Winners and Recaps

Hello all!! Welcome to the recap page for my blog party!! Happy UNbirthday to the following people:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Now it's time for a few thank yous from me to the authors who participated. After that, I will do a quick rundown of all the blogs I listed.

Chazz: Thank you for allowing me to promote your book The Dangerous Kind and Other Stories for my blog party.
Lisa: Thank you for your generosity in donating a copy of your book Soul Journey for my blog party.
Randi: Your beautiful gift was much appreciated. I hope many people received your message. Thank you for taking the time to create something so special. I wish your book Awaken From Life much success.
Dorothy: Thank you for allowing me to promote your book God Placed Her in My Path on my blog party.
Dee: Thank you for Kindlegraphing your book How to: Build a Profitable Niche Blog and providing a copy as a giveaway for my party.
Kebba: Thank you for allowing me to promote your book Peace Within on my blog party.
Ashley: Thank you for allowing me to promote Obi the Super Puppy and the Mystery of the Red Mist for my blog party.
Linda: Thank you for Kindlegraphing your book INZARED Queen of the Elephant Riders and providing three copies for my party.
Crystal: Thank you for providing a printed, signed copy of your book Canopy for my giveaway. I hope it does well over the months to come.

On to the blogs!!
A Dead Good Blog
Booketta's Book Blog  On Twitter: @bookettajane
The Hungry Freelancer  On Twitter: @bethythewriter
Have You Heard Book Review  On Twitter: @Kissablysweet1 
Ann Marie Walker  On Twitter: @AnnMarie_Walker
Chazz Writes  On Twitter: @RChazzChute
Family Bugs Blogging  On Twitter: @Family_Bugs
The Misadventures of Chelsea Black  On Twitter: @chelseablack
Rachelle Gardner  On Twitter: @RachelleGardner
Ramblin' with AM  On Twitter: @ RamblinGarden
Libertys Yarn  On Twitter: @LibertysYarn
Imagine! Create! Write!  and Chapter Book Challenge  On Twitter: @moonduster
Ghostnapped!  On Twitter: @AshleyHowland
The Arkside of Thought  On Twitter: @SahmAtaineKing
Passionate Ramblings  On Twitter: @_LisaCherry
Doug Turnbull  On Twitter: @dturnbull2
God Placed Her in My Path
Judith Cassis C.Ht.  On Twitter: @telesuccess
An Average Woman in a Superwoman World  On Twitter: @AverageWomanSJ
Love Your Life!  On Twitter: @RandiGFine
throwing up in an IKEA bag  On Twitter: @jenchatwrites
Writer's Block Admin Services  On Twitter: @JoHarris0n
the art of possibility... discovering new pathways to success  On Twitter: @klaughman
You Are What You Write  On Twitter: @rachelhwrites
Caro Ayre
Danielle. Wife. Author. Mother.  On Twitter: @danielle_lise
Heather's Book Chatter  On Twitter: @woodtop255
Depression Cookies  On Twitter: @Tia_Bach_Author
Helz-Design  On Twitter: @HelzDesign
moonpreneur  On Twitter: @deeankary
Marcie Brock, Book Marketing Maven  On Twitter: @phxazlaura
The Book Designer  On Twitter: @JFbookman
Faith Develops in the Dark
Ellie's Blog  On Twitter: @EllieMendez
UpBeat Spiritual Living   Twitter: @kebbabutton
Darci Cole Wife. Mommy. Writer.   Twitter: @darci_cole
Christian Writers Downunder   Twitter: @CWDownunder
Denise DeSio    Twitter: @TopBee
Peter Faur    Twitter: @PeterFaur
Ghostnapped blog  On Twitter: @AshleyHowland
Bonnie R Paulson  On Twitter: @bonnierpaulson
Diapers, Bookmarks, and Pipe Dreams  On Twitter: @KirkusMacGowan
JD Stockholm  On Twitter: @JD_Stockholm
Beauty and Books  On Twitter: @LazenBeauty
The Book Smugglers  On Twitter: @booksmugglers
L. Leander Books   On Twitter: @lleander11
Illustration Junky    On Twitter: @illustrationbee
Michael R. Hicks   On Twitter: @KreelanWarrior
Melissa Writes    On Twitter: @MissieK
T.L. Bodine   On Twitter: @tlbodine
Crystal Lee ~ Author  On Twitter: @CLeeAuthor
Gavin Mountford's Productive Entrepreneur  On Twitter: @gavinmountford
Diamond Panes    On Twitter: @Latticewindows
Writer, of sorts.   On Twitter: @tdhurst
Jackie Bledsoe Jr   On Twitter: @jbledsoejr


And there's the rundown. Lots of great new folks to follow on twitter as well. I hope you have all enjoyed participating in my blog party! Congratulations to the winners! If your name is there, you will be contacted shortly for shipping info!!

That's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

A Few of My Favorite Blogs Part 8 of The Blog Party

Welcome to day EIGHT of my Blog Party!

Lots of really super great stuff going on this week! Come back every day to see what I'm going to give away next! Tomorrow, I am giving away Kindlegraphed copies of Linda Leander's book INZARED Queen of the Elephant Riders. Come back to see how many we have available and how you can win one!

Make sure to enter this contest for two printed, signed books, this contest for a book on how to make money with your blog, and to get your free gift here.

Today, my contest goes like this: If you will comment on ANY post on my blogger blog with your twitter handle and go add Ms. Ashley Howland's book Obi the Super Puppy and the Mystery of the Red Mist to your Wish List on Amazon, I will enter you in a drawing to win a copy of the book. When the winner is chosen, I will order you a copy via your wishlist. Like always, I will use random.org and a numbering system (based on your order of comments) to choose the winner. You can enter more than once in this way. You have until 11:59pm ET on 7/25/2012 to enter. GOOD LUCK!

If you would like to purchase a copy on your own, please go here. Check out YouTube videos of Ms. Howland's books! Ghostnapped! and Obi the Super Puppy and the Mystery of the Red Mist. Very cool! Connect with Ashley on LinkedIN as well or like her FaceBook page.

Now, some information about Ms. Ashley Howland and Obi the Super Puppy!

Bio:
Ashley Howland lives in Adelaide, South Australia. She and her dogs, Obi and Stitch, work for Labs ‘n Life, a nonprofit organization that works with youth at risk to train Labradors as autism assistance dogs (www.labsnlife.com). She is inspired to write by her husband Ross, her daughters, Maddy and Aijay, and of course, Obi and Stitch. They are a constant, endless source of material and happiness. She is also the author of Ghostnapped! Her next two books are The Homework Goblin, for young children, and a novel for teenagers titled It’s What You Do Next That Counts.

Synopsis:
Obi is a yellow Labrador who loves adventure, helping people and solving mysteries. He also loves his kids, Maddy and Aijay. This is the story of his first adventure, his new family and how a mysterious red mist entered into his life. The evil red mist has many scary abilities, it can possess animals and toys, but who is behind it? Obi and some new friends must save the day before it is too late. Maddy and Aijay listen patiently as Obi relives this amazing tale and they learn how their faithful friend became a real super puppy.





On to our regularly scheduled list of AWESOME blogs. As always, I will begin with Ms. Howland, my promo for today:

Her blog is filled with great author interviews and great information about being published as well as how she came up with her ideas for her various books:

Ghostnapped blog  On Twitter: @AshleyHowland

Another couple of author blogs:

Bonnie R Paulson  On Twitter: @bonnierpaulson
Diapers, Bookmarks, and Pipe Dreams  On Twitter: @KirkusMacGowan
JD Stockholm  On Twitter: @JD_Stockholm
Beauty and Books  On Twitter: @LazenBeauty

And a blog about books. I love reading this blog because it's full of useful reader information for writers. Go check out their smuggling ways:

The Book Smugglers  On Twitter: @booksmugglers

That's all for today, folks! Come on back tomorrow for more great giveaways and blogs! Until then, WRITE ON!

Jo

Author Interview with Ashley Howland

 Today, a little something extra for my readers.

Ashley Howland is the author of Ghostnapped! and Obi the Super Puppy and the Mysteryof the Red Mist. Welcome, Ashley! Thank you for stopping by to visit with us today!

You write children’s novels. What attracts you most to that genre?

I write for children because that’s where the pure enjoyment of reading begins. Reading was also so much a part of my childhood, I always loved getting a new book. This is something I have been able to share with my daughters and love every step on this journey.

  

Ghostnapped! is set in South Australia at Rapid Bay. Why did you choose that setting?

I started writing Ghostnapped! on a camping trip at Rapid Bay. A friend and I both wrote stories that weekend, it was great fun to go and explore the local area. When I got home and did some research into the old mine and the local habitat the story just kept evolving.

Where did the idea for your protagonist, Alex, come from?

Alex is a strong girl, she loves to explore and gets annoyed by her younger brother, who like lots of kids wants to be just like their older sibling. She developed along with the story, but there are certainly aspects of her personality that I can relate to.

Obi in Obi the Super Puppy and the Mystery of the Red Mist is patterned after your own dog. What is your favorite characteristic?

Obi is an amazing dog, he has always been a little bit different from other Labradors. He likes to sit and observe, or supervise as we now believe. It is so hard to put into words exactly what he does for the children he works with, but the best think about Obi is that no one gets missed.

You participate in Labs ‘n Life – a non-profit organization that works with autistic children (BRAVO!). How has that interaction shaped your writing?

Labs ‘n Life does so much, we train Labradors as companion dogs for children on the autism spectrum. However we also work with at risk youth to do this training, they are the ones who train the dogs for other families. This way so many people benefit from the training of a single dog. We also have a curriculum that centers on training the dogs, which can provide our students with credit into further study. This curriculum is rich in literacy development and in some ways this has helped shape my writing. I certainly get lots of material from the amazing dogs and students I work with.

Have you ever considered featuring an autistic child in any of your books?

I probably will at some stage, as I am currently writing a sequel to Obi, so it may happen. When I am writing I tend to just see where the book will take me, so you never know.

I see that you published Ghostnapped! with SBPRA. Can you tell us about your experience with them?

To get a book published is an amazing thing, I was very happy when Strategic took on both of my books. I have to thank them for giving me a go, there are some aspects I know other authors find difficult, but I tend to think along the lines of proving myself as an author. That is generally what Strategic are interested in. I have met the basic requirements of both books, in terms of numbers sold, so now I need to prove I can sell more books in order to have my next one published. For some authors this approach may seem difficult, and while it’s not easy I am happy to give it a go. 

 

What methods have you used for advertising your book, Ghostnapped!?

I have an author web page, Facebook page, twitter (@AshleyHowland), blog and a YouTube channel. I also have press releases and a YouTube video that were made by the publishing company. This advertising process is the most difficult, hopefully it is something I will get better at as I work on my writing. The publishing company has provided me with many ideas, it’s just trying to find the time to get things done, and after all writing is a hobby.

Have you considered a giveaway on Goodreads for Ghostnapped!? Why/Why not?

I have only just joined Goodreads, so I guess anything is possible. It is something I will be looking into.

Do you have any events (book signings, meet the author events, sales, etc…) planned?

I am hoping to be available to present some reading challenge medals at a few schools later in the year, this is something I really enjoy. I would also be more than happy to do book signings and meet the author events, it would certainly be an experience.

What types of things do you discuss on your blog?

At the moment I am doing an author blog challenge, so I have used a few of their prompts. This has given me a chance to blog about my writing process, and learn about the processes of others. I will  never claim to be a complete author, just someone who wants to share a story. Most of my blogs outside of the challenge tend to be about the dogs, and the crazy things they do.

Is there a specific message you’re trying to send with Ghostnapped!? What is that message?

I wouldn’t say there were any specific messages, but there were two themes that developed. I enjoyed touching on the natural rivalry between siblings. Now that I have two daughters I will get a lot more material in this area. It’s fun to explore that love/hate relationship brothers and sisters have. The other was an environmental theme that fit into the local area of the beach. 

What are some of the books you’re planning for the future? Where will we be able to find them?

At the moment I am editing two more children’s books. One if for younger readers and I am having a friend do some illustrations. I hope to begin the publishing process with this one towards the end of the year. The other will take longer, as it is more of a teenage novel, but one I am really enjoying. I am also writing that sequel to Obi, so I have lots of writing to keep me busy.

Thank you, Ashley, for taking the time to answer my questions. I wish you the best of luck with your books and look forward to having you back for a visit soon!

A review for Ghostnapped! will be appearing on my blog tomorrow with a synopsis so come on back for that.

That's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo