Tag Archives: Books

Calling all budding entrepreneurs

You’re never too young to set up your first business, whether it’s the lemonade stand on the street or some fancy gaming app. My son has several business ventures up and running including break-time haircutting services for his friends at a bargain £3 (compared to £10 at the local barber shop). Sadly, the business plan collapsed as school were rather less than impressed by the resultant mullets and mohicans, but I was secretly quite chuffed with the initiative.

I’ve got a Creative Writing Workbook coming out in October, so I’ve been spending a lot of time in the non-fiction world recently and was excited to be offered a chance to review the Creative Genius Journal.

Creative Genius Journal cover

 

The blurb says

With 9 challenges that build the skills to help inform and develop a child’s resilience, imagination, improve their creativity, encourage drafting, sketching, reviewing and self-correcting of information and ideas. These are important, as alongside problem solving and working with others, they are the skills they will need for their futures.

But to my mind, it offers even more; it encourages those first steps towards launching a business. The activities include things like design a piece of apparatus for an adventure playground (the next Dyson?), or create a character to advertise a new drink (very Sir Alan Sugar/ The Apprentice). Each challenge draws in lots of aspects but they’re broken down into fun, manageable chunks.

GIVEAWAY TIME!

I want to have a go myself, but I’ve resisted and have a pristine copy to give away to one lucky reader (UK only, sorry).

You can enter here …

https://kingsumo.com/g/kd8d0c/creative-genius-journal

About the author

Susan O'Coonnor

Susan has taught for over thirty years in schools and colleges and has produced maths games and written several books for children and teenagers – ‘Mighty Memory Tricks’, ‘High Five Jive’, ‘Be Positive’ and ‘Creative Genius Journal’. These practical books are fun but have genuine educational benefit. Currently, she is writing for Bloomsbury Publishing.

 

Exciting new YA cover reveal

This is upper YA so older than the books I usually spotlight, but I’m a fan of Madeline Dyer so maybe you are looking to top up the teenagers kindles (or your own) before you go on holiday. All I’m going to say to introduce the series is
SHE WAS MADE TO BE A WEAPON…
So hot off the press, here’s a sneak peak at the cover …
You’re going to have to scroll down …
It is a reveal after all …
It’s worth it …
Bonus! I’ve put it next book 1 in the series coz I think they’re a great pair …
Dangerous Ones 1
Dangerous Ones 2
Title: This Vicious Way
Series: The Dangerous Ones, book 2
Author: Madeline Dyer
Genre: Dystopian / Action & Adventure
Audience: Upper Young Adult / New Adult
Publisher: Ineja Press
Cover designer: Molly Phipps at We Got You Covered Book Design

Viola Pumpernickel cover reveal

I recently read Viola Pumpernickel and the Emerald Lady, a middle grade Victorian mystery and thoroughly enjoyed it. But the cover was very different and although I rather liked the cameo, it definitely didn’t scream middle grade mystery. Now it’s sporting a brand new cover, plus a little bird told me that it was designed by a 14 year old! You can see more of her work here https://twitter.com/ClaireLizArt

Anyway, here are the before and after shots …. quite a makeover I reckon!

The Blurb

Viola is a people-watcher. She loves to sit on the step of her father’s bakery in Brookwater Lane, creating stories about the weird and wonderful folk who pass by. Her father is secretly impressed by her big imagination but her mother thinks it’s all a bit silly, really.

So, when Viola witnesses a terrifying robbery late one evening, her theory as to who is behind this dreadful crime is met with rolled eyes and disbelief.

Determined to prove that she is not as silly as everyone believes, Viola sets out to bring this villain to justice and show that she is more than just a girl with a wild imagination.

Together with her older brother, Teddy, her best friend, Flo, and the mysterious Emerald Lady, Viola uncovers a plot far more dangerous than anyone could ever have imagined in this exciting Victorian mystery.

PRAISE FOR VIOLA PUMPERNICKEL AND THE EMERALD LADY:

“A gripping tale with twists and turns galore. You will root for Viola till the very end!” – Jennifer Killick, author of ALEX SPARROW AND THE BIG STINK and ALEX SPARROW AND THE FURRY FURY

“Mystery, intrigue and a fearless heroine. I love this book!” Anna Kennedy OBE

Purchase Links

UK – https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1796362700/

US – https://www.amazon.com/dp/1796362700/

Author Bio

Jo Baxter Author Photo

 

Jo lives in West Sussex with her husband, daughter, two cats and 187 mugs. She does love a good cup of tea!

Having trained as an actress, Jo had written three stage plays (under the name Jo Smith) before realising her passion for writing children’s books.

Jo is the author of  ‘The Pumpernickel Mysteries’ series of books.

Social Media Links –      

Twitter – @thejobaxter

IG – @thejobaxter

Facebook – Jo Baxter Author

Top secret stuff from the amazing Celine Kiernan

I cannot begin to tell you how excited I am to have the fabulous Celine Kiernan on my blog today. I read Begone The Raggedy Witches last year, and absolutely loved it. And the sequel, The Little Grey Girl, was published recently.

She gets described by the press as “Ireland’s answer to JK Rowling”, but I really don’t think this does her justice. She has a magical quality to her writing – I’m more in the world of CS Lewis and E Nesbit.

Anyway, we had a little chat, although she did have to vanish up into the attic for a while in the middle, and here it is. How she didn’t end up a crime writer is beyond me – you’ll see what I mean!

What kind of stories did you write as a child?

Weird, dark, spooky stories, such as the one about the murderously xenophobic astronaut trapped on a crippled ship with the ghosts of the crew they poisoned and the hapless alien hitchhiker who was their intended victim.
Could you share a childhood pic of yourself, or your early writing, if by some lucky chance they’re still shoved in your parent’s attic?

Oh boy…
Me as a kid:
thumbnail_IMG_20180101_135759

You just sent me off on a very dusty hunt to look for some school day’s writing (If I have an asthma attack, it’ll be your fault)
I had an idea that I might have had some old copybooks in a trunk in my husband’s office, but in fact I turned out to have a wee folder of typed stories! My mam and dad bought me a huge old second-hand dinosaur of a typewriter when I was about 12, and I used to tippy-tap away at the kitchen table almost every night. Here are sections from a few of my stories (including the murderous astronaut one!) It’s hard for me to believe I wrote these as a child. They seem far more mature than I recall myself being.
And a tough one: the Magic Faraway tree or Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland?

Alice in Wonderland every damned time (though I prefer Alice Through the Looking Glass!)
What are your top tips for children wanting to develop their writing skills?

Don’t worry about what you think other people want to read, find a story that you want to tell. Write that story without fear or worry or shyness. Be true to yourself and what you want to say. Everything else – spelling, grammar, punctuation, all that stuff – can be learned or fixed later: even if you’re dyslexic ( I know, because I am dyslexic)

 

A splash of Sri Lankan magic

I’ve been exploring different recipe books recently, both here on my blog and at home. I think after years of Jamie and Nigella I’m craving something a bit more exotic, and a little more challenging to prepare, than the “bish bosh bash whack it in the oven” approach. Last night we had friends round for a casual supper and in between downpours we managed to do a bit of a bbq with a few salads and a cake from Ottolenghi. Of course these involved his usual list of 400 ingredients and a trip to a specialist shop to find Orange Blossom Water, but it was devoured so I’m taking that as a good sign. Anyway, today we’re off to Sri Lanka, a country which is right at the top of my bucket list to visit despite the recent terrible bombings.

So I greedily grabbed an advance copy of A Feast of Serendib when I spotted it. And I love it. Most of the ingredients are easy to find (unlike Orange Blossom Water, thanks Ottolenghi), and it’s straightforward home cooking. This has definitely earned a place on my cookbook shelf.

A Feast of Serendib Cover

My only slight gripe is that it’s aimed at the American market so you’re converting measures  again – can someone tell me how many grams are in a stick of butter please?! I confess I have finally relented and bought a set of measuring cups but I do wish recipe books gave alternatives for international readers.

It’s not the book (or cuisine) for you if you don’t like onions though. Apart from the puddings, virtually every recipe has a big pile of onion in it, and I’m sure given a chance they’d sneak onions into the Mango Fluff too. Personally, I’m toning down the onion a bit, but I hope the author forgives me!

In case you’re exploring veganism, like so many of my friends are currently, I noticed on her website that she has also published a small vegan cookbook.

The blurb

Dark roasted curry powder, a fine attention to the balance of salty-sour-sweet, wholesome red rice and toasted curry leaves, plenty of coconut milk and chili heat. These are the flavors of Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka was a cross roads in the sea routes of the East. Three waves of colonization—Portuguese, Dutch and British—and the Chinese laborers who came with them, left their culinary imprint on Sri Lankan food. Sri Lankan cooking with its many vegetarian dishes gives testimony to the presence of a multi-ethnic and multi -religious population.

Everyday classics like beef smoore and Jaffna crab curry are joined by luxurious feast dishes, such as nargisi kofta and green mango curry, once served to King Kasyapa in his 5th century sky palace of Sigiriya.

Vegetable dishes include cashew curry, jackfruit curry, asparagus poriyal, tempered lentils, broccoli varai and lime-masala mushrooms. There are appetizers of chili-mango cashews, prawn lentil patties, fried mutton rolls, and ribbon tea sandwiches. Deviled chili eggs bring the heat, yet ginger-garlic chicken is mild enough for a small child. Desserts include Sir Lankan favorites:  love cake, mango fluff, milk toffee and vattalappam, a richly-spiced coconut custard.

In A Feast of Serendib, Mary Anne Mohanraj introduces her mother’s cooking and her own Americanizations, providing a wonderful introduction to Sri Lankan American cooking, straightforward enough for a beginner, and nuanced enough to capture the flavor of Sri Lankan cooking.

About the Author

A Feast of Serendib - Author Photo

Mary Anne Mohanraj is the author of Bodies in Motion(HarperCollins), The Stars Change(Circlet Press) and thirteen other titles. Bodies in Motionwas a finalist for the Asian American Book Awards, a USA Today Notable Book, and has been translated into six languages.  The Stars Changewas a finalist for the Lambda, Rainbow, and Bisexual Book Awards.

Mohanraj founded the Hugo-nominated and World Fantasy Award-winning speculative literature magazine, Strange Horizons, and alsofounded Jaggery, a S. Asian & S. Asian diaspora literary journal (jaggerylit.com). She received a Breaking Barriers Award from the Chicago Foundation for Women for her work in Asian American arts organizing, won an Illinois Arts Council Fellowship in Prose, and was Guest of Honor at WisCon. She serves as Director of two literary organizations, DesiLit (www.desilit.org) and The Speculative Literature Foundation (www.speclit.org).  She serves on the futurist boards of the XPrize and Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry.

Mohanraj is Clinical Associate Professor of English at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and lives in a creaky old Victorian in Oak Park, just outside Chicago, withher husband, their two small children, and a sweet dog. Recent publications include stories for George R.R. Martin’s WildCardsseries, stories at Clarkesworld, Asimov’s, and Lightspeed, and an essay in Roxane Gay’s Unruly Bodies. 2017-2018 titles include Survivor(a SF/F anthology), Perennial, Invisible 3(co-edited with Jim C. Hines), and Vegan Serendib. http://www.maryannemohanraj.com

Social Media Links –

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/mary.a.mohanraj
Twitter:  https://twitter.com/mamohanraj
Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/maryannemohanraj/
Website:  http://www.maryannemohanraj.com

Serendib Kitchen website: http://serendibkitchen.com

Purchase Links:

http://serendibkitchen.com/shop/

https://a-feast-of-serendib.backerkit.com/hosted_preorders