K.M. Shea's Blog, page 49
July 21, 2017
Favorite Secondary Characters: Round IV
Hello, Champions! Last week you voted for the top secondary characters between two stories—Life Reader and Princess Ahira—and you have spoken! The top three characters who will move on to the final around are: Zerah, 112 votes; Tuggles, 107 votes; and the Saint Cloud Library, 64 votes.
Director Eastgate came in a close fourth with 61 votes, and other honorable mentions include: Nate (Raven’s brother) with 49 votes, Behemoth with 46 votes, and Alison Morris (the children’s librarian) with 32 votes.
In total there were 228 people who voted for a total of 684 votes!
I didn’t know what to expect with this poll–though I did suspect Zerah would be near the top–so I’m really intrigued by these results! As usual, a big thank you to everyone who voted!
It’s time for the Fourth Round of the “Favorite Secondary Character Poll!” Today’s line up is: The cast of Red Rope of Fate VERSUS the Snow Queen! As it is with my hero/heroine polls, you get to cast your ballot once, but FOR THIS POLL ONLY you can vote for up to four characters. (The vote increase is due to the huge popularity of both Red Rope and Snow Queen.) This poll will close 7/27–so you have ONE WEEK to vote!
Choose carefully! The top four characters of this poll will go on to the FINAL ROUND! *This is a pretty critical vote as both Rakel/Farrin and Tari/Arion boast positions in the top 5 K. M. Shea Heroines/Heroes, so I expect this battle to be EPIC!*
May the fight of the titans, begin!
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July 14, 2017
Secondary Character Poll: Round III
Good day to you, Champions! Last week’s battle was pretty brutal given that King Arthurs and Her Knights is well loved, but the top three characters who will proceed to the next round are: Sir Kay (124 votes), Nymue (105 Votes), Morgan (52 votes)… and Gwain (52 votes).
For a SECOND TIME you guys pulled a fast one on me, and there was a tie for second place! (Admittedly I’m very pleased because I love both Morgan and Gwain, but its the principle of the matter!!)
In an EXTREMELY close fourth we have Crafty–Robyn’s Horse–with 50 votes, and Maid Marian took fifth with 48 votes–which I was happy to see as that meant some of the Robyn Hood Crew placed high! Then we had King Pellinore in sixth (39 votes), Much in seventh (33 votes), Sir Mordred in eighth (32 votes) and Sir Ector in ninth (28 votes).
In total there were 780 votes, with 260 participants! Thank you to everyone who voted–this was a nail-biting round.
There were a few surprises with this poll! I hadn’t pegged Crafty or Marian as the most beloved Robyn Hood secondary characters, and I certainly didn’t know Pellinore was so popular! (I mean, I always loved him because of the whole sable knight thing, but I do occasionally have questionable tastes.) This was a very illuminating round for me…but on to the next one!
Prepare yourselves from the next fight: a match between books of yore!Next up is the Third Round of the “Favorite Secondary Character Poll!” Today’s line up is: Life Reader VERSUS Princess Ahira! As it is with all the rounds, you get to cast your ballot once, but you can vote for up to three characters. This poll will close 7/20–so you have ONE WEEK to vote!
Choose carefully! The top three characters of this poll will go on to the FINAL ROUND!
Now, may the fight begin!
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July 7, 2017
Favorite Secondary Character, Round II
Greetings, Champions! With the ending of the first round, I can announce the top MBRC characters who will proceed to the final round! They are: Hunter (117 votes), Westfall (101 votes) , and Madeline…AND HARRISON!
Seriously. You Champions had Madeline and Harrison tie perfectly at 93 votes. Thanks for making me eat my words and bring four characters into the finals instead of three–in the first round no less!
For Round I there was a total of 268 ballots cast for a total of 804 votes. Everyone except for Ed the Boggart (who appeared in one scene, lol) got a minimum of two votes! The honorable mentions after our four finalists are: Asahi (52 votes), Krad (43 votes), Nick and the cyclopses (32 votes), Perseus and his centaur pals (31 votes), and Fran (30 votes). Also, I am ashamed to admit I accidentally skipped Frey–but a few of you Champions reminded me so he did get some votes!
Westfall becoming a finalist was an utter bolt from the blue for me. I really like him–I was quite sad I didn’t get to bring him into the second book more–but I had no idea he had made the sort of impression that would bring him up to number two of MBRC favorites! I was also pleasantly surprised by Hunter’s popularity. The few times I’ve slung him into the Favorite Hero poll he usually comes in at the bottom. I’m really happy that he took first as it means he IS popular, just not as popular as some of my more famous heroes.
Thank you to everyone who voted! It was a fun first round!
Poor Robyn–I don’t have a promotional image for her. But she goes to Nottingham castle, so we’ll say this counts for her as well! 
June 30, 2017
Favorite Secondary Character Poll: ROUND I
Greetings, Champions! Today marks the start of the “Favorite Secondary Character Poll” Face off! I decided to go with the suggested idea of having heats, with the winners moving on to the final round. Though some Champions had some brilliant ideas for organizing the poll, I decided to keep things simple and just do it based on book (or in some cases, book vs book). It seems like it was a good decision as–in spite of keeping things simple–I nearly forgot Life Reader existed and left it out in my original planning stage. Woops! Cold-brain strikes again!
There will be seven heats total, with a final round to pick out the characters who get the much coveted title of “Favorite Secondary Characters!” For each heat, you will have one week to vote. Votes will always close on Thursdays, and the new heat will begin on Friday–which is also when I will announce the winners of the previous week. (I go over this a bit below, but, rules! It’s good to cover them!) This is a bit of a Summer Battle Royal, but I’m hoping it will be fun for everyone. 
June 28, 2017
Sick Panda Strikes Back!
I think by now, you all know I’m not a normal person. In fact, I’m pretty weird. AND THAT’S WHY I HAVE A COLD IN THE MIDDLE OF SUMMER. As a kid I thought it was impossible to get colds in any other season besides fall/winter. As an adult, I seem to get colds exclusively in the summer. But enough of that. Cue the panda!
No one knows how sick panda got stuck like that–not even sick panda.As you can probably guess by my rambling introduction, I have come down with a cold which has knocked me flat on my rear–as illustrated by the panda above. (For those of you how have been fortunate enough not to witness me when I am ill before, when sick/tired/whatever I like to use pandas to express myself, mostly because when I am sick I am incredibly, inexplicably stupid, and pandas are perhaps the only creatures who are cute enough to cover for their derpy-ness, which makes me like to think that I too can skid by on my dead-brain if I play my cards right.)
However, I am not letting this time go to waste! I’m getting everything organized for the Secondary Character poll, which will begin in July. Because there are so many secondary characters I’m going to hold a “bracket” where you’ll get to vote for your top three or four characters per bracket and the winning characters will move on to a final round where the favorites will be picked!
But Kitty, you might be thinking, if you are organizing this while sick, there’s probably a good chance you are going to miss some characters! Very astute of you, Champions, but, buwahah–I have thought of that! The last “heat” I’ll hold before the final vote off will be for “forgotten favorites” in case I do miss a few popular characters.
…and yep. That’s pretty much all I have to say that’s even remotely intelligent right now. Have a great week, Champions, and thanks for reading!
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June 16, 2017
Heroine Poll Results
Greetings, Champions!
The results for the First Annual Heroine Poll are in! There were a total of 593 participants and 1,779 votes were cast–remember you could choose up to three heroines!
Britt Arthurs took first place with 280 votes, Rakel of Snow Queen was in second with 232 votes, and Tari of Red Rope of Fate took third with 150 votes! Cinderella and Gemma (of Rumpelstiltskin) were neck-in-neck with 140 and 139 votes, and Raven (of Life Reader) was close behind them with 133 votes.
The rest of the girls are listed below with their vote tallies, but I did want to do a brief comparison of the top five heroines and the top five heroes!
The top heroes from January’s annual Hero Poll were (in order of popularity): Stil of Rumpelstiltskin, Farrin of Snow Queen, Merlin and Friedrich (of Cinderella) tied, Arion of Red Rope of fate, and Asher and Aaron of Life Reader.
In comparing the new lists you might notice that they are actually partners (Rakel goes with Farrin, Stil goes with Gemma, etc) just in a slightly re-arranged order. This was a huge surprise to me, and not what I expected at all! It does make me curious, though, if this also predicts my top five favorited books. (Which would be particularly ironic given that none of the books listed are my top sellers, but strangely all five of those books were among my favorites to write.)
But on to the rest of the girls!
7th: Dylan: 123 votes
8th: Elle: 110 votes
9th: Gabrielle: 95 votes
10th: Morgan: 92 votes
11th: Ahira: 87 votes
12th: Robyn Hood: 76 votes
13th: Odette: 41 votes
14th: Elise: 39
15th: Briar: 35
I was a little surprised Briar came in last as she seemed to be one of the more warmly received heroines, however, I do suspect her late arrival to the team might be responsible for it as many of the other girls have had more time to worm their way into your hearts.
June 8, 2017
Double Edged Sword
Good day, Champions! I’m giving one last plug for the First Annual Heroine Poll! Thus far Britt is the runaway champion, with Rakel in second, but after that it’s a pretty close split! (Tari actually swooped in from behind over the last few days, so there’s still room for an upset!)
In case you haven’t gotten a chance to vote yet, here it is! Remember: you have until 6/15 to vote. (And yes, next year I’ll consider giving you more than three votes.)
Now on to the post!
I hope that all of you—both you newcomers and old loyalists—know just how important you Champions are to me! I can write because of your support—and your encouragement gives me a helpful nudge whenever I need it, too. But that love can be a double-edged sword because I love all of you—not just the majority—and that’s where my characters come in.
I have a lot of characters that are universally loved—like Rakel of the Snow Queen series, or Britt of King Arthurs—but like all authors, some readers dislike a few of heroines—and it changes from reader to reader. Some dislike Dylan of Little Selkie, others don’t care for Gemma of Rumpelstiltskin, and some people don’t sympathize with Cinderella.
You see all the heroines on that heroine poll? Each and every one of them, even the most popular like Rakel and Britt, have had a reader dislike or even hate them. But I’m okay with that, because it’s not possible to create a character everyone loves, just like it is impossible to create a story that everyone loves. But even more important, I accept that some of my gals will be less popular because—as you can see based on the votes—to someone, each of those heroines meant something.
I’ve had a few of my fabulous champions request that I re-write heroines that they dislike, and while I can understand where they are coming from (it’s disappointing to read a character you don’t sympathize with) my answer will always be a loving no. I feel like we need an example for this, so I’m going to use Odette of Swan Lake.
When Swan Lake first came out, many champions were a little unsure about Odette—she just didn’t jive with them. To put it simply, a lot of you didn’t like her very much. As you can see in the poll, she is not one of my most popular characters…but I have received some of the most heart-warming letters because of her. Odette—out of ALL my female heroines thus far—brought in the most mail to me in which readers poured out their hearts. I received emails from people who told me they had never before felt such a connection with a character, because the problems she faced as a leader were so much like the trials they went through. I received letters from people who indentified heavily with Odette, and felt like she brought them hope.
And that is why I will NEVER, EVER re-write one of my heroines. Because I will not take away the comfort those champions found in that story, and I will not remove my support from their struggles, even if they are in the minority.
I just write books. In the big scheme of things, I’m not heroic or particularly special. But I know people find hope in stories, and I never want to steal that from them.
Keep in mind, I’m not trying to shame anyone for disliking a character. Believe me, I have certain characters that I love, and certain kinds that I reaaallly dislike. (Romeo and Juliet, I’m talking to YOU TWO. SERIOUSLY. WHY YOU DO!?!?) So please keep on talking about characters—shedding light on your likes and dislikes—and give HONEST reviews, and all of that!
But if you read a book—whether it’s one of mine or from another author—and you find that you just don’t like the main character, please have patience…because the book probably wasn’t written for you. Wait a bit, and I promise eventually I’ll try to create another heroine that you’ll enjoy as well. (Now if my leading ladies are all suddenly insipidly stupid book after book after book, then that is a whole different story!! But hopefully that won’t happen.)
Whew, that was a bit of a long post, but I wanted to make it clear just how much I treasure you, Champions–all of you. Thanks for reading, and have a lovely weekend!
The post Double Edged Sword appeared first on K. M. Shea.
June 1, 2017
First Annual Heroine Poll
Welcome, Champions, to the FIRST ANNUAL HEROINE POLL! Answer in the poll below your favorite K. M. Shea Heroine! You can vote three times–so choose wisely! The poll will be open from today (June 1) through Thursday, June 15–so you guys have two weeks to cast your ballot!
Once the poll is closed, I’m going to take the time to discuss the results of this year’s polls–both the favorite hero and favorite heroine–so we should have some fun discussion in the future.
As a side note, are you interested in holding a “favorite secondary character” poll? If so, mention that in the comments below. I’m trying to decide if I should go that far or not. But, enough chatter, here it is!
I look forward to seeing the results–it’s always fascinating to witness. Thanks for reading, Champions, and thank you for voting in the poll!
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May 26, 2017
Surprise!
I’m running around like a hamster on a wheel today, but I wanted to let you know, Champions, that today I’m having a flash sale!
Both Beauty and the Beast and Enthroned (Book 1 of King Arthurs and Her Knights) are free for today only! If you haven’t yet snagged a copy of them, please grab and spread the word!
Sorry for the short entry, I will have more time to catch up with all of you lovely Champions next week. Until then, enjoy the free books!
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May 20, 2017
Introducing: Assistant-Rock-Star Meg
Good day to you, Champions! I’ve got some fun stuff to share today! For starters, I’m part of a giveaway that highlights “excellence in indies,” which is a huuuge contest you can enter for the chance to win lots of books. It’s being held over at “Reading is My Superpower,” which is a review blog, and they were nice enough to let me write a guest post! Check it out here!
Next up, today I finally get to introduce you all to my new rock-star author assistant, Meg! To help you guys get to know her a bit, I thought I’d do the same thing I did with Britt and hold a mini interview.
Kitty: Hello Meg, welcome to the community!
Meg: Thank you Kitty! I am happy to be here!
Kitty: Could you tell us a bit about yourself?
Meg: Well sure! I was born and raised in a small town in the Midwest. Jesus has blessed me with a wonderful husband and a beautiful little farm where we raise milking goats. I love coffee, anything chocolate, and spending time with good friends and family. I also enjoy reading, Scottish Country Dancing, and watching movies. Lastly, my favorite Timeless Fairy Tale is Cinderella and Colonel.
Kitty: Meg will mostly be in charge of my email inbox and sorting everything out—though she’ll also be popping in on Facebook too! Besides keeping me more organized, she’ll also be answering some of the more common questions. (For example: Is the King Arthurs series really over? ((Yes.)) Will Life Reader get a sequel? ((Yes, but not for a while.))) If there’s a more personal email that’s sent to me she’ll shoot it my way so I can respond, so I’ll still be reading my messages!
Meg: Yes, I will only be handling the “easy” emails. Kitty will still reply to you on specific matters. But please be patient as we make the transition with the email.
Kitty: With Meg helping me combat the slog of my inbox, it will free up my time for other aspects of the business, so I’m very excited to welcome her to the team. She’s also a long time friend of mine, which is really nice as I know my inbox and you Champions will be in good hands.
Meg: Thank You Kitty. I appreciate that you have such faith in me and asked me to be a part of your team.
Kitty: That covers the intro! I’m confident you wonderful Champions will have fun getting to know Meg—and witness what a calming influence she is on me, ha-ha. Thanks for reading, Champions, and have a lovely day!
Meg: I look forward to meeting and getting to know you all! Thank you for letting me join your community!
Kitty: Of course–we’re so thrilled to have you!
So with Meg acting as my assistant, Britta, who is once my intern but I now consider her my lead beta reader; Myrrhlynn on covers; And my awesome-sauce editing team backing me up, we have quite the little posse now! Which reminds me, thank you to everyone who added in their favorite fairy tale retellings on my last post–we had an amazing discussion and some really good recommendations were shared! (I’m thrilled to have bulked up my reading list for the summer, woohoo!) If you didn’t get a chance to check it out yet, here’s a link to the post.
That’s it for today, Champions! Thanks for reading, and if you like give Meg a warm welcome in the comments and check out that giveaway I mentioned at the start of the post. 
