Wednesday, June 29, 2022

Grandma's & Grandpa's Tales Virtual Book Tour Highlights

It's so sad to see our authors go, but in tribute we do a recap of the highlights of their blog tour with us at Pump Up Your Book. Today we're highlighting Cheryl Carpinello and her Grandma's & Grandpa's Tales Virtual Book Publicity Tour. A very big THANK YOU to all the amazing bloggers who helped make Cheryl's tour a success!

Meet the Author

Cheryl Carpinello taught high school English for 25 years. During that time, she worked with numerous students who didn’t like to read for a variety of reasons. However, she discovered that even the most reluctant readers became engaged in the classroom and in reading when she introduced units on King Arthur and the works of ancient world writers. Upon retiring, she set out to write fast-paced, action-filled stories in these setting to encourage young readers to read more. Her success with readers aged 8-16 led her to reach out to the youngest of readers and those readers just starting out. Revising stories she had written for her own children, she created Grandma/Grandpa’s Tales for ages 4-7. Her four grandchildren’s conversations created the stories in Book 3 of this series.

Visit her on Twitter and Facebook.

Inside the Books

Title: Grandma’s and Grandpa’s Tales Books 1 – 6
Author: Cheryl Carpinello
Publisher: Silver Quill Publishing
Genre: Children’s Picture Books (Ages 4 – 8)

Book Blurb:

Grandma and Grandpa’s Tales books 1-3 encourage early readers with fun stories incorporating difference aspects of nature. Book 1, Wild Creatures In My Neighborhood and What if I Went to the Circus, explores the wildlife around neighborhoods and introduces decision-making. Book 2, Singers of Songs and The Not Too Stubborn Humpback, explores a common, but not so common insect, and lets readers see that being stubborn isn’t always good. Book 3, Vampires in the Backyard and A Fish Tale, introduces readers to an extended metaphor and lets them decide if the fish story is real.

Book Information

Release Date: Grandma’s Tales #1 (2016), Grandma’s Tales #2 (2018), Grandma’s Tales #3 (2021), Grandpa’s Tales #1 (2016), Grandpa’s Tales #2 (2018), Grandpa’s Tales #3 (2021)

Publisher: Silver Quill Publishing

Soft Cover: Grandma’s Tales #1 – 39 pages; $9.99

Grandma’s Tales #2 – 66 pages; $13.99

Grandma’s Tales #3 – 64 pages; $14.99

Grandpa’s Tales #1 – 39 pages; $9.99

Grandpa’s Tales #2 – 66 pages; $13.99

Grandpa’s Tales #3 – 64 pages; $14.99

Amazon Ma 1: https://amzn.to/3374bEX

Amazon Pa 1: https://amzn.to/3uHMKpA

Amazon Ma 2: https://amzn.to/3Jan0X5

Amazon Pa 2: https://amzn.to/34HGt2g

Amazon Ma 3: https://amzn.to/3wELnJj

Amazon Pa 3: https://amzn.to/3GyXTLJ

Highlights

Guest Post at Blogging Authors

"Each of these picture books take close to year to publish. That’s about how long it takes me to refine the text, find the images, have the artist draw those, and do the cover and the layout. After doing the covers for Books 1 & 2, my cover designer was unable to do Book 3’s cover. I reached out to another designer in England whom I had used before. She was swamped, but her artistic husband stepped up and did Book 3’s cover. He did a fantastic job, don’t you think?"

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My Bookish Pleasures Interview

"Writing Grandma/Grandpa’s Tales is really an extension of my MG/Tween/YA stories. As an educator, I’m always exploring ways to get more kids reading. Reaching out to a younger audience made sense. If preschool and kindies become frustrated with learning to read, then chances are that frustration will continue as they grow. And most of the stories in the Grandma/Grandpa series had already been written."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bound 4 Escape Review

"Both of these stories are not only fun to read, but they’re simple enough for beginners to read on their own."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A Mama's Corner of the World

"The stories were fun, entertaining, and gave a little bit of a discussion starting opportunities regarding decision making, neighborhoods, animals, and family. I enjoyed the author's writing style, the colorful illustrations, and the easy flow of the stories. I would recommend this book to families with preschoolers seeking a fun series for family storytime. The easy-to-read, repetitive phrases make it a great early reader storybook as well."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Word Magic

"Grandma and Grandpa’s Tales Books 1-3 encourage early readers with fun stories incorporating difference aspects of nature. Book 1, Wild Creatures In My Neighborhood and What if I Went to the Circus, explores the wildlife around neighborhoods and introduces decision-making. Book 2, Singers of Songs and The Not Too Stubborn Humpback, explores a common, but not so common insect, and lets readers see that being stubborn isn’t always good. Book 3, Vampires in the Backyard and A Fish Tale, introduces readers to an extended metaphor and lets them decide if the fish story is real. All the books have bright, simple images to catch and keep the attention of a young reader. Where relevant, some stories have activities to help youngsters remember what they have read about or learned, or else to draw various concepts they have discovered. Parents and educators will welcome the variety of stories and the possibilities of discussions with the young audience about social issues, concepts, and choices. Very highly recommended."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Over the Rainbow Book Reviews

"In the first story, Wild Creatures in My Neighborhood had me in fits of laughter and I'm not a kid! I love this story because not many kids realize that there's a whole bunch of animals that live in the city as well as the country. This is perfect for your city rug rat so that they realize that animals are not restricted to the country.

In What If I Went to the Circus?, the illustrations in this story were so cute! So the little boy goes to the circus and starts dreaming up ways to have the circus animals for pets, only one by one they get eliminated for very good reasons! At the circus, the child looks at the animals acting behaved and downright fun. They would make perfect pets! Oh no...the little boy takes each animal he would like to have as a pet and found reasons they would be better off at the circus."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jazzy Book Reviews

"It's a short, quick, cute read, and young readers will find it silly and fun.
4 stars!"

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Writer's Life Guest Post

"I started writing when I retired from teaching. After encountering so many high school students who didn’t like to read, I wanted to reach out to younger students in the hopes that I could share my love of reading with them. Since my high school non-readers loved Arthurian Legend (The only books I could get them to read!), I started my own Arthurian tales with Guinevere: On the Eve of Legend. I then wrote The King’s Ransom (Young Knights of the Round). After those, I moved on to my Egyptian tales (Sons of the Sphinx and Tutankhamen Speaks). However, I underestimated the appeal young Guinevere and Cedwyn, her devoted friend, would have for readers. Giving into the pressure not only from readers but from the characters themselves, I continued these two remarkable characters’ story. Guinevere: At the Dawn of Legend and Guinevere: The Legend complete the trilogy of two kids who value friendship, honor, and loyalty above all else, even their lives. Soaring to heights I never imagined, Guinevere and Cedwyn continue to draw readers into their story. Consequently, the Guinevere Trilogy outsells all my other books! I’ve even had emails from readers wanting their story to continue."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Book Connection Review

"I have enjoyed Carpinello’s work for years, and these books are no exception. As a retired teacher, she speaks to the heart of children with her stories. These tales were a lot of fun."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lisa's Reading Review

"What kind of tales would a Grandma tell her little grandchildren? She would love to read these books to her grandchild (ages 4-8) anytime of the day or at bedtime. I read Grandma’s Tales 1 and was delighted with the charming and classic style of children’s books. I would definitely want to read these books to my grandchildren. I think that they would enjoy having this book read to them over and over."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Blended Blog Review

"Both these books were so adorable. I can't wait to share them with my own Grandson soon."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Visit Cheryl Carpinello's Grandma's & Grandpa's tour page at 📚 Pump Up Your Book Presents Grandma’s & Grandpa’s Tales Virtual Book Publicity Tour #ChildrenPictureBooks | Pump Up Your Book! :: Virtual Book Publicity Tours to visit all the blogs who hosted her!

Wednesday, June 15, 2022

⭐A Bookish Conversation with 'Reversal of Fortune' F.M. Meredith⭐ @marilynmeredith #ReversalofFortune #interview

F.M. Meredith, also known as Marilyn Meredith, has had 48 books published as well as two short stories, most are mysteries, but also a few Christian horror, a roman with supernatural elements, and a cookbook. She’s taught writing in many venues including for Writers Digest and many conferences. She lives in the foothills of the Sierra with her husband.

Her latest book is the mystery, Reversal of Fortune.

You can visit her website at http://fictionforyou.com/ or her blog at https://marilynmeredith.blogspot.com. Connect with her on Twitter and Facebook.

Before you started writing your book, what kind of research did you do to prepare yourself?

For this particular book, I researched modern day fortune tellers including how much people were willing to pay them. I had to find out a bit about real estate in Santa Barbara.

In all of the Rocky Bluff P.D. mysteries there is also a certain amount of police work I have to find out about.

Did you pursue publishers or did you opt to self-pub?

Over the years this series has been published by many different publishers. Finally, one of my friends who is an editor and publisher convinced me I should be doing this on my own.

If self-published, did you hire someone to format the ebook version for you or did you do it yourself? Can you tell us what that was like?

This same friend offered to re-edit and format all the books in the series. It didn’t take me any time at all to take her up on her offer.

If self-published, how did you determine the price?

Together, my editor, and now the one who has done the publishing work, and myself decided upon the price.

If published by a publisher, what was your deciding factor in going with them?

In the past, the later publishers of this series were people I met at writing conferences and became friends.

Did you purposefully choose a distinct month to release your book?

No, each book in the series has come out when it was done, one a year.

How did you choose your cover?

We decided to make the covers in this series all have the same design, only changing the title and the main color. The cover work was done by my editor/publisher’s husband.

Did you write your book, then revise or revise as you went?

I wrote and revised as I went along, but when it was done it was re-edited by me, my editor, and a reader who read for continuity and picked up on a few errors along the way. Then it had a final edit first by me, then my editor/publisher.

Did you come up with special swag for your book and how are you using it to help get the word out about your book?

Since we haven’t been able to do book signings or appearances for such a long time, I haven’t done any of that. I do have a list of the titles in this series printed out to give to anyone who is interested and I always have business cards to give out.

Did you consider making or hiring someone to make a book trailer for your book? If so, what’s the link?

www.PumpUpYourBook.com

A trailer was made for this book by Pump Up Your Book and here’s the link:

https://youtu.be/ECLavafrAWg

What’s your opinion on giving your book away to sell other copies of your book?

I’ve done several freebies of other books in this series and it does work. I would never do freebies of the latest book.

What are three of the most important things you believe an author should do before their book is released?

Of course, make sure it’s edited as best you can possibly make it. And of course, prepare a plan for promotion, like the book tour I’m on now. Book tours are wonderful because different readers learn about your book.

If possible, plan a book launch. There are various places you can do them. One of my most successful one was at a brand new bed and breakfast place located near one of the settings in the book. A luncheon was planned, the attendees bought tickets ahead of time, and I gave a short talk about the book.

I did another at our local Inn. We served punch and a cake decorated like the cover of the book. Also must successful.

Of course, these events took planning ahead of the book’s release.

I love doing in-person events, and hopefully there will be more available as time goes one.

What are three of the most important things you believe an author should do after their book is released?

Be active on social media.
Plan more in-person events. Contact bookstores to see if you can do a signing—but don’t just do bookstores—I’ve had great signings at coffee shops, gift shops, and even a local candy store. Libraries often are happy to host an author who gives a talk about his/her book or tips on writing and publishing. I’ve also give talks and sold my books at our local art gallery.
Continue to be active on Facebook and other social media. Write about what is going on in your life and interesting tidbits about your book.

What kind of pre-promotion did you do before the book came out?

I do have a newsletter and I always let my readers know what I’m working on and when I have a new book.

And of course, I always write about what’s going on in my life on Facebook, including my writing and my books.

Do you have a long term plan with your book?

Of course I’ll continue to talk about this book and others in the series.

What would you like to say to your readers and fans about your book?

This is the last in the series. I made the decision as police work has advanced so much since I first started writing, and though I have many sources for research, I decided it was time to let the Rocky Bluff P.D. advance without my help. I tied up some loose ends concerning characters from other books in the series, and I believe readers can come to satisfactory conclusions about everyone’s future lives. Believe me, they do live on in my imagination and I’m guessing they will in yours too.

Of course, my hopes are that you will want to read other books in the series.

F. M. Meredith

Inside the Book

Title: REVERSAL OF FORTUNE
Author: F.M. Meredith
Publisher: 31 Months LLC
Pages: 190
Genre: Mystery

Book Blurb:

A fortune teller is murdered in the small beach town of Rocky Bluff, California. The RBPD’s investigation uncovers several suspects—all with motives and opportunity. But which one killed her?

The body of a suspect is discovered on the fortune teller’s property. Clearly, the two killings are related, but how? Who is responsible?

Meanwhile, the mayor’s daughter, Kayla, whose best friend is Detective Doug Milligan’s daughter, is upset because her mother’s sister wants her to leave Rocky Bluff to live with her in Los Angeles. Can her friends convince Kayla’s aunt to leave her there with her father?

Book Information

Release Date: April 8, 2022

Publisher: 31 Months LLC;

Soft Cover: ASIN: B09XLQCNZB; 190 pages; $12.99; E-Book, $2.99

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3EA50Eo

Monday, June 13, 2022

🎈Happy Book Birthday to 🧁I BURIED PAUL by Bruce Ferber🎈 #bookbirthday @bruuucef @thestoryplant #PUYB

We're thrilled to announce the release of Bruce Ferber's I Buried Paul (The Story Plant) today! To help celebrate, we are asking our readers if you can please pretty please pick up a copy at Amazon and come back and tell us how you liked it or leave a review?

Congratulations, Bruce, on your adult literary fiction new release, I Buried Paul!

Jimmy Kozlowski has a regular gig playing Paul McCartney in the Beatles tribute band, Help!. The band is part of a cottage industry built around mimicry, where each group strives to be the ultimate Fake Fab Four. And none strives harder than Help!, thanks to Gene Klein, its John Lennon and leader. Gene’s just gotten his Medicare card and spends much of his time caring for his ailing mother. But he hasn’t lost a step on guitar or vocals, and is determined to take Help! to the top, his goal being to perform in Liverpool one day. Though the notion of the UK clamoring for a group of Long Islanders with fake British accents seems far-fetched, Gene has a plan.

Unlike his boss, Jimmy has limited bandwidth for high-quality Beatle wigs or bespoke Nehru jackets. He works a straight job, entertains at a nursing home, and yearns to connect with the daughter he’s never met. He also wants a shot at recording and performing his own original compositions. No matter the odds, Jimmy is determined to realize his creative dreams, even if it means “burying Paul” in the process.

I Buried Paul is a love letter to the power of music, a humorous yet moving exploration of the sacrifices its disciples are willing to make in service to its magic.

“Funny, heartfelt, and unafraid… A book for anyone who loves music or has ever tried to keep a dream alive.” — Ben Loory, author of Tales of Falling and Flying

“First, the good news: Paul isn’t dead, and this isn’t an autopsy. Rather it’s a funny, moving novel about trying to find your way home from the Abbey Road of your teenage fantasy life, while simultaneously escaping the shadows cast by your father, your older brother, many failed relationships, and a world that doesn’t like to see people doing what they love – such as making their own music. Reminiscent of Anne Tyler and Richard Russo (if either could keep a steady bass beat), Bruce Ferber writes humorous fiction for grown ups.” — Scott Bradfield, author of The History of Luminous Motion

“In his touching and funny novel, Bruce Ferber comes not to bury Paul McCartney but to celebrate his true believers, the dreamers who carry the torch of their youthful rock dreams well into pension age, and who refuse to sacrifice their passion despite high cholesterol counts and the possibility of embarrassing themselves. I Buried Paul is a tender paean to the music that changed us all, its revivifying and enduring power.” — Marc Weingarten, author of The Gang that Wouldn’t Write Straight: Wolfe, Thompson, Didion, Capote, and the New Journalism Revolution

“Funny, deep, and compulsive, I Buried Paul is a tribute to family, lifelong friends, and the Beatles tunes that unite them. Told with Ferber’s trademark wit, literary verve and big-heartedness, it’s a veritable magical mystery tour of growing up and finding love and meaning in a complex world.” — Michaela Carter, author of Leonora in the Morning Light

“Reading Bruce Ferber’s latest novel is like being told a great tale from your favorite and funniest pal ― the one who really seems to know stuff―the one you trust―the one who gets you when nobody else does. Long live Paul.” — Jason Alexander

“Bruce Ferber’s prose is music to my ears. I Buried Paul is very funny, and very insightful.” — John Densmore

“Bruce Ferber has captured lightning in a bottle, chronicling a generation’s obsessive attachment to The Beatles. His love for their music and legacy is evident on every page. And as the poets said, ‘With a love like that you know it can’t be bad.’ (Yeah-yeah-yeah.)” — Bob Spitz, New York Times bestselling author of The Beatles

Book Information

Release Date: June 14 2022

Publisher: The Story Plant

Soft Cover: 978-1611883282; 329 pages; $16.95; E-Book, $7.49, Audiobook, Free with Audible Trial

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3zeFK68

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/i-buried-paul-bruce-ferber/1140012044?ean=9781611883282

Chapters: https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/i-buried-paul-a-novel/9781611883282-item.html?ikwid=I+Buried+Paul&ikwsec=Home&ikwidx=1#algoliaQueryId=96d8ff50907af587efe58127490ab077

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/i-buried-paul

Book Depository: https://www.bookdepository.com/I-Buried-Paul-Bruce-Ferber/9781611883282?ref=grid-view&qid=1642224849678&sr=1-3

About the Author

Bruce Ferber built a long and successful career as a television comedy writer and producer. A multiple Emmy and Golden Globe nominee, his credits include Bosom Buddies, Growing Pains, Sabrina, The Teenage Witch, Coach, and Home Improvement, where he served as Executive Producer and showrunner. In addition to being recognized by the Television Academy, Ferber’s work has received the People’s Choice, Kid’s Choice, and Environmental Media Awards. He is the author of two previous novels, Elevating Overman and Cascade Falls, along with the nonfiction book, The Way We Work. He lives in Los Angeles, CA with his wife, large dog, and assorted musical instruments.

I Buried Paul is his latest release.

Visit his website at www.Bruceferber.net or connect with him on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.