Category: Facebook

A Little Thunderclap help for DANIEL THE CAMP-ER

2/18/2015

I know I've been really quiet about it. Well, in fact, completely silent about it... BUT... The official launch date for DANIEL THE CAMP-ER is coming up soon. Like 11ish days soon. I owe you guys a blog post about the process, but I can't even think about it right now. Be patient, my peeps. Once the synapses in my brain recover from last weekend's big editing/formatting push, I'll give you more details.

In the meantime, I could reeeeeeally use your help.

Many of you probably have seen this already on my Twitter or Facebook, but for those of you who haven't, let me fill you in. I'm trying to gather support for a Thunderclap campaign to promote DANIEL THE CAMP-ER's release. If you're not familiar with Thunderclap, basically you can allow a single post on Facebook, Twitter, or Tumblr (or all three) for any campaign that interests you. When a campaign meets the goal of 100 supporters within the set amount of time, that campaign is successful and those posts will go through. If a campaign fails to meet the goal of 100 supporters, nothing happens.

With 100 supporters, the message in the widget below (see the yellow box with the Polaroid picture in it?) will potentially reach 150k people. As an indie author, there aren't many opportunities for that kind of exposure unless you're forking over the dough or you have an amazing platform (and I do not, at the moment).

At the time of this post, I have 73 supporters and need 27 more before March 2, 2015. Would you consider clicking on a few buttons to show your support? It would mean the world to me.
You can go to my campaign by clicking the banner below or, if that's not showing up for you, following the link at the bottom of this post. Thank you so, so, so much.

https://www.thunderclap.it/projects/22479-bring-daniel-to-a-kid-near-you

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In the Rearview with Maria Ann Green

9/20/2014

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Switching directions today to talk about my friend Maria Ann Green's New Adult/Young Adult book, IN THE REARVIEW. Most of the books I've featured on my blog so far have been pretty lighthearted, or intended for younger readers. IN THE REARVIEW dives deep into a serious topic few even dare to discuss--cutting--and the journey the main character, Meagan, faces in order to heal her scars. So much pain and power in one book!

Read on to learn more about Maria's haunting novel.

Heartbreak, Healing, Hope.

When Meagan’s secret is found out, and she realizes there is no way to outrun her habit of cutting, she tries to work through it, and her depression, before she cuts too deep, making a mistake that can never be undone.

Meagan's problems aren't like every other adolescent's no matter how much she wishes they could be. Hers are worse. They've pulled her down into the depths of a depression that is anything but normal. She begins her pattern of self-harm as her depression threatens to drown her. She starts with one cut that leads to the next, and the next. After starting, it's apparent that there's no stopping, and Meagan spirals into a dark and cruel world she doesn't understand. Meagan cuts to feel better, but that comfort doesn't last long enough, and soon life is worse than it ever was before.

While learning to quit cutting Meagan faces life-altering obstacles and grows up in the process. IN THE REARVIEW is a story of pain, loss, confusion, and hope told through Meagan’s poems, journal entries, and a splash of narrative.

Excerpt

Meagan stared down at her desk. Her focus moved beyond the assignment in front of her without actually seeing what she was looking toward. There were lines, spaces of white, and blobs of writing, but nothing seemed important enough to consider closely. Truthfully she didn’t care.

She didn’t feel the need to focus.

Her gaze slowly moved up to the front of the classroom, and again she fixated on a point past what was before her. She did not concentrate on the teacher. There was a face, a moving mouth, but she didn’t connect it with the sounds struggling slowly, like sticky sludge past her ears. She didn’t hear the instructions being uttered; each word fell on deaf ears as she mindlessly doodled.

Twisting her hair around her finger, she thought about how nice it would be to be at home, in bed, with the curtains closed instead of in this loud and hyper school. It seemed her classmates had recently started caring too much about what was going on around them. There was too much drama, too much noise, too much concern jumping all around her. It was all so taxing.

It was such a bother.

Meagan, in contrast, was usually in a world of her own. Her head felt fuzzy most of the time, and unless she used a lot of energy, most conversations sounded muffled, like there was cotton in her ears. She didn’t feel the need to engage anymore. Her desire to try so hard just to do what had once come easily had dwindled to nothing. At first she’d tried, but not now. Not anymore. It had become too difficult to care.

And that was her biggest problem. Meagan didn’t care much about any of these changes. She was fine walking through school without any effort. Her feet felt a little heavier as each day passed, and her head felt a little more under pressure of a crushing fog that numbed her, but she pushed through it all. She didn’t mind neglecting what used to bring her excitement. In fact, it was just easier not to give a crap.

Everything was distinctly lackluster these days.

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About Maria

Maria Green currently lives in Minnesota, despite its bitter winters, with her husband. She graduated with a degree in Psychology and a minor in English. When she isn’t writing, Maria loves to read with a cup of strong coffee or a glass of sweet wine, craft, and spend time with her family. This is her first published novel.

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Writing Contests: A Writer's Dream Or a Writer's Nightmare?

9/9/2014

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Today we're taking a break from chattering about books and giveaways and silly characters (OH MY!) to talk nerdy to the writers in the house--specifically those looking for agent representation (querying authors) or those dragging themselves along the bumpy, winding road toward publication. I've asked my friend Kathleen S. Allen to drop a little knowledge about what she's learned about writing contests, which definitely is not my area of expertise. Thanks, Kathleen, for sharing with us what you've learned along the way.

Writing Contests: A Writer's Dream Or a Writer's Nightmare?

By Kathleen S. Allen-YA author

Welcome, thank you for asking me to post a blog about writing contests. I’m a pro at entering them. It started three years ago when I entered my first ever writing contest, PitchWars, run by Brenda Drake three years ago. I entered a middle grade zombie book and was not chosen, although one of the mentors I subbed to said I was in her top five. Then I entered the same manuscript into Baker’s Dozen and didn’t get chosen. I kept querying and got some requests but no agent. Finally, I had to shelve the manuscript because zombies are a “dead” genre right now. Pun intended.

Next, I entered several more contests, The Writer’s Voice, PitchMadness, Query Kombat, Nightmare on Query Street, PitchMAS, Secret Agent Contests on three different blogs, plus Twitter parties galore like #pitmad and #adpit and #SFFpit. This time I had a historical novel I workshopped quite a bit and did get requests but again, no agent. My next book was a retelling of The Phantom of the Opera and I thought it would garner me an agent for sure. Again, I entered it into contests, Like A Virgin in January of this past year and was chosen. I got three requests but no deal. I finally shelved it too after getting feedback on it. Was I frustrated? Yes. Did I want to quit writing? Yes, but only for a day. Would I enter another contest? NO, NEVER. Except, I did.

One of the biggest, if not the biggest, contests on the Interwebs is Brenda Drake’s PitchWars contest. She’s done it for three years in a row and I’ve entered all three years. The first year I entered the MG zombie book, the second year an urban fantasy about witches and this year a young adult dark contemporary. In this contest you get to work one-on-one with a mentor for several weeks to make your manuscript the best it can be and then submit to agents. Many people get agents from this contest but even if you’re not chosen to have a mentor, most of them will give you feedback on why you weren’t chosen, so that’s a plus. She always has a Twitter pitch party to go along with the contest too and those are always fun to see if an agent favors your pitch. This year, the pitch party is on Sept. 9th and only for those who DIDN’T get into Pitch Wars. #PitMad 8AM-8PM, EDT. In this pitch party, you write your best 140 character pitch, including your stakes for agents/editors to favor. If you see a pitch you like, you retweet it, only agents and editors are supposed to click on “favorite.” And you must change up your pitches because Twitter won’t post the same tweet twice.

Is entering a contest better than querying? No, not necessarily. It’s important to do both. The one positive aspect of entering contests is all the other writers you meet who are just as anxious as you are to get your writing noticed. It helps to find other writers who will beta read your work for you (and you do the same for them) or find your Critique Partner who will read ANYTHING you write and comment on it. Usually you learn what mentors are looking for via the hashtag #PitchWars as they go through their slush piles, what works, what doesn’t work, how to hook them and so on. It’s a treasure trove of information.

There are so many more contests now then when I started entering them. My rule is to enter three with the same manuscript (if it gets chosen) and then retire from contests. It is important to note you MUST HAVE A COMPLETED, POLISHED MANUSCRIPT TO ENTER. You can’t have an unpolished, unedited (must be edited by at least three people, not family members) first draft. So, no NaNoWriMo novels (National Novel Writing Month in November, write a 50.000 word novel in thirty days) or Works in Progress (WIPs).

My latest novel, a YA dark contemporary I’m querying and entering into contests has been in two contests so far. Operation Awesome secret agent contest, it got a partial request from an agent I’m waiting to hear back from, another full request and a partial request. I got a full request from a Twitter pitch party although that agent passed on it.

So, the bottom line is this: enter contests, get feedback, apply the feedback if it feels right, keep querying too (unless the contest forbids it) and keep going. You’ll never achieve your dreams if you quit!

Here’s a list of contests and months they’re going on:

·      PITCHWARS-August, 2014 see Brenda Drake’s blog for more info: www.brenda-drake.com. #PitMad on Sept. 9th, 2014.

·      PITCHPLUS5-August, 2014, run by Adventures in YA Publishing. The contest info is here: http://adventuresinyacontests.blogspot.com

·      NIGHTMARE ON QUERY STREET-October, 2014 see Michelle Hauck’s website: www.michelle4laughs.blogspot.com

·      BAKER’S DOZEN: www.misssnarksfirstvictim.blogspot.com This one has an entry fee of $10.00. Authoress also runs monthly secret agent contests except for June and December that are free and does blog critiques.

·      SUN VS. SNOW-January, 2015, this is another one run by Michelle Hauck at www.michelle4laughs.blogspot.com

·      LIKE A VIRGIN-January, 2015, see this for more info: http://likeavirgin.kristinaperez.com/

·      THE WRITER’S VOICE-Feb./March, 2015, this one is co-hosted by Brenda Drake and others on this blog: www.monibw.blogspot.com

·      QUERY KOMBAT in May, run by www.michelle4laughs.blogspot.com

            Monthly Contests/Ongoing:

·      AN AGENT’S INBOX-run by Krista Van Dolzer, see her blog for more info: www.kristavandolzer.com

·      OPERATION AWESOME-They do monthly secret agent contests. See their blog for more info: www.operationawesome6.blogspot.com

·      ADVENTURES IN YA, run several including a workshop and first lines contest: http://www.adventuresinyapublishing.com/p/contests-workshops.html

·      WRITE ON CON, this is an online conference in August, 2014 but there are agents who swing by and might request pages. http://www.writeoncon.com

And I’m probably missing some but keep an eye on Twitter for upcoming contests. Follow these contest people on Twitter: @brendadrake, @michelle4laughs, @OpAwesome6, @AuthoressAnon, @KristaVanDolzer, @martinaAboone, @FeakySnucker, @RhiannWynnNolet

So, is entering a writing contest a dream or a nightmare? Tell me in the comments your experiences with writing contests.

MY MANTRA

And even though:

Remember:

About Kathleen

Kathleen has published two murder mysteries If It’s Monday, It Must be Murder and If It’s Tuesday, It Must be Trouble, along with a YA contemporary, How To Be Almost Famous in Ten Days with Gypsy Shadow Publishing and two YA fantasy novels,Lore of Fei and War of Fei with Muse It Up Publishing. She has a Master’s in Children’s Literature with an emphasis in creative writing for YA.

Connect with Kathleen

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Books available online and in print
Book trailers available on You Tube

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Middle School Time Warp With Krysten Lindsay Hager

9/8/2014

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In honor of kids everywhere returning to the hallowed halls of learning, or whatever, I've invited my homegirl Krysten Lindsay Hager over to play a game of Truth or Dare. Well, mostly it's a game of Truth, as she's taking us back to her middle school days with her rad answers.

If you haven't met Krysten before, she's the totally tubular author of TRUE COLORS. TRUE COLORS is about middle-schooler Landry and her group of friends, and the totally outrageous things that happen when Landry ends up on a modeling reality t.v. show. Let's just say, it's not pretty! Middle-schoolers and middle-schoolers at heart will relate to (and cringe along with) Landry and her frenemies.

You can find TRUE COLORS on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Kobo, and just about anywhere digital books are sold.

You should totally buy this book. Everyone's doing it, it's no big deal.

Now, for a little Truth or Dare...

Always on time or always late? Oh, I can’t lie. Late. I could have used a Harry Potter invisibility cloak to slip into class unnoticed. In my book, my character Landry always just slips in the door after the bell and that was totally me.

Teacher’s pet, worst nightmare, or fly beneath the radar? Tried to fly under the radar. I can’t say I was a nightmare or anything, but really tried to stay out of the line of vision.

Buy lunch or bring lunch? Bought my lunch. I don’t know if anyone else remembers this from my school, but the cookies always tasted like they weren’t really baked. They ruined chocolate chip cookies for me for years and I never cared for cookie dough ice cream because I didn’t get the appeal of cookie dough. I am pleased to report I never got salmonella and died from those.

Be honest--grafitti on the desk, on the notebook, or both? (Bonus points if also on the bathroom stall door. Bonus points if you don’t tell anyone I’m giving you bonus points for defacing school property.) I went to a strict private school and they would have removed my hands for defacing school property. I did write all over my Trapper Keeper (Mrs. Jon Knight, Mrs. Troy Aikman, Mrs. George Michael.) But in high school, I wrote all on my desk during a math test. We were supposed to do math in our heads, but that just wasn’t going to happen.

Favorite Spirit Week dress-up day? The school colors were blue and gold and the uniform colors were navy and white—I look awful in all of those colors, so really that did nothing for my school spirit. It might have even broken it a little. Landry says she looks like a dead goldfish in her school uniform colors and I second that for myself.

High school mascot? It was a bobcat. In middle school it was a panther. I think a panther could take a bobcat in a fight.

Most embarrassing school memory? I once walked into school with a Velcro roller still stuck in my hair. Not my finest hour.

Worst class ever? Anything with math.

Did you play any sports? If yes, what? Does shopping count? What about lip gloss applying?

Favorite after-school activity? (Bonus points if it involves “After School Special” and you can remember the specific name.) I took dance classes. There may or may not be a video somewhere of me in a and Minnie Mouse costume dancing to “Hey Mickey,” when I was twelve. I was tall and let’s just say I looked older than twelve and the costume looks positively obscene on me. I never thought anyone would see it, but one of the girls in the number went on to be a Rockette or something and they ran that performance of all things on the news because of her. I thought no one would recognize me with my mouse ears, but I got phone calls. I still cringe over that one.

Tell us about your first middle-school boyfriend. (Bonus points if he pegged his pants or had a rat tail.) I think I can accept those bonus points for the pants. He was at least a foot shorter than me and he went to a different school so I felt so cosmopolitan.

Favorite band? The Bangles were my fave in sixth grade and their Everything cover inspired the characters: Landry, Peyton, Devon, and India.

Compare your middle-school hairstyle to an animal. Be creative. (For example, if you sported a mohawk, you could say “skunk” or “porcupine” or something else mohawk-y because that’s all my brain is coming up with right now. Bonus points for a photo of said hairdo.) Probably skunky because there was an unfortunate moment with Sun-In in the 7th grade. However, if you keep up with the Sun-In and the excessive blow drying it will turn dark brown hair from orange to gold to a sickly wheat color.

Krysten then. I love the Glamour Shots pose.

Celebrity crush? Oh wow, how much time do you have? I liked George Michael for years, Jon Knight, Troy Aikman, Grant Hill, Jalen Rose…those are the ones I remember and am willing to own up to.

Fashion must-have? In middle school we were limited to what we could wear, so bracelets were my go-to for my school uniform (particularly friendship bracelets and bangles), but in high school I was obsessed with Versace jeans. In middle school I owned that Esprit purse that every single girl in my zip code had. I think at one point is was illegal not to own it. I didn’t even like it because I thought it was boring and I wrote a short story about that stupid bag.

About Krysten

Krysten now, no Sun-In

Krysten Lindsay Hager is an author and book addict. She is originally from Michigan and has lived in South Dakota, Portugal, and currently resides in Southern Ohio where you can find her reading and writing when she’s not catching up on her favorite shows (like Hart of Dixie, The Goldbergs, Dallas, and Devious Maids.) She’s worked as a journalist and humor writer, and also writes middle grade, YA, and adult fiction. You can find her work in the Patchwork Path anthologies: Friendship Star, and also Grandma's Choice and in several of the Country Comfort Cookbooks as well as many humor essays and news articles. Her debut novel, TRUE COLORS, was released by Astraea Press this summer. You can see what she’s reading and reviewing at the Book Foodies blog

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And don't forget to enter the Rafflecopter giveaway to win a copy of Mindy Mymudes' GEORGE KNOWS or my DANIEL THE DRAW-ER! Only a few more days to share and enter!

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George Knows - A Doggone Great Middle Grade Read + GIVEAWAY!!

9/3/2014

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It's been, what?, a whole week since my last feature about a talking animal? If you're counting my last "Names Changed To Protect the Innocent" blog about Whiskers, then it's been even less than that. I'm a firm believer that one simply cannot get enough talking animals.

Lucky for all of you that I've got another story--GEORGE KNOWS by Mindy Mymudes--about a smart pup who can communicate with his Girlpup, Karly. Even more cool, GEORGE KNOWS just won a Reader's Favorite award for Children's Books for grades 4-6. Pretty awesome!

Keep reading for more about the award-winning GEORGE KNOWS. And when you're done reading about George, don't forget to enter to win a Kindle version of GEORGE KNOWS or my book, DANIEL THE DRAW-ER. Giveaway ends at 12 a.m. on 09/13/14!

Click on this picture for Readers' Favorite's review of George Knows

George Knows

An egotistical magical basset hound named George believes it's his duty to train and protect his 12-year-old Girlpup, a greenwitch named Karly. He and his Girlpup must solve a murder as well as save their park from being developed. George is the perfectly designed familiar for the job.

Excerpt

I don’t understand my Girlpup; the rest of my Pack adores me. Packmom Doreen is always an easy conquest. She saved me when I was a puppy and I fell over my ears, and my legs wouldn’t stay under me. She is the most important member of the Pack—she feeds us.

Just not often enough.

Packdad Brian is very well trained and does whatever Packmom Doreen wants. In the last two years, I’ve become a model of the perfect hunting hound. Karly needs to see me for what I am, and she doesn’t.

Yet.

When I prowl in her mind, I see how she pictures me—a clumsy, stupid, wobbly pup. I shouldn’t have to prove to her I am the best familiar in the world or that I am brilliant. I shouldn’t, but I know I’ll have to.

“George!” she shouts through panting. Why is she running? “Where the heck are you?”

Although Karly’s scent changed after her twelfth birthday from sweetmilkFrootLoops to that fakeflowerchemical that she thinks removes her odor, I know it’s her. Even if I can’t smell her, I can still hear her stumble over the path. Big rocks and trees that scrape the sky get in the way. She needs to get lower to the ground. Now she’s sneezing. If only she’d work with me, her allergies would go bye-bye. Whoever heard of an allergic witch-in-training? We can use green magic. But Karly will first have to trust me.

And she doesn’t.

Yet.

Maybe when she gets older.

She will.

I continue to scrape my claws into the damp ground, searching for more smelltastes and listening for my Girlpup. She’s panting like it’s a hot day. At least she’s catching up. I am satisfied she’s okay, and dig like a badger with my wonderful big paws and claws, the ideal excavation tools. I wish I was digging up the den of a rabbit. I slow to sniff.

No.

There’s no rabbit here.

Something different’s calling me.

What the heck is it?

Dirt and roots pile up behind me, and my rear is now higher than my front as I dig. I scrape against rocks and try to push them away. They aren’t rocks—too long and thin. I wrap my jaws around one and toss it with a headshake out of the hole. I find another and do the same thing, until there is a pile of buff-colored things that look like bleached driftwood.

I heave myself out of the hole and investigate my find. The thick sticks are hairy with fine roots. I pick one up. It’s light for its size, hollow, and about the size of a rawhide bone. It has a round knob on one side and is broken off on the other. I retrieve more pieces from the hole and sit.

Maybe they are old branches.

No.

They don’t smelltaste like old branches.

Hmmm.

Karly finally shows up, huffing and puffing, out of breath. She needs to get out more. I poke my nose into the pile of things I’ve dug out. “George, what are you doing? You aren’t, um, eating those, are you?”

I look at her like she’s crazy. I don’t eat wood.

Anymore.

Karly points to the things and counts them. “So what did you find? There are nine of whatever they are.” She bends down and touches one. “Weird, they look like someone snapped them in half.” My Girlpup takes one of the longer things and rubs off the dirt.

She drops it like it’s a pan just out of the oven. I take a sniff; it’s not hot. There’s something here, though.

Not a good something, either.

“G-G-George, those are bones,” Karly’s voice breaks as she stutters over my name. I take another sniff. Yeah, they could be bones. What’s the problem with that? I lick one. It tastes like dirt. They’ve been here a long time.

Yup.

That’s it.

Just a bunch of animal bones. Maybe a big dog buried them. What’s bothering her? The hackles rise on the back of my neck. The not good gassulfurdrysnakecatstink smelltaste spins around my brain like smoke.

Oh.

Oh no.

I hack and cough. I know exactly what kind of bones these are.

I look Karly in the eye and push a picture of a Halloween skeleton. I know she doesn’t like it when I go into her head without permission, but this is important. I am not sharing the good stuff, like manure, rotting fish, and dead animals.

“No way. These aren’t human bones,” she squeaks and backs up.

Nope, she can’t ignore these. I pick one up gently between my teeth and carry it to her feet. I carefully place it in front of her toes then shake my muzzle, lips flopping from side to side, trying to get the taste of Peep bone out of my mouth. Peep bone.

It’s awful.

Bassets do not eat Peeps’ bones. We only chew non-peep bones. We need our Peeps to hunt for our fresh, meaty bones.

“George, leave it. We need to talk to Aunt Heather about them. She’ll know if they’re human or not, and what to do if they are.” Karly gulps. “If they aren’t…I hope they aren’t. You’ve never smelled human bones, so how’d you know?”

Um, I am your familiar. I have magical skills? There’s something off about the bones, and a weak scent gets stronger as I inhale.

Blegh.

It’s a really bad smelltaste.

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About Mindy Mymudes

Mindy--uhhm, Mandy--is doggone adorable.

Mindy Mymudes runs with the Muddy Paws Pack in Milwaukee, WI. She insists she is alpha, even as the dogs walk all over her.

She's worked in a hazardous waste lab, where under the sign for the Right To Know law, was added: if you can figure it out. she's been a metals tech, a bakery clerk, a professional gardener, and taught human anatomy and ran two university greenhouses. Along the way she picked up her Master's Degree in Biology, specializing in the population genetics of an endangered plant. She is also a top breeder, handler, trainer of English springer spaniels, with three in the equivalent of the National Club's (ESSFTA) hall of fame. Every time she thinks she knows dogs, another dog comes along and proves her beliefs are totally wrong.

Mindy Mymudes is actually the Nom De Thumbs for me, Mandy, a well known English springer spaniel.

Connect with Mindy... Uh... Mandy? Mymudes

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Teens, Time Travel, and Timekeepers... Oh My!

8/20/2014

7 Comments

Let's give a big welcome to my friend Sharon Ledwith, who is not only a fantastic writer, but also the lady to have on your side while learning about writing and promoting books. I've learned a lot from her in the short time we've known one another, and I'm proud to be able to share a little bit about her newest release. So, buckle up those safety belts, kiddos. Here we go...

Legend of the Timekeepers

There is no moving forward without first going back.

Lilith was a young girl with dreams and a family before the final destruction of Atlantis shattered those dreams and tore her family apart. Now refugees, Lilith and her father make their home in the Black Land. This strange, new country has no place in Lilith’s heart until a beloved high priestess introduces Lilith to her life purpose—to be a Timekeeper and keep time safe.

Summoned through the seventh arch of Atlantis by the Children of the Law of One, Lilith and her newfound friends are sent into Atlantis’s past, and given a task that will ultimately test their courage and try their faith in each other. Can the Timekeepers stop the dark magus Belial before he changes the seers’ prophecy? If they fail, then their future and the earth’s fate will be altered forever.

Excerpt

“Why are you here?” Lilith asked. “You’ve already got your life seal.”

“I have more questions for Istulo.” She continued to stare at the disk.

Lilith sighed. “My name is Lilith. What’s your name?”

Her shoulders relaxed slightly. A hint of a smile broke out on her face. Her upturned nose wiggled. “She-Aba. I was born here in the Black Land. Both my parents arrived from Atlantis fourteen years ago yesterday. My mother gave birth to me the next day.”

Lilith perked up. “That would make today your birthday!”

She-Aba beamed. “Yes. That’s why I’m here. For my birthday last year, I had my life reading done by Istulo. But recently, there’s been a hiccup in my plans. It’s like my life seal rearranged itself, and now I’m confused. I’m here for a reaffirmation.”

“What’s the problem?”

She-Aba traced her life seal with the tip of her perfectly shaped fingernail. “My lifetime occupation was supposed to be to design clothing for the people of the various positions in the court and temples.”

Lilith smirked. “That makes perfect sense.”

“I know, right? So why, all of a sudden, would my life seal change from designing clothing to something completely different?”

Lilith arched a fair brow. “How different?”

“Well, instead of clothing people in lavish robes and gowns for others to appreciate, the seal suggests that I’ll be doing the opposite by covering up and hiding the truth. I don’t understand it at all. I thought my life was all planned out for me.”

“I thought mine was too, until my country blew up and slid into the ocean,” Lilith muttered.

“Hey, look at the bright side, at least your hair isn’t red like mine.”

Lilith eyed She-Aba carefully. “What’s wrong with red hair? My uncle has red hair and it suits him fine.”

She-Aba moved in closer. “If you haven’t noticed already, there aren’t many redheads around here. The natives think red is magical, and anyone with red hair is considered a freak of nature.”

“That’s ridiculous!” Lilith said loud enough to cause an echo down the marble hallway. “Is that the reason why those artists were rude to you? Because you have red hair?”

“Red is a very powerful color,” a raspy voice said from behind both girls.

Lilith and She-Aba jumped. They slowly turned to find Istulo hovering over them.

Wearing the same white gown and orichalcum headband Lilith saw her dressed in before, Istulo nodded slightly before she said, “Red represents the essence of life—if we are drained of blood, we are drained of energy. The people of the Black Land understand this, and therefore red is reserved only for their gods and goddesses.”

Lilith giggled. “Don’t tell She-Aba that, she’ll think she’s a goddess.”

About the Author

Sharon Ledwith is the author of the middle-grade/YA time travel series, THE LAST TIMEKEEPERS, available through Musa Publishing, and is represented by Walden House (Books & Stuff) for her teen psychic series, MYSTERIOUS TALES FROM FAIRY FALLS. When not writing, researching, or revising, she enjoys reading, yoga, anything arcane, and an occasional dram of scotch. Sharon lives a serene, yet busy life in a tourist region of Ontario, Canada, with her hubby, one spoiled yellow Labrador and a moody calico cat.

Learn more about Sharon Ledwith on her WEBSITE and BLOG. Look up her AMAZON AUTHOR page for a list of current books. Stay connected on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, GOOGLE+, TUMBLR, and GOODREADS. Check out THE LAST TIMEKEEPERS TIME TRAVEL SERIES Facebook page.

Buy Legends of the Timekeepers

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Interview With Author Monique Bucheger

8/10/2014

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Today we're talking to Monique Bucheger, a fellow Middle Grade author. Monique has written four books in her Ginnie West series, with more to come. Her main character, Ginnie, is a horse lover, so it's no big surprise that I'm interested to learn more! Let's get started!

Meet Monique

Welcome, Monique! Let's get to know you a little bit better. How long have you been a writer?
I started writing as a teen, but got refocused about 7 years ago.

Who are your favorite authors?
I like a lot of authors and read many genres. In historical fiction I like Pauline Toohey (Call of the Yew Tree), David Farland (In the Company of Angels), Michelle Isenhoff, (The Candle Star). Jennifer Holms (Our Only May Amelia). In contemporary realistic fiction (which I write) I love Beverly Cleary (The Ramona series) and Judy Blume (Are You there, God? It’s me, Margaret, & such as well as her Fudge series). I love fantasy as well and loved David Farland’s Nightingale and Terry Brooks’ Magic Kingdom: For Sale, Sold. I tend to concentrate lately on middle grade novels. Mikey Brooks (The Dream Keeper series) and Ali Cross’s (The Swift and Jump Boys) are great.

What are your hobbies?
I love to scrapbook and write.

If you could live anywhere in the universe, where would you live?
I am considering moving to Utah—they have some amazing writing conferences there and it is a family friendly state—important because I have 12 kids.

Besides writer, what’s your dream job?
Hmmm, something that would free up more time for writing.

How did you come up with the idea for “Being West is Best”?
Being West is Best is the 4th book of my Ginnie West series. It is the culmination of a few plotlines I have weaved through the first 3 books with a HUGE twist. The twist is the basis of Being West is Best.

What was the most difficult part of publishing “Being West is Best”?
Writing some very touching, difficult scenes. I deal with tough subjects like child abuse, spouse abuse, child abandonment, and personal accountability.

In a middle grade series, you have to write these things in an age appropriate manner and for me personally—I want to send a message that abuse in any form is wrong, but I also want to send a message that redemption is possible. It gets a little tricky when you try to separate an ugly act from a person who regrets behaving badly.

Some acts are inexcusable—but if someone realizes they are wrong and wants to make amends for their bad behavior, how do you balance the desire to try to fix past wrongs without making the bad act palatable or demeaning the person who was wronged by it?

What’s your best piece of advice to share with other writers? Write what you are passionate about in a story you would want to read. Others will want to read it too.

Story characters sometimes resemble their creators. Do any of the characters in “Being West is Best” resemble you?
Both Ginnie and Tillie have personality traits of mine—and traits I wish I had more of. Ginnie is a fun-loving girl who likes to try new things. Tillie is a little timid, but has a huge heart. I would love to embrace new adventures as easily as Ginnie does.

In “Being West is Best”, the two main characters of the story, best friends Ginnie and Tillie, become matchmakers so their parents will fall in love with each other. What’s the biggest scheme you and your friends ever tried to pull off?
Hmmm. I called my best friend as a teen and asked her this and we both drew a blank as to our own scheming. Then she pointed out that between school, extra-curricular activities, trying to write the next great American novel, that we didn’t actually have time to plot out our own schemes, preferring to plot out Ginnie’s (even 30 years ago when I created her) and whatever other character’s schemes we had at the time. I was more like Tillie on the outside and Ginnie on the inside in those days.

You mentioned that “Being West is Best” is part of a series. Are you working on more Ginnie West books currently?
I am working on Book 5—unnamed at the moment. It will be very different than the 4 previous books as it will take place at a new school—one that promotes equestrian sports. Readers of my previous books will be surprised at this turn of events because Ginnie’s mom died when she was 3 years old after being thrown from her horse and Ginnie’s dad has always forbidden her to trick ride or otherwise compete on her horse. It will also have an interesting twist tied to a national event.

I am also working on a second series. It is a family drama about a 19 year old boy who is orphaned who takes on raising his 4 younger siblings. I hope to have the first book out sometime this year.

I'd love it if you would tell us a little bit about your other books.
Book #1 is “The Secret Sisters Club”— and has been described as Parent Trap Meets American Girl. The girls scheme to get Ginnie’s dad to date Tillie’s mom. Which is fine—until Ginnie stumbles across her dead mom’s journals and wants to know more about her.

Book #2 is called Trouble Blows West—Ginnie gets on the wrong side of the biggest bully in 6th grade. When it turns out he needs help, Ginnie is determined to be his ally, because he won’t let her be his friend.

Book #3 is Simply West of Heaven: The girls are well on their way to sisterhood until a blast from Ginnie’s mom’s past threatens to upset all of their plans.

My 5th published book is a picture book called Popcorn. Readers will get a glimpse of the mom Ginnie barely remembers as Ginnie makes a late night snack and a ginormous mess. It is a funny, sweet story that showcases Ginnie and her twin brother, Toran, at 3 ½.

Thank you for your time, and good luck on your tour!
Thanks so much for having me. It has been fun.

More about "Being West is Best"

Twelve-year-old BFFs, Ginnie West and Tillie Taylor, are matchmaking geniuses. Together, they maneuvered Ginnie’s widower-dad into proposing to Tillie’s divorcee-mom. Sweet! Certain they are well on their way to sisterhood, each girl is floored when Tillie’s lousy-excuse-for-a-father puts in an appearance after a six year absence. Too bad “lousy dad repellant” doesn’t come in a can. Even though Tillie’s dad has sobered up and is determined to make amends, Tillie would rather he just disappear again. If he stays, “Operation: Secret Sisters” may need to be renamed “Operation: Not Gonna Happen.” If that’s not bad enough, the biggest bully in seventh grade comes over often and wishes he could call the West’s farmhouse “home.” When the bully’s abusive dad shows up as well, Ginnie thinks it’s time to change her family’s motto from “When you’re here, you’re family” to “There’s no more room at the West’s".

Connect With Monique

Follow the links below to connect with Monique Bucheger, Author of Ginnie West Adventures Series

Blog
Facebook
Twitter
Barnes and Noble
Amazon

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Collected Works - August '14 Goals

8/4/2014

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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

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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!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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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A Little Thunderclap help for DANIEL THE CAMP-ER

In the Rearview with Maria Ann Green

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Writing Contests: A Writer's Dream Or a Writer's Nightmare?

Writing Contests: A Writer's Dream Or a Writer's Nightmare?

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Middle School Time Warp With Krysten Lindsay Hager

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George Knows - A Doggone Great Middle Grade Read + GIVEAWAY!!

George Knows

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About Mindy Mymudes

Connect with Mindy... Uh... Mandy? Mymudes

Teens, Time Travel, and Timekeepers... Oh My!

Legend of the Timekeepers

Excerpt

About the Author

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Interview With Author Monique Bucheger

Meet Monique

More about "Being West is Best"

Connect With Monique

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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