Sunday, November 22, 2015

Mister Max: The Book of Kings -- Review and Giveaway

Thought for the Day:
“Almost anything will work again if you unplug it for 
a few minutes. Even you.” 
~ Annie Lamott ~
Gifts for My Writer Friends:
Stephanie Gayle did an interesting guest post on The Writer’s Dig that outlines seven fatal flaws that will tell you your novel isn’t ready to submit. You can find it HERE. Number four is one I really need to watch for. 

Mary Blount Christian has a terrific post on Keeping Viewpoint Straight HERE. She always has very good advice for writers.  

Janice Hardy at Fiction University has a great post HERE on creating more depth in your story. 

With the holidays upon us and with my move finally starting to move (we closed on our new house last week a month later than we had hoped to and will now start renovations), don't be too surprised if the occasional week goes by without a post. Just saying'.

Last week I promised an ARC of The Disappearance of Emily H. by Barrie Summy to one of you. This weeks winner is Mimadocken. Congratulations, Mima! Thanks for spreading the word on FaceBook and getting an extra entry. It paid off for you. I will get the book out to you this week. Stay tuned, everyone. I have another giveaway this week.

Cynthia Voigt has written plenty of books for teens and tweens and middle graders. I have enjoyed all I have read. Her latest series is the Mister Max books and I have read and enjoyed two of the three books in the series. I reviewed the first book in the series a couple years ago. You can read that review HERE if you like.Here is the review I wrote for the San Francisco Book Review of the third book, Mister Max: The Book of Kings.

Max has been on his own since his parents disappeared a few months earlier. Max kept himself busy with his business as a Solutioneer, finding solutions for client’s problems. Now he receives coded messages with buttons attached that seem to be from his father. Max finds out his parents, well-known stage actors, are living as king and queen of a small South American country, Andesia. Max can only believe they are there against their will, and he needs to rescue them. He comes up with a plan to take an embassy to Andesia, but first he must convince the king of his own country, whom he has never met, to help.
“His thirteenth birthday had been not-celebrated in the Estrella’s large first-class dining room. There had been no candles on no cake, no wrapped packages, and no singing of the traditional birthday song.”
This final book in the Mister Max trilogy by Cynthia Voight is a satisfying
Cynthia Voigt
conclusion for all questions raised in the three books. The characters are interesting and well-rounded, the story has lots of adventure and excitement, and this will be a very gratifying read for those who have read the earlier two books, but as a stand-alone, it makes some assumptions of prior knowledge. The more mature and patient of middle-grade readers will be the audience for this somewhat overly-long, detailed story.
I have an ARC of this book I would be happy to send to one of you. To win, all you need do is have a US address, be a subscriber or follower, and tell me that in a comment you leave on this post. If you are reading this in your email, click HERE to go to the blog so you can leave a comment. If you would like extra chances, please spread the word by posting the link on a Tweet, blog post, Facebook, or any other way you like. Let me know what you have done in your comment, and I will put in extra chances for you for each that you do.

Don't forget to check out Shannon Messenger's wonderful blog HERE for many more Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday reviews and giveaways.

Sunday, November 15, 2015

The Disappearance of Emily H. -- Review and Giveaway

Thought for the Day:
“Don’t use words too big for the subject. Don’t say ‘infinitely’ when you mean ‘very;’ otherwise you’ll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite.”
-C.S. Lewis

Gifts for My Writer Friends:
Feeling a little delusional about your writing? Maybe we all are a little delusional about our work. Anne R. Allen has some great advice HERE about dealing with those delusions.

Another great post from Janice Hardy HERE on Fiction University. This one is about characters that are too perfect, a problem my critique group can attest I often have. 

Stephanie Gayle did an interesting guest post on The Writer’s Dig that outlines seven fatal flaws that will tell you your novel isn’t ready to submit. You can find it HERE. Number four is one I really need to watch for. 

When I last wrote, I offered an ARC of Lincoln's Spymaster by Samantha Seiple to one of you. This time, Janet Smart is the winner. Congratulations, Janet! If you don't know Janet, you should check our her blog, Creative Writing in the Blackberry Patch, HERE. She is a West Virginia writer specializing in children's stories and writing about Appalachia. I will be getting your book out to you this week, Janet. For the rest of you, please keep reading. I have a wonderful book to give away.

I don't read a lot of fantasy. It just isn't my cup of tea. But I do like books that are set in the real world and have some fantastic elements. When I read about The Disappearance of Emily H. by Barrie Summy, I asked the Manhattan Book Review to get it for me for review. I'm really glad I did. Here the the review I wrote. 

Raine has a special ability. She can see sparkles on people or things and, when she picks them up, can read memories from them as her grandmother had before her. She is starting eighth grade at her third middle school and fifth school over all. As she is picking up her schedule, she meets Shirlee who is also new, having only been homeschooled. Before long the newbies are targeted by the mean queen of the school and her minions. Raine discovers she and her mother are living in the house of a girl who had recently disappeared and is thought to be dead. When Raine steals a sparkle, she discovers the mean girls may have had something to do with the disappearance. At the same time an arsonist is on the loose. And there’s more that creates real danger for Raine and others.

“Jennifer uploads a few more videos on YouTube about me, then stops. It’s not really her thing. She prefers to bully in real life, up close and personal. She wants to see her victim’s reaction.”

Barrie Summy has created a delicious mystery with some magic added in that
Barrie Summy
will have readers turning the pages as quickly as they can read. The writing is excellent, the characters real and sympathetic, and the story compelling. It deserves to be read well beyond the tween audience to which it is marketed. 

I have an ARC of this charming book I would be happy to send to one of you. To win, all you need do is have a US address, be a subscriber or follower, and tell me that in a comment you leave on this post. If you are reading this in your email, click HERE to go to the blog so you can leave a comment. If you would like extra chances, please spread the word by posting the link on a Tweet, blog post, Facebook, or any other way you like. Let me know what you have done in your comment, and I will put in extra chances for you for each that you do.

Don't forget to check out Shannon Messenger's wonderful blog HERE for many more Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday reviews and giveaways.

Sunday, November 1, 2015

Lincoln's Spymaster -- Review and Giveaway

Thought for the Day:
"There is no passion to be found playing small – in settling for a life 
that is less than the one you are capable of living."
~ Nelson Mandela ~

Gifts for My Writer Friends: 
Beth Stilborn at By Word of Beth has a great post with lots of terrific links all about character names and titles. Check it out HERE

Some thoughts on writing from John Steinbeck. Worth the time. Click HERE

I took a nonfiction workshop a couple years ago through the Highlights Foundation. Peggy Thomas was on the faculty, and it was a terrific workshop. Peggy writes about nonfiction at her blog Anatomy of Nonfiction. She has a great post on Using Fair Assumptions in Nonfiction HERE. If you ever work in this genre, this is really worth your time. 

Last week I offered an ARC of Connect the Stars by David Teague and Marisa de los Santos. The winner this week is Joanne Fritz. Congratulations, Joanne! I will be getting the book out to you this week. If you don't know Joanne, you should check out her blog HERE. She is a writer with a fascinating and inspiring "About Me" on her blog. Every once in awhile I go to her blog and read her "About Me" just for inspiration. Seriously. Right now she is running a giveaway there for a fun book. Fear not. I have another giveaway this week, so read on!

My grandson is a history buff and his special area of interest are anything related to Lincoln and the Civil War. When I saw this book as an option for the San Francisco Book Review, I knew I had to get it. Here is my review for them of Lincoln's Spymaster: Allen Pinkerton, America's First Private Eye by Samantha Seiple.

Allan Pinkerton was a barrel maker. In an effort to get free wood, he visited a small island. There he found evidence of strange goings-on. After some investigation, he helped uncover a counterfeiting ring. This was his first step on a long journey through law enforcement and building of the greatest detective agency. As Pinkerton built his detective business capturing many outlaws, including train robbers, he came to know leaders in the railroad business. It was one of these, Samuel Felton, who hired Pinkerton to uncover a plot to destroy his railroad. In the process of doing so, Pinkerton discovered a plot to assassinate Lincoln before he could take office. In foiling that plot, Pinkerton sealed his future as an integral part of Lincoln’s inner circle in Washington D.C. throughout his administration, extending even to being a war spy during the Civil War.

“The information in Pinkerton’s reports to McClellan was not just collected by his spies. He also interrogated deserters, prisoners of war, refugees, and runaway slaves.”

Samantha Seiple has found a subject who will absolutely fascinate readers
Samantha Seiple
young and old in this well-written biography. The fast-paced story is told through clear, crisp prose and illustrated with great choices in very early photographs which emphasize the non-fiction aspect of the book. Readers will love this fresh take on Pinkerton.

I have an ARC of this wonderful book I would be happy to send to one of you. To win, all you need do is have a US address, be a subscriber or follower, and tell me that in a comment you leave on this post. If you are reading this in your email, click HERE to go to the blog so you can leave a comment. If you would like extra chances, please spread the word by posting the link on a Tweet, blog post, Facebook, or any other way you like. Let me know what you have done in your comment, and I will put in extra chances for you for each that you do.

Don't forget to check out Shannon Messenger's wonderful blog HERE for many more Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday reviews and giveaways.