Leepike Ridge

Leepike Ridge
by N.D. Wilson

Thomas Hammond, an 11 year old boy is in for the experience of his lifetime. When he falls asleep on a piece of foam from his mom’s new refrigerator box, he doesn’t realize where this chunk of packing material will take him.

N.D. Wilson writes a delightful children’s book. I sped right through it and thoroughly enjoyed the adventure.

Reviews

I really enjoyed this book! Two girls in high school dealing with family, friends and boys, working together to help each other out, with unexpected surprises. Delightful read!

Joseph Bruchac tells a story of a lonely boy, adventure and bears. I got quite disturbed while reading this as there were some gruesome sections and descriptions that I considered inappropriate for young (or even old) readers.

Remember the Fallen

Yesterday, I went to the memorial service for a fallen officer. He died by sniper shots defending the community.

The activities started at about 10:00 am with a 300+ procession of police cars from all over the west driving, car by car with their lights flashing down Main Street to the bulding where the service was going to take place. A couple of hours later, Mom and I walked through the line of officers holding flags and under the ladders of two fire engines holding up our country's flag.

The service was thankfully Christian! Many people spoke including the Mayor and Officer Newbill's children. I experienced things I probably will never see again, including a 21 Gun Salute (very loud!), presentation of the Police Cross and American flag to Mrs. Newbill, and more than 300+ officers saluting the fallen hero.

One of the most touching parts was the final call for service, broadcast by the police dispatch over the radio. "Godspeed," the dispatcher said. "One-four-nine, out of service. Go with God."

All of a Kind

TA-DA!

My Beautiful New Posters:

Pictures Below: My Cute Sister. Adorable Puppy Dog.

Author Interview: Kerry Madden

I have had the privilege of interviewing Kerry Madden. Author of Gentle's Holler (see review here), just published: Louisiana's Song (see review here), and in the works: Jessie's Mountain.

Who (of your characters) was your favorite/most fun to write?

Well, I love writing Livy Two, of course, the voice of the Weems' family, but I had a lot of fun writing Grandma Horace, Uncle Buddy, and Jitters, especially in the third book, JESSIE'S MOUNTAIN, which has just gone to copy-editing. Jitters, the copycat, gets her time to shine in book three.

Which character do you identify with the most?

I think either Livy Two or Louise...I was a reader like Livy Two, but terribly awkward and shy like Louise when I was growing up. So I think I feel closest to them.

Did you want to be a writer all your life, if not, what did you want to be?

Writing was the only thing I was good at or least folks said said so...I really thought I would be a playwright in college and managed to be a minor-minor one for a long time, but with having kids, I turned toward fiction. And then I found that I loved writing children's novels - they were my salvation as a child since we moved so much. Judy Blume, Lois Lowry, Betty Smith, Mark Twain, and so many more...

There are a lot of characters in your books, how did you come up with all their names?

My husband has a cousin, Gentle, so that's how I came up with the name, Gentle...He also had a great Aunt Zilpah somewhere...I love old southern names...Louise became Louisiana...Livy Two was Addie for about a minute...I just played with names...And I wanted something simple for the parents - Tom and Jessie.

If you could meet any person in the world, who would it be?
Harper Lee. I would love to meet Nelle Harper Lee. I'm just home from a trip to Monroeville, Alabama and it was like stepping back in time to see that oval-shaped courthouse and imagine those characters again.

Thank you so much Kerry Madden, I really appreicated you taking time to do this with me! Please visit her at : www.kerrymadden.com

Louisiana's Song

Louisiana’s Song
by Kerry Madden

Livy Two and her family are back with even more excitement and drama. She has had to grow up fast! With her dad still recovering from his traumatic car accident, Emmett working in Ghost Town in the Sky, and money getting tighter and tighter, she really has no choice. Things will get better, they have to...

Louisiana (Louise) is a big part of this story, too. In the last year, she has sprouted and now is the focal point of horrible mockery and teasing from children at school.

Fortunately, Louise can go to her artistry for comfort and reassurance. As their family works hard to keep everything and everyone alive, a queen is crowned, fairy huts are made, trips are taken and the whole Weems family works intensely to get money in the “Everything Box”. ~

Livy Two continues to follow her dream of song writing and through out the book makes-up absolutely beautiful songs! I enjoyed imagining what they “really” sounded like in my head.

I liked the feel of the story and like I said in my review for Gentle’s Holler (Kerry’s first book), I really want to visit some of these places!!!

Kerry Madden does it again by writing another “heartwarming” book.
Stay tuned for the third installment of the Maggie Valley trilogy….

Also Posted on Flamingnet Books.

Gentle's Holler

Gentle’s Holler
by Kerry Madden


Livy Two Weems (named after her older sister Livy One who died at birth) lives with her family of ten in their holler in Maggie Valley. Eleven if you count Grandma Horace’s surprise visit.

Livy Two has to deal with lots, including all her siblings, her Daddy’s guitar songs that aren’t selling, and her sister Gentle’s bad eyes.

When money starts getting real bad, her Dad signs her up for a musical competition in town. Livy Two has a good voice and is very good on the guitar, but she doesn’t know if she can sing in front of all those people. Strangers. Her songs came from the Holler and they should stay there. She must sing though, she thinks, for her family at least!

A wonderful story of survival and family love! Kerry Madden’s first book in her Maggie Valley trilogy made me laugh and cry. I didn’t think it possible to interact with a book and its characters the way I did. I now wish I could go and visit the places that were in the book. Highly Recommend!

Also posted on Flamingnet Books.

Pictures

Last weekend some of our friends (far left) came to visit us. We were all tired of posing for pictures, so we begged to do a silly one! Here is the result. I'm quite happy with it!

I know I haven't done this for a while, but here is a picture of my May Beauty. (mom took it)
THE VELVETEEN RABBIT! *sniff* Is all over. *cries* Here are some pictures:












A bunch of Erin and my friends from the cast

Our Beautiful Cake...

COMING SOON!
1. Reviews of Gentle's Holler and Louisiana's Song

2. Interview with their author

Book Tag

What I'm reading tag
I was tagged by Miss Erin for the "What are you reading?" meme.

Just finished: My Sister the Vampire #1: Switched by Sienna Mercer (a very funny book)

Just began: Louisiana’s Song: a Novel by Kerry Madden (sequel to Gentle’s Holler; interview with author coming soon!)

In the middle of: Bearwalker by Joseph Bruchac (a bear horror story.)
Inkspell by Cornelia Funke
Penny from Heaven by Jennifer L. Holm (the story of an Italian family)
The Amber Spyglass by Phillip Pullman (the third book in “His Dark Materials” trilogy)

I tag: Michelle, Irishdancer, and Harptunes

Whats Happening Today:

1. Audrey Hepburn's Birthday!
1929-1993
Audrey is an amazing person!

She has inspired millions of people, including me....

2. Spiderman 3 in Theaters!

I have been waiting for this movie to come out for a LONG time, sadly I won't be able to see it today (see below), but I just had to mention it!

3. Opening Night for The Velveteen Rabbit!

We are very excited about tonight! Lots of hard work has gone into this production. We have three shows: two nights and a matinee.

There will be more posts and pictures after our performances, so probably Monday..:D

I am in pink and white,

Erin is in blue and black.

Billy Creekmore: A Novel

Billy Creekmore: A Novel
By Tracey Porter

Reviewed by Acting Gal

Billy Creekmore has a pretty low life. He believes his mother died and his father ran away because of his birth. His nurse admitted him to an orphan boarding house, but he is forced to work on his “masters” land all day long. Fortunately he has a couple of very good friends.

One day, actually, the day he was planning on running away, his long lost uncle came to the orphanage to take him home. Billy thought that all his problems were over. But, unbeknownst to him, they were just starting. With blood thirsty mine owners and lying, cheating circus managers, Billy has to learn what his true identity is, and if he wants to accept it or not.

Tracey Porter does a wonderful job bringing her readers into the past with believable characters and a fitting vocabulary. Even though this book was a very entertaining read, it had a lot of sad happenings and in the end I didn’t feel that her character had solved all his problems.

As a writer, I was very interested to know that Tracey named all of her boy characters, besides Billy, after boys that had died working in coal mines. I would describe this book as a “revised version” of Oliver Twist.

Also posted on Flamingnet Books.