Kate Willis's Blog, page 121

Book-Lover Blog Tag

Apparently I’m not the only book fanatic in the world. (Goodreads is proof.) My blogging friend Lauren started a tag specifically for us avid readers.

Name a book you’re embarrassed to say you haven’t read yet.

Aggie’s Inheritance: Ante Up!by Chautona Havig. You’d think after so much delightedscreaming, I would have read it by now! Nope. I am being patient. Do you see me being patient? I am being so patient I am wiggling!

2. What is the strangest thing you’ve ever used as a bookmark?

Ha, h...

Book Review: Song of the Sword!!!

Hey, everyone. *drops voice to a whisper* You know that review I’ve been promising you? Here it is…finally.

“A glittering sword. An ancient oath. A blackened rose. And a melody which ties it all together.

When Evrard and Roinette, twins separated at birth, are overtaken by events swirling from centuries past, they are forced into a battle beyond their own limited powers. With their ability to walk in the melody realm, catching glimpses of the light and darkness underlying Aslaria, comes even mor...

Hope Ann Interview

Join me in welcoming Hope Ann, author of the fantasy Song of the Sword! *cheers*

Hope, tell us a bit about yourself.

Well, I’m a Christian writer with eight younger siblings. I live on a small farm in Indiana and, now that I’ve graduated, I help Mom homeschool some of the younger ones…including teaching them creative writing. *grins and rubs hands* My random assortment of abilities include butchering chickens, climbing trees, reading, roller blading, painting (kind of), and collecting shiny f...

To Fantasy or Not To Fantasy?

I realize that this is a huge topic of debate. I also realize that Ineed to do more studying on it, but here’s where I am right now.

I’m all right with make- believe creatures, different laws of physics, and miraculous objects in the fantasy genre. I keep these in the realm of completely imaginary, and they don’t affect my life at all.

Magic, on the other hand, is a stickier issue. I’m personally okay with two kinds of magic in the fantasy books I read.

Laughable Disney/fairy tale magic.Litt...

Fantastic Fantasy Finds

I don’t read many fantasy books, but I have found a few I enjoy and can recommend wholeheartedly. Let me share them with you.

The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis

When asked what book has most impacted my life, I immediately thought of this series. Light on the magic side with great [witty, British] characters and compelling stories, these books never fail to draw mein and nearer to my Savior.

Dreamlanderby K.M. Weiland

This book is soooooooo amazing!!! It has ginormously good worldbuildin...

Plate Update: Princesses, Sandwiches, and Free Books

Remember that crazy pictureofmy ridiculously full plate I shared last month? Here’s an update on what I have and haven’t eaten–I mean, accomplished.

Last month alone I…

Beta-read:

Grace Space by Robin Merrill (three stars)

Growing Up Neighbors by Frances Hoelsema (two stars)

Song of the Sword by Hope Ann (five stars, but you have to wait to find out why )

The Dressmaker’s Secret by Kellyn Roth (three stars)

I’m also reading a few chapters a week of someone’s work in progress.

Pleasure read:

T...

Opening a Doorbell (And Other Hilarious Mistakes)

The other day Kellyn Roth and I were discussing our most hilarious author/blogger mistakes. I’ve been keeping note of mine just for grins, and I thought you might enjoy what I have so far…

I was editing the first part of“Kiera”the other day and I ran across this sentence: “The doorbell finally rang. She hurried to open it.” Have you ever opened a doorbell? I sure haven’t though maybe a doorbell repairman might have to take one apart sometime…
I love adding my made-up names to the dictionary...

The Little Books

Asking an author for her word count is like asking a woman her weight. Just look at this list of story categories!

Micro fiction–under one hundred words Flash Fiction–100 to 1,000 words Short short–1,000 to 2,000 words Short story– 2,000 to 7,500 words
Novelette–7,500 to 15,000 words
Novella–17,500 to 40,000 words
Novel– over 40,000 words
(Compiled by Perry Elisabeth from Wikipedia and Yahoo Answers. These may vary according to publisher.)

This reduces mybook The Treasure Hunt to a short sto...

Procrastination

All those emails, blog posts, and reviews to write can always wait until tomorrow, right? Today I actually havesome good excuses. I was on Pinterest a little bit, but the beginning of my day was spentbeating my brains out over Amazon’s review policies and the interworkings of MVD. After I finally made it through their maze (and passed my permit test!) the rest of the day was spent relaxing with my family by doing a little shopping, eating ice cream, and watching imitations of Donald Trump. I...

Book Review: A Different Kind of Courage

“‘Why did my life have to be full of secrets?’After three years in England, William Landor returns to Boston in 1774, little knowing the events that are about to unfold. England has issued an ultimatum: pay for the tea that was destroyed in the Boston Tea Party, or the Port of Boston will be closed. William knows that this will have a devastating effect on his hometown, which is so dependent on the sea. However, he finds himself in the middle of the political struggle he wanted to avoid.Willi...