Keeper of the Lost Cities: Exile -- Review and Giveaway

Thought for the Day:

"A lot of people in this world hear voices in their minds. Some are called crazy, and they lock themselves away in little rooms where they bang their heads against the wall all day. The others
are called writers and they pretty much do the same thing."  ~Marion Steiger~

Some Gifts for My Writer Friends:  

Fresh eyes are always a good idea when working on a manuscript, but beyond your friends and critique partners, where can you go? I found a great resource recently. Jill Johse has a new business at MyBlockReader.com. She will read your entire manuscript, mark every little error you THINK you have abolished, give you very helpful notes (I received four pages!), with a quick turnaround for not much money. I was very pleased. Click HERE to learn all about it.

I think I have neglected to mention The Bookshelf Muse blog here. This blog is written by the authors of The Emotion Thesaurus, Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi. Every writer should be reading this blog and should own their book. There is a veritable treasure trove of information on their site. This post talks about the physical attribute of voice and can be found by clicking HERE. 

My good friend and fellow blogger Morgan Mussell has a terrific post every writer should read, but especially writers of fantasy. I try to never miss his posts. They are always worth my time. Click HERE to find this thought-provoking post called Dreaming with Animals. 

You just can’t get enough good examples of how important showing versus telling really is. HERE is a terrific post on that from Adventures in YA Publishing, one of my favorite blogs. 

It is WINNER time.  Last time I offered two books in my giveaway, Whistle in the Dark and Hunter Moran Hangs Out. Our winner is ... wait for it ... Debi! WooHoo. Debi, I will be shipping your books this week. Congratulations and enjoy! If you didn't win, do not despair. I have another spectacular giveaway today. Read to the end to find out what it's all about.

Way back in January, I wrote a review of Shannon Messenger's wonderful middle-grade fantasy, Keeper of the Lost Cities. If you missed it, you can click HERE to read it. I don't have much patience when it comes to waiting for sequels, so I was thrilled when the publisher asked if I might like to have an ARC of the second book, Keeper of the Lost Cities: Exile. I hopped right on that. Sequels are difficult, I think. The writer has to make the book stand on it's own in case someone hasn't read the prior book, yet one can't put in too much backstory or it will bog down. Shannon handled this masterfully. This book does stand on it's own, yet those of us who read the first book get just enough reminders of the first story to bridge the gap to the first. Nicely done, Shannon! 

Sophie, while on a hunt for a Sasquatch with Dex, Grady, and Sandor, instead finds an Alicorn, the rarest of animals. It looks like a unicorn crossed with Pegasus. When Sophie leaps with the Alicorn back to Havenfield, she manages it without coming apart. She names the creature Silveny, who makes it clear the only person she trusts is Sophie, and after some wrangling, the Council agrees to leave Silveny with her, Grady, and Edaline, but there are hard feelings on the part of some of the council members.

 

“This is who we’re trusting with the most important creature on our planet?” a sharp voice barked as Sophie flailed in the stinky waste—which was surprisingly glittery. Apparently she’s found the one thing sparkles didn’t make better.

The divided council spells trouble for both Sophie and others. Jealousy is a powerful emotion and

Shannon Messenger

drives people to do things they might not ever do otherwise. The kidnappers who had taken Sophie and Dex are still at large. Sophie finds messages from the mysterious Black Swan group, and finally she travels with Alden to Exile in an effort to garner very important information. The danger is greater than anything she has faced before.

It wasn’t rot or decay or waste like she would expect from a prison. Nor was it sulphur or magma, like the center of the earth should smell. The only word she could think of to describe it was “bleak.” If hopelessness had an odor it would smell like Exile. Sharp and stale and bitter.

This is a real page-turner. If you still aren't sure about getting it, I have a taste for you. Simon & Schuster has put the first two chapters on line for all to read. You can test drive Keeper of the Lost Cities: Exile by clicking HERE, but be warned, you just might be caught up in it and end up pacing around muttering, "When will it come? What's taking so long?" But it's only a few days until it's out, so order yours now.

And don't forget to check out Shannon's wonderful blog from links to more Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday bloggers. There are usually a few giveaways as well. Click HERE to find your way.

Now for the giveaway. You must be a follower, but that's easy. Check the information on the right to find and become a follower. Leave a comment. That will get your name into the hat. If you want your name in there more than one time, Tweet the link to this blog or post it on Facebook or your own blog and let me know. Your name will magically appear in the hat more than one time. If your name is drawn I will send you my gently-read ARC of this wonderful book.

   

Double Review and Giveaway -- Whistle in the Dark & Hunter Moran Hangs Out

Thought for the Day:

“Have compassion for yourself when you write. There's no failure -- just a big field to wander in.” ~ Natalie Goldberg~ 

 

Some Gifts for My Writer Friends:

I read one good poem every day, thanks to Garrison Keillor’s Writer’s Almanac. Click HERE to check it out. You can sign up and get a good poem every day too.

 

Because I am so tired of judgmental people saying things like, “You’re not a real writer unless you . . .” whatever, I was thrilled to read this great guest post by Adrienne Kress (click HERE). If you read nothing else, get to the little story about Stephen King and John Irving. It’s classic. 

 

My friend Morgan Mussell has a not-to-be-missed blog called The First Gates. It is always a treat to read what he has to say. In this post, he links to a great article by James Rollins called Turning Science into Fiction. If you click HERE, you will be taken to Morgan’s blog and you can link to the article there. I’m doing it this way because I think everyone should find Morgan’s rich, useful blog. 

When last I wrote, I offered a copy of Kicking in the Wall by Barbara Abercrombie. I am happy to announce that this week's winner is Joanne Fritz! Congratulations, Joanne. She writes children's books, poetry, and flash fiction. You can learn more about her on her blog, My Brain on Books, by clicking HERE. Joanne, I will be putting your book in the mail this week. Thanks for playing!

I am really busy doing some re-writing and also in the midst of Shannon Messenger's latest book (you'll hear more about it soon right here!), so I'm simply going to post two reviews I've done recently for the Sacramento Book Review. The good news is 1) I really liked them both and 2) I'm doing a double giveaway this week!

The first book is Whistle in the Dark by Susan Hill Long. It's terrific! Here's my review.

Clem has but one wish. For his thirteenth birthday he wants a dog. But that isn’t what he gets. He gets a miner’s cap. His life is about to change. He is expected to work in the lead mine, deep underground, and to help support the family. His grandfather has miner’s lung and cannot work. His Pap works every day, but it is never enough. Clem’s sister, Esther, has epilepsy and the doctor’s bills make it impossible for Pap to earn enough on his own. But this is not what Clem has in mind for his life. He hates the dark, claustrophobic, physical work. He wants to be in school and able to make something more of his life.

 “Clem’s hand went to his mouth as if to stifle a cry. He’d never before considered how his own father got the moonshine whiskey in his Thermos that day Clem caught him at it.”

Clem comes to know a girl from school, one who had been bullied by everyone, even Clem. Lindy is terribly scarred on half her face, and the kids call her Frankenstein. But when Clem discovers she helped Ester when she had a fit, he thinks differently of her. They become friends, then more.

Susan Hill Long has created a time-and place-machine with this lovely coming-of-age story. She transports readers to the Ozarks of the early 20th century with her compelling story.

The second book is Hunter Moran Hangs Out by Patricia Reilly Giff. It's pretty cute. Here is my review from SBR.

Hunter Moran and his twin, Zack, discover there is an impending kidnapping in Newfield. Worse yet,

they figure out their little brother Steadman is the likely target. Sarah Yulefski has the inside information and charges them all they have for it. The kids erect a tree platform to keep an eye on things and find suspicious activity at the house across the street – the empty house – and decide the kidnappers must be using it to stage their crime. Their mother goes into labor and their parents head to the hospital. That’s when the boys find a note that looks like it’s from the kidnapper, but their sister Linny tears it up before they can read it. The boys find themselves in plenty of messes along the way, but ultimately discover that their dog Fred has been taken. They never seem to be at the right place at the right time to see anything useful. Will they ever find Fred? This book is fast-moving almost to the point of being manic. Younger middle-graders will enjoy the pace and story. It will help if they’d read the first book in the series and are familiar with this amazing cast of characters.

 “We slog our way across the street, dripping muck and weeds. I use my hands like windshield wipers, back and forth across my cheeks, my forehead, my eyes. Behind us, someone is laughing like a maniac.”

All you need to do to win BOTH these books in hardcover is be a follower and leave a comment. If you aren't yet a follower, it's easy. Just look on the right column. If you want extra chances in the drawing, tweet the link or post it on Facebook or something like that and tell me you've done it. I will put in extra chances for you.

Don't forget to check out Shannon Messenger's wonderful blogs for more Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday books and blogs. You can find it HERE.

Thanks for reading and don't forget to leave a comment.