Authors, Kai Strand & LA Dragoni

It is my pleasure to host a stop in my fellow GAP Author, Donna McDine's, blog tour for her newest book A Sandy Grave . Donna is visiting today with a provocative guest post about parenting. Let's give a warm welcome to Donna. It’s Okay Not to Peak in High School  By Donna McDine Now that I have a daughter in the first year of college and another daughter in tenth grade of high school, I have spent quite a bit of time chatting with my girlfriends as to what all the social pressure in high school means for our children. I’ve come to realize that the cliques still remain… the jocks, the brains, the nerds, etc., but what happens to those who don’t fit into the stereotypes? Do they aimlessly wander the halls of high school longing to belong to some type of group, or do they break out of the mold and create their own destiny? The pressures are real. Doing so, it can be empowering and frightening at the same time. As parents or caregivers, it’s our responsibility to se...

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...

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...