Exciting News!

 

Look!! Resistance has won a bronze medal in the Readers’ Favorite International Book Awards!!! I’m so excited right now I can barely sit still! I can hard believe it. This is the first time I’ve ever entered a book contest before, and I’m thrilled to have made it this far. I’ve been publishing my books for seven years now, but the last few months since first publishing Resistance have been the most exciting in all my years of being an author, and this is one of the biggest moments so far. Thank you so much to everyone who has followed along so closely and has encouraged my so much with your kind words. I can hardly wait to see what the future holds, especially with the publication of the next books in the series.

Book four has reached its end!

*throws confetti and does a happy dance* Yes I have finally, FINALLY finished writing book four of Ilyon Chronicles! Technically, I finished it last Thursday (August 7th), but since I was without internet all last week (torture!), I didn’t get to do a celebration post until today. I don’t think I can adequately describe just how insanely relieved I am to have this book finished. I began writing it on July 23, 2013. Over a year ago. I don’t think I’ve taken a whole year to write a book since Every Tear. And that was a long time ago. It seriously fought me every single step of the way. Every time I thought I had gotten past a difficult part and hoped things would go more smoothly, I’d hit another snag, and another, and another. I got to the point where I sort of hated the book and even contemplated what it would take to just scrap it. Of course, every time I did that, I was faced with the undeniable truth that the story was necessary for the progression of the series. So I pressed on. And now I can finally shove it away for a good long while and not have to look at it again until it comes time to edit it. I’m kind of scared for that time to come, but then, I’m sure in a few months I’ll feel much more charitable toward it.

Not only was this the hardest book of the series to write so far, it also turned out to be the longest. It was the book that never wanted to end. This first draft weighs in at a hefty 137,000 words. I was not expecting that. All this time I thought book three would be the longest. But nope, this book has turned into the longest book I’ve ever written. And considering this first draft is only the bare bones of the story, I’m expecting the word count to rise to at least 150,000 words by the time it’s ready for publication. I almost can’t imagine that. But like I’ve always said, I love long books, so the word count can rise all it wants in order for the story to be satisfactory.

What boggles my mind even more is that 88,000 of those words I wrote in the last eight weeks. Up until June 16th, I had only written a total of 49,000 words in the book! O_o  Yeah, that makes my eyes bug. But it actually wasn’t that hard. Mid-June was when I implemented my new strategy of writing at least 1,500 words a day, five days a week. Many of those days I wrote even more. I’ll definitely be using this writing strategy as I go on to write book five. I’m even hoping that maybe, possibly I could even finish the book or come close by the end of December.

I gave myself a much needed break from writing over the weekend and now hope to get a start on book five today. I’m quite excited about it. I’ve been looking forward to this book for a very long time. And it’s always fun to start a new book no matter what it is. I’ve added a word count meter to my side bar to track my progress. This will probably be the shortest book of the series. It doesn’t have this huge, epic plot, but it digs deep into a very weighty personal dilemma for one of the characters. I can’t wait to delve into it. HOPEFULLY this book will progress much more smoothly than book four. *winces and prays it will be so* If I can finish it by the end of the year, I could be looking at the potential to finish the entire series by the middle of next year. That would be so awesome.

However, as much as I’m looking forward to writing book five, my main focus for the next couple of months will have to shift to editing book two so I can send it to my beta readers. Instead of writing in the mornings as I have been the last several weeks, I’m going to be editing instead. I’m actually about a quarter of the way through editing. Praying that goes smoothly as well. I’m so looking forward to sharing more of this adventure!

Resistance is a Readers’ Favorite Book Award Finalist!

I’m so excited I hardly know what to say right now. Resistance is one of six finalists in the Christian Fantasy/Sci-Fi category in the Readers’ Favorite Book Awards!! I’ve been anxiously awaiting this news since I entered it in May. The finalists were supposed to be announced on July 1st, but they had so many entries this year, that they needed an extra two weeks to make their final selections. You can imagine how anxious I was those two weeks, especially yesterday. I kept checking my email through the day, thinking I wouldn’t get it until today, but then, right before I was about to go to bed, the email came. Oh my goodness, my heart was beating so fast. I sat for a moment wondering if I should even look at it. After all, if I didn’t make it, I’d have to try to sleep while dealing with the disappointment. But I’d be up all night wondering anyway, so I opened the email, read it carefully, held my breath, and clicked on the finalists link. I was still holding my breath as I scrolled through what felt like an endless number of categories before I finally reached Christian Fantasy. And there, right at the top of the list, was my name. I think I let out a little squeak and looked over at my mom to exclaim something along the lines of, “I’m a finalist!” I was so excited I could barely contain myself.

I can still hardly believe it. I’ve never entered any of my work in a contest before, and to be a finalist in one so large is incredible. I mean, Jim Carrey is a finalist in one of the children’s book categories. How cool is that? I think I’m going to be in a bit of a daze for the next day or two. And, of course, now the anxious waiting begins for the announcement of the winners on September 1st. I can hardly wait for that. Thank you SO much to everyone who’s been such an encouragement to me while I’ve been writing and publishing Ilyon Chronicles. I’m so excited to see how God uses the entire series and where it takes me in the future.

Exclusive Sneak Peek for Amazon Reviewers

It’s kind of a big day. Exactly three years ago today, I wrote the very first words of Resistance. Kind of crazy to think back to that day and now see the published version of the book sitting on my desk. I had this grand idea of throwing a big blog party to celebrate, but I was so busy writing and trying to accomplish all my other goals this week that it just didn’t happen. Oh well, maybe next year. But I do have something to share today. If you’re a writer, you know how appreciated reviews are, especially on Amazon. And if you are a reader who knows writers, chances are, you’ve heard us say how much they appreciate reviews. As a special thank you to everyone who has and will leave me those awesome reviews on Amazon, I’m offering an exclusive sneak peek at The King’s Scrolls. And I’m not talking about a couple paragraphs, I’m talking a whole chapter. ;) That’s right, if you email me the link to your Resistance Amazon review (or the name it’s posted under), I’ll send you a PDF copy of one of the first chapters in TKS, which sets the whole plot of the book in motion, and happens to be one of my favorite chapters. This applies to anyone who has already reviewed the book. Just contact me for your sneak peek! It’s the least I can do to show my appreciation. :)

Character Spotlight - Kyrin

In my last character spotlight, I delved a bit deeper into my main character Jace. Today’s spotlight goes to my female main character, Kyrin Altair. (Warning! Resistance spoilers ahead!)

via Pinterest

Appearance: Long brown hair (later cut to shoulder/chin length), dusty blue eyes, slim, 5’7” tall.
Age: 17
Race: Human
History: Kyrin and her twin brother Kaden were placed in Tarvin Hall because of their advanced learning capabilities and observation skills when they were seven years old to be raised and trained to provide service to the emperor. Besides her other skills, Kyrin also has a perfect memory of every day since she was four years old.

Kyrin was an interesting character to develop. Actually, difficult might be a better word. I knew Jace from the inside out practically from the beginning. Kyrin I actually had to come to know over a period of time. I’m actually not even sure what inspired her character or storyline. This note is all I have on her from that first day after my initial inspiration for the story.

I think she will come from higher society. I think the government will take children who show special abilities and train them. So this girl is very smart and observant. I’m thinking Patrick Jane type of observant. As a child, she showed incredible learning skills, so they took her from her family to raise her with the other extraordinary children.

As you can see, part of my inspiration came from watching The Mentalist, but other than that, everything else must have just been bits of inspiration I’d already had floating around in my mind. After all, the idea of a corrupt government was something I’d been toying with long before I started writing Ilyon Chronicles.

At this point, I had no idea about Tarvin Hall’s promotion ceremony and that Kyrin was going to end at the palace. That very important piece of the plot didn’t come to me until a couple of days later. There was also another very important aspect missing from the story—Kaden. As hard as it is for even me to believe looking back, Kaden did not even exist until after I had already written the promotion ceremony scenes, which was at the beginning of December 2011 (I started writing in June). Crazy, right? All that trouble I initially had with Kyrin was due to the fact that, all along, she was missing her twin brother!

The problem in the beginning was that Kyrin was too tough. She had to be to survive alone at Tarvin Hall. But then Kaden finally came along and changed everything. With him there to protect her, she didn’t have to be so tough anymore. I could bring out her more vulnerable, feminine side that I think was really lacking in that very first draft of the story. It also made scenes like the goodbye at Tarvin Hall or when Kyrin is on the platform in the square so much more poignant. It’s incredible how God worked that all out.

Another thing missing from Kyrin in those early chapters was her perfect memory. That’s right, Kyrin initially didn’t remember everything about every day of her life. It wasn’t until I saw a commercial for the TV show Unforgettable, which was about a detective with a perfect memory. Seriously, isn’t God amazing? He had me in front of the TV right when that commercial came on and used it to give me inspiration for Kyrin that was critical to the story. Maybe it doesn’t seem so critical in Resistance, but wait until . . . oh, let’s just say book three. ;)

Though I say often how alike I am to Jace, I also share a lot in common with Kyrin. She’s the only girl among her siblings, something I know well. There are multiple scenes throughout the series between her and her brothers that were directly inspired by moments with my own brothers. Though I’m the oldest and don’t have a twin or older brother, I still rely heavily on my middle brother to take care of things when we’re out and about. Kyrin’s trouble with becoming claustrophobic in tight and crowded spaces came from my own experiences. I can get very claustrophobic when I’m closed in.

What I love about how Kyrin ended up is how strong she is when she needs to be, such as when she stands up for her faith and decides to befriend Jace even when no one else will, but she’s still human and relatable. One of my most favorite scenes with her is when she fails to share her faith with Daniel. The emotions of that moment are so real to me because I’ve been there. I know what it’s like to be too scared to take advantage of the perfect opportunity. It’s just such a real moment and makes me love Kyrin all the more.

Fan Art

Today is a fun post. :) I’ve received a couple pieces of fan art for Ilyon Chronicles, which is incredibly fun for me, and I’ve decided to make a page for displaying that art. Just click the banner or the fan art tab above to take a look at what I’ve received so far. And if you would like to have your art included, just send it to me in email. I would love to see it! There’s nothing quite like seeing readers do something creative with my stories, especially when I’m not very good at stuff like drawing.

Character Spotlight - Jace

I’ve been looking forward to doing this since well before Resistance came out. I always thought it would be fun to spotlight the characters from Ilyon Chronicles, and the first spotlight, of course, goes to Jace since he is the heart of Ilyon Chronicles for me. After all, if not him, the series wouldn’t even exist. If you haven’t read Resistance yet, you might not want to read further if you don’t want any spoilers.