The Mother Bumblebee

A story by Karlissa J.

The mother bumblebee checked on her egg for what had to be the hundredth time.

It made her nervous, the realization that she was now a mother. As she looked down at the oval egg, sitting within the waxy, spherical cell she’d created just for it, her young one seemed impossibly small.

I should go gather some nectar, the mother bumblebee thought. That way, I’ll have plenty of food for me and my child.

The bumblebee went about her bumblebee business, visiting flowers and collecting nectar, which she’d bring back and store in a nectar cell. She ate, she made new cells, she slept, and she awoke to do it again. Soon, the little egg was not alone: she had more eggs, and stressed over each one, building them safe little cells to sleep in. And as often as she could, she’d check on every single egg.

Then, one day, her very first egg wasn’t an egg anymore. The mother bumblebee peered down into the cell at her little baby. She cocked her head and frowned.

It’s my baby, she thought – she knew that deep down. But… it looks so… odd.

For a baby bumblebee doesn’t look like a tiny version of its mother. A baby bumblebee is a little wormy grub, legless and chubby and pale.

After staring at her baby a long time, the mother bumblebee decided: It’s probably hungry. So she took a dollop of nectar and lowered it down into the cell, towards the little worm.

The little worm slurped up the nectar hungrily.

Good, the mother bumblebee thought. At least it’s eating. It’ll grow bigger and stronger, and someday… someday, it’ll actually look like a bumblebee.

The little baby bumblebee ate very well indeed, as did each of the other bumblebees as they hatched. That first baby grew the fastest, becoming bigger and chubbier.

Then one day, the mother bumblebee went to feed her very first baby, and found a new surprise. It no longer looks like a little worm! But it didn’t look quite like a bumblebee either. It’s a pupa, she realized. Her little worm was transforming into an adult. She sealed off the cell so it could sleep in peace.

She stressed over her child, wondering how it was doing. As her other children became pupae she sealed them off too, hoping and praying they’d continue to grow.

Then one day, she came across her firstborn chewing its way out of the cell.

The mother bumblebee watched in expectation. I finally get to meet my child!

Her child emerged: a daughter, with her mother’s eyes, and her mother’s beauty.

At last! The mother bumblebee could barely contain her joy. Though I saw only an egg, and then a little worm, this whole time, she was always my lovely daughter!

Fantasy Books Part 2

Written by Karlissa J.

Searching for a new fantasy book to read? For this week of highlighting fantasy titles, I’m going to recommend some of the classics! They’ve been published multiple times, with a variety of cover designs, so I came up with my own images for each - a little taste of what I found memorable in these stories!

Phantastes

By George MacDonald. An enchanted journey - through nature and village and palace - filled with delights and dangers, romance and tragedy, and above all, self-discovery. Beautiful, contemplative; I can see how this inspired future authors like C. S. Lewis. A journey to take more slowly.

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass

By Lewis Carroll. Rich with word plays, puns, and banter, there's more to these books than what exists in the popular imagination. I've never seen a retelling that features Alice's older sister; yet I'd argue the meaning and purpose of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland hinges on her. Alice herself is fun and quirky, and the short books are easy to read.

Out of the Silent Planet

By C.S. Lewis. The first book in his Cosmic Trilogy.

I have to admit, this is my kind of story! Exploring an enchanting world, interacting with non-human creatures, and discovering a new language and culture! Appropriately (or perhaps conveniently), the main character is a philogist (someone who studies languages); this provides an excuse for the language barrier to be rather smoothly crossed, and an excuse for Lewis to fixate on unique words and concepts.

Perhaps the lesser fame of this work is, in part, due to the fact that it's not for kids: unlike Narnia, it contains a spattering of mature content, nudity, and mild swearing; nothing obscene, but some Christian readers may find it unexpected.

Perelandra

By C.S. Lewis. The second book in his Cosmic Trilogy.

Perelandra contains the adventure and beautiful worldbuilding of Out of the Silent Planet, but this time, it takes a back seat to a myriad of philosophical musings: about the nature of temptation, the definition of gender, the Theory of Evolution, and even why you shouldn't fear bugs. There are a few bizarre plot choices, but C.S. Lewis' imagination and thoughtfulness shine through.

Till We Have Faces

By C.S. Lewis. It's hard to argue with those who call this C.S. Lewis' greatest novel. It feels like an ancient tale brought to life by someone who understood ancient literature and culture; and it contains Lewis' classical mix of masterful storytelling and spiritual musing. Orual is a compelling and complex protagonist. This is a mature story, not designed for a family audience.

Fantasy Books Part 1

Written by Karlissa J.

Searching for a new fantasy book to read? I’ve been reading a lot lately as I research for my upcoming book Christian Fantasy 101, mainly fantasy from Christian authors, but also a few secular works. So I’ve decided to do a series of posts highlighting a variety of fantasy books. Take a look, and you may discover your next reading adventure!

Written by Carrie Anne Noble, The Mermaid’s Sister follows young Clara as she wrestles with the reality that her sister, Maren, is transforming into a mermaid and will soon leave their family to live in the sea. On top of that, getting to the ocean will be no easy feat, and the more Maren transforms, the more desperately she needs the sea to survive.

The story is told in first person, allowing us a deeper glimpse into Clara's emotions as she wrestles with the ever-approaching departure of her sister. There's a romantic angle carried throughout the book, which seemed a little overdone to me, but many readers will probably enjoy that aspect. There are some dark moments and innuendos, meaning the book may not be ideal for children; however, nothing truly gritty or gory. The ending is sweet, and overall, I found the book to be a satisfying read.

The popular fantasy series Warriors follows the lives of wild and feral cats as they defend their borders, hunt for food, build families, and learn loyalty and honour. Written by a team of authors that go by the name Erin Hunter.

The Warriors authors have created an engaging world that feels both perfectly cat-based and very human. Characters meow, flick their tail, hiss, purr, and lick themselves. They also struggle with questions of right and wrong, desire friendship, fall in love, and seek spiritual guidance.

On that note: the cats are ancestor worshippers, and as the series progresses, their world’s spiritual laws are further revealed. I’ve found no mention of God (or gods). Fellow Christians may find this off-putting, but I still believe there are a lot of positives in this series.

This review is for the first three books in the series Tales of Goldstone Wood: Heartless, Veiled Rose, and Moonblood. The author is Anne Elizabeth Stengl.

Princess Una and her brother grow up next to the mysterious Goldstone Wood, daring each other to get as close as possible but never brave enough to enter. They seem a to be a typical girl and boy living in a typical kingdom… unaware of the enchantments and dangers that fill their world.

This series is beautifully written, with a well-developed and magical world. The story follows the journeys of multiple characters, each with their own motivations and personality. The second and third books, Veiled Rose and Moonblood, take place during and build upon the first book, Heartless, taking side characters and turning them into compelling protagonists.

I'm reviewing the first three books of The Sword of the Dragon: The Swords of the Six, Offspring, and Key of Living Fire. The author is Scott Appleton.

A terrible black dragon fights against a prince and his army. Unexpectedly, the prince is betrayed by all but one of his trusted warriors: he and his loyal friend are murdered. The white dragon, an ally to the prince, arrives too late to save him. Years later, the black dragon has since been imprisoned, but the white dragon knows the traitorous warriors must be brought to justice.

Appleton presents us with a fascinating world, described skillfully and vividly - tainted by great violence but overcome by even greater heroes. The core characters are well-crafted and deep, each with their own desires and emotions to drive them. And I enjoyed the inclusion of creatures invented by the author.

Of course, I have to include Tales of the Diversity!

Taking place on an island-covered world filled with diverse races and cultures, the story follows Captain Ctzo in his quest to compile a multi-racial crew, fight pirates, and discover new lands.

You can learn more about my books by clicking here!

Book Previews

Written by Karlissa J

Did you know I posted previews of my first four books to my blog? It was a long time ago, so I thought I’d repost the links here!

Click on each of the books to read the first few pages!

Books on Bats

Written by Karlissa J

If you’re interested in learning more about the stars of my first book, Kingdom of Bats, here are a few books I’ve found to be worthwhile reads!

“The Secret Lives of Bats” by Merlin Tuttle (2015)

This biography/bat-book was written by Merlin Tuttle, a leader in bat photography (including for the National Geographic) and conservation. Inside are stories of charming bats – friendly and intelligent – for the animal lover. For those who like a little thrill, there are retellings of potentially dangerous and deadly troubles the author has found (or often enough, put) himself in, which vary between quite humorous and sobering. And there is lots about the people – from researchers to hunters, bat haters to bat fans, smugglers to monks – whom Tuttle has encountered in his life’s work.

“Bats of the World” by Gary L. Graham, Ph. D. (2002)

This fun little guide goes through some basics about bats , before diving into species accounts covering all 20 families of bats: everything from little brown bats (and Myotis in general) to smoky bats. It is nicely pocket-sized, so can be read on the go!

“Stokes Beginner’s Guide to Bats” by Kim Williams, Rob Mies, and Donald and Lillian Stokes (2002)

This field guide features all 45 species of Canadian and American bats. What I like most is that for each species there is a description for identifying them in flight – handy, since most people see bats flying far more often than roosting, and it can be hard to know what you’re looking at when it’s in motion.

“Bats” by Phil Richardson (2011)

I personally think this book is a must-have for those wanting to go deeper into the world of bats, as it goes more in-depth into bat biology than the other books I’ve mentioned, in addition to covering much of the world’s diversity of bats. My highlights include a visual listing of the 20 families, a map showing how many species live in different countries around the world, and the myriad of quality photos.

“Bats: An Illustrated Guide to All Species” by Marianne Taylor and (editor) Merlin Tuttle - published in 2019

Following a thorough introduction section - outlining bat biology and ecology - comes an extensive collection of species profiles. Not every bat species receives a profile - there are well over 1,000 species - but every species (as recognized at the time of this book) that doesn’t get a profile is still covered in a text section about genera of bats. A book for the devoted bat fan!

Why we should celebrate and share things we like

Written by Jason K

This is not an opinion that I held less than a year ago.  I’m more of a private person and normally hesitant to share my opinions on media.  But then something happened that changed my perspective.

 I do enjoy movies, shows, and books.  But I don’t watch or read just anything.  I typically need some reason to put in the time or money.  And it occurred to me that years ago my wife and I watched movies in the local cinema relatively often, but we haven’t recently.  Part of that was due to COVID restriction, but it could be mostly attributed to a lack of movies that grabbed my (or Karlissa’s) interest.

Then… Puss in Boots: The Last Wish came out.  While it should be noted that I’m decidedly not a fan of the first Puss in Boots movie nor the Shrek franchise in general, there was something about the trailer that grabbed my attention.  I managed to convince Karlissa to come with me to watch it in theatres (not an easy feat, as she was less-enamoured).

By the end of the movie, I was pumped!  It had been a long time since I came across anything new that could get me so excited.

Afterwards, I immediately started making plans to take my brothers and my parents to see it too.  All told, I saw it three times in cinemas.  But it didn’t stop there, as this marked the first movie I actively encouraged my co-workers at my day job to see.  I was both sharing the movie and celebrating the movie.

Now why do I think that we should both celebrate and share things we like?  Because of the internet!

No, seriously.  The internet has made it so that we all have access to so much.  I would hazard to guess that for most of us, unless it’s advertised to us, most things just pass us by without even registering on our radar.

Long story short, if you come across a book that you really like, odds are that most of the people you know don’t even know it exists.  It can be truly invigorating to be able to share experiences, and books are that.  But you probably won’t be able to do so unless you’ve made others aware that it exists.

Welcome to Book-Bat

Hi everyone: this is Karlissa J!

We’ve been hard at work rebranding the website from Karlissa J to Book-Bat. The goal is to add more opportunities for creative exploration and co-creation.

As part of this process, I’ll be going through all my past blog posts (over 130 of them!), reposting, editing, or deleting them as needed. Future blog posts will focus around book reviews, fantasy musings, my authoring and librarian updates, and the like - though I do have some design ideas that may pop up every now and then!

We also have an all-new podcast in the works! We sent out a sample podcast episode to a few testers for feedback, and appreciated their insight and excitement. The Book-Bat podcast should be up and running soon!