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Come Adventure with Me! Italy in Real Life and Fiction
Starting next week, I’m traveling to Italy with my friend and colleague. Among other mouth-watering destinations, we’ll be exploring some of the settings for the final book in The Rogues trilogy, which include Orvieto and the Port of Civitavecchia. I can’t wait to share these places in real life with you and then take you into my heroine’s fictional story where she experiences them in her dystopian world. Can you believe we’ve been on this trilogy adventure together since 2016 when I first signed my contract with Write Integrity Press? The cover reveal for The Reactionary will be coming soon, but for now, you can preview Portia’s climactic adventure. Maybe you…
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Renegades Review: Inside a Superhero’s Skin
Is it possible that some villains are unlikely heroes, and that perhaps some heroes are a little villainous? Marissa Meyer’s Renegades, the first in a young adult science fiction trilogy, trails two teen prodigies, both with superhuman abilities, but from different sides of the fence. Nova, alias Nightmare, had expected the Renegades to save her when a villain gang murdered her family. But those lifesaving superheroes didn’t come. Instead, her Uncle Ace Anarchy, lead villain of the Anarchists, rescued her and made her his protege. But when the Renegades defeated the Anarchists in an epic battle, they killed her uncle. Two strikes give Nova reason to want revenge. Infiltrating the Renegades…
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Fighting Fear through Fantasy
At the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference, I met author Emily Golus, whose young adult fantasy, Escape to Vindor, won the Selah Award for its category. I was instantly drawn to her sincere, winsome personality and looked forward to reading her novel. Last week, I read it. Yes, the story is incredible, but beyond that, I was moved by how much it personally challenged me. Summary Megan Bradshaw can defeat a sphynx when she’s imagining her alter-ego Selena in the fantasy world of Vindor, but in real life, she bombs oral speeches and dreads the idea of moving to a new school. If only she could be Selena all…
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Summer Book Challenge
Like most children, I looked forward to summer as a girl. One of the many reasons why was that I could choose any book at the library to read, earn points toward the Book-It program, and get free pizza. Free pizza for reading books? Yes, please! Today, I still adore pizza and books. Though I can’t afford to feed your pizza cravings, I can give away a copy of my next release! Here’s how you can enter for a chance to win. Snap a picture of any of my books during your summer travels, which can include something as simple as a poolside retreat or as adventuresome as Italy, where…
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The Revisionary Receives Grace Award
This month, The Revisionary received the 2017 Grace Award for Speculative Fiction in faith-based fiction. The reader-driven Grace Awards first let readers select the finalists in each category before a panel of judges reviewed them to choose the winners. Here’s what the judges had to say: THE REVISIONARY by Kristen Hogrefe (Write Integrity Press) ~ This dystopian novel was engaging and well-paced, reminiscent of George Orwell’s 1984, with a more modern vibe similar to The Hunger Games. The author uses deep point of view in a first person present style, in keeping with current tastes in fiction. The story never stagnates but keeps moving and surprising all the way through. The plot follows young…
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Author Interview: Apples or Oranges?
I want to give a big shout-out to Carrie and her beautiful website Reading Is My Superpower for hosting one of the most delightful author interviews I’ve had to date. You can learn all sorts of important things about me … whether I prefer apples to oranges and summer to winter. Most of you can probably guess the latter. Though it’s lighthearted, the interview also gave me an opportunity to share about my heart for writing The Revolutionary. I hope you enjoy it. Click here to read the post. Oh, and if you feel so led, feel free to chime in on any apples versus oranges preferences you have. Have…
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The Revolutionary Blog Tour and Starbucks Giveaway
Hey, friends! If you follow me on social media, you may have noticed The Revolutionary is on tour. Through April 23, a different blogger is sharing a personal review and information about how to participate in a Starbucks giveaway (gift card). I’d love for you to take advantage of this chance to win some coffee, plus hear what readers are saying! After all, coffee does make the world “smell better,” as my character Portia once said. To enter, visit any of the blog stops along the way or simply click here: Among the Reads, April 10 Book Reviews From an Avid Reader, April 10 Moments Dipped in Ink, April 11…
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All Things Bookish: Reviews, BookBub, and Spring Photo Contest
Spring is my favorite season! I love the sunshine, warm weather, and vibrant green I see everywhere I look outdoors. (Sorry for all my northern friends who are still getting snow!) Today, I also want to pause to say thank you again to everyone who played a part in my book launch last month … and to everyone who continues to play a part. Reviews and Thanks You’s To start, here’s a big shout-out to everyone who’s written a book review on Amazon or Goodreads! Reviews don’t have to be long but really can make a huge difference. Also, I want to thank the Inspired Prompt blog for hosting me…
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Revolutionary Love
Love perseveres in spite of obstacles. Love gives without any guarantee of receiving. Love sacrifices until it hurts and then sacrifices some more. If I told you those themes are part of my latest novel, you might guess I’m a romance writer, right? Well, they are, but guess again. The Revolutionary is a dystopia. Wait. Dystopia? You mean one of those futuristic novels so dark they make the problems of our own world look like a walk in the park? Yes and no. Though dystopian novels have certain bleak characteristics, I think that setting paints the perfect contrast to the hope characters are fighting (and sometimes dying) to gain. How…
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The Revolutionary Launch Party – Tonight!
Happy release day! I’m so excited to share The Revolutionary with you and hope you enjoy the next part of Portia’s story. Tonight at 7 pm Eastern, I’m hosting a launch party on Facebook, and I hope you can join! There will be trivia and drawings for an autographed copy, Kindle books by some of my favorite authors, and a Starbucks e-gift card! To join the party, click here. As part of the festivities, see if you can solve the word scramble below. Hint: All the scrambled words are characters’ names, but there are a few new ones you’ll meet in The Revolutionary. Fill in the boxes to solve the…
