Spotlight On: The Black Lotus

Posted on March 1, 2016 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Blog Tour Schedule:
http://yaboundbooktours.blogspot.com/2015/12/blog-tour-sign-up-black-lotus-by-claire.html

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The Black Lotus
by Claire Warner
Release Date:June 29th 2014

Summary from Goodreads:

….though I would dearly love to play court to you, I would hurt you more than any other.

It is 1752.
The year that will change the life of heiress Melissa De Vire. As she makes her first fumbling steps into society, she meets the handsome young cad Justin Lestrade and his world tears her perceptions apart. For Justin is more than he appears, and his secrets and enemies are manifold. Drawn irresistibly to him, she finds herself sinking into a realm of feuds, magic and old curses and her life will never again be the same.
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Buy Links:
Amazon│Amazon UK

Excerpt from The Black Lotus:

“Justin?” He turned as she spoke, “I think you should pursue Melissa De Vire.”

He dropped what he had been holding and walked towards her.

“What?” Utter shock permeated his tones and he stared down at her as though he could not believe what he had just heard. “You must be mad.”

“No, just practical.” Unconcerned by the anger on his face, Emily reached down and pulled the gold bracelet back onto her wrist. “You like her, that much is obvious and she seems to have some interest in you, despite her transparent denials.”

For a long moment, Justin said nothing, stunned by the words that were coming out of Emily’s mouth. “Haven’t you just convinced me that this existence is so much hell, that you would lie with someone you don’t care for just to rid yourself of it? Why would you ask me to pursue someone I couldn’t be with? Do you hate me that much?”

Emily turned away and sat down in one of the chairs. “I don’t hate you Justin, but if you don’t take her and make her yours you will regret it.” She picked up her bonnet and began pulling at the flowers set into it. “Alistair already knows about her, give it a little time and she will be linked with us. I’d much rather you drag her along rather than leave her to be fodder for John.”

“So how does my brother know about Melissa?” Justin’s voice was dangerously quiet as he stood opposite her. “Have you stirred the pot again?” He turned and slammed his fist into the wall. “I thought you were past these petty games. Real people are at stake.”

“Yes.” She stood and faced him. “Real people are at stake and if you do not act this time, John will merely take her from you in the same way he took Anna.” She grabbed his fist and brushed the drops of blood from the knuckles. “Do you not realise yet that there is nothing that you can do to hide her from him.”

“I’ve spoken to her once.” He hoped that she did not see through the lie, “And that has been all. God curse it Emily, she may only be intrigued, do not turn this into a grand love affair on the basis of one conversation.” He pulled his hand free and seized the back of her neck. “If you start this, you’d better be prepared to face the consequences.”

Emily laughed in his face. “Don’t threaten me darling, I won’t take it.” Her hand snaked around his wrist and she pressed hard on the joints, causing him to gasp in pain. “I will not spend the next few decades suffering from your ill temper. Don’t forget love, that I know you almost as well as you know yourself.”

Justin allowed his hand to drop from her skin and whispered. “Then why would push this? I am interested yes, but I know that I can’t have her. John need only know that I flirted with her, as I do with many women.”

“I push because John will know regardless. He has his spies and he will find out.”

About the Author
When I was a child, I made up games and characters when my sister and I played with dolls. As I grew older, I would make up scenarios and scenes, fully intending to write them down but never finding the time. In my late teens, I discovered the world of role playing and settled into an avid ‘geeky’ life of D&D, comics, sci-fi and fantasy fiction. Years passed, and I finally gave voice to the stories in my head. I write romance, fantasy, action and adventure. I love tales of steampunk and history, tales of magical powers, and dark curses lurking in the shadows. Though The Black Lotus is not my first attempt at a novel, it is the first I have finished.

And some fun facts about me:

I sew.
My favourite Disney film is Atlantis.
I’ve been a film extra and stood 5 feet away from Sam Rockwell.
Babylon 5 is my fave sci-fi show.
I cried at the end of Toy Story 3.

Author Links:
Website│Goodreads│Twitter│Facebook

Enter this Rafflecopter giveaway for your chance at a free copy of The Black Lotus!
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Playlist for The Black Lotus:

Burn: The Cure
The Kill: 30 seconds to Mars
Prayer: Disturbed
Moonchild: Fields of the Nephilim
Gimme Shelter: Rolling Stones
Closer to the Edge: 30 seconds to Mars
In the End: Linkin Park
The Farthest Star: VNV Nation
Bring Me to Life: Evanesence
Sadness: Enigma
We are Glass: Gary Numan
Down in the Park: Gary Numan
Seed of a Lie: Gary Numan
Queen of the Damned Soundtrack: Various
Anyplace Anywhere Anytime: Kim Wilde and Nina

Book Tour Organized by YA Bound Book Tours

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Everyday Advocacy: Take Action Tuesday!

Posted on March 1, 2016March 1, 2016 by Rosemary Kiladitis

My first Take Action Tuesday challenge has been to write an elevator speech: a brief opportunity to tell someone what you do, and why libraries are so important. You know, when someone asks you that question, “So, what do you do?” And you kind of grimace internally for a second, bracing for the look and the answer you’ll get when you say, “I’m a librarian.”

My elevator speech will help head off those inevitable responses: “They still have those?” “Hasn’t the Internet put you out of business yet?” You know, the greatest hits. So here’s my elevator speech:

I’m a children’s librarian. I encourage a love of reading, learning, and creating at the library by making sure my collection has books that kids will love, available in the languages they need. The world is a big place, and having books that speak to kids’ interests and experiences, in their languages, make it even bigger and brighter.

What’s your elevator speech?

Uncategorized

March is Read Aloud Month!

Posted on March 1, 2016 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Remember, everyone – reading time is cuddle time, so get your snuggles in and read to the little ones in your life. Just 15 minutes a day makes a tremendous difference. Want a scary statistic? By 3 years of age, there is a 30 million word gap between children from the wealthiest and poorest families. 30. MILLION. WORDS. (Reading is Fundamental, 2014)

Grab those Pigeon books, the Sandra Boynton books (my little Gozer is currently a huge fan of But Not the Hippopotamus), anything by Karen Katz: just grab a book, snuggle that little one in your lap or wherever you’re most comfy, and read. Just 15 minutes a day makes all the difference in the world.

Got older kids? Read to them, too! Explore Narnia or Hogwarts, join Johnny Tremain or Phoebe the Spy. Make your kid the Mockingjay. Just read and be together.

The Read Aloud campaign has great, bilingual posters and handouts for the 15 Minutes literacy initiative here. Download them, print them, post them, hand them out!

Uncategorized

2016 Children’s Book Week Poster Reveal!

Posted on February 26, 2016 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Children’s Book Week is coming! This year’s poster design, by author, illustrator, former animation artist, and 2015 Children’s Choice Illustrator of the Year (Hooray for Hat!) Brian Won, was revealed earlier today, and it’s adorable!

Posters are available, while supplies last, for free (you supply postage) from the Children’s Book Council. Full details are available at their site.

To find out about nationwide events and events in your area, contact your local libraries, booksellers, or visit the Children’s Book Council events page. For a list of Children’s Choice Book Award finalists and judges, click here.

Uncategorized

Everyday Advocacy Challenge: I’m IN!

Posted on February 23, 2016 by Rosemary Kiladitis

I’m excited to be part of the ALSC’s Spring 2016 Everyday Advocacy Challenge! Over the next few weeks, I will:

Commit to completing four consecutive Take Action Tuesday challenges on advocacy topics/themes;

Collaborate with EAC cohort members over the four-week period, sharing successes and troubleshooting issues via ALA Connect;

Write a post for the ALSC blog about their EAC experiences; and

Contribute a reflection for the April 2016 issue of the Everyday Advocacy Matters e-newsletter.

I’ve been spending the first six months of my full-time librarianship getting my sea legs, learning about my new community, and acclimating to full-time public library work, including storytimes and programs for infants, toddlers, school-age kids, tweens and teens – the whole range! This year, I’ve made it a priority to get involved with the profession; really dig in – and the Everyday Advocacy Challenge offers a great chance to do that. I’ll be journaling here, in addition to anything I write for the ALSC, about the Challenge, so please follow along and chime in with any questions or anecdotes you’d like to share.

Non-fiction, Uncategorized

The Battle for Room 314: One Teacher’s Story

Posted on January 26, 2016September 18, 2015 by Rosemary Kiladitis

The Battle for Room 314: My Year of Hope and Despair in a New York City High School, by Ed Boland (Feb. 2016, Grand Central Publishing), $26, ISBN: 978-1455560615

Recommended for ages 16+

I normally review books for children here at MomReadIt, but I felt like this was an important book to review here for parents, educators, and anyone else trying to wrap their heads around education these days. Education is a hot-button topic everywhere – it’s always been, because it concerns our kids, and our future, but it’s never hotter than it is during an election year, and that’s exactly where we’re heading.

We know the education system needs help. We know that underserved communities in our country are falling through the system’s cracks. The Battle for Room 314 tells the story of one man who tried to make a difference in both arenas. Ed Boland left a high-profile career at a non-profit to teach in a New York City public high school. He was ready to make a difference in the lives of young people, having seen the fantastic results of his non-profile organization, which sends exemplary children from low-income neighborhoods to the best schools, giving them an advantage in life they wouldn’t otherwise have. He’s ready to cut out the middleman and help these kids himself.

What a rude awakening. What Mr. Boland learns in his year of teaching is that politics enters the classroom at all levels. That the problems aren’t only in the classroom, they’re in the homes that these children come from. That teachers are burned out, overworked, and when they try to propose changes that will benefit the students and make things easier on themselves, they get stymied by their own union. He can’t make these kids turn on to learning, not when the issues they’re facing in their individual lives seem almost insurmountable. He met young girls who were prostituting themselves at middle grade age; children homeschooled on the subway by their homeless parents; kids who were running drug rings for their incarcerated family members. Their realities are so far away from anything Boland could comprehend – and myself, reading this book – that it seems like the ultimate Sisyphean task.

This isn’t going to be a fairy tale ending: the title alone is your heads-up to that. It’s not meant to be. It’s an indictment of so-called education reform and a plea for the powers that be to understand that changes need to be made at ALL levels, by multiple organizations. More standardized testing isn’t going to make these children succeed. Common Core isn’t going to help these kids.

I loved this book. Boland has a sense of humor and a sincerity in his belief that makes it hard to read this book at times. I hurt for him, and I hurt for the kids in the classroom just as much as I wanted to scream at them for Boland. I’m a public librarian in an area that serves a lot of underprivileged kids, and I only see a fragment of what Boland witnessed in his classroom every day. There are some days where I just knock my head against a wall and wonder if I’m ever going to get through to “my kids”. Some days, the answer is “maybe”. Some days, I even feel like it’s a “yes”. Boland’s book spurs me on, to keep doing what I’m doing, but I’m in a completely different area, doing a completely different job. I see where I can make change, and go for it. And that’s what Mr. Boland’s book reminded me to keep in mind.

Parents, read this book and understand what our educators are up against. Educators, read this book and know that you’re not alone. People get it, and more people will continue to get it. All we have to do is keep pushing for the right changes to be identified. And it has nothing to do with a new state test.

Preschool Reads, Toddler Reads, Uncategorized

Clap, Clap! Fun with sounds!

Posted on January 11, 2016August 24, 2019 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Clap, Clap!, by Madalena Matoso (March 2016, Nobrow), $14.95, ISBN: 9781909263826

Recommended for ages 2-5

This is a perfect read-aloud book. It’s a book about sounds, where YOU make the sound. Clang along with a pair of symbols, flap your butterfly wings, or give a huge hand clap! Bright and bold colors and characters invite kids to sizzle, bong, and woof along with them throughout the book.

Clap, Clap! is an interactive book that works great for toddlers or young, school-age kids. Get them up, get them moving, and talk about all the great sounds they can make! Just like it says on the back of the book: “Help tell a story of noise and sound—no batteries required, just your hands on each side of the cover.”

I love the books coming out of Nobrow – the designs are so bright, eye-catching, and just make you feel good. Younger kids will love these books; I can’t wait to get them all over my library. Add this to your storytime shelf!

Madalena Matoso is part of the Planeta Tangerina illustration and graphic design collective. You can see more about Clap there, and watch a little video!

Animal Fiction, Early Reader, Fiction, Fiction, Intermediate, Uncategorized

Olga da Polga – a favorite classic comes to Kane Publishing!

Posted on December 19, 2015 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Olga da Polga, by Michael Bond/Illustrated by Catherine Rayner (Oct. 2015, Kane Miller Publishing), $17.99, ISBN: 978-1-61067-433-1

Recommended for ages 6-10

The creator of Paddington Bear, Michael Bond, introduced Olga da Polga, an adventurous guinea pig with a bit of sass, in 1971. I don’t remember this book when I was growing up, so I’m not sure whether these were originally published only in the UK, but there are both picture and chapter books full of Olga’s Adventures! Kane Miller Publishing recently brought Olga back to readers with this beautifully illustrated edition. Greenaway Medal winner Catherine Rayner adds beautiful watercolor artwork to this collection of stories that new readers and their parents will love and want on their shelves.

Olga da Polga is a guinea pig who wants to go on adventures. She wants out of the pet store! She gets her wish when she’s adopted by the Sawdust family – that’s what she calls humans – who builds her a her own hamster run in their garden. She goes on adventures in the family’s backyard and meets the local wildlife, including Noel the housecat, Fangio the hedgehog, and Graham, the tortoise. Stories encompass all the seasons, also lending themselves to great seasonal storytimes.

Olga da Polga is one of those books that I feel like I missed out on, and that I need to get on the shelves here at my library to make sure today’s kids meet Olga and her friends! Give this to kids who love their animal fiction – Paddington fans, naturally; Olivia fans, and Corduroy fans can move up to Olga da Polga and enjoy another group of stories about a plucky little guinea pig and her adventures. Kids reading the EB White trilogy (Charlotte’s Web, Stuart Little, Trumpet of the Swan) will love Olga, too. The short chapters/stories provide for great read-aloud opportunities.

You can get your own copy of Olga da Polga at the Usborne books website. Amazon offers the book through independent sellers.

Uncategorized

The Serendipity Agency Lit Contest is back!! Writers, get ready!

Posted on November 30, 2015 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Last year, I posted about the Serendipity Agency’s 5th Annual YA Discovery Contest. Well, writers, get ready: the 6th Annual Contest is in full swing, and they want your submissions! Details from Serendipity follow:

THE 6TH ANNUAL

YA DISCOVERY CONTEST

HAS BEGUN!

NO QUERY? NO PITCH? NO PROBLEM!

Get in front of top YA Editors and Agents with only the first 250 words of your YA novel!

Serendipity Literary Agency in conjunction with Sourcebooks Inc. is hosting their sixth annual Young Adult Novel Discovery Competition.

Have a young adult novel—or a YA novel idea—tucked away for a rainy day? Are you putting off pitching your idea simply because you’re not sure how to pitch an agent? No problem! All you have to do is submit the first 250 words of your novel and you can win exposure to editors and a reading of your manuscript by one of New York’s TOP literary agents Regina Brooks. Regina Brooks is the CEO of Serendipity Literary Agency and the author of the award winning book Writing Great Books For Young Adults now available in a second edition.

Great Prizes The Grand Prize Winner will have the opportunity to submit an entire manuscript to YA literary agent Regina Brooks AND receive a collection of gourmet teas from Possibiliteas.co!

The Top Five Entrants (including the Grand Prize winner) will receive a 15 minute, one-on-one pitch session with Regina Brooks, one of New York’s premier literary agents for young adult books. They will also receive commentary on their submissions from editors at Scholastic, Random House/Penguin, Little Brown, Candlewick, Bloomsbury, Simon and Schuster, and Abrams Books.

First 50 Entrants will receive a copy of Writing Great Books for Young Adults by Regina Brooks.
Here’s How It Works: The rules of the contest are simple, and entering is easy. Submit entries of ONLY the first 250 words of your manuscript and the title via the contest website at serendipitylit.com/contest. One entry per person; anyone age 14+ can apply. There is a $15 entry fee. Open to the U.S. and Canada (void where prohibited). Entries for the YA Novel Discovery Contest will be accepted from 12:01 am (ET) November 1st, 2015 until 11:59 pm December, 2nd, 2015 (ET).

YA literary agent Regina Brooks and her team will read all of the entries and determine the top 20 submissions. These submissions will then be read by editors at Scholastic, Random House/Penguin, Little, Brown, Candlewick, Bloomsbury, Simon and Schuster, and Abram Books. Judges will whittle the top 20 down to five, and each of the five winners will be provided commentary on their submissions.

—NOVEMBER IS NaNoWriMo—

In honor of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo.org) – an international event where aspiring novelists are encouraged to write an entire novel in 30 days – this contest is meant to encourage the aspiring YA author to get started on that novel by offering an incentive for completing the first 250 words.

so… ENTER NOW!

Fiction, Middle Grade, Realistic Fiction, Tween Reads, Uncategorized

A Blind Guide to Stinkville is a must-read!

Posted on November 25, 2015November 25, 2015 by Rosemary Kiladitis

A Blind Guide to Stinkville, by Beth Vrabel (October 2015, Sky Pony Press), $16.99, ISBN: 9781634501576

Recommended for ages 8-12

Twelve year-old Alice’s family has moved her from Seattle, across the country, to Stinkville – that is, Sinkville, South Carolina. It’s a paper mill town, her dad’s the new paper mill manager, and he seems to be the only one settling into their new life. Her mother is depressed, her brother is angry, and Alice sticks out like a sore thumb. Alice is an albino who needs to slather on the sunblock and wear hats so her sensitive skin doesn’t burn, and she’s legally blind – but she’ll be the first to tell you that she’s not that blind. She can see, but things have to be really close for her to see them.

Alice’s parents start talking about sending her to a school for the blind when school starts in the Fall, and Alice is furious – she’s always been in public school! She’s determined to start doing things for herself, whether it’s finding her way to the library or doing the laundry at home. She even enters the Sinkville essay contest and decides to tell the stories of some of the locals she’s met; and that’s when she learns that Stinkville may not stink so much after all.

This is a little book that tackles some pretty big issues: the Civil Rights movement, depression, special needs, for starters. Told in the first person from Alice’s perspective, A Blind Guide to Stinkville tells the story of a family and a town with humor and sensitivity. Alice is a normal tween: she wants to fit in, but she’s got something that makes her stand out. She wants to be independent, and her family drives her nuts. Most of all, she’s a new kid in a new town and she missed her friends – her best friend, who is moving forward with her life. It’s a lot for any kid to handle, and Alice’s sense of humor is her best defense – that, and her determination to advocate for herself.

Importantly, for me at least, it also provides a glimpse into parental depression and the effect it has on the rest of the family, and how the fight to “get better” is not that easy. Alice’s mom has good days, then a bad day will hit. It happens, and Alice’s brother James doesn’t always understand. It’s a realistic portrayal of the helplessness felt by parent and child, and there are no answers, just getting through as best as possible while sticking together as a family unit.

Readers will appreciate this book for its good story and likable characters. Parents and educators will appreciate how it promotes deeper understanding of different special needs – and how a kid is a kid is a kid at heart, really – and the subplot telling the story of the Civil Rights movement in the South. Great for discussion groups.

Beth Vrabel is the author of the 2015 Cybils-nominated book, Pack of Dorks, also from Sky Pony. The sequel, Camp Dork, will be coming in May 2016. Her author website offers a study guide for Pack of Dorks, an FAQ, and links to her blog and published writing.