Tyrean Martinson & NEXUS

My friend Tyrean Martinson has released the 2nd book in the Kayatana series releasing and it is so much fun!

I love the world-building in this series!

One piece of that fun world-building is awak. This is a beverage the characters drink often - similar to coffee here on earth. Or tea for me!

Tyrean:

If you enjoy science fiction, you might have noticed a tendency for writers to give a unique twist to one of Earth’s favorite beverages: coffee. In The Rayatana Series, the beverage “awak” is like a mixture of coffee and tea with similar stimulating properties. In fact, Amaya is a bit nervous about drinking it when she first is introduced to it because she isn’t sure if alien foods and beverages are going to work for her. There’s an answer to this dilemma presented in book one, and if you haven’t read it yet I don’t want to spoil it for you. 

When I came up with the idea for “awak” as a hot beverage, it was in homage to all the other science fiction beverages. Consider Blue Milk, Romulan Ale, Pan Galactic Gargle Blasters, Klah, and other beverages from the story worlds you’ve enjoyed. Would those books be the same without the entertaining, sometimes humor-filled details of the beverages your favorite characters drink? 

What’s your favorite science fiction beverage or food? 

Tyrean's mentioned 2 of these beverages that I'd like to try!

Of course, we couldn't have a list without Romulan ale from Star Trek. Over the ST universe, Romulan ale is infamous for its power and the power of the hangover it induces. Don't think I want the hangover, but I'd like to try at least a sip!

If you've read Anne McCaffrey's PERN series, you know they drink klah. Made from tree bark and flavoured with cinnamon (or the PERN equivalent of cinnamon anyway), this one would be fun to try!

How about you? Any beverages from SF land that you'd like to try? Which series/author has world-building you adore? Any other fans of the Kayatana series?

Book Blurb:

Amaya is supposed to bring peace to the galaxy. Which is tough when she’s being held for crimes against the Neutral Zone. Her imprisonment is on her own ship with her own crew. But close quarters create tension.

Honestly, her role as Rayatana is a mess.

She may never get to use her powers for anything good. Not if her teacher continues to keep secrets, and not if her powers keep harming others. Putting her mother in a coma should put her in prison, but she has a mission. She wants to bring peace to her people. She needs to become the Rayatana.

 Nexus: The Rayatana Book 2 is available October 4, 2021 for all online, retail, and all ebook platforms. Published by Tyrean Martinson with Wings of Light Publishing, LLC. Young Adult - Science Fiction/Adventure/Sweet Romance. ISBN for Kindle: 978-1-7357695-5-4,ISBN for  Paperback: 978-1-7357695-6-1, and ISBN for EPub: 978-1-7357695-7-8.

Book Links:

Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09BMHPQ1X

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B09BMHPQ1X 

Amazon AUS: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B09BMHPQ1X 

Amazon Canada: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B09BMHPQ1X 

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1105272 

Apple: https://books.apple.com/us/book/nexus-the-rayatana-book-2/id1586906824 

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/nexus-the-rayatana-book-2 

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4248677708 

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/books/nexus-the-rayatana-series-book-2-by-tyrean-martinson 

Official Author Bio and Links:

Tyrean Martinson is a word hunter. She forages for words both sweet and tart in the South Sound of Washington State. An eclectic writer, she writes speculative fiction, contemporary and historical fiction, short scripts, devotions, writing books, song lyrics, and poetry. She has been a fencer (long ago), a kickboxer (for a short minute), and an action-movie fan. Tyrean is a life-long book lover, a Christ follower, and walker. Once upon a time, she was a Girl Scout who sang too loudly, and now she’s a podcaster and praise team member. Since childhood, her imagination has been swept away by fairy tales, science fiction, tales of overcoming the odds, and redemption arcs.

Tyrean’s Writing Spot Blog: https://tyreanswritingspot.blogspot.com/ 

Tyrean’s Tales: https://tyreanstales.com/ 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tyreanmartinson/ 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TyreanMartinson 

Tyrean’s Tutoring Website Words Take Flight: https://words-take-flight.com/

Tyrean Martinson & Liftoff!

 My blog buddy Tyrean Martinson has a book releasing today!!

Liftoff is Book 1 of the Rayatana Series. 

Groovy…Wake up and smell the 90s…And I oop… and other Hazards of Slang in Teen Dialogue

The danger of using slang in teen dialogue is that it is timely and not timeless. Add in the factor that most YA authors are actually adults who no longer speak the common slang of the day, and it can be downright unfriendly territory, especially given the current prevalence of the phrase, “Okay, Boomer.” 

So, what do we do? 

Use slang sparingly so our work is timeless instead of timely.

We research. Forms of research can include: films, show episodes, Youtube, TikTok, Instagram, and Urban Dictionary. But, more importantly for modern dialogue, listen to the teens around you. Get feedback from teens on current slang. Slang can be a matter of culture, style, and region, so, next…

We consider our characters. Our characters’ personality and culture will inform their dialogue. This is true for teens, adults, small children, and the elderly. It doesn’t matter how old your character is, what matters is who they are. You might write a seventeen-year-old who says, “Groovy.” You might write a 90-year-old who says, “And I oop,” and maybe even uses it at the right time and place. 

And always, we find beta readers who are either teens or parents of teens. I changed sections of dialogue in Liftoff at the behest of my nineteen-year-old daughter. Feedback helps.

Title: Liftoff

Subtitle: The Rayatana Series, Book 1

A spaceship in disguise,

An Earth girl searching for a sense of home,

And a Thousand Years’ War between alien races,

All collide on a summer afternoon.

An old movie theater welcomes Amaya in and wraps her up in the smell of popcorn and licorice. But one sunny afternoon during a matinee, the movie screen goes dark. The theater rumbles.

Amaya gets trapped in the middle of an ancient alien conflict. Angry and frightened, Amaya entangles herself in a life-changing cultural misunderstanding with Sol, a young alien who keeps omitting key information, even while they’re on the run from his enemies.

What will it take to survive a battle between alien races involved in an ancient war?

Liftoff is a fast-paced read for fans of Code 8, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Cobra Kai. 

Release Date: November 10, 2020

Paperback ISBN: ISBN: 978-0-9889933-8-9 

Ebook ISBN: ISBN: 978-0-9889933-9-6

Copyright Tyrean Martinson November 2020

Publisher: Wings of Light Publishing, Gig Harbor, WA, USA

Professionally Edited by Chrys Fey

Cover Art and Interior Design by Carrie Butler

LINKS: Kindle Barnes and Noble Kobo Smashwords Goodreads

About the Author: Tyrean Martinson is an author and teacher from Washington State. As a former fencer and kickboxer, she enjoys writing fight scenes in fast-paced novels and novellas. As a teacher and writing tutor, she loves to get students writing and reading comfortably by any means: talk-to-text, short writing assignments, short stories, novellas, and adventures. She wrote her latest novella, Liftoff, for herself during COVID, but realized it also fits a dream she’s had for a while: to create a short, fast-paced read for teen/YA readers who love popcorn movies, adventure, and sweet romance. 

Author Links: Blog Newsletter Instagram Twitter Facebook

My Review:

So much fun! Liftoff is a fabulous introduction to a new world and series. Amaya's life is completely disrupted when she heads to a movie with her friends. Instead of enjoying the film, she finds herself on an alien spaceship flying to a different solar system. And things only get more complicated from there! Alien species, new technologies, a heap of expectations, family drama and a cute alien who will do anything for her change everything for Amaya. Fascinating story and I'm looking forward to more!

Hope about you? Anyone using Groovy out there? What's your favourite slang term? Anyone else read LiftOff yet?

C. Lee McKenzie & Not Guilty

I’m delighted today to welcome author C. Lee McKenzie to my site to talk about her latest release, NOT GUILTY, as part of her MC Book Tour Blog adventure.

After you find out more about this tantalizing new story, be sure to enter Lee’s giveaway featured below.

* Not Guilty
* by C. Lee McKenzie
* Publication Date: October 25, 2019
* Genre: Young Adult

          A blood-smeared knife. One young man’s word against another. A lifetime dream crushed.

          The evidence points to Devon Carlyle. He was there when it happened. Everyone knows he had it in for Renzo Costa. And Costa says Devon was the one. In the judge’s rap of a gavel, Devon’s found guilty of assault. The star of the Oceanside High’s basketball team loses his shot at the one thing he’s worked so hard for—the championship game where college scouts could see how good he is.

          Now he makes his great shots in Juvenile Hall with kids far different from those that have always been in his life.

          Angry? Hell, yes.

          He’s bent on finding who did the crime. He’s bent on making them pay because he’s Not Guilty.

          But can he prove it?

For those who aren’t familiar with the author, here’s a bit of background on her.

C. Lee McKenzie has a background in Linguistics and Inter-Cultural Communication, but these days her greatest passion is writing for young readers. She has published five young adult novels: Sliding on the Edge, The Princess of Las Pulgas, Double Negative, and Sudden Secrets. Not Guilty is her most recent one.

          Sometimes she likes to jump into the world of the fantastic and when she does, she writes for the middle-grade reader. Some Very Messy Medieval Magick is the third book in the time-travel adventures of Pete and Weasel, with Alligators Overhead and The Great Time Lock Disaster being the first two. Sign of the Green Dragon, a stand-alone, takes the reader into ancient Chinese dragon myths and a quest for treasure.

          When she’s not writing she’s hiking or traveling or practicing yoga or asking a lot of questions about things she still doesn’t understand.

For more information on Lee and her writing, connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and at her Website. 

NOT GUILTY can be found AMAZON, Smashwords, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and Goodreads.

The author’s other young adult books include: Sliding on the Edge, Princess of Las Pulgas, Double Negative, Sudden Secrets

GIVEAWAY

With Halloween celebrated this week, Lee’s giving away five digital copies of NOT GUILTY and a $10 Amazon Gift Certificate. This tour-wide giveaway will end at midnight on Tuesday, Nov. 5^th.

To enter the giveaway, just click on the Rafflecopter widget below and follow the instructions. The widget may take a few seconds to load so please be patient. If the widget doesn’t show up, just click HERE and you’ll be directed to the widget.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thanks for stopping by today during Lee’s visit. Do you enjoy stories where the underdog becomes the champion? Don’t forget to enter the giveaway.

***

My review: 

This book is a powerful and emotional read - one of my favourite YA reads ever.
Devon is a 17-year-old basketball star who has everything going his way ... until he's accused of stabbing a man on a stretch of beach near his home.
Watching Devon go through so many challenges makes for a stressful and emotional ride that had me both in tears and cheering more than once.
Honest, gritty, realistic, and incredibly heartfelt.
These characters and this story will stay with you long after you've finished the final page.

A fabulous read!!

NOT GUILTY is out and about and it is so good. It's easily one of the most powerful and emotional YA books I've ever read. It pulled me in from the beginning, dug in its claws, and didn't let go until the last words. Do yourself a favour and pick up your copy!

Elizabeth Mueller & Masquerade: Oddly Suited

The latest IWSG anthology looks like another winner! Today, I've got Elizabeth Mueller, one of the authors, here to answer some questions!

***

Have you written YA romance before this short story?

Yes, I have. They are my favorite kinds of romances to write. Darkspell is my first published out there.

What was it about the prompt that intrigued you?

The prompt was YA Masquerade Romance—I find each one in itself: I love YA, romance,

and masquerades. Imagine what all three can do? Whoa!

What was your favourite part of writing this short story?

I loved creating the mysticism behind it, the implied history of their romantic intrigue.

As a writer, do you tend to start with characters, setting, or plot when you first get an idea? Oh, how do I answer that? It’s always a combination of things that come at me all at once I can’t possibly tell one from the other. Sometimes it’s a concept: like a character bound hand and foot by the queen’s body guards as he glares up at her (both are love interests). The story then unfolds as I imagine how he got himself into that mess and why. So fun!

Introduce us to the main character in your story.

Meet Ivy. Independent, smart, honorable. Curious. It’s what gets her into the mess to begin with but if she hadn’t have listened to her instincts, all would have been lost!

About my Short Story, ‘The Cog Prince’

Falling in love, saving the day, and a masque—oh my! The clock strikes the thirteenth hour and Ivy is sucked into a masquerade ball of whirling dancers where the Cog Prince has summoned her. A mysterious darkness seeks their destruction and she alone holds the key. Will Ivy save them in time?

Author Bio

Award-winning author Elizabeth Mueller lives in Texas with her husband, five lively children, five indoor kitties, a few outdoor kitties, and seventeen chickens. While she enjoys homeschooling her kidlets, she thrives as a full-time writer of any genre that captures her heart. She loves to hear from her readers!

Blog: ElizabethMueller.blogspot.com
Website: ElizabethMueller.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ElizabethMuellerAuthor/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ElizbethMueller

***



Today I'm taking part in the blog tour for Masquerade: Oddly Suited, a young-adult romance anthology from The Insecure Writer's Support Group which is coming out on 30th April 2019!

About the Anthology

Title: Masquerade: Oddly SuitedRelease date: April 30th, 2019
Publisher: Dancing Lemur Press
Genres: Young Adult Fiction: Romance – General / Paranormal / Contemporary
Print ISBN: 9781939844644
EBook ISBN: 9781939844651

Find love at the ball...
Can a fake dating game show lead to love? Will a missing key free a clock-bound prince? Can a softball pitcher and a baseball catcher work together? Is there a vampire living in Paradise, Newfoundland? What’s more important—a virtual Traveler or a virtual date to the ball?
Ten authors explore young love in all its facets, from heartbreak to budding passion. Featuring the talents of L.G. Keltner, Jennifer Lane, C.D. Gallant-King, Elizabeth Mueller, Angela Brown, Myles Christensen, Deborah Solice, Carrie-Anne Brownian, Anstice Brown, and Chelsea Marie Ballard.
Hand-picked by a panel of agents and authors, these ten tales will mystify and surprise even as they touch your heart. Don your mask and join the party…

eBook / Paperback / Goodreads / Blog / Facebook / Twitter / Pinterest

Stories Featured

Oddly Suited, LG Keltner
The silliest situations may be oddly suited for romance.

Behind the Catcher’s Mask, Jennifer Lane
Who can help her through a meltdown on the pitcher’s mound?

The Dark Charade, CD Gallant-King
The new girl in town falls in love for a mysterious boy who is maybe, probably, most definitely, a vampire.

The Cog Prince, Elizabeth Mueller
Falling in love, saving the day, and a masque—oh my! Will a missing key free a clock-bound prince?

A Diver’s Ball, Angela Brown
You can be anything you want in the online world of Cumulus. A human. An elf. A powerful beast mutation from your wildest imagination. But can you be in love?

Flower of Ronda, Myles Christensen
What if life's price of servanthood could be changed?

Fearless Heart, Deborah Solice
Is he a figment of her imagination conjured to keep her sane, or is he something else…something more?

Charleston Masquerade, Carrie-Anne Brownian
Can two worlds come together and find love?

Sea of Sorrows, Anstice Brown
What could a shapeshifting siren know about love?

Remedy, Chelsea Marie Ballard
Everything is against Remy and Rudy, but on the night of the Masquerade Ball, they must choose: each other or their lives?

You can find out more about the authors of Masquerade: Oddly Suited here.

Giveaway

The authors of Masquerade: Oddly Suited are giving away a $50 Amazon gift card to one winner. To enter, please complete the Rafflecopter below. The giveaway is open internationally from 12:00 am GMT 17th March to 12:00am GMT 6th May.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule

Visit the other blog tour hosts below to find out more about the stories and authors featured in Masquerade: Oddly Suited.

• Mon 18th March: Spotlight @ The Story of a Writer
• Fri 22nd March: Guest post by Anstice Brown @ Nicki Elson’s Not-So-Deep Thoughts
• Sun 24th March: Interview with Jennifer Lane @ Nancee Cain, Romance with a Serrated Edge
• Tues 26th March: Guest post by Angela Brown @ Blog of Author J Lenni Dorner
• Wed 27th March: Debut author spotlight with Chelsea Marie Ballard & Anstice Brown @ Operation Awesome
• Fri 29th March: Spotlight @ April Blogging from A-Z Challenge
• Mon 1st April: Interview with Deborah Solice @ Dusting the Soul
• Thurs 4th April: Spotlight @ Elements of Emaginette
• Fri 5th April: Guest post by C.D Gallant-King @ Writer’s Gambit
• Mon 8th April: Interview with Elizabeth Mueller @ Just Jemi
• Fri 12th April: Guest post by Carrie-Anne Brownian @ Jennifer Lane Books
• Mon 15th April: Guest post by Chelsea Marie Ballard @ My Pet Blog
• Tues 16th April: Guest post by Myles Christensen @ Quiet Fury Books
• Mon 22nd April: Interview with all the authors @ Alex J. Cavanaugh
• Sat 4th May: Interview with L.G Keltner @ The Cynical Sailor & His Salty Sidekick

***

So excited for this book to come out! Can't wait to see if Ivy saves the day!

Thanks for the visit, Elizabeth!

How about you? Do you start with characters, setting, or plot first? Or do they all come in a blend the way they do for Elizabeth?

The Love of Reading Lives On!

I had a group of Grade 8 students working in my classroom the other day. They were working on a variety of projects and activities and sitting in small groups around the room.

One of students started a discussion about the book he was reading (In a Handful of Dust by Mindy McGinnis). He knew a few others had read the first book in the series (Not a Drop to Drink by Mindy as well) and asked if they thought it was okay to read the books out of order.

One girl used the phrase companion book and, having read both books, told him it would be fine, although there could be a few spoilers about a character. A few other students agreed, and the conversation turned to what they liked about the world building in the book.

Another boy chimed in about the world building in Extraction by Stephanie Diaz and he encouraged them to read it because, while it was really different in almost every way, he thought all the books created vivid worlds, powerful characters, and intriguing (his word!) conflict, and that students who liked one would like the other.

The conversation was interrupted by the bell, but it was some great eavesdropping for so many reasons:

• the authors the kids spoke about are friends of mine from Agent Query Connect (the kids know nothing about my connection to these authors)
• the gender of the main character didn't matter to anyone
• the conversation was completely and totally spontaneous
• there was NO adult intervention or commentary (I sat back quietly and grinned!!!)
• they showed great understanding of the books and all kinds of literary concepts
• they were able to look past the obvious dis-similarities to deeper connections within the books

Talk about an uplifting few minutes! So, for those of you who are worried about the next generation of readers, relax! 

What about you? What positive reading have you seen and heard about lately?

Julie Musil & 5 Scary Things about Indie Publishing -- Plus Solutions to Calm Your Nerves

Please welcome the awesome Julie Musil to the blog today! Julie's latest book The Summer of Crossing Lines is out and about today. Can't wait to read it! Julie's first book The Boy Who Loved Fire is a great story with powerful characters. Today Julie's here to talk about...

5 Scary Things About Indie Publishing--Plus Solutions to Calm Your Nerves

The idea of indie publishing can be overwhelming--even scary. Believe me, I’ve been scared as heck since I took the leap and published The Summer of Crossing Lines and The Boy Who Loved Fire. But sometimes the scariest road is the one we must travel. I’ll share five scary things about indie publishing and what we can do to calm our nerves.

Scariest Thing #1--Quality Writing

What if my books aren’t good enough? What if they’re best left on the hard drive? We all worry about that, right? Readers deserve the best we can give them.

Calm your nerves by...hiring a professional editor

Don’t do this after draft two. You’ll waste time and money. My books had been through several rounds of my own editing. Then through beta readers. Then edited again and again and again. I also cut the word fat, using tips from craft books such as The Word-Loss Diet by Rayne Hall. If you’re paying per page, why pay for fatty words that shouldn’t be there?

After paring down the manuscript, I hired Bethany from A Little Red, Inc. to edit both books. She was fabulous. More on hiring a freelance editor here. It’s definitely an investment, but totally worth it.

Scariest Thing #2--Book Cover

Confession: I do judge a book by its cover. Fair? Probably not. But it’s something I consider when deciding what to read. Cool covers are important to me.

Calm your nerves by...hiring a professional cover designer

Sure, writers can create their own covers using a laptop and nifty software, but I didn’t want to skimp on this. The cover is a reader’s first impression of your book. I hired designer J. Allen Fielder, who does amazing work for a fair price. More on working with a cover designer here.

Scariest Thing #3--Formatting

Early ebooks were fraught with wonky fonts and spacing, which frustrated readers and helped give indie publishing a bad name.

Calm your nerves by...hiring a formatter or learning to do it yourself

Many authors hire formatters and swear by them. There are plenty of affordable resources listed on the Insecure Writer’s Support Group blog and Susan Kaye Quinn’s blog.

I’m a serial do-it-yourselfer and chose to do my own formatting. I’m so glad I did. If I want to make changes--even if it’s just centering text or changing one word--it’s easy to do. Begin with the Smashwords’ Style Guide (it’s free!). Most guides are created for Word, but if you use Apple Pages, the ebook From Pages ’09 to Kindle Format in Minutes ($.99) will come in handy.

Scariest Thing #4--Getting Noticed

It’s crowded out there, and I don’t have the loudest voice. I’m not a salesperson and I’m definitely not a marketing pro.

Calm your nerves by...reaching out to people you’ve connected with

When it came time to spread the word about my books, I asked friends (like Jemi!) if I could spend a little time on their blogs, offering value to their readers. What’s the worst that can happen? They say no? We’re writers. We should be used to the word No. (By the way, no one said no. Writers are such nice people). I also mention news on my Facebook Author Page, on Twitter, and on my own blog. Not constant noise, just sharing information.

Other writers hire marketing teams, but I haven’t tried that. The good thing about indie publishing is that you can experiment and find what works for you.

Scariest Thing #5--Failure

We all fear failure...newbies and professionals in all walks of life.

Calm your nerves by...accepting that failure is part of the process

Don’t give up. Keep learning, keep improving, and keep trying. That’s the beauty of indie publishing. If you try something that doesn’t work, you can try something new. There isn’t a publisher breathing down your back, demanding results. You’re free to chill out and have fun with it.

Have you indie published? Did my five scariest things mirror yours? Any questions you’d like answered? Any tips you’d like to share?

Julie Musil writes from her rural home in Southern California, where she lives with her husband and three sons. She’s an obsessive reader who loves stories that grab the heart and won’t let go. Her Young Adult novels, The Summer of Crossing Lines and The Boy Who Loved Fire, are available now. For more information, or to stop by an say Hi, please visit Julie on her blog, on Twitter, and on Facebook.

Website     Goodreads/The Summer of Crossing Lines     Goodreads/Julie Musil     Pinterest

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When her protective older brother disappears, sixteen-year-old Melody loses control of her orderly life. Her stuttering flares up, her parents are shrouded in a grief-induced fog, and she clings to the last shreds of her confidence. 

The only lead to her brother’s disappearance is a 30-second call from his cell phone to Rex, the leader of a crime ring. Frustrated by a slow investigation with too many obstacles, and desperate to mend her broken family, Melody crosses the line from wallflower to amateur spy. She infiltrates Rex’s group and is partnered with Drew, a handsome pickpocket whose kindness doesn’t fit her perception of a criminal. He doesn’t need to steal her heart—she hands it to him.

With each law Melody breaks, details of her brother’s secret life emerge until she’s on the cusp of finding him. But at what point does truth justify the crime? 

Amazon     Barnes and Noble     Apple     Kobo     Smashwords     Print

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Thanks Julie! Those are great solutions for anyone interested in indie publishing! I won a 5 page edit from Bethany and would totally second your recommendation. She was fabulous!!

How about you? Any tips to add to Julie's list? Does self-publishing intrigue or terrify you?

Double Negative by C. Lee Mckenzie

The lovely and talented C. Lee McKenzie has a new book coming out!

Double Negative

Hutchison Mc Queen is a sixteen-year-old smart kid who screws up regularly. He’s a member of Larkston High’s loser clique, the boy who’s on his way to nowhere—unless juvenile hall counts as a destination. He squeaks through classes with his talent for eavesdropping and memorizing what he hears. When that doesn’t work, he goes to Fat Nyla, the one some mean girls are out to get and a person who’s in on his secret—he can barely read. And then Maggie happens. For twenty-five years she’s saved boys from their own bad choices. But she may not have time to save Hutch. Alzheimer’s disease is steadily stealing her keen mind.

Doesn't that sound awesome? Can't wait!!

Amazon (available this Friday July 25th!!)

If you haven't met Lee yet, here's where you can find her:

Website     Blog      Facebook

Want to enter to win? Of course you do!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

***

Just for fun, I tossed 3 Favourite  questions at Lee

Favorite beverage: That’s a time sensitive question. Coffee AM. Wine PM.

Favorite season: Summer. I get to eat fresh tomatoes.

Favorite high school course: Don’t laugh, but I loved geometry. Something about those theorums

(I totally get the theorum addiction - I love Math!)

How about you? Love Math too? Or those fresh tomatoes? Hoping Maggie can reach Hutch in time?

Put Downs or Build Ups?

There often seems to someone on the attack lately. I've been teaching for a lot of years and I've seen lots of attacks on books as well as attacks on people who choose to read certain books.

To me, the attacks are usually a waste of time & energy ... and just a little bit nuts.

Some people become absolutely inflamed because of what they think is in a book.

Whenever a new fuss pops up I think back to a student I'll call Amanda. She was in my split grade 6/7 classroom for 2 years. During our first reading conference of her Grade 6 year, Amanda admitted she'd never actually read a book on her own. Reading was very tough for her and by the time she finished sounding out words she'd almost always lost the meaning of the sentence.

She thought she might like some of the Goosebumps books everyone was talking about. There was a lot of fuss at the time from people who wanted to ban Stine's series from classrooms and libraries. There were people who claimed teachers were 'evil' for allowing kids to be exposed to them. (I question if any of those people actually read any of the books!!)

Being me, I had over 30 Goosebumps books to choose from. She selected 2 and I read them into tapes. She tried to read along with my voice during reading time.

Then she read one on her own.

Then another.

By the time she finished Grade 6, Amanda had read 17 Goosebumps books on her own.

17.

Over the summer and during her Grade 7 year, she moved on to Stine's Fear Street series. And Christopher Pike. And Caroline B. Cooney. Then Lois Lowry and JK Rowling. And many, many more.

Her grade 8 teacher was shocked she'd been a non-reader 2 years before.

Ridiculing anyone for their choice of reading material is yet another kind of put down. The world has enough of those.

I'd rather see the build ups. I'd rather celebrate the Amandas of the world who demonstrate perseverance and are willing to admit to a difficulty and take the risks involved in becoming stronger.

If I only stocked my classroom with my favourite books, it would still be a very large library, but it wouldn't rival the 5000+ books I stock today. The more variety I have available, the easier it is to find those Home Run books for kids and turn them into avid readers. Do I have to personally like the books they choose? Nope. Do I have to support their right to like them.

Absolutely.

How do you feel about the folks who want to dictate what we read or judge us based on the ones we choose?

Medeia Sharif -- Snip, Snip Revenge!

SNIP, SNIP REVENGE by Medeia Sharif

YA Contemporary, Evernight Teen
Release Date April 25, 2014

Beautiful, confident Tabby Karim has plans for the winter: nab a role in her school’s dramatic production, make the new boy Michael hers, and keep bigoted Heather—with her relentless Ay-rab comments—at bay. When a teacher’s lie and her father’s hastiness rob her of her beautiful hair, her dreams are dashed. The fastest barber in Miami Beach has made her look practically bald. 

With all her pretty hair gone, Tabby doesn’t believe she fits the feminine role she’s auditioning for. Michael is still interested in her, but he’s playing it cool. Heather has taken to bullying her online, which is easier to do with Tabby’s ugly haircut. Tabby spearheads Operation Revenge, which proves satisfying until all of her problems deepen. After messing up, she sets to make things right.

Author Bio

I’m a Kurdish-American author who was born in New York City, and I presently call Miami my home. I received my master’s degree in psychology from Florida Atlantic University. After becoming a voracious reader in high school and a relentless writer dabbling in many genres in college, I found my niche writing for young people. Today I'm a MG and YA writer published through various presses. In addition to being a writer, I'm a middle school English teacher. My memberships include Mensa, ALAN, and SCBWI.

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Sounds absolutely fabulous Medeia!! Congratulations on your latest release - can't wait to read it!
If any of you haven't read any of Medeia's books, you're going to love her style and her voice.