Teaser Tuesday #102 – Kris Kringle’s Magic by Diane Stringam Tolley @storytolley

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Welcome to Teaser Tuesday hosted by The Purple Booker, the weekly Meme that wants you to add books to your TBR, or just share what you are currently reading. It is very easy to play along:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers! Everyone loves Teaser Tuesday.

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I won Kris Kringle’s Magic, a lovely first edition hardcover novel, by Diane Stringam Tolley. If you have elvely questions, she has the answers.

Kris Kringle's Magic

Goodreads  /  Amazon

MY REVIEW

Kris Kringle’s Magic is a wonderfully uplifting story for all ages that answers the questions of how Kris came to live at the North Pole with the elves, how they began the tradition of gift giving, and is both sad and happy with a lesson for all ages, leaving me wanting more.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos 4 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

In a world where elves are only slaves, one boy is determined to make things right. With the elves’ help, Kris decides to begin with the children. But can a pile of gifts on Christmas Eve really change anything? This enchanting story is sure to captivate kids of all ages. An instant holiday classic you’ll want to read again and again!

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Magical Children’s Adventure – The River Keepers by Michael F Stewart @MichaelFStewart

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The fabulous cover for The River Keepers by Michael F Stewart is done by Martin Stiff. Great job, Martin.

I love when a cover depicts the story inside and Martin’s cover was only the first step drawing me into the adventure.

The River Keepers

Goodreads  /  Amazon

MY REVIEW

I had read A Cold Dark Place by Michael F Stewart and loved it, so when Michael offered me a copy of The River Keepers for review, I snatched it up and began to read.

I love that the adventure is in their own backyard. So…after your children read this, you may see them outside, looking…

Natasha and Teagan are sisters. Actually, they are more than that. They are twins, mirror opposites.

A freak storm. A downed tree. What’s that I see?

At eleven years old they are off on an adventure that leads them to research and learning, getting lost in the magic and growing in ways they never could have foreseen. Their adventures will not only change their lives, but their parents too.

I love how Michael slips a little science and ecology into the story in a way that is sure to intrigue everyone. I love when there is a lesson to be learned and it is wrapped up in a wonderful and entertaining tale, sending a subtle message to all who read it.

A skunk, a mouse, a frog…what would it be like to walk and hop in their footsteps?

You will never look at critters…or gnomes…the same way again.

When the skunk sprayed…I laughed out loud.

When the mouse squeaked…I cringed in fear.

Michael F Stewart has created a magically wonderful adventure that is suitable for all ages. To all you adults out there…let your inner child run wild!

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos  5 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

What would you do if your sister turned into a skunk?

How about a mouse? Or a frog? Would you want to be a snake?

Have you ever wished to swim like an actual fish? Wouldn’t you worry that a snapping turtle might take a bite out of you?

In The River Keepers, two sisters must rise to meet an unexpected challenge. It’s a story infused with the magic and drama outside their backdoor — perhaps yours, too.

ABOUT MICHAEL F STEWART

Michael F. Stewart is winner of both the 2015 Claymore Award and the 2014 inaugural Creation of Stories Award for best YA novel at the Toronto International Book Fair.

He likes to combine storytelling with technology and pioneered interactive storytelling with Scholastic Canada, Australia, and New Zealand’s, anti-cyberbullying program Bully For You. In addition to his award winning Assured Destruction series, he has authored four graphic novels with Oxford University Press Canada’s Boldprint series. Publications of nonfiction titles on Corruption and Children’s Rights are published by Scholastic and early readers are out with Pearson Education.

For adults, Michael has written THE SAND DRAGON a horror about a revenant prehistoric vampire set in the tar sands, HURAKAN a Mayan themed thriller which pits the Maya against the MS-13 with a New York family stuck in the middle, 24 BONES an urban fantasy which draws from Egyptian myth, and THE TERMINALS–a covert government unit which solves crimes in this realm by investigating them in the next.

Herder of four daughters, Michael lives to write in Ottawa where he was the Ottawa Public Library’s first Writer in Residence. To learn more about Michael and his next projects visit his website at www.michaelfstewart.com or connect via Twitter @MichaelFStewart.

Michael is represented by Talcott Notch.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

MY MICHAEL F STEWART REVIEWS

A Cold Dark Place

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A Princess & A Dragon – Bianca by Meg Welch Dendler @MegWelchDendler

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Covers are the first thing that influences me to even pick up a book and Bianca: The Brave Frail and Delicate Princess by Meg Welch Dendler has a very cute one that I found impossible to resist. I could tell it was a children’s cover, but that’s perfect, seeing it’s a children’s book. Suitable for children of all ages. From three to one hundred and three.

Meg’s daughter, Callista, did the cover drawings for the dragon and Bianca. Kelsey Rice added color, style and put it all together. Well done!

Bianca: The Brave Frail and Delicate PrincessGoodreads  /  Amazon

MY REVIEW

The cute cover lured me in and I was thoroughly entertained by Bianca by Meg Welch Dendler. It may be recommended for ages  3+ and up, but I think everyone will fall in love with the characters that come into Bianca’s life. I know I did.

Bianca is a thirteen year old princess considered so frail by her father, King Dominic, she ias kept isolated in the castle, not allowed to go outside, let alone play with any of the town children. Her highlight of the day was her subjects amassing below the castle tower window, cheering and waving at her.

No one knew, but she entertained herself, running and playing on the stairs, sword slashing at imaginary foes, and lots and lots of reading. Don’t we all get lost in stories?

No one expects her to do anything but be pretty, don’t worry about anything, and eventually get married to her chosen mate. But when her father and the knights never return from the hunt for the dragon, she makes up her mind it is her duty, as the princess, to find them.

She sets off with Sammy, the donkey. Imagine never doing anything for yourself, never having been outside, never feeling the sun on your face, the grass beneath your feet, the dust in your nose. The stories never prepare you for ‘real life’, but Bianca has no fear. She will figure it out, whether it’s finding shelter or cooking her own meal. A very determined young lady that any child would love to emulate.

She meets a witch, fairies, a magical cat, a dragon, a wolf and other animals that hang in the forest. I worried for her…a little…but she had magical help from the animals around her and I knew they were looking out for her. And the dragon…Well, you will have to read for yourself to find out with him.

If you are looking for a children’s book that will give yourself and your little ones hours of reading pleasure, look not further. This is it. I couldn’t stop reading it once I started and it took me under four hours to finish it. I debated on the rating because I love heavy and dark reading, but this is a children’s story that I loved and think ‘children’ of all ages will too. A well deserved four stars.

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Bianca: The Brave Frail and Delicate Princess by Meg Welch Dendler.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos 4 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

Princess Bianca had never set foot outside the castle walls. Not once in her over-protected, pink, fluffy life. But when a dragon was spotted in the land and fear spread that the monster had conquered the king and his brave knights, Bianca realized that it was her duty to protect her kingdom. She will have to prove that she can be braver and stronger than anyone believed because the threat outside the protection of her castle tower was more dangerous and magical than she ever imagined possible, except in a fairy tale.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Meg Welch DendlerMeg Dendler has considered herself a writer since she won a picture book contest in 5th grade and entertained her classmates with ongoing sequels for the rest of the year. Beginning serious work as a freelancer in the ’90s while teaching elementary and middle school, Meg has over one hundred articles in print, including interviews with Kirk Douglas, Sylvester Stallone, and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. She has won contests with her short stories and poetry, along with multiple international awards for her best-selling “Cats in the Mirror” alien rescue cat children’s book series. Meg is also an editor with Pen-L Publishing and works with independent and self-publishing authors to polish their manuscripts for publication.

Meg and her family (including four cats and her dog, Max) live in Arkansas. Visit her at www.megdendler.com for more information about upcoming books and events and all of Meg’s social media links.

In the first book of the Cats in the Mirror series, “Why Kimba Saved The World,” feisty house cat Kimba learns that she is really part of an alien race and has to pick sides between her loyal human family and her feline destiny. The second book, “Vacation Hiro,” came out in November of 2013. These first two books in the Cats in the Mirror series have been honored with Silver Mom’s Choice Awards, and “Why Kimba Saved The World” won a Bronze Moonbeam Children’s Book Award as “Best First Book.” Book 3, “Miss Fatty Cat’s Revenge,” released on September 12, 2014. A companion book to her Cats in the Mirror series, “Max’s Wild Night,” was published in May, 2015, and Book 4 in the Cats in the Mirror series, “Slinky Steps Out” joined the pack in the spring of 2016. An adult book, “At the Corner of Magnetic and Main,” was released by Pen-L Publishing in September of 2015.

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FOLLOW THE TOUR

Dec. 1                    Meg Dendler’s Blog & Book Launch/Promotion                              

Dec. 2                    Book ‘Em Book Club (Interview)                    

                                Marion Marchetto (Review)                               

Dec. 3                    Fundimental (Review)                         

Dec. 4                    Ellie Mack (Review)                                        

Dec. 5         Michelle Dunton @ Writing Fun (Phone Interview,Skype?)                            

Dec. 6                    H. L. Burke (Promo Post)                         

                                Typewriter Society (Interview)                          

Dec. 7                    Amanda’s Books & More (Guest Post)                               

Dec. 8                    Kay LaLone (Review)                         

                                Missy Sheldrake (Promo)                                                                       

Dec. 9                    Kris Riley at “My Blissful Books” (Review)                      

Dec. 10                 Coffee Addicts Book Review (Review)                             

Dec. 11                 Waggy Tails Dog Blog (Review)                         

                                Lily Iona MacKenzie (Interview)                             

Dec. 12                 Whispering Stories (Review?)                           

Dec. 13                 Read Explore Repeat (Review)                               

                               Cat Michaels (Review)

Dec. 14                 Sorchia’s Universe (Promo Post)                              

                                Cover2CoverBlog                            

Dec. 15                 A Day in the Tangled Skein of My Life (Review)                           

Dec. 16                 Watch Jane Write (Review)                          

Dec. 17                 Meg’s Blog for Wrapup                               

  • You can see my Giveaways HERE.
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Giveaway – Of Bells and Thorns by Valentina Cano @valca85 @YABoundToursPR

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Of Bells and Thorns (The Rose Master #2)

by Valentina Cano

Genre: YA Gothic

Release Date: November 28th 2017

REUTS Publications, LLC

Readers fell in love with Anne Tinning, a maid in 19th century London, and Lord Grey, the master of a haunted manor. THE ROSE MASTER sequel continues their journey in another hauntingly beautiful tale.

Buy at REUTS Publications

Add to Goodreads

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The Rose Master

Blurb:

The day Anne Tinning turns seventeen, birds fall from the sky. But that’s hardly the most upsetting news. She’s being dismissed from the home she’s served at since she was a child, and shipped off to become the newly hired parlor maid for a place she’s never heard of. And when she sees the run-down, isolated house, she instantly knows why:

There’s something wrong with Rosewood Manor.

Staffed with only three other servants, all gripped by icy silence and inexplicable bruises, and inhabited by a young master who is as cold as the place itself, the house is shrouded in neglect and thick with fear. Her questions are met with hushed whispers, and she soon finds herself alone in the empty halls, left to tidy and clean rooms no one visits.

As the feeling of being watched grows, she begins to realize there is something else in the house with them–some creature that stalks the frozen halls and claws at her door. A creature that seems intent on harming her.

When a fire leaves Anne trapped in the manor with its Master, she finally demands to know why. But as she forces the truth about what haunts the grounds from Lord Grey, she learns secrets she isn’t prepared for. The creature is very real, and she’s the only one who can help him stop it. 

Now, Anne must either risk her life for the young man she’s grown to admire, or abandon her post while she still can.

The Rose Master on Goodreads

“In this Gothic fantasy, Cano evokes both Beauty and the Beast and Jane Eyre while creating something new and strange. Cano does a beautiful job of setting mood and atmosphere, and her characters dance around one another with relentless industry and brooding allure, fighting their inevitable attraction. This is a strong, satisfying effort.” ~Publishers Weekly on THE ROSE MASTER

About the Author

Valentina Cano is a student of classical singing who spends whatever free time she has either reading or writing. She also watches over a veritable army of pets. Her work has appeared in numerous publications and her poetry has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and Best Of the Web.

Author Links:

WebsiteGoodreadsTwitterFacebook

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