A Wonderful Book That Will Stay in Your Mind, IN THE SHADOW OF 10,000 HILLS

The reviews for one of our spring titles, IN THE SHADOW OF 10,000 HILLS by Jennifer Haupt are starting to roll in. Below is a wonderful review of the book, and pretty much sums up how I felt about it personally.

AN INVINCIBLE LOVE OF READING

IN THE SHADOW OF 1000 HILLS

by

Jennifer Haupt

This is one of the finest books I have read recently. It opens with the picture of a blood spattered child, hiding in a ruined shack, frozen with fear.  What she witnessed,  the horror of people chopped to death with machetes, will never leave her,  the screams of friends and family who did not escape haunting her dreams forever.  She cowers in the filth waiting for the return of a man who has wrapped her in his shirt,  promising to return when it is safe. This is Rwanda during the horrific genocide that occurred there in the 1990s. 

The story moves to the present day in New York where Rachel and her husband are struggling with another miscarriage and the recent death of Rachel’s mother. The trauma has awakened Rachel’s fond memories of her loving father…

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Honeybee by Trista Mateer #BookReview #Poetry

On this day when many are thankful, I’d like to express my gratitude to Bookish Lara who wrote this awesome review of one of our spring titles, Honeybee by Trista Mateer.

Bookish Lara

You will meet people in your lifetime who demand to have poems written about them. It’s not something they say. It’s something about their hands, the shape of their mouths, the way they look walking away from you. 

Honeybee is an honest take on walking away and still feeling like you were walked away from. It’s about cutting love loose like a kite string and praying the wind has the decency to carry it away from you. It’s an ode to the back and forth, the process of letting something go but not knowing where to put it down. Honeybee is putting it down. It’s small town girls and plane tickets, a taste of tenderness and honey, the bandage on the bee sting. It’s a reminder that you are not defined by the people you walk away from or the people who walk away from you.
Consider Honeybee a memoir…

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Win I Wrote This For You: 2007-2017 & Signed Numbered Art Cards

To celebrate the release of I Wrote This For You: 2007-2017 by Iain S. Thomas and Jon Ellis, there are lots of giveaways and fun things going on right now.

We had a limited run of absolutely gorgeous art cards printed. They’re designed by Lavanya Naidoo and signed and numbered by Iain. You can win a copy of the book and an art card by entering at these giveaways:

Shelf Awareness (US only – 10 prizes available Nov 3-19)

Central Avenue (US and Canada only – 3 prizes available – Nov 1-Dec 15)

Goodreads (US and Canada only – 2 books available, Oct 30-Nov 30)

Good luck!

The Goblins of Bellwater by Molly Ringle {Review}

The Goblins of Bellwater has just been blowing up lately, and of course, we couldn’t be happier. Thank you to Read, Write, Inspire for this lovely review and post!

Read, Write, Inspire

​A contemporary romance inspired by Christina Rossetti’s eerie, sensual poem, “Goblin Market.” Four neighbors encounter sinister enchantments and a magical path to love in a small, modern-day Puget Sound town, where a fae realm hides in the woods and waters…

Today I bring to you my review of Molly Ringle’s The Goblins of Bellwater.

Blurb…

Most people have no idea goblins live in the woods around the small town of Bellwater, Washington. But some are about to find out.

Skye, a young barista and artist, falls victim to a goblin curse in the forest one winter night, rendering her depressed and silenced, unable to speak of what happened. Her older sister, Livy, is at wit’s end trying to understand what’s wrong with her. Local mechanic Kit would know, but he doesn’t talk of such things: he’s the human liaison for the goblin tribe, a job he keeps secret and never…

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Happy Book Birthday, I Wrote This For You: 2007-2017

October 24, 2017 is the official publishing date for I Wrote This For You: 2007-2017, a new book celebrating the tenth anniversary of the remarkable I Wrote This For You project. Started over 10 years ago by Iain Thomas and Jon Ellis, this first blog then series of books has become a leader in the contemporary poetry phenomenon and has brought joy and comfort to countless fans around the world. Their work has been translated, shared and sold around the world to an extent that most authors would be very proud.

This day brings a moment of reflection around Central Avenue as well. We published this book before the current poetry craze, simply because it was lovely and meaningful and represented the dedicated work of two tremendously talented individuals. We are immensely proud of what they’ve accomplished.

You can find the original project here, where all the entries that they’ve ever produced reside. Sure, you can buy the first book, the second or the third, but if you just want to experience their work, please don’t feel like you have to spend any money and just head over to the original website.

However, if you’re a fan and want to celebrate the last ten years by having a copy to hug and display, then this new edition is for you. It combines the best of the last decade along with new work in a beautifully crafted hardcover collector’s edition. We’re very proud of it and hope that you enjoy reading it as much as we enjoyed producing it. You can find it in store at Target, Barnes & Noble, Urban Outfitters, Indigo and a multitude of online and indie stores.

We’re also running a few giveaways, there’s one starting soon over at goodreads, as well as one we’re putting on. We’re giving away a copy of the book in addition to a set of signed, numbered art cards designed by the most talented Lavanya Naidoo.  Enter here:

We hope you’ll help us celebrate by sending a tweet to @iwrotethisforu and helping us welcome this lovely new book to the world.

 

 

 

From Ant to Eagle Nominated for Silver Birch Award

It gives me immense pleasure to announce that From Ant to Eagle by Alex Lyttle has been nominated for a Silver Birch Award – part of the Ontario Library Association’s Forest of Reading program.

The program consists of eight award programs distinguished by age group and reading level. The Silver Birch is for children in grades 4, 5 & 6. Over 270,000 readers participate in the program through schools, public libraries, literacy centres, and at home.

There are 10 nominated titles for the 2018 Silver Birch Award. Committees of library practitioners selected the nominated titles and now kids who read a certain number of titles will have the opportunity to vote for their favourite books in April. The winners of the 2018 program will be announced and awarded live at the Festival of Trees in May, where the readers and participants of the Forest of Reading are invited to celebrate reading and writing with the nominees.

This program is the largest recreational reading program in Canada and we are very proud of this accomplishment. Here is a quote from Kenneth Oppel, author of The Nest, regarding the value of the nomination.

“Over the course of my career, I can truly say that the Forest of Reading programs have done more to help my books reach an audience than any other initiative. For young readers, these awards kindle and nurture a love of reading, teach the kids analytical skills as they weight and debate the merits of each shortlisted title, and ultimately empower them as they vote for the winning books each year. As a writer I’ve never seen so many kids, so excited about books…These are invaluable programs for creating new generations of readers.”

Please join me in congratulating Alex, it’s an honour most well-deserved!

Happy Book Birthday, Amanda in New Mexico!

“fans … will enjoy themselves as they explore a piece of the Southwestern United States.” – School Library Journal

The month of October is a very busy one for Central Avenue – we have three titles releasing! The second book celebrating its launch into the world is Amanda in New Mexico: Ghosts in the Wind by Darlene Foster. This is the sixth book in the Amanda Travels series and we’re very proud to welcome this new volume.

 

Intrepid traveller and 12 year-old sleuth, Amanda Ross is on a class trip to Taos, New Mexico. She spends most of her time with two of her classmates: the funny Caleb and the more quiet and nervous Cleo who insists she sees ghosts. Although Amanda is determined to prove there is no such thing, she can’t seem to shake the feeling that something or someone is watching her.

Together, the friends visit an ancient and beautiful landscape where a traditional hacienda, an ancient pueblo, and a haunted and spooky hotel all hold secrets to a wild and violent past.

Does Cleo really see ghosts? Can Amanda escape the eerie wind that follows her everywhere? Perhaps The Day of the Dead will reveal the mysteries of Taos in this latest adventure of Amanda’s travels.

Just in time for Halloween, this book is an entertaining and slightly spooky tale of friends, history and ghosts.

We’re also offering a giveaway with a copy of the book, and some fun activities for kids (and adults too!). Enter here: