new beginnings

Update: Yellow Matter, 2nd edition, Coming Soon:)

/ Carmen McKnight / Leave a comment

English:

Hi everyone,

It’s been a long time since I bothered to write a post, I know, but the simple life in the country is filled with lots and lots of manual work:) I love it — most days — and it keeps me away from my writing desk. However, I’ve managed to nearly finish the second edition of Yellow Matter, my trilogy series, and I’m excited to share this story with all of you soon:) There will be more details, some changes for the better- I hope-, and lots of Appendix additions to complete the reader’s idea of the characters and places:) I must admit, one of my biggest challenges in writing is taking the time to give the details. I’m a headliner communicator: I give you the bones and nothing more. Details in a conversation can be fatiguing, but in a story, I find out that they are essential! Another challenge for me is transitions, so I’ve worked hard to have smoother transitions in my latest book. Once I’ve completed the English version, I’ll work on a Romanian translation. This book is suitable for all ages. Without further ado, here’s a spine-tingling pitch that makes folks feel like they’re standing at the edge of Hobița-Grădiște, about to step into something ancient, beautiful, and dangerous…

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Set in 1800s Romania, this richly imagined tale blends ancient lore with the raw beauty of a forgotten world—a world still guarded by wonder, faith, and quiet power.

In a village hidden from time, four unlikely friends—Damian, Rue, Alex, and Adina—must rise against a spreading darkness known only as Yellow Matter, a force bent on unraveling the threads of every universe. As the balance teeters between light and decay, the children must confront prophecy, sacrifice, and the haunting truth of what it means to protect the good.

What if the end of all things began in a village no one remembered?

For readers of Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and lovers of Eastern European folklore.

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Romanian:

Bună,

A trecut ceva timp de când am scris, știu, dar viața simplă de la țară e plină de multă, multă muncă manuală 🙂 Îmi place, și mă ține departe de biroul de scris. Totuși, am reușit să finalizez aproape a doua ediție din Yellow Matter, seria mea de trilogie, și sunt entuziasmată să împărtășesc această poveste cu voi în curând 🙂 Vor fi mai multe detalii, câteva schimbări și o mulțime de adăugiri în Anexe, pentru a completa imaginea cititorului despre personaje și locuri 🙂

Trebuie să recunosc, una dintre cele mai mari provocări pentru mine în scris este să îmi fac timp pentru detalii. Sunt un comunicator de tip „titluri de ziar”: îți dau oasele și nimic mai mult. Detaliile într-o conversație pot fi obositoare, dar într-o poveste am descoperit că sunt esențiale! O altă provocare pentru mine sunt tranzițiile, așa că am muncit mult ca să îmbunătățesc tranzițiile în această ediție nouă. După ce termin versiunea în engleză, voi lucra și la o traducere în română.

Fără alte introduceri, iată un pitch plin de fiori, menit să îi facă pe cititori să simtă că se află pe marginea Hobiței-Grădiște, gata să pășească într-un tărâm străvechi, frumos și primejdios…

Povestea se petrece în România anilor 1800, o lume imaginară, bogat conturată, ce îmbină miturile străvechi cu frumusețea brută a unui univers uitat — un univers încă păzit de miracol, credință și o putere tăcută.

Într-un sat ascuns de timp, patru prieteni neașteptați — Damian, Rue, Alex și Adina — trebuie să se ridice împotriva unei întunecimi care se răspândește, cunoscută doar ca Yellow Matter, o forță menită să destrame firele fiecărui univers. În timp ce balanța se clatină între lumină și putrezire, copiii trebuie să înfrunte profeția, sacrificiul și adevărul cutremurător despre ce înseamnă cu adevărat să protejezi binele.

Ce-ar fi dacă sfârșitul tuturor lucrurilor ar începe într-un sat pe care nimeni nu și-l mai amintește?

Pentru cititorii lui Tolkien, C.S. Lewis și pentru iubitorii de folclor est-european.

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God Bless:)

January 1st 2020

/ Carmen McKnight / Leave a comment

Revised version since last night when I wrote this blog my eyes were sandy from fatigue and my brain only worked on autopilot.

How do you start the new year right? By pranking your kids! Yes! After all, is very important for us parents to teach our children how to act or react sharply and appropriately in all life’s circumstances.

Since Meleah was the only one working on New Year’s first day we decided, maturely of course, to play a prank on her once she got back home which was around 1 pm. So we came up with a ransom note.

From idea to completion we had 40 minutes. The culprits were: my husband, myself, our son Merrill and her boyfriend Jordan. There was a mad rush of hands and ideas flying. Chet was cutting the most brilliant words out of a Martha Steward cooking magazine, I had the privilege of gluing the whole message together while the boys came up with the message:) I haven’t felt so alive and giddy for a long time and I loved every second of the devious plan and from the looks of it so did the boys. The fact that our building had a power issue (can’t really call it outage) and the lights were very dim, some even flickering others not working at all, the TV console moved away from the wall (Chet unplugged the electronics) did help.

We left the note on the floor seconds before she stepped through and hid waiting. Heard the keys, her stepping inside then utter silence for few long seconds. (She was reading the ransom note and listening for any activity inside before committing to come all the way in.) As you can see, in our haste, we never left a contact info so she checked her Instagram messages for more clarification. Nothing. She walked ever so quietly around looking, for us I presume, and eventually found us tucked in a corner of our bedroom. The whole thing was over way too soon but we sure had a nice laugh.

Twisted sense of humor you say? I think not. I’ve come to the conclusion that my daughter handled the situation brilliantly and my job as a parent was done. She’ll do fine in life is the conclusion we drew, which is important:)

I would love to hear some of your fun teachable moments you received or gave away, but until then have a fantastic new year with great beginnings and fun adventures!

God Bless:)