Authors, Kai Strand & LA Dragoni

Three Times a Charm is a weekly feature that spotlights authors, illustrators, bloggers, agents, editors or promoters from children's publishing. This week we are joined by Kelly Hashway, author of May the Best Dog Win . Here is more about Kelly:   Kelly Hashway writes short stories and books for children of all ages. Kelly’s debut picture book, May the Best Dog Win , released April 30, 2011 through FutureWord Publishing, and she recently signed a contract with Guardian Angel Publishing for her second picture book. Her middle grade and young adult works are represented by Lauren Hammond of ADA Management. Wow, Kelly, it sounds like you are on fire! Tell us about your current title. May the Best Dog Win is the story of Dash, a mixed breed dog who has the perfect life until the Super Sweeper 5000 shows up on his doorstep. Sweeper runs all over the house sucking up the leftover food scraps, and he even gets his own room! But Dash won’t give up his place as the favorite dog w...

It is like a hunger that won’t be satiated. A thirst that won’t be quenched. It seems like I drink and drink only to feel more parched. You know that mosquito bite on the arch of your foot? The one you scratch until it’s raw, but still itches? It’s like that. It feels like the need is eating away inside me and leaving a growing hollowness, like a big dying tree. What is it? Come on, you’re a writer, you know. The continual need to be published. The overwhelming desire to hear, “Yes, I want to publish this.” The satisfying validation that your work is good enough for someone to invest time and money into so that the world can enjoy it too. The comfort that only comes when you know your material is being read by the all-important READER! Apparently having all day to write, research, submit doesn’t sate that hunger. Perhaps I’m in a transition period and the empty inbox at the end of the day won’t always inspire the crushing thought “I didn’t accomplish anything today.” Perhaps it is t...

Today I am pleased to host Linda Valderrama and her book, Brush Barry Brush, as part of her World of Ink Book Tour. Linda Valderrama R.D.H. has over 25 years experience as a dental hygienist. She has treated patients from ages two to one hundred years old and has successfully developed preventative oral hygiene programs tailored to individual needs. Linda is a strong believer that good oral hygiene habits lead to good overall health and that these daily habits must be acquired early in life. She is working towards developing programs for schools, assisted living facilities and healthcare institutions to enable them to offer more effective oral hygiene programs. I asked Linda some questions about her and her book, Brush Barry Brush. Kai: What age range is Brush Barry Brush for?    Linda: The age range is for children 3-6 yrs old. Kai: Can you share a memory of yours or a story of you from when you were within this age range? Linda: I always had good exper...

Livejournal reader, Kelly Hashway won the pdf copy of ALEX from Dianne Hartsock! Congrats Kelly!!! Enjoy the book. Thanks everybody for sharing your favorite authors with us.

Three Times a Charm is a weekly feature that spotlights authors, illustrators, bloggers, agents, editors or promoters from the publishing industry. This week it is SUPER exciting for me to welcome my wonderful sister-in-law, Dianne Hartsock, to Strands of Thought. Dianne is offering a giveaway to early birds, see info at the end of the interview. Dianne, of course I know absolutely everything about you, but our readers don’t, can you tell us a little about yourself? I live in the beautiful Willamette Valley of Oregon with my incredibly patient husband, who puts up with the endless hours I spend hunched over the keyboard letting my characters play. Currently, I work as a floral designer in a locally-owned gift shop. Which really is the perfect job for me. When not writing, I can express myself through the rich colors and textures of flowers and foliage. Dianne, you’ve just had a novel released. Can you tell us about it? With ALEX, I wanted to take a different approach than the usual...

Three Times a Charm is a weekly feature that spotlights authors, illustrators, bloggers, agents, editors or promoters from the children’s publishing industry. This week I’m thrilled to welcome VS Grenier. Virginia does so much for the world of children’s literature; I feel it is such a small, small thing to have her here on Strands of Thought. Here’s more on Virginia: VS Grenier is an award-winning children's author, founder & owner of Stories for Children Publishing, LLC ., award-winning editor-in-chief of Stories for Children Magazine and chief editor for Halo Publishing, Int ., and also, the host of blog talk radio’s World of Ink Network shows Stories for Children, SFC Magazine News and The Writing Mama at http://blogtalkradio.com/worldofinknetwork each week. When she isn't busy talking with authors and illustrators on her radio shows, working for Stories for Children or Halo Publishing and spending time with her children, VS Grenier is...

Recent Reads Oh. My. Gods. by Tera Lynn Childs– humble rating: Golf Clap –Fun read. There were a few times I raised an eyebrow at the improbability of circumstances. But when I chose to view the book as a light, fun read, that ceased to needle me. Dark Mirror by M.J. Putney – humble rating: Golf Clap – I was surprised at how the author seemed to talk down to the reader, often over explaining or telling instead of showing. I wasn’t crazy about the time travel aspect in this story. Maybe I was just starting to relate to cast of characters and wasn’t up to the task of starting again. Just didn’t work enough for me. Liked the magic though. Very well developed. Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly - humble rating: Golf Clap++ – This story was woven together so well. I loved the history and the music elements. Really great story. Solstice by PJ Hoover - humble rating: Motivational Speaker – I am so excited to report that I really, really enjoyed this book! The story...