Vin and the Dorky Duet - Review and Giveaway

Thought for the day:

“No artist is pleased.  There is no satisfaction whatever at any time.  There is only a queer divine dissatisfaction, a blessed unrest that keeps us marching and makes us more alive than the others.” ~ Martha Graham, in a letter to Agnes De Mille ~

A gift for my writer friends: 

 Here are some links I think you will find valuable. I have so many, it’s hard to choose only three!

Terrific, tongue-in-cheek list of rules for writing: http://annerallen.blogspot.com/2012/12/the-secret-writing-rule-bookand-why-to.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+AnneRAllensBlog+%28Anne+R.+Allen%27s+Blog%29&utm_content=Yahoo!+Mail

Wonderful links to tons of useful articles – a little something for every writer: http://kathytemean.wordpress.com/2012/12/23/2012-best-of-writing-and-illustrating/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+WritingAndIllustrating+%28Writing+and+Illustrating%29&utm_content=Yahoo!+Mail

Check out how well your title will do in the marketplace: http://www.lulu.com/titlescorer/index.php

I know this post comes a few days late, but there is a pretty darned good reason. I’ll tell you why at the end of the post.

For my fabulous giveaway, the winner is Kathy Temean! (Drum roll please!) Kathy, I will be sending you a copy of Illusionology. Kathy is also a children’s writer, but also illustrates and designs web sites. You can read her blog, Writing and Illustrating, by clicking HERE. Check it out. I get so much information from her blog and never miss a post. I have another giveaway for today, so stay tuned.

I was contacted a short time ago by an author with a couple of children’s books under her belt. She asked if I would be interested in reviewing one of her books on my blog. I said I would do that, but probably couldn’t get to it for a month or two. But I had some extra reading time thrown my way last weekend (read to the end and you’ll find out why), so I was able to read her middle-grade book, Vin and the Dorky Duet, this week. I like to write my reviews when things are fresh in my mind, so here we go.

Vin is faced with a plot hatched by his older sister and his mother to get him to play a duet for trumpet and piano that Meg has written in an up-coming concert. This is not Vin’s idea of a good time. But the plot has a sub-plot that Mom knows nothing about. Meg really wants Vin to arrange for a guy named Brad to play the duet with her. He will get out of playing and she is willing to pay big – a signed David Beckham jersey – if Vin can pull it off. He goes to school with Brad’s brother, but they are not friends, so this will be no easy task.

Maggie Lyons

Vin is clever and finds ways to get close to Brad’s brother, a dorky kid known as Eyeballs, who is a science nerd. They are assigned to work together on a report on whales, and Eyeballs is ecstatic to find that Vin’s uncle is a famous marine biologist. As time goes on, Vin and Eyeballs have several adventures together and actually become friends. But the concert is looming and Vin still hasn’t found a way to meet Brad or ask him about playing in the concert with Meg. Things aren’t looking too good, but the answer may just be found in something Vin’s grandmother has for him. It’s not an easy journey, but kids will find it a fun one. There are lots of twists and turns and obstacles to overcome, but young readers will keep turning the pages to find out what happens. It’s a short book, which for boy readers is a real plus, and this is much more of a boy book than for girls, although both will probably enjoy it.

You can learn more about Maggie Lyons and her books by visiting her website. Click HERE.  She sent me a signed copy of Vin and the Dorky Duet to give away, so you can qualify for a drawing for this gently-read book by leaving a comment. If you link to this post through some sort of social media, let me know and I’ll put your name in the hat twice.

Now for the reason I had so much extra reading time on my hands. This is a picture of my beloved Prius after a pretty terrifying accident last weekend. The good news is both my grandson and I are fine with the exception of some bruises. The other good news is I have good insurance. I did spend many hours in the emergency room the day after the accident getting some x-rays and a good evaluation, so had lots of time to read. Not my favorite way to find reading time. Anyway, the accident kind of took me out things for a couple of days, so that’s why I’m late with the post.

I hope all of you had a wonderful holiday, and I will wish you a happy and prosperous new year in case I decide to take next weekend off. But I may be back. It all depends on how my family time works out.

On the book giveaway, this is for U.S. only. Sorry, but it would be too expensive for me to send books out of the country. But please leave a comment. I’d love to hear from you. Remember, if you have trouble leaving a comment, click on the title of the post and it will give you just this post with a comments section on the bottom. Also, if you haven’t signed up by email, please do. Just look in the upper right-hand corner of this page, pop your email address in, and you will receive an email each time I put up a new post. Your information will not be shared with anyone.           

I Am Here to Help -- Last-Minute Shopping Suggestions

Thought for the day:

“I see small orbs of light, spaced like night lights in dark hallways.  I see forks in the road, in the form of distractions and small ideas.  Too much plotting, too much worry.  Does a caterpillar plot and worry its way into butterfly-hood?  Hell no.   It has things to do, like eat poisonous milkweed.” ~ Margaret Duarte, writer ~

A gift for my writer friends:

Here are a three links I think you will find valuable.

Wonderful blog on how to succeed:

http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2012/09/to_succeed_forget_self-esteem.html

An extraordinary poem about life: http://christinemasonmiller.com/2012/10/26/because/

Blog with some terrific writing tips:

http://onceuponasketch.com/2012/11/joss-whedons-top-10-writing-tips/

My friend and critique partner, Elizabeth Varadan, featured ME on her blog this week. Take a peek by clicking HERE.

For my fabulous giveaway, the winner is Christina Mercer! (Cue the spotlight!) Christina, I will be sending you a signed copy of The Ballad of Jessie Pearl. Christina is also a children’s writer. You can read her blog, Christina’s Writing Buzz, by clicking HERE.  Check it out and see what she’s buzzing about. I have another giveaway for today, so stay tuned.

I’m doing something a little different today. In an effort to make your last minute holiday shopping a breeze, I’m linking you to several of the books I reviewed this year for Sacramento Book Review or in a couple of cases, books I reviewed on my blog. I wrote over 150 book reviews this year, so there are lots of choices, but I’m going to link you to the ones I enjoyed the most in several categories. There is something for everyone here. Make sure you read all the way through, because at the end of this I will feature one book that will be my giveaway for this week. If you click on the title of any of these books, you will be linked to the review I wrote. The reviews are short, but will give you a pretty good idea of the book.

For the very youngest booklovers (Picture Book readers) I have five recommendations:

Neville by Norton Juster

You Can’t Scare a Princess by Gillian Rogers

Noah Webster and His Words by Jeri Chase Ferris

Stuck by Oliver Jeffers

The Unruly Queen by E. S. Redmond


 For the middle-grade crowd, I recommend these:

One for the Murphys by Lynda Mullaly Hunt

A Diamond in the Desert by Kathryn Fitzmaurice

An Elephant in the Garden by Michael Morpurgo

What Came from the Stars by Gary D. Schmidt

Liar & Spy by Rebecca Stead

The Amazing Harry Kellar: Great American Magician by Gail Jarrow




I don’t read as many books for teens, but I have these to recommend:

Guy Langman, Crime Scene Procrastinator by Josh Berk

Warriors in the Crossfire by Nancy Bo Flood

Just Write: Here’s How! by Walter Dean Myers

What She Left Behind by Tracy Bilen




 I even have a few recommendations for the grown-ups on your list:

Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm: a New English Version by Philip Pullman

The Laws Guide to Drawing Birds by John Muir Laws

Lies, Knives, and Girls in Red Dresses by Ron Koertge Andrea Dezo


For absolutely anyone, I recommend:

An Awesome Book by Dallas Clayton

You might win a gently-read copy of Illusionology by Albert Schafer. It’s great fun for those who love magic and is suitable for middle-graders on up. You can see the review HERE. I will put your name in my proverbial hat if you are kind enough to leave a comment. Link this post on your blog or Facebook or Tweet about it, let me know, and your name will be entered twice. In your comment, please share what your favorite book of 2012 was. I'm always looking for a good book to read!

Don’t forget to stop by Shannon Messenger’s wonderful blog for more Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday links. Click HERE to find it.

On the book giveaway, this is for U.S. only. Sorry, but it would be too expensive for me to send books out of the country. But please leave a comment. I’d love to hear from you. Remember, if you have trouble leaving a comment, click on the title of the post and it will give you just this post with a comments section on the bottom. Also, if you haven’t signed up by email, please do. Just look in the upper right-hand corner of this page, pop your email address in, and you will receive an email each time I put up a new post. Your information will not be shared with anyone.           

The Ballad of Jessie Pearl Review and Giveaway

Thought for the day:

“You must have been warned against letting the golden hours slip by. Yes, but some of them are golden only because we let them slip by.” ~ James M. Barrie

A gift for my writer friends:

 Here are a couple of links I think you will find valuable.

Great post on how to reconnect with your love of writing: http://childrenspublishing.blogspot.com/2012/12/wow-wednesday-ck-kelly-martin-on.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+blogspot%2Fkidlit+%28Adventures+in+Children%27s+Publishing%29&utm_content=Yahoo!+Mail

Article on How Rejection Breeds Creativity: http://99u.com/tips/7251/How-Rejection-Breeds-Creativity?utm_source=Triggermail&utm_medium=email&utm_term=ALL&utm_campaign=MIH+-+December+12&utm_content=Final

I was interviewed this week on Kathryn Fitzmaurice's blog! WooHoo! If you'd like to take a peek, you can see it by clicking HERE. It was a lot of fun for me. Thanks, Kathryn!

For my fabulous giveaway, the winner is Joanne Fritz! (Cue the confetti!) Joanne, I will be sending you a copy of Clementine and the Family Meeting. Joanne is also a children’s writer. You can read her blog named My Brain on Books by clicking HERE. There’s an interesting reason for the title of her blog. Hop on over and find out why. I have another giveaway for today, so stay tuned.

I am in an email group called Goals Buddies. It’s a group of writers who have connected through attending workshops at the Highlights Foundation. We email each other about our works in progress, goals we have for our writing, and our successes. One of the members, Shannon Hitchcock, had her first book come out in November. She was kind enough to send me a copy, and I want to tell all of you about it. The Ballad of Jessie Pearl is a story that is based on her family history, and her passion for her subject is apparent in her remarkable writing.

It is 1922 and fourteen-year-old Jessie Pearl Hennings is faced with helping her sister Carrie as Carrie prepares to deliver her first baby. Carrie’s husband, Frank, has gone for the doctor, but if they don’t get back in time, it will be up to Jessie. Their mother died some time ago, and Pa won’t be any help. But it isn’t the doctor who comes. It’s Maude Patterson, who “looks more like a witch than a granny woman.” Carrie doesn’t seem to regain her strength after the birth and has a cough she can’t shake. Although Jessie finally returns to school, so important to her dreams of becoming a teacher, she comes home early on a hunch to find Carrie sound asleep in the middle of the day,  running a high fever, and baby Ky hungry, in his crib. When the doctor comes, the news is bad. Carrie has tuberculosis. She insists on staying home and refuses the idea of going to a sanatorium. The danger of contagion is great, and Ky has to go live with another sister, Anna. Carrie needs nursing and who comes to help but Maude Patterson.

“Moving past Maude, I trudge down the hall to my room and drop the carpetbag on the floor. Since Frank’s staying in the room we keep for company, she’ll have to sleep with me. I’d rather have a big old boil on my butt.” 

Shannon Hitchcock

Maude turns out to be the perfect person for this job and does much to hold this family together through Carrie’s terrifying illness. Jessie has to drop out of school before graduating from eighth grade after Carrie’s death, to raise Ky and to keep the house running. Her best friend, J.T., becomes more than a friend and Jessie realizes she loves him. Things seem to be getting better when the terrible news comes that Anna has tuberculosis. It is almost too much for Jessie to bear, but there is hope. Anna’s illness was discovered earlier and she decides to fight the illness by making the hard decision to leave her home and family and go to a sanatorium. Again, Maude steps in to help the family.

J.T. leaves town to get a job, and Jessie doesn’t hear from him. A girl with whom she had gone to school, Liza, has often tried to come between Jessie and J.T., wanting him for herself. When Jessie doesn’t hear from J.T., she assumes he has moved on. It isn’t until after widower Frank takes up with Liza, that she confesses to Jessie that she has done something terrible.

“Patches comes running and we head toward the fishing shack. My brogans crunch against the frozen ground, and I ache for J.T. Ache to see his smile, feel his hair tangled in my fingers, his arms holding me tight.

I let myself in the cabin and pull up a chair. I close my eyes, reliving every time I was here with him.

I can see the future barreling toward me like a runaway train.”

But Jessie has never given up on her dreams – of J.T. or of becoming a teacher. How she makes sense of all that is quite a story.

Shannon has created a wonderful story that will capture readers young and old, anyone from upper-middle grade on up. The characters and setting are both well-researched and compellingly real. Readers will enjoy living with them for a day or two in this lovely little book. You can find out more about Shannon and her book by clicking HERE.

You might win a gently-read, signed copy of The Ballad of Jessie Pearl. I will put your name in my proverbial hat if you are kind enough to leave a comment. Link this post on your blog or Facebook or Tweet about it, let me know, and your name will be entered twice.



Don’t forget to stop by Shannon Messenger’s wonderful blog for more Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday links. Click HERE to find it.

On the book giveaway, this is for U.S. only. Sorry, but it would be too expensive for me to send books out of the country. But please leave a comment. I’d love to hear from you. Remember, if you have trouble leaving a comment, click on the title of the post and it will give you just this post with a comments section on the bottom. Also, if you haven’t signed up by email, please do. Just look in the upper right-hand corner of this page, pop your email address in, and you will receive an email each time I put up a new post. Your information will not be shared with anyone.