Because of A Book with Ruth Hartman

Once again, I have another WOW author for you today.  Please help me welcome Ruth Hartman to the blog.

Ruth started out life as a dental hygienist but morphed into a romance writer. She has fun working the dental industry into her romances. While Pillow Talk features a dental hygienist/tooth fairy, her next romance Flossophy of Grace also follows the love life of a dental hygienist. Who knew the dental world was so romantic?

Ruth’s first book was My Life in Chains, a memoir about her struggle with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Ruth, her husband and two very spoiled cats live in rural Indiana where Ruth dreams up new and exciting romances. And flosses regularly. Really!

Just Thought You Should Know:

Ruth is a dental hygienist but she isn’t the tooth fairy…at least that’s what she says! She’s celebrating this October—it’s National Dental Hygienist Month.

Ruth Hartman’s Blog: http://ruthjhartman.blogspot.com/

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I’ve always loved reading. I get that from my parents. My dad, a retired minister, is continually reading something. While he pastored our large church, his reading was mostly for sermon preparation. Now that he’s retired, though, I’m glad to say he’s reading for fun. My mom goes to the library every week or so. One of my earliest memories is going to the old library with her. It was always so quiet there, so peaceful. Even though the building has since been replaced, I can still visualize looking down at my black and white saddle shoes as I navigated my way up the steep winding staircase. I feel the smooth surface of the shiny wooden banister under my tiny fingers. And the thrill of giving my very own library card to the librarian when I checked out my book. Mom still brings home an armload each time, and will have them all finished by her next visit. She’s what I call a voracious reader. So I’ve been reading since I was tiny, and have inherited my mom’s voracity. I get a little nervous when I’ve only got one or two books waiting for me to read. My sister refers to that as a book emergency. That’s cutting it just a little too close for me. If my book stack is tall enough for my cats to knock over, then I’m calmly reassured.

One of my favorite authors is mystery writer Mary Higgins Clark. She always has a new book out every April, and Mom and I decide which one of us will go buy it, read it, and pass it on to the other. I love her books because she has a wonderful way of taking several different characters, who at first glance don’t seem to have any connections, and having them cross paths by the end of the story. I’m fascinated when it all comes together and the mystery makes more and more sense as the characters solve the crime.

I love reading mysteries, but I don’t write them. My brain just doesn’t work that way. I write sweet, quirky romances with the satisfying happily-ever-after. When I read a well-written, interesting book, but it ends badly for the main characters, I feel as if I’ve been cheated somehow. I don’t always feel better for having read the book. But if you pick up one of my novels, you have the guarantee that you will smile and feel wonderful at the end of the story.

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About Pillow Talk:  Trixie Trident is much too busy to worry about her love life. Her shop Necklaces, Bracelets and Rings, Oh My! has her up to her elbows in beads; Benson the parrot is hungry; and she just chipped her tooth. Plus she’s seriously sleep deprived—that happens when a tooth fairy hits a busy stretch. That’s right, tooth fairy.

But somehow the ideal man drops into her life. Actually she drops into his office. Is it time for Trixie to give up her night job as tooth fairy? Or should she give up the handsome Dr. Graham Keebler? Of course she won’t have to worry about either if he’s stolen from her! Can a magical tooth fairy find true love with a practical dentist?

Buy it at Amazon

Ms. Hartman has graciously offered a copy of Pillow Talk to one of my readers.  Please leave a comment below if you'd like to be entered.  You have until next Tuesday, Sept. 21 at midnight.  Good Luck!

 

Because Of A Book with Mary Lynn Archibald

I am pleased to have another WOW author with me this week.  Please help me welcome Mary Lynn Archibald to the blog.

Mary Lynn Archibald is a freelance editor and copywriter, and the author of two books: Briarhopper: A History, a memoir of one woman’s life from 1913-1945, and Accidental Cowgirl: Six Cows, No Horse and No Clue, a lighthearted personal memoir of a greenhorn’s life on a small cattle ranch. Her forthcoming memoir, due out in early 2011, deals in part with her life as a San Francisco chorus girl.

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It's difficult to say which book made me want to become a writer, but they say early influences on a child are the most significant.

If that's true, Misty of Chincoteague comes to mind. I must have been in the fourth grade when I read it, and it made an indelible impression. Partly of course, it was because I wanted a horse so badly at that age, as most young girls do.

But I think that primarily the book had such a hold on me because of several key things:

• The horse was a symbol of freedom

• Misty was a creature of mythical proportions

• The foal, Misty, I imagined was me

That story captured my imagination, drew me into its world, and didn't let go.

Funny thing is, I never had a horse of my own, and I only rode one twice in my 70-plus years. It turned out that I was allergic to horsehair, and terrified of riding horses.

Good thing my cattle ranch experience didn't involve them, as we did all our cattle herding on foot—a rather perilous pursuit, when dealing with animals that weigh nearly 1000 pounds.

Of course there were many other stories that thrilled me in those early years of reading. My mother had read the Grimm Fairy Tales to me when I was very young, and as soon as I could read them for myself, I nearly wore the book out rereading my favorite stories. “The Goose Girl” and “The Princess and the Frog” were the best, although I suspect their principle attraction was the illustrations of the beautiful heroines in my book. I could imagine I was them, too.

I also read Bobby Bubbles, another imaginatively illustrated children's book, which was a story about a boy who blew a bubble so big it carried him away to strange lands and interesting adventures. That was another one my mother had read to me when I was probably three, and that I reread as I grew older.

I knew I wanted to create stories like that, too. But the book that I reread most of all was Winnie the Pooh. It's one of the few I still read as an adult, because it contains so many universal truths of the sort we so desperately need these days.

Books have always been my teachers. Which books have been yours?

Mary Lynn has graciously offered a copy of Accidental Cowgirl to one of my readers.  Please comment below if you'd like to be entered.  Winner will be chosen at random.  Open to US/Canada addresses.  Contest ends Tuesday, Aug. 24th at midnight.

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About Misty of Chincoteague - Nobody could capture the Phantom. She was the wildest mare on Assateague Island. They said she was like the wind, that the white "map" on her shoulders was her mark of freedom.

Paul and Maureen Beebe had their hearts set on owning her. They were itching to buy and tame her, and worked hard to earn the money that she would cost. But the roundup men had tried to capture her and for two years she had escaped them....
Pony Penning Day holds a surprise for everyone, for Paul not only brings in the Phantom, but her newborn colt as well. Can Paul and Maureen possibly earn enough to buy them both?

Buy it at IndieBound

About Accidental Cowgirl - In 1990, we heard the wilderness call to us, and, God help us, we answered. Of course, we had no business trying to run a full-time ranch with no experience. People tried to tell us that "The Simple Life" wasn't so simple, but we weren't listening. If you're over 50, or in a job rut, or looking for adventure (or all of the above), and you yearn for a tranquil country hideaway, please read this cautionary tale first.

Buy it at IndieBound

Because of A Book with Barbara Barth

I am so happy to be back to blogging today.  If you follow me on Facebook, you may know that I have some friends who have had tragedy in their lives over the last week and a half.  If you are so inclined, I ask that you pray for healing for this family as they were involved in a car accident that caused them to lose their 8 year old daughter and put my girlfriend in the hospital in ICU.  She is making progress everyday, but it is going to be a long, slow haul for her.  Needless to say, I am behind on posting the winners from Children's Book Week, but I will get those out later today or first thing tomorrow.  It will be a post filled with winners!

Today's guest is WOW!, Women on Writing, author, Barbara Barth.  She is doing cause marketing with Animal Action Rescue in Atlanta since adopting rescue dogs is part of the healing process in her book The Unfaithful Widow. She has a book launch in Atlanta that includes a silent auction with Animal Action Rescue on June 26th, so if you're in the area, stop by. This is a cause that is near and dear to her heart since she has six dogs now, five adopted from local shelters in the last year. Then she has her old dog Foxy. When the book ended she got her fourth dog. Then New Year's Eve she couldn't get a date so she got a dog. Then two.

Barbara Barth likes a lot of things: turquoise jewelry, surfing the 'net, margaritas. Then there are the dogs. Six at last count. But who can keep it straight with all those tails wagging? This Georgia antique dealer and jewelry maker published a hobby newsletter for 13 years. After her husband died she recorded the year that followed in a series of essays. When she isn't writing you can find her at the local thrift shops or pounding another nail into the wall to hang the paintings she can't resist.  You can find Barbara online at her website or blog.

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About A Book

I know I loved books as a teen and was always reading. My memories of reading are sweet ones more of time and place rather than a book title. I don’t remember loving any special book back then, just that I loved to read.

In my late teens my pet capuchin monkey kept me company when I’d curl up with my book. Yes, I had one of those little monkeys that are referred to as organ grinder monkeys. You’ve seen pictures of them in little caps with a tin cup. Mine did not dress up, but was every bit as entertaining. Baby would jump up on my shoulder and we’d pass a peppermint lifesaver back and forth as I read. He’d sit there with his little fingers picking at my neck. I kept reading. You can understand that looking back it is hard to remember what book was in my hand. After all, I had a little monkey on my back.

As an adult I love short, snappy essays. Comments on life with humor are my favorite. I also love to read journals. Not the Hollywood tell-all story, but heartfelt thoughts on life. I have no patience for a long epic novel. I gravitate towards books I can enjoy a chapter at a time then put it down for another day. I do sneak in the occasional mystery if it catches my attention and is more of a light read. I wish I was a heavy hitter, but I am a simple reader.

When I started writing my memoir The Unfaithful Widow my style was definitely defined by the type of books I read. My book is broken down by seasons and each season is full of essays. I call them my fragmented thoughts on my first year alone.

I had a critique of the first twenty pages of my book with a NY Times best selling author through the Atlanta Writer’s Club. “Barbara, you are not a novelist, you are an essayist.” Those were her words to me as she scribbled on my work. I thought on that for a minute and then felt relieved. I had a title. I could give up the notion I would write a great American novel. It was a pivotal moment for me.

The book that inspired me the most when I decided to write my own was Nora Ephron’s I Feel Bad About My Neck. I loved this book. It is full of sparkling essays on women over age sixty. It is an easy read at 160 pages. She does not analyze the subject of aging, but writes from a perspective that does not take itself too seriously about getting older.

I could identify with her essays on age, because my husband died three months before I turned sixty. Age suddenly became an issue for me. I was going into a new decade, my sixties, doing all those things I never thought I’d do again. I also liked the fact her book was short. It made me comfortable with the length of mine.

Another favorite author of mine helped to kick off the dating section of my book. I wrote on my dating profile on Match that I loved May Sarton and her Journal of Solitude. I think I wanted to sound intellectual. Surprisingly enough a man wrote me that he had all her books. We might have something in common he e-mailed me. So we met for dinner. It turned out our love of May Sarton was all we had in common. Our meeting that night starts off my book’s fall season of dating disasters.

I’d like to say that you might find me one day in a plump wing chair reading a thick historical novel. Truth is I doubt you will. While my life now if full of change, some things do stay the same. Journals and essays are my favorite reads. I find inspiration in reading how others think and feel and love to laugh when the writer pokes fun at the everyday things we all have to deal with.

Essayist? Thank you NY Times best selling author for giving me a label. It is a title I will wear with pride. It may be the only thing I feel certain about in a life that is ever changing and reinventing itself.

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About The Unfaithful Widow - The Unfaithful Widow is a collection of candid essays on finding joy again after the loss of a mate. With warmth and laughter no subject is taboo. From dealing with the funeral home (Can I show you our upgraded cremation package? I looked at Miss Death, was I booking a vacation?) to dating again (He ran in the door, looked at me and said "I've left something in my car". He never returned). Sprinkle in a bevy of rescue dogs (Finally a good nights sleep with someone new in my bed.) and those questions you hate to ask (Condoms anyone?). The Unfaithful Widow will steal a piece of your heart, tickle your ribs and make you feel good to be alive.

Buy it from Amazon

Barbara has offered a copy of her book for giveaway today.  Just comment on this post to be entered to win.  Extra entries can be earned by Tweeting, posting on Facebook, or being a follower on this blog.  Make sure you let me know what you've done in the comments and be sure to leave your email address so I can contact you if you win.  Entries will be accepted until Tuesday, June 1 at midnight.  Spread the word!! 

Catching Up with Pamela Ehrenberg

Yesterday was officially the end of Children's Book Week, but I didn't get a post up due to life happening.  It's sad when tragedy affects people you love.  2 friends had tragic deaths in their families this weekend, and my heart is extremely saddened for them.  So, I apologize to you all for not getting this up yesterday, and not posting the winners to some of the giveaways.  I will be getting those up tomorrow.  For now, I hope you enjoy Pam's post.  She is giving away autographed bookmarks to the first 10 commenters!

Pamela Ehrenberg is the author of Ethan, Suspended (2007) and Tillmon County Fire (2009). She lives in Washington, DC, with her four-and-a-half-year-old daughter, who just applied for her first library card, and her toddler son.
(photo credit: Erin Silber)

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Catching Up

One summer during college, I had the ideal job for an aspiring children's author: I worked the cash register at a lovely children's book store with, sadly, very few customers.

During the long hours between customers, I caught up on the decade or so of children's books that had come about since I had declared myself too old for such things. This was 1993, and I particularly remember catching up on the Babysitter's Club, which the bookstore owner stocked reluctantly, under pressure to keep a series on her shelves. ("At least those girls have jobs," she said.) I actually didn't think the books were all bad--and apparently neither did a lot of other people, as the 213-book series is being updated and reissued this year.

I also "caught up" on books I thought I remembered. It turned out that many of the Judy Blame titles I had read as a precocious third- or fourth-grader had gone right over my head. Then Again, Maybe I Won't was rather instructive for a 19-year-old girl with no brothers.

Having caught up, I managed not to fall too far behind during the next dozen or so years; stints as a teacher and a volunteer carried me through until my hard-won status as parent (2005) and author (2007) granted me lifetime license to spend as much time as I like in the children's area of our library. It wasn't easy, though, in those intervening years; I often imagined the librarians were eyeing me, and I sometimes pretended to myself that I was there to get books for a niece or a friend.

So, this Children's Book Week, I'd like to offer carte-blanche permission to anyone who feels they need it to spend an hour in the children's department of your library, and to leave with a tall stack of books. Walk in there with the confidence of someone who has every right to be there, a reader on assignment. What will you discover--or rediscover--in the books? What will you discover about the reader you once were, or the reader you might become? What will you read between now and next Children's Book Week?

Do let us know. We look forward to catching up.

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Comment on this post to win an autographed bookmark from Pamela. First 10 commenters will win. Enter by Friday, May 21st at midnight.

Clara Gillow Clark Drops By

Clara Gillow Clark has stopped by this afternoon to talk about writing historical fiction for young children.  As a lover of historical fiction myself, I am fascinated by what she has to say and anxious to read some of her works.  I hope you enjoy her as well.  She introduces herself:

I’m the youngest child in a family who came from a long line of farmers and readers. I began school in a one-room schoolhouse and wanted to be an inventor, archaeologist, geologist, missionary, solo violinist until I realized that writers were real people who really existed and weren’t like Santa Claus. After marrying and having a son, I read a magazine article on children's author Judy Blume, who, like me, was a stay-at-home wife who sold my own crafts before starting my writing career. Inspired, I began commuting to writing classes in New York City, while juggling jobs ranging from teacher's aide to store manager.


Now I work at home. When I’m not writing--or reading, or teaching writing, or talking shop with other writers in person or on-line—I enjoy baking, gardening, sewing, and walking the dirt roads that border our country cottage surrounded by meadows and woods. Walking is a love I learned from my father, who took his sprawling brood on nature walks and taught us to stop long enough to really see things. I live in Pennsylvania with my husband, Stephen Jennings.

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Clara Gillow Clark ~ The Country of My Heart

The beauty of historical fiction is that the more you research, the more the story develops. It's sort of like decorating, picking the things that work well together, throwing in something a little offbeat or wild for contrast, something unexpected. My novel, Hill Hawk Hattie, set in the late nineteenth century rides the rapids of a tumultuous father-daughter relationship that takes readers on a river-rafting adventure.

Researching Hill Hawk Hattie was a labor of love. The setting of the book takes place in the country of my heart, the Upper Delaware, where for many years I gathered materials to write a book about the old-time rafting era. Serendipitously, mysteriously, the story came flooding together one day when I was out walking on the dirt roads that border my property, and Hattie's voice rushed like a torrent into my head. Discovering the character of Hattie felt like a gift, this little girl with the powerful voice. Some days I had to pinch myself, so happy that she kept showing up to work with me.

Writing Hill Hawk Hattie was a slight change for me. My earlier historical novels were based on real people--my mother in Annie’s Choice, my great-grandmother in Nellie Bishop, and my great-great uncle in Willie and the Rattlesnake King. I loved discovering my family stories, researching the time period, and then writing about it, but letting go of family stories was a liberating experience for me. It was important for me to write those stories, but it was more fun writing about Hattie who sprang from my imagination.

Hattie is a feisty, 11-year-old girl whose mother has died and her father dresses her as a boy so she can join him on a perilous rafting journey. It’s a story of tough love and healing. I hope kids take away comfort and strength from Hattie's story, an understanding that sometimes the people closest to us have a hard time saying in words, 'I love you'. I want kids to know that everybody has tough times, but the only way to get through them is to keep on going.

Hattie’s story continues in Hattie on Her Way, a story that moves her from the dangerous river to her prim grandmother's house. Like Hattie, I lived in a very rural area. Shortly after my father died, we moved to a town that seemed cold and frightening at first. I faced the challenge of being a tall misfit alongside petite girls who wore nice dresses and shiny shoes and knew the proper etiquette of birthday treats and valentines. Hattie's story is much tougher than my own, but we share many of the same emotional struggles, experiencing both loss and healing, and searching for sense and meaning in a topsy-turvy world.

In the final book of the series, Secrets of Greymoor, Hattie longs for a friend, but goes about it all wrong. She makes a lot of mistakes, including hiding a letter from her grandmother that has TAX COLLECTION—PAYMENT OVERDUE stamped on it. Like Hattie, I did change schools (several times) and often felt bewildered about how to make friends. I didn’t make up stories, and I didn’t have Hattie’s fiery tongue even though I often wished to be feisty and tell elaborately embellished stories like a girl did in my second grade class. I’m afraid I was much more like the character of Effie in the book Secrets of Greymoor who wants to be friends with Hattie, but simply isn’t brave enough.

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Clara has offered a set of her Hattie books to one of my readers.  All you have to do is comment on this post.  Which Hattie book are you most looking forward to?  Enter by midnight Monday, May 17th.  The winner will be drawn at random and posted on Tuesday, May 18th.  Spread the word for extra entries.

About Secrets of Greymoor:  In this nineteenth-century mystery, a spunky girl strives to decipher a code in order to recover her family’s lost fortune.

No one ever talks about Hattie’s grandfather, who’s been hidden in the Utica Insane Asylum ever since he squandered Grandmother’s fortune and started hearing voices in the walls. When a telegram arrives with news of Grandfather’s death, old wounds are reopened and financial ruin looms once again. But it’s not until Hattie intercepts a threatening notice from the tax collector that she realizes they’re in danger of losing everything — including the family estate. A mysterious book containing a code written by Grandfather leads Hattie to believe that Grandmother’s fortune may not be lost after all, however, and though she works feverishly to crack the code, every step forward leads to another riddle. Are the contents of the book simply the ravings of a madman, or is it possible that there was more to Grandfather than met the eye?

Thoughts From a 12 Year Old and a Giveaway

I apologize that this didn't go live yesterday.  Blogger doesn't always post as I schedule and I didn't even think to check because everything else I've scheduled this week has posted just fine.  No worries though.  There is plenty more fun to be had with guests and giveaways, possibly through the weekend.  What have you done to celebrate Children's Book Week?

Today I am pleased to introduce to you Kathy Fuller!

Kathleen Fuller is the author of The Mysteries of Middlefield Series, from Thomas Nelson. Book One, A Summer Secret, is available now. Book Two, The Secrets Beneath, will release in the fall of 2010. For more information visit her website: http://www.kathleenfuller.com/.

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My twelve-year-old daughter, Zoie, helped me as I wrote A Summer Secret, Book One in the Mysteries of Middlefield series. She’s an avid reader, and recently we talked about her favorite books and whether she likes to write her own stories.

Why do you like to read?

Zoie: I like to read because it’s really fun. You get to learn what happens in the book and about the characters and what they’re like.

What are your favorite types of books to read?

Zoie: My favorite types of books to read are mysteries and adventures. I like mysteries because it’s all this suspense. I like adventures because it’s like “what’s gonna happen next.” I like that because it’s really exciting to learn about adventures. Maybe someday I might get to go on one when I’m older. Like one of my adventures might be walking across the Great Wall of China. I think it would be difficult and very exhausting because it’s very long. It would be really awesome to walk it.

What book are you reading now?

Zoie: I’m reading a lot of books, but the one I’m reading right now is called Pokemon: The Rise of Darkrai.

What is your favorite book?

Zoie: My favorite book would have to be the Land of Elyon series. It’s my favorite because there’s a girl who has to face a bunch of mysterious creatures like ogres, giants, and a bunch of bats called the black swarm. There’s a guy named Victor Grindall; he’s a bad guy who’s being controlled by someone who wants to be greater than Elyon. I’m on the third book and I can’t wait to find out what happens.

If you could jump into any story, what story would it be and why?

Zoie: Any Pokemon book, because of all the characters in there. There are legendary creatures. There’s a lot of action and it would be really cool to actually imagine being in the book you’re actually reading.

Do you ever want to write your own stories?

Zoie: I have written my own stories. Some of them are for school, and some of them I write at home. I like to write because it helps me improve my handwriting and because it’s fun to imagine your own story in your head. My daydreams are like stories in my head, and my dreams at night are the same thing. What you’re dreaming in your head is like a book with no pages or words, just images.

Who is your favorite character of all time?

My favorite character of all time in any book would have to be Ash because he’s a Pokemon trainer who gets to go on amazing adventures and he gets to meet legendary Pokemon, and he travels with a bunch of friends.

How many books do you have?

Zoie: Fifty-two, and I love every single one of them!

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Thank you Kathy, and Zoie, for being a part of my Children's Book Week celebration!

Kathy has offered copies of Book One of The Mysteries of Middlefield Series: A Summer Secret as a giveaway this week.  Two copies are up for grabs to two lucky commenters.  Please comment by Sunday, May 16th.  Winners will be randomly selected and posted on Monday, May 17th.

In the Mysteries of Middlefield series, readers will be immersed into exciting mysteries and authentic Amish culture.

With a twin brother and five younger brothers, Mary Beth Mullet's house is in constant chaos. Her parents don't seem to mind the noise, but she needs a break from all the pestering and babysitting.

It's the summer before eighth grade, and Mary Beth plans to escape to her secret place as much as possible. The old barn in the neighboring field is dangerous, and her parents have forbidden her to go there, but she escapes to it as often as she can.

Mary Beth soon discovers she is not alone in the barn. Someone is living there; someone who needs help. Can Mary Beth help the stranger without losing her secret place? And what if the barn is as dangerous as her parents say it is?

Readers will identify with Mary Beth's struggles for peace and independence and be engrossed in the excitement and danger of A Summer Secret.

"Not So Scary" Halloween Giveaway

I thought you might enjoy this FAST "Not So Scary" Halloween giveaway.   Here are the details...

Leave me a comment on my blog about something you like about You Can Make This.  Make sure you leave your email address so I can contact you.  This contest is only for this Halloween weekend, so enter fast and spread the word.  You will get an extra entry for tweeting this contest, as long as you leave me a link to your tweet.  I will post the winner on Monday, so HURRY!!!

One winner will receive a $50 bundle of Halloween downloads. The bundle includes the following books:

Fancy Filled Tutu with Bonus 40 Tutu "Recipes"
Pumpkin Polly Patterns
Paper Piecing Project: Pumpkin Patch Pillow
Frayed Applique: Too Cute to Spook!
Little Miss Spider Applique Patterns
How to Applique the Easy Way
Hocus Pocus Patterns
Just a Little Something for a Happy Halloween Table Runner

Another "Another Faust" Contest

This is not my contest, but one I thought you might be interested in when I was asked by the authors to help promote it.  Here is a little about the authors, from their website:

Daniel Nayeri is a writer and editor in New York City. He wrote and produced “The Cult of Sincerity,” the first feature film to be world premiered by YouTube. He has had all kinds of jobs around books, including book repairman, literary agent, used bookstore clerk, children’s librarian, Official Story-Time Reader Leader, editor, copy-editor, and even carpenter (making bookshelves). He’s also a professional pastry chef. He loves Street Fighter 2, hates the word “foodie,” and is an award-winning stuntman.

Dina Viergutz graduated from Princeton where she first discovered her passion for fiction. However, being a stubborn know-it-all, she had to spend five years in the business world first. She worked as a consultant at McKinsey in New York City and as a project manager for Saks Fifth Avenue. Dina then received her MBA from Harvard Business School. During this time, she was a teaching fellow in economics at Harvard and a speaker on topics in business and marketing. Finally, she received a Master of Education from Harvard School of Education, where she was a Zuckerman fellow. It was during her graduate studies that Dina and Daniel began writing Another Faust together. Dina lives with her husband in Amsterdam. In her spare time, she loves to cook, travel, watch teen-flicks, and write stories.

Dina and Daniel were both born in Iran and spent many young adult years in Europe. There they learned several languages between them and tried Frosted Flakes for the first time. Their first two teen fantasy books, the first and second of Another Series will be published by Candlewick Press in 2009 & 2010.

I'll let Daniel tell you about the contest they are having.  I hope some of you will choose to participate because it sounds like fun and there are great prizes!

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Hi everyone. Dina and I are about to kick off a month-long tour for our book, Another Faust, and we want to do it by announcing a contest! We are looking for the most promising writers out there (that’s YOU). And then we want to showcase their work, so that all of the Internet can bask in their awesome writing might (and, you know, give them prizes).

HERE’S HOW IT GOES.

We want you to write your own short story, re-imagining of the Faustian Bargain. (For inspiration, check out Bedazzled, Simpsons “Tree House of Horrors IV,” and The Little Mermaid). It can be about anything you like (but let’s keep it PG-13, and under 3,000 words), and it’s open to everyone.


All you have to do is send your entry to dviergutz@gmail.com before January 31.

Rules and details can be found here:

http://www.danielanddina.com/site/2009/10/writing-contest-create-another-another-faust/

Make sure to read them so you don’t get DQed


And the winner gets all kinds of sweetness:

A signed copy of Another Faust

A handwritten deleted scene

A featured article & interview on our site

An author’s galley of the sequel Another Pan

Though we’ll feature the top five on our site for comments, the judging WON’T happen by popular vote (so basically, we don't care which contestant has the most friends). Dina and I will personally read them.

So, spread the word! Tweet, retweet, forward, thread, spread, embed this post.

Good luck!

D & D

Because of A Book with Susan Froetschel

This week I bring you another author, who has been gracious enough to send one of my readers a copy of her book.  Keep reading to find out which one she's giving away.

Susan Froetschel is the author of three mystery books, most recently Royal Escape - www.royalescape.net. She taught writing for more than 10 years at Yale and Southern Connecticut State University. She is based in Washington, D.C.

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My mother died of a heart attack at age 33 on a summer day decades ago. Around that time, a package arrived in the mail for her from a book club. Inside was The Modern Family Cook Book by Meta Given, a two-volume set of the Complete Works of Shakespeare, and Herman Wouk’s Marjorie Morningstar.

My father opened the package and placed the books on a shelf in our living room. But the book selections of a 33-year-old woman took on special meaning, like some welcome advice from the grave, as I prepared to enter the third grade. I realized then that books shape our lives and I wanted to understand why my mom had selected these books. She didn’t get a chance to read them, but I welcomed the opportunity to examine her choices and struggle through books that were mature beyond my years. I immediately began using the cookbook, helping my dad prepare meals for my brother, sister and me. At first I read the sonnets aloud, not understanding them completely, but always felt a special thrill any time a teacher even mentioned Shakespeare.

But most intriguing of the lot was the novel Marjorie Morningstar, a dated tale of a woman who becomes distracted from her dreams to become a New York actress. A friend, a playwright, reunites with her two decades later and is surprised at how she has rewritten the history of their friendship and forgotten her own strong opinions. The playwright alone, “cursed with a writer’s memory,” remembers the younger woman and her dreams: “She doesn’t remember herself as she was. I am the only one on the face of God’s earth, I’m sure, who still holds that picture in a dim corner of memory.”

The book examines the contradictions confronting women in the 1950s, as suggested in the Salon essay by Alana Newhouse, “Marjorie Morningstar: The conservative novel that liberal feminists love.”

For me, as a child, the book’s message was clear: We lose a part of ourselves when we part with our dreams. And writing is one of the more effective ways to savor our dreams and memories.

Susan has agreed to giveaway a copy of her mystery, Royal Escape, to one lucky commenter.  Please comment appropriately, not just "enter me."  Extra entries will be given for tweeting, or blogging about this contest.  Open to US/Canada addresses and ends 10/15.

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About Marjorie Mornningstar:  A starry-eyed young beauty, Marjorie Morgenstern is nineteen years old when she is offered the job of her dreams working in a summer stock company for Noel Airman, its talented and intensely charismatic director. Released from the social constraints of her old-fashioned New York Jewish family, and thrown into the glorious, colorful world of theatrical invention, Marjorie finds herself entangled in a powerful affair with the man destined to become the greatest — and the most destructive — love of her life.  

Buy it at Amazon
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About Royal Escape:  In the novel, Royal Escape, a fictional British princess, Elena struggles to separate her children from a system that reinforces inequality. To raise her children as independent individuals, she
must fend off paparazzi, staff and in-laws.

Beautiful, witty and sharp on fashion and charity, Princess Elena was supposed to live the fairytale life.  Instead, her marriage is in ruins and her in-laws resent her glowing popularity.  All Elena wants is to spend time with her two sons and to be a good mother. The murder of her divorce attorney complicates her plans. The Queen, her mother-in-law, withholds settlement on a trust fund and expects Elena to give marriage one more chance. That means keeping a low profile and following all orders by the royal family and their staff. For Princess Elena and others, being a member of the Royal Family has become a royal trap –imposing lifelong limits on careers, daily activities and what one can say or do in any public setting. Elena resists any separation
from her sons, the loss of privacy and choice in the name of security.

Security is everywhere and no one is protected.
 
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Buy it at IndieBound

Movie Monday - 8/24/09

I apologize for the late posting of this today, but it was the first day of school and I was a little preoccupied.  I hope that you don't mind too much.

 

Welcome to the 4th and final edition of Movie Monday.  I have enjoyed reading all of your movie reviews and can't wait to see what you post this week.  Remember, next week there will be two winners posted.  One for the signed copy of Prophecy, based on this week's reviews, and the other for the Grand Prize Swag Bag, based on all of the weekly entries.  

This week's winner is Ashley, who watched and reviewed Interview with a Vampire.  Congratulations Ashley!!  I have emailed you for your address.

Won't you join in this week?  Watch one of the following movies, post the review on your blog, link back to this contest page as well as Michelle Zink's blog. You must also mention Prophecy and post the cover of the book. Once your post is up, come back here and leave the link in the comments. The post can go up anytime between now and Saturday. On Sunday, I will draw a random winner from all the entries and post the winner on next week's Movie Monday. The winner will receive a signed hard cover copy of Prophecy as well as assorted Prophecy swag.

For every week that you participate, your name is put into the Grand Prize drawing for a Gothic Swag Bag - gift cards, jewlery, movies, etc.

The list of movies to choose from are as follows:

Interview with a Vampire
The Others
Wuthering Heights
Rebecca
Rear Window
Dial M for Murder
The Village
The Orphanage
An American Haunting
Sleepy Hollow
The Skeleton Key
The Haunting
The Changeling
30 Days of Night
The Talented Mr. Ripley
Van Helsing
The Crow

Edward Scissorhands

Movie Monday

Welcome back to our 3rd edition of Movie Monday were readers are reviewing Gothic movies for a chance to win a signed hard copy of Prophecy of the Sisters as well as some Prophecy swag.

This week's winner is Kristen, who watched and reviewed The Changeling.   Congratulations Kristen!!!  I will be emailing you for your address so that Michelle can send you your prizes.

Remember: Watch one of the following movies, post the review on your blog, link back to this contest page as well as Michelle Zink's blog. You must also mention Prophecy and post the cover of the book. Once your post is up, come back here and leave the link in the comments. The post can go up anytime between now and Saturday. On Sunday, I will draw a random winner from all the entries and post the winner on next week's Movie Monday. The winner will receive a signed hard cover copy of Prophecy as well as assorted Prophecy swag.

For every week that you participate, your name is put into the Grand Prize drawing for a Gothic Swag Bag - gift cards, jewlery, movies, etc.

The list of movies to choose from are as follows:

Interview with a Vampire
The Others
Wuthering Heights
Rebecca
Rear Window
Dial M for Murder
The Village
The Orphanage
An American Haunting
Sleepy Hollow
The Skeleton Key
The Haunting
The Changeling
30 Days of Night
The Talented Mr. Ripley
Van Helsing
The Crow

Edward Scissorhands

Because of A Book with Shannon Primicerio

 

This week's post features author Shannon Primicerio.  Please help me welcome Shannon to the blog.  I am very excited about her post.  When I first started working on this feature, she sent me the following email:

I’m definitely interested. When I was a teenager I read a series by Robin Jones Gunn that made me want to become a writer. Without knowing this, my first editor asked Robin to write the foreword for my first book! So, it’s been wonderful to get to know the woman who made me want to be a writer. I would love to write about the series I read back then, and the new spin-off series she is currently writing. I’ve even emailed her to see if she’d be willing to donate an autographed copy to one of your readers.

 I told Shannon that it sounded like a story that needed to be told, so I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did.  Here's a little about Shannon:

From the moment she learned to talk, author and speaker Shannon (Kubiak) Primicerio has been engaging audiences with her wit and wisdom. A writer from the second she learned to hold a pencil, Shannon brings a deep passion for God and a keen awareness of the issues teen girls face to both the page and the stage. Whether you are reading one of her books or sitting in an auditorium listening to her speak, you will feel like you know Shannon—and like she knows you. In addition to writing nine books to Christian teen girls, Shannon also created her own writing curriculum for tweens and teens. She has a B.A. in Journalism and a minor in Biblical Studies from Biola University. Shannon resides in Southern California with her husband, Michael.

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In junior high I was the epitome of awkward. I had long blonde hair and a gangly frame. In most social settings I was too shy to do something as basic as ordering from a restaurant menu. On most days I just wanted to escape. Whenever navigating the social woes of adolescence became too much for me, I would transport myself into another world through the pages of a book.

I must have been eleven or twelve at the time I met Christy Miller. Little did I know then that she would be a friend I would share countless experiences with. In many ways, Christy Miller saved me from the clumsiness of my life by navigating her own mortifying moments with grace and humility. I’ll never forget the time she went on a date with Todd only to discover, once she got home, that she had chocolate smeared across her face. Or the time she was invited to a slumber party only to be left feeling like an outsider by everyone else there. Christy’s life became so intertwined with my own that I sometimes couldn’t tell where her life ended and mine began. In many ways Christy Miller was like the best friend I never had. To some she may just be a fictional character in a series of books, but to me she will always be more than that.

It’s no surprise to me that the books in The Christy Miller series became best sellers. Many girls have found comfort, humor and respite from their own adolescence and teen years in the pages of her story. Several years ago, I pulled out some of my old journals from my “Christy Miller years” and found a paragraph that took me by surprise. I had written this about the author of The Christy Miller books: “What I admire most about Robin Jones Gunn is her legacy, and I hope to one day touch lives with my writing the way she has touched mine…”

It was on the pages of The Christy Miller series that I first found my passion for writing. During what were some of the most awkward years of my life I began to dream about writing books that would change the lives of teenage girls in the same way Christy Miller changed mine. And in what Christy would call a “God thing” Robin Jones Gunn wrote the foreword for my first book The Divine Dance. My editor had no clue that I even knew who Robin was. She just knew she was a popular author to teens, and thought her endorsement would help sales for a newcomer like me.

The Divine Dance could have tanked and I still would have been thrilled to receive the stamp of approval from a woman whose own words had greatly shaped my life. Thankfully, the book didn’t tank and is still selling six years later. My friendship with Robin also grew into something much more than a simple foreword. And I’m thankful for all she has taken the time to teach me about being an author who truly changes lives.

In 2001 the final chapter in Christy’s story was written, and girls around the world mourned the loss of a friend they had followed for years. Thankfully, though, there was more left to Christy’s story and in 2008 Robin launched a new series with all the same characters focusing on the life of Christy’s best friend Katie Weldon. Now new fans, and old alike, can follow the adventures of a crazy redhead and the forever friend she shared with so many.

One lucky reader will receive an autographed copy of the newest book in the Katie Weldon series. Coming Attractions promises to be a fun adventure with Christy, Katie and all of their friends.

You can learn more about Robin and Shannon at their respective websites: http://www.robingunn.com/ and http://www.beingagirlbooks.com/

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About Summer Promise (The Christy Miller series #1):  Fourteen-year-old Christy Miller has the dream summer ahead of her in sun-kissed California, staying with her aunt and uncle at their beachfront home. Aunt Marti loves to shop, and those surfers are cute—especially Todd. Christy promised her parents she wouldn’t do anything she’d regret later, and some of her beach friends are a little wild. But Todd and his “God-Lover” friends are giving Christy a new image of all things eternal. Can this summer live up to its promise?

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About The Divine Dance:  We want to be liked—that's why we put so much energy into pleasing others. Life has become a dance that we perform for others, auditioning for a place in the hearts of everyone we meet. We put our energy into performances to please our parents, friends, teachers, boys—even people we don't know. It's simple: We all desire to be loved and accepted. But in this busy, complicated world, we should be dancing as we were designed to—for the One who really cares. When the audiences are gone and we take off our masks, that's the part the Director likes best. Away from the alluring lights and demanding crowds, we can know ourselves and God in a powerful, meaningful way. When we realize that the One who matters already loves us, we will flourish in this life that is the Divine Dance.  

Buy it at Amazon
Buy it at Powells
Buy it at IndieBound

Movie Monday - 8/10/09

I know that I have some movie watcher readers out there, but I only had one participant last week.  What Bri Reads watched and reviewed The Talented Mr. Ripley.  Thank you, Bri, for participating!  Bri is our first Gothic Film Club winner!  She will be receiving a hard cover copy of Prophecy of the Sisters and some Prophecy swag.  Now, how many participants will I have this week?

Here's the details again. Watch one of the following movies, post the review on your blog, link back to this contest page as well as Michelle Zink's blog.  You must also mention Prophecy and post the cover of the book.  Once your post is up, come back here and leave the link in the comments.  The post can go up anytime between now and Saturday.  On Sunday, I will draw a random winner from all the entries and post the winner on next week's Movie Monday.  The winner will receive a signed hard cover copy of Prophecy as well as assorted Prophecy swag.

For every week that you participate, your name is put into the Grand Prize drawing for a Gothic Swag Bag - gift cards, jewlery, movies, etc.

 

C. Lee Picked a Winner!!

Last week's Because of A Book with C. Lee McKenzie was the first in the feature to have a giveaway. There were many great comments on Lee's post, but only one could be the winner. Thank you to everyone who stopped by to read Lee's post!

 

Congratulations to traveler!!  Here's her comment:

Thanks for this lovely and thought provoking post. I enjoy being able to imagine and dream about wishes that could become true. Sometimes they do but mine would be for great health and happiness as well as to travel and experience the joy of learning about new places.

She will be receiving a signed hard cover copy of Sliding on the Edge.  Enjoy!  Look for the next installment of Because of A Book, on Tuesday.  You never know when a prize will be involved!

Because of A Book with C. Lee McKenzie

Today I am pleased to bring you debut author, C. Lee McKenzie. Lee's YA book, Sliding on the Edge, was released in April. If you haven't read it, I suggest you pick it up.

Before I began writing fiction for teens and middle grade readers I was a lecturer and administrator at California State University, San Jose. My field of Linguistics and Inter-cultural Communication has carried me to a lot of places in the world to explore different cultures and languages. I’m multi-lingual in, "Where's the toilet?" and "I'm lost!"

If I had three wishes my first would be to have more wishes. My second would be to receive warning labels for any wish I made. Like, "If you actually find the money to buy a hundred-room castle in Scotland you'll have to clean it yourself." Or, "If you win the million-dollar lottery, all your relatives will visit." My third wish might be to cancel the first two wishes.

My idea of a perfect day is one or all of the following: starting a new novel, writing “The End” to a good or final draft of a novel, hiking on a misty morning trail, saying Namaste after a great yoga practice, sipping a cappuccino topped with chocolate at a bustling café, reading in front of a fire with snow outside, swimming in an ocean someplace.

Websites: http://cleemckenziebooks.com http://slidingontheedge.com
Blog: http://writegame.blogspot.com

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Because of this Book:

The book that changed my life has to be Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. I wanted to be Alice from the moment I entered her world. I wanted to attend a tea party with the Mad Hatter and watch the Dormouse being stuffed inside the teapot. Croquet had been dull before I knew a flamingo could be croquet mallet–well, almost. If a cat grin could take on a life of its own, then what else might be possible? After reading about Alice I’d discovered that anything could happen if I only read a book.

It didn’t take me long to figure out that being on the other side of the reading process was writing. In Writingland I could take charge and create the people, the story, the setting just the way I wanted them. Behind me I’ve left a trail, bits and pieces of plays, poems, short and long stories—practice for learning what this storytelling is all about, but I never really considered publishing the fiction that I wrote until a few years ago. Then I thought about Alice—strange but true.

I thought about the pleasure I’d had of reading something written before I was born. “How magical,” I thought, “to send words and ideas ahead to readers who haven’t been born yet, especially words that might effect positive change.” It was pretty interesting to mull that over. And that’s when I began thinking about what would be worth sending forward. Whatever it might be I wanted it to last a while. I’ll never know if I’ve succeeded, but it feels good to have tried. Now I just hope my book stands up half as well as Mr. Lewis Carroll’s.

Thanks, Shelly for nudging me to return to my Wonderland memories. It has been a long time since I opened that book for the first time, but I was amazed at how vivid those moments inside Alice’s world remained.

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About Sliding on the Edge:  Shawna Stone, sixteen, can handle anything from a Las Vegas hustle to skipping out on the rent. Scarred inside and out, she's survived with a tough, hardened attitude. Yet she's thrown when her mother abandons her in Vegas with only a bus ticket and the name and number of a stranger to call. Now this troubled, desperate teen finds herself on a Northern California horse ranch with Kay Stone, her steely, youngish, disillusioned grandmother,who overwhelms Shawna with rules and daily barn chores. Shawna will baffle Kay with her foul mouthed anger and shrugging indifference to everything--except the maltreated horse on the ranch next door. But it's worse than even Kay suspects: Shawna's driven to cut herself by that strange voice inside her head,which at times has been her only steady companion.Kay, brittle from the loss of her marriage and her only son, struggles to keep the ranch going with only Kenny, the broken down drifter she hired, to lean on. Wondering what secrets hide behind Shawna's barricade, Kay fears that unless she somehow helps this troubled girl, she could lose her last living family member. And Kay's own secret is the very one that's kept Shawna and her mother away for all these years. As this unlikely pair struggles to co-exist, will they overcome their inner suffering to build a bridge to each other, and together find the strength to transcend the past?

Buy it at Amazon
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Buy it at IndieBound

About Alice's Adventures in Wonderland:  One of the most magical concoctions in children's literature, Lewis Carroll's tale follows Alice into the upside-down, inside-out world of Wonderland where she attends the tea party of the Mad Hatter and plays croquet in the court of the Queen of Hearts 

Buy it at Amazon
Buy it at Powell's 
Buy it at IndieBound

C. Lee has been gracious enough to offer up a giveaway in connection with her feature today.  Anyone who leaves a comment on this post from now until Friday, will be entered to win their choice of either a $10 gift certificate to their nearest indie bookstore, or a signed copy of Sliding on the Edge.  Your comment must be about the post, not just "enter me" or "That was a good post."  The winner will be chosen randomly and posted on Saturday. 

Movie Monday

Today kicks off an awesome contest hosted here and sponsored by Michelle Zink, author of Prophecy of the Sisters. It is the Gothic Film Club.

To be a part of the "club," you agree to watch and review one to four of the following movies in the month of August.

Interview with a Vampire
The Others
Wuthering Heights
Rebecca
Rear Window
Dial M for Murder
The Village
The Orphanage
An American Haunting
Sleepy Hollow
The Skeleton Key
The Haunting
The Changeling
30 Days of Night
The Talented Mr. Ripley
Van Helsing
The Crow
Edward Scissorhands

Watch one of the movies, post the review on your blog, link back to this contest page as well as Michelle Zink's blog.  You must also mention Prophecy and post the cover of the book.  Once your post is up, come back here and leave the link in the comments.  The post can go up anytime between now and Saturday.  On Sunday, I will draw a random winner from all the entries and post the winner on next week's Movie Monday.  The winner will receive a signed hard cover copy of Prophecy as well as assorted Prophecy swag.

 

This contest will run for 4 weeks, so that means you can watch and review up to 4 movies, one per week.  Each week that you review, you will receive an entry into the Grand Prize drawing for a Gothic Swag Bag - gift cards, jewlery, movies, etc.

So, choose your movie for the week, watch, review, and post your link in the comments!

Gothic Film Club

Yesterday, Aug 1st, as many of you know, was the actual release date for Michelle Zink's Prophecy of the Sisters.  The reviews for her book have been glowing, so if you haven't read it, I suggest that you do.  I will be posting my review this week. 

Michelle has graciously offered up some fabulous prizes for my readers, in connection with a contest that I will be hosting here for the entire month of August. Entrants need to watch one movie a week and then blog about it (a movie review) with a link back to my blog as well as Michelle's. You have to mention Prophecy and post the cover in order to be eligible.

Each Monday in August, I will post Movie Monday, where you'll put your links in the comments.  Then, the following Sunday, I will choose one winner, randomly, from all the entries.  The winner will receive a signed hardcover of Prophecy of the Sisters as well as miscellaneous Prophecy swag to include a magnet, a signed mini-poster, etc.  At the end of the month I will choose a winner from each person who entered during the month (you will receive one entry per week that you participate, for a total of 4 entries if you participate each week) and the Grand Prize winner will receive a Gothic Swag Bag - gift cards, jewlery, movies, etc.

The list of movies to choose from are as follows:

Interview with a Vampire
The Others
Wuthering Heights
Rebecca
Rear Window
Dial M for Murder
The Village
The Orphanage
An American Haunting
Sleepy Hollow
The Skeleton Key
The Haunting
The Changeling
30 Days of Night
The Talented Mr. Ripley
Van Helsing
The Crow
Edward Scissorhands

I am announcing the contest today, and will have a post up tomorrow where you can link to your movie review posts throughout the week.  You can start watching movies tonight and start posting as early as tomorrow.  Remember, all posts must be up and linked by the following Saturday each week so that a winnner can be drawn on Sunday to be posted on Monday with the new week's Movie Monday post. 

Today, you can comment about your desire to participate, which movies you will watch and review, etc.  Don't worry about choosing the same movie as someone else, multiple reviews for the same movie are welcome!  So, who's going goth, as in goth movies?