by kristinoakley | Dec 7, 2019 | Books and Movies, For Readers, Newsletter
A year ago, I mentioned the Icelandic tradition of giving books on Christmas Eve and spending the whole night reading and drinking hot chocolate. Brilliant! With that in mind, I recommended books I’d enjoyed throughout the year worthy of a Christmas Eve splurge....
by kristinoakley | Nov 23, 2019 | Books and Movies, Newsletter
Last weekend, I traveled with my younger daughter, my sister, and my niece to a magical world of stories — Walt Disney World. We explored as much of the Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, the Animal Kingdom, and Epcot as we could in three days, walking ten miles...
by kristinoakley | Nov 9, 2019 | Creativity & Craft, Newsletter
It’s official–I’m a Wrimo which means I’m participating in NaNoWriMo. No, that’s not a new weight loss program or exercise regiment. NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month and is a project that inspires people to write 50,000...
by kristinoakley | Oct 18, 2019 | Books and Movies, Fictional Research, Newsletter
I just finished reading Stephen King’s latest novel The Institute and it’s now one of my favorite books by this master. The stakes are high in this tale of kidnapping, telepathy, and saving the world. The tension is palatable, the characters are...
by kristinoakley | Sep 22, 2019 | Books and Movies, For Readers, Newsletter
My daughters and I take one big trip together every year. This year we went to San Francisco and Napa Valley — we just got back on last Monday! We’re huge bibliophiles so we manage to sneak in a stop at a bookstore, library, or an author’s favorite...
by kristinoakley | Aug 31, 2019 | Creativity & Craft, Newsletter
Where on Earth do I get ideas for my stories? From dreams? Fairy dust? Alcohol? No . . . not exactly. Sometimes I use my idea generator. I call it my “If I Were Supreme Ruler of the World, What Would I Do?” scenario. It’s similar to what Stephen King...
by kristinoakley | Aug 16, 2019 | Creativity & Craft, Newsletter
In my last newsletter, “Editing Out the Lightbulb”, I asked for feedback on how to begin The Devil Particle and received twenty-four responses! To refresh your memory, here were the choices: “The burnt-out lightbulb makes a satisfying ‘pop’ as I...
by kristinoakley | Aug 2, 2019 | Creativity & Craft, Newsletter
I’m in the process of reworking the beginning of my young adult dystopian novel The Devil Particle and could use some help. Which of the following book openings do you prefer? Which book would you be more likely to keep reading? Let me know! “The burnt-out...
