Know the Novel -- part THREE

 yes, I switched the language for the number again... don't judge me.

WELL WE'RE BACK. 

Yes, I forgot to post again. BUUUUUT hopefully a little forgiveness? I've been rather busy the last month. 

Anyways, it's the month we've all been waiting for! At least, I've been waiting for it since school started... Happy December, y'all! I'm so excited for advent this year, as I have given myself a challenge that I will share in a later post, but I'm also pumped just for the holiday season. Anyone else? Just me? HOPE NOT.

But, I'm not here to fangirl about Advent, am I? not yet at least

I'm here to finish off the Know your Novel tag! And I have to say, I was waiting very eagerly for this one. I get to tell y'all all about the rest of Take Up your Cross, which has been AMAZING, just saying. So, thank you, Christine, for creating this wonderful idea.

ANYWAYS anyone else think i have a favorite word to start paragraphs with???

OFF WE GO

Know the Novel is a 3-part linkup series for writers, one for each of these last three months of the year. Each part will feature ten questions you can answer on your own blog (or anywhere else on social media, if you’d like!). The questions will be focusing on different parts of your novel and how the writing is going.

THE QUESTIONS ARE AS FOLLOWS:

1. How did writing this novel go all around?

Um, it was fairly straight forward. The was a patch right in the middle I had a hard time wading through, but there wasn't much blockadge. Finding a good time to just WRITE was the hardest part. i blame school work Other than that, I had a fun time hanging out with the NOT chaotic crew. EMPHASIS ON NOT. THEY WERE NOT CHAOTIC IN THE SLIGHTEST. 

heh

MOVING ON

2. Did it turn out as you expected or completely different? How do you feel about the outcome?

Well, I wasn't expecting them to spend the whole book running like wild beasties through the forest. I also wasn't expecting part of the end climax to be basically the same thing as something that happens in To Die is Gain. I also wasn't expecting the person who died to be the one who actually DID die. I ALSO wasn't expecting the random character twist that sprung itself on me at the end. SO, let's just say the climax had me completely surprised. And I liked it! It was really good. I think...

3. What aspect of the story did you love writing about the most? (Characters, plot, setting, prose, etc.)

I always like writing stories in the forest. I don't know why. Maybe it's because I myself adore the woods? I really don't know. This one though... I might have given them a little too much woods. It was a big part of the plot, but I don't think I elaborated on the setting as much as I have in other stories. If it wasn't entirely critical to what was happening, it wasn't mentioned. 

I do love my characters, though. I've said it before, but some of these characters were the reason I decided to continue this series. I wasn't as able to go as in depth with some of them, since they weren't POV characters in this book, but I love my new cast. Sienna is a mix of one of my most generic characters, a lust for glory and recognition, and pure... Sienna-ness. I just love her. And I love my character arcs. I'm very happy with my characters.

4. What was your least favorite part?

Oh shoot, didn't I just answer this above? I don't like that I mostly ignored the setting. I mean, it WAS there, but it wasn't... really... there...? Also, I don't love that they were running the whole time. But, it is what it is... for now.

5. What do you feel needs the most work?

Wow, I should have read these questions before I started answering. I really need to work on... DUNDUHDUNAAA the setting and the setting. And the side characters. In To Die is Gain, I adored my side characters. They were strong and had more personality and explained reasons for why they were how they were. I did that in this one with some of my main-side characters...iiiiiish? But I kinda ignored some of the other less important folk. So.... probably those two things the most.

6. How do you feel about your characters now? Who’s your favorite? Least favorite? Anyone surprise you? Give us all the details!

Welp, anyone notice I am good at answering questions before they are asked? 

By now, I really love Sienna. She has a softer character arc than some of my other characters, but she's still delightful to write. She's just the right level of snarky, smart, and sweet, with a dash of recklessness thrown in. 

My least favorite..... ughhhhhhhhhh. I LOVE MY CHARACTERS. ALL OF THEM. I guess I'll say Wilson. Which is sad, since he's one of the ones who made me keep writing the series. But I've never really known what his inner conflict was, so he's always been a little dull, but I was hoping I'd manage to make him awesomely great in this one. I mean, the whole plot is basically what he does best! But, I was still trying to figure him out at times, so he's not as strong as I would have liked.

Well... the real character to surprise me is a biiiiig spoiler. But I was a little surprised with how Ethan turned out. He was originally one of the villains in the first book, and his side switcheroo surprised me then, but I thought, "Why not? This'll be fun! They can have a nice, mature chaperone." And he tried. Ethan tried very hard to keep everyone calm. But...you just can't control Lyra. Ever. No one can. So he ended up being the one who started most of my favorite quips and snarky one-liners. So, yeah.

7. What’s your next plan of action with this novel?

I'm gonna need to edit it at some point. That's a big number one plan. After that, probably a few hundred more rounds of edits. Then potential publishing. I don't really know where else it's gonna go. I will mention that there will be a book after this one, titled Follow the Son, and a... prequel? I guess...? I don't know what to call it, it's gonna be the book BEFORE To Die is Gain, but I'm.... you know, I don't even know how to explain it. The order is gonna be To Live is Christ, To Die is Gain, Take Up your Cross, Follow the Son.

And yes, the fact that they're all from Bible verses is intentional. Originally, they were going to be smaller series, but I decided to combine them.

8. If you could have your greatest dream realized for this novel, what would it be?

Traditionally published.

That's my biggest goal right now. My sister says I should edit it and then self-publish it, which I might do, but I want it to be traditionally published so bad.

9. Share some of your favorite snippets!

Uhh I already did most of my favorites last post........ Lemme see what I can scrounge up....

“I saw that, Enna!” Cody sang out. “Wilson, did you seriously not see that?”

“I did.” Wilson’s voice, right behind her.

Sienna turned and came face to face with him. She yelped, tried to scramble away, tripped over the box, and toppled to the ground. Somehow on the way down, her flailing legs managed to connect with Wilson’s kneecap, sending him to the ground as well. 

A snort echoed behind them. “That was possibly the highlight of all of your fails.”

Sienna pulled her legs out from under Wilson and stood up, rubbing a sore spot on her elbow. “What was the previous best?”

“Um, probably when you accidentally electrocuted yourself.” Lyra, Wilson’s other friend, was lounging on a nearby crate, her leg in a cast. “This one only tops it because you made Wilson fall over as well.”

~

“One last thing, boy. You’re not a Christain, are you?”

Keith’s heart froze. The melting ice down his back solidified into an icicle, tip sharp as a sword, ready to immobilize him with fear.

Tell the truth! One side of his heart yelled.

No! They’ll kill you! The other side protested.

It doesn’t matter, don’t be a coward! 

I don't even have to mean it, do I? I can lie.

Let these beasts see the truth. Be brave!

But Felicity. I have to take care of Felicity.

The argument ceased. Both sides loved Felicity.

He swallowed hard and shook his head. “No, sir. I’m not.”

~

“A trail.” Sienna rustled the leaves back across her etching and hopped to her feet. “What are we waiting for? Let’s find those fish!”

“Do we even know where to start?” Wilson’s eyes roved around the trees, his shoulders slumping wearily. “There are dozens of places they could be.”

A crack cut off anymore discussion.

The group turned to see Lyra on the ground again, the aspen now broken and at a crooked angle.

Nevertheless, Lyra pushed herself back up with a triumphant smirk and pointed to a small, light shape at the base of a tree across from them. “There’s one.”

~

Soldiers who had gone one direction came stampeding back under their oak to see what the fuss was.

“I saw one! Major, there was one of the smugglers, right over there!”

Just like little kids at an Easter egg hunt, Sienna thought, a mixture of amusement and fear slinking through her bones.

Wilson began descending from his perch. “Now we go.”

“You knew that would happen?” Felicity’s voice was skeptical.

“I knew Packer was going to cause his diversion soon. I just didn’t know when.”

~

Sienna let out a silent groan and tapped his shoulder, pulling him and Lyra into the shadows. She raised her hands toward Wilson’s face and signed, I have an idea.

“I’m guessing that means, ‘Lyra is a nitwit?’” Their companion mumbled. 

Wilson glared at her before signing back, Tell me it’s better than asking them out to dinner.

Sienna considered saying they offer Lyra in exchange, but decided this wasn’t the best time for such jests. I did think of that, but I have a better plan. And it involves fire.

“Fire?” Wilson whispered out loud, staring at her as if she had three heads. “Are you insane?”

Sienna smirked. “Tell me one person who ever answered yes to that question.”

Lyra crossed her arms. “Reading between the lines here, because no one is being decent enough to tell me what’s going on, I’m thinking you want to burn that place down.”

~

Sienna lifted her chin. “I’m not giving up.”

Wilson pushed himself to his feet and gave her a firm nod. “I won’t either.”

“It’s a death trap.” Ethan pinched the bridge of his nose. “You two are insane.”

“Maybe.” Wilson turned to look at Lyra. She was curled up into a tiny ball, no longer crying, just staring at the leaves with a completely blank expression. “But I’m feeling a little… reckless right now, if ya know what I mean.”

Sienna studied the part of his face that she could see. The tear she’d seen earlier while in the tree was gone, concealed by layers of dirt and sweat. But as she stared at him, a thin line in the filth became apparent. She wasn’t certain if it was sweat or a tear, but it was in a place where it could be either. “You don’t have to do this,” she whispered.

He turned and met her gaze. “I’d never be able to live with myself if I didn’t,” he responded. 

Sienna blinked hard and shook her head to clear the memory. Maybe Wilson wasn’t ready, but she could be ready for the both of them.

~

Keith's legs crumpled under the sudden slam against the ground and he toppled over.

He lay there on his back, watching Wilson make his way down with a trained grace. Once the older boy was on the ground, Keith let out a groan and tried to force himself to sit up. 

Wilson snickered. “That looked painful.”

Keith managed to push himself to his feet and rubbed his aching knees. “What are you talking about, it was super fun.” The burns on his hands stung again, and he winced. “I could do without the pain though.”

“Like I said, painful.” Wilson shook his head and helped discard the rope. “Let’s go find the others.”

Keith took a half step, but stopped at Wilson’s quirked eyebrow. “Let me guess. We need to run.”

“Running is a smuggler’s number one hobby,” he agreed. 

Keith sighed and shook his aching legs until they felt a bit readier to run. “Then what are we waiting for?”

And anything after this point is spoilers. But, hope you enjoyed those tasty little nibbles.

10. Did you glean any new writing and/or life lessons from writing this novel?

I learned I could make myself cry. And hate my own villain. And I just managed to delve deeper into my faith. Seriously though. I forced myself to think so hard. I just... don't know how to describe any of it.

SO there you have it! My final post for Know the Novel. Make sure you check out Christine's blog to experience some other funzies. Thank you, Christine, for making this delightful experience. I think I said that already. I don't care.

Anyways, prepare yourself for chaos in the days coming when you visit this blog. 

Shoot, I almost made it the whole post without any gifs... :\

ANYWAYS THANKS FOR READING!

Know the Novel part DEUX

 for those who understand french and spanish and are wondering why i switched between the two, i don't really know.

HELLO HELLO HELLO. It appears to be November. So, it appears to be time for Know the Novel tag part TWO. If you didn't read the first part, or have forgotten, here's a quick description:

Know the Novel is a 3-part linkup series for writers, one for each of these last three months of the year. Each part will feature ten questions you can answer on your own blog (or anywhere else on social media, if you’d like!). The questions will be focusing on different parts of your novel and how the writing is going.

Still sounding fun? Let's dive in!

1. How’s the writing going overall?

The writing itself is fine. I feel happy with my word counts, page counts, et cetera, so that's great. BUT... I want to punch my computer in its... nose? SOMEHOW it managed to delete about a thousand words off of my document. Like I said. NEEDS PUNCHING. 

anyhoo.

2. What’s been the most fun aspect about writing this novel so far?

Anything that does not include my computer deleting stuff. sorry im probably gonna be complaining about that too much today. I've also really enjoyed where the story is going. It's been taking some turns I hadn't thought of, and while some of them TERRIFY me, most are pretty great. It's also been fun knowing I've reached the part that first made me decide to write this story in the first place. I'd probably be done with the darn book if it wasn't for my stupid, old, deleting chrome book.

3. What do you think of your characters at this point? Who’s your favorite to write about?

I still really love my characters. Since three of them were the reason I decided to continue the series, I'd say my characters are pretty important. A few things about them are on the list of unknown turns, but aren't the things that terrify me. My favorite....? Ugh, why do you do this to me? Fine, probably Lyra. By now, she's the most diverse side-character, at least. She's also the sassy, ready to punch girl, so she's just altogether fun to write. I've also enjoyed Ethan, him being my older "wise" guy. The more main characters, Sienna and Keith, are both great, but Ethan and Lyra are just FUN.

eHHEHEHEHEHEheh IGNORE HIM

4. Has your novel surprised you in any way?

Well, I've already said that several unplotted turns have revealed their mostly glorious selves, but sadly most of those twists are spoilers so I can't exactly tell you what they are... A not as "spoiler-y" surprise was the decision to make a certain character chicken out in the last few chapters. That wasn't really part of the plan, but I felt I needed to humanize said character a bit. I had a similar shift with a different person, because I felt like some of the stuff they would be doing just wasn't as realistic as I wanted.

5. Have you come across any problem areas?

~starts choking violently~ DID ANYONE LISTEN TO MY EARLIER RANTING ABOUT MY STUPID CHROMEBOOK BECAUSE I CAN GO ON A LOT LONGER. ahem. I'm fine. There've been a few sections that are just HARD to write. Some because I'm brain dead, and a few are just emotionally taxing. I've not actually experienced much "I can't write this, I'm just going to sit here and stare and act like a zombie because my book is killing me." Well... I did have a small struggle with one of my chapters in To Die is Gain, but I'm used to smooth sailing. And then I reached Take Up your Cross aaaaaand... I don't know what happened. I actually had to stop writing for a few days because I had created a character that actually disturbed me a little. I guess that's a good thing? Maybe? I realized a little while ago that to make a strong villain in this certain story world, it can get a bit intense. I mean, their whole job is to eliminate Christians, and my villain, Major Archer, just happens to use means other than force and terror. That's been the hardest lately, just trying to write Archer in a convincing way while keeping my heroes strong. I mean, they're KIDS and... OK, I've probably been dumping on this question a bit long. Sorry. MOVING ON.

6. What’s been your biggest victory with writing this novel at this point?

LEARNING THAT MY COMPUTER CAN- 

Okie

Anyways, I would say my greatest victory is the fact that I've reached my final climax, buuuut seeing as a thousand words from that was deleted ~glares~ I don't know if that counts. I guess I can kinda say that? I'm just happy that I still love my characters. I'm not planning -at least right now- to turn any of them traitors, which did happen in TDiG when I got bored of a certain character.

7. If you were transported into your novel and became any one of the characters, which one do you think you’d be? Would you take any different actions than they have?

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm... Well, I really love Lyra, but I don't know if I'd become her, because she is an emotional wreck at this moment, along with a wounded leg. So, I'd probably become Sienna, because she's basically me. Would I take any different action? Yes, I'd probably leave keith behind to rot but that isn't important. I'd no way be as brave as she is.

8. Give us the first sentence or paragraph then 2 (or 3!) more favorite snippets!

Oh, now you want some snippets. Ah, okay, just because I'm nice.

Sienna pressed her back against a thick oak tree, eyes wide from terror and heart thumping loud enough for the soldiers to hear. 

The smuggling run had been going so well, what had gone wrong this time?

“Do you see her?” The harsh voice barked out close to her tree, taking all of her willpower to not react. Another voice responded, not as near and distinct. The first soldier swore loudly. “Find her! Archer will have my head if we lose her.”

Sienna shuddered. She hated remembering these soldiers were just as human as she was. Fierce and cruel, yes, but terrified just the same. It was easier to think of them as animals or aliens.

So, that's my opening bit. Favorite snippets... let's see...

Cody grasped her arm and they sprinted back across the field. “Enna, that was an officer.”

“I know.”

“An actual, ranking officer.”

“I know.”

“You can’t trick an officer.”

“I know.”

“That’s why they’re top of the class.”

“Cody.”

“Super smart.”

“Cody.”

“You could have gotten killed. You could have gotten me killed too.”

“Cody! I know.” Sienna glanced back over her shoulder. “I’m sorry. I made a mistake on the way back. I’m sorry.”

“You apologized twice.”

“I’m sorry!”

“Quit apologizing.” Cody led her to a barn behind the safe house and heaved a dramatic sigh. “I bet if you killed someone, you’d apologize to the corpse.”

Sienna stopped just inside the door and crossed her arms. “Maybe it’s because my conscience still works.”

~

Wilson pursed his lips. “I vote for Lyra and Sienna taking the newbies somewhere safe while Packer and I sniff out anymore survivors.”

“I vote we don’t.” Lyra put her hands on her hips. “I thought I was the one who punched people for you.”

Wilson lowered his head. “I don’t want to endanger anyone else.”

“Well, you’re willing to endanger Ethan.”

“He was a soldier! And I need him.”

“I thought you needed me.”

“Will you please stop arguing?” Sienna stomped her foot. “I vote we all go.”

Felicity crossed her arms. “I vote for someone to explain to us what on earth is going on.”

~

She glanced down and noticed Wilson was trembling, shaking the branches he had bent to make a shield. She copied Keith’s movements, holding onto a smaller limb while bending over to whisper, “Are you okay?”

He shrugged without turning. “Feels almost the same as Ebony, just we’re hiding in a tree rather than behind a shrub. One of our friends is out there, willing to die for us.”

Sienna squeezed his shoulder. “Trust him. He’s got this.”

Lyra joined in on their huddle and added, “He didn’t say he’ll be right behind us. That’s a good sign.”

Sienna gave her a grateful nod and chuckled in Wilson’s ear. “Yeah, they always die or get captured when they say that in stories. We’ll be fine.”

Wilson finally turned to push her back, grinning a little. “Alright, I’m reassured. Now, hide, or they’ll see you in a minute. Also, you’re tickling my ear.”

Sienna laughed and pulled a few more boughs in front of her, wishing she hadn’t noticed the single tear making its way down her friend’s cheek.

~

Archer smirked at them. “After several other adventures, shall we call them, we thought it would be prudent to search out the rat’s hole before we squash the actual rats to cut off their escape.”

Lyra’s jaw was so tightly set, Keith didn’t know how it didn’t crack into pieces. “You call us rats when you’re the actual vermin.”

Archer gave her a once over, her smirk widening briefly at her injured leg. “Well, what do rats do best? Creep around in the dark and cause trouble. How is that any different than what you smugglers do?”

“We don’t cause the trouble.” Sienna kept wiping her hands on her pant legs, eyeing one of the soldiers’ guns. “That’s on you.”

I hope it's okay I did four snippets... these were the ones I enjoyed writing the most.

9. Share an interesting tidbit about the writing process so far! (For example: Have you made any hilarious typos? Derailed from your outline? Killed off a character? Changed projects entirely? Anything you want to share!)

Erm. If I killed a character, I'm not planning on talking about it at the moment... IF is the keyword. 

I also don't have an outline... and I don't have many funny typos... usually I fix them before I read them to find out that it was funny. So... I guess I'm leaving this question blank.

Btw, i might be on a gif overload right now...

10. Take us on a tour of what a normal writing day for this novel looks like. Where do you write? What time of day? Alone or with others? Is a lot of coffee (or some other drink) consumed? Do you light candles? Play music? Get distracted by social media (*cough, cough*)? Tell all!

Um, well... I have school work during the morning, and afternoons are something called BUSY, so I usually getting quality writing time in after eight o'clock pm. I don't have a set writing place anymore, I used to sit at the counter but I don't really have a spot there now. Sooo we'll see soon enough. I usually write as a lone wolf. Occasionally I do a word sprint with someone, but not that THAT often. Last Easter break, I discovered I can write a whole novella surviving on grapes -lots of grapes- and a big bottle of water -lots of water- so that's basically what I use. I'm not allowed to drink coffee yet all the time.

Me--><--- Mother Dearest

Anyways, I don't have much cool stuff. Extra scents distract me, same with extra sounds. I do play some instrumental music -playlist included below- but not much more. And, I'm not on that much social media, so I can't get distracted by it. =D =D =D

playlist here

Anyways, thanks for reading! I'll try to post more often, but make no promises. If you'll excuse me, I need to go glare at my computer.

Also, if you're wondering about the highlighting of ceratin words, my computer is the weirdest machine so this is the only way certain words will even show up on the website. Sorry if it's annoying. I want to punch the stupid chrome book sometimes.

Chapter Fifteen

 

"We're gonna have to leave someone with the ship."

I shook my head. "Zenla, that was about as interesting as the past thirty times you've said it."

"Well, no one responded!" She let out an irritated huff. 

"You're basically stating the obvious," Kristern added. She turned to smirk at Zenla. "Are you volunteering?"

"No?" Zenla sighed. "I just wanted to make sure you guys were listening."

"Well, I was trying to focus." I turned back to the front and examined the looming ship. "I think Kristern should stay on the ship."

"Why?" She frowned at me.

"Because we'll probably need a good pilot if something goes awry." Reaga shrugged. "It probably will."

"Then why doesn't Winera stay behind? She was the one who was inconscience a few minutes ago. And, it's her ship and she's the better pilot." Kristern raised an eyebrow at me. 

"I need to go, so I can sense Reyjin if she's here."

"What if she isn't?"

"Well, we won't know that until we get there will we?" I gripped the control yoke tighter. 

"You can't sense her now?" Zenla moved to stand behind me, also studying the cruiser.

"I haven't been able to, because no one is letting me focus!" 

Reaga sighed. "Alright, I have an idea. Kristern, you'll stay with the ship. If anything goes really wrong, then we'll need some kind of diversion. That'll be you." She turned to me and Zenla. "We're gonna have to fast here, okay?"

I nodded and got up. "I'm ready." I turned to Kristern. "I suppose you can take us in."

She grinned and slid into the pilot seat. 

A few minutes later, she maneuvered us against an airlock. Reaga, Zenla, and I climbed out of the Silver Blade and into the ship. The hallway was silent, so we hurried along it without too much need for stealth. 

Reaga pointed to a small alcove. "Try to sense her."

I closed my eyes to focus and reached out with the Force. A second later, I felt something click.

Is that you, Winera?

It's me. Are you okay?

Not really, no. Where are you?

Looking for you. Are you on a cruiser?

So many questions. I don't think so. You got away? I thought you were in trouble.

I was. Reaga and Zenla found me.

Oh. Reyjin's voice grew quieter. I'm not on a cruiser, I'm not quite certain where I am, but I've learned that Aera is somewhere around Dantooine. Try and find her, then come get me please.

Bossy.

Hey, cut me some slack. I don't like being a prisoner very much.

I sighed. Alright, hold on a bit longer. I'll  find you sooner rather than later.

Pleeeease hurry. I can't pretend to be unconscious much longer.

I opened my eyes and met the gazes of Reaga and Zenla. "Reyjin isn't on this ship, but we think Aera is."

Reaga nodded slowly. "Alright then, here's what we're going to do, and you are not going to argue. We're going to find Aera and bring her back to Courascant. Then we'll grab a few more people and try to find Reyjin."

Zenla and I exchanged looks. We didn't like the idea of having to leave Reyjin behind, but we didn't really have a choice.

Finally, I nodded.

It might take a bit, Reyjin, but we ARE coming for you.

Know the Novel Tag part UNO

 

Yes, I know, it has been wayyyyyyy to long for me to show my face here again. I understand the mutual desire to murder me where I stand. Can it wait... a little longer???

Alright, so I hope you have your interest peaked a little bit. You're doing a tag? Wow... What is it? Well, another blogger I follow, Christine Smith, created this tag... five? years ago. I heard about it this year, and decided to go for a spin.

That's all good and dandy, but what is it? I'm very glad you asked.

Know the Novel is a 3-part linkup series for writers, one for each of these last three months of the year. Each part will feature ten questions you can answer on your own blog (or anywhere else on social media, if you’d like!). The questions will be focusing on different parts of your novel and how the writing is going.

This is Part One. I am terrifiedly excited.

And nowwwwww for the questions:

1. What first sparked the idea for this novel?

Well, this is actually book TWO in a series I started last year as a school project. I really adored the characters and the setting and the genre and all of it, so I decided to expand.

Technically, it started because one night I sat up in bed and thought, "What would it look like if in a few years Christianity is persecuted in the U.S.A?" Lovely bedtime ideas, I know... Anyhow, that was how the idea was born, and now it's my big story world...

2. Share a blurb (or just an overall summary)!

Okay blurbs.........

Sienna desperately wants to prove herself as a smuggler but can't seem to stop getting caught. With the famous Wilson Tomas gone, this is her time to shine. But Wilson returns, defeated and heart-broken, with two new companions. And when the foursome gets sent on a mission to the missing Christians in a recently destroyed town, Sienna might finally have her chance to prove herself.

Keith just wants life to go back to normal. He wants to know that his parents are safe at home, not part of the many missing citizens of their city. But with that fateful raid, he has to protect his twin sister- but can he, when he doubts himself? When he doubts his faith?

When an unexpected and shockingly calculating villain reveals herself, Sienna, Keith, and their companions are forced to trust each other to survive. But with two of their company doubting themselves, can they find their way to safety... and rescue their captured friend?

3. Where does the story take place? What are some of your favorite aspects of the setting?

Sienna, Wilson, and his friends start out in Montana, but the majority of the story is in a town I made-up called Lebanon in South Carolina. It's set about thirty or so years in the future, but I don't have any fancy extra tech or usual dystopian vibes. Except that a lot of people died...

MOVING ON

4. Tell us about your protagonist(s).

Yeah, there's five of them... Which compared to some of my books, isn't a lot, but it's still iffy at times. There was one chapter I completely forgot to mention Lyra in...

SIENNA WILDER

Sienna is very ambitious, loyal, a little too trusting at times, and reckless at times. She's fourteen yeas old, and she prides herself as one of the youngest smugglers. Her hope to be as good as the legendary Wilson Tomas makes her a little too quick to act at times, and she reeeeally hates admitting she needs help. Her simple training isn't enough to fully prepare her for the real world of smuggling.

KEITH NAKAMURA

Keith is very introverted, caring, and quiet, although he can lose his temper if provoked. He isn't the most trusting person around, but once you get his trust, he'll follow you to hell and back again. He doubts himself and the strength of his faith at times, but usually keeps up a strong facade. He's fifteen, but sometimes acts older or younger than his age, usually to annoy his twin.

WILSON TOMAS

Wilson is strong, brave, faithful, and broken. He used to be the best of the best smugglers, but every since what he considers to be his biggest failure, his confidence is shattered. He is sixteen, and has already lied more than some adults. Ever since his best friend died, he struggles with remembering not everyone is hurting like he is. The only thing pulling him through is that God is working all things for good. 

LYRA HALLOW

Lyra is fierce, a warrior, strong, and an actress. All her friends joke that she speaks with her fists, but only the very closest realize her snark is the best mask she knows to hide her pain. Not even the closest understand the amount of suffering she's experienced, and that doesn't include the bullet she currently has in her leg. She's sixteen, but has the eyes of an adult. After losing her dad, she has secretly vowed to never let anyone else die... no matter the cost.

 

ETHAN PACKER

Ethan is intelligent, tired, loyal, reserved, and not ready to commit. Ever since he defected from the army, he's been moving closer to accepting Jesus. But the cost still seems too high. There were too many people who died because of him, why would he be accepted? He is twenty-two, but hanging around with Wilson and the peanut gallery has aged him closer to thirty. He's ready to make amends, but scared of how they come around.

FELICITY NAKAMURA

Felicity is sassy, caring, joyful, and frightened. Around her twin, Keith, she turns into a fireball of snark and roasting, but with strangers, she is a weak ball of emotions. She understands that it is probably be too late for their parents, so she devotes herself to helping Keith. His newfound doubt scares her as much as these strangers who claim to be here to help. She's fifteen, but in this nerve wracking world of smuggling, she steps up to the job as mother of the pack. She doesn't want to die, but believes she's ready when the time comes.

That was fun...

5. Who (or what) is the antagonist?

Well, I kinda love my main villain. Yelina Archer, cold and calculating. I based her planning skills after Grand Admiral Thrawn, if there are any Star Wars Rebels fans out there reading this which there had BETTER be... although her personality is her own. I don't want to go too in depth on her, because last time I tried that, I scared myself into taking a hiatus from this book.

For the "stormtroopers" if I may call them that, I basically have a bunch of soldiers running amok making messes. 

6. What excites you the most about this novel?

Probably knowing that the last one felt like it drew me deeper into my faith, so hopefully this one will as well. Since I have a character who is doubting whether or not it's worth it, I've been forced to think a lot harder about what I believe.

Also, I reeeeeeeeeally love these characters....

7. Is this going to be a series? standalone? something else?

Okay, technically speaking, this should be book THREE in the series I've dubbed the Martyrs Saga. I wrote the first one, To Die is Gain, last year, although I guess it should be called book two. Also- I just realized I haven't even mentioned this one's title. Book three: Take Up your Cross. I'm planning on going back to the beginning to write the ACTUAL first one, To Live is Christ. It's very confusing, I know. It wasn't originally going to be a series, buuuuuuuuuuuuuuut... I LOVE MY CHARACTERS TOO MUCH.

8. Are you plotting? pantsing? plansting?

I just give myself a vague idea and let the book write itself. I don't know what that would be called... I don't think I've ever heard the term "pantsing" before...

9. Name a few unique elements in this story.

Well, as stated earlier, it's a dystopian U.S.A. with persecuted Christians but no real futurific... stuff. It's in Third Person POV and there are two POV characters. If you can guess which two, I'll give you a cookie.

10. Share some fun “extras” of the story (a song or full playlist, some aesthetics, a collage, a Pinterest board, a map you’ve made, a special theme you’re going to incorporate, ANYTHING you want to share!).

Alright, I don't make too many playlists for my books... but I do love collages... BECAUSE OF THAT, I'M GONNA ADD TWO, one from To Die is Gain, because WHY NOT?

The girl at the bottom is Ariel Johnson, the protagonist of TDiG.

And here's the one for TUyC.

So, that was Part One of the Know the Novel tag. If you want to see the original post here it is. I hope you enjoyed this post, and I will do my very best to post more here. I'll hopefully remember to get part two and three for this tag, but if I don't... PLEASE DON'T KILL ME. I AM A VERY BUSY, FORGETFUL BEAN. 

anyways, thank you for reading, and I hope to see you around here again soon. if you want, leave a comment, i'd love to hear from you, but i know i can't force you to do anything. i mean, i myself am not a Jedi. buuut i do know some Jedi around town....