Yippee!

Guess what, my lovely readers! It's that time of year again! No, I'm not talking about Thanksgiving, Christmas, or snow - although all of those are marvelous.

I'm talking about my annual December 12 - January 15 blog party. This will be year three! We all know good things come in threes, not to mention the third time's a charm. ;)

Of course, there shall be giveaways. Guest posts. Interviews. The whole shebang! I still have quite a few slots open, especially considering there's going to be a post for EVERY SINGLE DAY for a month. Therefore, if you have a blog/are a published author (self- or traditionally-published) and would like to join the party, or have a favorite blogger/author you want to see hosted, please do let me know at emilyrachellewrites@gmail.com.

Oh, and the giveaways! I need sponsors. If you have an online store or know of one that may be interested in sponsoring a giveaway (and a review, if they'd like), you can email me, too. Same address.

Thanks, guys! Hopefully this year will be even greater than those past! Don't forget to spread the word - share this post and the above image on Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, your blog, Tumblr, your grandma's fridge - anywhere you can!

Book Review: Standing Bear of the Ponca

Standing Bear of the Ponca by Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve
Imagine having to argue in court that you are a person.

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About the Author

Amazon Summary:

Imagine having to argue in court that you are a person. Yet this is just what Standing Bear, of the Ponca Indian tribe, did in Omaha in 1879. And because of this trial, the law finally said that an Indian was indeed a person, with rights just like any other American.

Standing Bear of the Ponca tells the story of this historic leader, from his childhood education in the ways and traditions of his people to his trials and triumphs as chief of the Bear Clan of the Ponca tribe. Most harrowing is the winter trek on which Standing Bear led his displaced people, starving and sick with malaria, back to their homeland—only to be arrested by the U.S. government, which set the stage for his famous trial. Standing Bear’s story is also the story of a changing America, when the Ponca, like so many Indian tribes, felt the pressure of pioneers looking to settle the West. Standing Bear died in 1908, but his legacy and influence continue even up to the present. 

My Thoughts:

I've never even heard of the Ponca Indian tribe, and as a future elementary teacher I've taken a recent interest in kids' books, so I saw this in a LibraryThing giveaway and thought, "Why not?"


While the book wasn't exactly up my alley - history never was my subject - I did enjoy it. The author seeks to make the story enjoyable and give you cultural background information to help even the most clueless reader (i.e: me!) understand the Indian story. There are full-size color illustrations, which is nice. I have to admit I didn't care for the blurred, somewhat digital-looking style of the illustrations, but they did fit nicely with the tale being told.

The reading level matches up well with the target audience. This book makes a great peek into Native American life for your average American student. I plan to use it with the students I tutor at some point. The focus on personhood and how Native Americans held the same rights as any man was a very strong and interesting lesson. We learn so much in school about black/white history, the Civil War, rights, and that sort of thing. But I'd never even thought about the Native American side of the racial rights debate! This is a great book to open up that side of the story.

The only concern I held content-wise was that the book came a little too close to promoting Indian religious beliefs for my comfort. Of course, that's really a question of readers' and parents' preferences. Another reason this book wasn't my favorite was because the writing felt dry at times. The story itself was interesting, and the narrator's passion for her subject showed through, but it just felt too much like a school book and too little like a story. (Yes, I know, that's what it is, but when a school book draws kids' interests as more than a 'school book,' that's when learning is truly promoted.)

I give this book four stars and recommend it for lessons involving Native American history, equal rights, or studies on individual Indian tribes.

I received a free copy of this book through LibraryThing in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.

Book Review: Ghost Boy

Ghost Boy by Martin Pistorius
The miraculous escape of a misdiagnosed boy trapped inside his own body

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Author Website

Amazon Summary:

They all thought he was gone. But he was alive and trapped inside his own body for ten years. 

In January 1988 Martin Pistorius, aged twelve, fell inexplicably sick. First he lost his voice and stopped eating. Then he slept constantly and shunned human contact. Doctors were mystified. Within eighteen months he was mute and wheelchair-bound. Martin's parents were told an unknown degenerative disease left him with the mind of a baby and less than two years to live.

Martin was moved to care centers for severely disabled children. The stress and heartache shook his parents’ marriage and their family to the core. Their boy was gone. Or so they thought. 

Ghost Boy is the heart-wrenching story of one boy’s return to life through the power of love and faith. In these pages, readers see a parent’s resilience, the consequences of misdiagnosis, abuse at the hands of cruel caretakers, and the unthinkable duration of Martin’s mental alertness betrayed by his lifeless body. 

We also see a life reclaimed—a business created, a new love kindled—all from a wheelchair. Martin's emergence from his own darkness invites us to celebrate our own lives and fight for a better life for others.

My Thoughts:

I'm not sure what compelled me to request this book for review. I already have a stack a mile high of books to review, and when this one arrived in the mail, I questioned my sanity in choosing it. I don't even like nonfiction, and I still have all these fairy tale retellings and dystopian stories at my disposal!

Once I started reading, though, I was hooked. The book reads more like a novel than an autobiography, and I often had to remind myself this was a real man speaking, not a fictional character. (The pages of photos placed between chapters at intervals helped.) The vocabulary usage - not something I generally notice, I'll admit - was stellar. Martin's story from first illness to his mind resurfacing to finally being able to communicate and live with the rest of the world drew me in. I loved the parts that spoke of his jobs and interactions with the world of computers and electronics - of how this man once thought a brain-dead vegetable contributed in ways nobody else could to the professional and personal worlds.



There were a few portions of the story I found disconcerting. This is an inspirational book, and Martin does speak of God, but I'm not sure the book itself would really qualify as Christian. There are a couple of curse words, which from a secular book of this nature would have been normal, but from a Thomas Nelson book were a bit shocking. One chapter in particular was rather graphic as it portrayed Martin's abuse at the hands of a certain employee at the care home where he stayed while his family went on vacation. The back cover copy says Martin speaks with "unflinching candor." That's exactly what it means. There's also multiple scenes during which Martin is learning or thinking about love, and sexuality and/or physicality are brought up. I understand this book is meant to be genuine and show the good, the bad, and the ugly of Martin's unique story; but I really didn't see why some of those things needed to be left in.

From a writing perspective only, this book really held only one flaw - and some may not consider it a problem. Like I said, the vocabulary choices were beautiful, and the story held a proper arc from despair in illness to joy in living. It's the pacing and order of scenes in the story that troubled me. While in most cases the order of events wasn't too difficult to follow, Martin's jumping back and forth between periods of and events in his life made things confusing at times. One minute he would be speaking in present tense of meeting a woman at a party, and the next he is telling the story of how he met the girl in the past who brought him to the party, before returning to the girl present. The switching between tenses and scenes was hard to follow at times, although I wouldn't let that alone stop someone from reading this powerful story.

In conclusion, I give this book three and a half stars.

I received a copy of this book for free through BookSneeze in exchange for this review. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.

Esther: Lessons We Can Learn

Don't forget to read the story of Esther and my last post on supporting characters!

Everyone who thinks of the Esther story probably comes away with the lesson of bravery, courage, standing up for others/what you believe in. That's a great lesson, one that is definitely found in these pages. However, it's not the only lesson. Far from it! I give you, in order of appearance, the other lessons I've found in Esther.

From the king: Drinking is a bad idea. Choices made while you're drunk should not be acted on. Don't depend on your friends to make your decisions for you, and definitely don't trust their advice if they're infuriated or drunk. (Actually, in that case, find new friends!)


You should think through your decisions before setting them in stone. Disagreeing with or being mad at someone is not a good reason to cut them out of your life. Don't make big choices in a small amount of time. Try to keep your temper under control.

And if you do decide to drink/party, never ever ever act on your impulses. Wait until after the hangover; at that point, you'll either not remember anything or realize just how stupid the idea was.

From Mordecai: True heroes sacrifice what they want for what is best. True men provide for, protect, and lead those under their care. A good father is one who works hard. A hero will always put God and others before himself.

You should not value men's opinion over God's, but you shouldn't stick your head in the sand, either - stay involved in current events and life around you. High politic positions, even if the government is far from godly, should not be written off by those who follow God. In fact, they should be sought. After all, if Christians flee, hide from, or ignore an ungodly government, who's going to lead the country back to the right path?

Fear is never the right voice to listen to. Always trust God, even when life makes no sense.

From Haman: Humility goes a long way. A short temper leads to all sorts of problems. Conflict and drama in your life can much more easily be avoided if you let things slide off your back instead of taking them personally. Never jump to conclusions about a group of people based on one person's behavior. Revenge? Not really something you want to get involved with.

From Esther: (Besides being brave, and doing right when it's hard, and that sort of typical Esther-lesson.) Follow your parents' advice and listen to your elders, whether or not you like what they're saying. Respect towards authority goes a loooong way. A humble, meek spirit holds more value than all the makeup, jewelry, and fine clothes in the world.

However, you shouldn't forsake your physical appearance, either. After all, this girl won a beauty contest spanning an entire kingdom which contained the majority of the known world. Clearly she made use of that year of beautifying time and the cosmetics and materials available to her. It's not a sin to wear makeup/jewelry, do your hair, have nice clothes, etc. That stuff becomes a sin when you place more value or spend more time on it than you do spiritual matters and the people around you.

Esther: A Great Supporting Cast

If you have not read the book of Esther, or are not familiar with the story, you may struggle to follow this post. However, don't despair - you can read it free online!

Good morning, my lovely readers! I told you once before about my latest Bible reading plan, and what I learned from Ruth. Right now I'm reading through Esther - one of my favorite Bible stories, but a book I've never actually read completely through before. I'm only partially done, but I wanted to share a few thoughts that have come across already.

The entire book is about Esther, yes. It's titled after her, and she is undoubtedly the main character. But just like any good novel, in real life there are side characters - supporting roles, who are living their own individual lives with their own goals, dreams, back stories, and weaknesses. One reason I love the One Night with the King movie is because it portrays the story as a whole, complete with cultural and historical information and real, living "side characters." When you're reading Esther, the supporting characters really pop out. More so than with other books of the Bible, at least in my opinion.


There's Mordecai, the cousin who raised Esther. We see how devoted he is to her care and upbringing, to teaching her right, providing for her, and protecting her. It's clear how dedicated he is to his Jewish background. He's a hard worker who sits in the gates of the empire - a very high position for someone from his place in life. Mordecai's an everyday hero, really. He sacrifices a lot for Esther and for his people, and he stands by his convictions even under pressure.

Then we come to the caretaker of the women. We're not told the man's name. All we really know is that he's the head eunuch in charge of the young women coming from throughout the empire to this 'beauty pageant.' Quickly, Esther becomes his favorite. He gives her personal advice and favors her above all the other women - foreshadowing the king's favor of her above the others, as well.

Of course, we can't forget Haman. He's a classic villain, but I think his role doesn't end there. Early in the book, we see the king and his princes getting drunk and easily angered. From that point, it's clear that most men in the palace have big egos and short tempers. Haman draws this out as an individual. His pride is wounded when Mordecai refuses to bow to him. His temper flares, and he decides it's not enough to just seek revenge against one man. No, he's gonna wipe out that man's entire race! Talk about a hothead.

The king may not be considered a supporting character by some, but I tend to think of him that way. I mean, he's neither more or less important in the book than Mordecai or Haman. One Night With the King paints him as a young, romantic, passionate guy tired of the pretenses and politics of the palace. I love the story there. But that king? He's completely made-up. The real king portrayed in the Bible isn't quite so heroic or dreamy. Actually, he's an egotist with a temper and a drinking problem. He really just chooses Esther because she's prettiest and most pleasing. If you're looking for a great romance, go read Song of Solomon. This guy's a letdown.

Conclusion: while a great story - fictional or not - does center around a main character, don't overlook the other characters. They're individuals with stories of their own, and lessons we can learn from them. (Speaking of which, tune in next time for my list of lessons from Esther!)

Book Review: The Kindling Muse

The Kindling Muse by Chelsea Guy
Addie just wants answers. Little does she know that she is about to receive them.


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Author Website

Amazon Summary:

Sixteen-year-old Addie Flamma has normal goals for a sixteen-year-old: graduate from high school at the top of her class and attend the perfect college, despite growing up under less than ideal conditions. As a minor living in foster care, however, Addie wants more than that; she wants to find out who her parents are and why she has been cursed with serious health problems. During the middle of a presentation in chemistry class, Addie suffers a major seizure. In the hospital, she is given a rare African plant extract in her IV drip known to help adolescents with her type of medical conditions. Miraculously cured by the unique plant, only known as “ashes of life,” Addie returns to school and resumes her job at a shelter for the needy. But when she is drawn to a mysterious boy seeking a hot meal, he changes her future with just four words.

My Thoughts:

Since I bought and was given so many books at the Crossroads Conference (SO. MANY.), I decided to try something new. Along with taking notes as I read, I'm just going to read a third of each book. If I like what I read, I'll finish the book. But, unlike before when I almost always finished every review book regardless of initial opinions, now I will move on after roughly 30-35% if I don't want to keep reading.

Unfortunately, the latter was the case for The Kindling Muse. The plot seemed to be going places, and the concept was unique (once the ball finally got rolling). However, characterization was lacking in places and the writing was sub-par overall. Honestly, if I consider the writing style and mechanics outside of the story, it reminds me strongly of Twilight excerpts I've seen online. I suppose as a huge bestseller that's generally knocked-on by writers, that could be a compliment or an insult. I only mean to state it as a fact. Add in the paranormal/supernatural elements that become more and more apparent as the book progresses, and this really does seem to fit the title "The Next Twilight." As I have no interest in Twilight, maybe this is why I didn't care for the book. Obviously, though, The Kindling Muse could find a good market with readers who do enjoy Twilight.

I won't go into an extensive review, considering I only read a third of the book. Suffice it to say I love the concept, but not how it's carried out. Two and a half stars; recommended for Twilight fans.

I received this book for free from the author in exchange for this review. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.

My Thoughts on Piracy

Specifically, the whole piracy-and-digital-rights issues as it applies to digital books.

Guess who's not doing NaNoWriMo this year, my lovely readers? Yours truly. (You can come join me in my Facebook group for No-Ners, too! https://www.facebook.com/groups/402513403209562/)

Why? Because she is hard at work editing and preparing Heart of Ember for submission to Rooglewood Press's contest and Sixteen for publication. (This thing is really happening! The day is drawing near! There are fewer than 100 days left until release. Am I freaking out? No, no, not -- OF COURSE I AM.)

Anyway, in preparation for January 18, 2014, I've been reading plenty about Smashwords. One of the topics I stumbled across was a discussion of piracy and DRM. Basically, DRM is something in some digital files created to prevent piracy. Piracy is when somebody steals your book. They could be stealing it on purpose, selling it for their own gain, but odds are definitely not high of that scenario. More likely is accidental piracy - someone buys a copy of your book, and then shares it with a friend/family/multiple people.


There's a lot of heated debate when it comes to DRM. In fact, there's entire anti-DRM movements. While I'm not one of the activists, I'm not exactly a proponent myself. The first form of piracy - selling illegally for personal gain - is a good reason to have DRM. Accidental piracy, on the other hand, shouldn't even be an issue, if you ask me.

I take this stance as both a reader and a writer. I'll admit, I've actually committed this form of piracy before I knew it was piracy - and, honestly, I really don't care now that I do know it was "wrong." I mean, I'd guess I have between 200 and 300 physical books in my personal library. I lend these out to friends, family members, folks at church, you name it. I even have a little roster of who has which books at a given time. But if I share a digital file similarly, it's piracy? I guess I see the technicality of it - after all, the digital file would stay on both devices, while a physical book can only be in one place at a time. Still, you can see where I'm coming from when I say I find it a bit ridiculous.

As a writer, my opinion doesn't waver. While it'd be nice to have every person who's going to read Sixteen pay for it, I know that never happens and never will happen, in the digital or print world. People are going to share books, win them in giveaways, buy them used, try before they buy, and all other sorts of things. I do it as a reader; I don't expect any differently from my own readers. I mean, let's celebrate the love the written word! Forget the dollar. If you're a writer for the money, you clearly don't know what you're doing and are 99% guaranteed to fail.

Conclusion: I have a book coming out in January. I would love for you to buy it. And if I discover half the people reading Sixteen got it free off a friend... well, that's twice the readers I thought I had based on sales figures. Woo hoo!

Book Review: Stolen Woman

A quick note to my lovely readers before we commence with the review - after the finale of My Imaginary Boyfriend this past weekend, there will be no more Saturday posts for the time being. I'm cutting back to just Tuesday and Thursday regular posts.

Stolen Woman by Kimberly Rae
What would you risk?

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Author Website

Amazon Summary:

Human Trafficking… Asha knew nothing about it before meeting sixteen-year-old Rani, stolen from her home and forced into prostitution in Kolkata, India. Asha must help this girl escape, but Mark, a third generation missionary, keeps warning her away from the red-light district and its workers. Will she ever discover why? And will they ever stop their intense arguments long enough to admit their even more intense feelings for one another?

When Asha sneaks out one last time in a desperate attempt to rescue her friend, someone follows her through the night. Is freedom possible? Or will she, too, become one of the stolen?

My Thoughts:

Many of you are aware of my recent interest in human trafficking activism. When Kimberly approached me with a request for a review of her book centered on this very real and prevalent modern issue, I jumped at the opportunity. I also used this book as one of the first for my new taking-notes-as-I-read system, which seems to be working out quite well.

My general thoughts of the first nine chapters were mixed. On the one hand, I absolutely adored the setting in India, and the characters each stood on their own feet as individuals I could connect with. However, on the other hand, characters' interactions with each other felt forced or unnatural at times, and many phrases used by certain characters didn't seem to match their ages. There's a lot of info-dumping and formal writing - Kimberly seems to treat contractions more like a journalist than a novelist, which creates a stiff feel sometimes. The story was very sweet and the romance was adorable, but the first nine chapters held nothing about trafficking, which is what the book's supposed to be about. Then, once the story really picks up, two weeks are passed over with a brief summary for the readers. Not fair! In fact, the entire book was very passively written. Far too many "had"s and summarizing, telling rather than showing, that sort of thing. It's aggravating.

Still, the story and setting held my interest well enough to keep me reading in spite of my frustration. The passive and formal style didn't get much better, honestly. I just adjusted to reading it. My notes for the rest of the book after my initial thoughts are basically the same - really sweet story, too much passive writing, etc. Most conflict was skimmed over or resolved without explanation; I'm sure I'd appreciate that approach in real life, but conflict is what makes a story! There's several things the characters are aware of that aren't hinted at to the readers before popping up in the story, which is a bit unsettling. Asha supposedly has a southern accent, but again, that's almost entirely told and never really shown. (Although the scene in the airport where she discovers her accent is worse than she thought was funny.)

Asha acted too much like a child for my taste. I think she was supposed to be a naive, innocent American shocked by the horrors of trafficking. But this is a college-aged girl who's spending several weeks on a mission trip to India. Even I knew better than to act the way she did or assume the things she did half the time. Not to mention, when she does discover trafficking, someone else has to explain what's going on. It's not till near the end when someone else just tells her straight out what could happen does she really understand the danger of trying to rescue her friend by herself. I'm a seventeen-year-old still in high school who has never spent more than ten days in a third-world country, and most of that on an American-own site. If anything, Asha should be more mature than me. Instead, she comes across as an oversheltered thirteen-year-old.

In conclusion, this was a sweet romance that started off with good intentions, but doesn't carry its message as well as it could. Three stars.

I received this book for free from the author in exchange for this review. All opinions expressed are entirely mine alone.

My Imaginary Boyfriend, Finale

Previous episode: http://emilyrachellewrites.blogspot.com/2013/10/my-imaginary-boyfriend-episode-ten.html



My favorite singer is Taylor Swift. I don't have a favorite song, or a favorite album. But I associate each individual song or album of hers with something particular - maybe an emotion, or an event, or a person.

Some are more obvious connections. I can't listen to "Best Day" without imagining myself singing to my mom for Mother's Day or at my wedding. "I'm Only Me When I'm With You" may have lyrics featuring romance, but ever since watching the music video, it makes me think of my best friend Mikaela. Generally I get this vague idea of taking a road trip with her.

I did that once. It changed my life.

None of Taylor's songs or albums affect me more than Red. I will never hear Red - the song or any of the others from the album - without thinking of Rykel.

Electric eyes that look like coming home, like the clear blue sky over my parents' house in the middle of October. Half-head of shaggy blond hair, sometimes spiked up out of the way, sometimes flopping over those piercing eyes.

Tattoos, two tasteful patterns, one arm apiece, with stories I never learned and never will. An entire history, a lifestyle, of which I only ever saw a tiny peek. Strong, muscled arms under one of five ripped and faded t-shirts, three of them advertising that aggravating rock band.

Piercings, scattered over both ears and eyebrows, none actually made of metal because metal and electricity don't mix well. Electricity... a pulsing blue light that scared me and drew me in all at once, floating in a little orb over the parking lot that first night. A night in an old roller skating rink that went horribly, crazily wrong.

And hands covered in scars. So many scars.

Everything about him screamed trouble. He might as well have come with one of those tags, the kind manufacturers put on hair dryers and flat irons. "Warning of electric shock."

You could say that again.

Red makes me think of Rykel. I never know whether to laugh or cry. But one thing's for sure.

Trouble raced through my life on a motorcycle, and I'll never be the same again.