Kate Willis's Blog, page 85
July 2, 2018
Plate Update: Chocolate, Thunderbirds, and New Release
If you’re new here (HI!!!!!), I should probably explain what in the world this recurring series is. 
June 29, 2018
A Day in My Life As An Author…
Today after making Paleo avocado toast for breakfast ( 
) and rereading Kate’s Capitol during slow spots, I got together with my oldest sister Perry Elisabeth, my brother Paul, and my sister Anna to make a live Q & A video.
It was all about our lives as authors and siblings, snacks, and some writing/publishing advice. We had so much fun together! XD You can watch the replay here, but WARNING–it’s pretty long. We had a lot of amazing questions and interaction in the comments.
June 27, 2018
Book Review: The Last Archer
[image error]“A Green Ember story set during Heather and Picket’s arrival at Cloud Mountain, The Last Archer follows the journey of Jo Shanks. Jo is a gifted archer with a burden on his back and a fire within. Eager to see the Longtreaders receive justice, he travels from his
Halfwind Citadel home to a Cloud Mountain poised on the brink of war. What he finds there will confront his convictions and test his resolve as the war begins and King Jupiter’s heir is revealed.
A kingdom in the balance. An arrow aimed at the heart of darkness.
Who will take the shot?” (from Goodreads)
This Green Ember short story is not to be missed! Thanks to a young Ember fan at church, I finally got to read this book.
June 26, 2018
Kiera Giveaway Winner!
This is not an official posting day for me, but I thought I’d just pop in and tell y’all who won the Kiera giveaway!
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Using the randomizer thing on the Rafflecopter widget, I drew a winner and all of this lovely stuff goes to…
Brianna!
Congratulations, Brianna! Your treasure package will be coming soon! 
June 25, 2018
Just What This Reader Ordered
Hello, I’m tired, who are you?
Last night after a long week and weekend of being an author and a social and a busy, I turned into a tired. Grabbing the next library book on my stack, I opened it up.
This library book is no ordinary one–it has the most gorgeousest cover ever and a really intriguing synopsis. Like suppose the female version of The Man in the Iron Mask had a sister who was an embittered Cinderella, and they played a Prince and the Pauper trick. Also, the cover?
80 pages in, I knew it really wasn’t the best thing for my mood. The story is tiring, not because it’s badly written or something, but because it is angstful–mostly because of the embittered Cinderella. I set it aside with the feeling that I probably wasn’t in the best mood for it. This morning, I still wasn’t ready to pick it up again. But I still wanted to read something.
That’s when I remembered I had a shiny ARC (advanced reader copy, though the book is out now, so I guess it’s just a reviewer copy) just waiting for me to read it.
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Yes, please!
Phantoms by Denver Evans is a YA fantasy novel with a side of romance, steampunk, and paranormal. (And INVENTING!! )
“Being captured by pirates wasn’t part of the plan. And they’ve never met pirates like these…
After his adventure with the mermaids, Emerson is happy to get back to normal life, and he is thrilled that his days often include visits from pretty Saria Beggley. Not all is right with the world, however. Pirates have begun terrorizing ships around the eastern islands in the chain; and ships, sailors, and even passengers are going missing every day.
Blown off course by a freak storm, Emerson and Saria are captured. They discover the pirates are not what they thought—even moreso the feared Pirate King responsible for it all. When a legendary phantom ship shows up in Cayan waters, the mysterious crew enlists Emerson’s help in stopping the ever-expanding menace of the pirates.
As Emerson’s feelings for Saria begin to blossom, he wants nothing more than to see her safely home to Chadwick. But the only way to safety for any of them is by thwarting the plans of the Pirate King.” (from Goodreads)
Did that make any sense to you? Probably not, because Phantoms is actually a sequel to Shallows, Denver’s debut novel which I read a couple months ago. Shallows surprised me by being adorable, adventurous, and surprisingly meaningful, so you can guess why I was so excited and suddenly un-tired to read my copy of its sequel.
June 23, 2018
Kiera Blog Tour: Wrap-up!
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Hi, y’all!! This is officially the last day of the tour, but don’t leave yet! I have just a few more special things to share with you.
June 22, 2018
Kiera Release Day!!!
Today is the day. The Day.
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Three years (+ a couple months) ago, I started a story. A story about a girl, a draft, a pastor, and some really fascinating side characters.
That story grew by sideplots, wordcount, a through-line, and a message.
There were snacks…
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Some sophisticated planning… XD
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Two sessions of Camp NaNoWriMo with the Chatterbox Girls…
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Lots of writing and editing and more writing and editing…
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Prayers for strength and time management and a clear message…
Some social media complaining and crowing, of course…
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Working with the world’s best beta-readers…
A cover reveal, synopsis, and formatting…
Uploading…
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A proof copy…!
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This blog tour! (Y’all have been so fun!)
Late night proofreading…
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Re-uploading…
And now–TODAY!
Today this book is no longer mine. It belongs to you and all of the other readers who will open its pages. I know the message I wrote inside. I know the characters I created and the words I crafted. Those will all be different things to different readers, and it will be amazing.
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Please welcome, Kiera to being a book! *claps* *eats imaginary chocolate*
Thank you so much to everyone who has helped me through this journey, and everyone who is still celebrating its release with me! I could not have done this without you. And my Savior, Who is writing my life story and lays these fictional ones on my heart, thank You.
Today’s Amazing Bloggers
Kaitlyn, sharing her thoughts about Kiera in a review.
June 21, 2018
Kiera Blog Tour: The Characters Recommend…
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Hello, everyone! Today is not Friday. It is Thursday. (That was just as reminder for myself, because I’ve been having trouble remembering what day it is. 
June 20, 2018
Kiera Blog Tour: The Sparrow Song + Others
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Welcome to day three of the blog tour! It’s been so much fun celebrating with you all.
June 19, 2018
Kiera Blog Tour: Writing the Future
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My book Kiera is hard to categorize. It’s setting falls somewhere between contemporary and dystopian, and so far, there’s not a genre for that.
