Thursday, September 13, 2018

Writing Tips & Say Hello to MG Author Teresa Funke

Before getting to our author interview, I want to share more writing tips from authors I interviewed in 2016. Hope these inspire you! Please feel free to leave your own tip(s) in the comments.

I must have sent out close to 200 queries to agents and publishers regarding The Legend of Koolura. Finally, Solstice Publishing accepted it in 2011 for publication. So my advice to other authors is to NEVER give upMichael Thal, author of MG/YA Koolura Series.

Keep going, keep learning, keep developing. Manage your expectations. Only do it if you love it and want to do the best you canSteve Griffin, author of the MG series





















Tuesday, September 4, 2018

Fiona Ingram's WOW! Women on Writing Tour & Review

Welcome today to Fiona Ingram and the WOW Women on Writing Tour of The Temple of the Crystal Timekeeper. The complete tour schedule can be found at The Muffin/WOW.

Carpinello's Writing Pages is excited to be showcasing this latest book in Fiona's series The Chronicles of the Stone. It is a wonderful adventure for all ages and is great as a read aloud for families. 

I've known Fiona for many years now, and we, along with Wendy Leighton-Porter, make up The Quest Authors. Our combined website is Adventure Quest Books. We all write adventure thriller for Middle Grade readers and even manage to hook more mature readers also! We live in different parts of the world: Cheryl (me) in the USA, Fiona in Cyprus (formerly of South Africa, and Wendy in Abu Dhabi.


Today, though, is all about Fiona, so here we go!


First, a bit about Fiona:

Fiona Ingram is a children’s author, but up until a few years ago, she was a journalist and editor. Something rather unexpected sparked her new career as an author—a family trip to Egypt with her mother and two young nephews. They had a great time and she thought she’d write them a short story as a different kind of souvenir…. Well, one book and a planned book series later, she had changed careers. She has now published Book 3 (The Temple of the Crystal Timekeeper) in her middle grade adventure series Chronicles of the Stone, with many awards for the first book, The Secret of the Sacred Scarab, and a also for Book 2, The Search for the Stone of Excalibur, and one already for Book 3!

Fiona also teaches online novel writing for aspiring authors and finds that very satisfying. Relaxation time finds her enjoying something creative or artistic, music, books, theatre or ballet. She loves doing research for her book series. Fiona loves animals and has written two animal rescue stories. She has two adorable (naughty) little dogs called Chloe and Pumpkin, and a beautiful black cat called Bertie.

You can find Fiona at –

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/secretofthesacredscarab/

Website: www.chroniclesofthestone.com

Twitter: http://twitter.com/FionaRobyn

Author Site: http://www.FionaIngram.com

Blog: http://fionaingramauthor.blogspot.com

GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2868182.Fiona_Ingram

Quest Books: http://www.adventurequestbooks.com


About the Book:

A plane crash! Lost in the jungle! Hunted by their old enemy, will Adam, Justin, and Kim survive long enough to find the Third Stone of Power? With only a young boy, Tukum, as their guide, the kids make their way through the dense and dangerous jungle to find the lost city of stone gods, where the Stone of Power might be located. River rafting on a crocodile-infested river and evading predators are just part of this hazardous task. Of course, their old adversary Dr. Khalid is close behind as the kids press on. But he is not the worst of their problems. This time Adam will clash with a terrible enemy who adopts the persona of an evil Aztec god, Tezcatlipoca, and is keen to revive the ancient tradition of human sacrifice. Adam, Justin, and Tukum must play a dreadful ball game of life and death and maybe survive. Will they emerge alive from the jungle? Will Dr. Khalid find the third Stone of Power before they do?




My Review:




The Chronicles of the Stone series is an adventure-filled ride for middle graders and adults. In Book 1—The Secret of the Sacred Scarab—readers travel through the land of the pharaohs and across the steamy deserts of the mysterious Egypt with Justin and Adam as they search for the first Stone and face a deadly enemy.





In Book 2—The Search for the Stone of Excalibur—readers find themselves dodging not only their enemy Dr. Khalid, but a group called the Eaters of Poison as the boys, joined by young Kim, attempt to capture the second Stone of Power.







Now, in Book 3—The Temple of the Crystal Timekeeper—Fiona once again literally drops readers and her intrepid young seekers of the Stones in the jungles of exotic Mexico where they encounter a familiar enemy and attract the unwanted attention of Smoking Mirror, an enemy who may be even more deadly than Dr. Khalid. Led by one no older than they, the three flee deeper in the jungle as young Tukum vows to led them to the hidden city and possibly the third stone. Be prepared to be thrust into the little known culture of the Aztec, the Mayan, and the uncontacted people in this latest non-stop adventure!


I enjoyed catching up with this group of young adventurers. Non-stop action, danger around every turn, as well as the magic and mystery surrounding the ancient jungles and people of Mexico will be sure to keep readers turning pages. I can't wait to see where we will travel to next!

You can find The Temple of the Crystal Timekeeper and all of Fiona's Chronicles of the Stones books at these and all on-line book sellers:

Amazon US

B&N