Kiera Cover Reveal

I was blessed to be a part of the beta readers team for Kiera by Kate Willis and I am stoked about the release! It's coming out in late June, but I'm here to share the cover!

Isn't it gorgeous? Ever since I read it I've wanted it on my bookshelf, and now I want it even more!! The characters are the best part! <3 

Synopsis: 

Kiera is looking forward to her eighteenth birthday. The official end of school, a party with her best friend, and chocolate cake. A sudden military draft, no possible exemptions, had never crossed her mind. 

Kiera is terrified! Getting drafted would mean leaving her family, her little friend Jade—life as she knows it. 

A surprising offer from Brennan Stewart just might be the answer to her prayers, but an even worse trial leaves her with one question…

If God truly loves her, why did this tragedy happen?

ADD IT ON GOODREADS

About Kate:

Kate Willis has been homeschooled her whole life in a loving family that values the Gospel of Jesus Christ, creativity, and thoughtful conversations. She is inspired by red shoes, a good story, little children, and chai tea. It is her desire to serve God in the home having a family of her own in the future. She is the author of The Treasure Hunt, The Twin Arrows, and two short stories Enjoy the Poodle Skirt and Red Boots. 

Kates Website || Goodreads || Facebook || Pinterest

Any of y'all excited for this? I'm getting even more excited just talking about it!

Love Always Hopes || A One Sentence Dialog

Hello everyone. It's been over a year since I've posted a one sentence dialog. I was hit with inspiration last night, and finally wrote another one. 

If you haven't read the past installments in this unorthodox series, find them here: Part One. Part Two. Part Three. Part Four. Part Five.

Here you go!

Where to next?

The post office.

You have no letter.

I know.

Are you waiting for something?

In a way.

What way?

I am hoping rather than expecting a letter.

How long has it been this time?

A year.

And you still think she’ll write again?

I hope so.

You’re a fool.

I know.

What gives you any reason to hope?

God does.

He will not write a letter for her.

Now, but He can move her to do so.

Do you believe He will?

I do not know.

And yet you hope.

Yes.

What if it comes to nothing?

And?

And she never writes to you again.

It would hurt.

Wouldn’t you also prove your hope was ridiculous?

I am never ashamed to hope.

Oh?

To hope in God is never in vain.

Even if what you hope for does not come about?

He still shows His hand at work in my life.

So you believe it is worth all the disappointment?

I do.

I’ll take you to the post office now.

Thank you.

One more question.

Yes?

How many times have you hoped for this letter?

More times than I can count.

Than I was right.

What?

You’re a fool.

Prehaps.

What did you think?

More on Andrea's Star

This is the beginning to my book Andrea's Star. I'm still working on this story, so I have a kind of love/hate relationship with it.

Andrea lay on her back, staring up at the stars. I should have been looking at the stars to, but the little girl next to me had captured my attention far more than the glistening points above.

Her bright blue eyes took in everything above as though it was pouring strait into her soul. The stars reflected in her eyes, making her look younger than her ten years.  

“You're not looking at the stars,” Andrea giggled, flopping over onto her side to face me. 

A grin lit my face, “That's because you're much more interesting than they are.” 

“But Katlin, we're out here to see stars,” her small mouth turned down in a pout. 

I bit back the laugh that threatened to take ahold of me “Okay Andrea, I'll watch the stars.” I turned my attention very deliberately upwards. 

I heard her shift next to me, and her small body pressed up against mine. 

A smile snuck onto my face as she rested her head on my arm. I looked back up at the sky. Covered in a brilliant array of white specks, it looked like some kind of magic had been spread over the heavens. Across the sky, in a faint strain, I could see the Milky Way. The huge galaxy where I called home was spread out in front of me, so much larger than I ever could imagine. 

Out here in the country, the cares of home seemed to slip away into the sky. 

Freedom in the Dark

Late at night 

Trouble sleeping 

Working on things

That should have been done

A long time ago

Enjoying the quiet

Soaking up the dark 

Enjoying the freedom 

Doesn’t matter how much you did

Or how much you’re doing 

It just matters that it's getting done

The voices of self-destruction 

Have gone to sleep for now

So maybe here in the quiet 

Is the one place 

We are really free

Thank you God, for freedom in the dark.

Currently...

I decided this evening that it had been to long since I did one of the 'currently' posts, so here we go! I tried to narrow down the list so it wasn't a monster to read, because apparently last time I decided that length was not a problem. ;P 

 


Reading... Grace and the Preacher by Kim Vogel Sawyer and Half-Blood by Jaye L Knight.

Watching... birds coming to our feeder. (Also I'm super excited because with my new zoom lens I can now do bird photography again!

Listening... to an Evermore cover by Josh Groben. I have not watched the new Beauty and the Beast, but my sister found this song and I love it!

Writing... book reviews and emails. They are never-ending. ;)

Trying... to finish a lot of work today so I can take off part of tomorrow guilt free.

Crafting... cards to send to friends. I'm not saying I'm any good at it, but I enjoy trying to come up with cute designs.

Doing... lot's of schedule re-working as different things come up and I don't meet self made deadlines. I'm trying to find a schedule that works well for me.

Luke and I on a walk. =)

Loving... my awesome family. (I mean, my mom made me a stuffed elephant, just because I talked about my imaginary pet elephant named Alfred. She even made him a bowtie like I described. I could go on with my serious examples of how my family is awesome, but we only have so much time here.)

Hating... procrastination.

Discovering... how much I had missed summer heat. I took a walk the other day to enjoy the 97° weather. (Pictured above)

Enjoying... how easy Survey Monkey is to use. (If you haven't filled out my blog survey, you can do that here. It would mean a lot to me.)

Feeling... tired. I got up early today. =P

Thinking... about my next editing project.

Hoping... that I can finish said editing project done in just a few days.

Considering... how I'm going to fit some reading into the schedule today.

Starting... to work on a couple reviews in earnest

Finishing... up some short projects so I can go make stuffed bell peppers.

What are you up to this week?

Blog Survey (Calling All Blog Readers)

Hello everyone! I have been thinking about revamping my blog lately, and I could really use your help. I've created a short survey and it would mean the world to me if you could fill it out. Even if you only read my blog once in a blue moon or you've just started following your responce would be very appreciated! Free virtual cupcakes if you do it! ;)

The survey is only seven questions and should only take about 3-5 minutes to fill out.

I've put the embedded survey below, but just in case that's not working for you, I've also left the link.

I spent way more time singing along to Broadway's Beauty and the Beast than I did actually creating this surveys. (Mostly Home. Such a good song. <3)

SURVEY LINK

Create your own user feedback survey

Thank you so much for your time! 

April Highlights

April was SO awesome!! I had a hard time narrowing down the highlights of the month!

I got to write in a restaurant for the first time. I had so much fun. My mom was meeting with a friend, so I set up my laptop at a table and had two hours of uninterrupted writing time. It was awesome.

I was babysitting and one of the kids said he was turning eight, I said that was one of my favorite ages. He asked why, and than we had to go through bullet points of my life from age eight through present time. It was fun. ;D Also during babysitting I played piano with a little 1 1/2 year old. Fun experience. He gave me a hug at the end of our 'duet.' <3 

 

My new lightbox.

I went to a friend of the family's wedding which was at a renaissance fair. Honestly, I wasn't as impressed as I thought I would be, but it was still fun to go. My sister Grace and I did a maze together, which was really fun.  

I had my first ever silly string war. That was incredibly fun. 

Wrote 30k for CampNaNo! 

Two of my sisters and I sat down to play a ten minute game of Taboo and ended up playing for two and a half hours. ;D

My sister Sarah and I at the writers retreat.

I went to a writers retreat with nine other awesome writers. It was amazingly refreshing and got me even more excited about writing. On the way home, I got sick, so I was down for the next few days, but thankfully it wasn't to bad!

I got a new camera lens! I was pretty happy because I got a good deal on a used one. I'm now officially a two lens photographer. 

I got called for jury duty. That's this month, so we'll see how that goes. I've only been in the system for about eight months, so they got to me fast! 

Bye For Now Apples of Gold

...As Yourself Letters To Jayna

Built to Last Whimsical Writings 

Make Me Brave Chasing Moonlight 

Get To Know Me Sunshine and Scribblings 

My Dad Died on a Beautiful Day Elizabeth Anne

Christian Checkbox Scenes The Left-Handed Typist 

How was your April? Any highlights you want to share? 

The Gifts God Gives

I was really talking to myself when I wrote this, but I thought I thought I would share it with y'all.

It always looks like 

Everyone has more than you

Like they have what you want 

Like they have it without trying 

They didn’t even after to work 

To get all the things they did 

They couldn’t have wanted it 

As much as you did 

Even if that’s true 

What does it matter? 

What if they do have more? 

What if they do have what you wanted? 

What does it matter 

If they didn’t want it as badly? 

Who are you to questions

The gifts God gives?

He has given you so much 

Look at everything you have 

Don’t you wonder 

If they want what you have?

Camp Update || I Won!

Happy May everyone! I was going to be all cool and post my April highlights on the first. It was going to be beautiful. Than I got sick... yeah, it was a minor stomach bug and it halted all my work for a couple days. Good news, I had already finished Camp, so I didn't have to worry about that! But the highlights will be coming soon.

So yeah, Camp went relatively well. I had quite a few times when I really didn't think I was going to met my goal, but I managed (With help from my pep talkers) to do it! I reached 30k Thursday night and than promptly crashed and fell asleep. 

Below (After the random photos that I've chosen to include) is a snidbit of the second story I was working on this month; Just Your Ordinary Sister. It's unedited, but I hope you enjoy it anyway! 

“Come on, Mandy,” I said to myself “we’ve got to face her someday.” 

I pushed away from the wall and entered the building. Summer break was just starting, giving me a great opportunity to spend time with Matt and Brook uninterrupted. 

The trip up to the apartment was too short to calm my nerves. I had always loved hanging out with Brook. She provided a moral compass for me, pointing me back to God. She welcomed me with open arms and she always made me feel like I belonged. But right now, I would rather have stayed away. Now she pulled me closer to the memories rather than driving them away. 

I paused outside the door and rubbed my temples. I had gone to work with Matt, like normal and all the paperwork had given me a headache. Maybe I could just slip in and lay down. 

I laughed at my own idea. It wasn’t like you could really sneak around in a four-room apartment. 

I used my passkey to get into the apartment, bracing myself as I did. 

Just as expected, Brook was sitting on the couch, waiting for me. 

So how was your camp?