Kate Willis's Blog, page 28

eight boxes

It took eight boxes to pack up our bookshelves for the upcoming trip across the complex to our new apartment. That’s not counting the number in our storage closet or the books we’re currently reading that will have to be packed, eventually. Or the five I just brought home from a really good sale at...Continue reading »

the plot points comfort me

I’m a reader with anxiety, and sometimes books make me too on-edge to read them. *sad face* But if they’re well-plotted and follow a three-act structure… well, it helps me push through my anxiety. I know that if something bad happens, soon something good will happen, and vice versa. I know the plot points well...Continue reading »

so, your work is being beta-read

I’ve written a few blog posts on beta-reading now. There were two with tips on how to be a beta-reader (here and here), a love letter to beta-reading itself linked here, and, most recently, an appreciation of my own beta-reading teams here. But what I haven’t written is something about the other side of things–being...Continue reading »

A Dream of Home’s opening scene

I was looking through my archives to update my Projects page, and I realized I hadn’t shared an excerpt of my Jewish sci-fi novella with you all yet. *stares in shock* It’s time to fix that… The first time I was called an “Ashkie” was on the refugee ship taking me away from the only...Continue reading »

my favorite books for the first quarter

I’ve read 39 (!!) books so far this year, but only a handful have landed on my Goodreads “favorites” shelf. This honor is bestowed upon the best of the best, the cutest of the cute, the helpfulest of helpfulness. Or the ones that stick with me the most in their entertainment and encouragement. 😉 January...Continue reading »

5 reasons i love my beta-readers

I’ve written a few posts about beta-reading (including this one “for the love of beta-reading“), but I thought it was high time I wrote one about my beta-readers. ❤ Here are just five reasons I’m so happy to work with them! 1. They volunteered their time to read my book! And it’s not just reading,...Continue reading »

i’m in therapy

I’ve been doing therapy this year. For the past 3+ months, actually. It’s been terrifying and tear-inducing and good and growing and delightful all at once. We talk about a lot of stuff. How to deal with negative thoughts, how to live my own life and not others’ for them, what has happened and is...Continue reading »

what have i been doing?

I’ve been… Reading In Search of a Prince by Toni Shiloh (it’s pretty cool) and Creating Character Arcs by K.M. Weiland (learning so much!). Writing this blog post. 😛 Processing beta-reader feedback for “Letters for Victory” and for “A Dream of Home” (love my teams!). Crying over the Bluey special. Playing with covers for “Letters...Continue reading »

just popping in to say…

I finished my draft of “Letters for Victory”!!! ❤ ❤ (If you haven’t heard of this project, it’s my middle-grade WW2 homefront story I wrote eight years ago and decided to pick up again.) It’s been so fun to see my growth as a writer, and I just love these characters. ❤ I can’t wait...Continue reading »

a happy book haul ;)

With my book-buying ban over, I treated myself to some books. Then my husband took me to Barnes and Noble for my birthday and bought me a couple more and I snagged a couple while I was there, and basically, I had an epic book haul I thought I’d share with you all. 😉 First...Continue reading »