Authors, Kai Strand & LA Dragoni

Welcome to the 2013 version of 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 you. Author, Maddie Ryan, is visiting with us. Maddie, tell us about yourself, please. I appreciate the opportunity to be a guest on your blog and allowing me the opportunity to introduce myself and my work to your readers. My passion is the love of God, family, friends, writing, reading and cooking. I enjoy writing stories that I myself have enjoyed reading as a child and still enjoy reading; creating characters that fly by the seat of their pants without a safety net. The kind of free living that can be enjoyed by children and adults, spinning my fascination with life’s quirky happenings into comical adventures. I’m a self-professed chocolate guru. I love to sing into my hairbrush and dance with the family dog (knowing nobody will tape it and put it on You Tube, so...

It’s Friday! Time for 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 we are Building Character with Fairy May. It’s so great to have you with us, Fairy. Tell us a little about yourself. Hi! I'm Fairy May and I live in a place called Fairyland. There are lots of different types of fairies and many of us have very important jobs. When I grow up I want to be a tooth fairy. It's one of the hardest jobs to do though. The other fairies sometimes get mad because I make a mess and get things wrong but one day I'm going to be the best tooth fairy ever... I just need to study really hard and then I'm sure I'll pass the test. Study and practice are the best ways to become good at something you are interested in. Way to go, Fairy May. So, tell us, what is standing in your way? I'm not exactly a natural talent when it comes to school...

Welcome to the 2013 version of 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 you. Author, Stuart R. West, is visiting with us. Stuart, tell us about yourself, please. I’m Stuart R. West, author of the new YA book, Tex, The Witch Boy . I live in Kansas, which is a curse and a blessing. It’s a curse, well, because it’s Kansas . It’s a blessing because Kansas is ripe with story ideas and oddities. I intend on setting most of my forthcoming books in Kansas because you’re supposed to write about what you know. And you don’t want to read about my hum-drum tenure in corporate America! I was a graphic and production artist for twenty-some years with a label manufacturing company. Boring! I’m married to a wonderful professor of pharmacy at a local university and have a beautiful daughter, now in college, who has just now decided to unleash her inner ba...

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 Victoria Peterson from Victoria and the Ghost. Welcome, Victoria. Tell us a little about yourself and what your life is like. My name is Victoria Peterson. My life isn’t fair. I never thought that when I was fifteen-years-old, I would end up away from my mother, my friends, and Dallas.  Dad got this really dumb idea to move my seventeen-year-old sister, Marcy and me away from civilization. He even expects me to tend chickens. Can you believe that? Why, my nail job won’t last a month, at this rate. Now, Mom, well, I’m her favorite. We both love…love….love shopping. This spring we missed few shops in Dallas before Mom’s beautiful wedding. After she and Sam left on their honeymoon to the Caribbean, well, of course, I had to move in with Dad. I totally und...

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.     This week’s guest is author, Scott R. Caseley. Scott tell us about yourself, please. I was born in Nashua, New Hampshire and grew up in the next town over, Hudson. Being raised in a town that grew up around me was very interesting as I evolved to see where it had been and look at where it’s headed with pride. I wrote my first short story in the second grade, and the pen has been glued to my right hand ever since. But, I also made sure to have a full boat of interests besides the written word. After graduating from Alvirne High School in town, I enrolled in Franklin Pierce University where I majored in Mass Communication and minored in History. While in attendance at the small liberal arts institution, I enlisted the help of some 225 people to put together my firs...

When I was but a lass ·         I was enthusiastic about learning. ·         Eager for guidance and advice. ·         Bursting with energy and vitality. As I transitioned into my teen and young adult years ·         My open-minded attitude for input waned. ·         I found myself more sensitive to criticism. ·         I discovered that the world revolved around me, and I could do no wrong. It was truly amazing – as was I. The next stage of adulthood was more humbling ·         I learned that I did make mistakes. ·         I was expected to clean up after myself when such a thing happened. ·         I experienced disappointment; both the effect of and ...

It’s Friday! Time for 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 excited to host Leaf from Leaf & the Long Ice. It’s so great to have you with us, Leaf. Tell us a little about yourself. I’m Leaf – a Twig. I’m a stick creature, but don’t think I’m so small.  I’m as tall as a robin!  I have emerald-green leafy hair, and I like to hide in trees.  I sprout from the Old Seeder Twig Branch, and I live in a huge knothole high up in the oldest and tallest tree in the South Forest.  I have a Pappo, a Mumma, a creepy, little sister named Fern, and irritating twin brothers called Buddy and Burba, who are just babes.  I know lots of wild creatures in the forest – some friendly, and some are really scary.  There are lots of other Twigs who live in different kinds of trees like Cappynut Twigs, Willow T...

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 you. Today’s guest is author and artist, Marit Menzin. Marit tell us about yourself, please. I’m a collage artist as well as an author. My award-winning art has been seen in galleries, magazines, and other publications. I was the recipient of the 2010 Ann Barrow Scholarship from the New England chapter of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators and a finalist at the 2005 SCBWI Winter Conference Showcase in New York City. In college, I studied chemistry and biology, and later computer science. I have loved art since childhood, and Song for Papa Crow, my first picture book, combines my love of nature and art. I’m a member of SCBWI. What a seemingly eclectic background for an author/artist. Tell us more about Song for Papa Crow. I’m the Author/Illustrator of Song f...

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 Ashlinn O’Hara from Wanted. Welcome, Ashlinn. Tell us a little about yourself and what your life is like. Thank you so much for having me! This is my first interview, hope I do okay. :) I’m not really good at talking about myself. Oh, I should start by telling you who I am, huh? My name is Ashlinn O’Hara, I’m 17, and I’m a witch. I know, talking about yourself can be hard, but we have a curious and kind audience, so that should put you at ease. Wow, a witch! I don’t meet many of those. What kind of trials and tribulations does a witch run up against? Well, I’m a witch. When we turn 18, we reach our full power. Apparently, I’m pretty powerful, and the vamps in school can tell. A vamp can use a witch’s power to enhance his or her own abilities. When th...