Christa Kinde's Blog, page 85
August 27, 2013
Rough and Tumble, Chapter 246: Cloud of Witnesses
Chapter 246: Cloud of Witnesses
Zeke launched into a winding confession of his wrongdoings, but Ethan was distracted by the stirring of more arrivals. A scan of the barn rafters confirmed that all of Tycho’s Flight were there, and the rest of the Hedge was assembling. “What …?” Ethan murmured.
Conrad’s hand locked on his bicep. “This,” his mentor replied, calling his attention back to Zeke.
The boy was the picture of exasperation. “I know how this works, Daddy. I been paying ’tention!”
Ethan’s breath caught. “Th-this is what he meant when he said he wanted to fess up?”
“This,” Conrad repeated, his eyes shining.
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Author’s Note: This story in small chapters is a companion to Christa Kinde’s Threshold Series [Zonderkidz] and updates every weekday (Monday through Friday). More information and cast pictures can be found on the Rough and Tumble index page. And don’t forget, more story art is on display in my gallery!
Rough and Tumble, © Copyright 2012 – 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.
Rough and Tumble, Chapter 245: Lumps of Coal
Chapter 245: Lumps of Coal
“You wanted to say something?” Jayce prompted, dropping to a seat on the hay bales.
“Yep.” Zeke plopped down next to his father. Pressing both hands over his stomach, he solemnly announced, “I know why there’s lumps of coal in bad boys’ stockings. Feels heavy.”
“Is this …?” Jayce sighed. “Are you worried about disappointing Santa Claus?”
Ethan glanced up as Conrad strode in, quickly followed by Lucan. But most of his attention was on Zeke, who looked startled. “He’s only here once at Christmas. You’re my daddy.”
Jayce smiled weakly. “All the time. Even when I’m not sure how.”
<< PREVIOUS CHAPTER | NEXT CHAPTER >>
Author’s Note: This story in small chapters is a companion to Christa Kinde’s Threshold Series [Zonderkidz] and updates every weekday (Monday through Friday). More information and cast pictures can be found on the Rough and Tumble index page. And don’t forget, more story art is on display in my gallery!
Rough and Tumble, © Copyright 2012 – 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.
Rough and Tumble, Chapter 244: Private Conversation
Chapter 244: Private Conversation
The next day, Zeke tugged Jayce’s sleeve and grimly asked to talk. Father and son bundled up and headed for the barns, a sure sign that this was serious.
Two angels trailed after. “Jayce looks heartbroken,” Ethan whispered.
Jomei nodded. “Because he is.”
“So is Zeke.”
Compassion filled the older warrior’s green eyes. “Maybe so, but all Jayce knows is that his son has strayed.”
Ethan pressed his hand over his breastplate. “I do not care for this suspense.”
Jomei’s eyebrows arched. “You feel it, too? Good. It’s not just me.”
“Feel … what?”
Hurrying Ethan along, Jomei replied, “Anticipation!”
<< PREVIOUS CHAPTER | NEXT CHAPTER >>
Author’s Note: This story in small chapters is a companion to Christa Kinde’s Threshold Series [Zonderkidz] and updates every weekday (Monday through Friday). More information and cast pictures can be found on the Rough and Tumble index page. And don’t forget, more story art is on display in my gallery!
Rough and Tumble, © Copyright 2012 – 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.
Rough and Tumble 244: Private Conversation
Chapter 244: Private Conversation
The next day, Zeke tugged Jayce’s sleeve and grimly asked to talk. Father and son bundled up and headed for the barns, a sure sign that this was serious.
Two angels trailed after. “Jayce looks heartbroken,” Ethan whispered.
Jomei nodded. “Because he is.”
“So is Zeke.”
Compassion filled the older warrior’s green eyes. “Maybe so, but all Jayce knows is that his son has strayed.”
Ethan pressed his hand over his breastplate. “I do not care for this suspense.”
Jomei’s eyebrows arched. “You feel it, too? Good. It’s not just me.”
“Feel … what?”
Hurrying Ethan along, Jomei replied, “Anticipation!”
<< PREVIOUS CHAPTER | NEXT CHAPTER >>
Author’s Note: This story in small chapters is a companion to Christa Kinde’s Threshold Series [Zonderkidz] and updates every weekday (Monday through Friday). More information and cast pictures can be found on the Rough and Tumble index page. And don’t forget, more story art is on display in my gallery!
Rough and Tumble, © Copyright 2012 – 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.
August 23, 2013
The Week’s Accumulation liii
Oh, what a full week! I’ve been addressing postcards, writing letters, mailing review copies, fielding questions, getting up in front of people, smiling for the camera, critiquing sketches, foraging for reference photos, reading voraciously, and trying to squeeze in some actual writing! All in all, this has been a good week. Lots of reasons to be grateful. And plenty of clutter to show-and-tell y’all about. Come and see!
This week’s accumulation:
♦ Big news first. Yesterday was the release day for Book 3 in the Threshold Series, The Broken Window. I’m so excited to get this latest installment into readers’ hands. If you’re interested in receiving a review copy, I’m making ten more available. What’s that? I’ll send you an autographed copy of the book, and in exchange, you’ll help spread the word about the Threshold Series by posting a review at Amazon, GoodReads, B&N, your blog, etc. Email me at christa [dot] kinde [at] gmail [dot] com.
Now that The Broken Window has released, those of you who’ve already received your review copies will be able to post reviews. Oh, and this might sound obvious, but it’d also be a big help if you want to go back and review The Blue Door and The Hidden Deep. In today’s marketplace, numbers matter. -helpless shrug- On a related note, thank you to those of you who contacted me privately to let me know how much you enjoyed the book. You guys make me smile in the goofiest possible way! ♥
♦ Yesterday’s Twitter Q&A was incredibly fun! People brought some interesting questions, and I enjoyed trying to answer them in 140 characters or less. I’ll share a couple of snippets, but you can always scroll back through my tweets if you want to piece together the conversation.
Y’know you can always tweet me questions. No need to have an official date and time for questions to be answered. I’d love to hear from you! ^__^
♦ In case you missed it, I revealed the new postcard for The Broken Window, which features a lovely piece of art titled “Little Daughter.” Please do request these art cards. They’re meant as gifts to readers. Yours for the asking!
♦ One of the exciting events in my week was a release party of sorts. My church invited me to set up a book table and share a little about the series. Since many of these folks already bought the first books in the series, it was so encouraging to see their eagerness to get their hands on Book 3!
♦ And let’s have another little art splurge! Here’s a fun piece called Caretakers. I like the artist’s whimsy in giving Abner and Padgett grand costumes. Very elegant. In this artwork, they truly do look like two sides of the same coin, but with subtle differences in expression to hint at their personalities.
So what’s cluttering up your desktop? Do tell!
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August 22, 2013
Rough and Tumble, Chapter 243: Sin and Sorrow
Chapter 243: Sin and Sorrow
Mother, brothers, sister—Zeke’s careless lies piled up. But when the boy lied to his father, Ethan knew something was different. “That cost him.”
“It cut him,” Jomei corrected.
That night, Ethan held his breath as he stepped into dreams. Zeke stared hard, as if trying to place an almost-familiar face. His Guardian knelt and asked, “Why are you sad?”
“I did something bad,” Zeke confessed. “It was me.”
“I know. I saw.” The boy barreled into him, clinging tightly to the truth; Ethan folded his arms and wings around him. “What will you do?”
“Fess up. All the way.”
<< PREVIOUS CHAPTER | NEXT CHAPTER >>
Author’s Note: This story in small chapters is a companion to Christa Kinde’s Threshold Series [Zonderkidz] and updates every weekday (Monday through Friday). More information and cast pictures can be found on the Rough and Tumble index page. And don’t forget, more story art is on display in my gallery!
Rough and Tumble, © Copyright 2012 – 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.
POSTCARD: The Broken Window
As many of you have already figured out, I love sending mail. There’s something special about writing out an address, dropping an envelope through a slot, and sending a bit of myself off to brighten the day of a kindred spirit. For each of my books, I’ve been creating art cards that double as postcards, and they’re free for the asking. Today, I’m unveiling the art that I used to create The Broken Window‘s postcard.
Little Daughter by Stella Cadente
Would you like one of these? Find out how to join my mailing list >>
In which I confine myself to 140 characters…
Authorial Endeavor #025. Today’s the “birthday” for my latest book—The Broken Window. The third installment of the Threshold Series has released, and to help make merry, my publicist is hosting a Twitter Q&A session.
RELEASE DAY ♦ Thursday, August 22, 2013
Q&A SESSION – Live on Twitter at 2:00 p.m. (EDT)
1:00 p.m. (CDT) | 12:00 noon (MDT) | 11:00 a.m. (PDT)
What does that mean? Welp … it’s sort of like being interviewed. And it’s sort of like being in a chat room. What’s lovely about tweeting my answers is that I don’t have to open my mouth. Instead, I can compose my thoughts. Tap away at my keyboard. Express myself in short bursts. In other words, I’ll be in my comfort zone! And you can join me there by bringing your curiosity. And your questions!
How can you take part? If you have a Twitter account, good. If you know how to tweet, even better. If you’re a tweep who knows their way around a hashtag … may appropriately elated emoticons find you. ^__^ To take part in the Q&A session, post questions directly to me @ChristaKinde or to my publicist @DJC_comm. They’re encouraging us to use the #AskChrista hastag, so they can catch all the questions. If you simply want to follow the conversation as it unfolds, click on the #AskChrista hashtag and watch in realtime.
Conflicting schedule? If you can’t be there during the live Q&A session, my publicist has already started gathering questions. Post them using the #AskChrista hashtag, and they’ll forward them to me!
What kinds of questions should you ask? That all depends on what you’re wondering. If you’re wondering. Which would be wonderful. Just to get you thinking creatively, here are some of the questions the cast of the Threshold Series would probably be asking, given the chance…
Is that who I think it is on the postcard for The Broken Window? Nice to see the Hedge represent. ♦ Milo Leggett
Could you please do something about Ransom? Every time I turn around, there he is. It’s ridiculous! ♦ Prissie Pomeroy
Will there be much song? ♦ Koji
When are you gonna write something specialer? Like a book about me and Milo? Now, that‘d be Good! ♦ Zeke Pomeroy
Oh, oh, oh! I know, I know, I know! Can I wear my flip-flops to the Handel’s Messiah performance? ♦ Baird
Would you mind keeping quiet about my full name? Bad enough they found out at school. ♦ Beau Pomeroy
Someone should ask how long Taweel and Omri have been together. Now that’s a story! ♦ Harken Mercer
Here’s the question I’d pose to you! If you could give any of the Threshold Series folks a Christmas present, who would it be … what would you choose … and why?
RELEASE DAY, Book 3: The Broken Window
The third volume in the Threshold Series is now available! Quick Summary: Christmas is right around the corner, and Prissie’s gift list has expanded to include an entire Flight of angels. As she searches for the perfect presents for her friends, she learns that good ones can come in unexpected wrappings, great ones come at a high price, and the greatest gift of all is still free.
IN STORES NOW!
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Zondervan
The noise ripped along the vacant street again, harsh and off-key, and this time Prissie saw something moving against the dizzying whiteness. Koji grabbed hold of her arm so quickly, she nearly dropped her bag.
“What is that?” she asked, her voice shaking. Though the figure was indistinct, she could tell that the dark shape moving toward them was taller than most of the buildings on Main Street.
“We need to go,” Koji said sharply.
Prissie nodded nervously. “Yes, I think we should go.”
—excerpted from The Broken Window
Rough and Tumble, Chapter 242: Broken Trust
Chapter 242: Broken Trust
Zeke started small. A little fib here. An evasive answer there. Ethan watched the boy play with lies as if they were toys.
Several gingerbread men were found beheaded. A broken ornament turned up under sofa cushions. Odd jobs were left unfinished. And nobody seemed to realize what Zeke was up to. Except perhaps Naomi. Although her tone remained casual, her questions grew more pointed. “Who left these peelings on the floor?”
“It wasn’t me,” Zeke quickly replied.
“Is this … jam?”
“It wasn’t me.”
Ethan cringed when Naomi remarked, “Someone didn’t eat their vegetables.”
Zeke repeated, “It wasn’t me.”
<< PREVIOUS CHAPTER | NEXT CHAPTER >>
Author’s Note: This story in small chapters is a companion to Christa Kinde’s Threshold Series [Zonderkidz] and updates every weekday (Monday through Friday). More information and cast pictures can be found on the Rough and Tumble index page. And don’t forget, more story art is on display in my gallery!
Rough and Tumble, © Copyright 2012 – 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.
