens are colonizing Earth.
Then some of those aliens kidnap Jax’s brother, leaving one of their own behind, wounded. Jax makes a deal with the wounded alien. She’ll help him get back to his city if he gets her in, so she can rescue her brother.
What follows is a journey that’s as much about self-discovery as about surviving in a world become savage. There’s also a fair amount of romance.
I like Jax in this piece, and I think there’s lots of great conflict–both internal and external. The world-building is decent. Even better, the plot comes to a relatively satisfying conclusion for the first part of a series. I will probably eventually want to read more.
I’d recommend Broken Skies for people who like science fiction, especially dystopian. Interested in other science fiction recommendations? Check out my take on Beyond, The Left Hand of Darkness , or Cinder.
The post Broken Skies appeared first on The Pencil Princess Workshop.
June 2, 2021
Humility
His hands are strong and gentle
pushing lawn mowers
opening jars
soothing babies
His fingers, long and sensitive
typing code
untangling knots
wiping away tears
His heart is large and growing
leaking love
dispensing comfort
serving all
This is an attempt at a poem in response to a prompt from my Sunday School class, Imago Dei: Make an artistic representation of humility. My response (as might be obvious to those who know him) is inspired by my husband, Craig Hoff.
You can find another Imago Dei poem here.
Want to make your own artistic representation of humility? Feel free to add your own poem/story/? to the comments. (And if you’re local and don’t have a church, I recommend mine)
The post Humility appeared first on The Pencil Princess Workshop.
Humility
His hands are strong and gentle
pushing lawn mowers
opening jars
soothing babies
His fingers, long and sensitive
typing code
untangling knots
wiping away tears
His heart is large and growing
leaking love
dispensing comfort
serving all
This is an attempt at a poem in response to a prompt from my Sunday School class, Imago Dei: Make an artistic representation of humility. My response (as might be obvious to those who know him) is inspired by my husband, Craig Hoff.
You can find another Imago Dei poem here.
Want to make your own artistic representation of humility? Feel free to add your own poem/story/? to the comments. (And if you’re local and don’t have a church, I recommend mine)
The post Humility appeared first on The Pencil Princess Workshop.
May 15, 2021
Spring 2021 Teeny Tiny Writing Contest
The Pencil Princess Workshop will award $10 & publication in the RLS Hoff Newsletter to the winner. I will also publish both the winning entry and honorable mentions on this website.Rules:Entries must be 1000 words or fewer, must be written in English, and must be appropriate for a general audience that may include children.The deadline to enter is midnight at US Mountain Standard Time on June 26, 2021Entries must be original poems or stories, written by the person entering the contest.Writers of the poems or stories retain all rights.Writers entering this contest grant The Pencil Princess Workshop the non-exclusive right to publish their entry in the RLS Hoff Newsletter and on this website. Submissions are open to anyone from anywhere.Young writers are welcome and encouraged to enter. However, they must get a parent or guardian’s permission to do so if they are under 18 years of age.RLS Hoff will decide which piece is best based on (her admittedly subjective opinion of) the quality of the writing and the connection to the picture. Look for the winning entry in the June 30, 2021 RLS Hoff Newsletter. Winners will begin to appear on the website June 30 as well.How to Enter:Download this form, fill it out, and send it to rlshoff@pencilprincessworkshop.com. Use “Spring 2021 Writing Contest” as the subject line.
The post Spring 2021 Teeny Tiny Writing Contest appeared first on The Pencil Princess Workshop.
Spring 2021 Writing Contest
The Pencil Princess Workshop will award $10 & publication in the RLS Hoff Newsletter to the winner. I will also publish both the winning entry and honorable mentions on this website.Rules:Entries must be 1000 words or fewer, must be written in English, and must be appropriate for a general audience that may include children.The deadline to enter is midnight at US Mountain Standard Time on May 29, 2021Entries must be original poems or stories, written by the person entering the contest.Writers of the poems or stories retain all rights.Writers entering this contest grant The Pencil Princess Workshop the non-exclusive right to publish their entry in the RLS Hoff Newsletter and on this website. Submissions are open to anyone from anywhere.Young writers are welcome and encouraged to enter. However, they must get a parent or guardian’s permission to do so if they are under 18 years of age.RLS Hoff will decide which piece is best based on (her admittedly subjective opinion of) the quality of the writing and the connection to the picture. Look for the winning entry in the May 31 RLS Hoff Newsletter. Entries will appear on the website June 2.How to Enter:Download this form, fill it out, and send it to rlshoff@pencilprincessworkshop.com. Use “Spring 2021 Writing Contest” as the subject line.
The post Spring 2021 Writing Contest appeared first on The Pencil Princess Workshop.
Spring 2021 Teeny Tiny Writing Contest
The Pencil Princess Workshop will award $25 & publication in the RLS Hoff Newsletter to the winner. I will also publish both the winning entry and honorable mentions on this website.
Rules:
Entries must be 1000 words or fewer, must be written in English, and must be appropriate for a general audience that may include children.The deadline to enter is midnight at US Mountain Standard Time on June 26, 2021Entries must be original poems or stories, written by the person entering the contest.Writers of the poems or stories retain all rights.Writers entering this contest grant The Pencil Princess Workshop the non-exclusive right to publish their entry in the RLS Hoff Newsletter and on this website.Submissions are open to anyone from anywhere.Young writers are welcome and encouraged to enter. However, they must get a parent or guardian’s permission to do so if they are under 18 years of age.RLS Hoff will decide which piece is best based on (her admittedly subjective opinion of) the quality of the writing and the connection to the picture.Look for the winning entry in the June 30, 2021 RLS Hoff Newsletter. Winners will begin to appear on the website June 30 as well.How to Enter:
Download this form, fill it out, and send it to rlshoff@pencilprincessworkshop.com. Use “Spring 2021 Writing Contest” as the subject line.
The post Spring 2021 Teeny Tiny Writing Contest appeared first on The Pencil Princess Workshop.
May 5, 2021
Hope Gardens Chapter 21 Mini-Excerpt
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Hope Gardens Chapter 21 Mini-Excerpt
Interested in more like this Hope Gardens Chapter 21 mini-excerpt? You can sign up for my newsletter here. Explore Channillo here.
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