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. ;-)

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/

:-)

Sneek Peek at The Soggy Town of Hilltop

I’m still working on a web site, flash games, promotion material for my books and a new rhyming picture book, all which are in various stages of completion. But I should have something to show for it by next month. I’m glad we’re gaining an hour due to Daylight Savings Time, because I could use it!

I did see some illustrations from The Soggy Town of Hilltop and I’m very happy with them. Eugene Ruble is the illustrator for this book and I think he did an excellent job. Eugene was an illustrator for the Voltron cartoon series for those of you old enough to remember it. Now Eugene is one of the talented artists at Guardian Angel Publishing(GAP). He is also doing the illustrations for my counting book titled, Lightning Strikes, that GAP is publishing. I’m really looking forward to seeing what he comes up with.

On a side note, I am old enough to remember Voltron. Unfortunately, what I remember most about Voltron is my attempt at assembling a three foot tall replica of the robot that my mother bought for my nephew. Enlisting the help of my sister and brother-in-law, we managed to put this thing together, but it did take most of Christmas morning to do it. My nephew was about two years old at the time, and could have cared less about Voltron. He proceeded to play with the box it came in. The box was quite a hit.

Anyway, for your viewing pleasure, here is a sneak peek at The Soggy Town of Hilltop. This book is scheduled to be released in January 2010.

A few things taking shape

I mentioned awhile back that I was included in a poetry anthology due out in 2010. I found out that another poem I submitted was accepted, so I'm pretty excited about that. Although I have a few rhyming picture books under contract, this will be my first poetry anthology. So, I really feel validated as a poet. I'll post more info about this once the revisions are finalized

Also, I heard from Kit Grady about my book, The Sister Exchange. She posted a sketch of one of the illustrations. It's a cute character and I'm psyched to see the rest of the illustrations. To take a sneek peek of The Sister Exchange, go to Kit's blog at

http://www.kit-grady.blogspot.com/

I've already seen sketches for If I Could Be Anything which is being illustrated by Marina Movshina, so I already have a decent idea of what the final copy of the book will look like. The only books that are still a mystery to me are Lightning Strikes and The Soggy Town of Hilltop. These are being illustrated by Eugene Ruble and I haven't heard anything about them yet. But I've seen Eugene's work and he's a talented guy. I'm sure he'll do my books justice.

Things Humming Along Nicely

I’ve been digging out from the virtual book tour and other assorted matters, but here’s what’s been going on with me lately.

I received the artists’ agreement for two of my picture books, Lightning Strikes and The Soggy Town of Hilltop. Eugene Ruble will illustrate these books. Lightning Strikes is a counting book and Eugene has experience with illustrating his own counting book. Also, The Soggy Town of Hilltop has a certain wackiness factor and Eugene does wacky well. So I’m excited to see what he comes up with.

Also, I’ve seen the draft sketches for If I Could Be Anything. Marina Movshina is illustrating this and I really like the illustrations she came up with. I look forward to seeing the finished artwork. I think it will compliment the text nicely.

I haven’t heard anything about The Sister Exchange lately. That book was originally slated to be my first release. I’ll have to check to see if that’s still the case.

I’ve got some more good news to report. A poem of mine called “Welcome to My Neighborhood” is going to be included in a poetry anthology being published by Marshall Cavendish. The anthology is due out in the fall of 2010. The project is still in the editing phase and is currently being expanded. I submitted another poem to be considered for the anthology. I’ll have to see if it makes the grade. I’ll talk about this a little more when I have some details.

So things are humming along nicely, no finished products or release dates yet. But I’m getting there. I definitely feel like I have some accomplishments that I can be proud of.