THE MORRIGAN'S CURSE Guest post from Dianne Salerni!

The Morrigan's Curse: The Eighth Day Book 3 by Dianne K. Salerni (January 26, 2016, HarperCollins, 400 pages, for ages 9 to 13)

Synopsis: The battle between Kin and Transitioners that's been brewing for centuries has finally come to a head. The sinister Kin have captured Evangeline's younger sister, Addie, a descendant of Merlin whose presence will allow them to reverse the Eighth Day Spell and free themselves. Addie has been helping the Kin because they value the strength of her magic, something Evangeline never did. 

Meanwhile, Riley, Evangeline, and Jax craft a plan to rescue Addie from her captors. But the Kin's unstoppable magic, and a rebellious Addie, force Riley to reconsider whether saving Addie is worth sacrificing everyone who lives in the seven-day week. Jax won't let Evangeline's sister be used as a pawn, so he risks it all in a secret mission of his own. With the Morrigan pushing both sides of the war toward annihilation, Addie must decide where her loyalties lie, while Jax, Riley, and Evangeline confront the possibility of losing Addie to save the world.

Readers, I'm honored to once again welcome Dianne Salerni to my blog. Take it away, Dianne!

It’s very fitting that Joanne asked me to write a post on Leap Day, a day that doesn’t exist most of the time. My Eighth Day series is about a day of the week that doesn’t exist for most people.

Last month I was thrilled to launch The Morrigan’s Curse – my fifth published book, the third in my series, and the most challenging book I’ve ever written. This book possessed a unique requirement: It needed to serve as either the final installment of a trilogy OR the midpoint in a series of five. Even now, a month after its release, I still don’t know which one it will be. (The publisher will make that decision later this year.)

Because it was so difficult to write, The Morrigan’s Curse has a special place in my heart. In particular, I’m excited about:

Addie Emrys

In this book, readers finally meet Evangeline’s little sister. They already know she’s going to be trouble. In Book 1, Evangeline predicts that wherever her spitfire sister is, she’s driving her guardians crazy. In Book 2, Addie doesn’t win any points by leaving her elderly foster parents a petulant list of complaints. We also learn that she bit Finn Ambrose when he forcibly took blood samples from her. (Really, though, he had that coming.) And at the end of the book, she willingly runs off with the evil Llyr family.

So, heading into The Morrigan’s Curse, I was working with a resentful, prickly protagonist who’d aligned herself with the bad guys. Nevertheless, I needed Addie to be sympathetic. I wanted readers to like her and root for her.

Evangeline describes Addie as “difficult,” and she certainly was difficult to write. I rewrote her POV chapters many, many times, and I didn’t know whether I’d done her justice until I got my revision letter from my editor. What she said about Addie made me cry (in a good way). I hope everyone else will love Addie, prickliness and all.

Stink

In The Inquisitor’s Mark we learn that Jax’s dad had a pet brownie named Stink. In fact, we met Stink in that book, although he was never directly identified. (Lots of readers guessed, though.) I don’t want to post any spoilers here, but let’s just say that Stink is my favorite new character after Addie. Smartest. Pet. Ever.

The Morrigan

Again, no spoilers, but weaving this 3-in-one deity from Celtic mythology into my story was a lot of fun. She’s a force of nature, embodying destruction and chaos. She manifests as an old crone, a middle-aged woman – or a young girl often referred to as the Girl of Crows.

Jax

I love Jax. He’s like the son I never had. Jax has grown up a little over the course of three books, but he’s still only 13 years old and some things about him haven’t changed at all. What’s more, he knows it:

“How’d you end up with the Sword of Nuadu?” Evangeline whispered.

“Same as usual,” Jax replied in an undertone. “I did something stupid while Riley wasn’t looking.”

Joanne, thank so much for inviting me here today to celebrate the release of The Morrigan’s Curse!

My pleasure, Dianne! Thanks so much for your guest post. And that's a great quote at the end of your post.

Learn more about Dianne at her website.

Readers, have you read the first two books in The Eighth Day series? The Eighth Day and The Inquisitor's Mark?  If so, you definitely need to read this book. And if you haven't read the first two, what are you waiting for?

GOING WHERE IT'S DARK by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

Going Where It's Dark by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor (January 12, 2016, Delacorte Press, 336 pages, for ages 10 and up)

Synopsis (from Indiebound): Buck Anderson's life seems to be changing completely. His best friend, David, has moved away; his anxious parents are hounding him more than ever; he has reluctantly agreed to fill in for his uncle and do odd jobs for a grumpy old veteran in town; and his twin sister has a new boyfriend and is never around anymore. To top it all off, Buck is bullied by a group of boys at school mainly because he stutters.

There is one thing that frees Buck from his worries. It is the heart-pounding exhilaration he feels when exploring underground caves in and around his hometown. He used to go caving with David, but he's determined to continue on his own now. He doesn't know that more changes are headed his way, changes that just might make him rethink his view of the world and his place in it.

Why I recommend it:  Buck emerges as a very real and likable thirteen-year-old boy, who happens to stutter. I also found it refreshing to read about a large and loving family with two parents, which seems rare in recent MG literature (or is it just me?). The caving adventures add a level of excitement. My pulse raced when I reached the part where the bullies drop him in the pit and he has to find a way out on his own. I think I read the last third of this book without taking a breath.

Favorite lines: "Everything he'd heard from outside the kitchen made him sick to his stomach. The pity in their voices, the way they predicted how the rest of his life would be. He hated his mouth, his throat, his tongue, his face."  (from p. 102)

Bonus: This is the second novel I've read about a young teen who stutters. The first was Tending To Grace by Kimberly Newton Fusco (reviewed here).  The two styles are quite different but both books have much to offer the reader. Each of my sons had speech disorders in elementary school, and speech therapy made a huge difference in their lives. Teachers and librarians: this book would be excellent for helping students empathize with kids who have speech disorders.

Phyllis Reynolds Naylor is the author of more than 140 books, including Shiloh, the Alice books, The Boys Start the War, The Girls Get Even (and many more Boy-Girl Battle books). Read more about Phyllis at randomhouse.com.

Readers, do you know of any other MG novels about stuttering? Or about caving?

BROWN GIRL DREAMING for Black History Month

Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson (August 2014, Nancy Paulsen Books, 352 pages, for ages 10 and up)

Synopsis (from Indiebound): "Jacqueline Woodson, one of today's finest writers, tells the moving story of her childhood in mesmerizing verse. "

Raised in South Carolina and New York, Woodson always felt halfway home in each place. In vivid poems, she shares what it was like to grow up as an African American in the 1960s and 1970s, living with the remnants of Jim Crow and her growing awareness of the Civil Rights movement. Touching and powerful, each poem is both accessible and emotionally charged, each line a glimpse into a child's soul as she searches for her place in the world. Woodson's eloquent poetry also reflects the joy of finding her voice through writing stories, despite the fact that she struggled with reading as a child. Her love of stories inspired her and stayed with her, creating the first sparks of the gifted writer she was to become.


Why I recommend it: I first discovered Jacqueline Woodson when I read her picture book, Coming On Home Soon, in 2004, and later her MG novel, Feathers, in 2007. Both were books I loved and championed at the indie bookstore where I worked. I found Jacqueline's writing to be gorgeous and poetic. So it's not surprising that she chose to tell the story of her own childhood in verse. In breathtaking, yet spare poetry, we get to know the child Jackie, her family, and all the elements that shaped her into a writer. It's inspiring and deeply moving.

But don't just take my word for it. Look at that cover image. This book has so many awards they barely fit! And they're all well deserved. Winner of the Coretta Scott King Award, the National Book Award, and a Newbery Honor book.

Favorite lines: (from a poem called "The Garden" on page 48)

My southern grandfather missed slavery
by one generation. His grandfather
had been owned.
His father worked
the land from dawn till dusk
for the promise of cotton
and a little pay.

So this is what he believes in
your hands in the cool dirt
until the earth gives back to you
all that you've asked of it.

Jacqueline Woodson's website

What Coretta Scott King award winners have you read or do you want to read?

TWO WINNERS!

It gives me great pleasure to announce the winners of my two recent giveaways.

According to randomizer.org, the winner of the hardcover copy of THE GOBLIN'S PUZZLE by Andrew S. Chilton is:

 AKOSSIWA

Congratulations, Akoss!  Expect an email from me asking for your mailing address.


_________________________________________

And now, according to randomizer, the winner of the hardcover copy of NOOKS & CRANNIES by Jessica Lawson is:

ROSI

Congratulations, Rosi! Expect an email from me asking for your mailing address.

And thanks to everyone for supporting my blog. 

NOOKS & CRANNIES Giveaway, and an Exclusive Interview with Jessica Lawson!

Nooks & Crannies by Jessica Lawson, illustrated by Natalie Andrewson (June 2015, Simon and Schuster, 336 pages, for ages 8 to 12)

Synopsis (from Indiebound): "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory "meets "Clue "when six children navigate a mansion full of secrets--and maybe money--in this humorous mystery with heart. Sweet, shy Tabitha Crum, the neglected only child of two parents straight out of a Roald Dahl book, doesn't have a friend in the world--except for her pet mouse, Pemberley, whom she loves dearly. But on the day she receives one of six invitations to the country estate of wealthy Countess Camilla DeMoss, her life changes forever.

Upon the children's arrival at the sprawling, possibly haunted mansion, it turns out the countess has a very big secret--one that will change their lives forever.

Then the children beginning disappearing, one by one. So Tabitha takes a cue from her favorite detective novels and, with Pemberley by her side, attempts to solve the case and rescue the other children...who just might be her first real friends.

Why I recommend it: Nooks & Crannies is clever and charming, with a spunky, inquisitive heroine and one of the most adorable pet sidekicks ever. Ten-year-old me would have hugged this book and carried it around for days. This is the perfect book for a cold snowy winter day, curled up in your favorite chair with a cup of tea and a few English biscuits.

And now, I'm thrilled to welcome author Jessica Lawson back to my blog (see her earlier visit here) for an exclusive interview!

Jessica Lawson, from her website

1) You must have read quite a few mysteries before writing this book. What were your favorite mystery novels when you were growing up?

Growing up (age 8 or so), my go-to mysteries were the Cam Jansen books. As I got older, I graduated to my aunt’s baskets of paperback mysteries—Agatha Christie and Mary Higgins Clark and P.D. James. I was 10-12 years old when I first started reading them, and remember being fascinated by those books. And, while this isn’t book-related, I think that a big love for the more cozy-style mysteries began as a bonding experience with my mom. Starting around age 8 or 9, she would let me watch Murder She Wrote with her (with the fabulous Angela Lansbury as Jessica Fletcher) and we’d make 25 cent bets on “whodunit” after the first commercial break.

2) That's a fun childhood memory! Can you describe your writing routine? And is your writing area, by any chance, a nook? Details, please.

With little ones around (one who still wakes up at night on occasion), my writing routine is very flexible by necessity. To make writing time happen, I’ve tried various strategies like getting up super early or having ready activities for the kids so that I can get an hour here, a half hour there. I can’t seem to stay up late to write—my brain works best in the morning hours and my creative energy is mostly sapped by the afternoon. So while I can edit at night if I’m on a deadline, I write and revise best in the earlier hours of the day.

During warmer weather, my husband will take the kids outside or on a field trip for a few hours on the weekends, which is a big help. I know that some people say that you need to write a certain amount every single day, but it just doesn’t work out that way for me in this stage of my life. I think about writing and my current projects every day, and will have small plot epiphanies or sparks of dialogue come to me (in which case I’ll jot those down on a post-it for the next time I write). But some days, writing gets shoved off my schedule, and that’s okay.

Jessica's writing space: the kitchen table

Photos courtesy of Jessica Lawson

As for my writing space, sadly, it’s not a nook. How I long for a nook! Alas, instead, I park my laptop on the kitchen table and pile an extra chair with my notes. When company comes over, my “office” is moved to my bedroom floor. Not very glamorous, but between the kitchen table and the living/family room couch, I’ve managed to get a lot of writing done.



3) Well, that space seems to be working just fine for you!  Jess, I'm not ready to let Tabitha go. Will there be any further adventures for our plucky heroine?

Thank you for asking~ I would love to revisit Tabitha’s story and see what comes next! That said, there are no near-future plans for another Tabitha book—the books of mine that will come out in 2016 and 2017 aren’t set in that world. But I will be keeping her in my back pocket for future project ideas. I’ve also dabbled with the idea of writing a middle grade starring a 12-year-old Percival Pensive and his sidekick, Timothy Tibbs (the Holmes/Watson-esque fiction-within-fiction characters from mystery books that Tabitha Crum loves)~ if you read NOOKS & CRANNIES, you’ll see that Pensive novel quotes begin each chapter and those two seem like they’d be loads of fun to write about.


4) That would be fun! If you could live in a mansion with hidden passageways, what would you use them for?

Oh, good question! I would use them for quick access to my massive library/kitchenette (I have my own mansion, right? It MUST have a massive library/kitchenette, right?) and for epic games of hide-and-seek and laser tag with my kids (note: I have never actually played laser tag, but it looks fun).


Thanks, Jessica! I enjoyed having you back on My Brain on Books. 

Jessica's website


And now, for the Giveaway details:

Readers, I'm so in love with this book I want everyone to read it. I'm giving away an extra copy to one lucky winner. To enter, simply be a follower of this blog and comment on this post. Mention the giveaway on social media, and I'll give you more chances to win. Open to US mailing addresses only. This giveaway ends at 10pm on Sunday January 24 and the winner will be announced on Monday January 25. So you only have one week! Good luck!

(And don't forget my giveaway for THE GOBLIN'S PUZZLE, still going on here!)

ECHO by Pam Munoz Ryan -- and Newbery thoughts, anyone?

The Newbery awards (and other ALA Youth Media Awards) will be announced this morning in Boston at 8 am EST. I'm posting this at 7 am, so at this point, all I can do is wish and hope. I've read so many wonderful MG novels this year that it's difficult to pick just one I think should win.

I have so many favorites: Blackbird Fly by Erin Entrada Kelly, Blue Birds by Caroline Starr Rose, Full Cicada Moon by Marilyn Hilton, The Thing About Jellyfish by Ali Benjamin, Goodbye Stranger by Rebecca Stead, along with others I haven't had a chance to blog about yet. Don't you wish all the books you read and loved this past year could win awards?

One that's certainly deserving of multiple awards is a book published in February 2015, and which I finally read on my recent blogging break in December.

Echo by Pam Munoz Ryan (February 24, 2015, Scholastic Press, 592 pages, for ages 10 to 14)

Source: my favorite local indie bookstore, Children's Book World!

Synopsis (from Indiebound):  Music, magic, and a real-life miracle meld in this genre-defying masterpiece from storytelling maestro Pam Munoz Ryan. Lost and alone in a forbidden forest, Otto meets three mysterious sisters and suddenly finds himself entwined in a puzzling quest involving a prophecy, a promise, and a harmonica.

Decades later, Friedrich in Germany, Mike in Pennsylvania, and Ivy in California each, in turn, become interwoven when the very same harmonica lands in their lives. All the children face daunting challenges: rescuing a father, protecting a brother, holding a family together. And ultimately, pulled by the invisible thread of destiny, their suspenseful solo stories converge in an orchestral crescendo.

Why I recommend it: Echo is 592 pages long, yet it was so fascinating and so beautifully written I read it in one day! I absolutely loved how the three seemingly-disparate storylines all came together at the end. And because the three stories all hinge on a harmonica, and my late father played the harmonica, this novel affected me in a big way. This is the kind of book that sends shivers up your spine. If Echo doesn't win at least a Newbery honor today, I'll be sorely disappointed.

As the awards are announced, what books were you hoping would win Newbery honors or the Newbery medal?

THE GOBLIN'S PUZZLE and a giveaway!

I'm back from my blogging break, and for those who remember my TBR pile of eight books, well, let's just say I've read all but one of them, and I'm reading that right now! I also spent a lot of time with family (including my father-in-law who was in the hospital, but he's better now. Thanks for asking!). In the meantime, I missed reading your blogs and I look forward to catching up.

The Goblin's Puzzle by Andrew S. Chilton, with illustrations by Jensine Eckwall (January 19, 2016, Knopf Books for Young Readers, 288 pages, for ages 8 to 12)


Synopsis (from the publisher):

THE BOY is a nameless slave on a mission to uncover his true destiny.
THE GOBLIN holds all the answers, but he’s too tricky to be trusted.
PLAIN ALICE is a bookish peasant girl carried off by a confused dragon.
And PRINCESS ALICE is the lucky girl who wasn’t kidnapped.

All four are tangled up in a sinister plot to take over the kingdom, and together they must face kind monsters, a cruel magician, and dozens of deathly boring palace bureaucrats. They’re a ragtag bunch, but with strength, courage, and plenty of deductive reasoning, they just might outwit the villains and crack the goblin’s puzzle.


Why I recommend it: The Goblin's Puzzle is a deliciously inventive tale, smart and a bit sassy, and brimming with humor and wordplay. You'll cheer for the Boy and for Plain Alice, and even find Mennofar, the Goblin, growing on you. This is the kind of book destined to become a modern classic, one that adults and children alike will enjoy. If you liked The Bartimaeus Trilogy or The Princess Bride, you'll love this.


Favorite Lines: "Though it pains me to taint the purity of such innocence, I feel obliged to point out that in this world, kindness, like the unicorn, is chiefly found in stories told to princesses," said Mennofar. "Ordinary folk look to how the coin falls." (from page 54)


Bonus: This is an excellent (and fun!) way to introduce young readers to the concept of deductive reasoning.


Here's a link to a lively interview with Andrew S. Chilton on Suzanne Warr's delightful blog, Tales From the Raven.  Her giveaway is now over, but mine is just beginning. That's right!

Through the generosity of the publisher, I'm thrilled to award one hardcover copy of The Goblin's Puzzle to one lucky winner. To enter you must be a follower of this blog and you must leave a comment on this post. If you mention this giveaway on social media, please include a link and I'll give you extra chances to win. This giveaway is open to U.S. mailing addresses only and will end at 10:00 pm EST on Sunday January 24, 2016. The winner will be announced on Monday January 25, 2016.