Here’s a spot of happiness in these difficult times. From now until October 15th Crwth Press is donating over 40% of all website sales to non-profits. That’s twelve authors and twelve different titles to choose from. Personally, that means when you order No Right Thing from Crwth, they will donate $6 to my charity of choice. I’ve chosen the Manna Homeless Society, a group dedicated to helping the needy and homeless in the Oceanside area and where No Right Thing is set.
And a week
or so back, a group of Crwth authors did a Facebook live event with publisher Melanie
Jeffs to talk about writing and illustrating for children. The one-hour event
is now up on YouTube. Check it out here:
https://youtu.be/4sNtbBCSP-4
Have a great week everyone . . . I hope you can get out for a walk in the garden to enjoy these last few days of May.
What are you doing next Tuesday, May 19th? Can you spare an hour? If so, plan to catch this Facebook live event (find it under events on your Facebook page) at 4 pm, Pacific time. That’s when a group of us will be talking about writing and illustrating and all things children’s books. I’ll be answering questions about my latest YA, No Right Thing. Thanks to Crwth Press for setting everything up. We’re looking forward to it, and we hope you can join us!
No Right
Thing is out in the
world! A big thank you to Crwth Press for loving the story and shepherding it
through to publication.
There’s always
a profound sense of satisfaction on book release day. There’s joy – a job well done! – and a touch
of trepidation too. Will it find a home? Readers? Will people love it as much
as I do?
These days,
of course, Covid-19 has changed the book release dynamic. Book store signings,
author talks and school visits are out of the question. Thankfully, people are
still reading. Some indicators suggest they’re reading more than they were
before.
No Right
Thing is a young
adult novel about 16-year-old Cate Sheridan who believes in always doing the right
thing. So, when Cate sees a homeless man about to be hit by a truck, she does the
only right thing: she pulls him to safety. Cate quickly realizes that one good deed
can have catastrophic consequences. Eventually, after heartache, tragedy and a
devastating betrayal, Cate learns that sometimes people have all the right
reasons for doing a very wrong thing.
You’ll find
purchase links to Crwth Press and some of the larger chain stores on my books
page. I’d also like to give a huge shout-out to smaller independent bookstores who
work hard to provide us with books. Many will take phone orders deliver. For an
independent bookstore near you, please check out this map:
Life has been upside down for weeks now as all of us learn
to live with the restrictions brought about by Covid-19. Schedules have been upended;
cancellations abound. The news is grim, the future is uncertain and it’s easy
to get caught up in worry, sadness and fear.
However, just as the spring flowers are popping up to promise
us better days ahead, there have been promises of the future in other ways too.
A few weeks ago, I received an email from the daughter of a
friend of a friend of a friend. She’d written a book of children’s stories and
wanted to know how to get them published. She was excited and enthusiastic,
full of questions and optimism. It was a reminder that life continues, and there
will be things in our future to look forward to, including new books to read.
In fact, there are new books to read right now! Two children’s
authors have new releases worth checking out.
The Rise and Fall of Derek Cowell by Valerie Sherrard is already getting great reviews. This humorous novel (published by DCB and suitable for ages 9-12) tells the story of a middle-grade boy who becomes popular after unintentionally photobombing a group selfie of his sister and her friends. As a kid who is used to living under the radar, Derek struggles with his sudden fame and the inevitable crash that follows. Check out Valerie Sherrard’s website here: https://valeriesherrard.blogspot.com/ And the DCB website here: https://www.dcbyoungreaders.com/the-rise-and-fall-of-derek-cowell
Sophie Trophy Too by Eileen Holland is another humorous read but for younger readers, ages 7 – 9. Published by Crwth Press, this story follows Grade Three student Sophie as she befriends Hailey, the new girl in her class. Unfortunately, her efforts go hilariously wrong, but even as Sophie ends up feeling left out she is determined to find a way to make Hailey feel welcome. You can listen to Eileen read the first chapter here: https://youtu.be/hPqKLGLhPOM For purchase information, check out the Crwth website: https://www.crwth.ca/sophie-trophy-too/ And to visit Eileen’s website, go here: http://eileenhollandchildrensauthor.com/
Finally, you may remember me blogging about a mosaic class I took last year from Debra Hagan. (Here’s a link for those who missed it: https://lauralangston.com/filling-the-well-mosaic-style/). Debra regularly holds classes and workshops at her Nanoose Bay studio, and I booked one for March, only to see it cancelled because of the pandemic. Cancelling was the right thing to do and I know there will be other chances down the road. For now, though, we can get our mosaic fix through her new website: www.goldbugmosaics.com. The next time you want to take an uplifting break, check it out. And some of her mosaics are for sale!
A few days ago, I received the final cover and page proofs for NO RIGHT THING, my first YA novel with Crwth Press. This is such an exciting stage. My story now looks like a real book with a lovely font, justified type and elegant scene breaks. But we’re not quite there yet. Page proofs are just that – pages that need to be proofread. And it’s not a time to rush or get sloppy. Each page has to be read very carefully to catch those tiny mistakes: a forgotten period, text that doesn’t flow, maybe a missed hyphen or italics where they shouldn’t be. I’ve found all of that and more and I’m only a little over half way through the book. I’ll be reading methodically over the next few days to make sure everything is perfect for April’s publication date. Meanwhile, here’s a first peek at the lovely cover.
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