Reading Rocks in Rockford!

 

 

Photo credit: demandaj via Visualhunt.com / CC BY-NC-ND

Hello everyone! I hope all is well with you! This Saturday from 10:00 to 1:00 I’ll be in downtown Rockford with other amazing authors! Come on down and meet authors and get some incredible books!

In a small town in Michigan, fifteen-year-old Sarah Cole is stuck spending the summer at her Aunt and Uncle’s with her sister, Lacey. She’s not happy with the situation until she befriends a girl named Jackie. The three girls stumble upon the ruthless murder of a reclusive neighborhood woman and what’s worse? One of the officers investigating the crime believes the girls are responsible for her death.

Fearing that this officer will frame them for the murder, the girls organize their own detective squad. They become the Super Spies and start their own investigation. The Super Spies can’t understand why anyone would want to murder the “Cat Lady” until they start digging into her past and discover a horrible crime that happened thirty years ago. They uncover a connection between the two crimes and attempt to bring this information to the police, only to be reprimanded for meddling in the investigation. Not only are the girls upset by the admonition, but they also struggle with the fact that their exuberant investigating could provide a legal loophole allowing the killer to go free. Frustrated by this turn of events, the Super Spies realize it’s up to them to snare the Cat Lady killer.

Or die trying…

This book opens in a small town in Michigan where Sarah Cole and her sister Lacey are now living with their Aunt and Uncle. Still reeling from the fact her parents have disappeared, Sarah starts the school year with her new friend Jackie Jenkins. When Sarah learns the school has been bombed, she’s filled with dread. Uncle Walt is a teacher, and he was in the school when the bomb exploded. Taking matters into her own hands, Sarah decides to search for him. The rest of the Super Spies are right behind her. When a fireman chases them away from the school, Sarah becomes suspicious. She decides to investigate. The FBI arrives on the scene. Sarah realizes this bombing could have even bigger implications. Searching for the bombers, Sarah is introduced to the world of terrorism. She fears that the bombing and her parents’ disappearance are connected and terrorists are involved. To make matters worse, the bombers are determined to finish the job. Can the Super Spies find the bombers before it’s too late?

Sarah Cole and her sister Lacey are at it once again when they learn their missing parents’ cell phone has been traced to Alden, Michigan. When the FBI declines to continue the in-vestigation, Sarah takes matters into her own hands. She calls upon the Super Spies and they delve into the situation. Suddenly, the teens find themselves immersed in small town intrigue and mystery involving a menacing stranger, who Sarah dubs “The Stalker.” But when Sarah learns he’s connected to her parents’ disappearance, she’s determined to find out what that connection is. The Super Spies embark on a journey that leads them into a web of corporate corruption at its highest level that leaves innocent victims in its wake. Can they find the proof they need to stop the greedy corporation before it’s too late?

Lark Singer is seventeen years old and already on the way to a brilliant music career. But as she and her band, Starlight, gear up for a competition, life seems to be throwing her a few curve balls. The mysteries of her past seem to be unraveling, and she’s no longer certain she wants to know those answers or how knowing about her past will affect her difficult relationship with her mother. And when her best friend, Bean, changes things between them, all her plans for a musical future are placed in jeopardy. How can she balance her complicated personal life to keep her musical goals on track?

Happy Easter!

 

 

 

Happy Easter, everyone. I hope you enjoy your day, celebrating with friends and family. I’ll be doing that myself so there won’t be a long post today. I’ll be back next Sunday for our regularly scheduled programming! Enjoy your holiday! 🙂

Looking for some Inspiration?

 

Hello everyone. I hope all is well with you. I’m back today and I’m sharing with you some inspirational quotes that I use to keep me motivated. I thought it might be nice to share them with all of you in case you were having one of those days where it’s hard to get moving. So without further ado, here they are. 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for stopping by. I hope these inspirational quotes have inspired you to get moving toward your goals. Do you have any quotes you’d like to share? I’d love to hear from you, leave a comment with your own inspiration!

The Hover Board Incident: A Public Service Announcement

 

Hello everyone, I hope all is well with you. I’m back today with another Public Service Announcement. My boys had friends spend the night over the weekend. This has become a weekly event, even when I told them last weekend no one’s spending the night next weekend, we still had kids spending the night. I really don’t mind all that much just every once in a while we (me and my hubby) need a kid break. But I digress.

Anyway, we had a couple of extra kids over the weekend and one of them got a hover board for Christmas. He brought it over and all the boys went down into the basement. (Hubby just finished it and we had carpet installed over the holidays. I don’t recommend this by the way. Your house is torn up when you’re trying to have Christmas. Not fun. We don’t have furniture down there yet, so it’s a huge open space, perfect for hover board shenanigans.)

It looks so innocent and uncomplicated, doesn’t it?

The boys were having a blast, I could tell by how loud they were. My two came running up the stairs to where I sat on the couch, writing my story. “Mom. You’ve got to try the hover board, it’s so much fun.”

Then my youngest piped up. “Dad did it.”

That’s all it took because if Dad can do it, I can do it, too.  So I got up and went down into the basement.

The young man who the hover board belonged to, climbed on and demonstrated how to ride it. It looked so easy. I was positive I could do it.

I should’ve remembered the first time I went rollerblading and broke my arm, but I didn’t.

So, I tried to climb onto it and I found it was hard to balance. That should’ve been a warning sign, but I ignored it. I finally climbed on by holding on to the wall.

I rode it around the basement and it was fun. I enjoyed it and told the kids I wanted to get one. I did another lap and another, enjoying the slight breeze that ruffled my hair. I felt like a kid again. You know the feeling you used to get when everything was possible. Yeah, that feeling.

I decided to stop and get off. This decision was my undoing. I stepped off without the help of the wall and landed flat on my back. It was instantaneous. I didn’t have time to try and maintain my balance or anything. It was just BOOM!  I fell in front of my kids, the neighbor kids, and one of my son’s school friends. Oy!

This isn’t me, but I’m sure this is what I looked like falling.

Photo credit: zbdh12 via Visual hunt / CC BY

I laid there and remembered the first time I went rollerblading and broke my arm. That’s when I realized I don’t do well with wheels on my feet. Sigh.

The boys didn’t laugh. I thought they would. I probably would’ve if I were their age. What nice kids.

Luckily, I wasn’t hurt, but I did learn a valuable lesson. I’m not a kid anymore although my maturity level says the opposite.  🙂

So when one of your kids tries to get you on their hover board just remember what happened to me. It’s not as easy as it looks. Maybe if it came with poles? I don’t know. Just a thought.

Photo via Hans via Visual hunt

 

This has been a Public Service Announcement. 🙂

 

Please Welcome L.R.W. Lee as she shares her New Release with Us!

 

JUST RELEASED!

Vision of the Griffin’s Heart, Andy Smithson, Book 5

Four years ago, Andy Smithson discovered he is the Chosen one to break a 500-yr-old curse plaguing the land of Oomaldee when he unexpectedly and mysteriously found himself there. To do so, he must collect ingredients for a magical potion. Thus far he has gathered the scale of a red dragon, venom from a giant serpent, a unicorn’s horn, and the tail feather of a phoenix. Now he must ask a griffin for one of its talons. There’s just one problem…humans have poached griffin treasure, causing these mythical creatures to attack on sight.

 

Complicating matters, the evil Abaddon, sovereign of Oomaldee’s northern neighbor, is turning more and more citizens into zolt in his ongoing campaign of terror as he sets in motion the final steps of his plan to conquer the land. Things really start to heat up in book five!

 

If you loved Harry Potter, you’ll love the Andy Smithson series chalk full of mythical creatures, newly invented animals like zolt, herewolves, and therewolves, a complex plot with evolving characters, and positive themes including responsibility, diligence, dignity, friendship and more.

 

Purchase Kindle and Paperback

 

 

THE BUZZ

5 Stars! – “A marvelous book in a great series!” – Erik Weibel (Age 14) This Kid Reviews Books Blog

“Readers of this series have come to anticipate a host of challenges, intense battles, and on an epic scale. In Vision of the Griffin’s Heart, you won’t be disappointed. For lovers of fantasy, I consider it a must read.” – Richard Weatherly, Author

“One of the admirable qualities I like about the entire series is seeing Andy’s growth from a self-absorbed kid to a more thoughtful teen as he learns how to deal with the various crises which face him, all the while knowing that the future may hold unpleasant consequences.  The watchword for Vision of the Griffin’s Heart is “courage.” – Wayne Walker, Home School Book Review

 

OTHER BOOKS IN THE ANDY SMITHSON SERIES:

 
 

Blast of the Dragon’s Fury (Andy Smithson, Book One) ebook is FREE. Download a copy at Amazon, Smashwords, Kobo, Google, B&N.

Listen to the FREE podcast of Book 1 by L. R. W. Lee on Podiobooks.

Book one is also available in paperback.

   

Venom of the Serpent’s Cunning (Andy Smithson, Book Two) is available in Kindle and Paperback.

Download the professionally recorded audiobook at Amazon

It’s only $1.99 if you download the eBook first…Savings of $16!

 

Disgrace of the Unicorn’s Honor (Andy Smithson, Book Three) is available in Kindle and Paperback.
     

Resurrection of the Phoenix’s Grace (Andy Smithson, Book Four) is available in Kindle and Paperback.

 

     

Power of the Heir’s Passion (Andy Smithson, Prequel Novella) ebook is FREE. Pick up a copy at Amazon, Google, B&N, Smashwords. It’s also available in paperback.

Download the professionally recorded audiobook at Amazon

It’s only $1.99 if you download the eBook for $.99 first…Savings of $1!

 

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

 

1. R. W. Lee credits her love of fantasy with her introduction to C. S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia. Later on, she enjoyed the complex world of Middle Earth brought to life by J. R. R. Tolkien in Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. The multiple dimensions of the worlds mixed with a layer of meaning, captivated her and made her desire to invent Young Adult Fantasy and Epic Fantasy worlds others could get lost in, but also take meaning away from. More recently, L. R. W. Lee has found inspiration from J. K. Rowling and her Harry Potter series as well as Brandon Mull and his best selling Fablehaven, Beyonders and Five Kingdoms series.
2. R. W. Lee writes to teach her readers principles that can transform their lives – overcoming frustration, impatience, fear and more. She also shows why responsibility, diligence and dignity are the keys to true success in life. She lives in scenic Austin, TX with her husband. Their daughter is a Computer Engineer for Microsoft and their son serves in the Air Force.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Amazon | Email

 

 

 

L.R.W. LEE INTERVIEW

1. How did you come up with your main character, Andy Smithson? Did he just pop into your imagination or did you specifically develop him?

Andy is patterned after my son. After our first child who was what I would call compliant and seemed to need little to no correction, our son arrived on the scene. As with most 2^nd children, he was polar opposite and provided much fodder for an engaging main character.

2. How did your experience with building a business help with your writing?

It has been invaluable for I understand that writing is only 50% of the writer’s success equation. Unlike Field of Dreams, with so many good books available today, just launching it, even on a well trafficked platform like Amazon, does not get recognition. Because of my corporate background, from day one I began working to build a platform – Twitter and Facebook primarily and now also Book Nerd Paradise. As well, I understand the importance of the author community, for no author can succeed these days without the support of fellow authors. My background has also helped in understanding the need to optimize my books to rank well on the variety of sites they are listed on. There’s much more, but those are the biggest helps I would say.

3. Was there any particular book or author whom you feel had the most influence on your work?

I have to say JK Rowling. The imagination she revealed, the strength of her characters, the world building, the depth of plot over multiple books…she definitely shaped how I think about writing.

4. What do you love the most about writing for young people?

Young people are moldable. My passion for writing is to share with readers principles that from my experience can help them live more peaceful lives. A few of these principles include overcoming fear, frustration and impatience as well as understanding that true success in life is not from riches, fame or power, but rather responsibility, diligence and dignity. If they can finish any of my books closer to understanding these principles, I feel very fulfilled.

5. Which part of the creative process is your favorite? Least favorite?

Designing the story arc is my favorite part of the creative process for you can take a story anywhere your imagination can go. My least favorite part is editing/revising. Even though I know the narrative gets much stronger as a result, it’s still my least favorite part.

6. How long does it usually take you to write one of your stories from when you get the idea to when it’s finished?

Usually about 6 months.

7. I know that most authors love all their characters but which of your many “children” is your favorite (besides Andy) and why?

I have to say Mermin, the kindly old wizard who speaks with a lisp. I love him most after Andy because he’s so warm, humble and approachable. He’s fallible and he knows it, which is why he doesn’t apologize for his mistakes, rather he is comfortable in his own skin.

8. Do you ever plan to branch out into other genres besides middle grade/young adult fantasy?

Funny you should ask. Yes, I’m actually noodling with a story arc of a YA Sci Fi story.

9. How do you feel your writing has evolved since your first novel?

I can see how much I’ve changed and improved in showing rather than telling my readers what’s happening. I want them to engage and to show – providing sight, sounds, touch, smell, and taste cues is a big part of that. I was particularly thrilled when my editor came back a full week sooner than expected with this current book because I had improved so much between book three and four. My pocketbook also appreciated that J

 

 

THE DEPTH OF THE ANDY SMITHSON SERIES

If you’re an adult looking for a clean series you can sink your teeth into, Andy Smithson is definitely it! In it I develop four layers simultaneously: 1) Andy Smithson in Lakehills, TX 2) Andy in Oomaldee 3) the Afterlife 4) a meaning layer. A few examples to demonstrate the depth…

Symbolism is used extensively (a couple examples):

• The fog of the curse symbolizes blindness and oppression.
• The magic key unlocks doors, brings stone statues to life, as well as revives. Put another way, it symbolizes bringing forth, opening up, and revealing (aka taking responsibility).
• Methuselah is not only a weapon and helper, but also represents justice as it divides good and evil. Consistent with life, justice requires diligence to uphold.

Names are also important in this series (a few examples):

• Andy means brave or courageous.
• Alden means helper.
• Hannah means favor or grace.
• Imogenia means blameless.

Alchemy used throughout the series (a few examples):

• Alchemy played a significant role in the development of modern science. Alchemists sought to transformbase metals into the gold or silver and/or develop an elixir of life which would confer youth and longevity and even immortality.
• In the series, the first instance of alchemy begins with the gold weavers, Max, Oscar, and Henry, spinning straw into gold to manufacture the wealth of the kingdom.
• The four elementals: air, earth, fire, and water are then seen on Methuselah’s hilt.

 

The titles of the books manifest yet another layer of meaning and reveal Imogenia’s evolution.

• Beginning with Blast of the Dragon’s Fury, Imogenia is furious at what has happened to her and she fuels her emotional hurt.
• In Venom of the Serpent’s Cunning, Imogenia turns venomous (or spiteful) and cunning in seeking ways to continually punish her brother.
• Disgrace of the Unicorn’s Honor has Imogenia act in a manner disgraceful to the honor of royalty.
• In Resurrection of the Phoenix’s Grace we see Imogenia’s grace reborn as she begins to reflect.
• In Vision of the Griffin’s Heart, Imogenia realizes she is gripped by hatred and distrust she has harbored for so long. Unlike griffins who choose to trust others, Imogenia cannot yet make that leap when it comes to her brother.

My Thoughts on the Movie Spotlight

Hello everyone, I hope all is well with you. I’ve just sent my WIP off to my beta reader and I’m crossing my fingers that she likes it. 🙂

Anyway, a few weeks ago, I went to see the movie Spotlight with my mother. I wanted to see how the Catholic Church had been exposed for the abuse they had allowed to happen.

The movie was well done. I liked the characters and the way they instilled humor while discussing a very dark issue. The plot development seemed realistic and I feel that it was as close to the real life events as we’re going to get.
The truth of the movie sickened me. It enraged me to think about the priests who perpetrated the crimes and all the church did was move them to another parish, or put them into some kind of rehabilitation program. When they moved, they continued their abuse and the church did nothing for the victims.

 

This is the part that upsets me the most. How could they ignore the victims? I mean here they are supposedly teaching us about morality and they not only allow this type of abuse, they cover it up.

 

This tells me that we must be our children’s guardian at all times. If this type of abuse can happen in a church, it can happen anywhere.

 

Here are the warning signs of abuse:

• Acting out in an inappropriate sexual way with toys or objects
• Nightmares, sleeping problems
• Becoming withdrawn or very clingy
• Becoming unusually secretive
• Sudden unexplained personality changes, mood swings and seeming insecure
• Regressing to younger behaviors, e.g. bedwetting
• Unaccountable fear of particular places or people. Outburst of anger.
• Changes in eating habits
• New adult words for body parts and no obvious source

• Talk of a new, older friend and unexplained money or gifts. Self-harm (cutting, burning or other harmful activities)
• Physical signs, such as, unexplained soreness or bruises around genitals or mouth, sexually transmitted diseases, pregnancy. Running away
• Not wanting to be alone with a particular child or young person

Image courtesy of Allthefreestock.com

http://allthefreestock.com/

I found this list on this site, and for more information click here:

http://www.parentsprotect.co.uk/warning_signs.htm

This movie opened my eyes to how vulnerable our children are. These abusers seek out professions that put them in contact with kids. They’re not just priests, they’re Teachers, Child Psychologists, and Childcare Directors. Thankfully we do have some checks in place. I know my local school conducts background checks on all their employees, most schools do, but that doesn’t mean we should be lax about picking up the warning signs.

Thanks for stopping by and reading my post. I’d love to read your thoughts! Please leave a comment!

 

Need some Inspiration? Check out this poem by Max Ehrmann

Hello everyone, I hope all is well with you! I’m back today and I’m sharing with you one of my all time favorite poems. Sometimes in the noisy confusion of life we become sidetracked. I have this poem on a plaque and whenever I’m feeling out of sorts, it grounds me and inspires me. I thought it might do the same for you! Thanks for stopping by, I hope you enjoy the poem! 🙂

Desiderata
By Max Ehrmann

Go placidly amid the noise and haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.

As far as possible without surrender
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly
and listen to others,
even the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons,
they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain and bitter;
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.

Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs;
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals;
and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself.
Especially, do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love;
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment
it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.

You are a child of the universe,
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be,
and whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy.

Max Ehrmann, Desiderata, Copyright 1952.