MC (Mother of Ceremonies)

Hello again! Sorry for the hiatus (I had to Google that)--I have a ton on my plate right now. See?

This week I've launched my author blog (so exciting!!), emailed with ten authors who want me to beta read for them, and submitted my next answers for Read-to-Win. It's been pretty crazy. ;) Good crazy.

I want to take a moment to thank God for my mom. She is everyone's editor (and the voice in my head telling me, "Brevity, Kate. Brevity."); teacher (explaining math, facilitating job training, and reading aloud a book on public speaking); chauffeur (shuttling us to the library for a workshop on writing or vegetables of the world); chef; counselor; MC (mother of ceremonies); and everything else imaginable. Thanks, Mom!

Bookmark Buddies

Today my younger sisters and I made bookmarks. I had found the instructions on my Pinterest, and Mom and I both agreed that it was a really adorable craft. We want to make them with little girls at church sometime, but I thought it'd be fun to try it out today with my own sisters. ; ) 

We had a ton of fun!

Since they are bookmarks, we wanted to pose them with a book and chose this one because it is already about paper dolls. (Em said this makes them look like they are dancing.) ; ) It's a really cute story and one of our favorites!

These bookmarks are so adorable (and very small so it was hard to get good pictures)! The one on the left was made by Em, and Pearly made the 

other one.

Blue earns the "prize" for the most original dress. We all accidentally chose some shade of blue for our dresses. ; ) The stripey one on the right is mine.

Here's what mine looks like in the book I'm currently reading. Pretty cute, eh? (And yes, that's the corner of Triple Creek Ranch: Set Free.) ; )

We might add some glitter to them after school, but other than that 

our summer reading buddies are finished! ; )

Book Review: Water Princess, Fire Prince

"When the Lady Dragon does come,

Hold fast, do not fear, do not run. 

Your Water Princess will fight

Fire Prince will set all to right 

Each shall come from a fall 

Their Union will save you all. 

 Despite the fact that she's on track for competing in the Olympics, and he's practically raised his younger brothers since they lost their mom in a car accident, Clara Mandras and Andrew Stevenson are pretty much normal teens. They have normal hopes, normal dreams, and they live in a normal world. All this is torn away from them when they are thrust into another world and declared Water Princess and Fire Prince. With no experience ruling a country, meeting each other for the first time, and being expected to fight the Lady Dragon - an evil sorceress plaguing the world of Rizkaland - Clara and Andrew are underprepared and inexperienced. Unless they learn to work together despite their standing opposition, Rizkaland's hope will be lost. 

What is to come will change their lives forever." 

I read this book by Kendra Ardnek in a matter of hours; and, believe me, traveling to other worlds does really mess with your timeline! ; ) Here’s what I thought of my adventure…

The Setting:
Rizkaland (once I figured out how to pronounce it) was a very intriguing world. Just familiar enough to keep it from being confusing, but very original and fascinating! I loved the different colors of water, and the journey through the mountain.

The Characters:
My favorite character was definitely Andrew, with Clara as a close second (once she came around). They both had so much to learn, and I loved watching them grow. Jill Anna, Jasmine, and one surprise character (whom I can’t name) were also big favorites. I found Laura amusing and mysterious, and I look forward to finding out more about her.

The Story:
The whole story was a book nerd’s dream—tons of literary references from the start that added so much! (Who else begins their book with a hilarious take-off on Jane Austen’s famous beginning of Pride & Prejudice or throws Alice in Wonderland references in with the dialogue?!!) Quite the clever plot with lessons in trust, hilarious moments (like teaching medieval friends to play Monopoly!), great action, and even some mystery. (That was definitely my favorite!! Some big surprises.)

The Concerns:
Parent’s may want to have caution in considering this book for younger readers because of some feministic attitudes (that do come around some later in the book), SPOILER ALERT! strong romance between older teenagers (including awkward thoughts of physical affection and the actual thing mostly after an arranged marriage). There is also a scary dragon, intense action, teenage attitude (not including disrespect of authority), and a fantasy portrayal of God.

Altogether I found it to be a great non-magical (nearly) fantasy for older readers! Please excuse me while I go use the great seal of England to crack nuts. ; )

Don't forget to visit Homeschooled Authors to find out how you can be a part of Read-to-Win! Also, keep up on the posts since we authors will be answering some really great questions. ; )

Moments

That awkward moment when you and your friends pull out a random sci-fi date and freak out because 2020 is only four years from now. (And the freaking out just happens to be while everyone else is trying to concentrate!)

That interesting moment when you are having a heart to heart with your dad, and he uses characters from a Marvel movie as examples of emotional immaturity. (Someone from another movie got used as an example of double predestination.) ; )

That adorable moment when you are playing outside with your nephew, and you realize he's not holding on safely to something like he usually does. You remind him, and he responds with "It's hot. It's hot!" Poor southwestern baby.

That hilariously weird moment when you are teasing your sister by running in slow motion pumping both arms (on your way out of the grocery store, no less), and you bang one fist into the other. I will never be one of those people who look cool walking away from an explosion. ; )

That amusing moment when you are all walking out of the grocery store (same one--it was Walmart so no regrets here), and you are vaguely aware of your family being counted. Two ladies who are walking directly behind you accidentally get included in the count. My dad had to explain to the 'counter' that they weren't with us. ; )

That unbelievable moment when the dog comes to lick your hand while you're reading on the Kindle and the page turns. I'll never know if it was her tongue or my hand.

That cute moment when your youngest sister informs you that "this is not the Long Winter, it's the Long Summer." Poor southwestern baby again. ; )

That twin moment when you're playing charades with your brother, and he draws a stick figure man in the air then shrinks it with his fingers for the word "boy". There are some things only family members understand.

Soap Factory

I pulled out my glycerin soap making supplies, and soon Em and Blue got in on the fun. They are having a ton of fun melting and mixing and experimenting with colors. ; ) Fun buddies.

Like Em's turtle?

These are some of the better things I made. I recently got white glycerin soap for the first time, so some of my projects this time were experiments with it. I LOVE the way the shells turned out.

Mom encouraged me to make some sparkly green bars to represent ocean water. I think they make a nice backdrop, and once I replace the paper plate with something a little prettier it will be just perfect. ; )

Next, I hope to make some peanut butter cookies, and after that we are going to a get-together this evening (which might have something to do with why I'm crafting for the first time in forever). ; )

My Super [Cute] Hero

Can you believe this???!!!! I think his smile is enough to knock someone down flat. ; ) Love my little Chum.

Read-to-Win 2016 (or Dying and Going to Heaven)

Starting today, Homeschooled Authors is hosting their third Read-to-Win! Basically it's a chance for readers to buy these ebooks for 0.99 cents each at some point during the summer, write Goodreads reviews, and get entered in a giveaway for an $100 Amazon giftcard according to how many times you review. That's what I call awesome. ; ) There's something here for everyone--children's books, historical fiction, fantasy, sci-fi, mystery...

I'm really excited about this for three reasons...

That's number one. ; ) My book is on sale all summer as an ebook thanks to a dear friend who formatted it for me! I'm really looking forward to more people getting to read it and hopefully some more reviews. It's not an action adventure novel; but it's definitely fun, kid-safe and a great read-aloud!

Number two? Some of my favorite books are part of the sale. If you look closely, you'll see Gift from the Storm by Rebekah Morris in the sea of books. I wrote a rave review of it last year, so I'm really excited that now you'll be able to read it too! It's a really amazing mystery, and I love the story to pieces. Another book you'll see is Red Rain by Aubrey Hansen. One of the first books to introduce me to work by homeschooled authors and the sci-fi genre. It was so brilliant but super clean! Definitely a favorite. You can see in this exceedingly short review I wrote of it just exactly what I thought. ; ) And a third book featured this summer is one I read recently--Implant by J. Grace Pennington. It was really brilliant, time-wimey, and a super interesting read (for older readers). You can also read my review of this one on Amazon.

And number three... I'm looking forward to trying out a few books myself. ; )

So hop on over to Homeschooled Authors and stay tuned for great posts and great sales!