Question of the day--What's up with Kate and Hol?

Seven days left!


There have been quite a few questions over the past few months regarding The Kailmeyra Series.

As the debut of The Secret of the Keepers draws near, I thought I'd answer some of the more common questions.

FAQ: Kate and Holly are Nora's best friends in high school. They are on the first pages in The Light of Asteria, yet they do not play and active role after the third chapter. What's the deal? Will we see them in The Secret of the Keepers? 

There were many opening scenes to Asteria, but when I wrote this one my Katie was picking out colleges. So were her four best friends. Even though they were sure they would all stay close after graduation, I knew I wanted to prepare her for the possibility that they might drift apart. It would've been easier if the girls had chosen to go to the local university, but these girls are adventuresome and scattered to the four winds. I wanted Katie to open her mind to the idea of meeting new people, not just stay in her dorm room skyping her besties. 

Also, it seemed a good way to show Nora's willingness to put others first. Just the fact that she helped Kate and Hol move in, even when it was painful for her, adds depth to her character. It gave the reader a glimpse into her heart, and let them see her struggle, her fears. It shed light on her pure nature, and seemed authentic to her spirit.

To be honest, I've been surprised at the following Kate and Holly have gotten. I love the fact that quite a few readers related strongly enough to them to write me and ask for more of Kate and Hol. Even though they do not make an appearance in The Secret of the Keepers, they may still may play a part in the third.


If you have a question you would like answered, just comment on this post and I'll email you!

Viva Las Vegas!

For my 40th birthday, my best friend Corina surprised me with a trip to Vegas. Needless to say we had a boatload of fun, but I soon realized that if I lived anywhere close to a casino, I'd be one of those people they'd keep tabs on. Vegas is like the grown-up version of Chuckie Cheese, and I'm a kid at heart.



There's something about pulling the lever on a slot machine, it's that anticipation ... the excitement ... what if you actually won? Two things I'll never forget about Vegas: Corina shouting "Oh yeah, baby!" Every time we won so much as a quarter, and the feel of a slot machine handle.

Thanks to my friend Megan Curd, I've now become a KDP junkie. For those of you that don't know, KDP stands for Kindle Direct Publishing. It's a place where Indie authors log in to see a live record of how many books are being purchased. With the click of the refresh button, I get an up-to-date account of how many books are sold. Needless to say, it's now permanently pinned as an app tab!

As soon as I opened the KDP site for the first time, that feeling returned in the pit of my stomach. I knew it right away. Vegas. It feels like I'm sitting on the top of the roller coaster, getting ready to careen down a hill. And every time the sales number goes up and have to shout "Oh yeah, baby!"

All I have to say is Viva Las Vegas!

Teacher Tuesday

Tips on heading back to school.


As you know, last spring we started a Teacher Tuesday post designed to give tips to parents regarding school, homework, friends, etc. If you have a problem or you would like a topic discussed, please feel free to email me at beth(at)elizabethisaacs(dot)com . I've been surprised at the response, and so I look forward to this years topics.

Back to school is one of the most stressful times of the year for kiddo's. New teacher, new classroom, new friends ... new fears.

Here are five ways to help your kiddo transition into a new year.

5. Get them to bed on time a week before school starts.--I know this ones a toughy. Kiddo's are used to playing rousing games of flashlight tag at 11, swimming until the pool closes at 9, midnight bowling, skating, fishing, etc. It's all great ... until that first day of school. Take a week or two to get the kiddo's back into a routine, otherwise they are going to be staring at the ceiling instead of getting a good night's sleep.

4. Don't buy overpriced crap-- We all want the best for our children, but defining early in their educational career that it's what you do at school, not what you wear will send the message that school is about learning, not being seen. Too, socially, children who have over-the-top expensive things are singled out. After a while they tend to feel superior, which leads to false friendships and ultimately isolation. It's better that children understand people like them for who they are, not what they own.  

3. It's your homework, you do it--start off the year right. Sit down and have a heart-to-heart with your child. Let them know that you're there for them if they don't understand something, but you're not looking up those definitions, and you're not doing their science fair project. If they don't get their homework done, they can't go to soccer/baseball/football/whatever. Make school the priority, and give them ownership!

2. The teacher is not the enemy--All right, I might be getting into sensitive waters here, but one of the rockiest ways to start off school is by bringing past qualms into a new classroom. I sincerely hope that everyone had a fantabulous teacher last year. But if that is not the case, don't start off the new year by dredging up bad memories. When kiddo's don't know how to react to stressors, they look to the adults, mainly their parents. Having a positive attitude toward the new year, using positive words when speaking about the new teacher can set the year off in the right direction. It's always best to give a positive example than a negative one.

1. Talk to your child--take some time everyday to really connect with your kiddo. Studies have shown that the average parent talks to their children less that 15 minutes a day. Allow them to tell you about the inconsequential of their day, and eventually they'll get around to the failed test, or the story of the girl who said hurtful things while on the playground. One last word of advice: talk problems out first. Allow them to try and handle them on their own before calling the principal about that mean teacher or a discipline problem. If it continues, by all means go in like a mamma bear, but give the child the opportunity to handle the situation first.