Christa Kinde's Blog, page 76
December 4, 2013
Book Signing: Rockpile Bookstore
Just a quick note to let you know that I’ll be on hand at Rockpile Bookstore this coming Sunday, December 8, 2013 to sign books in the Threshold Series. The Rock Church is located at 2277 Rosecrans Street, San Diego, CA 92106. I’ll be around during their first three services, which puts me in the building from around 7 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. I’ll have free art cards, beautiful bookplates, and a Christmas special. The Rockpile will be selling The Blue Door (Bk 1), The Hidden Deep (Bk 2), and The Broken Window (Bk 3) for $9.99 apiece. Or you can get a set of all three for just $24.99. Perfect for Christmas gift-giving!
Tried and True, Chapter 18: Not Alone
Chapter 18: Not Alone
Fading into the background. Gathering dust in the corner.
Taweel let half-lidded eyes drift out of focus, for he had no wish to join a dream. Curled on his side with his face to the wall, his thoughts had taken a morose turn.
Wasting valuable space. Dimming away in shadows.
His host had gone on some errand, cutting Taweel’s one tie to another life. With a darkening scowl, the Guardian decided that the whole “not alone” thing had been as short-lived as his sweet charge. But then a soft shuff jerked Taweel’s attention back to his surroundings.
He wasn’t alone.
<< PREVIOUS CHAPTER | NEXT CHAPTER >>
Author’s Note: This story in small chapters is a prequel to Christa Kinde’s Threshold Series [Zonderkidz] and updates every weekday (Monday through Friday). More information can be found on the Tried and True index page. And don’t forget, story art is on display in my gallery.
Tried and True, © Copyright 2013 Christa Kinde, all rights reserved. If you want to receive an email whenever my stories update, consider subscribing to this blog. You can also watch for notifications on Twitter.
December 3, 2013
Tried and True, Chapter 17: In Between
Chapter 17: In Between
The Weaver kept busy, but Taweel ignored his comings and goings … until the angel presented him with new clothes.
“These will suit you better. Change.”
Although refusal was on his lips, Taweel’s interest was caught. Sitting up, he carefully accepted them. Unlike the raiment traditionally worn by warriors, this tunic had long, full sleeves. And usually, a wide band of geometric stitching indicated everything from an angel’s name and order to his rank and file within the armies of heaven. “Blank?” Taweel asked.
“As a new-formed’s.” The Weaver spread wide his hands. “Ends. Beginnings. You’re caught in the in-between.”
<< PREVIOUS CHAPTER | NEXT CHAPTER >>
Author’s Note: This story in small chapters is a prequel to Christa Kinde’s Threshold Series [Zonderkidz] and updates every weekday (Monday through Friday). More information can be found on the Tried and True index page. And don’t forget, story art is on display in my gallery.
Tried and True, © Copyright 2013 Christa Kinde, all rights reserved. If you want to receive an email whenever my stories update, consider subscribing to this blog. You can also watch for notifications on Twitter.
December 2, 2013
Tried and True, Chapter 16: Two Novelties
Chapter 16: Two Novelties
Taweel lay on the cot, staring at overhead vines. Light played at the edges of his sanctuary—gently glowing, softly calling, never intruding.
“You should eat,” murmured the Weaver.
He shrugged off the suggestion. He wasn’t hungry. He wasn’t anything.
“Sing with me.”
“… I have no song.”
Nimble fingers flew as the Weaver added intricate stitching to the hem of a tunic. “What novelties! Shadows and silence!”
There was a busyness to this angel’s quiet—steadily working, willingly patient, ever present.
Taweel gruffly asked, “Why are you here?”
His host smiled. “It’s not good for you to be alone.”
<< PREVIOUS CHAPTER | NEXT CHAPTER >>
Author’s Note: This story in small chapters is a prequel to Christa Kinde’s Threshold Series [Zonderkidz] and updates every weekday (Monday through Friday). More information can be found on the Tried and True index page. And don’t forget, story art is on display in my gallery.
Tried and True, © Copyright 2013 Christa Kinde, all rights reserved. If you want to receive an email whenever my stories update, consider subscribing to this blog. You can also watch for notifications on Twitter.
November 30, 2013
The Week’s Accumulation lxvi
This has been an intense week, sprinkled with time unplugged for the Thanksgiving holiday. Pie baking. Card games. A Jane Austen marathon. A little quilting. Some word sprints. Today was my first chance for virtual catch up: posting Friday’s installment of Tried and True, pulling together this post, and outlining my writing goals for the month of December. My desktop is brimming with clutter, and I’ll share some of it now. Take a peek!
This week’s accumulation:
♦ First off, I hope y’all had a nice Thanksgiving. This year, we borrowed a inspiration from the Threshold Series with our apple handpies & mini-pies. My youngest son was just as eager as Ransom to take a hammer to a bagful of cinnamon disks and smashing the candies into pink sand. (Not dust. Not pebbles.) The “prissified” results were pretty enough for pictures!
♦ Next up is NaNoWriMo news. November was National Novel Writing Month, and writers go in with the goal of finishing a 50,000 word story in thirty days. This year, my daughter and I collaborated on a fun middlegrade story. Yesterday, we “won” by reaching 51,118 words. Now, we have a nice pile of raw material, which we’ll be turning into a first draft over the next several weeks. ♥
♦ A big part of the clutter of files on my desktop involves different versions of Meadowsweet, the first book in the Galleries of Stone trilogy. Different sites have different rules for formatting a manuscript for upload. I ended up having to fine-tune four different versions of the story. Meadowsweet will be available very soon. (It takes time for the story to become available after the author hits ye olde “publish” button.) I’ll share the good news as soon as I have some! The story’s official book birthday is tomorrow: December 1.
♦ For those of you who followed Galleries of Stone while I was posting it to this blog, I’d like to nudge you toward the new authorial website I’ve established for C. J. Milbrandt, the penname under which I’m publishing the trilogy. There are only a couple of posts about Meadowsweet there so far, but more will follow at regular intervals. If you want to keep up with the latest, follow CJMilbrandt.com.
♦ We’re very close to the release of that fun Christmas short story I’ve been mentioning. Angels in Harmony is due out on December 3, but so far it’s only showing up on the Zondervan site. Place your order now. It’s a whole lot of fun! Story Summary: Angels have always served in pairs, but Baird is sure there must be some mistake when Kester shows up on his doorstep. The vividly energetic redhead couldn’t have been more different from his genteel new apprentice. Yet their rocky beginnings give way to a unique balance, proving that friendship can flourish in the unlikeliest of places, given time, trust, and the Twelve Days of Christmas.
♦ And let’s wrap things up with some new art. This piece is called Whatcha Reading? by MistyTang.
So what’s cluttering up your desktop? Do tell!
<< LAST WEEK | NEXT WEEK >>
Tried and True, Chapter 15: Hiding Place
Chapter 15: Hiding Place
The Weaver’s home was nothing like the tents used by hadarim. Stone columns and archways. Sheer curtains as vivid as angel wings. Open ceilings overhung by flowering vines. And the promised garden, where water trickled into the basin of a modest fountain. Parting the hangings in front of an inner alcove, Taweel’s host indicated a sturdy cot. “Most avoid this area for the very reason you seek it. May our oddity be of comfort.”
High walls and heavy vines didn’t bring darkness into this corner of heaven. But it was shade.
Taweel eased past the Weaver into the shadowy niche.
<< PREVIOUS CHAPTER | NEXT CHAPTER >>
Author’s Note: This story in small chapters is a prequel to Christa Kinde’s Threshold Series [Zonderkidz] and updates every weekday (Monday through Friday). More information can be found on the Tried and True index page. And don’t forget, story art is on display in my gallery.
Tried and True, © Copyright 2013 Christa Kinde, all rights reserved. If you want to receive an email whenever my stories update, consider subscribing to this blog. You can also watch for notifications on Twitter.
November 29, 2013
Tried and True, Chapter 14: Twist and Turn
Chapter 14: Twist and Turn
Glancing over his shoulder, the Weaver said, “Not far now.”
Taweel towered over his host, a slim angel whose ears came to neat points and whose gliding steps led unerringly along winding streets. Like all members of his order, the Weaver’s hair was arranged in loops and braids, knotted with lengths of dyed cloth and ribbons. Taweel had heard that they told a tale if you knew how to read the patterns. So skillful was the arrangement, he couldn’t tell if the Weaver’s hair was blue or white. Not that it mattered.
All Taweel wanted was the promised hiding place.
<< PREVIOUS CHAPTER | NEXT CHAPTER >>
Author’s Note: This story in small chapters is a prequel to Christa Kinde’s Threshold Series [Zonderkidz] and updates every weekday (Monday through Friday). More information can be found on the Tried and True index page. And don’t forget, story art is on display in my gallery.
Tried and True, © Copyright 2013 Christa Kinde, all rights reserved. If you want to receive an email whenever my stories update, consider subscribing to this blog. You can also watch for notifications on Twitter.
November 27, 2013
In which I offer a personal touch…
Authorial Endeavor #029. The long awaited bookplates have arrived, and they’re as beautiful as promised! They feature Prissie and Koji, and the art’s by Anna Earley, my illustrator for the Threshold Series short stories. I’m making these self-adhesive works of art available to readers who’d like a personal note added to one (or all) of their Threshold books. Just tell me:
♦ Which book in the series (or if you want one for all four!)
♦ Name(s) of the he recipient(s) or a family name if everyone’s sharing.
♦ An address for sending.
♦ Would you also like to receive postcards? I have a few, and I’ll be adding more soon! (They’re also free to readers.)
♦ And would you also like to receive my newsletter? It’ll kick off in 2014, and I’m accepting sign-ups. (More news on this later.)
All you have to do to request one is email me at christa [dot] kinde [at] gmail [dot] com. They’re a free gift from me and Zondervan, just in time for Christmas! ♥
I look forward to hearing from you. : )
Tried and True, Chapter 13: The Weaver
Chapter 13: The Weaver
“I will hide you.”
The voice was warm as light and gentle as a breeze, but Taweel’s ears caught the underlying strength of purpose. This angel was Sent. To him.
He slowly lifted his gaze to find a Weaver standing there, a quizzical expression on his brown face. Taweel was just as surprised. Since when did a Weaver stop working? But then … an unarmed, unarmored hadarim was equally preposterous.
When Taweel didn’t reply, the Weaver picked up the slack. “Come out of the street. Rest a while in my garden.” Offering both hands, he repeated, “I will hide you.”
<< PREVIOUS CHAPTER | NEXT CHAPTER >>
Author’s Note: This story in small chapters is a prequel to Christa Kinde’s Threshold Series [Zonderkidz] and updates every weekday (Monday through Friday). More information can be found on the Tried and True index page. And don’t forget, story art is on display in my gallery.
Tried and True, © Copyright 2013 Christa Kinde, all rights reserved. If you want to receive an email whenever my stories update, consider subscribing to this blog. You can also watch for notifications on Twitter.
November 26, 2013
Tried and True, Chapter 12: Seeker
Chapter 12: Seeker
Once he realized he was seeking a dark corner, Taweel knew he’d become too used to dwelling on earth. Here in the heavenlies, shadows were scarce. But he wanted a place to hide from searching looks and the kindness of strangers.
Lured by the trickle of water, he wandered into a garden and dropped to the low rim of a fountain. Elbows on knees, head in hands, he stared unseeing at the warm gold of paving stones. When bare feet stepped into view, Taweel blinked several times, but there was nothing wrong with his eyes. Those feet had six toes.
<< PREVIOUS CHAPTER | NEXT CHAPTER >>
Author’s Note: This story in small chapters is a prequel to Christa Kinde’s Threshold Series [Zonderkidz] and updates every weekday (Monday through Friday). More information can be found on the Tried and True index page. And don’t forget, story art is on display in my gallery.
Tried and True, © Copyright 2013 Christa Kinde, all rights reserved. If you want to receive an email whenever my stories update, consider subscribing to this blog. You can also watch for notifications on Twitter.
