The Worth of a King Cover Reveal

   Hello, weary adventurers! You are one of the lucky few, the brave persons that have followed through to gaze upon this wondrous sight. Be prepared. It will not be easy. It has been said to burn the souls of the unready. Steel your hearts and prepare to gaze upon The Cover of The Worth of a King.

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   What, you didn't think it would be this easy, did you? You must earn the honor of resting your eyes upon this natural man-made wonder, only bestowed upon the most persevering and hard-working. First you must suffer through the evil book description!

   Princess Obsidia’s father was killed the night she was born. Since there was no male heir, the crown went to the man who killed him, by Dialcian law. This never bothered her, growing up, and when it comes time for Obsidia to choose her husband, she chooses Prince Delaney, the son of that man, with little hesitation. Only then does her life start crumbling around her.
   Adrian expected to live a normal life, taking his father’s place at the print shop when his father retired. But, on his eighteenth birthday, when the princess’ engagement is announced, his world is ripped out from under him when he learns that his life was a ruse, and he is the twin brother to the princess – and expected to take back his father’s throne.
   Delaney knows that his country is hovering on the brink of war – and that his father may harbor murderous intentions towards his intended bride due to her Zovordian blood. He wants nothing more than to protect Obsidia and his people, but as merely prince, he has little power against his father.
   The ancient war between the Dragons and the Immortal King and Queen is nearing its climax, and the three are already caught in it.

   The nefarious book release date!

August 27^th

   And the diabolical author description, more evil than the author herself!

Kendra E. Ardnek loves fairytales and twisting them in new and exciting ways. She's been or acting them on her dozen plus cousins and siblings for years. "Finish your story, Kendra," is frequently heard at family gatherings. Her sole life goal has always been to grow up and be an author of fantasy and children's tales that glorify God and His Word.

Find her online at: Website || Blog || Goodreads || Facebook || Twitter || Amazon

   You must brave the perils of The Opening Chapter...

https://knittedbygodsplan.blogspot.com/2018/02/the-worth-of-king-chapter-1.html

   Wend your way through the treacherous Snippet...

True,” said Jerolin, shrugging. “It shall be good to finally see the place of our birth. To finally see if it’s really as grand as mother’s stories.”

“Indeed,” Christa muttered. “A single building that could hold our entire village thrice over, rooms the size of houses, women wearing jewels worth more money than men in the village might see in two lifetimes … it all sounds too much to be true.”

“You’ll be able to judge for yourself, soon enough,” said Jerolin. “The size, I can believe, but how can rocks be worth that much money? Who would possibly buy them?”

“People who gain their wealth through taxes instead of honest labor,” Adrian put in. “And the people who wish to impress them.”

Such was the world that he’d been born into, the world he might have and even should have grown up in. Adrian shuddered.

   Suffer the sight of the hideous Pinterest Pin...

Eye color was an important decision that Jack and I had to make regarding Adrian and Obsidia. We finally settled on hazel green as I had too many characters with brown eyes, and she had too many with green. Or, at least, I THINK that's how the conversation went. It's been a few years. Via Pinterest

   And slay the terrible guardian dragon named Add the Book on Goodreads!

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32739875-the-worth-of-a-king 

  
   Congratulations, adventurer.
   You have now successfully won your way through the twisty canyons of Cover Reveal and now have been deemed worthy to gaze upon the Revealed Cover in all its glory. Do not rush this moment. It will be all the more worth it for the waiting.
   Now prepare yourselves...do not get excited...it is just around the corner...

   You have been truly blessed. I hope this experience changes your life. Perhaps you desire to gaze upon this sight again. Alas, the ancient laws prevent a traveler from journeying the same path more than once. But do not fear! Many other avenues lead to this glorious sight. None of them are easy, but they are all very worth it. I regret that I cannot do more than guide you to the starting points of these paths. Good luck, adventurer, and brave journeying!

Savannahjaysworkshop
Dreams and Dragons
Unicorn Quester
Kiri Liz
Morgan Elizabeth Huneke
Read, Write, Laugh, Dance
Elvish Pens, Fantastical Writings
Books, Baking, and Cowgirl Boots
Jenelle Schmidt
Reality Reflected
Jessica Greyson
The Music of a Story
The Flowering Vales
The Rambling Rose
Written Rest
The Labyrinth
Bible and Books
Jaye L. Knight

The Great Rights Illusion Part One

   One of the most fundamental things in this country is rights. Millions of protestors use them as a rallying cry, thousands of lawsuits are won by way of invoking them, we even have a Bill of Rights in our Constitution. Rights are everyone's favorite thing to talk about these days: women's rights, gay rights, Hispanic rights, millennial rights, and all the other hot topics of today. Rights are one of the most important things in today's world, and one of the most misunderstood.

   The word rights is thrown around almost willy-nilly. If you attend any protest in the United States of America, you are almost certain to hear at least one person screaming about their rights. Two of the biggest topics today are women's rights and LGBT rights. But most people that talk about rights don't actually understand what they are or where they come from.

   

   What are rights?

    Our most familiar association with the word "rights" is from the most-quoted part of the Declaration of Independence: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness...." This phrase holds the key to the answers of both questions, what rights are, and where they come from.

   Rights can also be referred to as the state of nature or freedom. This is the natural condition of man and his relationship with his Creator. According to John Locke, "The state of nature gives every man authority to execute punishment for violation of God's natural law." He also said, "Men are naturally in a state of perfect freedom to order their actions, and dispose of their possessions and persons as they think fit, within the bounds of the law of nature, without asking leave or depending upon the will of any other man."

   Rights are natural liberties men are born with. They are also equal among all men.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal....

 Furthermore God said, Let us make man in our image according to our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the heaven, and over the beasts, and over all the earth, and over everything that creepeth and moveth on the earth.

Thus God created the man in his image: in the image of God created he him: he created them male and female. --Genesis 1:26-27

 All men are created equal and all power and jurisdiction is granted to each man equally by God. --John Locke

   Rights are "endowed" to us. Not given, not provided, endowed. This word is closely related to the word "dowry." A dowry is a gift given from a father to his daughter at her marriage. Dowries were a permanent gift, transferred directly to the recipient, intended only for the recipient, and unable to be denied. Rights are indeed endowed upon us. They are our dowry.

   Rights are also unalienable (or inalienable), a word most little kids stumble over and few understand. However, the Founding Fathers chose this word very carefully. It was related to the word "alienate," which was a legal term meant to describe transfer or sale of ownership of property. If an object was alienable, that meant it was able to be transferred. An object that is unalienable is unable to be sold or transferred. 

   This means that our rights are permanent gifts given to everyone equally at their creation, unable to be transferred, denied, sold, or taken. Come back next week to find out where our rights come from and why it's so important!

   Many thanks to Congressman Barry Loudermilk for providing the resources used in this blog post and for instructing me about rights.

The 2018 Writing Scene

   Some of you may know that I have been working on rewriting the draft of a story I entitle Condemned Patriot Book One: Awakened. I have since learned that I have absolutely no love for one of the two (or maybe three) protagonists of the book. I have further learned that it is impossible to write a satisfactory book when you do not care for one of the protagonists in question. Writing of this book has since been tabled.

   I have abstained from writing Awakened for most of the holidays, and over the course of the past month or so, have been slowly learning to love my poor neglected protagonist. I expect in the next few months, I will be attached to her and be able to build up her story and continue writing. In the meantime, you can be satisfied with my Pinterest boards for the story and a snippet:

   “I’m no fool, Mr. Larak,” the arrogant young officer said. “Give us all the papers in your desk and reveal to us where you illegal terroristic textbooks are, and perhaps I won’t take further action.”

   The last of Peter’s hope died. They knew it all, then. There was no saving this situation. If only the students stayed frozen at their desks and they didn’t discover the gun in Mr. Larak’s desk, they might escape with their lives.

   Mutt growled, his hackles rising. He stared at the policemen near the door.

   “Shut up, Mutt,” Peter hissed. He placed his foot on Mutt’s harness leash. His heart pounded so hard it almost burst in his chest.

   “I can’t do that for you.” Mr. Larak’s voice shook.

   Peter uncurled his fingers of their death grip of his pencil so he could pet Mutt and calm him down. He placed the pencil down and snaked his hand out.

   The arrogant young officer strode down one of the aisles and stopped beside Peter’s desk. He strode in front of it and pulled his pistol out.

   Peter stilled. He stared up at the man, barely breathing. The man’s face was hard, his eyes unreadable.

   The arrogant young officer placed the barrel of the pistol against Peter’s forehead. Peter’s muscles froze. Slowly, he forced his shaking hands into plain sight to lie flat on his desk. He stared at the top of his test paper.

   “Let me repeat my command.” The arrogant young officer’s voice filled with steel. “Give me all the papers in your desk and reveal to us where your illegal terroristic textbooks are, or I shoot the boy with the service dog.”

   I've started working on a different story while Awakened is on hold. It's temporary title is Sacred Truths. It has to do with slavery and politics and mines and manors and is set in an equatorial fantasy country filled with jungles and stuff. Here, enjoy the tiny Pinterest board. The story is partially inspired by the movie Amazing Grace, which is personally one of my favorites. The characters are ones I really love, and I'm really enjoying working intimately with politics. I currently have the British pages on how a bill becomes a law in their country bookmarked as research for this story. I don't exactly have a plan, but I think writing this book is going to be a fun ride. 

   I hope to have the draft of Awakened I've been working on finished by the end of the year. Other than that, I have no writing plans.

   So long, farewell, and have a snippet as you go!

   (from Sacred Truths)

   The open windows did nothing to relieve the heat of the sun oppressing the stuffy senate chamber. Edmund loosened his neckerchief and rested his chin back on his hands. Weariness overtook him and his eyes slid closed.

   “We cannot allow this bill to destroy the livelihoods of our mines.”

   Edmund jumped and focused on Lord Duilo Brook, still railing against some boring mining bill in the well. Wasn’t debate over this bill supposed to have been tabled fifteen minutes ago?

   Edmund glanced around the half-circle of legislative desks. Most of the legislators had their heads pillowed on their desks or tilted back in their chairs, sound asleep. The slaves and legislative aides were also nodding or fast asleep.

   Edmund glanced over at Ronny beside him. He was chewing on a thumbnail and staring wide-eyed at Lord Brook. Edmund elbowed him.

   Ronny started and glanced over at Edmund. “What? What is it?”

   Edmund leaned over. “Should I stand up and say something?”

   “Only if you don’t want me to be sound asleep when you present your bill on the floor,” Ronny said.

Merry Christmas!

   The Christmas season is here! Also the cold and flu season. And snow. All that to say, I am sitting in bed with a cold listening to Christmas music and looking at the snow out my window.

   I'm rather peeved about the existence of the snow, actually. I live in Georgia. We never get snow. Never seven to twelve inches. And certainly never in December. Regardless, here the snow is to prove us all wrong. And despite my hatred of snow, it was still exciting. I had two snowball fights, built a tiny snowman, and a tiny Barad-dur, complete with the Eye of Sauron. Barad-dur is still standing.

   Also, it's Christmastime. The most wonderful time of the year. I've been listening to Christmas songs since September... If you can't tell, I like Christmas.

   I don't have anything else in my brain, so Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! I'll see y'all in 2018!

You Are Not Alone, I Promise

   Hey, friend,

   Life has been rough for you lately. Things haven't been going the way you planned or expected and it's left you feeling numb. Everything seems hopeless and dark. You seem trapped in a place you cannot get out. Nothing is the way it should be and you can't even react anymore. You don't have the strength. Life is just an obstacle you must climb, every day for however long it lasts. You can't speak about it to anyone because they would never understand. You are living in a misery you can't seem to get out of.

   You are not alone. You are not the only one that feels like this. There is nothing hopelessly wrong with you. And here are a few secrets you really need to hear:

   Things are never as bad as they seem. There is a One Who loves you no matter what. God is working in the midst of your darkness and brokenness to shine out His Light. Do not be afraid: even though you can't feel it right now, God is with you. He is always with you. He is living inside you, moving, even though it doesn't feel like it right now.

   Things will get better. You will survive this. You will emerge on the other side of this darkness and mess and be stronger for it because God is always with you and He has been directing your paths.

   There are people who understand what you're going through. There is always someone who is always willing to lend a listening ear. Talk to them. Even if you feel you can't, talk to them about everything that is numbing you, all the things you don't care about anymore and all the things you should. It will help, believe me.

   Stop trying to push yourself so hard. Stop letting your obligations and your problems drive you. Slow down. Take a bath. Lie back. Soak in everything around you. Bury yourself in your favorite books and surround yourself by the things you love. Breathe. You're okay. God carried you this far. He will take you the rest of the way.

   God is loving, and He is willing and able to take all of your burdens. Just let go and let Him take care of everything. All you need to do is trust in Him. 

   You're okay. Everything will be okay again, I promise. You feel like you can't do this on your own, but you don't have to. God will do it for you. He is in you, He does love you, and He will carry you through this.

   Remember that God made you special, and He loves you very much.

   Goodbye!

Indie Christian Authors Black Friday Book Sale!

  I have been lazy and haven't finished any real blog posts. So here, have this one instead. Go buy books. Check out new authors and freebies. All that good stuff. I hear there are some great authors participating this year. One of them has particularly fascinating-sounding books, what was her name? Ah, yes, Morgan Elizabeth Huneke. Hmm...

Okay, regardless of the clear nepotism on this site, she really does have some good books that you should check out. Also, my favorite author is participating, so it's a wonderful opportunity to meet the sweetest fictional character out there, Jace. Go on and check out this sale!

It’s that time of year. The time for buying presents, making wish lists, and planning New Year’s Resolutions. If any of those activities involve books for you, Indie Christian Books has a perfect event for you.

From Nov 24th through Nov 30th, a huge selection of independently published Christian books are on sale. You can find discounted paperbacks, dozens of books offered with free shipping, $0.99 ebooks, package deals and more. Even if your budget is depleted from Christmas shopping, we have some freebies for you! Need even more of a reason to support indie authors and fill your shelf with good stories? When you purchase a paperback book through indiechristianbooks.com you’ll be eligible to enter an exclusive giveaway including free books and an Amazon gift card!

You can meet our authors by visiting the Author Database on the website. Want to get to know the authors better AND have the chance to win some fun prizes? We’d love to have you join our week long Facebook party which will feature 39 authors over 7 days.

What awesome reads of 2017 are you grateful for? What books are you looking forward to reading in 2018?

A note on the Ebooks Only page. Many of the books are listed as "Sold Out." This is because we aren’t selling those directly through our site. Please click onto the product pages to find descriptions and links to discounted or free ebooks.

Acknowledgements: Thanks to Leah E. Good and Kendra E. Ardnek for their work organizing this sale, and Hannah Mills for her fantastic design work on the website graphics. Hannah can be contacted at hmills@omorecollege.edu for more information about her design services.

This Is Not the Blog Post You're Looking For

   I should be writing a coherent blog post. Or at least finishing the several unfinished blog post drafts I have. But I don't really have anything to talk about, except maybe Star Wars.

   I've been reading William Shakespeare's Star Wars lately. Since I love both Shakespeare and Star Wars, this was quite an experience. It was hilarious and amazing all at the same time. The rancor sang! R2-D2 spoke English in asides. Yoda spoke in haiku! And all the soliloquies. It was rather ridiculous. But a certain part in The Force Doth Awaken still tore my heart out.

   As a lead-up to The Last Jedi coming out in a month and a half (I'm so excited!!!), we're re-watching the entire Star Wars saga. In chronological order. We're not very far in yet, but it's going to be so strange. Also, I never realized before that Naboo was in the Outer Rim. And who in their right mind would put Jar-Jar Binks in charge of representing a planet?

   The Last Jedi trailer makes me nervous. What if they mess up Luke? He's my favorite character. He's so sweet and kind and he saved the galaxy by being compassionate. He looked so bitter in the trailer. I'll be very upset if the writers ruin him.

   When I was little, I was slightly obsessed with the computer game Oregon Trail (Version 2.0). I took Star Wars characters on the Oregon Trail more than once and saved the diary both times. It was very infuriating when Yoda died before his time.

   So there you go. I have written something. It may not make sense, but it is something.

   One last observation. Anakin Skywalker is very creepy when in love.