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Thursday
May172012

OF POSEIDON Blog Tour

 

Of Poseidon by Anna Banks goes on sale May 22, 2012! Be sure to check out all the stops on the blog tour to find out more about the book, the author, and even the characters!

Monday 5/21                     http://mermaidvision.wordpress.com/

Tuesday 5/22                    http://www.twochicksonbooks.com/

Wednesday 5/23                http://livetoread-krystal.blogspot.com/

Thursday 5/24                   http://jana-thebookgoddess.blogspot.com/

Friday 5/25                        http://www.moonlightbookreviews.com/

Saturday 5/26                    http://www.mochalattereads.blogspot.com/

 

Sunday 5/27                      http://ya-sisterhood.blogspot.com/

Monday 5/28                      http://www.intothehallofbooks.com/

Tuesday 5/29                     http://www.thebookcellarx.com/

Wednesday 5/30                http://bookalicious.org/

Thursday 5/31                   http://www.goodchoicereading.com/

Friday 6/1                          http://prettydeadlyreviews.blogspot.com/

Saturday 6/2                      http://thatartsyreadergirl.blogspot.com/

 

Wednesday
May092012

Need an awesome gift for Mother's Day? Check out these tips from Stuey Lewis himself!

What to do if you don’t have a present for your mom, and Mother’s Day is less than a week away, and all you have is seventy-three cents in your piggybank because you forgot about Mother’s Day and spent the rest of your money on leftover Easter Peeps, which at the time seemed like a wicked cool idea, but not anymore: 

                                      By Stuey Lewis

 1. Don’t freak out­–even if your older brother is totally freaking out, BIG TIME, because he doesn’t have any money either, and was counting on you to save him. 

 2. Don’t freak out­–even if your best friend, who always has your back, doesn’t have it this time, because he spent his last three dollars on a book.

 3. Don’t freak out–even when your dad calls to remind you to get a present, but you can’t ask him for the money because he doesn’t live with your mom anymore. . . and you’re not supposed to forget important stuff like this.

4. Don’t freak out–EVEN when Lilly Stanley, “Queen of Obnoxious,” buys her mom a gold heart necklace that she saved a bajillion years worth of allowance for, and shoves it in your face, looking so happy she could burst, and all you want to do is to stick a pin in her.

5. Don’t freak out–even when your teacher, Ginger Curtis, decides to have a Mother’s Day Tea, when she usually has the class make something cool you could have used as a gift instead. . .and up until this very moment, through all of second grade, and even third, she has always come to your rescue, but isn’t coming to it now. . .

6. Don’t freak out–instead just take a deep breath, relax, and read Queen for a Day, from my new book, Stuey Lewis Against All Odds, and everything will be okay.  Trust me.  Your mother’s gonna love Mother’s Day this year. And when she’s happy, so are you.  No lie. 

 

Hear more from Stuey in STUEY LEWIS AGAINST ALL ODDS, on sale May 22, 2012!



Tuesday
May082012

Charlie Joe Jackson's Guide to Paperbacks

So my first book, CHARLIE JOE JACKSON'S GUIDE TO NOT READING, comes out in paperback today. This is a very good thing. Paperback books are cool because they're almost not books. They're almost magazines, which are way better than books. Some of the thinner ones almost feel like comic books, which are way WAY better than actual books.

Another good thing about reading a paperback is that if you have decent-sized pockets, it will fit right inside. That way, no one has to know you're walking around with a book. (If you're anything like me, you have a reputation to protect.)

But the best thing about paperbacks is that they're less expensive than regular books. Because as we all know, the less money you spend reading, the better.

There is one bad thing about my paperback, though. There's an excerpt from my second book, CHARLIE JOE JACKSON'S GUIDE TO EXTRA CREDIT, at the end. That means more reading for you. I want to go on record as saying I had nothing to do with that decision.

I hope you enjoy the paperback edition of my book. And I hope your pockets are big.

--CJJ

Friday
May042012

STRUCK Blog Tour

Struck by Jennifer Bosworth kicks off our Fierce Reads campaign.

Be sure to check out all the stops on the Struck Blog Tour and find out more about the author and the book!

Monday 5/7                       http://www.wastepaperprose.com/

Tuesday 5/8                      http://foreveryoungadult.blogspot.com/

Wednesday 5/9                 http://www.intothehallofbooks.com/

Thursday 5/10                  http://musingsfromatoz.blogspot.com/

Friday 5/11                      http://www.moonlightbookreviews.com/

Saturday 5/12                  http://www.oneminutebooks.blogspot.com/

Sunday 5/13                    http://christinareadsya.blogspot.com/

Monday 5/14                    http://www.goodbooksandgoodwine.com/

Tuesday 5/15                   http://www.bookswithbite.net/

Wednesday 5/16              http://bewitchedbookworms.com/

Thursday 5/17                  http://www.annareads.com/

Friday 5/18                      http://bookaddictdiary.blogspot.com/

Saturday 5/19                  http://fromthetbrpile.blogspot.com/

 

Monday
Apr162012

Working with an Obstinate Pen

From Frank Dormer, author/illustrator of The Obstinate Pen

Creating characters for a picture book for me is a lot like when I would erase the eyes in old magazine photos and draw in my own. I was looking to laugh. It was an early attempt to humor myself.

When the story of the Obstinate Pen popped into my head, the story was so twisted I knew the characters had to be just as bent. I work in the downstairs of my house in a small room we affectionately call ‘the hubble.’

 

I use only one Pen, but have many others for inspirational doodles that I like to make. Just don’t tell THE PEN, as I would never be able to get the ink off the walls.

Without this item most illustrators would be VERY isolated.

Frog and Toad are reminders of my love of Arnold Lobel. I also buy books like kids eat Pez…

I can proudly say that I built the shelves the books are on. Below and to the left in the photograph is an old telephone that my grandfather turned into a lamp. It has my grandmother’s initials on it and I used it as a book reading light when I would visit her as a child.

I also have a board up for keeping track of drawings for books.

I thought I might draw one of the characters for you, Uncle Flood. The Pen doesn’t seem to be here at the moment, so I think we will get through this without any trouble.

First up is the shape of the head. For Flood I wanted something that suggested that he is self-important. He thinks he is very powerful even though no one even likes him. So I thought of a oval with a flat top, and a VERY snooty nose.

Then I added eyes, close together, and a drawn-down mouth.

And then I add the hair, like two twisted dinner rolls on either side of his face, and a sweater and jacket.

At this point I take a break and go do the laundry or sort toys. That gives the ink time to dry.

Then I return and……

PEN!!!

I just can’t win. Sigh.

Frank Dormer is the author/illustrator of Socksquatch, and The Obstinate Pen.  Visit his blog at: frankwdormer.blogspot.com

The Obstinate Pen was recently reviewed in the New York Times Book Review, saying that "[i]n telling the clever story of a pen with a mind of its own, Dormer bridges the gap between youthful precocity and adult sophistication, and makes a very good point about artistic inspiration along the way."