Whimsical Word of the Word

Cosmogyral -

whirling around the universe.

Example: The weather satellite spun out of control in an unfortunate cosmogyral fashion.

Bibliophile's Corner

From Norvelt to Nowhere
by Jack Gantos

Flap Copy Description:
This rocket-paced follow-up to the acclaimed Dead End in Norvelt opens deep in the shadow of the Cuban missile crisis. But instead of Russian warheads, other kinds of trouble are raining down on young Jack Gantos and his utopian town of Norvelt in western Pennsylvania. After an explosion, a new crime by an old crook, and the sad passing of the town's founder, twelve-year-old Jack will soon find himself launched on a mission that takes him hundreds of miles away, escorting his slightly mental elderly mentor, Miss Volker, on her relentless pursuit of the oddest of outlaws. But as their trip turns south in more ways than one, it's increasingly clear that the farther from their off-beat home they travel, the more crazed Jack and Miss Volker's adventure becomes, in this raucous road novel about roots and revenge, a last chance at love, and the power of a remarkable friendship.

My Thoughts:
The last time I laughed out loud while reading a middle grade novel was when I read Dead End in Norvelt, the Newbery Medal winner by the same talented and zany author who wrote From Norvelt to Nowhere - Jack Gantos. He's done it again! As in Dead End in Norvelt, the author whips up a literary delight with the unlikely ingredients of humor and historical fiction creating an insightful, informative, and thoroughly entertaining middle grade novel. Gantos is a genius. I would highly recommend From Norvelt to Nowhere to readers from the ages of eight to eighty!

To learn more about the author - Jack Gantos,
click here: http://www.jackgantos.com/

Storyteller's Journey

  Inspired at Wordstock

Last Saturday I attended Wordstock in Portland, Oregon, and had an awesome time. If you live in the Pacific Northwest and have never attended the annual event, you really should check it out. (You might even see Star Wars characters like I did!)
Since it had been three years since I last attended the literary festival I noticed numerous changes. Due to the explosion of independent presses and digital publishing, there were many booths at the book fair offering information on those subjects.
However, what my critique partner and I hoped to do was to hear, and possibly meet, our favorite middle grade and young adult authors present at the four-day event. We were not disappointed!


This panel of authors is the big reason Kriston and I had such an awesome time at the event. Seated L-R: Emma Trevayne, Claire Legrand, and Stefan Bachmann. (We were told that the potted plant was there to represent the children's book author, Katherine Catmull who was unable to attend. I'm thinking they didn't want to admit that she's a shape-shifter!)

This talented company of children's book authors has also collaborated: Next year, Creepy Tales from the Cabinet of Curiosities will be released. It is a collection of dark short stories contributed by each of the four authors - whom you can tell are friends.

On a side note, my critique partner - Kriston, and I later had a chance to chat with the three authors and have them sign their books. Each of them was warm and friendly, and even asked about our own stories.
Thank you so much, Emma, Claire, and Stefan!

This quirky quartet (I say quirky because Katherine Catmull has a scarf wrapped around her pot, and is wearing a pair of sunglasses!) can be found at their website: Cabinet of Curiosities

Whimsical Word of the Week

Croodle -

to cuddle or nestle together, as from fear or cold.

Example: The lost mountain climbers chose to croodle around the campfire in an attempt to stay warm.

Bibliophile's Corner

The Whatnot
by Stefan Bachmann

Flap Copy Description:
Oh, the Sly King, the Sly King, in his towers of ash and wind.

Pikey Thomas doesn't know how or why he can see the changeling girl. But there she is. Not in the cold, muddy London neighborhood where Pikey lives. Instead, she's walking through the trees and snow of the enchanted Old Country or, later, racing trough an opulent hall. She's pale and small, and she has branches growing out of her head. Her name is Henrietta Kettle.

Pikey's vision, it turns out, is worth something. Worth something to Hettie's brother - a brave adventurer named Bartholomew Kettle. Worth something to the nobleman who protects him. And Pikey is not above bartering - Pikey will do almost anything to escape his past; he'll do almost anything for a life worth living.

The faeries - save for a mysterious sylph and a mischievous cobble faery or two - have been chased out of London. They've all gone north. The army is heading north, too. So Pikey and Bartholomew follow, collecting information, piecing together clues, searching for the doorway that will lead them to Hettie.

My Thoughts:
The Whatnot is the recently-released companion book to Stefan Bachmann's, The Peculiar. The sequel not only matches the debut novel's appeal, it surpasses it. With highly-developed characters, awesome old world settings, and a writing style that could be the envy of most writers, the author sets a new standard for children's literature. Mr. Bachmann is a super-talented university student who has been compared to Charles Dickens, J.K. Rowling, and other exceptional authors. Bravo! I would highly recommend The Whatnot to readers from the ages of eight to eighty!

In addition to Mr. Bachmann's literary talent, he is also an accomplished musician. To hear from his original score for the novel, The Peculiar, click here: http://www.stefanbachmann.com/extras.php

Storyteller's Journey

Public Domain

     Middle Grade Magic!

Amidst a children's book publishing industry that is bursting its bindings with young adult novels, I have found upper middle grade books to be what I prefer to write, and, even sometimes, read.
You might wonder why.

Aside from the fact that I've been told on numerous occasions that I live in "my own little world," I learned long ago that I am a quirky, creative soul...even in a room full of writers! So when I began to take my writing seriously, and even set goals to be published, it was to middle grade stories that my imagination wandered. Where else can you relive your own childhood, or write a book you wish had been written when  you were a kid? Where else is a unique imagination rewarded, rather than ridiculed? Where else can you create flying polar bears and magical dryads all while not worrying about romantic scenes?? (That's not to say that I don't enjoy lots of young adult books, because I do! It's just that my own creativity seems to be satisfied only while writing imaginative stories for middle grade readers.)

A huge reason that I read middle grade novels is the same reason all writers are advised to read: It injects my creative juices with awesome writing, while keeping me informed on the current literary trends.
But, I would not be honest if I didn't admit that it is a great upper middle grade novel that excites me most - both as a writer, and as a reader.

So, while I'm a wife, and a mother of three sons, the "secret self" inside me is a quirky writer of MG stories. After all...middle grade is magic!

Whimsical Word of the Week

Brume -

fog or mist.

Example: a wispy brume mysteriously hung over the English moor.