Nano November: Final Thoughts and Words – Word count: 101,522 +52k

December 7, 2015 by rachelauthorbarnard in For the Love of Donuts, Local Authors, Local Events, NaNoWriMo, Rachel Barnard | 1 Comment

Day 30: 11/30/15, Monday – THE FINAL PUSH at North Bend Bar and Grill with my Snoqualmie Region Peeps from 7PM-9:30PM for 7,483 words

The after party in Snoqualmie was a lot of fun and the cake was delicious! The following photo was from Sheri J. Kennedy’s collection.

The Stats You’ve All Been Waiting For:

WIP Word Count Progress Reports:

The Optimist Sees the Donut – 51,505 words

The Pessimist Sees the Hole – 50,017 words

Café Connections (Aster & Tilde Book 1) – 64,136

Total Time spent on For the Love of Donuts Nano Novels 2015: 48.75 hours or 2925 minutes
Final Word Count for both Donuts Books from November 2015: 101,522
Total Money Spent: $177.69
Average WPM all month: 42.15
Average Word Count Per Session: 1,671.9

Stay Tuned for a Post on My Interesting Rewards System for Finishing Both Books This Month (at least a skeletal draft of both and 50k in each)

Bask in a bath of donuts
Everything on the menu from my favorite donut vendor

And more statistics!

Time Spent on The Optimist Sees the Donut – 1200 minutes (20 hours)
Time Spent on The Pessimist Sees the Hole – 1725 minutes (28.75 hours)

Average WPM on The Optimist Sees the Donut – 41.7 (Max=69.8 and min=15.8)
Average WPM on The Pessimist Sees the Hole – 42.7 (Max=85.5 and min=5.7)

Trends Noticed: The more money I spent, the slower my words per minute (presumably I was busy eating), My words per minute were slower at night (I wrote faster in the morning), The longer I wrote for the fewer words I wrote overall (slower WPM)

And now a few charts:

Though I spent the most time writing on Sundays, this was not my most productive day.

**Fun facts on location: I went to 22 different locations to write, not including work or home. I went to the Neverending Bookstore 5 times, St. James 3 times, Verne & Wells 2 times, Issaquah Panera once, the Fall City Roadhouse 2 times, the AFK in Renton once, Bellevue Top Pot once, Costco once, CountrySide Donut House once, Daddy’s Donuts once, Factory Donuts once, North Bend Bar and Grill once, Spinderella once, and the Spotted Cow Once.

Writing at work was most productive for me, though I spent the most time and wrote the most words on my itty bitty Surface Tablet

How about a little about my book?

The Optimist Sees the Donut (For the Love of Donuts Book 2) & The Pessimist Sees the Hole (For the Love of Donuts Book 2)

Author: Rachel Barnard

Genre: Young Adult

Synopsis

Their friendship has been the one unbreakable thing, the one certainty in their lives, but Nichole Adams and Vanessa Smith are developing into their own persons and their individual life dramas distract them from each other.

Vanessa has never had many friends in her life and even though she wanted to stay friends with Nichole, she met new people in college and is moving on. She has school, she has social activities, and a new group of friends even though she can’t seem to find the right guy.

Nichole is jealous of Vanessa’s ease of everything in the real world. Nessa has no trouble with jobs, money, school, or getting and going places. Nichole, on the other hand was preemptively kicked out of her mom’s house after graduating high school and has been floundering ever since. The only thing she has easy in her life is flirting and getting dates, or at least a guy that will let her crash at his house. Nichole doesn’t always have the best of luck with men.

Forever hopeful that things will change, Nichole still clings to the hope that Vanessa will come back to their friendship and be the best friend from high school that Nichole misses. When guy after guy doesn’t work out for her, Vanessa changes more and more of her personality to attract the right guy, drifting farther and farther from who she really is. Something’s gotta give and this story of how friendships get off track, lies become reality, and bad luck tails bad choices will bring you in and around the little town of Sarasota, Florida that you grew to love in book one of the series – Donuts in an Empty Field.

And in case you haven’t gotten enough info – here’s my spreadsheet:

Location—

Home=H,

Work=W,

St. James=J,

Neverending Bookstore=B,

Verne & Wells=V,

Panera Issy=P,

Fall City Roadhouse=F

Machine—

H=HP,

S=Surface,

D=Dell

Region—

S=Seattle,

N=North Bend/Snoqualmie,

E=Everett/Snohomish

Book—

P=The Pessimist Sees the Hole,

O= The Optimist Sees the Donut

Date	Start Time	End Time	Total Time	Location	Machine	Money Spent	Region	Total Words	Day	Novel	WPM
1-Nov	8:30	10:00	90	H	H	0	S	2773	Sunday	P	30.8
1-Nov	11:30	13:00	90	F	S	18.44	N	1520	Sunday	P	16.9
1-Nov	14:30	15:30	60	V	S	0	S	1441	Sunday	P	24
1-Nov	17:30	20:00	150	H	H	0	S	4271	Sunday	P	28.5
2-Nov	7:30	8:00	30	W	D	0	S	1000	Monday	O	30.3
2-Nov	20:00	20:45	45	H	H	0	S	1004	Monday	O	22.3
3-Nov	7:20	7:50	30	W	D	0	S	1546	Tuesday	O	51.5
3-Nov	11:45	12:15	30	W	D	0	S	983	Tuesday	O	32.7
3-Nov	19:00	19:45	45	Costco	S	0	S	1425	Tuesday	O	31.7
4-Nov	7:30	8:00	30	W	D	0	S	1391	Wednesday	O	46.4
4-Nov	17:00	17:40	40	B	S	0	S	1500	Wednesday	O	37.5
5-Nov	7:20	7:50	30	W	D	0	S	1148	Thursday	O	38.3
5-Nov	18:15	19:45	30	Spotted Cow	S	3.5	E	1683	Thursday	O	56.1
6-Nov	7:50	8:00	10	W	D	0	S	698	Friday	O	69.8
6-Nov	19:40	20:30	50	H	H	0	S	2507	Friday	O	50.1
7-Nov	13:00	15:00	120	B	S	3.56	S	3264	Saturday	O	27.2
7-Nov	18:30	19:30	60	J	S	4.25	S	1998	Saturday	O	33.3
8-Nov	10:00	10:45	45	H	H	0	S	2097	Sunday	O	46.6
8-Nov	12:00	13:00	60	V	S	0	S	1550	Sunday	O	25.8
8-Nov	16:00	16:20	20	H	H	0	S	1200	Sunday	O	60
9-Nov	7:25	8:00	35	W	D	0	S	1650	Monday	O	47.1
9-Nov	20:00	21:45	105	H	H	0	S	3400	Monday	O	32.4
10-Nov	7:30	8:00	30	W	D	0	S	1250	Tuesday	O	41.7
10-Nov	18:00	19:00	60	P	S	11.25	N	945	Tuesday	O	15.8
11-Nov	8:55	9:30	35	H	H	0	S	1787	Wednesday	O	51.1
11-Nov	13:50	15:30	100	J	S	11.89	S	2804	Wednesday	O	28
11-Nov	16:00	17:15	75	B	S	0	S	2069	Wednesday	O	27.6
12-Nov	7:15	8:00	45	W	D	0	S	2145	Thursday	O	47.7
12-Nov	12:00	12:10	10	W	D	0	S	548	Thursday	O	54.8
12-Nov	17:10	17:25	15	W	D	0	S	949	Thursday	O	63.3
13-Nov	7:45	8:00	15	W	D	0	S	840	Friday	O	56
13-Nov	17:50	21:00	210	F	S	45	P	1186	Friday	P	5.7
15-Nov	8:20	9:10	50	Daddy’s Donuts	S	10.96	S	1762	Sunday	P	35.2
15-Nov	9:30	10:45	75	CountrySide Donut House	S	2.2	S	2547	Sunday	P	34
15-Nov	11:00	12:15	75	Factory Donuts	S	4.11	S	1672	Sunday	P	22.3
15-Nov	13:15	15:00	105	B	S	0	S	2181	Sunday	P	20.8
15-Nov	15:30	16:30	60	Bellevue Top Pot	S	6	S	2160	Sunday	P	36
16-Nov	7:35	7:55	20	W	D	0	S	1066	Monday	P	53.3
16-Nov	12:40	12:50	10	W	D	0	S	530	Monday	P	53
16-Nov	17:45	7:55	10	Spinderella	S	0	S	643	Monday	P	64.3
17-Nov	7:35	8:15	40	W	D	0	S	2484	Tuesday	P	62.1
17-Nov	12:20	12:35	15	W	D	0	S	1098	Tuesday	P	73.2
18-Nov	na	na	na	na	na	na	na	0	Wednesday	na	na
19-Nov	na	na	na	na	na	na	na	0	Thursday	na	na
20-Nov	na	na	na	na	na	na	na	0	Friday	na	na
21-Nov	na	na	na	na	na	na	na	0	Saturday	na	na
22-Nov	na	na	na	na	na	na	na	0	Sunday	na	na
23-Nov	na	na	na	na	na	na	na	0	Monday	na	na
24-Nov	na	na	na	na	na	na	na	0	Tuesday	na	na
25-Nov	7:30	8:00	30	W	D	0	S	2063	Wednesday	P	68.8
25-Nov	17:00	17:20	20	W	D	0	S	1195	Wednesday	P	59.8
25-Nov	18:00	19:30	90	AFK Renton	S	16.14	S	4810	Wednesday	P	53.4
26-Nov	10:15	12:00	105	H	S	0	S	4133	Thursday	P	39.4
27-Nov	21:45	22:00	15	H	S	0	S	600	Friday	P	40
28-Nov	10:00	10:15	15	H	S	0	S	600	Saturday	P	40
28-Nov	12:15	15:00	165	B	S	3.23	S	3600	Saturday	P	21.8
28-Nov	16:20	16:50	30	H	S	0	S	2566	Saturday	P	85.5
28-Nov	18:40	19:40	60	J	S	3	S	2548	Saturday	P	42.5
29-Nov	na	na	na	na	na	na	na	0	Sunday	na	na
30-Nov	19:00	21:15	135	North Bend Bar and Grill	S	34.16	N	7483	Monday	P	55.4

And finally the stats you’ve been waiting for! Cafe Connections (Aster & Tilde Book 1) was the novel that had me deserting For the Love of Donuts for 8 days in November. But I was still writing! See…

Date	Total Word Count	Day	New Words
9-Oct to 22-Oct	5,752	Thursday	5752
23-Oct	6,155	Friday	403
26-Oct	6,903	Monday	748
27-Oct	7,355	Tuesday	452
28-Oct	8,607	Wednesday	1,252
29-Oct	9,487	Thursday	880
30-Oct	10,348	Friday	861
31-Oct	12,291	Saturday	1,943
1-Nov	12,847	Sunday	556
2-Nov	14,111	Monday	1,264
3-Nov	15,077	Tuesday	966
4-Nov	15,729	Wednesday	652
5-Nov	17,666	Thursday	1,937
6-Nov	18,610	Friday	944
7-Nov	20,640	Saturday	2,030
9-Nov	22,032	Monday	1,392
12-Nov	22,064	Thursday	32
13-Nov	26,003	Friday	3,939
14-Nov	35,112	Saturday	9,109
17-Nov	37,226	Tuesday	2,114
18-Nov	41,668	Wednesday	4,442
19-Nov	44,470	Thursday	2,802
20-Nov	50,016	Friday	5,546
21-Nov	56,031	Saturday	6,015
22-Nov	58,312	Sunday	2,281
23-Nov	59,438	Monday	1,126
24-Nov	64,136	Tuesday	4,698

Gifts for Geeks – Saturday the 12th (Renton, WA at the AFK) – Books! Authors!

December 5, 2015 by rachelauthorbarnard in At One's Beast, Ataxia and the Ravine of Lost Dreams, author platform, Free Valley Publishing, Local Authors, Local Eats, Local Events, Rachel Barnard

I had such a fun time last year!

I’m doing it again this year, with 7 other local authors.

My books for sale:

In Ataxia and the Ravine of Lost Dreams A young girl takes on the mighty powers of the government but is sidetracked by challenges of the academy she attends, the new boy, and keeping her secrets safe.

She will do anything – forfeit her identity, friendships, even love – to be humanity’s champion.

As the U.S. government prepares to take over the world, MC infiltrates one of their elite academies that trains future leaders. MC must rise to the top in the Cube training grounds in order to be placed high up within the government so she can stop them in their takeover.

MC is a character who can easily see faults in everyone but herself.

It is not until her fourth and final year at the academy that her top-student status is threatened by the sudden arrival of Li, the new transfer student. MC is completely focused on her self-created mission until she gets sidetracked by Li, who might be bad news in more ways than which she bargained.

A Young Adult, Dystopian, Not-So-Distant-Future Adventure Novel with a hint of sci-fi and a bit of romance.

Only $0.99 ebook, purchase below

http://bit.ly/1WUkFA3

From once upon a time to happily ever after, At One’s Beast highlights the struggles of two young adolescents who have fallen prey to chance evil circumstances. When it took the entire village to create the monster, what will it take to break the spell?

Available in print, ebook, and as an audiobook, At One’s Beast is a new look at an old fairy tale.

http://a-fwd.com/asin=B00MH8DFC8

December 12th-December 19th, At One’s Beast will be 67% off as an ebook.

Foodie Fridays: Nano Win Reward – Daddy’s Donuts Kenmore “one of everything”

December 4, 2015 by rachelauthorbarnard in Foodie Fridays, For the Love of Donuts, Local Eats, NaNoWriMo, Rachel Barnard and tagged Daddy's Donuts, Donuts, Kenmore, Rewards | 2 Comments

Nano Stats coming Monday – but I decided to reward myself with an immediate donut foray for accomplishing all my goals in November for NaNoWriMo and a challenge/reward to come in 2016 (stay tuned for what it is on Monday).

My first reward for finishing both first drafts of my For the Love of Donuts Book 2’s was to buy “one of everything” from my new favorite donut vendor and local business Daddy’s Donuts in Kenmore.

I chose today as the big day and headed over when they open (8AM) but had to wait for their new machine to be setup, and Daddy himself (Eduardo) gave me a complementary mocha (how nice!) to enjoy while I waited.

See how excited I am as I wait to ask for “one of everything.”

Check out the ‘tip’ jar.

And the donuts start coming out!

Thanks Daddy’s!

The guys at the office loved ’em!

About my series, For the Love of Donuts, and the two books I wrote first drafts of this November:

The Optimist Sees the Donut (For the Love of Donuts Book 2) & The Pessimist Sees the Hole (For the Love of Donuts Book 2)

Author: Rachel Barnard

Genre: Young Adult

Synopsis

Book Review: The Soultakers (The Treemakers, #2) by Christina L. Rozelle

December 3, 2015 by rachelauthorbarnard in Book Review and tagged Christina L. Rozelle, Dystopian, The Soultakers, The Treemakers

The Soultakers (The Treemakers, #2) by Christina L. Rozelle

A Dystopian/Sci-Fi Adventure Novel published by A Spark in the Dark Press (12/03/14)

Summary:

Joy led the Treemaker children to the oasis, Zentao, in book one. They have settled in, but Joy is burdened with a terrible secret about the solace they thought they found and they must once again abandon this familiarity to find rest and freedom elsewhere.

Keywords:

Children, Orphans, Survival, Death, Exploration, Dystopian World, Polluted Air, Evil Intentions, AI, Motherliness, Help, Underground, Paradise, Fighting, Strength, Resilience, Spirit, Refuge, Power-Hungry, Keys, the Wall

My Review:

Joy is, once again, my favorite character. She is a hero and a mother to all the children. There is only one path for Joy in life, she must do or die trying and these are high stakes. Everything about Joy is exciting as she is solidly in the middle of a powerful adventure. Joy didn’t have to step up to be the hero, she already is everything a hero is, she is brave and willing to sacrifice to save those she loves. There are so many to save.

The villain in this book, book two of the series, is made more clear and given a visible personality and face. He is very evil. His depravity will make you cringe. He is stereotypical for a villain but made even more villainy and evil than your average bad guy who is power hungry and corrupt. The things he does in this book will make you shiver. Rozelle does a very good job of creating her villain and making him the most despicable person you’ve ever known.

The society in this book, Alzenei, is much like the Capitol in the Hunger Games, much like Lord Daumier the villain is like President Snow. There was a detail in the Treemakers that really made me cringe, almost as much as the despicable scenes with Joy and Daumier where he shows his true nature and how evil he is to the very core. I wish that beauty wasn’t the same in this future/dystopia as it is in present day, that there was a different possibility. Lord Daumier wants Joy to be blonde haired and blue eyed. For their ‘special night’ she must be beautified with no body hair, lots of makeup, plucked, primped, moisturized etc, dressed up. Why can’t beauty be something different in this society?

I thought the big ‘twist’ could have been layered in better as it was very abrupt and hard to handle reading such a different thing entirely in the middle of the book. You get entranced in the main story and continuation from book one, plunging down the rabbit hole of Joy’s life until suddenly, poof, you’re somewhere else entirely. This is not a twist, it’s a different book and almost different idea into the middle of the Soultakers and took some time to get used to.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review

This novel was published by A Spark in the Dark Press on December 3rd, 2014 and is available on Amazon here.

TL;DR Star Rating: 4.50

Links for more information:

Amazon Author Page: http://amzn.to/1HYTjRo

“The Rozelle Army” Mailing List: http://eepurl.com/68sS9

Google+: http://bit.ly/1Kua9Mb

A Spark in the Dark Blog: http://bit.ly/1NmGJQl

A Spark in the Dark Facebook Page: http://on.fb.me/1JSEmWz

The Fansite of Christina L. Rozelle: http://christinalrozelle.com/

Facebook Profile: https://www.facebook.com/cl.rozelle

Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/clrozellesouth

Twitter: Christina on Twitter (@CLRozelle)

Instagram: christina.l.rozelle

YouTube: http://bit.ly/1MnlYBH

Spotify: https://play.spotify.com/user/christinalrozelle

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/thetreemakers/

CHBB Publishing: http://www.chbbpublishing.com/

About the author:

Christina L. Rozelle, author of the YA Dystopian-Scifi-Romance-Adventure, “The Treemakers,” is a mother of four currently residing in Dallas, Texas. She enjoys fiction that shines a light in the dark; has emotion, intensity, verve, depth, and truth. She writes what she’d love to read. Though her focus is currently YA speculative fiction, she dabbles in other genres as well, including adult speculative, fantasy, addiction/recovery fiction, and other general fiction. To find out more about her, as well as links to her other social media outposts, please visit her fan-site: http://christinalrozelle.com/

Book Review: The Truth About Mud – A ‘Mangleblood Rose’ Story (A YA Fantasy Adventure Novelette) by Christina L. Rozelle

December 1, 2015 by rachelauthorbarnard in Book Review and tagged Christina L. Rozelle, Short Story, The Truth About Mud

The Truth About Mud – A ‘Mangleblood Rose’ Story (A YA Fantasy Adventure Novelette) by Christina L. Rozelle

A Fantasy Novellette published by CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (01/19/15)

Summary:

“Oh crabapples, you’re the most atrocious troll I’ve ever seen in my life.” (Page 31).

Thistle has always wanted to cross the Mangleblood River, but as a troll and Mud she has been told not to. It isn’t until a crow steals her beloved nan’s medallion that she gathers the courage to defy her king and find a way across the river. Her friend Fane finds her as she searches for the way and joins her in the quest. Together they cross the river and find something so new that Thistle will lose herself temporarily in its shininess.

Keywords:

Muds, Treasures, Kings, Journey, Magic, Fantasy, Gross, Breaking Orders, Independent, Friendship, Duty, Mascue, Femme, Different World

My Review:

There are a few themes touched upon in The Truth About Mud that are fascinating to read about in the context of a story about Trolls and Mud and a gross-out kind of environment that as humans we are entirely not used to. The world Rozelle builds is so unfamiliar to us that it is mesmerizing in its depth of uniqueness. The characters are Trolls and live a very different life than humans and Rozelle builds up their environment expertly to show how they live the way they do and what’s important to them in their world.

I found the ‘gender’ difference and the ‘species’ differences to be fascinating, especially as presented in a seemingly harmless fantasy world.

Mascues and Femmes I assume are similar to males and females as we would kind of know them in our human world. Mascues are masculine and tough, but also very gross and very troll-like. They train and are warriors. Femmes are feminine but also very gross and they have powers of enchantment. The author sticks with typical gender roles, but extends them beyond the norm for her world infested with boogers and mud and yucky things.

Treasures and Muds are two types of trolls that are separated by the Mangleblood river. The way Rozelle plays with stereotypes and prejudices of one species of troll with another almost mimics real world stereotyping.

This novel was published by CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform on January 19th, 2015 and is available on Amazon here.

TL;DR Star Rating: 4.00

Links for more information:

Christina L. Rozelle’s Website

Twitter

Goodreads

Nano November: Week four in Review – Word count: 94,039

November 30, 2015 by rachelauthorbarnard in For the Love of Donuts, Local Authors, Local Events, NaNoWriMo, Rachel Barnard

Total time spent: 8 hours and 50 minutes (530 minutes)

Total word count: 94,039 (30,262 in week 1 & 25,520 in week 2 &16,143 in week 3)

WIP Word Count Progress Reports:

The Optimist Sees the Donut – 43,591 words

The Pessimist Sees the Hole – 50,017 words

Café Connections (Aster & Tilde Book 1) – 64,136

Day 22: 11/22/15, Sunday

Location(s): NA

Noteworthy: I worked on Cafe Connections today. Will work on Donuts when I finish the first draft of this romance novel.

Money Spent: $0

Total time spent: 0 minutes

Total word count: 0 words

Day 23: 11/23/15, Monday

Location(s):

Noteworthy: I worked on Cafe Connections today. Will work on Donuts when I finish the first draft of this romance novel.

Money Spent: $0

Total time spent: 0 minutes

Total word count: 0 words

Day 24: 11/24/15, Tuesday

Location(s):

Noteworthy: I worked on Cafe Connections today. Will work on Donuts when I finish the first draft of this romance novel.

Money Spent: $0

Total time spent: 0 minutes

Total word count: 0 words

Day 25: 11/25/15, Wednesday

Location(s):

○ Early at work 7:30AM-8AM, 2063 words

○ After work 5PM-5:20PM, 1195 words

○ AFK in Renton 6:00PM-7:30PM. 4810 words

Noteworthy: Even though I’d spent a week off from writing this book, I was able to pick it right back up fresh in the morning

Money Spent: $16.14 on Sell Out Sliders and a wonderful artisan tea at the AFK

Total time spent: 2 hours and 20 minutes

Total word count: 8,068 words

Day 26: 11/26/15, Thursday

Location(s):

○ At home 10:15AM-12:00PM, 4133 words

Total time spent: 1 hour and 45 minutes

Total word count: 4,133 words

Day 27: 11/27/15, Friday

Location(s):

○ At home 9:45PM-10:00PM, 600 words

Total time spent: 15 minutes

Total word count: 600 words

Day 28: 11/28/15, Saturday

Location(s):

○ At home 10AM-10:15AM, 600 words

○ Neverending Bookstore 12:15PM-3PM, 3600 words

○ At home 4:20PM-4:50PM, 2566 words

○ St James Espresso 6:40PM-7:40PM, 2548 words

Noteworthy: I was pushing to finish the Pessimist Sees the Hole and worked hard to get to 50k in that book.

Money Spent: $3.23 for the special pumpkin white chocolate mocha from Brew in downtown Bothell and $3 ish for tea from St. James

Total time spent: 4 hours and 30 minutes

Total word count: 9,314 words

Local Events to Get More Books! Si View Holiday Bazaar (N. Bend WA) and Maple Valley Holiday Bazaar (WA)

November 27, 2015 by rachelauthorbarnard in Free Valley Publishing, Local Authors, Local Eats, Local Events, Maple Valley and tagged Christmas, gifts, Holiday Bazaar, Maple Valley, Maple Valley Holiday Bazaar, North Bend, Si View Holiday Bazaar

Si View Holiday Bazaar in North Bend, WA
December 5th 2015 10AM-3PM
Cost: Free
More Info

The Si View Community Center is holding its annual Holiday Bazaar on Saturday, December 5th, 2015 from 10am to 3pm. Si View Community Center, located in the center of North Bend, offers a quaint atmosphere that lends itself perfectly to this Holiday tradition. See some pictures from last year’s event here. Facebook event page here.

Maple Valley Holiday Bazaar in Maple Valley, WA
December 5th 2015 10AM-3PM
Cost: Free
More Info

The Maple Valley Community Center is holding its annual Holiday Bazaar on Saturday, December 5th, 2015 from 10am to 3pm. Maple Valley Community Center, located in the center of Maple Valley, offers a quaint atmosphere that lends itself perfectly to this Holiday tradition.

Two equally quaint, equally fun local Holiday gift-finding bazaar’s! Please come out and show your support for small local businesses, say hi to the authors at their booth and get some books!

Book Review: The King of Average by Gary Schwartz

November 26, 2015 by rachelauthorbarnard in Book Review and tagged Gary Schwartz, The King of Average

The King of Average by Gary Schwartz

A Middle Grade Adventure Novel published by Updrift (10/07/15)

Summary:

“Here is your task: You must find our former king. Discover why he renounced the mediocracy. Return and swear you’ll never aspire to be any greater or less than expected and you shall be our new king.” (Kindle Locations 876-878).

James is average. After finding himself in another world where there are talking goats and little birds, he is invited to apply to be King of Average. James fancies himself the most average kid in the world and thinks this a mighty fine plan. To be the King, though, he must go on a quest to find out what happened to the previous King of Average (now missing and why they need a new king). Along the way James will discover that he is more than just average, that he can be loved and appreciated, and that he is capable of doing exceptional things.

Keywords:

Average, Word Puns, Sarcasm, Quest, King, Other World, Talking Goat, Spying Bird, Friends, Challenges, Believing in Yourself, Epiphany, Secrets, Doubts, Self-Worth, Life Lessons, Adventure, Hilarity

My Review:

Gary Schwartz has written a delightful middle grade novel that is funny and fun to read for all ages. I know that I would have loved this as much as a younger reader as I’m enjoying it as an adult. As an adult I’m enjoying it for the language and puns. As a young reader I would have enjoyed it for the story, fun situations, and fun characters.

I love the little images throughout the story.

After the initial premise and plot was explained, the book got a bit boring because the immediate tension let up and only James’s goal of being King of Average kept the story going as he was constantly interrupted in his mission by the whimsicality of the funky characters and the oddness of the interesting setting.

This novel was published by Updrift on October 7th, 2015 and is available on Amazon here.

TL;DR Star Rating: 4.25

Links for more information:

Gary Schwartz’s website

Goodreads

Book Review: Average Joe and the Extraordinaires by Belart Wright

November 24, 2015 by rachelauthorbarnard in Book Review and tagged Average Joe and the Extraordinaires, Belart Wright, YA

Average Joe and the Extraordinaires by Belart Wright

A YA Adventure published by BWright Publishing (12/18/14)

Summary:

“Confusing the enemy greatly contributes to their defeat.” (Kindle Location 1375).

Joe is your average guy in everything but putting himself in harm’s way to save someone in need. When it comes to helping or saving others, Joe does not hesitate. When he sees ‘Beauty’ in trouble at the local Orangetown Pickers game, he jumps in to help. But Beauty is not your average damsel and she isn’t really in distress, but Joe came at the right time and she uses him to help her save a different damsel. In the days and weeks that follow Joe’s life will be anything but average because that one decision to jump in and be a hero puts him at the top of some not so nice lists, least of all with the local bullies at his school.

Keywords:

Fairy Tale Adaptation, Contemporary Fairy Tale, Magic, Survival, Family, Love, Romance, True Love, Souls

My Review:

I loved Joe. He was weak. He was ignorant. He was clueless and hopeless and decidedly average but even average people can be heroes. Even average people can rise to a challenge and be extraordinary. Joe shows us that with determination and strong-mindedness, even in the face of cluelessness, one can do amazing things. And get caught. And get shot at. And stay calm. And be saved. Joe isn’t just one thing in this story but overall he doesn’t stop to think about helping another when the consequences for his own self could be severe.

The “Damsels” as they might be called were not your typical damsels in distress. Though Joe calls the first damsel Beauty and the name sticks, she is more than this nickname would lead you to believe. It is not her beauty that sticks out, it is her extraordinary abilities, her fighting spirit, and the way she is tough and kicks butt through it all. Dahlila was just as tough as Beauty though she did get herself more stuck in bad situations than Beauty.

The tech element in this book was fun and didn’t detract from the believability of the story. Why not have the good guy be extraordinary?

The humor in the writing style and dialogue and personalities of the characters made this book super fun to read. The scenes with the Bad Azz boys and Mod were particularly well done and funny as all get out. They were a cool spin to the typical high school bully in the cafeteria scene.

It’s fun to get the kick butt female’s story from the clueless male’s perspective.

This novel was published by BWright Publishing December 18th, 2014 and is available on Amazon here.

TL;DR Star Rating:4.75

Links for more information:

Goodreads

Belart Wright’s Website

Twitter

Nano November: Week three in Review – Word count:

November 23, 2015 by rachelauthorbarnard in For the Love of Donuts, Local Authors, Local Events, NaNoWriMo, Rachel Barnard | 4 Comments

Total time spent: 7 hours and 40 minutes (460 minutes)

Total word count: 71,924 (30,262 in week 1 & 25,520 in week 2) for 16,143 new words in week 3

WIP Word Count Progress Reports:

The Optimist Sees the Donut – 43,591 words

The Pessimist Sees the Hole – 27,955 words

Café Connections (Aster & Tilde Book 1) – 46,000 (14,472 words week 2, 8,640 words week 1 of Nano and 12k in October)

Day 15: 11/15/15, Sunday
Location(s):
○ Daddy’s Donuts 8:20AM-9:10AM, 1762 words
○ CountrySide Donut House 9:30AM-10:45AM, 2547 words
○ Factory Donuts11AM-12:15PM, 1672 words
○ Neverending Bookstore 1:15PM-3PM, 2180 words
○ Top Pot – Bellevue 3:30PM-4:30PM, 2160 words
Total time spent: 6 hours and 5 minutes
Total word count: 10,322 words

Day 16: 11/16/15, Monday
Location(s):
○ Work 7:35AM -7:55AM, 1066 words
○ Work 12:40PM -12:50PM, 530 words
○ Spinderella before class 5:45P-5:55PM, 643 words
Total time spent: 40 minutes
Total word count: 2239 words

Day 17: 11/17/15, Tuesday
Location(s):
○ Work 7:35-8:15AM, 2484 words
○ Work during lunch 12:20 – 12:35, 1098 words
Total time spent: 1 hour 5 minutes
Total word count: 3582words

Day 18: 11/18/15, Wednesday
Location(s):
Noteworthy: I chose to spend today working on my romance novel after getting critiques yesterday from my group on an earlier chapter.
Total time spent: 0 time
Total word count: 0 words

Day 19: 11/19/15, Thursday
Location(s):
Noteworthy: I worked on my romance novel again! Doing super well on that novel and can’t “put it down.”
Total time spent: 0 time
Total word count: 0 words

Day 20: 11/20/15, Friday
Location(s):
Location(s):
Noteworthy: I worked on my romance novel again! Doing super well on that novel and can’t “put it down.”
Total time spent: 0 time
Total word count: 0 words

Day 21: 11/21/15, Saturday
Location(s):
Location(s):
Noteworthy: I worked on my romance novel again. I’ve decided to finish this book and then go back to donuts
Total time spent: 0 time
Total word count: 0 words

Rachel Author Barnard

Author, Reviewer, Donut Enthusiast

Author Archives: rachelauthorbarnard

Nano November: Final Thoughts and Words – Word count: 101,522 +52k

The Optimist Sees the Donut (For the Love of Donuts Book 2) & The Pessimist Sees the Hole (For the Love of Donuts Book 2)

Synopsis

Gifts for Geeks – Saturday the 12th (Renton, WA at the AFK) – Books! Authors!

Foodie Fridays: Nano Win Reward – Daddy’s Donuts Kenmore “one of everything”

The Optimist Sees the Donut (For the Love of Donuts Book 2) & The Pessimist Sees the Hole (For the Love of Donuts Book 2)

Synopsis

Book Review: The Soultakers (The Treemakers, #2) by Christina L. Rozelle

Book Review: The Truth About Mud – A ‘Mangleblood Rose’ Story (A YA Fantasy Adventure Novelette) by Christina L. Rozelle

Nano November: Week four in Review – Word count: 94,039

Local Events to Get More Books! Si View Holiday Bazaar (N. Bend WA) and Maple Valley Holiday Bazaar (WA)

Book Review: The King of Average by Gary Schwartz

Book Review: Average Joe and the Extraordinaires by Belart Wright

Nano November: Week three in Review – Word count: