Hello Again

Well, hey, guys. I've been super busy with school -- Algebra II and AP Bio are keeping me well occupied -- but I have an author event coming up this weekend at Harker Heights ... though I believe it's at a library and not a B&N this time. And -- my birthday is coming up! Yup, on Nov. 14, I shall be 17 years old ... which is incredibly strange, because then I shall be as old as Elysia. When I started writing, she was 5 years older than me. She hasn't aged, obviously ;) So how do I get to celebrate? By selling books at the Gathering of the Scottish Clans. Honestly, I'd rather not have to sit there and sell books for hours and actually be able to roam freely amongst the awesome booths, but I'm an author now, so selling books is a priority. *sigh* I'll find some way to celebrate my b-day properly, though ;) 
     Have a great week, everyone!

Results of the Harker Heights Signing

A bit late, but here is my report on my book signing at Harker Heights on Saturday; it was a pretty slow day - I only sold 11 books in the 3 hours that I was there, but on the upside, there were two lovely ladies who stopped by and chatted with us for about ten minutes and later came back and offered to buy us coffee. So sweet! :) They definitely made my day.   
     Also, I sold 21 books on Amazon this past week for no apparent reason ... but I suspect God is behind it! :) Thanks so much to everyone who bought a copy of Young Falcon; each copy sold is a step closer to Book Two, and I promise it's going to be an epic, intense sequel!! Please keep praying for the success of my book and that many people will enjoy it and pass it on!
    Have a great week/Fall Break, y'all!!

A Review from Author Marta Stahlfeld

I heard of Marta Stahlfeld through my publishing company, with whom she also published her novels. She's in college and has written two pre-teen novels called Darkwoods and Pasadagavra. So we've talked a little bit since hearing of each other, and I recently sent her a copy of Young Falcon, and she sent back a lovely review, so here it is:


A lot of people have told me that there's nothing new under the sun, and Mortimer Adler said in How to Read a Book that there are some plots that have been done to death.
     Young Falcon was not, repeat NOT, one of them.
    A general idea in Elizabeth Anne McKinney's book is this concept of back from the brink. Humankind was thought to be extinct, a fairy tale, no longer worthy of concern, and all at once they're back wrecking an epic revenge. Back from the brink has not been done enough, which is too bad because it is an epic way of telling a story.
      Another thing I loved about Elizabeth's book is that her characters are fabulous. The likeability of characters is super important to me - most particularly that the good characters be good and the bad characters be bad, not complicated with depressing childhoods. Another really important thing is that the characters come alive, and Elizabeth's characters really do come alive. Veryan is my favorite character for two reasons: first that he was bullied in his troop of soldiers and he had a depressing (possibly abusive) childhood and was still heroic, and also because he really just jumped off the page. All the characters seemed to do that. If there was one thing I didn't like it was that Elysia was just a little wishy-washy. She needed a little more grit - but then, from another perspective, the other characters had more than enough grit to make up for her. And besides, she was no coward but was downright admirable. It's so great to find a main character that's actually likeable!
    So now that I'm almost done with my unconventional book review, I would just like to say - well done, Elizabeth. Five stars! 

Thanks so much for this review, Marta!! Much appreciated! :)

#4

Young Falcon was the #4 bestselling book at the La Fontera Barnes and Noble this week, thanks to all your support!! Thank you so much to everyone who came out to support me; it meant so much to me to see all your smiling faces, and I'm SO glad God gave me such wonderful friends and family!!

Results of the Book Signing

Yesterday's book signing went quite well, considering it wasn't the debut and everyone at my school already has a copy. The store gave us 20 books to sell, and we brought 4 of our own, two of which which we actually sold to my stylist and a friend who is away at college. So I was there from 2-4 P.M., and I managed to sell all 20 store copies. They put the leftovers on the shelf, and one of my mum's friends immediately bought all four of those :) Needless to say, it wasn't nearly as busy as the debut at the Arboretum, but it was still a ton of fun, as I got to see some of my friends who I haven't seen in months who go to different schools. 
     Ultimate result = success!! :)

Today's the Day!

Today, I'm having a book signing at the La Fontera Barnes and Noble in Round Rock, TX., from 2-4 P.M. Please come by and see me, even if just to say hello! I would LOVE to have as many visitors as possible today! :) Young Falcon will be selling for $20.51, including tax, so if you know of a nephew, niece, kid, grandkid, neighbour, or acquaintance who loves to read (or if you love to read, too, of course), this young adult fantasy book is well worth your money! If you don't believe me, check out the book's reviews and see what others have said about Young Falcon! And if you can't make it, Young Falcon is available on the Amazon and Barnes and Noble website for a slightly cheaper price. I look forward to seeing you! :)

Time to Sign!

Hello, world! It's that time again -- I'm having a book signing next week at the Barnes and Noble at La Frontera in Round Rock, Sept. 15, 2-4 P.M., and I would LOVE to see you there!! If you haven't had a chance to pick up your signed copy of Young Falcon yet, this is the time to do it! Bring all your book-loving friends, too, because the person who brings the most friends and therefore results in the most sales of Young Falcon will get a $20 B&N gift card from me! So if you love to read, come get a book, bring your friends, and maybe get a gift card while you're at it!! Please come if you can; hope to see you there! 

I Return!

Hey, guys. I haven't posted in forever, I know. But school has started and I have been doing homework and generally adjusting to school life once more. I miss summer. So much. But school is nice, too, because I get to see all of my awesome friends and they make me happy :D So this is what I've been up to in the near-month we've been apart: I've been watching Doctor Who, the most amazing television show on Earth. If you don't know, Doctor Who chronicles the adventures of the Doctor, a man from the planet Gallifrey who is the last of his kind. He travels about the universe with various companions and saves everybody who needs his help. He has a time machine called the TARDIS, which is bigger on the inside and can go anywhere in all of time and space. It's AWESOME <3 I love it so much! And if you know me, you know I hate sci-fi stuff passionately, so for my favourite show of all time to be a sci-fi show, you know it must be good ;) I've also been watching Smallville, and it's about the teenage life of Clark Kent (Superman) as he adjusts to his superpowers. It's awesome as well :) 
   I haven't started working on Book Two again. Don't hate me. But I just got really burned out on it this summer and every time I open the document and look at it, I just can't bring myself to keep writing. *sigh* Hopefully, this too shall pass soon. *hangs head in shame*
   So you're now caught up on all of my stuff. Yay! Hope you're all enjoying school (ha, as if), and I hope you have a great week!!

Very Busy Week :)

Hello! I haven't gone off and died, don't worry; I've just been very busy. So this summer, I've done pretty much nothing but edit Book Two and talk to one of my friends, N.B. This week, however, I have a tone of stuff to do that pretty much makes up for my whole boring summer ;) Yesterday, N.B., her mum, and I went to Schlitterbahn. Needless to say, the Torrent River, or wave pool, is still the best ride ... especially after we spent 90 minutes waiting in line to ride one of the big slides one time -.- But yeah, that was marvellous; I haven't been to Schlitterbahn since I was about nine. And tomorrow, I get to go to M.D.'s house for her make-up birthday party. Well, she had one, but some of us didn't get to go. So we're going now. And it sounds awesome! (It includes a movie, IHOP, and something to do with ninjas and water balloons... >:) ) And then on Friday, I get to to with the G's to the lake for three days! Yay! I can get all nice and sunburned before school starts! XD Haha, nah, it'll be great! Oh, and we have 3 new kids in my class this year! My class is the smallest in my high school; we have about 30 kids, and so when we get new ones, they're kind of all we talk about in the days before school starts :} This year, we have two girls, a boy, and a boy who's coming back (he left after 7th grade). And N.B.'s younger brother is coming too. 

     As for the editing of Book Two...let's just say it was stressing me out and I've taken a sabbatical until school starts ;) 

    Anyway, as you can see, I have a lovely, busy week ahead :) If anything weird/funny happens, I will certainly let you know. 

    Have a spectacular week, y'all!! :D

Being Sick

I mysteriously acquired a fever four days ago, and I have been battling low energy, headaches, and being cold for now five days. Needless to say, I feel rather awful :{ I've tried writing, but my head starts swimming after looking at the page for more than a minute or two...like it's doing now. Ugh. Anyway, I had completed 5 more pages on Book Two before I got sick, so hopefully I can bounce back soon and keep going. Only 17 days until I go back to school... *sobs* But at least I have some great classes this year, and I have 4 with my best friend, which is amazing because we haven't had classes together in 3 years :D So I am very excited for that!! 
     Have a great weekend, y'all!! :)