The Rebellion Blog Tour

Welcome to The Tales of Tarsurella Treasure Hunt! Location #4
Prize: $25 Amazon Gift Card

How it works: Follow along with The Rebellion Tour and collect clues at various blog posts throughout the Tour. The clues collected at each assigned stop will be hidden as Pin-able images. After pinning all the images to the Pinterest board of your choosing (we recommend starting a new board!), submit your board to [email protected] for a chance to win the treasure: a $25 Amazon gift card! 

If your board includes all the needed clues, your name will be entered into the random drawing. 

The deadline to submit your Pinterest board is Friday June 1st, and the winner will be announced on June 2nd! 
Let the adventure begin! 

Welcome to the Palace Gift Shop! It’s the perfect place to find a gift for your friends and family! 

As you take your time browsing, you find all sorts of goodies. Famous Tarsurellian chocolates from Clark’s Café, a thick trivia book containing 101 Facts About Tarsurella, and a set of adorable postcards!

Pin this clue: Tarsurella Post Card

You also find an adorable phone case that you just have to buy! Which doubles as a free phone background for the you who isn't in Tarsurella right now ;)

Pin this clue: Tarsurella Phone Case

And you find a miniature toy version of the palace for your little sister! Oh my goodness you HAVE to get it!

Pin this clue: Mini Silver Castle
Make sure you pin all 3 clues found on this page!


Find the next clue at https://kayleeskindofwrites.blogspot.com/ on May 16th! 



New on the hunt? Visit: https://spoonfulofsurprises.com to Pin your treasure map, and start collecting clues! 

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This Blog Tour is hosted by Livy Lynn www.livylynnblog.com. Check out The Coronation, and her new release The Rebellion, that came out on May 8th!
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Interview with the author!!

​Tell us a little about your new book. What is the main story line?

The Rebellion is a sequel to The Coronation, which begins the Tales of Tarsurella trilogy. These books follow the unique lives of eight homeschooled siblings in the charming little fictitious European nation of Tarsurella. Their family ranges from ages five to twenty, and it's a sweet coming-of-age story as these Christian teens grow and learn. Except, they're not your typical homeschoolers: this Royal Family lives in a Palace, and Prince Addison is heir to the throne! The Coronation is all about Addison's journey leading up to the night of his royal coronation, and the events that happen thereafter. Addison is strongly advised not to begin ruling without a wife by his side, so the pressure of finding true love in a room full of high-class society "pure-breeds", brings a little romance and comedy into the tale.

In The Rebellion, Addison has finally found true love, but his country is in in the midst of a political uproar. Stirrings of a rebellion in opposition to the ancient monarchy demand change from the "old way of doing things", and many desire to see a democracy in place. Addison quickly discovers there's a popular website responsible for creating such civil unrest, but the author's identity is a mystery. Addison needs to discover who this powerful voice is, and shut it down, before his country is torn apart at the seams.       

How long have you been writing?
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I started writing short stories as little girl. I believe my first story, in Kindergarten, was a Cinderella retellling (with not much difference from the original, famous plot, I might add, haha!). But my first real "original" story, was about a dog named Bozo, and all his little puppy siblings. Why was the dog named Bozo? I have absolutely no idea, haha! Out of all the names I could've chosen... 
When did you first know you wanted to be a writer?

In Kindergarten, we're all asked the famous question, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" and amazingly enough, I said, "An author!" Now, there are many, many other things I wanted to do as well (singing, acting, writing TV scrips, producing shows, etc.) but for whatever reason, I already knew, even at that young age, that storytelling was going to be a huge part of my life. 

I struggled a bit with writing in Elementary and Middle School. It wasn't until High School where I truly started writing a lot, and started educating myself on how I could make his "author dream" actually happen. 


What inspired you to write this book?

Anyone who knows me in real life (or follows along online!), knows that I am a HUGE girly girl! I love pink, glitter, castles, ball gowns, and tiara's. As you can guess, my favorite movies are Cinderella, Pride and Prejudice, Princess Diaries, Monte Carlo - pretty much anything that has beautiful morals, gorgeous costumes, and a sweet Christ-honoring love story. Sadly, as a teen, I had trouble finding the kind of content I enjoyed watching and reading. Everything with these themes felt a tad too cheesy, and didn't hold the kind of emotional depth and spiritual food I know can be presented in entertainment. So, I decided to write my own book! I wanted to create something that contained all the elements my heart longed to see in a story, but I could never quite find.

I started writing The Coronation when I was sixteen, and I never really intended on publishing it. At that point I was focused on writing a lot of non-fiction, devotionals, and encouragement for teen girls. So I was creating The Coronation purely for my own enjoyment! It wasn't until years later when my cousins were visiting and we we're just goofing around, reading some of our latest writings, when I stumbled upon The Coronation. I decided to read it, and when they responded so positively, it caused me to think, "Hmm...what if others would enjoy reading this, as much as I've enjoyed writing it?" 


Did it turn out the way you first thought it would? If not, what was different?

The Coronation turned out COMPLETELY different from how I expected! Like I mentioned, I started writing it at sixteen, and then it sat on the shelf for years, and when I pulled it back out, it was only halfway done. I wanted to add a bit of depth to the (tenderly referred to) fluffiness, so I tossed in a massive plot twist, and then sat in horror as I wondered how in the WORLD I was going to fix everything! The Coronation was pantsing at it's finest (AKA an absolute mess!), so I really had to pray and ask the Lord for wisdom and answers to pull everything together. The ending unfolded far more beautifully than I could've dreamed, and when I realized a miracle just unfolded before my very eyes (this was my first completed manuscript ever! I still hadn't had any training as far as plotting, story beats, etc.) I knew God had done something amazing, and I was so excited to share it with the world!  

The Rebellion turned out exactly as planned, because, well...I actually planned this time! Haha! Unlike it's predecessor,The Rebellion was plotted ahead of time, scene by scene, and each conversation and plot element served it's purpose to drive toward the end goal. 


How long did it take you to write it? 

I actually wrote The Rebellion is a month and a half! After Beta Readers shared their excitement concerning The Coronation, I was SO excited to dive back into the world of Tarsurella and craft the sequel! The story flowed quite effortlessly, because the world of Tarsurella and the characters were already so strongly developed and vivid in my mind. I can see why author's get addicted to creating series' - they're just SO much fun! 


Did you need to do any special research?

I did do some political research concerning the variety of European governments, and the differences between monarchy's, State Churches, free democracies, etc, just so I could make Tarsurella's political landscape feel as real as possible.   


Do you have a special place or atmosphere you like to write in best?

Yes! I love writing in the peace and quiet! (No bustling coffee shops for me.) So that would be my bedroom, sitting beside my window, overlooking the lake. 


How are you like your main character?

Addison and I are very similar in the fact that we want to please everybody. We take on far too much responsibility than what God would EVER require of us, and when people aren't happy with the way we're doing things, it's upsetting. Addison feels as though his entire world is falling off it's axis, because the people are unhappy with how he's running things, and I too have felt the same way. Just like Addison, it's a daily choice to surrender and remember that God's opinion is the ONLY voice that matters! So long as we're doing our best to please Him and walk in obedience, well people are going to be mad and carry on and complain about how we're living our lives anyway...and that is totally okay. People didn't like how Jesus ran things either. ;) 


Did you learn anything new about yourself while writing this book?

I did! I learned that I am far more like Jane Akerly (a new character introduced in The Rebellion) than I thought I was! Haha. She is definitely a younger version of myself and I never expected to see so much of myself leek through her character! 


What new project are you working on now?

Right now, I'm working on Regal Hearts Season 3, which is a continuation of Regal Hearts: The Unlikely Story of a Princess, A Popstar, an Amish Girl, and an Average Girl. I've written this series in an eposidcal, TV show-style format, so I refer to each section as "Episodes." :) You can actually read the entire first episode of Regal Hearts for free, by signing up for email updates on my blog, if you like! 

I have several other "Top Secret" projects in the works, that I wish I could tell you about, but I have to wait a bit longer. ;) So yeah, if you want to stay updated with my new writing projects, I'd love to have you subscribe to email updates, and you can join the family! <3  


What advice would you give a new author?                

Don't give up. Don't be discouraged. Don't listen to all the negative voices that say you're not good enough, you're never going to make it, you'll run out of inspiration, etc. Seek the Lord in everything you do. Allow HIM to be your writing coach and mentor! He can inspire, energize you, and give you ideas! God wants to be part of your writing journey, more than anything, we just have to allow Him the space to take control! <3


How can we find your books?

You can find them all on Amazon, or the quickest way to take a peek is at Livy's Library!


Any closing comments you have for us today?

Aleigha, thank you SO much for having me on your blog, it's such an honor! 

And for all you writers out there - KEEP WRITING! If there's a book on the shelf you don't see, but wish it was there, write it. Your ideas need to be heard. You have a unique voice, and the Lord can use you in spectacular ways, if you're simply willing! Just like the boy with the scrawny loaves of bread and fish - when we offer our gifts to the King of Glory, He can use them and multiply them in such spectacular ways! 

Oh, and readers, I hope you'll come check out the whimsical land of Tarsurella! <3 

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Livy is an AMAZING author! But, even more than that, she's an absolutely AMAZING person!!!

Be sure to check out her books! (And, by the way, The Rebellion is AMAZING too, so be sure to get your copy today!)