Tuesday Trials & Achievements: Support Your Favorite Authors

First a big HOORAY to celebrate the achievement of a fellow author:

Congratulations to author PJ Hoover - today is the official release date of her book The Emerald Tablet! Be sure to read my review of her book here and then stop by her blog to wish her a wonderful day, because for authors Book Release Day is much like a child's birthday. A big deal. A really big deal. But if you've read my blog before, you already know that!

And now onto a discussion of a related on-going trial:

PJ sent out a great announcement email this morning. And it struck me, now that I'm 6 months into this published book world myself, that a significant chunk of the success of an author really does lie in the hands of READERS!

Think about your own reading cycle:

1. You pick out a book (either because it LOOKS interesting or because ANOTHER reader tells you it is).
2. You read the book.
3. You tell others about the book (either that they SHOULD read it, or that they should AVOID it - and why).
4. The cycle repeats with the next book. And if you recommended the book, the cycle repeats for the book with another reader (or thousands!).

In her announcement email, PJ Hoover included a great list of things readers can do to help celebrate and spread the word about their favorite books (which is especially helpful for first-time authors and small presses who don't have the big house man/woman power behind them). I think it is such a great list that I'm including it here. While PJ created the list to help publicize her book, The Emerald Tablet, but I think it is applicable to any book/author that you enjoy (maybe even a yellow-hatted girl who loves to run - I think you know who SHE is, right? - and her book, or her author friend Carol Goodrow):

- Buy THE BOOK!
- Tell everyone you meet to buy THE BOOK.
- Review THE BOOK and post the review on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Good reviews are even better. Brianna's note: It is even better if you've taken the time to review at least one other book - it adds credibility to your review and helps YOU with your writing skills!
- Suggest THE BOOK as the kid's book pick for Al Roker on The Today Show or for Oprah Winfrey's kid's book list.
- Give THE BOOK as a gift to every kid you know.
- Make THE BOOK your standard holiday gift this season. Remember it come birthday party time, also!
- If you order it at the bookstore, suggest they order a few more copies to keep in stock!
- Recommend THE BOOK to your school or public library and ask that they order it for their shelves.
- Blog about THE BOOK or THE AUTHOR or both.
- Suggest THE AUTHOR to your school librarian for an author visit. Brianna's added tip: Coordinate visits with neighboring schools/clubs to share travel costs and make a visit affordable for everyone!
- Have your kid recommend THE BOOK as a read-aloud book in their classroom.
- Interview THE AUTHOR, write an article about THE AUTHOR, or even just mention THE AUTHOR in passing to an old acquaintance.
- Use THE BOOK in your book club.
- Form a book club for your kids if needed just for this purpose.

Other ideas I have:
- Use THE BOOK (or related products) as a fundraiser to support a cause (check with the publisher for how you can do this!).
- Donate a copy of THE BOOK to a local Boys & Girls Club or community center.
- Write a letter to THE AUTHOR or THE PUBLISHER about why you like THE BOOK (they may include it on their website!).
- Take advantage of special offers THE AUTHOR or THE PUBLISHER provide for buying THE BOOK and share the offer with other readers.
- Visit THE AUTHOR's blog and leave a comment.

How about YOU? What suggestions do you have for supporting your favorite author?

Lost in the Pages: Book Review of The Emerald Tablet by P.J. Hoover

I imagine this has been a glorious (yet exhausting) month for author P.J. Hoover. Her debut novel, The Emerald Tablet, releases this month. Now readers can hold and enjoy the fruits of months and months of her labor (moms will find the process remarkably similar to pregnancy and labor for humans - without the visible stretch marks).

The Emerald Tablet is a science fiction novel, the first of a trilogy for middle grade readers (target ages 8-14, with an emphasis on 11+, I believe). Anyone who enjoyed discovering the world of magic with Harry Potter will enjoy diving into a different magical world with Benjamin Holt and his friends. The group forms after meeting up at a summer school on the hidden, submerged continent of Lemuria. Can you imagine finding out one day that you have amazing "magical" skills - and that you've come from an underwater continent? What a plot line (and for you Potter fans, the experience is TOTALLY different from Harry's)!

In the midst of developing teleportation, telekenesis, telepathy and other new found skills, Benjamin and his friends discover the magical Emerald Tablet and find they must work together to save the world and battle adversaries from Atlantis (Lemuria's rival hidden continent). This is no easy summer school experience!

Filled with adventure, unusual experiences, plot twists and character trials, The Emerald Tablet is a book readers will not want to put down. Readers will find themselves in a new and exciting world, anxious to learn more about Lemuria and the conflict with Atlantis. Though their dialogue is sometimes lengthy, the characters are likable and easy to identify with: the curious bookworm, the competitive best friend, the confident girl, the shy and uncertain yet strong girl, and the confused but determined protagonist. I look forward to seeing how they continue to develop and what they tackle together in the next book!

Be sure to check out P.J. Hoover's website to learn more about The Emerald Tablet and for links to some other fresh middle grade and young adult novels being released this year. You can also visit P.J.'s blog for her perspective on being a newly released author!

Next book up for review: Janey Junkfood's Fresh Adventure! by Barbara Storper, MS, RD

And, as always . . . send ideas for reviews my way! Anything new, unusual, fitness, and/or youth related is game!!! Special thanks to MizFit for sending The Emerald Tablet review opportunity my way. Who will I get to thank next?? Could be YOU!

Lost in the Pages: Review of Hope for the Flowers

Hope for the Flowers, by Trina Paulus (copyright 1972, in case you're wondering), is one of those books that you read once and it sticks with you and is always great for a reread. I was first introduced to it when I was in high school (back in the early 1990s, folks) on a church retreat. One of the leaders read part of it to us before giving a moving talk about "letting go" to enable change in our lives. A number of years later (post-college and after I was married) I was browsing a local bookstore searching for another title from those retreat years (The Way of the Wolf by Martin Bell) when I stumbled upon Hope for the Flowers. I confess that I sat down right in the middle of the book aisle and read it from cover to cover (thanfully it is a quick read, as the floor isn't always the best place to enjoy a book). I did purchase it (I'm not one of THOSE people who reads a book at the store and walks away - that's what libraries are for!) and have even purchased a few additional copies to share with friends since then.

The cover note summarizes the book fairly well: "a tale - partly about life, partly about revolution, and lots about hope for adults and others (including caterpillars who can read)"

The book chronicles the lives of two caterpillars who are seeking their place in the world and trying to find their life's purpose. They find comfort in one another's companionship, yet struggle to understand if they are missing out on something important by not joining their fellow caterpillars in climbing a caterpillar pillar up to the sky (thinking perhaps the meaning to life is revealed at the top of the heap). Yellow, the girl caterpillar, decides climbing the pillar is not the path she wants to take, but Stripe, the boy caterpillar, can't resist the urge to reach the top and so leaves his friend to test his fortitude.

Stripe quickly learns that his choice was not an easy one. He must face numerous challenges (read it to see what they are!), finds himself wallowing in dispair, and realizes that he misses his dear friend Yellow. At his lowest point, a beautiful yellow butterfly visits him and silently guides him down the pillar to safety. With his newfound knowledge (again, I don't want to spoil things, so I won't tell you what they are!) and help from the kind butterfly, Stripe lets go of his fears and his urges to follow the pack of caterpillars. He finds that following the masses took him away from his life's purpose and that refocusing and looking at his life from another perspective brought him to a place where he could start life anew. This new life is filled with hope and friendship. If you know anything at all about caterpillars, you can probably guess what happens to Stripe at the end . . . but you'll have to read the book to really get a feel for how great his change truly is.

The book is a treasured favorite of mine for these fabulous reasons:

1. It is an illustrated tale that is great for adults and for adults to share with children

2. The illustrations are simple, but lovely - black/white/yellow (and if you know me, I love yellow)

3. It is a story of friendship, forgiveness, and self-discovery

4. It is a story of hope, understanding, and kindness

5. It illustrates how marvelous it is that you can change your path midstream

6. Though the characters are caterpillars, I find that I "get them" and they totally "get me"

This is a great one to get for yourself, for a friend who is facing a challenge, for high school students heading off to college, for college kids getting ready to face the "real world". It is a good one, I promise.

My next Lost in the Pages installation will be a special treat. I had the honor of receiving a preview copy of The Emerald Tablet: The Forgotten Worlds Book 1 by P.J. Hoover, which won't be in book stores until October! I'm just about finished reading this science fiction novel for middle school and young adult readers and can't wait to tell you about it.

What are YOU reading? What are your KIDS reading? Be sure to leave a note and let me know!

Who knows, I might invite you to share a review . . . or your suggestion might end up on my night stand and I'll review it myself! Remember - I'm always looking for great books to review.