A Tailor Maiden's Secret

Congratulations Earl P. Dean on the publication of your first novel! Earl is a friend and a member of my writing group - The Community of Mercer County Writers.



Mayfest 2009 Book Signing
Saturday, May 9th from noon - 4pm
Gratz Park in Lexington, Kentucky

Earl will be signing his new book, A TAILOR MAIDEN'S SECRET and you will be able to buy a copy of the book on Saturday, or you can order from Wasteland Press, Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

To learn more about the Mayfest events, click here.

A TAILOR MAIDEN'S SECRET

"Arliane Donestica attends mid-school on a planet called Pooda, a forbidding world of the future so far removed from Earth in space and time that the old world exists as a mythical origin for the poodan progenitors.

The Poodan Youth for Unity, sponsored by Pooda's Elders, are chasing Arliane through her snowbound city at the request of the Elders, pressuring her about unspoken activities that might tie her to rebellion similar to her mother's. Activist and wife as well, Arliane's mother had died in a protest by explosion.

Were the Elders behind it? Read of a biological mystery, political strife and forbidden action to discover the answer in A TAILOR MAIDEN’S SECRET."

Earl Patrick Dean is a computer programmer working in Kentucky. He holds a BA degree from Transylvania University and graduate certificates from The Institute of Children’s Literature, and has attended the Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning workshops on Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror and Online Writing Workshop for Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror. He loves reading and collecting books, and writes mostly science fiction and fantasy stories.

Earl has published stories in SAY...WHAT’S THE COMBINATION?, MORNINGSTAR ANTHOLOGY and KENTUCKY BLUE.

The Ruby Key

The Ruby Key (Moon & Sun series) by Holly Lisle

Reading level: Ages 9-12
Hardcover: 368 pages
Publisher: Orchard Books
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0545000122
ISBN-13: 978-0545000123

Mankind is Sunkind
And rules by the light;
Sunrise to sunset,
No less, and no more.
Nightlings are moonkind
And rule in the night;
Sun's set to sunrise,
Or there will be war.

This is Lisle's first youth fantasy fiction and I was hooked from the first chapter. This book is a mixture of humans, who live by the sun, and nightlings, who live by the moon.

Two human children, Genna and her young brother Dan, set out on a journey to help save their mother, who is very sick. In searching for the “tree sap” that will cure her illness, they meet the nightling, Yarri, who is trying to save her people from slavery.

Different from the Harry Potter books, but in the same vein, I recommend this to children and adults alike. The world Lisle has created is truly believable and full of enchanting characters. The next book in the series is The Silver Door.

Way Back Wednesday - Snowbound With Betsy

Snowbound With Betsy by Carolyn Haywood was the first book in the Betsy series I read as a child and it remained one of my favorite books until I reached adulthood.

The week before Christmas, a terrific snowstorm hits, and Betsy, Star, and their parents are snowbound, much to the girls' delight. There are snowmen to be built, Christmas presents to be made, and a tree to be decorated.

Not only was Betsy's family snowbound, but that also took in a mother and her little boy who became stranded in the neighborhood.

I can remember making birdfeeding cups out of orange rinds and peanut butter just like Betsy and Star. I laughed so hard reading about the popcorn they tried to "dry out" in the oven, only to have popped corn all over the kitchen. I also remember making snow angels for the first time after reading how Betsy and her friends made them.

And when Christmas finally arrived, everyone received homemade gifts because it was impossible to get to the store to buy gifts. The children made new objects out of old objects they found in the attic. This has always been my inspiration for making homemade gifts every year for the holidays.

Snowbound with Betsy was written the year I was born 1962. When my older girls were little, I bought the newer "paperback" version of this book, but I really missed the original cover. When my youngest daughter was four, I was able to find a vintage copy of Snowbound on eBay - with the cover I remembered and loved.

Stoneheart

Stoneheart (The Stoneheart Trilogy #1) by Charlie Fletcher

Reading level: children/young adult
Hardcover: 464 pages
Publisher: Hyperion Book
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1423101758
ISBN-13: 978-1423101758

"On a school trip to the Natural History Museum in London, a 12-year-old loner named George is banished for something he didn't do. Angry, he lashes out and breaks off a dragon's head carved onto the wall of the museum. Next thing he knows, a pterodactyl carving comes to life and begins to chase him."

And so begins George's adventures in "unLondon." He is soon chased by many fanciful creatures come alive from stone statues. He first encounters Gunner, a statue of a World War I soldier, who helps to save the boy from the pterodactyl. The pair soon meet up with Edie, a "glint" with the power to see the past.

In order for George to go back to the London he knows, the London where stone statues don't come to life, he must return the broken dragon's head to the Stone Heart. Gunner and Edie, plus a cast of other characters, help George in achieving his objective.

In the beginning of the book, George is feeling sorry for himself because his father is dead and his mother barely has time for him. Edie is portrayed as a cold-hearted survivor who has always looked after herself. But during the course of their adventures through the unusual streets of London, their characters start to evolve.

Some of the other interesting characters from the book are the Sphinxes who only give answers in riddles, the Clocker who continually marks the time, the Black Friar who tells them where the Stone Heart is, the Walker who is pure evil incarnate and the Minotaur who is part bull, part human and all bad. We also get glimpses of dragons and gargoyles. Fletcher has turned a collection of the actual statues around London into an astonishing assortment of personalities and monsters.

Although marketed to children and young adults, I don't think I would recommend this for younger children mainly because of some of the scary and dangerous situations George and Edie encounter, but I highly recommend it for older children and teenagers, as well as adults like me who love young adult books. This is the first book in the Stoneheart Trilogy and as soon as I put the last period on this post, I'm ready to start Ironhand, the next book in the series. The final book is entitled Silvertongue.

Charlie Fletcher is a British author and screenwriter. Stoneheart was shortlisted for the Branford Boase Award in 2007. There is a movie in development for release in 2010.

Stolen

Stolen by Vivian Vande Velde

Reading level: Ages 9-12
Hardcover: 158 pages
Publisher: Marshall Cavendish Corp
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0761455159
ISBN-13: 978-0761455158

This is the first book of Velde's I have read and I found myself enjoying the story line. Isabelle is a young girl who has no memory of who she is. The story begins with Isabelle running in the forest with a pack of hunting dogs tight on her heels. Just when she thinks the dogs will be the death of her, she pulled into unconsciousness. Then she awakens she finds she has been taken in by a peasant family - Avis and Browley - and their young daughter, Ravyn.

Ravyn is a six year old who is determined Isabelle was a Princess stolen away by the legendary witch from the forest. Apparently this witch has been stealing away young children for many years - the children are never seen or heard from again. Ravyn enjoys weaving a new life for Isabelle out of her curious imagination.

Just when Isabelle is starting to feel comfortable with the peasant family, another family appears, claiming she is their daughter who was stolen away six years earlier. This poor family had recently has a second child stolen away, a newborn only one months old. The mother is determined that the young girl is her daughter, Isabelle, but the oldest daughter, Honey, is convinced this girl is not her long lost sister.

But all is not what it seems with Isabelle's "supposed" family and she begins to wonder if they are claiming her in order to gain an inheritance from a rich aunt, whom Isabelle is named after.

This book has a happy ending, but not the ending I was anticipating. Just when I thought I knew how the story would end, Velde gives the story an unusual twist.

This small book - 158 pages - was a different kind of young adult book and I read it in one sitting. Not your normal young adult fantasy book, this story is more along the lines of the wonderful fairy tales I read as a child. Stolen has increased my desire to read other books by Vivian Vande Velde.

Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary

Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary (Fablehaven #4) by Brandon Mull

Reading level: Ages 9-12
Hardcover: 528 pages
Publisher: Shadow Mountain
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1606410423
ISBN-13: 978-1606410424

The long awaited 4th book in the Fablehaven series has finally arrived and I practically gobbled it up in one sitting. While at home for winter break, Kendra finds herself in mortal danger from the evil Spinx - the leader of the Society of the Evening Star.

Kendra and Seth soon find themselves back with their grandparents at Fablehaven - an animal perserve for magical creatures. Because Kendra is "fairykind" - kissed by the fairies - she is the only one who is able to decipher the clues from Patton's secret jounal that will lead them to a hidden artifact the Spinx is determined to steal.

Will the Knights of the Dawn be able to safely enter the dragon sanctuary to recover the artifact before the Spinx? Does Seth continue to disobey the rules? Has Vanessa really changed her ways? Is there really a spy at Fablehaven?

This book is full of non-stop action and children of all ages will enjoy this fantasy adventure.

Wintergirls

Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson

Reading level: Young Adult
Hardcover: 288 pages
Publisher: Viking Juvenile (March 19, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 067001110X
ISBN-13: 978-0670011100

"I am the space between my thighs, daylight shining through."

Anderson’s lyrical prose sets the stage for an uncomfortable “teenage” topic – the world of anorexia and eating disorders.

Lia had a very competitive relationship with her best friend, Cassie, until Cassie died from anorexia. But not even Cassie’s death could stop Lia’s downward spiral into the dangerous world of eating disorders.

Full of low self-esteem and shallow self-worth, this may be a hard book for some to read, but I think it is an important book because it shines a light on the destructive world of eating disorders. Written in a "diary" format - with crossed out words and sentences - parents should feel free to read and discuss this book with their teenaged daughters.