Mailbox Monday - 2/28/2011

Mailbox Monday is a weekly meme started by Marcia at The Printed Page.  You can read all about it at the Mailbox Monday blog.  Well, the mailbox has gone on tour.  This month's host is Library of Clean Reads. 

I love this meme because it lets me take a peek into other bloggers' mailboxes and find out what they received over the last week.  I will warn you, it does lead to more books as you will find many that you want because of others mailboxes.  If you'd like to join in on the fun, post about your books and link up!

Thanks to my mail lady not wanting to drive to my gate and drop some packages, I have 2 or 3 waiting for me at the post office.  Therefore, I'm posting this late on Sunday because I will probably be updating it on Monday afternoon or posting an addendum to this mailbox.

Puddleby by Leah Wilcox, from author
The Thirteenth Princess by Diane Zahler, from author
A True Princess by Diane Zahler, from author

What You See in the Dark (ARC) by Manuel Munoz, from Algonquin
When Tito Loved Clara  (ARC) by Jon Michaud, from Algonquin
Something for Nothing  (ARC) by David Anthony, from Algonquin

The small square package on the bottom right has 3 little books in it that are excerpts of the three I received from Algonquin.  It's a great marketing tool!

Saturday Snapshot - February 26

My husband took this picture of the elephants at the Houston Zoo this past week.  He is a concrete superintendent and his company does all the concrete work at the zoo.  This past week he worked on a new sidewalk around the elephant's habitat.  In this picture are 3 females (the large ones in the back), 1 young male and 1 young female (the 2 little ones in the middle).  The dark one on the left is 45 years old.

He has come home with some funny stories about the elephants!

Saturday Snapshot is hosted by Alyce of At Home With Books.  To participate, just post a picture that you, family, or a friend have taken.  The amount of captioning is up to you.  Pictures must be clean and appropriate for all eyes.

Blog Tour: Kimberly Marcus and Exposed

 

Yesterday I posted my review of Kimberly Marcus' debut YA novel, Exposed.  I'm not sure I did it much justice in my review though.  This book struck me so profoundly that I can't really put into words what it meant to me, how I felt about it, and how amazing I felt it was.  Today, as part of a blog tour, Ms. Marcus was gracious enough to stop by and share how she has "grown" into an author.

It’s amazing to me that I’m here, in this spot where I can now call myself a published author. I’ve always loved words. I love reading them and writing them and, as my friends and family will tell you, I never seem to be at a loss for speaking them, either.

Looking back on my childhood, I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t writing. I used to write poetry in my bedroom late at night as a little kid, mostly rhyming poems about my stuffed animals. When my grandmother started copying my poems in a little notebook she carried in her purse, I thought that was the closest I would come to being “published” and that was good enough for me because my grandma loved my words. During my teen years, I filled journals with poems about love, loss, friendship and fitting in. I didn’t share my work much. I was writing for a girl who was trying to understand herself and her world—I was writing for me.

I was also reading, always reading. I loved the connection I felt to the characters as an author took me on a journey. I still do. For me, good books are all about that connection. My reading tastes evolved as I grew older—from Dr. Seuss to Laura Ingalls Wilder and Judy Blume, to psychological thrillers and mysteries and memoirs—though young adult novels are still my favorite books to read. I love how books transport me, how the best ones let me inhabit a character and see the world through that character’s eyes, through that character’s heart.

After graduate school, I worked for years as a child and adolescent therapist. It wasn’t until I had two children of my own that I thought about writing for publication. I entered a graduate certificate program in picture book writing at Emerson College in Boston, joined a local writers’ organization, and attended writing conferences. I built up a stack of rejection letters from publishing houses but kept on writing, kept on revising, kept working hard on developing my skills. I continued to write picture books but, with an editor’s encouragement, I also tried my hand at writing a novel for teens. That novel, years later, became Exposed. That book may have hit the shelves first, but it wasn’t the first book I sold.

In November, 2006, on my son’s birthday, an editor called to give me a present. She wanted to publish one of my picture books. That book, Scritch-Scratch a Perfect Match, is illustrated by Mike Lester and comes out in April from GP Putnam’s Sons. It’s a rhyming romp about how a flea brings a lonely dog and a lonely man together.

I love the balance I’ve found in writing for both young children and young adults. And I love hearing from readers who have connected, in some way, to the stories I write. It’s like coming full circle.

Thank you Kimberly Marcus for stopping by today and for a phenomenal debut novel.  Thanks also for the connection I made with this book and it's characters.  You're right, good books are all about connections!  This one truly moved me and I can't wait to read more of your works.  By the way, I also read and review children's books like Scritch-Scratch a Perfect Match; I'd be honored to read it!  Thanks again!

You can find Kimberly Marcus online at her website and on Twitter.

Review: Exposed

Title:  Exposed

Author:  Kimberly Marcus

Review Copy Provided by:  publisher, Random House

About the Book:  In the dim light of the darkroom, I'm alone, but not for long.
As white turns to gray, Kate is with me.
The background of the dance studio blurred, so the focus is all on her
legs extended in a perfect soaring split.
The straight line to my squiggle,
my forever-best friend.

Sixteen-year-old Liz Grayson is photogirl—sharp, focused and ready to take the world by storm with her camera. But Liz's entire life is called into question when her brother is accused of a crime—and the accuser is Liz's own best friend. As the aftershocks from that accusation rip through Liz's world, everything she thought she knew about photography, family, friendship and herself, shifts out of focus. And for the first time in her life, Liz finds herself unable to trust her own point of view.  

My Thoughts:  I'm not a 5 star giving kind of girl.  That kind of a rating is reserved for books that "knock me off my feet," so to speak.  Well, this one did just that, so I didn't hesitate when I posted my completion on EXPOSED's Goodreads page.

This is the first book I've read that was written in free verse, but I'm ready to read more.  More free verse and more about Liz...what happens to her?  She goes through a lot in just one book, that I'd like to read more of her story.  The use of free verse makes this a quick read, but it doesn't take away from the depth of the story.

I'm so impressed with Kimberly Marcus as an author.  This is her debut YA, and it is going to be a hit!  There haven't been many YA novels written in free verse.  I think it is a great way to write and maybe there will be more like it in the future.  Marcus scores big with this one.

The characters in the story are well written, strong, deep characters.  Liz comes to find out things about her brother and her best friend that she may not have wanted to know, but they also help her to learn more about herself as a person.  What does she want to do with her life?  Is she willing to hang on to her dreams, take the risks that she tries to get others to take, listen to those around her who are trying to help her?  She comes to find out that dreams are what keep you going, and risks are meant to be taken.  Things may not turn out the way you think they should, but they turn out, none the less.

This novel delves into a very heavy subject, but it doesn't tiptoe around it.  Marcus meets the challenge head on and makes her characters face the truth, no matter how painful it is or will be, no matter what it may do to their relationships.  The content dealt with in this novel is not an easy subject to broach, but Marcus does it so well!

I will be recommending this one to teens and adults as it will be enjoyed by both.

Because of A Book with Lisa Lickel

A graduate of the Christian Writer’s Guild’s Apprentice Course, Lisa Lickel was a top ten finisher in the first Operation: First Novel contest. She has written and produced for radio theater and performed live. Her works have been released in national syndication on FreeQuincy.podcast. She freelances for local newspapers and writes short stories, book reviews, devotionals and magazine articles which have appeared in Writer’s Digest, You Can Write for Children, and Harpstring. She holds a bachelors of science in history and RECES.

Lickel’s novels include The Gold Standard, Healing Grace, and Meander Scar.

She enjoys membership in local book clubs and writing groups, as well as American Christian Fiction Writers, and Wisconsin Regional Writers where she is editor-in-chief of Creative Wisconsin Magazine. She lives in a hundred and fifty-year old house and is active in local historical societies. Married to a high school biology teacher, she enjoys travel, books and collecting dragons. Visit her on the web at http://lisalickel.com/.

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Both of my parents taught English at one point; my mother was also a librarian and their house is filled with books. When I was young, we visited my grandparents frequently: a two-hour drive north or a five-hour drive west. My favorite memory of those visits is the book shelf. The Pokey Little Puppy was a staple at Grandma Dhein's. The story was a treat I read at their city house. Another influential book in my life was an early Whitman Publishing book called The Star Fairies. Ethereal, fantastic, frightening, I realized later the wonder of capturing allegory.

My parents enrolled my brother and me in a children's book club. The delight of receiving three books a month, like Dr. Suess stories, and A Visit to the Zoo, and so many others is the fondest of memories. They taught me about creating rhythm and word pictures. We were also given free range when choosing from the Scholastic catalog in elementary school. The Witch of Blackbird Pond fueled my love of history and attention to detail.

When I was older, I reached for the western sagas of Zane Grey on my grandfather Duvel's shelf. He never went to high school, but kept a stock of novels and books and crossword puzzles in their farmhouse to satisfy his love of learning. My favorite, Under The Tonto Rim, is a book I kept and read often. It's a tangible family tie I hope my children will appreciate.

I began to read book reviews when I reached high school. Those reviews influenced my reading and buying choices. I discovered Anne McCaffrey, and my love of dragons, inspired first by the frontpiece of Thomas Costain's books, took shape as I started a dragon collection. Robert Heinlein, CS Lewis, and Mark Twain showed me how to create worlds, remember life, and portray characters.

When I read to my children, I saw the delight on their faces, which books were their favorites and why. My reaction, and theirs, taught me the passion of storytelling.

I didn't realize until adulthood that I'd been laying the foundation of an author's toolbox. When I took a writer's course and began selling my articles and stories, then delving into the world of novels, I paid tribute to the love of books I've been privileged to know since childhood.

My work now, mystery and adventure and romance, reflects those early stories.

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About The Poky Little Puppy
One of the original 12 Little Golden Books, The Poky Little Puppy has sold nearly 15 million copies since 1942, making it one of the most popular children’s books of all time. Now this curious little puppy is ready to win the hearts and minds of a new generation of kids.


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

About Meander Scar

Love can heal even the deepest scars ... After seven years with no clue as to the whereabouts of Ann Ballard's missing husband, nearly everyone presumes him dead. Now forty-something, Ann is ready for her stagnant life to flow again. Then one day, a dark-haired younger man from her past shows up on her doorstep offering a river of hope in place of tears. Former neighbor Mark Roth has secretly loved Ann for years. A respected attorney, he's returned home to help Ann face down disapproving family members and the legal maneuvering of her likely deceased husband's family-while quietly winning her heart. When the hidden truth of Ann's situation turns their lives on end and another tragedy strikes, the two must come to terms with family, faith and the depths to which true love can run.

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

Mailbox Monday - 2/20/2011

Mailbox Monday is a weekly meme started by Marcia at The Printed Page.  You can read all about it at the Mailbox Monday blog.  Well, the mailbox has gone on tour.  This month's host is Library of Clean Reads. 

I love this meme because it lets me take a peek into other bloggers' mailboxes and find out what they received over the last week.  I will warn you, it does lead to more books as you will find many that you want because of others mailboxes.  If you'd like to join in on the fun, post about your books and link up!

I had a pretty big week this week, so there's only one picture of all the books stacked up.  This week I only had to make one trip to the post office because there was a package that wouldn't fit in the mailbox.  Clicking on the book titles will take you to their Goodreads page.

Starting from the bottom of the stack:

Before There Was Mozart by Lesa Cline-Ransome, from Random House
Amelia Lost by Candace Fleming, from Random House
Adventures in Nowhere by John Ames, from Pineapple Press for a Pump Up Your Book Tour
Flesh & Blood so Cheap: The Triangle Fire and Its Legacy by Al Marrin, from Random House
The Fourth Stall by Chris Rylander, from Walden Media
Throat by R.A. Nelson, from Knopf Books for Young Readers
The Floating Islands by Rachel Neumeier, from Knopf Books for Young Readers
Four Seasons by Jane Breskin Zalben, from Knopf Books for Young Readers
Exposed by Kimberly Marcus, from Random House for a blog tour.  I will be reviewing this one on the 22nd, with a guest post from the author on the 23rd.
The Imagination Station: Attack at the Arena & Voyage with the Vikings by Paul McCusker, from Tyndale House Publishers for a blog tour in April.
Tall Story by Candy Gourley, from David Fickling Books
Daddy Long Legs by Jean Webster, from Random House
Twosomes: Love Poems from the Animal Kingdom by Marilyn Singer, from Knopf Books for Young Readers
Animal Colors by Beth Fielding, from EarlyLight Books
Nosh, Schlepp, Schluff by Laurel Snyder, from Random House

What came into your house?

Snapshot Saturday - February 19

Tomorrow is our "Bug's" 5th birthday!

"Bug" is our 3rd grandchild, our youngest daughter's middle child.  I can't believe she's going to be 5!

Happy Birthday Bug!

Snapshot Saturday is hosted by Alyce of At Home With Books.  To participate, just post a picture that you, family, or a friend have taken.  The amount of captioning is up to you.  Pictures must be clean and appropriate for all eyes.

So Silver Bright Cover Reveal

So, on Tuesday I revealed a fragment of Lisa Mantchev's new book, So Silver Bright, which is the third and final installment of the Theatre Illuminata trilogy, that began with Eyes Like Stars.  Well, all week, many blogs have been revealing other fragments of the cover.  All of which, when put together, make up the fabulous cover of So Silver Bright.  Here you go...

Isn't it fabulous?  I just love it!  Lisa's covers have yet to disappoint me...they are awesome!!  Remember, if you have yet to read this trilogy and want to start, I have one signed copy of Eyes Like Stars to give away.  All you have to do is fill out this form by midnight tonight and you will be entered.  US/Canada only please.  The publisher will be mailing the book to one lucky winner chosen by random.org

So Silver Bright will be released in September by Feiwel and Friends.