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Belinda Kroll

Escape into historical worlds

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25 November 2004 Belinda Kroll

Oh Dear

Can we say school-mania, anyone? I’m sorry I haven’t been around. School is a lot tougher this quarter than I bargained for, hence the lack of updates or work on the new novel!

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About Belinda

Known in social media as “Worderella,” Belinda has been writing and blogging about writing since 2003. Busy with a full-time job, family life, and the ever-present desire to write fiction, this blog is updated when the spirit moves her to do so. Visit her on Instagram @worderella for more frequent updates.

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As seen on our walk today... A t-rex skeleton and tardis tucked into a flower bed. It's like they knew we were coming.
Not only did I make my goal of writing a 5,000 word short story, I made it through 7 rounds of edits. The longest draft was over 6k words, but right now it's hovering around 5.5k. I sent it to an editor last night! 🥳
If you were ever curious to what length of obsessive detail authors go through for their projects, here is an example. I mentioned in my newsletter (link in profile) that I'm working on making Haunting Miss Trentwood a series. These are the covers. I can't tell if I need the extra bit of flourish in the collection in the bottom row versions, or if the border makes it too busy. What are your thoughts?
My #authorlifemonth2021 #shelfie for the last year was and is 100% escapist and I'm not ashamed to admit it. Working remotely with my type of meeting schedule means my eyes are tired and strained, requiring eye drops. It also means I gave up reading ebooks for all of 2020. I'm back to reading ebooks due to the late night feedings of the baby, so not pictured are also ebooks by Sheri Cobb South, CJ Archer, Tilly Wallace, and Olivia Atwater.
Don't worry about it honey, I'll take your car to get new tires. Oh, I'm only taking my laptop just in case... 😉 I guess sometimes all it takes is an uninterrupted hour because I was able to edit out 400 unnecessary words and added 800 words to the short story following Haunting Miss Trentwood. My goal is 7,500 and I'm hovering around 5,800. Tomorrow I'm going to print out during lunch, knowing I'll have to edit in bits and pieces throughout the week. I'm pretty excited about this and about a little project that I hope will be a teaser for Haunting Miss Trentwood. With these projects, Haunting Miss Trentwood will expand into a series I'm calling the "Hesitant Mediums." If you want the first scoop for when these projects go live, sign up for my newsletter (link in the profile).
You'll find me on any given evening listening to writing podcasts and eating cheez-its or graham crackers while taking care of the kids. And then I often pull out my laptop after they fall asleep and try to write while my husband does the dishes or laundry. Tonight my head hurts too much so instead I drew this venn diagram after being inspired by @anxiousmoms
I wrote my first short story in 10 years, only to realize after going through these edits and asking about it in an author group on Facebook that I wrote it from the wrong character perspective, which is why it feels flat. Back to the beginning it is...
I just wanted to share what my walk looked like this afternoon. Sometimes, being an introvert and a mom and a manager and an author and a person with too many ideas and not enough time means I need to just get outside and be alone for 30 minutes.
I'll be popping in and out of #authorlifemonth2021 because a lot is going on in real life. Aaaanyway, here is my writing fuel (other than reading as much as possible): my tea and coffee station. This has been an evolution over the last five years and I'm finally to a place where I looove it. I leveled up my loose leaf tea and coffee concoctions with this sampler set of le sirup de monin from my nearby @worldmarket. I didn't expect these syrups to have such an impact on my experience, but in this case, it really it the little things that bring joy.
You guys, I found a tutorial on the internet to turn a box into a phone boom for overhead videos and COULD NOT RESIST. Dual benefit is my husband now has a way to take videos of his Lego builds, haha. Anyway, this is what it looks like when I transfer Draft -1 from my notebook into the electronic word file. Once everything is pieced together, that file becomes Draft 0. Then come at least three more rounds of edits, usually through feedback and paid editors... Anyway, my brain is trying it's best to keep the short story and the novel separate, but it's tough to do when you have a backlog of writing sessions to transfer.
Very excited that the ebook for The Last April is now distributed widely, meaning you no longer need to have Kindle Unlimited to read it. Link in my profile! You can request your library to purchase a copy for reading in Overdrive or Libby, even! This is a double celebration because four years ago, I pressed "publish" for The Last April right around this time. I'm excited to get into more regular writing habits and can't wait to release the short story and novels I've been scribbling in my notebook. While The Last April is straight historical fiction, I'm jumping back into my historical fantasy worlds with ghosts and magic for future works. I mean, when you love Sailor Moon, Jane Austen, Doctor Who, Buffy, and Anne of Green Gables equally, what else can you expect?
New glasses, who dis? I say in my (newly updated) author bio that I love eyeglasses. Here are my latest pairs due to a prescription update. Usually I buy through Zenni Optical, but this time I tried @eyebuydirect because they donate a pair of glasses to a country of your choosing for each pair you buy. I chose South Africa. If you've never bought eyeglasses online, it's really not as scary as you might think. I've been doing this for 11 years and have never regretted it. All you need is your prescription, pupillary distance, and then know some measurements about the glasses you wear that fit. I've never done light frames before, and of course got my standard red. I'm digging it! What do you guys think? #EBDfamily

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#amediting #amreading #ROW80 Adult Announcements Author-Publisher Catching the Rose Character Development Civil War Contemporary Covers Craft Ebook Editing Editors Facebook Fantasy Fiction Fun Giveaway Guest Post Haunting Miss Trentwood Historical Indie Inspirational Interview Kickstarter Links Mystery NaNoWriMo Plot Print-on-Demand Publishing Quotes Regency Romance Setting Suspense Tension The Last April Theme The Rebel's Touch Tips Tools Victorian Websites Women's Fiction Work-in-Progress Writer's Block Young Adult

Current Projects

  1. Short story bridge between Haunting Miss Trentwood and sequel novel
  2. Haunting Miss Trentwood sequel
  3. Historical fantasy set in 1909-ish Columbus, Ohio

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