Deadweather and Sunrise -- Review and Giveaway

Thought for the day:

"We don't turn to story to escape reality. We turn to story to navigate reality."

-~Lisa Cron of Writer Unboxed~

A gift for my writer friends:

 Here are some links I think you will find valuable – three great ones this week.

Tempted to use song lyrics in your writing? Make sure you check out this very useful post on the problems that come with song lyrics by clicking HERE.

Kristen Lamb’s blog is really worth reading. She is funny, smart, and gives lots of great writing information. Click HERE for her post on five tips for tighter, cleaner writing. 

Click HERE for Writer’s Digest article on the Two Pillars of Novel Writing: 

 

For my wonderful giveaway, and autographed copy of Cake, the winner is Books4Learning! (Cue the balloon drop!) Books4Learning is a blog run by an anonymous teacher and reader. She also runs lots of book reviews and maybe she will add this blog to her blog roll! Hope so. Check out her blog by clicking HERE. Books4Learning, look for an email from me about getting the book to you.

 

I was contacted a while back by a publicist asking if I would be interested in reviewing the first two books in a middle-grade series called The Chronicles of Egg. I’m always looking for books for my reviews, so it seemed like a good offer. The publicist also offered to host a giveaway of each of these two books on my blog for readers in the US and Canada. I don’t send to Canada – it’s too expensive for me – so this is especially attractive. So check at the end of this post to see how to have a chance to win the first book in this series.

I must tell you, when I received my copies of the books, I wasn’t too sure it was quite my cup of tea. I could tell from the cover (which I really like, by the way) that fantasy would be involved, and you know that isn’t a genre I usually read. Although I must admit, I am becoming more of a fan the more I read it. But the first book in The Chronicles of Egg series, Deadweather and Sunrise, is a rollicking good adventure, and I loved every bit of it.

Egbert Masterson is a thirteen-year-old boy living in pretty dreary circumstances. The island of Deadweather lives up to its name – it is sticky-humid, hot, with hardly a breeze for relief. Egg’s family consists of a completely detached father, no mother, a nasty older brother who enjoys nothing more than making Egg’s life miserable, and a mean-spirited older sister who takes her unhappiness out on Egg. The closest thing to someone who cares are a couple of pirates who work for Egg’s father doing cooking and other chores around the ugly fruit plantation owned by Masterson.

Geoff Rodkey

Egg’s father seems particularly preoccupied and suddenly announces he will take the family to Sunrise Island the next day. Although the family normally goes there a couple times a year, they’ve never done it precipitously. At Sunrise, an elegant place where this family doesn’t seem to fit, Masterson says he has to see his lawyer and the kids should get some food from street vendors while he does. When he comes out, he seems much more upbeat and offers to take them to get a real meal at a nice restaurant. While there, they are invited be the guests of a wealthy, prominent man, Roger Pembroke for dinner. He seems very interested in learning more about Masterson’s business. Everyone is flattered by their treatment. Pembroke takes the whole family to his home and entertains them there. He introduces them to his lovely wife and young, beautiful daughter, Millicent. Egg is smitten. Pembroke offers the family a hot-air balloon ride, but they are too heavy, so first their tutor is put out, then Egg jumps out to allow the balloon to go up. The tethers do not hold and the balloon floats off into the evening, never to be seen again.

Pembroke spends a lot of time talking to Egg about papers his father had brought to show his lawyer. Egg knows little about it, but shares what he does. Pembroke offers to adopt the poor orphaned Egg, but when Egg realizes that would make him Millicent’s brother, and a brother cannot marry a sister, he refuses. Pembroke’s attitude changes and he sends Egg on an errand with one of his men, who tries to kill Egg. Egg escapes and Millicent helps him to get safely off the island. This is where the adventure really begins. We have pirates – bad ones and not-quite-so-bad ones – a quest for great treasure, a clever, loyal friend for Egg, and strange places and people along his journey.

"I might have been able to outrun him, back to the porch where I could pick up a gun and defend myself, if I’d focused on the knife and not his face. But the face froze me in place, baffled, unable to believe what I was looking at was real."

But what really carries this story is the voice of young Egg. He tells his remarkable story in a most authentic thirteen-year-old boy’s voice and draws the reader in, never letting go until the end of this book. One of the best things about reading this book was that I already had book two of the series in my hands, because I just couldn’t wait to get to it. I’ll be reviewing that one when it comes out in May and you’ll have a chance to win that as well. This is a really fun, engaging series. Boys will love these books, but I think girls will as well. To paraphrase Roger Ebert, I give this both thumbs way up. It’s fun and exciting and will generate loyal readers.

You can have a chance to win paperback copy of Deadweather and Sunrise. If you are not yet a follower, please become one and tell me that. I will put your name in twice. If you are already a follower, thank you very much, let me know and I will put your name in twice. You can receive extra chances by linking to this post on your blog, Facebook, Twitter, or other social media and tell me you are doing that. You can also receive an extra entry by following Geoff Rodkey on Facebook  or Twitter and telling me that as well. (If you click on the words Facebook and Twitter, you go to the appropriate link.)

Don’t forget to stop by Shannon Messenger’s wonderful blog for more Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday links. Click HERE to find it.

CAKE - A Second Helping and a Giveaway

Thought for the day:

“Writing is like driving a car at night. You can only see as far as the headlights, but you make the whole trip that way.”  ~ E.L. Doctorow, writer ~

A gift for my writer friends:

 Here are some links I think you will find valuable – three great ones this week.

If you don’t read anything else this week, click HERE and read this AMAZING blog post on contracts.

For an excellent post on first chapters, click HERE.  

To read a terrific post on crafting a good pitch, click HERE.

 

For my wonderful giveaway, the winner is Priscilla Strapp! (Cue the trumpets!) Priscilla is a teacher and writer involved with The Writers’ Manor, which offers all kinds of services including retreats. Check out what they offer by clicking HERE. Priscilla, I will put the book in the mail right away.

 

If you didn’t win, no worries. Joyce Magnin, author of Cake, is doing a guest post and giving away an autographed copy of Cake, so make sure you read to the end to find out how to win. I will turn this over to Joyce, but remember, read to the end to find out how to win Cake.

Joyce Magnin

 

A few years ago someone asked me what I thought at the time was a very strange question. She asked, “Why do you always kill off the parents in your stories?”  At first I was kind of taken aback. But then, as I thought about it I realized she was correct. I seem to like to write about orphans, just like Wilma Sue in my newest book, Cake. I write about children, and even adults who have been abandoned or have lost their parents in one way or another. Death just seems the easiest to write.  

But I had to ask myself why? What is it about the orphan archetype that attracts me? Well, first of all let’s talk about archetypes; there are many. For a study on the subject, research literary archetypes and you’ll learn that they can be found in all literature. There is the Orphan, my favorite and then there’s the Trickster, the Shape Shifter, Herald etc. They all have unique roles to play in a story.
  
Think about the fairy tales you know. They all have one thing in common—orphans and parents who abandoned their child, or were killed, or in many stories the orphan is adopted by an evil stepmother. It’s universal. And so, the fact that I gravitate toward the orphan archetype is no mystery, but still why?  
I think it’s because this is me--the orphan. And if, as they say, all fiction is autobiographical, then it makes sense.  I never really felt like I belonged anywhere. Even in my own family. My parents did not die young or abandon me, but they did leave me to my own devices pretty much all the time. I felt abandoned and un-loved, like an outsider looking into a world where I could never belong.  

I was utterly word-struck by the age of three, and reading everything I could get my hands on by the age of nine. I discovered an amazing place called the Library where I would spend much of my days--particularly my teenage days--safe with a trillion words scattered across a million books. I was essentially hiding  from the dangers of growing up. 

I knew, perhaps from reading so much, the dangers of adolescence, of lightning rod salesmen and Catchers in the Rye. I knew what it meant to have a Separate Peace and it was true that No One Promised Me a Rose Garden, but it was okay to be Harriet the Spy. I longed to become Anne of Green Gables, and entertain the notion and horror of Dracula. I found myself traveling with a rag tag band of Hobbits to Mordor. I understood why The Caged Bird Sings.  I chased my own White Whale, and tumbled down a rabbit hole. And because there was no one to help me navigate the turbulent waters of adolescence, I turned to books for answers. I found Anna Karenina and read, “Happy families are all alike, every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.”

And there it was-- the power of words to affirm me, to inform me that I was not alone. Dysfunctional families existed even in 19^th century Russia, a half world away from me and my little spot in the library. Dysfunction existed, I discovered, even before Jesus was born.

The Bible became literature, a place of story, wars and battles for not only land but body, spirit and mind. The Bible had much to say to me about the Power of Words, the words we write and those we speak. Even the words we don’t speak. Words I learned could destroy, break, or build and even change an entire nation.

The Atomic Bomb had the power to kill, the power to annihilate entire cities and all the people in it--the babies, the elders, the young men and women their dogs and chickens, their vegetable gardens and sky. But what good is that? Should that be the goal, to obtain this power? To cause unspeakable destruction with these words that can change lives? Words can bring about salvation, redemption, healing, peace, tolerance, and understanding. They can give communities a future.

When I started writing it was only natural that my protagonist would exemplify that orphan prototype. This is not unusual for middle grade literature. Think about it: Dorothy, Maniac Magee, Pippi Longstocking, and Wilma Sue, whose mother abandoned her on the steps of the Daylily Home for Children (or, as Wilma Sue call it, The Daylily Home for Unwanted and Misunderstood Children). As the story opens, she is on her way to her fifth foster home.Young Wilma Sue is the perfect Orphan archetype, and she plays the role well. But through all her trial and missteps, Wilma Sue learns one vital truth: She is worthy of receiving and giving love. And she learns quite a lot about chickens. Give it a read. You might just see yourself in Wilma Sue.

Joyce Magnin is the author of five novels, including the popular Bright’s Pond series and the 2011 middle grade novel Carrying Mason. She is also a frequent speaker and writing instructor. Magnin lives with her son in Pennsylvania. Her newest novel, Cake, is now available in stores. Magnin’s websites can be found HERE and HERE. She is also on Twitter (handle: @joycemagnin) and Facebook at (JoyceMagnin).

 

Thanks, Joyce, for sharing that and for the second copy of Cake for a giveaway. 

You can have a chance to win my gently used hardback copy by leaving a comment below. If you are not yet a follower, please become one and tell me that. I will put your name in twice. If you are already a follower, thank you very much, let me know and I will put your name in twice. You can receive extra chances by linking to this post on your blog, Facebook, Twitter, or other social media and tell me you are doing that.

Don’t forget to stop by Shannon Messenger’s wonderful blog for more Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday links. Click HERE  to find it.

On the book giveaway, this is for U.S. only. Sorry, but it would be too expensive for me to send books out of the country. But please leave a comment. I’d love to hear from you. Remember, if you have trouble leaving a comment, click on the title of the post and it will give you just this post with a comments section on the bottom. Also, if you haven’t signed up by email, please do. Just look in the upper right-hand corner of this page, pop your email address in, and you will receive an email each time I put up a new post. Your information will not be shared with anyone.           

This Post is CAKE -- a Review and a Giveaway

Thought for the day:

“It begins with a character, usually, and once he stands up on his feet and begins to move, all I can do is trot along behind him with a paper and pencil trying to keep up long enough to put down what he says and does.” ~William Faulkner~

A gift for my writer friends:

 Here are some links I think you will find valuable – three great ones this week.

Click HERE for an absolutely great post on uses of commas from Grammar Girl. I hope all my critique partners read this one. It will save me a lot of scribbling. ;-)  

Find out about ten words to avoid when writing by clicking HERE.  

Wonderful post on getting the surprise into your story in a way that actually works can be found by clicking HERE.  

My daughter Maggie sent me something recently where I was able to sign up to get a message from the Universe each day. Sometimes they are silly. Sometimes they say just what I need to hear. This one is worth sharing. It came in last week and is a great reminder.

Whoohoooooo, Rosi! Guess what?

Everything, absolutely everything you've ever wanted, now lies within reach!

Of course... you still have to reach.

Tallyho,
    The Universe

If this sounds like fun to you, you can sign up and get your own daily messages by clicking HERE.

 

For my wonderful giveaway, the winner is Christie Wild! (Spin the Disco ball!) Christie is a teacher and writer who gives wonderful information for picture book writers on her blog and has an on-going contest for picture book manuscript critiques. Check it out by clicking HERE. Christie had extra chances in the drawing for linking my post of Facebook and Twitter. I guess sometimes you make your own luck. Christie, I will put the book in the mail right away. There will be another giveaway, so stay tuned and please leave comments to have a chance in the drawing.

 

This week’s book, Cake: Love, Chickens, and a Taste of Peculiar, is a charming story about a young girl in difficult circumstances. Wilma Sue was given up by her mother when she was only two weeks old. She has spent some time in different foster homes and some times in Miss Daylily’s Home for Children. Her last foster home family sent her back when they won the lottery and decided to take a trip around the world, one that would not include Wilma Sue. But Miss Tate, Wilma Sue’s Social worker, says she already has a new home for her and that she is a lucky girl.

When they arrive at the new home, it’s a big, ramshackle gray house in a small town, and her new family is made up of two elderly women who have spent much of their lives as missionaries in Africa. It’s kind of an odd placement, but Wilma Sue wants a home rather than going back to Miss Daylily’s, so she is going to try, although, when the sisters suggest she work with their chickens, Wilma Sue thinks they may have taken her in as a chicken slave.

The sisters are a bit odd. They make extraordinary cakes every time someone has a problem, and Wilma Sue notices extraordinary reactions to the cakes. She tries to discover the magic ingredients, but to no avail.

Soon Wilma Sue makes friends with a neighbor girl, Penny, but their friendship is sometimes contentious, and Wilma Sue can’t figure out what the problem is. And, in this small town, everyone seems to know everything that happens. Whenever Wilma Sue makes any kind of mistake, everyone seems to know about it. When something really terrible happens, all eyes are on Wilma Sue. She is worried she will be taken back to Miss Daylily’s and that no family will ever take her again.

Joyce Magnin

When I received this book for review, I discovered it was published by Zonderkids, a Christian imprint of HarperCollins. I worried it might have overwhelming religious messages, but while there are some overtones, they are simply that. It is a sweet coming-of-age novel with a great story, wonderful characters readers will come to love, and terrific writing by Joyce Magnin, not to mention an adorable cover. Middle-grade girls will love this one. You can have a chance to win my gently used hardback copy by leaving a comment below. You can receive extra chances by linking to this post on your blog, Facebook, Twitter, or other social media and tell me you are doing that. Christie Wild did that and she was this week’s winner!

Don’t forget to stop by Shannon Messenger’s wonderful blog for more Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday links. Click HERE to find it.

On the book giveaway, this is for U.S. only. Sorry, but it would be too expensive for me to send books out of the country. But please leave a comment. I’d love to hear from you. Remember, if you have trouble leaving a comment, click on the title of the post and it will give you just this post with a comments section on the bottom. Also, if you haven’t signed up by email, please do. Just look in the upper right-hand corner of this page, pop your email address in, and you will receive an email each time I put up a new post. Your information will not be shared with anyone.