HAVE YOU HERD? January 15, 2018 (Giveaway Video at the End) Written by Jennifer Lynn Alvarez |
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Meet Kamilla Benko, Author of The Unicorn Quest Coming to Stores January 30, 2018 |
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INTERVIEW Jennifer: Tell us what inspired you to write The Unicorn Quest? Kamilla: So many things inspired me! But the number one thing that kicked this story into a full-fledge gallop (excuse my pun!) was a trip to the Cloisters, a museum in New York City. There, they have a collection of famous tapestries--The Unicorn Tapestries--that show a unicorn being hunted. I asked myself why anyone would ever want to kill a unicorn, and from my question, the story grew. |
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Jennifer: Clearly you're a horse lover! Did you grow up riding or ever own a horse? Kamilla: I wish I had owned a horse! But I was lucky enough to start riding at the age of ten. A family friend owned a horse, and she would drive me to my lessons and let me help her take care of Sky, her beautiful quarter horse. During the summers, I assisted my instructor with the younger riders, and I also volunteered a lot at a therapeutic riding center near my house. So while I didn't own any horses, I always had them around! Jennifer: Many Guardian Herd fans are also writers. Do you have any writing tips to share? Kamilla: Read! Read fantasy, read history, read articles, read about far off places. Books provide endless inspiration. Jennifer: What were your favorite childhood books? What are you reading now? Kamilla: I have so many, but my favorites always had a bit of magic...and horses. I loved Bruce Coville's Unicorn Chronicles, Gail Carson Levine's Ella Enchanted (Ella's horse was named Apple), and Shannon Hale's Goose Girl (Princess Ani rode Falada). And right now I am reading Roshani Chokshi's Aru Shah and the End of Time, a Rick Riordan presents book and it is magnificent! Highly recommend! Jennifer: Your book is about sisters. Do you have any? Kamilla: I do! I have a sister named Gabriella who is seven years younger then me. Growing up, she was very little and very loud and very energetic, so I would distract her by reading out loud to her. Now she's older and can read by herself--which paid off tremendously for me since Gabriella read every single draft of The Unicorn Quest, and I've lost count of how many I had! Jennifer: What is your Hogwart's House? I'm a Gryffindor--but in a Neville Longbottom-like way. I'm fearful of many things, but I always push myself to do what scares me most. In that way, I'm very similar to my main character, Claire, who has to overcome her fears in order to find her missing sister. |
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FEATURED FAN ART! Art by Lily L. Lily drew this stunning picture of Star and Morningleaf, her two favorite Guardian Herd characters. It's not a romantic moment, rather it's a display of love that transcends romance, family, and friendship. These two are soul mates. These two will do anything for each other. Beautiful! Check out Lily's Instagram @jasperpony563 |
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WHAT'S ON MY DESK? This Month's Project: Oh boy! I received me editor's notes back on ROTR #2 and I have a lot of work to do! My deadline is January 25th, and so far I'm on track to finish on time. Each book I write comes with a new set of problems--some quite minor, others a bit more intense, like this one. However, my editor's notes back to me are so clear that I was able to quickly understand the problem. Still, it's not fun to take a book apart and put it back together again, even if it is a normal part of the revision process. Ugh--right when I thought I knew what I was doing! |
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SHOUT OUTS! HAPPY BIRTHDAY & CONGRATULATIONS to the following colts and fillies! Olivia says Happy Birthday to a little girl named Salome who has a birthday coming up on January 30th! Happy Birthday to Haylee in South Africa. She turned 12 on January 13th. Also, congratulations Haylee on your new horse Suncatcher! Sohpia B. aka Rainfeather had a birthday on January 5th! Kaitlyn is turning 9 on Februrary 1st! Sasha wants to wish her sister Hope a happy upcoming birthday on February 2nd (sorry for getting the date wrong in the video!) Michael P. would like to wish his brother Noel a Happy Birthday! If you'd like a shout out, please press the button below. I'll say hello, wish you a happy birthday, or congratulate you in my monthly video and newsletter--just let me know what's going on! |
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TRIVIA! Guardian Herd artist David McClellan created some of his initial cover art on his cell phone! Read his super cool interview here |
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WINGBEATS BOOK CLUB Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus by Dusti Bowling Suggested by: Flamefrost on the MB This is our book for February and March. Discussion on The Message Board beginning February 15, 2018 | | |
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Book suggestions have been pouring in. Please feel free to suggest a book for the club. Let's stick with children's fiction and non-fiction. |
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HERD NERD PETS Tonka (Shiz Tzu) was owned by Carly K. She got him in 2009 and he was already four years old at the time. He was crippled and had to be put down on December 16, 2017. I'm so sorry you lost your baby Carly! He was lucky to have you as long as he did. Fly straight and find your rest, Tonka. | | |
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To have your pet featured, email a photo and write a few sentences about what makes him/her special! (The actual month your pet appears will depend on how many readers respond) Email your pet's pic to jennifer@theguardianherd(dot)com |
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JEN'S WRITING TIPS (photo by Nick Alvarez) |
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Keep track of your world! Maps: Draw your world, include landscape details, travelways, cities, important places, bodies of water, and neighboring realms Characters: Keep a detailed character list Plot: Write a timeline of events Illustrate: If you're an artist, draw scenes from your book/story Act: Struggling with an action scene, act it out! Research: Keep notes on any outside research you do on your world Have fun! |
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A DAY IN THE LIFE Guess who I Skyped with last week? Kate O'Hearn, author of the Pegasus series! We talked until the sun went down (well, for her, it already had gone down, she lives in the UK). I learned that Kate loves to dance, loves to write, and isn't afraid to speak her mind. We chatted about our writing processes, and we are quite similar. We both like to sit at the computer and go! We like to let the story reveal itself, and then we work out all the little details later (hence the big edit I'm working on now). |
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And guess what else? Kate read an advance copy of RIDERS OF THE REALM, and loved it! Here's her quote, which will appear on the book: "An epic adventure that moves at the speed of flight. Thrilling, compelling and completely enchanting. I fell in love with the Storm Herd, and one particular winged steed that Pegasus himself would fall for!” Kate O'Hearn, international bestselling author of the Pegasus series |
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How Anok's Maps Came to Be |
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