(MMGM) Sage Blackwood, author of the Jinx Series {interview and giveaway}

Welcome to Day 28 of the 4th Annual March MG Madness! Today we are celebrating Sage Blackwood and her 

Jinx Series...

Jinx's Fire

(Jinx #3)

by Sage Blackwood

3/24/15

Harper Collins

The young wizard Jinx concludes his suspenseful and dryly humorous adventures in the magical forest of the Urwald with this third installment in the series that ALA Booklist says "deserves a permanent place in the children's fantasy pantheon, with Narnia and Earthsea" (Jinx's Magic, starred review). This action-packed conclusion is perfect for readers of fantasy adventure series such as Septimus Heap, the Sisters Grimm, and Fablehaven.

The forest is under attack and its magic is fading. Can Jinx summon enough of his magic--the bright fire within him--to rescue Simon, defeat the Bonemaster, unite the Urwald, and fight off the invaders? He is the Urwald's only hope. . . 

goodreads / amazon / b&n 

The other books in this series

(click each cover to learn more)

Watch the Jinx Trailer

Praise for the Jinx Series

JINX is filled with real magic, not just the magic young Jinx learns, but the magic of a great book: memorable, engaging characters,humor that’s actually funny, an original, fantastic world, and real human feelings. I can’t wait for the next one.” (John Stephen, NYT bestselling author of THE EMERALD ATLAS)

 “Complex characters, compelling fun, a marvelously dastardly villain, all steeped in a tasty stew of mystery and magic. What more could a reader ask for?” (Bruce Coville)

“This series deserves a permanent place in the children’s fantasy pantheon, with Narnia and Earthsea.” (Booklist (starred review))

“Blackwood offers a story of enchanting texture and depth, and series fans will be elated to have another outing with the sweetly sardonic hero, whose conscience is almost as troublesome as his grasp of spells. Fans of Cornelia Funke should add this to their stacks.” (ALA Booklist)

What three words best describe your Jinx series?

Sentient magic forest.

Can you give us your best one sentence pitch to convince readers, especially reluctant readers, to give this series a try?

In the Urwald you grow up fast or not at all.

Grab a copy of Jinx’s Fire (book 3) and answer the following:

favorite chapter?

Chapter 23, “Bonesocket From Within”

favorite page?

Well, there’s a bit I quite like that runs from the bottom of page 251 onto page 252

favorite place/setting?

Tough choice. But I’ll go with the Elf Princess’s garden of gems.

flip to a random page and give us a 1-2 sentences teaser:

“Actually, I can get us home pretty quickly,” said Jinx. “But I have to let the trolls eat my arm first.”

What inspired the Jinx series? How did the story come to be?

Well, I was sitting on my front porch, drawing pictures, and I drew a boy and a wizard and a mean-looking guy in a forest, and then I wondered who they were.

Or I was walking through the forest, and I noticed that forests feel different from non-forests, that there’s something going on in them… you can almost hear the voices.

Or I was reading Riane Eisler’s The Chalice and the Blade, and I realized that intuition is something we evolved to protect us from violence.

Or I read the surviving extant scraps of the legend of Simon Magus, and I started to wonder what the guy was really like.

Or I drew a picture of a little girl in a red hood walking through a forest to visit her grandmother, and the forest got bigger, and bigger, and bigger….

I can’t remember which of those things happened first.

Can you tell us a bit about your hero, Jinx?

Jinx is not a Chosen One, nor is he a long-lost heir to anything. But at a very early age, he learned to read emotions… a little better than most of us do. And he learned to listen… so well that he can hear trees talk. He has trouble with the magic Simon Magus tries to teach him, but he’s quite good at discovering his own.

He’s sarcastic and impatient, and he sometimes sulks. But he has a good heart and he tries to be kind, even if he doesn’t always succeed. He makes the right choices when it matters.

If you could switch lives with any character in the Jinx series, who would you pick and what would you do as them?

Dame Glammer, probably. I’d hop around in my butter churn and cackle. Come to think of it, that’s what I do now.

As a middle-grade author, why do think MG is so important and popular? What do you love about MG?

MG stories capture a character at a moment of change, when s/he is in the process of deciding what kind of person to become. And MG novels don’t (usually) end in a place of despair. Life is worth living.

And I love the challenge of writing for a dual audience. To really work, MG has to be appreciable at different levels, by children and by adults. I trust my reader to pick up on nuances. And to get my jokes. If they don’t, that’s okay. The story still works. (I hope.)

What are some of your favorite middle-grade reads?

• Anything by Diana Wynne Jones, but especially Homeward Bounders, Cart & Cwidder, Drowned Ammet and The Lives of Christopher Chant.

• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (That being arguably the last book in the series that was MG rather than YA.)

Fill in the blanks:

I’m really awesome at thinking of things to do instead of write.

I’m really embarrassed to admit that I’m too embarrassed to admit to things I’m embarrassed to admit to on the internet.

The last great book I read was Days of Rondo: A Warm Reminscence of St Paul’s Thriving Black Community in the 1930s and 1940s by Evelyn Fairbanks.

If you were to bake a cupcake inspired by Jinx’s Fire, what would it look and taste like and what would you call it?

 Well, let’s see. It’d be chocolate, to represent the earth into which Jinx descends, and inside would be a filling of icing to represent the Path of Ice, and cinnamon red-hots to represent the Path of Fire. And the frosting ought to be hummus to represent humus, but that would be kind of yuck, so let’s go with  a coconut frosting. Some rock candy to represent the Glass Mountains, and some candles shaped like trees, which we would then have to burn. And we’ll call this cupcake Worst Case Scenario.

website * goodreads * twitter 

Sage Blackwood lives at the edge of a large forest, with thousands of books and a very old dog, and enjoys carpentry, cooking, and walking in the woods of New York State.

Win a Jinx Series prize!

Sage Blackwood has generously offered up either a) the first two Jinx books in paperback or b) the third book in hardcover...whichever the winner prefers.

Details

-US only

-ends 4/3

-one winner will be able to choose prize a or b

(please read rules below rafflecopter)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Unless otherwise stated, the policies and rules for each giveaway are as follows:

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN.  Open only to legal residents of the 50 United States and Washington D.C. who are 13 years old or older as of date of entry.

To enter, fill out the appropriate Rafflecopter form associated with each giveaway.

The start and end dates for each giveaway will be clearly stated and followed.

The specified amount of winners shall be selected in a random drawing.

Winners will be notified by email and must claim their prize within 48 hours. If a winner does not respond within 48 hours, then a new winner will be chosen.

Word Spelunking is not responsible for lost, damaged, or stolen prizes in the mail. Once a prize is dropped off at the post office, it is no longer my responsibility and I will not compensate in anyway for prizes not delivered because of the USPS.

If a third-party (author, publisher, etc) is shipping a prize, once I provide the winner(s)' mailing information to them, the prize is no longer my responsibility. I will forward your mailing info to the proper people within 48 hours after getting it from you. If you have not received your prize from an author or publisher within 8 weeks, it is your responsibility to contact them further.

By participating in any giveaway, you agree to adhere to these rules. Any breaking of these rules by entrants will disqualify them from the giveaway and their entries will be deleted.

(MMGM) The Telling Stone by Maureen Doyle McQuerry {review and giveaway}

Welcome to Day 27 of the 4th Annual March MG Madness! Today we are celebrating Maureen Doyle McQuerry's The Telling Stone, book two in her Time Out of Time series...

The Telling Stone

(Time Out of Time #2)

by Maureen Doyle McQuerry

5/12/15

Amulet Books

In book two, the excitement and mystery continue as Timothy, his sister, Sarah, and their friend Jessica journey from America to Edinburgh, Scotland, where they seek the Four Treasures of Ireland, especially the Telling Stone. They must keep the treasures from falling into the hands of Balor, who can use them to deprive the world of good. The children pass through Time out of Time as they undertake their quest and encounter a number of mythic and folkloric characters, including the Tuatha Dé Danann, Gwydon, Cerridwyn, and others.

In this book, a code hidden in a map is the key to finding the Stone, and readers work alongside Timothy, Sarah, and Jessica to decode the message. Along with the code, the book includes a glossary of the many historical, literary, and folkloric references mentioned in both volumes.

goodreads / amazon

Praise for the Time Out of Time Series

"Threaded with ancient and medieval mythologies, McQuerry’s compelling narrative races forward, immersing the reader in its lyrical mysteries, just as the circumstances surprise and confound the protagonists." STARRED BOOKLIST

"A sense of wonder and worry permeates the narrative, evocative of The Dark Is Rising or the work of Neil Gaiman, and the cliffhanger ending will leave readers clamoring for more." PUBLISHER'S WEEKLY

"This intelligent, engaging series is highly recommended for middle-grade and teen readers, who will eagerly look forward to the next installment."

(Morgan Brickey VOYA 2015-02-01)

"The overlap of mythical and present is nicely realized, with adults especially not what they seem, whether representative of good or evil. [R]eaders...will be looking for the next in the series."(Kirkus Reviews 2015-03-01)

Timothy, his older sister Sarah, and their friend Jessica, once again find themselves traveling through Time out of Time as they seek four important treasures and try desperately to avoid the evil Balor. The trio’s journey takes them all the way to Edinburgh, Scotland, where they use a coded map to search for the Telling Stone, finding help and enemies in unexpected places.

Maureen Doyle McQuerry returns to her exciting Time Out of Time series with book two, The Telling Stone. Like book one, The Telling Stone is full of action, adventure, magic, mystery, and fantastical, wondrous elements! This series is rich in captivating lore and mythology that McQuerry spins and explores with enthralling, smart storytelling and excellent world-building. From the mystical Market to the picturesque Edinburgh and the hills of Scotland, The Telling Stone is brimming with great, vivid details and settings that come to life. McQuerry does a wonderful job of making the sometimes complex mythology very accessible to young readers, who will find these elements absolutely fascinating and riveting.

McQuerry has crafted some truly compelling and engaging characters in this series. I’ve very much enjoyed getting to know our hero, Timothy, and two heroines, Sarah and Jessica. Young readers will love how capable, likable, and relatable these young characters are and how they grow throughout the series. And, like in book one, we are introduced to some intriguing and unforgettable characters that have stepped right out of myths, folklore, and history, and been given new life.

The Telling Stone picks up right where book one ends and opens with quite the explosive beginning, and the thrills, action, and adventure don’t stop! McQuerry sprinkles some clever twists and turns throughout the book that took me by surprise.

my final thoughts: Full of fascinating lore and myths, engaging characters, and fantastic storytelling, The Telling Stone is a wonderful sequel in an equally wonderful series.

MY RATING

5/5 yummy cupcakes

website * goodreads * twitter * facebook

Writers are like crows. They collect shiny objects that capture their attention and hide them away. Maureen has been collecting interesting bits since she was six and decided she wanted to be a writer. Like all interesting journeys, the road to her goal took many twists and turns along the way: teaching middle grade through college, coordinating a program for gifted students, marrying and raising her own two children, traveling the world, and all the while writing in the spaces in between. 

 

Maureen’s published works include The Peculiars,(Abrams/Amulet) a YASLA, Bank Street, Horn Book and Westchester YA best  book;  Nuclear Legacy, (Battelle Press) an Independent Publisher’s Award winner and numerous poems in literary journals. Her next books, Beyond the Door and The Telling Stone (Abrams/Amulet), are due out in spring and fall 2014.

 

Whenever she has the opportunity, Maureen loves to present to students in the schools, share her love of language and books, and encourage them to follow their passions. Maureen works with teachers to tailor workshops to specific writing goals.  She is also a frequent presenter at writing conferences.

 

Maureen grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area before it became Silicon Valley and now lives in WA State near the banks of the Columbia River with her husband. Eagles, wood ducks, a friendly owl and raccoons visit her yard. When she’s not writing or teaching, Maureen’s always hoping for a real life mystery to solve.

Win both books in the 

Time Out of Time Series!

Abrams has generously offered copies of both Beyond The Door and The Telling Stone for one winner.

Details

-US only

-ends 4/3

(please read full rules below the rafflecopter)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Unless otherwise stated, the policies and rules for each giveaway are as follows:

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN.  Open only to legal residents of the 50 United States and Washington D.C. who are 13 years old or older as of date of entry.

To enter, fill out the appropriate Rafflecopter form associated with each giveaway.

The start and end dates for each giveaway will be clearly stated and followed.

The specified amount of winners shall be selected in a random drawing.

Winners will be notified by email and must claim their prize within 48 hours. If a winner does not respond within 48 hours, then a new winner will be chosen.

Word Spelunking is not responsible for lost, damaged, or stolen prizes in the mail. Once a prize is dropped off at the post office, it is no longer my responsibility and I will not compensate in anyway for prizes not delivered because of the USPS.

If a third-party (author, publisher, etc) is shipping a prize, once I provide the winner(s)' mailing information to them, the prize is no longer my responsibility. I will forward your mailing info to the proper people within 48 hours after getting it from you. If you have not received your prize from an author or publisher within 8 weeks, it is your responsibility to contact them further.

By participating in any giveaway, you agree to adhere to these rules. Any breaking of these rules by entrants will disqualify them from the giveaway and their entries will be deleted.

(MMGM) The Dungeoneers by John David Anderson {review, interview, guest post}

Welcome to Day 26 of the 4th Annual March MG Madness! Today we are celebrating John David Anderson's The Dungeoneers...

The Dungeoneers 

(Dungeoneers Series #1)

by John David Anderson

6/23/15

Walden Pond Press

The Dungeoneers is an action-packed, funny, and heartbreaking middle grade fantasy-adventure from the author of the acclaimed Sidekicked and Minion, John David Anderson.

The world is not a fair place, and Colm Candorly knows it. While his parents and eight sisters seem content living on a lowly cobbler's earnings, Colm can't help but feel that everyone has the right to a more comfortable life. It's just a question of how far you're willing to go to get it.

In an effort to help make ends meet, Colm uses his natural gift for pickpocketing to pilfer a pile of gold from the richer residents of town, but his actions place him at the mercy of a mysterious man named Finn Argos, a gilded-toothed, smooth-tongued rogue who gives Colm a choice: he can be punished for his thievery, or he can become a member of Thwodin's Legions, a guild of dungeoneers who take what they want and live as they will. Colm soon finds himself part of a family of warriors, mages, and hunters, learning to work together in their quest for endless treasure. But not all families are perfect, and even as Colm hones his skills with fellow recruits, it becomes clear that something from outside threatens the dungeoneers--and perhaps something from inside as well.

goodreads / amazon / b&n 

Meet the Dungeoneers

Being the only son of a poor cobbler and the brother to eight sisters is not easy...just ask 12 year old Colm Candorly. And when Colm, a natural and talented thief, finds (aka pilfers) a pile of silver and gold from the richer people in town, he finds himself in quite the pickle. But then slick talking Finn Argos arrives and offers Colm an unusual way out of trouble. Colm soon finds himself training in Thwodin’s Legions, a guild of dungeoneers, and among his own kind for the first time. Colm, a quick study of the art of being a rogue, may have just found a way to use his talent and find fame and riches along the way...if he can survive training and its trials and the plot of a traitor.

The Dungeoneers is such a fun, addictive read and I loved every minute of it! John David Anderson spins a spectacular tale full of action, humor, magic, adventure, and captivating characters. With an absolutely pitch-perfect middle-grade voice and smart, compelling storytelling, The Dungeoneers is riveting from beginning to end. Anderson’s world-building is pure perfection as he crafts a clever, wildly imaginative, and fully developed world. From Colm’s hometown of Felhaven to Thwodin’s castle and the dungeons explored by the dungeoneers, this world is vividly laid out in enthralling details. The world of the dungeoners in Thwodin’s Legions is full of fantastical and whimsical (both dark and light) elements, exciting classes, and amazing things to learn!

From rogues, mages, barbarians, druids, goblins, orcs, and more, The Dungeoneers is full of eclectic and engaging characters. Anderson gives such amusing life to each of his characters and I thoroughly enjoyed each and every one of them. I just loved plucky Colm and his quirky group of friends, including fierce Lena, endearing Quinn, and sweet Serene.

Colm’s time with the dungeoneers is full of thrilling action, laugh-out-loud moments, and plenty of surprises, leading to a truly twisty reveal and heart-racing conclusion.

my final thoughts: With smart, sparkling storytelling; awesome characters; and an exciting premise, The Dungeoneers will charm and wow readers! I certainly cannot wait until book two!!

MY RATING

5/5 yummy cupcakes

What three words best describe your book, The Dungeoneers?

Dungeon-diving deliciousness? Monster-mashing mayhem? Funny…I hope.

Can you give us your best one sentence pitch to convince readers, especially reluctant readers, to give this book a try?

Girl barbarians fainting at the sight of blood, fireballs shooting out of peoples’ ears, pickpockets, twists and turns, swords with names, a door with a hundred locks, and a couple of charming rogues—that covers about a tenth the book.

Grab a copy of  The Dungeoneers and answer the following:

favorite chapter?

Chapter 16

favorite page?

416. Because you knew it was bound to happen eventually.

favorite place/setting?

The dining hall of the guild. Dungeons are cool, but a lot of important stuff happens in the small moments when four friends sit around a table and give each other a hard time.

flip to a random page and give us a 1-2 sentences teaser:

Page 215. Attack on the castle. Waves of orcs thundering across the field. And the arrival of a legendary swordsman that Colm has reason to distrust.

What inspired The Dungeoneers? How did the story come to be?

A childhood spent reading about hordes of treasure guarded by dangerous beasts combined with a fatherhood spent playing D&D-type board games with my kids. Obviously the fantasy genre is ripe with heroes who are called upon to descend into the darkness to retrieve some mystical totem or priceless artifact, but those heroes are usually on some noble quest to save the world from evil-wizard-total-takeover—they don’t actually do this sort of thing for a living. Enter the Dungeoneers—specially trained to take stuff that doesn’t belong to them, despite all of the orcs, giant spiders, acidic blobs, and magically tainted breakfast rolls standing in their way. I enjoy writing fantasy novels because they are tropes I am familiar enough with to put my own spin on. Dungeoneers is high adventure, but it’s also a little subversive and self-mocking at times. Plus girls with axes are cool.

Can you tell us a bit about your hero, Colm? What makes him special and sets him apart from other middle-grade heroes?

For starters, he’s missing a finger and has eight sisters. He also has both parents—which really sets him apart from traditional fantasy heroes (usually they are orphans, though sometimes one parent is lucky enough to survive past the prologue). What I think makes Colm “real” is that he is constantly battling with his own conscience. He does things in the book that are questionable, morally, or at the very least, selfish—and many of those things are also justified by the people around him. He has to redefine his priorities as the book progresses, which I think a lot of young readers can identify with. Do I do something illegal if it means helping my family? Am I willing to take something that isn’t mine if I share it with others I care about? I think Colm’s situation, while fantastic, will be recognizable to readers.

I should add, though, that while Colm is the protagonist of the book, Dungeoneers is full of young heroes, all of them struggling with their own issues—and it’s the chemistry between them that I think really makes the book stand out. Hopefully every reader will find one Dungeoneer that they can empathize with (the character they will choose if they ever make a video game version). Plus they would make mongo-awesome action figures.

As a middle-grade author, why do think MG is so important and popular? What do you love about MG?

MG catches young readers at a crucial moment in their literary evolution—at a time where reading either turns into a lifelong passion or simply more homework. With so much competing for their attention, I know it can be difficult to privilege reading for pleasure, but that’s what great MG books do—they hook their young readers, giving them an emotional and intellectual thrill that rewards them for the time they devote to reading it. As an author I like the challenge of helping to create lifelong readers. I also think the last twenty years have done a great job creating a library of wonderful books for kids that age to choose from. They don’t have to jump straight from Nancy Drew to Stephen King (which is kind of what I did). There’s a book out there for every single MG reader—they just have to find their favorites.

What I love most about MG, though, is the ability to escape into the worlds I inhabited when I was twelve, romping my way through imaginary adventures, but with the benefit of thirty more years of life experience. My goal when writing a novel is to try and infuse what little wisdom I’ve gathered into an entertaining yarn so that readers are left breathless sometimes and with questions at others. Plus I never really matured past that stage in my life, so I have no problem pretending to be twelve. It’s something I am thankful for every day as I put on my Darth Vader t-shirt and admire my Lego collection.

What are some of your favorite middle-grade reads and characters?

I actually have a tendency to skip around, trying to read as many different authors and different stories as possible. As such I don’t get attached to series often (blasphemy, I know). It makes it difficult to call Percy Jackson a favorite when you’ve only read the first book (don’t think less of me). I’ve always got a middle-grade novel on my nightstand though (just finished Rain Reign). I think the classics are worth rereading (does MG have classics?)—things like The Giver and Where the Red Fern Grows (that book made me cry—and I’m not really a crier). I’ll also read just anything by Kate DiCamillo or M.T. Anderson, and I have a soft spot for authors that can make me bust a gut, like Chris Healy or Dan Gutman.  

Probably my favorite MG characters are girls—tough, and smart and a little bit salty. Hermione Grainger meets Amelia McBride. They remind me a bit of my own daughter. What I don’t like are MG heroes who are just miniature adults, hyper intellectual and uber responsible. Kids are nuts. They do crazy random stuff. I love that. It makes me feel better about being nuts too.   

If you could jump into any middle-grade world, which would you choose and what would you do there?

Are you kidding? Two words: Willy Wonka. What would I do? Four words: Eat till I vomit.

Fill in the blanks:

If I could travel through time, I’d go to

2250 AD. I’m seriously worried for my great great great great great grandchildren. I want to know that there’s going to be a world left for them to inherit. Of course I’d also like to take a Snoopy Snow Cone Maker back to the Dark Ages and brighten those guys’ lives up a little.

If I were in the Guinness Book of World Records, it would be for

Most sea-salt dark chocolate caramels eaten in a single sitting. See question eight above.

My cool outlaw name would be

Doc McToodles. Oh. Wait, you said “cool,” didn’t you?

My favorite mythical creature is

Manticore. I mean, seriously. Somebody was like, let’s make an awesome animal mash-up! It’s enough to have a flying lion—but a scorpion’s tail? How wicked is that?

The last awesome book I read was

All the Light We Cannot See. Sorry, middle-graders—you’ll need to wait a few years for this one, but it will be worth it. Hauntingly beautiful is overused, but I think it applies in that case. I wish I could write like Anthony Doerr.

If you were to bake a cupcake inspired by The Dungeoneers , what would it look and taste like and what would you call it?

I’d call it Colm’s Secret Confection. It would be chocolate, but with a gooey golden buttery center, like a chest of gold you discover at the end of a dungeon. Of course the cupcake would be locked in a box and you’d have to pick the lock to get to it. And then an ogre would jump out and try to eat you.

website * goodreads * twitter * facebook

John David Anderson once hit himself so hard on a dare by his sister that he literally knocked himself out of a chair and nearly blacked out. He has since translated this passion and singularity of purpose to the related arts of novel writing and pizza eating. The author of STANDARD HERO BEHAVIOR and the forthcoming SIDEKICKED, Anderson is a firm believer in wearing the same pair of jeans for three days in a row (four in the winter). He lives with his beautiful wife and twins in Indianapolis.

Win a copy of The Dungeoneers!

Walden Pond Press has generously offered one copy for one winner.

Detail

-US only

-ends 4/3

(please read full rules below Rafflecopter)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Unless otherwise stated, the policies and rules for each giveaway are as follows:

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN.  Open only to legal residents of the 50 United States and Washington D.C. who are 13 years old or older as of date of entry.

To enter, fill out the appropriate Rafflecopter form associated with each giveaway.

The start and end dates for each giveaway will be clearly stated and followed.

The specified amount of winners shall be selected in a random drawing.

Winners will be notified by email and must claim their prize within 48 hours. If a winner does not respond within 48 hours, then a new winner will be chosen.

Word Spelunking is not responsible for lost, damaged, or stolen prizes in the mail. Once a prize is dropped off at the post office, it is no longer my responsibility and I will not compensate in anyway for prizes not delivered because of the USPS.

If a third-party (author, publisher, etc) is shipping a prize, once I provide the winner(s)' mailing information to them, the prize is no longer my responsibility. I will forward your mailing info to the proper people within 48 hours after getting it from you. If you have not received your prize from an author or publisher within 8 weeks, it is your responsibility to contact them further.

By participating in any giveaway, you agree to adhere to these rules. Any breaking of these rules by entrants will disqualify them from the giveaway and their entries will be deleted.