Book Lovers Day

In honor of Book Lover's Day on 9 August, my writerly pals and I are having fun by sharing all the ways we adore reading.  There is nothing better than getting lost in a good book but sadly it has been a while since I have picked one up due to this year being…. Well, ridiculous! When I heard it was book lovers day I thought now this is the perfect opportunity to put some time aside and indulge in one of my favourite past times.

How we will be celebrating book lovers day

READING TO MY CHILDREN

I always used to love reading to my children when they were little but I must admit over the years this fizzled out as these things tend to do. However as part of the national read aloud month in March I thought it would be fun to read my kids a bedtime story, even though they are now 8 and 11. Do you know what, it proved that you are never too old to be read to! We carried on with the nightly bedtime reads way beyond the month of March. The kids loved having that extra bit of mum time. We would get our jim jams on, cuddle up in bed and read a story. My daughter, Flic, would insist on taking it in turns to read, which really helped her reading skills at school. Dylan was more than happy just to lie back and wait for my terrible attempts at accents. I too enjoyed the break from the drawing board and it gave me a chance to study the art of writing more, and to see what things worked with the kids and what didn’t, so it was a good learning experience too.

PUTTING SOME TIME ASIDE TO READ SOMETHING

I am ashamed to say that the last few months we have stopped the night time reading ritual, so much has happened the last few months but that is an entire blog in itself. Its been an erm…. Interesting year! So for book lovers day I am putting some time aside and I have told the children that we will start reading again starting from Sunday. My latest book commission comes to an end this week so it’s about time that the paintbrushes are put down and the books picked up.

READ SOMETHING FROM A NEW AUTHOR IN A GENRE THAT IS DIFFERENT TO MY TYPICAL CHOICE

My usual book of choice is a good horror, something gritty with the shock factor. Favourite authors including the likes of Steven King, Clive Barker and Martina Cole. However as I have grown up a little more, I have stepped out of my comfort zone and started reading a bit of historical fiction. This was quite the eye opener as I found I thoroughly enjoyed this genre. Lesley Pearse is now another name added to the fave list; so don’t be afraid to start turning the page on a book because it isn't something you would  normally read, you might just be pleasantly surprised.

The more I am networking with authors the more my eyes are being opened to different styles of writing and genres  out there. I have read some real gems the last year, titles that I would never have read if it wasn’t for the friendships that have been formed. I have now read autobiographies, children’s fiction, teen fiction, erotica, horrors, the list is endless.

So to celebrate Book Lovers day, I have several books I have dowloaded from fellow author buds and I shall be reading the Yellow Bus Boys written  by Ron Shaw for my bedtime reading and Felicity will be reading Pretty Please by Princess Polly by AJ Cosmo. Dylan will be reading Pedro The Ugliest dog In The World by Papa G

Thanks for stopping by. For more book love, please visit these awesome bloggers next.

Cat Michaels

Cat's Corner

Cat marks Book Lovers' Day with a wink and a smile in her RAP (Really-Awful-Poem) "Ode to Books" with apologies to Gertude Stein, the Bard, Dr Seuss and true poets everywhere.

Söndra Rymer

Fairy Tales Imagery

Söndra marks Book Lover's Day by slipping into the past to pick up a beloved children's book and quietly obsess over "This is where it all BEGAN!"

Auden Johnson
Dark Treasury

Books showed me I wasn't alone

Carmela Dutra

A Blog For Your Thoughts

Did you ever read a book that just made you fall madly in love with it? 

Leigh Emery Shearin

Leigh Shearin, Writer

"How I found the secret to life on the big oak bookcase"

Karen Emma Hall

Kid Literature Today

"Enjoy Book Lovers day by making time to read"

If you have a blog about book love, post your link in the comments section, and we'll give you some blog loving!

Happy Birthday Kid Literature Authors

I have been quiet lately trying to complete Animania and working on Animal Stories For The Young Part 4. So as you can imagine blogging and social media have taken a bit of a nose dive.

I had to put some time aside to put together a very special blog though and that is one to dedicate to Kid Literature Authors first birthday. For those who do not know about team KLA they are a group that formed on twitter and facebook with the aim to create a place where authors, illustrators and kid lit enthusiasts could share their works, but to also create a place where we can all encourage each other and support one another. To grow, to give back and to inspire children world wide. The group comprises of Karen Emma Hall, (founder) Steve Conoboy, Cat Michaels, Carmela Dultra, Hilary Hawkes and Carolin Palmer. Each one of them will be helping celebrate this huge occasion from the week of the 13th-19th April. 

So what will they be doing to celebrate this big occasion??

To mark the occasion there will be a week long celebration of fun on their Facebook and Twitter pages which everyone is invited to. There will be videos, games, giveaways and much more, so do come along and join in the festivities. I will also be giving away some cards and prints as part of the rafflecopter feature and will post updates on my Facebook and Twitter pages. Do come 
along and show some support for everything this amazing team does.

To kick start the festivities, here is a chance to enter the first rafflecopter hosted by Cat Michaels  For a chance to win a copy of her " Sweet T and the North Wind" just click on the rafflecopter tab on my page. This will be updated as new giveaways come along.



Here is a little video to show what these guys have been up to the past year...

Why team KLA are such an important part of my life

I signed up to twitter a couple of years ago and didn’t get it at all. After a couple of days scratching my head with it I decided to not pursue tweetsville any further. It was only after reading a blog about how to get your artwork noticed that I decided to give it another bash a year later. One of the top things to do was to join twitter, so off I went again. 

As much as I was a rabbit caught in headlights at first, I stuck with it and started striking up friendships with people. Team KLA were one of the very first groups to reach out and show support to my work. 

I was blessed enough to help out behind the scenes with spreading the word of KLA and in return I have been rewarded with constant inspiration, tips, support and most important of all friendship. This group homes some of the nicest people out there, people who have a wealth of knowledge under their belt about the whole children’s literature industry, from writing to illustrating to publishing and marketing. I have learnt so much the past year and the majority of that has been through the lovely folks at KLA. I am just tipping my toes in the author world and I tell you this much so far.... it's not an easy road to go down! Promoting artwork is a piece of cake compared to producing and marketing a book. It's an upward struggle at times but the support and inspiration from all members of the group has been invaluable and has kept me going.

So wishing all at Kid Literature a huge Happy Birthday. I am so lucky to have seen you start from nothing to this flourishing hub of creativity, all in the space of one year. Each and every one of the admin team deserve a massive hug for all they do.