Category: Blog Hop

Book Spotlight - Tutankhamen Speaks by Cheryl Carpinello

3/15/2016

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BOOK INFORMATION

TITLE: Tutankhamen Speaks SERIES: The Quest Books Companion to Sons of the Sphinx AUTHOR: Cheryl Carpinello GENRE: Historical Fiction Ancient Civilizations PUBLICATION DATE: Jan. 2014 LENGTH: 80 pages PUBLISHER: Beyond Today Educator COVER ARTIST: Rita Toews

BOOK SYNOPSIS

2014 EVVY Merit Award for Historical Fiction from CIPA (Colorado Independent Publishers Assoc.)

Long ago the old texts of ancient Egypt alluded to scrolls in which King Tut spoke to the people from beyond the tomb. Many archeologists put this down to an incorrect translation of the ancient Egyptian texts. Others swore to the accuracy of the translation. None of that mattered because the scrolls in question could not be found. Scholars labeled it a hoax, something that never existed. It was ludicrous to imagine someone speaking from the grave. They were wrong on both accounts.

BUY & TBR LINKS

AMAZON KINDLE US - AMAZON KINDLE CA - AMAZON KINDLE UK AMAZON PAPERBACK - BARNES & NOBLES BARNES & NOBLES PAPERBACK - SMASHWORDS ITUNES - GOODREADS - SHELFARI

EXCERPT

From his childhood:

My Grandmother

My nursemaid was Maya, but it was my Grandmother Tiye that I remember the most. She doted on me when she visited and showered me with motherly love. She appointed herself and her brother Ay as my protectors, but Grandmother was away a lot. After my father became Pharaoh, she continued to oversee the military as she did for my grandfather Amenhotep III. When I was small, she cut off a lock of her reddish-gold hair and concealed it inside of four small nesting sarcophagus coffins.

"Tutankhaten," she said. "In the innermost sarcophagus I have placed a lock of my hair which rests underneath a solid gold statue of you. Keep the coffins safe and hidden in your room. They will protect you when I am unable to."

I thanked her and prized such a gift, not only for protection, but because my grandmother's gift was wonderfully made. The outer sarcophagus was made of wood; the second of plaster covered with gold leaf; the third of wood which contained the solid gold statue of myself; the fourth again of plaster covered with gold leaf and containing my grandmother's gift.

AUTHOR BIO

I am a retired high school English teacher. A devourer of books growing up, my profession introduced me to writings and authors from times long past. Through my studies and teaching, I fell in love with the Ancient and Medieval Worlds. Now, I hope to inspire young readers and those young-at-heart to read more through my Quest Books set in these worlds.

Also please visit my other sites: Carpinello's Writing Pages where I interview Childrens/Tween/MG/YA authors; and The Quest Books where I've teamed up with Fiona Ingram from South Africa and Wendy Leighton-Porter of Abu Dhabi to enable readers to find our Ancient and Medieval quest books in one place.

AUTHOR FOLLOW LINKS

AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE - WEBSITE 1 - WEBSITE 2 FACEBOOK - BLOG - TWITTER GOOGLE+ - PINTEREST - GOODREADS SHELFARI - FREADO

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The Legend of Ghost Dog Island, Re-Released, by Rita Monette

9/3/2015

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Behind every legend lies the truth…

About The Legend of Ghost Dog Island:

Moving is nothing new for ten-year-old Nikki Landry. Her father relocates their raggedy old houseboat several times a year in search of better crabbing spots. However, their latest move has brought her to a mysterious bayou where she feels something is watching her from a nearby island.

Nikki learns of a local legend about something sinister inhabiting those swamps, stealing the souls of dogs...which would explain the strange howling sounds. Papa reassures her there’s nothing on the island but gators and snakes. He should know. He’s spent his whole life trapping and fishing those bayous and swamps…But maybe there’s something Papa doesn’t know.

Nikki and her new friends begin to uncover strange happenings from years ago that may have started the old legend…and town folks aren’t talking.

Then her beloved beagle goes missing.

Join Nikki as she seeks to discover the real truth behind the legend of Ghost Dog Island…before it’s too late.

Book Details:

Title: The Legend of Ghost Dog Island

Author Name: Rita Monette

Genre(s): Middle Grade, Adventure, Mystery

Tags: Adventure, mystery, middle grade, louisiana, bayou, dogs

Length: Approx. 204 pages

E-book: 978-1-987976-00-7
Paperback: 978-0-9947490-9-3

Re-Release Date: September 1, 2015

Publisher: Mirror World Publishing

Read an Excerpt:

“I’m going to hate Morgan City,” I complained to my dog Snooper, “no matter what Papa says.”

My beagle laid his head on my lap and gazed up at me with his watery eyes. He pretty much agreed with me on everything.

I sat on the deck of our old flat-bottomed houseboat as it glided through the winding bayous. Papa’s fishing boat, filled with baskets of line and crab crates, trailed behind on its rope. We were leaving Pierre Part…Lydia…far behind. I rolled the legs of my overalls up and dangled my feet over the edge.

“Nicole Landry, keep your feet out of that filthy water,” Mama hollered from the doorway of the small living area of our floating home. She wiped her hands on her stained apron, then fixed the comb that held her long dark hair in a pile on top of her head. Mama was born and raised in New Orleans, but left the big city for a life in the bayous with Papa. She never looked back. At least that’s what she always told folks.

“They ain’t in the water, Mama.” I held my legs up so she could see they were dry.

She opened the patched screened door and shooed a fly out, before closing it and going back inside.

I twirled the end of my long black braid. Moving to a new place always gave me a lump in my throat as big as a bullfrog. But I wasn’t going to cry this time. I was ten years old after all.

I’d lived in that same house since the day I was born—as Mama always tells it, "the coldest morn’ of 1946." But I couldn’t rightly recall how many times it got tied up to a new dock. Mama liked to say Papa never let the grass grow under his feet. But I could hardly think of a time when his rubber boots ever touched grass.

Papa grew up in Morgan City, and he said folks there were mighty friendly. But it seemed to me, most city dwellers weren’t too welcoming to my kind, being from the wrong side of the levee and all. And the city was where I’d have to go to school.

“And, as for making friends with any kids there, no way.” I shook my finger in Snoop’s face. “Just to up and leave ’em behind anyway.”

He managed a tiny whimper, as if I was fussing at him.

I thought about Lydia standing on the Belle River Bridge waving goodbye. My eyes burned, and I squeezed ’em shut. I felt in my pocket for her note. I’d read it at least a hundred times since she’d handed it to me, right before I went stomping down the ladder from her tree house. She’d scribbled down her post office box address and "write me," then signed her name with the little heart over the i like she always did.

“Hmph!” I told Snooper. “She’s crazy if she thinks I’m gonna write her after what she did.”

Lydia Hebert was my best friend in the whole world…until yesterday. It was a lot easier to leave while I was still mad at her. But now it felt like an empty hole inside me.
Amazon Link:

http://amzn.to/1VbZ7jq

Mirror World Publishing Links:

eBook http://mirror-world-publishing.myshopify.com/collections/history/products/the-legend-of-ghost-dog-island-ebook

Paperback http://mirror-world-publishing.myshopify.com/collections/history/products/the-legend-of-ghost-dog-island-paperback

Meet the Author:

Rita Monette was born and raised in Southwest Louisiana. She loves to write stories set in the beautiful, yet mysterious, bayous and swamps of her home state.

Her middle grade series, The Nikki Landry Swamp Legends, is based on tales told by her father—who made his living in those bayous—of reasons to stay out of the swamp.

She currently lives with her husband, four lap dogs, and one lap cat, in the mountains of Tennessee. Besides writing and illustrating, she loves watching the many birds that make their habitat on the Cumberland Plateau, working in the garden, and frequenting waterfalls.

Follow the Tour:

http://saphsbookblog.blogspot.com/2015/08/blog-tour-schedule-legend-of-ghost-dog.html

4 Comments

Liebster Award 2015

7/12/2015

1 Comment

So, my amazing friend Krysten nominated me for a Liebster Award. I don't even really know what that is, although I have participated before. Since I haven't been real chatty on my blog lately, I figured it was time to change that up. Thanks, Krysten! Make sure you visit her blog at www.krystenlindsay.com/blog/. Tell her MPerks and I sent ya. ;-)

Rules:
1. Thank the nominator
2. Display award in post
3. Nominate other bloggers
4. Answer the 10 questions that your nominator has given you

Answers to Krysten's questions:

1. What was the reason for starting your blog?

I started my blog to talk about my books and writing--pretty much everything my family and friends were sick of hearing about on my personal blog. I like to talk about what my writer friends have up their sleeves, too (besides their arms, of course).

2. What was the last thing you ate?

Some leftover movie theater popcorn. We saw "Minions" yesterday, and free popcorn refills. Life is good.

3. Have you read any books lately?

So lucky to have so many writer friends! I'm never at a loss when it comes to reading material. Currently reading FABLED by Vanessa Eccles. I finished PAPER TOWNS by John Green before that. Now I'm working on critique partner manuscripts for the bestest CPs ever! Muah!

4. What is your current favorite trend?

This is a surprisingly difficult question. I'm going to go with yoga pants. Not even a trend... More like a lifestyle.

5. If you could be any Disney character who would you be and why?

Probably Jessie from Toy Story because BULLSEYE.

6. What do you think is the hardest part about living in 2015?

Not living in the 90s? Seriously, let's bring that decade back.

7. If you had to pick only one music artist to listen to for the rest of your life, who would it be?

Florence + the Machine. I heart her so much. I had her LUNGS CD in my old minivan for almost two years straight because it wouldn't read another CD if I ejected it. You would think it would get old, but it really didn't. The saddest part is that I don't have the words even remotely memorized even after all that repetition. My brain sucks.

8. What is your food weakness?

Chocolate chip cookies. MAN. Now I want cookies.

9. Are you a night owl or early bird?

Night owl. I love how quiet the house is when everyone else goes to sleep. It's really the only time I almost feel alone in this house.

10. If you had the opportunity to go back and relive one day of your life, what day would you choose?

The day I noticed my horse acting a little weird and brushed it off (because he was weird). A few hours later it was too late to help him get better. This is a bummer way to end these questions, but it's true.

10 Questions for Nominees

1. What was the reason for starting your blog?

2. What was the last thing you ate?

3. Have you read any books lately? If so what have you read?

4. What is your current favorite trend?

5. If you could be any Disney character who would you be and why?

6. What do you think is the hardest part about living in 2015?

7. If you had to pick only one music artist to listen to for the rest of your life, who would it be?

8. What is your food weakness?

9. Are you a night owl or early bird?

10. If you had the opportunity to go back and relive one day of your life, what day would you choose?

Now I'm going to nominate a few peeps:

Karen Mahara
Niki Lenz
Sonia Poynter
Vanessa K. Eccles
Kim Graff

If I didn't tag you and you'd like to participate, DO IT and let me know about it!

1 Comment

Meet My Character

10/11/2014

2 Comments

I was tagged by my friend, author Laura Brown in the Writerly Meme. I'm sure that most of you reading this have no idea what this is about, so here it is: I've been given a list of questions to answer about the main character from my latest novel. Even though it's not my latest novel, I'm going to go ahead and switch gears from my Middle Grade books to my upcoming Young Adult release, IN THE MIDDLE. I'm currently on the third round of edits for this book, and hope to have it out by Christmas.

Tina Fey.... love.

1. What is the name of your character? Is he/she fictional or a historic person?
Lucy (never Lucille!), and she's definitely fictional.

Thanks to TheStyleUnderground.Wattpad.com

2. When and where is the story set?
This is definitely contemporary. Mainly, the story takes place in a small, one stoplight kind of town called Mitte. To the eye, Mitte looks quaint and homey, but something sinister lingers in the shadows.

3. What should we know about him/her?
Lucy lost her parents in an accident, and also struggles with a handful of leftover aches and pains herself. She doesn't have much to call her own, and she doesn't belong anywhere else. Lucy's only in Mitte because her one remaining relative lives there.

4. What is the main conflict? What messes up his/her life?
The main conflict, I'd say, is that Lucy really struggles with the circumstances surrounding her family's accident... and she doesn't know why she's in this awful little town and why people keep disappearing.

I wouldn't say that he messes up her life, necessarily, but her friendship with a guy named Oliver changes a lot of things for Lucy.

5. What is the personal goal of the character?
I've already said as much, but her goal is to figure out how to get out of Mitte.

6. Is there a working title for this novel, and can we read more about it?
Currently, the title is IN THE MIDDLE. I haven't written much about it on my website, but there are a few blog posts smattered here and there. That's all I have to share right now, but stay tuned!

7. When can we expect the book to be published?
Fingers crossed, by December of this year. The story needs a little bit more work, but really the biggest obstacle, now, is designing a book cover. The book is the easy part, but the cover... YIKES!

I don't have anyone to tag for you right now, but I will update this post if I do!

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It's My Turn

8/15/2014

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After a busy week of telling you about just a few of my many writer friends, it's my turn to be the guest! My friend Krysten Lindsay Hager, author of the Middle Grade book TRUE COLORS, has graciously (and awesomely) opened her blog to me and DANIEL.

Click HERE to go to Krysten's blog.

And make sure you come back here in a couple of weeks, when Krysten will visit us and share some of her memories of the most wonderful time of the year--the beginning of school.

Now, unless you have some books to buy or some love to share here, why are you still here? Go stop by Krysten's blog. ;-) Tell her I sent ya!

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Collected Works - August '14 Goals

8/4/2014

4 Comments

When someone says they're a writer, this is what the other person imagines:

This is goldfish water. Replace goldfish water with alcohol, and there you have it.

Quite a bit of this...

I need this sweater. Need. But in grey, please.

And the teensiest amount of this, actually. But not as much as you'd think.

It's a commonly-held belief that all writers are drunk hermits. And, yes, sometimes that stereotype is true. I bet you're wondering about me now, aren't you? Please... Like I have the time or money for any of that.

If I'm being 100%--and, when am I not?--the writers I have the good fortune of knowing are always looking for ways to socialize and promote other writers. I mean, sure, maybe we are reaching out to other introverts, but that's gotta count for something. And sometimes we switch the wine or hard stuff for coffee.

In order to get to know other writers and encourage others to reach our monthly writing goals, I'm joining in a project called "Collected Works".

Each month I will post my goals here and weigh in on how well I did at achieving those goals in the previous month. Although I technically didn't participate in Collected Works in July 2014, I DID set a goal.

July 2014 Goals

Bring DANIEL THE DRAW-ER 2 to 14k words. COMPLETED. DANIEL 2 CURRENTLY STANDS AT 23,764 WORDS. OOPS.
First round of editing for DANIEL THE DRAW-ER 2. NOT COMPLETED, STILL WRITING FIRST DRAFT.

August 2014 Goals

Finish first draft of DANIEL THE DRAW-ER 2.
Edit half of DANIEL THE DRAW-ER 2.
Complete and submit flash fiction for anthology.

There you have it, my goals for this month. I have a few more, but I'm going to start with these for now. Feel free to cheer me on in the comments section of this post, or check in on me via Twitter or Facebook. While you're at it, drop by Kathryn, Justin, and Marisa's blogs to cheer them on, too.

If you'd like to join in, please click the "Link Now!" button below and add yourself in there!

LINK NOW!

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Children's Book Week Giveaway Winners Announced!

5/19/2014

2 Comments

So, you know how I promised an autographed paperback of Daniel the Draw-er to one lucky winner? I lied. Yup. I'm a liar. Normally, that's not something to be happy about, but today I'm thrilled about it. Want to know why?

Because I decided to give away THREE autographed copies. There are three winners instead of one!

Drumroll, please... Your winners are:

Karen Puleski
Esperanza Garcia Gailliard
Angela Burkhead

No need to thank the Academy, your mama, or even me. I just hope you enjoy Daniel's story as much as I enjoyed writing it! Please tell your friends all about the most amazing book you read, and all about little ol' me. And if you feel so inclined, I'm always excited for a good review up on Amazon, GoodReads, your blog, a highway billboard, whatever. I'm not picky!

Thanks, everyone, for participating! We'll do it again soon!

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Children's Book Week Blog Hop 2014 + Giveaway!

5/11/2014

10 Comments

I didn't know there was a Children's Book Week, but, whaddya know, there is. I also didn't know I was going to write and publish a children's book just in time for Children's Book Week. My life is full of lots of surprises lately, I guess. And here I thought nothing exciting ever happened to me! ;-)

To celebrate Children's Book Week, March 12-18, I'm giving away an autographed paperback copy of my children's book, "Daniel the Draw-er". Check out how you can enter to win by scrolling down to my Rafflecopter giveaway below all of this wordy goodness. Please note that my giveaway is open to U. S. residents only.

I'm only one of a bunch of other authors and KidLit enthusiasts participating in something called "The Children's Book Week Giveaway Hop 2014. Be sure to visit the blog hop hosts, Mother Daughter Book Reviews and Youth Literature Reviews and scroll to the bottom of this blog post for links to other awesome giveaways. Tell 'em S. J. sent ya!

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Be sure to pop in and visit more lovely peeps involved in this year's Children's Book Week Blog Hop, listed below!

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Book Spotlight - Tutankhamen Speaks by Cheryl Carpinello

BOOK INFORMATION

BOOK SYNOPSIS

BUY & TBR LINKS

EXCERPT

AUTHOR BIO

AUTHOR FOLLOW LINKS

The Legend of Ghost Dog Island, Re-Released, by Rita Monette

Liebster Award 2015

Meet My Character

It's My Turn

Collected Works - August '14 Goals

Children's Book Week Giveaway Winners Announced!

Children's Book Week Blog Hop 2014 + Giveaway!

S. J.

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