Little Red Writing: Book Blast (w/ Giveaway)

Little Red Writing by Joan Holub

Acclaimed writer Joan Holub and Caldecott Honoree Melissa Sweet team up in this hilarious and exuberant retelling of Little Red Riding Hood, in which a brave, little red pencil finds her way through the many perils of writing a story, faces a ravenous pencil sharpener (the Wolf 3000)... and saves the day.
Joan Holub has hundreds of pencils. Some are red. Others are glittery, sporty, or full of holiday cheer. They are all super sharp and good at writing books. They’ve helped Joan write more than 130 books, including Zero the Hero and Knuckleheads. She lives in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Melissa Sweet has illustrated nearly 100 children’s books, including the Caldecott Honor–winning River of Words and the Sibert Medal–winning Balloons Over Broadway. When not in her studio, Melissa loves to ride her bicycle and hike with her two dogs, Rufus and Nellie. She lives in Rockport, Maine.

 Amazon * Barnes & Noble

Praise
"A very funny picture book that, I guarantee you, lots of savvy teachers will be eagerly sharing with students as part of the process of teaching creative writing." -- Richie Partington MLIS, Richie's Picks

"What a CLEVER, CLEVER story!" -- I Love to Read and Write Reviews

"This clever adaptation of Little Red Riding Hood has so many levels of creativity and learning... Every elementary teacher should have this book to begin their writing units." -- Play on Words

"Style, humor, and solid writing advice." --Publishers Weekly, starred review

"So rich in words and wry humor-written and visual-that one reading just isn't enough." --School Library Journal, starred review

"Every writers' group should start with this story." --Kirkus Reviews, starred review

"Every elementary teacher should have this book to begin their writing units." -- Play on Words

"An easy, winning prompt for beginning writers to abandon their fears and take up pencils of their own." --Booklist

Author Joan Holub
I graduated from college in Texas with a fine arts degree, and then freelanced as an art director at a graphic design firm for eight years. I dreamed of working in children’s books, so I moved to New York City and became associate art director in Scholastic trade books, where I designed books for children and worked with editors and illustrators. It was a great job.

I illustrated my first published children’s book in 1992 and soon began illustrating full time. I began completing manuscripts and mailing them out to publishers in the early 1990s. In 1996, I sold my first two manuscripts — Boo Who? A Spooky Lift-the-Flap Book (Scholastic) and Pen Pals (Grosset & Dunlap). Yippee!

Now I write full time and have written and/or illustrated over 130 children’s books. Creating books that entertain, inform, and interest children (and me) is a fabulous job that I truly love.

Twitter * Website * Blog

BookBlast Giveaway
$50 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash
Ends 10/15/13

Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader, Not A Writer and sponsored by the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.

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Veronica Rossi: YALLFest Interview

The author interviews continue!

So, if y'all don't know about this amazing festival yet, please get on board. I have gone for the past 2 years (as long as it's been in existence) and it is the most fun I have in a day! The growth from the 1st year to the 2nd was phenomenal! I can only imagine what this 3rd year will be.

Check out yallfest.org or @YALLFest for more information!

Today's interview is with...

Veronica Rossi!

Picture borrowed from Veronica's Facebook page.

What is the hardest line to write- the first or the last?

Yeah, those. And all the ones in between!

Best writing tip you ever received?

$5. Just kidding. Um… tip… I think it’s probably to allow yourself to suck when writing early drafts. It takes away a lot of the fear of generating good material. It’s not easy to be creative when you’re judging your work.      

Tell us 5 random facts about yourself.

1.       In the past year, I discovered a deep love of Brussel sprouts

2.       I talk to myself. Heck. Sometimes I argue with myself.

3.       I’m arguing with myself about including that last point at this very moment.

4.       My favorite animals are elephants.

5.       Dresses with pockets make me happy.

Where's your favorite place to write?

I usually work in my home office, but I love working in hotel rooms. No distractions!

What are you working on now?

Something I’m very excited about! Can’t divulge any details yet, but it’s an idea I’ve been mulling over for years.

The Riddles of Hillgate: Review (w/ Giveaway)

Tour Schedule

Zoey Kane is known around Riverside for making risky purchases. When her daughter Claire learns a most recent investment is eighty acres on the haunted side of town, she is simply flabbergasted. Amazement takes over the whole community, however, when an old mansion is discovered deep within trees. After the estate is turned into a popular hotel, no one could have expected just how risky this purchase would be.

Riddles of Hillgate is currently FREE!

Download a copy

Amazon * Kobo * Barnes & Noble

The Z&C Mysteries are a fresh, unique series, where the mother and daughter can kick butt in heels if they have to. The situations can get very scary, but nothing is ever too gory. The reading is clean, while also vibrant. It's just plain fast-paced fun.

Thoughts
Ahhh, another fun and quick read! Some may find The Riddles of Hillgate to be cheesy, but I consider it cheesy FUN! I love cheesy fun!

Zoey and Claire are a great mother-daughter team who both hit bottom at the same time. With luck, the stumbled upon the mansion that they dubbed, Hillgate, turned out to be a great experience for them.

This was a fun mystery with comedy to go along with it. Dealing with trying to earn money by turning it into a hotel and having a "ghost" and finding out the secrets about the family and what happened back in the 1920s was fun! This was a story that was written well. The descriptions were fun and endearing (at the end).

A review copy was provided. All thoughts are my own and I have not been persuaded in any way.
Rating

About the Authors

Claire has a Masters in Journalism, was Editor for Eye Witness Magazine and can't make Irish Rum Cookies to save her life.

Zoey has dabbled in modeling, is a licensed real-estate agent, seeks for treasures (great and small), and is often underestimated.

Together, Zoey and Claire are a mother-daughter mystery solving duo. During their downtime, they dream of island men whisking them away.

(Zoey and *Claire are also fictional, and their authors are a real life mother and daughter who use their names as pseudonyms. Don't tell them that, though.)

*Award-winning author, Molly Snow, writes under Claire Kane. To see her paranormal romantic comedies, visit mollysnowfiction.blogspot.com

Website * Blog * Facebook

Tour Giveaway
$25 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash
Ends 11/11/13

Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader, Not A Writer and sponsored by the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.
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Life, Love, & Lemons: Review (w/ Giveaway)

Life, Love, & Lemons by Magan Vernon 

Publication date: August 20th 2013 

Genre: YA Contemporary
Challenge: Standalone Challenge

Synopsis:

When life hands you lemons, sometimes you have to say screw the lemons and bail.

Seventeen-year-old Bentley Evans had it all. Then her Dad got laid off.

Now she has to move across town to a small apartment and leave her life of luxury for public school and a job at the local burger place. Just when her world seems like it's crumbling she finds solace in the unlikely punk boy next door, Kai Stone. But as their relationship blossoms, a jealous ex-girlfriend and a secret to tell that threatens to bring disaster back into Bentley’s life.

  

Thoughts

Looking for a cute and fast read? This is it! Kai and Bentley were great to read about. 

Bentley, having a life let down, was demoted in the world due to her dad losing his job. She made the best of it and was actually quite a trooper. She could still be whiny every once in a while, but what 17 year old isn't?!?

Kai was a great addition for Bentley. Granted, having him in her life got her some unwanted attention and enemies. Jealous ex-girlfriends are the pits!

Life, Love, & Lemons was a great story about love and sacrifice. In the end, the sacrifice that was made, and the understanding from all parties involved, made my heart smile. It's all about what you choose to do with the lemons.

A review copy was provided. All thoughts are my own and I have not been persuaded in any way.

Rating

Author Bio

Magan Vernon is a Young Adult and New Adult writer who lives with her family in the insurance capital of the world. She is in a very serious, fake relationship with Adam Lambert and constantly asks her husband to wear guyliner. He still refuses. She also believes her husband is secretly an alien, disguised as a southern gentleman.

Author Links

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

Giveaway
A Coach wristlet, lemon drop EOS lip balm, and swag

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Ransom Riggs: YALLFest Interview

The author interviews continue!

So, if y'all don't know about this amazing festival yet, please get on board. I have gone for the past 2 years (as long as it's been in existence) and it is the most fun I have in a day! The growth from the 1st year to the 2nd was phenomenal! I can only imagine what this 3rd year will be.

Check out yallfest.org or @YALLFest for more information!

Today's interview is with...

Ransom Riggs!

Picture borrowed from Ransom's Facebook page.

What one thing do you need to have when you write?

Silence. My noise-cancelling headphones have become almost essential.

What is the hardest line to write- the first or the last?

The first. I rewrite and rewrite it a million times. The last comes easy.

Tell us 5 random facts about yourself.

I’m six foot four. I lived on a working farm until I was five. I used to know how to cook Indian food but now I've forgotten. I love documentaries. One day I will conquer the moon.

What are you working on now?

A novel for Little, Brown the plot of which is SECRET! (Sort of, for now. But I’m really excited about it.)

What is your favorite genre to write in? To Read?

Oh, definitely YA to write in. I read everything, lots of YA, lots of adult, nonfiction of all sorts. I even read poetry when I’m feeling ambitious. I think it’s crucial to have lots of different influences. If you only read in the genre you write in, your writing will sound like everything else that’s already out there.

I'm looking very forward to meeting Ransom in November!

Rocky Road: Review (w/ Giveaway)

Tour Schedule

It was supposed to be a girls’ weekend in scenic St. George, Utah that would include shopping, trying out the local cuisine, and participating in a breast cancer fundraiser. The fact that one of the organizers of the fundraising event, a local doctor, disappeared two months ago was not supposed to be Sadie’s problem. In fact, she refuses to participate in the grassroots investigation her friend Caro, and Caro’s cousin, Tess, have put together prior to her arrival. But then she meets the ex-wife of the missing doctor. How could she not ask a few questions . . . that lead to a few more questions . . . that lead to a small town and yet even more questions. Before she knows it, Sadie is in the middle of yet another murder investigation and trying to piece together a convoluted trail of good intentions, hidden motivations, and philanthropy turned big business.

Amazon * Barnes & Noble

Thoughts
This was my first Josi S. Kilpack read. I went in not knowing what to expect. 

Rocky Road is the 10th story in the Culinary Mysteries series. I haven't read any of the others. Thankfully, they're not necessarily needed to be read in order. It took a while through this book to figure out what the situation was in the previous book that made Sadie want to stay out of this case.

This book, and I'm guessing the series, has a bit of Mormonism, prayers, and talk of God. It wasn't overwhelming, but the religion is there.

Sadie was a fun character! When I started reading and read that Sadie was in her 50s, I wasn't expecting that! She was an intelligent and caring character.

Her friend, Caro, is 10 years younger than Sadie. She is the reason they were on the trip. Caro is a great "side-kick" and was quite ambitious and maybe a bit overzealous due to her cousin, Tess.

For the record? Booo! Hiiissss! Tess.

I enjoyed the story told by Josie. It was a fun mystery to read. I loved the recipes included at the end of chapters! That's very clever!

A review copy was provided. All thoughts are my own and I have not been persuaded in any way.
Rating

Author Josi S. Kilpack
Born and raised in Salt Lake City Utah, I met my husband in high-school--well, he wasn't my husband then, just the cute guy in weight training with the permed mullet--and we married in 1993. I wrote my first book while on bed rest with my third child and have gone on to publish 20 novels, the most recent being part of The Sadie Hoffmiller Culinary Mystery Series.

I currently live in Willard, Utah with my husband, children, and cat.

Website * Twitter * Blog

Culinary Mysteries by Josi Kilpack

Blog Tour Giveaway
$25 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash
Ends 10/6/13
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader, Not A Writer and sponsored by the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.

Rainbow Rowell: YALLFest Interview

The author interviews continue!

So, if y'all don't know about this amazing festival yet, please get on board. I have gone for the past 2 years (as long as it's been in existence) and it is the most fun I have in a day! The growth from the 1st year to the 2nd was phenomenal! I can only imagine what this 3rd year will be.

Check out yallfest.org or @YALLFest for more information!

Today's interview continues with...

RAINBOW ROWELL!!! *fangirl squeeeeeaaaal*

Photo borrowed from http://rainbowrowell.com/blog/

What one thing do you need to have when you write?

Lip balm.

Describe your book in 5 words.

FANGIRL - Earnest, snowy, swoony, minty, bookish.

What is the hardest line to write- the first or the last?

THE FIRST! The whole first page is a nightmare. I want people to just skip it. And I always end up rewriting it.

Best writing tip you ever received?

“Just finish your book.”

What one young adult novel do you wish you had when you were a teen? Why?

Homecoming by Cynthia Voigt. I think it would have made me feel less alone.

Where's your favorite place to write?

At coffee shops. In giant overstuffed chairs.

What are you working on now?

I’m revising my adult novel, Landline, which comes out in spring 2014, and playing with a romantic/political/tragicomic fantasy.

What is your favorite genre to write in? To Read?

I write mostly contemporary. I read mostly fantasy.

At what point in the development of an idea do you know that it will become a full-length novel?

All of my ideas are full-length novels. I have a hard time narrowing my scope.

So, you're going to meet us in Charleston now, right? Right?!?! :) Ahhh, I love Rainbow!

My Own Mr. Darcy: Review (w/ Giveaway)

Tour Schedule

After being dragged to the 2005 movie Pride and Prejudice by her mother, sixteen-year-old Elizabeth’s life changes when Matthew Macfadyen’s Mr. Darcy appears on the screen. Lizzie falls hard and makes a promise to herself that she will settle for nothing less than her own Mr. Darcy. This ill-advised pledge threatens to ruin any chance of finding true love. During the six intervening years, she has refused to give any interested suitors a chance. They weren’t Mr. Darcy enough.
Coerced by her roommate, Elizabeth agrees to give the next interested guy ten dates before she dumps him. That guy is Chad, a kind and thoughtful science teacher and swim coach. While she’s dating Chad, her dream comes true in the form of a wealthy bookstore owner named Matt Dawson, who looks and acts like her Mr. Darcy. Of course she has to follow her dream. But as Elizabeth simultaneously dates a regular guy and the dazzling Mr. Dawson, she’s forced to re-evaluate what it was she loved about Mr. Darcy in the first place.

Amazon * Barnes & Noble

Amazon Kindle

My Thoughts
What a surprising book! The synopsis was good enough to make me want to read the book, and the synopsis is true to the book. However, I didn't expect to love it and become emotionally involved such as I did. Karey has written us a pearl. (Hah! Get it?)

Chad was an amazing guy. Of course, I was rooting for him the whole time and I was sad when Lizzie chose to date Matthew instead and just tried to keep Chad as a friend. As much as I wanted to dislike Matthew, I couldn't completely! Each time he would come across as a jerk, the next moment, he was her "Mr. Darcy" and made Lizzie (and myself) happy. He wasn't a bad guy. Not at all!

I'm glad that Lizzie's best friend, Janessa, got involved and talked Lizzie into giving Chad a chance. Without that, Lizzie wouldn't have had the comparison. Janessa was a fantastic friend and understood Lizzie's obsession with Mr. Darcy, but didn't make her feel badly for her feelings or dream.

The one character I did not like, and I'm sure we'd all agree, was Meg. Oy! There's always a mean girl somewhere in life, huh?

My Own Mr. Darcy is a book about having a dream and realizing that your dream may not always presented in the way you thought that it should be. Sometimes life can surprise you.

A review copy was provided. All thoughts are my own and I have not been persuaded in any way.
Rating

This was truly a great story to read. I loved that it was a completely clean romance! There was kissing, but nothing else. Nothing embarrassing or making me want to skim and move on. Whew!

This is definitely a book that you should read if you enjoy self-discovery, romance, and Mr. Darcy!

Author Karey White
Karey White grew up in Utah, Idaho, Oregon, and Missouri. She attended Ricks College and Brigham Young University. Her first novel, Gifted, was a Whitney Award Finalist.

She loves to travel, read, bake treats, and spend time with family and friends. She and her husband are the parents of four great children. She teaches summer creative writing courses to young people and is currently working on her next book.

Website * Twitter * Facebook * Goodreads

Tour Giveaway
$25 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash
Ends 10/8/13
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader, Not A Writer and sponsored by the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.

Sean Williams: YALLFest Interview

The author interviews continue!

So, if y'all don't know about this amazing festival yet, please get on board. I have gone for the past 2 years (as long as it's been in existence) and it is the most fun I have in a day! The growth from the 1st year to the 2nd was phenomenal! I can only imagine what this 3rd year will be.

Check out yallfest.org or @YALLFest for more information!

Today's interview is with Sean Williams!

Photo by Anna Solding

Photo borrowed from http://seanwilliams.com/

What one thing do you need to have when you write?

The right music. And chocolate as a reward when I finish.

Describe your book in 5 words
Jump meets Uglies. But different.

What is the hardest line to write- the first or the last?
The first line is often the hardest to write, but I like a good challenge. The line I like writing the least is the last because it means I have a whole load of rewriting ahead of me.

Best writing tip you ever received?
Give up. If you can do that, you’ll be happier and probably better off as a result. If you can’t, then you know writing is exactly the right thing for you!

Tell us 5 random facts about yourself.
1) I live in Adelaide, South Australia, a place that’s home to about a million other people but somehow feels like a small town, which is why I love it.
2) I still think music from the 1980s is cool.
3) My stepson has situs invertus, which means his heart is on the wrong side of his body. That’s not really about me, but it is pretty random.
4) I’m a huge fan of Doctor Who.
5) I’m minding a pair of green tree frogs, Skipper and Jumpy, for a young friend while she’s overseas with her family. You can see pictures of them on my Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/seanwilliamsauthor/.

Where's your favorite place to write?
In my study, a lovely upstairs nook containing all my favorite book-related things, but I've trained myself to write anywhere as long as I have my headphones and some music. I quite like writing in hotels, probably because someone else does all the household chores.

What are you working on now?
Crashland, the sequel to Twinmaker.

Rocky Road: Book Blast (w/ Giveaway)

Tour Schedule

It was supposed to be a girls’ weekend in scenic St. George, Utah that would include shopping, trying out the local cuisine, and participating in a breast cancer fundraiser. The fact that one of the organizers of the fundraising event, a local doctor, disappeared two months ago was not supposed to be Sadie’s problem. In fact, she refuses to participate in the grassroots investigation her friend Caro, and Caro’s cousin, Tess, have put together prior to her arrival. But then she meets the ex-wife of the missing doctor. How could she not ask a few questions . . . that lead to a few more questions . . . that lead to a small town and yet even more questions. Before she knows it, Sadie is in the middle of yet another murder investigation and trying to piece together a convoluted trail of good intentions, hidden motivations, and philanthropy turned big business.

Amazon * Barnes & Noble

Author Josi S. Kilpack

Born and raised in Salt Lake City Utah, I met my husband in high-school--well, he wasn't my husband then, just the cute guy in weight training with the permed mullet--and we married in 1993. I wrote my first book while on bed rest with my third child and have gone on to publish 20 novels, the most recent being part of The Sadie Hoffmiller Culinary Mystery Series.

I currently live in Willard, Utah with my husband, children, and cat.

Website * Twitter * Blog * Goodreads

Culinary Mysteries by Josi Kilpack

BookBlast Giveaway
$50 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash
Ends 10/6/13

Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by Fafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader, Not A Writer and sponsored by the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.
a Rafflecopter giveaway