A Huge Thank You!

I had a wonderful time this weekend at the Buffalo Historical Society's Maker's Market! A huge shout-out to friends Laura, who showed up for moral support, and Ann and Jay who traveled great distances to support my efforts as well. So great to see them!

It was a great venue, and the folks who run and volunteer at the museum are the friendliest!

What a super time meeting so many people -- young and old alike -- who were interested in Relic and Eye of the Peacock, their story lines, themes, and inspiration. I had some great conversations! This was my first big signing since Covid hit, and meeting potential readers is really the best part of being an author. Writing is a very isolated craft -- you're really kept company only by the characters you create. But when you do a signing, you get to connect with people who are interested in those characters that you have become so close to. 

So many people out there like to read -- and write. If you bought a copy, I thank you. If it was a gift, I hope they love it. Please feel free to contact me here. And don't forget to write a review on either my Amazon or my Good Reads page. Friday and Saturday let me also talk about this blog and the writing tips I've been offering. I hope you all visit and take advantage! It felt so good to be back in the saddle again!

Must Read!

I really don’t like self-help books.

The last one I read in its entirety was What Color is Your Parachute? back in the, I don’t know, 1980s?

But, recently, a friend loaned me a copy of Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert – the same author who wrote Eat, Pray, Love. I was skeptical of another self-help book and managed to put off reading it until I had nothing left on my “read now” pile.

I am about half-way through and highly recommend it as a must read for you writers out there who say you will eventually write that book. One of her many messages in the book is, cut it out. Start now!

So many of us complain about a lack of time to do what we love – that life gets in the way. But she points out, “Most individuals have never had enough time, and they’ve never had enough resources, and they’ve never had enough support or patronage or reward…and yet still they persist in creating. They persist because they care. They persist because they are called to be makers, by any means necessary.”

So many inspirational passages in this book. I love it!

Looking for a Good Read?

I just finished reading Linda Sue Park’s A Long Walk to Water.

A good, short read, but I thought the best part was the parallel story about Nya, whose day is consumed by two trips to a pond to fetch and deliver life-sustaining water for her family.

The main story is about Salva, a refugee from Sudan, who becomes a "lost boy" as he runs from his war-torn homeland searching for his family and safety.

Not one to spoil a clever ending, suffice it to say the two stories make sense in the end.

I had the pleasure of meeting Linda Sue Parks in November at the 2nd Annual WNY Children's Book Expo. She is also the author of  A Single Shard, for which she won the Newbery Medal -- I will make sure I add that to my “Must Read” pile.

More Summer Must Reads

Now for the summer recommendation for young adults:

The must-read series for older kids is The Lunar Chronicals by Maissa Meyer. In the first book, Cinder has a way with machines. She’s a gifted mechanic because she’s had to learn to deal with herself – she’s a cyborg. Among other things she has an artificial foot and her mean step mother hasn’t allowed her to spend the money to replace it since she was about 11, so it’s too small. Sound familiar? It should, but there are some clever twists. One day, a young man brings an adroid to her booth for her to repair. He has his sweatshirt hood pulled up over his head and when it falls down, it is none other than the hunky young prince.

While a deadly plague ravages Earth's population, the Lunar people watch from space. Cinder, and eventually her crowd of cronies, is caught trying to save the world by uncovering her past.

Cinder is a great read that twists a familiar fairytale. It is followed by Scarlet, Cress, and Winter, all of which add other fairytale favorites in this futuristic fantasy. If, after finishing the series, you can’t get enough (and I know several people who couldn’t get enough!) there’s Fairest, which gives you the background on Queen Levana, and Stars Above, which is a collection of short stories involving the same characters.

 

Also due out in the fall is Heartless, the story of the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland. It's not a continuation of the series, but a stand-alone that promises to be just as captivating.

Summer Must Reads

With summer vacation only weeks away, I’m going to recommend my favorite reads from this year:

First, for my middle grade followers, the must-read series for the summer is the Tupelo Landing series by Sheila Turnage. The series starts with Three Times Lucky, a Newbery Honor Winner. The main character Mo LoBeau, whose life itself is one big mystery, ends up trying to solve her small town’s first murder. She feels she must since her best friend Dale is the chief suspect.

The book is stocked with marvelous supporting characters: The Colonel (who may or may not be a colonel) and Miss Lana, who took in Mo 11 years ago when she washed up in hurricane; Attila Celeste, the girl Mo hates most in 6^th grade; and Grandmother Miss Lacy Thornton.

The first mystery is followed by The Ghosts of Tupelo Landing  and The Odds of Getting Even.  All are pure entertainment from start to finish. The stories run the gammut of emotions from funny to tear jerking. They are guaranteed page-turners you won’t put down.

I am Pleased to Announce...

The publication of Relic, a middle grade supernatural mystery!

It is available on Amazon as a paperback for $8.99.

   For 12-year-old Samantha Whitaker, her parents’ dream of running a country
inn – which she calls “The Ick,” is pure torture.

  After purchasing a strange item in an antique shop just to annoy her mother, Samantha makes a desperate attempt to flee the small village by stealing her parents’ car – only to crash it when an odd village girl darts in front of her…then disappears.

  Despite Samantha’s resistance, a local girl named Twyla befriends her and aids her in looking for the missing girl. Her search leads Samantha to learn about a famous former
occupant – village benefactor, patron of the arts, and suffragette Olivia Ainsley Wagner Roth – who, according to the previous owner, still haunts the inn.

   An unusual relic, a hidden diary, an unfinished letter. Will Samantha’s supernatural sleuthing bring answers to a village mystery that has strange parallels to her own life?

Enjoy!

Summer Reading

With summer upon us, there is plenty of time for reading. Since this time last year, I kept tabs of what titles I read for the year. As would be expected, I read a lot of young adult and middle grade, but I do turn to adult books every now and then. Here are the titles, in no particular order.

For young people:

Deep Blue by Jennifer Donnelly
Rogue Wave by Jennifer Donnelly
Amber House by Kelly Moore, Tucker Reed and Larkin Reed
The Family Romanov by Candace Fleming
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
Museum of Thieves by Lian Tanner
Something Upstairs by Avi
Lily Dale Awakening by Wendy Corsi Staub
Lily Dale Believing by Wendy Corsi Staub
Lily Dale Connecting by Wendy Corsi Staub
Lily Dale Discovering by Wendy Corsi Staub
The Search for Wandla by Tony DeTerlizzi
The Battle for Wandla by Tony DeTerlizzi

A Hero for Wandla by Tony DiTerlizzi
The Giver by Lois Lowry
Gathering Blue  by Lois Lowry
House of Secrets by Chris Columbus and Ned Vizzini
Chinese Cinderella: Secret Dragon Society by Adeline Yen Mah
The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate
Grace, Gold & Glory by Gabrielle Douglas
The Ghosts of Tupelo Landing by Sheila Turnage
Shaking the Foundation: Charles Darwin and the Theory of       Evolution  by Sylvia Johnson
Messanger by Lois Lowry
Son by Lois Lowry
Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card
Seraphina by Rachel Hartman

For Adults:

The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith
Still Falling by Martin Wilsey

I am currently reading the sequel to Seraphina – Shadow Scale, and I am eagerly awaiting the third in the Jennifer Donnelly series, and the next Robert Galbraith (aka JK Rowling) detective mystery.

It’s summer! Kick back and read a good tale. What is your favorite this season?

 

Great Sci Fi Read

I must give a long-overdue shout out to friend and fellow writer Martin Wilsey.

Martin's first novel, Still Falling, which has only been on the market since late March, has already received eight extremely positive reviews on Amazon. An adult science fiction story, Still Falling is the first in what is expected to be the Solstice 31 Saga trilogy.

As one of his beta readers, I know first-hand what a great read it is. His characters Barcus and Po are facinating, well-rounded characters, and there are some great secondary characters as well. Martin has done this neat thing where he combines futuristic technology in a medieval setting. If you know Martin, these are two of the things he loves most.

I am really proud of him!
 

If you check out his blog wilseymc@blogspot.com you’ll find all his other links.