Guest Post & Giveaway: Author Christina Daley

I am so thrilled to have the lovely Christina Daley back at Word Spelunking! Last March, Christina stopped by for an interview during March MG Madness and today she's here with a great guest post and a giveaway! Christina is the author of the Seranfyll Series...

Seranfyll

(Seranfyll #1)

Christina Daley

5/10/11

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(Ages 10+) For the first time in her life, Rain has a choice to make.The thirteen-year-old slave girl lives in the country of Yoan, where slaves aren't allowed proper names, let alone anything else. After being sold by a gambler and "bought" by a thief, she ends up purchased by an eccentric young nobleman named Lord Domrey Seranfyll...while he's drunk. He's so smashed that he actually buys nine other slaves with Rain and takes them to his massive manor in the countryside, which is rumored to be haunted. In fact, loads of rumors surround Lord Domrey. Like that his horse can fly. Or that he's a devil.But after getting even more intoxicated, Lord Domrey does something rather peculiar: He sets all ten slaves free that same day. And then he passes out. Many of the newly freed slaves leave, but Rain chooses to stay and look after the odd young lord. He freed them, so he can't be as bad as people say, right?But Rain's going to learn quickly that choices have consequences, and that being "free" means much more than what she thought before.Fans of Harry Potter and Howl's Moving Castle will enjoy this humorous and magical tale about choices, consequences, and what it really means to be free.

Purchase Seranfyll: Amazon 

Eligere

(Seranfyll #2)

Christina Daley

3/25/12

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(Ages 10+)

Rain. Is. Bored.

With Coal at university and Domrey away on a constant string of assignments from the Royal City, she and her sister Snow are stuck at Seranfyll Manor with their tutor Professor Digory, who has to be the dullest teacher on the face of the earth. She craves a break from the monotony or, even better, an adventure like the ones she only gets to read about in books.

A voyage to the jungles of Amyrania should do the trick. When Domrey agrees to do a favor for the king, Rain and the others get to set sail with him on what sounds like an exciting but relatively simple assignment. However, despite its tourist-friendly facade, Amyrania is called the "Untamed Isle" for good reason, and this adventure will prove to be more than any of them had bargained for.

Join Rain, Coal, Domrey, and a host of old and new friends (and enemies) in this exciting sequel to Seranfyll!

Purchase Eligere: Amazon 

by Christina Daley

Many thanks, Aeicha, for having me on your blog today!

The holidays are coming up pretty fast, so I thought I'd talk about something sorta related. I always go home for Thanksgiving and Christmas, so I don't do much in the way of decorating and baking, but I do try to put some thought into gift giving.

I also tend to reflect on the year around this time--what I've done and what I'd like to do next year. But recently, I found myself thinking back a little further. A couple summers ago, I was in Los Angeles doing some volunteer work. One day, my team was in charge of the mobile food bank, which made three stops to give away food to people in need. And we didn't just give away canned stuff, but also fresh fruits and vegetables. Fresh pineapples were the hot items that day.

At the first stop, there were mostly women and children lined up waiting for us. We gave things out pretty evenly, but by the second stop, we were starting to run out of certain items. The last stop was by a Home Depot, where a bunch of men were hanging out waiting for work. We had run out of just about everything by then, and the very last thing we had was a small cardboard box with a few small potatoes at the bottom of it. No one wanted it and it was getting late, so we packed up and got ready to return to HQ.

Before we did, however, there was one last elderly man running up the sidewalk towards our truck. He asked in a broken mixture of Spanish and English if we had anything left. We told him about the box of potatoes and expected him to turn it down like the men did. But when one of my teammates showed him the box, the man began to cry. I don't think I had ever seen an elderly man cry until then, and it made an impression on me. He thanked us over and over again before hugging that box of unwanted potatoes like a moneybox and running back down the sidewalk.

Any time I come across potatoes now, I think of that man. And that makes me think about people around the world and in our own neighborhoods who don't know if they can eat tomorrow, let alone at Thanksgiving or Christmas. I realize times are tough for a lot of people now. Things are tight for me too, but I'm blessed with a fulltime job, and it's no stretch for me to grab a few extra cans of corn at the store to give to my local food bank, slip a couple bucks to a charity I trust that's feeding kids in a third world country, or do some volunteer work.

I'm all about sharing gifts. In my books, in fact, a bit of extravagant gift giving takes place. But it doesn’t hurt to go an extra mile for someone who just needs a break, especially during this season of generosity and compassion. I didn't think a box of potatoes had the power to change anyone's world until that summer day several years ago. But now I do. So, what are you going to do with me this year to help someone who can't return the favor?

Thanks again for having me here today, Aeicha! And good luck to everyone with the giveaway!

Connect with Christina: Blog / Goodreads / Twitter / Facebook

Christina Daley made her first book with neighborhood friends when she was four years old. They "wrote" out some semblance of lettering with crayons, cut up a cardboard box for the cover, and bound it all together with clear adhesive tape. It was brilliant.
Quite a few years later, Christina is trying her hand at writing "real" books. She lives in Dallas, Texas, with a pet plant named Herb.

Win a paperback copy of both books in the Seranfyll Series!!

Christina has generously offered a paperback copy each of Seranfyll and Eligere for one lucky cupcake.

DETAILS

-US/CAN only

-There will be 1 winner who will win both books

-will run from 11/19 - 11/30

-Must be 13+ to enter, One main entry per person

-Winner will be emailed and must claim prize within 48 hours

-Word Spelunking is NOT responsible for lost, damaged or stolen prizes in the mail

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