Thought for the Day:
"When in doubt, have a man come through the door with a
gun in his hand."
~ Raymond Chandler ~
Gifts for My Writer Friends:
Sue Colletta wrote a very useful post on The Wicked Writing Blog HERE that has 10 ways to keep readers enthralled.
I saw myself in this post by Janice Hardy on Fiction University. HERE you will find a good post on too much plot.
Martina Boone at Adventures in YA Publishing has a great post about tricks to creating engaging characters HERE. This is just Part I, so there will be more.
Last week I offered one of you a hardback copy of Sweet Home Alaska by Carole Estby Dagg. This week's winner is Nancy. Congratulations, Nancy! I will get the book out to you this week. For the rest of you, please stay tuned. I have another cute book to give away this week.
When I saw Jen Malone had a new book coming out, I couldn't resist getting a copy for review. I loved her earlier book, At Your Service, that I reviewed HERE. The Sleepover is terrific and I loved it just as much. The cover is perfect! Here is the review I wrote for the San Francisco Book Review.
Middle-schooler Meghan has never made it through an overnight, but tonight will be different. It’s Anne-Marie’s birthday and with Paige, the three best friends are planning an EPIC night, but a few things go awry. First Anne-Marie’s future step-sister, Veronica, joins the party, and she is pretty wacky. She has hired a hypnotist to entertain the girls at the party. Anne-Marie’s little brother is trying to make a name for himself with on-line videos. He loves to post pictures of his sister looking foolish, and he gets in the mix. When the girls wake up in the morning, they find Meghan wearing the sweatshirt of a local bad boy, on whom Meghan has a huge crush, and Anne-Marie is missing. No one can remember anything from the night before!
“So what if he’s gorgeous, with this kind of blue-black
hair that falls across his face and bright blue eyes that
have actual soul to them?”
Jen Malone is in the habit of writing smart, funny middle-grade novels with compelling characters and super stories. This is no exception. The voice of
Meghan, the narrator of this story, is absolutely pitch perfect. The writing is snappy, the dialogue sounds right out of a middle-grade playground, and there is just a little bit of romance to spice things up. Winner!
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| Jen Malone |
I have a gently-read ARC for 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.
