IN THIS MONTH'S ISSUE: World Read Aloud Day Feeling the Love Meme of the Month BLIND FAIRY Events Zahra's Fun Fact My Personal Gossip |
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February begins with World Read Aloud Day. It's a day to celebrate the impact reading aloud can have on literacy and learning. And while it builds vocabulary and mastery of language, more importantly, it instills a love for reading. Let's make World Read Aloud Day an everyday thing! |
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A few months back, I checked to see if anyone had rated Society of the Sentinelia on Amazon. Nervously, I scrolled to the ratings. There was only one, but it included a review. The rating was 5-stars. I was thrilled! |
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Last week, I decided to peek again. This time, there were three ratings. All were 5 stars! I couldn't stop grinning when I saw it. For those who have taken the time to provide a rating, thank you so much for the love. With Valentine's Day upon us, it's the perfect time to remember that one of the greatest gifts you can give an author is your feedback through reviews and ratings. I challenge you to share lots of love with your favorite authors by picking three books you've recently read, and then rating them and/or writing reviews. If you've read Society of the Sentinelia and haven't yet, please consider rating it and leaving a quick review! My Valentine's promise to you is this: I'll continue to strive to create high-quality, inventive, entertaining stories that whisk you away on fantastical adventures. Look for BLIND FAIRY, the next book in the Zahra of the Uwharries series, in May! |
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While scrolling endlessly to stay engaged on my author platforms (and stay up-to-date on the goings-on of family and friends), I come across a lot of memes. Sometimes, I annoyingly send them directly to family and friends. As for my favorites, I'll be sharing them with you. Enjoy! |
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The next book in the Zahra of the Uwharries series will be available in May. If you're an avid reader of my newsletter, you might have noticed that we dropped the article from the title. It will now be called BLIND FAIRY. Tweaking the title was one of the adjustments we made during the developmental edit phase. |
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Next, the ARCs (advance reader copy) will be produced. If you are a reviewer, media specialist, bookstore acquisition manager, librarian, or avid middle grade reader, or know someone who is, please click the button to request a digital review copy! |
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Online options for purchasing the award-winning middle grade novel, Society of the Sentinelia, for your 8-12 year old! |
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You might be surprised to learn that Zahra, who is a scraebin, knows about Valentine's Day. That's because, according to Zahra, Cupid was a scraebin. Sort of. Our modern day Cupid evolved from the Greek god of love, Eros. Around the 4th century BCE, the chubby baby with wings emerged. |
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According to Zahra, the chubby baby wasn't originally a baby at all. It was a scraebin. And as for those wings, well, history altered that as well. Zahra says early interactions between scraebins and humans influenced how humans depict Cupid. As for the bow and arrow? Well, she says humans added that for drama and flair. Scraebins don't have or use weapons. If early scraebins did try to get two humans to notice each other and fall in love, they would've bounced acorns off their noses. Image by rawpixel.com |
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There's something about building a fire on a cool night that is both therapeutic and mesmerizing. After a crazy busy week, sitting around a fire and talking, listening to music, or quietly listening to the wood crackle and pop melts away the anxiety and stress of day-to-day life. |
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During the pandemic, we had fires nearly every weekend. Now that life has hit that pre-pandemic bustle, we don't get to enjoy them nearly as often. That's why when the weather is cool, the winds are calm, and the skies are clear, we start packing our fire table with kindling. |
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As the fire burns down to white-hot embers and orange-red coals, I get lost in the dying flames. Like puffy clouds on a summer day, I see images in the ever-changing scorched landscape. It's one of my happy places. |
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