Authors, Kai Strand & LA Dragoni

I’m visiting with Nancy Stewart on her blog . Please stop in to chat. We’d love to have you. Nancy is quite charming and rather smart so she puts together a good interview. A reminder that I’m giving away a copy of The Weaver over on Mymcbooks blog . Read the lovely review first and then leave a comment about it to be entered. Simple! Tomorrow is February 1 st and I will be kicking off a month long series of posts. We are going to Share The Love all month long with myriads of guest bloggers stopping in. I’m so excited to be hosting these lovely and generous people. Plus, this is a completely different direction for my blog to take. I have no idea what to expect, but I really hope you all enjoy it and stop in daily to visit with the newest guest. Random facts: I logged 24 walking workouts for a total of 76.87 miles in January. In a year and a half I’ve logged more than 1100 miles. I’m on my third pair of shoes and I’ve used countless bandages on my toes. What’s yo...

There is a book review with a GIVEAWAY at Mymcbooks . Don't miss out on a chance to win The Weaver. Another great year of reading! Total number of books read in 2011 = 77. Slighty more than last year. I can’t thank my family enough for all the time they endure of me reading.  Still looking for that gift of a speed-reading course.  2011 I fell in crush with the writing of Cassandra Clare with her Mortal Instruments series. I was wowed by self published books by authors, Susan Kaye Quinn (Open Minds), S.R. Johannes (Untraceable) and P.J. Hoover (Solstice). Sobbed while reading If I Stay by Gayle Forman. Grinned like a loon while reading Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins. But if some terrificly awesome God of Reading were to force me to choose a favorite from the 77, I'd have to say The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater would be the one.  So many of the books I read were enjoyable, or entertaining, or emotional o...

Three Times a Charm is a weekly feature that spotlights authors, illustrators, bloggers, agents, editors or promoters from the publishing industry. This week author, Darlene Foser, joins us. Darlene, tell us about you. I am a writer of children’s stories, an employment counselor, an ESL teacher, a wife, mother and grandmother. I love travel, reading, shoes, cooking, sewing, music, chocolate, walking on the beach and making new friends.   My grandson calls me “super-mega-woman-supreme”.   I was brought up on a ranch near Medicine Hat, Alberta, where I dreamt of traveling the world and meeting interesting people.   I live on the beautiful west coast of BC with my husband Paul and our two black cats, Pumpkin and Monkey.   I have had two children’s travel/adventure books published and am currently working on the third in the series. Tell us more about your series! Amanda in Arabia – The Perfume Flask is my first published novel. Amanda Ross is an ...

As George Lucas fans enjoy the long awaited premiere of "Red Tails", movie goers have the opportunity to share the legacy of the Tuskegee Airmen with their kids and grandkids through children's picture book, "Chasing the Spirit of Service." Written by author Kristen Zajac and illustrated by Julie Tucker, this book was the recipient of the 2011 Global eBook Award in Multicultural Fiction and was featured in the 2012 Tampa Bay Black History Festival at the Glazer Children's Museum. Released by Guardian Angel Publishing, the book is an educational resource for parents, teachers, and history enthusiasts who wish to share the inspirational story of America's first African American pilots in World War II with young readers. * Synopsis of the movie Red Tails : 1944. As the war in Europe continues to take its toll on Allied forces, the Pentagon brass has no recourse but to consider unorthodox options -- including the untried and untested African-American p...

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 my fellow GAP author, Nancy Stewart. Nancy, tell us about yourself. I am the author of the four Bella and Britt Series books for children:   One Pelican at a Time (eighteen weeks on Amazon Bestselling List), Sea Turtle Summer , (Amazon Bestseller for Children and on Amazon Hot New Releases), Bella Saves the Beach and Mystery at Manatee Key. All are/will be published by Guardian Angel Publishing. I was featured in the PBS Tampa (WEDU) series, Gulfwatch.   It concerned the writing of One Pelican at a Time:   A Story of the Gulf Oil Spill. Pelican won a Literary Classics Seal of Approval was nominated for a Global eBook Award. My travels take me extensively throughout the world, most particularly Africa. I am the US chair of a charity in Lamu, Kenya, that places girls in intermediate...

I'm looking for 29 people to guest post on my blog in February. The month long theme is Share The Love, but I’ve assigned a related subject to each week. Guests choose a subject they like and write one post for it. Writers, bloggers, agents, editors, public relations peeps, anyone related to (any genre of) writing. Respond fast for best choice of subject. EMAIL me please! kaistrand at yahoo dot com.

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 author, Ivy Smith. I’m rarely lucky enough to meet my guests in person, but Ivy and I and our husbands spent a day together at a book signing in November (The Oregon Book Fair). I’m so thrilled to have her visit SoT because I know how charming she is and how wonderful her books are. Ivy, tell us what you are all about. My name is Ivy Smith. I've always loved to read, and you can usually find me reading several books at a time. I have two children and four grandchildren. I've worked at many diverse jobs, from librarian to animal handler. When I worked as an animal handler I observed and took care of animals in their enclosures. I felt a close bond to these animals and I wondered how they felt about their lives. When I wrote my stories I wrote what I thought the animals might be experiencing. ...

If you would like a signed bookplate for your copy of The Weaver , all you have to do is share the link to this post from my Facebook page ( Kai Strand, Author ) on your own page or profile. Then send me an email at kaistrand at yahoo dot com and tell me who to personalize the signature to and where to mail it. It’s that simple. I’ll mail out your bookplate and throw in a bookmark. Thanks for your support. Keep loving books! Kai

Welcome to the New Year! 2012 is full of potential and promise. Will we ferret out all the opportunity? Will we recognize a break when it’s staring us in the face? Keep your eyes and ears open. And be sure to read my weekly feature Three Times A Charm in case my guest is your opportunity or your next break. Three Times a Charm is a weekly feature that spotlights authors, illustrators, bloggers, agents, editors or promoters from the publishing industry. I’m excited to welcome my fellow Guardian Angel Publishing author, Donna McDine this week. She is here to tell us about a new service she’s offering. I suggest you listen. She knows what she’s talking about. Donna, tell us about yourself. I am an award-winning children's author, Honorable Mention in the 77th and two Honorable Mentions in the 78 th Annual Writer’s Digest Writing Competitions, Preditors & Editors Readers Poll 2010 Top Ten Children’s Books, Global eBook Awards Finalist Children’s Picture Book Ficti...