When my daughter was young, she became very sick. One night after a long day at the hospital, she asked me a tough question: "Mommy, why did my Maker create me this way? What good am I?" This broke my heart. That night, I prayed and found this answer. Every part of a child is like a snowflake, wonderfully and uniquely made. Much like how snowflakes form the foundation for a snowman, individual uniqueness is the foundation for each child. Even so, as anyone who has ever built a snowman knows, it is not the snowflakes alone that creates a snowman. The maker is essential in its creation. Every snowman, like every child, is created to delight its Maker. In their Maker's eyes, they are perfectly made. This story is for any child who feels different, strange, or downright weird, whether from interests, illness, or capabilities. My prayer is that every child finds a comfort within this story: that they are perfect just the way they are.

Award: Reviewer's choice, Digital Book Today Will appeal to fans of Brandon Sanderson, George RR Martin, and R A Salvatore. A corrupt government. Enraged pirates. One monk caught in the middle of The Caldarian Conflict. Admiral Cain finds an elegant solution to Caldaria's piracy problem: lure pirate ships to decoy merchant vessels stuffed with explosives instead of treasure. The suicidal captains are military men with fatal illnesses. The unsuspecting crews are poor men enticed from the gutters of Caldaria with the promise of handsome wages and free meals. Cain considers it a dual service--after all, he's protecting the merchants and sweeping the streets clean of vagrants. There are only two problems: if the peasants find out, they'll revolt. If the King finds out, he'll have Cain's head. Accordingly, anyone with too much knowledge must die. Brother Mendell, a devout follower of Lord Justice, is caught in the crossfire when he seeks retribution for an unfairly executed prisoner. After discovering the first few layers of Admiral Cain's plan, Mendell realizes that even a monk must carefully navigate through these dangerous waters. Mendell soon finds himself pursued by Admiral Cain's merciless assistant, Krell, who suspects that the monk might ruin their ambitious plan and uncover their mysterious backer--and will gladly kill the monk to keep him silent. Mendell must unravel the mystery before he, too, becomes a casualty of The Caldarian Conflict.

When all you have is a blank page, it's often tough to begin writing. Writing Advice for Teens: Creating Stories aims to help you overcome that initial hurdle by making it easy for you to write down simple, focused ideas and craft them into stories. However, coming up with ideas is not enough. Teen writers need to understand basic story structure so they can avoid typical writing problems. Filled with plenty of tips, advice, and examples to help any teen writer, the first book in the Writing Advice for Teens series focuses on getting ideas down quickly and pounding out that first draft. After following the advice and using the techniques outlined in this book, you should understand how to bring the stories locked in your mind to the surface.