Meet Kadee Carder.

Fierce yet sparkly, I rally seekers to thrive in their stories. The goal is magic, the medium is ink, and the fuel is coffee. And sometimes pizza. I teach English on the university level when I’m not dancing around the living room with my family, lifting heavy at the gym, traveling the planet, or binging superhero shows.

INSURRECTION, INCOMPLETE, INDELIBLE, HERE BE DRAGONS, and non-fiction inspirational IGNITE roll out perilous motives, twisty plots, and daring protagonists. Grab some real estate and your copy of my latest adventure, and follow along on KadeeCarder.com.

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The Guest Post.

Fiction shows us how to handle our non-fiction. We enjoy these characters’ stories, see their pain, feel their journey, and tremble as their spirits quake. We get invited into their space and see the world with its conflicts, heartache, and power. Fiction’s miraculous. Fiction offers a gift of escape, of courage, of grit, of shuddering through temptation with the hero. Are you facing some serious shadows? Are you hearing the grinding of bones in the distance? Just like the heroes in our favorite stories, every person meets a point of deciding who to be and what to do.

Where are the heroes? A friend of mine recently said she wondered where the heroes were. The current trend for stories is that they often feature a strong heroine—and while I am all about a strong heroine, and inspiring girls to believe in themselves—I also believe we need to encourage everyone to protect, to serve, to lead humbly, to explore, to create, and to forget stereotypes. The time has arrived for all of us to rise up as heroes to wrestle the shadows.

No matter who you are: Be inspired. Be fearless. Be wise. Be the hero.

Temptation leads us down paths where we consider retreating or cheating, or complaining or blaming. Well let me ask you, can fiction teach us to face the shadows? Can fiction show us the glory in the fight for life? One thing I love about Young Adult fiction is the spark of fresh new life and spunk that a young adult will bring to a situation. They aren’t all tired out, burned out, and bitter from the journey. They’re creative, innovative, and packed with emotion. Use those tools, readers. If you feel like you have lost some of that spice for life, take a look at a YA novel and turn your world upside down.

And when in doubt, when you’re on the line and the crowd has drawn back in fear, be the H.E.R.O. — implement a code of Honor, Engagement, Resilience, Ownership.

Honor: The hero serves a greater purpose than self. Move forward in integrity, service, and in honor of others and self. In a quick check, the hero can move from defeat into progress by checking the status of honor. Speak as an honorable person. Treat others with kindness. Honor employs grace and assistance over shame and offense.

Engagement: Engage the situation when intimidation strikes. Forward action initiates confidence. Remember the laws of motion; an object in motion stays in motion. The human brain can perform at high rates of speed, and the more accustomed to movement, the more the brain uses that energy to synthesize solutions. Choices can happen to the hero, or the hero creates the choice.

Resilience: Resilience keeps the hero in the game. Keeping a mindset of overcoming obstacles and hanging in there serves the hero. The abundance of options for action, the abundance of attempts to try again, keep the hero on track when the murky villains have inundated the land. When the protagonist learns how to better navigate obstacles and sees them as the path toward being the hero, then that’s the moment the ordinary human becomes the indelible survivor. Heroes forge ahead, resilient, regardless of the outcome.

Ownership: Ordinary characters become heroes as they recognize their powers, skills, strengths, and weaknesses. The hero plotline demonstrates that every protagonist needs an antagonist; the antagonists teach the heroes who they can be. So maybe it’s best somebody trips you up. In fact, show gratitude for the people who teach you the hardest lessons, for they allow you to become the hero. Own your abilities, improvements, and passions. They make you a unique hero in your ultimate story.

Those lessons we learn from YA novels, from hero stories, the charging ahead, the hope, the moments of passion and thirst and adventure, are what help build the real-life heroes. May your books remind you that you are more than the numbers trying to define you. You are more than second chances. You are more than you imagine. Your life, love, and legacy consist of so much more than one moment where somebody tries to define you.

Every little moment accrues into this wild and wonderful storyline you’ve been entrusted with. What will you do with your moments? Who will you engage? Encourage? Inspire? Who will you be when the door slams in your face? What are you when the door opens again? Pick your plotline. Be the hero.

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Fierce yet sparkly, I rally seekers to thrive in their stories. The goal is magic, the medium is ink, and the fuel is coffee. And sometimes pizza. I teach English on the university level when I’m not dancing around the living room with my family, lifting heavy at the gym, traveling the planet, or binging superhero shows.

INSURRECTION, INCOMPLETE, INDELIBLE, HERE BE DRAGONS, and non-fiction inspirational IGNITE roll out perilous motives, twisty plots, and daring protagonists. Grab some real estate and your copy of my latest adventure. Let’s connect on social media!