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April 5, 2013

Jennings Wright: Interview with Marty McClelland & Excerpt


Marty McClelland, from Richmond, Virginia, entered Ixeos with his cousins Neahle and Clay when they tried to find a flock of ducks in a drainage tunnel. It turns out they were brought there on purpose, and there’s no way home.

Hey Marty, how are you adjusting to life on Ixeos?

Well, aside from the pretty sucky fact that I probably will never see my family again, it’s actually pretty cool.

Cool? You’re stuck in an alternate earth ruled by aliens!

Okay, true. There’s a definite downside there. But I have an awesome job.

You have a job?

Sure, all of us have jobs. That’s why Landon brought us here in the first place.

Landon? Who’s he?
Huh, good question. No one really knows. He’s the one that brought all the outsiders to Ixeos, and he turns up from time to time to… well, see what’s going on, I guess. We don’t know where he is the rest of the time.

Aren’t you mad at him for taking you from home?

Nah. Clay was at first. But it’s actually pretty cool, because here we all have a purpose. I mean, how many eighteen year olds do you know that really have a purpose and can make a difference?

So what’s yours, then?

I’m a hacker.

A hacker? Like computers? I thought you didn’t have any power because of the EMP attacks.

Most of the world doesn’t have power. But the Firsts have power because they protected all their networks and equipment before they launched the missiles. One of the outsiders knows a lot about electrical engineering and stuff like that from his dad, and he ran cable to start a computer lab. Actually, there are four computer labs around the world, and we all have power.

I guess you get hot showers, then. I’ll bet everyone else is jealous.

We have hot water, but we’re housed in a bank. No shower. We have a little fridge, but mostly we eat beans and rice because all our supplies have to be brought in from the tunnels. But our computer set-up is sweet! Besides, the others get to go all over the world, and we’re stuck in the vault, so they’re not exactly dying to come live here.

You never get outside?

Not too often, but it’s okay. We’re pretty busy trying to hack into the Executive and figure out how to free Darian.

We? Who lives with you?

It’s me and two other guys, Jack and Travis, and then Marissa…

Marissa?

(coughs) Yeah, she’s awesome. Smart, a great cook, and her hair…Amazing. (coughs again) So, how ‘bout those Redskins?

Excerpt:


Crawling down the pipe quickly became painful on Neahle’s knees, and her eyes didn’t seem to adjust as quickly as she’d expected. She could hear the boys following behind her, Marty first, then Clay, both muttering under their breath. She smiled. Marty didn’t do a lot of outdoors stuff back home, that was obvious, and she took a perverse pleasure in dragging him along with them. To be honest, she enjoyed his company, too — he was sharp witted and funny, in an annoying sort of way. Her brother would be grinning by the time they exited the tunnel on the other side.

“I thought you said we’d be able to see,” Marty complained, his voice echoing on the metal sides of the pipe. “I can’t see squat.”

“It’s not like we’re going to get lost,” Neahle said.

“At least you’ll run into the nest of snakes first,” Marty said. “Just send them ahead, not behind, please.”

Neahle laughed and kept crawling forward. She didn’t know how far they’d come, but the dune wasn’t terribly wide and she thought they should be able to see the round eye of light from the Slough-side by now. At least they hadn’t run into any creatures — as much as she’d teased Marty about the snakes, she was more worried about spiders.

“Shouldn’t we be seeing the end by now?” Clay called from the rear.

“I was thinking that, too,” Marty said.

“I dunno,” Neahle said over her shoulder. “But it’s been going straight, so we’ll come out eventually.”

“Great…” she heard Marty grumble.

After another few minutes, she thought she could detect a circle of dim light ahead. “I think I see the end!” she called back. “There must be a screen over it or something; that’s why we couldn’t see it before.”

“I hope we can get out,” Clay said. “I guess we can always turn around and go back.”

“Probably some kind of filter,” Marty said. He was just happy that they weren’t lost. Although he wasn’t sure how they could get lost in a straight length of pipe.

Frowning, Neahle kept crawling forward, wincing as her bruised knees tried to find the smooth places between the corrugated ridges. The light didn’t seem right, even for a screen. And having a filter didn’t make sense, unless there was one on both ends; the pipe would just clog up with debris. Conscious of the guys behind her, she kept moving.

When she was ten feet from the end, she stopped. The light coming from the end was extremely dim. Marty didn’t realize she’d stopped until he ran into her.

“What’s wrong?” Marty asked.

“This isn’t right…” Neahle said softly. “That’s not the outside. I can see a wall.”

“Did you say a wall?” Clay said from behind, confused.

“Yeah… Hang on.”

Crawling slowly, Neahle tried to make sense of what she was seeing. She stopped two feet from the mouth of the pipe and stared, confused. In front of her was a rough, light-colored stone wall, but no screen. There was a dancing orange light, which made her think of a fireplace. The air coming from outside the pipe seemed stale and damp, but in a musty way, not from sea air.

Sitting on her rear, she turned back and ran into Marty. “I told you to wait!” she hissed.

“Yeah, right, like that was gonna happen,” he said.

She could see both of the boys in the dim light. They were leaning over, trying to look around her, confusion on their faces.

“Did we turn into the dune somehow?” Clay asked, scowling.

“And run into a fire? I don’t think so. We didn’t turn, anyway. The pipe went straight.” Marty said.

“What do we do?” Neahle asked. “Go back?”

Marty craned his neck around her. “I don’t see why. We can always go back; the pipe’s not going anywhere.”

As he was speaking, they heard a soft sound and small scufflings. Leaning forward, Neahle laughed. “It’s the ducks! They came down here after all!”

“Why in the world would they come so far?” Marty wondered.

“Maybe there’s some killer duck food here. It could be some kind of feeding station for the Rachel Carson Preserve. Maybe they’ve trained them to come here, so they’ll come in a hurricane,” Clay said.

“That makes sense,” Neahle said. “The light could be some kind of solar or wind powered lamp. We might as well check it out.”

She scooted forward on her bottom, dangled her feet over the edge and dropped down three feet to the ground. Looking down, she was surprised to see that the floor was rock, not sand. Marty and Clay followed close behind her, looking around.

“This doesn’t look like the inside of a sand dune…” Clay said, toeing the rock. “This is solid.”

Marty scowled. “I don’t know what the inside of a sand dune looks like, but I don’t think it’s this.” He reached out and knocked on the rough wall. “That’s not sandstone. That’s rock.”

“And that’s not solar,” Neahle said, pointing to a flickering torch stuck into an iron sconce on the wall.

Simultaneously they all turned around, looking back to the pipe. It wasn’t there.

***

“Um…” Marty began. “That seems like a problem.”

Clay was knocking on the wall, trying to locate a hollow place that would indicate the pipe entrance. “It was right here! We didn’t move!”

“Guys!” Neahle whispered urgently. Marty kept mumbling to himself, and Clay kept rapping the solid wall. “Guys!” she said, louder. Both boys looked at her; she pointed to their right. A light was bobbing far down the passage, coming their way.

“I don’t think that’s the ducks,” Marty said.

“Ya think?” Clay replied angrily.

“What do we do?” Neahle asked, her face looking ghostly in the flickering light.

To their left, the passage was inky black beyond the reach of the torch. To the right, the light was moving closer. Clay grabbed the torch out of the sconce and pointed it to their left.

“This way!” he said, jogging forward down the hall. The roof was arched, obviously chiseled out by hand. The ground was smooth down the center from foot traffic while rough and uneven on the edges. Four feet wide, they were able to walk side by side with Neahle in the middle, holding both boys’ hands. Clay held the torch aloft, illuminating a ten-foot circle around them as they pressed on.

“No!” Neahle moaned as they rounded a curve. The way in front of them ended with a blank wall. She glanced behind them, but she couldn’t see beyond the curve.

“What now?” Marty asked in a shaky voice. “And where the heck are we?”

“We didn’t go by any other passageways,” Clay said, turning back the way they’d come and thrusting the torch in front of him. “The only thing to do is go back.”

“But there are people out there!” Neahle said.

“How do we know they’re bad people? If it’s a feeding station, it might be game wardens or something. Maybe they store the medicine for the horses down here.” Clay kept his eyes on the curve but didn’t walk forward.

“This isn’t a feed station, Clay!” Marty said. “The pipe is gone. Disappeared. Kaput. We didn’t wander into some hurricane hole!”

“Okay, what did we wander into, then?” Clay countered.

“I… I don’t know,” Marty stammered. “But it’s not Carrot Island. Even if the pipe hadn’t just disappeared, Carrot Island isn’t on a big bed of rock like this. It’s a barrier island. Barrier islands shift. They erode. That’s why they put the stupid pipe there to begin with! If it was all on a bed of rock they wouldn’t have bothered.”

“You said the pond could be a sink hole. That would only happen with rock, right?” Neahle asked.

“Maybe some kinds of rock,” Marty said, “The sink holes in Florida happen because the rock is really porous. This isn’t porous; there aren’t any holes. This is hard as a… well, as a rock.”

“There must be some kind of covering on the pipe,” Clay insisted. “That’s the only thing that makes sense!”

“The pipe is gone, man."

“Maybe there’s some kind of secret door that hides the pipe…” Clay said.

“It’s not hidden; there’s no door! We would have heard it. Heck, we’d have felt it — we were standing right next to the pipe. It’s gone. Which means we’re not in the dune, we’re not on the island… Can’t you tell from the smell? There’s no salt air, no sand. This is damp solid rock, and it smells old and mildewy.” Marty slapped the wall to prove his point.

“He’s right, Clay,” Neahle said softly. “I don’t think this is the island.”

“That’s not possible! Narnia wasn’t real! People in real life don’t end up somewhere else when they crawl through a pipe in the middle of the day!” Clay’s face was red in the torchlight; beads of sweat had popped out on his forehead. The hand holding the torch was shaking.

“I know,” Marty said, laying his hand on his cousin’s forearm. “But I think it’s true anyway.”

About the Author:

Born and raised in Rockledge, Florida, Jennings spent her early years reading anything she could get her hands on, when she wasn't spending time in and on the water. She won a prize in the 6th grade for her science fiction stories.

Jennings attended the University of the South and the University of Tampa, graduating with a B.A. in Political Science, and almost enough credits for B.A.s in both English and History. She spent time over the years doing various kinds of script doctoring, business writing, editing, and teaching writing, but mostly having and raising her family, homeschooling her children, owning and running a business with her husband, and starting a non-profit to Uganda.

Thanks to a crazy idea called NaNoWriMo Jennings got back into creative writing in 2011 and hasn't stopped since. She's written four novels and a screenplay in less than a year, with more ideas on the drawing board. She currently lives in North Carolina with her husband, also a writer, and two children, and travels extensively.
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April 4, 2013

Create Content with Challenges

I'm continuing with my mini-series on content creation. This is probably the last one, unless I think of something else. Coming up with topics to write about it a difficult task. Particularly if you rely mostly on reviews and you are in a reading slump, or if you have been blogging for a while. Prompts can be your best friend when who hit the bottom of the content barrel.

Challenges, BlogFlashes, and Memes abound in the blogging world and can be a wonderful source of inspiration. A short prompt or graphic can set your mind thinking in directions it hasn't gone before. Some of these are ongoing events, while others happen once a year. Even if the event has past you can still use the prompts to create your own posts, you just won't have the extra benefit of linking up with the others as part of the event.

A-Z Blogging Challenge (going on NOW) - Each day you write a post based on the letter of the day. It can be time intensive if you are not use to blogging 6 days a week. Today is day 4 of the challenge so it's the letter D.

#BlogFlash - this occurred in March, but as it's a Facebook page I suspect there will be future events in the months to come.

Photo-a-Day - If you are wanting to create content without writing so much try this challenge from Fat Mum Slim. Each day has a prompt for you to take a picture of. It's great if you are wanting to get more involved with Instagram or maybe increase your photo gallery.

Saturday Snapshot - a weekly meme to share a picture or two or three. It's hosted by At Home with Books and each week a linky is posted for you to link up with other participating blogs.

A word of caution - depending on the focus of your blog, photo challenges can lead you off focus. If you want to make your blog solely about books, you can still do that with photos (books you got in the mail, bookstore visits, etc.).

Top Ten Tuesdays - this is hosted by a book blogger and there's a new topic each week.

Waiting on Wednesday - another bookish meme. You can just post the cover of the book you are anxiously waiting for. Great for when you don't have time to write up a whole post.

If you want more information on memes, check out this post I wrote last year.

For some reading challenges that might help you get out of your slump, check out these.

Where are you Reading - Try to read a book set in or about each of the 50 states (or each European country, etc) in 2013.

2013 Audio Book Challenge - When I'm super busy often the only reading I get done is audio books. This challenge is also great for those have been thinking of getting into audio books - great recommendations from die-hard audio readers.

7 Continents, 7 Billion People, 7 Books Challenge - This is a super cool challenge, particularly if you are wanting to read international literature. The challenge is broken down even further with sub-categories, such as 7 countries with the most population. There's some helpful lists to assist you with locating literature that fits each of the 7 categories.

There you have it, if you need inspiration for content creation then check out some of these challenges. You don't have to follow the event to get ideas for posts.

What challenges, memes, blogflashes do you participate in? Where do you find inspiration for content when you are drawing a blank?




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Jack Templar and the Monster Hunter Academy


Warning
If you are not a Monster Hunter, click the back button NOW!
Last chance. 
Continuing with this post will give monsters the go ahead to attack you.
You have been warned!

Now available the highly anticipated sequel to Jack Templar Monster Hunter by Jeff Gunhus, a 2012 ForeWord Reviews Book of the Year Award finalist.

After barely surviving the onslaught of monsters that tried to kill him the day before his fourteenth birthday, Jack Templar leaves his hometown on a quest to rescue his father and discover the truth about his past. Joined by his friends Will and T-Rex, and led by Eva, the mysterious one-handed monster hunter, Jack sets out for the Monster Hunter Academy where he hopes to find answers to his questions. Little does he suspect that the Academy is filled with dangers of its own, many of them more terrifying than anything he’s faced so far. Learn more at http://www.jacktemplar.com.


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April 3, 2013

K. P. Kollenborn: Advice on Writing Historical Fiction

Writing historical fiction may seem like a daunting task; and what I mean by daunting is the amount of research it can take. And yes, it can take years depending on the depth of time a writer has to engage in such a task. But the driving force behind a writer’s engagement is actually a very simple one: passion. Like all things in life that requires a commitment, whether building a model boat, or painting a mural, or even raising children, it’s a love-obsessed commotion which on a normal scale can be seen as a bit fanatical, extreme, and ill-advised. Seriously folks, who in their right mind would want to spend the next eighteen years of their natural born life cleaning, yelling, preaching and watching grey hair grow out of pure exhaustion for the sake of love? That’s right. This innate mysticism that is in all of us, therefore say it with me: “Passion.”

I encourage this philosophy: “Submitting to a moment in time allows us to remember, or to muse even, over our society’s past. Although writing can educate as well as entertain, yet what makes art incredibly amazing, to that of paintings, photographs, and music, it transposes emotion into another form of humanity, and therefore, it is our humanity which keeps all of us striving for an improved future.” I believe writing about history in a fictional context can be intellectually, spiritually, and humanely liberating. Fact or fiction, the art of lying unveils misconceptions about ourselves, our humanity, and our future. We lie, we reinforce. We gossip, we self-destruct. We seek, we fail. We grow, we die. But always we hope. To escape. To learn. To rediscover. To reinvent. It matters, all, it matters because we are here. In the spirit of Will Ferrell: “How awesome is that?”

So, having already establishing the philosophical piece as to why a person would want to write historical fiction, now how does one approach to writing it? First of all, thank God for the era of the internet! But don’t rely on it completely. Obviously it can allow us to reach beyond our backyards and allow us to communicate to others in their professional fields to help us tighten the knowledge we seek. And it’s an awesome force for a quick reference. I’m amazed that you can download archives which subtracts travel time to the minimal. Nevertheless, like all cautionary tales of unlimited power, use the net wisely and don’t believe everything you read. Between keeping a stack of notes and contacting people who are willing to help you, double check the facts. Remember, you are like journalists for the past.

I still worship the library. Not only can you check out books- for free, but you can also check out movies, documentaries, and music- for free. To submerge yourself in a particular world as a means to understand the culture, the language, and mindset of that generation can be found both the public and university libraries. Because civilization has been recorded for at least six millennia, it’s astounding to rediscover stories through books, (both fiction and nonfiction,) music, art, music, photographs, and more recently, film. These are vast resources you can relate to, and in turn, you can exploit when recreating your story to help readers relate to as well.

The last thing I want to cover is how to use the information you’ve collected. The important factor is to never loose sight regarding the art of good old fashion storytelling. Without the proper development of characters and storyline all you have is a bunch of facts awkwardly stuffed inside your story. Sara Gruen’s Water for Elephants, Kathryn Stockett’s The Help, David Guterson’s Snow Falling on Cedars, and Jeffrey Eugenides’ Middlesex are prime examples of interweaving very personal stories in the midst of historical backdrops. One way to analyze the foundation of a story is by asking simple questions: What does my protagonist(s) want at the beginning of the story? What challenges does my protagonist face to acquire it? And does my protagonist actually obtain what he/she wants or discovers something else? And while evaluating these questions then comes the setting the scenes with historical facts to reconstruct an era. By colliding elements of story and research, much like the collision of the Big Bang Theory, you bring life purposely and unexpectedly with a hint of violence and romance, and hope your readers will understand and benefit from your work.

Writing history doesn’t have to be tedious. And writing it in a fictional context doesn’t devalue the significance of history. In my opinion, it enhances the reading experience. It can preserve a sense of integrity that allows us to criticize, moralize, and to be informed not only about our past, but how we can be a better society today. Well . . . one can also hope at any rate!

About the Author:

K.P. Kollenborn is my pen name which I chose for two reasons: One- it is my mother’s maiden name. We are grandchildren of German immigrants who migrated from Texas to Kansas prior to the American Civil War. Two- it’s not a very common surname and no doubt I’m somehow related to all the remaining Kollenborns in the United States one way or another! I am fortunate to have been trained by one the top ten writing teachers in the US, the late Leonard Bishop, and author of Dare to be a Great Writer. I owe my love of writing to him. When I had graduated Kansas State, I wrote historical book reviews for The Sunflower Press about the Japanese-Americans. In addition to writing, I draw, paint, create graphic design, compose music, and am an amateur photographer. I have been writing since childhood however I do have a B.A. in History.  Instead of applying a degree in creative writing, I wanted to focus on learning and understanding what motivates people of certain time periods to make them do what they did. And there are so many stories! I also wanted to learn from our mistakes and am conscious of how we’re all related to each other. My husband and I once owned a music store, a pizza delivery business, and several internet businesses. I also have dabbled with real estate and am grateful I got the heck out right before the crash! Sadly, history tends to repeat itself in important ways. Currently my family continues to live outside of Kansas City and will always have roots tied to Kansas. And to answer everyone's question: "No. Toto doesn't live here anymore. He is deceased and has been for a very long time."
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Dragon Wars Prize Pack & $20 Gift Card

A magical fairytale for all ages: Dragon Wars by Emily Fogle


The prize pack includes: one tote, 2 jumbo book marks, 2 signed bookmarks, 2 tattoos, 3 pencils, 1 mouse pad, 1 calendar (filled with illustrations by Robert Immings), 1 pen, 3 magnets, 2 keychains, 1 signed paperback copy of Dragon Wars, and a $20 Amazon Gift card. Enter the giveaway below.


Join children's author Emily Fogle for a Twitter chat

April 3 at 10:30 am

#DragonWars
(easiest way to join the chat is with tweetchat.com)




Dragon Wars by Emily Fogle is an amazing adventure from start to finish. If you love a good fairytale this is the book for you.
~ Kypris, Amazon

Amazing imagery explode from each page of this book. 
~ Laurel, Goodreads

Life is filled with changes, but sometimes even the most tragic events bring joy in the end, which is something Danny Warren learns when he joins the Dragon Wars.

Danny sadly loses his father in a hit-and-run auto accident and is forced to move to a different town. But his fresh start is a horrible one and Danny desperately wants to find a world he can belong to. One afternoon, after a particularly hard day at school, Danny finds a mysterious box hidden inside his window seat. He soon discovers that the box is his portal to Dorcian, the dragon world. Sadly, the once amazing world is in utter turmoil, and its inhabitants are suffering.

Danny finds the one thing that can bring meaning and happiness back to his heart: saving those that desperately need his help. Together, one boy and six lone dragons, will defeat evil and wage the Dragon Wars. And, in the midst of it all, Danny will discover that even the smallest person can make a huge difference when it matters the most.

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April 1, 2013

Rangeley Wallace: Life Experiences Influence My Writing

Today I will talk a little bit about myself and the ways my life has impacted my writing. Both published books and the book I am now finishing derive primarily from my life experiences augmented by extensive research. First and foremost, I write from a woman’s perspective, as a daughter, sister, wife and mother (of four), and as a woman who has worked both in and outside the home. Second, I’ve been a lawyer for decades and I often include legal problems in my writing – there are so many fascinating cases out there. Finally, all three books take place primarily in Alabama, where I grew up.

In my first book, No Defense, the protagonist, LuAnn, a married mother of three, finally realizes her dad isn’t the perfect, heroic man she always thought he was. My own father was handsome, smart, charming and powerful and impacted my life in both good and not-so-good ways. Newell, the flawed father in No Defense, shared a few characteristics with my dad. My epiphany wasn’t as clear-cut as LuAnn’s (as only fictional epiphanies can be!) but was more of a life-long learning process. LuAnn also had difficulties with her husband, Eddie. I try to keep my own marriage off limits in my writing, but other of my past relationships informed LuAnn’s problems with Eddie.

No Defense also grapples with a uniquely Southern problem: unsolved Civil Rights murders. Growing up during the civil rights era, I was confronted daily with injustice, from separate (and unequal) schools to segregated water fountains and restaurants. I remember vividly the hatefulness that was spewed by adults and other kids (though my family participated in the March on Selma and provided a place to sleep for civil rights workers in our home). As much as we all wish to put that era behind us, there are still numerous unsolved cases in the South and I deal with a fictional case in the novel.

In my recently published book, Things Are Going to Slide, the difficulties of balancing work and home life are a huge concern for my protagonist, Marilee, a single mom of a four year old, who is pregnant with her second child and needs to finish a project faster than humanly possible before she goes on maternity leave. She barely has time for everything on her plate when she learns her four year old needs to be tested for developmental delays. I too was a full time lawyer with two children when the preschool informed me that my first child was late in his ability to hop on one foot. In addition to the mental anguish that accompanies learning something may be wrong with your child, a round of testing and twice weekly occupational therapy finally led me to move to part-time work. There are only so many hours in the day!

The relationship between Marilee and her sister Dede in Things Are Going to Slide bears a striking resemblance to my relationship with my sister Holly, who died two years ago. We shared a room until I went to college and she was my best friend. I particularly enjoyed writing about a free spirit, like Holly, who lived life to the fullest and who always was there to support me in times of trouble.

A number of legal issues arise in Things Are Going to Slide because Marilee works in a legal aid clinic in a law school. The most significant case in that book involves Shaken Baby Syndrome. I had read about the increasing questions concerning the lack of scientific validity to the Syndrome and after reviewing a number of legal and medical studies wanted to write about a case where the prosecutor tried to rely on the theory to convict an innocent mother.

In the book I’m currently revising, Stubborn Love, Alexandra leaves behind her hometown, fictional Carsonville, Alabama, her siblings and parents, and the life she’d always planned, to escape a painful event, an accident in which her best friend was seriously injured and then sued Alexa. I left home after high school and never lived in Alabama again and in Stubborn Love I wanted to explore some of the feelings involved when someone returns home after moving away (something I never did).

In that same book, Alexa’s best friend Cat, who had been an All-American diver, is thrown by a horse owned by Alexa’s family and becomes a paraplegic. My sister was disabled, I have worked as a disability rights lawyer, and I have thought a lot about the impact of disability on a person’s life. Still, I needed to research what happens following an accident like Cat’s and how someone lives day to day with that kind of injury to write Cat’s story.

I’m not sure where my writing will take me next. A number of readers have asked for a sequel to Things Are going to Slide. I am thinking about that, perhaps with a protagonist who is a little older than Marilee. Let me know what you all think I should do! Thanks.

About the Author:
Rangeley Wallace’s first novel No Defense, was a Wyatt Book for St. Martin’s in hardcover and paperback. She was born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama and is a graduate of Emory University, Washington College of Law, American University and Georgetown Law (LLM). She has practiced public interest and corporate law, has prosecuted anti-trust and criminal cases and has defended white-collar criminal defendants in federal court. When she is not writing fiction, the mother of four practices and teaches law in Washington D.C. Things are Going to Slide (Sept. 2012; ISBN 9780991679; e-book $4.95; Bev Editions) is Rangeley Wallace’s second novel.
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April Showers Brings $1000 Giveaway

Raining Money

April showers are bring two lucky winners money. Enter below.

Welcome to the It's Raining Money Giveaway!

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500 visa gift card

One lucky reader will receive $500 Visa Gift Card {or paypal}.

Giveaway ends May 1st at 11:59pm, open worlwide, ages 18+. To enter please use the Rafflecopter form below. Good luck!
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Disclosure: I received no compensation for this publication. My opinions are my own and may differ from those of your own. Girl Who Reads is not responsible for sponsor prize shipment. Please contact teri@mompoweredmedia.com with questions or to see your business or blog featured on the next big event!
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March 31, 2013

Blog Tour: Jack Templar and the Monster Hunter Academy




Calling all Monster Hunters!
The sequel to the 2012 ForeWord Reviews Book of the Year Award finalist Jack Templar Monster Hunter is available this week. Jack's adventures continue in Jack Templar and the Monster Hunter Academy by Jeff Gunhus.



After barely surviving the onslaught of monsters that tried to kill him the day before his fourteenth birthday, Jack Templar leaves his hometown on a quest to rescue his father and discover the truth about his past. Joined by his friends Will and T-Rex, and led by Eva, the mysterious one-handed monster hunter, Jack sets out for the Monster Hunter Academy where he hopes to find answers to his questions. Little does he suspect that the Academy is filled with dangers of its own, many of them more terrifying than anything he’s faced so far.
Learn more at JackTemplar.com

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April 4
Classic Children's Books  Excerpt
Larkin's Book Bloggers Review
Brooke Blogs Excerpt

April 5
The Oaken Bookcase Review
Italian Brat's Obsessions Featured Book

April 6 Lubs Book Chatter Review

April 7 My Devotional Thoughts Feature & Review

April 8 Here's the Story Review

April 9 Library Girl Reads & Reviews Excerpt

April 11 What Shall We Blog About Today? Top Ten & Review

April 12 Girl Who Reads Excerpt

April 13 Alli's World Excerpt

April 14 Ohana Day Academy Review & Excerpt

April 15 Paperback Princess Review & Top Ten List

April 17 Keeping Up With The Rheinlander's Review & Top Ten List

About the Author:

Jeff Gunhus is the author of the Middle Grade/YA series The Templar Chronicles. The first book, Jack Templar Monster Hunter, was written in an effort to get his reluctant reader eleven-year old son excited about reading. It worked and a new series was born. Jeff is also the co-CEO of College Works Painting, a national company with over 4,000 employees that has been featured in national media for its unique opportunity for college students to learn entrepreneurial skills.  He is the author of the motivational career guides No Parachute Required (Hyperion) and Wake Up Call (Seven Guns Press). After his experience with his son, he is passionate about helping parents reach young reluctant readers and is active in child literacy issues. As a father of five, he leads an active lifestyle in Maryland by trying to constantly keep up with his kids. In rare moments of quiet, he can be found in the back of the City Dock Cafe in Annapolis working on his next novel.
website  *  Twitter  *  Facebook  *  Goodreads

Giveaway begins April 4

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A GWR Publicity tour paid for by the author. Girl Who Reads is an advertising affiliate with Amazon; a small fee is earned when purchases are made through the above links.
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