Tag Archives: children’s literature

Myths and Magic: Saffy’s Secret Quest

My thanks goes to Kevin, who has kindly agreed to take part in my blog tour. Without people like Kevin, it’s so hard to get news of your book out there. So it’s greatly appreciated. And he’s my first stop!

So today, I’d like to bring you news about my second children’s book. It’s due out on the 28th May this year but it’s now available for pre-order. It’s book two in the Saffy’s Secret Quest Series, which I’ve written for 5-7 year olds. Here’s a little bit more about Myths and Magic:

The Blurb:

Saffy has solved the first clue in her quest to save the magical world of Mandoreum from danger. Now it’s time to find the second. 

She isn’t alone. Her new friend, Lily, a dragon from Mandoreum, wants to help. Together they take a trip and uncover special stories and unexpected surprises.

But Saffy soon learns that first appearances are not always what they seem. And plotting in the background is a witch who will do everything she can to stop them…

Opening extract:

Saffy Berry smiled and winked at the little dragon statue on her dressing table. And the statue winked back!

The statue was, in fact, Lily – a real dragon from a magical world called Mandoreum. Lily needed Saffy’s help. Narla, the Queen of the Witches, had stolen Fairy Godfather Freddie’s wand and cast an evil spell, taking away all of Mandoreum’s magic and beauty. But, just before she was able to do so, the Fairy Godfather had managed to cast a counter-spell.

“Lily, I don’t know what we’re going to do.” Saffy’s smile faded as she thought about the counter-spell. She and Lily had to find six clues about dragons in the human world – jewels, a book, play, castle, colour book and toy. As Saffy had discovered, they needed to be solved in order. They had already found the first one, the jewels, which turned out to be two of her necklaces.

The second was a book and, if they succeeded in finding all the clues, Narla would be banished from Mandoreum forever and the magical world would be restored.

“I’ve looked through every single one of my books.” Saffy pointed over to her bookcase, then thought of her annoying younger brother. “And Harry’s books too. All the dragon pictures that should be there aren’t. Instead, the dragons have changed into knights, elves, princes – everything you can think of except a dragon.”

She felt as if she had been searching for ages and yet it had only been yesterday that they had solved the first clue.

Lily thumped her stump of a tail on the dressing table. Saffy knew her tail had once been long and elegant, so she could steer herself gracefully through the air, but that was before Narla’s spell. She looked at her new friend, feeling her frustration. The little dragon had been so excited when they worked out the first clue. Poor Lily’s skin had been covered in bald patches and her scales were hanging down. When they found the necklaces, the scales all came back, and shone once more. And the cracks in Mandoreum’s castle walls mended.

But Lily still had fluffy white balls of cotton wool instead of claws. She didn’t have any teeth, her wings were broken and she couldn’t even breathe the tiniest flame. Of course, she also had that tiny tail – all because of Narla.

If they couldn’t find the book, Mandoreum would remain dull. There wouldn’t be any

flowers, trees or green grass. But, worse than that, Lily, and everyone in Mandoreum, would be the way Narla had left them. Forever.

Author bio:

Esther has been a freelance writer for over twenty-five years, regularly writing articles and short stories for magazines and newspapers such as Writers’ Forum, Writing Magazine, The Guardian, Best of British, The Cat, This England, Yours and The People’s Friend.  

Winner of several competitions, including those run by Writing Magazine and The Global Short Story Contest, she has also had the privilege of judging writing competitions and relished being given the role of head judge of the Writers’ Forum monthly short story competition.

Esther loves writing but equally enjoys helping others, which she achieves in her role as a tutor for The Writers Bureau. Always on the lookout for a new challenge, she is taking the distance learning college over at the end of July.

She has had two how-to books on writing published, with a third due out later this year, as well as two collections of short stories. Her second children’s book is coming out in May, where she writes under the name of Esther Moonstomp.

Blogs: https://estherchilton.co.uk

https://esthermoonstomp.co.uk

 

Buying links:

UK: Paperback: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Myths-Magic-Saffys-Secret-Quest/dp/1806342103

Ebook: details to be released.

US: details to be released.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Secret Dragon, by Esther Chilton

KM: I am pleased to have Esther Chilton as a guest on my blog today. Here is Esther to tell you about her forthcoming children’s book:

I’m delighted to be here on Kevin’s blog today, bringing you details of my new children’s book for 5-7 year olds. It’s called The Secret Dragon and is the first in the Saffy’s Secret Quest series. Here’s a little bit more about it:

The blurb 

When Saffy discovers a dragon statue at the bottom of her garden, her boring summer holiday becomes full of excitement.

The statue is a real dragon called Lily. She’s from the magical world of Mandoreum, a place that’s in danger and in need of Saffy’s help.

There are clues to solve, a wicked witch to battle and secrets to be kept at all costs. Will Saffy be able to save Mandoreum before it’s too late?

Author bio:

Esther has been a freelance writer for over twenty years, regularly writing articles and short stories for magazines and newspapers such as Writers’ Forum, Writing Magazine, The Guardian, Best of British, The Cat, This England, Yours and The People’s Friend.  

Winner of several competitions, including those run by Writing Magazine and The Global Short Story Contest, she has also had the privilege of judging writing competitions and relished being given the role of head judge of the Writers’ Forum monthly short story competition.

Esther loves writing but equally enjoys helping others, which she achieves in her role as a tutor for The Writers Bureau. She also runs their monthly writing club, Let’s Write.

She has had two how-to books on writing published as well as two collections of short stories. Her first children’s book is coming out in July, where she writes under the name of Esther Moonstomp.

Blogs:

https://estherchilton.co.uk

https://esthermoonstomp.co.uk

Buying links:

Paperback: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Secret-Dragon-Saffys-Quest/dp/1836283881

Ebook: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0FCMZ6LMW

The paperback can also be ordered through bookshops.

Thank you for having me, Kevin.

 

Snowlilie’s Brother – Book Announcement by Author Victoria Zigler

Title: Snowlilie’s Brother

Author: Victoria Zigler

Book description:

“Getting a little brother is a good thing… Right?

When Snowlilie the West Highland White Terrier first meets her new little brother – a Cavapoo puppy, who tells her the humans call him Rascal – and realizes having a little brother means having a new doggy friend to play with, she’s excited. That is, until she realizes it also means sharing everything with him – including her favourite ball, some of her food, and Mummy and Daddy’s attention.

Will Snowlilie be forced to tolerate a little brother she doesn’t like? Or can she learn to like Rascal, and accept the changes having a little brother means?”

Available now as an eBook from…

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1022774

Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B088SZSDQS

…And other online retailers, such as iBooks, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo.

The Clutter Monster by Sally Walford

On the evening of Sunday 29 September, I was privileged to meet Sally Walford and her partner in my favourite Bangladeshi restaurant.

I had seen Sally on several previous occasions. However I had not had the pleasure of conversing with her until Sunday evening.

I was intrigued to find that Sally is a children’s author and has published “The Clutter Monster”, The book description of which reads as follows:

“The Clutter Monster lives in the land of Mess, a monster who loves nothing more than very messy children and very messy playrooms.

This story for children , The Clutter Monster, tells the tale of one dark night when two messy children are spotted by The Clutter Monster.

Only The Decluttering Dog has the secret of how to make the Monster go.

Will he get to them in time to save their fate?

This delightful tale encourages children to tidy up their toys and keep on top of that clutter!”.

Whilst I haven’t read “The Clutter Monster”, I see from Amazon and Goodreads that the book has received a number of excelent reviews.

You can find out more about “The Clutter Monster” by Sally Walford here, https://thecluttermonster.com.

The Meteor-Eyes Book Club enabling visually impaired children to read large print books

A great video about the Meteor-Eyes book club, which enables visually impaired children (those who are able to read large print), to enter into the pleasure of reading. The Guide Dogs charity produce large print books specifically tailored to the requirements of the children. You can see the video here,

Where’s Noodles

Title: Where’s Noodles?
Author: Victoria Zigler
Genre: Children’s Books – Animal Stories

Blurb:

“Noodles is a strange red creature with a squeaker in his tummy, who just happens to be the favourite toy of a West Highland White Terrier named Lilie. At least, he is now, since the bushytailed squirrel and cuddly triceratops fell apart while she was playing with them – totally not her fault, by the way!

Now noodles is missing.

Lilie’s sure she left Noodles on the living room floor when she went walkies. But when she comes home and goes to fetch him so they can have a nap together, Noodles isn’t there.

Where’s Noodles? Is he somewhere else, or is he lost forever?”

Available in multiple eBook formats, with paperback and audio versions planned for the near future.

Where to find the book:
Smashwords
Barnes & Noble
iBooks
Kobo
Goodreads

About the author:

Victoria Zigler is a blind poet and children’s author who was born and raised in the Black Mountains of Wales, UK, and is now living on the South-East coast of England, UK, with her hubby and furkids. Victoria – or Tori, if you prefer – has been writing since she knew how, and describes herself as a combination of Hermione Granger and Luna Lovegood from the Harry Potter books: Hermione’s thirst for knowledge and love of books, combined with Luna’s wandering mind and alternative way of looking at the world. She has a wide variety of interests, designed to exercise both the creative and logical sides of her brain, and dabbles in them at random depending on what she feels like doing at any given time.

To date, Tori has published nine poetry books and more than 40 children’s books, with more planned for the future. She makes her books available in multiple eBook formats, as well as in both paperback and audio. She’s also contributed a story to the sci-fi and fantasy anthology Wyrd Worlds II, which is available in eBook only.

Author links:
Website: http://www.zigler.co.uk
Blog: http://ziglernews.blogspot.co.uk
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/toriz
Facebook author page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Victoria-Zigler/424999294215717
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/victoriazigler
Google+: https://plus.google.com/106139346484856942827

Can You Guess These Books From Their Emoticons?

A series of emoticons showing various books, including “Peter Rabbit” and “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”, some of which are more difficult to guess than others, (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-3871186/Can-guess-books-emoticons-Titles-classic-children-s-novels-turned-emoji-tales-quiz-s-bound-leave-baffled.html).

Eadweard – A Story Of 1066 by Victoria (Tori) Zigler

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Title: Eadweard – A Story Of 1066
Author: Victoria Zigler
Release date: 14th October 2016

Book description:
“It’s October 14th 1066, and King Harold’s Saxon army is about to go in to battle against Duke William’s invading Norman army. Among the ranks of the Saxons are two boys who shouldn’t be there: Eadweard, and his best friend, Cerdic.

Daydreams of becoming great war heroes had the boys convinced to disobey their Fathers and go to war, despite the possibility of punishment if they were caught. Now it’s time for the battle to begin, and Eadweard is starting to wish he’d stayed home after all. But it’s too late to turn back now, and Eadweard finds himself witnessing the events of the battle that would later be called The Battle Of Hastings, and learning how different from his imaginings the reality of war actually is.

*Note: This is a work of fiction, which is based on actual events. It tells the story of the battle between King Harold’s Saxon army and Duke William’s Norman army, which took place a short distance away from the town of Hastings on October 14th 1066, in a place now known simply as Battle. Though this is a children’s story, the recommended reading age for this book is eight years and over, since it is a story that takes place on a battlefield, and therefore contains scenes of violence that are not suitable for younger, or more sensitive, readers.”

Buy links:
Smashwords
Barnes & Noble
Apple iTunes / iBooks
Also available from other sites Smashwords distributes to.

Paperback coming soon!

Be The One!

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Children are malleable and therefore can be influenced greatly by their parents, siblings, teachers, and other people in their lives.

It’s important to be a good role model and to encourage good behavior so that they grow up to be productive citizens of society. But, we’re not just trying to raise productive citizens, are we? No, we are raising children to be adults who can think for themselves, are independent people, and are influencers in the world. We don’t want to raise automotons, we want our children to be all they can be! (I’m making an assumption here, but I hope you agree).

I believe the single most important thing that makes a child grow up to be all they can be vs. one that doesn’t, is love. That may seem over-simplified and to a point, it is. However, I can say both from a professional standpoint and a personal one that even when a child lives in a toxic environment, if they know they are loved, they fare much better.

I’m a Guidance Counselor in a High School and I hold a license in Mental Health Counseling. I’ve seen my share of people who have been hurt by other people. When counseling a client who had been abused or abandoned or both or worse, if they had one person in their life that loved them (even if that love was imperfect), they had a better chance of healing and overcoming their pain than those who didn’t have that in their life.

I want to encourage you today to be that one person! Be the one person that makes a difference in a child’s life. You will not only be doing that child a favor, you will be doing the world a favor. We need children to know they are loved so they can grow up and be all they can be—making the world a better place for us all.

We know that if you are authentically you, if you follow your passion, if you fulfill your destiny—you add to the greatness of this world! If a child feels loved, they will be able to be authentic, find their passion and follow their destiny. Show love today!

Wanda Luthman

Children’s Author

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Growing children of character through quality literature

www.wandaluthman.wordpress.com

My children’s books are available on Amazon at www.amazon.com/author/wandaluthman in paperback, ebook, and audiobook.

Book Sale by Author Victoria (Tori) Zigler

I am pleased to publish the below announcement by my author friend, Victoria (Tori) Zigler:

tori

I’m about to celebrate being published for four years. On top of
that, the tenth anniversary of when I started blogging is coming up.
To celebrate both of these things, I’ve got the eBook versions of some
of my books on sale for a couple of weeks.

The sale started on April 20th 2016 and ends on May 7th 2016.

For details, including links and coupon codes for each book, go HERE