Kate Willis's Blog, page 117

Library Hopefuls

Apparently I don’t haveenough books pining away for me to read them.Ihavefinished four books in the past four days,but that’s never enough.

No. I had to go to the library.

It was one of those “short trips” Mom declares. Just long enough for her to grab a stack of movies to help us survive this illness.

Fifteen minutes later, my two younger sisters and I were walking around with our arms full of books. FULL! So full we even dropped some, but fortunately that was the children’s section so we we...

How to Hide a Spoiler in Goodreads, Sweetie

Spoilers. Can’t read with ’em; can’t review without ’em.

It always makes me sad when I see that message on Goodreads, “This review has been hidden because of spoilers”. I always avoidthose reviews becausethey are advertising being spoiler minefields.

Don’t get me wrong, I love me a good spoiler. They’re absolutely tantalizing.I just want warningwhen I’m going to read one. I want to decide to spoil it for myself.

Scraps of Paper

I cleanedoff my desk today. It’s still not clean; but since it won’t ever be, I’m happy to have everything in nice tidy stacks.

There’s the my-friend-loaned-me-this-book-months-ago-and-this-letter-is-overdue stack. (Quite depressing. I try not to look at it.)

Then comes the makeup my mom bought for me, and I’m supposed to try soon. It’s not writing related in the least, but when something is waiting for a place to go–it lands on my desk. (Besides, my MC Kiera keeps her makeup on her desk and...

Book Review: The Silent Blade

“Dromiskin, Ireland. 925 A.D.

Eira has no greater desire than to see her life returned to what it once was—before her older brother Kevin’s sudden disappearance four years earlier. But the simple life she hoped for seems unattainable; on the contrary, her life is about to get all the more complicated.
When she suddenly finds herself and Willem, her twin brother, taken captive by someone who claims to be Kevin’s enemy, things go from bad to worse. It soon becomes clear that she and Willem are...

New York Times by the Book Tag

When Kellyn Roth nominated all bloggers for this tag from her hilarious birthday post, I knew I had to do it. She so kindly offered to let me use her idea of answering the questions with book covers, and I had a ton of fun putting this together. (Some of these covers are just for illustration; I can’t recommend the ones I haven’t read.) Hope you enjoy!

What book is on your nightstand right now?

What was the last truly great book you read or are currently reading?

If you could meet one autho...

Positively Negative

The other day on Goodreads, I thanked a reviewer for including an honest content advisory in her review. She replied by saying that I was welcome but she had a hard time writing negative reviews.

Can giving content advisories and writing positive reviews go together?

For the past few years, I’ve included a lengthy content advisory at the end of each of my reviews.Even ifthese things didn’t effect my enjoyment of the book, I felt as if everything needed to be mentioned for the sake of parents...

Virtual Avalanche

You know you’ve been spending too much time on Goodreads…

Fortunately mine’s just a digital shelf so I don’t have to worry about an avalanche.

What are you looking forward to reading next?

Inventing Words

Today I’ve been working on my story some more and following in the footsteps of William Shakespeare (except for the immoral characters and mix-ups) by inventingmy own words.

So far I’ve irritated spell check with two words–lunchers and snungry.Snungry, you say? Here’s a handy definition.

Snun.gry

noun

a state of hunger only satisfied by a snack such as ice cream.

synonyms: hungry, snacky, munchy

Shakespeare’s words have definitely become more well-known than my goofy one will ever be. Enjoy...

Book Review: Writer to Writer

“Have you ever wanted to captivate readers with a great opening, create spectacular and fantastical creatures, make up an entire country, realize a dastardly villain, write an epic love story, or make your characters leap off the page? If you answered yes to any of these questions, Gail Carson Levine can help you achieve your goals.Newbery Honor author Gail Carson Levine offers a behind-the-scenes take on writing and teaches you how to become a world-class author. Drawing from her popular b...

Seasonal Notebook Tutorial

Back to school season is so exciting! Sure the weather is cooling off, the pretty clothes are in, tea is finally a “must”, and my favorite season is coming soon for me to obsess over. (And I don’t have to do school anymore.) But the real reason I love the switch from summer to autumn?

Notebooks.20 cents each. One subject. Any color.

Last year, I bought myself a dollar’s worth and stowed them away for later use. I forgot about them until last week when I decided it was time for a new notebook....