Saturday 29 November 2014

Award-winning Author, Diane Mae Robinson, Attends Readers' Favorite International Book Awards In Miami, Florida To Receive Medal

Attending the Readers' Favorite International Book Awards on Nov. 22, 2014 in Miami, Florida and receiving a bronze medal for, Sir Princess Petra's Talent (book two), is right up there with "super cool experiences in my life".
Bronze medal, Sir Princess Petra, Grade 4th - 6th category.
This is the series 5th book award.

My sister and I spent three days/nights in Miami. Each of the three evenings, the Readers' Favorite had events lined up for the authors and their guests at our hotel. The first evening, we had a "meet and greet" with the other authors. Evening two had an author/marketing speaking event with guest speaker, award-winning author and marketing guru Eddy Price; a presentation from publicist, Darlene Chan; and an insightful talk from the CEO and president, Debra Gaynor, about what Readers' Favorite Awards looks for in submission entries. The third evening was our award ceremony.
Meet and Greet Night

This year, Readers' Favorite International Book Awards had more entries than previous years and had to extend the announcement of winner by a couple of weeks. List of the categories and the 2014 winners: https://readersfavorite.com/2014-award-contest-winners.htm


With some of the winning authors before the award ceremony. From left: Linda Watkins, Leyla Atke, Adrianne LaCava, Ben Burgess Jr.,Val Silver, Readers' Favorite Book Awards CEO Debra Gaynor, myself, Wayne Clark.






Cindi (my sister), Val, Linda, Wayne, and myself rented a car to cruise down to South Beach. Driving in Miami was chaos! My sister did a fine job of the driving with four backseat drivers who all had different maps. Ha! Tourists!
South Beach, Miami, Florida






One of the great highlights was the day trip to The Miami International Book Fair. I met and talked with many authors, publishers, agents, publicists, and of course, I bought books and had them autographed.
Miami Book Fair just before opening. Yep, raining.

I, along with other authors, was interviewed for Eran Gadot's film about the Readers' Favorite Book Awards.
Diane with Eran Gadot, Silver medal winner for his book, Supernatural Hero.



The Miami experience was incredible: meeting and talking to many award-winning writers, all in the same room; hanging out with fun people as we shared many laughs, accepting a medal for my book without falling off the stage (I did get clunked on the head with the medal as Debra was putting it around my neck), The Miami Book Fair, South Beach, an introduction to Mojitos, and bonding with a small group of incredible people who, I am sure, will be lifelong friends.
Thanks for the memories, Miami!


For more information about my award-winning dragon books for children, visit my author's website:
http://www.dragonsbook.com 

Sunday 16 November 2014

Interview: ‘Sir Princess Petra’s Talent’ Author – Diane Mae Robinson

Re-post from Blog Critics https://blogcritics.org/interview-sir-princess-petras-talent-author-diane-mae-robinson/  Interview by Nicole Weaver Book InterviewsChildren's BooksFictionSci-fi and Fantasy


It takes a talented author to write a humorous fantasy/adventure  book with moral values of kindness, understanding, and acceptance of others. Today, Diane Mae Robinson  talks about her books and love for writing.  Thank you, Diane , for doing this interview.Diane Mae robinson Petra
Can you tell me about yourself?
Hi, Nicole, and thanks for having me on Blogcritics. I write fantasy/adventure children’s chapter books. Before venturing into the genre of fantasy children’s books, I studied journalism and did some freelance article writing about my visits and volunteer work in 3rd world countries. I work at a dental office, teach private art lessons, I am a writing instructor at the Creative Writing Institute, and recently, I was a judge in an international short story competition. I live on an acreage in central Alberta, Canada where I like to spend time with my horses and dogs.
What inspired you to become a writer?
As a child I was a total book worm fascinated by the other worlds I could visit within the pages. I also liked to make up plays about princesses, dragons, and their adventures. Besides me my sister, the die-hard cowboy, was the only other actor in the plays. So the plays were of a princess (me) being rescued by a prince (sister in cowboy outfit) who would slay (shoot) the dragons and save the day. After perfecting and polishing the plays, we would invite the neighborhood kids to watch. The need to invent plays and stories has stayed with me since childhood.
How long did it take you to acquire the skills to become a writer?
I am still developing my skills as a writer. To me the skills of writing are a lifelong venture, something that will only get better with more writing, studying other writers, reading, and finding your own voice as a writer. After I found my voice/style years ago, the writing became somewhat easier, but still requires the work of perfecting the craft of writing.
How many books have you written?
I have two books published: Sir Princess Petra – The Pen Pieyu Adventures,  and Sir Princess Petra’s Pieyu Adventures Talent – The Pen. This series has won 5 book awards since the first book was published in 2012.
Some writers go on long walks; others keep a journal, write at a café, or listen to music. What do you do for inspiration and unleashing your creativity?
I do art, listen to music, or go for long walks in the forest on my acreage. The forest seems to give me the best inspiration.
What are you working on now?
The 3rd book in this series, Sir Princess Petra’s Mission, will start the publishing process in Nov., 2014. I am also writing a grammar book for elementary kids with the same medieval humorous tone of my book series that has the characters from the books in the lessons. I haven’t started looking for a publisher for the grammar book yet — soon though.
Where can readers find more information about Diane’s books?
For more information about dragon books for children, visit Diane Mae Robinson author website: http://www.dragonsbook.com          

Tuesday 11 November 2014

Book Review - Prince of the Plains

 Prince of the Plains by Troy Boucher

 Virtual Bookworm.com Publishing Inc, 2002

 ISBN: 1-58939-204-3

 Also available in softcover and e-book.

Adult Fiction                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            
From the back cover: Of all the men who rode with Billy the Kid, one of the least well-know is Henry Newton Brown. Brown broke with Billy the Kid and for a time served as an assistant marshal of Tascaso, Texas. Restless and looking for a better life, Brown ended up in Caldwell, Kansas in where he became an assistant marshal and eventually, after Bat Carr was fired, he became the marshal, of the cowtown known as the Border Queen.


Sure that his past had been safely left in New Mexico, he began to settle-in as a respected citizen of Caldwell. He was honored with the gift of an engraved Winchester as a token of the town’s appreciation. A short time later, he married a local school teacher, purchased a house, and then his past caught up with him and he discovered that life is full of choices, and always with a "passel of consequences."

About the story: This is a very cool story about the multifaceted life of Henry Newton Brown: gunslinger who rode with Billy the Kid, respected and well liked sheriff, true friend, and loving husband, turned bank robber. The story takes the reader on a thought-provoking fictional, fact-based journey about people, their dreams and mistakes, and choices they make along the way.

What I thought: Prince of the Plains is a wonderfully written fictional novel with facts of history woven into this vivid and exciting tale of the life of Henry Newton Brown. The setting is the American West in the latter 1800’s, and the author’s artful writing style swiftly gets the reader into the story with first-rate narrative, compelling and captivating characters, and effective and convincing dialogue. All the characters are skillfully created and multi-dimensional. The writing is sharp and crisp, and the author’s research has paid off in the skillful way he writes about every detail of the time period. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel; I did not want it to end. Looking forward to reading more from this talented author. I highly recommend it.

About the author: Troy Boucher grew up in a small, western Oklahoma town on what was once a large Cheyenne-Arapaho reservation. As a child he spent his time watching western movies on Saturday afternoons, reading Zane Grey novels, and wanting to grow up to be a cowboy. Most of his adult life has been spent teaching writing and American literature in a small private college. He enjoys writing, reading, gardening, and traveling with his wife to interesting places in the plains states and other areas of the country. His short stories have appeared in Cottonwood Magazine, Square One, Ellipsis, Kansas Stories, 1989, and the Chiron Review. His short story "Pocket Money" won first place in the Bob Gross Fiction Contest sponsored by Woodley Press.


Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Prince-Plains-Troy-Boucher/dp/1589391934/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1415750005&sr=1-1&keywords=Prince+of+the+plains