Authors, Kai Strand & LA Dragoni

Coming in January from 4RV Publishing: STAR OF THE TEAM by Beverly Stowe McClure A girl. A dream. An accident. A dream shattered.   Ten-year-old Kate Taylor wants to be the star of her basketball team, Angels, but when her tooth is knocked out at one of the games, her goal is in jeopardy. Even though the dentist replants the tooth, her mother, who is also her coach, refuses to let Kate play unless she can come up with a way to protect the tooth.    With the encouragement of her friends and teammates, Kate tries everything. She asks her sister, Zoe, how her boyfriend, Ray, protects his teeth when playing football. Zoe is clueless. Kate wears her friend Simon’s catcher’s mask to practice, but it’s too big and blocks her view of the goal. Kate stuffs cotton balls in her mouth and thinks she’s swallowed one. Nothing works.    To add to Kate’s problems, Emily, the new girl at River Bend Elementary, is great at basketball. Kate worries Emily will be...

My KING OF BAD Standard Virtual Tour comes to an end in just two days. Hurry to enter to win a signed bookmark and a $25 Amazon gift card. You only have through December 20th, so don't delay. Two simple ways to help me spread the news of the tour during these last two days: Visit my Facebook page and click like and/or share on the links to the stops.  Click the social media buttons in the blog posts to post to your Twitter, Google+ or Facebook account. Here are a list of my tour stops: December 2:  Reading In Twilight December 2:  Bunny's Review December 3:  Andi's Young Adult Books December 4:  Welcome to My World of Dreams  December 5:  Dawn's Reading Nook Blog December 6:  Books on Silver Wings December 9:  Long and Short Reviews December 10:  Straight from the Library December 11:  Sandra's Blog December 11:  Writing into the Sunset December 12:  Lisa Haselton's Reviews and Interviews December 13:  ...

The reviews are in, but the giveaway isn't over. However you only have a few days to enter to win a signed bookmark and a $25 Amazon gift card.  November 22:   Love is a Mystery November 29:   Unabridged Andra December 6:   Books in the Hall   December 13:   Dalene's Book Reviews December 13:   The (Mis)Adventures of a Twenty-Something Year Old Girl Plenty of ways to enter - but HURRY , giveaway ends December 16th! For a chance to win second prize, follow my Standard Virtual Book Tour. Stops can be found on my website: www.kaistrand.com

Welcome to Three Times A Charm. I love meeting new authors, illustrators, bloggers, agents, editors or promoters from the children’s publishing industry and sharing their careers with my readers. Today’s guest is a fellow GAP author, Jennifer Gladen. Jennifer Gladen is a children’s author who lives and writes in Pennsylvania. She is the author of A Star in the Night , Teresa’s Shadow , and Angel Donor through Guardian Angel Publishing. She contributes as a columnist at Catholic Mom and is a member of the Catholic Writers Guild (C.W.G.) and the S.C.B.W.I. She has written several children’s stories, poems and articles, and started her own Catholic e-zine titled My Light Magazine . Hi Jennifer! Welcome to Strands of Thought. Can you tell us about your books. A Star in the Night - David makes his way home on Christmas Eve and sees this is no ordinary night. Accompanied by a shimmering star and some tough decisions, David encounters three experiences that will change h...

Welcome to Three Times A Charm. I love meeting new authors, illustrators, bloggers, agents, editors or promoters from the children’s publishing industry and sharing their careers with my readers. Today’s guest is author, Connie Arnold. Connie is a fellow Guardian Angel Publishing author. She’s here today to celebrate her most recent release from 4RV Publishing. Welcome to Strands of Thought, Connie! Can you tell us a little about you, please? I live in North Carolina with my husband, and we have two children and three grandchildren. Writing inspirational poetry and books for young children has been a focus of mine in the last few years. In addition, I am a musician and volunteer for Lupus Foundation of America.  Tell us about your newest release. Count 1,2,3 With Me is my second picture book. It is illustrated by Ginger Nielson and published by 4RV Publishing. I also have four books of inspirational poetry and a recently released devotional. On my blog, www.c...

Welcome to Three Times A Charm. I love meeting new authors, illustrators, bloggers, agents, editors or promoters from the children’s publishing industry and sharing their careers with my readers. Today’s guest is young adult author, Eric Price. Welcome to Strands of Thought! Can you tell us a little about you, please? I grew up in central Illinois, but I now live in northwest Iowa with my wife and two sons. I began publishing in 2008 when I started writing a quarterly column for a local newspaper. My first short story, “Ghost Bed and Ghoul Breakfast,” a spooky children’s tale about a haunted bed and breakfast, came out later the same year. I’ve published more than 30 nonfiction articles/columns, four short stories, and a poem. Three of the short stories have won honorable mention in the CrossTIME Annual Science Fiction contest. Congratulations on the release of your book, Eric, tell us about Unveiling the Wizards’ Shroud . As the only son to King Kendrick, Owen des...

Welcome to Three Times A Charm. I love meeting new authors, illustrators, bloggers, agents, editors or promoters from the children’s publishing industry and sharing their careers with my readers. Today’s guest is my fellow MuseItUp author, James Crofoot. Welcome to Strands of Thought, James! Can you tell us a little about you, please? Hello, my name is James J Crofoot and I love writing. Always have, and having people enjoy my stories is my bonus. For relaxation and to keep balanced, I practice Tia Chi, Chi Kung, other energy strengthening exercises. In addition, of course, those early morning walks where the muses inspire me. Congratulations on the release of your book! Tell us more about it. My first book, "The Journeys of a Different Necromancer", is really a collection of short stories, which follow a young mage on his travels. The main character, Thomas, starts out wanting to learn to read and write. In the process, he gets more than he bargained for...

Welcome to my blog feature, Building Character in which you get to meet a character from a book. Talking to a character outside of their book is fun! Huge. Amounts. Of fun.  This week Strands of Thought is host to Layla and Samson from The Prophecy. It is especially exciting to be a part of their RELEASE DAY! *throws confetti* I love a good release day and I’m thrilled to be a part of this one. Welcome to Strands of Thought, you guys. Tell us a little about yourselves and what life is like in your book. Layla :  Hello!  I’m Layla Givens, and this is my adopted brother Samson Mantar.  Samson :  Hi.  Layla :  We’re from the kingdom of Vanguard, which means we are super strong.  Our countrymen and women have been at war for centuries with the neighboring kingdom of Etherea. Samson :  Ethereals do all kinds of freaky mind control.  If you let ‘em, they’ll have you rocking in a corner, sucking your thumb, and twirlin...

Welcome to Three Times A Charm. I love meeting new authors, illustrators, bloggers, agents, editors or promoters from the children’s publishing industry and sharing their careers with my readers. Today’s guest is children’s author, Crystal Collier. Welcome to Strands of Thought, Crystal! Can you tell us a little about you, please? I am the author of MOONLESS, and a former composer/writer for Black Diamond Productions. I can be found practicing my brother-induced ninja skills while teaching children or madly typing about fantastic and impossible creatures. Having lived from coast to coast, I now call Florida home with my creative husband, three littles, and “friend” (a.k.a. the zombie locked in my closet). Secretly, I dream of world domination and a bottomless supply of cheese. Congratulations on the release of your book, Moonless! Tell us more about it. On the moonless night following her sixteenth birthday, Alexia’s nightmares become reality: a dead baron, red-eyed ...

Welcome to Three Times A Charm. I love meeting new authors, illustrators, bloggers, agents, editors or promoters from the children’s publishing industry and sharing their careers with my readers. Today’s guest is children’s author, Suzanne de Montigny. Welcome to Strands of Thought, Suzanne! Can you tell us a little about you, please? I was raised in the beautiful Fraser Valley near Vancouver, Canada, surrounded by jagged mountains. I was piano girl and initially began a career in music, writing scores for television and countless industrial and corporate videos. Eventually, I drifted into education where I learned I could weave a good story that kept the kids asking for more. When I married at 39, and began a family, I decided to stay home. During this time, my father died and I was hit with a tremendous need to write. In the basement, I found an old unicorn story I had written in grade six, thus re-igniting my love for unicorns. The Shadow of the Unicorn: The Legacy is the...

Welcome to Three Times A Charm. I love meeting new authors, illustrators, bloggers, agents, editors or promoters from the children’s publishing industry and sharing their careers with my readers. Today’s guest is children’s author, Gia Volterra de Saulnier. Welcome to Strands of Thought, Gia! Can you tell us a little about you, please? I was born and raised in Fairhaven, Massachusetts and attended University of Lowell (now University of Massachusetts, Lowell). It was there that I learned to love jazz.  I have been performing jazz and other kinds of music for over 20 years, throughout the New England area. I live in North Reading, Massachusetts with my husband Richard and my son Charlie. Tell us about your most recent book, Gia. With the main goal of helping to bring music back into classrooms in Massachusetts and across the United States, I created the picture book, “Journey to Jazzland.” In the book, readers join Windy Flute, Spitz Trumpet and their friends ...