Kate Willis's Blog, page 95

The Vintage Jane Austen Blog Event: Kelsey Bryant Interview (& Book Review!)

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Today I am honored to be interviewing Kelsey Bryant and reviewing her beautiful book, Suit and Suitability, a retelling of Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility.

[image error]Join me in welcoming author Kelsey Bryant to Once Upon an Ordinary!

Kelsey, tell us a bit about yourself.

I’m a daughter of God who lives in Texas and works at several jobs that I love, including writing, copy editing, and teaching martial arts. I’ve written three novels, but I delight in many things—Bible study and Hebrew, keeping fit and eating healthy, reading British authors and seeing new places, and spending time with family and friends, to name a few. I’m a homeschool graduate and love being a daughter, sister, and aunt.

What first made you decide you wanted to be an author?

My parents passed their love of books to me. I can’t remember never creating stories, so I suppose being a writer and author was always something I wanted. My grandfather was an editor and compiler of Christian books and devotionals, so that went a long way in inspiring me. After high school, I decided to seriously pursue becoming an author because that was the only thing I felt God calling me to do at that point. After several years, I finally completed a novel (Family Reunion, the first book of the Six Cousins series) and was ready to publish.

I love the concept of retelling old favorites. May we have an introduction to Suit and Suitability and a little backstory on what made you choose this book?

Suit and Suitability casts Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility, one of my favorite novels, into Great Depression America. Here’s the synopsis:

Canton, Ohio, 1935. Ellen and Marion Dashiell’s world crumbles when their father is sent to prison. Forced to relocate to a small town, what is left of their family faces a new reality where survival overshadows dreams. Sensible Ellen, struggling to hold the family together, is parted from the man she’s just learning to love, while headstrong Marion fears she will never be the actress she aspires to be. When a dashing hero enters the scene, things only grow more complicated. But could a third man hold the key to the restoration and happiness of the Dashiell family?

The heroine of Sense and Sensibility is Elinor Dashwood, my favorite book character ever. Her courage, capability, unselfishness, and strong moral character really inspire me. I love the whole novel, but Elinor is the main ingredient that drew me to write a retelling of it.

What is your favorite aspect of the ordinary life God has blessed you with?

If I had to pick one, it would be the opportunity I have to walk daily with my Lord, Savior, and Teacher and receive His guidance. I can’t imagine living without Him as my best friend and bedrock.

Any plans for further projects?

I’m working on a third novel in my Six Cousins series as well as trying my hand at a fairy-tale retelling for children. Suit and Suitability showed me how much I love writing historical fiction, so I hope there will be more of that in the future.

Thank you so much for coming!

Thank YOU so much for having me!

[image error]Canton, Ohio, 1935. Ellen and Marion Dashiell’s world crumbles when their father is sent to prison. Forced to relocate to a small town, what is left of their family faces a new reality where survival overshadows dreams. Sensible Ellen, struggling to hold the family together, is parted from the man she’s just learning to love, while headstrong Marion fears she will never be the actress she aspires to be. When a dashing hero enters the scene, things only grow more complicated. But could a third man hold the key to the restoration and happiness of the Dashiell family?

I really loved this book. The characters were what made it most enjoyable for me.

The Vintage Jane Austen Blog Event: Emmeline Review

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I’m not much of an Austenite (just loving the 2009 Emma miniseries); but when I heard that several of my favorite Christian authors were writing vintage retellings of Jane Austen’s books, I knew it was worth a try.

Plate Update: Clues, Music, and the Reformation

I truly cannot believe October is over. But it is, and now I’m going to talk about it.

The Case of the Ever Elusive NaNoWriMo

Tomorrow is the scariest night of the year–the day before a bunch of insane authors begin to write 50,000 words in 30 very short days to celebrate NaNoWriMo (and caffeine). I planned to be among them this year, even announcing my novel on the site and outlining my brainchild.

And then, school. I was hoping to be able to balance school and writing time enough to participate, but things are ramping up as we begin preparations for our final assignments. It only gets busier from here on out.

Bookish Blessings: October Book Haul

I can’t believe I’m actually doing a book haul post!! This month has been big on book blessings.

Book Review: The River Fox

[image error]“Fun meets fantasy in volume two of Jonny Jimison’s graphic novel series ‘The Dragon Lord Saga!’ Explore the epic fantasy worldbuilding of The Lord of the Rings with the cartoony humor of Calvin and Hobbes! The sand nomads of the southern desert have two new slaves: eleven-year-old Marco Millar and his horse, Scout. When the other slaves call on Marco to lead an escape, he has to decide if he is able – or willing – to be the hero they believe him to be. Meanwhile, Marco’s brother Martin tries to hold his own against a dragon, a giant spider, and a foul-tempered princess – all the while chasing down the hooded bandit known as the River Fox… But the River Fox might be closer than he ever imagined!” (from Goodreads)

After immensely enjoying the first book in this series by Jonny Jimison, my sister and I couldn’t wait to get our hands on the sequel. True to tradition, we read it together and had a hilarious time.

Second Chances Book-Blogger Tag

We all love second chances, right? We also all love books. (If you don’t love books, what are you doing here?

Brain-Tired Writer

My brain was tired. Dead tired. Almost as if it had concentrated all of its energy on breathing and didn’t have space left over for anything else. Which was a big bummer because I actually had time to write.

I’ve spent the last six months editing and rewriting and editing stories. Occasionally, I’ve been able to fit in a short story here and there, but I still haven’t had the time to devote to purely creative writing. This past week, I picked up a half-finished story I love and set to work on it again. The ideas were flowing, I grew excited about my characters again, and I wrote over 1,000 words in the time leftover after homework. This happiness lasted for two days.

And then my tired day. Having the opportunity to do something and not being able to is like being snowed in so badly you can’t go sledding. (Except, I don’t like sledding, so never mind.)

I was up late that night making breakfast, so I decided to pull out my computer and maybe get a little writing done. I opened up a blank GoogleDoc and starting writing. It wasn’t a brainstorming, outlining, or a story proper. It was just me writing down all my thoughts of what was gonna happen next, scene by scene in a rambly, tired way.

But guess what??!!! I had so many new ideas. I have a clear idea of what’s gonna happen next. And I discovered that with just a little brain play, I can get my creative juices working.

Book Review: Continuing Destiny

[image error]“What would Maria’s life look like three years after The Destiny of a Galaxy? What about James, Quint, and Winter? This collection of four stories gives readers a glimpse into the romance, faith, trails, and everyday lives of this group as they each explore their Continuing Destiny.”

This short story collection by Sarah Holman was a satisfying wrap-up to The Destiny Trilogy.

A Creative College Project

Last week, one of my college classes ended. (Yay for more writing time!) It was an accelerated graphic design class I was taking with my brother, and, while it had its ups and downs, our final project was pretty awesome.