AND THE WINNERS ARE:

The Hop has come to an end. I had so much fun and thank all you nice readers and writers, teachers and friends for stopping by. I want to give each of you a book, but have to settle for a few. I decided to give away two pirate books and two picture books. The winners are, drawn by Random Org:

 

FRANKIE'S PERFECT HOME

(paperback)

 

Nikki Krutz

 

 

Dianne Osmun

(I need your email, Dianne)

 

A PIRATE, A BLOCKADE RUNNER, AND A CAT

(ebook)

 

GEORGIA BECKMAN

 

 

KAREN ARROWOOD

 

 

Congratulations!

 

 

A huge thanks to everyone that entered. Keep watch. I will have more giveaways this summer. I'm thinking one will be your choice of any of my books. I do have a new middle grade book coming out soon. More about that later.

 

 

Have a lovely week.

 

Happy Reading

KID LIT GIVEAWAY HOP!

 

What? Another hop? You bet. This one is in honor of Children's Book Week, running from May 13 to May 19,  and is hosted by Mother Daughter Book Reviews  and Youth Literature Reviews.

To one winner, world wide, I'm giving away an ebook copy of my Tween Paranormal A Pirate, a Blockade Runner, and a Cat, a story for ghost lovers, pirate lovers, and just plain fun, no matter your age. This drawing is world wide.

 

 

Also, if you have wee ones in your family, I'm giving a paperback copy of Frankie's Perfect Home. This drawing is for the U. S. only.

 

 

It's easy to enter. You don't have to follow me, (it would be nice if you would, but isn't required) just leave a comment with your email so I can contact you if you're the lucky winner.

 

Thank you and best of luck.

 

 



 

DEAR MOTHER

Happy Mother's Day to the Sweetest Mother in the Universe

 

I love you and miss you.

 

 

Leona (Lorena) Adele Chapter Young (on the left)

Mildred Chapter Young (on the right)

The little girls that traveled from Brooklyn to Texas to find a new home.

 

 

Lorena Chapter Young Stowe (on right)

And Me

 

July 10, 1912 to December 23, 1988

 

An angel in Heaven.

 

 



IOWA PARK CRAFT SHOW

Quote for the week:  Spring shows what God can do with a drab and dirty world.  Virgil A Kraft.

Spring has been having a hard time arriving in our area. Winter just doesn't want to leave. I think, though, that spring has won. Our garden maybe now will grow.

Recently, I participated in my town's Hop into Spring Craft Show.The show was very successful raising over $ 1200 for the library to purchase new materials: new books and movies. Here I am, enjoying the festivities.

Here's what the nice librarian wrote about me.

Beverly McClure is a writer. She has nine published books for children, teens and young adults. One of the latest books is an e-book, ghost story named “A Pirate, a Blockade Runner, and a Cat”. Beverly is a retired teacher, and used to teach 2^nd and 5^th grades here, in Iowa Park. She started writing magazine articles about 20 years ago, and her stories were based on what had happened in her class. Now she enjoys writing books ‘full time” and most of them are fiction. If you have read or heard of Chicken Soup for the Soul series, Beverly McClure has her story “Traveler” published in one of them, Chicken Soup for the Soul “What I Learned from the Dog”, 101 Stories about Life, Love and Lessons. Everybody who bought her books during the show also got a chance to have them autographed by the author.

 

Have a super week. Happy Reading

WINNERS OF SHOWERS OF BOOKS GIVEAWAY HOP

The time has arrived. Winners have been notified. A big thank you to all who entered. Wish I could send everyone a book. Maybe next time. I wrote the names on slips of paper and put them in a hat, planning for my cat to choose the winners. She's done this before and usually enjoys it. Today, however, she's lazy and just sleeps and sleeps. So I went to Random org instead. Here are the results.

 

CONGRATULATIONS

 

Megan Mack, winner of paperback copies of Listen to the Ghost and Life on Hold

 

Justin Melter, winner of the eBook A Pirate, a Blockade Runner, and a Cat

 

Happy Reading!

 

The books are available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, as well as at the publishers.

 

Stay tuned for another giveaway sometimes this summer, for the 150th anniversary of the end of the Civil War. I'll be giving away copies of Caves, Cannons, and Crinolines, both paperback and eBooks, along with some swag (if I get it ordered).

 

Come back and visit any time.

 

 

MEET AUTHORS BIL AND BON FRANKS

Quote for the week: No matter how long the winter, spring is sure to follow.  Proverb

Today, I have the pleasure of featuring Bil and Bon Franks on my blog.
 
Bil Franks: I am a retired United States Air Force NCO, whose background is in small arms. My hobbies are martial arts and reading-mostly fantasy. Bon Franks: I was born and raised in Nevada and attended the University of Southern California, where I majored in English and Comparative Lit. I’m interested in herbology/plants/gardening, aside from writing romance novels.
We live in Central Texas with four cats and two Mac computers.

The authors have an interesting story to tell you about their recently published series. 




Odyssey of a Saga: My Husband is a Genius . . . or Just Plain Lucky

“The Twilight of Magic” is a saga written for ‘tween through late teen, and beyond to adults too. Based on real history of the fifth century AD, it is a series of four novels that recount the adventures of a young girl in Britannia and Ireland, and from there to a world called Faerie. As a matter of fact, these four books later on stretch into a trilogy called “The Dawn of Ireland,” plus three more, all aimed at audiences 18 and over.
So how did ten books come from the chance remark of my husband, Bil Franks?
Let me begin by saying that Bil is a voracious reader of fantasy of all kinds. One day three years ago, he looked up from some fantasy-or-other and wondered aloud to me about something that would change our lives.
“Why did Arthur survive these last thousand years in a thousand different books? And why does every school kid know the exploits of Robin Hood? But there are no similar fantasies, tales and movies about a man whose exploits were far greater than theirs—St. Patrick.”
Bil’s insight spurred both of us to sit down and begin to research and write. We started with a spoiled, self-indulgent young girl named Caylith who gets swept into danger in her own world and escapes to perhaps a greater danger—the perils of a parallel world called Faerie. Along the way she meets Patrick, then a humble priest in a small-town church, who befriends her.
When Caylith much later returns to bring the denizens of Faerie and Britannia to safety in Ireland, she rejoins Patrick, who of course has already gone to Ireland and who has immersed himself in the politics of the day and who has begun to change the history of that country forever. Besides being fanciful, the adventures are as real as history can tell us, from the Hill of Armagh to the Hill of Tara, with handsome clansmen, treacherous druids and many more compelling characters.
Bil and I wrote the first four books together, the ones whose covers you see arrayed below. The first two have been published by MuseItUp, and you’ll also see the buy links. We hope you will take the time to read the sagas, beginning with RUNNING OVER RAINBOWS, suitable for ‘tween to twilight years.

 

RUNNING OVER RAINBOWS ...

http://amzn.to/SV6dNE

 

 



HIDDEN BY THE ROSE ...

http://amzn.to/WWgQjS

CHILDREN OF THE DUST ...

http://bit.ly/ZcQab4 (20% preorder discount)

WHERE WILD PONIES RAN ... Coming in July

 

To learn more about Bil and Bon, check out these sites:

 

B&Bhttp://twilightofmagic.wordpress.com/BilBon Franks:Running Over Rainbows on MuseItUpRunning Over Rainbows on AmazonRunning Over Rainbows on ask.DavidHidden by the Rose on MuseItUp BookstoreHidden by the Rose on AmazonChildren of the Dust pre-orderWhere Wild Ponies Ran from MuseItUp in July 2013http://about.me/bfranks/#

SHOWERS OF BOOKS GIVEAWAY HOP

I'm excited to participate in the Showers of Books Giveaway Hop, Hosted by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer, Co-hosted by Books à la Mode

I am giving away an ebook of my Tween Paranormal A Pirate, a Blockade Runner, and a Cat to one winner. So if you have tweens in your family, this is a book they should enjoy, especially young male readers.

A second winner will receive a paperback copy of my YA Paranomal Listen to the Ghost. Yes, I'm in to ghost stories at the moment. Also, a paperback of my YA Contemporary Novel Life on Hold, recent recipient of the Children'[s Literary Classic Seal of Approval.

It's very easy to enter. All you have to do is follow me at GFC and then leave a comment with your email so I can contact you if your're the winner.
Good luck and have fun.