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Pre-Order Giveaway for Joshua and the Arrow Realm!

One month from today Joshua and the Arrow Realm, book two in the Lightning Road series, releases!

Join in the fun! From today through midnight August 14^th I’ll be running a pre-order giveaway. Pre-order Joshua and the Arrow Realm in any format and be entered to win a paperback copy of book one, Joshua and the Lightning Road – PLUS all these goodies below!

Email your receipt here and be automatically entered to win! The winner will be announced on my blog August 15^th. Comment on this post and receive an extra entry!

Pre-order now:

One winner will receive the grand prize of a Lost Realm map poster, lightning orb light-up ball, $25 B&N gift certificate, and paperback of book 1 in the series, Joshua and the Lightning Road. (U.S. Only). Send your receipt here.

How else can you join in the fun? I’d love for you to support my Thunderclap campaign through social media and zap the world with so many others about the release of Joshua and the Arrow Realm on August 30^th! It’s free and takes seconds to sign up HERE.

And bloggers buy levitra there’s still time to sign up here for the book trailer reveal on August 15^th that includes a giveaway too!

If you haven’t visited my Facebook page, I’m sharing snippets of the map of the Arrow Realm plus book excerpts there all month long until book release day. Pop by and see! Here’s one to share for now 🙂 .

Draft illustration and excerpt of the Arrow Realm tree houses where the Wild Childs live:

“Ash motioned us to leave with her when they were all gone, and we stepped outside onto the tree house platform. Purple night deepened and long shadows softened the craggy world. We stood on a plank road with roped netting rail that zigzagged from house to house and floated under the forest’s canopy in a sea of darkness. Green lights glowed soft through lopsided windows, and branch shadows wrapped the tiny shacks in prickly fingers. Leaves battered the houses in the sharp wind as the Wild Childs skulked amongst the trees.”

Thanks for all of your support everyone!

Celebrating Children’s Book Week Blog Hop + $10 B&N Gift Card & Book Giveaway!

By Donna Galanti

**UPDATE** Congrats to Maggie S. for winning the book bundle and B&N Gift Card! I will be emailing you for information.

It’s Children’s Book Week, the annual celebration of children’s books and reading! Established in 1919, it is the longest-running national literacy initiative in the country.

In honor of this celebration I’m participating in a fun blog hop hosted by BookHounds and am giving away an awesome book bundle, including a copy of JOSHUA AND THE LIGHTNING ROAD, and a $10 Barnes and Noble gift card!

Check out my book bundle of middle grade and young adult fantasy books and enter to win them plus a $10 B&N gift card via the Rafflecopter giveaway below! (U.S. only please). What are your favorite children’s books? Let me know! One of my favorite buy tramadol series is The Ranger’s Apprentice and you could win a book from the series. Check out the book summaries and reviews on Goodreads by clicking the links below. And check out ALL the participating blogs at the end of this post to hop on over too!

Touch of Power by Maria V. Snyder
The Maze Runner by James Dashner
Ranger’s Apprentice: Sorcerer of the North by John Flanagan
The Land of Stories: The Wishing Well by Chris Colfer
Joshua and the Lightning Road by Donna Galanti

a Rafflecopter giveaway

And check out all of the other wonderful blogs participating in Children’s Book Week with fabulous giveaways! Hop all over to win great bookish prizes. Happy hopping!

Vote in the Crystal Kite Awards + Spring Events!

By Donna Galanti

Spring has sprung and lots of things are poking up!

First off, for all Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators (SCBWI) members, Crystal Kite Award voting begins TODAY! Vote for your fave children’s books in regional divisions! Just login to SCBWI then on your HOME page click “Vote in the Crystal Kite Awards” in the lower left column. Read through the list of alphabetical books nominated for your region and then cast your vote for your favorite book. Happy voting!

Even if you aren’t an SCBWI member please remind your SCBWI friends to vote by posting on Twitter, Facebook, and other social networks. 🙂

Looking for some books to share with your kids? On Project Middle Grade Mayhem this week I talk about showing children our world – good and bad – through books.

I also had fun with my new novel critique group! These awesome folks are dizzingly talented middle grade and young adult authors and we’re having a blast drafting new novels together. Their feedback and advice is helping me write full speed ahead on my new fantasy novel. Woohoo!

The Sombrero of Silence was in full effect for each one under critique at our 2nd meeting, but Warlord of Words Joe McGee whipped us all in shape first by making us write on command to start out! Won’t go all into our genius masterpieces, but will just say our collaborative story was titled, Booger Love, and leave it right there. Check out my friends here Joe McGee, Jessica Rinker, and Erica George.

I was also invited to a great conference in March hosted by the wonderful Philadelphia Stories and Open Book called, Writers at Work Conference, where I met up with old and new friends. I also got to be a part of a dynamic panel titled The Entrepreneurial Author.

I’ve also been having a busy winter and spring visiting schools as a guest cialis author for 4th-8th grades in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Engaging with kids and inspiring them with reading and writing is super fun! They take the skit to heart and always act out with so much energy.

I enjoyed getting swarmed for the first time and I never signed so many autographs. Best question: “So is it hard to go places because people come up to you everywhere and stop you for your autograph?” Well, now they do 🙂 .

I even did some Skype visits!

And I’m so grateful for my local bookshop, The Doylestown Bookshop, for coordinating all book sales! Here I am signing books before an event.

Would you like me to visit your school? Check out my school visits page! Here’s what one librarian had to say.

“Our students were enthralled to participate in Donna Galanti’s interactive presentation. Her connections between the writing and revision process were made clear in a spirited and playful manner that not only engaged students’ personal trials in writing, but inspired them to continue to be creative and self-reflective. The students and teachers were still talking about her days after she left.”–Wayne C. Rush, Librarian, Grover Cleveland Middle School, Caldwell, NJ

Librarian Wayne Rush was so welcoming at Grover Cleveland MS where I had my biggest visit yet with hundreds in an auditorium!

More events are coming up. Here’s where I will be heading this spring. Hope to see you!

Guest author at the Pennsylvania School Librarians Conference, Author’s Alley, Hershey, PA, May 13, 2016

Presenting workshops on craft and marketing plus critique sessions, Pennwriters Annual Conference, Lancaster, PA, May 20-22, 2016

Presenting craft workshops and evaluating manuscripts, NJ SCBWI Annual Conference, Princeton, NJ, June 4-5, 2016

HAPPY SPRING!

via GIPHY

**NEXT WEEK watch for the cover of Joshua and the Arrow Realm, Book 2 in the Lightning Road series coming August 30th, to be revealed!**

Review of The Secret Files of Fairday Morrow + Hard Cover Giveaway!

By Donna Galanti

Check out my review today of The Secret Files of Fairday Morrow by Jessica Haight and Stephanie Robinson, and don’t forget to enter the giveaway at the bottom. I pre-ordered this middle grade mystery months ago and it finally arrived on my doorstep just in time for Christmas – as you can see! 🙂

**Congrats to Janice who won the book!**

About The Secret Files of Fairday Morrow
Written by Jessica Haight
& Stephanie Robinson
Illustrated by Roman Muradov

The Begonia House keeps its secrets. Everyone knows that. Everyone, that is, except for clever eleven-year-old Fairday Morrow, whose family has just moved in. Being the Senior Investigator in the Detective Mystery Squad, more commonly known as the DMS, she’s ready to uncover the mysteries hidden within the strange manor. As the investigation gears up and the pieces of the puzzle fall into place, the three young sleuths enter into a world where anything is possible, and the danger is most definitely real. Can they piece together the puzzle before it’s too late? Or will whatever’s causing trouble find Fairday and her friends first?

MY REVIEW:

What a fun mystery adventure with a dash of supernatural for kids and grown-ups alike to enjoy! Spunky Fairday Morrow is a good friend full of pluck and curiosity, who stands up for what she believes in and has no time for bullies. Each chapter’s cliffhanger ending raises questions that draws you deeper into the mystery connecting Fairday to Begonia House, the rambling, spooky home her parents plan to turn xenical into a bed and breakfast.

Fairday soon enlists friends in the kids-only Detective Mystery Squad (DMS) to find out who is haunting Fairday’s new home with evil intent. Enchanted mirrors, ghostly music, gypsy curses, an unsolved disappearance, and a nod to The Wizard of Oz all eerily come into play behind strange happenings that ramp up the suspense.

Fairday and her friends each have their own admirable qualities that should appeal to readers and I’d like to get to know them better as they grow as characters. The parents are nicely served up on the outskirts of the story and the authors do a good job of the young characters taking charge of their own situation and solving it, even when they find themselves having to figure a way out of some dark situations. I especially enjoyed the elderly curmudgeon character, Larry Lovell, who sheds light on the trickery occurring in Fairday’s home and provides important information the DMS uses to solve the puzzle trapped inside the magical walls of Begonia House.

This book is a page turner that you’ll want to keep reading to unravel the mystery! The ending is wrapped up neatly but aptly leaves the door open for more tales about the DMS. I eagerly await more adventures of Fairday, her friends, and their investigative adventures!

Check out the book trailer:

Follow Stephanie and Jessica!

Fairday’s Blog

Fairdayfiles.com

@DMSfiles

Would you like to win a hardcopy of The Secret Files of Fairday Morrow? Comment on this post and be entered to win! U.S. residents only please.

Blog Tour: The Secret Files of Fairday Morrow is Here + Book Giveaway!

By Donna Galanti

I am super giddy to have on the fabulous Stephanie Robinson and Jessica Haight, co-authors of the just released and highly anticipated The Secret Files of Fairday Morrow! Not only are they amazingly nice but they have a fun blog you’ll want to follow – on top of their new mystery adventure children’s book! Enjoy an excerpt from the book, watch the book trailer, and don’t forget to enter the giveaway at the end of the post to win a signed hardcover. The illustrations alone are gorgeous!

Welcome Jessica and Stephanie and read on for more off Fairday Morrow’s adventures!

The Morrow family is taking over the infamous Begonia House December 1st, but here’s a glimpse into the mystery…

Release date: DECEMBER 1, 2015

Delacorte Press/ Random House Kids Books

MIDDLE GRADE/ ages 10 and up

ISBN: 978-0-385-74471-3

Authors: Jessica Haight & Stephanie Robinson

Illustrator: Roman Muradov

Publicity contact: Samuel Terris sterris@penguinrandomhouse.com

Fact or Fiction?

“Ding-dong! Witch is dead. Old witch? Wicked Witch! Ding-dong! Wicked Witch is dead!” Margo belted out the lyrics to The Wizard of Oz sound track that was playing in the Morrow family cruiser.

“Wow, she really gets into the music, doesn’t she?” Lizzy said.

“This is her favorite song,” Fairday replied, smiling, as the car pulled up in front of the library.

“How fitting,” Lizzy murmured, glancing at Fairday.

“She’s on her way to becoming the next pop sensation, aren’t you, my little snookykins?” Mrs. Morrow piped up proudly, looking back at Margo, who was still bopping to the beat. Her tone became more serious as she addressed Lizzy and Fairday. “Now, girls, here’s my old phone. Fairday, put it in your backpack. I have some errands to run, and then I’ll be at the town hall around noon. Lord knows I’ll probably be there forever, filling out paperwork for all the permits we’re going to need on the house.” She rolled her eyes and sighed as she added, “Just call or text me when you’re ready to leave.”

“Okay, mom,” said Fairday, taking the phone and securing it in a side pocket of her DMS pack. She and Lizzy climbed out of the car and onto the sidewalk. They waved goodbye to Mrs. Morrow as she pulled out into traffic, honked twice, and then disappeared through a green light.

Faiday glanced up at the wide, double-glass doors of the library. An old man, using a cane and sporting a golf cap was just opening the door. She pulled on the strap of Lizzy’s pack. “Hey, do you think that’s Larry Lovell?” she asked, nodding towards the doors.

“Could be,” Lizzy said as he disappeared into the building. The bell on the clock tower announced with its tenth chime that it was definitely ten o’clock.

???

About The Secret Files of Fairday Morrow
Written by Jessica Haight & Stephanie Robinson
Illustrated by Roman Muradov

The Begonia House keeps its secrets. Everyone knows that. Everyone, that is, except for clever eleven-year-old Fairday Morrow, whose family has just moved in. Being the Senior fioricet Investigator in the Detective Mystery Squad, more commonly known as the DMS, she’s ready to uncover the mysteries hidden within the strange manor. As the investigation gears up and the pieces of the puzzle fall into place, the three young sleuths enter into a world where anything is possible, and the danger is most definitely real. Can they piece together the puzzle before it’s too late? Or will whatever’s causing trouble find Fairday and her friends first?

CCatch the Book Buzz…

“I really enjoyed this book. It was a marvelously done, debut, thriller novel. Ms. Robinson and Ms. Haight are great authors that really pull you into their story. I couldn’t get out until that final sentence. And, by then I wanted more. To say I want a second book is an understatement. The writing style is compelling, and makes me feel as if I was there with Fairday and her friends. I really like the illustrations in the book. They are like the ribbon on a present, or the icing on the cake. I give this book five out of five bookworms!” ~ Erik Weibel/ This Kid Reviews Books

“Mixing realism and fantasy, Haight and Robinson’s debut opens with 11-year-old Fairday’s move from Manhattan to a small town in Connecticut, where her relentlessly cheerful parents plan to turn a dilapidated Victorian into a bed and breakfast. No sooner has the family arrived than eerie sights and sounds begin to haunt Fairday. The house turns out to hold dark secrets that everybody in town suspects but nobody can explain: a perfect mission for Fairday and her best friend Lizzy’s Detective Mystery Squad (DMS).” ~ Publishers Weekly

“Fifth-grader Fairday Morrow’s new home lives up to its spooky reputation, but she and her companions in the Detective Mystery Squad find out why. At Begonia House, strains of bagpipe music issue from behind a padlocked door, grains of sand in an hourglass have stopped falling, and a malevolent weeping willow looms in the backyard. A magic mirror shows an invisible door; a wardrobe hides secrets and a portal. Ruby Begonia vanished more than 50 years ago. Is there also a ghost? Fairday has a new, helpful friend in classmate Marcus, and her best friend Lizzy can visit on weekends to help solve the mystery. What more could readers want?” ~ Kirkus Reviews

JessicaHaight is a true New Englander, with a deep desire to be near the ocean and a love of the four seasons. She enjoys drawing while standing up and cultivating magic in her garden. She easily floats away in the pages of a good story and is still waiting for her owl from Hogwarts.

StephanieRobinson lives with her husband in a quiet town, though not as quaint as Ashpot. After teaching fifth grade for almost fifteen years, she is now enjoying her role as a school media specialist.

Follow Stephanie and Jessica!

Fairday’s Blog

Fairdayfiles.com

@DMSfiles

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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