Hannah Foster's Blog

I want to see more solid healthy families in fiction of all genres. We need to showcase what we want to see more of in reality. I want to see more healthy strong family dynamics in the real world, so therefore, I want to write more of them. I do still tend to have orphans in my story, but I also try always to have at least one strong family in the story as well. A strong husband as leader of the home, a godly wife, and a strong sibling dynamic. It doesn’t mean they are a flawless family, but it means they love each other despite their differences. It means they are always there for each other, speak the truth in love, challenge each other, and tease each other.

I feel like too often the drama and hardship in novels is way more drama than I’ve ever experienced in real life. Like people running from a murderer or something. Have you ever run for your life from someone trying to murder you in your sleep? No, probably not. Most of us haven’t. In fact, most of our lives have probably been fairly mundane and simple compared to the life of our characters. But what if we infused more realistic day to day hardships in our novels that we tend to undermine in novels as if they are suddenly unimportant anymore. It feels like we’ve romanticized so much of the dramatic that we’ve forgotten to see the soft and gentle beauty of everyday living. The hardships of everyday life, of everyday battles with sin, are things we can relate with. So why do we undermine its importance. The importance of living a simple life for the glory of God, of fighting sin, living victors in Christ, seeing the beauty in mundane tasks. These are things I want to do better in my own writing. My characters shouldn’t have to go through something dramatic to inspire us to live a holy and upright life. If we romanticized the beauty in our own life, maybe we would be more willing to write it into our stories, instead of forever seeking a life so dramatic and unrealistic that we never find peace in the life we’ve been given.

Women don’t have to be the boss to be cool. They don’t have to be the life saver in order to make a difference in others’ lives. Let the woman be soft and tender with personality. I’d love to see more homemakers in our stories, women who are making a difference by raising families. Let a woman cry sometimes. Let her need the men in her life. Let her except help. Let her be okay with men helping her lift the heavy object. Let women be women again, and men be men. They can still have personalities and they can still be strong, but they don’t need to be kicking down doors to do it.

I want to see more Christian fiction in which the characters are bold for their faith. I want to see more Christian fiction in which the Sunday sermon isn’t the only faith content in the story, or a prayer prayed only when life is suddenly tough. Let the character’s faith be front and foremost in their life. Let it be obvious from the beginning that they love Jesus. I want to do better at this myself, and I think it will come most of all from living my own life in this way. If my own life of faith is bold and foremost in my life, then it will be more so in my writing as well. We as writers and authors, will inevitably write what is important to us. Is that our life of Faith and hope in Christ or is it other things?

I feel like I could come up with other things, but I want to hear from you. What do you want to see more of in fiction? What do you think we are missing in modern day fiction?

One of my biggest goals for me in writing romance, is that the relationships be Christ-centered.

I want to showcase love stories that point others to Christ, emulating the kind of love that Christ has for the church, and I want to show others what a Godly, healthy relationship should look like.

I doubt that my books show this perfectly, but this is my goal despite their potential imperfections.

I am somewhat tired of the flimsy Christian romances out there today that feel like it’s all about kissing and attraction. There should be so much more to romance then how many kissing scenes there are in the book. There should be so much more about a human then how they look on the outside. And this is part of what inspires me to write this genre. A genre that some Christians cringe at when they hear I write it, and others read it only to get to the kissing scenes.

I want to change the way we write Christian romance. I want to change the way we see romance. Christ is so important in every relationship and especially in one where you plan to marry the person, so then why do we leave him out in the relationship? If it’s going to last, then Jesus needs to be there.

Yet, it’s a struggle. A struggle to live this well, and a struggle to write stories that show this well.

So here is where you come in. Tell me ways that Christian romance novels can do better? Tell me, whether you are in a relationship, married, or have observed good marriages and relationships, what stood out to you that made it good and beautiful. What makes a healthy relationship? What makes a healthy marriage. What Biblical themes do you want to see more in fiction when it comes to romance? How can Christian authors write this genre better?

I think the world has so corrupted the word, love, that it’s seeped into our Christian romance too in an unhealthy way. So, in considering what you think about love and romance, consider too whether your ideas come from the movies and what the world around us says verses what God says about it. And come share your thoughts, so that I can do better as an author writing in this genre.

I don’t want my Christian romance to just be sweet and clean. I want it to inspire holy and healthy relationships in real life.

Wounded and retired veteran Kasey Carter walks alone.

But when the one person she’s tried the hardest to push away begs for her help, she can’t resist the call of duty and devotion. Thrown on a path more dangerous than she expected, she’ll do anything to protect the people she loves, even if that means hiding out for months in the forested mountains of Cascade Valley, Montana.

When a nosy—and handsome—local rancher stumbles across her hiding place, she’ll have to decide if she can risk trusting him or if she’ll have to walk through the shadows alone in a battle to survive.

Rancher Dean McCade is used to devoting himself to protecting the people and the land he loves.

When a chance encounter brings him face-to-face with a mysterious woman living in the woods, he can’t stop thinking about her. Probably because the woman won’t stop putting him in her rifle sights every time they meet. It’s obvious she’s running from something, but her fiercely guarded secrets keep him at a distance.

As he works to earn her trust and the truth unfolds, he knows God put him in her path. But as his feelings grow and the danger lurking in the shadows collides with their hope for a future, the right choice might mean loving her enough to let her go.

*Shadows of the Valley is Book Two in The McCade Family Series. In this series, you’ll find swoony, protective ranchers and the strong-willed women they love, plus faith-filled themes throughout. The door stays closed for this one, but expect sweet (and swoony!) kisses and plenty of banter to melt your heart.

It’s been a little while since I’ve read book one of the series, but it was so fun to get back to the McCade brothers and their beautiful ranch in Montana.

Once again Howard did a beautiful job of setting the scene, and pulling me into the story and into the character’s lives.

I really enjoyed getting to know Dean better. Love his protective vibes, and man of the house who wants to carry out his responsibilities to the best of his abilities. I could see him struggling at times with wanting to control everything, but I also so appreciated when he recognized his need to also trust God and lean on Him in areas that were out of his own control. 

Kasey was such an interesting character full of mystery. Loved her strengths but also her weaknesses that made her more relatable. She did sometimes seem to make some stupid decisions for one who should have known better, however, I still loved her and honestly it probably made her even more relatable because of it.

Emma is a dear. It was so fun to have her in this story, because I can’t remember if she was in the first one or not.

There was definitely a thread of suspense throughout the whole story though it did take a while for anything to actually happen. I wouldn’t have minded a little more adventure throughout, however, I guess it was also nice not to be sitting on the edge of my seat the whole time either.

I really appreciated the faith themes throughout the story.

Lastly, the romance was super sweet, maybe a little fast, but no less endearing.

Overall, a perfect read for those who love a little bit of suspense mixed into their romance, excellently crafted characters, and a story that will build your own faith.

*I received this book free from the publisher/author. The opinions I have expressed are my own, and I was not required to write a review. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

Ugh! Time has escaped me, but apparently today is the day for posting, or maybe it’s the day for procrastinating my WIP.

It’s been a little while since she published her last book, but I’ve been needing to share my review of The Years I Lost by Kristina Hall. So, without further comment, here it is.

After waking up in an abandoned building and having no memory of how she got there or who she is, Sadie goes on the run. She might not know anything about the last thirty-something years of her life, but she knows she’s in trouble. When Adam, a man claiming to be her husband, finds her and tells her the wild story of how she ended up in that building, can she trust him? Better yet, can she and Adam survive the danger stalking them—and find some semblance of a normal life together?

This book had me gripped from page one. I had a hard time putting it down, so I appreciated the length and that it only took two days to read. Long enough to get invested in the story, but short enough that I’m not gonna lose sleep.

I loved the characters, Sadie and Adam. Adam was so sweet and patient and gentle. I respected him a lot. It was exhausting at times to be in Sadie’s head the whole time with her repetitive thoughts even though it was probably realistic to the situation. But I did love how she was constantly seeking God even if the prayers too were getting repetitive.

I loved the faith aspects of the story. The plot obviously had me intrigued and invested, and overall, it was a great suspense. Recommend for lovers of suspense with a nice splash of romance sprinkled in.

I received this book free from the publisher/author. The opinions I have expressed are my own, and I was not required to write a review. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

Hi Friends!

I entered my cover into the Clean Fiction cover art contest, so go here to vote for mine!

Vote for my cover!

Voting starts today and you can vote once per day throughout the whole contest.

Check out Clean Fiction Magazine here.

And I have another announcement! I am revamping my Newsletter, so if you would like to be a part of that, sign up here. Won’t be anything overly fancy, but just a fresh look, and hopefully interesting content. If there are specific things you like to see or hear about in Newsletters let me know! I need ideas.

I’m just popping in real quick to share about an awesome giveaway I’m a part of, hosted by Beyond the Bookery.

The giveaway runs from March 20th-March 25th, 2025.

Giveaway link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeAvF0-m9KL8HPEpkIJU6cRCxsZ-eUImEyXqXDEA0ty1wdviw/viewform?usp=sharing

As I continue to publish more books, I’ve started thinking more about marketing and how best I can do that. Trying to figure out ways that are going to be profitable timewise and financially and what may be a waste of time or money. Why? Because I have such a hard time marketing myself and my books. It’s my least favorite part about being an author. I posted about this recently on IG too and it appears that many indie authors feel the same. Not all of us love creating content for our IG counts that the algorithm sometimes makes lost to the world anyway. So, I want to find ways to market my books that are profitable in time and money.

Here are a couple things I’ve been thinking more about.

One friend mentioned that YouTube seems to be way better than Instagram. I generally hate talking in front of the camera and I hate trying to create reels. Even my pictures aren’t amazing but at least I can do it. So, I’ve been wondering how I might potentially use YouTube without always having to be in front of the camera. Have any of you author’s started using it to help promote and market? Tell me how you use it? I think if I were to use it, I’d keep it pretty simple. Maybe short aesthetically pleasing videos that give off a cozy vibe. What do you think?

This one was also mentioned I believe, but I’ve never gotten an account because it costs. Who uses Bookfunnel and which level do you use? Would I be able to get the cheapest option and would I easily earn back all my money that I might spend on it? Give me your thoughts on the profitableness of Bookfunnel.

Are there other avenues for marketing that I haven’t thought of yet? What works well for you? How might indie authors support indie authors more?

I’m so happy to be able to share about H.S. Kylian’s new release.

This was a really sweet romance. I loved Jack’s gentleness and support of Maggie. I also loved the faith aspects in the story, and how everything was handled.

I enjoy H.S. Kylian’s writing style and loved the time period.

While this was short, it left me eager to read more and I look forward to the continuation of the series.

*Thanks to the author for an advanced copy. I was not required to write a positive review. These thoughts are my own.

Have you read anything by her yet? This is a great story to start with. It’s easy to read and has a strong Christian message.

You can snag your own copy here or add to your Goodreads list here.

H.S. Kylian (a.k.a. Hannah) has been in love with writing since she was nine, really got into it at thirteen, and discovered the gem of story structure at eighteen. She writes mainly contemporary, historical, and romantic fiction from a Biblical worldview, and has tried fantasy and sci-fi on the side, though neither of the latter two genres have seen a completed draft…yet.

Now in her late 20s, when she’s not writing, she’s daydreaming about writing while doing other things like reading/knitting/spinning/photography/studying theology and apologetics, or playing board games and watching movies/TV shows with her family.

She lives with her family and multiple cats and dogs in the beautiful Pacific Northwest.

Blog: https://hskylianauthor.com/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/21839496.H_S_Kylian
AmazonAuthor: https://www.amazon.com/stores/H.S.-Kylian/author/B0D34163LB?ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/h-s-kylian
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/h.s.kylian/
FB (author page): https://www.facebook.com/hs.kylian/

Actually, I’ve been blogging for much longer than 5 years, but WordPress informed me that today was the 5-year anniversary for this blog, so I thought I should write a blog post in memorial of that. I can’t say that the last 5 years has been my best blogging years. I feel like I was much better at it in my teen and early 20s. Though that’s probably partly because I was a turbulent young person who had all the emotions to share. Now I prefer to keep much of that too myself.

However, thank you all who have come along to join me in this blogging journey. I’m sorry if you expected something more interesting or exciting. I’d say I live a fairly quiet life, but I’m also honestly ok with that. I’ve met with a lot of excitement during various stages of my life and I’m okay with quiet.

So here are my top three most popular posts from the last 5 years. Feel free to go check them out.

I don’t feel like blogging gets as much attention as it used to. There are too many other social media platforms that have taken over and pushed blogging to the side but thank you to all who have stuck around or joined along the way.

Now I need your help! What kind of posts would you love to see here in the future? How can I keep this blog going and make it more interesting for you? What are some topics you might enjoy from me?

I honestly didn’t expect to publish two books in 2024. Married Before Christmas came as a happy surprise, but I am so glad I put the work into getting it publish this past year. And it’s going to be featured in Faithbooks email soon (I can’t remember the date). Faithbooks is a great way to find clean Christian romance books of various genres. They share about new releases and sales, so whether you are an author wanting your book featured or a reader wanting to find new reads, go check them out and sign up for their emails that come twice weekly.

I honestly, didn’t read as much this past year, but I’m also quite okay with that. It may have just been that I was busier with other things this year, or it could be that a lot of my time was focused on getting two books published. Whatever the case, I love reading, but I never want it to be a competition.

I have serious hopes of getting Puddles of Joy finally published this year though I don’t have a set date for it. But I also started a new WIP set in 1979-80. I already have about 21k words on it and it’s in first person which I have never tried before but am kind of enjoying. I’m really loving this one, but it does feel a bit different then some of my others.

I lowered my book reading goal a bit from the last few years because I want to focus on classics more which take me longer, and I don’t want to have the pressure of having too big of a goal.

Do you make reading or writing related goals? Did you have any from 2024? Did you meet your goal or go above it? What do you have planned for the new year?