Heya, fellow Homeschoolers and beloved Readers! It is currently Dec. 6, 2023 as I write this, which means the release of that FREE PROLOGUE releasing EXCLUSIVELY TO NEWSLETTER SUBSCRIBERS that I promised will be coming soon! (Soon, as in, December 13!) But... there's been a change of plans. (And I've edited old posts to accommodate this change.) Don't worry, the newsletter-exclusive short story is still on. Let me tell you a funny little tale, though--if you don't want to hear it, I vibe with that, so you can simply scroll to the very bottom of this post to get to the point. ;D So, for the first time ever, I dove headfirst into NaNoWriMo this year! It was awesome, and I wrote two middle-grade-length novels and a short story... because one 50k word novel wasn't going to cut it for me. XD (Also, if I can be vulnerable, NaNo was the easiest part of November, allowing me to vent on my characters as I suffered from near-indigestion, mycoplasma pneumonia (for 2 weeks), th

I am excited to present my newest official teaser for my middle-grade Christian fantasy series, The Squad ! This is one of my newest animations (I've done a lot of series animatics out of order, and most aren't on my site--I'll be releasing them on my upcoming YouTube channel soon, so stay tuned for my announcement on when it's live!) This animatic trailer was a lot of fun to do, and I had fun playing with lighting and shading. (And SPARKLES!!!) This is a "character" teaser--unlike the series' official "story" teaser, the "character" teaser reveals more about the main cast and their character journeys. I only focused on three of the main cast because 1) they're the first characters we meet in the expansive series, and 2) I'm too lazy to animate the other three. XD Without further ado, here is the official character teaser! For more about The Squad series, check out my other posts and featured videos, and see the "About the

What do homeschoolers want to read? Having been a lifelong homeschooler (and an only child with little else to do), I can totally relate to my fellow homeschoolers in their dire search for a good read that aligns with their values and worldview. What exactly are those values and worldview? Watch the video below to find out, and discover if Rachel Keith Books has the right stories for your homeschool family!     I write fantasy and fantasy/sci-fi middle grade novellas (15-25,000 words) with Christian values and often incorporate anti-slavery themes. My flagship middle-grade series, "The Squad," will be releasing in summer of 2025, and a FREE sneak preview of Book 1: Freedom Rings will be sent to all newsletter subscribers in December 2023! Sign up today for my newsletter and get updates, special gifts, and more (emails are monthly!). Check out my "AWESOME Announcement for Newsletter Subscribers" post to learn more, and check out the "About The Squad" page

Hiya everybody! Before I get to this awesome announcement , I'm sure you're brand new to this site and thinking, what da heck is dis ? Let me start with an actually very important question: do you like reading ? More specifically, reading fantasy ? How about fantasy with sci-fi elements ? Oh, and I assume it'd better be clean fantasy/sci-fi , and maybe you don't mind some Christian elements either? (Or maybe you do mind that, but you'll tolerate it anyway.) Or maybe you don't like to read, but do you know a kid who does? Ooh, how about a homeschooler bookworm? Or maybe anyone looking for a new read like what I described? Perfect! Because I am writing a middle-grade fantasy/sci-fi series that I will be launching 2024 through 2025, and will publish in June or July (exact month TBD) of 2025. A long way off, I know, but better to hype it early! My target audience are ages 8-12 (although I know kids of all ages may be interested), especially the homeschool crowd.

Well, here it is, ladies and gentlemen! I am proud to present the first of many fun animated videos of my upcoming middle-grade Christian fantasy/sci-fi book series, The Squad ! This video, an animated teaser for The Squad , took about one week to draw, sequence, and edit. All of the animation is done by me, and it's actually my first attempt at animating on this scale (as is evident compared to later animations, but still not too bad!) This is a story teaser, showing bits of the characters but also a chunk of story-related incidences. More trailers will come soon revolving more around the characters and such!   I hope you enjoy it, and stay tuned to my blog for more fun animated videos and artwork of the series! In early 2024, I will be creating my own YouTube channel, where I will release all trailers plus prologue animatics! Also, be sure to check out my other posts for similar art projects and videos I've done related to The Squad series! And I encourage you to subscri

So excited to show y'all the adorable OOAK (one-of-a-kind) Calico Critters of my Squad--yes, I custom painted them! I used plain acrylic paint from Hobby Lobby--the 49 cent bottles--a lot of water, and some acrylic and alcohol markers (for finer touches) to get their fur just right. From left to right, we have Sapphire, Porter, Tina, Sy, Shield, Valiente, and Lee. This is the Squad, fully finished and painted, with some accessories, extra details, and custom outfits! (HUGE shout-out to SewnByWendy on Etsy.com for making these outfits!!) To give you an idea of what each character was before, Sapphire and Porter were originally Pickleweeds Hedgehogs (dark brown), Tina was a Caramel Dog (light brown), Sy was a Silk Cat (white), Shield was a Polar Bear (white, but he was kinda dirty too), Valiente was a Yellow Labrador (yellow, clearly), and Lee was a Cuddle Bear (beige). Sy's fur ribbon is a pink string I tied into a bow, then glued onto her, because the character's bow is cli