December News!

Hey Y'all! (As I live outside of Birmingham, AL, I am allowed to use "y'all" even though I am a professional writer, FYI.) December is going by so quickly, I feel like we are going to be at Christmas before we know it. Here are a few of the exciting things going on with me/my publishing house this month...

My day for the 12 Days of Christmas sale at TWCS is December 19th, but there are lots of other titles in a variety of genres to check out! Click HERE to visit TWCS and view the schedule.

Also this month, TWCS is proud to announce an official Young Adult division on Facebook! Now you can keep up with JUST YA book news from yours truly and the other YA authors at The Writer's Coffee Shop. Visit our Facebook page HERE and click "like"!

And don't forget, with Christmas almost upon us, that The Gateway Chronicles make great Christmas presents for readers of all ages. Here's what a recent new reader said in an e-mail to me this month after reading my books for the first time: 

I started your books last week and finished "The Enchanted" today. I consider myself a very avid reader, as I read constantly, and I must inform you that your books are my new favorite series of all time. I loved them more than Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, Narnia, and even the Hunger Games. 

Just click on any of the covers in the sidebar to be redirected to the TWCS bookstore to purchase copies. Feel free to contact me directly at kbhoyle@yahoo.com with any questions! 

Awesome Student Review

In honor of The Enchanted coming out in less than a week, I thought I'd publish a review of the first three books that was sent to me by a new student of mine. For those of you who still haven't read my books, perhaps this will encourage you to check them out! ;o) Anyhow, this student was incredibly gracious and sweet in her review of my books, and she gave me permission to publish her e-mail (with spoilers edited out) on my blog. Enjoy!

OH MY GOODNESS!!! HOW CAN YOU DO THIS TO ME??????? AAHHHHHH!

I'm having an experience you may be tired of hearing about...but I just finished The White Thread and I don't think I can stand to wait for The Enchanted to come out!!!

When I first picked up The Six, I was not sure I would not enjoy it, due to all the parallels to The Chronicles of Narnia. But I soon fell in love with the Gateway Chronicles because our writing styles are so similar and I just loved the Six themselves. Darcy, of course, is so much like me. Her attitudes towards family time and extroverted Sam are almost parallel to mine under similar circumstances. Sam, on the other hand, annoyed me, but after she stuck up for Darcy like she did, I liked her a whole lot. Amelia...well, she was kind of snobbish. But she really is great, because she cares about Sam, and keeps Darcy level-headed. As for the boys, I just swoon every time I read about Perry. He's always doing something cute. But he just really needs something to deepen his character. And Lewis is just awesome. Especially in The White Thread. He's so sweet and a definite gentleman. Well, as for Dean...frankly, I'd like to get to know him better. Right now he's just kind of standoffish and unkind. I'd like to see him be better friends with Darcy.

And another character I just have grown to love is Tellius. *sigh* I love those characters with deep, emotional scars no one can see. In The Six, I didn't think much about Tellius, until the end, when I thought it was cute that he went to Darcy's bedside in the infirmary. In The Oracle I liked him more, and he did cute things again like awkwardly saying he was glad Darcy was safe. But in The White Thread, oh my goodness. Darcy can't deny it. He's so right for her. Tellius rocks. I love him. Team Tellius all the way!

So, I began The Six when we visited Alabama the first time and you presented me with it. I read it steadily in the days to follow, but, due to school and moving and stress in general, I unfortunately did not finish it until the second time we came to Alabama. Then I began The Oracle, but restarted it and finished it just this week. It was so good. Yahto Veli is another great character that I just love, because he cares so much about Darcy, but I think the fact that it was Yahto who came around in the end is what really got to me. And yeah, I started The White Thread yesterday and finished possibly half an hour ago. SO GOOD!!!! I cried again. 

And poor Colin! As creepy as he is, I genuinely feel bad for him, and I hope he's okay.

I feel as though I don't have a right to love the books so much, considering I just got here, I barely know you, and the books have been around a couple years. But I hope you consider me a fan, and I hope we'll be able to chat more in the future, as I love to write and have loved to since I can remember. I think you are amazing in the feat you have accomplished! Writing is hard work!!! Thank you for your amazing novels. ;)

Your new student and ENORMOUS fan.

News on Books 3 and 4...

Real Quick...

Book 3 of The Gateway Chronicles, The White Thread is NOW available for sale! Just click on the icon on the left to order paperback or Kindle versions from TWCS. I'm so excited about the 4 and 5-Star reviews this book is garnering in the Young Adult reading community! Purchase it now to read it before this fall and the release of book 4! http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15768609-the-white-thread

And I also have the cover reveal for Book 4 of The Gateway Chronicles, The Enchanted and its release date: October 18, 2012. Add it now on Goodreads! http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15834466-the-enchanted

Girl Who Reads: Thankful: The White Thread

Girl Who Reads: Thankful: The White Thread. Fabulous review that made me blush! Enjoy.

Revisions... And YouTube Book Plug!

Hello All! I am halfway through my first read-through/revision of The White Thread and feeling very good about the pace of things. This first revision is mostly about checking for continuity from beginning to end (ie. did I start any subplots that I neglected to resolve or address later on?) and checking for obvious typos. When I am finished with this, it will go off to a good friend for editing, and then another good friend after that for another edit. While it is out of my hands, I will be re-reading The Six and The Oracle to fact and continuity check (again... it's really a never-ending process). When it comes back to me, I will incorporate all changes and suggestions, in the meantime completing my second read-through. Then I will hand it off to a student reader. I do this to gage reader response to the story and how successful I was at suspending disbelief. While it is with my student reader, it will also go to an author friend who will be reading it to write a "blurb" for the back cover for me. Finally I will submit the draft to createspace and order my first proof copy so that I can complete my third read-through... and so forth and so on until I feel that it is as polished as it is going to get. There are also formatting and cover submission details to work through with createspace, which is always a headache, so I don't really want to think about that just yet. Oh yes, and I suppose I will have to write my back cover description soon. So... lots to do, lots to do. I will try to keep it fun and post an excerpt or two from the book as publication time draws near. It warms my heart to know how many of you guys are looking forward to this book! While YOU are waiting, check out this amazing youtube video plug for my book. It will take less than two minutes to watch, and the more hits it gets on youtube, the better! Thanks!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxxHI6M2kSQ

Online Review and Giveaway!

http://girl-who-reads.blogspot.com/2011/02/gateway-chronicles-six-by-k.html Click on the link to read a review of The Six by a blogger and to get a chance to win FREE signed copies of both The Six and The Oracle! I was very thankful for the opportunity to send my books to this blogger, who has been very kind to me!

New Review of The Oracle

The following is a new review of The Oracle. The woman who wrote this for me is someone I was able to connect with via facebook through a mutual acquaintance while I was writing The Oracle. She's a fellow author of YA literature (Plain Jane, on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=Schledia+Benefield) and has become a good online friend. We will get to meet in person for the first time this February when she and her family will be in Birmingham.

"I was introduced to the first book in this series this past summer, and I anxiuosly awaited the release of the second. At this point I find myself desiring the author to finish the third installment before the planned release date. I'm not sure if I will be able to wait that long! I have started reading the first book to my children at night, and they get aggravated with me when I stop for the evening.

I had a difficult time putting The Six down as I read it, and I found it almost impossible to lay down The Oracle. I would literally have to pry myself away. The Oracle keeps you on your toes wondering what could possibly happen next. I was taken by the author's willingness to all such unfortunate events to befall the main character. Her characters are truly loveable, believable, and filled with flaws. The characters and what the author brings into the characters' lives makes your heart swell with joy as well as break with piercing sadness."

Read more reviews of The Oracle at Amazon.com or leave your own!

New Review of The Six

I thought that it might be interesting to publish the most recent Amazon review that I have had of The Six. I chose this review also because it was written by someone who was not an acquaintance or friend of mine previous to his discovery of my books through a write-up in our college alumni newsletter. (It's always good, as a self-published author, to be able to see that people other than my immediate friends and family find my books to be valid and worth reading!) I was contacted by this reviewer and his wife and have since had the privilege of striking up an ongoing correspondence via facebook. I hope you enjoy reading the review, and if you think it might encourage someone you know to try out my books, feel free to pass it along!

"Came across this book by chance and definitely glad I did. In my opinion the first couple of chapters are a little slow, but that's just because all the characters and nuances are being introduced. Once Darcy steps into the woods that first time though is when the speed picks up and it doesn't end until the closing page. You definitely find yourself looking forward to what comes next and there are some definite rewarding moments when you think you figure something out and then you're right. That being said, it's not predictable as I found on a couple of occasions where I gasped or said, "what?!" The details in the book are plentiful, but not to the point that they become excessive and bog down the flow. It's interesting to see the different dynamics develop and then change throughout the book between the characters.

The Six is along the lines of Chronicles of Narnia, Inheritance Cycle, Harry Potter, and even a little Lord of the Rings. However, it is completely on its own in terms of content, but you can see little flecks of those series in The Gateway Chronicles, at least in my opinion, so if you like any or all of those mentioned, I have a feeling you'll definitely like this series.

This book/series has quickly become a family favorite. My wife and I (24 and 23 respectively) love this book/series and my younger brother (16) actually finished this book in EIGHT hours! I have been telling him about it and told him to start reading it. He took a break to eat, and that was about it, if that gives you any indication of the quality and intrigue of this novel.

Greatly reccommended and looking forward to Fall 2011!" ~Ryan T.