Tag Archives: Writing

DECEMBER UPDATE: PLUSHIE, WRITING, AND COVER INCOMING SOON!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

It is December, and as per usual, I took my usual four months break in-between posting on this blog! My last update was in August, so here’s a brief ‘what’s up’ on New Years Eve!

Over the past four months I have been working on a variety of things. Progress on The Knight of Iaddash audio project continues. Cory and I are hoping to launch its Kickstarter around next April. And we have some cool rewards for our supporters.

Plushie Power!

One of the rewards I really enjoyed working on was a Euthymeo stuffed animal. One of my friends heard that I was looking for someone who could make plushies and told me that his mother-in-law liked to knit. So we have been working together to make this really adorable Euthymeo plush that I am more than pleased with! He is so adorable.

You should hear more regarding this plushie and the Kickstarter in the coming months so stay tuned! In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this picture of me with Euthymeo! It was so unreal holding him in my hands!

Cover Art?!?

Additionally, work on the sequel of the Knight of Iaddash is going smoothly. Aside from the cover art, the last major step will be reading over the manuscript one final time to make sure I don’t have any surprise grammar errors before ordering my proof copies.

Speaking of cover art: the sequel’s cover will be a little different and was painted by hand using watercolors! The artist I chose for this book will be revealed soon, but he was one of my teachers in elementary school and it was such an honor working with him on this project! I am extremely pleased with how it turned out and I look forward to revealing the front and back cover soon! I guess better finished writing the blurb!

Everything Else…

Outside of the usual, KOI prep work, I have been getting a lot of writing done in the recent months. I may have gone a little overboard and written a rough draft of about 1 1/2 books over October and November. I also wrote about 3/4th of a separate book earlier in the year. It’s a long road ahead for each of these stories but I hope you’ll be able to read them eventually. It has been good to write for fun once again. Sometimes I forget that it’s nice to just treat writing like a hobby.

I’ve also been doing some thinking. I think it would be advantageous for me to use my social media more to promote my books. Specifically the Knight of Iaddash which is the one I am the most excited to share with everybody. Did you know I have an instagram account. No? Sometimes I forget too! Feel free to follow it if you’d like (It’s called KABechtel). I also think it would be neat to start a YouTube channel as well, but if I do that I might use that more for Bible Study content. Maybe Bible & Books? I don’t know. I have a hard enough time updating my blog, so I wouldn’t expect anything just yet.

Other random things! If you like Bible related content, you might like the book of poems I wrote. It’s called Poems for the Redeemed Heart. It is currently only available on Amazon. (Link right here!)

And as usual, if you’re interested in reading The Knight of Iaddash before its sequel hits the shelves you can find it on Amazon, Barnes and Nobles, and (drum roll) it is now available on Apple Books as well!

Anyways, thank you all for listening to my rambles, you will definitely hear from me sooner than later because I’ve got some covers to share!

Grace and Peace,

Kenny

AUGUST UPDATE

Well. It’s been a bit, hasn’t it.

The last post I released here was the day before releasing The Knight of Iaddash hyping up the project, and then I went radio silent. Well, not entirely, I still use my author’s instagram and facebook.

I was planning on posting more information regarding the Knight of Iaddash here after its launch, but I ended up using Instagram to do most of those things.

BEHOLD, THE KNIGHT OF IADDASH!

Since I’ve last posted, The Knight of Iaddash had released! All of the feedback I’ve heard so far has been rather positive. During the first week it reached #11 in the YA Christian Fantasy bestsellers category on Amazon!

If you’re interested in buying, feel free to buy on Amazon! You may also buy it at Barnes & Nobles! Other booksellers may pick it up as well, since it is available from IngramSpark. If you’re interested in seeing it at a local bookstore or library, you can always ask if they’d purchase it!

Also, please leave a review wherever you purchase it! It really helps the algorithms get my book to a wider audience! It doesn’t take more than a minute to give it a good rating! But also, if you take a few extra minutes to write a brief review, I’d be eternally grateful! I really want this story to be read by as many people as possible!

AUDIO DRAMA?

The Knight of Iaddash Audio Production is getting closer to being made! Cory and I are in the process of setting up the Kickstarter! Creating the rewards and the trailer is taking some time, but we’re making good progress! We’ve also been able to read through the script with the cast, which has been a pure joy! We’ve got a really good cast and I’m excited to see how they do in each of their rolls!

Also, have you noticed that cool picture of Agape at the top of the page? That’s one of the stickers that we’re planning on making available through the Kickstarter! It was designed by Megan Cerise, if you want to see more of her work you can see it at her instagram account!

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EBOOKS?

I still intend to release The Knight of Iaddash in ebook format outside of Kindle, I’ve just run into a snag. I’m a little stubborn and like to do everything individually by hand. I’ve considered uploading my ebooks via a service like Draft2Digital, which seamlessly releases your ebook across a host of digital platforms, but they also take a cut. As someone who is trying to pay off college loans, I’d rather do things by hand and put in the extra effort. I have the ebook files prepped and ready to upload, however due to certain laws across the sea, to publish on certain platforms and be released worldwide you need to put down an physical address that is public to all. I don’t think my family would appreciate me putting their address online, so I’ve decided to wait till I have extra money to potentially get a new business address. This is taking longer than expected thanks to, well, college loans.

Honestly, if I don’t have the ebook available worldwide by next year, I may just end up biting the bullet and using Draft2Digital. I’d like the story to be available in all places before the sequel is released.

INTO THE GATES OF SHEOL

Ah, yes! The sequel!

I’m really excited for book two of the Knight of Iaddash. I’m hoping to release it around April once again. If you like the first book, I really think you’ll like the second one. Kahsa had a rough time at the end of the first book didn’t he? Hopefully nothing else bad happens to him!

I don’t want to spoil anything so I’ll stop here! But I am extremely happy with how this story turned out!

WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?

I’ve been active. There is a lot of moving pieces in my life right now, and I’m not the best at running multiple things at once. Well, that’s not entirely true. I’m great at jumping between tasks, but usually one of them get’s put on the back burner. That’s what happened with this blog. And, mentally, it still is on the back burner. The Audio Drama prep has been taking a lot of time! I’d rather focus on that as opposed to this blog!

I’ve been doing plenty of other things however! This summer I’ve been teaching some of my friends with IDD from the Bible at a day program! It’s all volunteer now but I love doing it once a week! However, that means I need to write and prep lessons, so that does keep me busy! I don’t know how long I’ll be doing that, but while I do I want to do it well!

I’ve also been writing! I’ve written about 3/4ths of a book now. I keep hitting snags with this one, but I’m excited about most of it. I won’t release it until I’m excited about all of it though, so it may be a bit of time! I’m also working on a comic concept that’s been invigorating my imagination. I don’t know if I’ll ever pitch it to any publishers or publish it myself, but I’m having fun at least. It’s nice to have fun!

Oh! And also really enjoying getting connected with my church family again! It does take some time away from other things, but I think fellowship is important. If I’m not close to God or other Christians, then nothing I accomplish really matters.

Oh, also, I did finish moving from Lancaster. Which took some time too. It has been a blessing being with my family again, but I’ve been really focusing on paying down some of my student debt. I’m hoping to one day be debt free! Please pray that God will help me continue to be responsible and get me to that place!

That’s all from me. I hope you guys enjoyed the life update. Maybe I’ll do more of these!

Grace and Peace,

Kenny

Cover Reveal: The Knight of Iaddash

The time has come!

I am so happy to be able to reveal to you the final cover art of The Knight of Iaddash!

Behold! Kahsa, The Knight of Iaddash, stands front and center as green mist flows from his sword! I couldn’t be more pleased with how this turned out, and all of the credit goes to my friend and artist, Veronica Verratti!

Book Cover: The Knight of Iaddash, stands front and center as green mist flows from his sword! - Art by Veronica Verratti!

This is what Veronica had to say about the project!

“K.A. Bechtel has crafted a world that’s as exciting as it is beautiful. It has been a privilege to help bring this adventure to life”  

It has been such a joy working with Veronica! She has such a unique style that lends well to the heroic nature of Kahsa’s story! When I asked her to do the cover art, I knew it would be good, but she exceeded every expectation! Not only did she do the front cover, but the spine and the back cover as well!

If you want to see more from Veronica and show her your support, you can find her on Instagram at The Hallowed Ink!

And lastly, the book is on track for releasing this year. Stay tuned for more updates on The Knight of Iaddash, including the back cover & synopsis! More to come very soon!

Glory to the Glorybuds!

Kenny

Update: Iaddash, Life, and Bread (January 2025)!

It is January! It is 2025! Which means… it’s the New Year! Woooo!

It also means Kenny needs to give you a long overdo update!

The Knight of Iaddash Update:

Every single day I become more and more excited about the potential of turning The Knight of Iaddash into an Audio Drama! If you didn’t know already, Cory Rosen and I plan on turning a book I’ve written into a full fledged audio production! We announced auditions back in November, and over 90 people signed up! We were not prepared for that many people, so we’ve made a few changes to the audition process and things are well underway! We are getting closer to finding the right voice for each of the characters and I am excited for everyone to hear the finished project!

That is, assuming the finished project is made. Here is the deal, if we’re gonna get this thing to happen, we’re gonna need some support! Cory and I are currently thinking through fundraising and finding sponsors to help fund this project! We believe that it’s very important to pay our actors. If you’d like to support us, and also some really good local talent, keep your eyes and ears peeled!

The book is still coming out by the way! I am planning on releasing it early this year! I released an update on the project back in November, and not much has changed. Aside from the cover, an ebook version, and putting up the amazon listing, it’s all ready to go! I am so excited for you all to read it! I’ve had these characters in my head since high school. It’s a dream come true to know that others will finally be able to enjoy the adventures of Kahsa, Agape, and Stratia!

Any Other Writing?

It’s probably no secret that I struggle with writing blog posts. I’d love to figure out why and write some more, but I’d rather just keep creating new characters and worlds. And so, I have done just that. There’s a book I’ve been trying to map out for a few years now that has given me literal headaches. It’s way too early to reveal what it is, but I’ve been able to actually write some of it this past year! I’ve set up some goals for me to hit each week. 20 pages! It’s a lot, and honestly I’ve failed a lot, but I’ve also succeed quite a number of times too. Since it’s a new year I think it’s time to access how much writing I can actually get done in conjunction with work, rest, and our audio project. It may slow down, but I don’t want writing to stop!

Oh, I’m also mapping some comic book stories out. Pretty hyped about some of it. I have no idea if it will see the light of day, but maybe someday in the future. I’m always open to a good creative challenge!

Okay, Enough of this Writer Talk!

How a I doing outside of writing? Honestly, this past year was, well…. a lot. A lot of excitement as well as a lot of disappointment. I managed to get a new job that I enjoy, but the finances have been a bit too tight thanks to that unforgiving post-college problem called ‘student loans.’ The job is stressful, but it is also good and I’m doing something that really matters! I get to work with people who have disabilities and teach everyone about Jesus! It’s a lot of fun, but a guy’s also got to be financially sustainable too.

There’s been a few other big emotional disappointments, aside from the job hunt which is driving me crazy, but God has continued to be good through them all. I’ve been able to really jump into the Bible again! I’m loving the book of Romans right now, I like to draw lines between different words and verses to help me better understand Paul’s arguments. Honestly, doing that has really got me wanting to making a devotional someday about all the things God teaches me in his word!

Oh, also, BREAD!

Yeah, some of my coworkers at work kept bringing in sourdough bread and I’ve been determined to learn how to make some. So, over the past few weeks I’ve made a sourdough starter out of potatoes, flour, and water, and I’ve also made a few bread recipes with it. Have you ever had sourdough pancakes? OH MY GOODNESS IT IS SO GOOD! A buddy of mine joked that I’d make a great housewife someday. I thought that was pretty funny. I find a girl, I’m gonna bring home the bread and bake it too! Or at least some of it lol. Nobody can quench this creative spirit!

I also, really, truly, do love eating.

Long story short, find some hobbies you enjoy and have fun! Life is stressful, we all need some healthy outlets from time to time! And for me, homemade sourdough seems to be one of them!

That’s about all for this update! I hope you guys found some encouragement or laughter while reading it! I’m looking forward to sharing more about The Knight of Iaddash in the coming months!

Also, PS I guess. But I hope you all enjoy the green website back ground. That was like the sole result of my ‘big’ website overhaul. I’ll let you know if I ever decide to learn web design!

Grace and Peace,

Kenny

THE KNIGHT OF IADDASH – AUDIO DRAMA TRYOUTS

Earlier today I released a brief update on The Knight of Iaddash, however, there is one more major thing that I’ve yet to talk about!

The Knight of Iaddash will also be an audio production!

I am happy to announce that I have been working with the award-winning composer Cory Rosen to turn The Knight of Iaddash into an audio production. We are only auditioning locals in and around the Lancaster/York area PA, so a number of you may be out of luck for this one. But if you live in one of these area and got some voice acting chops, give it a shot! Actors will be compensated for their work.

Feel free to sign up here: The Knight of Iaddash – Tryout Sheet

Oh, one more thing. We’ve got a poster.

You want to see it? Here it is!

A Casting Call for an Audio Drama: Looking for 3 male leads, 2 female lead, 6 male supporting and 4 female supporting.

Isn’t the frame stunning? That frame is actually the back cover art of the book, which is illustrated by the very talented Veronica Verratti, and should be finally launching next year! The back cover isn’t complete just yet, so consider this sneak preview. Check out more of Veronica work on her Instagram page: The Hallowed Ink. I’ll do a full fledged front cover reveal at some point in the future! I’m super hyped for that as well!

Anyways, that’s all for today, maybe I’ll see you at tryouts? And if not, hopefully we’ll have your ears!

Grace and Peace,

Kenny

A Rather Brief Update on The Knight of Iaddash!

Here’s some progress on The Knight of Iaddash!

What is done:

✅ It’s written!

✅ It’s edited!

✅ It’s formatted!

Here is what needs to be done:

💬 Waiting for the cover (it’s lit)!

💬 Amazon listing and release date!

💬 I’m determined to have the ebook ready at, or soon after launch.

Thank you for everyone’s patience! I struggle with the whole advertising and networking side of the creative process, but I’m eager to learn! You should see me ramping things up very soon.

Oh there’s one more thing… if all goes according to plan, there’s going to be one more way to enjoy this story… but that’s an announcement for, well, later today actually! Stay tuned!

-Kenny

Glimpses – Poem by K.A. Bechtel

Hi friends!

I was looking through some of the poems I wrote over the past few years, and I found one I wanted to share with my readers.

Over the past year I’ve been in a bit of a rut, feeling really down and trying to cling to Jesus the best that I can. By faith I believe I’m coming out of that season, however, that season was a very real and hard one to go through. Some days I felt like I couldn’t see any evidence that Jesus was doing anything in my life.

I was wrong of course, Jesus is always at work. And even in the darkness, I caught glimpses of his grace and the passion I once had for him. That’s what this poem is about! I hope you enjoy it!

GLIMPSES

This room is blank.

This mind is dull.

Blinded by sin, 

Dimmed by the fall.

But when I see

Glimpses of him.

My eyes let go

And smile again. 

I’ve never seen

Your face in full.

And if I had,

Then I’d be dead.

For who can peer

Behind the veil

And see his Glory

So full and rare.

For when my heart

Refused to yield

And did not care

For Christ my King.

I glimpsed the cross

And saw the thorns 

Till at his feet 

I wept and mourned

If I don’t feel

His grace for me.

His perfect gift, 

Given for free.

Then let me glimpse 

His love again

So that I know

I’m in his hand.

For though life’s shadows

Seem to grow.

Infinite love

Is by my side

And just a glimpse 

At that great promise

Still gives me hope

And joy in life.

So catch those glimpses 

Small and large

And hold them tight 

To your heart,

For risen Jesus

Will show you more

For he is with you

Evermore.

I hope you enjoyed that poem! If you’d like to read more of my poems, check out Poems for the Redeemed Heart which can be bought on Amazon!

Hope y’all have an amazing day!

Grace and Peace,

Kenny

A Brief Update (September)

A bright-eyed, blog bored writer, once wrote, “I’m going to blog again. “

Aside from one very simple update, he did not.

That writer is me.

What happened?

So, What happened?

Simply put. I forgot. I got a little distracted by life and decided to focus on other things. And then, just as I felt my life was turning a lovely little corner, BOOM, everything came crashing down all at once. Life got rough.

And it still kind of is. Prayers are always appreciated.

But my God is good! He’s been teaching me a lot. A lot about myself. A lot about others. and even more about him.

What happens next? I’m trying to figure a lot of that out.

There are a few things that, Lord willing, I’m fairly certain of.

The Knight of Iaddash

The Knight of Iaddash will release. I have a time period in my mind, but I’m not quite ready to share when that is just yet. However, things are coming along beautifully! The book is complete and fully edited! I’m mostly just waiting for the cover art. AND LET ME TELL YOU, THE COVER ART IS 1000x BETTER THAN I EXPECTED! And I expected a lot! I can’t wait to share this book with you! It’ll literally be a dream come true!

If you want to learn a little bit more about this project, check out this blog post where I share a snippet from the story! There is also a preview of at the end of Poems for the Redeemed Heart, a book of poems I’ve published a few years back! You can buy it on Amazon if you’d like! That book is full of Jesus! Lol.

Anything else?

Is there anything else I’m working on?

Heck yea! However all of it is in early concept and planning stages, and if I ever choose to turn them into reality, I’m sure they would take literal years. These past few month I’ve really had my creative juices running!

I’m also trying to learn some SEO skills as well. Have you noticed that this blog post has some links that leads to other blog posts?!

Here is another link you can click!

Let be honest, my dreams of being a full time writer floating on down the Susquehanna river on a yacht made of chocolate will likely never come to fruition. That’ll never happen (prolly for the best), but I’d like to at least be more self-sufficient. So, I’m trying to learn skills to maybe try a new career. And if it doesn’t fit me, then I’ll try again with something else. Honestly, learning is kinda fun!

With that said. There is a rather good chance your buddy here is going to try to fix this website and make it more functional, as I learn of course. Especially as I inch closer to potentially releasing The Knight of Iaddash. Could be a fun challenge! It’ll be the true test of skill!

Are you done blabbering bro?

Actually, yes I am.

Once again, I just want to thank everyone for their patience. I hope that one day I’ll be able to foster a community of people who can enjoy the hard work I put into my future projects, and that I’d be a creator who can show my readers love and respect! Many prayers have gone into The Knight of Iaddash. I believe that God will establish the work of my hands. If my book is able to encourage one person who needs it, then I choose to believe it was worth my time. Stay tuned friends!

Grace and Peace,

Kenny

Special Preview: The Knight of Iaddash

Howdy! It’s been awhile hasn’t it? While I’ve not been blogging I’ve been hard at work on an exciting new series that I am currently in the process of editing. It will likely be some time before this story is ready to be released but I wanted to share a special preview with you all.

The series is called “The Knight of Iaddash” and it revolves around a young man named Kahsa who is called by a God to kill his old master Agar. The only problem is… Agar cannot die. The series is a two part saga with room for expansion that explores themes such as friendship, spirituality, and the quest for both freedom and strength.

If this has peaked your interest, here’s a chapter from the first book I’ve been working on. Enjoy!

Continue reading →
Photo taken from StarWars.com

Can Fan Service Really Work? A Reflection on The Mandalorian Season 2

A little over a year ago a small green creature took the entire world by storm as millions of memes flooded our social media feeds. His name was Baby Yoda.

Or at least that’s what we called him, those at Lucasfilm and others working on The Mandalorian called him “The Child.” He was this mysterious green creature who is clearly of the same species as Jedi Master Yoda, one of the most recognizable characters in all of Star Wars. And in a day, “The Child” somehow became just as popular.

Season 1 of The Mandalorian followed a mysterious bounty hunter who obeyed a specific set of rules while trying to keep a valuable child out the hands of many greedy and nefarious foes. Throughout the first season he becomes attached to the child, learning that there more in life than making a quick paycheck, and quite possibly, that there’s more to being a Mandalorian than he originally thought. The end of the season tasks the Mandalorian, whose name is revealed to be Din Djarin, to return this child to a group of enemy sorcerers known as “The Jedi.”

There was also one other reveal at the end of the season, a fan favorite lightsaber pulled straight from The Clone Wars. This saber is called the dark saber.

In eight short episodes The Mandalorian was able to reveal quite a few surprises that kept the fans wanting more and felt true to the story they were trying to tell. And now that the second season has concluded. The question is, did the latest season do likewise?

I believe the answer is yes. Somehow, season two managed to have triple the amount of surprises without changing the core of its story. As a Star Wars fan, and as a writer, I would like to take a look at why this approach seemed to work.

MAJOR SPOILERS INBOUND!

Continue reading →