Kellyn Roth's Blog: Kellyn Roth, Author, page 16

It’s no surprise to anyone who knows me that I’m still doing Camp NaNoWriMo this year in July!

It would be a lot more surprising to some (and less to others) if I announced I wasn’t doing NaNo. A lot of my friends are looking for other options and boycotting NaNoWriMo (which I totally support).

Why? Well, NaNoWriMo has always been quite liberal in the way they talk on their social media and in their emails, and lately they’ve gotten a tinge worse. Therefore, some Christians feel uncomfortable supporting them.

I again 100% support those who choose to boycott NaNo after their statements of the past several years, but I am choosing to keep doing it.

My Non-Boycotting

Why? Well, I don’t feel convicted to boycott NaNoWriMo. To me, they’ve been saying these exact same things for years, and it never caused a fuss because I ignore it. They want to turn their event into a platform to speak their agenda.

I want to write during April, July, and November—and use their tracking systems on their website to record my words. I don’t consider those two mutually exclusive.

I could write a lot more about being in this world and not of this world, and where the line must be drawn, and all that, but … personally, I think the lack of conviction is what is pushing me away from boycotting. I’ve prayed about it, but I only feel less and less sure about leaving behind something that is helpful to me and causes me no harm.

Without NaNoWriMo, I would not have written my first book. Using their website, I’ve written 785,628 words. Their lack of Christian principles has not in any way affected my ability to write those words, and the words I’ve written have the power to help other people.

That’s why I consider it an event unto itself with little connection to the organization, and I don’t follow their social media, emails, etc.

If you choose to leave NaNoWriMo behind:

If you’re a Christian girl who will not be participating in NaNoWriMo events, here’s an option for you for this Camp NaNoWriMo.

There is a great option for Christian girls who want something else to do instead of NaNoWriMo. It’s called “King’s Daughters Writing Camp.” A lot of my friends are running it, and I’ll be joining up even though I’m also doing NaNoWriMo.

Email them at: [email protected] for more info. But basically, they’re using Slack to power a simple community that will allow us to interact with those with similar convictions and just WRITE. It’s moderated entirely by Christian women. There is a statement of faith involved, and there are guidelines to keep it running smoothly.

Okay, now that that drama’s out of the way, the actual focus of this post … My Camp NaNoWriMo July 2020 project:

At Her Fingertips (The Chronicles of Alice and Ivy, Book 3)

Debutante ​Alice Knight has a plan: have her first social season in London, meet the perfect man, and marry him. Fortunately, a rich and charming gentleman falls right in her lap—and nothing will convince her to give him up.

However, Alice’s faith in her plan shatters when a childhood friend tugs at her heart, and an American reporter gives her some unusual advice about God. When the decision must be made, she finds it difficult to make a choice between her head and heart.

The life she’s worked so hard for is finally at her fingertips, but what if faith in God’s will is more important than her own?

My goal is to write 40,000 words during the month of July, though I hope to write more than that. At the moment, I’m putting together a detailed outline (and yes, it looks like I’ll be dealing with some super intense rewrites).

I’ll definitely update you on my progress as I go, but until then, those are the main details!

TTFN!

~Kell~

p.s.

Are you doing Camp NaNo or some equivalent?

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Hello, my dear reader! Today I’m becoming part of the event of the year (okay, maybe not of the year, but it’s still really important!): the Dust blog tour and scavenger hunt!

Kara Swanson’s novel, Dust, looks amazing! I preordered it, actually, and I preorder like two books a year. So you know it sounds amazing.

I’m a part of various private groups with Kara, and she’s taught me a lot. I can tell you without hesitancy that she’s an amazing gal & her book is sure to be amazing, too! Let’s get right to it.

Note: if you came here from stop #9, then you are in the right spot! If not, head back to the beginning of the tour and start over!

Welcome to June! Can you believe it? I know I’m struggling to comprehend the fact that … IT IS SUMMER 2020!

This year is going so fast, and I can’t seem to keep a grasp on it.

So, ladies and germs, I have nothing to say that I haven’t said every month (they’re sort of flowing together at this point, aren’t they?), so let’s get right into the meat of it!

MAY 2020 DARES WRAPUP

Actually get Ivy Introspective to my editor. Check!

I did it!


Practice my instruments more than a few times. Failed.

… no. Sorry.


Post consistently on Reveries Co.’s blog and social media. Check!

I did! Yay!
Check them out here.


Read three (3) books. Check!

My Goodreads shelf is here, though I didn’t include most of the rereads I did.


Brainstorm, outline, and begin rewrites on Beyond Her Calling. Kinda.

I actually didn’t really get to this, though I did a lot of brainstorming and got started on the outlining. I worked on other projects instead.

So … I got some things done! Yay!

THINGS THAT HAPPENED



Honestly, it’s all a blur. I know my mom had a birthday – and there was Mother’s Day – and I did quite a lot.
Otherwise? It all blends together with March and April. One fast blur of similarity.
There were a lot of blog posts (on Reveries Co.), a lot of emails (to my writing email list), and a lot of random outings.
(My friends and I have taken to lingering in parking lots rather than at Dairy Queen. We’re thinking about forming a gang.)
However, I did work hard on a project with my friend, so that was new. We’re writing a series together – which I can’t wait to share with you!



SUMMER 2020 DARES

This summer is going to be packed for me and a few social obligations (haha), but I still hope to pack in quite a lot of work! So here we go:

20 dares for Summer 2020

Publish Ivy Introspective & sell 20 copies by the end of the summer.
Get At Her Fingertips and Beyond Her Calling ready for an editor.
Finish the first draft of The Midwife’s Daughter.
Launch the new writing course with Faith Blum and Zach Sollie.
Set up welcome sequences for both email lists.
Set up a freebie for the writing email list (brief course).
Organize my street team.
Put together a Facebook group based on Katie Phillips’s suggestions.
Organize at least one if not two online events for authors in my genre.
Put together a writing, launching, & marketing plan for Her Lord’s Book Club.
Read at least ten books.
Catch up on reviews, particularly on my blog.
Spend more time encouraging and supporting other indie authors.
Consistently post on my personal blog.
Consistently post on Reveries Co.’s Instagram and blog.
Sketch out 5-year and 10-year plans. Figure out long term goals.
Hold a birthday scavenger hunt at my house & invite my friends.
Learn to drive stick shift somewhat comfortably.
Cuddle lots of puppies.
Stay sane but not too sane.

There we go! 20 goals for summer 2020!

TTFN!

~Kell~

P.S.

How was your May? Are you excited for summer? Any big plans?

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I can’t keep it a secret any longer. It’s been tearing a hole inside of me, so I’ve decided to tell you.

I now like Hamilton.

Er, the music. I haven’t actually watched the play (or whatever), I’m not a super fan, and I already knew all the history except maybe some details about personal lives (which I carefully double-checked against real life historical records because I’m that person – like I’m gonna take a musical’s word for any of this).

But guys. GUYS. THE MUSIC IS SO GOOD! And the story the music tells. The character arcs alone are enough to make me adore this! (I love great arcs, and I cannot lie.)

So yup. The only question I have is … WHY DIDN’T YOU TELL ME!?

I’m totally joking because everyone and their grandma told me it was fantastic, including several of my close friends, and I ignored them. I just … completely ignored them.

I’m that person who has to discover things for themself several years too late.

If you don’t know, which you should …

What is Hamilton?

Hamilton is a broadway musical that came out in 2016 (??? something like that ???) and has tons of fangirls (and boys). Everyone adores it. I was stubbornly refusing not to listen to it because I don’t like popular things until after they’re cool.

Today I wanted to write a very brief post (as it is the day before Mother’s Day!) explaining briefly why I have my mom to thank for being a writer.

This won’t be a gushy post full of sentiment, as I’m incapable of such a thing, but it definitely includes some logical reasons why I probably wouldn’t have ended up writing (or at least not as much!) without my mom.

She homeschooled me.

This is probably the biggest one, because if I hadn’t been homeschooled, I wouldn’t have had the time I had to write.


She encouraged me to write both poetry and prose on the regular.

It was both a part of school and leisure time for me.


She read to me constantly growing up and supplied me with lots of good books to read myself.

Reading is the #1 way to improve your writing, and it has so many other benefits.


She encouraged me to play, provided lots of different toys, and kept me from watching too much TV.

This was where I started making up stories – playing with my little brother and our various figurines and play structures.


She also gave me access to tons of good movies and TV shows.

Though I don’t think always being inside watching TV is the best activity for a growing kid, we did watch lots of awesome movies and TV shows. A lot of them really inspired me!


She didn’t just give me modern things.

We watched and read the classics. And listened to them. And learned them. Music, TV, movies, books … you name it, we had something older than whatever you were raised on. This was a huge blessing!


She taught me a lot of history. And I mean a lot.

I am honestly shocked how little sunk in during my friends’ history lessons. Like, were y’all even paying attention? Or did you just not do history in school? *raises eyebrows* My mom made our history memorable enough that it stuck with me.


She wasn’t one to encourage immaturity.

I’m sorry, but half of the world is so immature, and it drives me nuts. As a kid, I felt like I was treated as an adult. Though that probably wasn’t all on my mom (probably as much on my big siblings!), she did expect me to obey (even though I never did *coughs*), and that pushed me to be a grownup.


She didn’t often allow me to waste my time on stupid things.

Yeah, once or twice, but for the most part, we didn’t waste time.


She made me memorize poems and Bible verses.

I still hold the memorization is super good for the brain.


She’s edited most of my books.

Including many drafts of The Dressmaker’s Secret!


She’s just a really good mom.

Good moms hold this world together!

TTFN!

~Kell~

P.S.

What about you? What did your mom encourage you to pursue?

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As of this Sunday, Ivy Introspective is now with her editor. It took me waaaay too long to actually finish my own edits, but I’ve finally done it – and it’s out of my hands.

Until the beginning of June, I don’t have to think about it.

Which begs the question … now what?

I obviously can’t take a break (*gasps at the thought*), so I have to choose another project. Thankfully, my publishing schedule chose one for me. (Thanks, publishing schedule. You’re all that keeps me going some days. Literally.)

At Her Fingertips (book 3) and Beyond Her Calling (book 4) are my next slotted releases, so I’ll dive right into working on the (revision) outlines. As of yet, I’ve gotten about a quarter way through my outline for At Her Fingertips!

After I finish the outlines, I’m going to gauge what to do next based on my energy levels. If I feel up to diving into a revision (with some rewrite elements, though hopefully not as many as with the other books!), I’ll pick one and get started.

If not, I’ll start writing my next next book on the roster – The Midwife’s Daughter (McAllen Brothers, Book 1). I’ve already gotten this book outlined and started, but I really need to dive into the writing.

I’m also debating whether or not to work on this, as well … but as some point, I plan on writing a little “The Chronicles of Alice and Ivy, Book 2.5” novelette/short story.

I have some ideas, though they’re not quite thought through yet. (Outlining will definitely be the next step, though due to the length, it’s more like … storyboarding? I don’t know.)

My goal with it? Give it away as a freebie to fans who wonder about the big gap between books 2 and 3, and also use it to fill in some details about the changes in Alice and Ivy in the medium. It’s as fun for you as it is for me!

Anyways, those are my next projects. I just wanted to post this little life update to let you know what I’m up to! And also to ask … what are you up to!? We need to check in with each other more often, y’all.

Until next time,

TTFN!

~Kell~

P.S.

Well … what HAVE you been up to?

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Hey everyone! Guess what!? It’s MAY!

Okay, so, everyone is now complaining that April went on forreeevvveerrr, but time is FLYING for me. I’m not ready for May. I’m barely ready for February! I still feel like it’s 2018, and honestly, it’s so weird that it’s May of 2020.

I feel like I’ve done nothing with my life so far. *facepalm*

In the moment, I always want to be ten years in the future, but that next step … and next step … and next step … is a challenge for me. You know?

Still, I’m keeping on keeping on, and April was a better month than I thought, looking back. I took way too long on Ivy Introspective edits (which I’m still working on). With the launch coming in July, I need to pick up the pace!

Still, time will pass, I will get things done, and the world won’t collapse if it’s not all as fast as I’d like. (Note to self: it is never as fast as I’d like.)

April 2020 Dares Wrapup

Get Ivy Introspective to my editor. Kinda.

Okay, I didn’t get it to her by my deadline, and I still have a bit more to go. The first 100 pages are 100% ready, so that’s good news! It’s just the 


Continue to consistently send emails to my lists. Check!

Mostly! At least, I sent quite a few more than normal, and they were usually on time.

Hi there, everyone! This post is sort of a follow up to one I did a while back, “Excuse Me, You Got Some Feminism in My Regency Romance.“

These are just some general observations about the heroines of all historical fiction – though, again, pre-1900 is when most of this takes place.

BUT … this is not the same “attack on feminism,” per se, you got from that other article.

Guess what, y’all?

With my release for Ivy Introspective coming up, I’ve decided to reformat my street team.

A street team is a group of readers who are excited to share about an author’s book in one way or another (review, sharing about it on social media, simply telling friends, etc).

Soooo … I have a form up for anyone who’s interested!

Fill out this form to apply to join Kell’s street team!

After this, the street team will be closed for an undetermined amount of time.

Street Team Members Gain:

Free access to Kell’s novels in ebook format.
Early updates on all Kell-related projects.
Viewing of book covers months in advance of launch.
Exclusive snippets & behind-the-scenes updates.
TBD prizes/giveaways/etc.
Access to the beta-reader team.
& more!

Potential Street Team Duties (flexible, may be expanded upon):

Sharing about Kell’s latest releases.
Reviewing Kell’s new releases.
Helping Kell get the word out about her latest releases.
Sharing about Kell’s promotions, giveaways, etc.
Praying for Kell’s launches.

**Note: no duty will be required, but after a period of unexplained inactivity, a street team member may be removed. The street team member may choose to leave the group at any time.**

Sound interesting?

JOIN!

And that’s it! The launch is coming up pretty soon, and I’m super excited to share it with you! Ivy Introspective is a sweet story, and I can’t wait to hear what you think.

TTFN!

~Kell~

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Halfway through the month, and I still feel like I’ve done nothing, but that isn’t exactly true.