Kate Willis's Blog, page 55
November 4, 2020
Book Review: 12 Dates of Christmas
“She’s spent the last ten years not forgiving him. Why should she start now?
When Reagan runs into her old high school nemesis, she’s flummoxed why he thinks she’d ever have coffee with him.
Alex is stunned to discover he was a nemesis in the first place.
Challenged into accepting a date for every offense he can name, Reagan is confident she’ll be spending her Christmas vacation away from the big bad Alex.
Maybe she should have gotten to know him a bit better first.” (from Goodreads)
I picked this up for the cute, lighthearted title and the promise of a relaxing read. In this author’s true style, it was all of those things, yes, but with a surprisingly deep background message of personal growth and forgiveness. (Let’s just say some of Reagan’s struggles hit a little close to home. 
October 30, 2020
A Visit With An Old Friend
Books are amazing things.
Some shape our childhoods so much that when we reread them we suddenly understand ourselves in a whole new way.
Others feed us during tough times of doubt or lend a healthy, lighthearted escape during stressful months.
Still others open our eyes and fill us with new empathy and understanding of people who differ from ourselves.
And some rare, unique books shatter our lives with emotion, empathy, new loves, new thoughts, and beautiful, beautiful words.
And we can’t stop thinking about them.
The Book Thief is one such book for me.
I experienced it so deeply over a few months that I can picture scenes clearly in my mind and remember the strong emotions I had when I first read them. It remains one of my favorite (and most blogged about) bookworm experiences. 
October 28, 2020
The 12 Days of NaNoWriMo
For those of you observing NaNoWriMo in just a mere, short four days, I give you this song. May it go better for you than this satirical experience.
October 26, 2020
Gold and Silver Stars (Excerpt from Imperfect)
Draft 2 of “Imperfect” is getting so close! I’m just four chapters away from finishing making the changes I marked up and finding some good solutions to problems I previously identified. *rubs hands together*
Just for fun, here’s a (rough) excerpt of one of my favorite scenes.
Gold and Silver Stars (Excerpt)
Draft 2 of “Imperfect” is getting so close! I’m just four chapters away from finishing making the changes I marked up and finding some good solutions to problems I previously identified. *rubs hands together*
Just for fun, here’s a (rough) excerpt of one of my favorite scenes.
October 23, 2020
Maybe I’m Back
In the first week of lockdown, I finished drafting my fantasy novel, celebrated my birthday, and learned to make mini doughnuts.
There were jokes about how productive we were all going to be. How many days straight we’d been home. How we introverts had a wonderful, unfair advantage that we didn’t really like going out in the first place.
Then something inside me shifted. Almost without me noticing. My creativity sank into a tired hibernation, popping up occasionally for air then disappearing again just as quickly.
Maybe it was the stress of everything. Or the time consuming art of “coping mechanisms” (that don’t really help, y’all). Or the constant inundation of (albeit really good) art–music, movies, TV shows, everything the world was admirably pulling together in an effort to lighten each other’s loads.
My writing heart slipped away, followed by reading, then finally blogging.
A blog about books and writing isn’t much use if the author isn’t reading or writing.
October 21, 2020
A (Rather Mysterious) Review
My boyfriend is a major film nerd, and one of our favorite long-distance dates is a movie + video call. 
October 19, 2020
Pre-Orders Will Be the Death of Me
Just a short time ago, my income steadied enough to where I could seriously consider buying an ebook right when I heard of it. (As long as it was still pretty inexpensive. Let’s not go crazy.
October 16, 2020
The Magical Nostalgia of The Mandalorian
I still remember the day my dad rolled the old TV cart out into the cafeteria of the former school-turned-church we lived in and sitting us down to watch Star Wars: Episode IV: A New Hope.
I don’t remember much. Luke seemed cute, there was a Princess, a lot of desert, funny droids… *shrugs*
[image error]
We discussed the movie like we always do, evaluating what was good and not so good, keying in on the worldview and messages. We even got a lesson in film history. (#homeschooled)
A lesson that eleven-year-old Kate always remembered.
My dad explained the Old West and medieval inspirations George Lucas brought together to make something entirely new.
(There’s a writing lesson in there somewhere.
October 15, 2020
My Favorite (Ill-Fated) Star Wars Ships
I wouldn’t usually consider myself a big Star Wars fan. I didn’t grow up on the movies and I have zero merch (though I plan to fix that with a Funko Pop of Rose Tico soon).
But when Katie Hanna and Eva-Joy announced the event was for anything and everything Star Wars related, more than a few topic ideas came to mind.
