Kim McMahill

Book Reviews serve a variety of purposes and are very important to readers and writers. Reviews help other readers choose books. A review provides information about a book that a marketing blurb may not, and a vast majority of Kindle readers rely heavily on reviews before making an online purchase. Sales and reviews factor into a bookseller’s algorithm. More book sales and reviews help a book achieve a higher ranking on a bookseller’s site, which provides more exposure for a book and its author. Additionally, more reviews may get authors noticed by book clubs, blogging communities, book review sites, and other promotional venues. Lastly, many authors do read reviews and may find helpful feedback in articulate reviews to improve their craft. For example, saying “I hated the book” isn’t helpful, but explaining that you’re not fond of a book because it was written in first person and you prefer third, you find multiple points of view confusing, there were too many grammatical errors,

Earth Day is an annual event held on April 22 in the United States to demonstrate support for environmental protection. The first Earth Day was held on April 22, 1970. To learn more about Earth Day and events being held in your area visit https://www.earthday.org/earth-day-2024/

National Park #Free Entrance Day In 2024, the National Park Service has six entrance fee-free days where all National Park Service sites that charge an entrance fee will offer free admission to everyone. One has already passed, but here is a list of the remaining entrance fee-free days into your favorite national park. For more information visit https://www.nps.gov/planyourvisit/fee-free-parks.htm (Photo: Crater Lake National Park in Oregon) April 20: First day of National Park Week June 19: Juneteenth National Independence Day August 4: Anniversary of the Great American Outdoors Act September 28: National Public Lands Day November 11: Veterans Day  

When I started The Beartooth Chronicles , I envisioned it as an upper young adult (YA) series, but then I came across the subcategory of New Adult (NA) fiction. NA novels explore the transition from late adolescence to early adulthood and are typically aimed towards readers in their upper teens and twenties. The main character, Ashley McPhee, is eighteen in Refuge from the World, and the love of her life, Caleb Solomon, is 20. Their story is one of embracing the challenges of learning about each other, dealing with tragedy and grief, entering adulthood, protecting their community, and trying to find solutions to a rapidly changing environment and deteriorating world.   The primary supporting characters range in age from thirteen to twenty, making the characters and themes relatable to upper YA, NA, and adult (we were all teenagers once) readers, especially as the series evolves and the characters take on more responsibilities, build families, and are forced to face how far they will

I’m hoping the old saying, April showers bring May flowers, holds true this year. So far this winter, we’ve gotten modest amounts of snow here and there, but the snowpack in the high country is down, which is never a good thing. Much of the water available for human and agriculture uses throughout the western U.S. comes from snowmelt high in the mountains, and if the forests are dry, we could be looking at a bad fire season. But, there’s still time. Often the mountains get the heaviest and wettest snows in March and April. So, here’s hoping we get enough showers to give us flowers so we can enjoy colorful mountain meadows filled with fragrant spring blossoms and avoid the often-devastating effects of drought. Along with flower growth, I would love to grow my connections. If you aren’t following me already, I would greatly appreciate new followers to any of my social media platforms listed at the end of this post. Thanks in advance and have a happy Easter.    WRITING NOTES AND NEWS

No matter how you chose to acknowledge or celebrate Good Friday and the Easter holiday, I hope it is filled with peace, and joyful times with friends and family. If you are traveling to be with loved ones, safe journeys.

Dystopian novels are set in an imagined world or society in the future after something terrible has happened such as war or environmental collapse. A dystopian society is characterized by human suffering and misery where people live in an unfair society where they are often dehumanized and lead fearful existences. At some point the oppressed rebel and try to gain control of their lives. I’ve written in the dystopian genre before, but The Beartooth Chronicles is my first series, and I’ve approached the topic somewhat differently than my other novel where teens were trying to escape an oppressive American government (Deadly Exodus). In The Beartooth Chronicles, a group of individuals left society decades before the world’s environmental crisis reached a tipping point, and the U.S. was still moderately functional. They built a sustainable society on a remote mountaintop that became cut off from the rest of the country after earthquakes, flooding, erosion, and tectonic shifting destroy