Read Across America Free EBook Coupon

Read Across America is Mon. March 2, 2015.

A lot of readers are going digital. What better way to celebrate that than joining in Read Across America with a free ebook. So, this year I’m offering my first novel in the Crystal Keeper Chronicles as a free book up through March 3. Enjoy the adventures of Wanda as she discovers fairies are real, and full of problems.

The free coupon is available for downloads on Smashwords with formats for several different ereaders.

The Lost Secret of Fairies by Tiffany Turner

Wanda had always read about adventure. Now she was in the middle of one. The World of Fairies is real, and she is their new Crystal Keeper, human caretaker to the World of Fairies. But the Fairy World is in trouble. The fairies are falling ill from the pollution that ravages the world above. Wanda has to find the key to their cure, before it’s too late.

Coupon Code: FL57N

Plus, I’ll post on Wed. March 4  special promo package information. It will tell you how to find several free ebooks that can be picked up through free coupons. They are hidden at the end of a free book by one of my fellow children’s writers. We’ve gone in together to help celebrate reading, and now you’re in on the secret. So, make reading a part of your life now by going digital and Read Across America all next week. More details will appear on my blog on Read Across America Day, March 2.

Special gift package instructions will be sent out on March 2 to celebrate Read Across America.

Back To School Blog Tour Giveaway: Ending Sept. 8

Just wanted to give one more shout out for the Back to School Blog Tour Giveaway. Though the tour wrapped on Friday Sept. 5, the giveaway is still open until midnight on Sept. 8 PST.

So, if you haven’t entered, there is still a chance to enter for the next 8 hours. Simple things such as liking an author on Facebook or tweeting about the giveaway will grant an entry. You can enter several times by doing different social media activities. Help out an Indie Children’s Author by spreading the word about them, and enter a chance to win. The winners will be announced on the blog within 48 hours of the giveaway closure. Good luck!

 

Link to Win Here:

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/20834f9e4/

Back To School Blog Tour 2014: Featured Book Review/Interview Vivienne Mathews

Welcome to Day 5 of the Back to School Blog Tour 2014! If you haven’t signed up for the Book Bundle Giveaway, there are still few days left. Entering is easy. From liking authors on Facebook to commenting on their blog, you can enter to win the fabulous book bundle of children’s book each day. So, keep coming back each day and enter.

ENTER HERE TO WIN THE BOOK BUNDLE GIVEAWAY! Open until Sept. 8!

I Want to Be an Athlete And a Teacher by Garrett Carter is available at Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

Featured today is the book review for I Want To Be An Athlete And A Teacher by Garrett Carter. Coby is an enthusiastic boy that wants to do something he loves, like play sports. He learns that he can do anything, including teaching others. In this picture book, limiting yourself is explored as Coby discovers all of his capabilities. Being good at many things and exploring your skills is part of growing up. In the end, he realizes that he can do anything, especially if he’s good at it.

This is the first in a series of picture books, and is a great start for exploring your potential. It’s a good read aloud for the beginning of school when teaching kids to look into themselves and build confidence is emphasized. Of course, saying what you will be when you grow up isn’t set in stone. Trying out new things and thinking about what you are good at is part of growing up. I liked the way this picture book gets a child to think about their skills and that they can be good at MANY things. It’s ok to do it all.

**** Four Star Rating

Available at:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Want-Athlete-Teacher-Cobys-Career/dp/1499152647

Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/i-want-to-be-an-athlete-and-an-entrepreneur-garrett-carter/1119911646

For more information on the author: http://www.garrettcarterbooks.com/

Plus, our last featured author interview is with Vivienne Mathews.  Last year, Vivienne was a featured author on the blog tour. So, I wanted to catch up and ask her what things had been like for her as an Indie Children’s author.

Vivienne Mathews is the author of The Sons of Masguard series.

1) What new books have you released in the last year?
Since we last spoke, Jax and Mack has been my only release. It’s been a very full writing year, but a very lean publishing one — which is bound to make for a busy 2015. Book three in the Sons of Masguard series is on the release schedule for early in the year, followed by a trilogy of chapter books, and another picture book by next Christmas.

2) What do you have planned to release soon?
The Dangerous Life of the Honey Bee (Image attached) – a non-fiction picture book for young kids. It follows a worker bee as she goes about an average day; dodging threats, collecting honey, coping with her surroundings. Bees are an incredibly important part of our ecosystem. As a complete fangirl of one of the coolest insects on the planet, I couldn’t be more enthusiastic about sharing the amazing things they have to accomplish in order to maintain a healthy hive.

3) What has inspired you the most along your writer journey?
I was lucky enough to grow up in a reading family. My mother never, ever dismissed the importance of a book and went to some pretty fantastic lengths (example:http://www.viviennemathews.blogspot.com/2013/05/why-i-will-always-love-print-and-my.html ) to encourage her children to view them in the same light. Even now, I have a hard time picturing her without a cup of tea in one hand and a book in the other. Despite the fact that she was (and IS) a frugal and practical woman, never once did she tell me that writing was something I shouldn’t do. She never pointed out that this might be a difficult field or that I’d do better to turn my eye in a more financially viable direction “just to be safe.” Instead, she’d give me another romance, another classic, another strange and ragged cult novel that she found on a shelf in that one secondhand store downtown. To this day, she still sends me home from any visit with a bag full of reading materials. If creativity is indeed a well, she’s done everything in her power to make sure that it never runs dry. And I couldn’t love her more for it.

The Sons of Masguard by Vivienne Mathews is available on Amazon.

Current Book links:
The Mosque Hill Fortune: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CCID3ZW
Guardian’s Rise: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DUZOU9E
The Sons of Masguard – The Companion Guide: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DX52HCI
Jax and Mack: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00G600G48

To Connect to Vivienne Mathews:

Blog: http://www.viviennemathews.blogspot.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/VivienneMathews

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7051589.Vivienne_Mathews

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Vivienne-Mathews-MG-Writer-Extraordinaire/445474412218828?ref=bookmarks

 

Today, we wrap up the blog tour. I want to thank all of the authors for participating this week. To show the love, stop by and visit their websites and check out their books. It’s a good way to start the school year. I always need to build up my classroom library. For one more bow, here are the authors for the 2014 Back To School Blog Tour:

• Monday Sept. 1: Becca Price  Featured Author

• Tues. Sept. 2: Rachel Elizabeth Cole Featured Author

• Wed. Sept. 3: Clare K.R. Miller Featured Author

• Thurs. Sept. 4:  D.R. Martin Featured Author

• Fri. Sept. 5: Garrett Carter Book Review
• Interview with Vivienne Mathews

I’d also like to thank all of the followers of the Indie Children’s Authors Connection. You’ve helped build the blog by your views and comments over the last 3 years. For that, I am truly grateful. Again, I salute another successful Back to School. As I finish writing this post, it’s time for me to start writing Back to School Night handouts and work on a presentation. So, to all those busy teachers out there, I know what you’re going through. Thank you for all that you do. Have a great school year!

 

 

Back To School Blog Tour 2014: Featured Author D.R. Martin

Welcome to Day 4 of the Back to School Blog Tour 2014! If you haven’t signed up for the Book Bundle Giveaway, there are still several days left. Entering is easy. From liking authors on Facebook to commenting on their blog, you can enter to win the fabulous book bundle of children’s book each day. So, keep coming back each day and enter.

ENTER HERE TO WIN THE BOOK BUNDLE GIVEAWAY! Open until Sept. 8!

Today’s featured author is D.R. Martin. He began his writing career as an arts journalist before moving on to marketing communications work. He has covered topics ranging from consumer electronics and medical technology to travel and classical music. For many years, he reviewed science fiction and fantasy books for the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

D.R. Martin is the author of the Johnny Graphic Adventures series.

D. R. is the author of the Johnny Graphic children’s ghost adventure series and the Marta Hjelm hard-boiled PI mystery Smoking Ruin. Under the pen name Richard Audry he has published the Mary MacDougall historical mystery novella A Pretty Little Plot and the canine cozy mystery The Karma of King Harald. The second Mary MacDougall novella, The Stolen Star, was issued this past summer. A Mary MacDougall Mystery Duet is the paperback edition of the two Mary MacDougall novellas. In addition, D. R. is the author of Four Science Fiction Masters: Lost Interviews with Herbert, Pohl, Simak & Dickson; and Travis McGee & Me: Reflections on the Man from Slip F-18.

Below is the exclusive interview with D.R. Martin:

1) What is your favorite memory from the beginning of a school year?

Trying out for plays. We had a great theater program and I was fortunate to get parts in shows every autumn. I always had some stage fright before performances, but a great sense of accomplishment afterwards.

2) Who was your most inspiring teacher? Why?

His name was Robert Burrows. And his demanding high school history and English courses scared away most of the students in my school. But those of us who took on the challenge of his classes felt we learned ten times more than we would have otherwise. In addition to the subject matter, we learned discipline…how to research…how to give and take criticism…how to frame arguments…how to study and write long and hard. For junior year English we each had to create our own American literature textbooks. I still have mine, almost three inches thick—self-illustrated in pen and ink. I think I began my journey as a real writer in Mr. Burrows’ classes.

3) What is the advice you would give children’s authors to get started?

There are various genres of children’s books and you should choose the one you feel the most passion for. For me, it was middle grade fantasy adventure. Make up a list of story ideas, filling in as much of the plots as you can. Then choose the best one and write the book. Get as much feedback as you can. Don’t be disappointed if you don’t have immediate success. You may need to write several books before you learn how to do it well. You must be willing to keep writing, even without much encouragement in the form of income and recognition. In a nutshell, the trick is to keep writing. Never, never, never quit.

4) Who is your favorite character from a children’s book?

As a boy, I loved to read science fiction and fantasy stories, and action-adventures. It was that sort of thing that inspired me to tackle the Johnny Graphic Trilogy. I simply wanted to create a ripping ghost-adventure yarn that both young readers and adults could enjoy. But having said all that, my favorite character in a children’s book is something quite different. It’s Ratty, from The Wind in the Willows. (Which is my all-time favorite novel.) He is the center of gravity in that peerless story of three fast animal friends. While the Mole is shy and timorous, and the Toad grandiose and lunatic, the Water Rat is the solid one who keeps it all together. We should all be as decent and steadfast as Ratty.

5) How could you sum up what writing means to you?

I’ve been fortunate to make my living as a journalist and marketing-communications writer. But even when no one is paying me, I have to keep writing. Though my novels and blogs don’t make much money, I have to write them. Writing is simply too much fun to ever quit putting words on the page. To me, it is as essential as breathing.

6) What are your current writing projects?

In the year since I finished the second Johnny Graphic book, Johnny Graphic and the Attack of the Zombies, I’ve concentrated on two adult mystery series, written under my pen name, Richard Audry. The Karma of King Harald is the first book in a canine cozy series starring a rescue dog who sniffs out crime. I’m working on the second book, King Harald’s Haul, right now. I’ve also written two historical mystery novellas, A Pretty Little Plot and The Stolen Star, which feature 18-year-old sleuth Mary MacDougall. And I’m plotting out the third and final Johnny Graphic adventure. I’ve grown very fond of Johnny and his friends, and I want to make sure they end up safe and sound after all the turmoil I’ve put them through.

 

His websites include: D. R. Martin Books; The Johnny Graphic Adventures; and Travis McGee & Me.

A free reader’s guide for Johnny Graphic and the Etheric Bomb is available at the Johnny Graphic Adventures website.

 

 

Johnny Graphic Adventure #1: Johnny Graphic And The Etheric Bomb

Available at:

Amazon(paperback): http://www.amazon.com/Johnny-Graphic-Etheric-Bomb-Volume/dp/0985019611

Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008B6Z6B8

Johnny Graphic Adventure #2: Johnny Graphic And The Attack of The Zombies

Available at:

Amazon(paperback): http://www.amazon.com/Johnny-Graphic-Attack-Zombies-Volume/dp/0985019638

Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Johnny-Graphic-Attack-Zombies-Adventures-ebook/dp/B00FI2SDF4

Back To School Blog Tour 2014: Featured Author Clare K. R. Miller

Welcome to day 3 of the Back to School Blog Tour. If you haven’t signed up for the Book Bundle Giveaway, there are still several days left. Entering is easy. From liking authors on Facebook to commenting on their blog, you can enter to win the fabulous book bundle of children’s books each day. So, keep coming back each day and enter.

ENTER HERE TO WIN THE BOOK BUNDLE GIVEAWAY! Open until Sept. 8!

 

 

Today’s Featured Author is Clare K.R. Miller. She writes urban and secondary-world fantasy and science fiction for teens and adults. Today her A Star to Guide Her YA Trilogy is featured which includes the books Solitary Star, Wandering Star, and Pole Star.

The first book in the Star To Guide Her Trilogy. In celebration of the Back to School Tour, use this coupon code to get a free copy ofSolitary Star: GM39T on Smashwords.com.

Interview with Clare K.R. Miller:

Clare K.R. Miller is the author of the YA Trilogy “Guide To The Stars”.

1) What is your favorite memory from the beginning of a school year?

I’ve always loved the first days of school. Actually, fall is my favorite season overall—it has the beginning of the school year, my birthday, Halloween, and great clothes! I associate the beginning of school with all the changes of fall—the leaf colors, the coolness and bite in the air—as well as, of course, new books, notebooks, and teachers.

But my favorite memory is actually the first day of college, which was really in the summer, not the fall. I drove to college in my own car, the first time I’d ever driven even half that far—over a hundred miles! It was my first time being on my own, without my parents. It was scary, but fun too. I made some great friends there, and I learned a lot.

2) Who was your most inspiring teacher? Why?

This is a really tough choice! I’ve had so many amazing teachers, but that honor has to go to my second and fourth grade teacher, Mrs. Weissinger. Yes, I had her for both years—I was in one of the two lucky classes that had her for second grade, then again for fourth grade after she switched. She was the sort of teacher everyone liked: strict enough that we were able to focus and get work done, but not so strict that everyone was scared or upset. And she was really approachable. I felt like I could talk to her about anything.

Most importantly, in second grade we had a weekly Writing Workshop, where we got to sit at our desks and write about whatever we wanted. Needless to say, that was my favorite part of the week! I still have some of the stories I wrote back then, and while they’re mostly just silly to me now, I can also see some of the themes that have always stuck with me as a writer, like retelling fairy tales.

I also still have a Valentine’s card that Mrs. Weissinger wrote for me. I’m certain she wrote them for every one of her students, but mine says, “Roses are red / violets are blue / who writes a story / as well as you?” I like to look at it when I’m feeling down about my writing or as though no one else understands my stories. It’s a reminder that at least Mrs. Weissinger believes in me.

Wow, I’ve written a lot and I could still go on! But suffice to say: thank you, Mrs. Weissinger.

3) What is the advice you would give children authors to get started?

Write! That’s the advice everyone always gives, and there’s a reason for that: it’s the best advice. Even if you only have ten minutes a day, or if you can only do it on weekends, try to establish a regular habit of writing. It will get easier the more you do it, and the more practice you get, the better a writer you’ll be.

I think one of the best things a young author can do is practice finishing things. A great way to do that is to sign up for National Novel Writing Month (www.nanowrimo.org). Every year in November, thousands of people from around the world get together to write a 50,000 word novel. Even if you don’t write anything serious, if you really try to finish, by the end you’ll have some kind of novel. Then you can revise it if you want, but it will have given you a better sense of a novel’s structure.

One last thing: if you’re going to college, it may sound counterintuitive, but an English major may not be your best bet. It’s great to read a lot, but you don’t need class for that, and writing classes probably won’t give you the skill to be a successful author unless what you want to write is literary short stories (in which case, go for it). But whatever your major is, I recommend taking lots of history, psychology, and sociology classes—anything that will help you understand how people work. That will help you create better characters and hence, write better stories.

4) Who is your favorite character from a children’s book?

There are so many children’s and YA books that I love! But since you’re asking, I have to head for my favorite, and that’s Harry Potter. And my favorite character in the Harry Potter series is, without a doubt, Luna Lovegood.

Luna is different, and she knows and embraces it. Even when people treat her poorly because she’s different, she’s doesn’t get mad or blame herself. She knows that eventually they’ll understand why what they’ve done is wrong—when people steal her things, she doesn’t go after the thieves, knowing that they will return what they took. She has a knack for uncomfortable truths, and she’s much better at understanding people than, maybe, any other character in the books. She’s tough, dealing really well with the bad things that happen in her life. She’s also really, really smart, and unfailingly kind to others—at least those who deserve it! Not only is Luna great fun to read about, she’s an amazing role model. I wish J. K. Rowling would write a whole new series just about Luna.

5) How could you sum up what writing means to you?

Writing is the most important thing in my life. Thankfully, my fiancé understands that, so he doesn’t get jealous! (My cat, Ophelia, is a different story.) I can’t remember a time when I didn’t want to write, to come up with stories of my own or look at older stories in a different way. Even if I couldn’t write them down, I would always be coming up with stories in my head.

I think writing is also an incredibly important way to communicate. Tell someone, “this is how I feel,” and they may say they understand. But tell them a story with a character who feels that way, a character they can sympathize with and follow through trials to triumph, and they’ll get it on a much deeper level. Stories shape how we think, so we need to have a lot of them.

6) What are your current writing projects?

The novel project I’m working on right now is another young adult fantasy, Falling Into Light. It’s set in the modern day, and the protagonists have grown up in our world, but after they meet, they discover that their parents are from another world altogether—they left to escape the shadowy monsters that lived there. Then, of course, the protagonists get pulled into that world themselves, and they have to figure out how to get back home.

I’ve also been writing a lot of short pieces in a new story universe, the Ursulan Cycle, which is a genderbent version of the Arthurian legends—instead of King Arthur, we have Queen Ursula, King Gwynn instead of Queen Guinevere, Morwenna instead of Mordred, and even more. You can read some of those stories here at my Dreamwidth journal.

For further information and to connect with Clare K.R. Miller:
Website/blog: http://www.clarekrmiller.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/clarekrmiller
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/clarekmiller
Mailing list signup: http://eepurl.com/wzpHX

The first book in the Star To Guide Her Trilogy.

 

USE THE COUPON: GM39T to get a free copy of Solitary Star exclusive for the Back to School Blog Tour on Smashwords.com.

Coupon good between Sept. 1-5, 2014.

The magic and secrets of the stars

When Noemi’s father dies, leaving her an orphan, her unpleasant relatives don’t waste any time before shipping her off to a poor, out-of-the-way boarding school. For Noemi, that turns out to be the best thing they could ever do for her—and the worst. She learns of the powerful magic at her command… and of the danger that threatens her, simply because of the star that guides her. Many people would like to control or destroy her, and she cannot tell who to trust.

Use this Smashwords coupon for a free copy of Solitary Star: GM39T
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/439952
Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KGM8E7S

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00KGM8E7S

Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/solitary-star-clare-k-r-miller/1119564172

Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/solitary-star-1

iBooks: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id879953178

All Romance eBooks: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-solitarystar-1520569-234.html

 

Wandering Star is the second in “A Star To Guide Her” YA series.

Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KQUHVU6

  Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00KQUHVU6

  Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/443571

Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/wandering-star-clare-k-r-miller/1119639782? ean=9781498997430

Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/wandering-star-2

iBooks: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id884572742

All Romance eBooks: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-wanderingstar-1532496-234.html

The final book in the “A Star To Guide Her” YA Series. Just released June 24, 2014.

Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00L2YAX8C

 Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00L2YAX8C

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/446155

Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/pole-star-clare-k-r-miller/1119698273?ean=9781497716117

Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/pole-star-2

iBooks: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id887089088

All Romance eBooks: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-polestar-1554206-234.html

Back To School Blog Tour 2014: Featured Author Rachel Elizabeth Cole

Welcome to day 2 of the Back to School Blog Tour. If you haven’t signed up for the Book Bundle Giveaway, there are still several days left. Entering is easy. From liking authors on Facebook to commenting on their blog, you can enter to win the fabulous book bundle of children’s books each day. So, keep coming back each day and enter.

ENTER FOR BOOK BUNDLE GIVEAWAY HERE!

 

Today’s featured author is Rachel Elizabeth Cole. 

Rachel Cole writes middle grade novels and is featuring her “The Rabbit Ate My Homework” middle grade ebook for this blog tour. She has answered questions about her favorite memories of school and how teacher’s have influenced her writing. Rachel Elizabeth Cole writes a mix of genres, from heartfelt to humorous, but her favorite will always be middle grade fiction. When she’s not writing, Rachel works as a graphic designer specializing in book covers. Her favorite season is autumn, she prefers tea to coffee, and wishes every morning began at ten a.m. Even though she hates the rain, Rachel lives just outside Vancouver, British Columbia, with her husband, their two sons, and two very spoiled house rabbits.

Rachel Elizabeth Cole is the author of “The Rabbit Ate My Homework”.

1) What is your favorite memory from the beginning of a school year?
I don’t have a particular favourite memory. But when I think about the beginning of the school year, I think about how everything always felt so new and fresh–from the freshly polished hallway floors which squeaked under your new shoes to the brand new school supplies with your name neatly printed on them–and full of possibilities. New teacher, new things to learn, new friends to make.

2) Who was your most inspiring teacher? Why?

My high school English teacher, Mr. Gerlitz. He was very supportive of my early writing efforts.

3) What is the advice you would give children authors to get started?

Read a lot and write a lot. Like anything, you get better with practice!

4) Who is your favorite character from a children’s book?

I don’t really have a favourite. There are so many characters I love. Misty of Chincoteague, the Enormous Crocodile, Ramona Quimby, Wilbur the pig, Curious George, Ratty and Mole, the Borrowers (yes, all of them!), Mrs. Frisby, Bunnicula, Ralph Mouse, Rudy Miller, Origami, Yoda, Alex Morningside, Tom and Liz Austen, Anne of Green Gables and that’s just off the top of my head!

5) How could you sum up what writing means to you?

Writing is as much a part of me as my hands or my eyes. I could live
without them, but I wouldn’t be whole.

6) What are your current writing projects?

Current children’s writing projects include three middle grade novels: the sequel to my newly-released novel, The Rabbit Ate My Homework, a book about a girl who gets her first pony, only caring for and learning to ride is nothing like what she’d imagined, and one top secret project that I hope to share soon!

How To Find This Author:

Website: www.rachelelizabethcole.com
Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/rachelelizabethcole/
Twitter: www.twitter.com/rachel_e_cole

The Rabbit Ate My Homework by Rachel Elizabeth Miller is available at Amazon for the Kindle.

 

The Rabbit Ate My Homework Amazon Link:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MUE1C6A

 

 

 

 

Back To School 2014 Blog Tour: Featured Author Becca Price

Welcome to the first day of the Back to School Blog Tour for 2014. It’s part of my give back to the Indie Children’s Author community. I am featuring some unique and fabulous books this week from picture books to YA. With the new Common Core being adopted in many schools throughout the US, this is a great time to learn about new authors and possible new books for guided reading and novel studies. Plus, if you just want to find a great new book to read at the start of school, please check back each day for our new featured author.

This year, we have a Back To School Book Bundle Giveaway featuring books donated by the featured authors. Enter to win by joining featured authors’ social media links. It’s a great way to stay in touch with what the featured authors will be doing in the Fall and months to come. Plus, your welcomed to share what you learned by reposting any of the featured posts. The giveaway will run through the end of the weekend, Sept. 7, 2014. Winners will be announced on the blog 48 hours after the end of the giveaway. All the authors featured for this week have donated books for the giveaway. Here is your chance to support Indie authors and win something too! Here is what you can win:

Grand Prize Book Bundle:

Becca Price: Fairies and Fireflies

Rachel Cole: The Rabbit Ate My Homework

Clare K.R. Miller: A Star to Guide Her Trilogy (YA) Ebook Trilogy

D.R. Martin: Johnny Graphic Adventure Series (Middle Grade) Paperback or Ebook edition

Garrett Carter: I Want To Be An Athlete and a Teacher (Picture Book) Paperback signed edition

 

Runner Up: One runner-up winner will receive The Lost Secret of Fairies Ebook or Paperback edition and a $10 Starbucks Gift Card

 

Back to School Book Bundle Giveaway 2014: LINK HERE!

(***Note: Giveaway set to Pacific Daylight Time)

 

Becca Price: First Featured Author Sept. 1

 

Our first featured author is Becca Price. She first joined the blog tour last year, and has been up to writing many more books since she was last featured. She is almost done with her Fairies and Fey series, and is adding a bit more spice by working on a YA. It has been a wonderful experience to see her list of books grow over the last year. I had a chance to ask Becca about her current and future projects, and what she remembers about her favorite memories of her most inspiring teacher.

1) What is your favorite memory from the beginning of a school year?

Becca Price: The first day of school often coincided with my birthday (this was back when schools started in early September) so I’d get a lot of fancy school stuff and clothes for birthday gifts. And books! I’d usually get lots of books for my birthday — so I had the triple excitement of a new school year, a birthday, and new books to read in boring classes. (did I actually say that?)

2) Who was your most inspiring teacher? Why?

Becca Price: I had two very inspiring teachers in junior high and high school, and it is to my deepest shame that I don’t recall their names. In Junior High, I had a history teacher who recognized that I could write my stories and poems in class, and still keep up good grades in her class. She let me write whatever I wanted to, as long as I showed it to her when I was done. She was very encouraging, even though my poetry was mostly doggerel at that point.  My stories were typical early teen self-indulgence, but she’d often underline a sentence or paragraph that was particularly good.

In high school, I took a creative writing class. My teacher there, too, was very encouraging about my way with words, but warned me that the path of a professional fiction writer was hard, and not very well paid.

3) What is the advice you would give children authors to get started?

Becca Price: Read all the children’s books you can. Read Neil Gaiman for sheer brilliance, Charles de Lint for his way of making every word and scene count, read the classic children’s literature because they’re fun. But read, read, read everything you can get your hands on. You never know what will spark inspiration.

4) Who is your favorite character from a children’s book?

Becca Price: Oddly, the little engine from The Little Engine That Could. “I think I can, I think I can.” Words that should be engraved in every child’s heart.

5) How could you sum up what writing means to you?

Becca Price: Writing is life, writing is breath. Writing is emotion, both joy and sorrow. I’ve always written, I can’t imagine not writing. There was a long period where I was on medication that decreased creativity (was known for that, in fact) and it was horrible.  The week I got off that was the week I first published Dragons and Dreams.

6) What are your current writing projects?

Becca Price: Right now I’ve got several irons in the fire. The most pressing is re-releasing all my books with illustrations, and getting them professionally laid out. I’ve found the most wonderful artist, Sara Anderson, who really captures the story themes and my writing style, and I adore her.  She also has several unpublished stories to illustrate for me, so that they’ll come out as a first edition with illustrations.  I hope to have all those done by the end of 2014.

In the mean time, I’ve started a fairly major project, The Woods Between. It’s hard to describe. It’s for a YA/Adult audience, still a fairy tale, but a multi-generation saga of one family’s interactions with fairyland for good and ill. It will be composed of three separate stories for 3 distinct generations, showing how the actions of each previous generation affects the next generation.  It started out as a simple quest fairy tale, and my husband asked a simple question, and the rest cascaded from there. I have no idea how long it will be, but don’t look for publication until early 2015.

I’m also about 2/3 done with my next collection, Quests and Fairy Queens — I’m hoping to work on the two or three missing stories when I’m not working on The Woods Between.

Thank you Becca for kicking off the Back To School Blog Tour this year. I can’t wait to see where this next year takes you. For more information or connect with Becca Price:

Featured Book:

Fairies and Fireflies

Available at:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Fairies-Fireflies-Bedtime-Becca-Price-ebook/dp/B00MDN9YCW

Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/fairies-and-fireflies-becca-price/1118113275

For more information on Becca Price:

email: WyrmTalesPress@gmail.com

blog: http://www.wyrmtalespress.com/

her mailing list at:   http://eepurl.com/JA5e1

 

Back To School Blog Tour 2014: Starts Tomorrow Sept. 1

All the arrangements have been made. The blog tour is set and ready to post starting tomorrow, Sept. 1. Start your Labor Day celebrations by finding out about great Indie Children’s books for your children or to use in your classroom. The line up for the week is as follows:

• Monday Sept. 1: Becca Price  Featured Author

• Tues. Sept. 2: Rachel Elizabeth Cole Featured Author

• Wed. Sept. 3: Clare K.R. Miller Featured Author

• Thurs. Sept. 4:  D.R. Martin Featured Author

• Fri. Sept. 5: Garrett Carter Book Review
  •                        Vivienne Mathews: Interview Revisit

The giveaway has grown this year. A Book Bundle with a donated book or book series from each author will be up to win during the week of the tour. The giveaway will run from Sept.1-Sept.8. Runner-ups will receive a copy of The Lost Secret of Fairies, the first in my book series, and a $10 Starbucks Gift Card. The Giveaway opens at midnight on Sept. 1.

Back to School Book Bundle Giveaway-LINK HERE!

So, check back tomorrow for the start of this year’s exciting tour. I’d like to thank all of the authors for joining us this year, and for giving so much of themselves into their work. It’s what makes writing such a challenge and reward. You are the book!

Please post and share this post to let everyone know about the blog tour this week. I’d love to see a bigger turn out than last year. This is all done out of the kindness of my little teacher heart. I’m a children’s writer as well, and want to give back to the Indie Children’s Author community. All of the features and book reviews were done for no fee. All the authors have put in the work of answering interview questions and donating their books for the giveaway. So, support by entering the giveaway, tweeting and Facebook about this blog event. All the support is welcomed!

Back to School 2014 Blog Tour Planning Underway

 

Plans are under way for the Back to School Blog Tour 2014. The dates are set for Sept. 1-5. I’ve decided to go with a theme for our featured authors: Connecting with Common Core. Participating authors will be sharing items to help students/teachers and parents help connect and utilize the new Common Core Standards in the US. Find discussion questions, activities, writing experiences for those young authors, and discount coupons through Smashwords for featured books. Last year we had fabulous Indie Children’s Authors participating such as Victoria Jeffrey, H. Y. Hanna, Sibel Hodge, Vivienne Mathews, W.N. Rae, Becca Brice,  and Scott Pixello. I’m still finalizing this year’s authors, and will have up a list as soon as it’s available.

Plus, I’m working on a giveaway selection. I’d love to hear what you’d like to win. Ebook copies? Paperback copies of featured books? Amazon gift cards? What would get you motivated for the beginning of the 2014 school year? Since I’m in the planning stages, this would be a great time to leave comments and questions so I can incorporate them into the blog tour. I really want to try to meet the new Common Core needs, and make things go smoother for everyone as we start the new school year.

What can we do as Indie Children’s Authors to help support the Common Core and the start of the new year? After 17 years of teaching in elementary school, I have some idea of what teachers and students are up against with Common Core. But any feedback to share among everyone will be greatly appreciated. I’d love to hear from you over the next few weeks.

 

On June 21, All Purchases of The Crystal Keeper Chronicles Will Go Towards Alzheimer’s Research

My Grandpa, helping my nephew open a plastic Easter egg on Easter morning 2007.

A few years ago, I lost my grandfather to Alzheimer’s Disease. I watched the strong, caring grandfather that loved to tell stories start to forget the easiest details. Eventually he was unable to remember who we were, his own family, or how to wash and care for himself. It was heartbreaking, but I know that it couldn’t be stopped. A cure to make his last years less painful would have helped. When he lost his memories, his stories disappeared. I miss those.

On June 21st, the Alzheimer’s Association is having a fundraiser called “The Longest Day”. People can “Do What They Love” as tribute to someone they know or have lost to Alzheimer’s. I’ll be donating the sales of The Crystal Keeper Chronicles 6/20-6/22 to this worthy cause. All sales on those days on Amazon.com will be calculated and donated to the Alzeimer’s Association through one of the fundraisers Jason Hall, on Team Laura Barr.

Below are the links:
The Lost Secret of Fairies
The Lost Secret of the Green Man
The Lost Secret of Dragonfire

But you can also help by buying other books. On my writer’s board, Kboards.com, there is a thread of other authors that are donating their sales to Alzheimer’s. It has only come together in the last few days. But it’s such a worthy cause, many of us are happy to donate our sales on those days. If you’re an author, and would like to donate your sales for the day, link below to the Kboards.com thread. It gives you all the information. The thread below is where you can find other books to purchase for the Alzheimer’s Association:
Link to Kboards Authors to Help Alzheimer’s

Thank you so much for your help. Sometimes it’s the little things that can do the most good. A cure is worth it.

UPDATE June 22, 2014:

I wanted to thank everyone that bought books on “The Longest Day” fundraiser. I sold seven copies of my books which I promised to match the royalties earned. I ended up doubling my match for a $15 donation. It doesn’t seem like much, but if authors banned together next year and donated, it would be quite an event. I’m talking to some author friends, and I’ll let you know what happens. This was all very last minute and done in the last few days this year. I’m looking for maybe a more organized effort next year. I’ll keep everyone updated.