Kai Strand's Blog, page 6

2018 - A Year For Change

Welcome to 2018 - A new year. A new writer me.
Every year I re-invent my writing self, based on how the year before played out. Last year was a rebirth for me and my career. Throughout 2017 I concentrated on my LA Dragoni persona by rebranding Ghost Touch, (self) publishing Guardian’s Touch and then releasing Again, For Love (Torrid Press). I carefully followed marketing plans I learned from successful marketers. I worked hard to build my platform so that my release would hit fans on several f...

My Final #InkRipples - 2018 Goal

Live simply Love thoroughly Model integrity Embrace reality Celebrate creativity Encourage unity Accept diversity Reject bigotry Display decency Exemplify ardency Demonstrate vivacity Epitomize humanity Appreciate advocacy 
We've had a fun run with #InkRipples. Especially this year as others added their ripples in the inkwell. I especially want to thank Katie Carroll and Mary Waibel for the years of fun and inspiration. But that...

Again, For Love by LA Dragoni #TimeTravel #Romance for Grown-Ups

Would you sacrifice everything for love? My new release for the adults among us, is available TODAY! Yay.


A life must be lost. Who will make the ultimate sacrifice? 

Lawson lives a simple life: a job at a brewery, and his basketball and hockey leagues. Even his eccentric lifelong friend and roommate—who is intent on discovering time travel—doesn’t complicate things. Then Jory appears. Lawson feels an immediate attraction to her, yet their attempts at dating end with him thinking it just is...

November #InkRipples - Finishing that Book!

It’s like we realized November is National Novel Writing Month when we chose this month’s topic. Huh.
To me this is an extension of last month’s topic of Career vs Hobby. One of the most difficult aspects of being an author – of it being a career vs it being your hobby – is that you finish the dang book. How many people have partial books on their hard drive? A LOT. Even career authors have partial books; a.k.a. works in progress, or WIPs. But a career author makes a habit of finishing them.
T...

October #InkRipples - Career vs. Hobby

When does writing move from a hobby to a career?
First and most simply we could just let the IRS answer this for us. They consider it a hobby if you haven’t made a profit after five years (or something like that, I’m not a tax man.) But for now, we’re going to ignore the government’s definition and concentrate on what the author and her readers want.
The author’s goals are probably the biggest definer of this. Many authors are happy to write and publish just for their friends and family. They...

September #InkRipples: World Building

This has been a busy month. My daughter got married, school started, and it took me forever to find my motivation to compose this post. Does that happen to you sometimes? You just simply don’t feel like it? It isn’t the topic. I love building worlds. It is among my top favorite things about writing!
To me, world building is in the details. The small things that are mentioned casually. For example; if my main character is a slob and he’s lost his keys, I would show him flinging empty take-out c...

Don't Be Closed Minded. Read a Banned Book. #Giveaway

On this list, compiled by the ALA, of the top 100 challenged books of the decades 1990-1999 and 2000-2009, I've read:The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
Adventure of Huckleberry Finn
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Blubber
Crank
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
The Dead Zone
The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things
Fat Kid Rules the World
The Giver
Harry Potter (series)
The Hunger Games (series)
The Kite Runner
The Lovely Bones
Olive's Ocean
Speak
Staying Fat for Sarah By...

Inspiration Behind The Alien Mind by V.L. Jennings

I'd like to welcome V.L. Jennings to Strands of Thought. She's here to share an excerpt and an interesting behind the story, story from her young adult sci-fi, The Alien Mind. Take it away, Virginia.
Rivi's eyes swept the launch crater to watch the hundreds of Aunantet and human children bustling around the ships.“We're not all going, are we?” Rivi asked, her voice catching in her throat.“No, dear,” Ankh answered. “Just you children and about fifty pre-selected Aunantet. The rest of us wi...

Spotlight on The Lost Knight by Candy Atkins + #Giveaway

  The Lost Knight by Candy Atkins How am I supposed to save the world when I'm not strong, not brave, not smart, and not particularly good at most things? I ran away from home the day after my thirteenth birthday when Auntie and her weird friend attacked me. Now I'm on the run with the Grim Reaper and a scary soldier. And I'm no longer on Earth. They were expecting me to be a Knight. The savior that's supposed to stop a war and prevent the invasion of Earth. But I'm not. They grabbed the...

Perfectly You by Robin Daniels +Giveaway

  Perfectly You by Robin Daniels Ivy Nixon is the student body Vice President at Franklin High School. Each year, the school holds a date auction to raise funds for the senior class graduation party, and this year, Ivy’s in charge. Planning the event is a huge task and Ivy is determined to prove she can get the job done right. Unfortunately, she’s still one participant short and her deadline is looming. Andy Walker, her cute but socially reclusive art class table mate, is her last resor...