Bubba and Squirt's Big Dig to China by Sherry Ellis!

It’s a pleasure to be participating in author Sherry Ellis’ BUBBA AND SQUIRT’S BIG DIG TO CHINA Blog Tour through MC Book Tours today. Welcome, Sherry!

I'm sharing an excerpt of the story, and Sherry is offering a tour-wide international giveaway featuring five autographed copies of her book. More information on the giveaway is listed below.

BUBBA AND SQUIRT’S BIG DIG TO CHINA

by Sherry Ellis

◊ Genre: Juvenile Fiction
◊ Publisher: Dancing Lemur Press
◊ Print & eBooks
◊ Paperback: 94 pages

◊ Grades 3-5

Squirt doesn't believe Bubba can dig a hole to China. But when the hole swallows them, the kids find themselves in Xi'an, China, surrounded by Terracotta Warriors.

          It gets worse when the ghost of the first emperor of China appears. He tells them they can't go home until they find his missing pi. The kids don't know where to begin until they meet a girl and her grandmother who promise to help find the pendant.

          Soon they realize they are being followed. And they are no closer to finding the missing pi. Will Bubba and Squirt ever make it back home?

BUBBA AND SQUIRT’S BIG DIG TO CHINA available at:

* Amazon US  * Amazon UK *  Amazon CA *  Barnes and Noble * BAM * iTunes * Kobo

BOOK EXCERPT:

CHAPTER 3 BUBBA: HANGING OUT WITH STONE GUYS

It’s me–Bubba. My turn! I was glad to get out of the hole, but what I saw did not look one bit like home. What I saw was an army of men. Thousands of them! They were all standing there, lined up, ready for battle. Armor covered their shoulders and chests. Their faces looked fierce and determined. And do you know what else? They were made of stone.

Squirt came out behind me. “Whoa!”

“What is this place?” I asked.

Squirt stared. “I have no idea. But what I do know is that you got us into a big mess!”

“Sorry.” I put my hands in my pockets and looked down. I knew this was bad. The hole and tunnel were scary. Scarier than the Banshee roller coaster at Kings Island. It reminded me of my accident at the pond, when my sled crashed through the ice. Memories of the day I died.

I didn’t want those scary thoughts in my head, so I took a deep breath and walked up to one of the soldiers. He was big. As big as Daddy! I stood on my tippy toes to get a closer look. Then I scratched my head, because that guy looked kind of familiar. I did a little thinking. That’s when I figured it out. He looked just like the guy who works at Kung Pau Dragon.

I walked over to the next soldier. He looked like the other guy who works there. But this place wasn’t Kung Pau Dragon. That could mean only one thing. We were in China! A big smile spread across my face. The shovel had worked. I was right where I’d wanted to go. 

“Hey,” I said. “They’re Chinese! We’re in China!”

Squirt scrunched her eyebrows. “Bubba, that’s impossible!”

“But look.” I grabbed her hand and dragged her over to the big statue and pointed at its face.

She studied it real hard. Then she shook her head. “It couldn’t be.”

“Yeah, it could,” I said.

Her green eyes flashed. “No! You don’t understand. These look like Terracotta Warriors.”

“Terra-what?” What was Miss Smarty Pants talking about?

Sherry Ellis is an award-winning author and professional musician who plays and teaches the violin, viola, and piano.

When she is not writing or engaged in musical activities, she can be found doing household chores, hiking, or exploring the world. Sherry, her husband, and their two children live in Atlanta, Georgia. 

For more on Sherry and her writing, you can connect with her on Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, her blog, her website and her Amazon Author Page.

This tour-wide giveaway is for five (5) autographed copies of BUBBA AND SQUIRT’S BIG DIG TO CHINA. The giveaway is open internationally.

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.

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to follow Sherry on her month-long tour HERE. You never know what you might find out.

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Elaine Kaye Interviews the Witch!

Hello, all! I've been on an unplanned blogging break but I'm excited to jump back into the fray today  to help spread the word about the latest release from Elaine Kaye, Halloween Ride! Elaine is here with an interview with Halloween Ride's very own witch, Bertha.

Take it away, Elaine!

Elaine Kaye: Hello, Bertha. It’s nice to talk to you today. Our readers are very interested in you. The first thing they want to know is…where do you live?

Bertha, the Witch: I live in a cabin in a magical forest that no human knows about, with my ten cats and hundreds of brooms.

Elaine: What are your cats’ names?

Bertha: Puffball, Monkey, Doodle, Coal, Scratch, Merlin, Casper, Shadow, Jinx, and Onyx.

Elaine: Why do you have so many brooms?

Bertha: Because they're magical, dear.

Elaine: We know that the broom Gregory and Sammy find can fly them anywhere in the world. Does each one have a special magic?

Bertha: Some are for flying and some are for cleaning. The cleaning brooms visit people who need their houses cleaned, like the elderly. And the flying brooms go out every Halloween to give special individuals one ride. Except one of my brooms befriended a magical teddy bear, and the two of them go all over.

Elaine: I know just what teddy bear you’re talking about.

Bertha: How much longer are we going to be doing this, dear? I have some soup to eat.

Elaine: Speaking of which, was that really pea soup that Gregory and Sammy saw in your pot?

Bertha: Of course, it was. I make really good pea soup.

Elaine: What’s all in it?

Bertha: Peas, carrots, potatoes, onions, but it’s really the dried ants, worms, toadstool, and spiders that give it flavor and substance. Would you like a taste?

Elaine: Thanks, but I’ll stick to my recipe. It was a pleasure talking to you, Bertha.

Bertha: You, too, dear. Goodbye!

*And Bertha disappears in a poof of green smoke*

NEW RELEASE:

BLURB: One Halloween night, Gregory and his teddy bear Sammy go trick-or-treating, hoping for lots and lots of candy. But Sammy is scared of everything and is constantly asking, “What’s that?” Gregory gets annoyed until one of those things turns out to be a flying broomstick. And this broom wants them to go for a ride. Where will it take them? 

*Story picture book Ages 4-8.

EBOOK 99 CENTS:

Amazon / Nook / Kobo

Print:

Amazon

ALSO ON SALE FOR 99 CENTS!

Pea Soup Disaster: Amazon / Nook / Kobo

Doctor Mom: Amazon / Nook / Kobo

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: 

Elaine Kaye is the author of A Gregory Green Adventure series. She first created Gregory Green after her son, who loved her homemade pea soup.

Kaye has worked as a library assistant and teacher's assistant in elementary schools in the Sunshine State. She currently lives in Florida, but she has called Michigan; Honolulu, Hawaii; and Okinawa, Japan home.

She is a grandmother of three boys.

Website / Goodreads / Amazon / Instagram / Facebook

GIVEAWAY:

Enter here to win a signed paperback copy of Pea Soup Disaster, a hand-stitched bookmark, and a pea pod key chain! Open to all from September 16, 2018 – October 1, 2018!

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IWSG: Looking Back on a Great Month & Forward (I hope!) to Another One

Hello and Happy May! Today is the day for the monthly meeting of The Insecure Writer's Support Group, founded by our Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh. To view list members and this month's co-hosts, visit the IWSG page here.

April was a fantastic month for me from a writing perspective. I have continued to work on my Polar Night/Polar Day sequel, A Killing in Kennecott, and am making great progress. Even better, I'm really enjoying the writing! I hope I can keep up at my current pace and perhaps finish the first draft in May.

I also had two great writing events that were really fun.

First up, I was invited to be part of a reception honoring Hamilton County, Ohio authors on April 2. I was thrilled to attend and was even more thrilled when I made it up on the stage and back down again without tripping. :D

On April 8 I attended the Ohioana Book Festival in Columbus, Ohio. This was my third time at the fest and it is always a great time.

Puppet Baby Moo came along with me and helped me read his story to some of this kiddos at the event.

Best of all, I sold more books than I ever have at any previous festival. So the day was a success all the way around.

Now for May! I am scheduled to give a talk on my books and writing in Marysville, Ohio on Tuesday, May 9. Marysville is Baby Moo's hometown but the folks who invited me to speak didn't know about Baby Moo's book when they contacted me, so that is a total coincidence. In another strange twist, I used to work in Marysville back in the 1990s. When I left that job I never thought I'd have any reason to visit the town again. But somehow it must have been meant to be that I would!

The Friends of the Public Library hold an Author Series every year and invite four authors to participate, one each month from February - May. I am so honored to be one of the four this year! I am also nervous about it because of my anxiety over public speaking but I am hoping this will go as smoothly as my April events did.

Now I'm looking forward to hopping around and seeing what my fellow IWSGers have been up to over the past month. :)

Friday Celebrations & Cradle Rock by Tara Tyler

Hello, all!! Happy December!

I took November off from blogging but now I'm ready to jump back in to the fray with the Celebrate the Small Things hop. Although instead of celebrating the week that was, I thought I'd celebrate the month that was and share my celebrations from November.

In addition to a great Thanksgiving, I had two fun book events in November that I'm still celebrating.

One, I got to hang out with Mr. Cutie-Patootie, Baby Moo himself, at Sunrise Sanctuary's Thanksgiving for the Turkeys. As you can see from the picture, it was COLD and windy as can be, but it was still tons of fun. Sunrise is always a great place to spend time, and since I also sold some copies of Baby Moo's Great Escape it was a great day all around.

Two, I participated in the regional SCBWI's Indy and Small Press Book Festival at Cover to Cover Bookstore in Columbus, Ohio. While he wasn't there in the flesh, Baby Moo was still one of the stars of the occasion. It was a thrill to see him hanging out in the window display!

So that's what I'm celebrating this week. How about you?


The Celebrate the Small Things hop is hosted by Lexa Cain and co-hosted by L.G Keltner at Writing Off the Edge and Tonja Drecker at Kidbits. Visit Lexa's blog here to find out how join in the hop yourself and to see the list of participants.




I'm also thrilled to be helping to spread the word about another great release from my friend Tara Tyler. Here is all the info on her latest, Cradle Rock!

WELCOME BACK TO THE FOREST!

Gabe the goblin just saved his town Broken Branch Falls from splitting apart. He also revealed that humans--horrible creatures of myth and legend--may actually be part of their history! But seriously? Nah!

Now Ona, Gabe’s girlfriend, is headed thousands of miles away to Camp Cradle Rock for Spring Break seeking evidence of humans. Gabe knows better than to tell a stubborn ogress she’s crazy, so he’s letting her go and spending the break at the beach like a normal teenage beast. And he’s determined to have a good time without her, whether he likes it or not.

But when Gabe hears Ona went missing, he and his friends set out for the wilds of the west to find her, no matter what dangerous creatures get in his way. Not even humans.

Amazon ~ Barnes & Noble ~ Goodreads

Check out the Book Trailer!

(insert your comments here)

Here is the list of wonderful CRADLE ROCK RELEASE PARTY POST HOSTS:

	12/5	Patricia Lynne	Nerds Rule
	12/5	Heather R. Holden	Vampires
	12/7	Juneta Key	author spotlight interview
	12/9	Julie Flanders	Teenagers Now vs 80s
	12/9	Elizabeth Seckman	Beast-themed Recipe
	12/12	Lori L. MacLaughlin	Merfolk
	12/14	Sharon Bayliss	Ogres
	12/14	Tyrean Martinson	5 Reasons to use Chapter Titles
	12/16	Michael Di Gesu	Craziest Spring Break Trip
	12/17	Cathrina Constantine	Teen Dating
	12/19	Christine Rains	Hiking Faux Pas
	12/19	Alex J. Cavanaugh	Beast vs Monster - terminology
	12/21	Ann Noser	CR Quotes
	12/21	Heather M. Gardner	Discrimination - joking vs hurting
	1/4	Ken Rahmoeller	Dragons
	1/4	L. Diane Wolfe	Marketing Tips - Live & Online
	1/9	C Lee McKenzie	Grownup Stereotypes
	1/11	M. J. Fifield	Crazy Road Trip
	1/25	Crystal Collier	Poetry & Songs in Stories - Writerly Wed

Tara is also giving away signed copies of Broken Branch Falls and Cradle Rock, some Beast World swag, and a $20 GC!

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Baby Moo's Release Day and Celebrations!

Baby Moo and I are back together to share the news of our release day! Doesn't Moo look thrilled? ;)

He may be kind of blase about the whole thing, but I'm thrilled because Baby Moo's Great Escape is officially out in the world today. Yay!

Amazon  ~ Barnes & Noble

Goodreads

Blurb:  

Baby Moo has a dream. He wants to travel the world and sing on the stage of the Sydney Opera House! While he loves his home at Sunrise Sanctuary, it hasn’t been the same since a piglet named Nathan showed up and stole all the attention away from Moo. Jealous of the new baby, Moo decides now is the time to make his escape and pursue his dream.

But the world outside the sanctuary gates is not quite the fun and exciting place Moo imagined, and he quickly finds himself in big trouble. Moo's friends Missy the dog and Ruthie the cat rush to help him, and land in some trouble of their own.

Lost and frightened, Moo and his friends must rely on each other to find their way back home. Will they ever see Sunrise again? 

Fundraiser: 

I'll be donating $1 to Sunrise Sanctuary for every copy (print or ebook) of Baby Moo sold in September. If you're on Twitter and wouldn't mind sending out a tweet or two to raise awareness about the fundraiser I'd really appreciate it!

Baby Moo's Great Escape by @JulesFlanders is here! $1 will be donated to @sunrise_ohio for each copy sold in Sept.  http://tinyurl.com/gpuomwm

I'm celebrating a little early this week since it's Baby Moo's big day! The Celebrate hop is hosted by Lexa Cain and co-hosted by L.G Keltner at Writing Off the Edge and Tonja Drecker at Kidbits. Visit Lexa's blog here to find out how join in the hop yourself and to see the list of participants.

I hope everyone has lots to celebrate this week!

Celebrating Baby Moo & Tara Tyler's Cradle Rock

This week's Celebrate the Small Things hop was an easy one for me as I am celebrating that my first ever children's book, Baby Moo's Great Escape, will be out in less than a week now! September 8 is the day. Thanks again to all who have volunteered to help me spread the word by giving the book a shout-out this month.

I'm also celebrating that I actually visited with Baby Moo himself last week when I took a trip to Sunrise Sanctuary. I had such a great time with all the animals! But of course Baby Moo got special attention and he is as sweet as can be. He was gracious enough to take a picture with me while he was hanging out in his barn in order to get out of the hot sun.

I'm glad Baby Moo and I got to be friends!

The Celebrate hop is hosted by Lexa Cain and co-hosted by L.G Keltner at Writing Off the Edge and Tonja Drecker at Kidbits. Visit Lexa's blog here to find out how join in the hop yourself and to see the list of participants.

I'm also super excited to welcome my bookfest buddy Tara Tyler to the blog and share the excellent cover for her new book Cradle Rock. Welcome, Tara!!



Thanks, for helping me with my cover reveal, Julie! I'm excited to see your MG book!

CRADLE ROCK is book two in my Beast World series. In it, there are many beast species. Each fantasy writer adds their own tweaks to traditional fantasy creatures, and today I'm going to tell you about one of mine.

GOBLINS

In Beast World, goblins, pixies, elves, and ogres are the closest to humans. They don't morph into other creatures or have animal appendages. Goblins and pixies are the most intelligent of that bunch, but goblins like rules and order, where pixies are the opposite.



Goblin Origins - from my research, goblins started in European stories during the Middle Ages and most stories depict them as evil or mischievous and dwarf-like with various abilities and dispositions.


Tolkien's goblins - evil, ugly, and wicked creatures!



Rowling's goblins - highly intelligent creatures entrusted to run Gringotts, the wizard bank.


Beast World Goblins - I like the Harry Potter version of goblins. Though my goblins are highly intelligent, they aren't perfect. They're small, green smarties with sass. They like to be in control. They aren't strong, so must use their cunning to provide order to the lesser intelligent masses - very similar to humans in that respect.

How do you picture goblins? What's your favorite fantasy creature?

CRADLE ROCK
by Tara Tyler
Publication Date: December 1, 2016

Welcome to the forest.
Gabe and his girlfriend Ona are headed in opposite directions for Spring Break. After finding out humans might be a real part of their history, Ona is determined to dig up evidence of them in the mysterious mountains at Camp Cradle Rock. Being a logical goblin, Gabe tries to talk her out of it, but there's just no reasoning with a stubborn ogress.

When Ona goes missing, Gabe and his friends fly to Cradle Rock to search for her and discover a village of trouble, igniting an age old war. His physical skills may be lacking, but Gabe won't give up. With the help of his diverse group of friends, he will find a way to save his girl and maybe all beastkind. Humans, bah!

Add to your Reading List on Goodreads!

 

Tara Tyler is a math teacher and writer who loves to help and inspire others. Her problem solving skills mesh with her vivid imagination to teach math in new ways and overflows into her productions of exciting action-adventure stories in a variety of media. Pop Travel is the techno-thriller series that started it all and Beast World invites a younger audience to join the fun!

The Big Thing by Phyllis Korkki & Baby Moo's Great Escape!

Hello, all! I am excited to be a stop on the TLC Book Tour for The Big Thing by Phyllis Korkki today, and also thrilled to share the cover for my children's book Baby Moo's Great Escape. Isn't Moo a cutie?

The book will be released on September 8 by Native Ink Press. Huge thanks to everyone who said yes to my request to give the book a shout-out any time in September. I will have the info to you shortly!!

Now on to The Big Thing!

I had to laugh a little bit when I was first asked if I would like to read The Big Thing and be a host on Ms. Korkki's tour. I thought, how did she know I'm a "lazy, self-doubting procrastinator?" I felt like it was some kind of sign that the chance to read this book basically fell into my lap.

And maybe it was, because I have been a lazy, self-doubting procrastinator for much of this year and reading this book did inspire me to knock it off and get back to my own "Big Thing," my next book. So I'm very glad I learned of the book and got the opportunity to read it.

Ms. Korkki works for the New York Times and has had a long and successful career in journalism. Yet, she has always wanted to write a book. That goal was the "big thing" that inspired her to write this book, and the book itself is the completion of her goal.

Korkki has an engaging writing style and as I read along I felt almost as if we were becoming friends. I could relate to a great deal of what she discusses in the book, and particularly appreciated her candor regarding her struggles with depression and anxiety and the impact those struggles have had on both her life and her book.

We meet Korkki at the beginning of her decision to start her big thing, and the book takes us through her journey in many inspiring ways. She discusses her work to become healthier in both mind and body, and shares interviews and anecdotes from others who have forged their own paths toward doing their best creative work.

What inspired me the most was Korkki's realization that she needed to make her big thing part of the structure of her life, and simply start writing it instead of thinking about it. She relays how she often said "the hardest part is to start" out loud to herself before she started to work. I've been fussing over my writing for so long now that I was almost to the point of feeling like I was afraid to try it again, so this was a great reminder to me.

As was the simple truth that "creativity for creativity's sake feels wonderful." We all know that is true, yet that's something else I had forgotten.

I'm really glad I got to read The Big Thing and highly recommend it to anyone who may need a creative boost.

About The Big Thing

• Hardcover: 256 pages • Publisher: Harper (August 9, 2016) A New York Times business journalist explains why it’s important for people to pursue big creative projects, and identifies both the obstacles and the productive habits that emerge on the path to completion—including her own experience writing this book. Whether it’s the Great American Novel or a groundbreaking new app, many people want to create a Big Thing, but finding the motivation to get started, let alone complete the work, can be daunting. In The Big Thing, New York Times business writer and editor Phyllis Korkki combines real-life stories, science, and insights from her own experience to illuminate the factors that drive people to complete big creative projects—and the obstacles that threaten to derail success. In the course of creating her own Big Thing—this book—Korkki explores the individual and collaborative projects of others: from memoirs, art installations, and musical works to theater productions, small businesses, and charities. She identifies the main aspects of a Big Thing, including meaningful goals, focus and effort, the difficulties posed by the demands of everyday life, and the high risk of failure and disappointment. Korkki also breaks down components of the creative process and the characteristics that define it, and offers her thoughts on avoiding procrastination, staying motivated, scheduling a routine, and overcoming self-doubt and the restrictions of a day job. Filled with inspiring stories, practical advice, and a refreshing dose of honesty, The Big Thing doesn’t minimize the negative side of such pursuits—including the fact that big projects are hard to complete and raise difficult questions about one’s self-worth. Inspiring, wise, humorous, and good-natured, The Big Thing is a meditation on the importance of self-expression and purpose

 

Purchase Links

HarperCollins | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

About Phyllis Korkki

Phyllis Korkki is an assignment editor and reporter for the New York Times Sunday Business section. Follow Phyllis on Twitter.

Celebrating My Children's Book!

Even though today is the Celebrate the Small Things hop, I'm actually celebrating a BIG thing for me and I'm thrilled to death! I'm so excited, because I officially have a contract for my children's book and it will be published this fall! I've been doing all kinds of happy dances all week.

The book is called Baby Moo's Great Escape and features the animals of Sunrise Sanctuary in Marysville, Ohio. This handsome steer is the title character.

Source: Sunrise Sanctuary 

In the story, Baby Moo is an ambitious guy who dreams of a traveling the world as a famous singer. He finds himself in quite a mess as a result.

I'm so excited about this book I haven't been able to think of much else all week. I can't wait to see it come to life. When I was a kid all of my favorite books were those with animals as the main characters. So it's surreal and amazing to think that now I will have a book just like that out in the world with my name on it.

The Celebrate the Small Things hop is hosted by my buddy Lexa Cain and co-hosted by L.G Keltner at Writing Off the Edge, Tonja Drecker at Kidbits, and Katie at The Cyborg Mom. Visit Lexa's blog here to find out how join in the hop yourself and to see the list of participants.

Happy Friday, all! :)