A Look Inside My Novel // Song of the Desert

Saturday, March 5, 2016
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:

Candid people picture taking is a hobby I love.  You catch many different emotions,situations and it's all unscripted. Life unfolding before your very eyes.  Enjoy!:


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. ;)


- 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?

- - -
                                                            CONNECT WITH ME!
     

96 comments :

  1. oooh, sounds interesting!! love the pinterest pictures!

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    1. Thank you! I'm so excited with how the collage turned out. :D

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  2. ILOVEIT!OHMYGOSHITSAMAZING! Just in case you couldn't understand that, I Love IT! It's so beautiful, the writing style! Um, my current novel is 70k, but my camp NaNo novel is 100k WHICH I WILL BE WRITING I ONE MONTH!

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    1. OHMYGOSH OHMYGOSH THANK YOU SO MUCHHH. <3

      100k. o.o Wooow. You can do it! I wrote 100k in one month, and it's a LOT of work. But so worth. :D

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    2. :D Welks! Thanks for the encouragement!

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  3. Ooooh. I love the sample bits; I want to read the rest now. :D Also, Gita is the same character type as me. YES. :D And I like "not the typical strong heroine" . . . the world needs more of those, IMO. A nice middle ground between "damsel in distress" and Celaena Sardothin.
    The novel I just finished is six and a half notebooks long (or roughly 162500 words). But about 90% of the first notebook will probably be cut, plus bits and pieces of the others. The average length of one of my other novels is probably somewhere between 50K and 70K.

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    1. Ooh, she is? Interesting to know. :P Celaena... I'm trying to think which book she's from. Throne of Glass?

      O.O Um. Um. Just... wow. o.o That's super impressive that you wrote all taht by hand. o.o

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    2. I love Throne of Glass ahhh

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  4. OH. MY. GOODNESS. Those snippets are AWESOME! When can we hear more from you, Tan (and your brother)? :D

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    1. EEK THANK YOU! <3

      Soon... soon... (hopefully :P)

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  5. Wow! I absolutely loved the beginning! And it makes me really want to read more. It sounds so amazing!!! And I loved Tan's post. They always make ma laugh, and it was just so awesome to hear more about your novel!
    The book I'm working in isn't a novel. . .it's a novella around 42K words. I do have a novel a finished during Nano last year, and it's 65K words. But It's a mess and I literally haven't done anything to it since I finished it. ;)

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    1. Thank you so much, Jesseca! <3

      *nod* It's a pretty large novella. How's editing that going?

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    2. Editing is. . .editing. :P Haha, it's going okay, I think! I finished up the 8th edit yesterday. I know there are still a lot of little things that are going to need changed, but I'm *hoping* that the majority of it is DONE! It's gotten to the point where I'm like this-story-is-the-worst-ever-and-I-hate-it. :P

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    3. The.... The... THE EIGHTH EDIT? o.O Um. Um. That's just... wow. How long has all the edits taken you so far? Wow.

      I KNOW THE FEELING. That point comes across to me often -- it's hard to edit or write when you feel that way. *disgruntled sigh*

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    4. Umm, I finished the first draft in July of last year. I've been editing ever since. ;) But some of the edits have taken longer, others I've been able to push myself to finish in two weeks or so. So it just depends. ;)

      YES!! Augh, it's horrible! But I have friends who don't let me stop editing. They're cruel. ;P But thankfully it does help! :)

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  6. YOU KNOW MY THOUGHTS ON BETA-ING, MY DAUGHTER
    *grabby hands*
    (Also as a VERY BLIND CHILD WHO NEEDS GLASSES/CONTACTS ALL THE TIME, I love the fact that you have a character who needs them too. I can only think of one other book where I've seen that.)

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    1. YES I DO I HOPE THAT YOU ALSO KNOW MY THOUGHTS ON BETA-ING YOUR BOOK.

      (Eeek this makes me happy. :D)

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  7. GAAAAAH guess how bad I've been about reading your blog?? SO BAD in fact that the last time I commented was when your novel guest posted. OMG. *head desks for eternity* Wow I'm just naughty. GAH. anywayyyy, YES. Your book. squeak. Okay so you totally do not fail at writing blurbs and FIDSCNKLSDMC THIS SOUNDS AMAZING LIKE WHEN IS IT GETTING PUBLISHED BECAUSE I NEED A COPY RN.

    "Mwaha. I'm so cruel." < Oh, I feel ya Tan. xD I love doing this too (just being generally cruel.) And for some reason I love boy characters who are nearsighted but refuse to wear glasses. Like WHY DO I DO THIS. It just turns me on. XD Okay so yes I'm assuming that you take Myers-Briggs tests "as" your characters, RIGHT??? PLZ SAY YES BC I DO THIS TOO. It's just a fabulous way to get to know your characters more. x) meep.

    OMG SUFHDKSNCIFNLSK SWITCHFOOOOOOT. yes. yes. *closes eyes and nods slowly* This song is so beautiful I cannnotttt. (btw have you heard the live in concert version?? where Jon talks a little bit before it starts and gaaaaah it's just so perfect. ♥) THAT COVER IS SO PRETTY. also the term "duology" is currently revolutionizing my life hang on. HOW COME I DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT THIS?? squeak. you've ruined me, Tan. xD

    THEEEEEE EXCERPT. OMG. HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO MEEEEE?? SUCH CLIFFHANGERS I CANNOT HANDLE. I need to read this book (like the whole thing.) Also this: "fumbling over their feet and words." is so freaking cute and perfect and gahhh I just CAN'T, okay? I don't know how to talk anymore thank you very much..

    This was splendid. :)
    love,
    abbiee

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    1. OH MY GOSH YOUR COMMENT MAKE MY DAY JUST ASJDKFLAS;KFJA I CAN'T EVEN YOU ARE SO SWEET AND MY HEART ACK. <3

      Yassss Myers-Briggs test. They're so amazing. xD OH AND what's your personality type? (assuming that you've taken it)

      SWITCHFOOOOOT! Ack no I haven't heard the live one. I must do that now though because this totally interests me.
      RIGHT. DUOLOGY. I didn't know about the term either until someone described my "series" as that and I'm just like "ohhhh that makes sense." Two-book-series doesn't have the same ring to it. :P

      THANK YOUU I DON'T EITHER BECAUSE YOU ARE SO SWEEET. And I'm quite proud about that sentence it describes the essence of the scene perfectly eeek. <3

      YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY SPLENDID.

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    2. EEEE HAHA WELL YOUR REPLIES TO MY COMMENTS MAKE MY DAY. like seriously ♥ I'm INFJ. (I may have just replied to the reply to the comment just to tell you that. XD)

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    3. XD
      Ooooh, my sister's INFJ, too! I seem to meet a lot of that type. *nod*

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  8. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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    1. Ack! I was reading through comments on my phone an accidentally deleted yours -- I'M SO SORRY. Thank you for your kind words ting are now... gone... thanks to my clumsy thumb. :P

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  9. Katie! I LOVE your novel! You wrote it so beautifully! I am sad that you didn't post the whole thing for us to read! =D I can already tell that it is a 5 star novel!!!! =) Can you post more excerpts??? Lol

    My novel is around 50k...I think. I haven't really checked recently. =) I have been very bad with editing...

    By the way, how did you learn to write that good?!? Just practice? Your style is amazing!!

    -Hosanna Emily
    HavingaHeartLikeHis.blogspot.com

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    1. Oh my goodness, Hosanna. You make me so happy! I can't wait to shove the novel in your face. ;)

      Editing is hard, so I don't blame you. 50k is a nice length for a quick read. :D

      Heh, I don't write very well. I just take months and months to edit so it sounds good. xD It's weird looking at my first draft, because it's such a mess. o.o I get all sorts of cringe attacks. :P

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    2. That is exactly my problem...my first short story needed almost no editing because I spent so much time planning. But I did NO planning for this one...and the editing is overwhelming. :P Hopefully I can do a lot of it next month, which is my goal. =)

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    3. Yeah, I feel you. :P
      Ooh, are you doing Camp NaNoWriMo for your editing?

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  10. AHHH! I LOVE IT!

    And I really like that touch - Gita having bad eyesight and all. I think handicaps can give characters so much more depth.

    Heehee, I laughed so hard when I saw the "laughing young man".

    I READ YOUR SNIPPET AND LOVED IT! That first sentence or two especially - wow. It grabbed my attention immediately. :D It was wonderful to read a little bit of Tan. Can't wait to read his brother! (hmm . . . what is his brother's name? I wonder if he has the same, er, "personality" as Tan.)

    How do you pronounce Gita's name? JHEE-tuh? GHEE-tuh?

    Anyway - happy writing, happy editing, happy desert-traveling! Can't wait to beta-read SotD/Tan! :D

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    1. Oh, and now I have that wonderful Switchfoot song stuck in my head. :D

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    2. THANK YOUUU! <3

      I don't think the eyesight was in the first draft, which is weird to think about. It randomly came to me while editing so I'm like "why not?" It's hard to describe things sometimes, but it's a good sort of challenge. :D

      Heh, I did, too. xD

      THANK YOU! *flails* (Ooh, you know... I should ask him. When I start editing his brother maybe he'll appear on the blog. We'll see. ;)

      GHEE-tuh. Thanks for clarifying. :P

      THANK YOU SO MUCH! I can't wait until you can, either. :D

      (Isn't it a lovely song? I found it in one of my piano books so I play it on the piano every once in a while and sing along. :D)

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    3. No kidding! Can I ask for a link to the site where you bought the piano book?

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    4. I would love to give you a site, but... my mom got it years ago -- probably at a piano store. So I'm not much help. :/

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  11. KATIE OH MY GOSH THE SNIPPETS ARE BEAUTEOUS. GIVE IT TO ME. I NEED IT. *cough* So, Uhm, if you have a betas list I must be on it immediately xD Augghhh, this just sounds so good. And that opening line of that first snippet was wonderful. Also, I love that your main character isn't a white teenage female. Diversity like that in YA is much needed.

    Seriously though can I please just have this? xD

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    1. *flailing* THANK YOUUU. Yes you are first on my list. xD
      My embarrassing... younger... fifteen year-old-self first made her the average white teenage female before using COMMON SENSE that she's in a desert. Sometimes I cringe at myself, ack.

      AS LONG AS I CAN HAVE YOURS. THEN IT'S A DEAL.

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    2. YES IM SO EXCITED.

      Yeah, that would make sense xD

      JUNE. HOPEFULLY JUNE. BUT YOU WILL GET IT, I SWEAR.

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    3. OH MY GOSH JUNE?? YES. YES, PLEASE. ACK I'M SO EXCITED.

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  12. AHHHHHHJHFUODSBFOUSDNVUDISBDSBJDFNEIDNFIWNDIVDNFIEHFJWNFKSCOSMOVNIDNVKNSJVNDBUFBRUGRUTHUVDNIVJSOCJSOJFIEH
    Ehem.
    I've been waiting for another snippet to tide me over till I get to beta, but AHHH SHMA SHMA SHMA I WANT MORE BUT AHHH THANK YOU FOR SHARING THESE I KNOW IT'S SCARY SO THANK YOU AHHHH

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    1. ASDJFKLASFJLSDKFJKALSDFHGKDSFJAKSLDFJAKSDFJKSDGHAKLDSJF
      Also ehem.

      YES IT'S SO SCARY YOU'RE SO KIND TO THINK ABOUT THAT. *ugs* Can I have a snippet two from youuu? ;)

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  13. *DIES*
    THAT WAS TOO AMAZING.
    Tan, WHY ARE YOU COMPLAINING. This...this..is perfection.
    *sighs happily*

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    1. Yes, why are you complaining? Your author has transformed you from a little idea into a beautifully written novel! :D

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    2. THANK YOU SO MUCH SARAH. *dies with you of nerves and excitement*

      *sighs* Who knows what Tan's sulking reasons are for. *tsks at my novel*

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    3. I mean, gosh Tan, Katie DID give you life! Give Katie a break. XD

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    4. YEAH EXACTLY. TAN, ARE YOU LISTENING TO THIS? I HOPE YOU ARE.

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    5. I'll give him a talking to if he isn't. LOL. Perhaps you could talk to my lovely novel. *glares* He isn't talking to me at the moment. XD

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  14. OH MY GOODNESS I LOVE THIS! *flails for forever and a day* Your story sounds ah-may-zing! When can I read the whole thing??? *stares at you pointedly*

    Seriously though, that blurb! Those pictures! That song! JUST EVERYTHING ABOUT YOUR STORY IS INCREDIBLE.

    Also, that picture of the old guy legitimately made me laugh so hard. XD It's so hard to find pictures of your characters sometimes, isn't it?

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    1. THANK YOU, MARY! Hopefully end of March you'll be able to read it! I'm working hard on edits right now. :D

      THANK YOU! <3 I wasn't sure about the blurb (and still am not... they're so hard to write...) but the snippets I'm really happy about. Now to get the rest of my novel to that state... :P

      SAME. It's so hilarious. xD

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  15. Those snippets were amazing!!! Except the fact that they were TOO SHORT and I want more now. :D And seriously, you are anything but bad at writing blurbs. Your idea just sounds so amazingly interesting and original and I LOVE stories set in oriental countries so... thumbs up from me. I really like your writing style. :)

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    1. Dawww, thank you so much, Simona! <3 I'm so happy. :D

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  16. Ahhh!! Katie!!! I love this post! I'd been wanting to hear about your novel's INSIDES... :)

    Gita is a lovely name (that I might steal) and she is a beautiful girl. And that cover...wow! It's beautiful! And the awesome sections...wow. I can't wait until you get this TAN published!!! :)

    I have two completed novels. One is 127,000 words, and the other is 85,000 (will probably grow a little during editing).

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    1. Ewww. ;)

      Isn't it? I found it while looking on a baby name website (heh) and it actually means "song." Fitting, eh?

      127,000 words?! Ack! That sounds horrible to edit. o.o Good... good luck. o.o

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    2. Teehee, yes, I found Gita on a baby name site and am currently using it as well. Probably the same site as you found it. ;) 'Tis a pretty name with a lovely meaning.

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  17. AHHHHHH I loved the blurb so much! It seems really interesting... Take that from someone who rarely enjoys reading sci-fi books.

    I have two first drafts from last year which I do not like to speak about (they're really bad) but since you are curious I'll just tell you the word counts. The first is 66,000 and the second one ended at about 87,000 words.

    And your cover... I love it so so so much! To Tan: AT LEAST BE PROUD YOUR COVER IS AMAZING!

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    1. Eeek! Thank you. :D

      Ooh, those are good lengths. Since you don't like reading sci-fi/fantasy books, do you write... contemporary? Historical fiction? Or do you like writing it but not reading them? xD

      ISN'T IT AWESOME? Hannah did an amazing job at it. Very flail-worthy. :P

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    2. I usually write paranormal, and I know people could say it's a subgenre of fantasy or whatever, but I believe it's different from high fantasy... Or that's just me, I don't know :P

      I KNOW IT IS SO BEAUTIFUL AHH

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    3. Ooh, I don't know of many people who write paranormal. Interesting!
      Yeah, I *suppose* it could fit into fantasy with the different paranormal creatures, but it's kind of it's own genre. *shrug*

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  18. Oh Katie, that snippet was incredible!! Your writing style is beautiful and that entire thing was very well-edited and flowed smoothly. This story idea seems really unique and I really want to read the rest!! Maybe beta reading? ;) if I don't end up doing that, then please finish it soon!!

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    1. THANK YOU SO MUCH! *flails*

      Yes. o.o I would love to have you beta read it! I'll be looking for betas at the end of March. :D

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  19. I love these post TAN is hilarious.

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  20. Ah! Your novel sounds awesome! And I really like Gita. She's so very ordinary, which is unusual. I mean that in a good way. Like she's a real person, very relatable. She does what anyone of us real people would do. I really like her. :)

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    1. I wanted to make her more ordinary, so that's good! But I occasionally get nervous that she's too ordinary. :P I suppose that's what the beta feedback will be for. :)

      I'm so glad -- thank you. :D

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  21. You said something about Beta Readers? *grins hopefully*
    My novel is quite short actually, only 41 k...but it's the very first thing I've ever attempted in the writing quarter, so there's much room for improvement. :)

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    1. YES I DID AND YOU ARE MORE THAN WELCOME TO BE ONE. *grins nervously*

      Sometimes the story just calls to be short, though. Can't really work against what the novel demands. ;)

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    2. That would be AWESOME! :D

      And yes, novels demand such things, I guess.

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  22. Eep, eep, eep, eep, EEP!!! This is AWESOMENESS, Katie!!! I loved that snippet! Both of them! Song of the Desert sounds positively EPIC!!!

    And great job to you, too, TAN! May your snark and sarcasm abound. Keep your writer in line! ;P

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    1. AAAH I'M SO GLAD, NATASHA! :D I hope that you'll be able to read it someday. :)

      Heyyyy. *stares pointedly* I don't think my novel needs any more encouragement to use snark and sarcasm...
      How's writing going for you? Been awhile since I've heard. :)

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  23. Well done Katie! I can't wait to read the book. I giggled when I read the word "blast"...I can hear my brothers exclaiming that! Aunt Kathy

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    1. Hehe. I've heard Dad say it a few times... I suppose that's where I got it from. xD

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  24. Hilarious! :) Tan is awesome. Sounds like something I'd like to read! :) I'm a Christian writer too and am working on a fantasy series that's getting way too long! And most of it is in my head. :lol:

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    1. I hope you'll be able to read it someday! :D

      Ooh, fantasy series are awesome. *nodnod* How many books do you think it's going to turn out to be?

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    2. I have about five planned out, so probably a little more than that. :)Some of the characters grow up and the stories continue following the lives of their children (the Royal family).

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  25. Just read your excerpts and love, loved it! :) Keep up the great writing and you'll be published in no time.

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    1. THANK YOU SO MUCH! :D I'm glad you enjoyed them. <3

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  26. *squeeeee* May I just take a moment to flail over this post?? I love TAN, I love the graphics, I love the snippet-doc you shared... AGHHH!! I JUST LOVE IT ALL, OKAY?? (P.S. I'd totally beta-read for you. Just saying.) XD

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    1. GO AHEAD AND FLAIL ALL YOU WANT I WON'T MIND. ;) You make me so happy, Hannah, gahhhhhh.

      (*excited squeal*)

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    2. *PROCEEDS TO FLAIL LOUDLY*

      (Oh, and may I mention that I actually snorted at the picture of "smiling young man"... Did NOT see that one coming. It's awesome. XD)

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  27. I am writing either a novel, or a novella. It depends on how long it is when I finish. I am beginning to write chapter 4, so far I have 3,564 words.

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    1. Oooh, how exciting! What genre is it?

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    2. The genre is fiction. It is about an African orphan who moves to America with her missionary friend, Mr. Drake, and has troubles making friends with her new sister, Tess. Sh also has troubles in school.

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  28. I LOVE your novel! I also have a great publishing suggestion! blurb.com is a self-publishing website where you make it online with their website, and they ship it to you! And it usually costs less than $60, depending on how many pages long your book is! I can't wait to read the whole novel!

    ~Anika~

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    1. I actually used Blurb to make a book for my grandpa! It's quite expensive, though. I've found that Lulu or Createspace is actually cheaper. But thanks for recommending it to me!

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  29. Hey, Katie! (Again)
    I was wondering, how do you make a collage? (Kind of like the one that you made.)

    ~Anika~

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    1. Hey, Anika! (again ;)
      I used the "collage" option on Picmonkey. It's a super handy tool.

      Delete
  30. Oh my goodness, oh my goodness.
    I've been reading your blog for a while but I think this might be the first time I've commented? Not sure.
    Anyway, I LOVED LOVED reading the bits of your book. Your prose was so beautiful! I just don't even know what to say except that it was gorgeous.
    I'm in awe.
    And I'm already shipping Gita and Xander so so much from that scene. The feels.
    Thanks so much for sharing your lovely, lovely writing Katie! You're an inspiration!

    My WIP was at almost 50k when I finished the first draft, but I'm correctly editing it. It needs several more scenes and a LOT of description. When I read through my first draft I realized that I didn't fully describe one single character. Not one! *rolls eyes* Editing is where I really go in and put in all the stuff that makes the book interesting.

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    1. Oh my goodness. Oh my goodness I'm so glad you did because you're so sweeeet. <3

      ACK THANK YOU! *flails forever*

      Sigh, editing. :P It's funny that you write shorter -- I usually write longer. Just since I'm usually writing my first drafts during the NaNo months and I put in a whole bunch of gibberish to make my book longer. xD

      Delete
  31. This was an AWESOME post, Katie! TAN has ... quite a personality, I must say. I don't know how you deal with him.

    Song Of The Desert is getting more awesome every minute! I so can't wait until you're ready for beta-readers :). By the way, I love your graphic for Gita! How did you make it?

    My novel is only a novella of roughly 19,000 words right now ... so I suppose you could say it's only a baby novel.
    Since I wasn't one of the winners in the Five Magic Spindles contest, I'm going to (endlessly) edit my novella and turn it into a novel. Maybe even try to self-publish it, I don't know. We'll see where that goes :).

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    1. THANK YOU! I know. o.o It's so hard dealing with him. *grumble*

      *squeal* The time when I'm ready is coming up so quickly! o.o It's kind of scary. xD
      I used the "collage" option on Picmonkey. :)

      Aww, calling it a baby novel makes it sound so cute. <3
      THAT WOULD BE SO AWESOME. Either way, if you need someone to go over it... to beta reader or help line edit or something... *points at myself a million times* I would love to read it. :D

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    2. I love my baby novel :D. Even if it DOES stubbornly refuse editing.

      Aw, thanks Katie, you made my day :D. I will definitely keep you in mind when I need beta-readers (not that I know when that will be)!

      Delete
  32. So fun to hear about your story! I'm starting a novel very soon...I hope mine isn't as bad as Tan. :/...:D

    I had a few questions for you: How did you get your social media icons on your sidebar and the other is do you mind looking at my blogs sidebar and I was wondering if you know of a way to get rid of the lines in between the followers, about me, etc?? Also I would love my blog header to be as close to the pages as possible...do you know why it isn't?? Do I need to make it transparent?? Here is my blog link: CompletelyForHim.blogspot.com

    Thank you so much!!!!

    Love,
    Hannah

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    1. Ha. xD

      Social media icons: I followed this tutorial - http://www.carrieloves.com/2012/12/free-social-media-icons-updated/

      Lines: I've never had this problem so I can't promise that this will work, but you can try this tutorial - http://stackoverflow.com/questions/29259027/remove-sidebar-lines-in-blogger-custom-template // otherwise just do an internet search for it. :)

      Blog header: It's probably close to the pages because you saved the image with some white space under it. Take the blog header photo into a photo editor, and crop the image where you want the header to line up with the pages.

      Delete
    2. Ah, thank you for your help! As a new blogger it's easy to feel pretty lost. :P Thank you!!

      Delete
  33. This book sounds amazing! The title, the synopsis, the excerpt... all of it. I look forward to reading the rest!

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  34. Wow, loving the excerpts, Katie! You did a phenomenal job, I can tell you must have worked so hard at it. Great work! I hope I can find this on bookshelves someday!
    If you're looking for a good reference photo for Xandar I personally like to find different actors as my faceclaims. If you find a celebrity that is a good fit then they'll usually have a few fansites around the internet with photo galleries full of images you can use. That's what I do for my characters anyways. :P Based on your description of Xandar I can think of a couple actors off the top of my head who might work for you, depending on the age range you're seeking. Alex Pettyfer, Jamie Campbell-Bower, possibly Hayden Christensen as a dirty blonde, Josh Hutcherson in Hunger Games w/ blonde hair, and Thomas Brodie-Sangster are a few of my suggestions.
    Good luck in your face-hunting! And with editing as well!

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    1. Thank you so much for your kind words, Emily! <3

      OOOOH, I'll have to check all these people out. *nodnod* Thanks for being so helpful with your suggestions!

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  35. Okay I actually love Tan XD.

    I'm so excited to read this some day, it sounds so interesting. It's not a story line I think I've ever really seen. The snippets are so well-written and ah I'm just so proud this is so beautiful!

    My book is currently 110,067 words long... and that's after 13 edits.

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