Why I Don’t Have Time To Write

In honor of the holidays, I’d like to post something I wrote a few years ago. The hypothetical situations have changed a bit. My child’s a little older now. Things like dirty diapers would no longer apply. But I still can identify with the spirit of this piece though. I’m sure some of my fellow writers can too. Without further adieu, here’s …



Why I Don’t Have Time To Write

(Sung to the tune “Deck the Halls”)


Baby’s playing with paint thinner

Fa La La La La La La La La


Worked all day, now cooking dinner

Fa La La La La La La La La


Toilet’s backed up, what a mess

Fa La La La La La La La La


Daughter flushed her Christmas dress

Fa La La La La La La La La


Dirty diaper, really reeking

Fa La La La La La La La La


Sink and bathtub both are leaking

Fa La La La La La La La La


But bubble gum has many uses

Fa La La La La La La La La


At least I’ve written my excuses

Fa La La La La, La- La -La -La



May all of you have a safe, happy, wonderful, time this holiday season.


Peace,

Kevin

Guardian Angel Kids Magazine-December 2010 Issue

Guardian Angel Kids Magazine has released their December 2010 issue of their ezine. If you get a chance, stop by http://guardian-angel-kids.com/ and check it out. On the “Creative Crew” page, you just might see a familiar face. :-)  Enjoy…

M E D I A R E L E A S E


CONTACT: Donna McDine, Editor-in-Chief, Guardian Angel Kids Ezine
Email: submissions@guardian-angel-kids.com


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

For Immediate Release

December 2010 issue of Guardian Angel Kids Ezine Now Available


The blustery days of winter have arrived and what better way to spend a cold

afternoon then taking your young muse on an interactive adventure at the

Guardian Angel Kids Ezine

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


Be prepared to spend memorable time as you both explore the monthly

features:

A Blessed Bethlehem Birth Flip Book by Walter Lee McElligott

Follow A Star - a Rooter and Snuffle Story by Shari Lyle-Soffe (read aloud

by Donna Shepherd)


Children poems, stories, and articles:


"Blanket of Snow" written by Alice Knisley Matthias, takes you on snow

filled vision.


"Twas the Night before Christmas, Down on the Farm" written by Ann Ingalls

and illustrated by Kim Sponaugle immerses you in the wonders of Christmas on

a farm.


"All by Myself" written and illustrated by Samantha Bell brings you on an

adventure of one young girl's determination.


"Nothing Was Stirring" written by Marion Tickner and illustrated by Jack

Foster is a laugh out loud mousy adventure.


"Treasures, Treats, and Traditions" by Lisa Hart brings to life the wonders

of this magical time of year with a bonus Pinwheel Candy craft.


"Names for Nick" by Carol Douglas, the origins of good old Saint Nick.


Tune your child into the wonders of prediction through Dorit Sasson's parent

and teacher article "Teaching Prediction in Picture Books and Non-Fiction

Text," and by doing so will make their reading adventure that much more

enjoyable.


Stop by for a gander and enjoy your time together, for the adventurous world

of reading is at your fingertips.



Thank you for your time and interest.

###

Full Media Kit and more are available upon request electronically.

Be There Bedtime Stories

I just saw this press release for Be There Bedtime Stories.  Be There Bedtime Stories is a great service for those who would like to read to the little ones in their life, but can't be there in person.  All you need is a webcam and an email address and they will create a video of you reading a book.  The book and the video will be sent by email to be enjoyed at bedtime, or any other time.  If you're traveling on business, stationed in the military or just live too far away, I think this is a terrific way to stay involved in a child's life.

Their press release includes a You Tube video that contains excerpts from two of my books, The Soggy Town of Hilltop and If I Could Be Anything.  The Sister Exchange is also available there.  How cool is that?

I've included the press release below, but if you would like to see the video, please follow the link below. 

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2010/12/prweb4841194.htm

New Website Enables Families to Be There for the Holidays

IRVINE, CA, December 1, 2010 - Webcam bedtime stories is an innovative new technology being added to the list of family-friendly media, this Christmas. ALISON SANSONE is Creator of BE THERE BEDTIME STORIES, a new website that combines e-books and video of a family storyteller.

Grandparents Read Bedtime Stories with a Webcam

“We believe this broadens the scope of users and the value to families as a fun and new alternative to existing multi-media products on the market,” Irvine, CA (PRWEB) December 1, 2010
The process takes place entirely on the BE THERE BEDTIME STORIES website in three steps: 1) select a children’s book from the bookstore, 2) read the story in front of a webcam as it displays on the computer screen, 3) the child receives an email with the link to view the e-book on the website with video of the storyteller positioned on each page.
The beta website went live in September of this year with over one hundred published children’s books available in the online bookstore. There are one hundred more titles in production with the interface, from five different publishers so far, including ten original works to be published by BE THERE BEDTIME STORIES.
The business model for BE THERE BEDTIME STORIES was inspired by her own problem of living far from her only two nieces, who live in Chicago. SANSONE was working in video production at the time, in Orange County, California. “I was unable to be a part of their development - unable to be recognized when I would visit once a year,” SANSONE explains her frustration. “Bedtime stories seemed a convenient and entertaining activity that would solve that problem.”
SANSONE explains the findings of the initial two months of testing. “The effects exceeded my expectations. When I visited my nieces for the first time after four story recordings, they instantly latched onto me from the moment I walked in the door.”
An additional finding from the beta launch is children were excited to read a story back to family members, regardless of their reading level. “We believe this broadens the scope of users and the value to families as a fun and new alternative to existing multi-media products on the market,” SANSONE concludes.
SANSONE expects grandparents and military families] to see the value of a recorded bedtime story over live or real-time webcam services as a way to utilize more family members for childhood development, and to preserve those family memories for future generations. The stories are priced at $11.99 for unlimited children and there is currently a Buy One Get One Free holiday special. Live storytelling and Mobile App delivery are options scheduled for subsequent development.

ALSO SEE:

Guardian Angel Publishing, Sylvan Dell Publishing, Illumination Arts Publishing and Lobster Press are the initial four publishers to license works for sale in the BE THERE BEDTIME STORIES online bookstore.

ABOUT:

ALISON SANSONE, Creator and CEO, started her career in the hospitality industry. After a decade of working in diverse leadership roles ranging from national Quality Assurance Manager to Human Resources Director to Investor Relations, Alison decided to pursue a focus in marketing and business development as her true passion. In 2005, she combined her training in videography with her marketing acumen to start her own company, producing web-based media tools for small businesses and non-profit organizations throughout Orange County, California.

The idea for Be There Bedtime Stories came from a personal frustration, during that point in her career. The youngest of 6 children with just 2 grandchildren out of the bunch, she was frustrated living so far from her only 2 nieces, who lived in Chicago. Her experience with video media inspired the business model of connecting families across miles through the simple activity of a bedtime story.

She began building the business plan in early 2007, but the idea ended up on hold for two years, after the unexpected death of her husband that summer. Beginning in October 2009, she decided to commit full attention to the business plan, dedicating her own personal time and resources to the launch of Be There Bedtime Stories, based in Orange County, CA. The Beta site went live in September 2010



Introducing Shelby Patrick

In a brief departure from the children’s book genre, today I am pleased to be hosting Shelby Patrick who will be talking about her new book When Angels Sing.

Shelby, for starters, please tell us a little about yourself.


I’m a native of southeastern Michigan and I write fantasy, science fiction, and horror/thrillers. My first published fiction book is a short story collection entitled The Fear Within, which can be purchased via amazon.com or through my website at http://www.shelbypatrick.com/ (signed copies available). I have also has written two creative writing exercise books – Dark Recesses of the Mind and Forbidden Knowledge. Both non-fiction books can be purchased through amazon.com, lulu.com (as a download or print), or at my website. My first novel was just released in November 2010. It’s a thriller entitled When Angels Sing and can be purchased at http://www.4ublaze.com/ .


What is your writing process? When do you write? Any rituals?


I prefer writing under the cover of night. For some reason, my creative juices flow more freely when the sun sets. I find that I can concentrate on my scenes better if I listen to music – any kind from classical to rock and roll.


What is When Angels Sing about?


Blaze was the perfect man: sweet, charming, and 100% gentleman. There was only one catch. Jenna Michaels had never met him face to face. He was her Internet chat buddy. So when he invites her out to visit him, she jumps at the chance.
But he’s not anything like she expected, and even worse, he has no recollection of ever talking to her. She soon realizes she should have turned tail and ran home because her two weeks in Montana are about to be turned into a cat and mouse game as she is stalked through the streets of Stevensville by a psychotic killer.


What do you think is key to a compelling read? What makes a horror story “work?”


Every story should have good characterization, a strong plot, and well-written descriptions. But what sets the horror/thriller story apart from the rest is the element of suspense. It needs to keep the reader guessing and on the edge of their seats. It should also open with a strong beginning and close with a believable ending. Don’t disappoint the readers or they might not come back.


How would you describe your writing STYLE?


My style is a simple one. I don’t use long words and try to vary my sentence/paragraph lengths. I like to spend a lot of time in my character’s minds, so I do a lot of interior monologue. I don’t outline before I write a story. It comes to me as I write. I think of it as a movie I’m seeing for the first time. Even I don’t know how my stories will end until I’m ready to write the ending.


What are your future writing projects?


Behind the Masque, my second thriller novel, has just been sent to my editor. It should be ready sometime in 2011. I also have a fantasy (my favorite genre) novel in the wings and an erotic vampire tale. Right now, I’m working on a historical thriller set back in 1769 dealing with pirates on the high seas.



What do you do for fun when you’re not writing?

I like games, specifically video games and computer games. If I’m not writing, I can usually be found lost in the latest Role-Playing Game or First Person Shooter on my xbox, be up and about moving and shouting with my Wii, or concentrating on the next move in a computer game. I also spend time with my dog. She’s a Border Collie named Sheba.



Where can people go to learn more about your work?


My website is http://www.shelbypatrick.com/. I have a blog at http://www.writershideaway.blogspot.com/. You can join my mailing list for updates on me and my works or buy a signed copy of my books. I can also be reached at blackwidow@shelbypatrick.com .




Thanks for stopping by Shelby. Best of luck with your books.

Nice Review for Lightning Strikes

I received a very nice review from the Children’s and Teens’ Book Connection and an even nicer review of my work in general. In this review they say:


Now McNamee has written a book that combines Science and Math in a fun way. Lightning Strikes teaches kids to count backwards while it also explains how you can use counting to judge how far away thunder is. In his typical style, McNamee uses humor and rhyme to tackle a less than funny subject…In addition to the fact that McNamee’s books are always fun, he comes up with some of the most unique story ideas. I can’t wait to see what he comes up with next!

The full review can be found at the link below.
http://childrensandteensbookconnection.wordpress.com/2010/10/29/lightning-strikes-by-kevin%c2%a0mcnamee/

I have four more picture books currently under contract and I know that two of them are being worked on by the illustrators. I don’t have any release dates for these ones though. I think I might need to email my publisher about that after this blog post. You see, I’m kind of curious to see what I’m coming up with next as well. ;-)

A Fun Time Was Had By All

I had a book reading on Friday in Tuckahoe NY on Friday at Main Street Pediatric Dentistry and had a blast. I was part of the festivities in the First Annual Spooktacular Pajama Party Story Hour. I read from a few of my books as well as selected poems from the poetry collection, An Eyeball in My Garden. Everyone had a great time.

There were plenty of activities for the kids to do, including arts and crafts and pumpkin decorating. The kids were adorable. Most of them were in costume or wearing Halloween themed pajamas. The dentist’s office was unbelievable. The entire office has an undersea theme and the decorations are incredible. There’s a life-sized image of a diver in what seems to be a diving bell when you first walk into the waiting room. There are also alcoves that contain computer games and a TV. This place is definitely designed to entertain. If you live around Westchester County, NY, and your kids don’t like going to the dentist, I think this place just might change their minds. For anyone interested, the website is below.

http://www.mainstreetpediatricdentistry.com/

Theme Writing Article Featuring: An Eyeball In My Garden

I was discussing the poetry collection I’m involved with, An Eyeball in My Garden: And Other Spine-Tingling Poems, with some other writers, and Debra Eckerling from Write On! suggested I write an article about making a holiday book. I wrote an article about Theme Writing since An Eyeball in My Garden is basically a Halloween themed book. You can see the end result here.

http://writeononline.com/2010/10/14/theme-writing/

In this article, I talk about the process of putting the project together and ways to stay on topic while still being completely original.

This is the first time I ever tried to write an article on the writing process. I guess after having four children's books and some poetry published, people assume that I must actually know something worthwhile about the writing process. Upon careful consideration, I've come to the conclusion that maybe they're right. ;-)

If you get a chance, go check it out and leave a comment (and be kind). :-)

Visit From Award-Winning Author Carolyn Howard Johnson

Today, I am very pleased to present the award-winning author Carolyn Howard-Johnson who is sharing her work in progress with us, just in time for Halloween here’s...


Stories to Make Frankenstein Faint

A Sampler: Legends from Bohemia
By Carolyn Howard-Johnson

(The introduction from a work in progress that
tells legends from around the world.)

Listen my Children. There is a place in Eastern Europe that is full of ancient graveyards and cellars where even today people read scary poetry by candlelight. It is an ancient city called Prague. There they speak a very, very mysterious Celtic language called Czech. There are strange circles and lines a little karets over the letters that make sounds like nothing we English speakers have ever heard.

In that city is an olden bridge. We who speak English call it the old Charles Bridge, but the people who live there call it the Karlov most. And that bridge looks like no bridge you have ever seen. Towers and gothic arches and stones, like a castle, are like sentries at the entryway. You can imagine horses hobbling and clattering over the cobblestones beneath as they move from the old town onto the bridge.

The people who lived in the town say a water goblin lives under the bridge. He crouches on the bottom, ready to devour children and adults don’t pay attention to the rules and go swimming after eating huge quantities of dumplings and pork and beef,. They die of the cramps and the goblin feels that they are fair game.

At the bottom of the river, in the shadow of the bridge, the goblin keeps pottery pots—or perhaps they are enameled metal—for both are still made around Prague today. These he uses to pop the souls of those who die and keep them there. He has quite a collection but, it is said that he has grown skinny and bored today because the river is no longer good for swimming so there are very few opportunities for modern children to encounter his long fingers and toes and hair that moves with the current like deep green seaweed or slender water grass in the sandy bottom. He must rely on his stores of days gone by.

That means that he is hungrier than he ever has been. So beware!

----

Carolyn Howard-Johnson is known for her multi award-winning nonfiction how-to books for writers and retailers (http://www.howtodoitfrugally.com/), but she is also an award-winning novelist (www.howtodoitfrugally.com/this_is_the_place.htm) and poet (www.howtodoitfrugally.com/poetry_books.htm) . Her novel This Is the Place won eight awards and her book of true short stories, Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered, (www.howtodoitfrugally.com/harkening.htm) won three.

Carolyn Howard-Johnson, Instructor for the renowned UCLA Extension Writers' Program Web site: http://www.howtodoitfrugally.com/ E-mail: HoJoNews@aol.com
Award-winning author of the How To Do It Frugally Series of Books for writers, including USA Book News' award winners The Frugal Editor http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0978515870/The Frugal Book Promoter http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/193299310X/The Great First Impression Book Proposal http://budurl.com/BookProposals Great Little Last Minute Edits: http://budurl.com/WordTrippersPB Love LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/carolynhowardjohnson Squidooing at: http://www.squidoo.com/HowToDoItFrugallyforAuthors My iFOGO Page:http://www.ifogo.com/BRZ_AG/members/chjohnson.htmlTwittering at: http://www.twitter.com/frugalbookpromoAt Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/carolynhowardjohnsonBlogs for Writers:http://www.sharingwithwriters.blogspot.com/ , http://thenewbookreview.blogspot.com/ http://www.thefrugaleditor.blogspot.com/

Now blogging on War. Peace. Tolerance and Our Soldiers at: http://warpeacetolerance.blogspot.com/

Just In Time for Halloween!

Halloween is right around the corner! Now might be a perfect time to introduce yourself to a brand new monster like the one in Winking Wot Warning, or to try a dish off the Mummy’s Menu, or to really find out Where Nightmares Dwell, if you dare.

An Eyeball in My Garden: And Other Spine-Tingling Poems is a collection of forty four spookalicious poems written by fourteen terrifyingly talented poets. Containing everything from the humorous, to the creepy, to the absolutely sinister, this collection is designed to tickle your funny bone and then perhaps, gnaw right through it.

This book is available from Marshall Cavendish, Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, or ask your local book store.

Be sure to check my the poems, Our Neighborhood and The Gargoyle.


To find out more, please visit http://www.eyeballinmygarden.com/

Guest Author-Heidi M. Thomas

For today's post, please allow me to welcome guest author Heidi M. Thomas.

Heidi grew up on a working ranch in eastern Montana. She had parents who taught her a love of books and a grandmother who rode bucking stock in rodeos. Describing herself as “born with ink in her veins,” Heidi followed her dream of writing with a journalism degree from the University of Montana and later turned to her first love, fiction, to write her grandmother’s story.Heidi’s first novel, Cowgirl Dreams, has won an EPIC Award and the USA Book News Best Book Finalist award.Follow the Dream is the second book in the “Dare to Dream” series about strong, independent Montana Women.Heidi is a member of Women Writing the West, Skagit Valley Writers League, Skagit Women in Business, and the Northwest Independent Editors Guild. She is also a manuscript editor, and teaches memoir and fiction writing classes in the Pacific Northwest.

Heidi, please tell us about your book, Cowgirl Dreams

This is the story of Nettie, a young woman who has a dream—to become a rodeo star, against many obstacles, including her own mother. She is a strong, independent woman who has a goal and will do almost anything to achieve it. The book loosely parallels the life of my grandmother who rode steers in Montana rodeos during the 1920s. It is suitable for both adult and young adult readers.

What made you select your grandmother’s tale to tell?

This was such a fascinating thing, having a grandmother who was a rodeo rider (she rode wild steers). I thought it was incredibly brave and so unusual, and of course that prompted the writer’s question “What if?” I just had to write a story about her.

Can you tell us a little about the sequels…?

The sequel to Cowgirl Dreams has a working title of Follow the Dream, and it is the second half of Nettie’s life, after she marries. Her dream of rodeo stardom lingers, but family obligations, drought, and the Great Depression delay that dream further.
I've just started the third "Nettie" book in the series, working title "Nettie's Cowgirls." This will take place during the 1940s, when women area losing their place in the competitive arena with men. Nettie is fighting this trend.

The fourth book in the series, working title Land of Milk and Honey, is about the next generation, Nettie’s son and his German war bride. This one is based on my mother’s story, when she meets my father, an American soldier during the occupation of Germany after the war ends, and after he is shipped home, accepts his proposal to come to America and marry him. Again I see this as a very courageous venture, moving so far from family, to a foreign country where she didn’t speak the language, where she was regarded as “the enemy,” and where she didn’t know anyone except this man she hadn’t seen in two years.

The fifth book, Rescuing Samantha, is purely fiction, but my character is Nettie’s great-granddaughter, who moves from the big city to the old family ranch, hoping to make a go of raising thoroughbred race horses, again against financial and climatic odds.

Tell us about the classes you offer in beginning fiction and memoir writing.

After I’d started sending out queries on my first book (which is now the third in the series), I received a couple of comments from agents or editors, stating that my characters were “flat.” I didn’t know what that meant or how to fix it, so I enrolled in an extension course in fiction writing through the University of Washington. After that, I thought I would like to share what I had learned with other beginning writers, so I stepped out of my comfort zone and started a community fiction class. And because most of my novels came from family history, I realized the importance of preserving those family stories and memories, so I now teach a memoirs writing class as well.

You also offer editing services?

Yes, my degree is in journalism and I had quite a bit of experience editing in that genre (I had the world’s best copy editor on the newspaper where I worked!), and later when I started writing fiction, I was in a great critique group where I could hone my fiction editing skills as well. As my skills increased, I began editing for others outside the group and have had great feedback from my clients. I belong to the Northwest Independent Editors Guild.

When do you find time to write, Heidi?

That’s the million dollar question, especially now with adding marketing to my list of things to do. I’m trying to learn to better prioritize my tasks, make lots of lists, and try to remember to “do one thing at a time.” I do have a tendency to try to do everything at once—but that’s a little like walking a tight rope while juggling my mother’s best china.

What does your family think of Heidi the author?

Oh, they’re so very proud—and supportive! I couldn’t have done this without my family’s love and cheering me on. I’m so fortunate!

And the last word, Heidi…?

You know, it sounds a bit cliché, I suppose, but having this book published (after 10 years in the process) is a dream come true for me. And I’m struck by the realization that we all do need to have a dream. My advice for other writers is to persevere—never give up!

Cowgirl Dreams is available through my website http://www.heidimthomas.com/ (for an autographed copy), and from my publisher Treble Heart Books http://www.trebleheartbooks.com/SDHeidiThomas.html

Thanks for stopping by Heidi.

Please visit Donna McDine's blog at http://donna-mcdine.blogspot.com/ on Thursday, September 30 where she will be featuring Kathy Stemke.

Zombies and Werewolves and Gargoyles, Oh My

I received my contributor’s copy of An Eyeball in My Garden yesterday and I’m very happy with the final result. From the font and the typeface, to the illustrations, to the great poems themselves, this is a fine book of poetry and I’m thrilled to have been a part of it. So with Halloween right around the corner, this is a perfect time to introduce yourself to brand new monsters such as The Winking Wot, try a dish off the Mummy’s Menu, or take the lead in the Goblin Parade and pick up a copy of An Eyeball in My Garden and Other Spine-tingling Poems. This collection is available at:

Marshall Cavendish
http://www.marshallcavendish.us/marshallcavendish-us/children/catalog/poetry/978-0-7614-5655-4.xml

Barnes and Noble
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/books/product.aspx?ean=9780761456551

Amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/Eyeball-My-Garden-Other-Spine-Tingling/dp/0761456554/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1284567010&sr=8-1

Or ask your local book store. Be sure to check out my poems, Our Neighborhood and The Gargoyle.

New Interview Over at Morning Coffee

Hi All,

I’m being interviewed today over at Charlene’s Haukom’s blog “Morning Coffee”. I talk a bit about the writing and publication process, as well as my new role as the Technical Director for Guardian Angel Kids. If you get a chance, stop by and say hello.

The interview is posted at http://charlenehaukom.blogspot.com/2010/08/author-interview-kevin-mcnamee.html

Nice Review for An Eyeball in My Garden

A writing friend sent me this review from Publishers Weekly, which I thought was very nice.

An Eyeball in My Garden Selected by Jennifer Cole Judd and Laura Wynkoop, Johan Olander (illustrator). Marshall Cavendish, $15.99 (64p) ISBN 978-0-7614-5655-1
Gr 4-7— Readers should be prepared to shiver and shake through these 44 poems about ghosts, gargoyles, and more. Olander adorns each page with ominous ink images of spiders, monsters, and other terrors, while the verses temper horror (Craig W. Steele’s “Where Nightmares Dwell”: “I know too well/ What creatures lurk/ Where nightmares live and grow.../ The shadows found me years ago!”) with humor (Stella Michel’s “Mummy’s Menu” includes “Blackened pudding filled with flies,/ Crispy scarab beetle pies”). Whether it’s Halloween or not, this creepy collection will please readers with a taste for the supernatural.
–Publishers Weekly August 9, 2010
I have two poems in this collection, titled, Our Neighborhood and The Gargoyle. My poems weren’t specifically referenced, but there is a nod to The Gargoyle. I received an advanced copy of this book and read through it. I do have to say that the poetry and illustrations are top notch. Halloween will be approaching before we know it, this book might make a good gift for your favorite “trick or treater”.

If you are interested, here is a link to the book on Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/Eyeball-My-Garden-Other-Spine-Tingling/dp/0761456554

or ask your local book store.

Kevin

Sneek Peek at My Brother, the Frog

My virtual book tour group is taking the rest of the summer off and should be starting up again in September. In the meantime, I’ve been working on a couple of poems, a new picture book, and two new mid grade novels. Unfortunately, I don’t feel like I’ve been making an incredible amount of progress on any one of these projects. But my creative process has always been like that. It ebbs and flows like the tide. The only thing I can do is keep plugging away, and the progress will come.

I did want to share a new cover that I’ve received for my picture book, My Brother, the Frog. It’s being illustrated by Alexander Morris. I’ve seen some of the preliminary sketches and it looks like this is going to be a funny book. I don’t have a firm release date yet, but will keep you posted.

Happy Writing!

Kevin

Virtual Book Tour-Margaret Fieland

This month, our Virtual Book Tour Guest is Margaret Fieland.

Born and raised in New York City, Margaret Fieland has been around art and music all her life. Daughter of a painter, she is the mother of three grown sons and an accomplished flute and piccolo player. She is an avid science fiction fan, and selected Robert A. Heinlein's “Farmer in the Sky” for her tenth birthday, now long past. She lives in the suburbs west of Boston, MA with her partner and seven dogs. Her poems, articles and stories have appeared in journals and anthologies such as Main Channel Voices, Echolocation, and Twisted Tongue. In spite of making her living as a computer software engineer, she turned to one of her sons to format the initial version of her website, a clear illustration of the computer generation gap. You may visit her website at, http://www.margaretfieland.com.

Q: Tell us about what you write:

A: I'm a professional Computer Software engineer – BA in mathematics, MS in computer science, but I've written poetry as far back as I can remember, though not with publication in mind and not with any level of dedication.

Q: What got you writing for publication?

A: What really propelled me into writing for publication was organizing my poetry. I used to keep the poems, when I kept them, in notebooks. They were totally unorganized, and I could never find anything. Then I wrote a poem I wanted to keep, so I got off the stick and put them up, first on my computer, and after that online, originally in Yahoo briefcase, and later in Google Documents.

Q: Why was the organization such a key factor in moving your writing forward?

A: Once I had the poems organized and findable, I could finally submit, and I could look them over and gain perspective on how I was doing. What ended up happening was that I submitted a poem to a contest on a whim and ended up a finalist. This was so encouraging that I started writing more, working more seriously on growing as a writer, joined critique groups, etc.

Q: What are you working on now?
A:Well, there's my chapter book, “The Ugly Little Boy,” that will be published by 4RV publishing in early 2012. I'm working on another novel, a middle grade this time, and of course, poetry.


Q: Almost every writer is inspired by someone else. Does anyone inspire you?
A: Lewis Carroll. My all time favorite book is “Alice in Wonderland,” which I reread every exam time when I was in college, as I made it a habit to avoid the library during exams. I'm also very fond of Carroll's poetry. I've got several stanzas of Jabberwocky and You Are Old, Father William memorized.

Q:How long have you been writing?
A: I've been writing poetry since my teens, but only with publication in mind for the past three or four years. As a story writer I'm pretty much of a novice, as I only started writing stories after I hooked up with Linda Barnett Johnson after the first Muse online writer's conference several years ago and joined her writing forums.

I'm 63 now, so that's a lot of years of writing.

Q: What made you want to start writing?

A: Good question – I started and became addicted. I really love writing -- and I just plain enjoy writing poetry, rhymed and unrhymed. I've developed my own algorithm for generating rhymes, which means that I often don't have to use a rhyming dictionary at all.

Besides, if I don't write it down it stays stuck in my head.

Q: When did you start writing?

A: Like many teens, I started writing (bad) poetry in my teens as an outlet for my teenage angst. Then later on I started writing poetry for the people I was dating, and after that for family birthdays, Christmas, Thanksgiving, -- basically everything.

Q: What's the strangest thing you've ever written? Why?

A: I don't think anything I write is strange {looks innocently up at ceiling}. I have written several surreal poems, and I have one I really like called “Machine A Ecrire” (French for typewriter), unpublished, in the shape of a typewriter. The sentences are “variations” on the stuff they had us all typing when we were in school.

Q: Who proofreads and critiques your work?

I belong to a couple of (online) critique groups and I also exchange manuscripts with other writers. I have a writing buddy with whom I'm exchanging chapters of my current novel-in-progress.

Q: Where do you get your ideas?

A: Darned if I know. Some of the poetry is “inspired,” some is in response to exercises or prompts I dig up, some is from lines that come to me as I'm falling asleep, some from events in my life. Lots of places. One poem I wrote this week was inspired by some words in the comments in the "spam" folder on my website {grin}. I keep paper and pen handy to write down ideas as they strike me.

Q: Where do you write?

A: Wherever I happen to be. I have pads and pens everywhere. I even write in the car. At home, my two favorite spots are the dining room table and my bed.

Thanks for stopping by Margaret and giving us a chance to get to know you.

Compared to a Classic

I’ve been very busy the past few weeks. I’ve been working on some bug related poems for a new project and I’ve been working the bugs out of some press kits I’ve been developing. The program I’m using shrinks the font every time I try to convert the file into a pdf, so I’ve been very buggy too (bad pun-insert groan here). But I digress (I’m good at that).

I really wanted to talk about a new review for The Soggy Town of Hilltop. I’m starting to get some reviews on The Soggy Town of Hilltop and there’s one in particular that I find very intriguing. In the review by The Home School Book Review, my book is reminiscent of Hans Christian Anderson’s The Emperor’s New Clothes. You can read the full review by clicking on the link below.

http://homeschoolblogger.com/homeschoolbookreview/783549/

One thing I love about getting reviews is seeing my work from a fresh point of view. All through the writing and publication phases, I never once thought about either Hans Christian Anderson or The Emperors New Clothes. But I do like the fact that my book can be compared to a classic such as that, and can still stand on it’s own as an original work. Also, I loved Hans Christian Anderson’s books when I was a kid. I never expected my name to be same paragraph as his, so I guess I must be doing something right. Hey, who knows? Maybe one day another author will be told that his/her book is reminiscent of Kevin McNamee’s The Soggy Town of Hilltop … a guy can dream, can’t he?

Virtual Book Tour - Martha Swirzinski

This month for the Virtual Book Tour, I am pleased to be hosting Martha Swirzinski. Martha is here to tell us about her Movement and More Children's Book Series.


Martha, please tell us about your books.


1.) Leap...Laugh...Plop

This book introduces children to locomotor movement skills. It keeps children laughing and learning on each wonderful page.



2.) Guess... Giggle...Wiggle

Guess… Giggle… Wiggle… challenges children to identify the animals based on clues. The book keeps children moving alongside the locomotor skills. As with the first in the series Leap… Laugh… Plop, each page of this second book is filled with wonderful suggestions that incorporate the social, emotional and mental aspects of childhood development.





3.) Kick...Catch...Buzzz

The third book In the series, Kick… Catch… Buzzz introduces children to the manipulative movement skills. Each page offers kids the opportunity to participate in fun movement and lively discussion.






Tell me about the title of the series and what that means to readers?

The title Movement and More suggests that within the pages of our books I offer not just fantastic rhymes and great pictures but moving, interacting, thinking and socializing. Our books engage the whole child, all of the domains of child development.

You mention “our” books. Who is the other author?

I co-wrote these with Dr. Anita Tieman, a psychologist, who has spent many years working with children. She brings her expertise into the social and emotional aspect of these books.

You have three books. Leap…Laugh…Plop, Guess…Giggle…Wiggle and Kick… Catch…Buzzz. Can you tell me a bit about them?

These three books offer the ultimate mind/body connection. When children move both their bodies and minds are strengthened. Using entertaining rhymes and charming pictures, these fun and creative books offer multiple ways for your child to move. They also provide mind stimulating activities on each page. Each book brings the joy of movement together with the joy of reading. The pages of these books are filled with laughter, learning, movement and more.
More specifically: Leap…Laugh…Plop works on all of the locomotor skills
Guess…Giggle…Wiggle… has the children doing creative movement
Kick…Catch…Buzzzz.. addresses the manipulative skills

Will there be any more in the series?

Yes, as a matter of fact we are working on the fourth now, which will be specifically on the non locomotor skills.

How did you come up with this idea for a series of books?

I teach in a preschool and have my Master’s degree in Kinesiology, so I’ve been involved with children and movement for over 15 years now. I wanted to come up with a way that parents, and teachers could incorporate the specific movement skills necessary for motor and brain development in an easy and fun way. Doing an activity isn’t always easy. Sometimes space, equipment or time may not be available. However, reading a book is fun, easy and doesn’t require much planning.

Where can readers find your books?

Our website is http://www.wholechildpublishing.com/


Thanks for stopping by today Martha and letting us know more about you and your books.

Nice Review for The Soggy Town of Hilltop

I received my first review for The Soggy Town of Hilltop from The Children’s and Teens’ Book Connection and it’s a really nice one. I was excited to see what kind of reception this book would get, and I have to say, it’s a great start. An excerpt of the review is below.

The Soggy Town of Hilltop is a funny, rhyming story by Kevin McNamee. Having read McNamee’s The Sister Exchange and If I Could Be Anything, I was eager to read his latest book. The author has a great knack for turning something seemingly ridiculous into an engaging story for youngsters. In The Sister Exchange it was a young girl who wanted to trade her sister in at The Sister Exchange. In this latest book, the rulers of Hilltop are bored and decide to make up a silly new rule for the people to follow.

To see the full review, please click the link below.

http://childrensandteensbookconnection.wordpress.com/2010/05/05/the-soggy-town-of-hilltop-by-kevin%c2%a0mcnamee/

Not bad, huh?

The Soggy Town of Hilltop

Whoo Hoo!!! My first accepted picture book manuscript has finally been released! I have two other picture books that came out before this, namely, If I Could Be Anything and The Sister Exchange. However, this manuscript was the icebreaker that got the ball rolling for my writing career. I’m excited to see its release.

It’s titled The Soggy Town of Hilltop and is illustrated by Eugene Ruble. Eugene is the illustrator of several picture books and was an illustrator for the Voltron cartoon series.

The book info is below. (Woot!)

“You want us to do what?!!!”
This fun, rhyming picture book teaches more than just a new way to drink water.

The High Council of Hilltop wants the people to learn a new way to drink. But when the people find out why, everyone has something new to learn.


This book is available as a print book, a downloadable e-book, and a book on CD from guardianangelpublishing.com.

Books are also available at amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, or ask your local bookstore.

Autographed copies of this book are available at http://www.kevinmcnamee.com/

:-)

Virtual Book Tour-Author Lea Schizas

For this month's Virtual Book Tour, I am happy to be hosting the talented, and very, very busy Lea Schizas. Lea is the author of Bubba & Giganto: Odds Against Them

Lea Schizas is an award-winning author and editor, a short story competition winner, living in Montreal with her husband Jimmy and five children. She describes herself as “finally woke up after a 23-year self-induced coma taking care of the family, and rediscovered my passion for writing.”

She is the Founder and Editor in Chief of two Writer’s Digest 101 Top Writing Sites since 2004 and recipients of several Preditors and Editors Awards: Apollo’s Lyre, an online writer’s Zine: http://www.apollos-lyre.com/; the online writing critique community The MuseItUp Club, http://museitupclub.tripod.com/;
-Founder of The Muse Online Writers Conference, http://www.freewebs.com/themuseonlinewritersconference/
-Founder of The Muse Marquee, http://themusemarquee.tripod.com/
-Founder of The Muse Book Reviews, http://themusebookreviews.tripod.com/
-Reviewer for the award-winning site AllBooksReviews.com
-Editor for Double Dragon Publishing
-Submissions Editor for Red Rose Publishing.

She is the author of the Young Adult paranormal suspense/thriller “Doorman’s Creek”, co-author and editor of the nonfiction writing reference book “The Muse On Writing” (http://www.freewebs.com/themuseonwriting ) and the fantasy “Aleatory’s Junction” (http://aleatorysjunction.tripod.com/ ), and author of “The Librarian Who Wasn’t”, a short story appearing in the EPPIE award-winning Anthology “Twisted Tails II”, and an article published in the book, “Hollywood Experts” a Silver Foreword award winner.

In 2009, she has been offered three new contracts:

Libby the Odd Squirrel and Robbie and Katie Get A Hairy Scare
both contracted by Guardian Angel Publishing and 4RV Publishing has offered her a contract for I Don’t Want A Haircut

You can read more of Lea’s bio and accomplishments at:
http://leaschizaseditor.com/


Lea, tell us a little bit about Bubba & Giganto.

Bubba hates it when his dad gets a contract for a new project. That means uprooting the family from one city and moving to another. Attending a new school is a major pet peeve of his. His smart alecky nature attracts the bullies in every school he’s attended.

On the first day of school, Bubba bumps into this rather large student. Fearing a confrontation, he wears his tough guy attitude and waits for the punches to begin. Remarkably, the new student apologizes, and Bubba and David (aka Giganto as Bubba eventually nicknames him) become best friends.

Bubba and Giganto try out for the high school soccer team, and that’s when trouble begins. Bubba knew eventually he’d meet the bullies of the school, and he was right.

In the first initial weeks, Bubba learns about a death that occurred the previous year; faces the bullies on several occasions; helps Giganto practice soccer before tryouts; and challenges the bullies to a scrimmage.

Little does Bubba know Giganto holds a secret - one that will place Giganto in a deadly situation.


Readers can find Lea's book at the following:

Amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/Bubba-Giganto-Odds-Against-Us/dp/0979751365/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1219156292&sr=1-1

4RV Publishing
http://4rvpublishingllc.com/Store.html

Barnes & Noble
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Bubba-and-Giganto/Lea-Schizas/e/9780979751363/?itm=1

The Reading Warehouse
http://www.thereadingwarehouse.com/book.php?ISBN=9780979751363



Lea, a few questions if you don't mind. What or whom inspires you to write?

I’ve joked on several interviews that I mistook my umbilical cord as a cool writing implement and that’s how my writing career began. In all honesty, it was my dad’s love for the penned word that set me on my path. As a young girl I remember hearing dad’s speeches at weddings, meetings, get-togethers, and how he captivated the audience with his words.

Along with dad’s talent, it was my collection of comic books that really moved me to write. I loved the cliff-hanging endings, pushing me to buy the next comic book to find out what was going to happen. And that is exactly how I set up each of my chapter endings, thanks to comic books.

Where do you work? What is your ideal writing environment?

I’ve worked wherever I can get peace and quiet, alone time with my laptop. Right now I’m in a corner in my living room. The ideal writing environment would be my own office, where I can close the door to the yapping of my five kids and friends, to have my own shelves in front of me with my stack of writing books instead of having them spread throughout the house. But, this is one lesson writers need to adapt to – writing whenever and wherever you can, regardless of your surroundings. So, I’ve adapted quite nicely.

How many hours do you devote to writing and how long does it take you to write a book?

I am involved with many writing commitments so I work looonnng hours on my laptop. My day usually starts at 6:30am and doesn’t finish until midnight strikes. Now, I do clean, cook, and all the other motherly things so my time isn’t spent leaning over my laptop constantly.

Each day I devote to moving my own writing and editing forward, and then give one or two other writing aspects (updating sites/blogs, preparing zines/newsletters/reviews) my devotion as well. This slows down the time to complete my own work but I can safely say that I can finish three books in a year.

What do you most enjoy about the creative process? Are your characters based on people in your life?

I enjoy the freedom of no fear. What do I mean by that? I don’t fear being locked up in a nuthouse for stepping into my characters shoes while penning their stories. I become a teen with visions of past murders; an alien who finds himself tried for treason; a girl who discovers she is a princess to this whole new world she never knew existed. Writing allows you an escape, along with your reader, to leave your own safe domain and live another person’s life. This exhilaration can’t be felt in another profession as it is felt by those who write.

My characters are not based per say on anyone in my life but each do possess characteristics of family members. By keeping it ‘in the family’ it’s easier for me to flesh out their personalities, reactions and actions, to their fullest potential. And it doesn’t matter if my characters are human or animals; characters need to ‘feel’ real.


Thanks for stopping by Lea. Best of luck with Bubba & Giganto and congratulations on all your publishing successes.

An Eyeball in my Garden-Update

I mentioned in a previous post that I was involved in a poetry anthology being published by Marshall Cavendish titled, An Eyeball in my Garden and other Spine-tingling Poems. This anthology was created by my poetry critique group. The Poet’s Garage. Well, I finally got to see the cover and the interior, and it’s really a fine piece of work. Johan Olander is the illustrator, and the illustrations he came up with are terrific. I’m particularly fond of the illustration he came up with for Winking Wot Warning by Debra Leith. I have two poems in there titled, Our Neighborhood and The Gargoyle. There’s already a link for it on Amazon. It’s officially due out in July, but you can pre-order it at http://www.amazon.com/Eyeball-My-Garden-Other-Spine-tingling/dp/0761456554/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1270138057&sr=8-2

Virtual Book Tour Guest-Nancy Famolari

This month's guest for the virtual book tour is Nancy Famolari to tell us about her book, Unwelcome Guest at Fair Hill Farm. Nancy, please tell us what this book is about.


When fifteen-year-old Meg discovers that a beautiful Swedish student with designs on her boyfriend has come to spend a year on her beloved horse farm, she decides to act. None of her plans to force Katrina to leave work. During foaling season, disaster strikes. Will the girls cooperate to save the mare and foal?


Can you tell us a little about yourself?

I live on a farm in the Endless Mountains of Pennsylvania. We have dogs, cats and horses. I must admit horses are my favorites. They're kind, gentle, and loving. At times, they seem almost able to read your mind. We've had horses for almost 25 years. I don't know what I'd do without their friendly presence. I love watching them in the field, and of course, riding and carriage driving.


What inspired you to write this story?

When we lived in New Jersey, we raised Standardbred racehorses commercially. Both my husband and I worked full time, so it was important to have help. A Swedish couple owned the farm adjoining ours. For a few months each year, they hosted girls and boys from the Scandinavian countries to work on the farm and get to visit the U.S. One year, she had an extra girl, one who was interested in the breeding aspects of the Standardbred business, rather than the racing. She asked us if we would host the girl for a few months. We were delighted, and Malin became part of our family. She was excellent with the horses, and it gave the boys a sister. When I decided to write a young adult book about horse breeding, the interesting aspect of having a foreign visitor living on the farm seemed perfect. For several years, we had hosted exchange students from Europe and Japan in the summer. Meg's reaction to having someone new living in the house is the same reaction some of the boys had the first time we hosted a foreign student. In the end, it worked very well for everyone. The boys learned a great deal about several foreign countries and made friends.


Do you have a favorite character, if so tell us why?

That's a hard question. Both Meg and Katrina are wonderful characters. I can't say either is my favorite. Meg is a typical teenager, and Katrina is such a basically nice person. There is one other character in story that I, and everyone who's read the book, love, Nicky. His character is based on my Morgan gelding, also named Nicky, and in many respects, he's the favorite.


Tell us a little about your writing schedule. What do you find most difficult, easiest?

I try to write 2000 words a day when I'm doing a first draft. When the draft is finished I put it away for months, then send it to my critique group and finally, do revisions. The hardest part for me is after the book is published, trying to promote it.


What are your future writing plans?

I plan to write two more books in this series about Meg and Katrina. In the second book, the girls go to Arizona for two weeks on a dude ranch. In the third book, it's horse show season and Meg hates watching Cindy, her major rival, drive Nicky in the shows.


To find out more about nancy, please visit her blog at http://nancygfamolari.blogspot.com/

Thanks for stopping by Nancy and for giving us an opportunity to get to know you. Best of luck to you in your writing career.

Dr Seuss Makes an Appearance

I attended a Read Aloud Jamboree on Tuesday. It was a lot of fun and the kids were great. I went into about nine classrooms armed with my rhymer, If I Could Be Anything for the younger grades and The Sister Exchange for the older grades. It was very entertaining for everyone involved, I think... I didn’t see any bored faces anyway, so I guess that’s a good sign.

Most of the kids at this school were already familiar with my books and had been told that I would be visiting. But the day of my visit also coincided with Dr. Seuss’s birthday, which the students had been informed of as well

When the teacher asked one class if they knew who I was, one student answered, “Dr. Seuss!”

Not quite, but it’s still pretty nice to be compared to him. But from now on I’ll have to check the calendar first before I schedule any future school visits.

Virtual Book Tour - Linda Suzane

Today I am hosting Linda Suzane. Linda is the author of the fantasy genre novel, The Eyes of Truth.



Linda, can you give us a brief synopsis of this book?



If you could tell if someone was lying, you would think it would be simple to find a murderer, but Dar learns it isn't so easy, when he is sent to Dak-moon to find the killer of a gardener in this fantasy mystery.






Do you have any reviews of this book?



Ruby Moon-Houldson of Earth Realm Reviews said:



This book was great! It was a mixture of fantasy thriller, fast-paced adventure, and whodunit. Suzane has created a world in which mythical creatures abound. The author integrates Japanese type virtues within her characters. There are many twists, turns, and surprises along the way as the characters race to solve a murder.Dar is much like the world renowned, television hero, Beastmaster—willing to help others and defend the weak. Dar and a friend take on a quest of sorts and run across various forms of life along the way. This tale encompasses unusual phenomenon like death from ghost sickness, night creatures, strange seers, and the not-so-unusual—dragons.



You will not want to put this book down once you’ve begun reading it. So settle into a comfy seat and get ready to be whisked away on a fast and furious adventure.



What is this book about?



Eyes of Truth is a fantasy set in an exotic place where watch dragons bugle warning of impending disaster, villagers are terrified of blood-drinking night-creatures, soothsayers seek answers from house elementals, and some men possess the Eyes of Insu, the power to tell if a man lies. When a gardener is found drained of all blood in the distant province of Dak-moon, the Dyamu of Kingdom of Naj sends his brother Dar to solve the crime. With the Eyes of Insu, Dar can tell if someone is lying, but can he find a murderer?



What prompted you to write this story? What was your inspiration?



This is from the Afterward from the first edition:Some years ago I took a class on writing speculative fiction from science fiction writer Ray Faraday Nelson. He gave me two invaluable gifts. First was the assignment to identify our passion, the thing we write about over and over. I discovered that mine was duality, dealing with the dark, hidden side of ourselves. All my heros and heroines had secret identities, hidden pasts, and the story is always about them coming to terms with these alter egos. The second assignment was in world building and led to the creation of the fantasy kingdom of Naj. In college I was a history major. One of the periods that fascinated me was ancient Japan, the early history, actually before the rise of the Samurai, the time of the Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu and The Pillow Book by Sei Shonagon. So when I began creating a fantasy world, I drew on that as a source, rather than the typical European or Tolkein roots.I decided to write a short story set in the Kingdom of Naj for Marion Zimmer Bradley’s Sword and Sorceress series. I submitted the story and Marion wrote a devastating rejection letter, calling my writing hackneyed. I refused to accept her rejection and kept working on the story. When she was reading for the next book in the series, I submitted a greatly revised and improved story. Although it didn’t make the cut, she wrote me a glowing letter and said that she really had liked the story, but she only had room for a couple of stories of that length. I explored many different kinds of writing trying to find what I really enjoyed. I tried romances, but I found I just didn’t like them. Still romance was the market to break into, so I decided to try my hand at romantic suspense. I wrote a proposal for Harlequin about a mystery game designer whose game goes murderously wrong, using my own experience at designing mystery games. That was when murder mystery games were becoming popular in the early 1980's. They liked the idea and agreed to let me write the book on spec. When I finally finished the book, it was rejected by Harlequin because the hero wasn’t Harlequin enough. Eventually The Murder Game became my first published eBook and is now available from www.wings-press.com. While I didn’t enjoy writing romance, I did really like writing the mystery part, so I decided to try my hand at writing mysteries. About that time, I read a fantasy mystery A Sword in Winter by Marta Randall. I was impressed and began to wonder if I could create a fantasy mystery. I started thinking about what kind of detective I wanted, what powers he would have that would make him interesting, and Dar was born. I played around with a lot of different ideas. The murder, the gardener’s body found drained of blood, hanging above a cookpot was always there, but I didn’t know who the murderer was or why. That came much later.



How many books have you written?



My first book, THE ADDONIAN AFFAIR, was an “original cast” Star Trek novel, that was published as a fanzine. No longer available.


THE MURDER GAME is a romantic mystery originally written on spec for Harlequin, about a murder mystery game designer whose mystery game goes murderously wrong. This was my first published book and is now available from www.Wings-Press.com. It taught me that I really don’t like writing romance, but I do like writing mystery.


EYES OF TRUTH originally published by Twilight Times, and then translated and printed in Romanian. It was reprinted Jan 2009 by http://www.wings-press.com/.


CAPTIVITY DARKHOUR VAMPIRES VOL 1 is also available from www.Wings-Press.com. This is the first of a series of 5 books. In 1998, I had the experience of a character stepping out of a short story and literally demand that I tell the story of how he was first bitten by vampires. This series wrote itself. Over a period of 6 months I completed the first draft of 5 books, all over 50,000 words. This was a once in a lifetime experience to literally be consumed by a story, to feel out of control while the characters took over and told their tales. It was exhilarating and exhausting. So probably this was the easiest to write because it literally wrote itself. Shortly after CAPTIVITY was published in 2002, I was forced to stop writing because of ill health. So it is also the hardest, as I try picking up the series after 6 years and finish it.




Do you have a website that readers can visit to look at more of your work?

Please see below.


http://www.lindasuzane.com/
(official website)


http://www.wings-press.com/
(My publisher) On Wings of Murder


Linda Suzane at Facebook http://www.facebook.com/LindaSuzane



My Space http://www.myspace.com/lindasuzane



Red Room www.redroom.com/author/lindasuzane



Twitter http://twitter.com/LindaSuzane



Thanks for stopping by Linda. Best of luck with your books.

From the Slush Pile to the Reserved Pile

A member of my critique group recently bought two autographed copies of my book, If I Could Be Anything, for the school library where her kids go to school. She recently reported back that my book has been in the Requested/Reserved pile at the library for the past few weeks. She told me that it’s not a big pile, and only the best books wind up in that pile. How cool is that?

My books have gotten some pretty good reviews so far. But this tells me more than anything else, that I’m doing exactly what I should be doing. Kids actually waiting to read my book, is probably the most glowing review of all. I'm doing the happy dance!

New Online Magazine

Guardian Angel Publishing has come out with a new online magazine called Guardian Angel Kids. This e-zine is geared for kids up to twelve years old and includes, book readings, games and activities. I’m happy to announce that my book, The Sister Exchange, is being featured in this edition. If you get a chance, please stop by http://www.guardian-angel-kids.com and check it out. Oh, and if you check out the “Creative Crew” section, you just might see a familiar face.

VBT Tour - H.C. Paye

Hi All

I'm participating in a virtual book tour (VBT) group again and looking forward to meeting all the different authors out there. Allow me to introduce January's VBT guest, H.C. Paye.

H.C.Paye grew up in a small town in Arizona. She has been writing since 2001 and taking up every challenge that comes her way.

Please tell us a little more about your book A Gift from Above.

Celia Meyers gets everything that she wants, but when she requests a sibling and gets it, it's not all that she expected at all. Her parents ignore her, threaten to send her to a "summer camp" and the worst possible things happen to her all of the time. Finally she can't take it anymore, so she confides in her best friend Tommy Hanson, about searching for her long lost nanny Milicent Potter. But when she finds Millie, she learns some disturbing facts that she's not quite sure what to do with.

Celia visits with Tommy and discovers his true feelings towards her. At the ending Celia becomes somewhat of a hero as she saves a young boy in a car accident.

The book starts out when she is 8 and progresses through her life until she is 16.

What inspired you to write this story?

I would say that my younger siblings were certainly a source of inspiration in writing this story, my little brother especially. A lot of the troubles that I had with my brother are somehow refected in "A Gift From Above".

Who is your favorite character in your story, and why?

My favorite character would have to be Tommy Hanson. He's like Edward Cullen to me, he is that comforting, nice, kind guy that you become addicted to.

What was the hardest part about writing this book?

I wrote it for a contest (see details at http://www.nanowrimo.org/ ) where I had to write the entire thing in one month. So that was one of the hardest things. One thing I remember that was particularly hard about this was my laptop broke in the middle of writing in the competition, so I had to take it completely to pen & paper, which slowed me down exceedingly, and on top of everything I had to write it from the paper back on to a computer, since it was the family computer I couldn't be on it all the time. But, everything I wrote about my story was on my laptop, so I didn't have anything that I wrote except for the last few words that I memorized. Luckily my uncle got the information out of my laptop for me with one day to spare. My laptop was totaled, but the half-written book was the gold that I was looking at.

What was easiest?

Definitely the entire plot. I knew exactly what was going to happen as I wrote it, I didn't have to stop for awhile and ponder what was going to happen next. It was all really natural for me to write. Which is rare for me to do, usually I have to stop for an hour or two - or even a day - and ponder what I was going to write next.

What's next for you?

I'm currently working on a fantasy series of nine, I have the first in the series complete and it's currently being looked over by a publisher. The second in the series is still in the writing stage. And this November I'm going to participate in that contest again, NaNoWriMo, and attempt to write a novel about a girl who turns into a werewolf, no title yet.



Below is where readers can buy H.C. Paye's book, A Gift from Above.



CreateSpace - https://www.createspace.com/Customer/EStore.do?id=3375222




Amazon Kindle - http://www.amazon.com/A-Gift-From-Above/dp/B002BA5VTM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1244574595&sr=8-1




Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/Gift-Above-H-C-Paye/dp/1441498389/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1244574833&sr=8-3




Target - http://www.target.com/dp/1441498389/sr=1-1/qid=1248630986/ref=sr_1_1/184-1615249-0525141?ie=UTF8&search-alias=tgt-index&frombrowse=0&index=target&rh=k%3AH.C.Paye&page=1



Thanks for stopping by H.C. I wish you much success with your book.

Sweet Reviews

I just received two new reviews of my books at the Children and Teen’s Book Connection. After all the work that went into these books, it’s really great to hear some positive remarks from others.

To read the full review of The Sister Exchange, please click the link below.

http://childrensandteensbookconnection.wordpress.com/2010/01/23/the-sister-exchange-by-kevin-mcnamee/

To read the review of If I Could Be Anything, please click on this link.

http://childrensandteensbookconnection.wordpress.com/2010/01/23/if-i-could-be-anything-by-kevin-mcnamee/

While it’s great to get a professional review, my favorite reviews to date come from kids. My wife is a teacher and read The Sister Exchange to one of her classes. They all wrote letters to me about the book.

They all had the same favorite character, Toecheez, and quite a few of them were upset that I didn’t dedicate the book to my wife. This particular book is dedicated to my nieces who gave me the idea for this story.

I took my constructive criticism in stride and have made a mental note to myself to include more “wife related” dedications in my future books. I also received some rave reviews that this was the BEST BOOK EVER!

I’ll take their word for it. After all, who am I to argue with them? ;-)

Great Reviews and a Great Start to the New Year

I received a great review of my two books from Dixie Philips at Writing4littleones that I want to share here. In her review Ms. Philip’s says:

“I am fast becoming an avid fan of children's author Kevin McNamee. I was trying to think exactly what it is about his two new children's books The Sister Exchange and If I Could Be Anything that won my heart. I believe I know the answer - His writing keeps the reader grounded as to what is of utmost importance in life. Before you read the last sentence of his books, you realize, more than you ever did before, just how precious and important family and loved ones are.”

I think that’s the nicest thing I’ve heard about my writing in all the years I’ve been doing this. To read the full review of If I Could Be Anything and The Sister Exchange, please go to:

http://writing4littleones.blogspot.com/2010/01/if-i-could-be-anything-by-kevin-mcnamee.html

What a great start to the New Year!