Novelista

  A look up the beach Approaching Hispaniola, the second largest island of the Greater Antilles shared by the nations of Haiti and the Dominican Republic, by air, we get our first glance at the lush green mountains that give way to lush flatlands.  Farmland backs into cities.  We lose sight of the ocean as the plane descends. The Punta Cana International Airport promises us a magical tropical stay.  As we walk under its palm frond roof to stand in line at customs, air conditioning is relatively non-existent.  The baggage carousel is mostly open-air as the walls don’t reach the roof.  I, however, am more concerned with my bag not taking the ride yet.  Once it finally showed, we rolled our bags to the shuttle that would take us to our resort. From the airport to the resort, our shuttle drove past beautiful new construction and crumbling shacks.  Tropical trees turned into shopping centers.  Gates to private communities and sprawling resorts sat...

Pain has been my constant companion for almost a year. Like a character in an adventure novel, life keeps throwing obstacles at me.  Since the release of Hope (The World In-between 5), both my parents passed away and I got divorced.  As I have been healing emotionally, my body has been going the opposite direction.  Specifically, my back. I am under doctors’ care, and I have seen a reduction in pain.  However, my journey is far from over.  Perhaps it would be best to explain how I got here. Back pain seems to have been a steady thing for me for years.  I always thought it was my stress residing in my back muscles.  My back was so bad last year that my boyfriend got me a massage for my birthday.  It was glorious.  Then, a month or so later, the pain started to return.  Not just in my shoulders, but in my lower back as well.  After a couple more massages, I decided that I needed to do more for my back.  I started yoga. I love yog...

Berty and friends continue to adventure in the world in-between the portals.  I can feel myself reaching the climax of the sixth book in the World In-between series.  Exhilaration rushes through my veins while dread weighs my hand.  It’s a weird feeling knowing that your time with your friends is coming to an end.  Perhaps that is why so many authors write series. In my head, I know what should happen.  I have planned the moment.  With every word, every sentence, every paragraph, it advances.  My heart races as my pen scribbles on the page.  Rawness flows through a rough draft that will never be felt again.  In the rawness, the best of plans change. After a good number of books with the same characters, I wonder how much new can be left.  What else can these characters face or experience?  As an author, the terror of having nothing else to write creeps into your mind at times.  Those fears have to be combatted or the ink wil...

  Title: Koru: The Trainer I Used to Know By: Katelynn Balcom   Genre: Young Adult/Fantasy-Romance   Review Rating: 3 ½ Stars out of 5     When I first started reading, I thought the book reminded me a little of The Princess Bride .   The similarities are in the book structure and roughly in the beginning plot.   Koru: The Trainer I Used to Know is structured as a story within a story—the main character is telling the story to an in-story audience.   The plot is a universal one of boy meets girl, boy does something stupid, and then boy spends the rest of the story trying to win back the heart of the girl.   Overall, it is well executed.   I feel that it could have had more depth in spots.   Also, the subplots could have used a bit more meat as well.   The characters shine in the story.   Gabriel, our POV character, narrates the story well.   We understand his motivation—as a whole.   This happens to be a place...

I offer to review books .  Usually, I will post my review here and on Goodreads as well as post links to buy the book that I got to read.  However, every once and a while, I read a book that won’t get a good review.  This is that book. This book is the author’s first book, so I will not mention the title nor the author’s name.  I have emailed the author about my poor review before posting, and actually have agreed to review the sequel.  With that said, let’s talk about the book and its issues. The premise of the book is that the main character, whose name I can’t remember (problem), becomes a masked hero to save her city from a destructive alien.  The concept is great.  The execution has major issues.  I am going to put my editor’s hat on to critique the issues in this book. The first issue is the prologue.  It could have been a chapter on its own.  I personally feel that the book should have opened on its main character.  The openi...

  Glacier Everything I brought with me to Iceland for a late December trip  fit in my carry-on backpack and its clip-on daypack .  I did a ton of research about what to bring.  Some tips worked surprisingly well.  Since, I wrote about clothing in this post , I’m going to discuss what else I brought. Yak Trax gives you traction on ice.  They are metal coils wrapped around silicone that stretch around the soles of your shoes.  I had no problem getting through airport security with them in my pack.  They nest in each other and fold in half to take up less space.  I placed them in a nylon drawstring bag to protect the other items in my pack.  These saved my bum from many bruises. When it’s cold outside, my nose runs.  On this trip, pretty much everyone’s nose ran.  I brought slim packs of facial tissue that fit in my pocket perfectly.  Each pack held ten tissues.  And I had six packs.  I should have brought more....

Cold and windy that day Iceland in late December gets cold and windy.  Expect to experience below freezing temperatures and even colder wind chills.  Be prepared for it to snow and for the wind to blow the snow into your face.  The sidewalks and streets and tourist areas, especially around water, can be slick.  And, you can wait for the bus for your tour or to the airport for quite some time in the cold. Unless you live in a city with a non-stop flight, expect at least a two hour delay in an airport and perhaps a good deal of walking between gates.  The airports are hot.  The planes themselves can be chilly unless the flight is packed.  And, no matter where in Iceland you go, the cold outside counters the hot inside. The key to regulating your temperature throughout it all is layers and your ability to zip or unzip or remove and store easily.  This is what I brought with me that kept me warm and it all fit in a carry-on backpack and personal item...

From the overlook at Thingvellir Dates of trip: 21 Dec – 28 Dec 2022 Number of travelers: Just me Type of travel: Six day tour around the country Akureyri The gods of old reside in Iceland.  Beyond the refined Nordic aesthetic, a wildness claims the land.  From the volcanic soil to the glaciers to the sharp peaks above the fjords, the wind carries a spirit that touches the soul.   Gullfoss The first thing I learned about Iceland was that the weather rules.  My arriving flight was delayed a day due to the weather and everything after followed suit.  The buffers I had built into my trip saved my tour around the country.  However, I did not get the time in Reykjavik that I had wanted. I traveled with only a carry-on and a personal item.  The backpack I used is described in this blog post .  Where the ocean and mountains meet While I was waiting in the airport for about 12 hours as my flight kept being pushed further and further back, I envied th...

  Buckled together right out of the box For my upcoming trip to Iceland, I have chosen to only take a carryon and a personal item.  I researched my choices using the dimensions the airlines have on their websites.  I also thought about future trips and overall practicality.  Therefore, I chose to go with a backpack over a rolling carryon.   Separated The last backpack I had was the one I used from high school through college.   It was a standard LL Bean backpack that reliably carried all my books and other school stuff for years.   While that backpack was still in decent condition all these years later, I needed one geared towards travel.   Backs of both packs After extensive review reading, I ended up buying a Thule Landmark 60L women’s backpack.   This is a two in one backpack, consisting of a 40L backpack and a 20L daypack.   The larger is the perfect size for the carryon. The smaller will be my personal item.   They sna...

When I tell people that I’m going to Iceland, they tell me that it’s a trip of a lifetime.  And it is. I mentioned in the previous post that I needed a vacation.  I have been looking to go somewhere fantastic for a while.  These places that were making “the list” were great.  But, they missed that oomph. I am doing a mid winter trip to Iceland.  Best time to perhaps catch the Northern Lights. During my week long vacation, I’ll be a taking a tour around the country.  The tour includes the Golden Circle, ice caves, glaciers, whales, thermal pools, and horseback riding.  Of course, it’s all dependent on the weather. Although the flight from the US to Iceland is only five hours, I’ll be spending a day travelling.  Mainly sitting in airports.  This holds true both going and coming home. I have done extensive research into the weather, what to pack, what to expect.  My stomach is filling with butterflies as I type.  When I write, I tend ...

I have neglected my writing since my mom died in 2017.  Wrote a novel, but haven’t done much to get it out of its early drafts.  Then, my dad passed in 2020.  I stopped a good bit of everything, this blog included.  After my divorce last year, I finally picked up my pen to properly continue the sixth book of the World In-between series. I’ll be honest.  I’m exhausted.  And, I’m in desperate need of a recharge.  Hence, my upcoming trip to Iceland. I’m not trying to get back to the person I used to be.  She’s gone.  She’s grown.  I feel like I’m embarking on a new chapter of my life. On my quest of rediscovery, I’m going to use this blog to document my journey.  I’m starting with a blog series about Iceland.  I will talk about why Iceland, my plans, my preparation, and of course, the trip itself.  This will include my packing list, specific items, other insights, and, when the trip is over, how it all worked. Watch this spac...

  As the year comes to a close, I don’t want to reflect—only look forward.  However, how do we know where we’re going, if we don’t know where we’ve been? My personal journey this year has been difficult, and, at times, downright dark.  With all that has happened, I feel as though I have weathered this storm rather well.  I am in a better place as I head into the new year. I have been working through early drafts of my new detective novel.  Polishing makes every draft better than the last.  I even have the outline and beginnings of a second detective novel. The sixth book of the World In-between fantasy series stalled.  However, lately, Berty and Silvia have been rewriting parts and pulling me into a different direction than I originally planned.  And, I like where it’s going to go.  It might get a new title. My plans are to continue devoting time to my writing.  I will not be taking any new editing or beta reading projects for the time b...

Handwritten manuscripts of seven novels I’m excited to announce that a first draft is almost complete. And, it’s all because I returned to handwriting my manuscript. There was a point where I couldn’t hold a pen. The doctor confirmed my suspicion: Carpal Tunnel.  I started writing seriously (as in, hey, I’m going to write a book) in roughly 2005. I wrote with pencil on lined paper. That’s what I had at the time. Then, I transitioned to pen and blank computer paper because ink is easier to see than graphite.  At first, I wrote rather large with decent spacing between each line. Then, my writing got smaller. Words crowded the page. Pens sacrificed their ink quickly. I started using whatever pen I had in arm’s reach. Sometimes, those pens were cheap stick pens. They cramped my hand.  Until late 2016, I wrote prolifically. Novels, short stories, flash fiction, articles for others. With the exception of these blog posts, all those were handwritten first.  Al...