Savannah Hendricks's Blog, page 31
May 22, 2014
House Hunting
Reminder…the dishwasher works best…farthest from the sink…and on the other side of the stove. Really?
Those house hunting shows make it seem so fun. A half hour and three places later, easy pick.
That of course is not the case.
It’s a hurry quick this place just listed and it looks great.
It’s maybe this place looks better in person.
It’s I can try to make this work if I close one eye.
It’s I didn’t make it in time, got beat out by another.
It’s too much, it’s too wrecked, it’s too small, it’s too big.
It’s luck, it’s skill, it’s faith.
It’s discovery of how others live, and the fun and beauty of old houses.
IT’S THAT IT FINALLY HAPPENED!!!
May 19, 2014
Appreciation Monday
Remote controls are a marvelous invention. Don’t get me wrong there are many inventions that have eased all of our lives over the centuries, but the remote is really something that aids in relaxation. Now I know that there are remote controls for everything from flame-less candles to car stereos. But the TV remote control just makes life relaxing and easy. Can you imagine trying to find something to watch with all the channels of programs most people have now-a-days by turning a dial next to the screen? I guess one could say if we remained at the same level of options for TV broadcasts it wouldn’t be a big deal. But we haven’t and now we can do more and more on our TVs than just watch TV. Of course it still doesn’t fix the laziest of us that we will watch whatever is on because the remote is lost between the cushions or we can’t lean to reach for it. I’m appreciate for my TV remote.
May 15, 2014
Paper Words ~ 5 Minute Ficion
Like chapters
Pages with words once unknown
Heart racing
What happens now within control of turning paper
With the ending near
Resolution pausing
Contemplating the beginning
May 12, 2014
Appreciation Monday
Living in a warm climate like Arizona you really do appreciate little things, like the breeze of a fan. Growing up in Southern California meant you had a lot of fans and one of those A/C window units in a few of the rooms. My mom always had a fan going, while at my father’s house I can’t recall a fan ever running. (Maybe there were ceiling fans). Anyways, I love the sound and feel of a fan. My favorite are the box fans and the table top ones that oscillate. You know the kind that gets to the end of its sweep and gets stuck so it clicks until someone smacks it get it unstuck. Those were the two kinds my mom had. I couldn’t sleep without the noise of a fan now-a-days. And they keep me cool during the hot summers. I am appreciative of fans, any style.
May 9, 2014
Unavoidable Mother’s Day
Every year I try desperately to avoid Mother’s Day. I don’t pay attention to commercials or ads in papers. For some reason it gets more challenging to avoid each year. Maybe because more friends are dog people and include me in their Mother’s Day text overload. Which I actually really like and I’m grateful. But the reason I have always tried to avoid Mother’s Day, and still do, is not because I’m not a mom to actual human kids. It is because I haven’t been able to celebrate Mother’s Day since I was 15 yrs old. While I did have a mother-in-law for a few short years before she passed and I have a step-mom, it is not the same.
Back when I was a child I was fully aware that I needed to let my mom know she was important, not just on Mother’s Day, but everyday. I look back on my childhood and was saddened over not being able to go overboard on Mother’s Day because I was not capable to the full extent to celebrate Mother’s Day at such a young age the way one can as an adult. That, I believe, is the real reason for avoiding Mother’s Day each year. My lack of not being able to because it’s not even an option.
May 6, 2014
Interview/Book Release Today with Kai Strand
I had the pleasure of connecting with author Kai Strand through social media after our stories made it in the same read aloud stories for children collections published by Knowonder. Today is the release date for Ms. Strand’s book Worth the Effort: Ella’s Story, and lucky to interview her for my blog.
Enter the giveaway for Worth the Effort: Ella’s Story HERE!
You have five books out, with a sixth coming out today!! What have you learned through the process of publication with book six, verses your first book and your third book?
Thank you for hosting me today, Savannah. So far the release of a new book hasn’t gotten any less exciting! I’ve learned so much with each release, but a couple of the more important things, I believe, are:
The journey to publication is unique for each book. Even within a series. Each book has it’s own personality and it is important to do your best to expose that to as many people as possible so they can decide if it is a book for them. That said, the best way to please readers, isn’t to obsess over guest posts and interviews, it is to write another book. I really enjoy a good new release ‘tour’ like I’m having with Worth the Effort: Ella’s Story, but I’ll soon be back to the writing side of things to create more books for readers to enjoy.
With your Super Villain Academy Series and Worth the Effort series what have you done differently to create those stories series verses your stand alone books?
I also have The Weaver Tale series. I looked at my body of work one day and said, “Whose idea was it to start all these series?” Series are difficult, but each of mine is different from the next. The Weaver Tales are middle grade books all set within the same fictional village of Word Weavers, where everyone speaks in story. They also have a recurring character, Unwanted. He’s a funny little gnome-elf who grants wishes. Other than that each book is unique and there is no specific reading order.
Super Villain Academy is a traditional sequence series. You need to read the books in order. Each book has an individual story arc, but the series also has an over arcing plot that will resolve in the third book.
Finally, Worth the Effort are stories written in different point of views. The first book Ella’s Story, which released today, is in…Ella’s point of view. And because there are always two sides to every story, the second book will be in Ayden’s point of view. It was so much fun to write, though more difficult than I expected.
Why do you think King of Bad has done so well with readers?
Honestly, I wish I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt why. When I was shopping the book to publishers, I knew the book was going to be a game changer for me. Even so, I was pleasantly surprised when that became a reality. I think it is a combination of an intriguing storyline and timing. Superheroes/villains have been big and my book fills the niche in the less saturated area of young adult. There are plenty superhero stories for middle grade and adult readers, but for some reason, not as many titles in y.a.
How do you know when your story idea will work as a Young Adult book verses a Middle Grade book?
That’s a good question. It isn’t something I ponder over when I’m developing new book ideas. For me I think it fleshes out pretty quickly with the subject and the characters I want to use. Those tend to come to me simultaneously. As an example, when Worth the Effort was forming in my head, I knew I wanted a romantic element between a high school girl and an underage homeless boy. Definitely young adult. During the revision process, someone suggested I increase the age of the main characters and do a new adult title, but it was really important to me to show that there are underage homeless kids.
When and why did your writing career start?
I’m a mother of four. I became a full-time mom when my youngest turned one and we moved to Central Oregon. When my third child started Kindergarten and I was left home alone with only my youngest I felt like I had ALL the time in the world! So I wrote a novel (which is now Beware of the White). That same year my second oldest was diagnosed with double vision and tracking issues. Luckily both of those issues are relatively easy to resolve, but by the time he got it in order, he was woefully behind his classmates in reading level. Because reading had already become such a chore, I wanted to write stories he actually wanted to read (which are some of the stories published by Knowonder.)
What is your least favorite thing about writing and your favorite thing about writing?
Up until recently, my least favorite would have been editing. But struggling through the indie author process has temporarily changed that to a lack of confidence. Non-flagging belief in your work/decision making abilities/skills is always difficult, but when you are 100% the boss – way harder!
Favorite thing is most definitely the readers. When someone says they enjoyed my book or a character, it inspires me to continue writing. I love to get lost in the book I’m reading, and to hear I’ve provided that experience for a reader is the ultimate writing success for me.
With several new releases in 2014, how do you focus on one piece at a time when you are writing a manuscript?
I’ve always been a very compartmentalized person. My husband and I met at work, dated while we worked together and worked together again years later. It was never a problem to me because when I was at work, he was a co-worker, not my boyfriend/husband. So when I am writing a middle grade and editing a young adult or promoting one and/or the other, it is relatively easy for me to keep them all separate in my mind, since they are in their own box.
That said, there is a down side to having a compartmentalized personality. Such as when I contact someone (say through email) and dive straight into the topic I want to address, because a pleasant greeting isn’t ‘in the box.’ Sometimes I can seem abrupt. Or if I’m at a play or concert at the kids’ school and someone asks about my next book, I might stare a bit too long while my brain moves out of the MOM box and over to the author box.
Tell us about your latest release, Worth the Effort: Ella’s Story, as well as your other upcoming releases for 2014.
Worth the Effort: Ella’s Story
Ella Jones is a coward. There is a teen boy living in the alley behind her work and she is terrified of him.
Desperate to leave behind the stereotypical and judgmental world she was raised in, Ella forces herself to make a true connection with seventeen-year-old Ayden Worth. As their friendship grows Ayden’s quiet, gentle ways teach her true courage.
But there’s more to Ayden’s story than Ella knows. When their worlds collide in the most unexpected place, Ella feels betrayed. Will she find the courage to learn who Ayden really is, or will she determine he’s not worth the effort?
Polar Opposites: Super Villain Academy Bk 2 – June 2014
The supers are balanced. All’s well in the super world. Right? When dogs drag Oceanus away, Jeff learns the supers are so balanced, they no longer care to get involved. The only one who seems to care is Oci’s ex-villain, ex-boyfriend, Set. With Jeff’s own powers unbalanced and spiraling out of control, he wonders if they will find Oci before he looses control completely, and if they’ll find her alive.
Worth the Effort: Ayden’s Story (tentative) August 2014
This isn’t the first time Ayden has taken to the streets for comfort.
(I don’t want to say too much, this early and spoil some of the surprises in Ella’s Story. But there is a nice comprehensive blurb at the end of Ella’s Story for readers who want more.)
The Lumpy Duckling: Another Weaver Tale 2014
Wheezy’s one wish is for everyone to see her best friend, Lumpy, the way she does. When her wish comes true, will their friendship survive?
Thanks for having me today, Savannah, and for helping me celebrate my release day. I hope your readers will visit my website, www.kaistrand.com, to read about my books and see where they can stalk – I mean find me online. Good luck to those who enter the giveaway! Don’t forget to enter the giveaway HERE!
Check out the book on Amazon or/and Goodreads
May 5, 2014
Appreciation Monday
THIS!!!
I don’t really need to say anything else.
Thank you Jelly Belly – I appreciate you
(P.S. yes I do my own nails)
May 1, 2014
Weekend Projects
Extra paint and a large piece of tissue paper can equal an updated bulletin board.
I quickly applied 2 coats of white paint to the trim. Then used the paint as glue and pasted on the previously cut-to-size tissue paper (from my re-gifting tub full of tissue paper and bags).
Update your bathroom cabinets and hardware.
Remove all hardware and doors, then lightly sand and paint.
April 28, 2014
Appreciation Monday
You know the scene in A Christmas Story where Ralphie says FUDGE in slow motion, but he isn’t really saying fudge. Well that was me when I realized I completely forgot I still needed to post for appreciation Monday.
I am appreciative that I am on my final week for my Master’s level statistics class. My textbook is titled Simple Statistics, but I am not sure what has been simple about it. Four more days left and I am done done done…FOREVER. I hated it at the bachelor level and I still hate it.
So appreciative it is A-L-M-O-S-T over!!!!
April 23, 2014
Ashes ~ 5 Minute Fiction
Black ashes
Floating up and whispering back down
Burned for some time
The edges holding the flame
Before sneaking its way and making holes
Nothing remains of you
But a scent of black ashes
