Teaser Tuesday (10)

Here is another Teaser Tuesday from my WIP "The Protected Bloodlines" Enjoy!!! :)

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The boys laughed as they applauded Yuli’s reenactment of Batu saving his stampeding herd. Yuli bowed then laughed.

“But what is truly amazing is that he actually forgot his shantel. I did not know you ever took it off,” Yuli said.

“Well, that’s just it,” Batu said shaking his head, “I don’t remember taking it off. Lately though, I have had this feeling of…” he paused as two changeling guards walked by.

“What’s wrong,” Yuli asked becoming more serious.

“I just feel that I’m being watched,” Batu answered.

Baseet and Unis smiled.

“But you are being watched,” Baseet said. He passed his and over Batu’s shantel. It responded to the young Mat’hool’s touch. “It is the job of your guardian to always watch over you.”

“I know, Batu said, “but this feeling is different, I can’t explain it. Neither can I explain why I wasn’t wearing it when I left.” 

Perfect Picture Book Friday: One of Us by Peggy Moss

Title: One of Us

Author: Peggy Moss

Publisher: Tilbury House

Theme/Topic:  Identity, Being Yourself, Cliques

Grade: 2-6

Summary: 

"You are one of us," Carmen tells Roberta on her first day at a new school. 

Roberta gladly sits with the rest of the straight-up-hair girls-until she hears they don't play on the monkey bars. Roberta loves the monkey bars and leaps at the chance to swing with the monkey-bar posse, until she hears they don't carry flowered lunch boxes like she does. Roberta moves from group to group, just trying to be herself, until it seems she doesn't fit in anywhere. Then Roberta discovers some kids just like her-everyone's different and they like it that way! 

In a society plagued by the need to fit in at all costs, One of Us features a plucky youngster with the courage to be who she is and the charisma to help others assert their individuality.   

Resources:

These activities can be found at the publisher website:

Activity: What Cliques Do You Know?

Activity: Who Are You/What Are You?

Activity: Ideal Community

Activity: Rodney's Flowers

Why I Like This Book:

I really liked this book because I was once just like Roberta, new kid at a new school. Fitting in was very important to me because I was different. I was the only Muslim kid in my small town school. This book is full of humor but effectively touches on the subject of peer pressure and just what can be lost when we try to fit in and shut others out. This book is PERFECT for use at home and in the classroom. Children can easily identify with Roberta. I also love that the illustrations captures a diverse range of children, children of different ethnicities, and physical abilities. 

Author Interview and Book Giveaway: Dark Life by Kat Falls

Happy Thursday everyone!! Welcome to another author interview. Today I would like to introduce Kat Falls, author of Dark Life and Rip Tide. I read this book recently and just fell in love with it. It is a middle grade novel that is highly entertaining :) I am excited that Ms Falls is here today to tell us more about her book, Dark Life.

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

I live in Evanston, Illinois with my husband and three kids. We have a dog, two cats, a guinea pig and a snake. (I love animals and have a hard time saying no every time one of my kids wants another pet.) I grew up in Maryland, lived in New York State for a while – the Albany area for college and then NYC after I graduated. I moved to Evanston to go to grad school at Northwestern and fell in love with Chicago so I decided to stay here. I love to grow vegetables in my garden and love books & movies. My favorite TV shows are Supernatural, True Blood, Mad Men, and Project Runway.


How long did it take you to write Dark Life?

About 18 months, including all the revisions. Once it sold to Scholastic, however, I worked on it another six months with my editor.

Who is you favorite character in Dark Life? Personally, I love Zoe. She is such an electrifying little character ;) not to mention a little spunky! She reminds me of my little sister :D

I truly do love them all, but the dangerous characters are the most fun for me to write – namely Shade, Pretty and Zoe. Oh, and I loved writing Hewitt. Getting into his perspective always made me laugh.

What was the research stage of your novel like? What was the most interesting/odd thing you found out during your research?

I had to cut myself off on a regular basis. I’d get on the Internet to find the answer to one small question and two hours would zip by without my noticing. There’s just so much to learn about the ocean! I read up on everything from marine life and subsea geography to future technology. Every creature mentioned in Dark Life and Rip Tide is real and can be found in the ocean today.

When I was working on Rip Tide, I was appalled to learn about the giant trash gyre in the Pacific, which is as big as Texas. That sent shudders down my spine and I knew I had to find a way to work it into the story. Also, learning how many offshore oilrigs there are along America’s coasts was an eye-opener. I had fun thinking up what we could do with those oil platforms if we stopped drilling for oil.

How did you come up with the title, "Dark Life"?

I came across that phrase when I was doing research on deep-sea creatures. It’s what scientists call bacteria that can live without sunlight. I figured it would work as a derogative term for Topsiders to call the subsea settlers. It wasn’t until I finished the manuscript that I realized it would make a good book title. The title for Rip Tide also got pulled from the manuscript after I was finished writing.

You mentioned you wrote with your children in mind, have they read Dark Life? And, what do they think about it?

All 3 of my kids have read both books. My oldest son, Declan, read them as first drafts and made notes in the margins, which was very helpful. I just read your question aloud to my other two, Vivienne and Connor, and their response was that they like Rip Tide better… so there you go.

Are you currently working on a project?

I’m working on a new book right now. It’s called The Fetch and is the first book in a YA scifi-adventure trilogy, which will come out January 2013.

How do you market your book(s)?

My publisher does a lot of the marketing. I also have my website, http://www.katfalls.com, Facebook and Twitter. In addition, I go to schools and libraries to do readings and to answer questions about my books.

What books have influenced you most?

When I was young I loved books by Ira Levin (Boys from Brazil, Rosemary’s Baby) and Jack Finney (Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Time and Again) and admired their lean writing styles, which serviced the story, not the other way around. I tried to keep my writing as simple and clear for the same reason, to keep the story front and center.

What new author has grasped your interest?

I’ve read a lot of good books this year, but I have to say my absolute favorite was “Under the Never Sky” by debut author Veronica Rossi.

Writing Prompt: Dark Prison

Write a 200 word description of a place. You can use any and all sensory descriptions but sight: you can describe what it feels like, sounds like, smells like and even tastes like. Try to write the description in such a way that people will not miss the visual details.

Here is what I got: 

My head hurts. I can't see. I realize my eyes are closed. I open them; but I'm still shrouded in darkness. Fear sweeps across me. I try to sit up but fall back, my head dizzy and throbbing. I take a deep breath then cough. The air's thick, moist, and warm. It smells of grass and earth. I turn over. My face rests on a soft, fuzzy surface. The scent's even stronger. I can almost taste it. I grope with my hands. Just as I thought, damp, compacted dirt and patches of moss? God, I hope it's moss - not mold! I push up onto my hands and knees and groan. My voice comes back to my ears quick and solid. I feel around and soon find a wall. It's soft and spongy like a cork. I walk the circumference of the room, twenty paces. No door. My heart pounds in my chest. I close my eyes pressing my back against the wall, breathing, calming a panic attack. My ears pick up a sound. The wind howls just outside. A faint breeze touches my cheeks - brief relief from the dank air. Where there's a breeze, there's a way out!

Tuesday Tunes: The Memory of Trees by Enya

Giveaway Winners!!!!!

This post will celebrate a couple of giveaways that I have held recently and have just now been able to address.

and the winners are........................

1. Dreaming of Books Giveaway Hop: $10 Amazon Gift Card


Brittney House


2. Author Interview & Book Giveaway: Being Human by Patricia Lynne


Lisa Walker


3. A New Kind of Cookbook: Serving Up Faith with recipes by yours truly included:)


Karlene
&
Karen Strong


Congratulations to all the winners. Please look for an email from me :)