Giveaways

A Stitch in Time Giveaway

By on November 7, 2013   /   Giveaways  

sew zoeyAuthor Chloe Taylor has been making clothes since she was a child. Her new series celebrates the creativity of sewing, along with the ups and downs of the middle grades.

From Amazon: Over the summer, fashion-loving Zoey Webber gets the best news ever: Her middle school is getting rid of uniforms! There’s just one problem. Zoey has sketchbooks full of fashion designs, but nothing to wear! So with a little help from her best friends Kate and Priti, she learns to make her own clothes. She even begins to post her fashion design sketches online in a blog. That’s how the Sew Zoey blog begins, and soon it becomes much more.

Zoey’s quirky style makes her a bit of a misfit at middle school, but her Sew Zoey blog quickly gains a dedicated following. Real fashion designers start to read it! Yet even as her blog takes off, Zoey still has to deal with homework, crushes, and P.E. class. And when the principal asks her to design a dress for the school’s fashion-show fund-raiser, Zoey can’t wait to start sewing! But what will happen when her two worlds collide?

sew zoey 2Chloe is giving away copies of the first four books in her series. Enter a comment below to be eligible–then wait on pins and needles to see who wins.

 

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Cinderskella by Amie and Bethanie Borst

By on October 25, 2013   /   Book Lists, Giveaways, Publishing & Promotion  

Eek, guys!! I can’t believe it. Tomorrow is the big day – the day I’ve waited for pretty much my whole life. It’s the day Cinderskella–my first published book–releases into the world as well as straight into the hands of readers…and hopefully their hearts!

Cinderskella Cover

Cindy is just a normal eleven and three-quarter year-old. At least until she wakes up one night and finds out she’s dead. Well, she isn’t technically dead—she just doesn’t have any hair . . . or a nose . . . or skin. Yep—all bones, no body.  

Human by day and skeleton by night, Cindy is definitely cursed. And because her mother recently died, Cindy has no one to turn to except a father who’s now scared of her and an evil stepmother who makes her do the housecleaning with a toothbrush. To make matters worse, the Spring Fling dance is approaching, and Ethan, the cutest boy in sixth grade, doesn’t seem to know Cindy exists. Of course, Cindy doesn’t think letting Ethan find out she’s part skeleton is the best way to introduce herself.

While facing such perils as pickled pig’s feet, a wacky fortune teller, and a few quick trips to the Underworld, Cindy’s determined to break the curse—even for a single night.

Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, Goodreads!

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I’m super excited that all of our readers here at MUF will be some of the first to celebrate with me. So thanks for joining the party! But first…a top ten list  just for fun!

Top 10 Clues That Amie is Writing

10. Laughing and snorting is accompanied by table slapping. Unless you want to endure lame jokes, you best not venture into the room to see what all the commotion is about.

9. Dinner is frozen pizza. This actually makes the kids happy and they insist Amie keep writing until…

8. Dinner is YOYO (You’re On Your Own). What’s that green fuzzy stuff? Is it supposed to jiggle?

7. The phrase, “Girls, come here!” is shouted, not because they’re far away but because Amie’s forgotten to remove her earbuds.

6. The aforementioned shouting is responded with grunts, groans, and eye rolls because they know the next words out of Amie’s mouth are, “Let me read you something!”

5. There’s a sudden shortage of chocolate in the house. Better watch out! Momma’s on the prowl!

4. There’s a family-wide search for Amie’s slippers, which are usually found hiding beneath the blankets at her writing desk. Who left them there anyway?

3. Conversations center around comma rules and other grammatical concerns.  First world problems. Phew!

2. The house looks like a thermonuclear explosion.  Apparently Amie’s the only one who knows how to do the dishes, wash and fold the laundry, put shoes in the closet, store the books on the shelves and make the beds.

1. The dog is missing. Dang it! Not again!

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Okay…now for the serious stuff….

Cinderskella, like all books, certainly was a labor of love. That’s what makes the next part really special. I get to share this publishing journey with my 13 year old daughter. What a thrill for both of us!

To be honest, I never set out to write a book with my daughter. The opportunity sort of just stumbled into my lap. If you want to know more about that, then hop on over to Ann Marie Meyer’s blog and read the whole story.

My daughter has some learning disabilities and working together has helped us both grow. If you want to read her experience and perspective about disabilities in literature, then you should read her post at Disability in Kid Lit.

One of my favorite things about writing Cinderskella was creating fun characters. In fact, Rose Cooper interviewed our very own Cheddar just the other day. Put on your party hat and bring the cheese!

And, of course, one of the scariest things about having a novel published is…<gulp>…reviews. Thankfully, there’s a glowing one at Janet Jensen’s blog. I swear that’s not a tear in my eye. It’s dust, I tell you! DUST!

Wanna know the fun part?  The most fabulous, best thing about having a book published? It’s getting to share it with readers like you! That’s why I’m giving away a copy. Yup, one lucky winner will receive a signed copy of Cinderskella!

So just fill out the rafflecopter form below to enter! Be sure to spread the word, too.

Borst Family (7)

Amie Borst, a PAL member of SCBWI, still believes in unicorns, uses glitter whenever possible and accessorizes in pink. She enjoys eating chocolate while writing and keeps a well-stocked stash hidden away from her family. A native New Yorker she currently resides in Northern Virginia with her husband, three children and a cute dog named Lily. She wishes she had a hot-pink elevator with carnival lights to travel the world. But for now, her minivan will have to do.

Bethanie Borst is a spunky 13-year-old who is an avid archer with Olympic dreams, enjoys the outdoors, loves reading and is quick to make lasting friendships. When she is not writing, she swings on a star.

You can follow Amie and Bethanie on facebook. You can find Amie at her blog, twitter, and pinterest.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Catherine Murdock Interview & Giveaway

By on October 21, 2013   /   Author Interviews, Giveaways  

“Pick me, pick me!” was my response to the Mixed-Up Files request to interview Catherine Murdock. That was before I found out that her new book,  Heaven is Paved with Oreos, is connected to the Diary Queen Trilogy – then I almost fainted. Dairy Queen was one of the first middle grade books I read as an adult and, well, I think it’s fair to say that the main character of the series, D.J. Swank, is the one who made me fall in love with the genre all over again.

FINAL_Heaven_JKTNeedless to say, I gobbled up Heaven is Paved with Oreos, which is told from the perspective of Sarah Zorn, D.J.’s younger brother’s best friend and fake girlfriend (yes, you read that right – it’s part of their “Brilliant Outflanking Strategy”). When I was done reading, I had tons and tons of questions for Catherine, which she graciously answered (as drool seeped out the corner of my mouth).

Thanks for joining us at the Mixed-Up Files, Catherine.  As you can probably tell (ahem!) I’m a big fan of yours (and D.J.’s!)

It’s been four years since Front and Center, the last book in The Diary Queen Trilogy was published. You’ve written at two fantasy books in between, Princess Ben and Wisdom’s Kiss. What made you revisit D.J.’s family?

I love D.J. so much, and I really wanted to see her from another point of view — to let us understand her through someone else’s eyes. I also wanted to make sure that Curtis was okay. I worry about the boy, and I needed to see him through.

Reading the books, it’s obvious you love D.J. (almost as much as me) but I can understand why she could no longer be your main character – her story really did come full circle in the three books and it’s hard to imagine how you could have continued on such a dramatic arc. How did you choose which character in The Diary Queen Trilogy to put in the starring role of the follow up?

This relates to the next question — I’ve been to Rome several times and simply adore the city, and for about ten years I’ve been entertaining the thought of writing a book set there. I just didn’t know how to approach it. And I wanted to return to Red Bend, Wisconsin in some way …  With hindsight the choice of Sarah was obvious, but it took me a long time to come to that realization — it took me a while to take her seriously as a character. I’d thought of her as rather mousy. But it turns out that Sarah isn’t mousy at all, she’s only mousy around D.J.!

You do a great job of dividing Sarah’s story between Red Bend and Italy – where she travels with her zany grandmother and unexpectedly learns a lot about her family (and her relationship with Curtis). Did you do a separate visit Rome to research the book?  

shapeimage_4As I said, I’ve been to Rome many times, beginning in, oh, 1987 … I am a huge architecture buff (as anyone reading Heaven is Paved with Oreos can tell), and I also love to eat, and to walk — really it’s the best of everything. I made one trip there as I was developing the book (curiously, I took loads of pictures of marble skulls even before thinking up that subplot with Curtis!), and another trip to fact-check it later. This last time I stayed in an old monastery, and it was magical. Simply magical.

Will you be writing more books set in Red Bend, Wisconsin?  

I don’t think so — but I’ve said that after every Red Bend book. So who knows? At the moment I’m more focused on adult non-fiction, but the project is in the very early stages … Still, Red Bend is my home away from home.

Can you tell us a little bit about the difference between writing contemporary middle grade fiction versus fantasy?  Similarities?

The wonderful thing about fantasy is that you can solve pretty much any plot or character problem with magic. I’ve spoken with other children’s authors about this, and we agree that it’s the best part of the genre — well, that and dragons. Contemporary middle grade, I feel, comes with an expectation of more character development, and possibly more of a moral — a learning experience, if you will. But in both cases, you need believable, sympathetic characters and a really good story. Simple, right?

Right! And no one creates them better than you (IMHO). Thanks for your time, Catherine. Is there anything else you’d like to add?

I hope readers enjoy reading my book as much as I enjoyed writing it!

I have no doubt that they will – and thanks to Catherine’s publisher, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, one of you is going to win a free copy!  Just follow the link to our Rafflecopter giveaway to enter to win a copy of Heaven is Paved with Oreos.  Good luck!

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