Making Adjustments

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In the past week, I, and some of my friends have found that some of the things that we do, need some adjustments.

First, the small homeschool group we created is going great and everyone loves it, but we need to do some tweaking because we always run out of time on at least one project.

Second, our Thursday evening writing group.  There has been way to much social talking and not enough writing, so many of us go home frustrated and angry because we didn’t accomplish what we wanted to accomplish, and for most of us, Thursday evening is often the only chance we have to write during the week because of other family obligations.  (We are all homeschool moms).  So, we have found it necessary to draw up a few basic rules and guidelines.  We also decided to add a monthly social night for our writing group, where we can spend an entire evening talking about all things writing!

Therefore, I have found that just as my writing needs editing and revision, so do some of my activities.    🙂

A Heart’s Home by Colleen Coble

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I received a free copy of this book from the publisher for an honest review for BookLook Blogger, and because I have previously read the first five books in the series.

This Christmas, a tragic loss at Fort Laramie ushers in hope and healing.

When a young mother dies after giving birth at Fort Laramie, Emmie Croftner is shaken by the death of her dear friend-and reminded of the dangers of childbirth. She won’t be able to hide her own pregnancy much longer. She’s dreading the day that Isaac Liddle, the handsome soldier she adores, discovers her secret.

Then the young infant’s father offers a solution: Emmie should marry him so the child can have a family.

With the Sioux Wars threatening soldier and civilian alike, a ready-made family could be the answer to Emmie’s prayers for safety. But at what cost to her heart-and Isaac’s?

I must say, after reading the book description, I was afraid to pick this book up and read it.  Knowing, before I began, that a character (probably one that I love) would die in this book.  My heart thumped as I began to read.

All of the books in this series are short and easy to read.  I read each of them in about two hours time.  This one was no difference, though I read with trepidation.  Of course, there were tears as a beloved character died and it looked as though that death could cause heartbreak for two other beloved characters.

Ms. Coble certainly knows how to weave a good tale of romance that keeps you on the edge of your seat as you route for your favorite characters.  I have loved each of the books in this series; some more than others, and the characters will stick with me for years to come.

I recommend this book to anyone who has read the first five books in the series.  If you haven’t read the first five books, I recommend the entire six-book series to you, if you enjoy characters that will get inside your head and your heart; if you enjoy books that are easy to read but still offer a quality story filled with wonderful characters, conflicts that make you nervous, and endings that are realistic and not just “happily ever after”.

Let’s Talk About eBooks

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If you read yesterday’s post, you know that I finally read an eBook that didn’t distract and frustrate me with lots of typos and grammatical errors and such.  That has made me think about something someone mentioned to me not too long ago when I was talking about the frustration of eBooks.

“Maybe something happens to them when they are converted to the eBook format and the author neglects to read it in the eBook format and, therefore, misses those errors,” suggested someone.

Now that I’ve read one that was almost error free, I have to wonder if that someone is on to something.  Therefore, I know that if I ever decide to publish an eBook, I will be sure to read it after it is converted to eBook format and hope to be able to catch and correct any errors caused by the formatting process before publishing.  I hope other writers will do the same.

What about you?  Have you published an eBook?  Do you know if it’s a formatting problem?

Prison by Toni V. Lee

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I received a free copy of this book by the publisher to write an honest review for BookLook Blogger.

Sonja Grey, a narcotics detective, and her nemesis, Max Trent, are handpicked to go undercover to capture a thug—Johnny Stone, aka Rock—who’s dealing drugs at Sonja’s church. Their operation is unwittingly aided by the interference of Sonja’s eccentric aunties. For Max, this assignment has two objectives: get their villain and capture Sonja’s heart. Will Sonja break free of the shackles of her past and embrace Max’s love, or will they be destroyed by danger?

I have to say that I really enjoyed this book!  It had danger, humor, inspiration and romance.  It was fun and easy to read and didn’t take a great deal of time.  It held my attention, and I found myself not wanting to put it down as I was routing for Max to win Sonja’s heart, and I wanted to know if he would.  Sonja is a tough and smart lady narcotics detective and the sparring between she and Max was very entertaining.

I would also like to give kudos to Toni V. Lee because this was the first eBook that I have read that had very minor  and very few typographic errors and no grammatical errors, whereas, I usually find so many of these types of errors in an eBook that it’s very frustrating and distracting to read.  Thank you, Ms. Lee.

I recommend this book to anyone who loves a good, entertaining, romantic crime story.  I also recommend this book to anyone who wants to read a good quality eBook.

I Love to Teach Writing!

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Yes, a new school year has begun and I am teaching high school students at a local homeschool co-op about writing.  It is so much fun to teach them because they are so interested.  They ask questions and get excited over their writing assignments.  The first week of class I didn’t give a big homework assignment and they were disappointed!

Writing is my passion, and teaching it to eager students brings out that passion and ignites a fire in the students.  It’s so much fun!

My closest friend has two children in my class and she said they were both so excited when they got home from co-op.  She said the younger student began creating, not just a story, but a book cover for the story and all, with plans for self-publishing!  I love the confidence of these students!

That being said, I am also offering writing classes, as well as writing critique services, via email.  I have a website set up explaining the classes and critique services.  I know some people would like a more interactive site, but I currently do not have a webcam nor do I have the time to set specific days and times to broadcast live lessons, but I am considering that option for next year.  Also, the website itself will have a writing exercise or prompt on it each week, and if anyone would like to share what they write for a particular exercise or prompt, they may email it to me at the email address on the sidebar of the website and I will choose a couple to post on the site for others to see.  If you are interested or know someone who might be, please visit Kelly Barr Teaches Writing, Plus.  I really want to help others realize their dreams of becoming published writers and I want to ignite some excitement for writing within other writers, so tell your friends.

A Heart’s Promise by Colleen Coble

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I received a free copy of this book from the publisher to write an honest review.

This is book 5 of the Journey of the Heart series.  In this book, Emmie Croftner is struggling with her secret and her mistrust of men.  However, Isaac Liddle remains determined to win her heart and her hand.  Then another woman sets her bonnet for Isaac and Emmie realizes that she does have feelings for Isaac.  But, how will he react if he finds out about the secret Emmie holds inside?

I am really enjoying this series by Colleen Coble.  She does an excellent job at creating characters that you care about.  Again, this book left me yearning for the next and final book in the series because I want to see what happens to these characters that I have come to love.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys historical romance stories from a time period when the west was still young and dangerous.

Beneath the Pines by Sandra Gowan

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I received a copy of this book free from the publisher to write an honest review for BookLook Blogger.

The year is 1914, and Amanda Jane Horseman is unexpectedly homeless, without a dime to her name. In a state of desperation, she applies for a job on Ministers Island in southern New Brunswick, Canada. What begins as a fresh start to her life quickly takes a turn for the worse when she receives threats on her life. With nobody to turn to, Amanda will go on a hunt for answers that could cost her everything, including her life.

Sandra Gowan has a good story idea with Beneath the Pines.  However, I felt that if she would have given it one more edit, she may have noticed that the plot was rushed, the characters, with the exception of Amanda Jane, were not well developed, and she needs to review the rule of “show, don’t tell”.

The above description of the book certainly fits the book and is true of the story.  It’s just that the “happenings” in the story could have used more action and more detail.  There should have been more time spent drawing out the plot a little more.  For example, if she had developed her characters a bit more, it would have been more fun for the reader to attempt to figure out who the guilty character was while walking with Amanda Jane as she investigated the mystery.

There were also abrupt changes sometimes that seemed out of place or caused me to reread these sections to try to figure out what was going on.  She also did some occasional “head-hopping” — changing the point of view character without warning.

I would love to see her take the time to really develop this story and the things that happen to Amanda Jane when she gets to Ministers Island, and during the time she is away, and again when she returns and begins her sleuthing.  If there were more details and more action and the plot were fully developed, as well as the other important characters, especially Thomas, I would love to read this story all over again.

However, as it is currently written, I felt disappointed and empty throughout much of this book.  I found myself thinking, “oh, this scene would be better if . . .”  I would only recommend this story to people who enjoy a fast, easy read as long as they don’t mind missing details.

I would also encourage Ms. Gowan to read books by other successful author who write the same genre, and keep writing because the more you write, the more you improve; and in Beneath the Pines, it is easy to see that Ms. Gowan has raw writing talent.  She just has to cook it a little longer.  😉

Meet My Writing Friends

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I thought that since I posted about our weekly evening writing group, you might like to take a look at what my friends are writing.  They each have a blog where they write, in addition to the other things they write when we meet weekly.

First, there is my “Random” friend, you can see the fruits of her talent at Random Stories Under a Blue Moon.

Next, there is the amazing poet in our group, and you can read some of her poetry at The Dance of Life.

Finally, there’s the politically minded, non-fiction light of truth of the group, and you can read her truths at The Truth Expedition.

I hope you enjoy visiting my friends.  I certainly enjoy my weekly evening with them.

The Value of a Writing Group

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I have three friends who like to write, just like me, but have trouble making time for writing, just like me.  Therefore, we have created our own “Inkling” type group.  If you don’t know what that is, are you familiar with C.S. Lewis of The Chronicles of Narnia fame and J.R.R. Tolkien of The Lord of the Rings fame?  Well, they met with a couple of other writers at Lewis’ rooms or in English pubs to discuss writing, share ideas or their own writing, and to do some writing and brainstorming.

My friends and I decided to embrace this idea.  For a few months now, we have been meeting at various places one evening a week, and we talk about writing and things we have learned about writing.  We brainstorm.  We share our writing with each other to get feedback, and we spend time writing — at least an hour and a half of just writing.  We all have come to look forward to our one evening a week and we hold it fast on our calendars because it enables us to do some writing and to encourage one another.  It has become very valuable to each of us.

We would love to find a wifi cafe or coffee shop in a location central to all of us that we could meet in each week, that doesn’t close so early.  However, we haven’t found anything great in a central location, and many of our local coffee shops close quite early.  Therefore, we currently meet at two of our houses, McDonald’s because they’re open all night so if we get on a roll, we don’t need to worry about the time, and one or two coffee shops.  It works, but we really would prefer one great central location.

I advise you to talk to other people and let them know you’re a writer.  Who knows?  You may find another writer or two that you have things in common with or maybe you already have a couple of friends who write, and maybe you can begin your own small writers’ group, and you’ll see how much it begins to mean to you.

Do any of you already do this?  I’d love to hear how it’s working for you and what kinds of places you meet.

A New Endeavor

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Well, life is beginning to settle down as the summer begins to fade.  This past Saturday, we got our oldest son settled into college, his freshman year in an honors college.  Today we began adjusting to his not being here and having to juggle his chores to other people’s responsibility lists.  Also today, we began full-fledged homeschooling.  I am happy to settle into a set routine as much as possible.

In addition, I have decided to try a new endeavor.  Because I love to write and I love to teach writing, a friend encouraged me to set up online courses and critiquing services to expand my reach.  I mulled the idea over in my head for a while and prayed about it and spoke to someone who knows more about such things than I do, and was further encouraged.

Therefore, Kelly Barr Teaches Writing, Plus was born.  What is the “Plus”? you might ask.  Well, I hope to add a Literature venue to it next year.  Something else I love to teach.

So, please, if you know anyone who may be interested in some writing classes or in having their writing critiqued, please point them to my site.  I would greatly appreciate it.