tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11762985150942302122024-03-12T20:59:18.197-04:00Jester Harley's Manuscript PageAnne E. Johnson meditates on the universe of fiction-writingAnne E. Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08330642610716333970noreply@blogger.comBlogger351125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1176298515094230212.post-66020093768371093932018-04-09T10:44:00.000-04:002018-05-08T18:01:29.057-04:00Cover reveal: Anne E. Johnson's LAUNCHING THE LUNCHROOM Gzzargles Alien Stories No. 1<br />
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"I hate Earth Studies!" John knows he'll never get that report on pollination done in time. "<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Why do we have to live on Earth? There’s all this stuff to learn, and it’s so boring." </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In <i>Launching the Lunchroom</i>, some intergalactic visitors overhear John's complaint. Unfortunately, they misunderstand his meaning.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>Launching the Lunchroom</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Gzzargles Alien Stories No. 1</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">for kids aged 7-10</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Written and illustrated by Anne E. Johnson</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Coming July 1, 2018.</span></div>
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Anne E. Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08330642610716333970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1176298515094230212.post-7019968497551731092017-11-26T08:00:00.000-05:002017-11-26T08:00:04.258-05:00Neo-Noir StoryBundle Includes GREEN LIGHT DELIVERY<br />
Webrid is not always the best in social situations, but the earnestly goofy protagonist of my trilogy of humorous space opera novels is currently forced to hang out with some pretty striking characters.<br />
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StoryBundle is offering a pay-what-you-want collection of neo-noir fiction, and I'm honored to have <i>Green Light Delivery</i> included. Check out this lineup:<br />
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<b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And now a word from celebrated indie publisher and editor Kate Sullivan:</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The Neo-Noir Bundle</span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"> serves up, in one fell swoop and at rock-bottom price, a
collection of ten riveting works that blur boundaries, mix up expectations, and
blend together all the best that noir has to offer.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">Cross
boundaries and defy expectations while exploring the noir tenets. Unreliable
narrator? Check. Cynical, world-weary protagonist who's as quick with wit as a
weapon? Check. Complex plots rife with reminiscences, reversals and betrayals?
Check, check, and check.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">As the
founder and once-mastermind of acclaimed small indie press Candlemark & Gleam
(now helmed by fellow renaissance woman Athena Andreadis), I had the honor of
helping release some of the best new works in the neo-noir resurgence; these
days, I'm digging into the best vintage pulp and noir with The Fiction League
podcast.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">And now,
I get to share that dark, brooding twist on speculative fiction with you in
this spectacular bundle.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">Firmly
noir, the bundle nevertheless ranges widely across speculative fiction
subgenres: space opera, high and urban fantasy, paranormal romance, horror, alternative
history, dieselpunk. From corrupt elves to Twitter-obsessed superheroes, from
werewolf cops to ghostly soul whisperers, it's all here!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">You'll
get shadowy settings, the electric hum of eroticism, bouts of spectacular
violence, and lose-lose scenarios familiar to devotees of Dashiell Hammett,
Raymond Chandler, James Ellroy, and Patricia Highsmith; of <i>Blade Runner</i>, <i>Strange
Days</i>, and the dark Batman reboots. Add a dash of snark, a jigger of
suspense, and garnish with a twist of epic proportions for a neo-noir cocktail
that'll leave you reeling…and thirsty for more.<span style="font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Order this amazing collection at <a href="https://storybundle.com/noir">https://storybundle.com/noir</a></span></b></span></div>
Anne E. Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08330642610716333970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1176298515094230212.post-66838438775735834122017-11-16T12:07:00.000-05:002017-11-16T12:07:13.695-05:00Guest post: Trisha Faye, editor of IN CELEBRATION OF SISTERS<br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Confession time. There's a reason I usually write speculative fiction: I'm not very good at writing about reality and my own life. But when Trisha Faye put out a call for poems about sisters, I had to try, and I'm thrilled to say that "I Cherish Allegra" is included in the just-released anthology IN CELEBRATION OF SISTERS. Trisha stopped by to tell us more about the project.</span><br />
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<b>Why I Created IN CELEBRATION OF SISTERS</b><br />
<b>by Trisha Faye</b><br />
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Anne, thank you for the invitation for a guest blog. I’m
excited about my newest release, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/154828212X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1510619064&sr=8-1&keywords=In+Celebration+of+Sisters"><i>In Celebration of Sisters</i></a>, which is a
collection of many stories and poems from talented writers. In fact, that’s how
Anne and I connected. She has a poem in this anthology, honoring her sister
Allegra and the sister memories she has, even though Allegra left this earth
many years too early.<o:p></o:p></div>
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That’s been my favorite part of working on this anthology –
meeting new authors and reading the delightful tales that celebrate the
wonderful world of sisterhood. There’s some old friends in this book too.
Several of the featured authors also had stories in my first anthology, <i>In Celebration of Mothers</i>, which was
released a year ago. A new book about sisters seemed to be a natural follow-up.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Publishing an anthology brought about a whole different set
of challenges than simply writing a story or a book. There were coordination
issues between almost forty authors, getting permissions, collecting pictures,
formatting, and trying to keep it all on schedule. I felt like I needed to put
on a totally different hat for these tasks. But, you know, it’s in the working
with new challenges and opportunities that we all experience growth – both
personally and professionally. And at the end, when we can look back and see
that we accomplished something we set out to do, it makes it all worth it.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The best part about the experiences of publishing two
anthologies (with a third underway and set for publication in March 2018) is
the new friendships that are formed. Through this, I’ve met an array of
fascinating people who craft with words to touch others with their tales. And through
the virtual world of email, the internet and social media, we can connect and
interact in ways that were unthought-of not that many years ago. We’re not
limited to having fellow authors – or readers – in our circle that we meet at
book signings, in the bookstores, or on the physical path of life.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Anthology editor Trisha Faye and her sister</td></tr>
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With Anne in Brooklyn, as I sit in Texas I most likely
wouldn’t have crossed paths with her with her YA and Middle Grade books. I
wouldn’t learn that she writes poetry also, nor that she had an older sister, Allegra,
who had a perfect hiding place in the woods and didn’t like the ladder going to
the upper bunk bed. But thanks to this anthology, and the virtual world we live
in, my life is richer from meeting these wondrous new friends across the globe.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>In Celebration of
Sisters</i> rejoices in the dynamics of sisters of all phases of life – those
that have had a falling out and been reunited, other sisters, like Allegra,
that were gone from life too soon, sisters from another mother, and the most
glorious of all – sisters that are golden threads in the meaning of life. You
can find their many stories, memories, and recollections here. Meanwhile, I’ll
keep on celebrating sisters…and mothers…and the new friends I meet along the
journey of this magical writing life.<o:p></o:p></div>
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You can order <i>In Celebration of Sisters </i><a href="https://www.blogger.com/Amazon%20link%20for%20book:%20https://www.amazon.com/dp/154828212X" target="_blank">on Amazon</a>.</div>
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Anne E. Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08330642610716333970noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1176298515094230212.post-77590029968353825582017-11-01T08:00:00.000-04:002017-11-01T08:00:08.801-04:00#LGBT #YALit #Scifi novella EXIT CODE now available!<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">It's launch day for my future-city novella! </span><br />
<br />
Danger lurks just down the tracks.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidcpZNu_JTgPKoXVAG73FAlXEBE-Tu69ix7lh1JN9yloGG4oxfMz6ZkuWERs4mNx9ArdSHETq1vJ71bc5vnmS4k5bUzyYDRtJIYsqgA22hgjDGW4WuZU67wej0_weMJPJeomRuC9F9szk/s1600/Exit+Code+-+High+Resolution.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidcpZNu_JTgPKoXVAG73FAlXEBE-Tu69ix7lh1JN9yloGG4oxfMz6ZkuWERs4mNx9ArdSHETq1vJ71bc5vnmS4k5bUzyYDRtJIYsqgA22hgjDGW4WuZU67wej0_weMJPJeomRuC9F9szk/s400/Exit+Code+-+High+Resolution.jpg" width="250" /></a>To escape, you'll need the<br />
<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>EXIT CODE</b></span></div>
<br />
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, Times, times, serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
It’s Chicago in the year 2057, and Tren Alvarez is on a date with Geo, the hottest boy in his high school class. Things are going great until Geo suggests they take a ride on the Stacks, the recently built all-city transit system that has practically replaced cars in the Chicago metro area. Tren has an unfounded fear of the Stacks. He even buys into urban legends claiming people have boarded the little carriage pods, slid up onto the snaking tracks, and were never heard from again.</div>
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As the date progresses, the boys witness something that suggests Tren isn’t just being paranoid. When they make the mistake of investigating the next day while Tren’s little sister Ezzie is with them, everything turns upside down. Trying to impress somebody he likes quickly turns into trying to save Ezzie – and the whole city of Chicago.</div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">* * *</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Buy <i><b>Exit Code</b></i> wherever ebooks are sold, including</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #d5a6bd;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Exit-Code-Science-Fiction-Novella-ebook/dp/B076ZV6F4H" target="_blank">Amazon</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #d5a6bd;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/exit-code-anne-e-johnson/1127276054" target="_blank">Barnes & Noble</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #d5a6bd;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id1300746522" target="_blank">iTunes</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #d5a6bd;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/exit-code-a-science-fiction-novella" target="_blank">Kobo</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #d5a6bd;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
Anne E. Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08330642610716333970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1176298515094230212.post-91679286261820430152017-09-22T08:00:00.000-04:002017-09-23T17:21:14.877-04:00Diversity in YA Lit<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Diversity in YA Literature</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">by Anne E. Johnson</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="http://anneejohnson.blogspot.com/2017/06/diversity-in-childrens-literature.html" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Previously I wrote about</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> the widespread push -- led by the We Need Diverse Books campaign -- to bring a range of voices to children’s and middle-grade books and stories. This followup column deals with diversity for young adult readers.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Where to Find Out What’s Going On</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">It’s part of your job as a writer to know what’s out there. Keeping track of diverse representations in YA lit, however, can be tougher than visiting your local bookstore or library. The whole point of We Need Diverse Books is that many types of people are underrepresented in books, and therefore the books are hard to find.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fortunately, there are some folks ready to help. </span><a href="http://www.diversityinya.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Diversity in YA</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, for example, is an entire website devoted to new YA releases with diverse content. Review blog </span><a href="http://richincolor.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Rich in Color</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> also focuses on diverse lit; this one is kind of a team effort, asking for reader participation to keep their files up to date.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Always a trusty source of kid lit information, the </span><a href="http://www.cbcbooks.org/diverse-kids-and-ya-lit/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Children’s Book Council offers a list</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> of recommended MG and YA multicultural books. And here’s a list called </span><a href="http://mashable.com/2014/12/26/minority-authors-2015/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Ten authors of color to read in 2015”</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (yes, it’s okay if you don’t get to these books until 2017).</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">How to Write It</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Learn to write by reading. It’s not a bad game plan. If you want to know how to make your own work more diverse, get to know the work of diverse authors. You might start with this interview featuring </span><a href="http://www.xojane.com/entertainment/three-ya-authors-on-why-we-need-diverse-books" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">three authors who specialize in diverse YA</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Aisha Saeed, Sabaa Tahir, and Renee Ahdieh. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Another educational approach for the potential author of diverse YA is to study characters representing diverse groups. School Library Journal has put out a list of </span><a href="http://www.slj.com/2014/05/diversity/disabled-characters-in-ya-literature/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">disabled characters in YA</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. The American Library Association offers a list of </span><a href="http://www.yalsa.ala.org/jrlya/2015/04/the-real-deal-teen-characters-with-autism-in-ya-novels/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">teen characters with autism</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> in YA books. I’ve mentioned it before, but it’s worth repeating the link to </span><a href="http://www.leewind.org/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’m Here, I’m Queer, What the Hell Do I Read</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, an ongoing list of LGBTQ-related fiction for YA and middle-grade.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Where to Send It </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If you have written or plan to write any diverse YA, you’ll need some publishers or agents to consider it. As always, look at the background of everyone you consider: the agents’ client lists and the publishers’ back catalogs. See what they publish. Read interviews to see whether they have an active interest in promoting underrepresented authors or characters or settings or perspective. One example of a publisher with precisely this agenda is the Tu imprint of Lee and Low. You can read their mission statement </span><a href="https://www.leeandlow.com/writers-illustrators/writing-guidelines-tu-books" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">here</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It may be worthwhile to look into grants or awards, particularly if you are a person of color or disabled, or a member of another diverse group. The 2017 deadline is coming right up (Nov. 1) for WNDB’s </span><a href="http://weneeddiversebooks.org/submission-guidelines/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Walter Dean Myers Award</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> for YA. (Note: you must qualify according their definition of “diverse” to enter.)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As for agents, besides reading interviews with them and blogs by them, you can also learn a lot from a series in Writers Digest called </span><a href="http://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/guide-to-literary-agents/30-literary-agents-seeking-diverse-books-now-young-adult-middle-grade-and-picture-books-part-3" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“30 Literary Agents Seeking Diverse Books Now.”</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Good luck, keep writing, and keep expanding your perspective on the world. In can only lead to better stories!</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>Anne E. Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08330642610716333970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1176298515094230212.post-4553877710799360142017-09-13T08:00:00.000-04:002017-09-13T08:00:15.039-04:00Cover reveal: YA science fiction adventure, EXIT CODE<br />
Ta-daaa! I'm just thrilled to be able to share the cover of my upcoming YA science fiction novella, <i>Exit Code, </i>due out Nov. 1, 2017. The designer is James at <a href="http://goonwrite.com/" target="_blank">GoOnWrite</a>, who always does wonderful work.<br />
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(To join my mailing list and be notified when <i>Exit Code </i>is released, please <a href="http://anneejohnson.us11.list-manage1.com/subscribe?u=abdc3855b6d92f6c41323f2c6&id=bcb18f94a7" target="_blank">click here</a>.)<br />
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<span style="background-color: #f1c232; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In EXIT CODE,<b> </b>a clumsy first date becomes a battle against a terrifying crime wave. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #ead1dc; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's 2057, and people are being kidnapped as they ride on the Stacks, Chicago's new all-encompassing transit system that virtually replaces cars. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #ead1dc; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #222222;">The police are getting nowhere. Someone has leaked fake videos of the kidnappings to the media, putting the authorities on the wrong scent. Tren and his new boyfriend, Geo, accidentally find out where the real kidnappings are taking place. But they make the mistake of following the trail of clues while Tren's little sister Ezzie is with them. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #ead1dc; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #222222;">Tren quickly realizes that his sister's safety is worth more to him than the whole city of Chicago</span><span style="color: #222222;">.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLxlJ6Q7rsUDYBCpU5a4uwIdZmSkMo5AbC9TUQXMGncmCH87JhDX8tQhFdpY13K04TP_jsngbKIWivu5KPCPb0vvvQ5UhjwWJKzrhZ9_GuZTB0OJKimcnxmCMhs3xWie7oL28I0f-Jc3U/s1600/Exit+Code+-+High+Resolution.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1000" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLxlJ6Q7rsUDYBCpU5a4uwIdZmSkMo5AbC9TUQXMGncmCH87JhDX8tQhFdpY13K04TP_jsngbKIWivu5KPCPb0vvvQ5UhjwWJKzrhZ9_GuZTB0OJKimcnxmCMhs3xWie7oL28I0f-Jc3U/s640/Exit+Code+-+High+Resolution.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: #ead1dc; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12.8px;"><br /></span></span>Anne E. Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08330642610716333970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1176298515094230212.post-3193235670109146062017-09-07T08:00:00.000-04:002017-09-07T08:00:26.636-04:00Writing Dialog for Middle-Grade Fiction<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxvplMVPWisnO_u5XZfay7oTkE1O8bN-Q8na6rSzz1Bm4monyuYN5IlryHxGa13WUTYpxEof4IXfvtOZ7taMHx4mwn4EIkpM6OES2a7Xv39YBY1lp7yBKvRooa3PPWzsZK3CQuGwe_MAY/s1600/girls+talking.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="520" data-original-width="960" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxvplMVPWisnO_u5XZfay7oTkE1O8bN-Q8na6rSzz1Bm4monyuYN5IlryHxGa13WUTYpxEof4IXfvtOZ7taMHx4mwn4EIkpM6OES2a7Xv39YBY1lp7yBKvRooa3PPWzsZK3CQuGwe_MAY/s400/girls+talking.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Making characters talk in a middle-grade story or novel is not the same thing as writing for very young children. Needless to say, as kids get older they can follow (and appreciate) more complicated dialog. However, increasing vocabulary is not the only factor that distinguishes dialog for this age group.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">One marker shared by the best MG lit is imagination. And, just as the stories are often full of wonder, let the characters reflect that in their voices. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In her novel </span><a href="http://gracelin.com/content.php?page=wherethemountainmeetsthemoon" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Where the Mountain Meets the Moon</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, inspired by ancient Chinese folklore, Grace Lin uses arcane, stylized language with no slang and very few contractions. Stripping the language of artifice and modernity gives a specific atmosphere.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In one scene, the main character’s Ma and Ba (father) are worried about their missing daughter. Their fish (!) gives them enigmatic wisdom:</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 49.5pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“There is fear in the wind,” the fish said, “great worry.”</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Is it a storm?” Ma asked.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ba looked at the fish. It stared at him with big eyes.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I’m not sure,” said Ba.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Keep It Personal</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJp2ujzNlkFqBTiPm1wU3cF44JPyiJuRpcFGwOimgG25hxBo9VprcdlaVk7m5BXnAz9vN_RrYqnb69FKu5zOgUFalCh6Rq_0X_fOXJi0T6cXbwbJfv_uZkomDL5sWHHOyFpASIsRcE1Js/s1600/framed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="336" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJp2ujzNlkFqBTiPm1wU3cF44JPyiJuRpcFGwOimgG25hxBo9VprcdlaVk7m5BXnAz9vN_RrYqnb69FKu5zOgUFalCh6Rq_0X_fOXJi0T6cXbwbJfv_uZkomDL5sWHHOyFpASIsRcE1Js/s320/framed.jpg" width="215" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">With increased comprehension comes increased demand for details by the reader. Let each character have his or her own style of speech and favorite topics to talk about. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Frank Cottrell Boyce’s </span><a href="http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/book/framed-1#cart/cleanup" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Framed</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">is a humorous contemporary novel about a boy in a small town. In that context, every single character is visible and important.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Here a girl nicknamed Terrible Evans, who is obsessed with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, sits next to the main character and spews forth trivia rather than making conversation. (Know anyone like that? I do, too.):</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 31.5pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Did you know,” she said, “that in the original comic, Splinter wasn’t a mutant rat?”</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“No. I didn’t.”</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“In the telly series, splinter is a rat who used to be a human. But in the comics he’s a rat who was always a rat. On telly he used to be Hamato Yoshi, who mutated into a rat because of a mutagen…” </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And on and on. Although this conversation does not contribute substantively to the plot, it tells the reader volumes about both the character speaking and the character patient enough to hear her out.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Keep It Loose</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When kids talk to each other, it’s practically a different language from the one they use around adults. This is particularly true when the kids have a lot of shared experience, such as schoolmates. </span></div>
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<a href="http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/book/crooked-kind-perfect" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A Crooked Kind of Perfect</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, by Linda Urban, shows some good examples of capturing this in dialog. During one conversation between the main character and a boy she knows, notice how little narration and tagging there is. The words spill out in a believably fluent way:</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 49.5pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“You were pretty mad out there,” Wheeler says.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“You were pretty mad yesterday,” I say.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Was not.”</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“You punched a bird.”</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“A fake bird,” he says. He shoves his hands in his jacket pockets.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Keep It Silly</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ17lADhK4Vv5LLw8SPZFNQ92LIq74Sc20Eq92YiOtYPTlJMj6MW6uDB7zyDPTz29J-luFrzqwYjMhyj9r69IrMBO84-mQrGnXVuXoa1iG9-WUkAT0hcE3x5YbfGNr3KiqJhvlD51P_Bk/s1600/wee+free.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="326" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ17lADhK4Vv5LLw8SPZFNQ92LIq74Sc20Eq92YiOtYPTlJMj6MW6uDB7zyDPTz29J-luFrzqwYjMhyj9r69IrMBO84-mQrGnXVuXoa1iG9-WUkAT0hcE3x5YbfGNr3KiqJhvlD51P_Bk/s320/wee+free.jpg" width="209" /></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And the most important advice of all for the writer of middle-grade lit: Let your imagination be sprinkled with humor.</span></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And you can’t get more humorous or imaginative than the late, great Terry Pratchett. Here is an exquisitely bizarre excerpt from his first Tiffany Aching novel, </span><a href="http://www.terrypratchettbooks.com/book/the-wee-free-men/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Wee Free Men</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">:</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“There really is a school for witches?” said Tiffany.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“In a manner of speaking, yes,” said Miss Tick.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Where?”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Very close.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Is it magical?”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Very magical.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“A wonderful place?”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“There’s nowhere quite like it.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Can I go there by magic? Does, like, a unicorn turn up to carry me there or something?”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Why should it? A unicorn is nothing more than a big horse that comes to a point anyway. Nothing to get so excited about,” said Miss Tick.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px;">Which middle grade novels do you think have the best dialog?</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
Anne E. Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08330642610716333970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1176298515094230212.post-44601700929111854772017-07-06T08:00:00.000-04:002017-07-06T08:00:00.823-04:00Now available: "Cat's Breakfast" Kurt Vonnegut Tribute Anthology from Third Flatiron<br />
One of my recent fiction publications is a ridiculous science fiction story called "Formica Joe." It is told from the point of view of a man stuck in two dimensions inside a tabletop in a diner.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQZ-dfctGj2_4x4UiZf105kSHP0RzOeK96n997MdIQnBmur-iP-CKd2HGV1w7gzdiRh7e8xXQiw4BhSL2bmi3s4V-OjYyPc-PyaGD29f31-vnm-6aDM_p4fWTgbwTZkQIYxIPn_EbKXAg/s1600/Kurt_Vonnegut_1972.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="324" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQZ-dfctGj2_4x4UiZf105kSHP0RzOeK96n997MdIQnBmur-iP-CKd2HGV1w7gzdiRh7e8xXQiw4BhSL2bmi3s4V-OjYyPc-PyaGD29f31-vnm-6aDM_p4fWTgbwTZkQIYxIPn_EbKXAg/s320/Kurt_Vonnegut_1972.jpg" width="216" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kurt Vonnegut</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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I do love unabashed silliness and weirdness, which is one reason Kurt Vonnegut ranks among my favorite authors. So, imagine how thrilled I was to sell this story to Third Flatiron Publishing for their Kurt Vonnegut tribute anthology, <i>Cat's Breakfast</i>. All the stories in this collection share Vonnegut's sardonic strangeness.<br />
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Good beach reading? Well, it depends on the kind of beach you like.<br />
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The authors represented in this anthology are as follows:<br />
<span class="author notFaded" data-width="175" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #111111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><div>
<span class="author notFaded" data-width="175" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #111111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span></div>
<span class="a-declarative" data-a-popover="{"closeButtonLabel":"Close Author Dialog Popover","name":"contributor-info-B006ARANH2","position":"triggerBottom","popoverLabel":"Author Dialog Popover","allowLinkDefault":"true"}" data-action="a-popover" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a class="a-link-normal contributorNameID" data-asin="B006ARANH2" href="https://www.amazon.com/Jonathan-Shipley/e/B006ARANH2/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #0066c0; text-decoration-line: none;">Jonathan Shipley</a> <a class="a-popover-trigger a-declarative" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #0066c0;"><i class="a-icon a-icon-popover" style="background-image: url("https://m.media-amazon.com/images/G/01/AUIClients/AmazonUIBaseCSS-sprite_1x_weblab_AUI_100106_T1-4424f4f4dd8ca9a98584abfc3b833ba8f12eb36a._V2_.png"); background-position: -90px -5px; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 400px 700px; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; height: 5px; margin: 5px 0px 0px 0.385em; opacity: 0.6; vertical-align: text-top; width: 7px;"></i></a></span><span class="contribution" spacing="none" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="a-color-secondary" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(85, 85, 85) !important;">, </span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><span class="author notFaded" data-width="199" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #111111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span class="a-declarative" data-a-popover="{"closeButtonLabel":"Close Author Dialog Popover","name":"contributor-info-B00HT3BJ2Y","position":"triggerBottom","popoverLabel":"Author Dialog Popover","allowLinkDefault":"true"}" data-action="a-popover" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a class="a-link-normal contributorNameID" data-asin="B00HT3BJ2Y" href="https://www.amazon.com/Konstantine-Paradias/e/B00HT3BJ2Y/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_2" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #0066c0; text-decoration-line: none;">Konstantine Paradias</a> <a class="a-popover-trigger a-declarative" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #0066c0;"><i class="a-icon a-icon-popover" style="background-image: url("https://m.media-amazon.com/images/G/01/AUIClients/AmazonUIBaseCSS-sprite_1x_weblab_AUI_100106_T1-4424f4f4dd8ca9a98584abfc3b833ba8f12eb36a._V2_.png"); background-position: -90px -5px; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 400px 700px; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; height: 5px; margin: 5px 0px 0px 0.385em; opacity: 0.6; vertical-align: text-top; width: 7px;"></i></a></span><span class="contribution" spacing="none" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="a-color-secondary" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(85, 85, 85) !important;">, </span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><span class="author notFaded" data-width="144" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #111111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><a class="a-link-normal" href="https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=dp_byline_sr_ebooks_3?ie=UTF8&text=James+Beamon&search-alias=digital-text&field-author=James+Beamon&sort=relevancerank" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #0066c0; text-decoration-line: none;">James Beamon</a> <span class="contribution" spacing="none" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="a-color-secondary" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(85, 85, 85) !important;">, </span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><span class="author notFaded" data-width="211" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #111111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span class="a-declarative" data-a-popover="{"closeButtonLabel":"Close Author Dialog Popover","name":"contributor-info-B071JYG8KC","position":"triggerBottom","popoverLabel":"Author Dialog Popover","allowLinkDefault":"true"}" data-action="a-popover" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a class="a-link-normal contributorNameID" data-asin="B071JYG8KC" href="https://www.amazon.com/Iain-Hamilton-McKinven/e/B071JYG8KC/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_4" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #0066c0; text-decoration-line: none;">Iain Hamilton McKinven</a><a class="a-popover-trigger a-declarative" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #0066c0;"><i class="a-icon a-icon-popover" style="background-image: url("https://m.media-amazon.com/images/G/01/AUIClients/AmazonUIBaseCSS-sprite_1x_weblab_AUI_100106_T1-4424f4f4dd8ca9a98584abfc3b833ba8f12eb36a._V2_.png"); background-position: -90px -5px; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 400px 700px; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; height: 5px; margin: 5px 0px 0px 0.385em; opacity: 0.6; vertical-align: text-top; width: 7px;"></i></a></span><span class="contribution" spacing="none" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="a-color-secondary" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(85, 85, 85) !important;">, </span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><span class="author notFaded" data-width="107" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #111111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><a class="a-link-normal" href="https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=dp_byline_sr_ebooks_5?ie=UTF8&text=Jill+Hand&search-alias=digital-text&field-author=Jill+Hand&sort=relevancerank" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #0066c0; text-decoration-line: none;">Jill Hand</a><span class="contribution" spacing="none" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="a-color-secondary" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(85, 85, 85) !important;">, </span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><span class="author notFaded" data-width="153" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #111111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><a class="a-link-normal" href="https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=dp_byline_sr_ebooks_6?ie=UTF8&text=Anne+E.+Johnson&search-alias=digital-text&field-author=Anne+E.+Johnson&sort=relevancerank" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #0066c0; text-decoration-line: none;">Anne E. Johnson</a><span class="contribution" spacing="none" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="a-color-secondary" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(85, 85, 85) !important;">, </span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><span class="author notFaded" data-width="172" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #111111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span class="a-declarative" data-a-popover="{"closeButtonLabel":"Close Author Dialog Popover","name":"contributor-info-B007FP6ZIO","position":"triggerBottom","popoverLabel":"Author Dialog Popover","allowLinkDefault":"true"}" data-action="a-popover" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a class="a-link-normal contributorNameID" data-asin="B007FP6ZIO" href="https://www.amazon.com/Vaughan-Stanger/e/B007FP6ZIO/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_7" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #0066c0; text-decoration-line: none;">Vaughan Stanger</a> <a class="a-popover-trigger a-declarative" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #0066c0;"><i class="a-icon a-icon-popover" style="background-image: url("https://m.media-amazon.com/images/G/01/AUIClients/AmazonUIBaseCSS-sprite_1x_weblab_AUI_100106_T1-4424f4f4dd8ca9a98584abfc3b833ba8f12eb36a._V2_.png"); background-position: -90px -5px; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 400px 700px; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; height: 5px; margin: 5px 0px 0px 0.385em; opacity: 0.6; vertical-align: text-top; width: 7px;"></i></a></span><span class="contribution" spacing="none" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="a-color-secondary" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(85, 85, 85) !important;">, </span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><span class="author notFaded" data-width="129" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #111111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><a class="a-link-normal" href="https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=dp_byline_sr_ebooks_8?ie=UTF8&text=Dan+Koboldt&search-alias=digital-text&field-author=Dan+Koboldt&sort=relevancerank" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #0066c0; text-decoration-line: none;">Dan Koboldt</a><span class="contribution" spacing="none" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="a-color-secondary" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(85, 85, 85) !important;">, </span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><span class="author notFaded" data-width="136" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #111111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><a class="a-link-normal" href="https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=dp_byline_sr_ebooks_9?ie=UTF8&text=Rati+Mehrotra&search-alias=digital-text&field-author=Rati+Mehrotra&sort=relevancerank" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #0066c0; text-decoration-line: none;">Rati Mehrotra</a><span class="contribution" spacing="none" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="a-color-secondary" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(85, 85, 85) !important;">, </span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><span class="author notFaded" data-width="184" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #111111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span class="a-declarative" data-a-popover="{"closeButtonLabel":"Close Author Dialog Popover","name":"contributor-info-B01CAHLQT4","position":"triggerBottom","popoverLabel":"Author Dialog Popover","allowLinkDefault":"true"}" data-action="a-popover" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a class="a-link-normal contributorNameID" data-asin="B01CAHLQT4" href="https://www.amazon.com/Benjamin-C.-Kinney/e/B01CAHLQT4/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_10" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #0066c0; text-decoration-line: none;">Benjamin C. Kinney</a> <a class="a-popover-trigger a-declarative" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #0066c0;"><i class="a-icon a-icon-popover" style="background-image: url("https://m.media-amazon.com/images/G/01/AUIClients/AmazonUIBaseCSS-sprite_1x_weblab_AUI_100106_T1-4424f4f4dd8ca9a98584abfc3b833ba8f12eb36a._V2_.png"); background-position: -90px -5px; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 400px 700px; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; height: 5px; margin: 5px 0px 0px 0.385em; opacity: 0.6; vertical-align: text-top; width: 7px;"></i></a></span><span class="contribution" spacing="none" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="a-color-secondary" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(85, 85, 85) !important;">, </span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><span class="author notFaded" data-width="153" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #111111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><a class="a-link-normal" href="https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=dp_byline_sr_ebooks_11?ie=UTF8&text=David+A.+Killman&search-alias=digital-text&field-author=David+A.+Killman&sort=relevancerank" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #0066c0; text-decoration-line: none;">David A. Killman</a> <span class="contribution" spacing="none" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="a-color-secondary" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(85, 85, 85) !important;">, </span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><span class="author notFaded" data-width="142" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #111111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span class="a-declarative" data-a-popover="{"closeButtonLabel":"Close Author Dialog Popover","name":"contributor-info-B00716BX34","position":"triggerBottom","popoverLabel":"Author Dialog Popover","allowLinkDefault":"true"}" data-action="a-popover" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a class="a-link-normal contributorNameID" data-asin="B00716BX34" href="https://www.amazon.com/Tim-Jeffreys/e/B00716BX34/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_12" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #0066c0; text-decoration-line: none;">Tim Jeffreys</a> <a class="a-popover-trigger a-declarative" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #0066c0;"><i class="a-icon a-icon-popover" style="background-image: url("https://m.media-amazon.com/images/G/01/AUIClients/AmazonUIBaseCSS-sprite_1x_weblab_AUI_100106_T1-4424f4f4dd8ca9a98584abfc3b833ba8f12eb36a._V2_.png"); background-position: -90px -5px; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 400px 700px; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; height: 5px; margin: 5px 0px 0px 0.385em; opacity: 0.6; vertical-align: text-top; width: 7px;"></i></a></span><span class="contribution" spacing="none" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="a-color-secondary" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(85, 85, 85) !important;">, </span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><span class="author notFaded" data-width="185" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #111111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span class="a-declarative" data-a-popover="{"closeButtonLabel":"Close Author Dialog Popover","name":"contributor-info-B072VYW23C","position":"triggerBottom","popoverLabel":"Author Dialog Popover","allowLinkDefault":"true"}" data-action="a-popover" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a class="a-link-normal contributorNameID" data-asin="B072VYW23C" href="https://www.amazon.com/Gregg-Chamberlain/e/B072VYW23C/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_13" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #0066c0; text-decoration-line: none;">Gregg Chamberlain</a> <a class="a-popover-trigger a-declarative" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #0066c0;"><i class="a-icon a-icon-popover" style="background-image: url("https://m.media-amazon.com/images/G/01/AUIClients/AmazonUIBaseCSS-sprite_1x_weblab_AUI_100106_T1-4424f4f4dd8ca9a98584abfc3b833ba8f12eb36a._V2_.png"); background-position: -90px -5px; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 400px 700px; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; height: 5px; margin: 5px 0px 0px 0.385em; opacity: 0.6; vertical-align: text-top; width: 7px;"></i></a></span><span class="contribution" spacing="none" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="a-color-secondary" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(85, 85, 85) !important;">, </span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><span class="author notFaded" data-width="193" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #111111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><a class="a-link-normal" href="https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=dp_byline_sr_ebooks_14?ie=UTF8&text=Christorpher+Mark+Rose&search-alias=digital-text&field-author=Christorpher+Mark+Rose&sort=relevancerank" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #0066c0; text-decoration-line: none;">Christorpher Mark Rose</a><span class="contribution" spacing="none" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="a-color-secondary" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(85, 85, 85) !important;">, </span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><span class="author notFaded" data-width="132" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #111111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><a class="a-link-normal" href="https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=dp_byline_sr_ebooks_15?ie=UTF8&text=Keyen+Bowes&search-alias=digital-text&field-author=Keyen+Bowes&sort=relevancerank" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #0066c0; text-decoration-line: none;">Keyen Bowes</a><span class="contribution" spacing="none" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="a-color-secondary" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(85, 85, 85) !important;">, </span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><span class="author notFaded" data-width="148" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #111111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><a class="a-link-normal" href="https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=dp_byline_sr_ebooks_16?ie=UTF8&text=Peter+Hagelslag&search-alias=digital-text&field-author=Peter+Hagelslag&sort=relevancerank" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #0066c0; text-decoration-line: none;">Peter Hagelslag</a><span class="contribution" spacing="none" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="a-color-secondary" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(85, 85, 85) !important;">, </span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><span class="author notFaded" data-width="155" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #111111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><a class="a-link-normal" href="https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=dp_byline_sr_ebooks_17?ie=UTF8&text=James+Lairamore&search-alias=digital-text&field-author=James+Lairamore&sort=relevancerank" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #0066c0; text-decoration-line: none;">James Lairamore</a><span class="contribution" spacing="none" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="a-color-secondary" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(85, 85, 85) !important;">, </span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><span class="author notFaded" data-width="161" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #111111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><a class="a-link-normal" href="https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=dp_byline_sr_ebooks_18?ie=UTF8&text=Ville+Nummenpaa&search-alias=digital-text&field-author=Ville+Nummenpaa&sort=relevancerank" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #0066c0; text-decoration-line: none;">Ville Nummenpaa</a><span class="contribution" spacing="none" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="a-color-secondary" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(85, 85, 85) !important;">, </span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><span class="author notFaded" data-width="157" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #111111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><a class="a-link-normal" href="https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=dp_byline_sr_ebooks_19?ie=UTF8&text=Rekha++Valliappan&search-alias=digital-text&field-author=Rekha++Valliappan&sort=relevancerank" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #0066c0; text-decoration-line: none;">Rekha Valliappan</a><span class="contribution" spacing="none" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="a-color-secondary" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(85, 85, 85) !important;">, </span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><span class="author notFaded" data-width="142" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #111111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><a class="a-link-normal" href="https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=dp_byline_sr_ebooks_20?ie=UTF8&text=August+Marion&search-alias=digital-text&field-author=August+Marion&sort=relevancerank" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #0066c0; text-decoration-line: none;">August Marion</a><span class="contribution" spacing="none" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="a-color-secondary" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(85, 85, 85) !important;">, </span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><span class="author notFaded" data-width="112" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #111111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><a class="a-link-normal" href="https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=dp_byline_sr_ebooks_21?ie=UTF8&text=S.E.+Foley&search-alias=digital-text&field-author=S.E.+Foley&sort=relevancerank" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #0066c0; text-decoration-line: none;">S.E. Foley</a><span class="contribution" spacing="none" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="a-color-secondary" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(85, 85, 85) !important;">, </span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><span class="author notFaded" data-width="122" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #111111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><a class="a-link-normal" href="https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=dp_byline_sr_ebooks_22?ie=UTF8&text=James+Dorr&search-alias=digital-text&field-author=James+Dorr&sort=relevancerank" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #0066c0; text-decoration-line: none;">James Dorr</a><span class="contribution" spacing="none" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="a-color-secondary" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(85, 85, 85) !important;">, </span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><span class="author notFaded" data-width="148" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #111111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><a class="a-link-normal" href="https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=dp_byline_sr_ebooks_23?ie=UTF8&text=John+J+Kennedy&search-alias=digital-text&field-author=John+J+Kennedy&sort=relevancerank" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #0066c0; text-decoration-line: none;">John J Kennedy</a><span class="contribution" spacing="none" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="a-color-secondary" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(85, 85, 85) !important;">, </span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><span class="author notFaded" data-width="112" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #111111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><a class="a-link-normal" href="https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=dp_byline_sr_ebooks_24?ie=UTF8&text=Ryan+Dull&search-alias=digital-text&field-author=Ryan+Dull&sort=relevancerank" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #0066c0; text-decoration-line: none;">Ryan Dull</a><span class="contribution" spacing="none" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="a-color-secondary" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(85, 85, 85) !important;">, </span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><span class="author notFaded" data-width="146" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #111111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><a class="a-link-normal" href="https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=dp_byline_sr_ebooks_25?ie=UTF8&text=Veronica+Moyer&search-alias=digital-text&field-author=Veronica+Moyer&sort=relevancerank" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #0066c0; text-decoration-line: none;">Veronica Moyer</a><span class="contribution" spacing="none" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="a-color-secondary" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(85, 85, 85) !important;">, </span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><span class="author notFaded" data-width="135" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #111111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><a class="a-link-normal" href="https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=dp_byline_sr_ebooks_26?ie=UTF8&text=Corrie+Parrish&search-alias=digital-text&field-author=Corrie+Parrish&sort=relevancerank" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #0066c0; text-decoration-line: none;">Corrie Parrish</a><span class="contribution" spacing="none" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="a-color-secondary" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(85, 85, 85) !important;">, </span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><span class="author notFaded" data-width="167" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #111111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><a class="a-link-normal" href="https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=dp_byline_sr_ebooks_27?ie=UTF8&text=Neil+James+Hudson&search-alias=digital-text&field-author=Neil+James+Hudson&sort=relevancerank" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #0066c0; text-decoration-line: none;">Neil James Hudson</a><span class="contribution" spacing="none" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="a-color-secondary" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(85, 85, 85) !important;">, </span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><span class="author notFaded" data-width="213" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #111111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><a class="a-link-normal" href="https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=dp_byline_sr_ebooks_28?ie=UTF8&text=Laurence+Raphael+Brothers&search-alias=digital-text&field-author=Laurence+Raphael+Brothers&sort=relevancerank" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #0066c0; text-decoration-line: none;">Laurence Raphael Brothers</a>,<span class="contribution" spacing="none" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="a-color-secondary" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(85, 85, 85) !important;"> </span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><span class="author notFaded" data-width="122" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #111111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span class="a-declarative" data-a-popover="{"closeButtonLabel":"Close Author Dialog Popover","name":"contributor-info-B002S58NZY","position":"triggerBottom","popoverLabel":"Author Dialog Popover","allowLinkDefault":"true"}" data-action="a-popover" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a class="a-link-normal contributorNameID" data-asin="B002S58NZY" href="https://www.amazon.com/E.E.-King/e/B002S58NZY/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_29" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #0066c0; text-decoration-line: none;">E.E. King</a>,</span><span class="contribution" spacing="none" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="a-color-secondary" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(85, 85, 85) !important;"> </span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><span class="author notFaded" data-width="135" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #111111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><a class="a-link-normal" href="https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=dp_byline_sr_ebooks_30?ie=UTF8&text=Edward+Ahern&search-alias=digital-text&field-author=Edward+Ahern&sort=relevancerank" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #0066c0; text-decoration-line: none;">Edward Ahern</a></span><br /><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlqbV01WBjGHYaaT8sOPLmhRSX2rnx6K0YWzuYmOXYgVsJirX9zA4fpZKzCfgCZROrbkUV8iTAX1jmj3HueBuo5htczfyGhysu2bqAsgfh9ewhr833u5hZli645mlUlvaIzqXFWVzSOFc/s1600/cats-breakfast-cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="355" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlqbV01WBjGHYaaT8sOPLmhRSX2rnx6K0YWzuYmOXYgVsJirX9zA4fpZKzCfgCZROrbkUV8iTAX1jmj3HueBuo5htczfyGhysu2bqAsgfh9ewhr833u5hZli645mlUlvaIzqXFWVzSOFc/s320/cats-breakfast-cover.jpg" width="227" /></a></div>
You can purchase <i>Cat's Breakfast</i> <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Cats-Breakfast-Vonnegut-Flatiron-Anthologies-ebook/dp/B071LGGST4" target="_blank">on Amazon</a>.<br />
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<span style="background-color: #d5a6bd;"><b>CAT'S BREAKFAST:</b></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #d5a6bd; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">The new "Cat's Breakfast" anthology from Third Flatiron pays tribute to the imagination and inspiration of the late author Kurt Vonnegut. Emulating Vonnegut's famous "gallows humor" and skeptical view, these all-original satirical stories are a delightful antidote for the malaise and division plaguing contemporary society.</span>Anne E. Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08330642610716333970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1176298515094230212.post-90267952889410627762017-06-27T11:39:00.002-04:002017-06-27T11:39:31.277-04:00Diversity in Children's LiteratureThis post originally appeared on the website Eat Sleep Write in 2015.<br />
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Please pre-order and support the Young Explorer's Adventure Guide via Kickstarter <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/815743020/2018-young-explorers-adventure-guide-sf-anthology?token=27657a59" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguo6uksrSCGgmlZWWNxN4lWHrjx7MF4Ks2lpDyRxuo5qcPSleaI8yW2PPYGzve5CAsszzLRhomfIYlY3xkRHec0Aese8ijbItQmFlnOApUOw3zV8f_qryzUmyo547WnCtP16C5zXosv-U/s1600/YEAG2018promo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="1024" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguo6uksrSCGgmlZWWNxN4lWHrjx7MF4Ks2lpDyRxuo5qcPSleaI8yW2PPYGzve5CAsszzLRhomfIYlY3xkRHec0Aese8ijbItQmFlnOApUOw3zV8f_qryzUmyo547WnCtP16C5zXosv-U/s400/YEAG2018promo.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Diversity in Children’s Literature</b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">by Anne E. Johnson</span></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-5f6179a4-ea2f-4ff5-0fc7-b6bd44f7e256" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In this world of racial tensions that never seem to stop escalating, perhaps one positive step toward peaceful coexistence is to open the minds of the next generation. The children’s literature scene is taking this idea seriously. Publishers and writers are stepping up and speaking out to encourage diversity in kid lit.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Perhaps you have heard of the organization called </span><a href="http://weneeddiversebooks.org/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We Need Diverse Books</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Their Twitter hashtags #WNDB and #WeNeedDiverseBooks have garnered worldwide support. Their website offers comprehensive information about writing and spreading diversity in literature, and they have set up outreach programs for schools, resources to help writers wanting to be more inclusive, and awards and grants for authors who match their definition of “diverse.”</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">While a number of children’s publishers are attempting to be more racially diverse in their offerings, some companies were designed with diversity as their primary goal. British publisher </span><a href="http://www.tamarindbooks.com/aboutus.asp" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tamarind</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (now owned by Random House) has an almost 30-year history of featuring diverse cultures in its children’s books. In the U.S., Lee & Low is at the forefront of publishing with a non-white perspective. You can read Lee & Low’s mission statement </span><a href="https://www.leeandlow.com/about-us" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">here</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Writing about diverse cultures is not the same as representing them personally. Another side of diversity in children’s publishing is the encouragement of diverse ownership of publishing companies. To highlight this issue, the Cooperative Children’s Book Center has put together </span><a href="https://ccbc.education.wisc.edu/books/pclist.asp" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">a list of small presses</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> that publish for children and are owned by people of color.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Race is not the only aspect of a child’s experience that requires a broadened representation in kid lit. There is an excellent website called </span><a href="http://disabilityinkidlit.com/2015/11/06/redefining-heroism/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Disability in Kidlit</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> that deals specifically with books and stories for and about children with physical and developmental challenges. Blogger Lee Wind has garnered well-deserved praise for an excellent book list for LGBT kids called </span><a href="http://www.leewind.org/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I’m Here, I’m Queer, What the Hell Do I Read?”</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> The website </span><a href="http://www.rainbowrumpus.org/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Rainbow Rumpus</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> offers stories that feature characters with LGBT parents. Editor-in-Chief Liane Bonin Starr described her publication:</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 9.5pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Rainbow Rumpus is the world‘s only online literary magazine for children and youth with lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) parents. We publish short stories, illustrations, articles, celebrity interviews and profiles of the children of LGBT parents with the goal of showing young readers a world in which having an LGBT parent or parents is no different than any other. We serve our audience with high-quality writing and artwork which is often used in the classroom as well. </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The key phrase here, I think, is “no different than any other.” If we welcome enough diversity into children’s lit, then perhaps children will grow up realizing that every culture is equally valid. </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’m proud to say that I’ve had several stories published in Rainbow Rumpus. In fact, I write this column as a kid lit author determined to learn to write for the whole world of children, giving credence and respect to all their perspectives, lifestyles, and experiences. That is why I have contributed stories to the first two volumes of an anthology series called the </span><a href="http://dreamingrobotpress.com/2015-young-explorers-adventure-guide/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Young Explorer’s Adventure Guide</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Corie Weaver, co-founder of Dreaming Robot Press, had this to say about her groundbreaking middle-grade series:</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 45pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 9.5pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dreaming Robot Press believes representation matters. Children must be able to envision themselves as the heroes of any story. </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 45pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 9.5pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sally Ride, first American woman in space and Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient, famously said: “Young girls need to see role models in whatever careers they may choose, just so they can picture themselves doing those jobs someday. You can’t be what you can’t see.”</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 9.5pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Young Explorer's Adventure Guides are science fiction anthologies geared to the middle grade reader. Girls, boys, people of all skin tones and ableness are the heroes here!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I hope these words inspire you to add diversity to your own writing for children. </span><a href="http://www.springhole.net/writing/more-racial-diversity.htm" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Here’s an essay</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> for those who want to create a more inclusive setting and characters but don’t know how to begin.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Next time: Diversity in YA lit.</span></div>
Anne E. Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08330642610716333970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1176298515094230212.post-86915379719567180172017-06-01T08:00:00.000-04:002017-06-01T08:00:00.311-04:00It's re-launch day for Medieval Irish novelette A KISS AT VESPERS!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx-bvdqkMCcFK4gQ1fqALs8hrx53k4XMRH_QZNBMfEBdnNd9MICEWE5mccqodAIhxCKc_DnD-IepUdQSHhuxfZHd0uVbdAmJsREzSBiZL_ShTUOnq39RJSV4ZfnRcScaqhHtOhxHON7bM/s1600/Vespers+-+High+Resolution.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx-bvdqkMCcFK4gQ1fqALs8hrx53k4XMRH_QZNBMfEBdnNd9MICEWE5mccqodAIhxCKc_DnD-IepUdQSHhuxfZHd0uVbdAmJsREzSBiZL_ShTUOnq39RJSV4ZfnRcScaqhHtOhxHON7bM/s400/Vespers+-+High+Resolution.jpg" width="250" /></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="background-color: #d0e0e3;">In the year 1008, a British woman named Asta stows away on a ship
to Ireland, never guessing how her faith and love will be challenged.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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I'm very happy to announce that my historical romance novelette, <i>A Kiss at Vespers</i>, is again available in all ebook formats, and with a spiffy new cover. And at the permanently crazy-low price of 99 cents!<br />
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Researching seafaring, Vikings, and monastic life of 11th century Ireland was all kinds of fun, so it was important to me to get this book back out into the world. This is a sweet romance and (I'm told) a fun and quick read.<br />
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<i>A Kiss at Vespers</i> is now presented as Volume 1 in the Ireland's Medieval Heart Novelettes series. And you know what that means...I'd better get writing!<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Buy it wherever ebooks are sold, including:</span><br />
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Kiss-Vespers-Medieval-Irelands-Novelettes-ebook/dp/B071HVRR4X/" target="_blank">Amazon</a><br />
<a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-kiss-at-vespers-anne-e-johnson/1116135200" target="_blank">Barnes & Noble</a><br />
<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/a-kiss-at-vespers/id1235801239" target="_blank">iTunes</a><br />
<a href="https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/a-kiss-at-vespers-2" target="_blank">Kobo</a><br />
<a href="https://www.scribd.com/book/348081483/A-Kiss-at-Vespers-Ireland-s-Medieval-Heart-Novelettes-1" target="_blank">Scribd</a><br />
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<b><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #b6d7a8; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">A Kiss at Vespers<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #b6d7a8; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">by Anne E. Johnson</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #b6d7a8; color: #222222; font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Ireland's Medieval Heart Novelettes, Vol. 1</span></div>
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<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="background-color: #b6d7a8;">In 1008 AD, Dublin is just a small town, newly
opened to trade now that Viking violence there has died down. A young
woman named Asta runs away from her boring life in Britain on one of her
father’s trading vessels bound for Dublin, hoping that she and the sailor she loves
can find a new life together. But when shipwreck takes him from her, her whole
world changes. She is helped up the rocky shores of eastern Ireland by handsome
and enigmatic Brother Martinus, who takes her to the Monastery of St. Luran’s
to recover. Despite his vows of silence and chastity, Brother Martinus is
entranced by the beautiful maiden who seems delivered to him by Providence.
Their unexpected relationship causes both of them to rethink their concepts of
faith and love.</span><span style="background-color: white;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br />Anne E. Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08330642610716333970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1176298515094230212.post-21969715641344393372017-05-25T08:00:00.000-04:002017-05-25T08:00:31.534-04:00Susan P. Baker on using her law experience for the suspense novel UNAWARE<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Any one of us can end up the victim of a crime. Today's guest, Susan P. Baker, took inspiration from her experiences as a lawyer for her novel <i>Unaware. </i>If this essay is any indication, get ready for some major suspense!</span></div>
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<b><i>Unaware </i>in Real Life</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA2oslWboEdhUJN80hrmn5XY6Dg-p4OLcJG67rFchl6ipj5e7ljXDCaU6Ii7lqgs7eBAlr82lM3vKQ-OqyE-yApqQxLgts0ahHE1dJqsQwtiYkHEEXxK7BVlgZAP6XRf96Tg4P-J-tEp8/s1600/Unaware+KINDLE.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="402" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA2oslWboEdhUJN80hrmn5XY6Dg-p4OLcJG67rFchl6ipj5e7ljXDCaU6Ii7lqgs7eBAlr82lM3vKQ-OqyE-yApqQxLgts0ahHE1dJqsQwtiYkHEEXxK7BVlgZAP6XRf96Tg4P-J-tEp8/s400/Unaware+KINDLE.jpeg" width="251" /></a><b><br /></b></div>
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<b>by Susan P. Baker</b></div>
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UNAWARE is loosely based a case I handled when I first
started practicing law. At the time, I was married to my first husband. We were
the parents of two young daughters. My husband traveled a lot on the job, which
was necessary but could be annoying when I was trying to get a law practice off
the ground and parent the children at the same time. We did not have an <i>au pair</i>, couldn’t afford one. My father
had been an attorney but was on the bench when I won my law license. <o:p></o:p></div>
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One night, when my husband was out of town, I went to a
meeting and was out too late. The girls were old enough to stay by themselves.
I stopped off at the grocery store on the way home and noticed when I was
almost to my house that a car had been following me. When I pulled into my
driveway, the car stopped and parked in front of the house opposite mine. I
immediately backed out and drove away, hoping to lead the person away from my
children. We didn’t have cell phones back then. I drove a short distance to my
sister’s house, jumped out, and ran inside. </div>
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My brother- in-law drove to my
house to check things out while my sister and I called the police. When they
found no one there, I went home, having become aware of how easy it would be
for someone to hide around my house, what with the hedge next to the front
door. I pulled into the garage, put the door down, ran inside to check on the
girls who were okay, and got the butcher knife out of the drawer and put it
under my pillow. We didn’t have any guns. I had a hard time sleeping that
night. The following day I bought a .38 revolver. <o:p></o:p></div>
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At that time, I was building my family law practice as well
as practicing criminal defense law. I shared an office with two of my father’s
former law partners. They were much older and often gave me advice. One of them
had the messiest office I’d ever seen, but he had a brilliant mind and could
cite law that I’d never even heard of.<o:p></o:p></div>
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In one of my cases, a beautiful, young woman with long,
blond hair came to see me about her situation. She hadn’t been married to her
husband very long but was ready to get out because he’d become violent almost
as soon as they’d said “I do.” He worked on the wharves and had a very sharp
cotton knife that he threatened her with when she spoke of leaving him. He was
a few years older than she was and fairly good looking. His father was a
big-wig in the longshoreman’s union and had bailed him out of trouble many
times. </div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg7gfFNaTNfhGKoLSF23dzI7Cm8wUtos0wcVukMKdm6blSHlt1TSBMVk7bVttqTMpvKMOCMwvnGcgV9kPuSmMn-n-_CgFdjOQnuq4U181wkIna9312fdwtHv6H0grvBYIPGgwsKLhr_EA/s1600/Susan_P_Baker_Photo_.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="601" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg7gfFNaTNfhGKoLSF23dzI7Cm8wUtos0wcVukMKdm6blSHlt1TSBMVk7bVttqTMpvKMOCMwvnGcgV9kPuSmMn-n-_CgFdjOQnuq4U181wkIna9312fdwtHv6H0grvBYIPGgwsKLhr_EA/s320/Susan_P_Baker_Photo_.jpeg" width="255" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Susan P. Baker</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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I took the case against the advice of the other lawyers because she
didn’t have much money and had been turned down by other lawyers who were
afraid. It wasn’t long before she told me that her husband threatened to kill
her and me. We tried our best to settle the case amicably. The man’s father
even came to see me in my office. He knew my father. He said he’d make his son
settle the case, pay the money he needed to pay, and he even gave me a pendant
of a gold leaf. Anyway, clearly the inspiration for UNAWARE came from my law
practice.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="background-color: #b6d7a8;">UNAWARE<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #b6d7a8;">What you don’t know CAN hurt you. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #b6d7a8;">Frustrated with the two controlling men in her life, Dena
Barlow Armstrong has outlined a rosy future for herself and her children,
independent of them. Her husband, Zack, constantly pushes her to turn over her
inheritance to him and, when she doesn’t, he punishes her with his
indifference. Her law partner and cousin, Lucas, controls her money and the
types of cases she accepts. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #b6d7a8;">Just as Dena begins to achieve her goal of independence,
someone emerges with very different plans for her. Unaware of the danger she
faces, Dena lives each day as a wife, mother, and attorney. Then one day, when
her husband is out of town, the stranger lurks in her garage, waiting until she
and the children go to bed…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #b6d7a8;">This standalone novel is Susan P. Baker’s sixth
mystery/suspense novel.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Learn more about Susan P. Baker <a href="http://www.susanpbaker.com/" target="_blank">on her website</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Purchase <i>Unaware </i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XTV5PTP/" target="_blank">on Amazon</a>.</span></div>
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Anne E. Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08330642610716333970noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1176298515094230212.post-63449123986373382822017-05-11T08:00:00.000-04:002017-05-11T08:01:05.771-04:00Angelique Conger on motherhood in her novel EVE: FIRST MATRIARCH<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Appropriately for Mother's Day, my guest is Angelique Conger, who explores the concept of motherhood in its most ancient form in her novel <i>Eve: First Matriarch.</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><b>Deciding to Write <i>Eve</i><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><b>By Angelique Conger</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEigeG78reVeFgJl5eJEMrMulYnjUVkHUOA5GFxUVLHc-3WwXNOuL3cDX0MvytHfCDp9bnH9eqRaNv6d22eF7GTk0I_IfnZ_4htHAYNqBsgm-7SSOUSnQPGe09QtDYwVXAERAiXyfnacU/s1600/Eve+-+First+Matriarch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEigeG78reVeFgJl5eJEMrMulYnjUVkHUOA5GFxUVLHc-3WwXNOuL3cDX0MvytHfCDp9bnH9eqRaNv6d22eF7GTk0I_IfnZ_4htHAYNqBsgm-7SSOUSnQPGe09QtDYwVXAERAiXyfnacU/s400/Eve+-+First+Matriarch.jpg" width="262" /></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">My first child was due in December of 1974. Being
“large with child” my thoughts turned to other women whose children were
important at that time of the year. I naturally thought of Mary, the Mother of
Christ and her delivery of that sacred child. Then, I began to think of our
first mother, Eve.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">So little is known of her. There are but a few
sentences regarding her in Genesis and over the centuries she has been
villainized. I began to wonder about her, especially as I carried my first
child, I wondered about the birth of her first child. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I would have a clean hospital bed and doctors and
nurses who had helped mothers give birth many times. Who was there to help and
support Eve? Were there angels? Was it Adam? If so, how did Adam get the
knowledge he needed to help her safely give birth to their first child?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I wondered. I thought. I questioned. I gave birth to
that son and four more children. Each child brought my thoughts back to Mother
Eve. How did she manage?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">In college, I took a class in creative writing and
attempted to tell the story of this important Mother—and failed. I tried to
tell it from the outside looking in. I got nowhere with the story. Later, I
tried again, and failed once more. I believed I could not write her story,
could not discover the answer to my questions.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Then, three years ago, my sister challenged me to
participate in National Novel Writing Month. “Sure,” I said, “but what story
will I tell?” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">It came to me to try once more to learn the story of
Eve. I changed the perspective, writing from her point of view, thinking as she
would think, and the story flowed. I learned all the answers I sought, and
more. I learned about being the only woman with the only man on earth, their
struggles, their difficulties in discovering and inventing. I learned much more
than was finally included in my book, because I had to focus. That focus became
the focus of my earlier questions. How did Eve handle becoming a mother, and
from whom did she receive help?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-1LGn7UFzVf-HEDe5bPTqftkUJiA78PxD26lP5lr2CNpbaVmAJ2S6Xjw_I1s7_Wjqdf81bMcw73lGVh0UJW5waFgzjrxD2KC1ej9U4tlqDuZR8dZDGgf01WPMmMMcowrOmXH05iaWpmo/s1600/E16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-1LGn7UFzVf-HEDe5bPTqftkUJiA78PxD26lP5lr2CNpbaVmAJ2S6Xjw_I1s7_Wjqdf81bMcw73lGVh0UJW5waFgzjrxD2KC1ej9U4tlqDuZR8dZDGgf01WPMmMMcowrOmXH05iaWpmo/s320/E16.jpg" width="256" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Angelique Conger</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I hope you will enjoy my discoveries in <b><i>Eve,
First Matriarch</i></b>, and in the following books about the wives of the
other patriarchs. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<u style="background-color: #b6d7a8;"><i>Eve: First Matriarch</i></u><br />
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<span style="background-color: #b6d7a8;">Eve is a mother to us all. Here is her story of longing,
anguish, and hope…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #b6d7a8;">Eve wants nothing more than to fulfill God’s two
commandments: live in absolute obedience and replenish the earth with her
children. But the power of the Destroyer is strong, and when she’s told she has
a chance to fulfill the second commandment by breaking the first… she takes it.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #b6d7a8;">Expelled from a garden paradise into a wild, dangerous
world, Eve learns that her failure to obey will someday cause her to die. With
a limited time to teach Jehovah’s commandments to her children, she’s
devastated when the Destroyer starts to lead them astray. Can Eve overcome evil
to teach her children obedience and happiness?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #b6d7a8;"><i>Eve: First Matriarch</i>
is a reimagined story of the biblical figure of Even. If you like rich
historical fiction, feminine perspectives, and illuminating stories of
motherhood, then you’ll love Angelique Conger’s debut novel. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Learn more about Angelique Conger on her <a href="http://www.angeliquecongerauthor.com/" target="_blank">website</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/AngeliqueCongerAuthor/" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, and <a href="https://twitter.com/CongerAngel" target="_blank">Twitter</a>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">You can purchase <i>Eve: First Matriarch</i> <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MU4KRWT" target="_blank">on Amazon</a>.</span><br />
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Anne E. Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08330642610716333970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1176298515094230212.post-61803156076312650362017-05-04T12:10:00.000-04:002017-05-04T12:10:55.118-04:00Lucinda E. Clarke on Writing an African Adventure as Her Own Boss<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-pagination: none;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Our well-traveled guest talks about how retirement led to the freedom to create a character close to her heart. Please welcome Lucinda E. Clarke, author of <i>Amie: An African Adventure</i>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Stories of My Own Choosing</b></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">by Lucinda E. Clarke<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF_VLcqMw-AhDU6Wj_3vxCpe-_C-BZSMb3tEmvALgUQufKyfErtWnx_EhqAHNuBRUcI0qk28uxWXAShPAlIBT7EkxznFoGpxjE8xDAzTKkwupI-AU3qTXrwtzIQFmRR_54ImmJx0ouKwU/s1600/NEW+AMIE+I+WITH+MEDALS+THUMBNAIL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF_VLcqMw-AhDU6Wj_3vxCpe-_C-BZSMb3tEmvALgUQufKyfErtWnx_EhqAHNuBRUcI0qk28uxWXAShPAlIBT7EkxznFoGpxjE8xDAzTKkwupI-AU3qTXrwtzIQFmRR_54ImmJx0ouKwU/s400/NEW+AMIE+I+WITH+MEDALS+THUMBNAIL.jpg" width="263" /></a><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">After
thirty plus years writing for other people who knew what they wanted, and my
eager compliance (despite the propaganda) which allowed me to bank the cheque
and support two children, one husband and a St Bernard with a voracious appetite;
when I retired I became my own boss. Finally I could write what I wanted. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Enter
Amie Fish, the shy, quiet, rather spoiled, newly-married first world girl
living close to family in the London suburbs.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It was time
to drag her out of her comfort zone and send her to Africa. I gave her a while
to settle in, make friends and discover the beauty and majesty of the Dark
Continent. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Then the
first crisis arises as she’s coerced into filming, first propaganda for the
government, and then the results of atrocities that signal the coming civil
war. When the hostilities break out in the capital she gets caught up in the
fighting and lands in prison. From then on it’s a struggle to survive.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I’ve
drawn on my extensive experience of Africa in all three of the Amie novels. I
was so fortunate to go where few tourists or residents ever go, from
witchdoctor’s huts to chief’s kraals, to meeting royalty, presidents and
peasants. I was often the only European for miles around as I worked deep rural
with my filming crew. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As Amie
lurches from one crisis to another throughout the series she learns to toughen
up. All the rules, morals and mores she learned as a child do not apply to
Africa. She sees a totally different mindset, a new set of guidelines she’d
never imagined. She makes friends, is betrayed by others, loses everything and
begins a new life. She is forced to work for those <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTepSBhvW1vri-suHyy-E-nw4S0Z_U3Y6ceMm0TdhnFWSOv5dXaJPLvIJdsB6oNQHWNrgl6uwfpT1x5X40JIdbucI9wCw8vr5c_BtmNTr819NHKsBOLN4_s-VGk8YP4ohhmKLi9hRyOhY/s1600/LUCINDA+3+APRIL+2016.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTepSBhvW1vri-suHyy-E-nw4S0Z_U3Y6ceMm0TdhnFWSOv5dXaJPLvIJdsB6oNQHWNrgl6uwfpT1x5X40JIdbucI9wCw8vr5c_BtmNTr819NHKsBOLN4_s-VGk8YP4ohhmKLi9hRyOhY/s320/LUCINDA+3+APRIL+2016.JPG" width="214" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lucinda E. Clarke</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
who will kill her if she
does not obey. She changes from meek housewife to trained killer, someone who
no longer officially exists, facing dangers she would never have envisaged.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Yet
despite everything, the country and the peoples take a hold on her and won’t
let go. She’s in love with her adopted continent, mentally she’s trapped and
realises that ‘<i>while you may leave
Africa, Africa will never leave you</i>.’<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My
biggest inspiration for writing the series is to share the truth about the real
Africa, to share with people the raw, savage reality besides the warm, friendly
people and open the readers’ eyes to a very different world.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Learn more about Lucinda E. Clarke on her <a href="http://lucindaeclarkeauthor.com/" target="_blank">website</a>.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sign up for her newsletter <a href="http://eepurl.com/cBu4Sf" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You can purchase <i>Amie: An African Adventure</i> <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Amie-African-Adventure-Lucinda-Clarke/dp/1500546992/ref" target="_blank">on Amazon</a>.</span></span></div>
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Anne E. Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08330642610716333970noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1176298515094230212.post-44687435292906919782017-05-01T08:00:00.000-04:002017-05-01T08:00:40.654-04:00New Cover Reveal: A KISS AT VESPERS medieval Irish romance<br />
If you feel like you've heard the title of this novelette before, you're right. A KISS AT VESPERS was originally published in 2013, but now I'm re-releasing it. And there's nothing like a shiny new cover to make folks notice.<br />
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And so, it is my pleasure to share with you...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsVpOa5uMgZ8UrvdC1P-stfU-TToH_WGZRQ2Yqj7omt-AS9M3AbEM8M7Otc0kS6TqaLgJDxvzd4-hgOgTahAhP2nWEQ87DR7XHEtJhi8UizSKYL0Tie9-Q5b_INSEMGUXXRvu8szzAdwM/s1600/Vespers+-+High+Resolution.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsVpOa5uMgZ8UrvdC1P-stfU-TToH_WGZRQ2Yqj7omt-AS9M3AbEM8M7Otc0kS6TqaLgJDxvzd4-hgOgTahAhP2nWEQ87DR7XHEtJhi8UizSKYL0Tie9-Q5b_INSEMGUXXRvu8szzAdwM/s640/Vespers+-+High+Resolution.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Isn't it lovely? There's a baby goat!! Sweet and romantic, just like the story. Want to read the book? You don't have to wait long. The e-book will be available on June 1, 2017.<br />
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<span style="background-color: #b6d7a8;">To be notified when A KISS AT VESPERS becomes available,</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: #b6d7a8;"><a href="http://anneejohnson.us11.list-manage1.com/subscribe?u=abdc3855b6d92f6c41323f2c6&id=bcb18f94a7" target="_blank">click here</a>.</span></div>
<br />
<b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>A KISS AT VESPERS</i></span></b><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: large;">In 1008 AD, Dublin is just a small town, newly opened to trade now that
Viking violence there has died down. A young woman named Asta runs away
from her boring life in Britain on one of her father’s trading vessels bound
for Dublin, hoping that she and the sailor she loves can find a new life
together. But when shipwreck takes him from her, her whole world changes. She
is helped up the rocky shores of eastern Ireland by handsome and enigmatic
Brother Martinus, who takes her to the Monastery of St. Luran’s to recover. Despite
his vows of silence and chastity, Brother Martinus is entranced by the
beautiful maiden who seems delivered to him by Providence. Their unexpected
relationship causes both of them to rethink their concepts of faith and love.</span></span>Anne E. Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08330642610716333970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1176298515094230212.post-65626804419147686412017-04-27T08:00:00.000-04:002017-04-27T08:00:11.829-04:00VIOLENCE IN VEGAS - A Kindle World Novella by Julie C. Gilbert<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We do try to be cutting-edge here at Jester Harley's. To that end, I am pleased to welcome our first fanfiction-writing guest. Take it away, Julie C. Gilbert!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Writing
Crime Fiction for the Lei Crime Kindle World</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">by Julie C. Gilbert</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQcSbQr0B6MYDQn2I8Wv_w6zHn04Um_ng_bOjwD74s5LfrAtZKPUV5wecH4mg0cRuB4FZMcb3n9NqFS1ejGFEQXWe7zyBtXDNvc07Qamn-4mjcsKrYDcasOG9j0_ihRgAn8uwtREDuGZc/s1600/Violence+in+Vegas+final.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQcSbQr0B6MYDQn2I8Wv_w6zHn04Um_ng_bOjwD74s5LfrAtZKPUV5wecH4mg0cRuB4FZMcb3n9NqFS1ejGFEQXWe7zyBtXDNvc07Qamn-4mjcsKrYDcasOG9j0_ihRgAn8uwtREDuGZc/s400/Violence+in+Vegas+final.jpg" width="273" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Hi, Thanks for
having me, Anne.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Today, I’d like
to tell you about my book, <i>Violence in Vegas – a Lei Crime Kindle Worlds
Novella</i>. It features FBI Special Agent Marcella Scott, who is not a character I
came up with. That said, I have a weakness for writing FBI agents. This is true
in my Heartfelt Cases series (Christian Mystery) as well as most of my Kindle
Worlds stories, six of which are Lei Crime and one that’s in the Sydney Rye Kindle
World. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><u>Aside
- What is Kindle Worlds?</u><b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Kindle Worlds is
Amazon’s idea of officially licensing fanfiction. Basically, you find a world
you like and write a story with one of the characters created by the original
author. Then, you split the royalties with the author of that world.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><u>Back
on Track – Violence in Vegas</u><b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN6iVQBUmVXbveK7XXbr0jDhGc9Dvlizd2h4ZLUWAnZPb1gpJ0jdQwSNYcxgOLAND9u_NHpmLZa3TIZeaNpp29jY0zhQsgfwW4zq1oJzagb4_nIwsC2zUBveIYpIUWdtngRrByruFJjig/s1600/Julie+Gilbert+2013+%25285+of+25%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN6iVQBUmVXbveK7XXbr0jDhGc9Dvlizd2h4ZLUWAnZPb1gpJ0jdQwSNYcxgOLAND9u_NHpmLZa3TIZeaNpp29jY0zhQsgfwW4zq1oJzagb4_nIwsC2zUBveIYpIUWdtngRrByruFJjig/s200/Julie+Gilbert+2013+%25285+of+25%2529.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Julie C. Gilbert</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I’d originally
set out to write about many different characters in the Lei Crime Series, so I
started the Defining Moments Series. However, Defining Moments II turned into
Shadow Council #1 because I fell in love with writing Marcella Scott. She was
just a ton of fun with her love of fancy shoes, her lovable partner, and her
need to dodge her mother’s matchmaking efforts.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The Shadow
Council series grew to 4 books which had her pitted against bank robbers,
corrupt politicians, and crazy people from her past. I thought the poor lady
needed a vacation. She wound up in Vegas to help a friend with an unofficial
sabotage case. Since trouble follows her like a magnet, she ran into mayhem, of
course.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Thanks for stopping by and listening.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #b6d7a8; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><u>Official
Description for Violence in Vegas:</u><b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><u style="background-color: #b6d7a8;"><br /></u></span></div>
<span style="background-color: #b6d7a8; color: windowtext;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Sin City holds some dark secrets …<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #b6d7a8; color: windowtext;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">But Marcella Scott’s in town to help Angela
Melkin-Pierce with a small case of sabotage. Somebody’s been slashing guests’
tires and ransacking rooms at The Grand Game Hotel. With the guest list
including the Reno Birdwatcher’s Society and the Paradise Quilting Club, the
suspect list is very thin. The only intriguing option is Gatton Technologies,
headed by eccentric billionaire, Jeffrey Gatton. When he decides to host a masquerade
party at the hotel, Marcella goes undercover.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #b6d7a8; color: windowtext;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The air of elegance quickly turns to terror
when masked men kidnap Gatton and Angela. <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: windowtext;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: #b6d7a8;">Marcella’s going to need all of her wits—and
a borrowed handgun or two—if she wants to survive the violence in Vegas.</span><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Grab your copy of <a href="https://smile.amazon.com/Lei-Crime-Violence-Kindle-Novella-ebook/dp/B01MTVJR8I/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1490528133&sr=8-1&keywords=violence+in+vegas">Violence in Vegas</a> today, or start at the beginning of Marcella’s
adventures (Shadow Council #1: <a href="http://www.juliecgilbert.com/shadow-council/">Money Makes it Deadlier</a>). When you finish with that, Rescue in Reno should be ready for you.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">You can visit Julie C. Wilson on her <a href="http://www.juliecgilbert.com/">Website</a> and learn how to get a free scifi or mystery book. You can also find her on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/JulieCGilbert2013?fref=ts">Facebook</a>. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Anne E. Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08330642610716333970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1176298515094230212.post-42951402605476021392017-03-30T08:00:00.000-04:002017-03-30T08:00:01.110-04:00John McRandle on his unusual picture book for grownups, THE AWFULBET<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">There's little in life I admire more than weirdness and originality, preferably both in the same work. And so, it's my great pleasure to introduce you to the oddest picture book you're likely to see today, <i>The Awfulbet</i>, written and illustrated by John McRandle.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><u>The Tale of The Awfulbet</u><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">by John McRandle</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>The Awfulbet: A Bracing Compendium of Disease & Effluvia For
Grownups</i> is an ABC book with a collection of 26
letters who endure a wide range of amusing afflictions. From Acne to
Zombification, and all infirmities in between, each letter has been given an
alliterative assortment of awfulness. For example, meet ‘B, who is Beset by
Bunions, Baldness and Boils’, or ‘R, who is Ripe with Ringworm, Rosacea and
Rabies’—the characters of the book possess a certain comical charm that will
appeal to kids and grownups alike. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2GfozsGcd-qLaWOLh_7s5VBrt2rq1sVqANGR4XzZU5nHih7Dorh1Q1DmxYYxNHQOos-4FDHMtOisumUCs4IftjuX9XTTKGlAca2fUG9XKqNiy4dl18iIH1gFz-tqE6DWvmnRhSNDCWE8/s1600/Awfulbet_Cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="390" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2GfozsGcd-qLaWOLh_7s5VBrt2rq1sVqANGR4XzZU5nHih7Dorh1Q1DmxYYxNHQOos-4FDHMtOisumUCs4IftjuX9XTTKGlAca2fUG9XKqNiy4dl18iIH1gFz-tqE6DWvmnRhSNDCWE8/s400/Awfulbet_Cover.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This is my first book, and my first foray into the world of
self-publishing. Starting as a germ of an idea two years ago, the project came
to me in a late-night burst of creativity. The writing was the fastest part,
with the droll diseases flowing from my pen. But the illustration took a lot of
time, as each letter’s illness had to be anthropomorphized and personalized to
build the character. I suppose the genesis for The Awfulbet can be traced back
to my youth reading <i>Mad</i> magazine and collecting Topps’ <i>Wacky Packages</i>,
which fueled my interest in the sort of subversive humor that kids love. Some
of my largest influences are Dr. Seuss, Edward Gorey, and Roald Dahl, as they
play a huge role in my literary and artistic interests—and my love for darker
and more disturbing work.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As a young person I was fascinated by the creatures you would find
when turning over rocks, or the strange old things you'd find packed in the
attic or basement that had been discarded by their owners but still had
stories to tell. Growing up as the child of a German historian and an audiology professor, I always had an interest in language and science. We had a large
library filled with art, natural history, and science books, and linguistic
humor and wordplay were always popular in our house. What I hope to do with <i>The Awfulbet</i> is make something curiously creepy and grossly entertaining that
appeals to the 13-year-old rock flipper and attic explorer in all of us. </span><span style="font-family: Times-Roman, serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4cmF4gy6U3b2PNXYy3Fe4ooOH5SRjmM7ZoF4ew88W-whIVw-leqvTkjsSsRlXso5AEvTxlB4MN8xHZqoJNnLJvSfi4FmLsp9hpKw5N73Y9lQQ33MfcPTwVIImfItJtZtkA22TnR6k71k/s1600/Awfulbet_Z.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="313" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4cmF4gy6U3b2PNXYy3Fe4ooOH5SRjmM7ZoF4ew88W-whIVw-leqvTkjsSsRlXso5AEvTxlB4MN8xHZqoJNnLJvSfi4FmLsp9hpKw5N73Y9lQQ33MfcPTwVIImfItJtZtkA22TnR6k71k/s320/Awfulbet_Z.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: #d9ead3;"><i><span style="font-family: Times-Roman, serif;">The Awfulbet: A Bracing Compendium of Disease & Effluvia For
Grownups</span></i><span style="font-family: Times-Roman, serif;"> chronicles the sad state of affairs in which
these endearingly ill letters find themselves. From Acne to Zombification,
there is no end to the problems these troubled souls will endure.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #d9ead3; font-family: Times-Roman, serif;">This contagious interpretation of an alphabet book springs from
the fevered mind of John McRandle, a New York-based illustrator and musician.
Night after night, he toiled until the wee hours, delving into the lives of
these 26 little creatures. Now, the fruits of his labor can be yours!</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Learn more about <i>The Awfulbet</i> <a href="https://www.awfulbet.com/" target="_blank">on the book's website</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">You can purchase <i>The Awfulbet</i> <a href="http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/invited/6787539/8c377224846eb3914e6f2fd73cdaca61ab95441e" target="_blank">from the Blurb bookstore</a>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">See more of John McRandle's work on <a href="http://johnmcrandle.tumblr.com/" target="_blank">Tumblr</a> and follow him on Instagram as @jdmcrandle</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Anne E. Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08330642610716333970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1176298515094230212.post-32318104083903504692017-03-23T08:00:00.000-04:002017-03-23T08:00:16.743-04:00Author Suenammi Richards on choosing Taos as a location for her new book<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I haven't visited Taos in years, but after reading this essay from today's guest, Suenammi Richards, I think I may need to book a trip there soon...</span></div>
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<b>Picking Locations with Heart<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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By Suenammi Richards<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiBv7TtATRnRZy68SLpDEiG1Fokl6mwldN-Vw31l_pt80L6Rrb7h9nI1dr6w4Vvay3lXT8MDvdw0PQBLNcnRxokLWodw-9WXye5HJqm7icHejJUmKH5Z4i6kWWtODNp7akT4aV8_Lb3qg/s1600/SPRSWB_cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiBv7TtATRnRZy68SLpDEiG1Fokl6mwldN-Vw31l_pt80L6Rrb7h9nI1dr6w4Vvay3lXT8MDvdw0PQBLNcnRxokLWodw-9WXye5HJqm7icHejJUmKH5Z4i6kWWtODNp7akT4aV8_Lb3qg/s400/SPRSWB_cover.jpg" width="250" /></a>There was a swirl of thought placed into the development of
my characters for my latest book. Even
more so into the location where this great and magical love should grow wings
and take flight. During the research side of writing my latest book, <i>So a Psychic and a Rocket Scientist Walk
into a Bar</i>, I decided to set the locale as Taos, New Mexico. Taos is an
interesting artistic hub bub of modern and indigenous art. Taos went very hippie in the '70s and thankfully,
never quite recovered from it. This legacy of art, peace and free love leads us
to one of Taos’ most prolific and well-known visual artists. This artist is
mentioned briefly in my book. He is Ted Egri. My female protagonist has a piece
of his. He represents a blending of
indigenous art and regional legacy. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Taos has a very prolific culture of art. This art is a mix
of indigenous stylings and contemporary takes on historical folklore and canon.
The art ranges from pottery from very early indigenous tribes to modern digital
media. While my characters did not delve into the visual arts scene, it would
be remiss to not point out that visual art is Taos’ most valued cultural
contribution. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Even though I write, my first artistic love is visual art.
Years ago I studied some of the contributions from this area. I was impressed
and moved by the cultural history and authenticity of Taos’ artistic scene. So
when I wanted to really immerse characters in a place where magic could be
believed, I dedicated this location to the cause. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Author Suenammi Richards</td></tr>
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I also desired to point out the importance of indigenous
voices. Art as it exists and lives is much like writing in the idea that it is
a living tangible expression of the most poignant aspects of the human soul. As
artists it is important to recognize our roots and how they have influenced
where we are as a species. What our artistic futures can hold. In the shards of
a dish that is thousands of years old we can see the parts that carried us and
made us. There is the need for community, sustenance and care. A bowl is a
symbol of how we should preserve and treat our art. We carry the best of it. We
carry as much as we can. Not only for ourselves but to share with others.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<u><span style="background-color: #d5a6bd; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">So a Psychic and a Rocket Scientist Walk into a Bar</span></u></div>
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<span style="background-color: #d5a6bd; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #181818;">Clair wasn’t sure what she should expect when she literally ran into Sergei and promptly passed out. There had always been whispers about Clair and her family. No one knew quite what they were but it was a history and a birthright Clair had deftly avoided for almost all of her life. This new occurrence puts Clair on the cusp of what was always fated to be her calling. With someone’s life at stake she knew she finally had to literally choose between life and death.</span> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">You can learn more about Suenammi Richards <a href="http://suenammirichardsromance.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">on her blog</a> and by <a href="https://twitter.com/suenammirichard" target="_blank">following her on Twitter</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">You can purchase <i>So a Psychic and a Rocket Scientist Walk into a Bar</i> <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Psychic-Rocket-Scientist-Walk-into-ebook/dp/B01M8P5V70/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8" target="_blank">on Amazon</a>.</span></div>
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Anne E. Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08330642610716333970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1176298515094230212.post-76724731230924607002017-03-09T08:00:00.000-05:002017-03-09T08:00:22.295-05:00Learn about Christina Hoag's dark, gritty gang novel, SKIN OF TATTOOS<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As a fiction-writer with one foot in the world of journalism, I am especially interested in this guest post by Christina Hoag. But hers is a type of hardline reportage much different from my own experience. <i>For</i> <i>Skin of Tattoos</i>, she found inspiration in an element of society that most of us hope to avoid. But we're thrilled to read about it! Welcome, Christina.</span></div>
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<b>What inspired me to write <i>Skin of Tattoos</i><o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2aIyE-AF-0yU7GGcRSkqzwTiuy4FERMk5CSI6HwqCWxNrQu8NhDGusPs-K0cGWdDfM4U73zDOA8MqBW4fvjO7jO-M1uDvV_y3470IzDC44sXMCBddkz9nBZM6cUQAHWw6SrE6Ka0KhQc/s1600/SkinofTattoosCover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2aIyE-AF-0yU7GGcRSkqzwTiuy4FERMk5CSI6HwqCWxNrQu8NhDGusPs-K0cGWdDfM4U73zDOA8MqBW4fvjO7jO-M1uDvV_y3470IzDC44sXMCBddkz9nBZM6cUQAHWw6SrE6Ka0KhQc/s400/SkinofTattoosCover.jpg" width="266" /></a><i>Skin of Tattoos</i>
is set in the gritty underbelly of Los Angeles’ gangland, the darker side of
the palm-studded, movie-star lifestyle that L.A. is known for the world over.
Why, readers have asked me on more than one occasion, did you write about
gangs?<o:p></o:p></div>
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In 2000, I was sent on a magazine assignment to El
Salvador for story about gang members deported from Los Angeles to their birth
country, which they identified with, but really didn’t know because they had
left, fleeing the 1980s civil war, when they were infants and small children.
Some of them barely spoke Spanish. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Growing up in L.A., they had joined gangs to protect
themselves against long-entrenched Mexican-American gangs who didn’t welcome
outsiders. But because the Salvadorans weren’t U.S. citizens, they later were
vulnerable to deportation when the government started cracking down on
immigrants with criminal records. The
stories of the young men I interviewed, who were basically stuck between
worlds, struck me as an unusual outcome of both a civil war and an immigrant
experience. I tucked it away in my mind as a great premise for a story, and a
couple years later, I wrote an outline for a novel and stuck it in a drawer.<o:p></o:p></div>
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In
2008, I became a reporter for the Associated Press in Los Angeles and ended up
covering gang issues. I dusted off that old outline and started writing,
although I stopped and started many times, not confident that I could pull it
off. I got a lot of encouragement in writing classes I took, however, and
eventually finished it. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I
then ended up collaborating on a nonfiction book with a former Black Panther
who had formed a programme to turn former gang members into community
peacekeepers with the aim of stopping the cycle of retribution that drives gang
violence. That book, “Peace in the Hood: Working with Gang Members to End the
Violence,” is now being used in several universities as a textbook for courses
that involve urban communities and policy.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0dftqlJETXKus5gLCdjOrdDyFbXw031ZoXX7Me9ykXXgBJAygzHVFAS779dw-1W74rRiOpTCc9_MjuLo5uH2YzchW5GkeRuyyFWTelJEFCyJ4z13I8AzMOA7ccHX_kLsVgYniJ5U6FSA/s1600/ChristinaHoagAuthorHeadshot.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0dftqlJETXKus5gLCdjOrdDyFbXw031ZoXX7Me9ykXXgBJAygzHVFAS779dw-1W74rRiOpTCc9_MjuLo5uH2YzchW5GkeRuyyFWTelJEFCyJ4z13I8AzMOA7ccHX_kLsVgYniJ5U6FSA/s320/ChristinaHoagAuthorHeadshot.JPG" width="314" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Author Christina Hoag</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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After
many rewrites and even more rejections, <i>Skin
of Tattoos</i> landed a publisher and was published in 2016—sixteen years after
I did those initial interviews in El Salvador. It was a long journey, indeed,
but I learned valuable lessons: Write about something you’re passionate about
so you don’t lose interest along the way and success is a lot about
perseverance.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="background-color: #b6d7a8;">SKIN OF TATTOOS<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #b6d7a8;">Los Angeles homeboy Magdaleno is paroled from prison
after serving time on a gun possession frameup by a rival, Rico, who takes over
as gang shotcaller in Mags’s absence. Mags promises himself and his Salvadoran
immigrant family a fresh start, but he can’t find either the decent job or the respect
he craves from his parents and his firefighter brother, who look at him as a
disappointment. Moreover, Rico, under pressure to earn money to free the Cyco
Lokos’ jailed top leader and eager to exert his authority over his
rival-turned-underling, isn’t about to let Mags get out of his reach. Ultimately,
Mags’s desire for revenge and respect pushes him to make a decision that
ensnares him in a world seeded with deceit and betrayal, where the only escape
from rules that carry a heavy price for transgression is sacrifice of
everything – and everyone - he loves.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Learn more about Christina Hoag on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/ChristinaHoagAuthor" target="_blank">Facebook</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/ChristinaHoag" target="_blank">Twitter</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>Skin of Tatt</i>oos
is available in ebook and paperback from <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Skin-Tattoos-Christina-Hoag-ebook/dp/B01KG6FIM2/" target="_blank">Amazon</a>. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Anne E. Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08330642610716333970noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1176298515094230212.post-14870327177777831972017-03-01T10:11:00.000-05:002017-03-01T10:11:21.400-05:00Webrid rides again...space picnics and fuzzy spies in RED SPAWN DELIVERY, out now! #funny #scifi<br />
It's launch day for RED SPAWN DELIVERY, third installment of the Webrid Chronicles!<br />
<br />
Time to go planet-hopping with a giant, hairy Yeril again as Webrid gets forced into another misadventure.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikpXGdxaD2yplTgdXwvOv8cEtZguwWadZJiqnbuQsT-2ati9p4olJWaE43lvSp1RW5yEQE5trW5yWDCFImIIqRqCPjCIax7YJrhNclCd39LPv_wdBjg2oGzQBNOYpOlioHTUdM-WeiUzg/s1600/rsd-2400x3600.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikpXGdxaD2yplTgdXwvOv8cEtZguwWadZJiqnbuQsT-2ati9p4olJWaE43lvSp1RW5yEQE5trW5yWDCFImIIqRqCPjCIax7YJrhNclCd39LPv_wdBjg2oGzQBNOYpOlioHTUdM-WeiUzg/s400/rsd-2400x3600.png" width="266" /></a></div>
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<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XBD4RFF" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">Buy it on Amazon!</span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/red-spawn-delivery-anne-e-johnson/1125851850?ean=2940157444013" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">Buy it on Barnes & Noble!</span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.candlemarkandgleam.com/shop/red-spawn-delivery/" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">Get a paperback from the publisher!</span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: #ea9999; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: #ea9999; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>How can a picnic go so wrong?</b></span></div>
<span style="background-color: #ea9999; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />Ganpril Webrid's grandfather always told him not to use his cart unless he was getting paid for it. But this huge, hairy carter on the planet Bexilla let a friend talk him into carting beers and grub to a picnic with her old college roommate. <br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />Worst mistake he ever made. Before he can even burp up his first sandwich, the ol' roomie stretches out her ten shiny legs, and out pop a hundred spawn. And before Webrid can settle his churning stomach, fifty of those spawn have been kidnapped.<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />Like it or not, Webrid finds himself on another planet-hopping adventure with snarky, brainy pals Zatell and Stravin and a host of wacky aliens. This time, Webrid's cart turns into an interplanetary playpen--or it will, if he can only find those blasted spawn.</span>Anne E. Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08330642610716333970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1176298515094230212.post-69748294088260038322017-02-16T08:00:00.000-05:002017-02-16T08:00:09.414-05:00Historical Fiction Author Jennifer C. Wilson Knows How to Use NaNoWriMo to Her Advantage<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I know a lot of you participate in NaNoWriMo. Even if you've never heard of the National Novel Writing Month challenge, you'll be interested in the post by today's guest. Jennifer C. Wilson has figured out how to make a month of relentless fiction-writing work for her, and her latest novel, <i>Kindred Spirits: Tower of London</i>, is proof.</span></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcX-kIx4cgllw3NZRPmFwTYBu_RDeX2To_E1cH1JGz2YDNLP4p2gqnP-u8spWJzfVYVh4Pcnk-uelLLMbXSVSaN8v_TeHt1F0IiCohSr7s_24StZvLg67ywG0CqZsftwt3AoboXGJeUmk/s1600/KindredSpiritsTower-CoverArt.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcX-kIx4cgllw3NZRPmFwTYBu_RDeX2To_E1cH1JGz2YDNLP4p2gqnP-u8spWJzfVYVh4Pcnk-uelLLMbXSVSaN8v_TeHt1F0IiCohSr7s_24StZvLg67ywG0CqZsftwt3AoboXGJeUmk/s400/KindredSpiritsTower-CoverArt.png" width="250" /></a><b><span lang="EN-GB">A New Novel, Thanks to NaNoWriMo</span></b></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-GB">by Jennifer C. Wilson</span></b></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">In March 2015, I was in Leicester
Cathedral, attending the service of compline for my debut novel’s leading man. Rewarded
for my early arrival with a front-row seat, I watched his coffin arrive, be
carried with solemn ceremony through the doors, and placed on the waiting
stand. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">There cannot be many writers who get to
attend part of their lead character’s funeral, and even fewer historical
fiction writers who can claim the same. But there I was. Of course, at that
stage, my debut novel was simply a file on my hard-drive, waiting to be worked
on, but from the moment I received the pristine white envelope, with the ‘RIII’
emblem on the reverse, I knew I had to get it sorted. </span>Returning that evening to
my hotel (by tradition, on the site of the inn Richard III stayed at prior to
Bosworth), I opened my notebook and began making plans.</div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">The plotline was thanks to a <i>Writing Magazine</i> poetry competition, to
feature ghosts. I started thinking that the spirits of Richard III and Anne
Boleyn would have a lot in common if they happened to meet, and the more I
thought about it, the most logical place for both to be was the Tower of
London. I was lucky enough to visit the Tower twice within six months, in
freezing blizzards and glorious sunshine, and gradually ideas began to crystallise.
The original poem was awful; I never entered it. But the general arc seemed to
flow, and finding a quiet spot on my second visit, the poem became an outline
for a novel. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">By the time NaNoWriMo arrived, I was ready.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">I’ve used NaNoWriMo three times to finish a
first draft; I love the manic joy of just sitting down and getting the words
out. No self-editing, no re-reading, just onwards to a conclusion that’s never
been the one I expected. But there it was: fifty thousand words. It felt almost
like cheating, with no need to worry about anachronisms or sixteenth century
women using twenty-first century slang, but there was still plenty of
fact-checking needed – burial locations, ages, and ensuring people could have
met if I’d said they had. This all came later of course, once the bulk of the
plot was down, with plenty of time and space for finesse. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">For me, NaNoWriMo is the best way to get
that first draft ‘out’, and I’m already planning for November 2017. After all,
you cannot edit what you haven’t written, however inspired you might be.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihKmzrFwmXUx0CdEyK_pwsMACpWoq-fykL65G2GCPaq5SM1Vsmm-vWhHtUuySl_Wm-HsW0XBGP-No2JkqsCQqT4a7cfQbx7OeKy2-Qb09kOX2SLQVqPd7zMU-igiijwOF88Cv45aSkdb0/s1600/JCW%2526RichardIII.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihKmzrFwmXUx0CdEyK_pwsMACpWoq-fykL65G2GCPaq5SM1Vsmm-vWhHtUuySl_Wm-HsW0XBGP-No2JkqsCQqT4a7cfQbx7OeKy2-Qb09kOX2SLQVqPd7zMU-igiijwOF88Cv45aSkdb0/s320/JCW%2526RichardIII.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Author Jennifer C. Wilson</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Two months after compline, my novel was
submitted; six months later, it was published. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">NaNoWriMo and a funeral are an
odd combination, but hey, with writing, it’s never worth arguing with what
appears to work! Although, unless we start looking for more monarchs, I doubt
lightning will strike twice… <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><u><span lang="EN-GB" style="background-color: #ead1dc;">Kindred
Spirits: Tower of London – Blurb<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="background-color: #ead1dc;">A King, three Queens, a handful of nobles
and a host of former courtiers…<br />
<br />
In the Tower of London, the dead outnumber the living, with the likes of Tudor
Queens Anne Boleyn and Katherine Howard rubbing shoulders with one man who has
made his way back from his place of death at Bosworth Field to discover the
truth about the disappearance of his famous nephews.<br />
<br />
Amidst the chaos of daily life, with political and personal tensions running
high, Richard III takes control, as each ghostly resident looks for their own
peace in the former palace – where privacy was always a limited luxury.<br />
<br />
With so many characters haunting the Tower of London, will they all find the
calm they crave?</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB">Learn more about Jennifer C. Wilson on her <a href="https://jennifercwilsonwriter.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">blog</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/inkjunkie1984" target="_blank">T</a></span><a href="https://twitter.com/inkjunkie1984" target="_blank">witter</a>, and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/jennifercwilsonwriter/" target="_blank">Facebook</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">You can purchase </span><i style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Kindred Spirits: Tower of London</i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> </span><a href="http://authl.it/B016TRKU2A" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;" target="_blank">here</a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">.</span></div>
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Anne E. Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08330642610716333970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1176298515094230212.post-37158163891460161142017-02-09T09:30:00.000-05:002017-02-09T09:30:03.626-05:00Like #funny #scifi? Win RED SPAWN DELIVERY at Goodreads Giveaway!<br />
<span style="color: red; font-size: large;">What more need I say? Candlemark & Gleam is giving away three copies of the third book in the </span><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">Webrid Chronicles series, RED SPAWN DELIVERY.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt4WBTMIV7GxMPnNvZhRYr4apxhvKu6mXQsUXDwlBNsSaZRqbZf8f9B2giSnSftAH-NUanLIJanJUFoCF-1PEOQtqq1M8A-60XIYSyOE9Ze9Z4NA94Hqs_JTu5Gj9_SiNnCR2HXZ-Xb6Q/s1600/rsd-2400x3600.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt4WBTMIV7GxMPnNvZhRYr4apxhvKu6mXQsUXDwlBNsSaZRqbZf8f9B2giSnSftAH-NUanLIJanJUFoCF-1PEOQtqq1M8A-60XIYSyOE9Ze9Z4NA94Hqs_JTu5Gj9_SiNnCR2HXZ-Xb6Q/s400/rsd-2400x3600.png" width="266" /></a></div>
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px;">Webrid’s grandfather always told him not to use his cart unless he was getting paid for it. But this huge, hairy carter on the planet Bexilla let a friend talk him into carting beers and grub to a picnic with her old college roommate.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px;">Worst mistake he ever made. Before he can even burp up his first sandwich, the ol’ roomie stretches out her ten shiny legs, and out pop a hundred spawn. And before Webrid can settle his churning stomach, fifty of those spawn have been kidnapped.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px;">Like it or not, Webrid finds himself on another planet-hopping adventure with snarky, brainy pals Zatell and Stravin and a host of wacky aliens. This time, Webrid’s cart is a playpen -- or it will be, if he can only find those blasted spawn.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Lato, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white;">Enter the giveaway by clicking <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/222271-red-spawn-delivery" target="_blank">here</a>! Closes Feb. 28, 2017.</span></span>Anne E. Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08330642610716333970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1176298515094230212.post-86273593851772835772017-01-26T08:00:00.000-05:002017-01-26T08:00:06.168-05:00Author Jennifer Bohnhoff Talks about Mistaken Identities in Middle Grade Fiction<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">My guest today is <a href="http://www.jenniferbohnhoff.com/">Jennifer Bohnhoff</a>, the author of several works of middle grade historical fiction. Her next book, <i>Valverde</i>, is set in New Mexico during the Civil War and will be published this spring. </span><br />
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<br />
<b>Mistaken Identities in Middle Grade Fiction</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>by Jennifer Bohnhoff</b><br />
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<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFbRpcgvr7adu1jWZzoOs9yKiF6R8NpYr15BT1NUAwX2dhAXLiILyLIMZFvEGoND6NGJw7Q6M9KoUl2PTIsN-IMcDpJGQfUqTl8Hdy1O7Vre8njDqh2OozSK23YMi41unmtJkzts7xWmU/s1600/51WtdBJb6mL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFbRpcgvr7adu1jWZzoOs9yKiF6R8NpYr15BT1NUAwX2dhAXLiILyLIMZFvEGoND6NGJw7Q6M9KoUl2PTIsN-IMcDpJGQfUqTl8Hdy1O7Vre8njDqh2OozSK23YMi41unmtJkzts7xWmU/s400/51WtdBJb6mL.jpg" width="250" /></a>Most middle school readers wonder
if they were adopted. Some actually revel in it: <i>who are these people, and
why can’t they understand me? Clearly my own people are elsewhere</i>. Middle
grade readers are going through so many emotional, physical and psychological
changes that it’s not surprising that they are drawn to books about other
children who don’t know who they are. Here are a few suggested books with this
theme.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
Charles Dickens’<i> <b>Oliver Twist</b> </i>is
the classic novel of mistaken identity. Originally published in monthly
installments between 1837 and 1839, it tells the story of an orphan born in a
workhouse in 1830s England. Oliver leaves the workhouse when he is nine years old
and apprenticed to an undertaker, but runs away and finds himself in the
company of a troop of pickpockets. Through a series of interwoven
circumstances, the kind that only Dickens could have created, Oliver’s identity
is eventually revealed, and the orphan boy goes from rags to riches and takes
his rightful place in the kind of generous and loving family that every middle
school child wishes he had. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEy7lBiR_MIDqTZLqLm6bogsLjXQhyphenhyphen4iVMiL07o_K-M5g1n7kaUycUwh5x5IVzmk418aQAm05_9FcokvhCVFAzBNcm1pbWQhPa5lRSIcBbn2pT9AiNM3m_JsFqlm76WnZQPOL23_BuoBo/s1600/2015FaceShot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEy7lBiR_MIDqTZLqLm6bogsLjXQhyphenhyphen4iVMiL07o_K-M5g1n7kaUycUwh5x5IVzmk418aQAm05_9FcokvhCVFAzBNcm1pbWQhPa5lRSIcBbn2pT9AiNM3m_JsFqlm76WnZQPOL23_BuoBo/s320/2015FaceShot.jpg" width="228" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jennifer Bohnhoff</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b><i>Jip, His Story,</i></b> written in 1996 by the Newbery-winning American
novelist Katherine Paterson, focuses on another orphan, this time a 12-year-old.
Set on a poor farm in Vermont during the 1850s, it tells the story of a baby
who supposedly fell of a cart and was never retrieved. He is called Jip because
his dark skin color made people believe he was a gypsy. Despite the hard work
and difficult conditions, Jip gets along well with the other workers on the
farm, many of whom are mentally ill, and he enjoys working with the farm
animals. But when a man shows up and begins asking questions about Jip’s
background, it becomes clear that Jip is no gypsy, and his real identity puts
him in grave danger. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
The main character of my historical novel <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Code-Elephants-Moon-Jennifer-Bohnhoff/dp/1500287326/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1484588998&sr=8-1&keywords=Code%3A+Elephants+on+the+Moon"><b><i>Code:
Elephants on the Moon</i></b></a> may not be an orphan, but she still doesn’t
know who she is. Eponine Lambaol thinks she is the only red head in a town
filled with brown-haired people because she is Breton living in a tiny village
in Normandy, France. It is spring of 1944 and there are many things that
Eponine doesn’t understand. Where is her father? Who is the mysterious cousin
who has come to live with her and her mother? When Eponine finds her mother and
cousin listening to strange announcements on a forbidden radio, she realizes
that nothing she’s believed about herself is true.<o:p></o:p><br />
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* * *<br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Learn more about Jennifer Bohnhoff on her <a href="http://www.jenniferbohnhoff.com/" target="_blank">website</a>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">You can purchase <i>Code: Elephants on the Moon</i> on <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Code-Elephants-Moon-Jennifer-Bohnhoff/dp/1500287326/" target="_blank">Amazon</a>, <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/code-jennifer-bohnhoff/1119720466?ean=9781500287320" target="_blank">Barnes and Noble</a>, and other online retailers.</span><br />
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<br />Anne E. Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08330642610716333970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1176298515094230212.post-70756752425842146042017-01-19T08:00:00.000-05:002017-01-19T08:00:25.956-05:00J.L. Newton on the importance of environment in her novel OINK<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">We do love a touch of satire on Jester Harley's Manuscript Page, so it's a pleasure to have J.L. Newton with us today. The target of her humorous novel, <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Oink-Thought-Mystery-J-L-Newton/dp/1631522124" target="_blank">Oink: A Food for Thought Mystery</a></i>, is the world of universities. She wrote a very interesting piece for us about how the environment in your novel's setting can be far more than a backdrop.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnZYTVrdwjRtdtm-Z9OfywX63rIc5CkC76RSLQpTGc0lSzFmqnZZYxlUGTrUOiqDv2J9rgaP_Ep80KPr6QUB_djEgSmB_ihzXP6yHzSGih-uRfJiCGYsQ0G0VJwEpX2FKLPrCit4PZcm0/s1600/COVER+4+REAL+MEDIUM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnZYTVrdwjRtdtm-Z9OfywX63rIc5CkC76RSLQpTGc0lSzFmqnZZYxlUGTrUOiqDv2J9rgaP_Ep80KPr6QUB_djEgSmB_ihzXP6yHzSGih-uRfJiCGYsQ0G0VJwEpX2FKLPrCit4PZcm0/s400/COVER+4+REAL+MEDIUM.jpg" width="256" /></a></div>
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* * *</div>
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<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<b>Making Environment
a Character in Your Fiction<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b>by Judith Newton</b></div>
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In writing <i>Oink</i>,
a humorous send up of the university for its increasing devotion to self-interest,
competition, and profit, I also wanted to emphasize the importance of values
that are less about profit and more about the common good. I planned to do this,
in part, through my characterization of Emily Addams’s campus community. It is
comprised of faculty in women’s and ethnic studies who have come together to support
each other and to resist having their programs defunded by an increasingly
corporate-minded administration. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I wanted to do
more, however, to engage the reader in positive feelings about community, and
so I decided to suggest the interconnectedness of human and natural life in the
very texture of the novel. To feel oneself in relation to the world of nature
and to value the smallest forms of life are precursors to valuing human community as well.
<o:p></o:p></div>
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I decided that elements which appear as background—animals,
plants, the weather, the seasons—could subtly enforce a feeling of interrelation.
There are many animals in the novel, for example, both domesticated and wild,
which just appear as the characters are carrying on their lives. As Emily
drives to meet with the biologist Tess Ryan, who she hopes will have important
information, “a single
red-tailed hawk flapped twice, launching itself into air. The sight of a hawk’s
glide always brought me to life, making me feel as if I too were capable of
soaring.” Many of the characters also look like animals. The Chair of
the English Department has a hound dog face which “seemed to sag into his tweed jacket.” The Vice Provost, with
her long nose, resembles a hummingbird, and the greedy Peter Elliott, victim of
the poisoning, is compared to a pig by another character—although the actual pigs
in the novel are far more charming than he.<br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
I named streets after animals or native California plants—Wild Deer Lane, Coyote Court, and
Badger Crossing, Poppy Lane, Ceanothus Drive—and I made the weather heighten people’s moods. Emily
feels oppressed by the ninety-six degree heat as she realizes that, with the
poisoning of Peter, something sinister has entered into the atmosphere at Arbor
State. Later, she gets lost in a tule fog at night, making her feel even more
depressed about her inability to discover the culprit.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBVA10ELJ4tpJNSCaTuF-kl0eS1ePh0w_DY57yMEXWWG4z78iex4Z3FPCzwlnS7EXDqg96utV9gOy9C4QRSd0yM_FenL-y09mra8QwByiZ-w4_szczCoB2z-LLLOtQ2KpW1FcWUyschyphenhyphens/s1600/Book+Photo+High+Res+Judy+Newton+by+Eliot+Khuner+Grayscale.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBVA10ELJ4tpJNSCaTuF-kl0eS1ePh0w_DY57yMEXWWG4z78iex4Z3FPCzwlnS7EXDqg96utV9gOy9C4QRSd0yM_FenL-y09mra8QwByiZ-w4_szczCoB2z-LLLOtQ2KpW1FcWUyschyphenhyphens/s320/Book+Photo+High+Res+Judy+Newton+by+Eliot+Khuner+Grayscale.jpg" width="281" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">J.L. Newton (photo: Eliot Khuner)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
In all of this, I wanted to be accurate. I studied the
birds and animals of northern California, and I worked with a weather calendar
from October 1999, when the novel is set, to capture how the weather really
operated that month in that year. Knowing what hummingbirds really do inhabit
northern California made me feel the kind of attention to and connection with
nature that I wanted to instill in my reader. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
I also set the novel at a time of year that would convey
a message. <i>Oink </i>begins on October 11,
1999, in the midst of harvest and Indian Summer, and ends on November 1, El Dia
de Los Muertos, which marks the coming of winter, the dying of leaves, and the
diminishment of the sun, reminding characters of their own mortality. El Dia
also celebrates those who have died, asserts the continuation of life, and
demonstrates the power of communities to fortify their members against the
forces of darkness and despair. In the
context of conditions such as these— conditions in which we all live—<i>Oink</i> poses an implicit question: do we
spend our lives in an individualist pursuit of profit, or do we work toward
more communal ways of being?</div>
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* * *</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Learn more about J.L. Newton on her <a href="http://judithnewton.com/" target="_blank">website</a>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">You can purchase <i>Oink: A Food for Thought Mystery</i> on <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Oink-Thought-Mystery-J-L-Newton/dp/1631522124" target="_blank">Amazon</a>, <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/oink-jl-newton/1124577410?ean=9781631522123" target="_blank">Barnes and Noble</a>, and other online retailers.</span></div>
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Anne E. Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08330642610716333970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1176298515094230212.post-14861600363779511552017-01-12T16:20:00.000-05:002017-01-12T16:20:12.497-05:00Enter the SPACE SURFERS 1st Birthday Giveaway! #YA #scifi #spaceopera<br />
I can't believe it's been a year since Graika and Lerris Rhellog started their adventure to find their Human roots on the planet Soranen. I'm delighted that <a href="http://store.albanlake.com/product/space-surfers/" target="_blank">SPACE SURFERS</a> was published by Alban Lake; nearly 20 of my short stories have appeared their various magazines, but this was my first book for them.<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: #f1c232;">SCROLL DOWN FOR GIVEAWAY FORM</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-size: large;"><i>Space Surfers</i> blurb:</span><br />
<div style="background-color: #f6f6f6; color: #666666; font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
</div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpizk4i9xLki0-TwnIBCR3Xbd8g1z7w7NTADbO6zbY10rQhAh1BgOVdmn24eU8ENPZEsICXReGQobx8FExjfsIpzVJGa7DDnJu_xcsLS7BuGhuKUlKeSMq1Km5xLGHCRlB7kvKfrdxnl4/s1600/SurfersCover600.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpizk4i9xLki0-TwnIBCR3Xbd8g1z7w7NTADbO6zbY10rQhAh1BgOVdmn24eU8ENPZEsICXReGQobx8FExjfsIpzVJGa7DDnJu_xcsLS7BuGhuKUlKeSMq1Km5xLGHCRlB7kvKfrdxnl4/s400/SurfersCover600.jpg" width="267" /></a><span style="background-color: #f6f6f6; color: #666666; font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;">Teenage siblings Lerris and Graika of the planet Soranen want to go into outer space, an act forbidden by their people, the Sor. The Sor, it is believed, are the descendants of the Ellarisor and the Humans, now both extinct on Soranen. When Lerris surfs above the clouds in his minijet, he spots a vessel owned by Lorfallin, a chemical magnate. The ship is spraying a green mist that, it turns out, causes a disease which affects those with Human ancestry, including the siblings’ father.</span><br />
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<div style="background-color: #f6f6f6; color: #666666; font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;">
Thus begins a journey to find pure descendants of the Ellarisor, whose blood might provide an antidote to the green mist. Along the way, Lerris and Graika learn the truth about their ancestry, and some truths about life. This prepares them for the final battle---against the Tust, who have engaged Lorfallin to destroy all trace of Human life. If they win, outer space may be open to them. But if they lose...</div>
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<br />
Would you like to win a print copy of <i><a href="http://store.albanlake.com/product/space-surfers/" target="_blank">Space Surfers</a></i>? You must have a mailing address in the U.S. (international postage is soooo expensive!). I'd love to share Graika and Lerris' world with you.<br />
<br />
Please share this contest with your friends. Entries open until Wednesday, February 8 at 11:59 pm Eastern. I'll announce the winners here the next day.<br />
<br />
<a class="e-widget no-button" href="https://gleam.io/bcYuh/space-surfers-1st-birthday-giveaway" rel="nofollow">SPACE SURFERS 1st Birthday Giveaway</a>
<script async="true" src="https://js.gleam.io/e.js" type="text/javascript"></script>Anne E. Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08330642610716333970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1176298515094230212.post-57817344371935345722017-01-05T08:00:00.000-05:002017-01-05T08:00:09.618-05:00Lisa Marie Latino's novel TEN YEARS LATER is a beacon of hope for millennial women<br />
I am pleased to welcome Lisa Marie Latino, whose novel <i><a href="http://www.lisamarielatino.com/index.php/about-the-book" target="_blank">Ten Years Later</a> </i>offers the story of a woman who discovers her strength and adaptability.<br />
<br />
* * *<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Life as Inspiration: Writing <i>Ten Years Later</i></span></b><br />
<b>by Lisa Marie Latino</b><br />
<br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Years-Later-Lisa-Marie-Latino/dp/099735240X"><b><i><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Ten Years
Later</span></i></b></a> is about a girl that most people, especially
millennials who are trying to find their niche in the “real world,” can relate
to.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFvEw22CKYQTWTMXTXlMIl_4_YL_KlPE3Hh-B4iIUB_44cCpPrXoeAcghUqH1SVsWV9xXs2qfLnJEWP7ZjDgeACR7izpJcrNOM0lNCirlOqk6k8GPRtF4Po6Bqy_ad60G7uzZ5h3Z8O-A/s1600/Ten+-+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFvEw22CKYQTWTMXTXlMIl_4_YL_KlPE3Hh-B4iIUB_44cCpPrXoeAcghUqH1SVsWV9xXs2qfLnJEWP7ZjDgeACR7izpJcrNOM0lNCirlOqk6k8GPRtF4Po6Bqy_ad60G7uzZ5h3Z8O-A/s400/Ten+-+1.jpg" width="250" /></a>We first meet Carla D’Agostino while she’s in the throes of
a major quarter-life crisis. To add fuel to the fire, she realizes her ten-year
high school reunion is fast approaching, and her frustration multiplies when
she starts comparing herself to her “more successful” peers. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Years-Later-Lisa-Marie-Latino/dp/099735240X"><i><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Ten Years Later</span></i></a> follows Carla
throughout her year-long journey of “perfection” for the big night, and we see
the highs and lows of what that entails.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
I went through various periods of self doubt in the years
after college. I, too, was single, still
living at my parents’ home, and went through some very trying times that all
entrepreneurs do while forming their own businesses. As I opened up to others about my
frustrations I realized that nearly everyone, no matter their circumstance, was
dealing with the same insecurities. That theme-- visions of what one thinks
life SHOULD be versus reality-- really inspired me, and since I've always
wanted to write a book anyway, I channeled that angst into writing <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Years-Later-Lisa-Marie-Latino/dp/099735240X"><i><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none;">Ten Years Later</span></i></a>.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A lot of readers assume Carla and I are the same person
because we share a similar background and common interests; we're both New
Jersey-based sports fans that are of Italian descent. Obviously, I drew on a
lot of my life's experience in shaping a relatable fictional character, but
Carla has her own set of unique circumstances that represent the plight of
driven millennials everywhere trying to claim their stake in the world.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3swGFRZ-ZfFsj-cA2JG642BV5Gksv7Y5xnPapxXbDYpmK03-a_fXBjT3V4lCDJt2ZcJwl-8Yzd0HctzTaty_8VXNQ51noMu1FIJM2lw_PSJbP_oNh-k4XgyNGOg43Ol6oabij6MAtLME/s1600/IMG_9494edited.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3swGFRZ-ZfFsj-cA2JG642BV5Gksv7Y5xnPapxXbDYpmK03-a_fXBjT3V4lCDJt2ZcJwl-8Yzd0HctzTaty_8VXNQ51noMu1FIJM2lw_PSJbP_oNh-k4XgyNGOg43Ol6oabij6MAtLME/s320/IMG_9494edited.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Author Lisa Marie Latino</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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The book was originally written for millennial women in
their 20's and early 30's who are struggling to find their way; I wanted <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Years-Later-Lisa-Marie-Latino/dp/099735240X"><i><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none;">Ten Years Later</span></i></a> to be their beacon of
hope and motivate them to accomplish their heart's desires. But as I’m
getting to know my readers, I’m realizing that they come from all walks of
life. High schoolers to middle-aged men have read and loved the book because
any one of its given themes has resonated with them. To write a book that can
touch a wide variety of people is very fulfilling. <o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: #d5a6bd;">Read the blurb for <i>Ten Years Later</i>:</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #d5a6bd;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">Carla D'Agostino is not your typical heroine. Stuck in a seemingly dead-end job, single, and still living with her overbearing Italian-American parents, Carla is thrown for a loop when she realizes her ten-year high school reunion is fast approaching. True love, a career as a sports radio talk show host, the perfect body--every dream remains frustratingly out of reach no matter how Carla strives and schemes. Out of reach, that is, until unexpected events lead her right back to where she started, and Carla discovers that all she ever wanted was right in front of her the whole time. "</span><span class="aBn" data-term="goog_331043894" style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(204 , 204 , 204); color: #222222; font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px; position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">Ten Years Later</span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">" is a witty, unpredictable tale of one ordinary young woman's race for the top as she throws caution to the wind and decides to go for her dreams.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Learn more about Lisa Marie Latino <a href="http://www.lisamarielatino.com/" target="_blank">on her website</a> or follow her on Instagram as <span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 12.8px;">@LisaMarieLatino</span>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>Ten Years Later</i> is available <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Years-Later-Lisa-Marie-Latino/dp/099735240X" target="_blank">in paperback</a> and <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Years-Later-Lisa-Marie-Latino-ebook/dp/B01IRR0138" target="_blank">as an ebook</a>.</span>Anne E. Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08330642610716333970noreply@blogger.com0