MIA AND THE HUMMINGBIRD by Nancy Carlisle

 

Join Us for This Tour from November 17 to November 30, 2021

Book Details:

Book Title:  MIA AND THE HUMMINGBIRD by Nancy Carlisle

Category:  Children's Fiction (Ages 4-9),  34 pages

Genre:  Juvenile fiction/social themes or animals/birds

Publisher:  Sage Green Press

Release date:   March, 2021

Tour dates: November 17 to November 30, 2021

Content Rating:  G. There is nothing that even comes close to PG.

Book Description:

“An inspirational story! The juxtaposition of the hummingbird's struggle with Mia's struggles is unique and I feel that kids will be able to relate to it." - Reader in a 5-Star Review

Mia and the Hummingbird is the story of a young girl who immigrates to a new country and learns to accept a new life.She sees the hummingbird building her nest for her babies and thinks that she and the bird are similar as they learn to adapt to their new homes. Mia and the Hummingbird includes information about environmental and social reasons for immigration, the struggle to adapt to a new home and information about hummingbirds.

Included is a glossary about these issues, a bibliography, and references.

Buy the Book:

Amazon

add to goodreads

 

 

 

Meet the Author:

Nancy Carlisle is an author, illustrator and retired architect and manager. She writes hopeful books for kids that interweave facts and fiction about the environment and global responsibility.

During her 38 year career, as an architect and researcher, her focus was on the environment. She led work nationally and internationally on sustainable and energy efficient buildings and communities and won awards for collaboratively designing award-winning sustainable buildings, a laboratory campus, and as part of a team to develop a program to improve the energy efficiency of laboratories in the U.S.

connect with the author: website

 

Tour Schedule:

Nov 17 – Working Mommy Journal – book spotlight / giveaway

Nov 17 - Cover Lover Book Review – book spotlight / giveaway

Nov 17 - Rockin' Book Reviews – book spotlight / giveaway

Nov 18 – Chit Chat with Charity – book spotlight / giveaway

Nov 18 - Deborah-Zenha Adams – book spotlight / giveaway

Nov 18 - I'm Into Books – book spotlight / giveaway

Nov 18 - Splashes of Joy – book spotlight / giveaway

Nov 19 – fundinmental – book spotlight / giveaway

Nov 22 –Westveil Publishing – book spotlight / giveaway

Nov 23 – Laura's Interests – book spotlight / giveaway

Nov 24 – Reading is My Passion – book spotlight

Nov 26 – Literary Flits – book spotlight / giveaway

Nov 26 - Books for Books – book spotlight

Nov 29 – Jazzy Book Reviews – book spotlight / giveaway

Nov 29 - Sefina Hawke's Books – book spotlight

Nov 29 - Locks, Hooks and Books – book spotlight / giveaway

Nov 30 – My Journey Back the Journey Back – book spotlight / giveaway

Nov 30 - Kam's Place – book spotlight

Enter the Giveaway:

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MIA AND THE HUMMINGBIRD Spotlight Book Tour Giveaway

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Keeping Christmas Magic by Anna and Gunnar Counselman

 

Join Us for This Tour from November 26th to December 6th

 

Book Details:

​Book Title:  Keeping Christmas Magic by Anna and Gunnar Counselman 

Category:  Middle-Grade Fiction (Ages 8-12), 38 pages

Genre: Children's Book

Publisher: Mascot

Release Date: August 2021

Content Rating:  PG - It is a book about how to keep Christmas alive when your kids find out the truth about Santa.

 

Book Description:

​Shhhh, don’t tell! Keeping Christmas Magic reveals the true story of Santa Claus, asking you to become a Christmas Magic-Keeper.

 

Buy the Book:

Mascot

Barnes and Noble ~ Amazon

add to goodreads 

MY THOUGHTS ON THIS BOOK 

Keeping Christmas Magic by Anna and Gunnar Counselman is the real story behind Santa Clause. It tells the story from the beginning in a simple childlike way. I love that the illustrations really bring this story to life on each page with beautiful water color pictures. 

However, I wouldn't let smaller children read this book, or I wouldn't read this to small children because of its message. I think the book advice is 8 years old and up. But I encourage you to read the book first to see if the age is appropriate for your child. 

Keeping Christmas Magic is a beautiful book, even though the cover is a quite plain. The hardcover book is high quality and well put together. This is a great book for older children. A book that I am keeping in my library. I encourage you to check out this book, especially if you enjoy Christmas stories. 

A special thanks to the author/publisher for a copy of this book. I am not required to write a positive review, the opinions here are mine alone. I am disclosing this with my review in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

Anna and Gunnar Counselman - Interview with the author!

Interview #1

What happened exactly with your son that inspired you to write Keeping Christmas Magic?

 

Our then 6-year-old son came home from school and told us that all the kids in his kindergarten were saying that Santa wasn’t real. He didn’t seem distressed by it exactly, just confused.  And he said, “And when we watched Elf the other night, it seemed like everyone kind of knew something that wasn’t being said.” Anna and I looked at each other to try to do that parent mind meld thing, where you communicate with your eyes and decide upon a course of action. Luckily, his baby sister cried and distracted us, and we were able to get him to bed without addressing the question.

 

Immediately after bedtime, we agreed that we wanted to get at least another year of magical Christmas for him.  But we started Googling around to see if there’s a good book or story for when the jig is up and it’s time to come clean.

 

We were surprised not to find anything. We’ve both been entrepreneurs for a decade and have found that truly novel ideas are pretty rare.  But after a day of searching and checking with friends without result, we decided to put pen to paper and see what we could come up with.

 

It was pretty cool.  The story just flowed.  

 

It is loosely based on the story that my (Gunnar’s) mom told me when I was six, so we just had to get the rhyme and meter right.  But when we posted it to Facebook, we had a bunch of friends who just loved it and told us we needed to publish it.

 

What was the writing and illustrating process like? 

 

To be honest, neither of us are particularly experienced writers, and Gunnar had never written poetry before outside of school.  But the story was there in its broad contours from Gunnar’s mom, and somehow when we sat down to write the first draft, it just kind of flowed out.  The current story is 90% recognizable from the very first draft.  

 

We didn’t actually think about publishing it to start.  We just wanted to write something for our kids.   But we posted it to Facebook and a bunch of friends were really touched by it. So, Anna did some editing and Gunnar found a bunch of example pictures that Anna could use as inspiration for the art.  Our families chimed in, and next thing you know, we had a book.  

 

It was a great experience to get to work as a husband-and-wife team on this.

 

What do you hope children/parents get out of this book?

Listen, telling your kids the truth about Santa can be tough.  We hope that the book takes an otherwise difficult conversation and makes it a beautiful moment instead. Even more, we hope that when kids sign their names in the book and become “Christmas Magic Keepers” that they’ll be less likely to tell younger kids. There’s just nothing like the feeling that Santa is coming and if we can help that last for one more year for ¼ of kids...that’s a lot of happiness.  So yeah...small ambition :)

 

What is your big ambition for the book?

We love Christmas. We love the winter and the snow, decorating for Christmas, and having people over for sing-alongs. We’d love to contribute to the Christmas tradition in our small way.

 

If people love the book, and it does the job that we intend for it to do - “to help make an otherwise difficult conversation a beautiful moment instead” - then we’d love it if Keeping Christmas Magic becomes a staple in people’s Christmas story.  The advent calendar gives us a great way to count down.  The Elf on the Shelf gave us an amazing way to engage kids every morning between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Plus, it’s fun for parents to find new and creative ways to move it every night.  We hope that when kids finally figure it out, that this book will give parents a lovely way to bring their kids into the secret society of Christmas Magic Keepers.  

 

If people love the book, we’d love it if it gets handed down from generation to generation.  Imagine seeing grandma’s 7-year-old handwriting in the book right next to dad’s and sister’s and uncles.  We hope it makes kids feel like learning the truth is a special moment that makes Christmas even better.

 

Meet the Authors:

​Anna and Gunnar are the husband-and-wife team behind Keeping Christmas Magic. Anna immigrated from Russia at age 12 and began her American journey in Swampscott, MA, attending Boston University before moving out to California to pursue her entrepreneurial career which has culminated in her co-founding Upstart, an AI lending platform. 

 

A third-generation Marine, Gunnar grew up pretty much everywhere there's a Marine base before going to Cornell for undergrad, deploying as a Human Intelligence Officer to Iraq, the Horn of Africa and Bosnia before attending Harvard for business school. Gunnar's entrepreneurial career has focused in education software and services where he's founded and invested in a 

handful of companies including his most recent company, Array. 

 

When their then-six-year-old son Tristan started asking hard questions about Santa, they didn't have good answer. Wanting to keep Christmas as magical as possible for as long as possible they looked for a children's book to help and when they couldn't find one, they wrote it. 

Originally, the poem was just for Tristan and his baby sister Sasha, but some close friends convinced them to submit it for publishing and the more they worked on the story, the more they felt like it needed to be told. They hope that the book does for parents around the world, what's it's done for them, help make an otherwise difficult conversation a 

beautiful experience instead.

 

connect with the authors:  website ~ goodreads

 

Tour Schedule:

​Nov 26 – Rockin' Book Reviews – book review / guest post / giveaway

Nov 26 - The Momma Spot – book review / giveaway

Nov 29 – A Mama's Corner of the World – book review / giveaway

Nov 29 - Splashes of Joy – book review / author interview / giveaway

Nov 29 - I'd Rather Be At The Beach – book review / author interview / giveaway

Nov 30 – Jazzy Book Reviews – book review / guest post / giveaway

Nov 30 - Laura's Interests – book review / guest post / giveaway

Dec 1 – Chit Chat with Charity – book review / guest post / giveaway

Dec 1 - Cheryl's Book Nook – book review / giveaway

Dec 2 – Bound 4 Escape – book review / giveaway

Dec 3 – StoreyBook Reviews – book review / giveaway

Dec 6 - @twilight_reader – book review

Enter the Giveaway:

 

KEEPING CHRISTMAS MAGIC Book Tour Giveaway

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Fabyan Place by Peter Angus

 

 

Join Us for this Tour:  November 22nd to December 3rd

Book Details:

Book Title:  Fabyan Place: Two WWII GIs Fight to Survive and Overcome Racial Strife as POWS by Peter Angus
Category:  Adult Fiction 18+, 350 pages
Genre:  Historical Fiction 
Publisher:  Dottenfritz Press 
Release date:   August 2021
Content Rating:  PG13 + M: Some use of the “F” word, some swearing, bigoted pejorative vernacular common in the 1940s, treatment attributed to Nazi captors in both a POW and Death Camp and one antagonist suicide.

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“Fabyan Place is a book that stays with you. A callow young man goes to war and confronts his prejudice, forming an unlikely friendship in a POW camp with another soldier. They each know a secret about the other that could be a death sentence. Deeply researched with fascinating details and unforgettable characters, moving and thought-provoking, the story rises to a ferocious finish that will take your breath away.” — Kay Williams, co-author, The Matryoshka Murders and Butcher of Dreams

“Enthusiasts of this genre will be impressed by the book’s authenticity. The author has a deep knowledge of the Second World War and offers many historical insights and details that I was not aware of.” — David Aretha, editor, World War II Chronicle and The Holocaust Chronicle

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Book Description:

Should racism prevent you fighting for your country?
Does bigotry still live even after a war has ended?
Must standing at the gates of hell in a POW camp forever change a man?
 
Memories of his internment as a prisoner echo as a young war veteran returns to his family and an enigmatic visitor arrives unannounced on Christmas morning.

The guest brings memories of the war, the horrors of the camps and the life-altering changes in his own psyche as his family prepares for their annual feast.

Fabyan Place is an engrossing suspenseful historical fiction novel about two mixed race young men from urban New Jersey and rural Georgia whose experiences clash in a Nazi concentration camp.

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Get your FREE copy of FABYAN PLACE for Christmas
on these FREE Days:
(click on the date to follow the link to get your free book) 
November 26 (Friday) - Black Friday
November 29  (Monday) - Cyber Monday
December  1 (Wednesday) 
December 2 (Thursday) 
December 3 (Friday)

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Buy the Book:
Amazon

MY REVIEW

Fabyan Place is a little different story that most I read. The author takes readers on a journey to WWII and what POW's faced in this horrific war. And the journey continues after they return home to their families and what takes place upon their return. Not knowing anyone who faced this war, I learned a lot about individuals who did face so much, more than a lot of people realize. And added to the war issues, the author takes a different take on the issues of racism during that Era.

The story follows Sonny and John and their difficult issues being a different race. I enjoyed these two characters and was intrigues by their stories. The author does an amazing job describing each scene with such detail, I found myself not wanting to put this book down. The storyline flows so smoothly making it easy to read and follow. Though I will say the content of the book makes it difficult to read at times. This is a book that anyone enjoying WWII stories would enjoy. I trust you will check out this intriguing story to read for yourself.

A special thanks you to iRead Book Tours and the author for providing a copy of this book for me to read and review. The opinions in this review are mine only. 

And now read this Interview with author Peter Angus (peter.angus.author@gmail.com

How did you do research for your book? 

Fabyan Place is a WWII historical fiction novel, a timeframe in I’ve been very interested in since my Dad was a veteran in the artillery and told me about his time fighting the Germans. I wrote Fabyan Place because one holiday season a few years back I remembered my grandmother told me when I was ten or eleven years old about her son, (mom’s brother and my uncle) and his capture by the German’s during the Battle of the Bulge.  As the memories started trickling back, I wrote an outline based on the information I remembered and started to flesh out the story from there.  Obviously, I wrote fiction to fill in the gaps, but I did internet research to find out the feasibility of my created facts including such things as geography, weather etc.  I also took a deep dive into everything via published diaries, from the treatment of captives to their living conditions and combining that with what my grandma told me. 

There are quite a few books out there about WWII....What makes yours different? 

There are a few things that make it very different.  There are many books out there in the genre, but very few cover the almost banal but brutal existence of POWs from a fictional standpoint.  Many folks are aware of stories of the fictional and highly unrealistic Stalag 17 and the TV show Hogan’s Heroes,  where POWs pull the wool over their captors’ eyes or detailing their clever escapes, but many times they fail to give a realistic portrayal which you get from the very non-fiction diaries that were written by released prisoners after the war, and I read several of them.  I incorporated many of the stories I read from the diaries into Fabyan Place. 

Next, one of the story’s main protagonists is in the Quartermaster Corps.  Most fictional stories about WWII involve epic battles and life and death situations in combat, but there are none that I could find that highlighted the work done by the majority of the soldiers worldwide -   supplying the fighting soldiers whatever they needed in the war zone.  Feedback I have received has been very favorable for this viewpoint 

Finally, I give a different historical perspective on the life of the African American soldiers during the War.  Most stories of their participation is usually only touched upon if they are mentioned at all and most people have imagined them (mostly from movies or stories) as being cooks, orderlies or band members.  Nearly 80% of the African Americans were in the service (non-combat) forces.  In addition to the African American fighters that I highlight in the book,  there were the backbone rear-echelon companies and battalions supplying the war effort. At the height of the war, Quartermasters were providing over 70,000 different supply items and more than 24 million meals each day. When it was over, they had recovered and buried nearly a quarter of a million Soldiers in temporary cemeteries around the world.

What genre do you write and why? 

Historical fiction is my topic of choice.  I do it for several reasons, but primarily I started to become interested in this genre in grammar school with a series called ‘We Were There’ that my sixth-grade teacher handed me when I couldn’t decide what books to read.  She knew that I was very interested in the war, and the series told the story of some fictional experience, like Pearl Harbor or the Boston Tea Party, and it gave a fictional human story against the historical backdrop.  It was a great learning tool for me as a youngster!

 

Meet the Author:

Pete Angus spent his early years in New York City and environs. From there it was working and living in Vienna, Belgrade, Warsaw, Moscow, and Paris before settling in his current base, London. Fabyan Place, his first novel, is drawn from his own recollections and his extensive study of WWII military history. Pete has caught the writing bug and is currently working on a new mystery series featuring a military CID officer investigating unusual crimes in the 1940s.

Connect with the Author:  Author's Website ~ Twitter ~ Facebook ~ Instagram ~ Goodreads

 

Tour Schedule:

Nov 22 – Connie’s History Classroom – book review / guest post / giveaway
Nov 22 - Book Corner News and Reviews - book review / giveaway
Nov 23 - Leels Loves Books – book review / giveaway
Nov 24 – Rockin' Book Reviews – book review / guest post / giveaway
Nov 26 – Olio by Marilyn – book spotlight / author interview
Nov 26 – Olio by Marilyn – book review / giveaway
Nov 26 - Books for Books – book review
Nov 29 – @twilight_reader – book review / giveaway
Nov 29 - Books are a Blessing – book review / author interview / giveaway
Nov 30 – Splashes of Joy – book review / giveaway
Dec 1 – Gina Rae Mitchell – book review / author interview / giveaway
Dec 2 – Locks, Hooks and Books – book review / guest post / giveaway
Dec 3 – The World As I See It – book review / author interview / giveaway
 

Enter the Giveaway:

FABYAN PLACE by Peter Angus Book Tour Giveaway

 

The Christmas Blanket by Ed Damiano

 

Join Us for This Tour from  November 26 to December 26

Book Details:

Book Title:  The Christmas Blanket by Ed Damiano

Category:  Children's Book (ages 3-7), 38 pages

Genre:  Picture Book

Publisher:  Mascot Books

Release date:  December 2018

Content Rating:  G suitable for all readers

Mom's Choice Award Winner!

Book Description:

What is the meaning of Christmas? That's what eight-year-old EJ wants to know. The other kids say it's about getting toys‚ but is it, really?

One evening, EJ's mother takes him to the Rockefeller Center to see the lighting of the most magical tree in the world, and EJ meets someone who teaches him what Christmas is truly all about. 

 

Buy the Book

Mascot Books ~ Amazon

MY THOUGHTS ON THIS BOOK 

The Christmas Blanket by Ed Damiano is a story about Christmas with Jack and his mom. This is a beautifully written Christmas story, and a truth that many people are selfish at Christmas, wanting everything for themselves. EJ and Tommy found this valuable lesson in the story. I like that the author shows the greedy side of people and a change of heart after hearing that Christmas is more about giving than receiving. This is a book that needs to be read to children everywhere. And the one thing I want to point out is, the Real meaning of Christmas is the Christ child who is born. I give this one Four Stars. I encourage you to check out this book. 

A special thanks to the author/publisher for a copy of this book. I am not required to write a positive review, the opinions here are mine alone. I am disclosing this with my review in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

Meet the Author:

 

Born in Newark, New Jersey, Damiano has a passion for creativity, and his stories always contain a positive message. He also wrote The Christmas Blanket, which earned him a Mom’s Choice Award. In The Christmas Blanket, his character EJ realizes the true meaning of Christmas, which is not about getting presents, but about giving back to others.

Connect with the Author:  goodreads

 

Tour Schedule:

Nov 26 - Cover Lover Book Review – book review / giveaway

Nov 26 - Kam's Place – book review

Nov 29 – Chit Chat with Charity – book review / giveaway

Nov 29 - Gina Rae Mitchell – book review / giveaway

Nov 29 - Splashes of Joy – book review / giveaway

Nov 29 - Lisa's Reading – book review

Nov 29 - FUONLYKNEW - book spotlight / giveaway

Nov 30 – The Momma Spot – book review / giveaway

Nov 30 - Rockin' Book Reviews – book review / giveaway

Dec 1 – fundinmental – book spotlight / giveaway

Dec 1 - @jayme_reads - book review

Dec 2 – Deborah-Zenha Adams – book spotlight / giveaway

Dec 2 - Character Madness and Musing – book spotlight / giveaway

Dec 3 – @booking.with.janelle – book review

Dec 3 - Nighttime Reading Center – book review / giveaway

Dec 7 – Cheryl's Book Nook – book review / giveaway

Dec 8 – Older & Smarter? – book review / giveaway

Dec 9 – Westveil Publishing – book review / giveaway

Dec 10 – Pause for Tales – book review / giveaway

Dec 13 – Locks, Hooks and Books – book review / giveaway

Dec 14 – Bound 4 Escape – book review / giveaway

Dec 15 – icefairy's Treasure Chest – book review / giveaway

Dec 16 – Jazzy Book Reviews – book review / giveaway

Dec 20 – ajbookreads – book spotlight

Dec 20 - Writer with Wanderlust - book review / giveaway

Dec 21 – She Just Loves Books – book review / giveaway

Dec 22 – I'm Into Books – book review / giveaway

Dec 23 – Bigreadersite – book review / giveaway

Dec 26 - @twilight_reader – book review

Dec 28 – The Phantom Paragrapher – book review

Dec 29 – Sefina Hawke's Books – book spotlight

Dec 30 – Literary Flits – book spotlight / giveaway

Enter the Giveaway:

 

THE CHRISTMAS BLANKET by Ed Damiano Book Tour Giveaway

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Blind the Eyes by K.A. Wiggins

 

Join Us for This Tour from  November 26 to December 17!

Book Details:

Book Title:  Blind the Eyes: A Dystopian-Gothic YA Urban Fantasy by K.A. Wiggins

Category:  YA Fiction (Ages 13-17), 300 pages

Genre: Urban fantasy, crossover to dystopian, paranormal, contemporary fantasy, gothic and post-apocalyptic.

Publisher:  K.A. Wiggins (Imprint: Snowmelt & Stumps)

Release Date: June, 2018

Tour dates: November 26 to December 17

Content Rating:  PG-13 + M. No

 on-page sex, low romance, minimal bad language, underage drinking, 

significant fantasy violence, scenes containing emotional manipulation, 

depression, and (light/brief) physical abuse.

 

Book Description:

A haunted teen outcast and her snarky ghostly best-frenemy outwit enforcers, monsters, and the scars of the past in a race to take expose a deadly conspiracy and escape a bloody end. A lush, award-winning debut to a captivatingly eerie YA Urban Fantasy trilogy. Discover a labyrinthine, post-climate-collapse dystopian Vancouver overrun by monsters and magic in this intricate and startlingly original journey of discovery, restoration, and revenge.

It's hard not to be a little obsessed with survival when your only "friend" is an unruly ghost and the wrong thought could get your soul devoured by eldritch horrors. Haunted 17-year-old outcast Cole wants nothing more than to hide her forbidden fascination with the monster-taken and blend in with the (dreary) scenery. Her plans for a peaceful life take a turn for the deadly when a mesmerizing stranger and his dangerously tempting offer drive her into the middle of a grisly conspiracy.

But Cole hasn't yet uncovered the biggest secret of all, and it might just have something to do with the mysterious threads tugging her into horrifying visions—not to mention the shimmering boy at their dark heart. Uncovering the truth will cost her dearly as she fends off scheming enforcers, dreamjacking ghosts & soul-sucking nightmares in a desperate quest for survival and retribution. Can she escape the scars of her past and expose the lies before she's the next to die?

Blind the Eyes is the first book in a lush and labyrinthine trilogy of paranormal-meets-gothic-dystopian YA Urban Fantasy filled with glittering underworlds, delicious-and-deceptive strangers, and facing down the voices in your head. This slow-burn fantasy with an edge leads readers on a captivatingly unexpected journey of self-discovery, reclaimed identity, and conflicted sisterhood for those who like a little sparkle with their monsters (it glistens so nicely on all the blood.) Fans of post-climate-collapse dystopias, monsters-and-magic, and genre-bending dark fantasy will love this award-winning series starter in a complete and 100% binge-ready trilogy.

Buy the Book:

Books2Read

Amazon 

Apple ~ Kobo ~ Google

B&N ~ Waterstones ~ Chapters-Indigo

I know Lauren is doing a great job coordinating everything you need, but should you need/want additional graphics, feel free to draw from this collection on Google Drive.

And here’s a pretty comprehensive list of links if you need them!

Website: https://kawiggins.com

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/K-A-Wiggins/e/B072N62MXK

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/kaiespace

Bookbub:  https://www.bookbub.com/authors/k-a-wiggins

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kaiespace

Twitter: https://twitter.com/kaiespace

Pinterest: https://pinterest.com/kaiespace 

Instagram: https://instagram.com/kaie.space

Author Newsletter (free short reads!): https://mailchi.mp/7852e61cb116/ka-wiggins-ya-dystopian-dark-fantasy-newsletter

 

I’ll do my best to keep an eye out and boost signal, but feel free to tag me on any of those platforms or email me directly (kaiewrites@gmail.com) if you prefer. I’ll add a permanent link to your blog post in the Interviews & Features section of my about page, and may also feature it in my newsletters, blogs, and/or social, as well as sharing, retweeting, or story-reposting your posts on social.

Thanks again! :)

Horror and Faith-Guest Post from the Author

I grew up reading a LOT of Christian fiction (thank church libraries and a fairly religious community), including some fantastic works of dark fiction—Ted Dekker and James Byron Huggins come to mind. So perhaps it’s not that surprising that when I started telling my own stories, some of those early influences seeped through.

That said, I grew up in a family where we didn’t celebrate Halloween (isn’t that basically a Satanic holiday??) and there was much concern over Harry Potter’s rise in popularity (won’t that get kids into witchcraft??) Like many imaginative children (and adults), I had a low tolerance for horror or scary content in stories. I couldn’t shrug off the spooky or nightmarish imagery and ideas easily, and the Christian faith doesn’t necessarily preclude the existence of dark forces, some of which might be hiding under my bed . . .

All of that to say, it came as something of a shock to me that my stories are full of monsters and magic, and I’ve been doing some work as a creator, a reader, and a teacher to try to unpack that. What’s the point of horror (as a genre or as an element in a different genre)? Does it have value? Why do people even like scary stories? And, as a Christian, is it even okay to write horror—especially if it’s not religious horror?

Here are a few things I’ve come up with:

• Scary stories give readers (/viewers) a space to ask questions and explore fear. While there’s definitely a place for “comfort reads,” reality is rarely quite so cozy, and people need to try out and test ideas, and more importantly, face down fears. Sometimes it’s very healthy to be a little uncomfortable.

• Horror is great for creators. Seriously, the next time you’re afraid of something, anxious, or sad, try creating a story around it. When you create the story, nothing can hurt you. You’re in charge. You can make it stop or take it in a different direction at any time.

• Horror doesn’t (need to) hurt anyone. There’s a place for just purely enjoying something without needing to feel bad about it, and if you’re a fan of spooky media (or fantasy, or romance, for that matter), that doesn’t have to be a bad thing. Go forth and enjoy!

In some genres it might take a little more digging and filtering to find stories that suit you, and I’ll be the first to admit that there can be very horrifying content in horror (as with fantasy, romance, thrillers, really pretty much any genre). But while I’m comfortable with fairly high levels of fantasy violence, I don’t use much (if any) bad language or include sex on the page as a matter of personal preference, comfort, and belief.

While I don’t write specifically for the Christian market, nor do I explicitly discuss or craft plot points around matters of faith in my work, I think it’s impossible to entirely separate my experiences, beliefs, worldview, and creativity. They show up in the topics and themes I’m interested in, the questions that my characters ask, the things they struggle with—that might be a little different than the way other authors would conceive of them—the monsters they face down, and the way they resolve their problems. And I’m excited to see more writers and artists of faith share their creativity outside of the boundaries and limitations of parable or faith-journey stories, transforming their genres from within.

If you’re interested in how an author of faith brings a gothic sensibility to fantasy fiction and explores death, identity, and responsibility on the page, join me at kawiggins.com (and join the newsletter for free short fiction!) or on social @kaiespace.

 

Meet the Author:

K.A. Wiggins (Kaie) writes award-winning speculative fiction for young people and adults that explores the tangled webs of society, environment, and identity through intricate, dreamlike tales of monsters and magic.

Her debut novel was a Page Turner Awards 2020 Book Spotlight Prize winner and a Barnes & Noble Press "20 Favorite Indie Books of 2018," kicking off a celebrated and recently completed YA Urban Fantasy trilogy set in a gothic-dystopian post-climate-collapse Vancouver. Her short fiction has appeared in small press anthologies, genre magazines, and in translation for international audiences.

She's also the President of the Children's Writers and Illustrators of British Columbia society, co-founder of marketing and business services consultancy The Creative Collective, and a creative writing coach with the Creative Writing for Children society, and was recognized in the 2021 Arty Awards, taking first place in Literary Arts category.

connect with the author: website ~ twitter ~ facebook ~ pinterest ~ instagram ~ goodreads

 

Tour Schedule:

Nov 26 – Splashes of Joy – book spotlight / guest post / giveaway

Nov 26 - Locks, Hooks and Books – book spotlight / guest post / giveaway

Nov 29 – GivernyReads – book spotlight / guest post / giveaway

Nov 29 - Sadie's Spotlight – book spotlight / giveaway

Nov 30 - booking.with.janelle – book spotlight / author interview / giveaway

Dec 1 – Cover Lover Book Review – book spotlight / author interview / giveaway

Dec 2 – Westveil Publishing – book spotlight / guest post / giveaway

Dec 3 – Sefina Hawke's Books – book spotlight

Dec 6 – Character Madness and Musings – book spotlight / guest post / giveaway

Dec 6 - Rockin' Book Reviews – book spotlight / guest post / giveaway

Dec 7 – StoreyBook Reviews – book spotlight / guest post / giveaway

Dec 8 – The Bookshelf Scout – book spotlight / author interview / giveaway

Dec 9 – Gina Rae Mitchell – book spotlight / author interview / giveaway

Dec 10 – Book Corner News and Reviews – book spotlight / giveaway

Dec 13 – Books for Books – book spotlight

Dec 14 – Celticlady's Reviews – book spotlight / giveaway

Dec 14 - Books, Tea, Healthy Me - book spotlight / author interview / giveaway

Dec 15 – Jazzy Book Reviews – book spotlight / guest post / giveaway

Dec 16 – Literary Flits – book spotlight / giveaway

Dec 17 – Kam's Place – book spotlight

Dec 17 – fundinmental – book spotlight / giveaway

Dec 17 - Girl with Pen - book spotlight / author interview / giveaway

 

Enter the Giveaway:

BLIND THE EYE by KA Wiggins Book Tour Giveaway

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Gallant: The Call of the Trail by Claire Eckard

 

 

Join Us for this Tour:  November 22nd to December 10th

 

Book Details:

Book Title:  Gallant: The Call of the Trail by Claire Eckard
Category:  Young Adult Fiction (Ages 13-17), 300 pages
Genre: Young Adult
Publisher: Mill City Press
Release Date: September 2021
Content Rating:  PG-13 : It’s a saga about love, relationships, personal growth and adventure, set against a backdrop of endurance racing. A strong middle grader/pre-teen could read it.

 

Book Description:

A gripping journey of a young girl and a foal who are raised together in The Valley of Hearts Delight. Gallant and Gracie have a special bond, rarely seen between a human and a horse. Separated by a bad accident when Gallant is five, each gets a second chance of happiness pursuing the long-distance sport of endurance riding, neither knowing they are leading parallel lives. Will Fate bring them together again? Gallant’s arch nemesis, The Almighty Flash, threatens to destroy all that Gallant has worked for. His misguided ambition and greed, developed at the hands of an abusive owner, has created a darkness in his soul that turns to blind fury when his endurance career is threatened.

 

Buy the Book:
Author's Website
Amazon ~ Target

MY THOUGHTS ON THIS BOOK 

Gallant: The Call of the Trail by Claire Eckard is about Gracie and her horse Gallant. The two grew up together but was separated due to an awful accident. It's so sweet that later the two were reunited and we follow their journey. 

This is such a good story for young girls to read. I plan to gift this to my niece who loves to read. Gallant is the most precious horse, and I love the inaction between Gallant and Gracie. Eckard does such a good job describing Gallant's personality and I love the scenes with the horse and little girl. This story is so much fun exiting to read. Not only will Young girls love this one, adults will too. I encourage you to check out this book if you have a tween or teen girl in your family. This book would make a fantastic  Christmas gift, and a lasting one that your child can read over and over. 

A special thanks to the author/publisher for a copy of this book. I am not required to write a positive review, the opinions here are mine alone. I am disclosing this with my review in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

 

Meet the Author:

Award winning Author Claire Eckard combines her love of writing with her passion for animals to create memorable children's books that are fun to read, but also include valuable life's lessons. Claire grew up in England and moved to Hawaii in her early twenties where she married her husband of thirty-four years. Together they raised two sons, Mitchell and Matthew. Claire is inspired by her two Granddaughters Mila and Ella, as well as the beautiful backdrop of the Arizona mountains where she lives. Claire has a farm full of animals, and has spent many years as a board member and volunteer of her local animal shelter.
 
connect with the author:  website ~ facebook ~ instagram ~ goodreads

 

Tour Schedule:

Nov 22 – Cover Lover Book Review – book review / giveaway
Nov 22 - Rockin' Book Reviews – book review / guest post / giveaway
Nov 22 - Westviel Publishing – book review / guest post / giveaway
Nov 23 – Books are a Blessing – book review / giveaway
Nov 23 - I'm All About Books – book spotlight / giveaway
Nov 24 - Book Corner News and Reviews – book review / giveaway
Nov 24 – fundinmental – book spotlight / giveaway
Nov 24 - Kam's Place – book spotlight
Nov 26 – Chit Chat with Charity – book review / author interview / giveaway
Nov 26 - Lamon Reviews – book spotlight / author interview / giveaway
Nov 29 – Splashes of Joy – book review / guest post / giveaway
Nov 29 - The Page Ladies Book Club – book review
Nov 30 – The Momma Spot – book review / giveaway
Dec 1 – Bigreadersite – book review
Dec 2 – @twilight_reader – book review
Dec 3 – Writer with Wanderlust – book review / guest post / giveaway
Dec 6 – Gina Rae Mitchell – book spotlight / author interview / giveaway
Dec 7 – Captive Dreams Window – book review
Dec 8 – Jazzy Book Reviews – book spotlight / guest post / giveaway
Dec 8 - Locks, Hooks and Books – book review / giveaway
Dec 9 – Working Mommy Journal – book review / giveaway
Dec 9 - My Reading Journeys  - book review / giveaway
Dec 10 - Literary Flits – book spotlight / giveaway
Dec 10 - Books for Books – book spotlight

Enter the Giveaway: 

 

 GALLANT: CALL OF THE TRAIL Book Tour Giveaway