Monday, July 25, 2016

Drops of Sunshine Blog Tour




With a job as a camp counselor, sixteen-year-old Nina heads to the wilderness for summer break. With her year all she wants is an escape. But some special kids can hear her thoughts and she can't hide her head in the sand like she planned. Can Nina come to terms with all her swirling emotions? Sometimes all it takes is a drop of sunshine!















Tricia Copeland grew up in Georgia and now lives in Colorado with her husband, three kids, and multiple four legged and finned friends. Drops of Sunshine is her first young adult and paranormal work. First published in Spellbound, a YA paranormal novella collection, it has already received great reviews. Tricia’s clean new adult Being Me series includes the titles Is This Me?, If I Could Fly, and Think You Know Me. The series finale is due out September 2016. If not on the trail, you can find Tricia at triciacopeland.com or on many social media channels.




Thursday, July 21, 2016

Drops of Sunshine Release!






With a job as a camp counselor, sixteen-year-old Nina heads to the wilderness for summer break. With her year all she wants is an escape. But some special kids can hear her thoughts and she can't hide her head in the sand like she planned. Can Nina come to terms with all her swirling emotions? Sometimes all it takes is a drop of sunshine!















Tricia Copeland grew up in Georgia and now lives in Colorado with her husband, three kids, and multiple four legged and finned friends. Drops of Sunshine is her first young adult and paranormal work. First published in Spellbound, a YA paranormal novella collection, it has already received great reviews. Tricia’s clean new adult Being Me series includes the titles Is This Me?, If I Could Fly, and Think You Know Me. The series finale is due out September 2016. If not on the trail, you can find Tricia at triciacopeland.com or on many social media channels.




Wednesday, July 20, 2016

Meet Children's Author Angel Krishna

Carpinello's Writing Pages welcomes children's author Angel Krishna.

First, a bit about Angel:

Angel Krishna is a fun-loving mom, a great friend and wife with a silly side, who believes that imagination is a gift. She loves when children tell a story, how their eyes widen, their hands move every which way and their voice fills with excitement. Angel encourages parents to listen to their children and to communicate with an open mind and a full heart.

She reminds herself and those around her to enjoy life, always move forward and be creative.

Why did you pick to write books for children?

Great question! I feel children are extremely smart. Children understand that life is about sharing, giving, and helping one another. Granted, children have no big worries. Their minds are free from paying bills, going to work, taking care of issues that are needed in life. This is the main reason they understand the simple things we take for granted.

The sole reason I put a message in my books is for the child and the parent to listen to what they’re reading, to understand the message, and help teach the child or children when reading a book. My books are for the ages 0 – 8 years of age.  This is a very important time for learning, realizing what is right and wrong and how to communicate, help one another and be kind. I believe when a parent is reading to their child they also understand the value of the lesson that is in the book and help with teaching to their child about the great values in life that are sometimes the simplest and free like kind words, lending a hand, and respect to others.

What types of books do you like to read?

Mystery & Suspense.

When you are not writing, what do you like to do?

Hang out with my kids, go to the movies, and see a good friend.

Tell us about The Monkeys & Crocodiles Play Baseball and how the story came to be.

The Monkeys & Crocodiles Play Baseball is my first picture book. A combination of things actually made the story come together in my mind. I always had a wide imagination growing up. I came from a BIG Family a lot of brother and sisters – 8 total, I was the youngest. Not a lot of money nor many games as the kids have today. That being said, kids have way too many electronics. I am happy that I lived the way I did and was able to develop such a GREAT Imagination.

There was a lot of chaos in the house at times so I spent majority of my time outside making up really cool inventive games with the kids in the neighborhood. One of those games was having different characters/animals when playing baseball for example. One side the Monkeys and the other the Crocs. It was fun making up different characters; it added another element to the game. So, you see, it never was JUST Baseball! It was Baseball with the Monkeys and Crocodiles. We added fun rules depending on the side you were on; you had to follow certain rules to that character, and so on…

Here's a peek at The Monkeys & Crocodiles Play Baseball:

The Monkeys and the Crocodiles have been buddies for some time now, but something is not quite right in the jungle that day. It all takes place on a beautiful Sunday afternoon. The monkeys arrive at the field to play their Sunday afternoon game of baseball and oh, oh. Coconuts are what they used for baseballs, and no coconuts could be found!

The Monkeys need to get the other side of the river. They need help from their friends the Crocodiles. As the Monkeys walk over toward the crocodiles, the crocodiles see them coming and are not so pleased. Hmmm, I wonder what is going on? The Crocodiles are mad and hurt. This is because the monkeys always ask for help but never include the crocodiles in their fun game of baseball.

Anything else you want readers to know?

I’m also a member of the Society for Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. You can visit my SBCWI Launch Party for Monkeys and Crocodiles Play baseball there. Be sure to leave a note for me in the guest book!

Where can readers find you and your books? 

Monkeys and Crocodiles Play Baseball can be found on

Amazon
Barnes and Noble

You can find me on

ADK Story Books
Facebook
Twitter




Tuesday, July 19, 2016

Copy Editing & the 77th Kid Lit Blog Hop

While time consuming, copy editing is the most important job you have as an author, after writing your story. Before the groans start, let me tell you that copy editing is a skill that be learned and gets stronger with practice. There are multiple methods for copy editing, and you should use multiple ones to catch the most errors. Here are ones that I taught my students, and that I use for my writing.

1. Start at the end of the text to proofread for spelling and punctuation errors.  Read backwards to eliminate the problem of reading what should be there and what is actually there. According to Martha Watson Smitherman, education director for National Association of Legal Secretaries (NALS) of Missouri, the “brain relies more on the shape of a word than its actual spelling...” (25) Focus your brain to read the words on the printed page. You will catch more misspelled words this way. Punctuation errors are also more evident when reading backwards. The flow of the text does not interfere with the proofreading like reading from the beginning would.

2. Read the text aloud to be able to hear how one sentence flows into another sentence and one paragraph leads into another paragraph. This copy editing method allows you to focus on grammar usage and punctuation marks such as commas. Don’t be embarrassed to use a ruler to focus on one line at a time. By covering up the rest of the text, your brain is prevented from anticipating what is coming in the next line.

3. Listen to someone else read the text aloud. This method allows the listener to focus on the words and content. Follow along on a separate copy of the text. Catch sentence structure and flow problems and reveal content weaknesses by reading the written text as it is read out loud.  According to Smitherman, “Things that one person tends not to notice will jump out at the other.” (25) If you have no one to read to you, set your computer to speak the text by accessing the preference menu. The voice is different, but it allows you to hear the text if another person is not present.

4. Write out a checklist for proofreading and correcting the mechanics of your story. Include, at the least, the following items: spelling, capitalization, punctuation, grammar usage, and sentence structure.

  • Check spelling by using spell check on the computer and using a dictionary for unfamiliar words.  Watch for homonyms, those words that are spelled differently but pronounced the same.
  • Check for capitalization not just at the beginning of sentences but of proper nouns within sentences.
  • Read up on comma rules as these are the most misused of all punctuation marks. Check each comma in your text to see if its usage follows a rule.
  • Make sure your story conforms as much as possible to proper grammar conventions. Check for subject-verb agreement and proper grammar.
  • Determine if sentences are complete thoughts or fragments. Watch for sentences beginning with “because”, “and”, “so” and “then”.


And Now,   

Welcome to the 77th Kid Lit Blog Hop. This exciting Hop, now monthly, is where we develop an engaged group of people who love everything that has to do with children's literature.
 

On this Hop, Carpinello's Writing Pages interviews
Children's/MG author
and
Children's author


It's Summer time! We want to welcome you to the July 2016  Kid Lit Blog Hop. This exciting, monthly hop, is where we develop an engaged group of people who love everything that has to do with children's literature. Everyone is welcome to join us: bloggers, authors, publicist, and publishers!

 


NEW THIS MONTH: The Kid Lit Blog Hopper Facebook fan page. This page will have all the news and information related to the hop plus ongoing posts, giveaways, news articles, etc. related to Kid's Lit. Check it out and of course, please like the page.

 

So for our hop, simply make a post related to Children’s literature and add it to the linky. (Please make sure to add your direct post only) If you are an author, feel free just to link to your blog.
Once you are done, then hop around to visit others. Please follow the co-host and visit at least the two people above your link. Please leave a comment when you do visit, we all like those.

Also, it would be appreciated if you grab the Kid Lit Blog Hop Badge and display it on your blog and/or your post.



We would also be grateful if you tweet and/or posted on Facebook about the blog hop. Let’s grow this wonderful community.


Our next hop will be August 17, 2016.  The hostess will be around to see you. Happy Hopping!



Reading Authors, Hostess


Julie Grasso


BeachBoundBooks


Cheryl Carpinello


Pragmatic Mom


The Logonauts


Spark and Pook


Hits and Misses

Meet Children's/MG author N. A. Cauldron

Carpinello's Writing Pages welcomes N. A. Cauldron, an author who lives in a place I've never heard of. Let us know if you have!

First, a bit about N.A. Cauldron:

N. A. Cauldron grew up on the outskirts of modern Cupola. As a young child, she enjoyed listening to the tales told of Cupolian's history. This ultimately led to a successful career as a research historian and her recent authorship of historical fiction. She is an avid herbologist, and spends her free time hunting out and collecting rare herbs for her potion making. She is especially fond of the snaggled tooth humpmoss, and has been known to spend weeks at a time on fungal expeditions.

Why did you pick to write books for Middle Grade readers?

We do things differently in Cupola. Our textbooks aren't the dry, mundane irritants that earth calls education. I did not write for children or middle grade readers. I wrote for all ages. It's not my fault earth doesn't have a proper genre specification system in place. I assure you that my textbooks are just as informative for adults as they are for children.

What types of books do you like to read?

In browsing through your earthly choices for reading, I found comfort in the children's departments. There was a certain ring of familiarity in the worlds described within your middle grade genres. I've been tempted to visit a few of them myself, but it will have to wait until I have more free time.

When you are not writing, what do you like to do?

I am most interested in the diverse fungal culture my world contains. Although since visiting your realm, I have begun a hobby known as “knitting”. Most extraordinary! It can be difficult to find … “yarn?” here, however, so I have to plan my newly discovered craft around my shopping trips there.

Tell us about Anya and the Secrets of Cupola and how the story came to be.

As you know, I am a research historian for Cupola, and during my research, I discovered previously unknown details surrounding a time just before what we call The Magical Revolution. Although we may have known the broader sense of what caused the Revolution and what the results were, we had no idea that everything I describe in my books ever happened. It was very enlightening. It was my duty to share my findings with others.

Here's a peek at Anya and the Secrets of Cupola:





Deep in the walls of Cupola lies a secret. A 200 year old magical secret. And it's up to Anya and her friends to solve it.

Meet Anya, a twelve year old girl with utterly no direction in life. Meet Taika, her best friend who can make a potion strong enough to cure a weregoblin, but may forget to warn you that it can explode at any moment. And then there's Gevin. Yeah ... well ... Gevin's just Gevin isn't he? These three unlikely heroes will have to brew potions, battle monsters, and even endure the night-of-the-overturned-chicken-stool before discovering the deepest mysteries of Cupola.



Have you written other books? If so, tell us a bit about them.

The second book in the series Anya and the Power Crystal will be released in August 2016. It is available for pre-order now on all on-line book stores as well as my website.

What’s next for your writing? Are you working on a new story?

Currently, I working on Book 3 of the series. There will be a total of four books.

What advice do you have for other authors?

Always get your facts straight. And never embellish unless you have to (blush).

Where can readers find you and your books?

All of the outlets available on your world can be found at http://nacauldron.com.
This includes links to buying Anya and the Secrets of Cupola, as well as my earthly social links such as Twitter, Instagram, Goodreads, Facebook, etc.

Anything else you want readers to know?

Yes, our portal will be closing early this year, so if you're interested in visiting, please plan accordingly.