Three More Random Acts of Publicity

Hi Everyone,
As Esther mentioned on Wednesday, this week we're participating in Random Acts of Publicity 2012. Unlike Esther, who introduced you to some new books, I want to remind you about three books published earlier this year that we've already mentioned here but that you may not have gotten around to reading yet. 

Back in May, I celebrated the release of my good friend Karen Schreck's new book, While He Was Away (Sourcebooks Fire), with a guest TeachingAuthor interview. I have to confess--I'd read Karen's manuscript quite some time ago, but I didn't have a chance to read the final book until just last week. While I loved the original story, I think the revisions brought more depth to both the characters and the plot. Even though I knew how the story would turn out, it still brought tears to my eyes. Well done, Karen!

If you missed my interview with Karen, here's her summary of the book's plot:

While He Was Away (Sourcebooks Fire), is about an eighteen-year old girl, Penna Weaver, whose boyfriend, David O’Dell, is deployed to Iraq. Penna and David are deeply in love, and commit to be true to each other while he’s away, but Penna quickly realizes that the realities of David’s situation will make this more challenging than either of them expected.  Lonely and isolated, it seems Penna’s world is falling apart, until she works to solve a family mystery, hidden for half a century, about love in wartime, and ultimately learns some powerful truths about love and forgiveness.

Karen recently posted on her blog that the book has already gone into a second printing. I encourage you to read Karen's book if you haven't already so you can understand why.  

Another book I'd like to recommend that I've just recently read myself is the latest release of my fellow TeachingAuthor, Mary Ann Rodman. Her picture book, The Roller Coaster Kid (Viking) came out in July and received some lovely reviews. No surprise if you've read the book, which does a wonderful job of weaving together several different themes. As Mary Ann said in her three-part series celebrating the book's release :

The heart of The Roller Coaster Kid is learning to face fear, whether it is of riding a roller coaster, or of the death of a loved one.

If you know any young readers who have lost a grandparent, you may want to consider sharing Mary Ann's book with them. 

And finally, just last week I posted a guest TeachingAuthor Interview with poet, author, teacher, and now editor, Heidi Bee Roemer to celebrate the release of the anthology she co-edited with Carol-Ann Hoyte: And the Crowd Goes Wild! A Global Gathering of Sports Poems (FriesenPress). I'm proud to have one of my poems included in this terrific anthology, and to know that a portion of the proceeds will be donated to Right to Play, an international organization that uses sports and games to educate and empower children facing adversity. We're currently running a giveaway where one lucky TeachingAuthors follower can win an autographed copy. See my interview post to enter. Or, if you can't wait, the book is now available for purchase as either an e-book or paperback directly from FriesenPress. And if you have time, I hope you'll visit us at one of the upcoming launch events:

U.S. LAUNCHES
Wednesday, September 26 at 6:30 – 7:30 p.m.
Mokena Library
11327 W. 195th Street
Mokena, Illinois 60448

Tuesday, October 16 at 7 p.m.
Anderson’s Bookshop
123 W. Jefferson Ave.
Naperville, IL  60540

Saturday, November 3 at 1 p.m. 
The Arlington Heights Library
500 N Dunton Ave.
Arlington Heights, IL

Saturday, November 17 at 1 p.m. 
The Magic Tree Book Store
141 N. Oak Park Ave.
Oak Park IL, 60301

CANADIAN LAUNCHES
Saturday, October 13 at 2 p.m.
Sunnyside Branch -- Ottawa Public Library
1049 Bank Street, Ottawa

Friday, November 9 at 5:30 p.m
Northern District Branch -- Toronto Public Library
40 Orchard View Blvd., Toronto
(just north of Yonge and Eglinton)

Finally, if you'd like to celebrate any 2012 books that may not have received as much attention as they deserved, please share their titles in the comments. And after you're done entering our giveaway, head on over to Write. Sketch. Repeat. to celebrate Poetry Friday!

Happy reading AND writing!
Carmela

A Kind Cup o' Publicity!

Were I to write a name poem for my first name Esther, at least one of my E’s would stand for Enthuse.
That’s what I do, often and gladly.
And I especially enjoy enthusing on behalf of others.

So, thank you, Darcy Pattison, for declaring this first week of September Random Acts of Publicity Week, giving me the chance to do some mighty loud praise-singing of several of my fellow Children’s Book World residents.

Once again I can pay Kindness forward, something I also enjoy doing, and introduce our readers to:

Almigal, a spunky little girl with a BIG personality who’s determined to hear “every   single sound in the whole entire universe!”  Almigal’s spirit and her cotton-candy pink cochlear implants will have everyone shouting “LET’S HEAR IT FOR ALMIGAL!”  That happens to be, of course, the title of Almigal’s picture book, written by debut author WendyKupfer and illustrated by Tammie Lyon (Handfinger Press, 2012). Talk about paying Kindness forward!  Five percent of book sales supports deaf children.

Gordy, a courageous little fellow who, with his Doctor’s help, initiates a restrictive diet so that he can be like other children – happy and healthy. Gordy’s triumphant story claims the pages of the picture book Gordy and the Magic Diet, written by first-time authors Kim Diersen and April Runge and deliciously illustrated by Carrie Hartman (Special Kids Enterprises, LP, 2012).  A portion of the proceeds will benefit non-profit organizations that help children navigate restrictive diets!

A spanking-new updated and expanded website - www.sydhoff.org - that celebrates and honors the legacy of award-winning beloved author Syd Hoff  - think Danny and the Dinosaur - that went live yesterday, September 4, on the occasion of his 100th Birthday. Created by his niece Carol Edmonston, the site includes a rich selection of Syd’s cartoons, a Kids page featuring the “how to’s” of cartooning using letters and numbers and a downloadable chapter, just for starters.  

The September 9 launch of author Carol Coven Grannick’s new blog – Today I Am AWriter.  Many of our readers know Carol from her previous inspiring blog, The Irrepressible Writer.  Carol shared that in her newest venture, she plans “to explore the issue of what it means to be a writer without focusing so intensely on ultimate publication in a public way because perhaps I need the feeling of being witnessed.”  Also because she believes she is not alone!  If this issue resonates with you, visit Carol’s blog, posted six days a week, excluding Saturday.

PLUS...

a free cup o’coffee on National Coffee Day, September 29, between the hours of 7 am and 11 am, courtesy of 7-Eleven!

So,
Hurrah! Hurray! Bravo! Mazel tov! – and - merci beaucoup, 7-Eleven!

And, believe it or not…

YOU can continue paying Kindness forward by kindly promoting someone you know.
Children’s Book Publicist Susan Raab of Raab Associates has kindly offered TEN (!) FREE (!) Marketing Consults for the Random Acts of Publicity Week.
The catch?
You can only enter a friend’s name! 
Check out Darcy Pattison’s September 6 post for full details.  You have only 24 hours to enter.  Entries begin at 12:01 am.

Let’s hear it for Kindness!

Esther Hershenhorn

P.S.

Speaking of Giveaways, don’t forget our TeachingAuthor Book Giveway of Heidi Bee Roemer’s and Carol-Ann Hoyte’s poetry anthology And the Crowd Goes Wild! A Global Gathering of Sports Poems.  Entry deadline is 11 pm Tuesday, September 11, 2012 (CST).  The winner will be chosen in a random drawing and announced on September 12.