April Highlights 2017

I'm back again with yet another monthly highlight post. April slowed down a bit, but not by much! I can't believe we are a third of the way through 2017! Where is it going?

~Summary~

Our "new" suburban.

As some of you are aware, about six months ago our car started to need significant mechanical attention. As bills continued to build up and the main apparent problem still wasn't fixed, we started hunting for a new used car. After multiple disappointments, we finally found and bought a Chevy Suburban that will be great for all my family's trips, etc. I'm looking forward to creating more memories in this car as we did in our previous van. Thank you to everyone who loaned us cars during this time and to all who prayed for us.

The rest of the month went by in a blur of days spent fixing fences, clearing up our property on burn days, and a trip to each of my grandparent's houses in Los Angeles and Pacific Grove.

One of my friends played the Mad Hatter!

I also got to go with my dad and a friend to watch an "Alice in Wonderland" play some friends starred in. (Great job, you guys!) Easter was a good day, starting out by celebrating our risen Savior at our church service, but turned out rather unusual since it rained and we were out fixing a fence in it! :) That was fun. I ended the month by serving at a local community fundraiser.

April was also a rather difficult month, in that there was quite a bit of stress trying to find our new car so we'd have a reliable vehicle, and several of our friends spent the majority of the month in the hospital.

In general, it was a good month even through the difficulties.

~Reading~

This month was a bit of a slower month as far as books goes, but once again, those I did read were very enjoyable! I'm in the middle of two other books that will get added into May's list. For April, my total pages is 1,283.

1. Ranger's Apprentice: The Icebound Land, John Flanagan (266 pages)
2. Red Rock Mysteries: Hidden Riches, Jerry B. Jenkins and Chris Fabry (249 pages)
3. Red Rock Mysteries: Dead End, Jerry B. Jenkins and Chris Fabry (235 pages)
4. The Blades of Acktar: Deliver, Tricia Mingerink (239 pages)
5. Ranger's Apprentice: The Battle for Skandia, John Flanagan (294 pages)

Without a doubt, my favorite book out of that list is Deliver. I wrote a post on its release day that you can read by clicking HERE.

Also, I finally finished reading the Red Rock Mysteries series. I was a little disappointed with the ending of the last book, but overall it was a great series and I spent many pleasant hours reading it.

~Writing~

I participated in Camp NaNo, a virtual writing camp, and had a wonderful time. Even though I didn't begin to approach my goal, I enjoyed getting to know everyone in my wonderful cabin. It was an experience worthwhile, even if I only made 8,600 words. But as a friend reminded me, every word you write is a word you didn't have before. :) In that case, I'm content with my word count for this month. The best part of writing was the friends I made through Camp, and the satisfaction of pushing through some difficult spots in my story.

Also, another thrilling side of writing through April was when I managed to make my current WIP my longest story yet! It's now sitting at around 26K. :) Click HERE to read my post about that, and at the top of my blog I have added a page about the Arkinland Chronicles with stats, the summary, and a few exerts. Check it out!

~Photography~

Rather than post multitudes of pictures here as I've done in the past, I'll only post a few since I already shared most of my good photos for April in a previous post, called Springtime Photos.

At the beach in Pacific Grove.

~Great Quotes~

This month, I've been keeping my eyes out for good quotes to share with you, and I've discovered quite a few that I love!

This has become one of my all-time favorite quotes!

~Blog Posts~

It seems that I've already linked to most of my more popular posts of the month, so if you missed any of those, you can find them above. My personal favorite was the post about Deliver, since I love sharing about my favorite books. (I couldn't call myself a book lover if I didn't!) Besides, I got to do an author interview with Tricia Mingerink, and that doubled the fun!

A great blog post that I read this month was done by Jonathan at Fishing For Ideas. Here's the LINK to his post about putting your faith into your writing.

~

That's all folks! Thanks for reading, and I'd love to hear about your April highlights!

The Blades of Acktar: Deliver (Plus Author Interview)

Today—April 25, 2017—is a wonderful day for the book universe. Today, the fourth and final book in the Blades of Acktar series is released to the world! And today, I have provided my review of this marvelous creation, Deliver, and an exclusive author interview with Tricia Mingerink.

First off, I suppose I should warn you that The Blades of Acktar is my top favorite book series, so I will be doing my best to convince you to read the books and love them as I have ever since I found this series in January 2016. Because once you read them, you will love them. :) After all, who couldn't resist this amazing Christian fantasy series filled with action, assassins, a country torn with war, love, betrayal, an evil king, hostages, and heroes? Here is the link to my review of the previous book in this series, Defy. Now, let the fun begin! *trumpets sound as confetti erupts*

To start, here is Deliver's delightful cover and the book synopsis.

Can something broken ever heal?

Martyn is broken. After torturing his best friend, he doesn't belong anywhere in Acktar. No matter how far he runs, he can't lose his guilt.

Leith is broken. While healing from the torture he received at Nalgar Castle, he struggles to find his new role. But can a Blade ever outrun his past?

The country is broken. Bitterness divides town against town, neighbor against neighbor. What will it take to deliver Acktar from itself?

They face their hardest battle yet.
Peace.

~

Do you want to read it yet? Because first you have to finish reading this post, then you have to go buy the books, then you have to read the rest of the series first. So you have a lot ahead of you. :) But first let's finish this post.

Here is my review of Deliver:

~

Deliver is a grand finale to the Blades of Acktar series. Filled with action from front to back, it doesn't let you down. Putting the book aside was like trying to hold your breath for an exceedingly long time. While I felt that the plot was slightly similar to some of the previous books in the series, I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

As with all the other books in the series, the characters were impossible not to fall in love with. They are realistic and you easily find your heart attached. You are broken-hearted when they are hurting, ecstatic when they are elated, and whole-heartedly relate to all their emotions.

I also appreciated how the characters still have struggles and flaws that are realistic. After book three, everything isn't settled, and Deliver takes care of this in a well-done manner. Friendships are restored, trust is given, family is reunited, and all the characters at last find their place in the world.

I'm not even sure how to write a review that gives this book justice. I enjoyed every page, every scene, every character, every situation. I'm sad only to see the series come to a close. :) I can't wait to read more of Tricia Mingerink's writing!

~

I'm sure you want to read the series now. :) I have no doubt in my mind. Below, you will now discover the promised exclusive author interview.

Hi Tricia! Thank you for joining us here on the blog today and allowing me to ask you a few questions. I'm so excited for the release of Deliver!

1. To start off, I'm curious about the history of The Blades of Acktar. How long ago did you get the idea for it, and how? Was it your first major writing project? Did you know right away that it was going to become a series? What were your original goals in writing?

I got the idea for The Blades of Acktar in March of 2014. I started writing Dare almost immediately after getting the idea. I had the idea for the first three books in the series that first month, though some of the details changed from that first idea to the final version on paper. This wasn't near my first major writing project. I've been writing since I learned to write. But this series was the first one that I knew right away was publishable, and I wrote them with publication in mind. 

2. Along those lines of "in the beginning," how did you decide to self-publish? How is that working for you?

While I was writing Dare, I already began researching publishing options. After writing the first three books in the series and researching options for a year, I decided to self-publish. I knew a number of fellow Christian fantasy writers who were also self-published, and they helped steer me in the right direction. I enjoy it, and right now, I don't see myself changing how I publish my books.

3. Now I'd like to ask you about some of your favorites. :) Who are your top favorite characters in The Blades of Acktar? Also, do you have a favorite book that you've written, and why?

Going for the hard questions, aren't you! I adore all of them in their own special ways. While Leith is my favorite character over all (ssshh...don't tell the others), Martyn and Brandi are my favorites to write because they are so snarky. Of the books, I have to admit that Defy is my favorite. Probably because it was such an easy book to write.

Haha, yep. The hard questions are the best! Here's another.

4. What have been some of your struggles in the writing process, and how did you overcome them?

With writing Deliver, I struggled with the pressure of writing a book while knowing I had fans anxious and waiting for the book. It was a lot harder to write than the first three books where I had no one waiting for them. It took a lot of prayer to get my mind back in the right place and just concentrate on writing for God.

5. Do you have any writing tips/advice that you could pass on to aspiring authors like myself?

Don't worry about pushing yourself into publication before you're ready. Take the time to write and enjoy where you are now. Once you are published, things change. Some of those things are really good, and I wouldn't trade them for the world, but publication also brings pressure and worries that you don't have when you're unpublished. Wait until you're ready to handle them, and enjoy the journey until then.

6. Lastly, what's next? Now that The Blades of Acktar has come to a close, do you have plans for your next novel or series?

I have a few ideas, and the rest of this year will be taken up with a lot of first draft writing. I can't go into too many details since I don't know exactly what will be next, but it will probably be something more fully in the fantasy genre, it will still have Christian themes, and it still will have lots of fun and adventure that you've come to expect from me. 

Thank you so much for your time, Tricia! It means the world to me and I'm sure my readers enjoyed this—I know I did! :)

~

Now that you, my friends, are thoroughly interested in the series and can't wait for your ordered copies of the books to arrive, let me invite you to a party in honor of Deliver's release. It's a Facebook party on April 28. Be sure to stop by for live character chats and more!

Note: All the Kindle versions of the series are on a major sale right now in celebration of Deliver's release. You can easily locate them on Amazon. HERE is the link to buy signed paperback copies of the series. HERE is the link to buy paperbacks on Amazon.

I suppose I shouldn't keep you any longer since you'll want to go read the books. I hope you enjoyed my excitement and the interview. Let me know how you like the series! :)