Books for kids, teens, & those who are young at heart

Category: Guest (Page 40 of 43)

Meet Tommy Greenwald Author of the Charlie Joe Jackson books

Today I have esteemed member of my critique group and all-around hilarious guy Tommy Greenwald, author of Charlie Joe Jackson’s Guide to Not Reading and Charlie Joe Jackson’s Guide to Extra CreditWelcome, Tommy!

   

What made you want to become a writer?

I liked the hours and the dress code.

What book had the most influence on you while you were growing up?

ARE YOU MY MOTHER? I still cry at the happy ending.

If you were stranded on a desert island and could only bring two books and one movie, what would you bring?

My movie would be either MANHATTAN or GOODFELLAS or THE SHINING

My books would be LETTING GO by Philip Roth and THE MAGUS by John Fowles

What is your favorite part of the writing process? What is your least favorite part?

Least favorite = Starting; Most favorite = Finishing

What is the single best piece of advice you have for aspiring authors? 

Try to write 1,000 words a day. It’s not that hard and you’ll feel really good. Just get them down. You can fix them later.

If you could have one superpower, what would it be?

Flying.

What is something funny/weird/exceptional about yourself that you don’t normally share with others in an interview?

I’ve never eaten a tomato in my life.

Kathy Rygg Author of Animal Andy

Today I’m over at Marva Dasef’s blog with some world building tips. Here I have the pleasure of hosting fellow Muse author Kathy Sattem Rygg and her middle grade fantasy ANIMAL ANDY. Kathy was kind enough to answer a few questions (some of them a little silly) and provide us with an awesome excerpt of ANIMAL ANDY. Welcome, Kathy!

What made you want to become a writer?

I’ve always written in some form, but it wasn’t until after I had kids that I tried writing for children, and I was instantly hooked! I have a real comfort zone with the younger middle grade voice (probably because I’m around it all the time with my own kids). And there’s nothing better than going on a school visit and hearing a room full of children tell you how much they love your book!

What books had the most influence on you while you were growing up?

Growing up, one of my favorite book series was The Borrowers by Mary Norton. I loved the creativity of little people living in the walls who borrowed household objects. To this day, whenever I misplace an item, I always say, “The Borrowers must have taken it!”

I also loved the Mrs. Piggle Wiggle books by Betty MacDonald. In fact, my children’s chapter book, Tall Tales with Mr. K is my modern-day version of Mrs. Piggle Wiggle. I love the premise of an eccentric, magical mentor who helps children with common problems using fun, quirky, “adventurous” methods.

If you were stranded on a desert island and could only bring two books and one movie, what would you bring?

I’d bring a survival guide book, something I’ve always wanted to read but never have like Gone With the Wind, and for a movie I’d bring any one of the classic John Hughes 1980s comedies.

What is your favorite part of the writing process? What is your least favorite part?

I love the revision process—it’s such a great feeling taking something you think is good and making it so much better! My least favorite part is when I don’t have time to write. My day only feels complete if I’ve been able to write—it’s relaxing, fun, and put me in a great mood!

What is the single best piece of advice you have for aspiring authors?

The best advice I have is the advice I once received from a well-known author—read as many books as you can in your genre. You should devote just as much time each day to reading as you do to writing. If there’s a book you really enjoy, identify why that is—is it the writing style? The voice? The characters? Then try to apply it in your own work. I also believe practice makes perfect—writers get a little better each time, so don’t ever stop!

If you could have one superpower, what would it be?

To be able to fly—there’s nothing better than a good flying dream, and whenever I wake up from one, I always wish it had been real.

What is something funny/weird/exceptional about yourself that you don’t normally share with others in an interview?

I have bionic ears—okay, maybe not bionic, but I have incredibly good hearing. I can hear frequency ranges that adults aren’t supposed to be able to hear!

About ANIMAL ANDY:

Ten-year-old Andy Ohman is spending his summer working at the Aksarben City Zoo where his dad is curator. There are rumors the city might close the zoo due to budget cuts. An anonymous donor has given the zoo an antique animal carousel, and Andy’s dad is hopeful it will help boost attendance. Andy’s doubtful that an old kiddie ride will make a difference. He doesn’t see what’s so special about it. But when he takes it for a spin, he unlocks the magic that will help save the zoo.

Book Excerpt:

Andy’s knees wobbled and buckled as he stumbled off the carousel’s platform. He thrust forward, collapsing into a heap on the ground. Shaking his head a few times, he flinched when a snort escaped his mouth.

A flash of turquoise caught his eye. He scrambled up as a skinny-necked bird with short legs and a long, plump body strutted over. It stopped a few inches away and let out an ear-splitting squawk. Only a peacock could make that sound.

“What are you doing over here?” the bird asked. “Are you out of your mind? Don’t you know this is the kind of thing that gets all of us into trouble?

Andy froze. He was sure the peacock had just spoken to him.

“Well, don’t just sit there, zebra, we need to get you back to the pen,” the bird snapped.
Andy whipped his head from side to side. Nobody was around, and he didn’t see a zebra.

“Did you just talk?”

“Don’t get all high and mighty on me,” the peacock said. “It’s socially acceptable for a peacock to speak to a zebra.”

“Why do you keep calling me a zebra?” Andy narrowed his eyes at the bird.

“Well, I don’t see any other escaped animal standing in front of me,” the peacock said.

Andy lowered his gaze and saw four black and white striped legs beneath him. He craned his neck and saw a thin, black tail swishing behind him. Puzzled, he glanced at the carousel and saw an empty brass pole where the zebra had been.

He stumbled backward. “No, no, no,” he said, shaking his head. “How…it can’t be,” he breathed.

“There’s just no way. I…I…I’m a zebra!”

ANIMAL ANDY is available as an ebook from Muse It Up Publishing and the print version is available on Amazon.

View the ANIMAL ANDY book trailer!

You can follow me online at: http://ksrwriter.blogspot.com
Facebook: KSR Writer
Twitter: @kathyrygg
Goodreads: Kathy Sattem Rygg

Author Bio:

Kathy Sattem Rygg is Editor-in-Chief for the children’s online magazine Knowonder!, and an active member of SCBWI. She earned a degree in magazine journalism from Iowa State University and has worked for the McGraw-Hill Companies’ business publications division in New York City. She was also the editor in chief of Women’s Edition magazine in Denver, CO. She currently lives in Omaha, NE, with her husband and two children.

Sue Perkins Author of Dragon Clans

Today Sue Perkins, author of the Dragon series, is guest posting about her newest YA fantasy Dragon ClansWelcome, Sue!

Thank you Katie for inviting me to your blog.

My young adult fantasy ‘Dragon Clans’ has been released. It’s the second in the Dragon series, following the first book ‘Dragon Flame’ and with one more to come. The second book continues the tale of the dragons of Nuer who have come to an alliance with the human settlers on the planet.

Nuer is an earth like planet with two continents. The humans settled on one, unaware there are dragons on the other continent. The dragons have their own culture and are divided into four clans. Each clan has its own area, the Fordra have the forest, the Mondra the mountain, the Seadra the sea and the Landra the desert. To the south in a mountainous arid region are the red dragons, the Valdra, outcasts from the other clans and considered to be dangerous rebels.

Sie, an orphaned young woman rescued by the Valdra, is adopted into the clan. She and her new family must convince the other dragons they are no threat and only want to be part of the dragon treaty. The problem is how to convince the other clans when every approach ends in an aggressive response.

I’ve included an excerpt from ‘Dragon Clans’ to wet your appetite. Don’t forget to leave a comment and be in to win an ebook of ‘Dragon Clan’. The winner will be by random draw at the end of the blog tour.

Buy Link:   http://tinyurl.com/dragonclans

Webpage: http://www.sueperkinsauthor.com

Excerpt

The waves washed over the boat, swamping the small vessel. Sie huddled in the stern, her knuckles white with cold, hands clamped to the wooden sides. The hood of her cloak had blown back some time ago, allowing the rain to plaster her red hair across her face. She didn’t dare raise her hand to clear her eyes, this would mean letting go of the boat. Clothes soaked with rain clung to her body, and the chill went through to her bones.

What am I doing here?

At the front of the boat her two older brothers struggled to keep them afloat. The crashing waves filled the vessel with water and with food bowls in hand they tried to bail the water back into the sea. Gorva, the eldest, yelled at her to come and help, but Sie couldn’t move for fear. She knew this would mean a beating later, but surviving the present held more importance.

Ever since her parents’ death her life had been miserable. The older brothers had grudgingly provided a home for appearance sake, but they didn’t want her with them. A fifteen-year-old cramped their style. She hated her life in their house as a drudge. If anything went wrong they blamed her, and the rebuke often ended with a smack across the face or worse.

They’d come up with this stupid idea and dragged her along. Dragons lived on the other continent, and they were convinced there would be dragon treasure to steal.

The two idiots hadn’t planned anything, the normal way for their escapades. They’d set off in a boat too small for the journey across the ocean. The food had run out after a few days, and she’d borne the brunt of their anger, catching the blame for everything. Now the storm had descended on them with the sea and rain crashing and pounding their frail craft.

Someone help us, please! We’re in the middle of an ocean in a terrible storm. The boat will sink soon. Please, if you can hear me, I need your help!

Sie knew no one would hear her mental scream. If they did, who would care enough to rescue them? A clap of thunder shook the sky, followed by a lightning flash into the sea. Huge waves crashed across the boat. Her younger brother lost his grip, and Sie heard him cry out as he disappeared overboard.

“No!” Gorva lunged to the side, but his movement made the boat lurch and dip lower, curtseying to the waves. Sie grabbed the sides as the vessel overturned and threw her into the water.

Her cloak tried to keep her beneath the surface, but Sie fought against the drag and rose up for air. Nearby, the upside down boat tossed in the waves, and she swam toward it, grabbing hold of the ridge along the upturned bottom. Once secure, Sie looked round for her brothers, but could see no sign of them. The tumultuous sea and the dark clouds scudding across the sky filled her view.

The Guests Get Creative Again!

I’ve been remiss not to share the wonderful magnetic poetry that has been languishing on my refrigerator for awhile now. Such creativity needs to be shared with the world. As always, I kept the spaces in between the different magnets and I’ve decided to show line breaks with a slash (or is it a backslash..I always forget the difference).

  • gray man give s life like dark dream s do burn (as long as it doesn’t burn when you urinate, you’re fine)
  • good light / some easy / look (I couldn’t tell if the look was actually part of this poem, but it felt like the right closer for this particular piece…forgive me if I’ve overstepped my bounds a mere purveyor of poetry)
  • genius obsess es / inspiration play s / hard work succe ed s (the ed was cleverly placed over the ss in success)
  • bake me a beautiful (I love how this one is almost like a fill-in-the-blank…bake me a beautiful cake, a beautiful world, a beautiful life)
  • chance create s a spark of light / visible between rain and snow fall / never to be experience d after (yes, I know that moment)
  • blue sky / fruit trick / naked will (that will just had to ruin the party by getting naked)
  • always another step bird fight (can’t thosestep birds just get along)

Now it’s your turn. Here’s a selection of words from the fridge. What can you make with it?

 

Colors Like Memories by Meradeth Houston

Please put your hands together for Meradeth Houston author of Colors Like Memories, a YA Paranormal released from MuseItUp Publishing on May 11th.

Meradeth is having a giveaway for her blog tour. Anyone who comments on this or any other post from her tour will be entered into a drawing. Two lucky winners will receive a copy of Colors Like Memories and one winner will get a $25 gift card for Amazon or Barnes and Noble (full details on Meradeth’s blog).

A bit about the Colors Like Memories:

Julia has a secret: she killed the guy she loved. It was an accident—sort of. 

Julia is a Sary, the soul of a child who died before taking her first breath. Without this ‘breath of life’ she and others like her must help those on the verge of suicide. It’s a job Julia used to enjoy, until the accident that claimed her boyfriend’s life—an accident she knows was her fault. If living with the guilt weren’t enough, she’s now assigned to help a girl dealing with the loss of her mother, something Julia’s not exactly the best role model for. If she can’t figure out a way to help her, Julia’s going to lose her position in the Sary, something she swore to her boyfriend would never happen.

Meradeth (being the good sport she is) agreed to take on the challenge of creating some original work based on the infamous magnetic poetry that graces my refrigerator. She said she channeled this ditty from her main character, Julia:

Some say, cliché,
It is better to loved, & lost,
Than to have never loved at all.
                                  
But to imagine life,
With-out light,
Heart, or warmth,
Makes this dream,
A night(mare).
Sleep,
Sweet essential release,
Would be a tremendous grace,
If this time
Is a dream.

Don’t be jealous of her poetic prowess. She admits to having some experience in this area, “My roommates and I used to have several sets on our fridge in college and we were always playing with them, though there were times when we’d have to rush and take them all down before a boyfriend could enter the kitchen—they weren’t always, er, polite…”

She also offered this magnetic line from the writerly part of herself:

My manuscript is not a dictionary, or a dream, but a vacation from the present.
Meradeth’s never been a big fan of talking about herself, but if you really want to know, here are some random tidbits about her:
~She’s a Northern California girl. This generally means she talks too fast and use “like” a lot.
~When she’s not writing, she’s sequencing dead people’s DNA. For fun!
~She’s been writing since she was 11 years old. It’s her hobby, her passion, and she’s so happy to get to share her work!
~If she could have a super-power, it would totally be flying. Which is a little strange, because she’s terrified of heights.
Thanks for stopping by the Observation Desk, Meradeth!
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