Kai Strand's Blog, page 8

Three Times A Charm with Danica Davidson

Welcome to Three Times A Charm. Today I’m introducing you to a middle grade and young adult author, Danica Davidson. Thanks for joining us today, Danica. Tell us a little about you.
When I was three, I used to dictate stories to my parents. When I learned how to write on my own, I got even more down on paper. (Learning how to spell well came later.) I have a background in journalism, but fiction writing is where my heart really sings. So far I’ve been writing middle grade and YA books, and I w...

Funny thing happened on the way to publishing books. Fairy tales. May #InkRipples

Simply put (according to Wikipedia)  A fairy tale is a type of short story that typically features folkloric fantasy characters, such as dwarves, dragons, elves, fairies, giants, gnomes, goblins, griffins, mermaids, talking animals, trolls, unicorns, or witches, and usually magic or enchantments. 
Once upon a time I didn’t like fairy tale retellings. But one day I was home and bor...

April #InkRipples Workshop - Revision

Welcome to the last week of the #InkRipples revision workshop. I hope you’ve found the revision tips and exercises fun and enlightening. If you missed the last three week’s tips and exercises, be sure to hop on over when you’re done here. 
Revision Tip #7
Double check the end of each chapter to make sure it lures the reader to continue. Then double check the beginning of each chapter to make sure it stands on it’s own.
As often as possible, you want the end of each chapter to be a mini cl...

April #InkRipples - Workshop on Revision

Welcome back for another week of #InkRipples revision workshop. I thought it would be fun to not only offer revision tips throughout the month, but to also stage some revision exercises. If you missed the last two week’s tips and exercises, be sure to hop on over when you’re done here.

Revision Tip #5
Read backward. Start at the last chapter, revise it. Go to second last, revise it…etc. Don’t actually start at the last word and work your way to the first. Too hard. However, by reading backward...

Cover Reveal - Pirate Island by Katie L. Carroll

I'm super excited to share my good writing buddies new book cover for her upcoming middle grade novel, Pirate Island. I met Katie through MuseItUp Publishing. She edited my middle grade, Beware of the White. I LOVED working with her. Then her book, Elixir Bound came out and I loved it too. I've had the privilege of critiquing a version of another young adult novel she currently has out on submission - that I STILL think about more than a year later. She's that good. In other words, put Pirate...

April #InkRipples Workshop - Murder and Mayhem

This month’s #InkRipples topic is revision. I thought it would be fun to not only offer revision tips throughout the month, but to also stage some revision exercises. So, I’m hosting the first ever #InkRipples Workshop! If you missed last week’s tips and exercise, be sure to hop on over when you’re done here.
I promised murder and mayhem, didn’t I?
Revision Tip #3 (Murder)
Kill your darlings. I don’t mean Dumbledore. Somewhere along the way this saying became misinterpreted as killing off charac...

April #InkRipples - Workshop on Revision

This month’s topic of revision comes at a perfect time for me because I am getting ready to start revisions myself. I thought it would be fun to not only offer revision tips throughout the month, but also stage some revision exercises. So loosen up those revision fingers ladies and gents, because you are participating in the first ever #InkRipples Workshop. Free of charge no less. You lucky little devils!
Revision Tip #1
The first thing you need before you start your revisions is a completed fi...

Book Spotlight on Proof of Lies by Diana Rodriguez Wallach

Proof of Lies (Anastasia Phoenix, #1)
by Diana Rodriguez Wallach
Published by Entangled Teen
 Published on March 7th, 2017 
Genre: YA Contemporary/Mystery Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28143051-proof-of-lies?ac=1&from_search=true
Entangled Publishing: https://entangledpublishing.com/index.php/proof-of-lies.html Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Proof-Lies-Diana-Rodriguez-Wallach/dp/1633756084
 B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/proof-of-lies-diana-rodriguez-...

Spotlight on the Going Down in Flames Series by Chris Cannon

Going Down in Flames (Going Down in Flames #1)
by Chris Cannon
Published by Entangled Teen
Published on June 30th, 2014
Genre: YA Paranormal/Fantasy
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22591993-going-down-in-flames https://entangledpublishing.com/going-down-in-flames.html

If her love life is going down in flames, she might as well spark a revolution. Finding out on your sixteenth birthday you’re a shape-shifting dragon is tough to swallow. Being hauled off to an elite boarding school is...

March #InkRipples - Tropes

This month #InkRipples is exploring the topic of literary tropes.
For my post I’m going to use the Wikipedia definition of the word trope which has come to be used for describing commonly recurring literary and rhetorical devices, motifs or clichés in creative works.
It’s interesting to me that agents, publishers, other authors, and even readers call out for originality, yet tropes – like a story formula – are popular. Yes, walking that line between originality and fa...