Chase Tinker: Magic, Lies, and Secrets!

House of Magic cover
Fans of Skylar Robbins: The Mystery of Shadow Hills should also enjoy the wildly creative Chase Tinker series. Malia Ann Haberman may very well be the next J.K. Rowling. Reminiscent of Harry Potter, Chase Tinker and the House of Magic transports the reader into an incredible dreamlike mansion with magic occurring in every one of its ten turrets and 300+ rooms.

Ever wanted to ride on a flying carpet, become invisible, or have the ability to walk through walls or swim through the air? How about travel back in time, read minds, or get rescued by a friendly whale–just as your nasty cousin tries to drown you? It all happens in the first volume of the Chase Tinker series.

In Chase Tinker’s world, magic, lies and secrets can be a lethal combination…

In this fun, thrilling MG/’Tween fantasy, 13-year-old Chase Tinker and his brother Andy find out the truth about their family’s magical heritage from a grandfather they thought to be long dead. He invites them to visit him in his magical house – a house where every room has its own unique super-power. When there, they learn their family’s magic comes from a mysterious “Relic” and that they have a Dark Enemy who will do anything to get their hands on this Relic. Now Chase must discover a way to stop these evil beings, find his missing dad, and unravel even more family secrets, while not letting on that he has his own secret crush on the housekeeper’s daughter.

Praise for Chase Tinker: The House of Magic:
“This is a phenomenal book for middle grade readers, who can very easily project themselves into this adventure. In the grand old tradition of Harry Potter and Star Wars, I hope we hear a lot more about Chase Tinker, as well as the author, in the future.”
Brian Katcher – School Librarian/Author
“I see this as the kind of novel that both boys and girls will embrace, which is rare for children’s literature. It’s well-written, professionally edited, and tightly plotted. I recommend it highly.” Amazon Top Reviewer
There’s plenty of action and mystery, and let’s not forget the magical house that is just built out of plain awesomeness. RallytheReaders

Visit Malia Ann Haberman’s website here.

The Chase Tinker Series is available on Amazon.

 

Carrie Cross’s Advice to Aspiring Writer’s #4: Plot From the End

feather_quill
Carrie Cross’s Advice to Aspiring Writers #4: Plot From the End

One of the best bits of advice I’ve ever read regarding plotting was from Ayn Rand’s, The Art of Fiction. Her premise suggests that an author must plan the climax in advance, and figure out the end of their story before they ever begin to write.

Some authors like to start with an outline, diagramming their whole book scene-by-scene. This structure doesn’t work for me. I find that it inhibits my creativity if I have to force dialogue, plot twists, and suspense into a prearranged outline. However, I made the mistake of starting my first novel with some juicy, creative ideas, but with no plan for where I was going with them. Why don’t I just let my imagination see where it takes the characters? I thought gleefully, and foolishly. What I ended up with was 400 pages of what I now refer to as “a tangled ball of spaghetti” that took months to unravel. That manuscript never turned into a coherent book.

And that’s because I didn’t know where I was going from the beginning. I started exploring a path without having any idea where it would end. I had the idea for a story, but I didn’t plan the climax, the finale, the de·noue·ment:
ˌdāno͞oˈmäN/
1. the final part of a play, movie, or narrative in which the strands of the plot are drawn together and matters are explained or resolved.

Ayn Rand’s advice on plotting was invaluable to me when I wrote my next book, which was the first volume of the Skylar Robbins detective series: The Mystery of Shadow Hills. This time I had the idea for my story, decided how it would end, and planned the climax in advance. And then I wrote toward it.

Every scene, every character, and every bit of dialogue was composed with the end in sight. If you don’t know where the end of the road lies, how can you possibly figure out the path that will lead you to it? As Ayn Rand says in The Art of Fiction, “The only absolute rule is…you must start plotting from the end.”

Skylar Robbins: Excellent children’s fiction, enjoyable by all ages

SHADOW HILLS COVER

By T. Ormiston-smithon September 18, 2014

It’s not easy to write well for children, and Ms. Cross has done a superlative job in this entertaining adventure story.

The book starts with a couple of familiar tropes (the creepy old house, the keen boy/girl detective) and in the opening pages I was expecting a standard ‘Nancy Drew’ kind of offering, albeit very well done. But The Mystery of Shadow Hills unfolds layer by surprising layer, revealing with each turn something that takes us completely off guard. Oh, there’s witches. Oh, no wait, the witches are real and dangerous! Oh, but wait….

Skylar is a wonderfully down-to-earth heroine; there are no child prodigies here, no soaring intellects or paranormal abilities. Just an ordinary little girl with a consuming passion and the patience to learn to use her tools. As we follow her through some really hair-raising experiences, we watch her discover the difference between real and false friendship, and after a few false starts, find her way onto a solid path of common sense.

A wonderfully enjoyable read for ages 8 to 13, but able to be enjoyed by all ages.

Award-winning children’s author, Kristen Mott, on Why Children Appreciate Animal Stories

OdieSKOdieBFKristen Mott, award-winning author of Odie the Stray Kitten and Odie’s Best Friend speaks out about Why Children Appreciate Animal Stories:

I am a children’s picture book author and avid animal person. I have recently been thinking about why certain stories stay with us over the course of our lives. I have always liked children’s literature because I believe it is one of the only genres that can be enjoyed for multiple lifetimes. By this I mean that the books we enjoyed as children we remember throughout our own lives and then enjoy those books again with our children. I asked myself a few questions while I was awaiting the arrival of my first child: Why are children drawn to a certain book and request that it be read to them over and over again? Why are animals such a big part of children’s literature? Not only are they a part of the stories, they are often the main focus and are given many human characteristics and qualities.

I have come up with three reasons why I believe children appreciate and relate to animal stories more than most adults.

1. Animals provide some type of connection. Maybe the child has not yet felt connected to a person in their young life (other than Mom and Dad or siblings). Children can recognize the spirit of animals and can perceive an animal’s energy and are able to connect with it more so than with another person. Not only that, but the stories can provide the child with a connection to the real animals of the world as well.

2. Animals are more imaginative. It is easy to think about a child in a story doing chores, going to school, making friends. This is not new or original in a child’s mind. These are things that they themselves do. But when an animal is accomplishing these tasks in a story, it becomes more imaginative and vivid for the child. What child doesn’t want to imagine a raccoon learning to cook or a frog getting married?

3. Animals are magical. And it’s not just those fire-breathing dragons of faraway lands. Children can appreciate animals more so than the average adult. I equate it to the whimsical nature of a child’s perception of Christmas. As we grow older, we lose the magic of the holidays and become overwhelmed with reality. Some of this is by our own doing, allowing the world to beat a sense of monotony into us. Some of it just happens by accident as we grow up and transition into the real world. As adults we have difficulty believing in the human characteristics of animals and therefore we cannot fully believe in the stories the way children can.

There is by no means any scientific evidence behind any of these points. It is simply my musings on why children can appreciate animal stories more so than the average adult. Looking back on my own childhood, I can remember some of the books that I enjoyed and have now read to my own child. And most of them happened to be about animals:

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numeroff (1985)
Clifford the Big Red Dog (Series) by Norman Bridwell (1963)
The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister (1992)
Corduroy by Don Freeman (1968)

Animal stories also have staying power. All four of the books I listed above are on the shelf in my child’s room, currently in the rotation to be read to the next generation and hopefully instilling an even deeper connection to the real animals of the world. And I want to use this very important connection to the animals in the stories and books that I create for children.

Kristen Mott is the award-winning author of the Odie the Stray Kitten Series. She strives for her writing to encourage children to read, write, and have compassion for animals. She lives on a small farm in Indiana with her family, horses and cats.

Odie the Stray Kitten and Odie’s Best Friend are available at Amazon and other online retailers and in all ebook formats. The third book in the series will be available in 2015.

www.kristenmott.com

https://www.facebook.com/odiethestraykitten
http://www.animalstoriesforchildren.blogspot.com/