Story Notes from Author Trudi Trueit |
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Fall 2021 Books for Kids & Kids at Heart |
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Hi Readers! Whether it's crunching through golden leaves on a blustery day or inhaling the delightful scent of Asian pear pie fresh from the oven (made with pears from the tree in our backyard), autumn is my favorite time of the year. Recently, I got to add another item to my list of fall favorites: the release of Book 6 in the EXPLORER ACADEMY series from National Geographic: THE DRAGON'S BLOOD. It's here, at last! |
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October's been a busy month and I have plenty to share with you in this issue of the newsletter, including a GIVEAWAY with several chances for you to WIN, a scene that never made it into THE DRAGON'S BLOOD, and a video interview I did with the hosts of Scout Life Magazine's fun livestream show for kids, TrekAt2. Keep scrolling for the latest scoop. As always, thanks for reading. May your autumn be filled with wonderful adventures. And pie, too, of course! ~ Trudi |
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THE DRAGON'S BLOODFrom the jungles of Borneo to the forests of Tasmania, the explorers embark on their most challenging expeditions yet. For Cruz it is a time of self-discovery as he seeks to make sense of the family mystery he is slowly unraveling. Who is betraying him? And why? More surprises are on the way as Cruz faces new revelations about his destiny and those determined to keep him from fulfilling it! Plenty of surprises are in store for Cruz, plus a major villain is revealed in this second to the last book in the Explorer Academy series. | | |
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The Neverending Bookshop in Edmonds, WA has a limited number of SIGNED copies of the book in stock. To order yours, please call the store at (425) 415-1945. |
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HITTING THE BLOG TOUR TRAIL WITH A BIG GIVEAWAY I love going on blog tours. They're a great opportunity to give readers a behind-the-scenes look at my process and reveal the inspiration for why I do what I do. For this tour, I wrote articles about how I created the characters, technology, and codes for EXPLORER ACADEMY. I also gave some of the best writing advice I've received throughout my career and even shared a deleted scene from THE DRAGON'S BLOOD. I confess, that's a first for me. I've never before let anyone peek in the files I keep of scenes that I edit from a book. The complete lineup of tour stops is below. While you're blog-hopping, be sure to enter the giveaway to WIN a set of the first six EA books. You can enter once at EACH stop along the way, so that's five chances to win. The contest ends November 1, 2021 at 11:59 PM EST (U.S & Canadian residents only, please). Good luck, everyone! |
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SHARING THE INSIDE STORY WITH SCOUTING'S TREK AT 2 I had a great time chatting with Aaron and Gina on one of my favorite livestream shows, Scout Life Magazine's TrekAt2 (I'm the one in the middle). We discussed what it was like to research and write the series, I read from THE DRAGON'S BLOOD, and I even let a few secrets slip about what's ahead for Cruz and his friends in the 7th book of the series that will be out this time next year. Naturally, my cat overlords Pippin, Woody, Misty, and Emmylou, were not at all happy about being stuck on the other side of the door during the whole thing. |
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If you missed the live show, you can catch the half-hour recording here: | | |
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HAVE YOU VOTED YET? Kids, it's that time of year to vote for your favorite books, authors, and illustrators in the Kids' Book Choice Awards. A certain writer you know (ahem!) is excited to be a finalist in the FAVORITE AUTHOR for ages 8 - 12 category. Only kids, ages 3-18, are eligible to vote for the awards (but adults, you may assist). Other middle grade categories include Best Graphic Novel, Best Book of Facts, and Best Book of the Year. Voting ends November 14th, so be sure to check out all the categories and cast your online ballot soon. |
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JOIN THE ACADEMY & TRAVEL THE WORLD New to the Explorer Academy universe? Head to National Geographic's official EA website to immerse yourself in the adventure. Read the first chapter of each book in the series, play a codebreaking game, take a personality quiz, or go on a scavenger hunt. Plus, you can watch short videos of the real explorers of National Geographic who inspired the series like the one below, featuring submersible pilot, Erika Bergman. Erika helped me with the sub lingo Cruz uses to talk to Orion when he's piloting Ridley (thanks, Erika!). |
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Want to drop me a note? Respond to this newsletter or email me: author@truditrueit.com. Interested in having me chat with your class, book club, or scout troop? Currently, most of my visits are the virtual kind, but I'd be happy to hop online with your group. I am offering a limited number of FREE Q&A sessions of 20 minutes through November 30, 2021. Hey, if you've read this far you deserve one! For a full presentation, please contact me for pricing. |
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