Contest Results

Hello everyone, sorry this is a tad late in the day but I had a bit of difficulty. That seems to be what I tell you each month. Oh well, guess I should get on with it... =)

The winner of Molly Evangeline's "The Pirates Daughter's Promise" is...

 Lois Newton!!!!! Congratulations!

Here is her entry:

        Lafti sighed when he saw her. With her usual sweet smile, the girl was hurrying about the room, the perfect picture of a devoted servant. She was nice, but a fool. A stupid, useful fool. She was probably even now gathering useful information to eagerly confide in him at their appointed evening meeting. But he was out of time. There was information he urgently needed that only she could get. This would be much easier and far more straightforward.

        "Where love works, fear works even better."

        He stepped out of the shadow of the pillar directly in front of her.

Second place goes to..... 

Ruth Newton!!! 

“I can’t do it!”

“You-”

Drew stopped and stared at the wall for a moment. Then he bent down on one knee and looked into my eyes.

“Avery, could you do it if your life depended on it?”

I looked at him, suddenly realizing what it was he had been trying to teach me all those years.

“Of course I could.”

He smiled. “Well, then.”

I turned and faced the screen. Lines of code raced past my eyes. My fingers clicked on the keyboard as  I entered my answer. Instantly, the screen cleared and the words, “Access Granted” flashed on. 

I smiled as Drew squeezed my shoulder.  

Third place goes to....  Anna Baber!!!

"I dodged the tree branch, urging my horse to run faster. I heard pursuit behind me. The Myrenians wouldn't let Ishtara win by way of a young girl. No, they'd kill me before I could have rest after this battle.

What had I done to deserve this? I'd fought against myself for months, warring with memories of Melody, a sense of loyalty to Myren, and a love for my people—only to give it all up. Now I was exiled from my own country, the country I'd risked my life for. I wouldn't be safe until Myren was defeated for the last time."

Thank you everyone who entered! It really is a blessing to read over your entry's. =) 

-Mikayla and Ysa-

Interview with Molly Evangeline!

I am very proud to present a interview with this months author Molly Evangeline!

First could you tell us a bit about yourself?

I’m twenty-five and a full time indie author. I started writing when I was eight and published my first book when I was eighteen. My mom homeschooled me and my two younger brothers, which really helped develop my love for writing and gave me a great do-it-yourself mentality that has been invaluable as an indie publisher. Besides writing, I also enjoying designing and sewing fantasy and historical costumes, and reenacting the 18th century. On the side, I make and sell jewelry on Etsy that’s geared toward writers and inspired by my books. I started out and published eight books, four of which were historical, as Molly Evangeline, but have recently decided publish under the pen name of Jaye L. Knight and focus on writing Christian fantasy.

What’s your favorite book? 

I feel like I should say Lord of the Rings because of how much it means to me, but I have to say Books of the Infinite by R.J. Larson. That’s technically not one book, but a trilogy, but it would be hard to pick just one from it. If I had to, I’d say my favorite is the second book, Judge. Books of the Infinite is a recent read for me, and one I can’t seem to stop talking about. I adore the characters, especially the male protagonist, Kien. I will definitely be reading them again in the near future.

Who's your favorite Author?

I have to answer this with J.R.R. Tolkien. If not for him, I probably wouldn’t be writing fantasy today, which I can’t imagine because I have such a passion for it and enjoy it so much. Of all my favorite authors, he’s definitely had the biggest impact on who I am, not just as a writer, but as a person too.

If you could meet one person who would it be? 

Besides my best friend who I only know online, I’d say Wayne Thomas Batson. He’s been one of my favorite authors for a long time and I think it would be really fun to meet him and sit down for a chat (if I could get over my shyness). As for a historical person, I would definitely want to meet Joseph from the Bible. His story is so incredible and means so much to me. It’s been a big inspiration in how I live and what I write.

Can you tell us anything about the book you’re working on right now?

I’m currently writing the fourth book of my new fantasy series, Ilyon Chronicles. It has six books total and is the biggest project I’ve ever worked on. I’m almost finished with my last deep edit of the first book, Resistance, and plan to publish it this spring. The whole series started with inspiration for the main guy, Jace. He’s a half-blooded former slave/gladiator who most of society believes is soulless and no better than an animal. He struggles more than any character I’ve ever written, but I’ve connected with him better than any other character. In many ways, he’s a lot like me, though our personal struggles are a bit different. The series is really to tell his story as he struggles with his fears and searches for the truth, but I have an insanely large cast so there are many other storylines entwined with his. I have more information, as well as the back cover text for Resistance, on my Ilyon Chronicles website: www.ilyonchronicles.com. I’m terribly excited to share the adventure and see how God uses it. I don’t think I’ve ever been quite so invested in a story and its message before.

How did you begin writing?

My mom is to thank for that. She’s been writing since she was a teen. Watching her write as I was growing up gave me the urge to try it myself.

What inspired you to begin writing? 

Besides my mom, I have a very active imagination. Writing is the perfect outlet. It was also a way for me to sort of live the lives and adventures I always wanted to have. Especially when I was young. I longed to have a horse, so all of my early stories were about girls and horses. That only changed when I discovered Lord of the Rings at thirteen. That’s when I first realized writing as actually something I wanted to pursue seriously and not just for enjoyment.

What is your favorite genre? 

Fantasy, for sure. As much as I love history and historical fiction, fantasy is what I get the most enjoyment out of, at least as far as writing goes. I love the freedom and unrestrained creativity it allows me. I don’t have to worry about being historically correct. I can let my imagination completely go free and create incredible new worlds and people. I love that.

Do you do any research for your books? If you do what are your main sources? 

I had to do a lot of research for my pirate novels. I read through a lot of websites on colonial life and sailing. With fantasy, research is a little different. It mostly involves researching objects or very specific subjects like weapons, war machines, or dealing with injuries. It depends on what I draw inspiration from. For Ilyon Chronicles, the subject of gladiators is prominent, so I read up on gladiators online and watched an awesome TV documentary that ended up adding a huge new back story to my main character.

What do you like most about writing? 

Getting to know my characters until I can feel what they feel. I love character growth and interaction. Particularly between siblings and when there is a lot of family conflict. I also love see how pieces of a story come together, especially in ways I least expect. That’s the biggest reason I love writing Christian fiction. It’s incredible to see God working in a story. Ilyon Chronicles has been amazing that way. So many things have fit together in ways I never saw coming.

Any final thoughts? 

For anyone who loves to write as much as I do and hopes to pursue publication, writing is an incredible, sometimes exhausting, adventure with a lot of ups and downs, but definitely worth it. It’s easy to get discouraged, but I always tell my fellow writers to never get up. And always love what you write. Always improve, but don’t change to suit others. You should write for yourself and God first because it’s what you love. That’s when you can be the most creative and tell your best story instead of struggling to meet the expectations of other people. Never stop working to improve your craft, but don’t be too hard on yourself either. We writers seem to be prone to this. It’s hard not to compare our work to others’ and feel inferior. I always try to remind myself that I’m doing my very best with the skill God gave me. He made each of us different and gave us just the skills we need to write the stories He intends for us to write.

Thank you!

-Mikayla-

Writing Advice With: Molly Evangeline

I'm excited to share these excellent tips on writing from Molly Evangeline, author of The Pirate Daughter's Promise! :)

 

What is your favorite part about writing? Why?

Molly: The characters, most definitely. I LOVE characters. Getting to know them can be difficult if they are uncooperative (which some always are), but once I do, they’re almost like my friends. :) I love writing all sorts of relationships and interactions between characters. Siblings are especially fun for me to write, and being a hopeless romantic, I always love the relationships between couples.

Who helped you the most while you were beginning to write?

Molly: My mom, for sure. If not for her, I probably wouldn’t have started writing in the first place. She’s been writing since she was a teen. Watching her write when I was little put the itch in me, and once I started, I never stopped. Her decision to homeschool me also played a huge part. I probably never would have pursued writing seriously if I had not had all the free time to really develop my love for it.

What first gave you the idea for The Pirate Daughter's Promise?

Molly: I think I’ve always been interested in pirates. I have pictures of playing pirates with my brothers and cousins as a young teen. Then I saw the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie for my fifteenth birthday and that’s when I thought, hey, I should write about pirates. Another big influence at that time was Wings of the Morning by Lori Wick. It was the first historical romance I had ever read and revolved around ships and pirates. Between the two, I developed a real love for sailing and the ocean.

Do you have any more projects in the works?

Molly: I am currently in the middle of a six book fantasy series called Ilyon Chronicles. Book one, Resistance, is scheduled for publication in May. It’s the biggest project I’ve ever undertaken and has challenged me like no other, but it is, without a doubt, my favorite of anything I’ve done. It started with inspiration for my main guy, Jace, and pretty much exploded from there. He’s a half-blood former slave/gladiator who society believes to be soulless and no better than an animal. He has more struggles than anyone I’ve ever written about, but I’ve connected with him better than any other character I’ve written before. The whole story revolves around his fears and his struggle to find the truth. I’m very excited about it. I’ll be publishing it under my new pen name, Jaye L. Knight.

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

Molly: I think I’d work on building a platform and getting to know people better from the start. I really didn’t have a clue what I was doing when I started and hardly knew any other writers or anyone who had anything to do with publishing. It took me a long time to make good connections. In a way, with my new pen name, it’s almost as if I’m getting a second chance and a fresh start. One of the biggest things I’m focusing on is taking plenty of time to get Resistance ready to publish. I’m using beta readers for the first time and hiring an editor. With my other books, I really rushed it. I read over each book a few times and thought, “Okay, it’s done,” and published it. I didn’t take as much time as I should have to polish them. That’s definitely something I’m doing differently now.

Remembering when you were first starting out, what was the most important thing you were told, or learned along the way?

Molly: Impatience is much of what drove me in the beginning. Impatience to have my books out and in my hands, and that is what kept me from taking the necessary time to craft each book fully. Learning not to give in to it is one of the most important things I’ve learned. It’s definitely hard to wait, but worth it in the end. Also, another thing I’ve learned that I believe is very important is that, no matter how much time you do spend on a book, there really is no such thing as perfect, because everyone’s definition of it is different. And so are people’s tastes in books. I’ve had people both hate and rave about my books. Everyone sees your work differently. It’s important to write the story you feel called to write and learn what you can from negative opinions, but don’t let it discourage you. It certainly may hurt at first, but just keep pressing on. After all, you get a little bit better and learn a little more with every story.

Thanks Molly for taking the time to share these tips with us! :)
God bless!

~Ysa~

February Contest

Hey, How you doing? I'm glad you could stop by today. 

This month we're giving away Molly Evangeline's The Pirates Daughters Promise!

This month we're doing quotes from your book. This is a quote not a whole section so try to keep it at about 100 words. Also this is not necessarily your most epic quote, it can be sweet or anything. :) This can be from any part of your book but it needs to be self explanatory.

When your done writing, or perfecting your quote just send it into Futurehomeschoolauthors@Gmail.com by the 19'th. Results will be posted on the 26'th.

Enjoy!
-Mikayla and Ysa-