I'm Late! I'm Late for a Very Important Date....(Age is getting to me.)

I'm so sorry about the lateness of my post. My birthday (12/6) zoomed by and then BAM we are in the Christmas season. I (hangs head in shame) forgot to pick a winner. So as a bonus the winner will get a book mark.

And the winner is: Munir!!!!! (Please email me your address.)

If you would like to find more of Tess Hilmo's amazing books check them out here!

I'm totally distracted, so I'm going to log off until the 2017!  I wish you the most joyous holiday and that you and your family will be safe, healthy, and happy!

Love and hugs from Sharon

Tess Hilmo, Amy Allgeyer, Terry Lynn Johnson and me...Plus Holiday Safety and Skies Like These Book Giveaway!

Tess Hilmo

Amy Allgeyer

 

Terry Lynn Johnson

What do these three writers have in common? Me! I know they have more than that in common....They are all amazing writers and each one worthy of you buying and reading their books. All of them write books that make you stay awake wanting to finish reading them...even if it takes you all night. So as you get ready to do some holiday shopping remember books are a wonderful gift!

Tess Hilmo just released her third MG book! 

Newly Released!

Awards:

Skies Like These was short listed for the Spur Award and made a few state lists as well

Awards:

With a Name Like Love was on the School Library Journal Best Books of 2011 List, and Booklists' 'Top 10 Historical Reads for Teens' list and a few state lists (Maine, No. Carolina, Utah and a few others) and also won the Rodda Award (which is the National Church and Synagogue Assoc Literature Award) and two Whitney Awards.

All are available on Amazon. You can click over and follow her on Amazon! I did!

Awards:

Won the Gold Medal for YA Fiction in the Moonbeams Children's Book Awards.

Won First Place YA in the Idaho Author Awards.

You can do the same thing for Amy! I did!

Awards:

• 2015 Children's Choice Book Award Finalist
• 2014 Cybils Award Finalist
• A Junior Library Guild Selection
• American Booksellers Association Best Children's Books of 2014
• A Scholastic Book Fairs Selection 2014
• Canadian Children's Book Centre Best Books for Kids 2014
• Int'l Literacy Association—CBC Children's Choices 2015
• International Reading Association—Terrific Read Alouds
• Black-Eyed Susan Book Award—Maryland 2015-2016
• Maine Student Book Award—Maine 2015-2016
• Dorothy Canfield Fisher Book Award—Vermont 2015-2016

I followed Terry too! And so can you!

Did you know your reviews on Amazon and Barnes and Nobel and even Goodreads make a difference to authors? At a recent critique group session one very published writer said you hope to have at least fifty reviews on each of your books.

SOOOOOO....

If you like someone's work, let the world know!

The Lovely Tess Hilmo gave me a copy of SKIES LIKE THESE  to give away to one lucky reader. I will announce the winner (chosen by random.org) on December 6th. To enter leave a comment on this post. (Please tweet if you have time...These are wonderful writers!)

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Holiday safety:

(Tis the season to get scammed!)

Keep an eye on your doorstep! Don't let packages you are expecting walk off with strangers!

Know your charities! Only give to known charities. That person on the corner with an apron on may be scamming you.

Watch out for malware e-cards! Be careful what you open in email....you could get something you don't want downloaded. Use your virus protection!

Use caution on giveaways and raffles! Don't give away personal information or your mobile phone number! Only sign up for things that are through reputable organizations.

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BE HAPPY! BE SAFE! AND BE KIND!!!

(See you back on December 6th to find out if you are the winner.)

THE WHITE ASSASSIN WICKED AWESOME BLOG TOUR! (a winner & a drawing)

If you love reading or writing mid grade novels and you don't know Hilary Wagner you are missing out on something special!  Hilary writes epicly beautiful stories about rats.  How could a story about rats be epic?  Hilary is a master writer.  Her words are beautiful.  She wraps you up in the story and the characters lives.  She causes you to love or hate with your whole heart.  (I'm really seeing a movie in her future...)

 In book one, Nightshade City I fell in love with Vincent, Victor and Clover.  I even fell in love with Billycan one of the evil doers.  Once you open the first page of this book you won't want to put it down.  You'll be fully immersed in Nightshade City and entranced by all the characters.  But then the book ends...And you'll be sad...because you want more.

Thankfully, Hilary is willing to give us more!  The White Assassin leaves off right where Nightshade City ends....but be ready to not put this book down until you are finished reading it.  There are twists and turns and new (creature) characters introduced and some old ones creep out of the catacombs.....This is a book you will not be able to put down.  I know The White Assassin has just been released, but I'm desperate for the next book already!  (hint hint hint Holiday House Publishers)

Christmas is just around the corner...if you have any 8-12 year olds on your shopping list Nightshade City and The White Assassin would be awesome gifts for them.  Kids who read do better in school.  Hilary is cranking out more books as we speak...So the lucky kids who get hooked on Hilary will have many books to read in the future.  (Still thinking there's going to be a movie...hint hint hint MZ)

Here's the official information...

The White Assassin
Book II of the Nightshade Chronicles
by Hilary Wagner

Publisher: Holiday House

Pub Date: October 2^nd, 2011
ISBN: 9780823423330

Ages: 9 up

Official Website: www.nightshadecity.com

Blog: www.hilarywagner.blogspot.com

About the THE WHITE ASSASSIN:

Book II in the Nightshade Chronicles begins three years after Juniper and his rebel band of rats liberate the Catacombs and defeat their oppressors.

A sense of peace has settled over Nightshade City, but it is a false one. Billycan, the white assassin, has been found. Deep in the southern swamps, he now rules a primitive horde of savage swamp rats eager to overrun Nightshade City and claim it for their king. With the help of an ancient colony of bats and an uneasy alliance with the swamp snakes, Juniper and his Council set out to thwart Billycan’s plans. When an old secret is revealed—one so shocking it shakes both Billycan and Juniper to the core—the fate of Nightshade City and the life of Juniper’s only son depend on Juniper’s decision: should he help his mortal enemy? The past resurfaces with devastating impact in this exciting sequel toNightshade City, a dark tale of intrigue, deception, and betrayal.

Nightshade City, Book I of the Nightshade Chronicles is a CBC Best Book of 2011 and a Crystal Kite finalist.

I'll be giving away two The White Assassin bookmarks to two lucky readers...All you have to do is be a follower and a follower of Hilary's blog and leave a comment here. (I'll announce the winners on November 1st.)

Drum roll.....

The winner of Tess Hilmo's book With A Name Like Love is:

SA Larsen

The following readers won With A Name Like Love Bookmarks:

Shelby

Stina Lindenblatt

Ms Hatch

Jemi Fraser

Melissa Sugar

Mary Mary

Please email me at sharon k mayhew at gmail dot com with your address.

Have a wonderful week and be sure to pick up a copy of The White Assassin and With A Name Like Love...You won't regret spending the money for them.   

OMGoodness!  I just won a copy of Open Minds from the Awesome Susan Kaye Quinn.  FYI: Friday she is going to post the first chapter to this awesome sounding book...

Do you collect bookmarks? or do you use them?  I love bookmarks!  I buy the as souvenirs...

With A Name Like Love...(give-a-way)

This beautiful woman is Tess Hilmo.  Do you know Tess?  She writes the most thoughtful blog posts and is one of my critique partners.  We met at the Highlights Foundation Summer Workshop in Chautauqua, New York in 2008.  We immediately connected.

When I grow up I want to write like Tess... (I'm hoping that happens really soon.)  I've had the privilege of reading her beautiful words before she was signed by Steve Chudney and sold her first book.  It's been an honor to be one of her critique partners. (*waves to the rest of the WAD*)

This beautiful hardback book is now available.  

You can get it on Amazon or at B & N.  

(B& N has an outstanding price on it!)

While I was in England my copy of With A Name Like Love arrived.  I was so excited!  Any time one of your writing friends has success, it's like you have a little success and a lot more hope for your own success.

I mentioned to Tess that I would like to do a post about WITH A NAME LIKE LOVE and she said she'd like to donate a copy for a drawing (U.S. only).   She also sent me 6 beautiful bookmarks to give away (everyone is eligible).  To win,  follow Tess and leave a comment here.  I would love it if you would Tweet or post on Facebook about the give-a-way (I have those handy little buttons at the bottom on my posts.)...I want everyone to know about WITH A NAME LIKE LOVE!

Here's what Kirkus said about WITH A NAME LIKE LOVE  when it gave it a starred review...

Kirkus gives With A Name Like Love a starred review!

Hilmo creates a family, a town and a mystery that readers won’t soon forget.

In July of 1957, the Love family rolls into the tiny town of Binder, Ark. Reverend Everlasting Love, his wife Susanna and their daughters Olivene (called Ollie), Martha, Gwen, Camille and Ellen set up camp so Reverend Love can preach for three evenings before they load it all up again and head to the next small town down the road. Such is the life of an itinerant preacher’s family. But there is something different about Binder, Ark., something strange enough to cause the family to stay a while longer. Ollie meets a boy named Jimmy, whose mother is in jail for killing his brutish father. Jimmy insists she didn’t do it, but everyone else in town is convinced she did. Poor Jimmy could certainly use a friend. The Love family, particularly Ollie, cannot abide the injustice, but what can they possibly do to help? And just how long will they stay in Binder, anyway? There is, after all, a boarded-up church in the center of town needing a preacher, and Ollie, for one, would sure love to stay put for a good long while. Hilmo relishes her small-town setting and develops her characters with affection. Readers will become caught up in events as firmly as Ollie is.


A story about the meaning of home, justice and love, beautifully told. (Historical fiction. 9-12)

(Big smile!) 


 I hope you will hop over and check out Tess here and here...then wait until October 24th to see if you won a copy of WITH A NAME LIKE LOVE or a bookmark...then...if you didn't win click here or here to buy your own copy.  You won't regret it!

Good Things Can Happen...and Query Quandary

I'm so excited for my dear friend, Tess Hilmo!  Her book With A Name Like Love comes out in September.  But that's not even the best part of it...With A Name Like Love got a starred review from Kirkus.  A starred review means  they think Tess's book has remarkable merit.  I knew it the first time she shared her work with the Wad.  Tess has a beautiful voice...on paper and in real life.  I hope you will check out her awesome review and buy her book when it comes out.  I preordered my copy last week.    If you don't know Tess please hop over to her blog and her website to check her out.  You won't be disappointed! 

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I have a couple query questions for you guys?  I'm about to query several picture book manuscripts...

• Do you submit to publishers, agents, or both at the same time?
• Do you do simultaneous submissions?
• Do you tell everyone you query that it is a simultaneous submission?
• Are you querying anything right now?  How's it going?

Any advice is welcome... 

Thanks everyone and have a wonderful weekend! 

The ABC's of A Good Friend... "O"

" SIT"

" LAY DOWN"

"GO TO SLEEP"

It's day 15 of Arlee Bird's A-Z Challenge! Since I write for younger children and we're doing the ABC's, I thought I'd do The ABC's of A Good Friend (and throw in a few random pictures, because I have a bit of a camera habit).

Obedience is a great quality in a friend , I mean a dog.  I love how Macy almost always does as she's told, but that's not really a quality you want in a friend. Is it?  You want your friends to be independent thinkers and to question you at times.

My real word for today is "Optimist."  Having a friend who is optimistic is so important.  They will help you when you are down on yourself for what ever reason.  They will pump you up.  They'll encourage you to see the good in the last rejection letter you got.  Optimistic friends know that every rejection is one step closer to an acceptance.  Am I right guys???  (Everyone shouts, Yes, Sharon!)

When has an optimistic friend gotten you through a hard time? 

My good friend Tess Hilmo (whose book With A Name Like Love is coming out soon) really helped me when I moved.  She told me, "You can do this, Sharon."  It was a simple sentence, but I fall back on it all of time and I may have said it to some of you when you were down or struggling.  It's a powerful sentence and it continues to get me through.... (hugs to Tess!)

~O~

The ABC's of A Good Friend... "J"

Every time this photo pops up on my screen saver I feel joyful.  Do you see those little windows?  The WAD met there and critiqued our manuscripts when we were at Chautauqua at the Highlights Summer Workshop in 2008.    It was a special time...You may already know some of the WAD.  Amy Allgeyer Cook, Tess Hilmo and Susan Fields all blog.  Diana Calio, Kim Sebastian, and Rhonda Roberts don't blog, but you might have seen their names in Highlights.  Heidi Schmidt doesn't blog either, she has one picture book and is an AMAZING artist...you can check out her flicker page.

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Today's day 10 of Arlee Bird's A-Z Challenge! Since I write for younger children and we're doing the ABC's, I thought I'd do The ABC's of A Good Friend (and throw in a few random pictures, because I have a bit of a camera habit).

~J~

Friends bring you JOY!  You bring them JOY, too!  Some friends fill your heart with joy...you feel full when you are around them.  I hope you have lots of friends like that.

Do you have a joyful memory that you'd like to share?  Can you think of any other "J" words that describe a characteristic in a friend?