Pixie and the Green Book Mystery Book Review

Pixie and the Green Book Mystery

Author: Coraline Grace

Illustrator: Encarna Dorado

Where to get it: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07JNJ35C7

Author Coraline Grace introduces us to Pixie, also known as Marigold. Pixie is an elementary school student who loves books and the library. After a bad day at school, Pixie visits the library and discovers a mysterious green book. When she opens the book, familiar characters begin to speak to her.  We see Cindi, Alice and the White Rabbit who are all trapped in mixed up fairy tales. Pixie agreed to help the characters and stop their enemy known as The Book Guardian.

I love books with a little bit of magic in them, so this was a treat to read.  I had trouble understanding why Pixie had two names. But other than that I loved it. I can't wait to see what happens in the next one. Overall it was a cute and fun book to read.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Newsletters - A New Territory for Me

I've attended some great webinars organized by Kevin T. Johns  titled the Writer's Craft Summit. It was a great series of webinars that rejuvinated my writing. One of the things they stressed was the importance of having an e-mail list.  It is a great way to continue to get your name out there and let readers know about your work.

So, I took the plunge and began my newsletter.

First I needed to decide WHAT to put in my newsletter. After thinking about it, I decided on updates on my work, book recommendations and freebies for signing up. Now that my newsletter had a design. I was ready to promote it. I advertised to spread the word and offered a sign up bonus. It's still going on if you want to get in on it. When you sign up form the newsletter, you get free coloring pages and a free lesson plan that goes with one of my books. You can sign up here! 

This is still a new area for me but I'm learning more and more every day. What are some of your favorite newsletters?

Angel Donor Book Trailer

I'm so excited to share my updated trailer for Angel Donor! Please check it out, give it a like and share <3 

June 2019 Guardian Angel Kids

If you haven't made it over to check out the e-zine Guardian Angel Kids, make sure you do. They have several features for great reading. And #authors, GAK is a paying market. Here is what they have this month. 

Guardian Angel Kids an online Magazine

JUNE 2019 I Am Me

http://www.guardian-angel-kids.com

Book Feature

Ulysses the Befuddled Bassett by Emma M. Glover, art by KC snider

Features

POETRY

All About Me by Corinna M. Johnson

Unique by Stephanie Malley

FICTION SHORT STORIES

New Game by Jessica Marie Baumgartner

Harold and Halifax by Anita G. Gorman 

The Birdie by Brenna Miller

NON-FICTION ARTICLE

You are Unique and Miraculous in Every Way by Irene S. Roth  

PARENT/TEACHER ARTICLE

Mindset and Me by Kelly Bakshi M.S. Ed.

__._,_.___

The Writer's Craft Summit

I just happened to see a post on one of my groups telling about the Writer's Craft Summit. I've been looking for something like this for a while. The videos are free to watch during the timeframe of the summit.

I've seen a few videos so far, but one of my favorites is the video titled "Creating Complex Characters".  Megan Linski had many great suggestions on how to develop your character. One thing that really hit me was when she said how difficult it is to write your novel if you haven't fully developed your character yet. She mentioned that sometimes the character sheets we use to develop our characters can limit our creativity. One suggestion is to interview and observe your character. Put them in situations and see what they do. I loved these ideas and I definitely plan to apply this to my work in progress.



My Work in Progeress is a novel that I have been working on for a long time. I go through dry spells with it because I often feel I hit a wall. After watching this video I am inspired to take another serious look at my book's characters and see where they need to further develop.

One thing I asked myself was, What do you love about your favorite characters in other novels? Can you predict what they would do? How did the author convey this character's traits so clearly? I definitely walked away from that video inspired.

Have you joined the Writer's Craft Summit? What video did you enjoy?

May Issue of Guardian Angel Kids

Guardian Angel Kids Ezine has a new issue out. Stop on by at the link below. The poems were sweet and catchy and I really loved the story A Fish Named Fred by Linsy Hunsaker. 

Guardian Angel Kids 

May 2019 

Theme:  Living in a Fish Bowl

http://www.guardian-angel-kids.com    

Book Feature

Don't Put Gum in the Fishbowl by Stuart Wesley, Sirac-illustrator

Features

POETRY

I ♥ My Fishbowl  by Jan Cornebise 

Fishbowl Feelings by Stephanie Malley

FICTION SHORT STORIES

A Fish Named Fred by Linsy Hunsaker 

Otter’s Greenhouse by Pamela Love 

NON-FICTION ARTICLE

Fishbowls of Our Own Making by Irene S. Roth 

Looking through Glass: The World of Snow Globes by Carol J. Douglas

PARENT/TEACHER ARTICLE

In Favor of Field Trips by Kelly Bakshi M.S. Ed.

Book Review: What is That Strange Noise

What is That Strange Noise 

Written by Karen Carr and Piper Anderson

Illustrated by K.C. Snider

I was delighted to have a chance to read this fun book about Piper and Grandma’s interesting car ride. The story starts out with Grandma and Piper going on one of their adventurous car rides, when something odd happens. A strange noise grabs their attention and they discover an even stranger guest in the car. The story continued, picking up many other guests along the way.

I liked how the story incorporated animal names and animal sounds, which can make this book a great tool for preschool and early childhood teachers. I also loved how Grandma names every animal every time they picked up a new guest. This is a great way to continue to review animal names. 

One thing that could have made the book even better is the ending. I would have loved to see where Grandma and Piper were going and what happened to all their guests at the end of the car ride. 

Overall, this was a delightful, fun story that would work well in a classroom as well as at home.

Where can you get it? 

Amazon

Visit Karen's Website 

My Light Magazine is hosting a Writing Contest

The magazine I publish, My Light Magazine, is hosting their first writing contest! 

See the flyer below for all the details. You can also visit the Writer's Guidelines on www.mylightkids.com for things we regularly look for in submissions. 

Writing contests are good for practicing the skill of adhering to guidelines including word count and style. When I first began my writing career, contests were helpful in developing my professionalism. 

The reason we are hosting (and hope to contine to host) the contest is because we are trying to find a way to keep the magazine free for readers, yet allow us to pay our talented contributors. 

More details are in the flyer below. 

My Light Magazine Returns

I chose to wait a few months before announcing the news here. Now that it seems there is a definite momentum going, I am thrilled to announce that My Light Magazine has officially relaunched. We are located at My Light Kids. We also brought back the PDF version. It has been a core part of us, and we definitely felt something was missing without it. 

We have had three issues published already. The December 2018, January/Winter 2019 and February 2019.  We're currently working on the March issue. We have several other plans involving My Light which we hope to announce in the near future. 

Now that the new year has begun, what are your writing goals for the new year?