K.D. Pryor's Blog, page 6

Follow up: Young Adult reviewers’ feedback on “The Portal’s Choice”

On Friday, March 29, I met with my beta readers from the local middle school to get their thoughts on The Portal’s Choice. We had a lively and honest discussion about what they saw to be the strengths and weaknesses of the book. I am so glad that I sought input from my target audience and that I have an opportunity to do a little tweaking before publication. Overall, the kids liked the book, which was positive for me as the author. They did, however, suggest a few places that I could up the suspense and move the story along at a faster pace. They also pointed out a couple of spots where I hadn’t made character ages and/or relationships clear. I’ve been at work making some minor changes to address the  issues that they mentioned.

Aside from the constructive comments the kids made, I enjoyed hearing about what they thought of my characters. Many of them felt connected to my protagonist, Tallis Challinor, especially by the end of the book as she grew into herself and courageously undertook new challenges. Each of them had other characters that made an impression. There were a few times that I was surprised by the response to a character. Many times, however, the teens responded to the characters in a way that I anticipated.

I’m sending a big ‘thank you’ to all the eighth graders who read the book and took the time to make comments. Your input is invaluable. Now I’m waiting for the last of my beta reader reviews to come in and then I will make the final edits to The Portal’s Choice before it is released on May 6, 2013.

Picture courtesy of Youth and Popular Culture,  http://whatishotandwhatisnot.edublogs.org/2012/10/09/texts-and-teens/

The Portal’s Choice – Beta Reader #1 Response

“As you by now know, we have sent out 18 copies of The Portal’s Choice to beta readers to get any last minute feedback before the book is released (on May 6). Last week, I received the first response to the questionnaire we included with the book copy.

Reader #1 had just three minor questions. The first concerned a cell phone that Tallis suddenly had after earlier commenting that she is ‘the only kid in the world without a cell phone.’

This led me to question whether a writer HAS to include every little detail. I mean, can’t we just assume that the reader will understand that at Point A Tallis did not have a cell phone and that by Point B she had acquired one? I checked with my publisher and the answer is, “No. If you put something into your story, then it is at that point important. If you change it, you have to alert the reader to that change. If, on the other hand, it is not important to the story in the first place, take it out.

Great call, Reader #1!

Her second comment concerned something that Clement says. When talking about the ghosts, he refers to them as “we.” Reader #1 wasn’t sure who ‘we’ meant – was it the ghosts? Or, was he referring to himself and Tallis? Personally, I think his reference was obvious (he was referring to the ghosts), BUT, I am extremely close to the story. I KNOW what is happening. The entire point of having Beta Readers is to have fresh eyes look at it who can point out where THEY didn’t know what I meant. This is an easy fix and, again, great call, Reader #1!

The third comment concerned ‘Edwist.’ At one point in the book, I mention it, but did not explain (at that point) what it is. For someone who has not read the book before – and who knew very little about it before reading it – that was confusing. Thankfully, it is also an easy fix. Look for more definitions, including a definition of the word ‘Edwist’ as it is used in The Portal’s Choice, in a future post.

I am feeling very grateful at this point that the first reader had only three comments/questions about the story. Of course, there are still 17 more beta readers to hear back from…

On a positive note, she did leave this review:

“I felt from the beginning Tallis was a competent and caring young gal. She was likeable for her spunk and wit. I think she has a strength young people will see as a model. I

absolutely loved her! . . . This is a book that will open you to new ideas about the power we all have to command our lives. K.D. affirms the unique and valuable way, through focus that we are capable of more than we might believe!”

Check out the ‘Review’ page. I’ll be adding more comments as they come in.

 

Photo courtesy of Laurel Zuckerman

Young Adult Reviewers of The Portal’s Choice

Last Friday, March 22, I met with a group of eighth graders and their teacher. Mrs. Allison had invited me to come in and speak with the kids in her class who most loved to read and could provide me with quick feedback on The Portal’s Choice, featuring Tallis Challinor. I had a great discussion about books and writing with approximately a dozen bright, articulate and welcoming teens that could and did tell me a thing or two about young adult fiction. Thanks to all of them for being so open with me. I had a great time.

This Friday, I return to meet with the group and hear their feedback about my book. I intend to ask them where they see Tallis and the series, The Gatekeepers of Em’pyrean, heading.  I know the direction I plan to take with the series, but I want to check in with the experts for their opinions.

In addition to chatting with the group, their teacher, Mrs. Allison, asked me if I’d be willing to lead a writing group once a week with these same students. First, I have to say that I am honored to have been asked. Second, I can’t imagine not answering in the affirmative. What an amazing opportunity for me, as a young adult author, to be mentored by my audience as I continue down my path. And, if I can provide inspiration, encouragement, and maybe even some guidance, I’m happy to do so. I think it will be a positive experience for all of us involved.

I will be posting the reviews from these teens as well as several other teenage and adult readers who currently have edits copies of The Portal’s Choice as the reviews come in. I do have one review in, and in the next post I’ll detail what I’ve learned so far from this part of the editing process.

Picture courtesy of eternalbibliophile on Tumblr

The Portal’s Choice – Continuing down the road to publication

I am finding new readers to review edit copies of the first book in The Gatekeepers of Em’pyrean series. Because I’ve written a young adult novel, my publisher, Katherine Mariaca-Sullivan, and I decided to seek opinions from the young adult audience and see what teens think about Tallis Challinor and her paranormal adventures.  I sent requests for possible readers to a teacher and a counselor at the local high school and middle school and am hopeful that I will be delivering books to students soon.

One person has finished the book and made some comments. I’ve added a Review page to give other potential readers insight into The Portal’s Choice. Take a look and see what Lisa Jones, one of the adult readers, had to say.

I am thankful to the people who are willing to read The Portal’s Choice before publication. I’ve looked at the book so many times and might miss grammatical errors and typos and I don’t want to release a book that isn’t polished. Lisa also pointed out three places in the book that needed a bit of explaining or a little tweaking. Fresh eyes are welcome at this point in the process. Soon, thanks to the efforts of these readers, and my final review of the book, I will be making last changes and eagerly awaiting the arrival of the finished version of The Portal’s Choice.

 

So who is Tallis Challinor?

I’d like to introduce you to the protagonist of “The Portal’s Choice”, Tallis Challinor. I’m going to let Tallis speak for herself in a moment, but first I want to say that creating characters is fun and I’ve loved exploring Tallis and her personality. By the way, like me, Tallis loves to write. A portion of one of her stories is included below. She started the story for her brother, Wyatt, and her cousin, Vanessa but her nasty Uncle Craig made her stop. Anyway, read on.  I hope you enjoy getting to know Tallis as much as I have.

 “Fifteen year old Tallis Challinor never planned to be a ghost-buster. In fact, she’d never believed in ghosts at all. To her, the idea of some kind of spirit life existed only in the imagination, scary to read about, terrifying to watch in movies, but never possible in real life. But all that changed on a visit to her Aunt Gabbie and Gabbie’s husband, Noreis, in a small town in New Hampshire. For, unbeknownst to her aunt, Noreis was a gatekeeper of the spirit realm with the responsibility of keeping the souls of the dead in their proper place, and away from the living. He wasn’t doing a great job, however, and when the ghosts escaped, trouble followed.”

I’m Tallis Challinor, teenager, writer, and temporary gatekeeper of a portal or gateway between the human and spirit realm. This is my story. I’ve decided to write it down because I’ve got to get it out, but no one who hasn’t lived it would believe me. I’ve always found that words are my best friends, anyway. They don’t judge me, laugh at me, or walk away if I’m not cool enough to hang out with. Words let me say what I feel, pretty or ugly, happy or sad, and once I’ve written them down, I can share them or not, but the result is the same. I feel better.

My parents died almost four years ago, and my brother, Wyatt, and I, had to go live with my Aunt Sandra and Uncle Craig and our cousins, Hannah and Vanessa. Of course we didn’t want to go. We wanted life to stay the same, with mom and dad and us living at our winery in Northern California, having fun, loving each other, being a family. Since that wasn’t going to happen, after mom and dad were lost at sea in a fishing accident, our second choice was to stay in our home where our Grandma and Grandpa Challinor also lived, and where our Aunt Gabbie came to visit regularly. But that wasn’t meant to be either. We got option number three, not our choice at all, but one forced upon us by our mother’s family and that alternative involved moving all our stuff to a tiny town in the middle of the country and far away from our familiar lives.

Aunt Sandra, mom’s sister, prevailed because we happened to be staying with her when our folks died. She conveniently kept us, citing the stability of a home life complete with two cousins to act as siblings and our other grandparents, the Gavets, right down the road. Wyatt came to accept our time with Aunt Sandra and her family, but I was never a fan. Aunt Sandra was nice, but there were other family members who weren’t so welcoming. Let’s just say that having a female cousin who’s sixteen to your fifteen, and loves to lord her supposed superiority over you, isn’t a happy setting in which to find yourself. Then, I had to contend with Uncle Craig. All I can say about him is yuck.

Anyway, life changes. I’ve found that out and maybe a bit earlier than other kids my age.  Last February, Wyatt and I moved again, this time to New Hampshire to live with our Aunt Gabbie and her husband, Noreis, and that’s when the fun really started.

 

 

The Portal’s Choice – Where did all those words come from? Part One

I love finding out the meaning behind names of people and places. As I researched names for “The Portal’s Choice” I discovered that there are websites that allow you to search the meaning of names, ones that tell you what the numerology behind your name says about you, and others that interpret your personality and how you handle situations in life based on your name. I spent time on many websites and in books about old English to determine what to name my characters and the different places that populate their world. 

The first name I had to decide on was the name for my protagonist. I wanted her to be courageous but I also knew she’d face obstacles and doubt herself throughout the story. I liked the look of the name “Tallis” and I liked the meanings that I found. “Tallis” means “truth” and “noble.” It also means “forest” or “woodland” in French. My character, Tallis, must learn to follow her truth and I believe she acts in a noble fashion in difficult situations. Sometimes, however, her understanding is obscured for a time, as if she was lost in a forest. The name works well for this character. 

Another important character that you will meet in “The Portal’s Choice” is Porteur. Porteur is the head gatekeeper for the spirit realm, and soon you will understand what that means. In French, the name Porteur means “gatekeeper”. That name choice was easy. 

Finally, I will fill you in a bit about one of the places in the spirit realm where souls usually go immediately after death. I named this level or spot on the spirit side “Bancofa”.  “Bancofa” is an old English word that means “body” and in the spirit level called “Bancofa”, souls exist in a human form with a body. 

In later posts I‘ll explain more about the name origins of the places and people that populate the world of “The Gatekeepers of Em’pyrean” and “The Portal’s Choice.”

The Road to Publication – The Portal’s Choice featuring Tallis Challinor

I can’t believe that my first novel is about to be released. “The Portal’s Choice” is the first book in “The Gatekeepers of Em’pyrean” series and features protagonist Tallis Challinor.  Tallis and I have been working together for almost 2 years and I’m excited to introduce her to you, my readers. My release date is May 6, 2013, and over the next two months I will be posting about my progress toward publication and any obstacles and surprises I encounter during the process.  Tallis is going to have a chance to give you some history about her and her family, but she won’t be giving too much away. We want you to read the book.

Yesterday, the second set of proofs arrived and this morning I delivered the first four books to readers for editing and comments. I look forward to hearing what they have to say and incorporating any necessary changes. Of course, I hope the feedback is mostly positive. I have had questions about the name of the book and of my main character and in the next post I will explain a bit about where those names came from.