Happy Release Day to Sparks Fly Upward! July 2 has extra special meaning for me as it was my grandmother’s birthday. She and my grandfather were two of my biggest fans and always supported me with my writing. They even purchased my first paperback copy and, as was typical of my grandfather, he overpaid me for it and refused to accept the change. Sharing this day with Grandma’s birthday feels as though they are both here cheering me on, even if we cannot physically celebrate together.
My grandparents toasting at their wedding.
I am excited to share this day with all of you as well. It has been quite the challenging road getting Sparks Fly Upward out into the world, but thankfully, we made it! I love how much the two main characters have grown over the last three books and there are several side characters who have some surprising twists as well.
Read on for a release day game, giveaways, and details on how to purchase.
What’s it all About?
Friends to More * Love Letters * Redemption Story * Faith Found
After her unexpected escape from enslavement, Martha Louis has finally found freedom in the community of Larksong in Washington Territory. When a declaration of love arrives from a most unlikely source, she dares to hope true happiness could be hers. Before she can embrace this life of her own, a child is stolen while under her care, forcing her outside Larksong’s safe haven. To see this little one safely home, she will be asked to risk everything, including her heart.
For years, Garrett Lark’s life centered around his own selfish interests. Cynicism fueled his departure off the straight and narrow into prodigal living. Then he met Martha, and the woman no one expected him to choose was the only one who motivated him to change. Now a successful hotel proprietor, he’s ready to declare his intentions and settle down.
When Martha appears on his doorstep begging for help he can’t provide, he seeks out an old friend at Sterling’s Theatrical, a wholesome family circus with a backstage more sinister than San Francisco’s lawless underbelly. Faced with the fire of past mistakes, the life he used to love could now cost him the love of his life.
Now available in eBook and paperback. Audio coming soon.
Did you know reviews help both readers and authors? Even one sentence is enough, and every word greatly appreciated. Consider leaving a rating on Amazon, Goodreads, BookBub, and/or your favorite retailer! Thank you in advance!
These Games We Play…End in a Giveaway
How well do you know the Lark brothers? Answer the questions in the link below by July 9 for a chance to win one of two release day giveaway items:
One (1) signed copy of Wedded to War by Jocelyn Green, recently gone out of print. Historical details flow through every page of this Civil War story and honors the brave men and women who made difficult life and death decisions no one should have to make.
One (1) t-shirt of your choice from one of my favorite online shops,Brick House in the City. They have women’s, men’s, and children’s options.
Giveaway runs through 11:59 p.m. CT on July 9, 2024. Open to U.S. residents only, ages 18+. Winner will be contacted directly. Not affiliated with any other company or organization.Only one entry per person.
Until next month, happy reading!
Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam
Kelsey
Want to know what I’m currently reading? Follow me on GoodReads.
Due to variability in social media algorithms, the best way to receive this newsletter is through e-mail. If you were directed to this site via social media or a search engine, you can subscribe to updates by entering your e-mail on the Contact page. E-mail addresses are never sold or distributed. You may unsubscribe at any time.
Happy July, readers! Tomorrow is the big day – Sparks Fly Upward will be released into the world! Thank you to all those who pre-ordered, beta read, joined the launch team, and shared (or will be sharing) about the book with your friends and family.
It was also brought to my attention that some email servers only show partial emails in the inbox with a link at the bottom to “read more.” As a result, many readers may have been missing out on updates. To ensure you can easily spot the stories you’re most interested in, I’m adding a “What’s in this Edition” section to the beginning of each newsletter.
What’s in this Edition:
Join the Legacy – Free graphics for Sparks Fly Upward and how to order.
Catholic Media Awards – Which book won 1st place?
Dusk Shall Weep – Now available in audiobook.
Releasing in July – Other authors’ new releases I’m most excited about.
Sparks Fly Upward – Continue the Legacy
Ready to read the latest Larksong Legacy novel? Haven’t yet read any of the novels? All the links you need are below:
Thank you in advance! And make sure to check your email tomorrow to celebrate the release!
Catholic Media Awards – Which book won?
I’m thrilled to announce that Dusk Shall Weep was awarded First Place at this year’s Catholic Media Awards in the Faith-Based Novels category. This is the second year that the Larksong Legacy series has won, with For a Noble Purpose being awarded first in the Catholic Novels category last year. There are so many amazing authors who submit their work to these awards, and I am truly honored to be among them.
I’d like to give a special congratulations to a few of my fellow Catholic Writers Guild authors who also placed this year:
A Faith Such as Heaven Intended by Amanda Lauer – Honorable Mention, Book for Young Adults (Ages 12-18)
Firetender by Erin Lewis – Second Place, First Time Author: Novel& Third Place, Catholic Novel
Summer at West Castle by Theresa Linden – Second Place, Self-Published Fiction Books. Theresa also won awards in Self-Published Children’s Books (1st Place) and Front Cover Artwork (2nd Place)
Meet Sister Mary Margaret by Rebecca M. Martin – First Place, First Time Author: Children’s Book
Ashes: Visible & Invisible (Anthology) by L. Wahl, C.T. Toney, M.C. Keiser, C. Astfalk, A. Lauer, E. Gable, C. Turner, A.B. Kolenc, T.M. Gaouette, and T. Linden – Honorable Mention, Anthology
Dusk Shall Weep – Now in Audio Book
AudioBook lovers, this one’s for you! The first two books of Larksong Legacy are now available in audiobook on Audible, Amazon, and iTunes, with production for Book 3 beginning soon. My wonderful narrator, Tawnya Rollingson, truly makes these characters come to life and I’ve been so impressed by her talent for distinct voices and multiple accents. If you’re an author in need of a narrator, I recommend her 100%.
The best news is I have a number of free Audible promo codes available for For a Noble Purpose and Dusk Shall Weep. These are available first come first served. If you’d like to listen for free, simply reply to this email.
Releasing in July
Need another read? Here are the new releases I’m excited about:
The Oystercatcher of Southwark by Erica Colahan – dual timeline story of tragedy, family secrets, and redemptive hope based on the author’s great-great-grandmother
Growing into Greatness by Tanya E. Williams – a young Italian woman must consider her dreams versus obligations at her family’s Napa Valley vineyard during Prohibition, The Great Depression, and World War II.
Not Quite Colonel Brandon by Kim Griffin – set on becoming a missionary, Megan doesn’t have time for romance, but sometimes God has other plans.
Hear the Falling Snow by Storm Shultz – sweet contemporary Christmas romance set in the Kentucky hills
All These Threads of Time by Sarah Crowne – time traveling 1980s throwback murder mystery
Want to know what I’m currently reading? Follow me on GoodReads.
Did you know reviews help both readers and authors? Even one sentence is enough, and every word greatly appreciated. Consider leaving a rating on Amazon, Goodreads, BookBub, and/or your favorite retailer!
Due to variability in social media algorithms, the best way to receive this newsletter is through e-mail. If you were directed to this site via social media or a search engine, you can subscribe to updates by entering your e-mail on the Contact page. E-mail addresses are never sold or distributed. You may unsubscribe at any time.
Welcome back to the Extra Edition newsletter! I’m excited to bring you bonus content each month with a special inside look at my novels and the history behind them.
What’s in this Edition:
Let’s Send up Sparks!– A Launch Team Reminder
And With Your Spirit – My visit to Kenrick Glennon Seminary, founded in 1818
Speaking of Churches – Bookish churches you can actually visit
Let’s send up Sparks!
Want to read Sparks Fly Upward before its July 2 release? There’s still time to:
Earlier this month, my son attended summer camp at Kenrick Glennon Seminary, St. Louis’s Catholic seminary. For those who aren’t familiar, the seminary is where unmarried men study the faith and earn a college degree in preparation to become deacons and priests of the Catholic Church. The camp was really part camp, part retreat as the goal is to show middle school and high school boys what seminary life is like and encourage vocations to the priesthood. Almost 200 boys gather over two weeks to learn about the faith while also having fun. Odds are, they won’t all be called to the priesthood or religious life, but hopefully they’ll become closer to God and more willing to encourage others who may be called to a religious vocation.
In my books, I write about many historical Catholic Churches. Kenrick Glennon Seminary was founded in 1818 with its current building constructed in 1931. It includes many of the traditional architectural elements that are found in the churches I write about. My husband and I actually attended several co-ed retreats at the seminary during our high school days, so I gave into nostalgia and snapped a few photos to share.
The front entrance and bell tower:
Inside the St. Joseph’s Chapel, one of several chapels on-site. This photo does not do justice to how pretty the ceiling is.
Two of the many beautiful stained glass windows. Even the radiator grates are decorated.
I was especially happy to get a photo of the confessional as most modern Catholic Church confessionals are built into the wall rather than as their own separate element. The Latin above the door reads, “accipite spiritum sanctum,” which means “Receive the Holy Spirit.” If you’ve read Unsettled Shores, this is the type of confessional the characters visit.
As mentioned above, as a Catholic Christian author writing about mostly Catholic Christian characters, I like to include real-life Catholic churches in my novels. While I haven’t had the privilege to visit most of these (yet), if they’re in your neck of the woods, I recommend stopping by. If you do, please send a photo. I would love to hear what you thought.
Due to variability in social media algorithms, the best way to receive this newsletter is through e-mail. If you were directed to this site via social media or a search engine, you can subscribe to updates by entering your e-mail on the Contact page. E-mail addresses are never sold or distributed. You may unsubscribe at any time.
Happy June, readers! Welcome to the new subscribers from the O’Fallon Farmers Market. On May 19, fellow author Susan Laspe and I joined the St. Charles City-County Library’s local author booth. It was hot (summer’s here, y’all!) but so much fun to meet new readers.
In the latest writing news, there are some big highlights:
1. Due to a certain online retailer’s publishing platform being troublesome, Sparks’s publication date is back to July 2. The good news is that I think final edits will be relatively light. Details for the launch team are toward the bottom of this newsletter.
2. For a Noble Purpose is now available in audiobook on Audible, Amazon, and iTunes, and I have a number of promo codes, first come first served. If you’d like to listen for free, reply to this email.
3. I’ve now reached a full 6 months off social media. Here’s the biggest discovery I’ve made:
Off Social Discovery #6 – I’m not going back.
That’s right, friends; after 19 years, I’m leaving social media. But here’s the thing, it didn’t take me six months to figure out. In fact, it took me less than two. I waited the full six months to allow myself time to really contemplate the decision, but my feelings never changed.
First, I do want to acknowledge that social media has its good aspects. As a new author, I learned so much about business and marketing from other authors’ posts and in writing groups. I made connections with authors and readers around the world, several of whom I now call friends. Through it, I found the Catholic Writers Guild, the Christian Mommy Writers, and many small online shops that I now frequent. It helped me build my newsletter list and brought me my first cover design clients. For all those reasons, I will always be grateful. Despite all the good, however, the time finally came when, for me, it no longer outweighed the stress, pressure, and security concerns.
I’ve taken social media breaks before – for a week, a month, during the entire season of Lent. About seven years ago, I stopped posting photos of my kids and about four years ago, I removed almost everything from my personal Facebook page and kept it strictly to my author life. I could see how all the little steps I’d taken over the years finally added up to a big decision, but what I really needed was someone to tell me I had permission to leave.
Enter children’s author and fellow Christian Mommy Writer, Kristen Gwen. After I announced my social media sabbatical, she told me how she left Instagram in June 2023 and what a great decision it was. She directed me to the Writing Off Social podcast, hosted by Christian authors Sandy Cooper and Mary K. Tiller. Their show’s opening sequence says they are the “podcast for female Christian writers who want to grow and nurture their audience without social media.” Here’s the opening of every show:
“We know you’re tired of chasing the algorithm. Using social media to build your platform has left you feeling drained, overwhelmed, and unfruitful…maybe even trapped. You want to be free to build a sustainable, God-honoring writing career. We get it! That’s why our vision is to empower you to confidently reject life-sucking, ineffective methods of platform growth and instead pursue strategies that play to your strengths and yield a better ROI.” These two women were singing the song of my heart. I needed to learn more.
Over the next two months, I listened to all 30 currently available episodes. Each one was like turning on another neon sign that read, “You can do this!” They hosted author after author who left social media and were successful both professionally and personally. Then I searched the internet and found person after person, both authors and non, who had left social media and never looked back. Not only were they happy being away but were thriving free from the comparison-and-keep-up game. They had found ways to accept their FOMO and developed richer connections with their friends and family. Then it got really weird.
I no longer had to search for people leaving social media. Every week, I had validation sent straight to my email inbox through other authors, readers, and even personal friends who were all taking extended social media breaks. Had I started a social media exodus? No. Leaving social media altogether isn’t for everyone, but others’ temporary reprieve did provide one more level of validation for my own decision. It turns out the world survived before social media and the world still survives without it. As was mentioned in one episode of Writing Off Social, it’s ok to only give people access to yourself who have earned the right to be there.
You, my newsletter subscribers, have earned the right to see behind the publishing curtain. You have taken a step beyond the simple click of a “like” and I am so very thankful for each one of you. I thank you for having remained with me over this six month social media sabbatical and look forward to where the future takes us.
So, if you’re like me and need someone to tell you it’s ok to leave social media, even if only temporarily, this is me giving you permission to walk away, both personally and professionally. This is me saying, “You can do this!” We can do it together.
For now, my author Facebook and Instagram pages will remain open as a way to direct readers back to my website, and I have placed an autoreply on all direct messages. I will also continue to be on Goodreads.
As a final reminder, in lieu of social media posts, I have created an “Extra Edition” newsletter which includes special behind the scenes book content just for subscribers. Simply, complete the form at the link below to receive all the inside info. The next edition releases on June 17. If you’ve signed up in the past, you’re already on the list!
Want to read Sparks Fly Upward before its July 2 release? Why not join the Launch Team? If you’ve been on my launch team before, you’ll see that we’re doing things a little differently this time. Since I’m not on social media, I’m not asking you to post about my book there either (unless you want to). What I would ask for you to do:
Read the provided eBook (sent by June 25) and post your review before July 25. Feel free to post anywhere you feel comfortable. Preferred outlets are Amazon, Goodreads, and Bookbub.
Recommend the book to 5 friends (or more!) via email, text, snail mail, video chat, direct message, in your book club, or through some other non-social-media format. This could be as easy as forwarding one of my newsletters to a friend.
Request that your local library add it to their collection. If they don’t already have Book 1, For a Noble Purpose, request that one instead. Most libraries will want to start at the beginning.
Need another read? Here are the new releases I’m excited about:
Weaving Roots by Heather Wood – sweet romance about a weaver in the pre-industrial 1820s
The Hudson Collection by Jocelyn Green – a Gothic mansion, a treasure hunt, and a tangled web of secrets in 1920s New York
Summer Ever After by Kortney Keisel – clean romantic comedy about falling for your best friend’s brother
The Exile by Allison Ramirez – Book 2 of The Divided Kingdom dystopian series inspired by the divided kingdom of Israel in the Old Testament.
Born of Gilded Mountains by Amanda Dykes – a former Hollywood leading lady restores an abandoned Colorado estate in 1948
Want to know what I’m currently reading? Follow me on GoodReads.
Did you know reviews help both readers and authors? Even one sentence is enough, and every word greatly appreciated. Consider leaving a rating on Amazon, Goodreads, BookBub, and/or your favorite retailer!
Due to variability in social media algorithms, the best way to receive this newsletter is through e-mail. If you were directed to this site via social media or a search engine, you can subscribe to updates by entering your e-mail on the Contact page. E-mail addresses are never sold or distributed. You may unsubscribe at any time.
Welcome back to the Extra Edition newsletter! I’m excited to bring you bonus content each month with a special inside look at my novels and the history behind them.
Performing the Incredible
“The audience roared as a set of wide stable doors opened and two lines of dazzling cream-colored mares paraded out, each set carrying a matched female and male rider. Every rider was draped in azure costume, the men with bare chests and the ladies’ skirts cut scandalously up their thighs. One by one, each female rider raised her arms toward her partner. Gripping their waists, the men rotated the women to stand inverted, palms upon their shoulders and toes pointed high. Then the men rose themselves. Each one’s feet perfectly balanced upon his horse’s bare back while the animal maintained perfect stride. Truly, an incredible feat.” ~from Sparks Fly Upward
In my upcoming novel, Sparks Fly Upward, there are many well-known circus acts: the strongman, trapeze artists, clowns, and jugglers, just to name a few. The two acts central to the story are the fire tenders and the equine acrobats. I’ve included two videos that best showcase these incredible talents as they might have been experienced within the story.
Which one would you be most interested to learn? I honestly think I would be terrible at either one and probably only do myself harm, but if forced, I’d try equestrian over fire.
Circus Costumes and Cigarettes
Now that you’ve seen their acts, what do you suppose these performers might have worn? It might surprise you to learn that costuming hasn’t really changed all that much since the mid to late 1800s. Below are a few examples of what one might expect to see when attending a performance. These photos were actually taken from cigarette pack trading cards, which were used similarly to how baseball or Pokemon cards are traded today.
Movie Musicals to Inspire
Can’t wait until August 27 for a circus read? Here are a few other novels you might enjoy:
The Orphan’s Tale by Pam Jenoff – traveling circus fiction set during WWII
The Book of Speculation by Erika Swyler – magical realism about circus mermaids
The Weight of Air by Kimberly Duffy – Christian fiction of aerialists and acrobats in 1911
The Ringmaster’s Wife by Kristy Cambron – Jazz age Christian fiction with the Ringling Brothers
If you’ve read too many books lately (is that possible?) and prefer to watch your stories, make sure to check out the family-friendly movie musical, The Greatest Showman and the Canadian tv show about a circus school, Big Top Academy.
Due to variability in social media algorithms, the best way to receive this newsletter is through e-mail. If you were directed to this site via social media or a search engine, you can subscribe to updates by entering your e-mail on the Contact page. E-mail addresses are never sold or distributed. You may unsubscribe at any time.
