Word Spelunking: Book Spotlight: Karmack by J.C. Whyte {Excerpt and Giveaway}

I'm so excited to be spotlighting J.C. Whyte's middle-grade debut, Karmack! Below you'll find out more about this book, be able to read an excerpt, and win an ebook copy...

Karmack

by J.C. Whyte

June 7, 2013

Muse It Up Publishing

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Everyone knows Curtis "Sully" Sullenburg is the toughest kid at Higgins Elementary. For years, he and his gang have tormented students and teachers alike with their pranks. And for the most part, they’ve gotten away with it. But all that changes when a strange little creature appears on the scene. From that point on, pranks start coming back like boomerangs, smacking Sully's gang right in their fifth grade butts!

Sully is the only one who can see this creature, which he names Karmack. The little guy claims to be a nature spirit whose job is to balance all the bad karma the boys have amassed over the years. Because if Karmack fails, these boys will undoubtedly suffer "dreadful, awful doom". Just like that kid who shot at crows with his BB gun – one day he crashed his bike into a pigeon coop and emerged as the Abominable Snowman of bird poop! That kind of doom.

Sully soon realizes he must save not only himself but his gang from Karmack's doom, even though his friends have no idea why they keep getting boomeranged. Of course, calamity and hilarity follow. But in the end, Sully and the guys learn a valuable lesson about the consequences of being a bully, and what it takes to be a true leader.

(The book is for children ages 8 to 12, but is also a perfect read-aloud for classrooms. It is available at all major online stores such as amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com. For other purchase links, scroll down.)

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PURCHASE

Amazon / B&N / Muse It Up Pub / Omnilit / Bookstrand

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Excerpt from Karmack

Through front yards, backyards, and down the main road, the pursuers continued to chase the squealer into town. Sully, Breeze, and Gonzo (also known as Curtis Sullenburg, Matthew Brezinski, and Carlos Gonzalez) were the toughest dudes in fifth grade. Everyone knew these three were definitely trouble. And the worst was Sully, their leader.

The old Statewide Bank building lay just ahead, on the corner of Main Street and Railroad Avenue. And that was where the squealer ran out of gas.

Sully immediately pinned him to the ground, right there at the corner. Lying in the snow, the squealer looked petrified. Sully laughed and let go of the boy—just knowing he scared the living daylights out of the kid was enough for Sully. But not Gonzo—he dropped his backpack on the left side of the squealer’s face. “That’s for making us chase you,” he said.

Sully let out a loud “Hah!”

Then the boys heard a rumble. It came from above them—from the pitched roof of the bank. Sully looked up in time to see a bundle of snow drop from the roof. It fell downward, toward Gonzo, who was still hovering over the squealer.

“Hey, look out,” Sully shouted, but not in time. Gonzo did look up, just as the pile of snow hit his face. The squealer managed to squirm out of the way and take off down the road. Breeze began to dig out his friend.

But Sully was frozen to his spot, still gazing at the roof of the bank. Because he saw something up there—a small figure no bigger than a two-year-old. And was it… laughing?

Sully knew it couldn’t be a child. Not with that long, fat nose. Definitely not a child.

Was it just his imagination? Or maybe…a reflection…from ice on the roof? After giving his eyes a good rub, Sully changed his view of the roof by walking around the corner. And there—there was that little guy, laughing again! The creature in the funny green outfit saw Sully too. Then came a flash of light as it darted to the other side of the roof, beyond Sully’s vision.

“Breeze…did you…see that?” Sully wanted to know.

“Yeah, Gonzo got dumped on. Lucky break for the squealer.”

“No, I mean…ah, forget it.” Sully knew he’d seen someone. Yet…

Never the shy one, Sully next ran into the bank to question the first teller he saw. “Is some guy up on the roof?”

“What?”

“You got some guy shoveling snow off the roof? My friend, he got dumped on.”

“Uh, not that I’m aware of.” The female teller turned around and asked the branch manager the same question. Then she returned to Sully. “No one’s on the roof. What’s the problem?”

“I saw…somebody…up there.”

The manager came to the counter. “There’s no one up there, son. Some snow must’ve fallen from the roof. Is your friend all right?”

“Yeah, I guess. But I coulda sworn I saw someone up there.”

The teller smiled. “Probably just glare from the sun. Nice to have some sun today, isn’t it?”

But Sully only shrugged and walked out of the bank.

The guys were waiting for him outside. Gonzo was dusty with snow. And he was cradling the left side of his face. It was red and starting to swell.

“What’s going on?” asked Breeze.

“That’s what I wanna know.” Sully frowned as he committed the creature’s face to his memory. Anyone crossing Sully usually lived to regret it.

That is…until now.

J.C. Whyte

Goodreads

Author J.C. Whyte discovered her love for writing at the age of eleven when her 6th grade teacher told the class to write a poem about a sport. She knew her classmates would probably choose a popular sport like baseball or football, so J.C. chose to write a funny poem about golf. To her surprise, the teacher really loved it and encouraged J.C. to continue writing. So she did. Then that summer, students were told to choose 26 books from a reading list, read them and write a book report on each. BLAH! J.C. wanted to enjoy her summer, not spend it reading. Back then, she was a very slow reader and didn’t much enjoy the experience. Plus, kids didn’t have the fun books which are available today. But her wise teacher told J.C. she could write 26 stories instead of reading them. That was genius. J.C. didn’t actually write a full 26 stories, but she wrote at least one which made her teacher laugh out loud in class. And the teacher gave her an “A” on her summer reading assignment. J.C. says she never forgot that wise and wonderful teacher who let the budding author play to her strengths.

So as a result, J.C. knew at an early age she wanted to become a professional writer. Yet when she reached college, she also understood that writing stories seldom paid the bills. So she got her degrees in Journalism and Communications Management. Then for many years she channeled her creative energies into the field of Public Relations.
Marriage, kids, and several more degrees and occupations later (including stints as a travel agent and paralegal), J.C. entered law school – mostly because of the challenge of writing creative arguments for the court. But while in law school, she became a columnist for the student newsletter, writing humor pieces on the strange and quirky life of a law student. She was thrilled when one of these articles was chosen for publication in The National Jurist, a magazine distributed to law students throughout the USA.

But after graduating and passing the Bar, J.C. realized within a few years that creative writing was still what made her heart sing. So now, as a grandma, she’s returned to writing for children. And with the publication of Karmack, J.C. has come full circle, back to where her writing journey truly began.