Tag: #theicemaidenstale

There’s No Crying in Baseball

I’ve tried to start writing this post countless times over the past few months. I’ve struggled with where to start, but I think the best way is with a heartfelt apology for my disappearance.  If it had been a planned hiatus I would have done a much better job of keeping you updated, but I’ve just been lost under the avalanche of life and struggling to dig myself out.  In any case, I am so sorry for my unexplained absence and I have greatly missed writing to you all.

Starting a new life is like cleaning out that closet full of junk.  You had it all crammed in there, and now it’s all over your floor, and you’ve got broken things and new things, and you’ve got to dig through it, toss stuff, and find a better way to pack in what you need.  I’m still working on the latter.

This blog started as a hobby to justify my unhealthy obsession with subscription boxes, and I honestly never expected anyone would want to read it.  But a lot of you did, and companies wanted me to write about them and I was so humbled by it all and very grateful.

I’ve thought about whether I could continue this blog with my limited time, and realized that I can’t do it the same way I’ve done it before.  But that doesn’t mean I can’t do it at all.  So rather than quitting, I’m working to adapt and I’m hoping you’ll stick around for it. Enough teary revelations because

And this metaphor is actually literal, because I’m one of 10 featured authors at the Author Celebration  on August 7th at Somerset Patriots’ TD Bank Ballpark in Bridgewater, NJ.  It’s part of the Central NJ paper’s summer reading program, and I’ll be there to discuss “The Ice Maiden’s Tale”.
If any of you are in the mythical Central NJ hood please come by.

Since I’ve been gone, tons has gone down in the sub box world.  Popsugar went from monthly to quarterly, Stitchfix added on plus sizes and I’ve been trying out some new things (hello FabFitFun)!  I’m hoping to jump back into the box posts soon with some more streamlined reviews.

I’ve also done a ton of work on my 1976 timewarp house – if you can name it, I’ve painted it.  So there should be before and afters headed your way.

I hope you’ve been doing well all this time and I can’t wait to catch up with you soon.

Author Event – The Book Garden for Small Business Saturday!

This upcoming weekend, on November 25, 2017, I’ve got my very first author event!

The oh so adorable The Book Garden in Frenchtown, NJ will be hosting a special event for Small Business Saturday, featuring local authors!
How perfect that my little fairy tale adventure gets it’s very first bookstore event in a charming Victorian-esque Mom and Pop bookshop.  I couldn’t have written a more appropriate setting.

I’ll be there from 11:30 AM to 3 PM, to chat and sign copies of “The Ice Maiden’s Tale”.  If you’re in the area, please come by!
There will be both children and adult authors to meet with, plus lots of amazing books and super cute gifts. You can start your Christmas shopping and support local authors and small businesses.

The Book GardenDate: Saturday, November 25, 2017
Time: 11:30 AM – 3:00 PM
Location: 28 Bridge Street, Frenchtown, NJ 08825

Stephen King said, “Books are a uniquely portable magic”, so what more magical a place than an indie bookstore?
What better Christmas gift than giving someone a gateway into new worlds and new friends and new adventures?

If you’re in the Frenchtown neighborhood, I’d love to meet and chat with you.  If you’re elsewhere, you can grab a copy of “The Ice Maiden’s Tale” on Amazon in print, ebook and on Kindle Unlimited. If you are so awesome as to buy a copy from any source and leave an Amazon review, this author would be so eternally grateful.

In the meantime, have an awesome Thanksgiving and I promise I’ll be updating soon with lots more fun posts.

Writer’s Shelf: On Changing Your Story

I’ll be the first to admit my story wasn’t always a happy one, (although most often pretty funny), so I’d been working for a very long time to change it.  And strangely enough, it seemed like on my 37th birthday, my fairy godmother woke up from a very long bender, looked around and said, “I’ve got a *lot* of work to do. Hold my beer.” And somehow, like the breaking of a curse, all my saved up wishes started coming true.
Dickens said, “Home is a name, a word, it is a strong one; stronger than magician ever spoke, or spirit ever answered to, in the strongest conjuration.”
And that’s exactly what I finally got: my own home.  A very strange, but charming house, that needed me just as much as I needed it.  I’ve always wanted to buy a home and fix it up, so the avocado carpet, blue toilet and yellow countertops were all screaming out my name.  Hopefully when I’m done it will be more fairy tale cottage and less disco.  I’ll be posting my home renovations over here.

Now like most writers, I have to have a day job because I haven’t yet learned how to live without things like food and electricity.  But I’ve spent the past 15 years of my life filling out government forms in a windowless basement, so I feel like I can only go up from there.  I managed to snag a new job with more money, less stress and its above ground!  My last day at work was the day before my 38th birthday, because there is no better gift than lack of responsibility.  I’ve got a couple weeks to get my house together and catch up on my sub box reviews before I start my new job, so you’ll finally be seeing all that awesome content I’ve been promising you.
And lastly, the wish possibly closest to my heart: getting published. The Ice Maiden’s Tale, a story that started almost a lifetime ago, was released on May 30, 2017, and not only is it up for sale online at Amazon and Barnes & Noble, but it’s finally in a brick and mortar store!  On my 38th birthday, The Book Garden in Frenchtown, New Jersey, added my book to their shelves.  They’ve also asked me to join them on Small Business Saturday on November 25, 2017, along with some other authors.   So you can catch me at The Book Garden from 11:30 to 3 PM, to chat and sign books.  I’ve added a handy dandy events page to the blog, for easy reference. I’ve also gotten some amazing reviews on Amazon and Goodreads, a great interview with Author Julie Whitley, and some awesome blog reviews over at Le Coeur de l’Artiste and Bookworm for Kids, plus a cool BookStop page over at the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators site.  It’s been busy and wonderful.
So to say it’s been a crazy year, seems to be an understatement.  But for once, it’s been the good kind of crazy. While I’ve been overwhelmed by the amount of work I need to do, I wouldn’t change a thing, and I feel like I learned something very important. What I hadn’t realized in all these years of trying and falling short, or killing myself to *almost* make it, is that somewhere along the way I’d stopped actually believing it would change.  I still kept trying, but I didn’t *really* think it was going to lead anywhere.   But somehow, I did what I never thought I could:  I changed my whole world.  So just because things have always gone the way they’ve always gone, doesn’t mean they will continue that way.  If I can change my story, you can change yours.  So take a minute to dust off those old dreams, and start letting out your saved up wishes.  You’d be surprised where they might take you.


THE BACKSTORY
BUY THE ICE MAIDEN’S TALE!
Visit my Author Page on Amazon!

LATEST NEWS: For the Latest News on The Ice Maiden’s Tale.

EVENTS: For the Latest Book Related Events

INSPIRATION: Some of my Inspiration for The Ice Maiden’s Tale.

GOODREADS: The Ice Maiden’s Tale on Goodreads.

If you review children’s books and are interested in reviewing mine, drop me a line about your blog/vlog/zine.

Save

Save

Save

Writer’s Shelf: Interview with DIY MFA – Writing a Modern Day Fairy Tale

One of the very best things about joining an MFA program are the amazing writers you get to meet.  Among the many awesome alumni from the New School, is the fabulous Gabriela Pereira.  While our time there didn’t overlap (we just missed each other), we ended up connecting at lots of alumni events afterwards.

Gabriela founded a remarkable site called DIY MFA that gives everyone the opportunity to learn about creative writing and work on their craft – even if they can’t enroll in a traditional MFA program.  There are so many helpful posts and interviews chock full of valuable advice that I was so so psyched when Gabriela offered me an opportunity to be featured.

This was my very first podcast interview and Gabriela was super nice and accommodating of a newb like me.  I don’t often get to discuss the details of how to craft a story so it really was a joy to sit down and speak with her.

If you’re interested in creative writing and want to hear about things like crafting a modern fairy tale, using settings as metaphors and how to handle stories inside of stories, head over to DIY MFA and have a listen.

 

THE BACKSTORY

BUY THE BOOK

LATEST NEWS: For the Latest News on The Ice Maiden’s Tale.

INSPIRATION: Some of my Inspiration for The Ice Maiden’s Tale.

GOODREADS: The Ice Maiden’s Tale on Goodreads.
Author Page on Goodreads

If you review children’s books and are interested in reviewing mine, drop me a line about your blog/vlog/zine.

Writer’s Shelf: Author Interview!

Writing is incredibly familiar to me, what’s not is all the stuff that happens after your book is published.
Publicity, book reviews, and (gasp!) interviews.
It’s all so very new and exciting that I’ve got no choice but to share it with you all.

Today, I’m featuring my author interview with the lovely Mayra Calvani over at blogcritics.org.

We discuss writing, why kids are the perfect audience to write for, and of course my fairy tale, adventure novel, “The Ice Maiden’s Tale”.
IceMaidenTale-cover-final
Head over and check it out!

THE BACKSTORY

LATEST NEWS: For the Latest News on The Ice Maiden’s Tale.

INSPIRATION: Some of my Inspiration for The Ice Maiden’s Tale.

GOODREADS: The Ice Maiden’s Tale on Goodreads.

If you review children’s books and are interested in reviewing mine, drop me a line about your blog/vlog/zine.

Writer’s Shelf: The Ice Maiden’s Tale Launch!

When the impossible suddenly becomes possible, you have no choice but to call it a miracle.  And for a very long time, it seemed impossible that my little book, The Ice Maiden’s Tale, would ever get published, but it turns out today is a day for miracles.
Stacks of Books
You can now buy my middle-grade, fairy tale, adventure novel, “The Ice Maiden’s Tale”, on Amazon! Kindle and print copies are available.

Audrey Hepburn said, “If I’m honest I have to tell you I still read fairy-tales and I like them best of all.”

There is a wonder and magic in fairy tales that no other kind of story can capture.  When you hear the words “Once upon a time…” it’s a promise that there’s an amazing adventure about to come and that whatever monsters you face can be beaten, and no matter how dark the path seems it can still lead you to a happy ending.  Fairy tales aren’t just for children.  Fairy tales are for everyone.

So if you’re with me and Audrey, I think you’ll love “The Ice Maiden’s Tale.”  It’s got adventure, monsters, magic, romance and tons of surprises.
Pick up a copy and tell me what you think!

I’ve also got a swanky author page over at Goodreads.  I’d love to see your reviews and answer any questions.

THE BACKSTORY

LATEST NEWS: For the Latest News on The Ice Maiden’s Tale.

INSPIRATION: Some of my Inspiration for The Ice Maiden’s Tale.

GOODREADS: The Ice Maiden’s Tale on Goodreads.

If you review children’s books and are interested in reviewing mine, drop me a line about your blog/vlog/zine.

Writer’s Shelf: The Ice Maiden’s Tale – Kindle Presale!

Every day this book thing seems to get more and more real.  People say “oh so you’re an author now” and I’m like “yeah, right, I guess?” I really need to get better at this stuff.  Anyways, here’s the big thing….now along with 55 gallon drums of lube and banana slicers, you can order my book from Amazon!

Today the Kindle version of my middle-grade, fairy tale, adventure novel, “The Ice Maiden’s Tale”, is up for presale on Amazon!  Print copies will be available on May 30, 2017.

The Ice Maiden’s Tale on Goodreads

To check out some of my inspiration for the book head over to my Ice Maiden’s Tale Pinterest board.

If you review children’s books and are interested in reviewing mine, drop me a line about your blog/vlog.

Writer’s Shelf: The Ice Maiden’s Tale – Book Release & Cover!

At long last, I can share some more details about my book!
Here is the lovely cover for my middle-grade, fairy tale, adventure novel, “The Ice Maiden’s Tale”, set to be released on May 30, 2017 by Xist Publishing.

“I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free.”
That was the quote I found, on a long ago night, when I was 19 years old.  It sparked a short story about a little boy listening to the tale of a Sculptor and a Sorcerer, both obsessed with bringing an Ice Maiden to life.

On that cold night in Syracuse, there was no way to know how long I would spend carving.  I had no idea how many years that story would spend with me.  How it would open doors and end up as my very first published novel.  I’ve given up on this story so many times, and yet, magically it has never given up on me.

I always joke that this story is easy to read, but very hard to describe, still I’ll try my best:
Every town has an old lady all the children just know is a witch and the quiet burg of Dunkler Wald is no different.  When Johanna and Casper Sullivan need to be babysat by their neighbor, Mrs. Kinder, the town’s resident “witch”, they have no idea what to expect. 

 Their afternoon begins with Mrs. Kinder telling them two intertwining stories.  The first is about a sculptor named Gabriel who believes he sees an angel trapped inside a block of ice and becomes compelled to carve her.  The second story follows Sebastian, a sorcerer, who finds the statue and becomes obsessed with bringing her to life.  Sebastian and Gabriel’s adventures take them through a magical landscape where they encounter creatures like the Goblin Keeper of Lost Things, the Swamp Witch who speaks in rhyme and even a frozen Dragon. At the heart of this two-sided and intertwining fairy tale is the idea that love and redemption can transcend even death.  This strikes Johanna and Casper close to home as the children search for a way to cope with the crisis unfolding in their own family.

I use Pinterest for story ideas, so for a peek at some of my inspiration for this book, you can check out my Ice Maiden’s Tale board.

If you review children’s books and are interested in reviewing mine, drop me a line about your blog/vlog.

I hope you come along with me on the last part of my journey, and together we’ll finally set the angel free.

Save

%d bloggers like this: