March Highlights // 2016

Wow. So, March was a crazy insane month, and it's looking like April is going to be even more insane. Hopefully in a good way, though. :P

SPRING BREAK! What a glorious week of no school... just... so I could edit instead. (ha) We watched a bunch of movies as a family and I stayed up to insane hours of the night and slept in late each day. It was so lovely. xD

I, um, turned sixteen? So that's a thing. I was planning to just stay home and eat pizza, but then my amazing friends held a SURPRISE party for me. It was just the sweetest thing ever and I'm so blessed by them. <3 Here's the short clip of them giving me a heart attack:

(hopefully the video works out. otherwise just picture me very frightened. :P)

I've started applying for jobs, too. :D Which is terrifying. So far I'm just applying for coffee shops -- we'll see if that turns into anything. *crosses fingers*

OH AND THE PIZZA SOCKS! I promised a picture in my last post.  Here they are in all their glory:

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MY BOOKSHELF IS FULL. This only means another bookshelf, mwahaha. I already have stacks of books on the floor waiting for a new home.

So last month I read a whopping twenty-one books, but reading dramatically lowered to 15 books this month. *sigh*  Hopefully next month I can squeeze in some more reading time. But then there's Camp NaNo. So probably not. xD

Anyways, let's look at the books:

Favorite: STARS ABOVE! Ahh, it was such a lovely collection of short stories. *hugs all the charries*

Least Favorite: Ugh, Zeroes. Too many characters, wayyyy too long, and there really wasn't much of a plot? And I was bored for most of the time. So.

Best Cover: Ooh, probably The Shadow Queen. I love the gold lettering in the apple. 

BOOK HAUL:

So I "accidentally" got a lot of books this month. Three birthday books, two for five dollars, and then another five books under three dollars each on Thrift Books. So I was a very happy bookish person for the whole month. ^.^

left to right: scarlet, the goose girl, enna burning, unwind, princess of the silver woods, the shadows, the schwa was here, leviathan, five enchanted roses, son, and gathering blue.

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SO. MUCH. EDITING. THIS. MONTH.

This happened:

It's not even #NaNoWriMo and I've (re)wrote over 5k in two days. WHAT IS THIS MAGICAL INSANITY??!#amwriting #amediting

— Katie Grace (@KatieGraceWrite) March 18, 2016

So I made a lot of progress. I finished sending off chapters to my critique partner, Abi, and then ventured out into the scary world of beta readers. If I haven't sent the thing out already, be looking for it today! *screams*

I've also kinda started planning my Camp NaNoWriMo novel. (Yes, I know that it starts tomorrow. Yes, I know that I'm horribly unprepared. Yes, I'm freaking out.) It's going to be a loose retelling of Little Red Riding Hood. I'm calling it Little Red Rain Coat -- contemporary, takes place in Seattle, and my main character is an adopted girl from China.

Here's how prepared I am to start this story tomorrow.

Do I know the beginning? No. 

Do I have a name for my main character? No. 

Do I know the ending? ...Kind of? Ish?

Do I really know ANYTHING about the novel? No. 

But I have a playlist made for it! ...Important, right? No? Sigh. xD

To make April crazier than it already is, my goal is to write this story by the fifteenth. So 50-70k in fifteen days. Can I do it? I'm certainly going to try. I'll be editing the rest of the month with what extra words I have left.

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A guest post by the lovely Hannah.

A GIVEAWAY?!? Mwahaha, yes. It'll be my first giveaway on this little blog so I'm rather excited. :D

A letter to my novel. (inspired by Aimee's post a while back.)

So, much excitement to come. Looking forward to next month with all of you even though it's gonna be crazy. We got this.

// katie grace

What are you doing for Camp? Are you prepared?! (if you're not, join me in freaking out and we can band together in our unpreparedness) 

The Giant Tag Post

So I've been tagged for quite a few of these "Liebster Awards" and such, and it's about time I finally write up my giant tag post that I've been promising. *nod*

(Maybe sometime I'll do a tag or a Q&A in a vlog type thing? I'm not sure how good I'd be talking in front of a camera. I'd probably ramble a lot or just sit in silence and let awkward crickets chirp, but let me know if that's something you'd ever be interested in. xD I could do it for my blogoversary or something. WE'LL SEE.)

Because most of the tags have you list 11 random facts, I'll just list a random fact after each question to make it simple. ;)

Lastly, since I was tagged for so many different posts, I decided not to answer all the questions in each tag and just take 2-3 of my favorite ones. Thank you, Grace, Paige, Jessica, Hosanna, Rachael, and Emily for the questions and tag! 

biggest pet peeve 

BIGGEST pet peeve? I'm not sure if I could choose my biggest one. I have a bunch of little(ish) ones, so I'll just make a short list: 

- sharing forks/straws/anything like that just... EW.

- people interrupting movies. // My sister has about a bazillion questions with each movie we watch, so it's kind of become a running joke. And an annoyance. :P Love youuuu. ;)

- chapped lips and dry skin. // I use chapstick and lotion constantly throughout the day. Where I live it's very cold right now, so my skin gets dry easily. :P

random fact: my real name is actually Katelyn, but everyone calls me Katie. 

what is one thing that can make your day instantly better?

OOH, another question I can make a list out of. 

// smiles.

// music. 

// little surprises. 

// kind words. 

// something to look forward to.

fun fact: I got some A M A Z I N G socks for my birthday. Pizza socks. I'll share a picture in my monthly highlights post on the 31st. :D

how many siblings do you have?

Just one! Her name's Laura and she's three years younger than me. 

JUST LOOK AT HER SQUISHY LITTLE CUTE FACE. (this was wayyy back in time.)

Daww, we're so much older, now. :P

random fact: I'm watching Captain America: the Winter Soldier while writing this. Buckyyyyy. 

what do you think you'll be doing five years from now?

HAHAHAHAHA.

HA.

Heh.

*sweats nervously* 

*has a major life crisis* 

The future is a scary place. o.O 

Okay, so five years from now I'll be twenty-one. By then I could have written ten books, read nearly 1,000... probably have a job. Eat pizza 500 times. Write 400 blog posts. The usual. ;)

random fact: my feet are very cold right now. *shivers*

favorite flower?

DAISIES! Daisies are so lovely and happy. <3

random fact: I took a typing test and I can type around 110 wpm. But that's just copying text. I can't think that fast. xD

are you more the cook or eater in your home?

HA. Definitely the eater. Me in the kitchen = CATASTROPHE.

random fact: someday I'm going to get a hedgehog because they're adorable and it can be my writing buddy. xD

what is something that is outside your comfort zone, but you want to do it?

*cough* Giving my book to beta readers. (<-- sign up there if you haven't already ;) *cough* I'm super honored and happy by how many of you actually are signing up, but it's really scary. REALLY SCARY. *breathes into a paper bag so I don't pass out*

random fact: I've been in the mood for a contemporary lately. Any (fairly clean) contemporaries you recommend?

how often do you listen to music?

Probably... around nine hours a day? :P I start listening to music while I do school, and end when I go to bed. There are a few breaks in there but I tend to play music with everything I do. Reading, writing, blogging, editing, school, etc, etc...

random fact: aside from blue, I really like the color gray. And mustard yellow.

have you ever done something others deemed crazy?

...wrote a novel?
...edited a novel?
...asked people to read my novel?
...have a good majority of my friends from online? xD

random fact: it's taken me twenty minutes to think of these facts, because I'm just that bad at it. :P

last book I read?

The Shadow Queen by C.J. Redwine. It was... okay? The cover is gorgeous, but I found myself bored most of the time, and the one character I "kind of" liked died pretty soon on in the book. So, yeah. 3/5 stars, but more like 2 1/2 out of 5.

random fact: I don't like... swimming? I can swim, but I prefer the dry land. :P

favorite Bible verse?

Oooohhhhhh, this is SUCH a hard question. I don't... know? When I was younger my favorite Bible verse used to be Proverbs 16:24... "Pleasant words are a honeycomb. Sweet to the soul and healing to the bones." 

I still like that verse, but I'm not sure if it's my favorite.
two minutes later while writing this...
So I finished reading through Proverbs chapter 16 and I really like verse nine: "In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps." As you can see with my answer a few questions above... I don't know what the future holds, and sometimes that's really scary? But it's comforting to know that God has a plan in place -- whether it's similar or not to mine. ;)

random fact: MY BOOKSHELF IS FULL. It just filled this month so now I have to get a new one. Eeep. :3

last song I listened to?

Goner by Twenty One Pilots.
Smoke and Mirrors by Imagine Dragons.
This is Gospel by Panic! at the Disco.
Taxi Cab by Twenty One Pilots.

There. The last four songs I listened to. :P (And I really like this question. :D)

random fact: and now I'm watching the Lego Movie. Yay for movie nights!
(and I'm also not ashamed of my extreme love for this movie. xD)

social media accounts?

Ahh, yes. Where I waste ALL OF MY TIME. (and make new friends, so that's cool)

goodreads // where I flail about books and find new ones to read.

twitter // the place where I share my thoughts nearly every day with funny quotes or writing happenings. 

facebook // basically how I connect with all of my lovely writer friends.

pinterest // STORY INSPIRATION. Though, I've become less addicted to it as of lately? 

instagram // where I very rarely take pictures (using my dad's phone, oops) of book and/or pretty things.

random fact: OH HAVE YOU SEEN THE NEW LEGO BATMAN MOVIE TRAILER? I'm soooo excited for it. xD

the next book I want to read?

OOOH.  

The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken. (recommended by Anna)

Unwind by Neal Shusterman. (This book has been repeatedly shoved in my face by Anna and Aimee)

Five Enchanted Roses by an assortment of authors. (because it's about time I've read this)

Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow. (also an Aimee recommended book. Mostly because she showed me the lovely musical.)

-

// katie grace

(and now some random questions for you cause that's fun)

What was the last song you listened to?

What are some of your pet peeves?

And what's the next book on your TBR(or several books :P)?

BETA READERS and BIRTHDAYS

In which this day is basically the best and most terrifying ever. (you probably already guessed why from the title)

IT'S MY BIRTHDAY?? I'm sixteen now. Not sure how I feel about that... I wouldn't mind delaying being sixteen for another year. :P I can get my license, get married with parental consent (HA. No. Amusing, though. xD), and apply for a basic job. LIFE RESPONSIBILITIES ARE JUST BEING PLUMMETED MY WAY AHH.

I'll probably celebrate today by eating pizza, sleeping in, editing, lazing around in pajamas, reading, playing Uno with the family, and watching an animated kids movie. Cause that's how I like to do things.

And for the SECOND awesome and terrifying/exciting thing...

I'M ASKING FOR BETA READERS?? *screams forever*

This is what the remainder of the post will be about. *nod* It was very exciting to realize that my birthday was on a Saturday (my posting day), AND for it to be when I needed beta readers. So now I can use this as a birthday present for all of you! xD

SO. Two weeks ago when I rambled on about my novel. I shared the beginning excerpt as well as another snippet. Before you consider signing up, please go and read that to know if my writing style suits you and such. You can find that post here.

Okay. So if you're still interested in reading this novel of mine, I'm looking for some lovely beta readers to help me know where I can improve and make this novel better.

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Genre: Fantasy // Christian Fiction // YA

Word Count: 89k, currently, but since I'm still editing the ending it could be anywhere from 85k-95k when I send it up. No more or less than that.                                                                                            

About: 

Gita has always lived in a land of blurry surroundings and nonexistent melodies. 

Until she gets trapped in a sandstorm. The first doesn’t change—her eyesight is just as bad as it used to be. But while she fumbled in the swirling sand and the suffocating darkness, she heard a mysterious song string its way through the air and to her ears.

Immediately Gita knows that something is up with the singing amidst the silence. She begins to explore the curious noise—asking questions and doing research. But views on this song are varied. The Mistress she serves bans it. The messenger boy she meets follows it.

Bound by her loyalty to her Mistress and curiosity fueling the relationship with the messenger boy, Gita is forced to make a decision: whether to suffer the Mistress’s wrath and become an outcast to the Land, or to betray a new friend.

- 

ABOUT BETA-ING / QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE:

Q: So... what will I do? 

A: You'll be reading through my novel and giving me constructive criticism/suggestions. (and things you especially liked that I shouldn't change.)

Q: But HOW will I do it?

A: There are several ways in doing this. I'm completely flexible and want to make this easiest for you since you're doing me a HUGE favor. (Though I hope you enjoy doing it anyways. :P) Three ways you can read/make comments.

// Word Document: Easy enough, right? You can use track changes if you want to comment on things and send it back to me(comments are always great), otherwise just keep it blank. 

// PDF: I don't use PDFs very often? But I can make this a thing if you want it.

// Group Google Doc: Right now I'm betaing for a lovely person, and she has everyone making comments in a joint Google Doc. It's super fun that way to interact with the other readers, agree on what needs to be changed, and make it more of a group activity. But if that's not your thing, that's totally fine. :P

And at the end I'll have a list of questions (probably no more than ten) asking about any confusing parts, characters, plot, blah, blah, blah. 

Q: Will I get pizza in exchange for beta reading?

A: Unfortunately, no. I'll give you virtual pizza. ;)

Q: What if I start reading it and don't want to continue?

A: Then... stop reading! :P If there's a specific reason it doesn't click with you (too slow... characters... or something), please email me, but if it's just not your type of book, I totally understand. By signing up that doesn't mean you have to sacrifice your left pinky if you don't finish. ;)

And if you finish it and just really don't like it, I'll have a google form with questions so you can answer them truthfully and anonymously and we can keep being friends. *wink* :P

Anyways, let's just hope that doesn't happen.

Q: When will you send it?

A: Before April 1st! Probably not much before then, but I'll do my best to edit like crazy. :P

Q: How long do I have to sign up?

A: I'll leave the sign up open until I send it out. So try to sign up within a week or so?

Q: So there's a sequel. What's the deal with that? 

A: The deal with the sequel is that it's completely unedited and you'll probably cringe and scream if you were to even try reading a page of it. You're just signing up to read Song of the Desert, but if you enjoy it and want to be a beta reader for The Sand Dragon's Song... I won't keep you from it. I'm gonna need beta readers for the next book eventually. :P

Q: Is there a deadline?

A: I would really, really like to receive feedback by May 1st. Since I'm going to a couple writer's conferences in the summer, I want to start on editing (again) right away in case I want to show it to some people.

-

I think that's all the questions I foresaw? If you have any others, just comment or email me and I'll try to get back to you asap. (Unless I'm out partying for my birthday. (says the writer who just wants to curl up and read all day))

This sounds all complicated but I like to be organized with everything and I love to know what's going on when I beta read someone's book so sorry if all the information overwhelms you. xD Really I just want some feedback on the novel. :P

SO HERE. The sign up's below, and if that doesn't work, here's a link to the Google Form.

Now 'xcuse me while I go shriek. Multiple times. Maybe I won't stop shrieking. Sorry, mom. Shrieking sixteen instead of sweet sixteen? Eh? No? Okay. I'll stop rambling now.

*ducks out*

- Katie Grace

I don't even know how to end this post so I'll just hand out brownies, cake, cookies, or whatever your favorite kind of dessert is. *nod* We'll eat them together and celebrate, kay? :P

My Writing Process

A couple people have mentioned wanting to learn more about my whole writing process. (A horrible mistake, really.) Basically, it's a mess and I have no idea what I'm doing. But so far I've survived (though my character's lives are a different story...), so I'll share it with you. :P

I'm going to be completely honest with you: I don't get many story ideas. THIS IS VERY HARD TO DEAL WITH. Writers all around me talk about how they have "wayyyy too many plot bunnies attacking" and get "super distracted with all the story ideas." 

I... don't know how that feels like. *sniff* Sometimes I fear that I'm just going to run out of ideas someday--that I can't write because I don't know what to write about. So when I finally get an idea, I run with it, which leads me to the next phase.

-

Ever heard the terms Plotter + Pantser? If you haven't, here's what they mean:

PLOTTER: someone who plans out their novel before they write it.

PANTSER: someone who, “flies by the seat of their pants,” meaning they don’t plan out anything, or plan very little.

If you're somewhere in the middle, you're a PLANTSER, though you probably lean more to one side than the other. 

I consider myself a pantser. I really don't like plotting. This is how much I outlined before I wrote The Sand Dragon's Song:

it's purposefully blurry cause SPOILERS

...what I brainstormed above is actually more than I'm used to, but I'm trying to get myself to plot more so I can save time on editing. :P

Since brainstorming goes so quickly, I only need a week or so for this stage. And a weird writing quirk of mine -- I only brainstorm on paper. I find that my creativity and ideas come easier that way, and I don't get as distracted with the internet. :P 

-

THIS STAGE IS SO MUCH FUN! I love the writing stage because...

a) WRITING!

b) It will be terrible and that's okay. 

c) so many Word Wars and Sprints with friends.

d) it's fast.
e) late night writing sessions. <3 

I write fast. Not Cait fast(50k in four days, wut?), but I write 50k in two weeks fast. So if all goes well, I finish a draft in a month. Though... the draft is a mess. Characters seem the same. Typos galore. What's a... plot??

The first draft is all fine and dandy until I end it. Then I start hating and dreading my novel, because the next step is editing. *cries*

(I documented my NaNoWriMo journey each week last November which gives more insight into  my crazy first draft writing.)

-

This is probably the easiest stage. I like to try to set aside my novel for at least a month before editing. This gives me time to ponder it, realize that it's all cliched, and days for crying when I figure out that it all needs to be rewritten. This has happened.

Sometimes I use this month for reading. Sometimes I'll plan out an editing strategy. Sometimes I just take the whole month to hibernate or see how much pizza I can eat. You never really know with me.

-

I don't like editing.

(wow, didn't see that one coming, did you?)

And of course the stage I dislike the most has to take the longest. Since the editing stage is so stinking long, I'll divide it up into a few sections.

My first novel I ever wrote I ended up rewriting all of it. The second novel I wrote (Song of the Desert), I rewrote 68%. (I actually have no idea if that's accurate, but it's something along those lines.) I'm fairly certain that I'll have to rewrite most if not all of The Sand Dragon's Song when I start editing. Ack.

Rewriting is my least favorite part of editing. Because I can't insanely write 50k in two weeks. The rewrites wouldn't come out any better than the first draft. So I'm forced to take my time with rewrites. And I don't like taking my time. I use my "editing survival guide" most often with this step. *wink*

 

As I'm rewriting I keep a list of things I have to fix. "Mention this character. Add in a scene with the unicorns. More pizza," and so on. The "scene revision" stage is where I tweak plot things. Sometimes big, sometimes little. I'm not editing sentences and how they sound; I'm just trying to get the plot to a manageable, workable place.

IF I ever finish rewriting,  I must note that I sometimes go over the "scene revision" 2-3 times until I can get the plot right. My plot never likes me, so it takes awhile. :P

Of all the different types of editing, line editing is one of my favorites, because IF I've made it to this stage, chances are that my novel's finally starting to be okay. 

Line editing is also awesome because I love making things sound pretty. I love making the words and sentences flow together. I love making it so that the writing's easy to read and readers can easily lose themselves in the story. (I mean, that's the goal.)

Also, fun fact... Only when I get to the line edit stage (4th draft or so) is when I actually have chapters in my novel. I try to add in chapters with the previous steps, but I end up forgetting. :P

Editing can go on forever. I find more and more scenes to fix. Plot holes arise. Typos never seem to end. I read over my chapters again and again. 

Then... when I gather enough confidence, I send chapters to my critique partner. I make her very wise changes. And EVENTUALLY I ask for beta readers and shove it in their face. That last part may just happen in a few weeks and I'm kind of freaking out. xD

And AFTER beta readers... I'm honestly not sure what's going to happen. I know that I'll go over their suggestions, make changes, etc... But then? I'll have to figure that out. :P 

-

// Katie Grace

Are you a plotter or a pantser? Are you one of those writers who has lots of story ideas... or no?

. . . . .

CONNECT WITH ME!

     

A Look Inside My Novel // Song of the Desert

Last month my novel (he calls himself Tan) guest posted on the blog. Tan's very different from me. Blunt. Sassy. I-do-what-I-want-attitude. He and I do not get along well.

But (unfortunately for me. heh.), you all enjoyed his guest post. So when word got along that I was going to write up a post about my novel, Tan demanded that he himself do it. Which makes sense, him being... the novel... and all. Let's just hope that it goes better than last time.

Like before, my words will be in bold, and Tan's will be in normal font starting now. Good luck. 

So I'm Tan. (Totally Awesome Novel. You get the acronym? It describes me perfectly.) 

... it describes YOUR opinion of yourself, Tan. Not others.

The difference?

Ugh. 

Katie "wanted" me to talk about my insides. (ew, right? Like, she never talks about HER insides.) I will reluctantly comply, but only because I rebelled last time I guest posted. Let's get started, I guess? All about my insides cause you people are nosy like that.

So despite the fact that I call myself Tan, Katie calls me by a different name. Several different ones, in fact, ranging from "stupid," to "annoying," to "stubborn" to ---

Tan, stop. I only call you that sometimes because you are like that most of the time. Please give the readers the name I usually call you.

*huffs* Fine. OCCASIONALLY she calls me Song of the Desert. 

Katie intervening once more to give you the "official" (quotes around official because I fail at writing blurbs. Ack.) blurb of Song of the Desert before Tan rants about it more. 

///

Gita has always lived in a land of blurry surroundings and nonexistent melodies. 

Until she gets trapped in a sandstorm. The first doesn’t change—her eyesight is just as bad as it used to be. But while she fumbled in the swirling sand and the suffocating darkness, she heard a mysterious song string its way through the air and to her ears.

Immediately Gita knows that something is up with the singing amidst the silence. She begins to explore the curious noise—asking questions and doing research. But views on this song are varied. The Mistress she serves bans it. The messenger boy she meets follows it.

Bound by her loyalty to her Mistress and curiosity fueling the relationship with the messenger boy, Gita is forced to make a decision: whether to suffer the Mistress’s wrath and become an outcast to the Land, or to betray a new friend.

really cool collage graphic thing

You really do fail at writing blurbs.

Just finish writing the blog post.

Whatever you say.

So let's talk about characters. Katie made this little graphic for the main character:

That's Gita, an ISTP. Sometimes she's like me. Most of the time she's nicer(occasionally) and shyer. She's not always the typical strong heroine you see in YA novels, I guess. I suppose that makes room for character development. 

Oh, right. And she's also practically blind. Not really -- but she would need glasses if she lived in the modern world. But since she lives in medieval times and there aren't any glasses in the fantasy world, she's forced to live with blurriness everywhere.

Mwaha. I'm so cruel.

Sigh.

The whole novel basically revolves around a stupid mistake she makes. Or is forced to make. You'll understand if you ever get to read this novel.

They will. 

Not at the pace you're going at, slowpoke editor.

*glares* 

Then there's the other main character, Xander. Apparently there weren't any Pinterest dudes who fit his description, so, yeah. He has long(ish for a guy), shaggy, blond hair, average height, and smiles a lot compared to Gita.

Katie popping in. It's absolutely ridiculous how hard it is to find characters of guys who are smiling. I searched "smiling young men for stories" and this came up:

UM, NOPE. DEFINITELY NOT XANDER. Anyways, continue, Tan. I had to share it since it made me laugh. :P

Stop interrupting me, Katie. It's rude. But if you people have any pictures that would even remotely fit Xander with a dude who's smiling, send 'em on over.

So Xander's basically the opposite of Gita. He's an ESFP. He's optimistic, friendly, confident, easy-going, and just generally fun. He's too good for all the pain Katie gives him in the novel. (Like I care, though. Call me heartless if you want.)

Basically there's just lots of pain in general in the novel. Oops. But there's hope. That's the underlying thing that Katie makes sure of even when I just want to break everyone's hearts.

There are other characters.

      The Mistress(villain)       Woodwind                  Edhan                     Naya                    Gita again

Moving forward from the characters, there's also the matter of "that song." I mean, it's called Song of the Desert. Something's up with this special music thing.

It came into existence when Katie listened to this song by Switchfoot.

And supposedly Katie got the idea for a song/music being an allegory to God's love. And God is who they call "The Music Master." (The book was originally gonna be called The Music Master. But again, I can't follow rules so I named myself Song of the Desert. Ha.)

So the novel is also about Gita figuring out this mysterious song. Figuring out the conflicting views. Figuring out life and such. It's an allegory, but a subtle one, and I make sure it doesn't get preachy or anything. ...

Ah....

KATIE I'VE GONE LIKE FOUR WHOLE PARAGRAPHS WITHOUT BEING DISRUPTIVE I CAN'T DO THIS ANY LONGER.

No. Please. Just keep this up, Tan. 

I'm going to talk about broccoli.

...why. 

Cause I can.

...are you serious.

I love talking about things that you hate. Burnt pizza, editing, me...

... I will ban you from my blog. 

I have your readers on my side. Ha.

Moving on... Here's a random mock cover from Hannah since when better to place it in the post? 

that gorgeous font, though.

There is a sequel to come, The Sand Dragon's Song. Katie has written it, but right now it's horrible. The sequel's my younger brother, actually. I'm jealous because he has more death and I barely have any. *sulks* 

You have your own sort of emotional and physical pain, Tan. Don't complain. 

Whatever. 

Katie will be looking for beta readers at the end of March. Yay. I get to be torn apart by other people, then.

This is just a duology. Song of the Desert is currently 85,000 words, and the unedited sequel is 105,000. (But there will be NaNo gibberish cut off from it, so it's probably going to turn out to be 90-95k or so.) 

It doesn't end on a terrible cliffhanger(well, kinda. Sorta. Not really?), but it's obvious that the story isn't finished yet. 

Tell them about the surprise, Tan!

Oh. Right.

So I was forced to share a bit of myself with you (my right pinkie to be exact). It's the beginning 800 words in which Gita, the main character, is trapped in a sandstorm. Wow, much action. Much excitement.

Stop sounding sarcastic. THIS IS REALLY EXCITING You can click here to read the first scene. *squeal* You can let me know by commenting in the Google Doc on the divider line, or below. Or keep your thoughts to yourself. ;)

READ THE FIRST SCENE OF SONG OF THE DESERT HERE!

- Katie Grace

Did Tan miss anything you'd like to know about? How'd you like the beginning?
Since I'm curious... how long is your novel?

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                                                            CONNECT WITH ME!