Book News – Page 2 – Hey, Look! A Writer Fellow!

November 19, 2024

AHOY! AVAST! A CONTEST TO WIN MY BOOKS!

Gather ’round, my friends! I have good news!

Ten short days from today, one of my blog readers will win TWO of my books: Pirate & Penguin (2023) and its seafaring sequel, Pirate & Penguin 2 Few Crew (2024)!

I love these books. Kirkus loves them too! Read the reviews HERE and HERE.

It’s a pirate-and-penguin-palooza!

It’s a treasure trove of bountiful booty!

Most importantly, it’s really easy to enter.

How To Enter

To enter the contest, all you need to do is leave a comment below that answers the following question:

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Who is your favorite cartoon character and why?

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That’s it! Leave a comment and you’ll be entered in a random drawing to win signed copies of Pirate & Penguin and Pirate & Penguin 2 Few Crew!

And who will select this lucky winner?

Him:

This guy has been my loyal raffle picker for the past 12 years. When it comes to picking winners, he is second to none.

He is currently in Massachusetts doing some of that fancy college book-learnin’, but when I told him about this contest, he vowed to return to New Jersey next week! Isn’t that wonderful? He is traveling hundreds of miles from his school just to give someone free books!

If he can do that, the least you can do is enter for a chance to win.

How To Increase Your Chances of Winning

What’s that? You want me to stuff the ballot box in your favor?

No problem.

If you promote this contest on your blog, I’ll give you an extra ballot!

And if you promote this contest on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, that Blue Sky thing, or whatever else, I’ll give you an extra ballot for every social medial platform you post on!

And if you want to suggest a completely different way to promote the Pirate & Penguin contest, let me know what you have in mind; I’ll almost certainly give you an extra ballot for that, too!

That’s a lot of chances to win.

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The random drawing will be held on on Friday, November 29.

The winner will be posted on this blog on Saturday, November 30.

And that’s it! So leave a comment! Spread the word! Celebrate Pirates and Penguins! And win!

GOOD LUCK!

September 17, 2024

Ahoy! Avast! A New Book!

Thursday, September 19, is Talk Like a Pirate Day!

Woo!

I plan to celebrate by NOT talking like a pirate.

Also woo!

I don’t mean to be disrespectful toward our hook-handed and peg-leggy pals. I am a huge fan of pirates and their unique vernacular. In 2023, I wrote Pirate & Penguin, a picture book written entirely in pirate speak. If that doesn’t show my respect for those grizzled old salts, nothing does.

The reason I won’t be speaking like a pirate this year is because my pirate speak ain’t so great. My vocal cords are namby-pamby and wholly unfit to bellow “YO-HO-HO!” and “ARRR!” for any length of time before my voice cracks like a mid-puberty 12-year-old.

So I cannot recommend my pirate voice. I can, however, proudly recommend my pirate books.

That’s right! I said books! Plural! As in more than one!

I loved writing Pirate & Penguin so much that, seconds after selling the first book, I accosted my editor and proposed a sequel.

This bewildered her a little bit

“Um,” she began, “we don’t really buy sequels to books that haven’t been published yet. Because, you know, we want to make sure the first book sells before we buy a second one.”

That made perfect sense. But I allayed my editor’s concerns with a persuasive counterargument.

“Pleeeeease?” I argued. “Pleasepleasepleasepleasepleaseplease!”

Somehow my whining worked. And thank goodness for that, for Pirate & Penguin 2 Few Crew is on sale now!

WOO!

It got a great review from Kirkus!

WOO!

And you should consider buying it!

Whadaya say?

Wait. I know how to persuade you to purchase a copy:

Pleeeeease? Oh, pleeeeeeeeeese! Pleasepleasepleasepleasepleaseplease!

I’m glad we had this talk.

November 25, 2023November 25, 2023

Capy Critics Agree!

When my picture book, Sleepy Happy Capy Cuddles came out last year, I was delighted to read the wonderful reviews. I was even more delighted to hear the positive word of mouth from readers.

But, nestled in the back of my mind, a fretful question lingered:

People might like my book, but what about capybaras?

Apparently I wasn’t the only one wondering this. On a recent trip to Japan to visit family, awesome blog buddy Pam Webb stopped off at the Okinawa Botanical Gardens to get answers.

And the results are in: