Contest Results

Hello everyone! We hope you had a blessed Thanksgiving! :o )
This post is out a little later than we had anticipated it would be, but hopefully you'll forgive us. 
The winners are... 

Anna Baber! Congratulations Anna! We'll try to get your book to you as soon as possible.
Second place is Brittney Johnson! 

First Place: Anna's Entry 

A tear escaped my eye as I looked back home—the place I’d never see again.

Second Place: Brittney's Entry 

They say love makes you do dangerous things and I for one know that’s true…

   

Thank you so much for entering our contest! We look forward to reading more from you in the future. :o ) 

Blessings, 

~Ysa and Mikayla~ 

K.M. Weiland: Behold The Dawn!

Due to some technical difficulty's this months review was graciously provided by Sarah Holman!                          

                                   

I have to begin this review by saying that I stayed up ‘til 1:00 in the morning to finish this book the day after I got it. I haven’t enjoyed a book this much in a very long time.


Behold the Dawn by K. M. Weiland is set during the third Crusade. If that doesn’t ring a bell, this is when Robin Hood and Ivanhoe were saving England from Prince John. Here is the books description from the website you can order the book from (go here also to see the trailer).

Marcus Annan, a tourneyer famed for his prowess on the battlefield, thought he could keep the secrets of his past buried forever. But when a mysterious crippled monk demands Annan help him find justice for the transgressions of sixteen years ago, Annan is forced to leave the tourneys and join the Third Crusade.


Wounded in battle and hunted by enemies on every side, he rescues an English noblewoman from an infidel prison camp and flees to Constantinople. But, try as he might, he cannot elude the past. Amidst the pain and grief of a war he doesn’t even believe in, he is forced at last to face long-hidden secrets and sins and to bare his soul to the mercy of a God he thought he had abandoned years ago. 
The sins of a bishop.

The vengeance of a monk.

The secrets of a knight.

This book had an extremely relevant and powerful message and an ending that will leave you gasping for air. Some elements make this unsuitable for young children however I think that ages 13 and up can read it, with parents’ permission of course.

Order it today!

This reveiw was previded by Sarah Holman!

Interveiw

                    Hello everyone! Today we've got an interveiw with K.M. Weiland, Enjoy!                                                 

First, could you tell us a bit about yourself?
I’m a very stereotypical writer chick, hibernating in my make-believe worlds, most of which are either historical or fantasy. I’ve published three novels A Man Called Outlaw (western), Behold the Dawn(historical set during the Third Crusade), Dreamlander (fantasy), and the non-fiction writing how-to books Outlining Your Novel and Structuring Your Novel.

Can you tell us anything about the book you’re working on right now?
I’m actually in between projects right now. I just finished work on a dieselpunk novel, set in 1920, called Storming. After an eccentric woman falls out of the sky onto his biplane, an irresponsible barnstormer must help her prevent a pirate dirigible with a weather machine from wreaking havoc on the Nebraska hometown he fled nine years ago.

Do you do any research for you books? If you do what are your main sources? 
Most of my books have a historical angle (even the speculative ones), so I usually end up doing some intensive research. I rarely start a book without having a basic knowledge of the time period I’m exploring. I use that knowledge to write a complete outline. Then, once I have a better idea of the specific questions I’ll need to answer in my research, I start collecting materials. The library is my first stop, and then I get to go on a book-buying binge to fill in the holes.

What do you find hardest about the writing process?
Every book is its own adventure. Something that’s easy in one book can end up being surprisingly difficult in another. Major rewrites, when they’re necessary, are probably my least favorite part—but they offer their own rewards too. Honestly, I enjoy aspects of every part of the process.

What do you like most about writing? 
The conception stage, before I’ve put the idea down on paper, is always my favorite. The story is free and full of possibilities and uncaged by my words. But I also love the outlining period, when I’m really digging into the story and discovering the path it’s going to take.

Thank you so much for your time! 

   ~Mikayla~

K.M. Weiland is the author of the epic fantasy Dreamlander, the historical western A Man Called Outlaw and the medieval epic Behold the Dawn. She enjoys mentoring other authors through her website Helping Writers Become Authors, her books Outlining Your Novel and Structuring Your Novel, and her instructional CD Conquering Writer’s Block and Summoning Inspiration. She makes her home in western Nebraska.

Writing Advice With: Nicole Sager

Today I am so pleased to share some writing advice from the author of the Arcrean Conquest trilogy, Nicole Sager! :o ) Nicole has been a very sweet encouragement as we have been creating this blog.

 Thank you Nicole for being such a blessing and for sharing with us. :o )

Me:  Remembering when you were first starting out, what was the most important thing you were told, or learned along the way?
 
Nicole:  There are three important things that come to mind:

 1) Don't try to push your story forward, but pray through it and wait on God to fill in the blanks; 

2) Don't be afraid to add/delete portions of your work that just doesn't fit - God has something better planned; 

and

 3) Think through your character and their setting - write how they would respond/act/think, and not how you would do so.


Me: If you were to start over, what would you do differently? (Providing that you still had the knowledge of writing you do now?)

Nicole: Haha! Formatted my pages with double spacing! I tried to have my pages completely formatted right at the start, but that really took away from focusing on the story :)

 Thanks again Nicole! :o )

Blessings in Christ,
~Ysa~

November Contest.

Hello and thank you so much for stopping by for our contest this month! We've got a treat this month K. M. Weiland has agreed to giveaway a ebook copy of:

This month we're doing opening liners. A very fun way to make your book even better, by gripping your reader right from the first line! Your entry can only contain one line like this:

Hello, my name is Emily. 

Or:

Boom. Emily sat up in bed at the sound of a canon. 

Though hopefully you entry's will be much more gripping then my examples. You can summit up to five entry's at Futurehomeschoolauthors@gmail.com . Please include your name and e-mail address to contact you at.  First place gets the book and the top five entry's get posted on the blog.

Make sure to summit your entry by the 22 or November! Contest results will be posted on the 27'th.

Note: This book has not been reviewed by the FHA team.

Writing Advice From: K. M. Weiland

This month's writing advice is from K. M. Weiland, author of Behold The Dawn and Dreamlander, and the brains behind Wordplay: Helping Writers Become Authors.

I highly recommend that readers go to her site and explore the immense amount of information there, but here are a few tips on writing:

  Prayer: The first thing I do every time I sit down to write is to ask a blessing on my work. If I’m to find any gold in my dross by the end of the day, it’s only because the Lord chooses to bless my efforts. I’ve claimed Psalm 19:14 as my special plea for my writing: “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in Your sight, O Yahweh, my Rock and my Redeemer.” I pray that the words might flow freely, that my music may inspire instead of distract, and that I might enjoy every minute of it. 
  Journaling: As I noted in the post “Journaling and Conquering Monsters,” I’ve found keeping a writing journal to be one of the most beneficial tricks in my bag of writing magic. Not only do I get to vent about problems, but I also have the opportunity to gather my thoughts about my characters, my pacing, and the scene I’m about to write. Instead of diving unprepared into my story and staring at the monitor, trying in vain to figure out where I want to go with a particular scene, I’m instead able to briefly sketch a basic scene plan in my notebook. I can’t even begin to tell how many false starts I’ve avoided with this method. Journaling allows me to gather my thoughts, to methodically put aside the outside world, and to ease my focus out of the intellectual and into the creative.

  Character Notes: During my outlining process, I write detailed “sketches” of my characters. To remind myself of interesting quirks or angles, I read a few of these notes, usually focusing on a major character in my current scene.

  Research Notes: For most of my stories, I collect pages upon pages of research material, most of which my sometimes sporadic memory couldn’t hope to remember. Even though I’m able to look up important details as they become necessary in the story, so many interesting facts still get lost in the giant crack between the research phase and the actual writing phase. To help combat that inevitability, I divide my notes into categories, and each day, before writing, I try to read one of these categories. Not only does this keep the important facts fresh in my mind, but it has also spurred some very interesting and unexpected plot twists.

And after all that, my brain having been stimulated and encouraged, I simply dive in. Other authors, of course, have their own methods of warming up. Some people recommend reading a passage from a classic author; still others suggest actually writing out that same passage, in hopes that you’ll be able to learn from that author’s style. (Personally, I’ve never felt I benefited from this. More often than not, it got me thinking about the classic author’s story instead of my own). Others swear by journal prompts or a brief stream-of-consciousness writing session.

 Here are the links to the posts I borrowed this info from:
How I Self-Edit My Novels: 15 Steps From First Draft to Publication
and
Warming Up

Thanks so much, K. M. for the writing advice! :o )

Blessings in Christ,
~Ysa~