I am so excited to interview Angie Stanton, bestselling YA author. Her books are great romantic fun with a serious twist that makes them stand out. I’ve read Rock and a Hard Place and Royally Lost so far and have the rest of her awesome books on my waiting-to-be read list. (Rock and a Hard Place is part of a series about a trio of rock-star brothers. Her book Spotlight features these Jamieson brothers, too. I am assured there is more to come from this cast of characters.)
... Continue Reading
In 2007, our family of five embarked on a month-long trip to Europe, kicking it off with a visit to Stonehenge on the Summer Solstice. Our kids – age 17, 11, and 9 – thought this was a grand adventure. I would have to say that the Stonehenge visit was most definitely more educational than we expected!
Here are photos of what the crowd is like around Stonehenge during the celebration.
This is one of four times during the year (solstices/equinoxes) when visitors do not have to stay behind a barrier and can walk freely around the stones, without paying for a special access tour. Unfortunately, it was overcast in 2007, so the epic sunrise I envisioned did not happen. But the years that it does, it is truly amazing.
Have a great longest day... Continue Reading
Big week in reading for me – which means it was a big week in writing procrastination. But, oh well, at least I accomplished something!!
My four-book week started with new titles from two of my favorite authors; The Hurricane Sisters by Dorothea Benton Frank and Midnight Crossroad by Charlaine Harris.
The Hurricane Sisters is the first-person account of three generations of women, weaving their stories together in a richly told... Continue Reading
Three weeks ago I had an awesome school visit with the fourth grade at St. Jerome School in Columbus, Wisconsin and am still totally impressed by how savvy these kids are. As a writer for this middle-grade crowd, I was most definitely reminded that they want smart plots with engaging characters on subjects that they love. Oh yeah, just like adults!
They re-energized my writing. For me, spending time with this age group is like being in a battery charger. I know a lot of people... Continue Reading
Are you the kind of person who has to read the book before the movie comes out? I AM!
Friends have been telling me to read The Fault in Our Stars by John Green for a while now. I’ve owned the book for months, and it’s been sitting in my three-foot tall waiting-to-be-read stack. With the movie release this Friday, I had renewed urgency.
Oh my! Where to start?
This was a stellar novel – absolutely wonderful. I bawled... Continue Reading
Officially a gorgeous day in Wisconsin!
I don’t know if the harsh winter we experienced here in Wisconsin has me appreciating the nice weather more than ever, but it sure has made it difficult to want to sit at a computer. This morning I’m doing my best to let the outdoors in as much as possible with the windows wide open and the breeze a blowin’. Here's the view from our patio. As you can see, we definitely live in farm country.
Last week I wrote a review of Popular: Vintage Wisdom for a Modern Geek and tweeted the link. It probably makes me a confirmed writing geek when I got excited that the teen author of the book “favorited” my tweet. She’s fun to follow on twitter at... Continue Reading
The Monuments Men by Robert M. Edsel is the story of allied forces hunting for the art stolen by the Nazis. And, Popular: Vintage Wisdom for a Modern Geek by Maya Van Wagenen follows the author through her 8th-grade year using the advice from a 1950’s guide to teen popularity.
The Monuments Men is the story which inspired the movie that many of you may have seen. I needed to know more, surprised and a little ashamed that my historical knowledge was so lacking about the extensive and astonishing movement of art into the hands of the Nazi’s from each country as it was invaded. The book follows the epic story... Continue Reading
I’ve been invited on a blog hop! It’s like a game of tag, and I'm currently "it."
I was tagged by Kimberli Bindschatel, author of the young adult novel The Path to the Sun. I’m intrigued by her novel and have it waiting in my soon-to-read pile. Here’s a little teaser . . .
You do not question The Way. Every Toran knows this, even Kiran, a lowly orphan. But at age sixteen, he’s still tormented by doubt. So when he and six other teens embark on a quest to save their drought-stricken village, for Kiran, it’s a chance to seek the truth.
Visit Kimberli’s website to learn more about this epic adventure that is getting great reviews.
My blog hop came... Continue Reading
Rex Owens is a Wisconsin writer and author of Murphy’s Troubles, a historical suspense novel set in Ireland during the times of the “troubles” which is the name given to the battle to reunify Northern Ireland with the Republic of Ireland. I met Rex at the Writers’ Institute conference a few years ago and have followed his publishing journey as he worked to give birth to his novel.
Rex, tell us a little bit about yourself and your background.
I began attending the UW-Madison Writer’s Institute in 1997 and was inspired by the keynote speaker Robert Moss. In 1998 I began a critique class with Dr. Laurel Yourke who teaches writing craft by specific weekly assignments. After several years Dr. Yourke suggested I had enough material to think about a novel and... Continue Reading
I’ve been deep in a final round of edits on my teen novel Circle of Nine – Beltany, so deep that I barely realized that today is MAY DAY!! (Which is nearly sacrilegious in a Pagan sort of way, given that the heart of this novel is the May Day Celebration.)
May Day is also called Beltane in Ireland. There’s a stone circle in County Donegal named Beltany featured in many scenes in my book. The name suggests that the Beltane holiday was celebrated here, but of course, we just don’t know. That’s not surprising. There’s an awful lot we don’t know about these stone circles, making them incredibly intriguing – at least to me.
The Beltany stone circle is 145 feet in diameter with 64 stones remaining. The circle probably had 80 stones originally.... Continue Reading
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Valerie Biel’s debut novel Circle of Nine - Beltany has been honored as a 2015 Kindle Book Award Finalist, a finalist in the Gotham Writers' YA Novel Discovery Contest and the Readers' Favorite Book Award Contest as well as being a B.R.A.G. Medallion Honoree. The final installment in this series - Circle of Nine - Sacred Treasures - has also received a B.R.A.G. Medallion and was short listed for the Eric Hoffer Book Award grand prize, earning the First Runner-Up distinction in the YA category.
