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C. Lee McKenzie

Young Adult and Middle Grade Author

I’m Back with March’s Featured Follower, Bish Denham

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Did you miss me? I missed you, but I loved my break and how it re-energized me. I hiked, even in the rain! I ate extra cake because it was my birthday–I decided to have a birthday month instead of only one day. More cake that way! I learned how to be an administrator for IWSG. Very interesting and fun to do. And I remembered some more stories I want to share with you. 

And now I’m here with my Featured Follower for March, Bish Denham. Yay, Bish! Great to feature you and your books this month. 

Bish Denham, whose mother’s side of the family has been in the Caribbean for over one hundred years, was raised in the U. S. Virgin Islands. She still has lots of family living there and visits them regularly.

She says, “Growing up in the islands was like living inside a history book. Columbus named them, Sir Francis Drake sailed through the area, and Alexander Hamilton was raised on St. Croix. Pirates plied the waters and hundred of years of slavery left its indelible mark. It was within this atmosphere of magic and wonder that I grew up. My hope is pass some of that magic and wonder on to my readers.”

Amazon
Amazon
Amazon


                                                   

She has published three magical tales.

A Lizard’s Tale: From the moment he hatches, Marvin P. Tinkleberry knows he is destined for greatness. For one, he has a marvelous, well-groomed tail. For another he can puff out his throat pouch in the most spectacular way. Pirates. Explorers. And spooky ghost hunters. REVIEW

The Bowl and the Stone: It’s 1962. Sam and her best friend, Nick, have the whole island of St. John, in the U. S. Virgin Islands, as their playground. They’ve got 240 year-old sugar plantation ruins to explore, beaches to swim, and trails to hike. REVIEW

Anansi and Company: How do you escape a hungry tiger? Why do ram-goats smell? What happens if you get too greedy? In this collection of ten retold Jamaican stories, Anansi the spider tricks, sings, and dances his way into and out of trouble. REVIEW

GIVEAWAY: Bish is generously giving one of her books away (digital format). To request your copy of a book of your choice, just leave a request in the comment and a way we can contact you. 

Quote of the Week: “The wonder of imagination is this: It has the power to light its own fire.” John L. Mason, author

Next Week: Let Me Tell You a Story returns with Oh Shoot! It’s the Tunnel Chute.

I’m Guilty and I Don’t Care!

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#InkRipples is a monthly meme created by Kai Strand, Mary Waibel, and Katie L. Carroll. We post on the first Monday of every month with a new topic. The brains behind this meme are all authors, but you don’t have to be to participate.
You can also spread your own ripples by blogging about the topic any day of the month that fits your schedule, just be sure to include links back to Katie, Kai, and Mary.



This month’s topic is Guilty Pleasures.

I have one Guilty Pleasure that I will confess to. I love books and everything about them. So when people say, “Hey, guess what? I’m publishing a new book,” I have no choice but to indulge that GP and tell everyone who will listen that there’s another book for them.
So without more twiddle-twaddle on my part, here’s my Featured Follower for August. Mark Noce and his debut book. Keep reading. There’s a special Cover Reveal, too.

Saxon barbarians threaten to destroy medieval Wales. Lady Branwen becomes Wales’ last hope to unite their divided kingdoms when her father betroths her to a powerful Welsh warlord, the Hammer King. But the fledgling alliance is fraught with enemies from within and without as Branwen becomes the target of assassination attempts and courtly intrigue. A young woman in a world of fierce warriors, she seeks to assert her own authority and preserve Wales against the barbarians. But when she falls for a young hedge knight named Artagan, her world threatens to tear itself apart.

Caught between her duty to her people and her love of a man she cannot have, Branwen must choose whether to preserve her royal marriage or to follow her heart. Somehow she must save her people and remain true to herself, before Saxon invaders and a mysterious traitor try to destroy her.

Branwen’s story combines elements of mystery and romance with Noce’s gift for storytelling.


I’ll be posting more about Mark and his book August 15. My review for his book is coming soon.

What does Featured Follower mean?
It means that I:
  • buy, read and review the book.
  • post about the book on my blog.
  • post on facebook with a link to my review.
  • post three tweets each Wed. for the month.
  • add the cover to my Pinterest folder: Covers that Catch My Eye.

Sign up on my Email Connect (top right margin) to have a shot at being featured, receiving gifts for followers, news about my copywriting class and what I’m learning about how to sell more books. This month, Effective Book Descriptions.


Bish Denham’s cover for her next story from the island paradise of St. John.


The Bowl and the Stone Cover Reveal
Book Blurb

Pirates. Explorers. And spooky ghost hunters.

It’s 1962. Sam and her best friend, Nick, have the whole island of St. John, in the U. S. Virgin Islands, as their playground. They’ve got a 240-year-old sugar plantation ruins to explore, beaches to swim, and trails to hike.


But when a man disappears like a vapor right in front of them, they must confront a scary new reality. They’re being haunted. By whom? And why? He’s even creeping into Nick’s dreams.


They need help, but the one who might be able to give it is Trumps, a reclusive hunchback who doesn’t like people, especially kids. Are Sam and Nick brave enough to face him? And if they do, will he listen to them? 


Their carefree summer games turn into eerie hauntings, and Sam and Nick learn more about themselves and life than they could ever have imagined.

Pre-order today and enter the ghostly tale as soon as it releases.

Bish Denham


About the Author

Bish Denham, whose mother’s side of the family has been in the Caribbean for over one hundred years, was raised in the U. S. Virgin Islands. She still has lots of family living there whom she visits regularly.
She says, “Growing up in the islands was like living inside a history book. Columbus named the islands, Sir Francis Drake sailed through the area, and Alexander Hamilton was raised on St. Croix. The ruins of hundreds of sugar plantations, built with the sweat and blood of slave labor, litter the islands. Then there were the pirates who plied the waters. It is within this atmosphere of wonder and mystery that I grew up. Life for me was magical, and through my writing I hope to pass on some of that magic.”
The Bowl and the Stone: A Haunting Tale from the Virgin Islands, is her third book and second novel. You can find Anansi and Company: Retold Jamaican Tales and A Lizard’s Tail, at Amazon.com.
To learn more about Bish, visit her blog, Random Thoughts
She can also be found on Facebook
Twitter @BishDenham

And Goodreads





Sign of the Green Dragon is about to poke its nose into the world. August 3!
Still time to pre-order for only .99 if you haven’t already. And if you want to lend a hand with this birth, send up some smoke. I can use all the help I can get. To those who’ve already held up their hands, thanks so much.

I’ll be at Robert Kent’s super Middle Grade Ninja blog today, so stop by and read how I feel about being a hybrid author.

So there you have it. My Guilty Pleasure and a few of new books, too. Now for the Quote of the Week: “Poor is the man whose pleasure depends on the permission of another.” Madonna

A Lizard’s Tale, Hat’s Off Corner, and Survive and Thrive Bloghop

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Here’s wishing
Bish Denham and her new book, 
A Lizard’s Tale, a great launch.

From the moment he hatches, Marvin P. Tinkleberry knows he is destined for greatness. For one, he has a marvelous, well-groomed tail. For another he can puff out his throat pouch in the most spectacular way. Maybe the other lizards in his colony don’t take him seriously, but he knows the truth. It lives in the marrow of his bones; he’s going to be a hero.

When a feral cat threatens the lives of all who live at Stone Wall in the Garden by the Sea, Marvin knows it’s HIS destiny to get rid of the fearsome beast. Traveling Over the Hill to find help should be as easy as snapping up a sleeping moth. But it doesn’t take long for Marvin to see that the world beyond Stone Wall is not the same as his pampered life back at the garden. From the deadly Sucker Cactus Forest to deadly mongooses, danger lurks around every corner and Marvin will have to decide if he’s willing to be the hero he’s long bragged about being.
Blog: http://bish-randomthoughts.blogspot.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bish.denham
Twitter: @BishDenham
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6439315.Bish_Denham
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Hat’s Off Corner 

CATHRINA CONSTANINE

After Seeley is possessed by an evil wraith, Jordan must dig deeper into the Satanic realm. Against Markus’s direct orders, she offers herself, body and soul in a blood covenant to rescue Seeley from the clutches of hell. Jordan assumes her guardian angel will not leave her to fight alone. But there’s trouble in paradise, and Markus has been reassigned. Can Jordan defeat both her internal and external demons to win him back? Or is he gone for good this time?
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wickedly333
Web: http://cathrinaconstantine.com
Blog: http://cathrinaconstantine.blogspot.com

Twitter: @cathconstantine

Survive and Thrive

Hope you’ve signed up for this? It’s worthy of sign-ups. 

Stephen Tremp, Michael Di Gesu, Diane Wolfe, and Alex J. Cavanaugh. 

A few years ago, my niece was diagnosed with breast cancer. She was thirty with two small children. If she hadn’t gone in for her annual mammogram, those children would be without their mother today. As my gram always said, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” 

Get your check up. Now. 
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Here’s my quote for the day, which I think is right on for Survive And Thrive. 

“The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they have none.”
Alice Walker.
You have the power to prevent a lot of health issues from becoming life threatening. Early detection is the key.

Monday Ketchup or How to Make Goulash

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I’ve been busy with wrapping up my mom’s end of life business (there’s a lot, believe me) and seeing to my son’s care since his accident. Therefore, I’ve not really been HOPPING or FB+ING or SOCIAL MEDIA+ING very much. It’s going to take a few more months before I’m at full strength, but I will be. In the meantime, here’s what’s up.

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Today is very special because I get to share BISH DENHAM’S book with you. First, look at this cover. Who wouldn’t pick this from a shelf or a webpage?

Please add this to your GOODREADS TBR 

About the Book






How do you escape a hungry tiger? Why do ram-goats smell? What happens if you get too greedy? In this collection of ten retold Jamaican stories, Anansi the spider tricks, sings, and dances his way into and out of trouble.


But who is Anansi? It was the Ashanti of West Africa who brought the spider into the Caribbean. He clung tight to the web he wove in the minds of those who had been captured, surviving not only the harrowing passage across the Atlantic Ocean, but hundreds of years of slavery.


As a trickster, Anansi has both good and bad traits, which makes him very human. Sometimes he wins, sometimes he loses. When he wins he dances and sings for joy. When he loses, he shakes it off and keeps on living, a lesson for us all.

About the Author
Bish Denham, whose mother’s side of the family has been in the Caribbean for over hundred years, was raised in the U. S. Virgin Islands. She still has lots of family living there and visits them regularly.

She says, “Growing up in the islands was like living inside a history book. Columbus named them, Sir Francis Drake sailed through the area, and Alexander Hamilton was raised on St. Croix. Pirates plied the waters and hundred of years of slavery left its indelible mark. It was within this atmosphere of magic and wonder that I grew up. My hope is pass some of that magic and wonder on to my readers.”
“LIKE” HER FACEBOOK PAGE. 
FOLLOW BISH ON TWITTER.

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If you missed this on Michael’s Blog, the link to his post about his very COOL and FUN COFFEE BLOG HOP is below. It’s a commitment, guaranteed to wake you up!
MICHAEL DI GESU’S HOP
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If you made RESOLUTIONS or set GOALS. Check out this helpful list of TIPS for keeping those in place this year.

How did this Goulash taste? I love it when I have just the right ingredients to make a great stewy kind of blog post. Hope you’ll check out Bish’s book and join Michael’s Coffee Hop.

Small Things Hop

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This is my first Small Things post since March. I’ve been on blogging sabbatical–a much needed blogging sabbatical! It feels good to be back and to celebrate more small things.

VikLit

Today I’m going to celebrate an award! Thanks to Deanie Humphrys-Dunne for this splendid Dragon Loyalty Award

THE RULES:
  • Display the Award Certificate on your website. 
  • Announce your win with a written post and link to whoever presented your award. 
  • Present the award to 7 deserving bloggers.
  • Drop them a comment to tip them off after you have nominated them in the post.
  • Post 7 interesting things about yourself
  • If you don’t have a blog but have a website, Facebook, or Twitter or other type account, post there with a link back.
Seven more things about me:
I hope this isn’t making you bleary-eyed already. My apologies if it is.
  1. I’ve posted this before, but since it’s still true I thought I’d post it again. I iron my sheets. I love the feel of smooth, freshly laundered and unwrinkled white sheets. No color for me.
  2. I’m a hiker and love to take off on long hikes in the mountains. 
  3. Coffee is my beverage of choice in the morning . Wine is my beverage of choice in the evening.
  4. I love to make jam in the summer. My grandmother always did that and I grew up tasting hot fresh jam on home baked bread still hot from the oven. Yumm.
  5. When I’m writing, I like to get up before the sun and put in a few hours before the rest of the house wakes up.
  6. Writing is like being on the other side of reading for me, so I get double pleasure when I do either one.
  7. I never had an imaginary friend, but did talk to my dog as if he could understand me. In fact, he did understand me. 
I’m passing on this Award to 7 Bloggers–I could pass it on to a hundred, so the choice was hard to make.
Bish Denham (old friend), Laura Eno snarky and fun), Father Dragon (he has to have this award), Mary Pax her head’s always in the stars), Empty Nest Insider (she says it like it is), Alex Cavanaugh (you can never have enough awards) ,Sheri Larson (witty and pretty).