Another Amazon Book Review

New Review on Amazon:

5.0 out of 5 stars Young children will be able to relate to little Mea, January 6, 2014

By 

Karen Wiesner "karenwiesner" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Magical Mea (Paperback)

“Magical Mea takes up where Magical Matthew left off. Matthew’s little sister, Mea, has discovered the joys of her own magic, but despite her older brother’s advice about using her gift for good, she enjoys her pranks too much to give them up. True, she never really uses the magic for evil. She simply enjoys a good laugh at others’ expense. As in life, we rarely learn by taking advice. We learn through our mistakes and life experiences. Again, there’s a subtle message in this story and a full story arc that takes the reader from problem to a satisfactory resolution. The illustrations add to the enjoyable story—I especially liked the vivid expressions on the characters’ faces. Young children will be able to relate to little Mea as she finds that the joy of helping others with her natural gifts is more thrilling than using them to play pranks.” ~reviewed by Karen Wiesner, author of Keri is Cute Cute Cute and First Draft in 30 Days http://www.karenwiesner.com

New Review up on Amazon!

5.0 out of 5 stars Review of Magical Me, December 26, 2013

By 

Amazon Customer - See all my reviews

This review is from: Magical Mea (Paperback)

Although a young girl with magical powers is make believe, the desire portrayed in the book to have power over her surroundings and the ability to do things her way, is very real and will resonate with the lucky children who get to read "Magical Mea" by Penelope Anne Cole.

The pictures and story capture Mea's feelings of anger, defiance, mischievousness, and her thrill at both tricking others with her magic and being the hero when she uses her magic for good.

When Mea goes on an adventure of her own, fear and uncertainty mixes with her power to do good, causing Mea to wake from a path of trickster to a path of helping others.

Linda Derkez
Author of Manny the TV Watching Dog, Chip's Sharing Day, One Large Peanut Butter Sandwich To Go

My Wonderful Weeks of Magical Awards, Book Sales and Signings!

I've had a wonderful couple of weeks!  November 20-22nd, I went to Miami to receive my Bronze Medal for Magical Mathew!  I met some lovely authors and went to the huge Miami International Book Fair.  There were some lovely speakers (see 11/26/13 post).  Here are the official photos:

When I returned from Miami, it was a rush to get ready for Thanksgiving (overcooked the pie and stopped up the drain with potato peelings!)  Still, we had a wonderful family gathering at my brother's.

 Then it was the Black Friday weekend Book Sales and Signing with the Fremont Area Writers Club.  I sold MagMatt and MagMea books every day!




















Today was the icing on the cake:
I received my Creative Child Magazine Kids' Holiday Gift edition and found that Magical Mea won a Preferred Choice Award from Moms and Educators!

Then I received an email that Magical Mea won a Fall 2013 Pinnacle Book Achievement Award from NABE!  Woo hoo! 

 What a great couple of weeks!

Received my Bronze Medal from Readers' Favorite Award Ceremony for "Magical Matthew" and Finalist recognition for "Magical Mea"

I just returned from the Readers' Favorite Awards Ceremony and the Miami International Book Fair!  There I received my Bronze Medal for Magical Matthew and was also acknowledged for Magical Mea being a finalist, too!  It was very exciting to be there and meet other award winning writers who were also being honored.

We had the opportunity to hear some great talks on marketing:
1) Find the audience for your book and pursue it relentlessly.  Sell yourself, sell your stories.
2) Make your presentations fun and memorable.  Tell them something new.  Share.  Joke.  Sell.
3) Dress up in costume, if appropriate.  Have a memorable image, gimmick, showcase.
4) Volunteer as a speaker to community organizations (libraries, service clubs, churches, schools, book clubs, parent groups, etc ).
5) Become well-known.  You = your product; brand yourself.  (T-shirts, stuffed animals, dolls, hats?)

How to pursue adapting your book for a movie or TV show:
1) When writing your book try to make it "cinematic," with 3 Act structure and castable characters.
2) Find out who wants/needs movies/TV shows with your theme/subject; communicate marketabilty.
3) Know your target audience and how to connect with them; have significant readership.
4) Write a great two page synopsis of your vision; be persistent, but not a pest; be passionate.
5) Set realistic goals.  One no just means it's not right for that producer/film company; be gracious.

And the future of the independent author and publisher.
1) Market to the right publisher for your genre and audience.
2) Investigate self-publishing as a viable alternative with growing interest, audience, and respect.
3) Be smart with marketing and PR; find your audience and market to them.
4) Know the business side of writing (budget, design, pricing, marketing/PR, outsourcing, website).

All were short presentations, but interesting, supportive, and inspiring.  It made me want to go back next year.  But then I'll have to enter another book by May 1st, 2014!

Here I am at the Miami International Book Fair where our award winning books were displayed.

 Here I am with Debra Gaynor, Founder of the Readers' Favorite Awards Program.
We'll get the official photo of the medal being awarded on December first and I'll post that, too.  And now it's back to work on the next book!

November 2013 - Guardian-Angel-Kids.com/ - Free Online Interactive Magazine for Kids: It Must Be Magic!

Published by Guardian Angel Publishing:   

http://Guardian-Angel-Kids.com/  

Free Online Magazine.

BOOK FEATURE- The Magic Violin 

POEM- It Must Be Magic by Robert Niven; 

SHORT STORIES-A Fairy’s Flight for Firefly Freedom by Shari L. Klase; Magic Mud for Sale by Billie A Williams; A Different Kind of Magic by Felicity Nisbet; 

NON-FICTION ARTICLES; The True Magic of Nicholas Flamel by Donna Marie West; Open Sesame–Is it Magic? Christine Collier

Magical Matthew Translated into Spanish - Mágico Mateo!

Magical Matthew has been translated into Spanish and is up on the Guardian Angel Publishing website as Mágico Mateo! 

Here is the link to see the first two pages and to order from GAP:

 


http://guardianangelpublishing.com/magmateo.htm



It should soon be up on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and other quality online book sellers.

If you can't wait for Amazon, you can buy softcover and ebook from GAP.

GAP Kids ezine October 2013

October 2013 Guardian Angel Kids ezine

 Down on the Farm

http://www.guardian-angel-kids.com/oct013.htm

BOOK FEATURE

The Odd Chick

POEM

Life on the Farm by Jennifer Buchet

Tractor Tour by Tracy Helixon

SHORT STORIES

Tractor goes to the City by Wendy Klein

Allie’s Farm by Felicity Nisbet

The Pig who did not want to be pink by Savannah Hendricks

NON-FICTION ARTICLE

Old MacDonald had an Alpaca by Shari L. Klase

ACTIVITY FOR KIDS

So you want to be a Farmer? by Sharon Stanley

Down on the Farm Word Search Puzzle by Tanja Cilia

thanks,

LYNDA S. BURCH. Publisher

GuardianAngelPublishing.com