The Resistance Release Day Has Arrived!

It's here, it's here, it's here! I feel like a little kid on Christmas. :D After almost three years from the start of writing it through all the rewrites and editing, Resistance, the first book of Ilyon Chronicles as well as the first book under my new pen name, Jaye L. Knight, is now available for Kindle! I’ve been publishing for quite a few years now, and though I’ve released several books previous to this, this seems so much more “real” thanks to all the awesome people who have been and are a part of it. One of the things that makes it so exciting and special is the awesome blog tour my publicist has put together. You can see the schedule here on her blog: http://seasonsofhumility.blogspot.com/p/resistance-blog-tour.html Make sure you check out all the awesome stops through the week.

 

And now, of course, here is the button to the Resistance Kindle book on Amazon ($3.99).

 

 

As far as the paperback, I am expecting my final proof copy on Wednesday. Well, I hope it will be the last. Since the first proof was almost perfect, I have high hopes. If I can approve it on Wednesday, it should be available by the end of the week. I’ll also put in an order for my own copies and start accepting orders for autographed books.

 

As part of the festivities for the blog tour, I’m also excited to share a fun, Resistance inspired giveaway! This was especially fun to put together. It includes an autographed paperback copy of Resistance, a wolf necklace handcrafted by me and inspired by my main character Jace, a Better Homes and Gardens “Warm Rustic Woods” candle, which I have dubbed the official candle of Ilyon Chronicles, and a leather wolf paw bookmark from Lodgepole Leathercraft. So make sure to enter using the form below! (U.S. residents only.)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Resistance Cover Reveal + Giveaway

Today is a moment I’ve been anxiously awaiting for probably the last two years or so—the reveal of the cover for Resistance, the first book in my NA (New Adult) fantasy series, Ilyon Chronicles (published under my pen name Jaye L. Knight)! Seriously, it really has been that long. I started putting the cover together very shortly after I started writing the book almost three years ago. I was always very excited about it, and now I can finally show everyone!

This is personally my favorite cover I’ve ever put together so far. Between the forest background and the gold and black sword, it fits the story so perfectly. I certainly had fun tweaking it over the last couple of years. (I will be posting on my “behind the scenes” Ilyon Chronicles blog in a couple of days showing the transformation from the first test cover to the finished version.) And I’m quite excited about how it looks with the rest of the series. Yes, I do have all six covers put together, at least in temporary form, and I desperately wish I could share them all! Sadly, that will have to wait. But I can tell you that all six books will have the same torn paper at the top as well as the swirly border in the background to tie each of the six books together.

 

My main vision for the covers of this series was to have them be simple, but bold. That seems to be a trend with a lot of popular mainstream fantasy novels these days like Game of Thrones, and I thought it would work well with Ilyon Chronicles.

 

Below you can read the back cover text, and as an added bonus, I’m sharing a short excerpt from the book. Also, be sure to enter the giveaway for one of two of my handmade sword bookmarks inspired by the cover! And check out what others are saying on the blogs listed here.

 

The Kindle version of Resistance will release on May 20th. I will do my best to have the paperback ready at the same time, though it may get delayed depending on how the first proof copy turns out. (Cover colors can be tough to get to print just right.) To celebrate the release, there will be a week long blog tour May 20-27. It will include reviews, interviews, a giveaway, and more! Mark your calendars, and check the blog tour page in May for more information. Hope to see you there!

 

About the Book

“Don’t you know? Animals like you have no soul.”

 

Could God ever love a half-blood all of society looks upon with such fear and disdain? Jace once believed so, but when a tragic loss shatters the only peace he’s ever known, his faith crumbles as the nagging doubts he’s tried to put behind him descend on his grieving heart. With them come the haunting memories of the bloodstained past he longs to forget, but can never escape.

 

Taken from home at a young age and raised to serve the emperor, Kyrin Altair and her twin brother live every day under a dangerous pretense of loyalty. After her unique observation skills and perfect memory place her into direct service to the emperor, Kyrin finds herself in further jeopardy as it becomes increasingly difficult to hide her belief in Elôm, the one true God.

 

Following the emperor’s declaration to enforce the worship of false gods under the penalty of death, many lives are endangered. But there are those willing to risk everything to take a stand and offer aid to the persecuted. With their lives traveling paths they never could have imagined, Jace and Kyrin must fight to overcome their own fears and conflicts with society as they become part of the resistance.

 

Excerpt

 

      Just when he lowered his guard enough to relax, a grating voice sent tension knotting across his shoulders.
      “Look what the excitement dragged into town.”
      Jace ground his teeth together and turned. He should never have stopped watching his back. Wrong move on his part.
      Flanked by two of his smug-faced friends, a red-haired young man smirked at him, his eyes harboring all sorts of ill will. Jace barely bit back a sharp retort, but the other man’s smirk only grew at his silence. He peered around Jace.
      “Rebekah, what are you doing with this . . .” He glanced back to Jace and turned up his wide nose. “. . . half-blood?”
      Jace balled his fists. Warmth seeped down his arms and into his muscles, pulsing with the preparation for a fight, but he fought to still it.
      Rebekah came to his side, her face set in a frown that looked entirely out of place. “Stop it, Morden.”
      He gave her a condescending little grin. “Why don’t you run along? We’ve got business here.” The grin stretched wider. “I’ll gladly come find you later.”
      Rebekah put her hands on her hips, glaring at him, and opened her mouth to speak, but Jace beat her to it.
      “A gentleman would treat a lady with more consideration.”
      Morden snorted. “And what would you know about that?”
      A blaze erupted inside that Jace struggled to contain. He breathed in hard, cursing the impulses he had to battle so often. He couldn’t let it take control of him. Not again.
      “Come on, Jace, we still have to find something for Kalli.” Rebekah’s soft voice quieted his growing agitation, and she tugged lightly on his stiff arm.
    His blood still burned hot in his veins, calling him to action, and was almost too strong to resist. He thought of Rayad who told him time and again to go to Elôm when he struggled like this. He forced himself to turn away from Morden and whispered silently, “Elôm, I need help.”
      But Morden, who must have caught the movement of his lips just before he turned completely, let out an incredulous laugh. “Are you praying?”
      Jace froze. His heart thundered.
      “Who could you be praying to? Don’t you know? Animals like you have no soul.”
      An evil pang of doubt knifed through Jace’s heart, colder and more painful than the steel of any dagger, and robbed the breath from his lungs. His eyes settled on Rebekah’s face, but it was her pitying expression that caused the weak grip on his emotions to fail. Heat flared in his muscles. He spun around and smashed his fist into the side of Morden’s jaw, sending the man reeling. Regret followed, but it was too late. Morden’s friends caught him by the arms and steadied him as he shook his head to clear his vision.
      Jace dragged deep breaths into his tightened lungs and waited for Morden’s next move. Just walk away. The silent plea went out in desperation. If only it would just end here. But satisfaction lit Morden’s eyes, and his lip curled in a malicious sneer.

 

Copyright © 2014 by Jaye L. Knight

Giveaway
(U.S. residents only)

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Captivated—A Makilien Trilogy Short Story

Happy Valentine’s Day! Today is the perfect day to share the publication of my first ever Makilien Trilogy short story, Captivated! Ever since I was writing the original version of Makilien, I always thought it would be fun to write short stories that took place after the trilogy. Well, you know how grand ideas like that go. Real life sets in, demanding your time. Once I started writing Ilyon Chronicles, most thoughts of going further with Makilien ended. However, there was this one story that wouldn’t leave me. I think I’ve been working on it little bits here and there for the last four or five years. Then, late last week, I got the urge to work on it, which I completely believe was a nudge from God. I never expected to finish it, but it actually came together quite quickly. Then, on Friday as I was just about to finish the last scene it hit me how absolutely perfect it would be to release on Valentine’s Day. It is a romantic story, after all. At first, I had no idea if that was even possible. I wasn’t even done writing it, had no title, no ideas for a cover, and only a week to figure it all out. But I prayed about it, and by Saturday afternoon, the story was finished and I had the cover all made up. Talk about a quick answer to prayer. :) Everything just came together perfectly.

So there it is! For everyone who has expressed so much love for my trilogy, I am thrilled to share a little bit more of Dolennar with you, especially this story. It’s about 5,000 words long—the size of a long book chapter—and follows one of my favorite Makilien characters, Elmorhirian. And for those of you who read a lot of fantasy, you may find a couple small nods to some of my favorite fantasy characters. ;)

It’s currently available on Amazon for Kindle and on Smashwords for 99 cents. And for those of you who prefer to have a physical book, good news! The story is just long enough to have it printed as a little booklet through CreateSpace, which will cost about $3.99. I just need to get the files prepared and uploaded. You can read the little blurb about the story below. I hope you find it as delightful to read as I did writing it. And I’d love to know what you think of the cover. I deviated from the original Makilien font, but I was going more for beauty than trying to match it perfectly to the rest of the trilogy.

About the story:
For the last several years, Elmorhirian has watched as his sister and closest friends all marry and settle down. Now he just has to figure out how to navigate the confusing, sometimes aggravating, captivation of his own heart.  

Kindle
Smashwords

A Brand New Cover for Truth

That’s right, this is the unveiling for an updated cover for Truth, the first book in my Makilien Trilogy. As sudden as this may seem, I’ve actually been trying to get this done for over a year. It went through a couple changes and gave me a lot of frustration at first. Then, about a month or so ago, I tried a different background photo, one I’d actually had for a while, and it all came together perfectly. I’m just thrilled with it. I think it captures the mood of Truth perfectly. Now, why have I done this? Well, my original cover, as much as I loved it at the time, did not match the last two of the trilogy. This is a tip for all writers—if you’re working on a series, know what all the covers will look like before you publish.

 

 

So there it is. What do you think? Do you feel it captures the essence of Truth better than the old one? Look better as a trilogy now?

The new cover is showing up on Kindle, and I’ve uploaded the new files to CreateSpace. The new paperback should will be available in the next couple weeks providing I don’t have to order too many proofs to get the colors right.

Now, on Facebook, I promised two announcements, didn’t I? As if I don’t have enough projects going, I’ve decided to create a Makilien Trilogy 3-in-1 book. At first, I was only going to do it for Kindle, but I think, if I’m really creative with formatting, I can actually make it into a paperback too. (Fingers crossed on that.) It will be between 600-700 pages, but how could I resist making a giant Makilien Trilogy book like the 3-in-1 Lord of the Rings books? The most exciting thing about this is that I get to create a whole new cover! I’m very excited about that. Want to be part of the fun? If you have a blog and would like to be part of the cover reveal, just send me an email. (Postcard in the far right sidebar.) As part of the cover reveal, it means you get to see the cover at least a day before everyone else. ;) It will probably be a few weeks though. I don’t even have the photos for it yet, but I hope to get around to it soon. I also plan to hold my first giveaway once the book is finished, so this should be a lot of fun.

I have one more announcement pertaining to Makilien, but I can’t reveal that just yet. It will be sometime in the next couple months, I expect. No, it’s not a whole new book (sorry), but I think fans will like it. :)

Where Do I Start?–eBook Now Available!

Okay, this is a little late in the day thanks to bad weather keeping my computer off and then having to make a last minute correction, but the eBook version of my indie publishing overview is now available! It’s really kind of crazy having published something non-fiction. Everything to do with publishing has become so much of a habit to me that I didn’t think about how much there is to it until I went to write it down. It turned out to be so much more work than I thought, but I think I’ve covered all the basics and really hope it can help someone just getting started in the realm of indie publishing.

Here are the links to the Kindle version and the Smashwords page where you can get it in any other eBook format. It will start to show up on other eBook retailers within the next few weeks. The paperback will be available in the next couple of weeks as well.

eBook – $2.99
Kindle
Smashwords

Indie Publishing Guide

About two and a half months ago, I announced on Facebook that I was taking a big step and writing my first non-fiction book about indie publishing. I never thought I’d ever write anything non-fiction, but in the last year I’ve been approached by multiple to-be indie authors asking for advice. I really love to help with publishing since I’m very passionate about it, but there is SO much information to cover and emails can get really long. My mom suggested an email to use that covered all the basics or have a page on my website. So I sat down to do this one afternoon and realized it was just too much for a  website. That’s when I decided I should just try to write a short book about it. I worked on it on and off since then and now have it finished at about 9,500 words. It’s not a comprehensive guide detailing every little part of publishing, but it will give you an overview of how I approach publishing and answers all the questions I’ve been asked in the last year. With working really hard on Ilyon Chronicles, this project has been at the back of my mind so I’ve neglected a lot of pre-release marketing of any sort, but I’m quite excited to share the cover.

I’m working on the final edits for the book and plan to have it available in eBook form for $1.99 in the next week or so. I wasn’t sure if I’d make it available in paperback, but then I thought, why not? :) So I’ll be working on that as well. Looks like it will come to be about $4.99. Here is the table of contents so you can get an idea of the topics I cover.

Introduction
1. Why choose indie publishing?
     —Indie Publishing Pros & Cons
2. Publishing
     —Book Printing
     —eBooks
3. Book Creation
     —Cover Creation
     —Interior Formatting
     —Converting to PDF
     —eBook Formatting
4. Copyright
5. ISBN Numbers
6. Marketing Tips
     —Word of Mouth
     —Pre-Release Marketing
     —Blog & Website
     —Social Networking
     —Marketing Materials
     —Book Trailers
7. Taxes & Business Expenses
8. Resources
9. Conclusion

I’ve really had a lot of fun putting this book together, more so than I thought I would, and I really hope it can help anyone who might be wondering where to start in indie publishing.

Introducing the Ilyon Chronicles!

After much delay and frustration with my complete lack of ambition (thanks Celiac), it gives me great pleasure to finally announce the series title of my “secret” fantasy project!

I’ve been busily preparing for this day for the last couple weeks, only to keep pushing the announcement back further and further due to no creativity and a total lack of ambition when it came to this blog post! But here it is at last. I’ve wanted to come out with the series title for a long time. It’s no fun to always refer to it as my “secret” or “current” fantasy project. But I wanted to get a few things done before that. Like building a website for the series! :)

Ilyon Chronicles is still in the early stages of being written, but I like to share bits of information here and there, and build excitement. That’s part of the reason I’ve set up the website as well as a couple other social media pages where everyone can follow along with my progress. Just follow the links below to discover more!

Website
Facebook Page
Pinterest Inspiration Board

New Author–Pamela Kay Murphy

I am very pleased to introduce the new Living Sword Publishing author, my mom, Pamela Kay Murphy! After everything she has taught me over the years (I wouldn’t be where I am today with my writing if not for her), it’s been so much fun watching and helping her get to the point of publishing, and it’s especially fun to have her published through my company. Her first book, Wooing Sam Walker’s Widow, a contemporary Christian romance, is available in eBook on Amazon and Smashwords right now. In a few weeks it will also begin to show up on other eBook retailers like Barnes & Noble and iBooks. She just ordered her first proof copy of the book so it shouldn’t be too long before the paperback is also available. To find all the information, you can visit her blog here:

http://pamelakaymurphy.blogspot.com/

You can also find her on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PamelaKayMurphy

If you like contemporary romance and family relationships, make sure to check it out!

Pinterest Inspiration

I wasn’t going to do it. I wasn’t going to get sucked into Pinterest because I knew how much time I could waste with it. However, I did end up signing up and it has become one of my favorite writing tools. I do still end up wasting time sometimes, but the inspiration to discover is endless.

Now here’s a question. Have you ever wondered what celebrities an author might have in mind while they are writing a character? I have, and many of my own characters have been inspired by photos I come across or celebrities I see on TV. I never really considered sharing much of my inspiration before, but Pinterest presents a fun way to do that. So, whether or not you have Pinterest, if you’d like to see a some of my inspiration for characters and settings, you’ll find boards for all of my latest books. And here’s something exciting, that even includes my new fantasy books I’m currently working on. I will continue adding to it as I go through the series. With my inspiration board, you can get little bits and pieces of what it’s going to be like. Just follow the link to check it out.

http://pinterest.com/authormollye/

The Secret New Project

So, after a long absence, I thought it only fitting to fill you in on what has kept me busy, at least in the last couple weeks. I call it secret project just because I’m still not giving away too many details. I mentioned this new project briefly at the beginning of this year. After the worst bout of writer’s block or whatever it was that kept me from writing anything the last couple months, I finally had a breakthrough a week and a half ago and have been writing like crazy. I’ve basically accomplished writing 9 chapters in 10 days. That’s a big thing for me. It’s made me really excited, and I hope to finish book 1 within the next couple months, but then who knows what might come up in the meantime. A release date is still a long, long way off, but, considering this is now my main project, I wanted to share a little bit about it, so I decided to compile a list of fun facts about the series that don’t give too much of the plot or details away. Here it is:

1. So far, I still have the series planned for seven books total. It should stay at that number, however, with this series, I’m not ruling out any major changes.
2. It is another fantasy series. To describe the world in one sentence, I'd say it's ancient Rome set in a medieval world with some somewhat modern society twists.
3. I cover a few modern day issues, which has been and will be quite interesting.
4. This new fantasy world has five races of peoples (one more than I originally had planned), each one very different from the others.
5. The entire series covers a three year period of time.
6. I have my two primary main characters, a girl and a guy, as well as two secondary main characters, both guys.
7. The characters are some of the most flawed and troubled characters I've ever written about, but I love them dearly.
8. This whole monster of a project started with one small spark of an idea for a character who is now the main guy. Everything else has just exploded and grown around him.
9. I'm barely half finished with book one, but I probably have more notes for this series than all of my other books combined.
10. As frustrated as I get and as hard as I've tried at times to write something else, this story keeps pulling me back to it.
11. And lastly, inspiration for this series has come from a huge array of places. That’s part of what makes it so much fun. I never know when something else might come along and add even more to it. Here are just a few of the completely random things that have sparked my imagination and given me inspiration for characters, plots, scenes, or just random little details: DragonQuest by Donita K. Paul, The Mentalist, a commercial for Unforgettable, The Hunger Games, Thor, Non-Stop Music, Future World Music, The Eagle, Unearthing Ancient Secrets: True Gladiator (Science Channel), The Errant King by Wayne Thomas Batson, and Robin Hood.

I very much look forward to sharing this series one day in the future. It’s seriously unlike anything I’ve ever done before. It is stretching my writing abilities in every way possible, which is good, yet can be very frustrating and trying. But I am completely in love with the story. I’ve never followed so many lives and plotlines before. I’ve barely begun and it already feels like I’ve been on a journey with these people. It certainly has the largest cast of characters I’ve ever worked with, each character bringing a unique aspect and view on things. And the craziest thing is, even though I have a general plot to follow, things are constantly changing and growing, and I’m just going with the flow. It’s quite an adventure. Sometimes I look at it and think, what in the world have I gotten myself into? After all, with seven books planned, this is a project that will span the next few years at least. That is a huge undertaking and a little overwhelming. But, when I think of the end result, there is no way I can turn my back on this thing. I’ve come way too far and the characters have way too tight a grip on me to step away from it now. So, whether it takes the next couple years or the next ten, I look forward to someday being able to let others share in the adventure. And don’t worry, I’ll keep you updated along the way. ;)

On to 2012

So, I’ve decided to go into the new year with a fresh new blog theme. It’s been a while since I had anything different. It’s always fun to start a new year with a change.

2011 was an interesting year. It was certainly my best as far as book sales. I was incredibly blessed with the number of eBook sales I had, particularly last month. I’m very thankful and encouraged by it. I guess you could say it was a good year for writing, though a lot went on that distracted me from focusing on my books. Writing Trust in the spring and publishing Truth were my biggest accomplishments of 2011. I think 2011 was the year I really figured out who I am as an indie author/publisher and settled into what I am doing.

Now, what is in store for 2012? Well, I still have quite a bit of work to do to publish Courage. We’re going through the final edits now. I’m still in the process of putting together the costume for the cover. It’s MUCH more involved than the last one. By involved, I mean sewing a vest and skirt, making vambraces, and putting together some chain-mail. It’s a very big project for sure. I was always in a hurry to publish Courage before now, but I decided to slow down and really take my time with it to make sure everything is perfect, and that’s been really nice. But I’m definitely excited to publish. I think this book might be my favorite of the trilogy…maybe. I also have a LOT of editing to do on Trust, the final book. I’ve been working on it slowly, but my focus has been Courage. Once that is finished, fixing up Trust will definitely be one of my main projects of 2012.

So what am I actually going to be writing this year? Seems like I always have this type of announcement for the new year, but here it is -- I have actually been working on a brand new fantasy series. I haven’t said anything about it until now, and am not going to share too much, but I’ve been working on it since June last year and am nearing the halfway point in book one. It’s definitely going to be the biggest project I’ve ever undertaken. At the moment, it looks like there will be 7 books total. I don’t know if I’ve ever had a series where I’ve had such an abundant flow of ideas. I’m terribly excited about it. I’ve completely fallen in love with the characters and their stories and struggles, and hope future readers will as well. The whole story centers around corrupt government, persecution, and rebellion, so it’s very action packed. At times, it’s also the most tragic story I’ve written so far, and the characters are wonderfully flawed. It sets the stage for some excellent character growth. I especially love the family dynamics in this story. There are some very interesting relationships. The world building has been a blast. For this fantasy, I have four intelligent races besides humans. Figuring out their characteristics and histories is one of the coolest things I’ve ever done in writing. Hopefully the last half of book one will go quickly so I can move on to book two, and maybe start sharing more information over the next year. Not sure when an estimate publishing date on the first book will be. I think I’ll have to have at least three of the books written first, so it will probably be a while, but we’ll see.

Besides that, we’ll see where God leads me. I’m hoping and praying for a great year in my writing. With this new series, it’s certainly starting out exciting.

Truth–Now available in paperback!

The paperback version of Truth (Makilien Trilogy – Book 1) is now available for order on Amazon for $12.99!

 

http://www.amazon.com/Truth-Makilien-Trilogy-Book-1/dp/0983774005/

Truth eBook now available!

I’m excited to announce that my newest book, Truth (Makilien Trilogy – Book 1) is now available in eBook format for $2.99!

 

For some reason it is taking much longer than normal for the paperback to become available on Amazon, but it should only be a couple more days. I will announce it as soon as it is available. For those interested in the eBook, here are the links to purchase it:

 

Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Truth-Makilien-Trilogy-Book-ebook/dp/B005CX90LK/

 

Other eBook formats: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/73865

On to 2011

Another writing year gone by. 2010 was probably my best year so far. I finished publishing Pirates & Faith, had wonderful feedback, and learned a lot. I feel my writing greatly improved over the last half a year thanks to some of the resources I found, particularly K.M. Weiland's blog. For a while I felt kind of discouraged and lost as to which direction I should take with my writing, but I believe I have figured it out. We shall see in the next few months.

 

As for my projects for 2011, I am still working on Courage, book 2 of my fantasy trilogy, Makilien. It stands right now at 41 chapters, the most I've ever written, with only a couple more to go. It has continued to be a tough book to write, but I know in the end I will be pleased. I adore so many of the characters and love where some of their stories have so unexpectedly gone. I look forward to continuing their journeys in book three. I hope to be into that book within the next month or two. I also intend to begin the publishing process for Truth within the year. I just finished a very in depth round of editing on it so it's one more step closer to publication.

 

Besides Makilien I have begun work on a new book that I'd describe as historical fantasy. It takes place sometime around 1200 A.D., but I have created my own country and culture to work with. I am not going to give away too much info just yet, but it is a story of redemption and God's total forgiveness of even the worst sins. The idea came to me the night of Thanksgiving and within three days, I was already writing the first chapter. I've never felt so compelled to write a story as I am this one. I am completely in love with the characters and their journeys. This will be the first book of a two book series. Both books are extensively planned and I've started chapter five in the first one.

 

And, within the last week, I had another bit of inspiration that led to a new story idea. This one is actually contemporary and may turn into a novella instead of a full length book. I've been considering doing that with several of my story ideas since I have so many I want so badly to write.

 

So we will see what my writing future holds in 2011.

 

* * *

For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the Lord 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.' - Jeremiah 29:11 NASB

Fantasy Writing

I don't want to write too much about it yet, because it's still a ways in the future, but I just recently got the inspiration for a brand new fantasy novel to write after I'm finished with my Makilien Trilogy. I may even have the title already, but I'll keep that to myself for the time being. As it is right now it will be a standalone book. No series this time, though I'm definitely open to inspiration.

 

In the last months I think I'm coming to realize that Christian fantasy is my favorite genre to write. It's not a surprise really since my favorite books are fantasy. The thing about fantasy is it's so easy to plot. I have no pressure at all to make sure anything is historically accurate. I can create absolutely anything. The only thing you have to worry about in writing fantasy is creating good characters, good plots, and making sure you're writing it well. I enjoy being free to be as creative as I want to be without having any restrictions and boundaries I have to work around.

 

Another thing I love about writing fantasy is it gives you the opportunity to portray Christian truths in very interesting and powerful ways. The most recent fantasy series I read, The Door Within Trilogy by Wayne Thomas Batson, is a perfect example. I thoroughly enjoyed his portrayal of Christianity within the interesting world he created and hope to delight readers in the same way with Makilien and any future fantasy novels I write.

What's New

I've been really bad about writing new posts this summer, it's been so busy.  I really haven't been writing much for the same reason, but I wanted to write this post to catch up on what is new with my writing. I'm still working on Makilien. I'm very close to finishing and want to get it done to focus on my other projects.

 

Mom is nearly finished reading through A Captain's Heart, but we still have quite a bit to do so I'm not sure if I'll make my early September deadline for its release. I want to make sure I feel it's completely ready so we may have to work on it a little longer.

 

Now, as I mentioned about a month ago in a Twitter update, I've started working on a new book, my first Western novel. I've wanted to write one for years, but never got a start on one. Right now I'm going back and forth working on it and Makilien. I have the prologue nearly finished. It's about five teenage to adult siblings who are left to run the family ranch after their parents die. Mainly it will be told from the viewpoint of the oldest daughter, Casey. I'm not entirely sure where it will all end up yet, but I'm looking forward to getting deeper into the story. I know I'm really going to enjoy writing the relationships between the siblings. It's something I've wanted to have in a story for a long time now. And I'm a huge fan of Bonanza and love the relationships between Adam, Hoss, and Little Joe so that's definitely inspiring me as I write this new book.

 

A few years ago, I also started writing short Western stories all about the same family, kind of like episodes of Bonanza. I finished two and started a third one. I had a lot of great ideas so I'm really interested in getting back into that and hope to write a bunch and put them all into a book sometime soon.

What I'm Working On

As I said in my Twitter update, I have three projects going on now.  For the last week or so I've been working steadily on Makilien and am anxious to finish it.  I'm really happy with it so far.  I think I may go back and add even more to it when I'm done though.  It might seem a little short for a fantasy novel so I want to add a little more depth to it.  Writing the spiritual aspect of it has been very challenging, but well worth it.  And today I figured out how to make it a trilogy.  I wasn't happy with it only being a two book series.  In all the other series I've written, I've ended each book nicely with no unanswered questions and more or less began from scratch in the next book, but the second book of Makilien will be different.  It will end with something big that will not be resolved until the third book.  I'm still working out the details of that last book, but I'm sure in a few days I'll have a pretty clear idea where I'll go with it . . . now I just need to finish the first and second books first.  This third book idea is extra incentive for me to keep working hard on them because I'm so anxious to write it.

 

As for the new project I started working on, I have decided to write a prequel to my pirate series.  For those who have read The Pirate Daughter's Promise, the prequel is going to be the story of Daniel and Grace.  I am very excited about writing their story, and in researching that time period I have found some very interesting historical events to incorporate into the book that will make it even more than I thought it would be.

A New Look and A New Book

Wow, it's been a long time, and I have quite a bit to write about. I've been wanting to change the look of my blog for a long time, and this morning I finally found this new template. Mom just helped me change it, and I really love it.

 

Great news. Mom and I are just about finished with our final edit of Every Tear so probably within the next month I am going to be submitting the manuscript to a Christian publishing company called OakTara. I heard about it from a fellow author, and I feel like this is where God wants me to go with this book so I'm praying it will be accepted. If it is, I'm really looking forward to starting the publishing process again.

 

I have not finished Facing the Waves (I'm still working on a permanent title), but I've been working hard on it the last couple of weeks and am about 3 or 4 chapters away from finishing. I will be very glad to finish. The main character is so unlike myself that I've been finding it a difficult book to write, but one I really need to write in order to properly end my pirate series.

 

In the middle of all that, I started writing yet another book in mid November. It's my first contemporary novel! With my ever growing love for music, I started thinking how interesting and fun it would be to write a book centering on music. At first, I thought it would be impossible to think of a good modern day book plot so I started asking my family for ideas, and in around 30 seconds, my brother, Jake, came up with a great plot. I didn't like it at first, but when I started thinking about it and adding in all my own details, I quickly changed my mind. This new book is about a young woman named Kaitlin from North Carolina who plays in a Christian rock band with some of her friends who are working on trying to get signed with a record company. In the midst of that, a secular band who was just signed comes to record at a studio that Kaitlin's uncle owns. The bass player from the band likes Kaitlin the moment he sees her and asks her out, but since he doesn't share her faith, she won't even consider it. Not to give too much away, he ends up attending her church and the rest of the book is about how Kaitlin's faith begins to change his life. I've reached chapter 15 in the book (which has no title yet). There will probably be around 20-25 chapters, and I'm going to finish it as soon as I finish Facing the Waves.

Another New Book

I've been putting off writing an entry about this because I wanted to be sure I was really going to do it and now I am.  I have started a new book for my pirate series so it's no longer just a trilogy.    It happened on July 4th.  That morning I finished my first edit of A Captain's Heart and realized how much I was going to miss my characters and writing about that time period.  I was writing in my journal about it and then the ideas slowly started coming to me.  This new book takes place eleven years after Every Tear and is about one of the girls from that book.  I just began writing chapter three last night and have the whole story pretty much planned out.  I think I might call it "Facing the Waves" which comes from a conversation between two of my characters later in the book.

God Has Different Plans

It seems that God wants me to put off writing my western for a while.  I'm not at all disappointed because I'm really enjoying His new plans.  This is what happened.  For a couple of days now I've been praying for a good story plan for a western novel, but instead all the ideas that kept coming to me were for an entirely different story.  Years ago when I was writing my fantasy stories, I was working on a series of five books (I completed three).  They were the typical "modern day girl ends up in a world like Middle-earth in The Lord of the Rings."  They were completely for my enjoyment and the enjoyment of my cousins who loved them and they were always very special to me because they were the first books I ever completely finished writing.  I always wished I could do something with them, but since I used everything from The Lord of the Rings, I couldn't and, I admit, they weren't that well written anyway.

 

God actually started giving me some ideas for this a month or two ago.  One morning I was thinking about my fantasy books for some reason and wondered if I could rewrite them completely using my own imagination and give them a Christian message.  It sounded fun, but at that time I was right in the middle of A Captain's Heart so I wasn't thinking about starting any other stories and I honestly thought it would be way too hard to rewrite my fantasies.  So, for the last few days, I've really been struggling to start writing again.  I hate when I don't have a book I'm working on.  Like I said, I was praying for a good western story plot, but all I kept thinking about were my fantasies and how I could change them.  Then, yesterday morning just before I got out of bed the whole thing came together for how I could rewrite them and give them a Christian message.  What I'm doing is combining my first two books into one and my last two into one so there will be two when I'm finished.  They are kind of a cross between my original stories, The Lord of the Rings, The Chronicles of Narnia, and The Pilgrim's Progress.  I'm already half done with the first chapter and it's going very well.  I think I'll be able to write it pretty quickly since I know almost exactly what is going to happen throughout the book because I'm mostly following my original storyline with a few changes.  This two book (and perhaps more, we'll see) series of mine is called Makilien, the name of the book's heroine.