PIPER MORGAN PLANS A PARTY

I'm so excited today. One of my favorite characters is back. If you haven't met her yet, what are you waiting for? So, please welcome PIPER MORGAN PLANS A PARTY to my blog.

Now you have to admit this cover intrigues you, right?

From Good Reads!

Piper tries to plan the perfect party in the fifth book of the charming Piper Morgan series.

Piper is excited to help her mom plan a big party for another girl her age. After all, who doesn’t love a good party? But when Piper and her mom arrive, they are in for an unpleasant surprise: A spoiled little girl, a huge mansion, and a list of impossible demands from the birthday girl that includes a real-life princess and grape jelly beans. How will they ever pull off the show-stopping party that Emmy is demanding? It seems like no matter what they suggest, Emmy is never happy. Can Piper help her mom pull off the best party ever? Or will the party turn into a big fat mess?

My Review

PIPER MORGAN PLANS A PARTY – Book 5 in the Piper Morgan series

By Stephanie Faris

Birthday parties are fun. Cake, ice cream, games, and a good time are had by all. Well, sometimes plans don’t turn out exactly the way you expect. In PIPER MORGAN PLANS A PARTY, book five in the Piper Morgan series by Stephanie Faris, Piper and her mom run into a problem or two when they try to plan a birthday party for Emmy.

Things start off rocky between Piper and Emmy. Emmy knows exactly what kind of party she wants: a backyard party, everything pink, and real princesses. And she’s used to getting her way. Emmy’s friend Kylie is having a party too, a roller-skating party. What follows is not only a couple of birthday parties with complications, but also a lesson on friendship and learning to get along with others even when you have different opinions. Piper handles the situation well. I love her logical thinking and her sweet disposition. And she is surely tested by Emmy.

At the end of each chapter, Stephanie Faris provides interesting facts called “Confetti Facts” about different places to have parties, real live princesses, and other subjects dealing with parties.

PIPER MORGAN PLANS A PARTY is a great addition to the series and is a must have for school classrooms and libraries, as well as public libraries and your own library.

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Books make great Christmas gifts for young readers.

Available at AMAZON and other places where books are sold.

Happy Reading!

TIGER'S TALES

Hi, my name is Tiger and I'm in charge today. My mom had a busy weekend and turned the blog over to me. So I have a tail, um, a tale for you.

Some of you readers have already met me.

If you haven't, I'm pleased to have new friends.

One of my favorite things to do is ride on the lawnmower, as long s it's sitting still. It sort of spooks me when the motor is running. It makes so much noise. When my brother, Mom's human son, cuts the engine, I hop aboard. Then Mom takes my picture. She does that a lot. I don't know why.

I also like to sit on top of the van and look at the world. Birds fly by. The wind blows leaves across the grass. A butterfly lights on a flower to eat its dinner. A cottontail rabbit runs across the field. 

But the most fun of all is climbing the giant mesquite and elm trees. From the high branches I can see the whole world.

Then the sun sets, and Mom makes me come inside the house. No fun. I want to chase the night creatures. But she tells me it's bedtime. I sometimes run from her, but she knows how to get my attention. She rattles the sack with treats inside. Oh, yummy. How can a guy resist?

And there is my tale for today.

What about you?

Do you like to mow the grass?

Do you like to climb trees?

Do you like to chase the night creatures?

What is your favorite thing to do?

Oh! And Mom said I need to mention the SCBWI BookStop. It ends November 30, so if you haven't had a chance to stop by and say "Hi" to Princess Breeze, please do. She'd love for you to visit. Here's the link. (The link has been corrected. Sorry about that.)

When you start your Christmas shopping, books make great gifts for children and teens.

Thank you.

Happy Reading!

AGAIN, FOR LOVE - BOOK BIRTHDAY

Welcome Wednesday. Do I have a treat for you today. Please welcome LA Dragoni and her latest novel, AGAIN, FOR LOVE. I just love Book Birthdays, don't you?

About the book: 

A life must be lost. Who will make the ultimate sacrifice? 

Lawson lives a simple life: a job at a brewery, and his basketball and hockey leagues. Even his eccentric lifelong friend and roommate—who is intent on discovering time travel—doesn’t complicate things. Then Jory appears. Lawson feels an immediate attraction to her, yet their attempts at dating end with him thinking it just isn’t meant to be. But Jory refuses to give up. 

When one date ends tragically, Lawson turns to his best friend and the experimental time travel program he’s invented. But, no matter what he does, each time the reset ends with a loss. 

It’s clear…a life must be lost, and Lawson is prepared to give his for Jory. But he isn’t the only one playing with time. 

Will he spare Jory by forfeiting his own life? Or will someone else make the ultimate sacrifice?

Buy now:

Amazon| Barnes & Noble| iTunes| and add on Goodreads

About the author:

***Straight to the heart***

LA Dragoni isn’t too particular about who falls in love or where they fall in love. She simply considers it her job to capture the story about their love. Whether it’s paranormal, mythical, or time travel, LA will be there to divine their story for you. She lives in Central Oregon with her husband and children, but haunts ghost towns and cemeteries up and down the west, in search of the next adventure to sift through her storytelling brain. Learn more about LA and her work at ladragoni.com

I was excited to get to read an advanced copy of this novel. Here is my review.

AGAIN, FOR LOVE

By L A Dragoni

Do you enjoy a good romance? Do you like a mystery? How about time travel, and characters that are so real you can imagine their story really happening? If this sounds like your kind of story then waste no time. Get a copy of Author L A Dragoni’s latest novel, AGAIN, FOR LOVE. I think you’ll be happy you did.

Speaking of love, I love this story. L A Dragoni’s novels keep getting better and better. The characters are just right. Lawson is not perfect. He makes mistakes, but he also is caring, especially when it comes to Jory, the woman he falls in love with. Theirs is not your normal romance story. A lot of weird things happen to them. I don’t want to give away any secrets, but I did read with my fingers crossed that everything would work out good for them. In my humble opinion they were perfect for each other.

I also enjoyed meeting Terk, Lawson’s roommate. Now there’s a character you won’t soon forget. Not telling how, but he is a bit different. Fascinatingly so. I’m also not telling what happens to the cat. You’ll have to find out when you read the story.

L A Dragoni’s novel sure made me wonder what time travel might really be like, if it were possible. I’m not sure I want to try it. A fascinating read. Recommended.

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Here is a link to the book trailer: https://youtu.be/Y-Y5MiQtFpg

Now, get a copy of the book and enjoy meeting an interesting cast of characters. Who knows? You may even find yourself in a different time. 

Happy Book Birthday, L A Dragoni and AGAIN, FOR LOVE!

BEFORE WE WERE YOURS

Quote for the week:  When opportunity knocks, some people are in the backyard looking for four-leaf clovers.  

I used to look for them in our pasture but never found a 4-leaf one. Now, I'm waiting for opportunity to knock! I think it got lost.

All I have for today is another book I recently read and will be reviewing soon.

BEFORE WE WERE YOURS

By Lisa Wingate

This story caught my attention because of the subject matter. The following is from the jacket cover, and I think you'll see why it appealed to me.

Memphis, 1939. Twelve-year-old Rill Foss and her four younger siblings live a magical life aboard their family's Mississippi River shanty boat. But when their father must rush their mother to the hospital one stormy night, Rill is left in charge--until strangers arrive in force. Wrenched from all that is familiar and thrown into a Tennessee Children's Home Society orphanage, the Foss children are assured that they will soon be returned to their parents--but they quickly realize the dark truth.

Based on one of America's most notorious real-life scandals- in which Georgia Tann, director of a Memphis-based adoption organization, kidnapped and sold poor children to wealthy families all over the country.

After seeing this, I had to read these children's stories. 

Review coming soon.

My order from Amazon also arrived a few days ago. More books.

Happy Reading.

Oh, and be sure to stop by on Wednesday to celebrate a new book birthday. I just love book birthdays. I'm also reviewing it.

See you later. Have a super week.

VITAMINS AND DEATH -- RED RIBBONS

Quote for the Week: 

I know this is late, but I did not post on the weekend and wanted to honor our heroes. 

I have a couple of reviews for you from books I recently read. Enjoy.

VITAMINS AND DEATH

By Medeia Sharif

Imagine a school where the teachers have little to no control. Imagine a school where boys take turns with girls in the restroom, while another boy stands guard outside the door. To me, it’s difficult to think that schools like this exist, but Author Medeia Sharif opened my eyes to the fact that some schools may indeed be like the one in her novel VITAMINS AND DEATH.

Deidra Battle attends such a school after her mother lost her previous teaching job for having an affair with a student. Deidra lives in fear that others will discover she is the daughter of the woman that made the scandal everyone read about. She also has to deal with a mother who lives on pills. 

Deidra just wants to get through the next few months, graduate, and attend the local college. Is that asking too much?

My heart broke for Deidra. No child or teen should have to live in fear of the students at school and especially not of their mother.  The author has created a family that unfortunately may be too real. All through the novel I kept hoping good things would happen for Deidra.

The language is rough and some scenes are graphic. Ms. Sharif tells it like it is. This story is not for young teens, but older teens might find a lesson in it. Another good novel about life from Medeia Sharif. 

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RED RIBBONS

By Hanne Arts

Being a teenager is not easy. Even a healthy teen has problems. But if a girl, or boy, has health issues, life can seem impossible. In Author Hanne Arts latest novel, RED RIBBON, Christina has anorexia, as well as other problems. She hates her body. She loves her boyfriend, Filip, who has his own life to deal with. Christina keeps a diary that allows the reader to see her emotions, to feel her challenges, and to hope that she finds herself, the girl that she can be.

RED RIBBON is a heartbreaking story that will have you wishing you could tell Chrissy that she’s beautiful, and her family loves her, and she can be healed. The author has written a book that young people who have self-image problems or eating disorders or other ideas that make them feel inferior should read. This novel would be a great addition to middle grade and high school libraries.

The author sent me a copy of the book for my honest review.

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Happy Reading. I think I'll read a fun story next. 

#INKRIPPLES FINISHING THAT BOOK

Quote for the week:  I can shake off everything as I write, my sorrows disappear, my courage is reborn. Anne Frank

Today is #InkRipple Day, and it sure fits me right now. The topic is Finishing That Book. Boy, do I need that. I hang my head in shame.

Why? Well, I have four stories started: one I'm revising, one is in rough draft, another is ready for revising, and the last is just a title with a character. Oh, and that's not counting an historical story that I'm about halfway through, or was before I decided to work on a different one. So, what is wrong with me. Why can't I finish one book before I start another? Am I afraid to finish, afraid they will be blah, no good, boring, etc?

I started revising one a few days ago and swear I'm sticking with it until the end. I'd like to have it ready to submit soon.

There's also the two books I now have my contracts back. Hope to revise them and publish.

So, have you ever been like this? Just can't seem to finish anything? If so, did you find an answer?

#InkRipples is a monthly meme created by Kai Strand, Mary Waibel, and Katie L. Carroll. They post on the first Monday of every month with a new topic. They're all authors, but you don't have to be to participate. You can spread your own ripples any day of the week, just be sure to link back to Katie, Kai, and Mary. Happy Ripples to you.

December's Topic is GOALS

Happy Reading!

INSECURE WRITERS SUPPORT GROUP

It's November 1st, and you know what that means. IWSG. I'm going to post this then settle in to watch the World Series. My team isn't in it, but it's been a great series. Lots of home runs. The most a World Series has ever had, I think the announcer said.

Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!

Posting: The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Post your thoughts on your own blog. Talk about your doubts and the fears you have conquered. Discuss your struggles and triumphs. Offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling. Visit others in the group and connect with your fellow writer - aim for a dozen new people each time. Be sure to link to this page and display the badge in your post.

Ninja Alex J. Cavanaugh is the founder of IWSG, 

Our Twitter is @TheIWSG and hashtag #IWSG

His awesome co-hosts for the November 1 posting of the IWSG are Tonja Drecker, Diane Burton, MJ Fifield,  and Rebecca Douglass!

Stop by their blogs and say "Thank You."

Every month, we announce a question that members can answer in their IWSG Day post. These questions may prompt you to share advice, insight, a personal experience or story. Include your answer to the question in your IWSG post or let it inspire your post if you are struggling with something to say. 

Remember, the question is optional!!!

November 1st question: Win or not, do you usually finish your NaNo project? Have any of them gone on to be published?

This is an interesting question. I've never participated in the NaNo project. Never really wanted to. I think it's mostly because I don't do well under pressure. Some daysL I write several pages of a story. Other days I write only a couple. So saying I have to write so many words a day would not work for me. For one thing, I don't count words. And, I have trouble going on until I'm satisfied with what I've written. In the first draft, I'm not so picky, but I still write slow. So don't give me a word number to write. I couldn't do it. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

Happy Writing to you all.

Listen to the butterfly!