Waiting On Wednesday: The Ghosts of Tupelo Landing

"Waiting On" Wednesday...is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week I'm excitedly waiting on...

The Ghosts of Tupelo Landing

by Sheila Turnage

Feb. 11, 2014

Penguin

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The eagerly anticipated followup to the Newbery honor winner and New York Times bestseller, Three Times Lucky

Small towns have rules. One is, you got to stay who you are -- no matter how many murders you solve.

When Miss Lana makes an Accidental Bid at the Tupelo auction and winds up the mortified owner of an old inn, she doesn't realize there's a ghost in the fine print. Naturally, Desperado Detective Agency (aka Mo and Dale) opens a paranormal division to solve the mystery of the ghost's identity. They've got to figure out who the ghost is so they can interview it for their history assignment (extra credit). But Mo and Dale start to realize that the Inn isn't the only haunted place in Tupelo Landing. People can also be haunted by their own past. As Mo and Dale handily track down the truth about the ghost (with some help from the new kid in town), they discover the truth about a great many other people, too.

A laugh out loud, ghostly, Southern mystery that can be enjoyed by readers visiting Tupelo Landing for the first time, as well as those who are old friends of Mo and Dale.

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The Ghosts of Tupelo Landing is a companion to one of my favorite reads last year, and one of my all time fave middle-grade books, Three Times Lucky. When I read Three Times Lucky I fell in love with Sheila Turnage's storytelling and her charming characters, and her heroine, Mo, is one of the best! I'm so excited to dive back into this delightful southern setting and join the Desperado Detective Agency as they solve another exciting mystery! If you're a middle-grade fan or know a middle-grade reader, I can't recommend this funny, smart, heart-warming series enough!

Interview and Giveaway: Annemarie O'Brien {Lara's Gift}

I'm so excited to have Annemarie O'Brien here today to talk about her debut middle-grade novel, Lara's Gift. And you have the chance to win a copy of your own! Be sure to check out my review of this lovely novel as well...

Lara's Gift

by Annemarie O'Brien

August 6, 2013

Random House Books

Young Lara is being groomed in the family tradition to take over as Count Voronstov's next kennel steward, breeding borzoi dogs worthy of the Tsar. But then Lara's baby brother is born and she finds herself supplanted as her father decides to make her brother the next kennel steward. Going against her father's wishes and becoming increasingly sure of her special gift of understanding these incredible dogs, Lara risks everything when she reveals the truth about her visions. Now she must save Zar, her favorite borzoi and the one she raised from birth, from a hungry pack of wolves. Only then can she find her own, extraordinary destiny. . . .

***************************************

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PURCHASE

Amazon / B&N / IndieBound

***************************************

What three words best describe Lara's Gift?

Magical. Lyrical. Empowering.

Can you give us your best one sentence pitch to convince readers (especially reluctant readers) to give Lara's Gift a try?

Let me borrow a quote from Kathi Appelt: “A Gift to anyone who loves adventure, a good story, and, above all, a beloved dog.”

Grab a copy of Lara's Gift and answer the following: 

Favorite chapter?

This is tough. Either Chapter Twelve: The Hunt or Chapter Fourteen: The Dance.

Favorite page? 

Page 168, the last page.

Favorite character? 

Zar is my favorite character.

Flip to a random page and give us a 1-2 sentence teaser: 

Papa let go of my hand and as he hurried off, he turned to me, and almost as an afterthought, he added, “If the pups come tonight, you know where to find me.”A big smile came to my face. “Not if, Tyatya, when.”

What inspired Lara's Gift? And what do you hope readers will walk away with from this story? 

In 1989, while I was working and living in Russia, I was gifted a borzoi puppy. Many doors opened up for me because of Dasha, and with each new door came a flood of questions. It’s the questions I couldn’t answer that consumed me. It didn’t take long before the ‘what ifs’ took over and fueled my imagination and led to Lara and Zar’s character, story, and struggle. Lara’s Gift is really more than a dog story set in the Russian Imperial era. It’s a story about following your heart and trusting your gifts. So I hope readers walk away from reading about Lara and Zar with a newfound inspiration to follow their own hearts and to pursue their passions despite any obstacles that might stand in their way. I have always tried to live my life this way and when I succeed at it, I’ve always found that it leads to happiness and a sense of fulfillment.

When writing Lara's Gift did you have to do any special research about 1914 Russia and/or dog raising?

I did extensive research on the history, social, economic, and political structure of Russia in 1914. You’ll find a lengthy list of sources in the bibliography. I also spent a good ten years of my career living and working all over the former Soviet Union. I studied the language, delved into the music, and read all of the great Russian writers from that period. As for dog raising, I’ve always been a huge dog lover and have had borzoi since 1989. I currently have two borzoi. Zola and Zar who inspired the fictional characters in Lara’s Gift, as well as a silken windhound named Zeus.

As a dog owner, how important was it to you to develop a special relationship between your character Lara and her dog? And just what makes this relationship so special? 

As I developed the relationship between Lara and Zar, I dug deeply into the twelve-year-old me that loved my dog and tried to leverage the emotion I felt. The relationship between Lara and Zar is special because there is nobody more important to each of them than each other.

If you could “borrow” a character from any book/movie/tv show to write about it, who would you choose and what would you do with them? 

What a great question! I’d “borrow” Argos from Homer’s Odyssey and put him with a fourteen-year-old girl in contemporary Stinson Beach, California. 

What's been the best or most rewarding aspect of being an author? The hardest? 

The most rewarding aspect of being an author is the opportunity I’ve gotten to work with my editor, Erin Clarke of Knopf. The hardest aspect is knowing I can’t be a full-time author. 

Fill in the blanks: 

I'm really awesome at___

sticking to my goals and following my heart.

I'm really embarrassed to admit___ 

that I ate 14 steaks in one sitting!

The last great book I read was___ 

The Color of My Words by Lynn Joseph.

If you were to bake a cupcake inspired by Lara's Gift what would it look and taste like, and what would you call it? 

Wow, another great question! A cupcake inspired by Lara’s Gift would be pure white like Zar’s coat. The white chocolate cake and frosting would be topped with coconut flakes! And I’d call my cupcake ‘Snegurochka’. It means Snow Princess in Russian and is also the title of a beloved Russian fairy tale.

Annemarie O'Brien

Site / Goodreads / Twitter / Facebook

Annemarie O’Brien has an MFA in Writing for Children & Young Adults from the Vermont College of Fine Arts. She teaches creative writing courses at UC Berkeley Extension, Stanford Continuing Studies, Pixar, and DreamWorks, as well as edits children’s books for Room to Read which advocates literacy in developing countries. Lara’s Gift is her debut middle grade novel inspired from a former life when she lived and worked in the former Soviet Union during the Gorbachev era and was gifted Dasha, her first borzoi puppy.

Win a finished copy of Lara's Gift!

Thanks to Random House I have one finished copy of Lara's Gift to give away.

DETAILS

-US ONLY

-will end 7/16

-must be 13+, one main entry per person

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

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

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"Waiting On" Wednesday (60): Magic Marks the Spot

"Waiting On" Wednesday...is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week I'm excitedly waiting on...

Magic Marks the Spot

(The Very Nearly Honorable League of Pirates #1)

by Caroline Carlson

9/10/13

Harper Collins Childrens

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Hilary Westfield has always dreamed of being a pirate. She can tread water for thirty-seven minutes. She can tie a knot faster than a fleet of sailors. She particularly enjoys defying authority, especially if that authority orders her to wear a petticoat. She wouldn’t be caught dead eating tiny, crustless sandwiches, and she already owns a rather pointy sword. There’s only one problem: The Very Nearly Honorable League of Pirates refuses to let any girl join their ranks of scourges and scallywags.

Girls belong at Miss Pimm’s Finishing School for Delicate Ladies, learning to waltz, faint, and curtsy. But Hilary and her dearest friend, the gargoyle, have no use for such frivolous lessons— they are pirates! (Or very nearly.)

To escape from a life of petticoats and politeness, Hilary answers a curious advertisement for a pirate crew and suddenly finds herself swept up in a seafaring adventure that may or may not involve a map without an “X,” a magical treasure that likely doesn’t exist, a rogue governess who insists on propriety, a crew of misfit scallywags, and the most treacherous—and unexpected—villain on the High Seas.

Will Hilary find the treasure in time? Will she become a true pirate after all? And what will become of the gargoyle?

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Umm, pirates, a gargoyle, High Seas adventures? YES PLEASE!! I LOVE everything about this book's premise and that cover is fabulous! I can already tell that I'm going to adore Hilary. I cannot wait to dive into this book!!!

WHAT ARE YOU WAITING ON THIS WEEK?!

The March MG Madness Comes To A Close

The 2nd Annual March MG Madness is coming to a close.

The March MG Madness officially ends 3/31, but I wanted to take this time to say how awesome this event was! I had SO much fun reading, sharing, promoting, reviewing, and gushing about some fantabulous middle-grade books and authors this month. I want to say a huge 

THANK YOU

to each and every author who participated. Y'all bake my cupcakes!!!

I look forward to doing this again for the third time next year and hopefully it will be even bigger and better. If you've missed any of the posts or giveaways you can find the full schedule and links HERE. All the giveaways (there's like 20!!) end at midnight on 3/31, so go forth and enter to win signed books, ARCs, ebooks, and swag!!! I'll be picking and announcing winners in the next week or so.

And to close the March MG Madness, I thought I would share a list of some of my fave middle-grade books that have come out in the last couple of years. Hopefully you'll be able to find some new and splendiferious reads from this list...

Click the title to learn more

The Mapmaker and the Ghost

by Sarvenaz Tash

Juniper Berry

by M.P. Kozlowsky

Storybound

by Marissa Burt

See You at Harry's

by Jo Knowles

Eve Hallows and the Book of Shrieks

by Robert Gray

Three Times Lucky

by Sheila Turnage

Night of the Purple Moon

by Scott Cramer

Evertaster

by Adam Glendon Sidwell

Dead City

by James Ponti

One for the Murphys

by Lynda Mullaly Hunt

The Flower Power Series

by Lauren Myracle

What are some of YOUR fave middle-grade reads?!

Share in the comments!

2nd Annual March MG Madness: event info and author sign ups

That's right, Cupcakes, I'm dedicating March of 2013 once again to 

middle-grade fiction!

Last year's March MG Madness was an awesome month filled with all things middle-grade: reviews, author interviews and guest posts, and giveaways. And I want to do it again! You can check out this post to see last year's event.

But, in order to create another fantastic month of MG fiction I need some fantabulous authors and books to showcase, promote, and share. Last year's author participants included wonderful authors like Dan Gutman, Marissa Burt, Stephanie Burgis, Joanne Levy, Sarvenaz Tash, and so many more! So, MG authors, this post is for you...

AUTHORS/PUBS: if you're an author of a middle-grade book(s) or a publisher of middle-grade fiction then I'd love to have you participate! All and any MG authors/books are welcome, whether you're a traditionally published author or an indie author, this event is for you all. If you have a middle-grade book(s) that has been released in the last year or will be released in the next year, then you can participate in the following ways:

• Reviews (I'll review your book)
• Author Interviews
• Character Interviews
• Guest Posts
• Book Spotlights
• Giveaways 

(more info about each can be found on the sign up form below)

Sign-ups will be open until 1/31/13 and I'll email anyone who signs up by 1/31/13 (I won't be emailing until later in January, so if you sign up and don't hear from me until then, don't worry I got your info!).

To sign up, simply fill out 

****THIS FORM****

I can't wait for all the MG fun and I want to thank you in advance for signing up!

If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at wordspelunker@gmail.com and put "March MG Madness" as the subject line :)

Interview and Giveaway: Maggie Lyons

I'm pleased to have middle-grade author, Maggie Lyons, back today for an interview! Today, Maggie is going to talk about her new book Dewi and the Seeds of Doom. Plus, there's a giveaway...

When Dewi is clobbered by a falling rat, the nosy Welsh dragon snoops his way into a challenging predicament. Helped by a toad with a passion for chemical wart cures, Dewi discovers that a megalomaniac baron is secretly breeding mutant corn at an unfriendly castle. To thwart the genetically modified-corn baron’s sickening plan, he must use moxie and firepower in a series of catastrophe-skirting capers.

From Halo Publishing

Released Oct. 2012

Purchase: Amazon / Halo Pub

WS: What three words best describe DEWI AND THE SEEDS OF DOOM?

Fantastic dragon detective

WS: Can you give us your best one sentence pitch to convince readers why they should read DEWI AND THE SEEDS OF DOOM?

If you love losing yourself in whirlwind adventure stories brimming over with surprises, mishaps, chaos, and comedy, you’ll find this Welsh dragon detective’s antics irresistible as he battles an evil baron who breeds genetically modified corn.

WS: What do you hope young readers will learn or take away from DEWI AND THE SEEDS OF DOOM?

• It’s good to be curious about things and ask questions.

• Friends are important.

• It would be a good idea to find out exactly what you are eating, especially if it comes off a supermarket shelf.

WS: Grab a copy of DEWI AND THE SEEDS OF DOOM and answer the following:

Favorite chapter? Chapter 1 in which Dewi decides to take up a challenge and dig into a mystery. Favorite page? When Dewi finds a last-minute hiding place and eavesdrops on the dastardly baron. Favorite character? Peegor, the baron’s long-suffering and equally ghastly servant. Flip to a random page and give us a 1-2 sentence teaser from that page: “What’s the matter, Peegor? Is your dungeon too warm and your straw mattress too comfy for you to get up until half the day has gone?” A very nasty laugh crawled through the gap in the baron’s rotten teeth.

WS: Besides your own character Dewi, who is your favorite dragon character from any book or movie? 

Hiccup’s pet dragon, Toothless, in Cressida Cowell’s hilarious How to Train Your Dragon book series.

WS: Imagine you've discovered a time machine and you step inside...do you go back in time or into the future? Where do you go?

I’d go back to the past, about two hundred years ago, to France or Britain, when the air was cleaner, food far more wholesome, and people much more sociable.

WS: What would the title of your autobiography or memoirs be called? 

What a Motley Slew!

WS: Random favorites:

Midnight snack? I’m asleep long before midnight. But if I can add a food I might dream about, it would be a small bowl of lobster bisque— no, make it a large bowl. Place to write? At my desk with a view from the window of ducks doing ducky things on the creek. Superhero? Jeffrey Smith courageous pioneer advocate for the right to know what’s in our food. Nail polish color? No polish. My fingernails are short because I play the piano, and I don’t want to highlight the fact they’re short—but wait! I just remembered I have toes. I paint my toenails metallic rusty red to match the hair on my head. And now that I think of it, that color may also match the rust inside my head. Obviously a Freudian insight here. Middle-grade appropriate curse word or expletive? Oh no!

WS: Fill in the blanks:

I'm really awesome at procrastinating, especially when it comes to filling a blank page. I'm embarrassed to admit that I like liver, onions, and spinach. Liver, onions, and spinach—oh my! My first literary crush (author or character) was Robert Louis Stephenson (Treasure Island). The last fantastic book I read was Jerry Spinelli’s The Wringer. Talk about a grab-your-thoughts, rend-your-heart, and stick-to-your-memory’s-ribs kind of story!

WS: If you were to create and bake a cupcake inspired by DEWI AND THE SEEDS OF DOOM what would it look and taste like and what would you call it?

Dewi’s lightly charcoaled lamb chops cupcake would taste of—surprise!—lamp chops and it would be served with flaming hot sauce.

Maggie Lyons: Site / Goodreads / Twitter / Facebook / Google+
Maggie Lyons is a writer and editor who was born in Wales and crossed the pond to Virginia. With no regard for the well-being of her family and neighbors, she trained as a classical pianist. Then came a career of putting rear ends on seats—that is, orchestral management, marked by reams of marketing and fundraising writing and program note scribbling for audiences, many of whose first priority was to find their names in the donors’ lists. Editing for academic publishers also brought plenty of satisfaction—she admits she has a fondness for nerds—but nothing like the magic she discovered in writing fiction and nonfiction for children. Several of her articles, poetry, and a chapter book miraculously appeared in Stories for Children Magazine and knowonder! magazine. Her middle-grade fiction Vin and the Dorky Duet and Dewi and the Seeds of Doom are published by MuseItUp Publishing and Halo Publishing International. She hopes her stories encourage reluctant young readers to turn a page or two.

Win a copy of 

Dewi and the Seeds of Doom!

Maggie has generously offered one copy of her book, in the winner's choice of paperback or ebook, for one lucky winner. This is a perfect book for the younger readers in your life!

DETAILS

-OPEN INTERNATIONALLY

-Will run from 1/2 - 1/7

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

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

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

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Review: Lizzy Speare and the Cursed Tomb by Ally Malinenko

Lizzy Speare and the Cursed Tomb

Ally Malinenko

9/12/12

Antenna Books

Format: ebook

Source: author

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MEET LIZZY SPEARE…
…a normal twelve year old girl with a talent for writing, who has a very not normal family secret. And when Lizzy’s father vanishes, that secret will change her life in ways unimagined. (Spoiler Alert! It turns out that Lizzy, or Elizabeth S. Speare, is the last living descendant of William Shakespeare. Shhh! Don’t tell anybody!)
Then Lizzy and her best friend Sammy are kidnapped, awakening in the faraway land of Manhattan. Their host is Jonathan Muse, whose job is to protect Lizzy from becoming the latest victim in a family feud nearly five hundred years old. Could that be why the mysterious, eye patch-wearing Dmitri Marlowe is after her? (Spoiler Alert 2—he’s the last living descendant of Christopher Marlowe, a friend and rival of Shakespeare’s. But keep it to yourself!) Is Marlowe after Lizzy’s family fortune rumored to be kept in Shakespeare’s tomb? Does he seek artistic immortality? Or Revenge (with a capital R) for a death long, long ago?
In a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse, Lizzy and Sammy are thrust into the realm of the mythical and fantastic—from satyrs and Cyclopses to Middle Eastern cab drivers and Brooklyn hipsters—in what is truly “an improbable fiction” as the Bard himself once wrote.

THREE WORDS: Fantastically Fun & Entertaining

MY REVIEW: I'm no Shakespeare scholar or fanatic, but I do enjoy his work, and author Ally Malinenko has done something quite extraordinary with her book Lizzy Speare and the Cursed Tomb...she's made Shakespeare fun! Fantastically fun, in fact! This adventure filled middle-grade surpassed my expectations and turned out to be an excellent read.

Twelve year old Lizzy Speare is not a normal girl; she's the last living descendant of William Shakespeare. Which, she finds out on her twelfth birthday; the day she and her BFF, Sammy are kidnapped by a Muse for their own safety. Jonathan Muse reveals to Lizzy that as the last Shakespeare descendant she is the sole heir of a great fortune. But Dmitri Marlowe, the last descendant of Shakespeare's good friend and fellow writer Christopher Marlowe, is after Lizzy, the fortune, and maybe even Revenge! Jonathan introduces Lizzy and Sammy to a whole world of mythical beings and creatures, and Lizzy must confront her destiny to save everyone and everything she loves.

Malinenko has crafted such an original and imaginative story with Lizzy Speare and the Cursed Tomb. A fun, exciting middle-grade tale about the infamous Shakespeare and Marlowe relationship, and their imagined descendants  is an ingenious idea. An idea that Malinenko pulls off excellently with flair and talent that Mr. Shakespeare would be proud of.

This is a longer middle-grade book, but it has a great fast-pace full of suspense and thrills. I didn't find myself bored once while reading it and eagerly turned pages. Malinenko creates a world that is rich in history, mystery, and all things fantastical. A world that feels both modern and old-world, hip and enchanting, dark and whimsical. The work of Shakespeare is not always easy to understand or get into, but in Lizzy Speare and the Cursed Tomb the world and work of Shakespeare is presented in a way that is both appropriate and highly entertaining for younger readers. Plus, Lizzy's journey and adventures are just so addicting and fun that younger readers won't even realize that they're also learning a great deal.

The fantasy and mythical elements are awesome! Satyrs, Cyclopses, gorgons, fairies, selkies, Muses, magical quills, talking Ravens, doors that change, and more, Lizzy Speare and the Cursed Tomb as it all. Lizzy's journey is full of compelling mystery, fascinating history, and breathless peril. But, this book also has a lot of heart and is surprisingly touching.

Lizzy is a great heroine: smart, brave, capable, and compassionate, but stubborn and sarcastic in an endearing way. Sammy is completely adorable and charming and I want him as a BFF too. Jonathan Muse and Dmitri Marlowe are wonderfully layered and complex characters. I love that I trusted and doubted both fellows at the same time and that they constantly surprised me.

My only complaint is that the ending (only like the last two pages) felt a bit abrupt and jarring, but it did leave me excited for a sequel.

MY FINAL THOUGHTS: Lizzy Speare and the Cursed Tomb is a terrific middle-grade book with a wildly entertaining and refreshing premise, compelling characters, and fantastic storytelling. Lovers of Shakespeare, the fantastical, or just fun adventure, will certainly enjoy this tale. 

MY RATING

Ally Malinenko: Site / Facebook / Twitter

Purchase: Amazon

Ally Malinenko, a self-proclaimed Bardolator, took her first pilgrimage to Stratford-Upon-Avon in 2009 and hasn’t been the same since. Lizzy Speare and the Cursed Tomb is her first children's book. Her poetry book, The Wanting Bone, was published by Six Gallery Press. She blogs at allymalinenko.com. Ally lives in Brooklyn with her husband.