Vanessa Hall's Blog, page 7
July 19, 2023
Remembered Available in Print!
At long last (aka it’s been more than half of an entire year!), Remembered is available in print! Originally, I was not too keen on printing such a small book – given it is a novella – but I decided that it was time to print it, even if it were tiny. And hey, smaller books are super cute, so what’s not to love about that?
If you haven’t read Remembered – or you’d like a print copy! – order below.
Even blissful marriage and the Christmas season don’t change the hard reality of the world …
Three months into their marriage, Nikolai and Molly find themselves rocked by sudden unemployment mere weeks before Christmas. And when unexpected news comes to light, their future becomes even more uncertain. In spite of trials, will Nikolai and Molly remember unchangeable Truth—the Truth of Christmas?
July 17, 2023
Review: Out of the Night by Susan May Warren
Out of the Night by Susan May Warren
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Once again, I fell in love with this high drama and action-packed series!
Characters: RJ and York, both infamous and so exciting. RJ at times did not make the best of decisions – I mean, I don’t know how the girl is even still around to talk about all the stunts she pulls – but she also has a fearlessness that is admirable. This girl isn’t afraid of much, and she’ll do whatever she needs to, no matter the cost. But then she always has to have someone there to back her up, and of course that’s York, the amazing super-spy he is. Poor York, though he is such a conflicted character – part of him wants to leave the terrifying and thrilling world of espionage, but the rest of him still loves it. Definitely makes an interesting character. These two are just perfect for each other – especially if they’d stop doing dangerous things and could actually speak to each other!
Plot/Writing Style/Setting: As usual, the settings in these books are so interesting – I love the international intrigue. But the suspense in these books is just outrageous. There’s no catching your breath, and I absolutely love it. You never know when the next twist is going to send everyone for a tailspin. The writing style goes right along with the suspense – easy to read, and therefore making for a very quick read. (Because you have to see what’s gonna happen!)
Theme/Moral: This one didn’t have as strong of a theme as the third book, and it might be because the whole character arc and overall story stretches across the series. More biblical truth and spiritual themes would’ve been nice, but I’m interested to see what happens in the next novel.
Such a great beginning to this series, and I am already reading the next book in the series. (Do be warned, a bit of the romance gets a bit more detailed than I’d like, but there’s nothing explicit.) Overall, though, a great book for those of you who love some good action and outrageous international intrigue.
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July 14, 2023
Clue – Welcome to …
Today’s post is a little different, because I’m taking a part of a very fun summer blog collaboration with my friend Lillian Keith and several other bloggers! Since Lily is quite the genius, she has invented an blog-based version of the game Clue. I always loved playing this game – and probably still do – so this is so much fun!
Be sure to check out the rules and details on Lily’s wonderful blog to see if you can help solve this heist.
And onto the game itself …
Welcome to the Orange RoomOnce you’re done, investigate the other rooms by clicking on this here link. 
July 10, 2023
Review: Many Sparrows by Lori Benton
Many Sparrows by Lori Benton
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Just amazing. Few books leave me walking away this flabbergasted, but this book was stunning.
Characters: Okay. Clare was so strong, so realistic, and so very heart-breakingly raw. She was no one-sided, shallow character that didn’t seem like an actual person, but she could’ve been one of the brave souls who had to travel across the wilds of America. Her desire and her passion to find her son was so beautiful and painful, and all she endured for him was such a lovely picture of a mother’s love. The relationship with Philip (first husband) was also well-presented – it’s hard to have another romance in the rest of the book when the tragedy has happened so close by. And now I have to talk about dear Jeremiah. What a brave man. Now, I would’ve wanted a little bit more of his story, given Clare’s side of things was presented more than his, but he was such a supportive and likable character. Through thick and thin, he was there for Clare, but he also wasn’t always conveniently there to do something for her. He wasn’t the fake boyfriend who always rescues the helpless woman – he acted like a real guy and showed up the the times and ways normal humans do. Excellent writing. And then all of the side characters … wow. I had some favorites, to be certain, and that cliffhanger at the end made me a little bit sad. That is, until I got the wonderful new that another book is about two of the characters!
Setting/Writing Style/Plot: I could probably talk about Lori Benton’s writing for a good half-hour, but she is the master of historical fiction. From all of the research to her absolutely beautiful prose, it’s an experience to read her books. The honesty and openness with which she writes as well as maintaining such beautiful descriptions, phrases, and words is just stunning throughout the entire book. And the setting … well, she can just take a reader and transport them all the way back to the 1700s and the wilderness. And for the plot – I had no idea how she was going to turn this plot into a long book, but she did it with perfect aplomb, and the story meandered through the forest through all sorts of twists and turns I did not expect. Absolutely wonderful.
Theme: Wow. Just wow. I haven’t read a book for quite a while that hit me as hard as this one, and it was beautiful. Throughout the book, Clare suffers so much and is always there to fight for what she thinks is rightfully hers (and is.) But there comes a point when she – and all of us – cannot do anything, and we have to sit back and let the Lord fight our battles. We have to know that He suffered far more than any of us when He died for us on the Cross, and He will work all things out for our good – and He will fight for us. He will win our battles, and when we rest in Him, all is right. The books says all of this and more much better than I did. This was no “mention God a couple of times and pray once” type of book – Benton brought the theme full circle, pointing the readers back to the Gospel in the face of suffering and fear.
Overall, such a stunning book, and I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys historical fiction.
“And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever. The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.” Exodus 14:13-14
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July 7, 2023
Giveaway + New Blog!
If you’re like me, you’re on the lookout for a wonderful new blog to follow. And I’ve got a new one for you today – Katherine Perry’s new blog! She’s the author of two short stories, and I already love the posts she’s written on her blog. Check it out here!
Design credit to Issabelle Perry
Giveaway!The giveaway will run from July 1st through July 11th. Enter by commenting on the tour’s Welcome post (at katherineperrycreator.wordpress.com) and then you can earn extra entries by commenting on any post in the tour. Anyone under 18 must have their parent’s permission before entering.
US entrants will be entered for a chance to win a free pack of summer-inspired stickers!
International entrants will be entered for a chance to win free printable bookmarks!
July 4, 2023
Release Day: Seize the Fight!
Honoring the Freedom of the Savior
Freedom. Liberty. Independence.
All forms of freedom have a cost. Seize the Fight pulls readers into an anthology of stories all showing freedom. An Army veteran crashing at his sister’s with hidden pain, a lieutenant returning home from overseas, siblings celebrating the Fourth even in the midst of turmoil, and many more stories all show a form of freedom and the fight it represents in some way.
Freedom can mean many things as is shown in this anthology with tales of finding freedom from the past, freedom from slavery, and freedom from sin through Christ who saves…
Galatians 5:1
Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.
GoodreadsPurchase!Giveaway!Enter to win a paperback copy of Seize the Fight along with special goodies in honor of the anthology’s release!
July 3, 2023
Review: Love Most Certain by Penny Zeller
Love Most Certain by Penny Zeller
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
What a sweet addition to this wonderful series! As has become expected from Penny Zeller’s books, Love Most Certain included plenty of clean romance, humor, and lovable characters.
Characters: Genevieve and Oliver were both such fun characters to read about. Neither were unrealistic, but rather seemed like people that acted like … well, real people who didn’t always know what to say or do. Poor Genevieve went through a lot with that ol’ fiance of hers, but she was so courageous to come to a new town and become the teacher there. And then there was Oliver, who was so relatable as he struggled to fit into his new roll of postmaster. I loved watching how he remained faithful and eventually everything turned out well in the end with his job. As for the side characters, they were fun to read about, even if some of them probably wouldn’t be very fun to be around in real life.
Setting/Writing Style/Plot: The small-town, old-timey feel of this book was so sweet. This isn’t your shoot-’em-up sort of Western, which made for a relaxing read. Ellis Creek seems like such a nice town. The writing style and plot were both well-done – the plot was clear, as was the writing without any extra and unnecessary words.
Theme: Gentle Biblical truths filled this book, but the one that stands out to me is being kind and forgiving to people even when they’re not even close to that toward you. Love does cover all sins, and that was definitely shown through the plot of this book. Being faithful even when it’s hard is still so important!
Overall, this was such a wonderful, fast read that would be perfect for a relaxing afternoon. Be sure to pick this one up!
Disclosure: I received this book free from the publisher/author. The opinions I have expressed are my own, and I was not required to write a positive review. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
View all my reviews
June 30, 2023
An Update on Projects – And A Lesson being Learned
Have you ever made grand plans, and within a few weeks, those grand plans fade to something far different than what you expected?
That’s been the story of my writing life recently, and while it’s not fun in the moment, I know it’s all for a purpose.
So over the last few months, I’ve been working on two different projects—one that I am not yet at liberty to fully disclose, but more information shall come. That one stressed me for a bit, but now I’m onto the editing/slight rewriting phase, and things are chugging along decently well. I’m excited to share more about this project in the coming months!
As for Unforgiven … some of you may remember than I planned to do a lot of editing during the summer. And that was my plan and my intention.
Until I hit the worst writing slump of my entire career. (Which is like … six years now, plus the stuff that might not have counted when I was a little child? I’m actually planning a fun “writing anniversary” post—there will be lots of laughs, especially since the appearance of an infamous character may be in store. Oh, and some awful writing.)
But anyway, back to the writing problems. As I mentioned in another post, I think part of it had to do with coming out of an incredibly busy, stressful semester and having no time to recover as I plunged into other writing and music-related work. And I was so intent on publishing Unforgiven by … July.
Hehe.
I’m not even through the second round of edits for Unforgiven. It’s been like pulling teeth, and I’ve really been struggling with questioning every little bit of editing. Authors just love to sabotage themselves with self-doubt, right?
And while all of this probably sounds very unpleasant, there is an important truth somewhere in here.
“A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps.” – Proverbs 16:9
I did a lot of devising my way, but the Lord, in the end, always directs the steps of His children. And there’s a reason I’m as far in my editing as I’d planned. There’s a reason why I won’t be publishing this book when I had initially hoped.
Do I fully know those reasons right now? Nope. But the Lord’s ways are always far better than our own. This book and every other project is God’s in the end, just like every other facet of our lives, and He is fully in control.
So I will keep attempting to edit—but not frantically, and not with plans set solid in stone. Yes, this is the announcement that Unforgiven won’t be published this summer, and likely not this year. Maybe in 2024. Maybe not.
And that’s okay. No, it’s not just okay—it is well, for He has planned it all.
June 27, 2023
New Release: Shattered Reaction by Madisyn Carlin
War darkens the horizon…
In the wake of destruction, revenge drives Arioch en Kyrida to hunt down the man responsible for destroying half his village. His search leads him to a town where truth is hoarded and secrets lurk in every corner. Solely focused on making his target pay, Arioch cares little for the whispers of approaching evil until he is strongarmed into helping protect one of his most recent nemeses. If Anthi Klarkson doesn’t drive him insane—and if he manages to keep her alive long enough—they may be able to help stop the incoming war in its tracks. But someone wants Anthi dead, and they’ll do anything to achieve that mission.
Zinnia Klarkson wants nothing more than peace for her mourning family, but nearby attacks, kidnappings, and rumors of impending war steal all hope of a quiet life. When a mostly-dead man lands on her doorstep, hunted and without strong chance of survival, she is thrust into a covert operation that threatens her family’s safety. As secrets grow and answers remain veiled, Zinnia must choose between helping a ragtag group of reluctant allies or keeping her family out of harm’s path.
Trust must mend what was once shattered and courage must be sought as a second All Lands War threatens to decimate the six lands.
Shattered Reaction is a New Adult Christian fantasy fairy tale retelling.
Madisyn Carlin is a Christian, homeschool graduate, blogger, voracious bookdragon, and author. When not spending time with her family or trekking through the mountains, she weaves tales of redemption, faith, and action.
Want to connect? https://linktr.ee/madisyncarlin
June 26, 2023
My Answers to Your Questions!
A couple of weeks ago, I posted about my blog’s birthday, and in that post, I included a Q+A form and a short survey about the content of my blog. Thank you so much to those of you who participated and gave questions and answered my questions. It is very much appreciated, and due to community interest, I’ll be working on – Lord willing – more writing advice and ramblings about my life. We’ll see how those go …
But as promised, here are the answers to your amazing questions! Y’all really asked some good ones.
1) What is your favorite dessert?
Anything that fits into my weird diet and preferably has chocolate. I make a really yummy gluten free, refined-sugar, dairy free chocolate pumpkin bread, and it’s soooo yummy.
2) What inspired you to set the Grace Sufficient series in Russia?
I think it’s a combination of things—Russia is just really mysterious and a good setting for juicy stories. Added to my enjoyment of ballet and armwrestling (weird combo, but both are popular in Russia), and I couldn’t resist. I also wanted Gabe and Sophie’s story to be some kind of spy novel, and while that novel didn’t include that story line, a future novel did (Untold), because spies in Russia are just too interesting to pass up. 
3) Are you more outdoorsy or indoorsy?
This one’s hard. I really enjoy going outside and doing things like hiking, enjoying the sun, etc. But on the other hand, the majority of my life has been spent inside (especially in recent years) while I work on writing or homework.
Madi’s Questions1) What first drew you into writing?
I started writing when I was ten or eleven (when I first learned to type), but I don’t really have a dramatic memory of one thing pushing me into writing. The Lord’s Will, I guess, and I just always enjoyed making up stories and writing them with speed! (Aka typing instead of handwriting. I cannot handwrite things and be happy if it’s a work of fiction.)
2) What has the Lord taught you through your years of writing/blogging?
Wow, such a good question, and so hard to answer because it’s so many things! Every single book—especially the ones I’ve published, given I spent more time with them than any other, has been used to teach me so much. Most of the themes my characters learn and work through encourage me, too, alongside them! But another huge part of writing and blogging is just God’s faithfulness and His goodness toward me in directing my life in the direction He sees fit. I want to see the whole story, beginning to end, but He demands trust—even in the unknown. And when I look back at all He’s done—one of those things, allowing me to become an author—His faithfulness is just a further reason to trust Him!
3) Which book of yours is your favorite?
Ooh, this is hard. I’ve gotta go with Unworthy, thought Unknown is close to my heart since it was my debut, and Untold was so much fun (I just love Nikolai and Molly!) But Unworthy, though it wasn’t my favorite really to write or edit, had really hard and deep themes that hold a lot of significance to me. I’m also a fan of that plot—it came together almost too well in the end, which makes my happy little every-has-to-tie-together heart very joyful.
4) What is your favorite genre to read? What about your secondary genre?
Probably historical fiction, but I also enjoy contemporary. And suspense.
5) What is one random writing goal?
Well, one would be to someday publish Unforgiven. But just to always remember for Whom I’m writing!
6) If you could live in any fictional world, or in any period of history, where/which would it be?
Maybe like 1920 on a farm somewhere nice? I don’t know—every era has its problems, and I really do like modern conveniences!
Kristina’s Question
1) Why didn’t you make your blog a birthday cake and sing it “Happy Birthday”? It told me it is quite angry!
I’ll have to make it a cake and sing happy birthday. But how do blogs eat? This is confusing.
Saraina’s Questions1) What’s your favorite breakfast?
So I very often have a protein shake for breakfast, and it’s super yummy. But for actual breakfast foods, I love oatmeal, anything with eggs (especially fried ones, and if you add an avocado in there …) And pancakes—gluten free, of course—are always yummy, too.
2) Do you have a favorite out of all the posts you’ve written?
Probably either this one about “preachy” fiction or this Valentine’s post.
3) Is there a certain hymn you think is wildly underrated?
“Come Ye Sinners, Poor and Needy.” I almost never get to play/sing that in church, and it needs to be sung and played more.
4) What’s your earliest book-related memory?
Hmm … I remember working on reading with my mom with these sort of pre-reader books, and I also remember trying to read one of Kristina’s books that she was reading (I think?) and only being able to pick out like “a” “an” and “the.” Somehow that was helpful?
5) What’s your favorite violin-performance memory?
I have several, but one that immediately comes to mind was my recital of last November. That was such an amazing day, and it was such a blessing to me! I also really savor part of a rehearsal that’d happened that week too—I honestly had never felt how I felt as my pianist and I were rehearsing part of the Franck. Music has made me “feel” things many times, but the depth of losing myself in the music with complete trust and communication with my pianist in that moment in something that was bigger than the two of us … it was amazing. I’m not good at explaining what it was like, but I imagine that’s what the best musicians in the world feel like all the time, haha!
6) Do you have a bucket list? What are some of the things you’re most dying to do one day?
Not really … but I’d love to play the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto well. Maybe go to the UK. And Russia, too. As you can tell, I’m not much of a “dreamer.” I’m very much one of those practical homeschoolers – except when it comes to plots.
1) What is your favorite genre? Movie, book and writing.
Movies—probably Westerns. Books—historical, suspense, and contemporary. Writing—suspense, historical, and maybe even fantasy?
2) Who are your favorite authors (notice I put it in plural form ;))
Oh, thank you for your mercy, Sara! Okay … let’s start off with my favorite, Kristina Hall. Then in no particular order, there’s Madisyn Carlin, Sarah Sundin, Susan May Warren, Angie Thompson, and others!
1.) What are some of your favorite hobbies outside of writing or music?
Definitely working out and cooking healthful recipes (even when they don’t turn out exactly as I’d like them to.) I love natural remedies and all of that kind of stuff. And also armwrestling! It’s a super fun sport, even if I’m not the best at it, haha!
2.) What inspired you to start writing?
I guess the whims of my childish brain—and the Lord!
3.) What’s one thing you wished you knew before you started self-publishing?
The positives of self-publishing—it was a super exciting thing to think about being published, but I really had no idea of all the amazing authors/bloggers/readers that I’d get to meet. Being self-published is more than I ever dreamed of!
4.) What made you decide to choose the self-publishing route (and would you ever consider going traditional?)
Since my sister, Kristina, self-published a few months before I considered doing the same, it was pretty clear to me that I was going to self-publish. I likely wouldn’t get a contract with a traditional publishing company, and I really didn’t want to wait for years on the slim hope someone might just snatch me up. Plus, I wanted more control over what I publish, especially in regards to the faith content.
I guess if someone contacted me and asked to publish one of my books traditionally, I might think about it. There are definitely perks to being traditionally published, but I’m content at this time with self-publishing.
1) Have you considered another series/novel after the Grace Sufficient series is completed? (Richard asks this question. But nearly everyone who reads what you post has no idea who he is, so you can just … put this under me. XD)
Yes and no. Because I’m sorta exiled in this series for a good … two to three more books, and at this pace, it’s gonna be a while before I get out of Russia. But I will say that I might have a different project coming up shortly that’s yet to be publicly disclosed.
2) Who’s your favorite composer/songwriter to listen to for inspiration for your stories? (Or just in general.)
So I used to be someone who liked to listen to a lot of music while I wrote, but recently it’s been more of a struggle because I can’t stop listening more to the music than focusing on my writing. But then some days it’s really helpful to listen to something, too. I definitely go through spurts of what/who I listen to—for awhile I was really into listening to Sierra Hull’s music (she’s a phenom of a mandolin player, and while her style is completely different than a lot of artists I’ve ever listened, I can jam really hard to her stuff.) Then there are people like the Gettys who I also enjoy listening to—just in general that stream of Christian artists.
3) What are your favorite songs to listen to for said writing inspiration?
Usually some sort of hymn or worship song, though there was this version of “Say Something” (I don’t really even know what sort of song it is) that I always felt went with Vlad and Katya’s story.
4) Do you like snacking while you write, or do you prefer to just write and snack later because snacking distracts you?
I gotta snack apart from writing. On occasion, I’ll eat while I’m writing, but I usually stop and snack for a bit.
5) Do you handwrite any pieces of your stories?
No. I hate writing long things by hand, and the one time I tried to do that many years ago, it was a failure. I wish I could be as cool as the people who handwrite stories, but I can’t be. Y’all are epic.
Allyson’s Questions1) Why did you start your blog?
I’d wanted to start a blog for a few years, but I never would’ve started if I hadn’t been publishing a book. So I tried to sorta establish my platform before I published my first book.
2) What are your hopes, dreams, and plans for your writing future?
I know this probably sounds awful, but I’m honestly not one of those massive dreamers. (Those of you who are, I think that’s so amazing!) But I really just want to do what the Lord calls me to with my writing—to be faithful even if I never publish a book again or if I publish one hundred more. I’ve learned that I can’t rush the process (more to come on this!), and so in the end, I just want the Lord glorified through my obedience in everything I write.
3) What’s your favorite genre to write in?
This is so hard. I guess suspense, but I also love writing historical. And contemporary is fun, too.
4) What’s your favorite genre to read in?
Historical fiction.
5) What made you want to start writing?
Again, my childlish whims, I suppose, and most of all, the Lord’s grace!
Issabelle’s Questions1) If you could live anywhere that isn’t the good ole U S of A where would it be and why?
Good question. Hmm. You know, part of me would love to live in Russia, but it’s not exactly the freest country in the world. But it would be so cool to be able to go there and be a missionary or something. Or Ireland. I really want to go to Ireland, but again, not the most free country in the world, either. So Russia or Ireland?
2) Who’s your favorite character from the Grace Sufficient series? (It better be Nikolai! XD)
Hahaha, I do love good ol’ Nick. He and Molly were probably my most-loved characters when I was editing them – I adored those kids so much. But that’s faded now, and overall … I’ve gotta go with my original, Gabe Kelly. I love writing about him (as a side character, now), and he gets to live on in all six books of the GS series. He’s probably a better side character than main character, but he’s just so fun to write, and he’s the best sidekick. And he has the best words of wisdom for everyone, haha! I love his personality and his bravery and his kindness even as a more “average” person who does outrageous things for the Lord.
So, all that to say, I love all of my babies, but Gabe narrowly beats the rest of the field.
3) Do you prefer the beach or mountains?
Mountains, I think. I really enjoy the beach, but mountains (Appalachians included, though they’re hardly mountains compared to the ones out West) are probably my favorite.
4) What is your favorite planet besides earth?
Um … Pluto? Except that one’s not a planet. I did a report on Jupiter, I think, once. But that reminds me of the cool settings Gustav Holst’s wrote for each of them. Here’s a gorgeous link to it!
5) What is your favorite historical setting?
Either WWII era or Civil War, I think – to read and to write. 19th century in general, too.
