IT'S THAT TIME OF THE YEAR AGAIN!!

Like most other bookworms, great books make their way onto my "things I'm thankful for" list every year. It's hard to choose favorites, but  I went ahead and picked five books I read in 2017 and am thankful for.

Exiles, by Jaye L. Knight: I read this originally as a beta read (You guys can thank me for assuring that Jace is wearing pants), and though I wasn't able to beta the whole book, I then read the whole thing for review and it is awesomeawesomeawesome. I need to write the review. It's on my agenda for next week...

Burning Rose, by Hope Ann: This book is my most recent read, and it's also on my agenda for review next week. I was a leeeeeetle disappointed that the first novella, the retelling of Beauty and the Beast, was swapped out for a new version of the story - but it does largely fit the world better, so it's still amazing.

Twisted Dreams, by Morgan Elizabeth Huneke: This book gave me the final push to get Poison Kiss written this year, as I wanted to do a joint release with Morgan. We also tossed a retelling by my mother into the mix, and it was awesome.

Befriending the Beast, by Amanda Tero: I am so thankful that this book exists - there are so few B&B retellings in this world that I like and this is one of the rare few.

Reversal Zone, by J. Grace Pennington: I'm not sci-fi's hugest fan, but I'm a pretty huge fan of Pennington's Firmament series. This book has a pretty intersting plot, too.

I don't know about you, but I'm looking forward to another great year of reading! Speaking of more reading, here's one more thing to be grateful for. Books on sale! In honor of Thanksgiving and Black Friday, a group of independent Christian authors has banded together to offer a huge selection of discounted books between Nov 24th and 30th. There's literally something for everyone.

On November 24th, the Indie Christian Books website (http://www.indiechristianbooks.com) will go live. Every single book listed will be on sale in one or more ways. Find discounted paperbacks, dozens of books offered with free shipping, $0.99 ebooks,package deals and more. Even if you have a budget of $0, new reading material awaits you. When you purchase a paperback book through indiechristianbooks.com you’ll be eligible to enter an exclusive giveaway including free books and an Amazon gift card!

Want to know what great sales I'm offering? Well, not only do I have all six of my gorgeous new covers on a discount, but I also am offering FREE SHIPPING on all of my books. FREE SHIPPING, FOLKS.

AND THE PACKAGE DEALS - Well, let's just say, $19.99 for all three Bookanias. And no shipping. You're pretty much getting Sew for free.

You can meet our authors by visiting the Author Database on the website. Want to get to know the authors better AND have the chance to win some fun prizes? We’d love to have you join our week long Facebook party which will feature 39 authors over 7 days.

What awesome reads of 2016 are you grateful for? What books are you looking forward to reading in 2017?

A note on the Ebooks Only page. Many of the books are listed as "Sold Out." This is because we aren’t selling those directly through our site. Please click onto the product pages to find descriptions and links to discounted or free ebooks.

Acknowledgements: Thanks to Leah E. Good and Kendra E. Ardnek for their work organizing this sale, and Hannah Mills for her fantastic design work on the website graphics. Hannah can be contacted at hmills(at)omorecollege(dot)edu for more information about her design services.

Overhaul Winner!!!!!

And, here it is, the day that all of you have been waiting for, the day that you guys get to learn which of you lovely folk will have six shiny new books on their bookshelf.

Six shiny new books with six shiny covers.

I had no fewer than 631 entries for that giveaway, spread across 45 people. Two thirds of those entries, however, belonged to only three people - Sarah Taleweaver, Brie Donning, and Erudessa Aranduriel.

So it should be no surprise to anyone that it was one of those three.

But who was it?

*drumroll please....*

Erudessa Aranduriel

And now the rest of you can go home. I'll be shipping your package sometime in December. And, unless you've moved and I don't know about it, I already have your address from the last giveaway. 

I'm going back to NaNo, now.

Oh, and for the rest of you - just thought I'd point out that my books are going to be in the Black Friday Sale, and all of you will have opportunity to pick up the lovely new editions for amazing prices - and I'm offering all of my books with Free Shipping this year!

Lookit my Goooooorgeous Writing

Okay, first all - I'm taking part in the Christian Indie Authors Black Friday Sale again this year - and we're looking for bloggers. Bloggers to help share the awesome news about this awesome sale. Bloggers who will each get FIVE awesome ebooks of their choice (well, we'll have a list, but they'll get to choose FROM that list).

Wanna peek at all of the Awesome Authors who will be featuring awesome discounts this year?

So, you're probably thinking to yourself ... How can I get to be one of those awesome Bloggers?

WELL. 

It's easy. All you have to do is go fill out this quick and easy form right here. 

Now, onto the regularly scheduled programming.

Beautiful Books, writing edition. Hosted by Cait and Skye.

I'm doing The Worth of a King for NaNo this year. Yes, feel free to go add it to your Goodreads bookshelves.


Overall, how is your mental state, and how is your novel going?

Well, I am still alive even though I've already hit 30,000 words. Finished part 2 last night. I have twenty-one chapters left to write. And maybe an epilogue. I'm still debating on whether or not I'll include the scene that bridges it to Rizkaland. 

What’s your first sentence (or paragraph)?

Of the book?

A Queen sat on a balcony in her castle, various instruments for measurement scattered about her, mixed in with the notes she was taking.

Of what I'm writing for NaNo?

Obsidia cried herself to sleep as they flew through the night.

Who’s your current favorite character in your novel?

At the moment, that prize goes to Nadilynn, Delaney's younger sister, who's the most reckless ray of sunshine you ever met. However, Laura's showing up in a few chapters ... and Laura's one of my favorite characters period, so...

What do you love about your novel so far?

Pretty much everything about it. Well, except the fact that Jack had to drop out of the cowrite ... but, hey, that means I get to write the whole thing My Way. But - twisty plot, dynamic characters, epic worldbuilding, this book has everything I love in it.

And we have a pre-evil Amber and a pre-mopey Granite. My dear babies.

Have you made any hilarious typos or other mistakes?

I found a really weird one two days ago ... but I forget where it was. I let you know when I get to the editing stage in January.

What is your favorite to write: beginning, middle, or end — and why?

You asked us this one last year. I'm not answering it again. I like writing the post-book snippets best. HOWABOUTTHAT.

What are your writing habits? Is there a specific snack you eat? Do you listen to music? What time of day do you write best? Feel free to show us a picture of your writing space!

Writing habits? Um, I've been writing for twelve years, and I've as yet to figure out what that word means, apart from my habit of making characters disappear and everyone forget them - WHICH DOESN'T HAPPEN IN THIS BOOK, I PROMISE. (it's just a recurring theme that has cropped up in three of my books so far.)

How private are you about your novel while you’re writing? Do you need a cheer squad or do you work alone (like, ahem, Batman)?

I definitely need a cheer squad. Here, have a snippet and cheer me on - 

True to Christa’s word, though, the next morning, the print shop door swung open and the two girls walked in. Christa was all smiles. Zidi was as reserved as always.

“Zidi admitted this morning that she’s not been by, not once since she came to live with you guys,” Christa announced, loudly, as she skirted around and inched up to Adrian’s side. “What are you working on today?”

“Important notices that Lord Havink has issued,” Adrian admitted, as he arranged the pieces of movable type in the frame. “Nothing half so exciting as a new book, but sometimes you have to take the less exciting jobs. Besides, it’s only one page, so it won’t take but a few hours, and most of that is waiting for the ink to dry.”

“What’s the notices for?” Christa further prompted. “Are any of them at all exciting?”

“Reminders to pay taxes, notes of three desperate criminals on the loose, and then some bits about the spring festival,” Adrian admitted. “Apparently, Lord Havink is going all out this year. Then again, I believe he does every year, so it’s nothing new.”

“Why are all of the letters and words backwards?”

Adrian almost jumped out of his skin as he realized that Zidi had snuck up and was standing on his other side. He held his dignity, however, and managed a small smile. “Because if they were the right way around, then the letters and words would all be backwards when we put them on the paper.”

“Oh.” She tilted her head to the side a moment as she stared at the type, then gave a small nod. “That does make sense. Woodcuts are always backwards when you print them, after all.”

“And the printing press is just a flexible woodcut,” Adrian agreed, giving her a small smile as he continued to slide the movable type into place.

“How do you know that you have the letters in the right place?” Zidi asked.

Adrian pointed to the hand-written letter that he’d laid out on the desk beside him. “Also, I can read backwards almost as well as forward, anymore.”

What keeps you writing even when it’s hard?

The knowledge that people are going to read what I write and love it. They can't love it if it says in my head, you know.

What are your top 3 pieces of writing advice?

Sit down. Pick up your pen. Make words. 

And am I the only one who's just a liiiiiiitle bit annoyed that they're just asking the same questions year after year for these things? It'd not be bad if the questions were mostly about the SPECIFIC BOOK that I'm writing, but half of these are about my WRITING PROCESS, and that doesn't change THAT much from year to year. 

Seriously, the editing questions need have some interesting ones among them, or I'm not participating. *humphsothere* The first year or two of Beautiful books, they had good questions ABOUT MY BOOK. Not generalities about my writing. Anywho.