All Rise for the Honorable Perry T. Cook -- Review and Giveaway

Thought for the Day:

“Everybody walks past a thousand story ideas every day. The good writers are the ones who see five or six of them. Most people don’t see any.” 

~ Orson Scott Card ~

Gifts for My Writer Friends:

At our critique group meeting recently, we talked a lot about authentic dialogue. Word choice is so important. What I would have said as a teenager has nothing to do with what today’s teenagers would say. We certainly need to be cognizant of this in all our writing, not just dialogue. Anne R. Allen has a terrific post HERE, with tons of great links, on finding the right words. 

Most of us have thought of hiring an editor to help finish the work on a novel. Heck, some of us have even done it and been disappointed with what occurred. (Yes, that would be me.) Bookfox has a good post HERE about how a developmental editor can help and what to expect. 

I know I always struggle with titles. Alex Limberg posted an article HERE with hints for good titling from 17 fiction writers. 

Next week I will be in New York City seeing my daughter Maggie in a production of Richard III, one of my favorite Shakespeare plays. Maggie is playing Queen Elizabeth, a pretty juicy role, and I'm excited to be able to go and see her. My other daughter, Sara, is also coming to NYC and bringing my granddaughter Gracie for a girls' weekend filled with theatre and shopping. That is all my way of telling you that I am taking another week off next week, but will be back the next week. 

Last week I offered an ARC of Dr. Fell and the Playground of Doom by David Neilsen to one of you. This week's winner is Danielle Hammelef. Congratulations, Danielle! I will get your book out to you this week. For the rest of you, I do have another giveaway this week, so please keep reading.

When I first heard about All Rise for the Honorable Perry T. Cook by Leslie Connor, I knew it was a book I had to read. I requested it from the San Francisco Book Review and was able to get a copy. I LOVE this book! Here is the review I wrote for the SFBReview.

Perry T. Cook was born in prison. That’s not so uncommon, but a smart, kindly warden takes him on as her foster child and allows Perry’s mother to raise him in the small, minimum-security prison in Surprise, Nebraska, where he is loved and raised right by a large, extended family. Everything is fine until a new DA comes to town and discovers this unusual arrangement. The DA is a do-gooder who decides Perry would be a lot better off with the DA and his family, and Perry’s mother hasn’t really properly served her time since she was allowed to have her child with her. When Perry gets a school assignment that allows him to tell the stories of some of the prisoners and finally learn his mother’s whole story, it changes everything.

This is truly a story of love, friendship, hope, and redemption all packed into a

Leslie Connor

coming-of-age novel that will capture readers’ hearts. The characters are rich and complex, the setting is unusual and will fascinate young readers. The writing is superb and the storytelling is terrific. This book deserves a wider readership than the middle-graders for whom it is intended. A real winner!I have a gently-read hardback copy 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.

Dr. Fell and the Playground of Doom -- Review and Giveaway

Thought for the Day:

“The road to hell is paved with works-in-progress.”

~ Phillip Roth ~

Gifts for My Writer Friends:

I have mentioned before that I receive an email each day from "TUT, The Universe." They are uplifting and fun and once in awhile, so pertinent to what we as writers do, that I just have to pass them along. This is one I received recently. 

"It's true, Rosi, the early bird gets the worm. 

So does the late bird and the bird in-between. Because, by design, there are always more than enough worms. 

In fact, the only bird that doesn't get a worm is the bird that doesn't go out to get one. 

Oh, to be alive... The Universe"

Just in time for NaNoWriMo HERE is a post on how to start writing a novel. 

I don’t think a writer can read enough about balancing showing and telling in thier stories. HERE is a good post on exactly that from The Write Life. 

I have been doing searches for filtering words in my novel, and, while an arduous task, it’s worth it. HERE is a good article from Writers in the Storm about that. 

I still have not solved my spacing problems, so please forgive me the sonny layout.

When I posted two weeks ago, I offered a copy of Edna in the Desert by Maddy Lederman to one of you. The winner is Alex Baugh. Congratulations, Alex! I will get your book out to you soon. The rest of you can find out more about Alex at the Randomly Reading blog HERE. Please keep reading. I have another 

giveaway this week.

I read and reviewed a fun book recently -- Dr. Fell and the Playground of Doom by David Neilsen. How can you not love a book with that title? It has been getting a lot of buzz and with good reason. Here is the review I wrote for the San Francisco Book Review.

An abandoned old house has long been the playground of the neighborhood’s children, so when moving vans show up and begin to unload, there is both curiosity and disappointment. The children feel like their best times are being taken from them. Trucks and trucks are unloaded, and a funny-looking old man moves in. A couple days later, the most amazing playground–a combination of castles, pirate ships, and other exciting things–appears outside the old house. Soon children are swarming the place and seem to fall under a spell. The old man, Dr. Fell, seems able to enthrall all the parents and cure injuries miraculously. Three of the youngsters think something doesn’t quite add up and begin a quest to discover what’s really going on. But can they take on the strange Dr. Fell and win? 

Author David Neilsen has conjured up a story that will positively fascinate

David Neilsen

middle-grade readers and cast them under some kind of reading spell–a very good thing. The story is a combination mystery, supernatural, suspense, horror and will keep those eyeballs fast to the pages. Great characters and excellent writing will make this a true winner in the middle-grade category.

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.