We've MOVED!!! New site :)

In case you haven't figured it out yet, we've moved ;)

Everything - including the blogs - are now on kimandkaylawoodhouse.com

You can still get there via kimberleywoodhouse.com kimwoodhouse.com kaylawoodhouse.com and kimberleyandkaylawoodhouse.com as well - but I don't know if I'm going to transfer the Feeblitz over - so for all of our hundreds of subscribers - I apologize. I would love to have you sign up for the RSS feed on the new site. We're trying to streamline and organize everything and keep it all beautiful at the new location.

And another great shout-out to Pulse Point Designs for their AMAZING job on it. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

As always, we love hearing from you!
Meet you at the new site!
Kim and Kayla

Contest WINNER!

All righty, folks...

The Grand Prize winner of the Kindle and the Alaskan gift basket and signed books is : Kris T. (Since we've had issues with the commenting - make sure you send an email to info at kimberleywoodhouse dot com as well!)

You have 24 hours to comment on this post - and if you don't, another winner will be chosen. The winners of books will be posted after that (just in case the winner doesn't claim their prize - we want everyone to be eligible for the Grand Prize.)

Thanks for participating! We had over 200 people enter the contest.

LAST CHANCE

Hey Everyone,
I will give you through the weekend (midnight - April 17th) to enter our contest with prizes including a Kindle, an Alaskan gift basket, and signed books!

I'm re-posting all the original information below and remember that if the commenting is not working, just send all your info and answers to the email addy listed below - you will still be entered. A lot of people have had trouble with the comments.

***


Okay everyone, we're going to have a little contest to celebrate the release of NO SAFE HAVEN. From today until April 15th - you can enter as many times as you want, but every entry must have ALL the answers and your special word :)- we're going to host a little scavenger hunt. PLEASE READ THE ENTIRE POST CAREFULLY TO UNDERSTAND THE RULES TO ENTER.

The PRIZES:
A brand new WiFI Kindle. (value - $139)
An Alaskan Gift Basket. (value of $65)
Signed copies of No Safe Haven, Welcome Home, Pearl Girls AND two of Kim's CDs.
(One Grand Prize winner will receive all of the above, 3 others will receive the signed books and CDs)


Now here's the QUESTIONS:
1. In Welcome Home - why did the TSA suspect Kim of being dangerous?
2. In No Safe Haven - what kind of plane does Jenna Tikaani-Gray own?
3. In Welcome Home - how does Kim re-define normal? (full definition required)
4. In No Safe Haven - what mountain means "The Wife"? - original native name is required here - you may search on the internet for the answer if you haven't read the whole book.
5. In No Safe Haven - what does Jenna have of Marc's at the beginning of the story?
6. In No Safe Haven - what happened to the radio on the plane?
7. In No Safe Haven - what is VFR?
8. In No Safe Haven - what is the call sign of their plane?
9. In No Safe Haven - they are returning to Alaska from where?
10. In No Safe Haven and Welcome Home - what is the name of the condition that Kayla and Andie share.


Here are the RULES:
1) You must comment on the post for each entry using a word/phrase that is used in Alaska or about Alaska. (Examples: Denali is the tallest mountain in North America and is in Alaska. Or a nickname for Alaska is The Land of the Midnight Sun. Or the Iditarod, huskies, native Alaskan words, city names, etc. This should be fun, we have tons of cool words/phrases in No Safe Haven, but you can also look online.) Your comment must contain your name and the date along with your word or phrase.
2) Then send an email to: info at kimberleywoodhouse dot com with ALL the answers to the questions, placing your name and date and the word/phrase you used in your comment in the subject line of the email.
PLEASE FOLLOW ALL THE INSTRUCTIONS OR YOUR ENTRY WILL NOT COUNT.
3) You may enter as many times as you would like. BUT Each comment must use a DIFFERENT word/phrase than your other entries (or it will not be counted), and all email entries with the answers to the questions must have your name, date, and your Alaskan word. :)
4) Winners will be drawn randomly in a controlled environment. Winner will be posted on our blogs. If you do not comment on the winning blog post within 24 hours - you forfeit your chance at the prize(s) and another winner will be chosen. If you are chosen as the winner - Please allow 3-4 weeks for delivery of prizes won.
5) Of course, we'd love everyone to purchase the books to be able to find the answers, but you may also look online. :) There are several places that have the beginnings of both books posted, so there is no purchase necessary to win.

Happy Hunting! And we hope you enjoy No Safe Haven! Thank you for celebrating the release of our new book with us!
PLEASE tell all your friends so they can have the chance to win as well. :)

***
Example of how to enter:
You MUST Comment in the comment section with a word/phrase. click on comments on any of the contest posts on any of our blogs. Enter your name and date and your Alaskan word or phrase - example: Kim, March 12, 2011, Iditarod

THEN - you MUST send an email to info at kimberleywoodhouse dot com
in the body of the email answer all the questions. Make sure your answer corresponds with the correct number. In the SUBJECT line of the email you must have your name, date, and word/phrase that you posted in the comment - example: Kim, March 12, 2011 Iditarod - should appear in the subject line.

A Chance to Win a Kindle and Signed Books!

Hey Everyone,
You've been so great sending us emails about the contest. I understand that there have been issues with the commenting and I'm hoping that it is cleared up. For all of you who sent emails with your inquiries and also with all your answers, but the comments weren't working, don't worry - you're still entered. :) I made sure we have everyone's entry so far in the master list.

For those of you who may be new to our blogs and have just seen our contest - I'll repost all the directions below. Feel free to ask questions if you don't understand :)

We just returned from another book trip and as we drove through Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, and Colorado - I couldn't help but think of the heart of America: its people, small towns, farms, and ranches. I'm sure there will be a post with my thoughts on this coming up.

But for right now, I hope you all enjoy the contest and tell all your friends!
God Bless!

Kim and Kayla

Okay everyone, we're going to have a little contest to celebrate the release of NO SAFE HAVEN. From today until April 15th - you can enter as many times as you want, but every entry must have ALL the answers and your special word :)- we're going to host a little scavenger hunt. PLEASE READ THE ENTIRE POST CAREFULLY TO UNDERSTAND THE RULES TO ENTER.

The PRIZES:
A brand new WiFI Kindle. (value - $139)
An Alaskan Gift Basket. (value of $65)
Signed copies of No Safe Haven, Welcome Home, Pearl Girls AND two of Kim's CDs.
(One Grand Prize winner will receive all of the above, 3 others will receive the signed books and CDs)


Now here's the QUESTIONS:
1. In Welcome Home - why did the TSA suspect Kim of being dangerous?
2. In No Safe Haven - what kind of plane does Jenna Tikaani-Gray own?
3. In Welcome Home - how does Kim re-define normal? (full definition required)
4. In No Safe Haven - what mountain means "The Wife"? - original native name is required here - you may search on the internet for the answer if you haven't read the whole book.
5. In No Safe Haven - what does Jenna have of Marc's at the beginning of the story?
6. In No Safe Haven - what happened to the radio on the plane?
7. In No Safe Haven - what is VFR?
8. In No Safe Haven - what is the call sign of their plane?
9. In No Safe Haven - they are returning to Alaska from where?
10. In No Safe Haven and Welcome Home - what is the name of the condition that Kayla and Andie share.


Here are the RULES:
1) You must comment on the post for each entry using a word/phrase that is used in Alaska or about Alaska. (Examples: Denali is the tallest mountain in North America and is in Alaska. Or a nickname for Alaska is The Land of the Midnight Sun. Or the Iditarod, huskies, native Alaskan words, city names, etc. This should be fun, we have tons of cool words/phrases in No Safe Haven, but you can also look online.) Your comment must contain your name and the date along with your word or phrase.
2) Then send an email to: info at kimberleywoodhouse dot com with ALL the answers to the questions, placing your name and date and the word/phrase you used in your comment in the subject line of the email.
PLEASE FOLLOW ALL THE INSTRUCTIONS OR YOUR ENTRY WILL NOT COUNT.
3) You may enter as many times as you would like. BUT Each comment must use a DIFFERENT word/phrase than your other entries (or it will not be counted), and all email entries with the answers to the questions must have your name, date, and your Alaskan word. :)
4) Winners will be drawn randomly in a controlled environment. Winner will be posted on our blogs. If you do not comment on the winning blog post within 24 hours - you forfeit your chance at the prize(s) and another winner will be chosen. If you are chosen as the winner - Please allow 3-4 weeks for delivery of prizes won.
5) Of course, we'd love everyone to purchase the books to be able to find the answers, but you may also look online. :) There are several places that have the beginnings of both books posted, so there is no purchase necessary to win.

Happy Hunting! And we hope you enjoy No Safe Haven! Thank you for celebrating the release of our new book with us!
PLEASE tell all your friends so they can have the chance to win as well. :)

***
Example of how to enter:
You MUST Comment in the comment section with a word/phrase. click on comments on any of the contest posts on any of our blogs. Enter your name and date and your Alaskan word or phrase - example: Kim, March 12, 2011, Iditarod

THEN - you MUST send an email to info at kimberleywoodhouse dot com
in the body of the email answer all the questions. Make sure your answer corresponds with the correct number. In the SUBJECT line of the email you must have your name, date, and word/phrase that you posted in the comment - example: Kim, March 12, 2011 Iditarod - should appear in the subject line.

A little fun for NO SAFE HAVEN's release...

Okay everyone, we're going to have a little contest to celebrate the release of NO SAFE HAVEN. From today until April 15th - you can enter as many times as you want, but every entry must have ALL the answers and your special word :)- we're going to host a little scavenger hunt. PLEASE READ THE ENTIRE POST CAREFULLY TO UNDERSTAND THE RULES TO ENTER.

The PRIZES:
A brand new WiFI Kindle. (value - $139)
An Alaskan Gift Basket. (value of $65)
Signed copies of No Safe Haven, Welcome Home, Pearl Girls AND two of Kim's CDs.
(One Grand Prize winner will receive all of the above, 3 others will receive the signed books and CDs)


Now here's the QUESTIONS:
1. In Welcome Home - why did the TSA suspect Kim of being dangerous?
2. In No Safe Haven - what kind of plane does Jenna Tikaani-Gray own?
3. In Welcome Home - how does Kim re-define normal? (full definition required)
4. In No Safe Haven - what mountain means "The Wife"? - original native name is required here - you may search on the internet for the answer if you haven't read the whole book.
5. In No Safe Haven - what does Jenna have of Marc's at the beginning of the story?
6. In No Safe Haven - what happened to the radio on the plane?
7. In No Safe Haven - what is VFR?
8. In No Safe Haven - what is the call sign of their plane?
9. In No Safe Haven - they are returning to Alaska from where?
10. In No Safe Haven and Welcome Home - what is the name of the condition that Kayla and Andie share.


Here are the RULES:
1) You must comment on the post for each entry using a word/phrase that is used in Alaska or about Alaska. (Examples: Denali is the tallest mountain in North America and is in Alaska. Or a nickname for Alaska is The Land of the Midnight Sun. Or the Iditarod, huskies, native Alaskan words, city names, etc. This should be fun, we have tons of cool words/phrases in No Safe Haven, but you can also look online.) Your comment must contain your name and the date along with your word or phrase.
2) Then send an email to: info at kimberleywoodhouse dot com with ALL the answers to the questions, placing your name and date and the word/phrase you used in your comment in the subject line of the email.
PLEASE FOLLOW ALL THE INSTRUCTIONS OR YOUR ENTRY WILL NOT COUNT.
3) You may enter as many times as you would like. BUT Each comment must use a DIFFERENT word/phrase than your other entries (or it will not be counted), and all email entries with the answers to the questions must have your name, date, and your Alaskan word. :)
4) Winners will be drawn randomly in a controlled environment. Winner will be posted on our blogs. If you do not comment on the winning blog post within 24 hours - you forfeit your chance at the prize(s) and another winner will be chosen. If you are chosen as the winner - Please allow 3-4 weeks for delivery of prizes won.
5) Of course, we'd love everyone to purchase the books to be able to find the answers, but you may also look online. :) There are several places that have the beginnings of both books posted, so there is no purchase necessary to win.

Happy Hunting! And we hope you enjoy No Safe Haven! Thank you for celebrating the release of our new book with us!
PLEASE tell all your friends so they can have the chance to win as well. :)

***
Example of how to enter:
You MUST Comment in the comment section with a word/phrase. click on comments on any of the contest posts on any of our blogs. Enter your name and date and your Alaskan word or phrase - example: Kim, March 12, 2011, Iditarod

THEN - you MUST send an email to info at kimberleywoodhouse dot com
in the body of the email answer all the questions. Make sure your answer corresponds with the correct number. In the SUBJECT line of the email you must have your name, date, and word/phrase that you posted in the comment - example: Kim, March 12, 2011 Iditarod - should appear in the subject line.

Jenny B. Jones - The Queen of making Kim and Kayla laugh

All right, readers. After 500 years and 50 bazillion emails from you all... (well, okay, I exaggerated a little.) It looks like we finally get to post this amazing interview with Jenny B. Jones. Believe me, if you haven't read her books - go buy them now! Just Between You and Me was the first book I ever read of Jenny's and I couldn't put it down. Seriously. And she made me laugh. A lot. Since then, I've read all her books. And as I type this, I'm seriously-on-the-edge-of-my-seat-oh-so-patiently waiting for Save the Date to arrive. It's killing me people. And my mailman. I may not make it. The mailman may just have me committed before then.

Can you tell I'm a fan?

Read and see for yourself. I proudly present to you:
Jenny B. Jones
K&KW:
How old are you? Seriously. You are so stinkin’ cute, barely look over eighteen, and make the rest of us adults feel like we’ve passed the century mark. Just sayin’.

JBJ:
Wow. Why thank you. We should talk more often! Maybe it’s just the power of really good lighting and some PhotoShop. I think I look every bit my 30 plus years and then some.

K&KW:
Tell us a little more about your obsession with Ben and Jerry. When did it start? Do you own stock? New York Super Fudge Chunk is Kim’s personal fav and Cookie Dough is Kayla’s. How about you?

JBJ:
The weird thing is I never was a big ice cream fan until adulthood. And it’s a fairly recent obsession. I keep hoping if I mention Ben and Jerry’s enough, they’ll offer me a job as a taste tester. That’s the true motivation behind the books. My deep, dark secret and the reason I write. But so far Ben and Jerry keep ignoring me. My favorite for a few years was the chocolate fudge brownie (or something like that—it doesn’t have a cool name), but now it’s strawberry cheesecake. I love it. I’m supposed to avoid gluten, so I don’t get that one anymore. It’s a sad, sad thing. They make a flourless chocolate cake ltd edition flavor that tastes just like the chocolate fudge brownie flavor though. It’s awesome. I’ll have to try the NY Super Fudge Chunk. And as much as I love cookie, I’ve NEVER understood why I don’t like cookie dough ice cream, but I don’t. (I hope we can still be friends, Kayla.)

K&KW:
Every one of your books has made me laugh. A lot. In fact, I always make sure I use the little girls’ room before I pick up one of your books… . Anyway, are you always this funny? Or do you have a secret, dark side where you plot out evil plans?

JBJ:
Thank you so much. It’s my joy to make someone else laugh. I don’t really consider myself funny. I like to laugh. I like to make other people laugh. I see comedy in just about everything, but I don’t know that it makes me funny. And we all have a dark side. Mine involves midnight flights in a bat costume and Gotham City, but I can’t discuss it.

K&KW:
I have to say, it was ingenious to plop a NYC teen into rural Oklahoma with pigs and cows and shag carpet. So, where did your inspiration come from?

JBJ:
The inspiration for A Charmed Life series came from a few different things. I was teaching in a junior high at the time, and I was shocked to see seventh graders CONSUMING books that I thought were a little bit much for them, like the Gossip Girls. I decided to read one for myself, and the content shocked me. And I’m kinda hard to shock. But clearly there was some allure there for our teen girls, and I didn’t think it was solely the rated R stuff. Also about this time, one of my favorite shows went off the air, Veronica Mars, a series about a high school super sleuth. I remember talking to another YA writer and saying, “I have this idea for a series—a Gossip Girl type who solves mysteries and gets dropped into a small, rural town.” And the author was like, “That’s nuts. No thanks.” I didn’t write mysteries, so I didn’t think I could do it. But the idea wouldn’t go away, so I decided to go for it. And to mix it up even more, I added a little WWE to it as well. Spandex and body slams go with everything!

K&KW:
On a serious note, will you give us your testimony?

JBJ:
I have such a boring testimony. I was raised in church, but we were Sunday Christians. I was one of those obnoxious kids who went forward at every children’s church invitation. We have no idea which one stuck. Ha. My family fell apart a bit, and church kind of became an after-thought. Then when I was a teenager, I started going and sitting with my grandma. (It was a small church. She and I were basically the youth group.) And at 21 I got convicted that I needed to get baptized and make a public statement to seal the deal, so I did. I talked to the pastor privately, let him know I was not a fan of being front and center for anything, and he assured me we’d do the baptism as low-key as possible. In fact, he suggested I come to the first service, where fewer people attended. So I did. And it was like a random, record-breaking day for attendance. And that’s it! So when I work with elementary kids at church, I tend to be kind to the repeat offenders during invitation time. : )

K&KW:
What new projects do you have coming up?

JBJ:
Save the Date is a women’s romantic comedy, and it hits the shelves February first. It’s a book about Alex Sinclair, a former NFL star and Lucy, a woman who runs a home for girls who’ve graduated from the foster care system. Alex is a man who has it all–except the votes he needs to win his bid for Congress. Despite their mutual dislike, Alex makes Lucy a proposition: pose as his fiancee in return for the money she desperately needs to keep her girls home afloat. As Lucy is forced into South Carolina high society, she discovers the very people she wanted to stay away from are the ones who know secrets about her past. Bound to a man who isn’t quite what he seems, Lucy will find her heart on the line as she helps Alex in his campaign, knowing when it’s over she will have to walk away. But when God asks Alex and Lucy to scrap their playbook and follow his rules, will they finally say, “I do”? You’ll have to stay tuned to find out!

K&KW:
And where, oh where, can we find the amazing Jenny B. Jones online?

JBJ:
I’m all over the place! I’m at jennybjones.com, where I also blog three times a week. And of course, I’m on Facebook and Twitter. You can find those links on my site and blog as well. I spend too much time online, so it’s an easy place to find me! Thanks so much for letting me stop by! I can’t wait to read the new book by Kim and Kayla. It’s gonna be awesome.


Thanks, Jenny, YOU are awesome.
Now all the rest of you get out there and read Jenny's books. I dare you not to laugh.

Cover for RACE AGAINST TIME!!

Here it is peeps:

The cover for book #2 - Race Against Time! Isn't it beautiful?

Don't Try This At Home...

***This post has nothing to do with writing, our writing careers, or really anything important at all. BUT, since we'd had such trouble with blogs, and now that they are finally back up - I figured I'd post this one here too :) ***


The Sunday before Christmas, I attempted a feat only I would dare try.

Skiing down the stairs.

On my shin.

It didn't work. And it hurt.

Thus, the title of this blog...

Anyway, the REAL story is this (albeit much less glamorous) :
Sunday night after church, my friend (loyal and true) Carrie came over. I was still in my dressy outfit from the cantata that night. (Mistake #1)

After we caught up and had a good ol' heart-to-heart, I asked if she wanted to see how we'd rearranged all the rooms in the basement. (Mistake #2 - not that asking her was a mistake, I love Carrie dearly, but it was definitely too late at night and my pants were entirely too dressy...)

At the top of the stairs, I realized a dilemma. I normally wore four-inch heels with these particular pants. Why? Well, One - the incredibly cute and dressy pants demand that kind of footwear, and Two - my legs are just too stinkin' short. Anyway, back to the story - Carrie headed down the stairs first, and me and my big mouth and dressy, dressy pants started our descent. I said, "Watch me trip on my pants and fall down the stairs..." (Mistake #3)

Truer words have never been spoken.

And I fell.
It wasn't glamorous. It wasn't graceful. It wasn't even pretty.
But Carrie's football stance at the bottom of the stairs was all of the above. I wish I had a picture of her face. It was priceless.
And I treasure her even more as a friend. Carrie is no frail chick who danced around saying, "oh my goodess!" - she didn't even try to save her own skin and jump out of the way of "skiing Kim" as I hurtled down the wood stairs - no, this girl stuck out her own neck, ready to take the blow so she could stop my momemtum-building fall.
That's a friend, people. Just sayin'.

And me? Well, my leg is grotesque to put it mildly. The bruising and coloring just get better and better each day. :)

Sweet hubby has patched up the wall-(oh, by the way, did I mention that my knee punched a large hole in the sheet rock?), and I've learned valuable lessons. Things like:
-wear shin guards every time I head down the stairs
-never, NEVER say I'm going to fall-Even if I'm joking
-never wear the cute, dressy pants without the appropriate footwear
-grow longer legs

And for all of you who demanded a picture - well, here it is. This is three days after. I almost took another one today, but I'm afraid of scaring small children... and the elderly... So... just imagine it about ten times worse - That's what it looks like now. Hopefully in about a month, maybe it will be gone.

Computer Crash... Stay Tuned

Well...
After months of craziness, we finally discovered all our glitches. Our main computer system had a time-bomb virus. (if you don't know what that is - don't ask. It's scary. I'm freaked out every time I think about it. Yuck. Ugh.) It fried the mother-board and operating system, and sent trojans to the other computers on the network.

We haven't been able to post on blogs correctly for MONTHS - and not at all for quite some time - as you can see :)

We haven't been able to receive and send email properly for months...

And, we've lost a lot of data.

BUT - we believe - that it is all functioning properly now. (At least the computers that are still alive.)

So... Thanks for your patience and keep watching. We hope to get it all back to schedule this week and next.

New Website, Need Influencers, and Great Interview Next Week!

It's official - the new "website" is up and running. And for the most part, I haven't totally killed it, rearranged it, or messed it up. (I know, I know, just wait, right?) LOL

Anyway, so please tell your friends that they can go to any of the following:
kimwoodhouse.com
kimberleywoodhouse.com
kimberleyandkaylawoodhouse.com
kaylawoodhouse.com
and they will all take you to our new streamlined (hopefully), easy to navigate (prayerfully) site :)
Kayla and I would love to have your thoughts on the new site, tabs, and info that is up. We'd also love your suggestions!

NEXT - we need influencers for our upcoming release NO SAFE HAVEN - if you'd like to be someone to read it, blog about it, and talk it up - please let us know ASAP. Either commment here - or send an email through the contact tab on our website.

AND NOW - that everything is up and running smoothly (finally, whew!) be watching for a great interview we have with Jenny B. Jones next week! She's totally amazing, hysterical, and one of my favorite people of all time.

Stay tuned!
Love you all :)

Word Count

For those of you who are (or who have hung around) a writer at any point in time, you've probably heard the terms "word count."

We are always striving for that elusive number. Be it a daily goal or the completion of a manuscript, we wordsmiths sure do seem to place a lot of importance on numbers.

And a lot of writers will admit that they hate numbers. Many of them hate math in general. So what is it with this obsession we have with numbers?

After much pondering (not really), I've decided to share my thoughts (or lack thereof) on this subject.

1. We need numbers. Life, and thus our stories, would be boring without numbers. (Who would be interested if the reader doesn't know how old our characters are, what year they live in, or how many half-decaf-caramel-lattes they drink each day?)
2. Numbers help you exaggerate in order to make your point more meaningful. (She rewrote the scene for the 5-trillionth time.)
3. Numbers help us with deadlines and parameters. (You'll never have a publisher ask you to deliver a manuscript of unlimited word count whenever you feel like it.)

So now that I have shared my abundance of wisdom on this matter of numbers, I must get back to my own word count after teaching my kids that "yes, you still have to do math even if you want to be a writer."

Kayla Woodhouse Needs YOU!

Can you imagine Uncle Sam with his finger pointed at you? Well, just imagine it's me, Kayla, pointing at you... Yes, we need YOU!!

Would you like to be part of our research for RACE AGAINST TIME?


Well, here are some questions that we need your input on:

-How would you react if you had just witnessed a murder?
-Now put on your imagination caps and imagine you are 13-years-old and witness a murder?
-What are your favorite dog names?
-What do you know about sled-dog racing in Alaska? Have you heard of Sprint racing or only long-distance like the Iditarod?
-Do you know how many letters the North Pole, AK post office receives for Santa each year? (You really need to know this one!)

Signing off for now - be watching for more research questions on this blog as we write!

God Bless-
Kayla

ANNOUNCEMENT!!

Kayla has been chosen as a staff writer for iBegat.com a new site for teens!!

This is launch week at iBegat - so please check out the links below and tell all your friends!

iBegat Home Page
Devo by Kayla
Staff Writer Kayla Woodhouse
Movie Review by Kayla

Mismatched Socks...

Kim here: My amazing friend and full-time assistant, Lori, wrote a blog post for you all since we're in the trenches editing.

Lori here: As you probably know, I will do pretty much anything to help the Woodhouses out, which happens to include... laundry. So, yesterday, betwix all the craziness I let Kim know that something was totally wrong with this house. She just laughed, and asked, "what?" I replied, "I only found four socks that don't match." Kayla piped up and said, "No..." she pointed to her feet, "Six!" (Kayla likes to wear socks that don't match - LOL)

We all needed something to laugh about. You see, line edits are in progress. Kim, Kayla, and editor, Karen are all clicking away on the keyboards. Having only read 2/3 of the original manuscript, I can tell you the plot thickens and I just learned that I had the "bad guy" all wrong! And now that the edits and line edits are almost done, I can't wait to find out how and why I was wrong. :)

You see, I may work for authors but they never let on... even to me!
What I do know is how busy they are! Always something to do betwix the house, writing, swimming, school, PR, marketing, meals, and so much more. Like your lives, there is always something that needs to be done.

So stop matching those socks - even slip on a mismatched pair (it'll make Kayla smile) and get ready for the book's release in March.

Until next time, and wearing my mismatched socks, simply because laundry always needs to be done... Lori

Research, Research, Research...

Kim here:
My great friend and author, Camy Tang, made a comment on twitter yesterday about research, "Can I just say, I LOVE MY JOB! Where else can I have a legitimate reason to look up how to do a proper triangle choke hold?"

It's true. As authors, we have so much fun doing research. Like when we went to the Grand Canyon and I asked a ranger, "So... how many people die here every year?" The ranger didn't even blink at the question, but several people around us looked at me as if to say, "why is this sweet looking mom with her two kids in tow asking a question like that?" I, of course, told them I was an author and doing research. I do write suspense, you know. :) And found out there's an entire book written on the subject. Death in the Grand Canyon. Huh, imagine that. And yes, I bought it.

Anyway, we love research. Even when I've sat on the phone for hours asking questions, taken thousands of pictures, my eyes have blurred from staring at website after website, and then have gone bloodshot from reading book after book...

Research is awesome. It takes a lot of time, but wow, does it make your stories sing! I even have to admit that sometimes I get distracted doing research. I'll be writing a scene and just have to check on one little minute detail and off I go - getting lost in the world of information.

I agree with Camy. I love my job. Now I think I'll go look up that triangle choke hold thingy she talked about - you never know - I might need to use it in a book someday...

The Scoop...

Kim and Kayla here...

Here's the new scoop:

As we have worked on our schedules, re-vised, re-grouped, re-focused, re-assessed, re-rested, re-confuzzled, and totally turned everything upside down with all this "re" business, we've come up with a new schedule to try and simplify things.

With the craziness of our lives, we want to share it all with you (isn't that nice of us?) and still be able to maintain our writing, schooling, swimming, speaking, teaching, and everything else in between. :)

So here it is:

Tuesday - will be a post on our blog together at - KimberleyandKaylaWoodhouse.com
(One week Kim will post, the next week Kayla will post and so on...)

Wednesday - will be a post on Kim's blog posted at - KimberleyWoodhouse.com click on the blog tab this blog is also posted at
KimberleyWoodhouse and KimberleyWrites

Thursday - will be a post on Kayla's blog for kids at - Dragon Claws, Dog Paws, Swimming Laws...

As always we love to hear from all of you and look forward to sharing all the great things going on!

WOOHOO! Check out the trailer!

I'm so excited to share with all of you the book trailer that B&H has for NO SAFE HAVEN!

It would thrill us beyond belief :) if you could help us get the word out by passing on the links to everyone. They can either view it here on our website, Kim's Website or on - Kim's YouTube channel under favorites

NO SAFE HAVEN releases in March of 2011 - and will be up for pre-order in a couple of months! We are very excited about this book and hope to get the word out!
Thank you - Kim and Kayla

Alaska Adventure #2...

As we continued our amazing research trip into the interior of Alaska, we had the privilege of seeing one of Alaska's (and the United States') most incredible sights. The Alaska Pipeline.







And another part of our interior Alaska trek was North Pole, Alaska. Here's a great picture of Julee at Santa Claus' House hugging a giant stuffed Polar Bear.




North Pole, Alaska is where our characters' are from in NO SAFE HAVEN. This deliciously yummy croissant french toast is from a little cafe' in North Pole and probably the best french toast I've ever had!




Guess what this is? Any idea how much mail they receive here every year? Take a guess...



Julee, myself, and Karen at the Cafe' North Pole - which will be featured in Book #2. The research was oh, so hard...




This trip was full of great memories, but more than anything - great friends. This is one of my best friends, Leah. I miss her.



Keep watching for more pictures and fun stuff from our trip back to our beloved Alaska...

From Kayla's Perspective #4 - REVISION RAMBLINGS

UGH!! Revisions, schoolwork, swimming, crit group chapters. Where has the day gone?

As we travel down this amazing-ly busy, terrib-ly funny, tiring-ly draining, and genuine-ly crazy path, (since this is a blog I can use all the “LY” adverbs I want, LOL) I realize what “not enough time in the day” really means. (“Sleep? What is this sleep you talk about?”)

Also, now Mom and I have a new challenge, a puzzle: Taking apart and then putting back together our story. (Duhn, duhn, duhn, duh!) Otherwise known as, REVISIONS.

“Let me splain… No, too much, let me sum up…” (Come on, you’ve gotta love The Princess Bride) we’re each making a separate document for our character's scenes so that we can re-tweak them, finding out where to add new scenes, which then means going back and labeling all the old ones. Whew.

Confused? Don’t worry, so am I! But I’m just going along with it, Mom knows what to do, so I’ll just follow her. Again, LOL. (It's a good time to only be 12+1 years old. I don't have to have all the answers.)

Being a writer is hard work, which is why I always keep my stash of M&Ms close by. FYI-M&Ms work magic when writing! And sweet tea, sweet tea’s great too. You’ve gotta be prepared when going onto the battle field, right? (Just go along with it.)

Then again, every once in a while it’s nice to sit back and relax, ya know? Most of the time that means watching a movie (like Bolt, Up, or The Ultimate Gift) or reading a book (like one of The Dragon Keeper Chronicles or The Chronicles of Narnia).

But no matter how relaxing that is, it’s still a job to do revisions! (Revisions themselves aren’t the bad part, the bad part is when you over-do your editing and destroy your scene. How do I know? Just trust me, I know.)

But, it’s always fun when Mom comes into the room (In that moment it’s like angels start singing the Hallelujah chorus) and she starts making me laugh.
(Just a little piece of valuable info here, Mom and I are both very silly and love to laugh at each other’s mistakes, for instance as I was writing “Most of the time that means watching a movie or reading a book” above, I put “watching a book or reading a movie”.) Hey, you’ve gotta at least chuckle!! Come on, chuckle… you can do it… come on…

I guess that’s just how life is though, full of surprises, trials, laughs… and confuzzling sentence skeletons (Ick). But, at least I know that I’ve got God, so what am I worried about? I may do horrible in my worst subject, (English, are you surprised?) but I guess that’s what perseverance is for, right? (Nod your head so I know you’re paying attention.)

Little voice inside head also known as Holy Spirit: BE THANKFUL!
Me: Yes, sir.

Oh! I think I hear lunch calling me, it’s saying “Kayla… eat me…” echo, echo, echo. (Have I succeeded in making you smile yet?)

I guess I’ll go eat lunch and then get to my Revisions, Math, and English (woop-a-dee-doo… hint, hint).

Have a wonderful day and God bless!
-Kayla
Remember: Bad things aren’t the only things that happen in life so thank God for your blessings (yes, English included), even when you’re down in the dumps.

Book Cover for NO SAFE HAVEN!!!!!!!!!!

WOOHOO!! Check out our amazing cover for Book #1 - No Safe Haven - releasing March 15, 2011 from B&H Publishing Group!