Young Writer Interview: Susannah Hoskins

I’m here today with another young writer interview. Everyone, meet Susannah Hoskins!

About Susannah

Bio

Susannah H. is a teen from the beautiful state of Pennsylvania. When she isn’t studying, reading, or writing, you can find her practicing violin, playing with the family dog, or watching yet another Marvel movie. Storytelling is her second biggest life passion–her biggest one is God.

What genre do you write in and why?

I write in the fantasy, action, dystopian, and nonfiction genres. I chose those genres because I enjoy writing in them.

What genre do you read in and why?

I read almost any genre, but the main genres I read are classical, fantasy, nonfiction, and action. I read classics because they broaden my vocabulary, and fantasy, nonfiction, and action because I enjoy reading them.

What do you blog about?

(I don’t blog yet, but when I have a website, I plan to break down the worldviews behind novels, movies, tv series, etc. and point out how the worldview influences the story.)

Who or what inspired you to write?

I…had a minor obsession with a movie and decided to continue it. I was convinced my story would become the next blockbuster haha.

What is the biggest thing you've learned through your writing journey?

I’ve learned how to communicate more effectively with others!

How has being a Christian affected the way you write vs. the way you used to or probably would otherwise?

Being a Christian means that I tend to write stories with more heart and hope to them. If I wasn’t a Christian, my stories would probably be very dark because I wouldn’t see a light.

What do you want to accomplish with your writing?

I want to bless other people. It frustrated me to no end when I ran into stories I wasn’t allowed to read (or frankly, that I didn’t want to read) because of the content, so I want to write stories that anyone can read. My more specific goal is to provide good stories without political agendas or objectionable content.

How do you define success, and do you think you've reached it yet?

I define success as glorifying God. I don’t think I’ve really gotten there yet, but it may be that I’ll never entirely feel that I have.

What is one thing you want to tell other young writers?

It’s kind of elementary, but put God first. Really. I haven’t found any other way of life that doesn’t land me in a mess of trouble.

Conclusion

I hope you all enjoyed this short interview! Until next time, happy reading!

March 22, 2023March 22, 2023

Young Writer Interview: Micah Collier

You guys might remember me mentioning my blogging accountability partner, Micah, in one of my earlier blog posts. Micah is a fellow writer, blogger, and follower of the Lord. We met on Instagram (I knew who he was from the writing platform I’d been a part of briefly), and we started emailing. Then, he asked if I wanted to be his blogging accountability partner. I was hesitant at first, but I agreed, and I couldn’t be more grateful for him.

Anyway, today, I’m interviewing Micah. (He also interviewed me on his blog. 😁 Go check that out here.)

About Micah

Bio

Humorous, humble, and hearty, Micah Collier is a brother, the oldest of four sisters, and lives with his family in Philadelphia, PA. He loves writing (on paper), playing and watching basketball, he’s a blogger, and a homeschooled high schooler. Despite being imperfect, Micah wants to show God’s love (SGL) to people because of God’s overwhelming love for him. Micah is a six-plus-footer with a mohawk and adores his cat while wanting to help further God’s kingdom through his writing and blogging.

When did you start writing and what inspired you to write?

I started writing when I was nine—we had this Write Your Own Story Book, and after checking its empty pages and sections (which were all colorful), I decided to write in it. The blank pages of a child-friendly book with multiple story topics (superhero, mystery, adventure, etc.) drew me in.

What genre do you write in and why?

I write fiction and action/adventure + fantasy/speculative fiction, specifically. I enjoy the freedom in creating my own world and everything else it brings. That includes not worrying about Earth’s boundaries.

What genre do you read in and why?

Well, I don’t necessarily search for a genre, I just read something I find intriguing. However, I lean toward more of the fantasy fictional kind of stories.

What do you blog about?

I blog about writing, I post encouragement and poetry, miscellaneous posts, faith-based posts, and some life-themed posts.

What are your favorite things about blogging?

I enjoy creating content, writing newsletters, and I love when my readers respond.

What is the biggest thing you've learned through your writing journey?

I learned to have a ‘why’ as a writer and to write for His Majesty. Also, writing is a form of loving and serving people.

What's something you're excellent at in writing and something you don't excel so much in?

I excel at imperfection and inconsistency while I don’t excel in perfection and consistency. I honestly don’t know where I excel, but when perfectionism trips me over my simple phrases, that’s a problem. So, I might call that something I don’t excel in.

What project(s) are you working on (summarize them in a sentence)?

Zest Adventures On Zeppadar Book 1: Brokenhearted

The main character must face the grief of losing his parents while trying to survive on a planet he’s never been to.

The Adventures of Georgie

A sixteen-year-old documentarist with a cringey Bri’ish accent loves animals and recording them; he broadcasts animals—friends join along the way, and he hopes people will love his voice.

I have two others, but they’re technically dormant right now.

What do you want to accomplish with your writing?

I want to become a published author, help further the kingdom (FTK) with my writing (by speaking life through my writing), and I also want the satisfaction of people reading and enjoying my books.

What is one piece of advice you have for other young writers?

I believe you should find your why as a writer (or make sure you have it) and always write for God. It’s never in vain if you write for Him.

Conclusion

That’s it for this interview! Micah actually interviewed me as well (on his blog), so if you want to check that out, here’s the post. Until next time, happy reading!

February 1, 2023March 19, 2023

Young Writer Interview: Kathryn Braddock

I’m here today with another young writer interview. Everyone, meet Kathryn Braddock!

About Kathryn

Bio

Teenage author Kathryn Braddock finds her passion in writing stories of magic, hope, and light’s victory over darkness. She loves wolves, as seeing some in person inspired her series, The Guardian Trilogy, and she is also a poet and lyricist, finding inspiration in nature. She lives in the big state of Texas.

Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_wolfpoet/

Author Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kbraddockauthor/

Books: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0912XTZMQ

What genre do you write in and why?

I write in fantasy, medieval, and Old Norse, because I feel so much imaginative freedom with those genres.

What genre do you read in and why?

I enjoy reading fantasy as well, and medieval, because of the imagination and how easy it is for me to get lost in those worlds.

Who or what inspired you to write?

Several factors…first, my imaginative personality in my childhood, as I was writing since I was five. Then, I saw some wolves in Colorado and began writing a series about the animals. Then my writing mentor began a class, teaching me everything I’d need to know.

What is the biggest thing you've learned through your writing journey?

How to write plots. The different twists and endings, and what makes it interesting.

How has being a Christian affected the way you write vs. the way you used to or probably would otherwise?

My books are clean, compared to other books of the day, by non-Christians. I also like to add morals to them. Without my Christian writing style, they’d probably just not have as many morals.

What do you want to accomplish with your writing?

I want to learn everything I possibly can, and impact others with my writing.

How do you define success, and do you think you've reached it yet?

I believe success is achieving a goal. Once a goal is achieved, or successful, then a new one can be set up and worked toward to succeed at that.

What is one thing you want to tell other young writers?

Not to put themselves down by reading others’ writing and thinking theirs is so much worse. Everyone has room for improvement, that doesn’t make them a failure in writing. Instead of lining their writing up with someone else’s, they should line it up with their own, to see the improvement they are making.

Conclusion

I hope you all enjoyed this interview! If you want want to learn more about Kathryn and her books, check out the links I posted right below her bio. Until next time (where I talk about turning 18 😉), happy reading!

January 11, 2023January 11, 2023

Young Writer Interview: Mia Harden

I know we haven’t done one of these in a while, but that’s purely because Mia was busy, then forgot about the interview, and I’d already scheduled posts for the next two months. Anyway, now that I have an opening, here she is! Everyone, meet Mia Harden!

About Mia

Bio

Mia Harden is a young writer, musician, and actress seeking to honor God through entertainment. She writes novels, musicals, and songs in various genres and enjoys playing percussion in her church’s worship team. When she’s not curled up at her computer writing a story or composing a new song, she is spending time laughing and chatting with her three sisters and four brothers. You can find her online at windowstomia.wordpress.com, where she blogs about anything that’s on her mind in a sarcastic and chaotic way.

What genre do you write in and why?

I write fantasy on varying levels with a bit of a dystopian flair, and I also write non-fiction! I write fantasy because it is SO much fun coming up with my own rules for my own little world and getting to twist and turn the lore to add new levels of mystery and magic. Worldbuilding for me is almost like developing a character — and I love coming up with characters! *glances at my 100+ characters for my main WIP alone* I also blog! My blog is a bit of a chaotic mess, but it’s MY chaotic mess and I love just letting my words spill out into a post. I may not have many followers, but the ones I have form a nice little community.

What genre do you read in and why?

Oh, all kinds! Mostly fantasy, but I also enjoy reading contemporary, dystopian (a more recent discovery heh), and select non-fiction books. For me, it’s not about the genre, but the premise and the storytelling. I have books on my shelf that cover almost all genres. And I guess that just goes to show how important good writing is!

What do you blog about?

Like I said before, my blog is a bit chaotic. I’m not sure what niche it fits into. Maybe lifestyle? Either way, some of my posts cover things like things happening in my life, my thoughts, my art, and anything else I feel like posting. I like to keep things interesting and run to read, so sarcasm runs a bit rampant over there. I may not have many followers, but I get amazing support from the ones I do have, and for that, I’m thankful.

Who or what inspired you to write?

Ha, this is actually a funny story. I started writing when I was five, and it was actually a theme from a Blue’s Clues episode that inspired me. My cousin/best friend was over for the day, and we watched an episode of Blue’s Clues, where Blue and her friends were writing “secret letters” to each other. I decided that it would be fun to write a secret letter to my cousin and I hauled her off to my room. She made one too. I don’t remember exactly what she did (I think she drew a picture), but I wrote my very first story. It was called “Lizi and the Puppy” and it was about a girl named Lizi who lived on a dog farm. She was taking care of the dogs and saw a puppy named Blue. She wanted Blue for herself and in the end, her parents decided she could keep Blue. My mom really liked my story and encouraged me to keep writing, and now, here I am!

What is the biggest thing you've learned through your writing journey?

Nothing is going to be perfect. People are going to laugh. They’re going to put you down. They’re going to give you weird looks. And I know it’s cliché but it’s true. You shouldn’t give up. Trust the process and just know that if it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be.

How has being a Christian affected the way you write vs. the way you used to or probably would otherwise?

Well, you can definitely see Christian themes in my first stories. It was the way I was raised and I didn’t know any different. As I’ve gotten older and grown in my faith, I’ve learned to look at the world differently, especially through my writing. There are a lot of things wrong in this world, and my writing is my voice. Even if it changes the life of just one person, I can know that I’ve done what I was given this gift for.

What do you want to accomplish with your writing?

It would be so much fun to have a dedicated fandom to my writing, but even if that doesn’t happen, I have friends and family who are my constant cheerleaders and I can say for a fact that something I’ve written has touched at least one of them. And even if they were lying, I’ve touched myself with my writing. And I think that’s important.

How do you define success, and do you think you've reached it yet?

For me, success is feeling pleased with myself. I have to reach that level of success before I can reach for higher levels, the levels where other people see you as successful. I know I haven’t reached that level yet, but I’ve reached the first level. I’m proud of what has come out of my brain and my creativity is more expansive than I thought! I believe that you can’t be truly successful without feeling like you are. It’s not enough for people to see you as successful, because if you don’t see yourself as successful, even in the least, are you truly successful?

What is one thing you want to tell other young writers?

Find someone who supports you. Trust the process. And believe in yourself. You’ve got this!

Conclusion

I hope you all enjoyed this interview. If you want to join Mia’s chaotic (and I mean that in a good way) community, you can head over to her blog. Once again, thank you, Mia for doing this with me, and thank you all for reading!

December 7, 2022December 7, 2022

I Finished NaNoWriMo

I actually did it! In 23 days, I wrote 50k words of a brand new novel! It was a grueling, tedious process, but in the end, I’m happy with my progress. How was it? Let’s jump right into that.

Day One

For day one, I stayed up the night before writing blog posts and newsletters for the entire month of November. Once the clock struck midnight, I started writing. I was tired, but I managed to get 1.3k in before going to sleep. I finished the rest when I woke up.

I should also explain that I am a high achiever and like to push myself way too much. Thus, I set a goal of 2k words per day, just in case I ended up not being able to write every day. I also told myself I couldn’t count the thousands of words I was putting into my blog, job applications, IG, and emails. (Some of them were super long.) Spoiler alert: I wrote an average of 2k+ per day. I also finished on the 23rd instead of the 30th.

NaNoWriMo Writing

The first two weeks were probably the easiest. Spirits were high, the novelty was still there, and excitement was in the air. Over the course of 14 days, I got about 31k in—not at all bad for a first-time NaNo’er.

Then, the midway slump hit. Day 15 came around, and I was feeling really tired of writing (as opposed to just kind of tired). I was having issues with my outline, and I didn’t feel “into” my story anymore. However, I kept going through it day by day, reminding myself that I just needed 2k.

I Won NaNoWriMo

And then the 23rd rolled around. I never wake up at 5 am. However, morning came, and instead of seeing it was still early and going back to sleep, I decided to get up and write. Might have had something to do with the fact that there was only 3k left to reach my goal.

At first, I wasn’t sure if I’d finish NaNo that day. I’d spent some time posting on my blog and social media, as well as sending out a newsletter, and by dinner, I only had 2k (as opposed to the 3k I’d hoped to achieve). I then debated whether I should sprint to the end or save it for the next day.

I chose to sprint.

I was excited, and I was writing a good scene, so by 9 pm, I’d reached 50k. It didn’t feel real at first. I was only 40% or so through the first draft, so it also didn’t feel right. However, after telling a few people and looking at the 16 chapters I had in Google Docs, I felt somewhat accomplished. Honestly, it was kind of underwhelming. (Plus, there’s an outline situation going on, but we won’t get into that.)

My Experience + Burn Out

First of all, I knew what I was getting into when I jumped into the challenge. I knew it would be grueling, tedious work, and I knew I would probably get burnt out—and I did, to some extent.

However, I didn’t entirely get burnt out. Even though I’d done a more manageable version of NaNo a few months back (1.5k every week day) which made me feel dead afterwards, I didn’t get burnt out like before. Instead, I feel rejuvenated in some sort of way. And you know whom I have to thank for that?

1. The Lord. Obviously. Without Him, I wouldn’t have been able to do this (or anything for that matter).

2. The friend I did NaNoWriMo with. He’s been so encouraging and such a pleasure to talk to, and it made November a lot easier. Adam, if you’re reading this, thank you. I don’t know if I could’ve done as well as I did without you. You made every chunk of writing something to look forward to, and seeing your example of consistency throughout your (much crazier) life made me want to grow in that area…and just your less worried, more positive outlook on things. You’re writing style is awesome👌I can’t wait to see more of it!

3. Jessica (@a.faith.so.strong) and our wonderful email chats. The emails are long and sometimes go into great depth. Most people would be horrified by the amount of questions I ask, but Jessica and I have this in common, so everything works out perfectly. Love you, Jessica! *hugs*

4. The young Christian writer community on Instagram. I know some of you are reading this, so I’ll thank you again. You guys have held me accountable and made every day of NaNo exciting. You have cheered me on and celebrated milestones with me, and on those days when I felt like giving up and going to sleep, I knew I had to update my word count, and it couldn’t look pitiful

5. And of course, my family. They tried to give me as much time as possible for my writing. Even when I was feeling stressed out and grumpy from difficult writing days, they were kind to me and gave me my space. Thank you, guys.

Conclusion

In conclusion, NaNoWriMo was stressful, tedious, and sometimes tiring, but every day was filled with laughter, surprises, and fun. I’m thankful I took up the challenge. However, I don’t plan on attending again.

*remembers every time I told myself I was done writing, and a new book idea popped into my head and nagged me until I wrote it*

If you did NaNoWriMo, how was your experience? Did you reach your goal? Tell me in the comments, because I’d love to hear about it!

November 30, 2022November 30, 2022

Never Have I Ever: Writer Edition

Today is going to be a fun post! After stumbling across Liesl Brunner’s tag challenge post, I decided to do it myself. This is never have I ever—writer edition.

The Rules

Link and thank the blogger who tagged you. Thanks, Liesl! Here’s her post.
Include the graphic somewhere in the post (or make your own!)
Answer the questions truthfully and honestly.
Tag 3 bloggers.

Never have I ever...

...started a novel I didn't finish

Totally. I used to do this a lot, but I’ve gotten better recently. I think I’ve learned to outline and plan ahead (strengthening my concept) before starting to draft. There are at least two handwritten drafts of books I’ve never finished in the trash.

...written a story completely by hand

Those of you who know me know the answer to this one. I didn’t have technology or computers to assist me in my writing until I was 13. I think I wrote six complete stories by hand, and some of these I actually published later on.

...changed tenses midway through a story

Whenever I try to write in first-person present tense, it always turns into past tense. I think this is because I don’t read books written in present tense (though I’d love to).

...not researched anything before starting a story

Yes, especially when I was younger. I just used my imagination and went off writing whatever came to mind. Never mind the fact that nothing sounded realistic.

...changed my protagonist’s name halfway through a draft

I haven’t done this for any main characters, but I’ve done it for side ones. In fact, for The Jewish Baby, I changed a side character’s name after completing the final self edit, because someone had pointed out that two of my characters’ names were very similar.

...written a story in a month or less

Do short stories that are one page long count? Because I’ve done these in a couple of hours for school assignments.

...fallen asleep while writing

Five percent of the time. Whenever I hit a slow part and start trying to think up ideas, I fall asleep. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I write in my bed in the dark. Lucid dreams are cool, guys. I have to admit that mine don’t usually make any sense, and nothing from them ever ends up in the book. Still….

...corrected someone’s grammar irl/online

My brothers. It’s automatic. If you say “much” instead of “many,” it’s almost guaranteed I will correct you. Online, however, I don’t. I know people have pet peeves about this.

...yelled in all-caps at myself in the middle of my novel

What? Who wrote this question? Now I need to go back and figure out who’s crazy enough to do this 😉

...used “I’m writing” as an excuse

No. My family doesn’t take excuses. Writing is a hobby, and chores are priority. However, if I’m given a choice between writing and something else, sometimes I’ll pick writing.

...killed a character that was based on someone I know in real life

Yes. I’m currently working on a book where lots of people die. Since most of my characters are loosely based off of people I know, this has definitely happened a few times

...used pop culture references in a story

I don’t write contemporary (yet, at least), so it’s nearly impossible to incorporate pop culture into my stories. I also prefer not to if possible, just because it could outdate the novel, and I don’t have much pop culture knowledge anyway.

...written between the hours of 1:00 am and 6:00 am

Yes. If I wake up in the middle of the night and have a flash of inspiration, I will write until I’m satisfied I haven’t forgotten anything. Besides, I’m a night owl and have tons of creative energy around night time and when I wake up.

For NaNoWriMo, I stayed up through the AM’s almost every day. I usually went to bed around 12, but on weekends and days we went places, I stayed up anywhere from 1 am to 2 am.

...drank an entire pot of coffee while writing

I don’t like coffee. The end.

...written down dreams to use in a potential novel

Not written them down, but I have used dreams as inspiration for scenes or concepts in my books. One crazy dream actually became the whole premise of my Fire Trials trilogy. Check it out in more depth here.

...published an unedited story on the internet/blog/wattpad

Embarrassing story: I published seven semi-edited books on KDP, effectively ruining my reputation as an author. Sales dropped from 50 to 0 a week pretty quickly. They’re still up there. However, I discourage people from reading them unless they’re prepared to read a book that sounds like it was written by a young teenager (because it was).

...procrastinated schoolwork because I wanted to write

I was homeschooled, and so this was both easy and not looked down on to do. Whenever the flash of inspiration or that perfect scene pops into my head, I have to write it

...typed so long my wrists hurt

I’ve done this writing, crocheting, knitting, and pretty much anything else that involves my hands. I tend not to stop until I’m satisfied with my progress.

...spilled a drink on my laptop while writing

Nooo. My mom would never. In fact, drinks aren’t even allowed on the table when computers are out. Did I mention that I write in my bed? Yeah, and drinks are never allowed in my bed.

...forgotten to save my work/draft

I write on my Kindle (most of the time) with an app that crashes (all the time). I have lost pages of progress due to this. Let me tell you, the feeling of your heart dropping into your stomach is real. I’ve learned to hit “save” every sentence or so.

Edit: I now write on my computer and phone, using apps that are of much better quality. They also have autosave. Autosave is a real lifesaver.

...finished a novel

Yes! And I’m happy about it.

...laughed like an evil villain while writing a scene

In my head. I love putting my characters through things I’d never wish upon a real person. In fact, this is where a lot of my joy in writing comes from. Isn’t it fun to be the lord of an entire world and its subjects?

...cried while writing a scene

I don’t explicitly remember, but I think I have. Once. And only a tear or two.

...created maps of my fictional world

Whenever I know I will mess up my traveling descriptions, I make a map. I don’t want to publish a book just to have a reader tell me the technicalities of what I wrote. (“Earlier, you said that was there. How can these two things be in the same place?” “Wasn’t she supposed to go that way?”)

...researched something shady for a novel

Definitely. Ways to kill people, ways to die from explosions, toxic plants, deadly illnesses—I could go on and on. If I became a suspect for murder, my search history would incriminate me.

Conclusion

I hope you guys enjoyed this (longish) post. What do you think of these questions and answers? Leave your comments down below. As always, happy reading, everyone!

November 16, 2022November 15, 2022

I Joined a Community for Young Writers

I joined a community for young writers…and left. Let’s jump straight into the blog post.

The Young Writer's Workshop

A few months ago, my mom came across an email from The Young Writer’s Workshop, a Christian based course where young writers can learn from published individuals and interact with other writers. The email announced a 2-day event called a summit (literally just a conference), where well-known authors would speak on different writing and Christ related topics. The conference was both online and free, so I attended.

During the summit, there was a special offer: join YWW for only $1 for the first month. The membership normally costs $30+ a month, so the offer was a good deal. I took it.

For that one month, I used YWW to its full advantage. There are all kinds of resources in the content library, and anything you want to know related to books, writing, publishing, and marketing is there. Since I’d previously had a membership to another author website, I knew a lot about writing. However, publishing and marketing in this day and age is a whole new level of information. I gleaned as much as I could from the content library on YWW, and I am very thankful I could get as much as I did out of that website.

YWW Community

Another part of my YWW membership was the community. The community is on a separate platform managed by the YWW people, and it’s basically social media for young writers. I enjoyed my time there. I got to meet so many wonderful people, and I learned so much from other young writers like myself. I even got some help brainstorming ideas as I wrote the second book in my Fire Trials trilogy.

...And Then I Left

After the $1 trial was up, I cancelled my membership. My mom offered to pay for an entire year on the site, but after lots of praying and thinking, I finally decided to leave.

Look, I loved YWW. It has a lot of helpful information and advice, and you can interact with instructors (published authors) there. You can talk to other young writers, get feedback on your work, and help others in their writing journeys.

However, YWW is tailored to young, homeschooled Christians. There are a lot of security measures in place, and they have content warnings for everything. A lot of things like magic and drinking you can’t write about unless you add a content warning to it. Some topics you can’t even post about. Non Christians wouldn’t even think of using restrictions like these.

Honestly, these measures are there to give parents a peace of mind when letting their kids on a social media-like website. I completely understand where YWW is coming from. I’m happy that young Christian kids are able to be socialize in a healthy environment, and it’s good that parents are able to keep their children safe on the internet.

My Reasons

Buuut…(You knew the big but was coming, didn’t you?)…I am 17. I think deeply, and I like to incorporate deep elements into my writing. Some of these elements aren’t light topics, and I understand that a lot of Christians don’t want their young children reading books with darker, more heavy themes.

To put it shortly, my audience is not the people on YDubs. I’m writing for a more general audience—in particular, non Christian teens. (“Those who are not sick have no need of a physician.” See if you can catch my meaning.) YWW is there to help you in your writing process. As I am currently working on a trilogy that deals with a lot of violence, I don’t really fit in. What I can get out of the community is limited. What I can get out of the content library I’ve already watched or read.

If the membership were free or less than $10 a month, I would have stayed. I enjoyed meeting people. I enjoyed helping them with their writing. Staying would have been mostly for the support (they even have a prayer group) and being able to uplift others in their journeys. However, I was not willing to spend—or let my parents spend—money on something I would only use occasionally. My audience is out there. I just have to find them in other places.

As for the support, some YDubbers have stuck with me through email, and I’ve found some people through Instagram. It’s so nice being able to interact with other writers and Christians. Being on YDubs has encouraged me to pursue writing seriously (in hopes of publishing a good book), and I feel a lot more confident in the direction I need to head.

Conclusion

I’m so thankful for the time I spent on YDubs. I got an awesome view into the world of publishing, learned from other writers, and learned more about book marketing through social media. All of this allowed me to figure out the direction I wanted to go in writing. It also allowed me to know how to pursue writing as a career. I just think YDubs wasn’t specifically for me, and if there’s another writing community out there that fits my audience, I’ll definitely try it out.

November 16, 2022November 16, 2022

Anna Grace Release Tour

I’m so excited to be part of the release tour for Across All Borders by Anna Grace, hosted by Jen’s Author Assistance! In this post, I will be interviewing author Anna Grace. We’ll be talking about the inspiration behind her book, how faith affects her writing, and more.

About the Book

Across All Borders

Author: Anna Grace
Publication date: November 13, 2022
Themes: adoption, love, family, sisters

Book resources: Playlist • Pinterest • Merch • Book Trailer

Hoping. Planning. Waiting.

Everything in her life is wrapped up in the thought of this new sister, coming from so far away. Will the day ever arrive? And if it does, will it be everything they dreamed? In this short poetic narrative, follow along on a young girl’s journey as she discovers the true meaning of love, family, and sisterhood.

FIND IT HERE:

Amazon • Goodreads • Etsy

What inspired you to write this book?

Three of my siblings are adopted, so I think that says a lot. The story told in Across All Borders is inspired by my memories of my sister’s adoption, but there are elements of all three of my siblings’ adoptions woven in there, as well as some fictional parts.

Who or what inspired you to write?

I would say the authors I have loved to read! Additionally, I am a member of the Young Writer’s Workshop, so the instructors and authors on there have been a huge help. Ava Rose Scott, who wrote For All of Them Lost, was really helpful in answering questions I had at the beginning of my working on Across All Borders.

What is the biggest thing you've learned through your writing journey?

God has taught me a lot about Himself, especially in helping me understand what it looks like for Him to be the ultimate Author, both of the universe and of my life. One recent example He has given me is the image of how much I love and care about my fictional characters, and then viewing that in light of how much He cares for us.

How has being a Christian affected the way you write vs. the way you used to or probably would otherwise?

I’ve been a Christian since before I started writing, so I can’t do a direct comparison. My faith is a theme woven into pretty much every story I write, so that would definitely be different if I didn’t have that in my own life.

What do you want to accomplish with your writing?

Some of it depends on the project. For Across All Borders specifically, a few different things come to mind. If an adoptive family reads it, I hope they can be reminded of just how beautiful and special adoption is. Especially for the siblings of adopted children, I think this story is one they can relate to, and I hope it can help them realize that they are going to go through the same struggles that any siblings experience. But for a broader audience, this book is for the Church as a whole. Adoption is such a biblical concept, and I think that’s something the modern church has often forgotten. It’s such a practical example of the gospel, and it’s a command repeated throughout the Bible, so I hope that maybe this book can bring awareness to the importance of adoption, especially within the church.

How do you define success, and do you think you've reached it yet?

That’s a great question, and something I’ve rather avoided thinking about. I honestly don’t think I will ever reach complete success, but I also don’t think I need to. God has shown me that’s not the standard that needs to define me.

About the Author

Anna Grace is a Christian teen with a passion for Christ and others. She enjoys worship music, reading, and writing. Adoption is very real to her as three of her siblings were adopted. For her, adoption is a meaningful role of the Church, and a beautiful picture of the Gospel.

Where to find the author:

Blog • Amazon • Goodreads • Pinterest

Release Tour Giveaway

Enter to win a signed copy of Across All Borders + 1 item of bookish merch.

Winner must be willing to email jensauthorassistance@gmail.com their address as well as what item from the merch shop they would like.
https://www.bonfire.com/store/across-all-borders/
Neither the author nor Jen’s Author Assistance are responsible for lost or damaged prize and will not be required to replace it.
You must be 18+ or have parent/legal guardian’s permission to enter.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Release Tour Schedule + Links

6th – Jen’s Author Assistance – Tour Opening

7th – Anna Grace – Scavenger Hunt Stop #1

7th – Vanessa Hall – Author Interview

8th – Cora – Scavenger Hunt Stop #2

9th – Vanessa Hall – Scavenger Hunt Stop #3

9th – Micah Collier – Author Interview

10th – Heaven – Scavenger Hunt Stop #4

10th – Agnès Cromwell – Book Spotlight

11th – Kristina Hall – Book Review & Scavenger Hunt Stop (Blog • Instagram • Goodreads)

11th – Vanessa Hall – Book Review (Blog • Goodreads)

12th – Lorelei Angelino – Book Review

12th – Brianna Campbell – Book Spotlight (Blog • Facebook • Instagram)

12th – Emily C. Hebert – Book Spotlight

13th – Cat T. – Book Review

13th – Deigan – Book Review (Amazon • Goodreads)

13th – Abigail – Book Spotlight (Blog • Instagram • Facebook)

14th – Esther Jackson – Book Review

14th – Emma – Book Review

15th – Heaven – Book Review (Blog • Goodreads)

15th – Cora – Author Interview

16th – Kayla Naomi Wong – Author Interview and Book Spotlight (Blog • Instagram)

17th – Kylie – Book Review (Amazon • Goodreads • Instagram)

17th – Agnès Cromwell – Author Interview

18th – Cora – Book Review

18th – Isabella Daou – Author Interview & Book Review

19th – Katja – Book Review (Goodreads • Instagram • Amazon • Blog)

October 5, 2022October 5, 2022

Inspiration Behind The Fire Trials

I can’t remember exactly which idea started my writing of The Fire Trials, but I do recall a few of the original ideas. Let’s start with the main one: my dream.

Why I had this dream

I have vivid, colorful, intricate dreams all the time. At this point in time, we were staying in our RV in a place that was abundant with ticks. And by abundant, I mean if you stepped outside in the grass, you were going to get at least one tick. I was traumatized by them.

The dream...

Enter my dream. In this dream, ticks had taken over the world. The ticks carried a deadly virus, and if one bit you, you were dead. They were red, tiny, and looked like little crab-aliens (don’t ask me what those are). As a result of this infestation, everyone left alive had built a tick-proof city, where they lived in safety and health.

Rules of the city

Every year or so, the city sent out a bunch of their teenagers to go and fight the ticks. The only way to kill these ticks was by setting them on fire. Thus, the teenagers were equipped with torches and clothes that ticks couldn’t bite through.

I don’t remember much of what actually happened, but there is one scene that sticks in my mind.

I was one of the teenagers chosen to fight the ticks. I was with three or four other people, and we were searching for ticks in an abandoned house that had a pool in its backyard. My friend (one of the teenagers) somehow got bitten by a tick. She died before we could bring her back to the city. I remember feeling heartbroken, and this feeling (like usual) lasted past when I woke up. Since emotional dreams usually stick with me, I decided I wanted to use this one as an idea for a book.

Pictures and flashes of inspiration

I remember watching an animated video for a song, and the scene I saw made me come up with a new scene. That scene inspired the entire theme of my book series. Strangely enough, I didn’t even end up using the scene.

Now, you may be wondering what this “theme” I’m talking about is. Picture this: the world, creation, and people. If you think about it, a lot of people only believe what they can physically see. This world is what they see, so that is what they believe. However, there’s the spiritual, and although you can’t physically see it, there’s a whole lot of evidence pointing straight to this invisible realm. Most people either can’t or choose not to see the evidence.

A lot of people’s reasons for not acknowledging the spiritual is because of what it would mean for their lives. Besides that, it is increasingly difficult to see the invisible when you fill yourself up with the world and all its distractions. Money, fame, fun—why chose a “boring” life over all this? The premise/theme of my trilogy is based on this, and to say more would probably spoil the story

The Hunger Games

No, I was not inspired by the Hunger Games. People tell me the plot sounds like it (teens killing teens part), but in reality, the idea developed from my dream.

The concept was to have something where people were being tested, and if they passed the test, they were rewarded. My original idea was a jousting tournament. However, I also had a very specific criteria for the test.

– The test had to be the goal of all the teens’ lives. This was supposed to be what they spent all their time preparing for, and it had to be something people were excited about.

– The test was supposed to have a reward that everyone wanted and envied (analogy for this world). However, when the MC’s figured things out, they had to realize nothing about what they were doing really mattered in the long run.

Overall, the test had to appear inviting and exciting. However, it had to be treacherous and unappealing in reality. Add extremity, gore, danger, and violence to the jousting idea, and you’ve got tons of kids trying to kill each other.

Piecing it together

My dream created the concept of the world, as well as some of the plot. Meanwhile, the scene that turned into the theme of the entire series crafted most of the plot. Mash everything together, and you’ve got The Fire Trials.

I hope you guys enjoyed this post. If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to contact me. I will be releasing updates on my WIPS in the future, so stay tuned by subscribing to my email list at the bottom of this page. Happy reading, everyone!

September 28, 2022September 28, 2022

Young Writer Interview: Liesl Brunner

This is the third installment of the young writer interview series. Everyone, meet Liesl Brunner!

About Liesl

Bio

Liesl Brunner is a young Christian author of heartfelt contemporary fiction. When she’s not writing, she likes to make useless Spotify playlists and dream about the day she gets to live in a castle. She lives in Michigan with her family and beloved cat.

What genre do you write in and why?

It took me a while to figure out what genre I wrote in! When I first started out, I mainly focused on speculative fiction—fantasy, sci-fi, and dystopian. For 2020’s NaNoWriMo, I tried to write a fantasy novel, and it flopped spectacularly.

I started to wonder, Do I really like to write fantasy, or am I just doing it because everybody else is? Turns out the latter was true, and I turned my attention elsewhere. Now I write contemporary, usually with some romance. I’m also working on a historical fiction novella.

What genre do you read in and why?

Mostly contemporary, though I’ll really read anything that catches my fancy in the library. Magical realism, historical fiction (depending on the time period—medieval fiction is really not my thing), and some nonfiction—I’ve discovered that I like to read memoirs lately, which is not something younger me would have ever expected. I also really like romance. Like, kicking-my-heels-up-and-squealing-when-they-kiss really like romance.

Who or what inspired you to write?

It wasn’t so much an I was inspired thing…more like I was forced to write a short story for school thing. I’d always written little stories in my journals, usually about horses or Minecraft (or Minecraft horses), but back then it was just a byproduct of my overactive imagination that came from me devouring books. In eighth grade, one of our assignments was to write an original short story. I found that I loved it and discovered the Young Writer’s Workshop the same year, and I’ve been writing ever since.

What is the biggest thing you've learned through your writing journey?

One thing I never really thought about before becoming a writer is seasons of life. Not just, you know, spring, summer, fall, and winter, but the up-and-down periods that everyone goes through. Sometimes you have a really productive writing season, where you’re writing every day and just slamming out the words and you feel great. That’s a wonderful thing, and you wish it’ll last forever.

But then sometimes you have weeks or months where you stare at the cursor blinking and finally close out the document, trying not to cry. And that’s okay, because everything comes in seasons, like Ecclesiastes 3:1 says. It’s natural, and it’s how everything in life is supposed to be—work, mental health, physical health, relationships.

How has being a Christian affected the way you write vs. the way you used to or probably would otherwise?

I write about a lot of controversial and sensitive topics (such as LGBTQ, mental health, and abuse), and both Christianity and my personal political standpoint have impacted the way I write about them so much. Without Christianity, I wouldn’t be able to handle these topics in a loving way. If I wasn’t a Christian, I’m not sure how I would be writing about these things, but I would probably be hurting people.

What do you want to accomplish with your writing?

I could go a thousand different ways with this answer, but I’ll give you some of my personal goals:

First and foremost, I want to glorify God. I want to point others to Him and have them find Him in every theme of my stories.

Second, I want to help others. My writing is constructed for everyone around me. I want to help others through the things I’ve struggled with so they don’t have to make the same mistakes I did.

Third, I want it to be my job, and I want to have fun. I started writing because I enjoyed it. I want to keep that enjoyment and use it to make a career that can sustain me in a job where I don’t just work, I play.

(I guess that these goals really reflect who I am. It seems that with me, everything is God first, others second, and me third.)

How do you define success, and do you think you've reached it yet?

Again, I could go several ways here, but I think that in general, success is being happy with where you are, whatever you may be doing. Success is contentment with your life and being able to change the things that you need changed to sustain that contentment.

As for if I’ve reached it yet…I really don’t know. Well, I take that back. If my answer is “I don’t know,” then it’s really “no.” I don’t think I’ve reached my personal definition of success yet, but I’m working towards it every day, bettering the Liesl now for the Liesl in the future.

What is one thing you want to tell other young writers?

You are worth it. You’re more than the sum of your successes and failures. You deserve happiness even if you haven’t written a single word in the last day or week or month. Don’t beat yourself up over what did or didn’t happen and just continue to write. Just keep going. I promise you that picking yourself up after you fall down over and over and over again will be the most rewarding thing you do. It may not seem like that in the moment, but just wait until you land that book deal or hold your published book in your hands for the first time. You’ll be able to think, Look at that. I kept going. And now I’m here.

So keep at it. You’ve got this. You are worth it.

Conclusion

That’s the end of the interview. If you want to check out the interview Liesl did for me (it’s a different set of questions), check it out on her website.

My interview: https://lieslbrunnerauthor.wordpress.com/blog/

Liesl’s website: https://lieslbrunnerauthor.wordpress.com/

I hope you all enjoyed this interview. Don’t forget to comment down below and subscribe if you haven’t already. Liesl posts every Wednesday on her blog, so go check it out. She has some really good content!

Next week, I’ll be going over the inspiration behind the Fire Trials trilogy, so get ready.

September 21, 2022September 28, 2022

Young Writer Interview: Aci Enrica

This is part two of the young writer interview series. If you haven’t yet, go check out part 1.

And now, get ready to meet young writer Aci Enrica.

About Aci

Bio

Aci Enrica is a young author looking to leave her mark on the world through the power of storytelling. While her true passion lies in writing, she also loves reading books, theatre, dance, and caring for her many plants.

What genre do you write in and why?

I write predominantly science fiction/futuristic and fantasy. This is because I enjoy a good creative challenge and crafting whole worlds, magic, technology, and new species, and then spinning stories that bring all that to life.

What genre do you read in and why?

I read the same genres I write in because it has often been stated that you have to read the type of books you want to write. If you want to write a dark fantasy, action-adventure type story, then those are the types of books you read so you can get a feel of what that audience enjoys.

What do you blog about?

My blog is about writing, books, and story science. I post reviews about my writing exploits, and just writing in general.

Who or what inspired you to write?

My family has been friends with another family for as long as I can remember, and when I was ten, one of their teens was writing a book. I was so fascinated and inspired that I resolved that if he could write a book, I could. As a child, I always made up stories in my head and with my stuffed animals. It never occurred to me that I could write those stories down and he was the wake-up I needed to see that I could bring the stories to life. He doesn’t write anymore and has moved on in life, but I can see now that God used that short time of his life to set me on the path of an enthusiastic writer. Nothing we do goes to waste.

What is the biggest thing you've learned through your writing journey?

Self-discipline. Writing isn’t easy by any stretch and I spent a good part of a year teaching myself to write regardless of whether motivation was present or not. Self-discipline is a huge part of writing because most of the time you won’t want to write, and it takes steeled determination to sit down and meet your daily word goal. I can now use that skill on any hard project I need to complete.

How has being a Christian affected the way you write vs. the way you used to or probably would otherwise?

I know if I wasn’t a Christian, chances are my books would have a language, sketchy scenes, and morbid elements. As a Christian, I can write good, clean fiction that Christians can read without compromising their Christian morals.

What do you want to accomplish with your writing?

I want to fill a void in the market—providing clean fiction that isn’t strictly “Christian fiction” but conveys Biblical themes and certainly isn’t written from a worldly perspective. I also want my books to make people think. Stories carry a lot of power to change perspective and I’d like to use that power for good.

How do you define success, and do you think you've reached it yet?

Success is different for every individual. It changes with each step in life I take. I don’t believe it’s riches or fame—but I will know I have succeeded when readers are telling me my books are conveying exactly what I wanted them to.

What is one thing you want to tell other young writers?

I don’t have much experience but I will say this: It’s okay to love something flawed. Your book will never be perfect. Especially the first draft. Someone once told me that as the writer, you know what your book’s potential is. But the reader doesn’t. They only see the book as it is and if it’s truly a good story, they will love it. As the writer, you will always think it could be better, but that’s just your perfectionism talking.

Conclusion

That’s the end of the interview. If you want to see the interview Aci did for me, check it out on her website.

Aci’s website: https://acienrica.com

Aci’s author Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/acienricaauthor

If you enjoyed this interview, make sure to head over to Aci’s website and subscribe to her email list.

September 14, 2022September 14, 2022

Moving on from High School

Since posting about my graduation, I’ve been getting a lot of questions about what I plan on doing next. Jobs, college, independence—that’s what comes next for most high school graduates. Still, I am left wondering, what am I going to do with my life? What do I want to pursue?

Keep writing

I love writing. It is a gift God has given me, and I want to use it for his glory. I am currently working on four projects, but I’m not ready to publish yet. I’ll need to learn marketing and social media skills first. Nevertheless, writing is something I want to pursue—just not as a career. (But if God turns it into something I can make a living off of, I am in no way opposed.)

Get a job

I do want to get a job. I want to be able to move out at some point in the future, so a job is one of the first steps. I have several interests, but I don’t know exactly what I want to do yet.

Freelancing

Right now, freelancing in design, website related stuff, and writing seems like the most manageable job option for me. Once I turn 18, I will pursue this and see where it gets me. There are a couple reasons this is ideal for me.

1. I work best on my own and in creative activities. Freelancing gives me complete control of what I want to do, how much I want to work, and where I want to work from. Since keeping up with deadlines and getting things done is no problem for me, freelancing seems to fit the bill.

2. I don’t drive. Freelancing (online) allows me to work from the comfort of my own home, without having to spend time or energy on transportation. I don’t like driving, and I don’t want to have to have someone drive me around. If I freelance, I don’t have to worry about any of that.

Acting

Another interest I have is voice acting. I enjoy voice acting and would like to pursue this as a job, but it isn’t a stable one. The industry is very competitive, and work is in no way at all guaranteed. Ideally, I would love to work for Christian audio drama production companies. The only problem with this is that I have a low chance of getting into exactly what I want, and most likely, I’d have to start out doing small gigs with no spiritual importance. I’d be working just to work (as compared to reaching an audience with a message I support).

The same goes for normal acting. I’d love to try it out, although I think my strengths are more suited for voice acting. Still, any type of acting would be fun to do, and even though I’ve never tried it, maybe I’d be good at normal acting…maybe? Again, I’d love to work for a cause I believe in. I wouldn’t be comfortable acting out things I believe are wrong, so it’s important I don’t do things just for the money or experience. *Chances of ever getting a job in acting plummet 90 percent* Hey, beggars can’t be choosers, right?

I don’t plan on pursuing acting (of any type) yet, as it requires putting myself out there and traveling, two things I am not yet comfortable doing. I want to figure out who I am as a person and what I am capable of before jumping into something so big.

Modeling

Similar to voice acting, modeling isn’t a stable job. It is competitive as well, and although I haven’t done anything with modeling, I think it is an interesting opportunity. Like voice acting, you are doing something new every day, meeting new people, and interacting with strangers. I think modeling could be a fun job (or side job to freelancing), but I’d have to look into it more. Chances of landing gigs are probably a lot higher in this industry.

Honestly, I don’t want to get into modeling yet for the same reasons I have for voice acting. However, I think I’d be more comfortable jumping into modeling rather than voice acting, just because anxiety plays less into how you perform. I think I will stick to freelancing and writing for now.

College

People have asked about college. I don’t plan on going, as there isn’t anything taught there I plan on doing. However, this could change in the future. It just isn’t on my agenda at the moment.

Conclusion

For now, I am going to focus on my writing and blog. When I turn 18, I will try freelancing, and from there, we’ll see what happens. Stay tuned to join me as I go through this journey, and don’t forget to comment and subscribe if you haven’t already. As always, happy reading, everyone!

September 7, 2022September 8, 2022

Young Writer Interview: Allie Jo Andersen

I recently joined an online community for young writers. As I was newly launching my blog at the time, I decided it would be a good idea to interview other young writers to see how they viewed writing and following Christ.

Starting off this brand new series is an interview with Allie Jo Andersen. Everyone, meet Allie!

About Allie

Bio

Allie Jo Andersen is a follower of Christ who loves weaving tales of adventure that entertain while instilling truth in her readers’ minds. If she’s not coming up with new worlds to explore, she’s probably playing with one of her bunnies, exploring someone else’s fictional world, or planning victory in the latest family game. Her work has been featured by Havok Publishing and The Young Writer blog as well as the anthology Imagine : A Collection Of Short Stories And Poems.

What genre do you write in and why?

I currently write in speculative fiction (fantasy, sci-fi, etc) and mystery, though it wouldn’t be unusual for me to write in other genres too. 😉 I write these genres because they are genres I’ve grown up reading and love to this day. I love the intrigue of mystery, and how whatever crime has been committed eventually gets brought to light. Fantasy is special to me because there are so many opportunities to show truth through allegories (much like C.S. Lewis). I like sci-fi because I like exploring things that could happen in the future or what could have happened.

What genre do you read in and why?

I will read in virtually any genre, as long as it’s clean and God-honoring. I love contemporary (middle grade, usually), mystery, fantasy, sci-fi, thrillers, etc. 🙂 I read those genres because… well, I’ve always read and enjoyed those genres! There are great things about each of them and I’m always up for a bit of variety every now and then.

What do you blog about?

I blog about writing and reading books that have messages that are clean and have messages that last. I also occasionally share some of my own writing, and you can also find back episodes of my podcast and blog serial Sci-Fi Fridays (which is currently on hiatus for an unknown amount of time).

Who or what inspired you to write?

What originally inspired me to write were the books that I was reading. I was about eight years old and decided that I wanted to write a book that I could read later on. After that I got hooked on the feeling of being in someone else’s shoes and dictating what happens while you’re writing about a character.

What inspires me to write now is the fact that I can reach other people through my writing and encourage them and give them hope. I love that I can let people know that they’re not alone, even if it may feel that way. <3

What is the biggest thing you've learned through your writing journey?

I would say the biggest thing I’ve learned through my writing journey is perseverance. Writers have a lot of areas where we have to persevere: while writing the first draft, while editing, while submitting for publication and receiving rejections. One of the recurring things that I continue to learn through my writing journey has been to persevere and trust God with the results.

How has being a Christian affected the way you write vs. the way you used to or probably would otherwise?

Being a Christian affects my writing in a huge way. My goal in my writing is to create stories that are both entertaining and point people to God’s Truth. My favorite thing about writing is how God can use it to touch people’s hearts and show them that they’re not alone. If I wasn’t a Christian, I think my writing would be… a lot emptier, and probably a lot more lost, too.

What do you want to accomplish with your writing?

I want to give my readers stories that are both encouraging and life-giving. Stories that show that dragons can be conquered and share the light of Jesus.

How do you define success, and do you think you've reached it yet?

For me, I’ve succeeded when I follow God’s leading and guiding in my writing. Right now I don’t have a lot of set-in-stone specific goals, but I know I’ve done well as a storyteller when I’ve written a story that tells the truths that God has laid on my heart.

What is one thing you want to tell other young writers?

There are so many things I would love to tell my fellow young writers! Don’t give up, no matter how hard it may seem. Don’t be afraid to reach out to people and ask questions. Take a leap and step outside of your comfort zone–whether that means sending an email or hitting “submit” for a story submission. I’ve received a lot of rejection emails for my flash fiction over the past couple of years, but that has pushed me to keep working at it, and I learned so much in the process. Remember that success isn’t always the best teacher; but failure often teaches you a lot about life and yourself, if you let it. 🙂

Conclusion

That’s the end of the interview. If you want to check out the interview Allie did for me, check it out on her website.

My interview: https://allieandersen.com/young-writer-interview-with-kayla-naomi-wong

Allie’s website: https://allieandersen.com

Allie’s published works: https://allieandersen.com/published-works

If you enjoyed this interview, make sure to head over to Allie’s website and subscribe to her email list for updates from her.

September 6, 2022September 8, 2022

A Walkthrough of My Old Books

Get ready, because I’m about to roast my books. Since I am a naturally frank person (especially toward myself), expect this to be brutal. Savage reviews and ratings. From me. On my own books. Let’s get started!

Lyle's Revenge

This is the first book I ever wrote with the intention of publishing. If you read it, you can probably tell. Historical errors, cringey plot, and unoriginal names attest to this fact. Strangely enough, it is also the only starred book of mine on Amazon, with two five-star ratings. Don’t ask me why, since I have seriously contemplated deleting this from existence.

Rating: 0 stars (Wait, can I not give 0 stars? I’ll change it to 1.)

The Kingdoms Series (2 Book Set)

Both of these books began with school assignments to write short stories. There were very short, but I expanded them into slightly longer (but still short) stories. These would do good as picture books, I think, but I’m not a good artist.

As for what I think of these: I don’t see much spiritual value in either book, but God can use anything he wants for his glory.

Rating: 3 stars

The Enchanted Garden

When I was saved, I wanted to write something that would glorify God. This allegorical tale is what came to mind. Heavily inspired by C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, I wrote this short story before I began self-publishing. Overall, I like the idea, but I think execution could have been better. As of now, it appeals to younger children.

Rating: 3.5 stars

The Gospel in Poems

Again, this is something I wrote right after I was saved. It consists of a few poems and is so short, I couldn’t publish it without adding in pictures. I like the variety of types of poems, but there are too few for this to be a book. Maybe I’ll make a blog post with all the poems in the future.

Rating: 3 stars

Haiku

Is it weird that I don’t especially like haiku but decided to write a book of them? This came from a LA assignment to write a haiku. Probably because I knew certain relatives would enjoy it, I turned the assignment into an entire (short) book of poems describing objects in nature, seasons, and animals.

Rating: 3 stars

Ninjas of the Mountains

Sigh. Another book that came from a school assignment? The original short story was a mystery, but since I don’t do that genre, I turned it into this. I think this book shows how much my writing improved compared to my previous books. Still, I could’ve worked on plot, and the characters’ names are original but not authentic.

I’m going to give it three stars for content. I think I did my research fairly well for this, and the plot is interesting. Because my writing improved so much for this book, I will add on another half star, giving it a grand total of 3.5 stars.

Rating: 3.5 stars

I hope you guys liked this blog post. If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to contact me. I will be releasing updates on my WIPS in the future, so stay tuned by subscribing to my email list at the bottom of this page. Happy reading, everyone!