Learn About My April Camp NaNo Project

I actually wasn't planning on doing Camp this year . . . but scheduling changed slightly, so I decided on April 1st that I'd give it a go!

This year, I'm working on a story titled Little Boy Blue.

Now wait, you might be thinking, isn't this the same story she did for Camp NaNo July '19? (read that post here)

Wellllll, the answer is yes. But I didn't like the way the story was going, so after taking a months-long break from this baby, I completely restarted it for NaNoWriMo (Nov.) '19, making major revisions. But then, I only got about 26,000 words written.

This month, I'm hoping to finish it! That's not to say that I will . . . but there's always hope, right? ;)

So, instead of taking up precious writing time to try to compile all the facts that y'all might be interested in about my lil' story, I decided to open it up for a Q&A!

You can comment any and every question about Little Boy Blue that you have, and I may or may not answer them all in a post next week!

Questions or comments? *Grins* good! Drop 'em below!

Book Review: The Coronation by Livy Jarmusch

Prince Addison is only several weeks away from inheriting the Kingdom of Tarsurella. The entire Palace is ablaze with excitement, as the Royal Family prepares for the event of a lifetime. Despite the exciting event which is near at hand, Addison and his younger siblings (all seven of them!) must carry on with their daily activities. 

Addison’s sisters, Princesses Bridget, Chasity, and Hope, have their struggles with being iconic European starlets of a modern day monarchy. The teen heiresses grace magazine covers, smile for photoshoots, and gracefully glide through important interviews–until a certain American popstar arrives on the scene. Kennetic Energy, the wildly popular band from the United States, is chosen to play at Addison’s Coronation. David Carter, the band’s handsome lead singer, fumbles through awkward moments with Princess Hope–in front of the cameras. When an embarrassing rumor sparks that Princess Hope is dating the young fellow, she is determined to get the band fired from their Royal gig. 

Meanwhile, Princess Chasity is dealing with her own fragile affairs of the heart. Her new security guard, Hanson Fletcher, is completely captivating, yet entirely frustrating. She attempts to keep the entrance of her heart firmly protected, while following the wisdom of Proverbs 4:23. But can she be successful in guarding her heart, from her security guard? 

My rating:

I'd just like to start this review out by saying that I am not the intended market for this book. This book just isn't for me. And that's okay, because I know that there are a lot of people that love it—and I'm glad! I really am!

I, however, found it extremely hard to force myself through. Or, at least, for the first couple hundred pages or so. (This book is over 400 pages. Since I have an e-copy, I did not realize this. #overwhelmed) If I'm going to read about a kingdom, with a king and princes and princesses, I'm so used to reading it in a medieval setting with sword fights and archers and daggers, that to read it in a completely modern setting kinda threw me off, haha! 

To be honest, the plot was like reading a cross between a Disney Channel TV show and a Hallmark drama. It . . . wasn't my thing. I'll talk more on the plot in a minute.

But first of all, the writing style wasn't super engaging. I mean, there were times that I got really sucked into the story—but that's more because the plot picked up, rather than the actual writing improving. There were a few typos, which I normally wouldn't mention, but added to some grammatical inconsistencies (or maybe this is just my personal preferences & pet peeves talking, idk), it sometimes drove me nuts.

The crushes. Alllllll the crushes. And flirting. Someone shoot me. (have I mentioned that I'm not the target audience?) When David first came into the picture, it wasn't too bad. I actually liked his character. But his love song? I cringed so hard during the whole thing. And poor Addison! All the ladies trying to hook up with the future king?? Give the guy some slack! And Jillian . . . girl. If you want to be more mature than your 11 years, stop acting like a little girl when it comes to a love song that seems like it was sung just for you. I did enjoy Hanson + Chasity a teensy bit, though, and I appreciated how they went their separate ways without an overly amount of drama.

Speaking of Hanson . . . oh, Hanson. When he was a main character in one of the beginning scenes, I thought we'd see a whole lot more of him than we actually did. I feel like that huge deal with him & his dad at the beginning was supposed to cause a huge amount of suspense, but after a couple hundred pages of barely any more mention, that realllyyyy killed the momentum of what I think was supposed to be something super tense and surprising. (Also, side note—characters miraculously healing from injuries?! One of my pet peeves, y'all. Injured one chapter but nobody notices in the next, and he's not even limping or wincing?!)

Tbh, I think what took the first couple hundred of pages to describe could've happened in the first few chapters. It was like in the middle of the book the huge PLOT TWIST *gasp* was dumped in our laps, and it didn't really even seem to fit with the rest of the book?! It was like reading two different books . . . except not.

Oh, and one more thing—I'm not sure if this was on purpose or if the author was trying to use omniscient POV or what . . . but there was so. Much. Head hopping. I mean, there was like, 5 POVs already, but add to that head hopping in every single scene? It was so confusing at times.

So, just a few random notes I took while reading:

-"David and Clark took huge strides forward, and soon their trot turned into a full-blown gallop." What in the world?! How do people gallop?

-I legit thought that one person was gonna die. But they didn't. So I'm okay.

-The name Lance (one of those names that just kinda gets on my nerves) suddenly isn't so annoying when it refers to a security guard.

-I was ready for the book to end, I thought that it could've been wrapped up nicely, but then I saw that there was 100 pages left (oh, the joys of reading ebooks!). It kiiiinda seemed to drag.

Why is this book three stars instead of two or even one?

-Addison. I a d o r e d Addison. He is just . . . *happy sigh* *Lone Ranger narrator voice* He was a fabulous individual. There just wasn't enough of his POV!

-Millllliiiiieeee! She was so. Stinkin'. Adorable. I loved her character!

-That intense bit I mentioned? While I feel like the suspense could've been built more, I still really enjoyed those scenes. Definitely improved the whole book in my opinion. Even if it did seem like an entirely different plot in and of itself.

-I actually didn't mind Vanessa? She was kinda cool.

-Bridget has issues but I feel for her anyway.

*I received a free e-copy of this book from the author in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts are my own.

Have you read The Coronation? Did you enjoy it more than I did??

"It's Like a Movie"

Comparison.

This is a topic that's been on my heart a lot lately.

As a society, we're constantly comparing ourselves to others in the way we dress, eat, weigh, even take social media pictures (yeah, I'm especially guilty with this one).

But right now, I'm talking about comparing ourselves to others as authors.

Have you ever . . .

-Read someone else's book and thought wow, why can't my writing style be more like theirs?

-Wondered what it would be like if you could be as popular as that one author?

-Thought that if you just tried a little harder, your prose would be identical to your favorite author's?

-Actually tried to copy another author's writing style?

-Looked at a fellow author with envy because they're cranking out three 80k-word novels per year? (yeah, definitely guilty of this one)

I could go on and on and on. Why? Because in this day and age, we're taught to act like everyone else to 'fit in.' To dress like everyone else, to talk like everyone else, to be like everyone else. For some reason, it's unacceptable to be uniquely you.

Because if you're you, then you must be weird.

Y'all, we as authors have such trouble with comparison. I'm speaking from my personal experience, but I'm pretty sure that I can accurately say with confidence that this is something that we all struggle with at some point.

She wrote a longer novel.

He has a more popular novel than yours.

She is everyone's favorite.

He is just . . . better.

No. Stop it. You hear me? Stop. It. Now. Those kinds of thoughts are toxic.

A friend (sorry, girlie, I'm gonna use you as an example xD) and I were once messing around with a story, and I was way out of my element, trying to write about something that I knew next to nothing about. I couldn't do it. I couldn't feel it. I couldn't put it into words because, frankly, I had no idea what I was doing.

"It's like a movie," my friend said. "Just imagine that this is a TV show and you're just describing what happens." I gave her the keyboard, and she took off with the story. It was great . . . except that I felt like a horrible writer because she could do something that I couldn't.

Unless I'm writing it, I can't see it in my mind.

She outlines everything. She plots out every scene, every chapter, and the expected word count for each.

Me? I'm a pantser. Except for one story (that I still haven't finished, surprise, surprise), all of the stories that I've written had no ending in my mind until I'd written it. In most of my stories, I can't even tell you what the next scene is. Because I can't see it in my mind. I can't visualize the story in my mind like a movie; in reality, the one scene I'm working on replays itself over and over and over in my mind until I manage to figure out what comes next.

For me, writing is a struggle for words. A struggle to make my sentences sound coherent. A struggle to add description.

But for my friend? She can crank out analogies right and left.

See what I did there? I just compared myself to one of my close writer friends. When she told me, "just think of it as a movie," she wasn't trying to make me feel bad; she was trying to help. But I compared myself to her because I didn't feel adequate.

Y'all. God made us each with our own writing styles, our own methods, and our own paces. The stories your friends write aren't going to be like yours; and yours aren't going to be like theirs. That's okay. When God gives you a story to write, you write it. Because He didn't give it to your best friend or your favorite author to write; He gave it to you.

And you are the only one who can write it.

Not your best friend.

Not your favorite author.

You.

I watch other people crank out novel after novel every year, crush NaNo, get all the congratulations . . . and I get discouraged. Because I must not be a good enough writer.

But in all honesty, all I'm doing is convincing myself of something that really isn't true. 

Don't compare yourself to anyone else. Because only you can write the story that God gave you.

Book Review: No Way Up by Mary Connealy

When Cimarron ranch patriarch Chance Boden is caught in an avalanche, the quick actions of hired hand Heath Kincaid save him. Badly injured, Chance demands that his will be read and its conditions be enforced immediately. 

Without anyone else to serve as a witness, Heath is pressed into reading the will. If Justin, Sadie, and Cole Boden don't live and work at home for the entire year, the ranch will go to their low-down cousin Mike. 

Then Heath discovers the avalanche was a murder attempt, and more danger might follow. Deeply involved with the family, Heath's desire to protect Sadie goes far beyond friendship. The danger keeps them close together, and their feelings grow until being apart is the last thing on their minds.

My rating:

I read No Way Up two or three years ago and rated it three stars. So I picked it back up a couple of weeks ago in the mood for a western and decided to give it another try.

Obviously, it was a mistake.

It started out well and with a bang that kept me hook—Chance Boden, ranch boss, is critically injured in a landslide, and the only person who has the know-how to save him is Heath Kincaid, one of the hired hands with him that happened to have just the amount of medical knowledge needed.

Annnnd then it went downhill.

The plot:

The plot itself is good. An old rancher is being sent away to a specialist and gives his children an ultimatum: never leave the ranch for a year or lose the whole thing to their swindler cousin. Now, Chance was cantankerous and obstinate about it, but I understood that he just wanted his children to understand the legacy he was leaving them.

But good grief. He drove me insane sometimes.

The rest of the book—looking for a murderer, trying to climb to the top of an unclimbable mesa, and stubborn siblings—was a toss-up between me wanting to throw the book across the room and me wanting to keep reading while refraining from rolling my eyes. It wasn't cheesy . . . but . . . well, just read the rest of the review and you'll understand why. ;)

The characters:

I enjoyed Heath's character. He was probably my favorite, actually. I really loved his dedication to the Bodens, since they reminded him of his own big brothers. Ahhhh, his big brothers. I loved all of the references to them.

Sadie was . . . a tomboyish young woman with a stubborn streak as wide as her father's. What drove me nuts about her was how flirtatious she was with Heath. I mean, I get it; it's her personality. But STILL, people. Please refrain. I could definitely relate to the being-smothered-by-big-brothers aspect, though.

Cole and Justin. As alike as night and day. Cole, the shrewd businessman with a flair for words. Justin, the rough-and-tumble middle child that never was really good at settling arguments with anything other than his fists. The way they showed nothing but contempt for each other surprised me with how accurate they actually were. Constantly fighting, yet when an outside party insults one of them? Watch out!

I loved John. The wise old ramrod. 'Nuff said.

Randoms:

Ahh, the romance. Hm. Very cringe-worthy, if you ask me. The two main parties constantly flirting with each other. Thinking about each other constantly. Loving the kissing. *Shudders* oh, the kissing.

So, the writing. In my honest opinion, the writing needed help. The book seemed poorly written to me, and I found several typos, which I normally wouldn't mention, but . . . I think traditionally published books are looked at as 'perfect' and polished. This one . . . was far from it. *coughs*

The INJURIES! Y'all this book had injuries! So fabulous. *cackles*

Have you read any other Connealy books? Would you recommend them?

Book Buddy Collab Tag

Today I've got another tag for you . . . but this one's a little different. ;) I was tagged by Katja @ Little Blossoms for Jesus (thanks, Katja!) to do this super fun-looking tag, for which I enlisted my bestie Faith's help! How does it work? Well, I answer the questions in the way I think are accurate for Faith, and on her blog, she'll answer the questions the way she thinks are accurate for me.

Sound fun? I sure think so!

You can find Faith's post HERE.

The rules:

-Thank the blogger that tagged you. Link back to the creator.

-Pick a bookish blogger friend to do the tag with you and contact them. (Well I obviously picked/contacted Faith . . . )

-Coordinate so that your bookish buddy posts their part of the tag on the same day as you. Be sure to link to their post/blog on yours!

-Answer the questions given. Comment on your buddy's post to let them know how well they answered!

-Tag five other bookish bloggers and give them a set of 10 new questions.

I'm gonna go ahead and tag some people right now . . . I tag the first five people who comment with the person with whom they want to do this tag!

*grins and rubs hands together* okay, time to have some fun! I read through the questions and was actually surprised by how much I didn't know . . . Faith and I talk about different stuff so much that we hardly talk about books anymore, haha!

1. What's your buddy's favorite book-to-movie adaption?

I honestly don't know what book-to-movie adaptions she's seen . . . but I'll go with Anne of Green Gables here. Allllll three of the movies (the third of which I have yet to see . . . maybe on your next visit, eh, girlie?), especially the third.

2. What's their favorite cliché/trope?

Uhhhh . . . *cringes* I'm . . . not sure? *thinks* OH OH injured/broken guys, physically or mentally (or, even better, both). That need healing. Find a girl. Fall in love. All that jazz. *nods* She loves them broken dudes.

3. What's their favorite movie?

Ha. Hahahaha. Haahhhhaaaa. Ummm . . . I know she loves Midway . . . and When Calls the Heart (which is technically a series BUT) . . . I don't know what else?? Can I go with TV series too? 'Cause I'm pretty sure one of her current obsessions is Sue Thomas: F.B.Eye. As for official favorite movie movie, though, I'm pretty much clueless. *cringes*

4. What's their least favorite genre?

Oh goodness . . . I'll go with sci-fi. That's my first guess. That or horror. (but, Pottsy, have you ever even read horror?) *shrugs* Idk. One of those two.

5. Do they check reviews before buying or reading a book, or just dive right in?

Um, my guess is that she sometimes asks the opinions of people she trusts & reads their reviews, if she knows they've read it and she has questions . . . but most of the time just picks it up because it looks cool.

6. What's your buddy's all-time favorite character?

WHAT question is this?! Um . . . James. From her own book, Freedom. Because he's fabulous and amazing and broken and a lil' piece of her dear heart. But if a character from a book other than her own . . . possiblyyyyy Rafe from Jesseca Wheaton's Questions of War series? I don't know *hides* OH WAIT there's also Sam from Interrupted by Rachel Coker. Hmm . . . *rubs chin*

7. Can you name three of their favorite nonfictions?

UH HELP. I don't knowwww! Mayyyybe Made for the Journey by Elizabeth Elliott, the Go Teen Writers book, and . . . Faith, that one book you took pictures of with the pinecones + flannel a couple of years ago? Idek xD

8. What's their favorite series?

Is it awful of me to say that I don't know? *chuckles nervously* I'm seriously drawing a blank here. Um. *scratches head* The Questions of War series? 'Cause, I mean, they are her writing partner's books . . .

9. Does your buddy enjoy buddy-reading? ;P

Yeah, I think so—I've never personally buddy-read anything with her, but I'm pretty sure she has before and enjoyed it . . . or maybe it's just buddy-binge-watching a favorite TV show that she enjoys. ;)

10. Does your buddy like to snack while reading?

*cackles* my buddy will do anything while reading. Snap her fingers? Check. Stalk Instagram? Check. Play with her dog? Check. Watch TV? Check. Listen to music? Check. Snack? Double check. (And if I'm wrong . . . well . . . I suppose I'll get over it.)

Okay, ten new questions for the tagged people:

1. Who's your buddy's favorite author?

2. What's their favorite trope?

3. What's (one of) their all-time favorite books?

4. When is their favorite time of day to read?

5. What is their favorite book-to-movie adaption?

6. What is their favorite nonfiction books?

7. What are three of their favorite book covers?

8. Do they prefer series or standalones?

9. What movie or TV show reminds them of their favorite series?

10. Are they a stay-up-until-morning-to-finish-the-book person, or a sleep-is-too-important person?

Faith, m'girl! How'd I do??

Me in Book Characters: a Blog Tag

I was tagged by the lovely Rebekah from Rebekah Ashleigh to participate in this fabulous-looking tag, where I share some book characters that I'm most like.

The rules:

-Thank the creator of the tag (don't know who this is, but . . . thanks?)

-Thank whoever tagged you (I appreciate it, Rebekah!)

-List 5 book characters whom you are most like and explain why (we'll see if I can find that many, haha!)

-Tag your friends (I tag Katja, Angela, and Kassie!)

Now to five book characters that I relate with the most!

1. Andrea Carter

So, yeah, I can't say that Andi and I have a lot of preferences in common; she'd rather spend all day outside with her horse, doing anything but be a 'proper' lady. I, on the other hand, enjoy staying inside (though I love riding as well!), and I don't mind acting like a lady. So. I relate to Andi in two ways: 1) through personality. I'll read a line and go "dude, that's me!" I love Andi's character so much, and part of that may be because I relate to her personality so well! The second reason I relate to Andi is her big brothers. I feel like Andi & Chad are basically me and my oldest brother, haha! We tend to butt heads (not as much as we used to; maturity comes with age, ya know ;)), but we still love each other. And Mitch? He's like all the other three of my brothers rolled into one!

2. Cara Richards

Yeah, yeah, it's probably cheating to use my own character. But Beloved is a published novel, so that counts, right? ;) Cara is more snarky/jaded/cynical than I am, given what her life has been like the past few years, so our personalities aren't that similar. BUT. I based her struggles off my own. Because everyone has struggles, and I wanted to speak to those that have dealt with depression, insecurity, worthlessness, etc. I wasn't suicidal, but as you may know . . . the book escalated that aspect quickly. ;)

3. Lissa Holden

SPOILER ALERT! I couldn't remember Lissa's last name, so I went with her adopted name. ;P END SPOILER So, Lissa was a foster kid, which naturally made me love the book. I'm not adopted, nor a foster kid, however, so I can't relate to her in this way (but the fostering aspect was such an amazing part, I had to mention it). How I can relate to Lissa? For one, she has a twin brother (with matching initials)! Y'all! When does it ever happen that the twins in a book are boy + girl?? UM YES PLEASE. The second reason is that, though several years younger than me, Lissa had struggles that hit me so hard with how I could relate. Her aversion to people, fear of crowds . . . uh, ouch. And yes, you just found out one of my weaknesses. ;)

4. Alex Carson

Alex's personality was . . . very similar to mine, actually. Quiet in a group, but talkative one-on-one.  Her fears of being rejected, of being left behind, actually surprised me with what I could relate with. But what I loved most about her story was that she had a brother who was such a tease, and often went over the top with his sarcasm and snarky comments—many of them borderline insulting. And Alex really struggled with that. THIS, y'all. Scary how much I could relate to all this.

4. Sadie Boden

I . . . actually didn't really like this book. I'll save my thoughts for a potential review, but let's just say . . . yeah, no. So, I'm listing one of the main characters here because 1) I didn't have time to go hunting high and low for a different character, and 2) Sadie being the youngest of three, with her other siblings as brothers, made for a lot of situations that made me nod and say, "mhmmm." For instance, Her brothers are threatening to kill whoever wants to marry her, simply for wanting to do so. Another reason is that, being the youngest, she feels like she has to prove to them that she really can take care of herself and pull her own weight. Now, I don't want to get out with the guys and do their work, because I know I can't. But being a girl in a male-majority household for most of my life, I know the feeling. ;)

So, there we go! I'll probably think of better characters later, but oh well. ;)

What is one character that you relate to the most?

Book Review: Every Bright and Broken Thing by Brian McBride

Haunted by the last question their mother ever asked them before she passed away, the Greyson brothers struggle to cope with their grief and adjust to life after tragedy.

Semi-popular sixteen-year-old Liam spends his nights performing as the lead singer of his high school indie pop/rock band, Liam and the Landmarks. But something happened to Liam two years ago at his friend's house - a secret Liam will take to his grave. But in small towns like Summit, Colorado, secrets always seem to find their way out.

Twenty-four-year-old Ezra thought that he could cure his grief when he left Summit behind for a prestigious art school in Chicago, but things only got worse. Now a college dropout working at a gas station mini mart, he turns to alcohol, prescription painkillers, and meaningless one-night stands. But Ezra can't run forever - life always catches up with you.

With striking and abrasively honest dual-perspective narratives, EVERY BRIGHT AND BROKEN THING illustrates the unbreakable bond between brothers and the power in coming home.

My rating:

Every Bright and Broken Thing . . . wrecked me. Wow. Um.

I thought I'd never read a book with prose that I could compare to Charles Martin.

I was wrong.

Every Bright and Broken Thing was beautiful. And it HURT. Reading reviews about it made me think that it'd break my heart and make me wanna sob the whole way through.

But no . . . it's one of those books that make you start hurting at the very beginning, just a little bit. And that ache grows deeper and deeper until it sticks in your mind and you wonder if there's anything good in the world. Liam and Ezra sinking deeper and deeper into the pit of despair, trying to get out by themselves. Knowing that they're not good enough. Knowing that they'll never be enough, never be able to fix what's broken.

And then...redemption.

I finished this baby several days ago and I'm still not sure how to rate it. It was so, so heavy. So, so good.

Liam was . . . oh my goodness. Liam was, by far, my favorite character in the whole book. Both he and Ezra went through things that I . . . I can't even imagine. Yet some of the things they said hit me deeply because they were . . . me. But Liam has a secret. A secret he won't tell anyone.

But, of course, secrets always have a way of coming into the light.

Ezra was good. A messed-up, sick painter, in desperate need of help. To be honest, he made me mad most of the time. I wanted to grab him by the face and say "EZ! C'MON! GO HOME!" But I also knew why he was the way he was. And it made me okay with it. So there's that. (But that ONE SCENE AT THE END YES DUDE YESSSS)

Mr. Grayson was the besssst <3

And Theo. Can't forget Theo. #everyoneneedsaTheo

All the music tie-ends with this book resonated so deeply. I love music. Right up there next to books, it's one of my most favorite things in the world. And the fact that Liam was writing his own music, a part of his own band (Liam and the Landmarks. How cool of a name is that??), getting lost in the music . . . I. Adored. It.

The stuff I liked not-so-much?

So, all the sexual stuff I . . . could've done without. Like, it wasn't graphic at all and I'm not upset that it was in the book, because it really had a big thing to do with the plot (and I'M SORRY I'd talk more specifically, but SPOILERS *cries* If you have questions, comment them and I'll answer them to the best of my abilities). But I have a very active imagination, y'all. Just a bit less than what was in the book could've been nice. (Plus the mentions of bare chests + taking showers was juuuuust a bit much for my tastes.)

And, there were a few inconsistencies/typos. If you asked me to point out the inconsistencies, I honestly can't remember them all right now, except for the main one being that Liam's secret, according to the back cover blurb and the first few chapters, occurred four years ago. For the rest of the book, it was two years. So yeah.

And I've waited until now to rate this book because I honestly wasn't sure what rating to give it. So, after reading through all the notes I've made . . . yes. Five stars. Because what I didn't care for was far outweighed with the deep stuff. The heavy stuff. The amazingness.

TO THE AUTHOR: Brian, thank you for writing this book. Thank you for not shying away from the fact that this world is broken, so broken. That there's only one thing that can give us hope.

Have you read Every Bright and Broken Thing? What are your thoughts?