Prince Nero goes to Luxembourg?!?

Prince Nero made it to Luxembourg with the help of his friends at SCBWI (Society for Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators). © Laurel Decher, 2019.

We book people know that books are a doorway to adventure so it shouldn’t be a surprise that I got to visit a whole new country because of the Seven Kingdoms Fairy Tales.

Unlike Prince Nero, I didn’t get lost. Because I had help from my friends at the Society for Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. *waves* That’s the purple SCBWI banner in the photo above.

The Prime Minister of Luxembourg strolled by our booth, evidently a book person too. Lots of families speaking lots of languages strolled by too. 🙂 I recognized English, French, Luxembourgisch, Italian, and German.

Luxembourg is full of orange and yellow trees at this time of year and nestles down into deep valleys in true storybook style.

As usual, I ran across bits and pieces of new stories:

the flame at the veteran’s memorial,

the glass roof over the historic train station where Jewish people were deported to concentration camps in World War II,

a mysterious stone building with a tower tucked into a deep valley,

and the French versions of “Bread Guys” that show up everywhere in honor of St. Nicholas’s Day. The stained glass window showing Luxembourg City is above the train arrivals and departures. Elegant, no?

If you live in or near Luxembourg and are looking for English language children’s books, check out the selection at Lucy Goosey. Lots of happy book buyers were browsing at their warm and friendly booth.

Find the Lucy Goosey bookstore here. Or if you’re not into Facebook, this helpful blog post might interest you.

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There’s more to explore!

The second book in the Seven Kingdoms Fairy Tale series is all about exploring–with a prince who has no sense of direction!

A map of the Seven Kingdoms from the Proclamation. The kingdoms in the Rhine and Mosel River valleys are: Cochem, Marigold, Indigo, Magenta, Saffron, Rose, and, of course, Blackfly! ©Laurel Decher, 2019

Just for fun, here are the real castles that inspired the Blackfly and the Saffron Kingdoms. LOST WITH LEEKS stars the Blackfly Prince Nero and the Saffron royal twins: Prince Magellan and Princess Saffy!

  • The Blackfly Kingdom is a glorified tollbooth on a rock in the middle of the Rhine. Pfalzgrafenstein castle on the Rhine. © Laurel Decher, 2019.
  • Stone castle walls with skinny steep wooden staircase (half-covered with wooden roof)
    Burg Rheinfels (Fortress Rhine Boulder) is the inspiration for the Saffron Kingdom. ©Laurel Decher, 2019.
  • The view from Magenta Kingdom showing the Rhine and Mosel Rivers merging. See the line where the water joins? Koblenz, Germany.
    ©Laurel Decher, 2019
Open a book and invite yourself to the feast!
Nero’s a trouble-magnet–for compasses, maps and magical creatures. Worse, his royal mom has kidnapped St. Nicholas. Nero’s got to map out a rescue right away!

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If you’d like to stay in touch, sign up for my Reader’s List. Once a month, I share a new book recommendation for readers ages 9 to 12, story-related freebies, and/or related blog posts. If it’s not your thing, you can unsubscribe at any time.

LOST WITH LEEKS

This will be short and SWEET! 🙂

The second Seven Kingdoms Fairy Tale is almost ready!

Argh! Twelve-year-old Crown Prince Nero is lost again. That’s what he gets for trying to fly a hot air balloon. Thanks to his fairy godfather’s “gift,” every compass and map goes kerflooey as soon as Nero touches it.

Even worse, his royal mom has just kidnapped St. Nicholas. If Nero can’t find his true North in a hurry, he’ll never rescue him before St. Nicholas’s Day!


Why read Seven Kingdoms Fairy Tales?

Everyone knows the leaders of tomorrow will need lots of skills. Whether it’s speaking up at a feast, or reading a map in a strange kingdom, these Tales are all about finding more magic in your life.

For ages 9 to 12. Click HERE for more about the book, including where to order. Thank you!

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If you’d like to stay in touch, sign up for my Reader’s List. Once a month, I share a new book recommendation for readers ages 9 to 12, story-related freebies, and/or related blog posts. If it’s not your thing, you can unsubscribe at any time.

Thanks for the review copy! How do I redeem a promo code on Apple iBooks?

If you met me at a conference and got a CODE for a free review Apple iBooks copy of TROUBLE WITH PARSNIPS, this post is for you. 🙂

(If you got a link instead of a promo code, you don’t need this post. Just type the link into your browser. Happy reading!)

Quick Version: How to use a promo code to get your review copy on your iPhone, iPad, Mac or iPod touch:

Click on the ebook image below to go to the iBooks Store:
ad for Kobo Canada sale showing Trouble with Parsnips on an ereader and the High Water Tower at Cochem that inspired the Palace Agricultural Library

If you need more detail:
1. find the “Redeem” menu in the iBooks Store: Scroll down below the “More Books Like This” section and look under “Manage”. Click on “Redeem”.

Scroll down below the "More Books Like This" section to find "Redeem". It's under the "Manage" list.

2. When you click “Redeem”, this window pops up. Ignore the part about “Use Camera”. Type your promo code in the box. Then click “Redeem”.

3. Hopefully, this success window pops up:Screenshot of "successfully redeemed your code"4. A smaller pop-up will tell you when the download is complete. Click OK and then the “DONE” button in the lower right-hand corner.

5. When The iBooks store loads, click on the “LIBRARY” button in the top Left-Hand corner to see the your new book in the library. Happy Reading!

If you enjoy it, your review will help other readers find it in your corner of the world. The people of the Seven Kingdoms thank you!!!!

 

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If you’d like to stay in touch, sign up for my Reader’s List. Once a month, I share a new book recommendation for readers ages 9 to 12, story-related freebies, and/or related blog posts. If it’s not your thing, you can unsubscribe at any time.

The Book Echoes podcast interviewed me about TROUBLE WITH PARSNIPS

Something quite surprising happened!

Connie B. Dowell of the Book Echoes podcast interviewed me about TROUBLE WITH PARSNIPS:

Book Echoes is a podcast about young adult and middle grade authors. You can see all of the interviews here. Enjoy!

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If you’d like to stay in touch, sign up for my Reader’s List. Once a month, I share a new book recommendation for readers ages 9 to 12, story-related freebies, and/or related blog posts. If it’s not your thing, you can unsubscribe at any time.

Reviews for TROUBLE WITH PARSNIPS

TADA!!! The very first STUDENT review from an amazing student in Japan:

Review of Trouble With Parsnips framed with colorful parsnips
My very first review from a student!!! SO exciting!! I’m so touched and grateful that she took the time to read and think about and write about the book.
Recent reviews on GoodReads, Barnes & Noble, and other stores:

Thank YOU SO MUCH to all of the reviewers! After all my time in the “drafting cave” and the “revision cave,” it’s a treat to hear your reactions to the finished story.

If you’ve posted a review, please let me know here. I’d love to see it!

Reviews give stories wings–they really do!

*They also keep them books going invisible.*

Thanks to the trouble you took to write and post your reviews, TROUBLE WITH PARSNIPS is on its way to find readers who are looking for just this kind of story.

The people of the Seven Kingdoms curtsy and bow to you!! Hip, Hip, Hooray! (Except Queen Ash, but then, she never thanks anybody.)

May you always have a good book, a snack, and time to enjoy them both!

5 star review from Amazon.co.uk
From Amazon.co.uk

Just found out from Twitter that PARSNIPS got its very first review on Toppsta, a beautiful UK site that curates children’s books.

screenshot of Tweet from reviewer in response to my post asking for a review: "Done! Can't wait for the rest in the series to add to my classroom bookshelf."

screenshot of Toppsta review of TROUBLE WITH PARSNIPS

An inventive story about a spunky princess. A great deal of magical details and a lot of humour. A really fun an inventive read. ( )
1 vote KatiaGuzzardi | Jan 29, 2019
 
 
TROUBLE WITH PARSNIPS got its first review on Kobo!
screenshot of first review for PARSNIPS on Kobo

A deliciously long review for Trouble With Parsnips showed up!

It is always a good sign when I finish a book in one night. I did it with Harry Potters 4/5/6 & 7; Garth Nix’s Sabriel, Lirael, Abhorsen; Philip Pullman’s novels were regularly devoured into the small hours; Terry Pratchett had me laughing while my eyes were held open with matchsticks* and now I can add this hilarious and hugely entertaining novel, Trouble with Parsnips to the list. Read J.G. Jones’ complete review here on GoodReads

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If you’d like to stay in touch, sign up for my Reader’s List. Once a month, I share a new book recommendation for readers ages 9 to 12, story-related freebies, and/or related blog posts. If it’s not your thing, you can unsubscribe at any time.

A Generous Giveaway with “All the Feels” from the authors of The Emotion Thesaurus, 2nd ed.!

 Authors Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi’s have a brand new edition of The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to Character Expression!

This second edition has 55 new entries and twice as much teaching material. Since I use their thesauruses (thesauri?) as a kind of shopping mall for whatever scene I’m writing, more is definitely better.

I’m looking forward to getting a copy as soon as it is available. If you’re wondering how I use a book like this, check out my earlier posts here:

The Reverse Backstory Tool Brings Your Characters to Life

Write Believable Heroes, Villains, and Emotions with The Positive/Negative Trait Thesauri and The Emotion Thesaurus

A Mini-M.F.A. in the Psychology of Character

Are you feeling it? Emotional Connection in Fiction Part 1

Tools: Emotional Connection in Fiction Part 2

Anyway, if you want to look into it further, you can read some of the reviews on Goodreads or find more information here. 

Also, one more thing to share…a MEGA-OPPORTUNITY to win something amazing!

GIVEAWAY ALERT:

To celebrate the new book & its dedicated readers, Angela and Becca have an unbelievable giveaway on right now: one person will win a free writing retreat, conference, workshop, or professional membership to a writing organization, winner’s choice (up to $500 US, with some other conditions which are listed on the WHW site).

What conference would you attend if the fee was already paid for…or would you choose a retreat? Something else? Decisions, decisions! This giveaway ends on February 26th, so hurry over and enter!

 

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If you’d like to stay in touch, sign up for my Reader’s List. Once a month, I share a new book recommendation for readers ages 9 to 12, story-related freebies, and/or related blog posts. If it’s not your thing, you can unsubscribe at any time.