“When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us.”
-Alexander Graham Bell.
Well, that’s it. Another door has closed. StorybookgemsbyKat is officially closed.
I can’t say I’m happy about this, nor can I say that this is easy to swallow, but it’s true, and if my life has taught me anything, it’s how to take doors closing.
I can only hope and pray that God will help me find my new door soon.
Hi there! Today I thought I’d let Berlioz write about all the mysterious changes in the house, as this will be his first-ever advent and Christmas. He is about 6 months old now, and we just put the tree up, so he has a lot to say.
My people are strange, I noted this shortly after they brought me into my house, but, as they are kind, snuggly, and feed me, I forgive them their oddities. One of their odd habits is that they change parts of the house out when they feel like it. Last time they brought lots of leaves that didn’t smell right into the house, but now I fear they really have lost their minds; they brought in a whole tree!
They keep talking about how it’s getting cold, but I’m not cold, the house is as warm as ever, but when uncle leaves every morning he asks how warm it is, sighs, and puts on lots of thick fluffy clothing, and a long thing, he calls a scarf. I keep hearing them talking about how it’s going to snow again, but I don’t see anything when I look out the window.
Some things are still the same, mama still comes to get me, and snuggles me whenever I call her during the day. Grandmommy takes care of me and feeds me before mama gets up every morning. Uncle plays with me and sleeps in the room with me. And every night grandmommy snuggles me, and mama says her nighttime affirmation to me before kissing me on the head and sending me into bed with uncle.
But even the movies we watch and the music we listen to are different. Some of them are happy and make me run around with glee, they talk about sleighs, presents, and Christmas; while some of them are slower, and make me much calmer, these talk about noel, stars, and a king. Some of the movies mama watches have kings in them, but I don’t think it’s the same thing.
Mama says that I’ll like Christmas, but I’m not sure yet. Mama’s usually pretty smart but I don’t understand why they would bring in so many sparkly shiny things, and then say they are not for me to play with. I don’t know what sleighs or noel are, and I’m still not sure what Christmas is either. Mama says I’ll understand before long, that I’ll know it when I see it, but right now, I’m still a very confused kitteh.
Thanks for the read!
(Don’t worry, I’ll show him the Charlie Brown Christmas special, I think he’ll understand better after that!)
Hi there!
It’s no secret that writers do a LOT of research, and I have a fair amount of books and websites that I use for everything from giving my characters good names, to learning more about writing, to describing fashion in my books. So I thought I would share the top five websites that I would be hard-pressed to live without as a writer. I will limit my list to general story-building and research because otherwise, I would never be able to weed down to five!
I absolutely hate naming my characters, to the point where most characters are designated as X, Y, Z, etc… until the second draft. But did you know that the SSA has a public list of the top 200 most popular names leading all the way back to the 1880s? Jackpot.
You know another annoying thing I need to do as a writer of historical fiction? Make sure the words I choose to use are period-accurate. Etymology is the study of words, and this website can help you place words in their first usages, as well as trace their origins. Telling me when, and where my words come from? Amazing.
This one is a little slightly bigger stretch… but Pinterest is actually a great source for all those odd little facts you can’t find in a simple internet search. From dialog prompts, to grammar tips, and breakdowns on how far you can travel in a day by different modes of transportation, not to mention funny memes… which all writers need, right? (This link specifically leads to my writing boards, but if you can’t find anything you like, there is a wealth of other information out there.) A place to find tons of helpful information, and relatable writer memes? Yes, please.
A free online library, filled with tons of books that can help you out in the information-grab of research. I use Internet Archive when I need to find historically accurate cookbooks, but there is so much more there as well! A library that you can access in 2020, sign me up.
Remember that thing I said about naming characters? Sometimes, I need a character name that is not strictly from the US and want it to mean something. Enter Behind the Name, an amazing source name for Etymology, need I say more?
So there you go, my top five websites for general research. I hope that this list was helpful to some other writer out there!
What are your favorite websites for research? Would you like to see a part 2?
Thanks for the read!
Hello again!
This last week I’ve been working on historical research… hard research. I don’t want to go into too much detail on what exactly I have been researching, (lest I give anything away about my book) but I can say that I’ve been looking into some of the histories which were not really covered in my whitewashed history books… and it makes for some very hard reading.
My small group has been reading The Color of Compromise by Jamar Tisby for the last couple of months now, and that too makes for some very hard reading, despite being well-written. I have recently come to the difficult realization that the history in my books was not entirely true, and that which was true was very far from the whole truth. Before this last year, I would never have thought to physically type the words, “Native American history”, or “African American history”, as I thought that history was history, but now I can see that this is exactly what I need to do.
Do I have a point to this? Yes, I do. If, like me, you have a kilted, whitewashed knowledge of history, (chances are, if you are relying on what you learned in school, and didn’t take any intentionally inclusive lessons, then you probably do) then it is high time for you, and I, to start looking into the other sides of history… and I urge you to fight the urge to look away.
2020 Has been a hard, strange year for all of us… but I believe that it is also a chance to grow. I have learned a lot already, but that does not mean that it’s time to stop, nor does it mean that all I have to do is learn. Learning is one of the first steps in growth, but you don’t stop there. We need to grow, to do better, and to try our best to help the world continue to grow, from the tiny corners where we have the chance to serve.
Thanks for the read!
How are you coping with this year? What are you doing to make a change in your heart, life, or circle?
Hi there!
Today, I think I’ll talk about one of the unexpected twists in my life as a writer, specifically, in regards to finishing off the 3rd and final novel in my “A Spy’s Memory” series.
I’m almost at the half-way point of my third book, and my second is patiently waiting for me to finish writing the third, and for my betas to finish reading it. You’d expect that I’m utterly delighted to be so near finishing my first ever trilogy right? Well… that is true in part, but the other part of me is actually dreading it.
Have you ever watched a long-standing tv show, or read a book series and got so attached to the characters that you were upset by the idea that it may end, that you would no longer be able to visit that world, those characters who feel so much like old friends? Well, it turns out that it’s no easier when you’re the writer. My characters are real to me, and I’ve visited with them and watched them grow for so long now… that the idea of saying goodbye to them is difficult to face.
I do have plenty of ideas for other books, one for a series, and many for standalone novels. And it is true, that it will be wonderful to write about, and experience new people, and new worlds, with new rules. But saying goodbye to my old friends, to the friends from my first ever novel, from the first book I actually finished writing since I was maybe 12 years old? It’s going to be very hard.
Thanks for the read!
Hey everyone, just a quick heads-up, today’s post isn’t going to be very long, or upbeat.
I’m closing StorybookgemsbyKat. It’s been almost eight months, and I’ve racked up an astoundingly pathetic zero sales. I’m tired of trying to make this work, especially considering I could be spending my promotion time on something more worthwhile, such as watching paint dry.
All of my items are now discounted by 25%, and if you wanted to make any purchases, you’d better do so before January 1st, because that’s when my “doors” close for the last time.
