Congratulations to Susan Rice who won One Red Sock on last week's blog. REVIEW I'm a pretty big Avi fan, so when I found The End of the World and Beyond in the Recorded Books catalog, I knew it was a book I'd want to pass along. (I heard Avi speak at the SC Reading Association conference… Continue reading The End of the World and Beyond by Avi: A Review and Audiobook Giveaway
Congratulations to Linda Townsend and Barbara Younger for winning copies of Run to the Light from last week's blog. Eileen Heyes, a North Carolina author and writing instructor, sent me these two companion books. Based on her father's stories about his life in the movies during the depression, these books will appeal to readers in… Continue reading Two O'Dwyer and Grady Books and One Giveaway
Congratulations to Clara Gillow Clark and Dorothy Price who won the downloadable version of Eyes on the Prize from last week's blog. The night that I stayed up late to finish reading Joyce Hostetter's fourth book in the Bakers Mountain Stories series, DRIVE (Calkins Creek, 2018), I texted Joyce: "This is going to be a hard book to… Continue reading DRIVE: A Review and Two Giveaways!
I am honored to share the cover reveal for DRIVE, Joyce Hostetter's newest middle grade book that will be released in September by Calkins Creek. In this interview she gives you a glimpse of the backstory behind the latest in the Bakers Mountain Stories as well as the nitty gritty research she did. Take it away, Joyce!… Continue reading You Heard it Here First: Cover Reveal for DRIVE by Joyce Hostetter
Congratulations to Connie Saunders and Jennifer Ervin for winning FIRST TIMES from last week's blog. As promised last week, Alan Gratz has returned to share some of the intricate process of writing his middle grade novel, REFUGEE. Alan autographing a copy of REFUGEE for the Cousins Club. INTERVIEW CAROL: How much time did you spend researching REFUGEE? Was that… Continue reading Behind the Scenes of REFUGEE: An Interview with Alan Gratz and Giveaway-Part II
As promised last week, here is my follow up interview with Kathy Wiechman, author of NOT ON FIFTH STREET. CAROL: Just like in LIKE A RIVER, you wrote NOT ON FIFTH STREET from two points of view. What led to that decision? KATHY: NOT ON FIFTH STREET is about a rift between two brothers. When I… Continue reading Not On Fifth Street: An Interview with Kathy Cannon Wiechman
Congratulations to Jessica Jacobson, a new blog subscriber, who won SOLDIER BOYS from last week's blog. When Alan Gratz, a prolific NC author, presented a workshop at SCBWI-Carolinas in 2010 on Plot and Pacing, my blog was only a few years old and I was learning how to review books. Fast forward to 2016, and I've… Continue reading Liberty: A Review with a Focus on Writing Craft