Authors, Kai Strand & LA Dragoni

Three Times a Charm is a weekly feature that spotlights authors, illustrators, bloggers, agents, editors or promoters from the publishing industry. This week I’m honored to welcome the very talented illustrator, Kit Grady. Kit Grady is a full time children’s illustrator and author living in the mountains of Asheville, North Carolina. Her love for drawing animals, nature and children began very early. She continued her passion studying art at Virginia Commonwealth University and later studied under Caldecott winners Uri Shulevitz and Gale Haley.  Her clients include The United Methodist Publishing House/Cokesbury , Kaeden Books , Guardian Angel Publishing and Meegenius.  She is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators . When not writing and illustrating she visits schools and libraries to celebrate the joy of reading. Kit is best known for her bright colors and expressive animals. Wow, you must stay so very busy. What is the latest and greatest...

Three Times a Charm is a weekly feature that spotlights authors, illustrators, bloggers, agents, editors or promoters from the publishing industry. This week children’s author, Nancy Sharpe, who joins us to talk about her newest release, a picture book called, If Wishes Were Fishes. Let’s learn a little about Nancy: N.A. Sharpe was born in Wilmington, Delaware and attended the University of Delaware studying Psychology and Elementary Education.   She is a single mom and currently lives in central Florida with her son and three dogs, Xena (a German Shepherd), NaNu (a Morkie) and Figment (a Yorkie). Throughout high school and college, she volunteered in the elementary school system, and, after receiving her degree, taught autistic and schizophrenic children in a private school in Pennsylvania for five years before moving on to an administrative career.   She has always had a deep rooted love of storytelling and children's literature. This is her first picture book. She has o...

During his formative years, Tal Yanai was not happy with his reality. What he was creating in his life was not in alignment with what he wanted in his heart or what he knew and deeply felt was possible. As a struggling student, he was considered a troublemaker in school. Then one day, during a bike trip from the kibbutz to the sea, he was asked to take charge and make sure none of the other kids lagged behind. For the first time in his life, at age fifteen, Tal got a taste of what it meant to assume responsibility and be a leader. This one experience planted the seed for his goal to assume a leadership role in his later life. After finishing high school, having been raised on Kibbutz, Einat, Israel, he volunteered to serve as a leader in the Kibbutzim Youth Movement, which focused on principles such as volunteering, mutual help, and giving to one’s community and country. In tenth grade he was diagnosed with dyslexia, which explained his learning difficulties but it did little to ea...

They all were (well the ones I participated in) and seriously, if I had the tenacity, I could write a post about each one I lurked over. I learned so very, very much about the idiosyncrasies of the business that I either never knew before or had simply forgotten. Oh my gosh, and the funny! Barbara Poelle and Holly Root somehow managed to have their audience in tears while they educated us on the do and do not of the industry. PLUS: I gained loads of respect for the brilliance of the literary agents who took the time to be involved in the chats. Holy wow, do they know their stuff. I actually think Jennifer Laughran from ABLA might be precognitive. Either that, or the fastest reader/typist in the west. Swear it seemed like she was answering questions before they were posted. Anyway, one chat I sat in on that stirred up the thinkers in my head was with Sara Megibow from Nelson Literary Agency. She talked about traditional publishing verses the ever increasing popularity of self publishi...

Three Times a Charm is a weekly feature that spotlights authors, illustrators, bloggers, agents, editors or promoters from the publishing industry. This week we are joined by a new friend I made over on Google+. I love social media! Neha Garg and I would never have bridged the 5000 mile gap between our cities without the internet. Neha, tell our readers more about yourself. To use the age old cliché, I am IT Manager by day and Writer by night. I live in London UK and work in IT as a day job. At least, that is what I am calling it since I am hoping to have my writing paying the bills soon. When not writing or IT managing, I am trying my hand at cartooning. In addition to being funny, I find that there is something immensely satisfying in blowing up people's noses and giving their bodies exaggerated proportions. Love the visual that evokes! What kind of projects do you have going on right now? I work as a children’s columnist for a UK newspaper called Asian Voice. For now, I am...

I love to read reviews of The Weaver that have been posted on Amazon , Barnes and Noble , and/or Goodreads . So, to entice you to spread The Weaver love, I’m offering to mail an autographed bookplate to anyone who posts a review on any of those sites. Can I just say that I have the coolest bookplates ever?! To claim your coolest bookplate ever prize, just send me an email (kaistrand at yahoo dot com ß of course format that correctly) telling me where you posted your review and your screen name for that site. Include your mailing address and I’ll send an autographed bookplate that you can stick inside your copy of The Weaver – or to your forehead – it’s really up to you.   I’ll even include a bookmark and lots of appreciation. So much appreciation, it might require extra postage. Word of caution: Amazon likes the reviews posted on their site to be unique. So, please be sure to tweak your review a bit if you are posting to another site. Look forward to hearing from you! Tel...

This post is intensely personal. Maybe I shouldn’t even share it. But as a writer it feels so wrong to not write about it. Two weeks ago today, my sister called to say that our mom had passed away. Mom had battled mounting health challenges for a number of years, so I guess in theory our loss shouldn’t be a surprise. Yet it was. It is. It still is. I learned so much from Mom. She didn’t teach me how to cook. Or how to keep house. God knows she tried. She was my go-to guru for all things business. She was a trailblazer; a female in middle management in the earliest days of women’s lib. Savvy and instinctual, she had a sixth sense for all things corporate. She was so smart. She was my number one fan. When I was going through her papers I found all the manuscripts I’d shared with her, printed out and filed. Dog-eared and loved. She read this blog. She bought multiple copies of my book and sent them to friends all over the world. She was so much more. I miss her horribly. I can’t b...

Three Times a Charm is a weekly feature that spotlights authors, illustrators, bloggers, agents, editors or promoters from the publishing industry. This week children’s author, Beverly Stowe McClure, joins us from the deep in the heat of Texas. Beverly, thank you for agreeing to be a part of my weekly feature “Three Times a Charm.”   Thank you, Kai, for inviting me. Beverly has visited Strands of Thought before , but for those who missed that interview, here is a refresher course. When Beverly was a child she hated to read. Even though her eighth grade teacher sent her poem “Stars” to the National High School Poetry Association, and it was published in Young America Sings, an anthology of Texas high school poetry, she hated to write. In spite of her rocky relationship with books, she attended Midwestern State University and graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Education degree. She taught in elementary school for twenty-two years. Reading Dr. Seuss to her sons and...

LaNiyah Bailey is a 6 year old author with a message for children like her – just because you are bigger than other kids, that doesn’t mean that people have the right to bully you. In her debut book, Not FAT Because I Wanna Be , LaNiyah details the struggle of Jessica, a fictional girl who has an underlying medical issue that causes her to gain weight. Bullied by her peers, Jessica learns to accept her body and eventually opens up about her condition to her classmates. LaNiyah is not only speaking to other children through her book, but has become an advocate for anti-bullying organizations. With a message that words can hurt and that not all weight gain is due to an unhealthy lifestyle, LaNiyah hopes her book will enlighten and entertain her young readers. Recently, I asked LaNiyah a few questions about her and her book, Not Fat Because I Wanna Be . Sit back and enjoy this charming interview. Kai: LaNiyah, what age range is your book for? A: It is for ages 3 -10 Kai: What inspi...

Three Times a Charm is a weekly feature that spotlights authors, illustrators, bloggers, agents, editors or promoters from the publishing industry. This week we are joined by young adult author, Kate Ellison. Katie tell us what you are all about. When I'm not writing, I enjoy watching NBC comedy shows, playing video games, and eating ice cream cake. While it’s true that I'm currently working on a zombie novel, don’t let that fool you. I am decidedly Team Unicorn. Katie, you have a great book out called, The Curse Girl. Being a sucker for the classic Beauty and the Beast, I really enjoyed your modern take on it. Talk to us about The Curse Girl. When her father tries to steal magic from the mysterious mansion outside her hometown, seventeen-year-old Bee is the one who becomes a prisoner of the beast who lives there. But the so-called monster, Will, isn't anything like she expected. He's the same age as she is, for one thing. He's also really handsome, contrary ...

Recent Reads City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare – humble rating: Motivational Speaker – I’m not sure how I feel about this installment. The writing is great. The story development is great. As usual. I’m not questioning Miss Clare’s abilities. I’m just not sure I was too crazy about the direction Jace and Alec took. I loved Simon’s growth and even Maia and Jordan’s storyline. But both Jace and Alec seemed so – oh, must I say it?! Wimpy. I’m sure this is part of the overall journey. But I don’t have to like it, do I? Ever by Gail Carson Levine – humble rating: Golf Clap – I don’t quite know how to describe my relationship with this book. I think I felt detached from the story. I wanted to like it more than I did in the end. Good writing, especially of Kezi dancing and making her rugs. Warped by Maurissa Guibord - humble rating: Golf Clap++ – Really well written. Loved the journey and the bad guy (well lady actually) was satisfyingly bad.   The Tota...