books

New Year’s 2024

/ Eli Kale / 2 Comments

Hello friends,

I hope this post finds you well and that you are making progress on your life’s journey, wherever that may be leading you and whatever you may be experiencing! I must first apologize for missing the Fall Update post in October; however, there has been a lot going on and frankly I didn’t have the energy or right mind space to compose that post, which I’ll explain why below. There is a lot to cover in this post. In keeping with tradition, though, I will begin this post with a review of books I’ve read over the previous year:

Like last year’s post, I won’t go into detail on all the books; instead, in no particular order, I’ll address a few of the more notable or impactful titles in my opinion…

First, there are a few books I’m grouping together as they pertain to improving my craft of creative writing; these include Outlining Your Novel, Creating Character Arcs, Writing Your Story’s Theme, Writing Archetypal Character Arcs, and 5 Secrets of Story Structure, which are all penned by author K.M. Weiland. Aspiring to improve my writing and learn the tools of the trade more deeply, I set about reading these books with much enthusiasm. I quickly realized that the author possesses great knowledge and insight on writing and that I could (and should) apply what I learned to what I am writing. While I’ve already developed my current work in progress beyond applying much of what I’ve read, I can still apply other parts as I wrap up this WIP by Fall 2024 (more on this below); however, for the next book(s) that I write, I will certainly apply all that I’ve read from Day 1. I highly recommend these books (along with others in the author’s series ‘Helping Writers Become Authors’) to anyone aspiring to creatively write, no matter the genre.

Next, we have The Third Reich at War by Richard Evans, which is the third book in this author’s trilogy that I first alluded to in last year’s New Year’s 2023 post. Having spent a good deal of my life studying and learning about the Second World War, this book was a great read (or listen via Audible, in this case); it not only provided intricate details and insights as any solid historiographical work should, but it allowed me to revisit a time period that served as my gateway into wanting to study history as part of my professional, academic life. For anyone wanting to understand the Third Reich in general but especially during the war years, I’d recommend this book.

Lastly, we have Dive into Inquiry by Trevor MacKenzie, Teaching in the Online Classroom by Doug Lemov, What I Wish I Knew Before Becoming an Instructional Designer by Dr. Luke Hobson, Learning Experience Design Essentials by Cara North, and Next-Level Instructional Design by Susan Nelson Spencer, all of which are educational books. I read the first two in the first half of my most recent grad program, amid the curricular changes I was implementing within my ‘History of the Holocaust’ class, all with the hope that I could apply little tidbits here and there that I picked up. I did end up doing so, though they were short-lived in the end (more on that below). I read the last three books right at the end of my grad program, having discovered these books after following these authors on LinkedIn. These were more immediately impactful for the degree I set about obtaining, and as with the first, I have taken down notes that I will apply to my educational career moving forward. The first two books were great reads and could be applied by any educator working in the online space, but I’d surely recommend the last three to anyone interested in instructional design, learning experience design, or understanding how effective learning experiences could and should be designed.

Here are the books with links to Amazon for anyone interested in checking them out:

A World Lit Only by Fire
The Bright Ages
The Conflict Thesaurus, Vol. 2
Creating Character Arcs
Dive into Inquiry
Geography – Why It Matters
A Haunting in Venice
How to Build a Culture
The Impact of Identity
Journey to a Revolution
Learning Experience Design Essentials
Next-Level Instructional Design
Notes on a Season
Outlining Your Novel
Resilient
Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters
Teaching in the Online Classroom
The Third Reich at War
What I Wish I Knew Before Becoming an Instructional Designer
Writing Archetypal Character Arcs
Writing Your Story’s Theme
5 Secrets of Story Structure

New Addition to the Family

The next thing I am excited to share is the birth of our fourth child! Eliza-Jean Roma was born a couple of days before Thanksgiving, coming into the world with no health complications and a headful of hair. Sarah and I are so full of happiness right now, even though EJ hasn’t quite gotten the hang of sleeping consistently through the night just yet. We look forward to “the ride” of raising a newborn one final time, and it’s been fun to see how the older three kids interact with their new sibling. She’s been visited by and loved on by some of her aunts, uncles, and cousins already at this point, and we look forward to living each new day as a family of six!

Professional Changes

The next item I wanted to address comes off the coattails of the educational books mentioned earlier. Despite my grand plan of revolutionizing the ‘History of the Holocaust’ course at my school by implementing a competency-based curriculum, which I intended on utilizing the first two books to support, developments arose that led me to apply to a job posting I saw on LinkedIn in October. Long story short, I was offered the job and accepted in December. This full-time job itself is couched within the world of higher education, which has been a professional goal of mine for at least the last five years or so. I am now officially an Instructional Designer for the University of Jamestown, a small liberal arts institution in North Dakota; the work is remote, challenging in new ways that are different from teaching, and will allow me to apply my new degree to my day-to-day tasks and routines. I would like to express my gratitude to my friends, family, and coworkers for supporting me in my teaching journey over the past decade. I look forward to what this new chapter in my life has in store for me and my family!

Work in Progress

Another update comes in the form of my current WIP — The Ivory Obelisk — which has seen great strides in the last number of months. As mentioned in my Summer 2023 Update post, some story developments have materialized that resulted in expanding the original story; I also have taken suggestions from my editor and have run with them to hone and refine the manuscript. I worked a lot here and there throughout the last 5-6 months, getting to the point of having about 65% of the manuscript reworked along the lines of editor feedback and new ideas, with some reworking still to be done in the final third of the book; these reworks stemmed from the implementation of those feedback and new ideas. It’s been an exciting process and I’m looking forward to seeing where the story ends when I hand my manuscript in for final edits this summer. If the newly aligned chapters are comparable in size to what’s been developed so far, this book will hit the 80,000-word mark. I can’t wait to share more with you in the Spring 2024 Update post!

Faces of the War Collection 10th Anniversary Combined Edition

Over the past few years, I thought it would be cool to re-release the WWII-era historical fiction books I wrote between 2014-2017 to commemorate my initial foray into creative writing. I figured I’d do it at the 10-year mark, but was torn on the how — however, I eventually landed on deciding to combine all four books into one volume. Due to the length of these books in print, I was limited to publishing only a paperback physical copy; if I wanted a hardback version, the font would have to be much smaller or I’d have to cut out parts of the stories…and I didn’t want to do that. I wanted to keep these stories as intact as possible because, after all, this combined edition is celebrating my first published stories as they were, not as I’d change them now after a few more years of writing experience. Aside from minor edits on phrasing, spelling/grammar, and other aesthetics, the manuscripts aren’t really changed during this combination process. In addition to the paperback is a Kindle version, which is available for pre-order below (with the paperback pre-order link coming in a later post). For anyone who’s already read these books, I thank you for your continued interest in and support of my work; and for anyone new to my stories, I hope you might consider purchasing this combined edition of my first writing labor of love!

Combined Kindle Edition Pre-Order (will be available April 25, 2024)
*Combined Paperback Edition Pre-Order (will be linked in the Spring Update blog post on April 1, 2024)

Family News

I wanted to save this section for last in this post. A big part of why I didn’t make a post in October was due to my father passing away in September and all the emotion associated with that process and coming to grips with a new reality. I wrote a tribute to him on Facebook, which I won’t rehash here, but I will reiterate that I loved my father and that I will strive to be the best man I can be as a reflection of how he raised us kids, and in particular me as the only boy. We shared a special bond, one that I’ll always cherish and be thankful for having had in my life. Since his more recent/immediate complications began in April 2023, it has been a season of ups and downs, laughing and crying, and many other things; however, I am slowly learning how to grow and move forward (not move on) to be the best version of myself for the sake of my immediate family as well as my sisters and mother. I know my father is with me every day, and that is an encouraging thought.

I think that about does it for this post. Thank you so much for reading it and following along with my life journey. I can’t wait to see what the next few months bring!

Until next time,

Mike/”Eli”

Five of My Favorite Books

/ Eli Kale / 2 Comments

Friends,

I hope this post finds you well and ready to tackle another week! I’ve decided to start writing some themed posts to mix up the regular ones that you read, and today’s post is the first. Let’s get down to it…

Five of My Favorite Books

I’ve read quite a few books in my time, and there will be plenty more to come. However, a handful stick out to me as my favorites, for various reasons, and I’d like to share those with you today. If you’ve read any of these and would like to discuss with me, I’d love to connect with you in that way. If you haven’t read them, then perhaps you’ll check them out if they interest you!

The first book (though not necessarily the most favorite of the bunch) is Stalingrad by Antony Beevor. I read this book in college, in the middle of my initial draw to WWII, and immediately saw the events in the book as part of a very real conflict. The way Beevor describes things – people, places, conversations and accounts – helps put the most significant event on the Eastern Front (and possibly in the whole war) into an understandable and believable perspective. It definitely helped me better comprehend the vast quantity of Soviet troops involved, the efficient tactics of the advancing Germans, and the ideological struggle between the two that manifested itself in the bloodshed at Stalin’s city. This was a very memorable read!

stalingrad

The second book on my list was also written by Beevor, and is essentially a sequel to Stalingrad. It’s entitled The Fall of Berlin 1945 and recounts the Soviet advance from Stalingrad to Berlin, ending with the eventual fall of the Nazi capital in 1945. What stuck out to me while reading this was the vivid descriptions of the skirmishes and battles the Soviets fought en route to Germany, as well as the defense put up by the retreating Wehrmacht. One line I remember from the book was a description of the artillery guns on the Soviet side. During an artillery barrage on the way to Berlin, there was an instance where there was a Soviet artillery piece (of one form or another) about every 4 meters along the breakthrough sector. Due to the sheer volume and pressure of the artillery, the gunner “had to remember to keep their mouths open to equalize the pressure on their ears.” That’s an incredible thing to think about – something so grand and booming that you have to physically change your behavior around it. This is a great read for anyone interested in the fall of the Third Reich.

berlin

The third book on my list is a Cold War book and a memoir. Spymaster by Oleg Kalugin is an account of a KGB general and his experience fighting the secret war against the West, most notably the United States. His story interested me because 1) I had never before read anything like it – memoir or not – and 2) it provides a very unique window into a world that was for so long very secretive and foggy. Getting an inside perspective of the KGB and its views of capitalism, America, and our ideology was very enlightening.

spy

The fourth book on today’s list is Ten Fighter Boys, which is a compilation of wartime accounts by fighter pilots in the Royal Air Force. These pilots flew many missions and sorties, all for the protection of Britain and the prolonging of the conflict. One of them decided it would be a good idea for the boys to write down their accounts of these sorties right after they land, so it’s fresh in their memories. With this being the case, I got a really accurate and clear look into what pilots faced in their position. In fact, this book helped give inspiration when I wrote Unguarded, my second book and a story about a London boy who is affected by the Blitz. It was a very interesting and unique look into something so familiar yet something I knew almost nothing about.

fighter

The final book on my list today is The Napoleonic Wars by Gunther Rothenberg. This was another book I read in college, for an upper level history class. I thoroughly enjoyed it as there were great descriptions of battles, tactics, and behind-the-scenes politics surrounding Napoleon. A good deal of clear illustrations accompanied the text, which really brought the account of Napoleon’s victories and final defeat to life. Before this, I was never really interested in Napoleonic history, but this read changed me. It’s actually inspired me to (somewhat) consider using Napoleon as part of my master’s dissertation research down the road.

napoleon

Well, that does it for this list of favorite books. I hope you enjoyed it! Like I said before, if you’ve read any of these I’d love to connect and talk about them with you. And if you haven’t, then hopefully I’ve introduced you to a new read that you might pick up and enjoy.

In next week’s post, I’ll resume talking about my writing life and how things are going on the home front. Have a wonderful week, and good luck in your quest to accomplish whatever goals you’ve set for yourself.

Until next time,

-Eli