Book Review: Kind by Kellyn Roth

Okay, a group of my friends is doing a fun thing!  We're all coming together to make a surprise blog party for our mutual friend, Kellyn Roth.  She's a dedicated writer and a great encouragement to all of us and is also the founder and manager at the Reveries Company author services group.  You've perhaps read my review a few posts ago for "Souls Astray," which I really enjoyed, so for today's party I'm reviewing a short story of hers, "Kind."

 

 

Here's the synopsis:
Lt. Neil Hudson is sure to have a rotten Christmas.

How can he have anything but a rotten Christmas when he's stuck in war-torn Germany away from his family, friends, and all hope of a decent turkey dinner?

That's when the Slades come into his life.

Here's my review (which is overly short because the story is short):

5 stars

Neil Hudson is the protagonist of the tale, and I instantly bonded with a lonely military man feeling growly about Christmas away from home.  When he accidentally stumbles on a family in need, though, my heart went head over heels for him, and for what he did when he started reaching out to them.  So many books automatically portray all Germans as bad, but this view is fresh and engaging; the German people were all too often the first victims of Hitler's regime.  Here is a warm and Godly family trying to eke out survival after the total downfall of their society. 

It was also refreshing to find a Christmas story that didn't focus on romance.  I feel like the Christmas story market is highly oversaturated with Hallmark-style works (which have their place for light entertainment, but shouldn't be the only thing available) and that it leaves those who don't enjoy that style high and dry for the season.  This book avoids clichés and is even set in one of my favorite time frames, WW2! 

I read Christmas stories throughout the year, but if you're one that doesn't, perhaps you'd be in the mood to include this story in a bit of midyear "Christmas in July" in about ten days.  It's free if you have a kindle unlimited account, and of this post is just 1.99 for the ebook purchase.  I highly recommend it for personal reading and also family read-aloud.

Here's Kellyn's website:
https://kellynrothauthor.com/

Also, a lot of sweet folks wrote notes to Kellyn in a Google doc, but since I'm a serial misser-of-deadlines, I didn't get it added in time.  So, Kellyn, here is my note of encouragement!

Dear Kellyn,
You're a huge encouragement to me as a writer and I strongly admire your commitment to excellence, even down to researching the small things of life in other eras, such as how people shopped, and even to stopping for a while in editing to get that one awkward sentence right.  You take that a step further by mentoring other authors and even running a company to help writers get it right.  You're one of my top favorite indie authors, and I'm glad and proud to call you a friend.
~Hannah

Book review: Live Without You

How's that for a gorgeous cover?  Sarah Grace is a graphic designer and the gal who created my business cards.  When I heard she was releasing her first book, I was extra eager to read it!  

The book's blurb made me even more eager:

Piper Redding is a loner, but lonely. Everyone she loves has abandoned her and opening her heart to others is just asking for more pain. She can’t help but blame herself for her brother’s tragic death six years ago, and in her guilt, she shuts herself off from the world. No one could love her—not even the God who promised to be there for her but wasn’t.

For paramedic Ezra Bryant, failure is not an option. He’s had enough of it, and only by God’s grace is he able to put it behind him. But when a traumatic event brings Piper’s greatest fear and Ezra’s failures to light, can they use that event to allow God to mend their broken pieces? Can love triumph over fear, and grace over guilt?

So I was very eager to sign up for this blog tour and to get a review copy to read.  It's even better than I anticipated! Piper and Ezra hop off the page vividly, and both of them are dealing with a lot of pain.  Wow, the past was not a walk in the park.  These two are not hurting this deeply because someone snubbed them one day; they have real reasons for flashbacks and nightmares.

But with the help of a budding friendship together, and some strong friends who come alongside (that Miss Cecile—oh, yeah!  I love that vibrant, spicy lady.), they begin to see some resolutions from the past and some healing.  And, just maybe, the healing might also mean they're ready for a little bit of romance??

You definitely need to read this one when you get a chance!  And a giveaway might make it easier to get a chance, right?  Here's a link to the giveaway on the Ruffles and Grace blog.  Be sure to follow this link to enter for one of the great prizes below! 

http://rufflesandgrace.com/2019/01/22/live-without-you-release-and-giveaway

Feature and giveaway: A Royal Masquerade

Note: my images seem to not be working.  Please visit Allison’s site for the photos!  Sorry...http://allisonswell.website/2018/10/24/a-royal-masquerade-blog-tour-day-one/

My original post:


So I have another friend who writes books, though we’ve known each other from before she started publishing.  She’s a witty young lady with a wry sense of humor, and does that humor ever come out in her fairytale retellings and their unexpected twists.  I never liked the fairy tales themselves much in the past, but I did start getting into reading some retellings a few years ago.  The first book in this series, “The Reluctant Godfather,” had me in stitches with the humor and the fun.  I really enjoyed that the “magic” was written as a natural talent instead of a supernatural sort of thing—which is hard to explain in a few words, but aligns much better with my beliefs than your average sort of magic.

Here is the book blurb for “A Royal Masquerade”:

Burndee can barely tolerate the mischievous Prince Colin, but the two of them are invariably thrown together in a way that keeps them at one another’s throats.

While attending a noblewoman’s wedding, Burndee and Colin’s private feud comes to a climax when Burndee loses his temper and does the unthinkable. With Prince Colin unable to attend to his royal duties and Burndee bound by an inconvenient spell, can the two of them work together long enough to unsnarl the mysterious goings-on around them?

A madcap and magical novella of The Goose Girl from a unique perspective. 

And here’s the fancy cover:



There is also a giveaway...or, rather, two giveaways!  Because there is a first and a second prize.

This giveaway has TWO prizes!

First prize: a paperback copy of “A Royal Masquerade,” a fairy-tale candle, a darling glass goose, and Godiva chocolate.   

 

Second prize: a paperback copy of “A Royal Masquerade” and a $5 Amazon gift card. 

Here’s the link to the giveaway!

<a class="rcptr" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/7da968f54/" rel="nofollow" data-raflid="7da968f54" data-theme="classic" data-template="" id="rcwidget_5zkxq3sl">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a>

<script src="https://widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js"></script>

Here’s the link to get a copy!

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07K8V455P/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1541630794&sr=8-1&keywords=a+royal+masquerade+allison+tebo

When a Friend Writes a Book

This is a new sort of post on my blog, because normally I feature books by writing reviews of them and yet I won't be giving a review of the book until after it releases later this month.

So, what is it like to have a good friend write a book?  Well, first of all, if you're a writer as well, you get to hear the squeal of eagerness as someone comes up with a great new idea for a plot.  All friends can hear that squeal, but not all friends are writers who know firsthand the euphoria of getting to know your new characters (which rarely seen like strangers—only friends newly met, excepting the villains, of course) and of harnessing the words onto paper.

Then comes the revision process.  Conma here, or comma there?  Would it be better to add to a scene or not?  You get to watch your pal wrestle with those decisions that affect how posterity will see their book, and even as you give advice you wonder if the advice you give might hinder their particular author "voice." (I neededn't have worried about Angela's author voice.  It's engaging and energetic and not at all in danger of becoming watered down by a friend's suggested edit.)

After the revision comes the formatting and cover selection process.  Now let me warn you right here: if your sanity hangs by a small thread, formatting will run you the very real risk of landing in the loony bin.  It is not for the faint of heart, nor is it for those who have a hard time with attention to detail.  It is a computer screen war zone in black and white!  This is when you as a friend need to be ready to join "sprints" (time frames of generally fifteen to twenty minutes wherein you focus only on your project and see how much you can get done) and to send plenty of virtual chocolate and ice cream! The cover is the fun part; watching cover elements take shape and getting to see previews of color, font, style, placement, and perspective is a great deal of fun and also leaves you feeling somewhat useful.

But then----the best part of all: the day you get to announce to the world that your good friend's book is ready to meet the world.  What a fun feeling that is!  

How can you support your favorite writer friends?  Whether it's just listening in while they ramble about Charater This and Character That, or talking through the expediency of tweaking Plot Point K, or if you're instead the Head of Comfort and provide the shoulder to weep on and the foot rubs and the chocolate, or if you're the one that runs to be first in line to buy the book in print....don't let these fun moments pass you by!

Anyway....here is the graphic for Angela's new novella.  Isn't that a beautiful cover? And the story inside is even better!

And here’s my review!

From the very first line, the atmosphere is gripping and interesting.  “Being a lone wolf in a world full of lone wolves could get as messy as fast as a squirrel could climb a tree.”  If that doesn’t put you in the mood for a good story with a fine dash of authentic country to it, just keep reading and you’ll soon find that mood.  The main characters, Lucy and Ed, are both very individual and equally interesting.  The whole arc of the thief and what he meant to do kept me guessing the entire story, and the impossible situation is masterfully handled.

Without giving away too much of the plot, I’ll just say it is a very good debut and that I am glad to award it four out of five stars!  Well done, Angela.  I loved story and the fun I had finding bits of my friend in the way the story is written.

Here’s a link to her blog with more info on how to get your copy!
https://thepeculiarmessenger.wordpress.com/

Making a group work

About three months ago, I took the plunge and started my own group on Goodreads.  I wanted a place to talk about the older novels I read, and it seemed that there weren't a lot of groups that even talked about public domain novels at all, much less regularly.  I'm in a Christian fiction group that I love dearly, and wanted the same feel when talking about some other loves, the forgotten novels of the late 1800s and early 1900s.  

I'd put it off for awhile, not sure how many other people would be interested.  But I ended up emailing some friends to see if anyone was interested, and with a group of five people who were, I decided to go ahead and start it.

Above is one of the pictures I took for the design.  There are many beautiful pictures available online, but I did not have time to research the copyright status of each one, so I decided to take my own.  It was fun and simple to play around with books!  I couldn't quite get the angle I wanted just with books, but adding the teacup gave it a special little zing, and I added it happily.

So, three months in, I am having lots of fun.  My friends were very helpful giving tips and helping get some good books on the bookshelf.  There are now over 25 members, and so far it hasn't been more than a couple of days between activity.

It does require some time investment, naturally.  I set up several pages and spent a number of hours putting suggestive posts in, to give an idea of what each section was for.  It's so rewarding, though, to see people beginning to invest their personality, instead of just following mine!  

All said, I'm really glad I started the group, and so pleased with the people who have supported it and posted and brought it a step closer to being a thriving literary group like I hoped to find.  Thanks so much, guys!  Every single post, every book added to a shelf, warms my heart!  :)