Cade Riggs’ English students at Brownwood High School were given the opportunity to visit with published author Kadee Carder on Wednesday, October 26, during their library time.

Carder, who also teaches college English, has a Master’s degree in Creative Writing and recently published Insurrection, the first book in her new young-adult sci-fi/adventure series. Students listened as Carder shared her experience with the writing and publishing process as well as the challenges that come with the profession.

“Having Kadee Carder in class was wonderful,” said English teacher, Cade Riggs. “She helped the students see the writing process as an authentic human experience, not just an academic concept.”

“Be prepared to take criticism,” explained Carder to one class. “Rejection is part of the process, but so is revision. If you are passionate about your writing, it shows. Don’t give up on it.”

Carder explained how she balances writing books, blogging on her website kadeecarder.com, teaching, and being a full-time mom, in addition to how she got her first book published. Carder’s Insurrection series was recently picked up by book publisher, Clean Reads, after she pitched the concept at a writers conference in Las Vegas.

“It was wonderful to have such a talented writer visit our students,” stated BHS Assistant Librarian, Heather Nix. “Our students saw that writing can be a passion, not just an assignment, and that reading can transplant you to places you never dreamed.”

Each of Riggs’ classes were able to use their time in the library to visit with Carder and ask any questions regarding writing, reading, and the challenges of being an author.

“Her vibrancy and enthusiasm inspired several students,” noted Riggs. “I am so grateful to Mrs. McGhee and Mrs. Nix for hosting us.”

 See original article HERE.

​​Think magic will solve your problems?
Bring you love? Cure you? Protect you? Help you find someone who is lost?
Think again.
In The Teen Wytche Saga, a shape-shifting spell book upends the life of each girl who possesses it. Passed among a group of disparate teens, the rebellious book morphs into a new system of magic as it aligns or opposes the girl entrusted to safeguard it. The girls soon discover…
 
Magic tests friendships.

​It hisses, chirps, stinks up the room, backfires, and explodes! Magic forces you to make tough decisions. Shatter limitations. Discover your true self.
 
And you thought navigating high school was tough.

The Teen Wytche Saga Books by Ariella Moon:
Book One: Spell Check
Book Two: Spell Struck
Book Three: Spell Fire
Book Four: Spell For Sophia
 
Where friendship, first love, and magic collide.

A quick introduction to Spell Check (The Teen Wytche Saga #1)
 
Two girls, one guy, and a spell book — what could possibly go wrong?

Bullies. A secret crush. A traitorous friend.
 
First year of high school isn’t supposed to be an emotional minefield. A photojournalist father isn’t supposed to die in war, and no one should cast a binding love spell on her best friend’s secret crush. And yet…
 
Halloween looms and so does the anniversary of Evie’s father’s death. She needs to pull herself together or she’ll lose her position as Yearbook Photo Editor. Even worse, Evie will lose Jordan, her secret crush, if she can’t stop her friend Parvani from casting a love spell on him. Despite a falling out, Evie never forgot Jordan. Now they are lab partners and the chemistry between them definitely sparks. Parvani possesses a brimstone-hissing spell book and plans to cast the spell by Halloween. To save Jordan, Evie must join forces with Salem, the school goth.
 
The clock is ticking. Can Evie get her mojo back in time to check this spell?
 
Excerpt
About ten minutes into class, while Mr. Esenberg wrote on the board, I heard Jordan slide his feet under my desk. My breath wedged in my throat as the tips of his size nine high-performance sneakers nudged the heels of my shoes. Could the girl in front of me hear my heart thudding? Should I move my feet forward?

My feet tingled and refused to move. A blush blazed across my cheeks. I struggled to pay attention to Mr. Esenberg without making eye contact. Forty minutes passed, the bell blared, and I had no idea what had transpired. Hopefully, my notes will make sense. I think I took notes.

Jordan slid his feet back and thudded his book closed. We both bent down and reached for our backpacks. His leaned against mine. Our hands brushed and our heads were so close I could smell his herbal shampoo.

Students walked past us. I’m sure some of them were talking to each other or flipping open their cell phones. But it all faded away along with the smell of chalk, highlighters, and sweat. Everything receded except the warmth of Jordan’s skin, his cinnamon gum-scented breath, and the heart-stopping rush sprinting up my arm.

“Evie?”

We jerked apart. Seeing Parvani in the doorway looking hurt and shocked snapped my senses into hyper focus. Conversations sounded extra loud. Colors seemed too bright. It felt like a movie had started, full blast, in a hushed theater.

For more excerpts, or to purchase books in The Teen Wytche Saga:
http://www.amazon.com/Ariella-Moon/e/B0071NUOAK/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1
 
http://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/Search?Query=Ariella+Moon
 
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/Ariella-Moon
 
https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/ariella-moon/id507847259?mt=11
 
http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&field-keywords=Ariella+Moon
 
About the Author:
Ariella Moon draws upon her experiences as a shaman to create magical Young Adult fiction. The Teen Wytche Saga is a series of sweet contemporary paranormal romances. Her Two Realms Trilogy is a medieval Scotland and Fairy fantasy adventure series.
​
Ariella spent her childhood searching for a magical wardrobe that would transport her to Narnia. Extreme math anxiety and taller students that mistook her for a leaning post marred her youth. Despite these horrors, she graduated summa cum laude from the University of California at Davis. She lives a nearly normal life doting on her extraordinary daughter, two shamelessly spoiled dogs, and a media-shy dragon.
 
Ariella loves to hear from her readers. You can reach her at:
http://www.ariellamoon.com
http://www.ariellamoon.blogspot.com
http://www.facebook.com/ariellamoon.author
http://www.goodreads.com/AuthorAriellaMoon
http://www.pinterest.com/ariellamoon/
​

Shoveling words doesn’t matter to a lot of people.
It matters to me.

I’ve been working so hard, almost in fast-forward, doing as much as I can to get my work completed to the best of my ability. I’ve been shoving along words, scooping and hauling them, rearranging, guiding them, all for what? To Make Something Happen.

You ever feel like you’re grinding away, and ….not going anywhere?

The building will get built if I keep on shoveling. Other people don’t have to be interested or excited. I may never get much attention. That’s got to be okay. What has to be okay is that I shoveled.

Go B Team!

On Sunday mornings, I sing with the worship team. I enjoy singing, always have. Sometimes I get afforded the incredible luxury of suggesting some of my favorite songs and we actually sing them. And sometimes, I know the words best so I get to lead the vocals! I find it so thrilling to share a song with others, our voices lifting to the heavens, singing together a song radiating life and hope. If only my voice carried as much life as I wanted it to. I know I was never destined to be known as a singer. OH, my friends, do I EVER know that. Every Sunday morning when my voice crackles through the monitors, OH, I hear every cringe-worthy, halting, misguided hint of a note. I hear it. I know the audience hears it too. Most Sundays I wish I had a uniform labeled, “B-Team,” so that everyone will know that I know I’m no first-string singer. If the worship team were a football team, I’d be a bench warmer. And when I take the field, it’s because nobody else showed up to play. So maybe that makes me, what, the D-Team? Let’s stick with B-team. B is at least a passing grade in a class.

Go B-Team!

Do you ever feel like you’re on the B-Team? Like maybe you’re doing as good as you can, but it’s not five-star worthy? Heck, it’s maybe not even one- or two-star worthy. But you’re showing up. You’re doin’ it. You’re getting’ ‘er dun.
It adds up, yes?

I believe so.

Because as a teacher I can say that every student who puts in the effort to submit assignments, to read, to write, to follow the directions even when the student has zero faith in her ability, she will finish, and learn, and retain even more about herself than the course material. In persevering the course, a student learns much more than book smarts. A student learns how to dig in, to maneuver books, to tumble conspiracies, and, more importantly, how to manage the course. The course looks different to every student. Some come in with quite a bit of language knowledge, some come in with none, some come in with what they thought was knowledge but is actually an excessive use of adverbs and sentence fragments and the vague pronoun ‘it.’
​
Even the B-team can win the game.
 
And what I keep coming back to, the fact that releases a lot of the pressure, is knowing I am not alone.

“If you can calm the raging sea
You can calm the storm in me
You're never too far away
You never show up too late
So here I am, lifting up my heart
To the one who holds the stars."
~ "Stars," by Skillet

The song relates to many refreshing verses in the Scriptures, reminding us of God’s presence, availability, ability, and help:
“For I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.” Isaiah 41:13
 
“Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.” Isaiah 40:28-29
 
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:6-7 (NIV) 

"Our help has come in the name of the Eternal, the Maker of heaven and earth!" Psalm 124:8 (VOICE)

So there you go. Go B-team!

You may just turn out to be the A-team after all. You have to keep shoveling. Pile it up, moundful by moundful, until the tower breaks the sky.
 
<waves pompoms> <attempts a jump> <fist bump>

Go, fight, win. Beat ‘em till the end. Huh! 

Carl Wayne graciously interviewed me on the morning show at KOXE! Click below to listen in and see what the fun is all about. 
A huge thank you to KOXE and Carl for having me!

​

"Being forgotten is any human's worst fate." ~ Saylor MacTavish

Words have a way of becoming immortal, and maybe that's what I've been searching for my whole life. Words have always been my friend when I could write them down and rearrange them. So, more than any one sentence can say, I proudly present to you, Insurrection.

They wanted a warrior. They got one.

Saylor had always been told she was a stain on the cloth of mankind. Escaping the girls’ home with her orphan sisters Micah, Denise, and Patricia, the four find themselves enduring storms at sea and imprisoned on a mysterious Caribbean island. Separated from her sisters, Saylor must learn to fight for her life and theirs, enduring dark and strange noises, discovering dazzling beaches, and ensnared in the secrets of a covert military base. Forced to trade her freedom for a contract with Alliance Military Group, Saylor develops her inner warrior. Wavering between terror and ecstasy, she must face an enemy who exposes her indispensable abilities. In order to rescue her sisters, impress the hunky Australian, and protect innocent lives on a global scale, she must master techniques of fighting an army created to destroy with a single, scorching touch – or die trying. 

Insurrection is now available on:

Amazon (Kindle) 
iTunes 
Barnes and Noble (Nook)
Smashwords
Kobo 

for the amazing low price of $4.99. For less than five bucks, you get the start of a grand adventure. If that's not a deal, I don't know what is!

Readers give Insurrection five stars, friends. Five stars! 

Just wait until they read Volume Two. 

If you purchased the original edition, well, you get a unique version, probably signed by me, that has a bit more background of the side characters, as well as a one-of-a-kind cover by designed by Addison Multimedia. With this new copy, the start has been cinched up, polished, and given a nice shimmery sheen. If you purchased last time, you are amazing and helped me get to where I am today! Thank you! Wait just a few more months for Volume Two, and while you wait, I'd appreciate a review on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and wherever it's sold or discussed. The more people talking about the series, the more people hear about it! I need your help, readers. You are essential to the process. If you enjoyed it, oh, please tell your friends and family! Have them grab a copy or gift one to a friend. What is an author without readers? Somebody pushing buttons into the night, that's what she is! Ha!

Growing up a child of the 80's, I didn't have a lot of strong female characters to study in fiction. Boys had all the adventures. When my friends and I played our game, we pretended to be boys, so we could have fun. Now as a mom, a teacher, and a professional coffee-drinker, I say, let's show 'em what girls can do! Let's pull out the boxing gloves and baseball bats, tighten those ponytails, and make sure we have sparkly things on our nails. Because girls have to be stronger than they know, and rise to it with a smile. We got this. Go crush it, ladies. Your adventure awaits.

And if you weren't sure about purchasing, then, give it a shot! What are we without art? What are we without long-shots? What are we without adventure? Ask Saylor. Or ask me. But I'm just some girl, sitting around pushing buttons late into the night, helping my invisible friends dance toward the stars.

Friends, for anyone who's been watching, the last year and a half has been a profound time of work, writing, rejection, bliss, creation, and discovery. And in one week, one small week, big changes will come to market. I proudly announce October 13th, 2016 as the release date of Insurrection by Clean Reads! Don't worry, Volume 2 is on its way, already being looked at in editing, and I cannot wait to share this adventure with you all.

But Didn't I Already Buy Insurrection?
Yes, yes, on this rocky road I did release Insurrection with the help of Addison Multimedia, but after meeting with Clean Reads, they have scrubbed and polished it and helped me breathe a whole new life into Volume One. If you already read the first edition, don't worry, you aren't missing anything, but this release has a shmancy cover, fewer adverbs, and a quicker pacing. And it will soon be available wherever ebooks are sold!

But What If I'm Ready For Volume Two?!
I know! Me TOO! In the meantime, help me share this thrilling adventure with as many people as you know. Share posts, comment, and leave a review on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, GoodReads, and all those other fun sites. Help a girl out and make some dreams come true. Every "share," "like," "comment," and "follow," means more to me than you know. It takes a village, you know? You're my people. I hope you enjoy my writing, just as much as I enjoy chatting with you about life. What is a writer without a reader? Let's share this journey and see what we can do together!



“Be strong. Be fearless. You are all those things. You’ve proven it before—now’s your time to shine.”
~ Insurrection ~