Around the World in 50 Ways -- Review & Giveaway

And the move goes on. Please join me at my new blog for this post and giveaway HERE. Please, please, PLEASE take a moment and enter your email address on my new blog site. I haven't been able to figure out how to move my subscriber list and I would really appreciate you signing up at my new site. Thanks! See you there.

When the Sky Breaks -- Review & Giveaway

Thought for the Day:

“I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes. Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. You’re doing things you’ve never done before, and more importantly, you’re doing something.”

~ Neil Gaiman ~

Gifts for My Writer Friends:

Lee Martin has 10 truths authors need to learn to accept HERE. 

Mary Kole has a great post HERE on KidLit about how to bring dead characters to life in your stories.

If you are writing for kids of any age, you should be aware of KitLit411. If not, here is a link to one of the best posts I’ve seen there, and I have seen plenty of excellent posts. This one is chock full of links that will help you improve your writing and on the road to success. Click HERE for all kinds of good help.

I hope all of you had a wonderful holiday season. I know I did. I had lots of relaxing time, caught up on some of my reading, and feel like my batteries are recharged. I was even inspired to write an article I will be sending out to some children's magazines this week. (Fingers crossed!) I had wonderful time with family including a very short but really nice visit from Maggie all the way from New York. But now everyone is back where they belong, the grandkids will go back to school, and I am back to blogging.

One of the things I like about Common Core is that it has given us a great many wonderful non-fiction books. When I get a chance to grab some of those for review, I do it. I want to tell you about one I really enjoyed early last year. It is called When the Sky Breaks: Hurricanes, Tornadoes, and the Worst Weather in the World by Simon Winchester. This one comes from Smithsonian, and their non-fiction books for kids are always great. Here is the review I wrote for the Seattle Book Review.

Most middle-grade readers are old enough to remember hearing about the terrible damage Hurricane Sandy caused just a few years ago. Many have probably heard of Hurricane Katrina as well. Every year these youngsters see reports of tornadoes, typhoons, and other great storms. Has it always been this way? What causes these awful events? These are the kinds of questions kids are curious about, and this is a book that will help to quell that curiosity. Author Simon Winchester was a scientist before he became a journalist and writer, and that shows nicely in his approach to the subject. It’s clear he has a good understanding of the subject of violent weather

Simon Winchester

and brings both scientific knowledge and historical perspective to the subject of storms. He then ties all of this together into a story the weather tells about the larger issue of climate change. Winchester’s writing style is that of a storyteller. He uses creative writing techniques, making it fun for readers while they are learning, and learn they will. The text is supported with spectacular photographs of storms and storm damage and of illustrations for stories of times past, as well as charts and maps to support the science.

I have a gently-read hardback for of this 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 Greg Pattridge's blog HERE for many more Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday reviews and giveaways. 

Ashes to Asheville -- Review and Giveaway

Thought for the Day:

“Inspiration does not come like a bolt, nor is it kinetic, energetic striving, but it comes 

into us slowly and quietly and all the time, though we must regularly and every day 

give it a little chance to start flowing, prime it with a little solitude and idleness.” 

~ Brenda Ueland ~

Gifts for My Writer Friends:

MentalFloss has a post HERE that will give you 38 Word Usage Mistakes Even Smart People Make. There were a couple on the list I know I’ve used incorrectly a time or two. 

Choosing the correct point of view is pretty critical to the success of your story. HERE K. M. Weiland gives you some great hints to find the right point of view. 

Writers in the Storm has a good post HERE to help you manage your chapters. 

I took my exchange student, Amandine, to Sequoia National Park and Yosemite National Park this weekend. It has been years since I have visited these wonderful places, and it was a treat to see them through the eyes of someone who had never been there before. As we were driving out of Sequoia, a California Black Bear ran alongside our car for several hundred feet. It was a real thrill to see him up close. In Yosemite, we saw several mule deer and lots of small animals. Amandine was obsessed with Yosemite and declared it was just not fair that there is nothing like it in Belgium. We sure are lucky to live in such a wonderful place.

Last week I offered a gently-read ARC of Jabber-Walking by Juan Filipe Herrera to one of my readers. The winner this week is our temporary host of MMGM, Greg Pattridge. Congratulations, Greg! To keep up on MMGM and to read wonderful book reviews, hop on over to Greg's fabulous blog, Always in the Middle. Don't miss an episode. It's so good. HERE is the link. Greg, I will get your book out to you this week. For the rest of you, please keep reading for another terrific giveaway.

I read about a book a couple months ago called Ashes to Asheville by Sarah Dooley that sounded really good, so I requested a copy from the Seattle Book Review and was not disappointed. Here is the review I wrote for them. 

Fella lost so much when Mama Lacy died. It was bad enough to lose her mother, but to be separated from her sister, Zany, and her other mother, Mama Shannon, as well was so hard. But living with her grandmother had its upside. She had a nice room and wanted for nothing — except the rest of her family. When Zany shows up one night insisting Mama Lacy’s wishes must be respected and her ashes spread in Asheville, the two girls find themselves on an amazing journey. These two girls, four years apart in age, agree on very little as they work their way toward Asheville. They have little money, the urn of ashes is stolen along with Zany’s purse, they have grandmother’s dog along, and they have no map. It’s complicated.

Author Sarah Dooley has written a heart-rending story of the time before there

Sarah Dooley

were protections for same-sex couples and their families and how the lack of those protections could rip families apart and steal so much from those left behind. The characters are compelling and, for the most part, believable and the writing strong. The story is an important reminder of why the new laws are so important.

I have a gently-read hardback for of this 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 Greg Pattridge's blog HERE for many more Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday reviews and giveaways. He has graciously agreed to take over temporarily for Shannon Messenger while she is running around promoting her latest book. Thanks, Greg, and good luck, Shannon!