Unbound -- Review and Giveaway

Thought for the Day:

“Much of writing might be described as mental pregnancy with 

successive difficult deliveries.” 

~ J.B. Priestley, author ~ 

Gifts for My Writer Friends:

The Group Blog has a good post HERE with great reminders about Active vs. Passive sentences. Making the change can help get rid of extra words. Just sayin’. 

Alex Limberg did a guest post HERE on Kristen Lamb’s blog all about world building. For those of you who write fantasy and scifi, this is a must read. 

I read a self-published book recently for review and the dialogue really stood out — and not in a good way. K. M. Weiland has an excellent post HERE about the very problem this author had. 

I'm still having spacing problems around imported pictures. I hope you don't find this too distracting. I can't figure out how to fix this.

Last week, I offered a gently-read hardcover copy of The Thing About Leftovers by C. C. Payne to one of you. The roll of the dice goes to Patricia Tilton this week. Congratulations, Patricia! I will get the book out to you this week. If you don't know her, Patricia is a children's book writer with a focus on children with special needs. You can read more about her and also read some of her wonderful book reviews on her blog HERE. Not the winner this week? Stay tuned. I have another terrific book to give away. 

I have been reading a lot of novels in verse in the last couple years. They are certainly becoming more popular and there are more of them. I must admit, sometimes I wonder if some are really written in verse or if they are just short novels with an interesting use of white space. This is not that. Unbound by Ann E. Burg is surprisingly lyrical considering it is told in first person from the viewpoint of a young slave girl with a strong dialect. Here is the review I wrote for the San Francisco Book Review.

Grace is only nine years old, but when one is a slave – Age doesn’t matter. Being old enough to work is old enough, especially when one has an uncaring master and a mistress who is mean as a hungry gator and vengeful as a startled skunk. Grace is ripped from her mother and brothers and taken to serve in the big house. She really has to watch herself and never let her thoughts slip out between her lips; not an easy task for a smart and headstrong girl like Grace. When she slips up, she puts her mother and brothers in great danger, and they have no choice but to go on the run. The road to freedom is fraught with peril and worry. 

Author Ann E. Burg tells this compelling tale of a little-known trail into the Great

Ann E. Burg

Dismal Swamp where some runaway slaves found refuge and freedom still within the Deep South. And she tells this tale entirely in verse, using the deeply-accented voice of her uneducated, stubborn main character, nine-year-old Grace. It is a powerful story that stands as a testament to those brave souls who survived so much. Don’t miss this one.

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.

The Thing About Leftovers -- Review and Giveaway

Thought for the Day:

“I like to create sympathy for my characters, then turn the monsters loose.”  

~ Stephen King ~`

Gifts for My Writer Friends:

HERE you will find a character name generator. This could save a lot of time. 

Writers Helping Writers has a terrific post HERE on finding story holes. Check it out. 

Sandra Havriluk has a guest post on Fiction University HERE on using the five senses in your writing. It’s worth a read. 

Something very weird is going on with spacing this week. Please just ignore the wonky spacing and forgive the distraction!

Last week, I promised a gently-read copy of Dinosaur Dictionary for Kids by Bob Korpella. This week's winner is Greg Pattridge. Congratulations, Greg! If you don't know him, Greg is a Colorado middle-grade writer and teacher who blogs twice a week (I can hardly get one post done each week) at Always in the Middle and reviews middle-grade books and sometimes has giveaways. You can check out his blog HERE. Greg, I will get the book out to you this week. For the rest of you, stay tuned. I have another great giveaway this week.

Through my work for the San Francisco Book Review, I manage to get a lot of really great middle-grade novels to read. This week I'd like to tell you about The Thing About Leftovers by C. C. Payne. It's a terrific book that just came out in July. Here is the 5 -star review I wrote for the San Francisco Book Review.

Fizzy is 12 years old, not an easy age, and after her parents divorce, she and Mom move to a new town — a town where she has no friends, the wrong clothes, and hateful teachers. Dad gets remarried, and he and his wife start a new family. Then Mom is marrying Keene, and they want kids. Fizzy just isn’t enough of a family. She doesn’t seem to fit in anywhere and is just a leftover. When Keene moves in everything changes. Fizzy no longer gets to cook—her real passion—can’t leave any of her stuff out, and doesn’t even get to watch TV with Mom. But Fizzy tries to be perfect and not bother anyone. The only things that keep her going are her new friends, Miyoko and Zach, her Aunt Liz, and her desire to win a cooking contest. 

Author C. C. Payne has written a perfect story for middle-graders. It hits a lot of

C. C. Payne

things kids worry about most. The voice of Fizzy in this first-person narrative is pitch perfect. This may capture the experience of children of divorce better than any book out there and deserves readership beyond a middle-grade audience. A winner!                                                    I have a gently-read hardback 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.

Dinosaur Dictionary for Kids -- Review and Giveaway

Thought for the Day:

Just because it cracked me up. “A man is like a fraction whose numerator is what he is and whose denominator is what he thinks of himself. The larger the denominator, the smaller the fraction.” 

~ Leo Tolstoy, novelist and philosopher ~

Gifts for My Writer Friends:

Adventures in YA Publishing is reposting a good post HERE with 40 Questions to Help You NAIL Your Manuscript. 

Steven Pressfield has a very useful post HERE that reminds us of the importance of the Hero Cycle in our writing. 

The Editor’s Blog has a spectacular two part posting HERE and HERE on Going Deep with Point of View. 

Last week, I promised a copy of Chasing Secrets by Gennifer Choldenko to one of you. This week's winner is Nancy! Congratulations on getting your house ready to sell. I know how hard that is! I will get your book out to you this week. Thanks for stopping by and commenting. For the rest of you, I have a fun book to offer again this week, so keep reading.

This week, I am featuring a book about dinosaurs. I mean, who does't love dinosaurs? I do. I know whenever I get a chance to review a dinosaur book, I grab it. This one did not disappoint. It is the Dinosaur Dictionary for Kids by Bob Korpella. Here is the review I wrote for the San Francisco Book Review.

Probably nothing in the world fascinates kids as much as dinosaurs. There are plenty of books out there, but this may be one of the best to come along in quite a while. This should become the go-to book for middle-grade readers and above who have an interest in dinosaurs. After an excellent introduction with a note on using the dictionary and basic terms of the Mesozoic Era, it is neatly laid out in three major sections — Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous. Each section covers the dinosaurs in that period with an illustration, short write-up, name properly spelled with the pronunciation, when it lived, size, weight, where it lived, and what it ate. Interesting sidebars are scattered throughout, and each section has a period-specific article. But what else lived in the Mesozoic Era? Lots of things, and another section shows the fish, birds, bugs, and more with the same kinds of details. An article on how the dinosaurs became extinct is followed by an activities section, bibliography, and index. The

Bob Korpella

writing is snappy and the information fun and fascinating. Kids will love this book and will wear it out reading it over and over. A winner!

I have a gently-read paperback 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.

Chasing Secrets -- Review and Giveaway

Thought for the Day:

A writer never has a vacation. For a writer life consists

of writing or thinking about writing.  

~ Eugene Ionesco ~

Gifts for My Writer Friends:

The post HERE from the Teaching Authors blog on female protagonists is FASCINATING and should be read by everyone who writes for young people. 

The devil is in the details and Anne R. Allen has a great post HERE on how to create memorable characters with interesting details. Check it out. 

I found this link on Fiction University, so it has to be good, eh? It is on my favorite topic — cutting words from a manuscript that is too long, and it has lots of good tips. Click HERE to check it out. 

Last week, I offered a slightly used paperback copy of Ida B by Katherine Hannigan to one of you. This week's winner is Carol Baldwin of the famous Carol Baldwin's Blog which you can find HERE. Carol is a North Carolina writer who works with author Joyce Moyer Hostetter on the wonderful newsletter for parents and teachers called Talking Story. See the latest issue HERE. Congratulations, Carol! I will get your book out to you this week. Please read on. I have another giveaway.

So here I am again a bit late to the party. Nearly a year ago I read and reviewed a wonderful historical novel by Gennifer Choldenko, and somehow I never got around to featuring it here. It's terrific. The book is Chasing Secrets and here is the review I wrote for the San Francisco Book Review.

Lizzie Kennedy, thirteen years old, lives with her doctor father and older brother, Billy, in San Francisco. It is 1900 and the world is changing. Billy is saving to buy a horseless carriage and disappearing at night and coming home hurt. Lizzie has trouble making friends at the snobby finishing school her aunt insists she attend. Lizzie wants to go to medical school, not marry and raise a family, but science is not an acceptable path for a young lady. Rumors begin to fly about the plague being in San Francisco, and Jing, a favorite and most loyal servant of the Kennedy’s, disappears, and strange noises in the attic lead Lizzie to an astonishing discovery and further mysteries to solve.

“Papa is in the hall, talking to them in his soothing 

voice, but the bigger girl has a wild look in her eyes.

She won’t stop long enough to hear him. I can’t

understand a word, but her message is clear.”

Any writer who wishes to learn how to engage a reader from the first page

Gennifer  Choldenko

would do well to read this riveting historical novel by Gennifer Choldenko. The subject matter is fascinating, the characters well-drawn, the conflicts believable and compelling, and the writing is mesmerizing. Any reader who likes historical fiction and mysteries will love this book. The story is complex and completely satisfying. Though marketed to the middle-grade crowd, this deserves  to have a much larger audience.

I have a gently-read hardback 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.