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Monday, May 30, 2011

Happy Memorial Day!


Happy Memorial Day to everyone. I want to express my gratitude to the thousands of members of the Armed Forces who are still involved in fights I did not want to see happen. Your grace and your courage have kept us safe and I hope and pray that next year on Memorial Day we will not be involved in any international conflicts.

Also, I want to express my sorrow for the thousands of members of the armed forces who lost their lives fighting in conflicts I didn't want to see happen. You gave your lives for us and I am deeply sorry for the loss of you to your families and friends. I honor your service and hope that we do not keep adding to the relentless toll that has stolen our young people from their lives.

Our country needs to have Peace!!! Let us all pray that we get it so we can continue to evolve as a true democracy and world leader.

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Now for something completely different.

The winner of the free drawing for Beth Reinke's Carla's Cloud Catastrophe is:

Karen Cote !!!!

Congratulations!!

Your name has been given to Beth and y0u will be getting your book soon. Beth will contact you to get your address.



Here is the new logo for MuseItYoung, which is the division in which my book will be published. I am so excited to have this beautiful image on my book cover.






Hope all of you have a safe Memorial Day and welcome to summer!! I'm hoping to get outside and have some fun at our apartment's pool, but so far I have had no time.

Until the next time thank you to my new followers and of course, thank you to the people who continue to follow me and read this blog even when I don't post any new content. Sorry for that, but my life has been way too hectic to post like I should have. This is being remedied, because June 3rd please come back and enjoy the interview I will have with Nancy Bell, editor extraodinaire from MuseItUp Publishing. She has a new book, Laurel's Miracle, coming out soon and she will be talking about that and what it was like to be my editor.:) Also Nancy will be joining me for my October show on Blog Talk Radio, RRWL Tales from the Pages.

Throughout the rest of June, July, August and September I will be interviewing some great authors from MuseItUp and also various other places. Plus, each month my show is on the 4th Thursday of every month. This June show I will have on Beth Reinke, my latest guest author here on the blog to talk about her experiences and Salvatore Buttaci, who is a friend of mine from Poetic Asides and who also writes short stories. He will be sharing his stories with us. So please don't forget to tune in on Thursday, June 23rd at 3PM Central, 4PMEST. If you heard the last show you got a little taste of Sal. He will be sharing his poetry too, which is absolutely beautiful!

Friday, May 20, 2011

Meet Beth Reinke Guest Author



Here's how I know Beth Reinke. I became an apprentice editor for 4RV Publishing and my first manuscript to edit was Beth's Carla's Cloud Catastrophe. It had a different title then. I found Beth to be a very amenable author and though we did have our differences (it happens) we were able to resolve them easily.

I enjoyed working with Beth and after our experience we kept in touch. I think you will find out why I enjoyed her so much when you learn more about her.

Since there are a lot of things happening in Beth's life this weekend we decided to break up her interview into several parts. Because of her real life issues Beth will be popping in to answer your questions and comments throughout the weekend and through Wednesday. So please leave your comments and questions.

An added bonus is Beth is giving away an ARC of Carla's Cloud Catastrophe to the lucky person who wins the comment drawing. There is only one thing you should know. Unfortunately, she has limited this to people who are in the United States. due to postage issues. Maybe we can find another equally wonderful prize for someone that can be sent electronically if you are not in the US.:)

Part I - Interview with Beth Reinke, children's picture book writer

Barbara: The three children’s books that are published from 4RV Publishing are: In My Bath, A Wish and a Prayer, and Carla’s Cloud Catastrophe. Please tell us a little bit about each one.

Beth: In My Bath is a splish-splashy story for ages 2-6. Toddlers and preschoolers love to snuggle in at bedtime and read about the little boy with his imaginary animal friends in the bathtub. The book also works great for story time at the library or preschool because it can be interactive. Kids can act out what each animal is doing in the tub and search for the yellow ducky on almost every page.

In A Wish and a Prayer, Jason loses his parakeet, Sonny, when he flies out the window. Jason and his friends spend a week wishing on all kinds of things, hoping their wishes will bring Sonny back home. Then one night during a thunderstorm, Jason discovers the truth about wishing and tries something better.
Carla’s Cloud Catastrophe is funny and silly, and kids can relate to Carla’s personal predicament. A weather problem has shut down her town and is making her late for her own birthday party! This book is for ages 4-8 and releases in June 2011. (Folks, Barbara is too modest to tell you, but she was my editor for this book. And she did a great job!)

Barbara: Actually, Beth I did tell them right away, but thank you!! (You can't see it, but I'm blushing. Thank goodness this is a blog and not TV.:) )

Barbara: Which of the three books is your favorite and why?

Beth: Boy, that’s a tough question. The books are so different from each other, but each brings something fun or meaningful to the reader.

I think my favorite of the three is A Wish and a Prayer because it is a story with an important message. Every child can relate to losing something precious and wanting to find it. As Jason tries to get his parakeet back, he discovers the truth about wishing on inanimate objects versus praying to God. My goal in writing this book was to share my faith by helping kids understand that only God can meet our needs and satisfy our deepest longings.

I often hear people say that children’s books should not have a moral message, but I have a different perspective. As adults, we have a responsibility to share what we have learned about life with our children. If we can do that through a compelling, satisfying story, why not do it?

Barbara: Are you planning to put out ebook versions of your children’s books?

Beth: 4RV Publishing will release ebooks of In My Bath and A Wish and a Prayer in the near future. They will be available for Kindle, Nook and Nook Color.


Barbara: You are a registered dietitian and write for magazines such as ParentLife and Hallmark Magazine. How did you start writing children’s fiction?

Beth: When my boys were born, I stopped working as a pediatric dietitian and became a stay-at-home mom. I took two classes from the Institute of Children’s Literature when the kids were small. My first publications were stories, articles and crafts in children’s magazines such as Boys’ Quest, Wee Ones and Discovery Trails.

When I started writing fairly regularly for Kid Zone magazine, the idea of assignments appealed to me, instead of subbing and waiting. I liked e-mailing an editor and asking, “Want me to write an article about such-and-such?” and her saying, “Yes, write it!” That’s when I began to query adult and parenting magazines and get regular gigs. I love writing pediatric nutrition pieces for ParentLife because it combines nutrition, kids and writing, three of my favorite things.

Barbara: In your bio it also says you have written devotional books especially for women. Please tell everyone about them.

Beth: I wrote two titles in the “Devotions to Go” series from Extreme Diva Media, the women’s division of See Media. These are pocket-sized, month-long devotional books for women on various topics, written by different authors. My two books are about fruit and stock car racing: Fruit Lovers’ DTG and Race Fans’ DTG. Fruit Lovers’ released in May 2011 in paperback and ebook formats. Race Fans’ is scheduled for June 2011 release.

You can read details about my devotional books here on my website. To see all 27 books in the “Devotions to Go” series, visit the publisher’s online bookstore.

Barbara, it’s been wonderful to talk with you on your blog today - thank you so much for having me. I love visiting with friends and their readers.

I loved having you here and look forward to speaking with you on my June show of RRWL Tales from the Pages on the 4th Thursday, June 23rd at 3PM Central time and 4PM EST.
Everyone please mark this down on your calendar.

In the coming weeks I will be hosting many new authors and it should be a lot of fun. Many of these authors have books published by MuseItUp Publishing, my publisher. Or they are awaiting publication of their books. I hope to be featuring as many Muse writers as I can to show everyone the talent and creativity we have here at Muse.

Also I would like to mention on June 2nd MuseItUp Publishing will be having it's 1st Muse Blog Conference on the Muse Blog. I will be doing a workshop on character development,Developing Characters- How Do I Make My Characters Unique?

Please go to The Muse Conference Blog to sign up. It's free and like the Muse Online Conference you can come as you are.:) I hope to see a lot of you there. I will be reminding you up until the day of the conference.:)

Until the next time, thank you to all of you. The situation in real life has kept me from posting as much as I would like to, but this is changing and you are going to be meeting so many new authors and adding to your TBR (To Be Read) lists every week.:)

Next week my guest on RRWL Tales from the Pages will be Ginger Simpson and she is so special she will be my only guest. Please tune in on Thursday, May 26th at 3PM Central to learn all about this Queen of Muse. I will be posting the link as soon as the program is posted.





Thursday, May 5, 2011

An Update on My Life


I just realized I haven't posted since the middle of April. There is a very good reason for this. When my husband came back from the hospital he needed a lot of help. He had surgery on the area near his Achilles tendon and there is something called a wound vac attached to him now with a tube coming from the wound into the machine. When he first got home we had a lot of problems with this. He needed to gain back his strength too. So every little action required me to help him. We had people coming to the house for my husband - the nurse to change his bandage every other day, a physical therapist and an occupational therapist. Also I had to be his chauffeur and drive him everywhere including to work in NYC and Queens and to the doctor. I couldn't really think much and so had to give up writing poetry for April. Sad as I was my family had to come first. So for the first time in three years I did not finish the April Poem a Day. Now my husband is feeling better and I have a little more time for myself. His leg is healing due to the miracle of modern medicines and the care his doctors have taken with him.

So today I had a little time when I wasn't too tired either. So I wanted to update everyone on what is happening with me and my husband. Today we learned everything is good and he is almost normal. I am happy for him and hopefully my life will go back to normal so I can write again. Meanwhile, I am doing a few things for me.:)

Though I didn't write anything here, I wrote a few blog posts on other blogs including The Muse Blog. I became an avatar on Karen's Chaise Lounge with Carolyn Samuels, the main character of my forthcoming YA novel, If I Could Be Like Jennifer Taylor. Just yesterday, I interviewed my character on Amy McCorkle's blog.

Then I came over here and saw though I hadn't posted at all I had two more followers. I felt it was necessary to come back and write a new post showing you all what I have been doing. As it gets closer to the publication date I will be on more and more blogs. In the coming weeks I will be having more guest authors, mostly from MuseItUp Publishing, coming on here and talking about their own coming books. I still don't have a cover, but I found a great countdown and put it on the sideline. Of course, due to the shape of my blog, the seconds box is a little obstructed. But I thought it was a cool thing to have so I could keep track of how much time is actually left.
I am also setting up a blog tour for that time. Anyone who would like to have me on your blog, please leave me a comment.

Coming in the following weeks are: Jo Linsdell-Feliciani, making a repeat visit. Her post was probably the most popular of the year.Then Beth Reinke, whose book, Carla's Cloud Catastrophe, I edited. On my May Blog Talk Radio Show, RRWL Tales from the Pages on Thursday, May 26th at 3PM Central Time, 4PM EST, my guests are Dellani Oakes and Ginger Simpson. Dellani has her own radio show and I was a guest on there recently.

Until the next time welcome to my new followers and thank you to my loyal followers who continue to find my meanderings interesting. In the following weeks you are going to be meeting a great many new authors and I am excited to be hosting them.

One more thing before I end this post. MuseItUp Publishing has started having a Special for the Week at the Bookstore. Go and check it out. Maybe you will find a bargain.:)

Also I will be participating in the Muse Blog Conference giving a workshop on character development. I will tell you more in the coming weeks. My workshop will be on June 2nd on the Muse Blog. It is FREE. You need to register, though. Send an email to:

museitupeditor@yahoo.ca


Place MUSE BLOG CONFERENCE on the subject heading and your name and email address within the body of your post. Why? Because those that register and participate get a chance to win one of several ebooks we'll be offering throughout the month.

FOR READERS: Every day beginning on June 1st at noon, I'll post the Featured 99cent E-book of the day for purchase. An incredible discount just for our readers for participating and supporting our Blog Conference.

Each Muse Blog Conference workshop will run for one day, where attendees are invited to post their questions, and/or exercises the presenters will be posting during their daily workshops.

You can come to as many workshops as you like, because they will be on different days. Go over and read all about this unique conference. Hope to see a lot of you there.:)
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