Official website for Contemporary Christian YA author, Allyson Kennedy
Summer is one of my favorite times of the year to read seasonal books. Over the past few years, I’ve tailored my monthly TBRs to include quite a few reads that made me feel as if I were sunning on the beach, sailing the ocean blue, or reminded me of my summers growing up. In hopes of starting a new tradition on Authoring Arrowheads, here are my summer book recs for 2025, compiled from my recent reads all the way back to 2020!
Read MoreAs you may have noticed from some of my previous posts this year, 2025 has been a tough year for me. Today, however, I’m not going to complain and recap about all the bad things that have happened. Instead, I’m sharing my go-to methods for powering through those hard days in hopes that they will help someone else who is struggling.
Read MoreIf you haven’t been following Authoring Arrowheads for long, you may not know that my second novel, Speak Your Mind, is my first and only middle grade novel to date.
Do I plan to write any more middle grade books? That’s up in the air. Here’s why.
Read MoreTen months in, writing Follow the Arrows has proved to be quite the adventure. Either I go a month without writing (or months, plural), or I crank out thousands of words like it’s nothing. Update #5 features a mixture of both. Keep reading to find out why this WIP’s momentum keeps switching from traffic jam status to full throttle mode.
Read MoreMany readers do not like reading about grief in fiction, but in this season of my life after recently losing a loved one, books that portray grief realistically have become some of my favorites of the year. Because I’ve found that young adult books often portray grief in more raw and real ways than adult fiction, this week I’m sharing my picks for YA reads centered around death, loss, and navigating life after tragedy.
Read MoreAs an author, negative book reviews can be hard to take, but they shouldn’t be taken as personal attacks. This week, we’re tackling how to not take them to heart.
Read MoreDue to circumstances beyond my control, I will be taking a blogging break for the next three weeks. This means that there will not be any posts on Authoring Arrowheads on May 21st, May 28th, and June 4th.
Read MoreAs Christians we are called to love and serve one another (Galatians 5:13), but sometimes we can get so caught up in serving others and putting their needs first that we neglect our own relationship with God. What many of us need, me included, are firm boundaries that allow us to set limits on activities and people that distract us from our walk with God. Here’s why it’s important for Christians to enforce boundaries, as illustrated by Jesus during His time of ministry.
Read MoreJoin me as I share my reading journey from last week in my first-ever How Much I Realistically Read in a Week post!
Read MoreOof… it’s been a while since the last one of these. Three whole months, in fact. But, hopefully, after taking time off from this WIP to grieve, I’m back in the writing game. Keep reading to learn how I dove back into Follow the Arrows after my second major break from writing this book!
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