Tag Archives: amwriting

Featured Author: Eric Litwin

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eric litwin

Eric Litwin was born in 1966 in New York City.

Know as Mr. Eric, Litwin not only writes books, but he also plays several instruments, including the guitar and harmonica. He combines all of these things to create his best selling children’s books.

pete the cat

Among these books are the New York Times best sellers, Pete the Cat. Litwin is responsible for the first four books in the series and created some seriously groovy tunes to go with them.

Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes

Pete the Cat: Rocking in my School Shoes

Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons

Pete the Cat Saves Christmas

I’m currently working towards my degree in Early Childhood Education so I have read Mr. Litwins books A LOT. Some kids books you get sick of reading over and over, but these ones are honestly entertaining. Maybe it’s the fact there’s music involved too?

Whatever it is, he’s clearly doing something right because his books have sold over 13 million copies worldwide. He is also a well-respected voice for interactive literacy and music – two things proven to work well together, especially for children’s learning.

If you have children, or work with children, I highly recommend Eric Litwin’s, Pete the Cat, books. They are highly entertaining for children and not quite as repetitive as “Baby Shark”.

 

Check out Mr. Litwin’s website for more information!

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Goodreads Readers Choice Awards 2017

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Goodreads Readers Choice Awards 2017

Goodreads

Best Fiction:

Little Fires EverywhereLittle Fires Everywhere, Celeste Ng

You can read more about Little Fires Everywhere on Goodreads

Runner Up: Bear Town, Fredrik Bagkman

Buy Little Fires Everywhere on Amazon

Buy Bear Town on Amazon

Best Mystery & Thriller:

Into the Water, Paula Hawkins

You can read more about Into the Water on Goodreads

Runner Up: Origin, Dan Brown

Buy Into the Water on Amazon

Buy Origin on Amazon

Best Historical Fiction:

Before We Were Yours, Lisa Wingate

You can read more about Before We Were Yours on Goodreads

Runner Up: Lincoln in the Bardo, George Saunders

Buy Before We Were Yours on Amazon

Buy Lincoln in the Bardo on Amazon

Best Fantasy:

Fantastic Beasts.jpgFantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: The Original Screenplay, J.K. Rowling

You can read more about Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: The Original Screenplay on Goodreads

Runner Up: Norse Mythology, Neil Gaiman

Buy Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: The Original Screenplay on Amazon

Buy Norse Mythology on Amazon

Best Romance:

Without Merit, Colleen Hoover

You can read more about Without Merit on Goodreads

Runner Up: Come Sundown, Nora Roberts

Buy Without Merit on Amazon

Buy Come Sundown on Amazon

Best Science Fiction:

Artemis, Andy Weir

You can read more about Artemis on Goodreads

Runner Up: Waking Gods, Sylvain Neuvel

Buy Artemis on Amazon

Buy Waking Gods on Amazon

Best Horror:

Sleeping Beauties, Stephen King & Owen King

You can read more about Sleeping Beauties on Goodreads

Runner Up: Final Girls, Riley Sager

Buy Sleeping Beauties on Amazon

Buy Final Girls on Amazon

Best Humor:

Talking as Fast as I Can.jpgTalking As Fast As I Can, Lauren Graham

You can read more about Talking As Fast As I Can on Goodreads

Runner Up: I Can’t Make This Up: Life Lessons, Kevin Hart

Buy Talking As Fast As I Can on Amazon

Buy I Can’t Make This Up: Life Lessons on Amazon

Best Nonfiction:

How to be a Bawse.jpgHow to Be a Bawse: A Guide to Conquering Life, Lilly Singh

You can read more about How to Be a Bawse: A Guide to Conquering Life on Goodreads

Runner Up: Dear Ijeawele, or A Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Buy How to Be a Bawse: A Guide to Conquering Life on Amazon

Buy Dear Ijeawele, or A Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions on Amazon

Best Memoir & Autobiography:

What Happened, Hillary Rodham Clinton

You can read more about What Happened on Goodreads

Runner Up: Hunger, Roxane Gay

Buy What Happened on Amazon

Buy Hunger on Amazon

Best History & Biography:

Radium Girls, Kate Moore

You can read more about Radium Girls on Goodreads

Runner Up: Killers of the Flower Moon, David Grann

Buy Radium Girls on Amazon

Buy Killers of the Flower Moon on Amazon

Best Science & Technology:

Astrophysics For People in a Hurry, Neil DeGrasse Tyson

You can read more about Astrophysics For People in a Hurry on Goodreads

Runner Up: Inferior: How Science Got Women Wrong – and the New Research That’s Rewriting the Story, Angela Saini

Buy Astrophysics For People in a Hurry on Amazon

Buy Inferior: How Science Got Women Wrong – and the New Research That’s Rewriting the Story on Amazon

Best Food & Cookbooks:

The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Come and Get It! Simple, Scrumptious Recipes for Crazy Busy Lives, Ree Drummon

You can read more about The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Come and Get It! Simple, Scrumptious Recipes for Crazy Busy Lives on Goodreads

Runner Up: 5 Ingredients, Jamie Oliver

Buy The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Come and Get It! Simple, Scrumptious Recipes for Crazy Busy Lives on Amazon

Buy 5 Ingredients on Amazon

Best Graphic Novels & Comics:

Big Mushy Happy Lump, Sarah Andersen

You can read more about Big Mushy Happy Lump on Goodreads

Runner Up: Wonder Woman, Volume 1: The Lies, Greg Rucka

Buy Big Mushy Happy Lump on Amazon

Buy Wonder Woman, Volume 1: The Lies on Amazon

Best Poetry:

The Sun and Her Flowers, Rupi Kaur

You can read more about The Sun and Her Flowers on Goodreads

Runner Up: Depression and Other Magic Tricks, Sabrina Benaim

Buy The Sun and Her Flowers on Amazon

Buy Depression and Other Magic Tricks on Amazon

Best Debut Goodreads Author:

Hate U Give.jpgThe Hate U Give, Angie Thomas

You can read more about The Hate U Give on Goodreads

Runner Up: Caraval, Stephanie Garber

Buy The Hate U Give on Amazon

Buy Caraval on Amazon

Best Young Adult Fiction:

The Hate U Give, Angie Thomas

Runner Up: Turtles All the Way Down, John Green

You can read more about Turtles All The Way Down on Goodreads

Buy Turtles All The Way Down on Amazon

*As Angie Thomas’, The Hate U Give, won two of the reader’s choice categories (congrats Angie!), information given here is listed for the runner up novel

Best Young Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction:

A Court of Wings and Ruin, Sarah J. Maas

You can read more about A Court of Wings and Ruin on Goodreads

Runner Up: Lord of Shadows, Cassandra Clare

Buy A Court of Wings and Ruin on Amazon

Buy Lord of Shadows on Amazon

Best Middle Grade & Children’s:

Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard, Rick Riordan

You can read more about Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard on Goodreads

Runner Up: The Trials of Apollo, Rick Riordan

Buy Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard on Amazon

Buy The Trials of Apollo on Amazon

We're All WondersBest Picture Books:

We’re All Wonders, R.J. Palacio

You can read more about We’re All Wonders on Goodreads

Runner Up: Malala’s Magic Pencil, Malala Yousafzai

Buy We’re All Wonders on Amazon

Buy Malala’s Magic Pencil on Amazon

Congratulations to all the winners, runners up, and everyone who had a book featured in the Goodreads Readers Choice Contest for 2017!

All the pictures included in this post came from Goodreads. Make sure you check out the books on this list and if you’ve read any of them let me know what ones you think are worth the read!

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NaNoWriMo: Halfway Point!

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nanowrimo-logo

We’re half way through NaNoWriMo! How are you all doing so far?

I’m doing something a little different for NaNo this year. I’m not working on a new novel, I’m using this month to finally finish rewriting Brave Young Boys.

So far it’s not working so well.

I sort of went through a period (basically the whole month of October) in which I hardly did any writing. I wanted to write, but at the same time I just didn’t feel like it. Do you ever have those times?

Then I recently started a new job which has given me less time to write (hence why I’ve been so absent lately), but I’m definitely feeling more like I want to write so it’s sort of balancing itself out.

I’m getting caught up on reviews, fanfiction, blog posts, and am working on NaNoWriMo!

I’m determined to finish this novel by the end of this year, preferably, by the end of this month.

Let me know how you’re doing with NaNoWriMo so far!

Are you struggling? Pulling ahead?

Do you have periods where you feel like writing, but also don’t feel like writing?

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Friday November 13, 2015

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Pray for the World

Friday November 13, 2015 is a day that no one is ever going to forget.

Over a hundred people were killed in Paris yesterday in a horrific attack that took place all over what is usually called the City of Love.

It is a tragedy. It is something that will change, not just Paris, but the entire world. So many people lost their lives and my heart goes out to the families and friends of the victims.

My heart also goes out to the people of Beirut, Lebanon who also suffered a horrific attack recently. The bombings happened on Thursday and everyone is still reeling from the nightmare they faced. I can’t imagine what it must have been like.

Unfortunately it doesn’t end there. Japan was hit with a major earthquake and tsunami and I think most people probably know that Mexico was recently hit with an earthquake and a hurricane. Both these places have suffered horribly and once again I can’t imagine what they’re going through.

And finally, though it is just as awful as all the others, Baghdad, like Beirut, was hit with several suicide bombings. The people are shaken, but from what I hear are standing strong.

The media doesn’t cover all of these with as great detail as the others so a lot of what I learn about these tragic events I learn online.

From what I understand the people are standing strong in all of these places. They’re scared and don’t know what might be coming next, but they’re standing together to show that this won’t tear them apart.

There is nothing anyone in the world can do that can really help take away that pain, but I hope the people of Paris, Baghdad, Beirut, Japan, and Mexico know that the rest of the world is with them. We are all thinking of you and praying for you and we will do whatever we can to help you get through this.

#PrayForParis

#PrayForJapan

#PrayForMexico

#PrayForBeirut

#PrayForBaghdad

#PrayForTheWorld

Featured Author: Elisabetta Dami

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elisabetta damiElisabetta Dami was born in Italy in 1958.

At the age of eighteen, Dami started working as a proofreader for Dami Editore, the publishing house owned and started by her family.

She has a wide collection of works, but her most popular (and my favourites of hers) is her Geronimo Stilton series.

The first book was published in the year 2000 and are targeted at children six to twelve years old. Since being published over 100 million copies have been sold all over the world in many different languages.

Dami has written over 100 books.

I love the Geronimo Stilton books. I remember being in elementary school and I had the same teacher for two years and she used to read us these books every day.

I don’t remember everything about them, it was a long time ago and I’ve read a lot of other books since then, but I do remember looking forward to that time in the day when she’d grab one of the books and sit at the front of room.

I think part of the appeal was that she never asked one of us to read it she would always just do it herself which definitely made it more enjoyable as she could pronounce everything.

These books are great for children of all ages, not just the age group they’re aimed at. I’d definitely recommend these for anyone with kids, whether you’re a parent, a siblings, a babysitter, or ever a summer camp councillor.

I guarantee the kids you know will enjoy these books.

Have you read any Geronimo Stilton?

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#TenThingsNotToSayToAWriter

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Last week writers all over the internet took to Twitter to share their hardships as writers by using the hashtag #TenThingsNotToSayToAWriter. These are 24 of those tweets that perfectly sum up things you shouldn’t say to a writer.

Anne Theriault“Have you been published in real life or like just on the internet?” – @anne_theriault

Bill Corbett“We can’t pay you but the exposure might be good.” – @BillCorbett

Butterfly

“Do you actually make money doing that, or do you also have a real job?” – @jesskristie

Cassandra Carr

“I downloaded your books from one of those torrent sites. Those sites are great, you never have to pay for a book.” – @Cassandra_Carr

Colleen Hoover

“‘You’re a writer? Oh, I have a GREAT book idea!’ (And then proceed to tell us your entire life story.) – @colleenhoover

Cristela Alonzo

“You’re a writer? But I’ve never heard of you…” – @cristela9

Daniel Parsons

“‘Can you help me with this? It’s not like you’re doing anything important.’ Yea, I’m not WORKING or anything…” – @dkparsonswriter

Dean Gloster

“‘That’s nice. But some of us have to work for a living.'” – @deangloster

Donalyn Miller

“You’re still working on _______? Shouldn’t you be done by now? – @donalynbooks

Dream Traveler

“‘I want to be a writer. Can you suggest a plot for my story?'” – @IamAlytoony

Esther RobardsForbes

“Oh, you’re not published? So, you’re not a real writer.” – @hungryjourno

Hugh Fraser

“Would you mind if I borrowed your laptop?” – @realhughfraser

Jacqui B

“You write for children? Is that because you aren’t smart enough to write for adults?” – @Jacquibwriter

Jarrid Wilson

“I just read a book really similar to yours…” – @JarridWilson

Jen Savran Kelly

“Person: So, where can I read your work?
Me: It hasn’t been published yet.
Person: Oh you’re THAT kind of writer.”
– @savranly

Joanne Harris

“It must be lovely working from home. You can combine your writing with housework and childcare.” – @Joannechocolat

John Scalzi

“I’m worried you’ll die before your series gets finished.” – @scalzi

Lauren DeStefano

“You’re lucky you don’t have to work.” – @LaurenDeStefano

Lauren O'Neil

“A journalist? Wow. You don’t look like a journalist.” – @laurenonizzle

Laurie Boris

“You aren’t one of those ‘self-published’ authors, are you?” – @LaurieBoris

Madeline Ashby

“They pay you money for that?” – @MadelineAshby

Rachel Kennedy

“Poetry books don’t exactly become national best sellers.” – @RachelKennedy88

S.E. Hinton

“I thought you were dead.” – @se4realhinton

Sarah Dessen

“Told a teen I write YA. She hadn’t heard of me. Said, ‘It would have been so cool if you were Suzanne Collins!'” – @sarahdessen

These are only 24 of the amazing tweets in this tag. I highly recommend going and checking it out, especially if you’re a writer. It’s definitely one of the most relatable things I’ve read online.

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Blogging For One Year!

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1-year-anniversary

One year. I’ve had this blog for one year. That’s crazy! It does not feel like one year.

So many amazing things have happened and I’m hoping there are many more amazing things to come. I have a lot of plans for this blog in the upcoming year and a few changes I want to try out.

First, I’m going to be buying my domain name. The plan was for me to buy it this morning and then by the time this post went up it would be the first post with my official domain name. However, as I was going through the process of buying it there were some extra fees and some more info that I hadn’t been aware of before.

It’s actually pretty stressful, but I’m trying not to concentrate on it too much and just enjoy the fact that I’ve been blogging for one year! So, buying my domain will definitely be happening (hopefully today!), just not quite when I was hoping it to.

Another change that will be made is to my Thursday posts. Previously, Thursdays meant I would be posting a Poem of the Week. However, this just wasn’t exciting to me. With everything else, I get excited when I post, but it wasn’t the same for weekly poems.

I am not eliminating it entirely though! Instead, I will be posting a Poem of the Month on the first Thursday of every month. Thursdays will become my random monthly post day. Starting in August, Thursdays will include: Poem of the Month, Top Ten Lists, Featured Authors, and things like that. I’m hoping to make each of these a monthly thing.

Another possible change that might be coming at some point is the possibility of me incorporating Youtube into this. I’ve wanted to make Youtube videos for ages and while it probably won’t be happening any time soon, I wanted to get your opinions on this.

So, I think that’s all the changes that will be made. Everything else will be staying the same as I’ve been enjoying and I think you have too (at least I hope so)!

Thank you so much for an amazing year! I have 213 followers on this blog which is 213 more than I was ever expecting so thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

I hope you’ll stick with me for this next year that will hopefully be even better than this first one!

Wordpress Anniversary

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Camp NaNoWriMo Week One!

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Camp NaNoWriMoIt’s the end of Camp NaNoWriMo week one and I have done so much of nothing! Literally nothing… Well, that’s not entirely true. I opened the document. Does that count as working? Can I give myself a sticker?

Honestly, if this were regular NaNo in November I’d probably be freaking out by now. However, for Camp NaNo I’m not writing a brand new 50,000 word novel. What I’m doing is trying to finish my rewrite of BYB. So, I’m not freaking out about not having anything done, I’m more frustrated at the fact that I haven’t got anything done.

Now that’s not to say I haven’t been writing. I’ve been working a lot (and I mean, a lot) on blog posts and fanfiction and stuff for Buzzfeed and other things that need doing. However, on top of those things, I will be spending the next three weeks working on finally getting my rewrite done.

How are all of you doing on Camp NaNo so far?

 

Also, in non-Camp NaNo news, I changed my second blog! It was jcarsonrants and it is now jcarsonreviews because I discovered I much prefer reviewing episodes of things I watch as opposed to what the blog was originally going to be for
Also, I’m on Buzzfeed now. I think I might have mentioned this before or I linked to a post on Buzzfeed or something, I don’t know. But yes, various forms of social media have officially taken over my life and I apologize if I have mentioned this before, but I’m really excited. Some of the stuff I’m posting there will be on this blog as well, but a lot of it will only be posted there. So if you want to check that out I’ve put the link below.

Good luck to everyone on their second week of Camp NaNo and on anything else you’re doing this month!

Happy Easter!

Or, if you don’t celebrate Easter, happy Sunday!

 

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Camp NaNoWriMo Day One & April Updates

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Camp NaNoWriMoIt is day one of Camp NaNoWriMo! How many of you are doing Camp NaNo this month?

Camp NaNo is basically the same thing as NaNoWriMo in November, except that the goal isn’t to write a brand new, 50,000 word novel. The goal is to set your own word goal and work on whatever project you want.

I will be taking this month to work on finally finishing my redraft of Brave Young Boys which has been getting pushed to the back burner a lot lately. So this month Brave Young Boys is my main focus and it won’t be getting pushed anywhere except hopefully into a willing publishers hands.

And this brings me to my April Updates. I won’t be posting a book review today or on the fifteenth.

I spent majority of March working to get everything done that I needed to before April first arrived and for the most part I got everything done. The two days I would normally be posting book reviews on are my two busiest days of the month so I won’t be doing those, but everything else will be going ahead as planned and book reviews will return in May!

Good luck to my fellow Camp NaNoWriMo participants! What projects are you working on?

Happy April!

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