Liebster Award and Tell the Story Challenge!

By Allison Grace | July 12, 2019 | Comments 11 comments

Two of my friends from The Young Writer’s Workshop, Eliana and Caleb, tagged me for some fun blog tags!

Eliana tagged me for the Liebster Award, so without further ado, here it is:

The rules:

#1: Acknowledge the blogger who gave it to you and display the award.

#2: Answer 11 questions that the blogger gave you.

#3: Give 11 random thoughts about yourself.

#4: Nominate 11 other bloggers and notify them of their nominations.

#5: Ask your nominees 11 questions.

Thank you Eliana for the Liebster Award! Check out her blog here!

Her questions are in bold and my answers are in normal text.

Who are your top two favorite book characters?

Jace from The Ilyon Chronicles by Jaye L. Knight
For number two, it’s a tie between Prince Caspian and Reepicheep the mouse.

What is the yummiest candy in your opinion?

Chocolate. I also really love jelly beans and Peeps. (the marshmallows covered in sugar that come out around holidays)

Have you looked at clouds much? What is your type (e.g. nimbocumuli)?

I haven’t looked at the clouds very much. I’d have to say cumulonimbus. They’re just so cool!

Do you wear hats much? Why or why not? And what kind of hat?

I wear baseball hats all the time. (Go Indians!) Usually to keep the sun out of my eyes, or just to hide underneath of them. 😉

Is your head in the clouds a lot or are you sensitive to the real world around you?

Totally in the clouds.

Where do you get photos for your blog?

Most of them I get off of Pexels.com but a few of them are my own. The Glendale pictures I take myself, but my mom has taken a few for me.

What is your favorite bird?

I love birds! Maybe chickadees or peacocks. Or falcons.

What is your favorite number?

I like number 3.

What did you want to be “when you grow up” when you were younger?

My friend and I were just talking about this the other day! I wanted to be basically everything—firefighter, police officer, veterinarian, Jedi, etc. I never wanted to be a doctor, though. I hate all things medical. XD

What do you want to do “when you grow up” now?

Write and work at the library! I’m doing both right now. Well, I only volunteer at the library, but working there is my dream job.

Favorite school subject?

Either writing or reading.

And now for eleven random thoughts about myself:

I hate seafood.
I love baseball.
I’m afraid of butterflies.
I have eleven plants that are currently alive.
I don’t know how to swim.
I want to go somewhere like Montana to look at the stars.
I’ve never been overseas.
I almost always have my hair in a braid.
I rode my first major inverted coaster this year.
I want to learn to play cello.
I’ve never been to Boston in the fall. 😉

I don’t know eleven bloggers, so if you haven’t done the Liebster Award before, I hereby nominate you. 😃

The 11 questions for you to answer:

Do you enjoy yard work?
If you could re-paint your bedroom, what color would it be?
Have you ever been to the Pacific Ocean?
What is your favorite Narnia book (or movie)?
In general, do you like books or movies better?
If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?
Why did you start blogging?
Have you ever been skiing?
Do you have any autographed books? If so, which one(s)?
Are you afraid of spiders?
Would you rather eat shrimp ice cream or a bacon milkshake? Why?

Tell The Story Challenge!

The rules:

Pick an image out of the choices.

Write a short story, poem, or whatever that applies to that image.

Choose some other bloggers to do the same challenge.

Give your nominees a few more images to choose from.

I haven’t seen a blog tag like this one before, so I’m super excited about this! Thank you, Caleb, for tagging me! You can read his blog here!

Out of the choices, I picked this image, and wrote a poem about it.

Let the misty fog roll over me,

Let it cover me in dew,

For on the broken mountain path,

I will rejoice.

For God is my rock,

My unshakable foundation,

And I will wait for Him.

As I tread the stony path,

I will never be alone,

For Thou art with me.

Until I reach the golden streets,

I’ll draw each breath with thankfulness,

For the grass

The flowers,

The sunrise,

The great misty mountains,

And Your ever greater grace.

I tag:

Eliana at: https://elianathewriter.blogspot.com/

Cheyenne at: https://thedancingbardess.wordpress.com/

Here are your three images. Choose one and write a poem or short story about it!

Where’s Glendale?

Glendale the Gardener — Glendale practices his green thumb with some of my plants. Then I proceeded to pry him off of the cactus in the lower right with a pencil. XD

Hope Prose Podcast Launch!

By Allison Grace | July 6, 2019 | Comments 1 comment

The Hope Prose podcast is dedicated YA Christian books – the authors who write them and the readers they inspire. We upload new episodes once every two weeks and hope to leave our listens with sparks that ignite their own stories–whether their own or fictional. We want our podcast to be a place that inspires you to live a life of creative purpose through reading, writing or maybe even singing. Words are kinda our thing, and communication is one of the most powerful gifts God has given us and we want to stoke the fire in your own faith and creative journey.

About the host(s):

Tara K. Ross is a perpetual Toronto suburbanite, despite her best efforts to escape. She works as a school speech-language pathologist and mentors with local youth programs. She is blessed with a ridiculously supportive family that grants her time to create stories which tackle the interplay of faith and mental health. Her debut novel, FADE TO WHITE, will be published in the spring 2020. When Tara is not writing or reading all things YA, you can find her rock climbing the Ontario escarpment, planning her family’s next jungle trek or blogging.

Rebekah Black is a young writer from Southern California who is a lover of all things bacon and books. She is the co-founder of The Wilting Rose Project, an online girls’ ministry, contributor to The Rebelution, Fervr, Top Christian Books, and is a staff writer for TheLife.com. Her love for books borders on an obsession, but she regrets nothing. When she is not reading you’ll most likely find her either playing piano or guitar, working on her next novel, baking up healthy treats for her insanely supportive family, or fangirling over her favorite band, BTS.

I know Rebekah Black through The Young Writer’s Workshop and I’m super excited about this podcast! I love listening to podcasts (or audiobooks) while crocheting and with this one being about Christian YA books, what could be better? I’ll definitely be tuning in for new episodes when it launches on July 8th!

Listen on iHeart Radio!

The YDubs Conference 2019

By Allison Grace | June 21, 2019 | Comments 13 comments

(Featured image and this photo credit: Amie)

I still can’t believe that I actually got to go to the debut YDubs conference in North Carolina last week. It was a dream come true. (If you don’t know what YDubs is, go here to check it out!

If I had to describe it in one word I’d say: SPLENDIFEROUS!

Everything about it was so inspiring, encouraging, and uplifting. For the first two days there was nothing but laughter and smiles (and lots of hugs). The last day included more laughing, smiling, and hugging, but also some tears.

But enough words, let’s have some pictures!

Simon in my backpack — While I was packing, Simon decided my backpack would be a good place to nap.

Day One: June 11

It took us 8.5 hours to drive down. Thankfully I had plenty of books to read and my laptop so I could write a bit. My brother and I watched “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.”

Allison Grace — My face is glowing with excitement as we near the JAARS campus.

As soon as I walked in, I was ~~attacked~~ hugged by one of my best YDubber friends, Chloe!

Allison and Chloe — (I’m on the right. Photo credit: Chloe)

Then I got to talk to Josiah DeGraaf, one of YDubs writing instructors and editor of Story Embers! I was really nervous, but managed to not make a fool of myself.

Josiah DeGraaf and Allison Grace — (Thanks, Julia, for taking the photo!)

After playing an ice-breaker game, we all settled down for the conference.

This is Tessa Emily Hall, author and agent.

Kara Swanson and Allison Grace — Between sessions, I got the chance to talk to Kara Swanson, YA author and YDubs instructor! She signed my copy of “The Girl Who Could See”!

Josiah DeGraaf — A blurry picture of Josiah talking passionately about creating emotions with your words.

Pizza! — We had Little Caesar’s pizza for dinner! I took all my notes with that pen and notebook.

Amie, Chloe, and Allison — Two of my dinner buddies! Amie and Chloe!

Cupcake — For dessert, I had this adorable typewriter cupcake! The frosting was even YDubs blue!

After dinner, I stayed inside and tried to write. (I wound up watching two YDubbers both named Sam trying to get another YDubber’s little sister to play with them. XD) Meanwhile, the rest of the group was building a writer pyramid. (Photo credit: Leah)

Group — From left to right: Me, Saige, Robin, Savannah, and Olivia.

Day Two: June 12

Wednesday was the only full day of the conference, and boy, was it a blast.

Kara Swanson — Isn’t Kara’s laptop sticker cute?

Tessa Emily Hall and Kara Swanson — Real life author and agent duo, Kara Swanson and Tessa Emily Hall!

During the lunch break, Julia (violin), Maddie (flute), Parker (piano), and Sam (viola) had an impromptu concert. They played “In Christ Alone.” It was amazing!

Savannah, Chloe, and Allison — My lovely lunch buddies! Savannah and Chloe! (Amie ate with us too, but she playing violin with Julia at this point.)

Before we ate, Savannah and I explored the JAARS campus gift shop and I bought some handmade earrings from Uganda, a couple gourd animals from Mexico, and a couple postcards. I went back later and got a purse I had my eye on. 😀

Q and A — Q. and A. session with Marita Wilson, Tessa Emily Hall, Josiah DeGraaf, and Kara Swanson.

During the dinner break, we had another concert and this time I got to play!

It started with Parker playing hymns on the piano. Ever so slowly, everyone in the auditorium gathered around, taking pictures and videos. He’s a phenomenal pianist.

When Sam and Julia got back from dinner, they got out their instruments and started to play. I asked Maddie if I could borrow her flute and she let me!

The four of us played “It Is Well” in the key of D by ear. I think we did pretty good for never having practiced together, plus no music!

The “concert” might be my favorite part of the conference. Music has a way of drawing people together.

Alexis and Allison — This is me and my new friend Alexis while we listened to the concert before I joined in.

Allison Grace at YDubs Conference — Me! (Photo credit: Alexis)

It was raining, so we couldn’t take our group picture outside.

Group Photo — I believe it was Addison who brought the photo mats for all of us to sign (a fantabulous idea). I’m in the very front row in the middle with the blue shirt that says “YWW.” And yes, if you count there are only 6 guys in the huge mass of girls.

Day Three: June 13

While this day was as fun as the others, it was also very sad. I think we all would have gladly stayed another few days (or months) and kept writing, playing music, and laughing together.

Me with Marita Wilson (a.k.a. an incredible person), another YDubs writing instructor. (Thanks, Addison, for taking the photo!)

Tessa Emily Hall and Allison Grace — Me and Tessa Emily Hall. She signed my copy of “Coffee Shop Devos”!

Costume Day — Thursday was also costume day. I didn’t dress up, though. (It also stopped raining so we did get a group picture outside! I don’t know how it came out yet.)

Cami, Maddie, and Chloe in their costumes! (Photo credit: Maddie)

YDubs Conference — I took this photo just before the last session. I almost cried through the whole thing.

The conference has been the highlight of my year so far and I really hope if there’s one next year that I can go again. It was so much fun and I made many wonderful memories. (And next time, I’ll bring my flute. XD)

Where’s Glendale?

So, I brought Glendale with me and he sat in my backpack during the entire conference. Did I remember to get him out and take a picture with him?

No. Of course not.

So here is Glendale, in the line for an Arby’s in West Virginia on the way home. (They gave us 22 ketchup packets for four sandwiches.)

A Silence in the Shadows Book Release! Reviews and Author Interview!

By Allison Grace | June 19, 2019 | Comments 0 Comment

On Monday, Caleb E. King’s debut novel, A Silence in the Shadows, released!

Since I’m on Caleb’s street team, I go to read an ARC (advanced reader copy) before it was published. My younger brother also read it and wrote a review of his own.

Now I have several things to share in this post, so let’s start with the interview! As usual, my questions are in bold and Caleb’s responses are in regular text.

Can you tell us a bit about yourself?

Sure! I’m a homeschooled teen and a grateful child of God. I started writing when I was eight and haven’t stopped since. Besides writing I love reading, drawing, and hanging out with my friends.

You’ve been writing much longer than I have! When did you start writing A Silence in the Shadows?

July 23rd, 2016

Wow! It’s impressive you remember the exact date! What inspired it?

Well, I remember wanting to make a story with the main characters cool ninja-like people, and have them infiltrating castles and fighting their enemies. That’s basically what it sparked from, and then the story just unfolded from there!

Do you have a favorite memory from writing A Silence in the Shadows?

Hmm, I actually don’t remember a lot of the writing process of it…some of the dialogue was really fun to write though.

Dialogue is always fun to write! Which authors have inspired you the most?

J. R. R. Tolkien, Chuck Black, and Andrew Peterson!

I’ve read at least one thing by all of those authors! Do you like to listen to music while you write?

I used too, but not so much anymore. I haven’t tried it in a while though…I may try it again.

What is your favorite Bible passage (or verse)?

I don’t think I really have a certain favorite, but I like Psalms 100 and 111 a lot!

I know! It’s so hard to choose! Do you have any other hobbies besides writing?

Yep! I enjoy reading, drawing, making my own comic books, and creating 2-D animations! I also make films with my friends!

That’s awesome! What’s next on your writing journey?

TAKE A BREAK. Then I think I’m going to re-write a couple short stories I wrote a while ago. After that, it’ll be on to the next book!

Enjoy your break, Caleb! Thank you for letting me interview you!

Want to know more about Caleb? Follow him on his blog! www.calebeking.wordpress.com

Order A Silence in the Shadows here!

(Keep scrolling for book reviews!)

Book Review Time!

My Thoughts

When the Willii brothers, Jered and Faal, discover a close friend is actually a wizard in disguise, they are thrown into a conflict bigger than they ever imagined. Sure, they knew the tax collectors were evil, but they didn’t know they oppressed more than just the Willii’s village.

They also didn’t know their friend’s ex-apprentice is the man behind it all.

And they are the only two people who can stop him.

After the tax collectors burn the brother’s village, the two boys join the Silents—masters of stealth and hand-to-hand combat—in order to find a way to defeat the tyrannical reign of the rouge wizard.

***

Overall, I thought this was a good story. I haven’t read middle-grade in a while, so please note my comments come from the perspective of a YA author and reader. 😊

I enjoyed the relationship between the two brothers, Jered and Faal. It felt realistic—they neither hated each other nor got along all the time. I can’t decide which brother I like better—serious Jered or mischievous Faal.

My favorite character was actually Belak. He seemed to have an interesting backstory and I would have liked to learn a bit more about him.

I really liked all the fantasy creatures Caleb created. I could picture them really well.

If I could be in this book, I’d be a Silent. They’re basically like ninjas and ninjas are cool. And magical ninjas are even cooler. 🐱‍👤

The ending was really good. I didn’t expect it, but it was awesome!

A few things I didn’t like:

There were too many fight scenes. Every few pages it seemed like the characters were fighting the tax collectors.
The point-of-view character shifted a bunch. It made it hard to follow, particularly during action scenes.
The side characters were a bit hard to tell apart and flat.

Content

There was a lot of fighting, but I don’t think there was anything graphic. A few mentions of blood. Lots of bad guys die. (Someone explodes at the end.)

Since Jered and Faal have wizard powers, there is magic. They don’t use it very much and it’s more like “using the Force” than spell and potion magic. It’s not anywhere close to witchcraft. The main villain did cast a spell on his minions, but that’s all.

There was no romance whatsoever, which was nice, so the reader can focus more on the brothers’ relationship.

It was completely free of language!

Book Review Two!

This review was written by my brother!

In “A Silence In the Shadows” by Caleb E. King, Jered and Faal Willii are plunged into a desperate battle against the evil rejected wizard apprentice, Ath, after their old friend Flogii tells them that they have the potential to become wizards.

They will meet and receive powers from an old hermit wizard in the mountains, and will discover who the so-called “tax collectors” really are. When the odds become too great for the two boys, they are rescued by a masked warrior… and plunged into the world of the resistance fighters, the Silents.

They train hard and become fast friends with members of the Silents such as Crater, Belak, and Angela. They race in a desperate rush to stop Ath from being able to control everyone with the Melker stone. It comes down to a final battle between the boys and Ath to determine whether the world is broken or saved. But you have to read the book to find out who wins!

Personally, my favorite person was Jered. I thought the relationship between the two boys was interesting, and Flogii being a wizard was very surprising. My favorite parts were the battles , and that the Silents were basically ninjas (of course, being a boy, I’m more prone to like things like that than others). Something I really appreciated was that there wasn’t any romance (barf!). Overall I’d give this a 5-star rating.

Want to buy A Silence in the Shadows? Click here!