Book Release Day!

Today's the day! Iridescent is now available for purchase! You can find this book in the following places:

Amazon.com ebook format

Amazon.com paperback format

CreateSpace paperback 


After reading the book, you can leave a review on Amazon and Iridescent's Goodreads page.

I hope that you will enjoy this book!

Book Review: Unsanctioned Eyes

Today, I will be reviewing Unsanctioned Eyes by Brianna Merritt.

Here’s the synopsis:

“Her death was just the beginning.

Quinn Rogers doesn’t exist. There are no records of her name. Her DNA has no match. She is a ghost. A phantom killer no one can trace. The perfect assassin. Or so she thinks.

At the top of her game, Quinn’s no longer looking over her shoulder. Her master will protect her, save her, like he always has. But there are forces at work neither of them suspect.

Can Quinn find the truth in a world of lies? Or will her unsanctioned past catch up to her in the end?”

My rating: ***** (Closer to 4 ½)

Mystery, Thriller, and Suspense is one of my favorite genres to read. I love how the stories keep you guessing with twists and turns that keep you on the edge of your seat. Unsanctioned Eyes is no exception to this. Throughout the story I kept wondering what would happen next, and how the characters would get out of the situations they were in.

Speaking of characters, I have to be honest and say that I really didn’t like Quinn at first. She is a killer, no ifs, ands, or buts about it. I couldn’t connect with her, and really, I didn’t want to connect with her. When Nathan arrives, a new side of Quinn starts to emerge and by the halfway point I could see how her character was starting to change. Quinn’s changes felt very natural to the story, and I do love a good redemption arc, so I’m curious to see where this character will go in the next story.

The other characters were interesting too. I think my favorites were Nathan and Jason. Jason was entertaining to read about, and I really sympathized for Nathan. He was not in a good situation in this book, but he was able to make the best of it and really helped Quinn to start seeing the light.

Overall, Unsanctioned Eyes was a great read and I’m looking forward to seeing where the next book will take these characters. If you’re looking for a good thriller, I recommend checking this book out! 

Iridescent Cover Reveal and Release Date

Hello, everyone!

Today, I'm excited to finally reveal the cover and release date for Iridescent. Yes, the novel is finally finished and it will be coming out very soon. I've been looking forward to this day for a while now, because I've really been wanting to show off this cover.

So, without further ado, here it is:

Synopsis:

Things are more than they appear...

Aly Roberts wasn't expecting much out of small town Airyville, NC. 

She certainly wasn't expecting to get caught up in a conspiracy involving the town's gated community, Lagniappe. 

The people of Lagniappe are private, and Aly's new friend, Riley Monroe, is certain that they're hiding something. 

Lagniappe's secrets are dangerous, and uncovering them may just change their lives forever. 


So when will this book be coming out?

July 11

Iridescent will be available for purchase on Amazon.com and CreateSpace on July 11.

Throughout the next weeks leading up to the release day, I'll occasionally be posting quotes and snippets from Iridescent on Twitter and Instagram. You can find me here:

https://twitter.com/kaitlyns95
https://www.instagram.com/daydreaming_butterfly/


I'm really looking forward to sharing this story with all of you, and I hope that you'll enjoy it!

The Fear of Bad Reviews

The closer I get to finishing Iridescent, the more nervous I get about publishing it. What if I’m not able to sell any copies of it? Or even worse, what if everyone hates it and I get flooded with bad reviews?

Bad reviews are a funny fear to have, because it’s likely that a writer will get one at some point in their career. And it shouldn’t be a surprise. We know that not everyone will love our works, even if we do wish that they could. So why is there a fear of them? Well, when you put so much time and effort into something, you want it to succeed. In a way, our characters and our stories are like our children. We created them, developed them, and watched them grow and change. The last thing we want is to see them torn to shreds.

The thing is, bad reviews really shouldn’t matter. One bad review isn’t the end of the world, and it’s extremely rare that a book is universally hated to the point where it only has negative reviews. There’s always someone who will enjoy your story.

I mean look at Twilight. Seriously, raise your hand if you’ve ever heard, thought, or said that Twilight isn’t a good novel.

Well, you’re not alone. On Amazon, Twilight has 1,774 critical reviews. The majority of said critical reviews are also one stars. That’s a lot of negativity, and frankly those critical reviews are probably more review than many of us will ever receive on one novel. And yet, overall, Twilight has a 4.6 out of 5 star rating on Amazon. Why? Because 5,984 people gave the novel a positive review and the majority of those were five stars.

Now Twilight is probably an extreme case, but it’s the book I’ve seen torn apart more than any other. The way some people act, you’d think that there wasn’t a soul on Earth who liked the series. And yet, as we all know, that simply isn’t true.

Writing a novel is hard. We put so much time and effort into them, and we want to see our stories succeed. And yet, it is so easy to get caught up in the what ifs. The thing is, we can’t just let the negatives overtake us, otherwise we’re going to take the fun out of something we love doing. We need to think positively too.

So yes, maybe someone will hate my story and yours, but there’s going to be someone who loves it too. 

The Tenseness of Tenses

AKA, changing the tense of my novel made a big difference.

It probably should seem obvious that tense can make a big impact on a story, but I didn’t realize it until after I finished Iridescent’s first draft. I always knew that I wanted the story to be told through first person point of view, primarily because Aly wanted to be the one to tell her story. The tense hadn’t seemed as important at the time. I had been reading some first person, present tense stories and I had really enjoyed them, so I thought that I would give it a try. Interestingly enough, I hadn’t realized that a lot of people seem to dislike present tense until after I finished draft one.

Please note, I am not saying that you should avoid a tense just because some people don’t like it. I mean I know some people aren’t a fan of first person POV either, but that’s what works for my story. You should always go with the POV and tense that works best for a story. In the case of Iridescent, present tense wasn’t the best idea.

I had thought that present tense would make the story more suspenseful. The reader would be seeing and learning everything right as Aly did. However, when reading the first draft I noticed that the story really wasn’t flowing well. There was something off about it. So I decided that for the second draft, I would change the story to past tense and see how things worked then.

Turns out it made a pretty big difference.

I’m halfway through my second draft and the story is flowing so much better now. It also feels more natural to write. I discovered that there were some elements in the story that were a lot easier to convey once I switched to past tense.

I’m hoping that once this draft is finished, I’ll find that the flow of the story is overall a lot better than it was when I wrote the story in present tense.

So if you ever find yourself having trouble with your story’s flow, try telling it a different way. A change in tense may just be the fix you’re looking for. 

Short Story Review: Threadbare

Today, I will be reviewing a short story called Threadbare by Bethany A. Jennings.

Here’s the synopsis:

“What happens when your gift turns against you?

All her life Bess has known the magic streams around her, waves of power she can draw from to wield the gift of magical threads. Now the youngest member of a team of Anchors, she helps protect the city streets from Drifters—energy thieves who prey on the life force of ordinary humans.

But when a battle leaves Bess’s threads in an irreparable tangle, she is faced with an agonizing choice: sever her threads and lose her magic forever—or be slowly consumed by her own power.”

My rating: *****

I think that short stories can be difficult to write. To be exciting and coherent in such a small word count, can be a hard feat to accomplish. Bethany A. Jennings was able to accomplish this and more. Threadbare is a delightfully imaginative tale. The use of the magical abilities in this story is one that I personally have never seen in a story before and I found it intriguing. Bess is an interesting protagonist and she is a very relatable character. Despite the steady pace and satisfying conclusion, Threadbare left me wanting more. Even though we the readers really only get a small glimpse of the world, it’s fascinating and it’s a setting I’d love to see explored more.

Overall, if you’re looking for a nice fantasy short story to check out, I would recommend giving Threadbare a shot! 

Book Review: Where the Woods Grow Wild

Today, I will be reviewing Where the Woods Grow Wild by Nate Philbrick.

Here’s the synopsis:

“A forest looms over Bardun Village. Nobody goes in. Nothing comes out. The secrets in the oaks remain hidden until a mischievous escapade thrusts Martin and Elodie behind the silent trees. Separated and lost in a tangle of fantasy, they discover more than animals roam where the woods grow wild.”

My rating: *****

Where the Woods Grow Wild is an enjoyable fantasy. Where many fantasies tend to move closer to darkness and despair, this story stays on the lighter side of things. That isn’t to say that it’s an easy journey for the characters. There are many obstacles and challenges that the characters are faced with. Not only that, the story does explore some serious topics such as losing a loved one and learning to accept and live with a disability. These are topics that many of us can relate to.

This novel is filled with wonderful world building and funny and witty dialogue, but my favorite part was the characters. Martin and Elodie were fantastic protagonists and I really liked how the story would switch between their perspectives. I was rooting for them throughout their journey as they went through all of their struggles to find each other again. They were realistic and, like pretty much all of the characters in the novel, there was more to them than what you first see.

The other characters were also fantastic. Illo, Fella, Aguilax, Podgin, Bramble, and the rest were all entertaining to read about.

There was also a little mystery to the story as well, which I particularly enjoyed. I kept wondering what caused Martin to lose his hand, and what or who exactly was Nayadu. There were a few things that I was left wondering about, but perhaps those questions will be answered in the next story. Which by the way, there is a sneak peek of the next book at the end of the story. I really enjoy it when authors do that!

Overall, Where the Woods Grow Wild is a great story and if you’re looking for a lighter fantasy, I recommend checking it out!