Bright, Beyond, and Belief, a dystopian future that seems, um, plausible.

When I wrote the first draft of Bright the biggest issue in Estelle’s world was the unrelenting Light Pollution, but the story grew, the issues deepened, and by the Trilogy’s last page, Estelle became a strong activist, a brave citizen, a peaceful dissenter, and a powerful revolutionary. Also, and this is a spoiler alert, a thoughtful head of state.

Bright, Beyond, and Belief are novels about a young girl who wants to change everything but doesn’t know how, so she begins with what she can do. She starts a farm. Becomes a rebel. And unknowingly begins a revolution.

In the first book, Bright, Estelle’s world is darker than she imagines:

  • Estelle’s choices are severly limited
  • She uncovers thought control
  • Fear and pressure to submit to the control
  • The right to protest is curtailed
  • The legal system is unfair
  • Imprisonment without due process
  • and still that unrelenting Light Pollution.

 

 

Estelle fought back against the government with:

  • Protest
  • Nonviolent Resistance
  • Freedom of the Press
  • Civil-disobedience and Arrest

To get Estelle released from prison, her friends and family used:

  • Nonviolent action and occupation
  • Pressure within the legal system

In the end she is allowed the Right to Farm. And the skies above her farm are dark. Estelle feels like she has won.

__________________________

In Beyond, Estelle uncovers the depths of the Government’s darkness:

  • The glittery facade
  • Secrets
  • Citizens are disappeared
  • The hidden wrecked environment
  • The opressed workers of the products

Estelle and her friends travel into the Beyonds and fight the power with:

  • Investigations uncovering the truth
  • Exposing the injustices

 

Unfortunately they discover that the government is controlling the citizens through the water supply. In the end she and her friends are banished and are forced to sign away their right to return.

__________________________

In Belief, Estelle and her friends build a resistance:

  • They sneak into the city and stage a giant action
  • They debate the merits of sabotage vs nonviolent action
  • One of Estelle’s followers commits an act of sabotage
  • Estelle accepts the blame and turns herself in. accepting the consequences
  • The people of the city take to the streets.
  • Behind the scenes the government is pressured to step down.

Finally, the government is exposed and overthrown.

 

 

 

Through the stories Estelle is a reluctant leader, an In-Over-Her-Head activist, and a teen girl, who simply wants to see the stars, but in the end she strengthens her family, falls in love, and finds a purpose beyond her original dreams. She becomes a leader who didn’t aspire to the job, but took it because, in her own words, “. . . though almost everyone would disagree—they would be lying—I was responsible for them all.”

It is truly a story for our times, the trilogy may be bought here: 

 

 

 

 

 

The first book, Bright, is now available on audiobook, too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Belief (Book Three of the Estelle Series) and Leveling (a novella) are ready to be pre-ordered!

Pre-ordering helps me, because all the sales for the entire pre-ordering time period load onto Amazon on the same day. Might I be catapulted into best-seller land? We can only wait and see. And pre-order ;o)

Belief-best-cover-smallestThe third book of the Estelle Series, Belief, can be pre-ordered here:

3 book series

One of my beta-readers said this: “I’ve read everything you’ve written so far and this is my favorite.”

leveling better finish orange font half submergedMy new novella, Leveling, can be pre-ordered here:

Leveling A Novella

It’s a romantic sexy story in only 20,000 pages. Not for kids.

Beyond (Book Two of the Estelle Series)

This book wasn’t easy to write. I was nervous. I wanted to know where Estelle went next, what she dreamed of, who she dreamed with, and yes, does she get to keep kissing the hunky William, but I was worried I might break the story, get bogged down, or I don’t know—blow it.

I’m happy to say that the first reviews are in and I didn’t.

I decided that book two would be a big adventure and a rescue. Estelle of course would be the heroine, but she needed a side-kick, so I chose Angela (you met her very briefly in book one.) So Beyond is two girls on an adventure. Hopefully that doesn’t spoil the story too much.

Here’s a pinterest page so you can get the feel: pinterest.com/hdknightley/beyond

It already has a review:

“I had greatly enjoyed reading Bright but I didn’t have such a visceral reaction as I did when reading Beyond. I can tell when a book is good when I get stressed out and anxious while reading (that’s a good thing) and I can’t put it down to go to sleep because I’ll end up tossing and turning thinking about it instead. By the end of this book I practically had no nails left!” – J.B. Fox

The kindle version will be free from October 14th-October 18th, 2015. I’ll remind you. But if you want to get the paperback version, here it is:

Beyond
Estelle must summon the courage to head into the Beyonds, with nothing but a phone, a pillowcase, and barely a plan, and risk everything to save someone she loves.

Thank you. I’m writing the third of the series now. And moments away from releasing a romance, Violet’s Mountain.

xox,

H.

Beyond…glimpses

Estelle and William, speaking in Beyond (Book Two of The Estelle Series):

“I hate talking at these things. The low-key ones are bad enough but with all this hoopla, yes, I’m nervous.” I took a deep breath and pulled at the middle of my dress to get more air in. An action that was futile.

“You’re getting better and better at speaking in public, but it hardly matters. You could stand and say turkey, turkey, turkey, and the citizens of New City would applaud and say yours was the best speech ever.”

“Aren’t we trying to win them over to our point of view?”

“True.”

William sat up straighter and turned his head and stared at me, stared so much that I grew self-conscious and then gulped and giggled. “What? Do I have something in my teeth?”

“You are absolutely beautiful. I know it doesn’t matter to you, you hardly care, but seeing you like this takes my breath away.”

“Oh,” I said, not at all capable of a response.

He took my hand in his. “You always looked like this before, when you were just a New City girl, or if not this exactly, put together, dressed, done up. You were pretty, don’t get me wrong, but you looked just like everyone else. Put together in all the same ways. Normal and the same. Now you wear your farm look, and you’re pretty then too, but this—tonight—wow.”

“Stop William, You’re making me blush.” I batted my eyes because I liked to be complimented. I remembered once, what seemed like forever ago, when I departed the farm in a dress and William hadn’t even noticed me or didn’t mention it if he did. This little speech made up for that. Definitely.

William said, “Sure. I know. I think I’m just trying to prolong some alone time with you, but I was thinking…” He paused, his familiar pause, the one where the gears turned, the one just before he said something that would end up in his writing someday. “All those days of sameness makes this night, you even more spectacular. Because it’s different. You’re different. I feel sorry for the residents out there, with their fancy clothes and their big hair. How can they get excited about all this, when they see a version of it every single day? It made me think that one of the biggest problems with New City is really a problem of sameness.

“Ever the philosopher.”

“Okay, I’m off track. I want to kiss you, but I won’t be held responsible for mussing your display.” He motioned about my face. “Suffice it to say, I want to.”

Have you nominated my book for publishing yet?

Beyond

It hasn’t been in Hot and Trending all day, I’m dyin’ over here. And tell a friend!

kindlescout.amazon.com/p/AO1R2RI3Q81X

yours,
H.D.

Violet’s Mountain and Bleak, or Dark or What is it called?

I’ve got a final read through happening of Violet’s Mountain, but then it’s ready. I’ve decided to pre-order it for release on November 22. If you’re looking forward to seeing it hit the best seller list then hold on. It’s going to be hot. Seriously.

The sequel to Bright is being beta-read by my daughter and a few others. If you are interested in beta-reading (read the book and tell me what you think) contact me and I’ll send you a copy. I’ll thank you in the acknowledgments ;o)

Now, to work on the title…the working title is Bleak, but it’s just not a good word, right?

I want The Cost of a Thing it’s from Henry David Thoreau and yes, in book two Estelle learns that her farm has come at a cost.

Kids want Dark. They think that one word is the way to go. But what about The Dark Edges?

Any thoughts? I’m all ears and beginning work on the cover.

Bright just recieved another review, thank you R.Singer :

Thought-provoking, poignant, and inspiring. A powerful metaphor for our present and future.

And so did Fly, thank you T. Williamson:

My girls and I love this book. It’s a cleverly written magical fairytale. May girls are 11 & 15 years old and way past the Disney princess phase. This book is intelegently written and right up their alley Can’t wait to read Knightlys other books.

If you haven’t written a review yet, and enjoyed the books, could you please head over to Amazon and do do do? Thank you!

H.D. Knightley

Book Club Questions for Fly

front coverbest

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Will your book club be reading Fly this year? Would you like a list of good questions?

  1. Does Amelia view her constant flying as a curse or a gift? How does her view change over time? And would you like to be able to fly?
  2. Before Amelia met Hank she was happy and carefree, but he explained to her about the water shortage, put her in dangerous situations, and caused her to feel sadness. Do you believe her life was better having met Hank? Was being brought down to earth a happy ending for Amelia?
  3. Amelia’s flight gave her independence and carelessness, and when she felt connected to others, she regained her gravity. Which state, independence or connectedness, do you prefer? What are the downsides and benefits of both?
  4. Though Hank was a lowly guitar-strumming, surfer-boy, he had enough confidence to try and change the Princess’s views about the drought. Once Amelia believed she mattered, she changed the course of her Kingdom’s history. If you believed you could fix a big problem, which would you choose, and what would you do to solve it?
  5. Read Fly by H.D. Knightley along with The Light Princess by George MacDonald. One of The Light Princess’s themes is that gravity, weight, and sorrow are necessary for love. Compare this to the themes of Fly—what are the similarities and differences?

Learn more about the water issues in Fly:

Water Privatization:http://www.citizen.org/documents/top10-reasonstoopposewaterprivatization.pdf

Patagonia’s Dam Removal documentary http://damnationfilm.com

Local Water: https://lawaterkeeper.org/volunteer/

A list of International Water Organizations: http://waterfortheages.org/international-water-organizations/

 Buy your copy here: http://www.amazon.com/Fly-H-D-Knightley/dp/0985567465 (Want to order a stack? Drop me a line and I’ll see what I can do to help!)

Here’s a print-out:

book club questions fly– Fly by H.D. Knightley

 

Let me know if I can help in any way!

H.D.Knightley

 

 

 

Fly is for ages 8 and up.

I realized the other day that Gail Carson Levine’s books Ella Enchanted and Ever are listed as for ages 8-12.

I have changed Fly’s listing to the same. It’s perfect for ages 8-12. It’s romantic. It’s a love story. It’s also a punk rock fairytale. My teens loved it, my 10 year old loved it, my friends loved it.

Also, it’s about a Kingdom and a drought, sound familiar? A looming dam?

 

fly something extra

Violet’s Mountain

Violet’s Mountain tells the story of Violet, a mysterious young woman who lives atop a giant mountain of hoarded things. By day she is a heavy machine operator, piling more things up and up and up. By night she adorns the top of the pile with welded steel, sculptural whirligigs.

She builds, she creates, she welds, she lifts heavy boxes, she drives cranes, she’s a total bad ass.

But in the story you barely get to know her, before everything shifts.

Instead you get to know Lala, her cousin. Violet has been her guardian, but as Lala puts it, “I can’t leave her, she’s so arty that she forgets to eat.”

You meet Benjamin, the young man who falls in love, and wants to charm Violet down from the hoard, and take her away to the city.

And you meet Edmund, the surfing environmentalist, heir to an oil fortune, who wants to rescue her and doesn’t know how. He rocks her world.

The story is about love, duty, and rescue.  Love in spite of our shortcomings. Duty to family over all else. And rescue in spite of ourselves. And whether, when your world comes crashing down, you can find forgiveness for the one who caused your collapse.

violet polaroid

The first round of beta reading is done. Thank you Melody, Melissa, Mara, Fiona, and Isobel. I believe Violet’s Mountain has fans already. I’m making some changes and then it goes to the proofreader.

 

 

 

Covers!

While my new book, Violet’s Mountain, is being beta-read (by Mara, Mel, Melissa, Isobel, and Fiona, thank you!!!) I took a few moments to work on the cover. I have been posting the results on my facebook page  and have narrowed it down to two.

I haven’t created a professional blurb yet, but here’s a quickly jotted down synopsis:

Edmund and Benjamin are brothers. They surf, alot. They are also wickedly rich, not in the self-made manner, but in the inherit-it-all-and-don’t-care manner. Except Edmund, he’s an environmentalist.

They’re on an extended surftrip when they come across a mountain of hoard. The mountain is a gigantic trash pile, like 10 stories and a quarter mile, of collected things. The hoard belongs to one extended family who collects and collects and collects, and is tended by a young woman, Violet.

Violet is a hardhat wearing, crane driving badass, who tends her family’s junk with unwavering commitment. She also sculpts whirlygigs and adorns the top of the pile with their spinning beauty.

Her cousin Lala and her father live with her on the pile.

Benjamin and Edmund take one look at Violet and fall in love. They want to rescue her from the preposterousness that is the hoard. They want to…but should they? And when it all becomes too late, and trouble spills, who will be left living alone on the summit?

This book is a romance. check.

It’s got rich hotties. check.

It passes the Bechdel test. check.

Violet is a strong character (despite needing a rescue) yet she does the rescuing in the end. Did I mention that she’s a welder? checkedy-check!

Have a choice, opinion? Leave it in the comments ;o)

another version again more some better violet polaroid