And the Pirate & Penguin Giveaway Winner Is….

First things first. My Boy (and Highly Esteemed Raffle Ballot Picker-Outer) came home from college! This made me very, very happy.

His triumphant arrival means that we can finally find out who will win signed copies of Pirate & Penguin and Pirate & Penguin 2 Few Crew!

The ballots have been written. The picker is unpacked and ready…

So let’s get started!

Okay, kid, you know what to do.

So what are you doing?

Ah! I get it.

The suitcase is a fine receptacle for picking a winner. It’s a symbol of your long absence.

Zipping up. Okay. Good.

Shaking it up. Okay. That oughta do it.

I think it’s shaken up now.

That’s good! That’s fine!

OH, FOR GOD’S SAKE! STOP SHAKING!

*sigh*

The Boy may be highly regarded for his ballot picking skills, but that doesn’t make him any less pesky.

Now pick a winner.

He’s got a ballot…

And the winner is…

SUSANNA LEONARD HILL!

Congrats, Susanna! You have won the big prize! Woo!

All you have to do now is scoot over to the “Hire Me” menu on this blog and send me an email. I’ll get signed books out to you in two shakes of a penguin’s tail!

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Thank you to everyone who entered!

And, remember, if you still want copies of these books for you or your loved ones, you can buy them by clicking HERE and HERE.

In fact, I think you should totally do that.

Remember, books make treasured and thoughtful holiday gifts!

Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanza, Winter Solstice, New Year’s Eve, and and about a jillion other things are just around the corner!

So you may want to consider buying in bulk, actually.

Take care, be well, and happy shopping!

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!

May 18, 2023May 19, 2023

Pirates! Penguins! Prizes!

No matter how colorfully you paint one, a penguin will never be a parrot.

I have another book coming out!

About a pirate!

And a penguin!

It’s titled Pirate & Penguin! (Titles are hard.)

The story is about a penguin who slips off his iceberg onto the poop deck of a passing pirate ship. The captain, perhaps a bit dotty from his many months on the high seas, mistakes the stowaway for a parrot and expects his new companion to govern himself accordingly. Penguin’s well-meaning efforts to talk, perch on Pirate’s shoulder, and keep things ship shape leads to mayhem. In fact, things get so out of hand, someone might end up walking the plank.

There is no feeling that can quite replicate the joy of opening a box of author copies.

Pirate & Penguin was the most fun I’ve ever had writing a picture book.

More importantly, I love the way the book turned out. (No one can do a better job at depicting seafaring chaos quite like illustrator extraordinaire, Jenn Harney.)

Pirate & Penguin has gotten good reviews, too!

“A pirate searching for a parrot and a clumsy penguin collide in this lively tale about friendship…. Inventive pirate speak and bright colors compliment this whimsical story.” — Foreword Reviews

“An amusing romp that will have landlubbers and scurvy sea dogs alike giggling.” — Kirkus

“Although children’s library collections are not lacking in pirate stories, this fresh and funny tale makes its case for inclusion by using a pirate-ship setting to explore the nature of friendship.” — Booklist

And Page Street, my publisher, believes in this book so much, they made up a batch of P&P buttons!

But here’s the best part:

YOU CAN WIN A FREE COPY!

All you gotta do is head over to Kathy Temean’s blog and enter the giveaway.

And who knows? You may just receive a wonderful work of kid lit—a prize at least as valuable as a medium-sized chest of buccaneer booty.

So go. Good luck. I’ll be rooting for you.