Authors, Kai Strand & LA Dragoni

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 ...

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, Karen Pokras Toz. Welcome to Strands of Thought, Karen! Can you tell us a little about you, please? I write middle grade and adult contemporary fiction. My middle grade novels include the Nate Rocks series, Millicent Marie Is Not My Name, and Pie and Other Brilliant Ideas. I began writing for kids on a dare when my own children told me they had nothing interesting to read. I won that dare and have since won several awards for my works. I’m a native of Connecticut, and now live outside of Philadelphia with my husband and three children. A dare! That’s great, Karen. Tell us about your most recent novel. I recently published my fifth middle grade novel called “Pie and Other Brilliant Ideas.” Pie is about a twelve year old girl named Geo...

Today we are visiting with Donna McDine on her most recent stop from her World of Ink virtual book tour. Welcome, Donna. It is always lovely to have you visit. I recently played host to Tommy from your book Powder Monkey, but today you are here to talk about your other new release, Hockey Agony. Congrats on two new books! For what age range is Hockey Agony intended? Donna: Hockey Agony is for 8-12 years of age. Kai: Can you share a memory of yours or a story of you from when you were within the age range of your target readers? Donna: Vacationing in Booth Bay Harbor, Maine with my family. It was low tide and we were digging for craps and before I knew it my feet were sinking. When my brothers pulled me up from underneath my armpits my sneakers slipped off my feet and got sucked into the sand. We tried digging for my sneakers, but the tide started to come in and we had to go to shore. Kai: How scary and thrilling! I’m sure you tap into those feelings when you are...

Hi, my name is Terra. I’m the main character in the middle grade fantasy Beware of the White . I have to be honest, I’m a bit nervous about today. My author volunteered me to conduct this interview and I have no idea what to ask. I’m interviewing Breeze Brannigan from Beverly Stowe McClure ’s novel Just Breeze . Have you seen Breeze? She’s totally amazing. She also happens to be one of my author’s favorite of Mrs. McClure’s characters. No pressure there. Oh, here she comes! That has to be her. Tall, confidant, and that beautiful hair! I bet none of her classmates accuse her of being ‘weird’.  Well boys and girls, time for you to get to know more about Breeze Brannigan. Hi Breeze. It’s nice to meet you. Have a seat. I took the liberty to order you a soda. I hope you like root beer. You seemed to me like the root beer type. Breeze: Hey, Terra. Thanks. Root beer is my favorite.  How’d you know? My writer told me you wanted to talk to me today. Nice to meet ’cha...

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, Angela Brown. Welcome to Strands of Thought, Angela! Can you tell us a little about you, please? I’m on the hunt for that elusive good night sleep, a slippery devil to grasp between my full-time day gig, single-mommydom, continuous pursuit of publishing my YA/NA/MG/PB writing projects, and sneaking in wonderful reads that take me on adventures, make me cry and make me laugh. Chocolate is a dear friend of mine. Wild Cherry Pepsi is my addiction. My daughter is the light of my life J Holy smokes you are busy! My hat is off to you, Angela, for juggling such a full schedule. Tell us about your most recent novel. At its core, Neverlove is a story of breaking free and forbidden love. For seventeen-year-old Abigail, one rash decision leads to an unexpect...

Kill your darlings is a term frequently used in writing that I’ve seen interpreted many different ways. So I went in search of the true meaning of kill your darlings. Urban Dictionary : Kill your darlings “In writing, you must kill your darlings.” --William Faulkner This literary advice refers to the dangers of an author using personal favorite elements. While these may hold special meaning for the author, they can cause readers to roll their eyes for reasons such as: - Purple prose   - Narm   -Egregious overuse of a word or phrase Did he seriously just use the word "egregious" up there? Dude, kill your darlings. William Faulkner supposedly advised writers to kill their "darlings," those little bits of glitter a writer thinks are simply marvelous. To the reader lacking that maternal attitude, they are at best distracting, at worst a reason to stop reading. (Wiki, maybe? hard to tell who to credit so here's the link ) I was also ...

I am THRILLED to share the newest publication from Susan Kaye Quinn. Susan has long been a hero of mine in the world of publishing. She is smart, talented and fearless. Because she is so smart she put all of her advice articles on self-publishing into a shiny new book. Ladies and Gentlemen, may I present the: Kindle , Nook , Kobo ,  Goodreads TBR This book is for every author who's thinking about indie publishing, or has already taken the leap, and wonders why no one told them about the sharks, the life-sucking social media quicksand, or the best way to avoid sales-checking, yellow-spotted fever. This is a guide for the heart as much as the head. And because I promised myself that I wouldn't write a book about how I made a gazillion dollars publishing ebooks, I would write about the fear: owning it, overcoming it, facing it. From a person who didn't pursue a creative life for a long time, and then discovered creativity can set you free. Note:  gazillion is a 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 my readers. Today’s guest is children’s author, Sharon Ledwith. Welcome to Strands of Thought! Can you tell us a little about you, please? I am the author of the middle-grade/YA time travel series, THE LAST TIMEKEEPERS, available through Musa Publishing. When I’m not writing, researching, or revising, I enjoy reading, yoga, kayaking, time with family and friends, and single malt scotch. I live in the wilds of Muskoka in Central Ontario, Canada, with my hubby, a water-logged yellow Labrador and moody calico cat. For some reason I keep thinking only real woman drink single malt scotch! Lol. Sharon, tell us about Legend of the Timekeepers . There is no moving forward without first going back. Lilith was a young girl with dreams and a family before the final destruction of Atlantis shat...

<-- This happened this weekend. I've always wanted to attend, but was never organized enough to make it happen. My niece was the one to corral me and her mom into it this year. I've been really busy recently, so I glanced over the workshop schedules and bought my ticket and showed up. Let it be known that I hadn't read anything about what was actually going to happen while I was there. We walk in and sat down for our first panel, and thee cutest person bops past on her way to the moderating podium. I grinned thinking, This is going to be fun! Then she introduces herself as Stephanie Perkins and I'm in immediate and completely unexpected fangirl mode. I think, No WONDER Anna and the French Kiss made me so happy. Look at the author! I was able to meet her later and gush about her books and she signed a copy of Lola and the Boy Next Door for me and it was simultaneously fun and embarrassing to be so excited about meeting someone. But she really deserves it. ...

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 a tour stop for World of Ink. Tommy from Powder Monkey is here to tell his about his harrowing adventure. Tommy, tell us a little about yourself. Hi, my name is Tommy. I’m 12 years old and lived on a farm with my older brother and my parents, until the Press Gang showed up. Oh, Tommy, that sounds very serious. Can you tell us a little more about that? Always considered a sissy by my pa because my lack of size and preference to help my ma around the farm instead of him I was first terrified when the Royal Navy Press Gang arrived at our farm. I never had the backbone to stand up for myself or anyone else, until that day. Foregoing my safety I jumped to my ma’s defense when the nasty big man pushed ma to the ground after pa crumbled aft...

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, Pam Kelt. Welcome to Strands of Thought, Pam! Can you tell us a little about you, please? With a background in journalism, languages and educational publishing, it was inevitable that I would eventually say to heck with a career and try writing for myself. After a few years of trying out different styles, I landed six book deals in as many months and declared myself reinvented. Just as well, as it’s the ideal way to combat empty nest syndrome now that my daughter is at the University of Edinburgh doing History of Art. Three titles are for adults (Dark Interlude and Half Life with MuseItUp and Tomorrow’s Anecdote with Crooked Cat). Botanical mystery The Lost Orchid (YA/NA) is scheduled for an autumn release at Bluewood Publishing, along with tw...

Today I have a very special guest. This young woman is smart and funny. She has a true heart and a generous spirit. She also happens to be my niece. Needless to say, I have a good measure of her character. Today she is celebrating the release day of her first picture book. I have seen this adorable story throughout its journey and I’ve pre-ordered my copy. I can’t wait to see the final version. As you will learn, this book was a true family affair. (I’m blessed to be part of a very talented family.) Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, I present newly published author, Rose Killion. Congratulations, Rose, on the release of The Faeries of Halloween ! Tell us about the book. The Faeries of Halloween is a picture book for children of all ages. It tells the story of how Maria and her brother Peter first hear about the legend of the Faeries of Halloween. They must decide if they are willing to donate their Halloween candy to a good cause in exchange for a surprise gift. ...