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Tween the Weekends - Heavy Subject Matters in MG Fiction

28/8/2013

6 Comments

 
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I came close to missing the Tween the Weekends post. Many thanks to Michelle Isenhoff who reminded me that today was posting day.

The writers at Emblazon have started a monthly hop, which is 'an opportunity for everybody to promote tween literature, that age bracket squashed between middle grade and young adult. You can review a great tween book, post about writing for kids, connect with others who love the genre, support and encourage one another, relate news, share links, or just about anything else tween related.'

I wrote up a nifty discussion piece on the characters in my book and their age as it pertains to the blurry lines between MG and YA fiction. Didn't save, had a power cut and that post is history.

My big point of discussion was that although the subject of my YA books are heavy, I'm so invested in these stories that I won't shy away from telling them. I have tried to write them with as much sensitivity as I can. There is enough negativity in this world, so although my stories are hard to digest, I do leave the reader with a sense of hope and that justice has prevailed at the end.

What about you readers and writers? Do you shy away from books that deal with disturbing subject matters?

Visit the other bloggers in this hop here.


6 Comments

Best of Summer 2013 Kid Lit

25/8/2013

5 Comments

 
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This week, I'm participating in the Best of Summer 2013 Kid Lit Giveaway Hop. The hop is being hosted by Mother Daughter Book Reviews  and Youth Literature Reviews  The aim of the hop is 'to share copies of a fabulous book that you have read or are planning to read over July and August 2013...'

The children's fiction book I've read most recently is This War We're In by Renée Pawlish. It's set in the US in 1943, during World War 2. It's told from the perspective of a ten-year-old boy, who cannot understand why his Japanese-American friend is treated differently from him.


The story has important lessons about tolerance and forgiveness. It's a good book for those who enjoy middle-grade fiction. My review is here.

You may enter for a chance to win a $10 Amazon Gift Voucher on the Rafflecopter below. Remember to visit the other participants.


a Rafflecopter giveaway
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Tweaking Book Blurb - Saving Sam

20/8/2013

2 Comments

 
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I've been immersed in editing the next book in the Simms Siblings Series. Got a bit carried away with formatting and such, but it's all winding down soon.

The cover hasn't been finalized as yet, but with any luck that will be done this week. I'm working out the promotional angle in my mind and hope to do something exciting and a bit different to get the word out effectively.

I'd love some help with that, but I'll say more about that later.

For now, I've tweaked the book blurb and hope it will do an effective job. I do know that I need to do some more work on it as I'm not 100% satisfied. I did a post on keywords and Amazon searches on the blog at the Character Depot and need to apply the same principle to the blurb below.

                                                                         Saving Samuel

A deadly domestic dispute between his parents lands eleven-year-old Samuel Simms and his siblings in the Downswell Place of Safety. When he’s left behind in the children’s home with no hope of adoption, Sam's disappointment turns to anger and disillusionment.

An opportunity comes his way, and Sam is placed in a foster home, but all is not what it seems in the Miller household. Sam now has a secret that guarantees he will remain a ward of the Jamaican government until he's eighteen.

Faced with unrelenting pressure, Sam reveals what happened to him while in the care of his foster parents. With his shocking secret exposed, Sam has to choose a path for his future. He can continue to accept what his abuser wants him to believe about himself or find the courage to stop a predator from harming other children.


Mock up cover is above.



2 Comments

It's Lilly B!

15/8/2013

0 Comments

 
The days can and do go by swiftly for a writer who’s intent on getting edits completed.  I’m almost there, just making sure all plot points are tied up. Then it’ll be time to put that book away for a while and concentrate on book three in my young adult series.

I’m always late with announcing winners, but here goes. The lucky winner of the Lazy Days of Summer Giveaway in on the Rafflecopter below.

Congrats! An email is on the way.


a Rafflecopter giveaway
0 Comments
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    J.L.Campbell lives in sunny Jamaica, where she's always on the lookout for story-making material. She is the author of five novels and three story collections.

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