Monday, August 29, 2016

The End of Read-to-Win

The Homeschooled Authors Read-to-Win contest is almost over! I can't believe the summer went by that fast. You still have a little bit of time to post a review and enter to win a $100 Amazon gift card or another awesome prize. In case you missed any of the fun posts I participated in over the summer, here's a recap.

Monday, August 22, 2016

Crannig Castle Cover Reveal and Blog Tour Sign-Up

*now entering panic mode*

Actually, I'm better now I've made my publishing checklist. Anyone else require a checklist to stay sane and not forget anything?

Anyway, it's that time again (already? how does this happen?) to get ready for a cover reveal and blog tour! And you're probably more than ready since I decided to be mean and make you wait a whole year between books 2 and 3 of Time Captives. Don't worry, the book will be ready on time. Eleven more weeks! What?! 

So that's why it's time for me to ask for you to volunteer as tribute again. And for being so kind and volunteering, I'm giving you the first chapter of Crannig Castle now, and an ARC if you'll review it once it's ready. But only if you sign up. ;)

Cover reveal will be on September 26 and release will be November 7. I can't wait!

Only then...it'll be the end of Time Captives and I'll have to say goodbye. :( Maybe there will be short stories and tie-in novels in the future.

 Cover reveal sign-up ends September 19.


Monday, August 15, 2016

Your Favorite Doctor


I came across this meme or one like it quite some time ago. I laughed at it as a Whovian joke and moved on, but somehow I couldn't forget it. It stuck in my head, bothering me. My first train of thought went something like this:

I like the Doctor an awful lot as a character, but I wouldn't want to marry someone like him. I want someone better. Someone who's a Christian, first of all. Someone who would protect me as the Doctor does his companions, yes, but someone who isn't so emotionally damaged by the horrible things he's done in his past and still struggling with hatred towards his enemy. Someone who will help me grow closer to God, not get my head all wrapped up in exciting death-defying adventures. Because while the Doctor's on the whole a good guy and a hero, he does have some serious issues. Besides, he's fictional.

Recently, though, I've started realizing that this is an even bigger problem. It's not isolated to the Doctor Who fandom. It's pretty much any and every fandom. For instance, there are numerous pins about how Percy Jackson sets the bar pretty high for the "perfect boyfriend." And fangirls everywhere are always going on about how they have a crush on such and such character or such and such actor. I don't get it. And it's not even healthy.

Because, girl, you're probably never going to meet that actor. And that character? He's not even real.

I'm not saying I don't ever get too invested in fandoms because I do. I've been too into Narnia, Star Wars, Doctor Who, even Little House. But at the end of the day, I still keep in mind that it's not real. As much as I like Jace from Ilyon Chronicles, I don't wish he was real so I could marry him. He's not right for me, he's right for Kyrin. I don't want Percy Jackson as a boyfriend, he's Annabeth's and he's too immature for me anyway. Steve Rogers is an upright and honorable guy and I love that, but he's a fictional character. Captain America is never actually going to come save me.

I'm not pointing fingers at anybody; this is mostly just going off of what I see when I search a fandom on Pinterest. While it's fun to fangirl about awesome stories and great characters, you've got to be careful. Because it's not real. It's not okay to obsess about a story (something I had to learn the hard way), and it's not really okay to crush on actors or fictional characters either. Don't go imagining your life with someone you've never met and likely will never meet. They're probably nothing like what you think they're like anyway. Most actors are liberals and very few are Christians. And your favorite fictional character? He's fictional. The author can make him do whatever he or she wants him to do, and outside of the written story, you can do the same thing. Real people aren't like that. And by setting up your idea of this awesome actor or this awesome character as the standard for a boyfriend or even husband, you're doing nothing but creating problems for yourself. Just like Anne Shirley...she fell for Roy Gardner when Gilbert Blythe was right in front of her the whole time, simply because Gil didn't fit her fictional ideal of Prince Charming.

I speak a little fangirl. I have fandom boards on Pinterest. I love my favorite stories and I love my favorite characters. But I can never be completely okay with the whole fangirl culture. It's too shallow and it's too problematic (which is why my fangirling rapidly turns to literary/theological analysis). Be careful when you fangirl. Because the only thing it's okay to be obsessed with is not a story. Not a character. Not your friends or family. Not even your spouse. The only thing it's okay to be obsessed with is God.

Monday, August 8, 2016

A Crannig Castle Announcement

I keep forgetting to announce the release date for Crannig Castle! I'm sure you're all anxious to know when you get to finally finish reading Time Captives. Or maybe you're not, but I'm going to tell you anyway. 

But not yet. Because I'm just mean like that and want to make you keep reading. ;)

Crannig Castle is the Time Captives book that has required the least rewrites. I'd mostly figured out what I was doing by the time I got to that point in the story, so I wasn't flailing around trying to figure out what in the world I was doing anymore. The battle sequences were a little flat, however, but a friend gave me some recommendations for battle-writing research which were immensely helpful, and I rewrote those chapters into something way better. 

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/570057265309387987/

And there are situations for Adriel that require him to learn things like this. Because salvation isn't the end of the journey, it's the beginning. But while it's not always easy, it is always worth it.

There are new characters like Connor

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/570057265308121159/

Vannie and Kyle show up


And THE FEELS. 

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/570057265306291445/

Seriously, I felt like crying every time I worked on the Grant and Eleanor sections (because there are several), because as much as I love it--and I really love those two--it's just so sad.

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/570057265307688043/

Poor Weathersbard. (Ship name courtesy of Amanda Beguerie.)

Oh, yeah. And you finally get to find out about Theodore's backstory.

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/570057265307239474/

I love this book. I'd forgotten how much I loved it until the last time I edited it. And then I remembered. I went on such a long journey with these characters. That journey is almost over, but not yet.

When does the end come? I'll tell you in a minute. First here's when you get to see the cover.

September 26

And the book comes out...

November 7!

It's still a few months away, but it'll be here before we know it. Now it's time for me to go panic...

Thursday, August 4, 2016

Lady Dragon, Tela Du Cover Reveal!

This is a special day! We finally get to see the cover of Lady Dragon, Tela Du, the second book in Kendra E. Ardnek's Rizkaland Legends! Remember how much I loved Water Princess, Fire Prince? Well, let me tell you, Lady Dragon, Tela Du is even better. I'm serious! This book is fantastic, and I haven't even read the final version (though that's because the final does not yet exist...). Reuben and Petra are simply adorable, there are plot twists I did not see coming (thanks, Kendra, for purposely misleading me ;) ), we find out about Amber and Granite's backstory...It's awesome. Hey, Kendra said I could flail about it as much as I like.

Reuben. That guy could be my brother. He's awesome. I could talk to him for hours about Narnia and Middle Earth and probably just about any fantasy story and he could tell me what it's really like to go to a fantasy world. But then Petra would probably get mad at me for taking up all of Reuben's time. Have I mentioned those two are adorable together? BFFs since she was born, those two. They're just perfect for each other, if only Petra will agree. Oh, my goodness, those two are the best.

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/94646029644821068/

Nothing like this happens in the book, but Kendra says it reminds her of a roleplay she had Petra in once. See, Petra and Reuben end up with this telepathic link, and...stuff. I don't know how much I can say because of spoilers, but the way Kendra develops it is really cool and really awesome. 

Yes, I'm making you wait for the cover. :) Have a snippet.

“Reuben!” Petra growled. “What was that for?”

“You were intimidating the girl. I had to do something. Besides, she promised another world.” Reuben answered. “And … now the door won’t open again. It looks like our only way now is forward.”

“We’re stuck in this house?” asked Petra, really not wanting to believe what was happening. “This dark, dilapidated house made of sticks that … really ought to let in more light that this.”

“Scared? You could hold my hand if you’d like.”

“Reuben, I’m not scared.”

“But maybe I am. Look, there’s no one here to see us, not even ourselves.”

See? Aren't they quite the interesting pair? Have the prophecy. Because every good self-respecting portal fantasy story has to have a prophecy, right?


Petra has the same face as Amber, the Lady Dragon. It makes for quite the (complicated) interesting story. And the book description:

Amber, the Lady Dragon, has been promised a fifty-year reign over Rizkaland and nothing can stop her from claiming it. But when you've lived six thousand years, fifty is such a pitiful number. Only one person can keep her from making this reign permanent - the Tela Du, a girl who shall share Amber's face.

The last thing Petra wants is a magical world interrupting her plans for a normal life, let alone an ultimate battle against the Lady Dragon with only one prophesied survivor. She has her childhood best friend, Reuben, at her side, but she's not sure if he's more of a help or a hindrance right now. Though she'd much prefer to just return home and forget about this whole crazy affair, things change when she discovers that the world has surprising connections to her own family - including her sister who disappeared without a trace two years before. Still, Rizkaland can't possibly expect her to risk her very life, can it?

 And now I suppose you want the cover.


https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25873539-lady-dragon-tela-du

Amber's red, Petra's purple. And there are reasons for that... 

You can go ahead and preorder the book here. You won't regret it. Unless you wish you'd bought the paperback instead of just the kindle version. You might do that. I'm buying the paperback. Also, Water Princess, Fire Prince is free today. That way you can experience Rizkaland right now, just in time for book two.

Author Bio:
Kendra E. Ardnek is a homeschool graduate who picked up a pen at an early age and never put it down. The eldest of four, she makes her home in the Piney Woods of East Texas with her parents, younger siblings, giant herd of giraffes, and honor guard of nutcrackers. 

Blog:

Official Website:
kendraeardnek.weebly.com

Monday, August 1, 2016

Interview With Robin

My youngest sister Addyson is here today to interview Robin for the Bookania Party.


Hello! My sister let me invade her blog today to interview Robin from Bookania! I really don't know what people normally say before posting interviews of this sort, so I'll just put the interview up without any more introductions.

Thank you so much for invading my sister’s blog with me today! May I ask you a couple of questions?

I thought that was the entire point of my coming here.

I was just being polite, that's all.
What is your worst nightmare?

And I thought I was bad at conversation openers.
Haven’t you read the opening of the second book? I know you have. You reviewed it. Robert got eaten by a forest. I fell apart. I think it’d be safe to assume that that was my worst nightmare.

What would you do if somebody killed Robert and Eric?

*Very long pause, coupled with a stare of disbelief* Thank you very much. I now have a new worst nightmare.

I'm very sorry. I assumed you would have thought about that possibility before now.
What is your favorite piece of modern-day Earth technology that your author won’t let you have?

All right, you’ve decided to stop with the horrible questions. Thank you. I’d like a refrigerator. I mean, it keeps food cold so it tastes better, and after a nice, hard workout you can stand in front of it with the door open … Kendra says I can’t do that, though. Says her mom wouldn’t like it. I don’t see why.

Refrigerators are very nice, though I'm very partial to air condition and indoor plumbing myself.
When did you first realize you loved Eric?

I … I dunno. I spent so much of my childhood actively hating him that the transition to love was almost painful. I knew I’d be happy with him, that he was the one person who didn’t judge me for I was, that he’d take me on the adventures I’d always craved. But at the same time, I was marrying Eric. I’m glad our engagement was short because it meant that I didn’t have a chance to second-guess myself and change my mind. I can’t put my finger on the exact moment I realized that I loved him, though I like to say that it was five seconds after he did, which was five seconds after I accepted the proposal he doesn’t remember giving. I mean, that’s when I realized what I’d done, but that doesn’t mean I knew that I loved him. I do know I wasn’t comfortable with the decision until after the wedding. There’s been no second-guessing since then, and I must have realized that I loved him, actually loved him at some time since then, but I can’t put my finger on the moment, what he was doing, what he said, what I said … it just happened.

How many children would you like to have?

Uh … I’ve not really thought about that one before. More than two, I think. It seems that almost all royals just stop after the second child, and I don’t understand that. But I don’t want more than I can handle, either. Thing is, I don’t know how many I can handle, so…

Excluding your own author’s characters, which fellow mistreated characters do you feel the most sorry for?

Back in the days when Kendra would take us to do roleplays on a site called NaNo, one of the other characters, Kestrel, had a really mean author. The girl thought that killing the girl just to make her in-roleplay love interest sad was a fun thing. It was terrible. And the worst thing was that Kendra loved roleplaying with that particular author.

If your author would allow you, would you kill me for all of my annoying questions?

Fortunately for you, killing isn’t my style. Especially not for the simple thing of asking questions. Still…

Well, I'm glad Kendra wouldn't allow you to kill me, then. So long, Robin!

And there you have it. I personally think I'm lucky Robin answered any of my questions.