Mustaches for Maddie

         
         Debut author, Chad Morris, was about to go on tour for his MG novel, The Inventor's Secret, (A fantastic book!) but canceled because his 9-year-old daughter, Maddie, is in the hospital for a brain tumor. I just want to say how much I admire Chad Morris for putting his family first, and, moreover, not even using the situation to rack up publicity. From the article on Fox13 you would never guess he was an author with a book barely launched.
          To help Maddie, friends and family have started Mustaches for Maddie, an online trend to cheer her up. Simply take a picture of yourself or your friend or your dog or your stuffed cat with a mustache on and tweet it with the hashtag #mustachesformaddie.
          “We have this collection of people wearing mustaches for Maddie,” Chad Morris said. “The idea just being to make her smile to let her know there’s a lot of people hoping and praying and loving her, and she likes that–she likes that a lot.”
           So come on guys! Let's make this little girl smile!

Interview & Giveaway: Nick Green

          I’m the author of The Cat Kin trilogy, published in the UK by Strident Publishing and in Germany by Ravensburger, and also as a BBC audiobook. I’ve been interviewed about The Cat Kin on BBC radio, and shortlisted for two literary awards. The Storm Bottle is my first foray into independent e-publishing.

Favorite reads?

          As a child I used to be heavily into fantasy and SF, but these days I find I’ll read absolutely anything, so long as it’s well written. I like to be surprised by an author I’ve never tried before. I try to think of favorite books, but it wouldn't be an honest list! I don’t feel a need to make up top tens.

Inspirations for the book?

          My current book, The Storm Bottle, was very definitely inspired by a single incident. I was walking beside a beach on the south coast of England when we saw a wild bottlenose dolphin close to shore. Very uncharacteristically for me, I ran into the water and joined the people who were swimming with it. I realised it was a chance that would probably never come again. Later I reflected: why are people so enchanted by swimming with dolphins? What is it that attracts us so much? Why is there this primal tug between two such different species? That became the basis of the story, which I ended up setting in Bermuda, where my father lives.

Did you know you wanted to be an author when you were little?

          I knew I wanted to be an astronaut, a scientist, a knight, a ghost-hunter, a detective, a werewolf, a superhero and a vet. Eventually I realized that only one profession would make this possible. Though I haven’t written those exact books yet…

Any Pet Peeves?

          Why does driving a car turn otherwise nice people into psychopaths?

Chocolate or Peanut Butter?

          Peanut butter – but the English kind please! Yours is too sweet, sorry.

The weirdest thing you've ever done?

          Probably the impromptu swimming with a dolphin, see above. Did I mention it was October and I didn’t have a towel or change of clothes?

Is there a soundtrack to the book/Favorite music?

          Interesting question! I guess a lot of writers do get inspired by music, and put together their imaginary soundtrack. For The Storm Bottle I listened to a lot of atmospheric, mainly instrumental artists such as Mike Oldfield, Bjorn Lynne and Delirium, because that seemed to capture the vast ocean-scapes in which much of the action takes place.

Do you need anything to write?

          I don’t use props as such, but I do have my rituals. For instance, I write notes in Arial font but actual first drafts in Times New Roman. This way I feel more free to explore, because if it’s in Arial it doesn’t matter if it makes no sense yet.

How long do you write on any average day?

          I have young kids so there isn’t really an average day. Just as much as I can, really.

Give us the number one reason to read your book.

          Swimming with dolphins is always said to be the number one thing to do before you die, and this is the next best thing to swimming with dolphins!

Author Info:

My website is www.nickgreenbooks.webeden.co.uk and you can follow me on Twitter at @nickgreen90125.

Foam unzipped the waves. I saw a crescent fin, a glass-boulder forehead. The dolphin had come back.’

Swimming with dolphins is said to be the number one thing to do before you die. For 12-year-old Michael, it very nearly is. A secret boat trip has gone tragically wrong, and now he lies unconscious in hospital.

But when Michael finally wakes up, he seems different. His step sister Bibi is soon convinced that he is not who he appears to be. Meanwhile, in the ocean beyond Bermuda’s reefs, a group of bottlenose dolphins are astonished to discover a stranger in their midst – a boy lost and desperate to return home.

Bermuda is a place of mysteries. Some believe its seas are enchanted, and the sun-drenched islands conceal a darker past, haunted with tales of lost ships. Now Bibi and Michael are finding themselves in the most extraordinary tale of all.

The Cat Kin Trilogy Bk. 1

                     Everyone who came across the strange gym class was looking for something else. What they found was mysterious Mrs Powell with her silent feet and unnerving stare and pashki, a lost art from an age when cats were worshiped as gods. 

              But Ben and Tiffany wonder: who is their eccentric old teacher? What does she really want? And why are they suddenly able to see in the dark? Meanwhile, in London's gloomy streets, human vermin are stirring. Ben and Tiffany may soon be glad of their new gifts. But against men whose cunning is matched only by their unspeakable cruelty, would even nine lives be enough? 

Giveaway (US Only)

Ends 4/1

Paperback of Cat Kin Bk. 1, Signed

Interview: Lauren Baratz-Logsted

         Lauren Baratz-Logsted is the author of 31 books for adults, teens and children. You can read more about her life and work at laurenbaratzlogsted.com or follow her on Twitter at @LaurenBaratzL

Favorite reads?

          Favorite Adult Book: The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

          Favorite Recent YA Book: Fault in Our Stars, John Green.

          Favorite Children's Author: Roald Dahl.

Inspirations for the book?

         I got the idea for the Book 1 in the Hat City Middle School Series, GUYS AGAINST THE GIRLS, from something that happened at my daughter's school a few years back. They had a substitute one day who favored the boys so heavily, she ignored it when the girls raised their hands, and then actually had the nerve to smugly say, "Just as I always thought - boys *are* better at math than girls!"
         I got the idea for Book 2 because a boy who read the first book was so tickled by the character of Robbie Knightley, I realized Robbie needed his own book, hence ROBBIE KNIGHTLEY.

Did you know you wanted to be an author when you were little?

         I had an inkling.

Any Pet Peeves?

         Judgmental, unforgiving people.

Chocolate or Peanut Butter?

          It has to be chocolate. After all, when it comes to candy, peanut butter needs chocolate, but chocolate can just go it alone.

The weirdest thing you've ever done?

          You make it sound like it should be easy to pick just one. How about *a* weird thing I did? For about a dozen years I had a writing group that met in my condo every Friday night. One week, someone remembered hearing that Mars was supposed to be visible with the naked eye, so, at around 11pm, we all headed outside and began running around the condo complex, necks craned upward, looking for something red. Finally, after about an hour, we saw the taillight of a plane, decided it was Mars, and headed back inside.

Is there a soundtrack to the book/Favorite music?

          There is not a soundtrack to either Book 1 or Book 2 in the series. I love a lot of music from Frank Sinatra to the Rolling Stones to Green Day to stuff so modern I don't know who the bands are when I hear the songs on the radio.

Do you need anything to write?

          Nope, I'm not a picky writer. If I'm really in the zone on a book, I can even keep typing while listening to "General Hospital" on the TV in my office and answering my husband's questions.

How long do you write on any average day?

          When I'm working on a book, I write pretty much straight from when I drop my daughter at the bus stop at 7am until when I pick her up at 4pm.

Give us the number one reason to read your book.

          Wait a second. I answered the chocolate v. peanut butter question honestly and now I have to *sell* myself too? OK, because The Sisters 8 series for young readers sold 200,000 copies, I get more fan mail for that than anything I've ever done as a writer - I've had over 30 books published - and I still hear from kids ever day wanting more. OK, so maybe that's a good reason why you should read The Sisters 8, but maybe this series is good too. It's new! Give it a chance!

                  There's trouble at Hat City Middle School! This first volume in an exciting new series by the author of the popular Sisters 8 series introduces readers to the six guys and six girls who make up a special class at Hat City Middle School. When a substitute teacher says something she shouldn't, the girls are outraged. Then their regular teacher makes matters worse, and everyone is outraged. Soon the guys and girls are facing off about everything, but will it end in victory or disaster? Told in alternating first-person plural viewpoints, GUYS AGAINST THE GIRLS is as original in its execution as any middle-grade novel out there today.

Find more info here.

               A modern-day Dennis the Menace, Robbie Knightley stumbles through life annoying the next-door neighbor, frustrating his teachers and perplexing his parents, who can't quite understand why he's so different than his six older sisters. When Robbie opens his Christmas presents prematurely without remorse for the second year running, his parents consult his therapist grandfather and Robbie hears his parents say they think there's something wrong with him, something missing. Robbie decides he'll get by in life by keeping his mouth shut and avoiding spending too much time with other people. But when a five-day class trip is unexpectedly moved up and he can't get out of it, Robbie fears the worst: that his friends will see him for who he really is, a boy with something missing.

Find more info here.

Free: Paying Piper by Ilana Waters

          The people of Hamelin have a problem with rats. There are rats in their houses, their stores—even swimming in their stew! The rats don’t think they’re a problem. They just want to live their lives in peace. With the town’s approval, the mayor thinks of a clever way to solve the problem. He offers twenty gold pieces to a piper to rid the town of rats. He delivers only five. 

          But he’s cheated the wrong piper, who’ll have to use both skill and wit to teach this town a lesson. Because there’s more than money at stake. An evil pattern is emerging in the way Hamelin treats anycreature it considers inferior. And the Piper vows to put an end to it—once and for all.

           Think you know everything about this classic folktale of greed and cunning? In “Paying Piper,” you’ll learn what really happened the day a magical musician came to Hamelin—and why.

           The story can be found free at Smashwords, Kobo, and Ilana Waters’ website. You can also check it out at at Amazon, Amazon UK, and B&N.

           Also, be sure not to miss Ilana's newest novella, Castles in the Air, available exlusivly at Amazon!

Ten-year-old Wikkley McStag and his family are born farmers, happy to work the land. But then they—and other royal subjects—are forced to buy strange, useless machines. Money starts running out. Now the McStags have two days before they lose their farm. As the eldest child, Wikkley must journey to the palace and ask for the king’s help. His loved ones only hope his reckless nature won’t get him in trouble once he’s there!

When Wikkley arrives at the palace, he finds an unnecessary castle being built right into the sky. The same thing is happening in a neighboring kingdom. When royal foolishness leads to disaster, it’s up to Wikkley to save several lives. Will his recklessness finally come in handy? Or will it mean the end of his family, his farm, and possibly . . . his life?
From the fantasy world of “The Adventures of Stanley Delacourt,” Ilana Waters brings you another alternate-medieval adventure. If you like Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, don’t miss meeting Wikkley McStag!

          Ilana is also the author of a middle grade adventure novel, The Adventures of Stanley Delacourt. More info on her work can be seen here.

Interview & Giveaway: Bobbie Pyron

Any Pet Peeves?

          The phrase “point in time”, writers who overuse exclamation points! People who don’t treat their animals the way they’d like to be treated, clothing without pockets.

Chocolate or Peanut Butter?

          Peanut butter. I’m a salty gal.

The weirdest thing you've ever done?

          Hummm….that’s a tough question. There’s probably a lot of people out there who think I’m weird, but I, of course, think I’m boringly normal. When I’m intensely immersed in writing a new book, I’ve been known to do some weird things like put my purse in the refrigerator, the phone in the microwave, or sign one of my character’s names on a check. Is that weird?

Is there a soundtrack to the book/Favorite music?
          I have to have music playing when I’m writing, often a certain type of music. When I wrote my first book, THE RING, I mostly listened to the soundtrack to the indie movie Garden State. When I wrote my second book, A DOG’S WAY HOME, I listened to a lot of traditional bluegrass (Allison Krause) and the soundtrack to the movie Oh Brother Where Art Thou. A really cool aside: my editor for A DOG’S WAY HOME, Molly O’Neill, sent me a CD of the music she listened to while she was editing my book! With THE DOGS OF WINTER, I couldn’t seem to settle on a certain type of music to listen to while I wrote. At first, that kind of freaked me out. But after a while I relaxed and just listened to whatever I felt like that particular day.

Do you need anything to write?
          I need a cup of hot tea and music.

Give us the number one reason to read your book.
          It will hopefully make you look a little differently at that homeless person or animal living on the streets. If I’ve opened a crack of compassion in the reader’s heart, I’m a happy camper.

Author Info:
Twitter-@BobbiePyron
Facebook-Bobbie Pyron
Goodreads-Bobbie Pyron

Based on a true story.
           When Ivan's mother disappears, he's abandoned on the streets of Moscow, with little chance to make it through the harsh winter. But help comes in an unexpected form: Ivan is adopted by a pack of dogs, and the dogs quickly become more than just his street companions: They become his family. Soon Ivan, who used to love reading fairytales, is practically living in one, as he and his pack roam the city and countryside, using their wits to find food and shelter, dodging danger, begging for coins. But Ivan can’t stay hidden from the world of people forever. When help is finally offered to him, will he be able to accept it? Will he even want to?
           A heart-pounding tale of survival and a moving look at what makes us human.

*Giveaway*

(Ends 3/14)

US Only



Review: The Inventor's Secret by Chad Morris

Synopsis:

Abby and Derick have been accepted to the most prestigious secondary school in the world -- Cragbridge Hall. Due to the inventions of their grandfather, Oscar Cragbridge, they will be able to experience history in 3D, use their minds to literally project visual interpretations of classic literature, and become animal avatars for zoology.

But when their grandfather and parents go missing, Abby and Derick must follow clues Oscar left for them that will reveal a dangerous secret. Along the way, they discover there is much more to one of their grandfather's inventions that anyone has ever dreamed. Saving their family will take all of Derick's mind and Abby's heart as thy come face to face with a crazed scientist who desperately seeks to change the past. If they fail, the world - past and future - will never be the same.

This book is a page-turning, time-travel adventure that teaches powerful lessons about choice and consequence, believing you can do hard things, and valuing your history.

Generally speaking, I'm not a big fan of middle grade. I grew out of the stuff long before I hit my teenage years, and have only revisited it for real gems. But, to put it bluntly, I found the Inventor's Secret to be one of these gems.

Chad Morris' characters were remarkably believable and relateable. I've found a big thing that puts me off about middle grade is that the plot, the world, and the adult characters are all painted in a simplified middle gradish way. But in the Inventor's Secret, the adults weren't simplified. They actually acted like adults. Of course the kids still saved the day, but the adults weren't weak or stupid. And, even better, the kids weren't whiny or stupid themselves. Many times, middle grade author's try to emphasis something by emphasizing their characters' reactions to it (The monster is scary because the kids act really scared of it, not because it actually is scary). I'm happy to say, there was none of that in here. In fact, it may have been one of the main character's normalness that really drew me to this book. Abby (Derick's twin and the main focus of the book) is average. She wasn't a genius like her brother, or all the other kids at her school, and she could never think of witty things to say. But she still was a hero, simply because she was willing to work for what she wanted. And even though her brother Derick was a genius, he was lovable too. Originally I thought Carol (Abby's friend) would get annoying, but she didn't. And her same irritating traits added a nice flavor to the characters' interactions.

Characters: 5 Stars

This was not high fantasy, but it was still a fun journey and kept me reading till the end. I appreciated that the world and the plot didn't revolve around the children. Without them, the world would have been destroyed, but they didn't discover some secret power at the last moment or another VooDoo, easy way out. Every victory was won by them as they were. And time travel. I mean come on, what doesn't grab you about that? At first, the plot may sound unoriginal, but Chad Morris succesfully freshens it up.

Plot: 4.5 Stars

Chad Morris has written a fun story with an aspect about it that makes the adventure genuine entertainment. The action/reaction time throughout the book flowed smoothly, and the end tied up satisfactorily while still leading nicely to a sequel. Quite thankfully, Chad Morris lacks the patronizing tone that so many middle grade authors present to their audience. To sum up, I found it an engaging book and, even though much older that middle grade, was able to enjoy it thoroughly. 

Style: 4 Stars

Rating: 4.5 Stars

Source: Arc from giveaway

Genre: Adventure/Sci-fi

Junior Fiction

Note: The book officially releases March 5, 2013. But it's been spotted in the wild at B&N, so keep your eyes peeled.

Interview & Giveaway: Kersten L. Kelly

      Kersten L. Kelly is a self-published author of narrative nonfiction and semi-fiction books. She grew up in Munster, Indiana and currently works in a sales role based out of Chicago, Illinois. She started writing at an early age and graduated from Indiana University with a dual bachelor’s degree in economics and communication and culture. She then went on to earn a master’s in business administration from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University. She has a passion for learning, teaching, and writing. 

      In her spare time, she enjoys international travel with her friends and family and training for running events of various distances. She likes the outdoors, social media, pop culture, and any new technologies that draw the people of the world a little bit closer together.

Favorite reads?

      Freakonomics, A Million Little Pieces, The 50 Shades of Gray Trilogy, and My Friend Leonard

Inspirations for the book? 

      I fly all the time for business, and the number of people that I meet is unbelievable. There are so many unique stories that I've collected over the years that I thought it was unfair not to share them. I wanted an opportunity to provide people with a little entertainment with unique stories that they normally wouldn't read about or experience in another venue.

Did you know you wanted to be an author when you were little? 

      Yes, I spent much of my childhood writing stories about all kinds of stuff. The best part was that my parents, sister, and friends all encouraged me to keep writing. I actually found some of the old scraps of paper with my stories on them and laughed. It's always good to remember where your roots are. My passion for writing started young.

Any Pet Peeves? 

      Non-aggressive drivers. I live outside of Chicago, and I commute to work every day into the city. For anyone who has ever experienced driving in a major city, it's important to be alert and to be quick. I get frustrated with those who aren't.

Chocolate or Peanut Butter?

      Peanut Butter

The weirdest thing you've ever done?

       The weirdest thing I've done is probably jumped out of an airplane 4 times. Many people think it's crazy, but I love it.

Is there a soundtrack to the book/Favorite music?

      There really isn't. I have a very wide mixture of music on my iPhone that I listen to while writing, running, reading, or just relaxing. There really isn't a rhyme or reason to what I choose. Most of the time, one song will be a vastly different genre than the one before it.

Do you need anything to write?  

       The only thing I need to write is time. I am a sales person as well, and sometimes it's hard to find time to write.

How long do you write on any average day? 

      I would say about an hour on average when I do write. I definitely don't write every day just because I don't have enough time.

Author Info:

Twitter: @KerstenLKelly

Facebook: facebook.com/KerstenLKelly

Amazon

Kindle 

Barnes and Noble

CreateSpace:

Goodreads

      In this tumultuous, distinctive memoir, Kersten L. Kelly looks back on the most influential individuals that she encountered while flying through the clouds. Confined in a small vestibule for hours, Kelly identified an opportunity for learning and growth by chatting with the fellow passengers around her. After a few life changing conversations and unforgettable emergencies, she put the in-flight magazines to rest and never looked back.

      She recalls life lessons from perfect strangers about love, family, perseverance

of dreams, and humility through a series of brief anecdotes all taking place on airplanes. Selfless philanthropy was discovered, long-term friendships bonded, and talents unveiled. The book proves the phrase “you never know what you will learn on an airplane” over and over again.

      Every chapter will capture the mind and sometimes the heart of anyone who

jumps into this collection of humanity at its best. The personalities present in this

book assimilate with the intrinsic characteristics all readers can relate to. With a raw authenticity stemming from old notes in a ragged journal, Kelly delivers a personal reflection of unique tales from a mile high.     

*Giveaway*

(Ends 2/21)