Kate Willis's Blog, page 81

Top 5 Favorite Funny Finds

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Welcome back! Today’s genre–humor–is super fun because who doesn’t love to laugh, right?

Top 5 Favorite Pro-Life Reads (& Welcome!)

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Hello everyone! Welcome to our third Five Fall Favorites blog party!

An Avoidance of Strawberries

I love strawberries.

Strawberries are dark, dark red, my favorite color. Strawberries are the right balance of sweet and tart. Strawberries have seeds, but they are small enough to be decoration and not an irritation. They also happen to have a beautiful summer-green handle.

Strawberries are yummy in smoothies. Strawberries are fantastic on their own. And strawberries are simply perfect dipped in sour cream and brown sugar.

I love strawberries.

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We recently discovered during the height of strawberry season that they can do very bad things to me. Well, not very bad things. Just embarrassing ones like making my cheeks swell to twice their size (inside and outside) so that I was biting the inside whenever I shut my mouth. I had flashbacks to what I looked like when I was four.

Strawberries are one of the most pesticide covered fruits, so we decided to see if organic ones gave me as much trouble. Turns out, I can still have them, I just have to have the right kind.

Book Review: The Scourge

[image error]“When a plague isn’t all that kills…

As a lethal plague sweeps through the land, Ani Mells is shocked when she is unexpectedly captured by the governor’s wardens and forced to submit to a test for the deadly Scourge. She is even more surprised when the test results come back positive, and she is sent to Attic Island, a former prison turned refuge—and quarantine colony—for the ill. The Scourge’s victims, Ani now among them, can only expect to live out short, painful lives there.

However, Ani quickly discovers that she doesn’t know the whole truth about the Scourge or the Colony. She’s been caught in a devious plot, and, with the help of her best friend, Weevil, Ani means to uncover just what is actually going on. But will she and Weevil survive the Scourge—and the gorvernor’s wardens—long enough to make their escape and expose the cruel plan?” (from Goodreads)

Since my Goodreads friends are such big fans of Jennifer Nielsen, I decided it was high time I tried one of her books. I chose this standalone because 1) the cover and interior formatting and 2) the concept looked interesting.

Happily Busy

First of all, HAPPPPPPYYY AUTUMN!!! I wore a sweater last week, and I can’t wait our weather is cool enough for that to become a regular thing. I love my sweaters.

Even though I believe in letting autumn be autumn (and we’re slowly decorating the house with pretties), I’ve been working on a Christmas story.

Book Review: Orphan Island

[image error]“On the island, everything is perfect. The sun rises in a sky filled with dancing shapes; the wind, water, and trees shelter and protect those who live there; when the nine children go to sleep in their cabins, it is with full stomachs and joy in their hearts. And only one thing ever changes: on that day, each year, when a boat appears from the mist upon the ocean carrying one young child to join them—and taking the eldest one away, never to be seen again.

Today’s Changing is no different. The boat arrives, taking away Jinny’s best friend, Deen, replacing him with a new little girl named Ess, and leaving Jinny as the new Elder. Jinny knows her responsibility now—to teach Ess everything she needs to know about the island, to keep things as they’ve always been. But will she be ready for the inevitable day when the boat will come back—and take her away forever from the only home she’s known?” (from Goodreads)

Not since The Little Prince has a book made me feel so homesick. Almost every chapter, tears came to my eyes. In fact, I just opened this book while reviewing it and the dedication of all things made me nearly cry again.

I Have A New Favorite Author

It all started out with one book that suddenly turned into five because this author is amazing.

Inspiration — The Thoughts of a Hacker

Disclaimer: this post does not necessarily represent the opinions of Kate, because she hasn’t even read it. Kate doesn’t endorse the following content because she doesn’t know it’s here. Kate also isn’t a financial sponsor of the writer, sadly.

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Kate is busy tonight. And you know today is Friday (I hope you know that, I’ve been waiting for it the whole week). I also hope you remember that you get a really special kind of post tonight. Or you usually get a special post today, unless Kate is busy.

I asked her what her Friday theme is. She said something about inspiration…

So I’m on it.

Is inspiration random for a creative? Or do word artists actively search out inspiration? Is everything that comes to mind something you should work with and develop? These questions naturally accompany the idea of inspiration.

Inspiration is a way of experiencing the world

It’s interesting to me that the word “inspiration” can also mean “inhalation.” Inspiration is breathing.

Yes, for many of us inspiration seems to strike randomly at any moment… and the golden ideas often do, but at least for me, I’m inspired by the world around me. I breathe in the sights, the people, the looks in their eyes—and that stimulates creativity like nothing else. If you look at the world through the eyes of a hungry creative, you will see so much inspirational lunch your mind won’t be able to cope…

Book Review: Tuesdays at the Castle

[image error]Tuesdays at Castle Glower are Princess Celie’s favorite days. That’s because on Tuesdays the castle adds a new room, a turret, or sometimes even an entire wing. No one ever knows what the castle will do next, and no one-other than Celie, that is-takes the time to map out the new additions. But when King and Queen Glower are ambushed and their fate is unknown, it’s up to Celie, with her secret knowledge of the castle’s never-ending twists and turns, to protect their home and save their kingdom. (from Goodreads)

Well, that was a darling!

My Summer Reading Adventures

Summer is turning the corner into autumn! Which means pumpkins, sweaters, tea, possibly some more rain, oh, and also that summer reading is over.

Just as a refresher, here is the stack of books (a few not pictured) I planned to read this past summer.

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Let’s see how I did.