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KevoWriting

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About KevoWriting

Kelly Vo is an avid reader, freelance writer, and the CEO/Owner of Kevo Writing. She is currently working to publish her first Urban Fantasy novel, and frequently writes short stories and novellas in the fantasy genre. For the last 5 years she's worked closely with the publishing industry through digital marketing, editing, and book release promotion. Beyond publishing, Kelly has spent the last 2.5 years as a digital marketing Strategy Director, so she knows social media inside-and-out.

Best-Laid Writing Plans

Freelance writing is not an easy business. There are countless opportunities for distraction. It's difficult to find open opportunities that interest you and fit your experience. You're competing against other talented writers and so standing out in the crowd is not a simple matter. You have to find a balance between writing for yourself and writing for clients. I love quotes that say, "If you're a writer, you're writing." Right. It's that easy. I'm a writer. I love to write. I have stories floating around in my head and I [...]

By | May 25th, 2015|Blog, Personal, Writing|Comments Off on Best-Laid Writing Plans

2.5 Stars: Shadow City

Shadow City is the third book in Diana Pharaoh Francis' Horngate Witches series. This book is a fairly large departure from the previous two books and takes you into a far more fantastical world than where we live. Unfortunately, Shadow City does not have the same feel or heart of the other books and marks the beginning of the end for the series. In this book, Max has accepted her agreement with Scooter and has left her world behind to help him out within the Shadow City. Meanwhile, Alexander is left behind at [...]

By | May 22nd, 2015|Book Reviews, Urban Fantasy|Comments Off on 2.5 Stars: Shadow City

An In Depth Look at Urban Fantasy

I'm an Urban Fantasy nut. This wasn't always the case, but in the last 3 - 5 years, I've probably read every major Urban Fantasy series I could get my hands on. I might be a little obsessed, but that's fine with me. What is Urban Fantasy? Urban Fantasy is a story set in our world but with fantastical elements and rules that make it unique. This means that in an Urban Fantasy story your setting can be New York City but if magic was real, vampires existed, or Fae roamed [...]

By | May 21st, 2015|Blog, Creative, Writing|Comments Off on An In Depth Look at Urban Fantasy

3.5 Stars: Crimson Wind

Crimson Wind is the second book in Diana Pharaoh Francis' Horngate Witches series. It's a good continuation with the same breathless action, enjoyable characters, and tense plot line. Book two might not be quite as strong as the opening, but it's an enjoyable followup that keeps the story moving and leaves you ready for book three. The book picks up right where Bitter Night left off. Max and Alexander are dealing with the fallout of the battle at Horngate and the dangerous plan of the Guardians. Giselle is only one of two [...]

By | May 19th, 2015|Book Reviews, Urban Fantasy|Comments Off on 3.5 Stars: Crimson Wind

Writing and Research

Writing and research go hand-in-hand. You really can't do one well without the other. All writing, whether you're writing articles, blogs, or novels, requires a measure of research to provide realism and improve your story-telling. I love and hate research in equal measure. It's easy to get caught up in research. When I need information or fact-checking, I can find myself scouring the Internet for hours at a time. The issue is finding appropriate research-worthy websites or databases. Even worse, too many websites contradict each other and so then it [...]

By | May 18th, 2015|Blog, Content, Writing|1 Comment

3.5 Stars: Bitter Night

Bitter Night is the first book in the Horngate Witches series by Diana Pharaoh Francis. It was first released in 2009 and I recently decided it was time for a reread. Let me start by saying that I am not caught up with the series. I stopped reading it after book three but I've decided to give it a shot again. So although I'm a little late on these reviews, I'll go through the series in order. Bitter Night is a very good debut. Diana has created an interesting world that isn't so [...]

By | May 15th, 2015|Book Reviews, Urban Fantasy|Comments Off on 3.5 Stars: Bitter Night

5 Ways to Write in Voice

When you're a freelance writer, writing in a particular voice and with certain characteristics is vital. You can't write like "you" all the time, unless you're your only client. Instead, you have to learn to be a chameleon and write like whomever is necessary. Each brand and company has their own style and you have to be able to mimic it in order to succeed. It's not always easy, but I've found that the following five tips can be a big help. Define the voice and characteristics. Okay, this might sound [...]

By | May 14th, 2015|Blog, Content, Writing|Comments Off on 5 Ways to Write in Voice

Writing a Short Story

Short Story (noun): 1. An invented prose narrative, shorter than a novel, usually dealing with a few characters and aiming at unity of effect and often concentrating on the creation of mood rather than plot. —Merriam-Webster's Unabridged Dictionary I love short stories. They are typically under 10,000 words and give you a freedom to create any type of story imaginable. With a short story, a lot of the conventions of a typical novel can be thrown out the window. That makes it incredibly fun and incredibly difficult. Just like any writing, [...]

By | May 12th, 2015|Blog, Personal, Short Story, Writing|Comments Off on Writing a Short Story

4 Stars: The Winter Long

Let me start by saying, I love October Daye. There's just something about her. She's constantly putting her life on the line, bleeding out, and getting into general mayhem thanks to her overly developed hero complex. October has to be the one to save everyone, whether she really even likes you or not. And she'll never let you down. Whenever you pick up an October Daye novel, you know that you can count on Seanan to place Toby in crazy, death-defying circumstances, and you can count on Toby to be Toby. [...]

By | May 9th, 2015|Book Reviews, Urban Fantasy|Comments Off on 4 Stars: The Winter Long

Writing and Comic Con

I recently had the pleasure of attending my very first Comic Con (C2E2). I have a large inner nerd and I'm very proud of her. No, I didn't do any cosplay this time around, I much prefer to be the silent watcher and observer.  It's a symptom of my introverted personality and being a writer. As a writer, I like to watch the world and Comic Con was a perfect opportunity to observe. I mean, who wouldn't want to walk by a troop of Star Wars characters? Besides the amazing [...]

By | May 7th, 2015|Blog, Content, Creative, Personal, Writing|Comments Off on Writing and Comic Con