@winter-rose Okay, this is gonna be long. 😆

So yes, I write Army stories, but I actually have LE characters too, including a POV character. I’ve never specifically sat down to research it, because it’s something I’m pretty well familiar with. 😝 But here’s my thoughts.

Heads-up, probably needless to say,…[Read more]

I love how real this feels, like I just watched Chloe doing all this stuff. And I totally feel for her in some people just not being draining. 😅

Honestly, the only thing I can think to change is smoothing out a couple places…

“I pulled a boxed dinner from the freezer and placed it in the microwave. I…[Read more]

Ahhh, thanks for this!! And wow, I love reading about everybody’s characters!! This is such a fun thread…

Okay, I have kind of a big cast of characters without realizing it, so I’ll just touch on my four most important…

Harley Keane: my POV character. He’s 18, slightly shorter than average, baby-faced with blue-…[Read more]

Yeahhh, I don’t always like research either, but it grows on ya. 😉

Awww! Well, it’s easy because I’m on my phone. 😉 But there’s usually ways to get them to pull up on computers, you might have to look it up…

@claire-h Sorry, I got it, just hadn’t approved the comment yet

@seekjustice YES CHELSEA 🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻

@chalice of course the form had to eat yours 😏 (I promise it has worked sometimes! I can’t figure out why it does or doesn’t at any given time…) Can you leave a…[Read more]

Okay, so my form has decided to be finicky, so @elisha-starquill I got your email where you commented—@claire-h, if you could comment on the post…? Thanks so much for wanting to read it!

@eitan, no worries, I totally get that, and thanks!!

@eden-anderson I hope it is ☺️

I’m looking for alpha readers this coming month for my YA contemporary about PTSD. It’s 70k-some-odd words… well, this post’ll tell you everything you need to know. 😉

Stop the Rain: Never Leave a Fallen Comrade

@beth20 Ooh, that’s such a neat premise!

@chalice Okay, that storyline has so much potential to be so crazy and fun 😆

Also @beth20 and @chalice, I’ll post the link to my alpha-call post and tag y’all in it. 😉

Of course!! It took me a bit to get the hang of things here too, but everyone’s nice. 😉

His name is Thunder Canyon. 🥰 And yeah, he’s big, even for a retriever, but he’s so gentle.

I write contemporary war fiction–modern day military stories. 💙 It’s a niche I think needs filled, and I love it.

I love that!! It’s neat that you’re…[Read more]

Oooh ooh ooh I am so here for this!

(Okay so, I’m slightly biased because I love broken characters, and make them all messed-up and moody and I’m done for.)

My POV character in my WIP, Harley, isn’t exactly bitter—well, maybe—but he’s seething angry with the world. He hates himself, he hates his best friend, he hates his battle budd…[Read more]

I’m a city girl myself, but I’m currently living in a small town… quite the adjustment, but I think it’d be a really setting. And yeah, “Mayberry” is one big reference, although I’m obviously more familiar with the song than the show. 😉

Well, if you get something to post tag me, I’d love to see it. &#x1f…

*waves* Go Texas!!! 💙 and homeschoolers 😉

Hope you like what you see around here!

His-fic is the best. 🥰 I mostly write contemporary, but I absolutely love historical fiction, and I write short his-fic stories sometimes—I just can’t do a full novel of it… yet. 😉 What era do you like to write about?

I love rabbits ☺️ I don…[Read more]

Oh boy *rubs hands together* Thanks for this, @eden-anderson!!

My WIP, currently in the self-edit stage and 73k words, is Stop the Rain: Never Leave a Fallen Comrade. It’s the story of a teenage US Army MP (military police) during the heat of Iraq: growing up—joining the Army—getting deploye…[Read more]

@katja-r Thanks for tagging me for this!

Okay. Christian movies I’ve loved. All of the Kendricks’, for sure… Overcomer might be my favorite, but I’m still super attached to Facing the Giants and probably always will be. 🥰

I Can Only Imagine makes me cry every time, no matter how many times I’ve seen it. That scene w…[Read more]

*screams from the void* GO ARMY!!!! 🖤💚

I write contemporary too. 😉  I’ve read The Girl Who Could See (how could that be so relatable…) and a couple of the Ilyon books—fantasy isn’t usually my thing, but I really enjoyed those!

And wow, the premise/synopsis of your book is so neat!! Stopping and facing your problems is somethin…[Read more]

Okay, I don’t have the time rn to go through it in-depth, but I sat down to read it over, and it’s captivating!! I love Jean’s personality shining through. Something to bear in mind—you definitely don’t have to spill it in the first chapter, just for future reference—I’m curious how old they are, and what their situations are that they…[Read more]

I love all your babies!! They look so sweet. Was having a snake for a pet a little scary at first…? There’s this kind of snake in TX that has too small a mouth to bite, so we used to play with them whenever we found them, but it took some convincing the first time we did it. 😆

There’s no rhyme or reason to how I pick names. Som…[Read more]

Yeahhh… guess there’s a fine line between scribbling and art 😝

Awww, that’s so sweet about the kittens!! My cat’s fixed, but we always seem to end up with rescue kittens and yeah, it’s hard to give them up, especially when you get attached to them… 🥰

Yeah, research with his-fic isn’t my forte—part of the reason I haven’t tri…[Read more]

Oh yeah, always blame the brothers 😉

Daydreaming during schoolwork… 😝

I was reading what you’d said about your WWII story—I love tinkering around with WWII short stories. It takes a lot of research, and it’s a tough thing to write about, but it’s so worth it. 💙

Welcome to Story Embers!! I’m Kassie. 😉 Nice to meet you!!

I know exactly what you mean about drawing on school papers… except I usually end up drawing on my Literature, even though math’s not exactly my favorite either… 😝 History’s my favorite subject, hands-down. 😍

Your story as a baby is so neat!! Praise God for His mirac…[Read more]

*waves* Hey! I’m Kassie. Good to have you here!

I totally hear ya on the being nice but being able to go mean if I get riled 😝 And hey, I’m a total daydreamer, don’t think you have to stop daydreaming to stop procrastinating… just takes some multitasking 😁

I used to be super shy about sharing my stories, so just know it gets easie…[Read more]

Hey!! Welcome to SE 😉 I’m Kassie (—and yes, I agree, literally just saying “I’m Kassie” always feels awkward 🙄) Anyway! I can’t draw, but I love scribbling (😝). I have a cat and a dog, and yep, the cat’s the one who just showed up… but I love her for it… 😝

Oh man, I can’t imagine still having snow… Texas has been getting close t…[Read more]

Okay, Nigel!! (Also his best friend is an ISTP, so… 🤷🏼‍♀️) He’s 19, just slightly taller than average, blond hair, brown eyes–this is my reference pic for him, but with blonder hair and darker eyes: https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/handsome-young-man-91811522–and hair cut slightly closer. I don’t care if he’s…[Read more]

Oh yeah, there’s wild boar season in Texas too…

Oh, neat! No, English speakers don’t really say congratulations for that kind of thing, but my baby brother loves new things and would love it if we did. 🤣

@theswordinthebook I can’t draw, so I can’t trade you drawings, but if you’re just looking for something to draw my characters are on page 33. 😉 Also Radcliffe is super intriguing…

@naiya-dyani No worries!! Take your time. 😉 And if Harley’s giving you fits, you’re welcome to swap for someone else… Harley’s finicky, he just is. 😝

*cracks knuckles*

For starters, don’t shy away from writing characters of other nationalities. That sounds kind of obvious, but that’s an important place to start.

Imagine having a friend of that nationality read your story. Or if you can, ask someone of that nationality to read it. If you’re comfortable with that, even if you’r…[Read more]

Hey, sorry I vanished! I agree, it’s both tragic and ridiculous, all at the same time.

Oh yeah, the Israeli military is fascinating!! So, what is it about the warrior forces…?

That’s sad about the hunting. There’s a few animals, like buffalo, that almost went extinct here in America and now are mostly raised on farms. What anima…[Read more]

OKAY Y’ALL I’m so, so sorry I vanished—I got busy and then I forgot to get back on here until Chalice tagged me *instantly feeling bad*, BUT Y’ALLLLL. How do you do it??? I saved the pictures to my phone and I keep going back and looking at them… it’s amazing how y’all can capture my characters from only my des…[Read more]

That is so sad…everything about the Holocaust is really heartbreaking. I’m sure it’s less prevalent in Israel, but I know some people in America want to say that it never happened, which is really tragic. May we never, ever forget!

Well, it depends on what part of Texas you’re in, since it’s so big. The part that I’m from, Central…[Read more]

@claire-h Awww, I can’t wait!!

@the-fledgling-artist Eee, thanks! Ohh, good point, thank you! Honestly, for these three it doesn’t make a huge difference; if someone got Layla, that’s a different story. 😝
Okay, if y’all are making me pick… I’m gonna give you Andrew. He’s 19, ha…[Read more]

@naiya-dyani Oh, good, ‘cause I’d really love to be able to draw well 😝 Honestly, I don’t have a preference, and I don’t wanna have to pick one 😆 So you pick…??

@claire-h Okay, eyes meet little kids, you automatically get Kendall. 🥰

So, (by the end of the story anyway), Kendall’s eight years old. He’s got blond hair just long enough…[Read more]

Okay, so I’m not exactly an artist (I scribble with crayons 😂), so I’m not quite sure if I can just drop in here offering characters 😁, but if anyone’s looking for something to draw, I’d love to see somebody’s take on my kids…

*i hate asking for stuff* *blushes and falls through the floor*

Anyway. ☺️ I have a whole set of teenage/t…[Read more]

Yep, that’s Thunder! I’m training him as a therapy dog, to work in hospitals. He’s a lot of fun.

And yes, I live in Texas! 😆 I’ve also lived in Arizona, which is more of a desert than Texas is, and really pretty in its own right. Texas is my favorite, though, even though I love them both.

Wow, I didn’t know there were hyenas in Israel! T…[Read more]

*rethinks my entire life*

I’m pretty sure I just write “Mmhmm”? I wouldn’t be fazed by reading that in a book, even frequently, because I think it’d help it feel real. But yeah, it seems like there’s no good way to describe it. 😆

Hey! I’m Kassie. I’m the homeschooled oldest of four and I love running. ☺️ I write mostly contemporary, but I love historical fiction, I’m just not wired to write it as novels. But I love writing his-fic short stories. 💕

Little Women! *melts* Have you seen the 2019 movie? It does the book a whole lot better justice than the 1994…[Read more]

*bursts in totally ready to throw my personality type under the bus*

Hi. Stereotypical INFJ here. Conflict between people I love never fails to make me cry. I wish I was better at picking fights, tbh.

But if I were thrown out on the street with one of my younger brothers (I don’t have sisters so 😝), I would 100% be down to doing…[Read more]

Hey, sorry I didn’t get back sooner. Okay so, yeah, mine is not very cut and dry, but…

I finished writing my book last Sept. Because reasons, I wanted it released at the end of February. So between Sept and Feb I needed it edited, beta-read, formatted for Kindle and printers, blog tour set up, and book signing set up.…[Read more]

Hey!! 👋🏻 So glad to have you here!! My name’s Kassie; I’m not super active on the forums, but I’m here every once in a while. 😉

I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU’RE FROM ISRAEL!! That’s so amazing!! I am a tiny bit obsessed with Israel; I want to go visit so bad. ☺️ And I love anything that has to do with Christianity’s Jewish roots. My family and I…[Read more]

I love this!! I’m probably not the most qualified to answer, since my main characters are the more emotional ones without fail. I do have a pretty important, cold hard side character, so this was honestly kinda helpful 😆

My big things with him is, he’s the scary quiet one. He doesn’t say much, and he doesn’t raise his voice. So in my h…[Read more]

What do you mean by “what do you use”? Like, how do you plan it, or literally what do you plan it in, or what?

It’s definitely not a trade secret, but I know personally my timeline was definitely nothing hard and fast, so maybe that’s why you can’t get a real answer? 🤷‍♀️