Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Free Ebooks for Kindle from Me with update on progress


 From Feb. 26 until March 2nd, there will be two of my books available for free kindle Downloads.


Amazon's Dixie Dawn Miller Goode Page has the links! You can view it at:


 Of course it seems crazy to work for years and then give that work away for free when you only ask a bit less than people would pay for a cup of coffee anyway, but once I heard the quote that says every book copy that you get out into the hands of the reading public is like your own personal ambassador to the world, encouraging good-will and getting themselves seen and getting you in the public eye, I saw the logic behind the trend to give away books.



Book Description For Duffy Barkley Is Not a Dog

Remember being with a group of friends where you felt safer and more included than you had ever felt at home, friends you had always wanted, who made you look around with a lump in your throat, wishing you could stop time? They were a lot like the groups in all the popular stories. They were the reason people love MASH, Harry Potter, Narnia, Friends, The Lord of the Rings , etc. They were a group of imperfect, overwhelmed and harassed people who became winners because they didn't have to face the overwhelming odds, alone. Even in the face of dark wizards, popular girls, bad hair days or War, they had each other's back. When one of them had a weakness, another had a strength to balance it out. When one was a jerk, someone else saved the day, and forgave them eventually. Now times are turning more difficult again. The world needs that kind of support. We need a source of encouragement so that we can find a way to be that kind of support when we are needed. As times are dark, people look for a reason to laugh, love and hope again. Duffy Barkley is not a dog, a middle grade fantasy, gives you those friends, that escape, that voice of hope in the darkness. Duffy is alone, handicapped, desperate. He is picked-on, lost, & yet, never defeated. In the most alien of places he finds friends. In the most dire of emergencies he finds courage. In the most evil of villains he finds compassion and a solution. In giving away what he most needs, he gains everything. Duffy, a 9 year old boy with cerebral palsy, survives tragedy in the form of a school shooting in which his younger sister is seriously injured. Falling into a new world, he regains his health but finds himself the focus of historic prophecy. While trying to deny his place in their prophecies he discovers his own abilities & changes his life & that of others in both worlds. He enjoys being physically strong but must give it up to save the villain, and find his way back to save his sister, Izzy.






Book description for Double Time: on The Oregon Trail

The past and present meet on the Oregon Trail when two girls travel the same trail with the same lap desk 152 years apart. Kenyon is traveling in 2002 from Pittsburgh to Salem, OR. Her mother is pregnant and staying behind to close escrow on the house and then flying west to join the family. Kenyon; her 5 year old sister, Melissa and her father are in a Dodge Caravan, with a trailer hitch. Her Grandfather has given her a plain, black polished ebony wooden lap desk lined with a scented wood that still smells faintly of cedar. The box is filled with thick, creamy paper, envelopes, a calling card, a hand mirror, pens and pencils and a small Swiss army knife, postage and an electronic address book. Her Grandfather is not moving with them but plans have been made for him to fly out in December for a visit. Kenyon strongly resents being expected to entertain Melissa at the motels in the evenings. Her father has decided to take the long way and show his girls some of the wonders of this country and Melissa is excited but Kenyon is determined to not have any fun. Traveling in 1850, Della, age 15, has already traveled from Northern Illinois to St. Louis, then a week by steamboat on the Missouri River. She stopped in Independence, MO to prepare for the journey and meet with the wagon train. She left behind her 60 year old grandmother who feels too old to attempt the trip, but who gave her a gift of a wooden lap desk. The desk is filled with paper, a small mirror, wooden handled pens with steel nibs, a metal letter opener, hair pins and a small sewing kit. Her younger brother, Orville, her father, and her pregnant mother are traveling with her. She has been asked to teach the younger children around the campfire in the evenings. What happens when they open the desk to see the other girls journal?







So if you choose to take advantage of the free offer, I hope you tell others about the books, I'd love it if you post a review on Amazon or Goodreads, I'd be happy if you but the Duffy Barkley: Seek Well sequel and Most of all, I hope that you have as much fun reading them as I did writing them

Friday, February 15, 2013

I Won Diary of a Penguin-Napper by Sally Harris




 I had read this wonderful novel about a mysterious and unusual librarian in a town with a grudge against Librarians and loved it, and likened it to a wild west Mary Poppins or Nanny McPhee.  So when I heard that the author, Rebecca M. Douglass had been included in an anthology of middle grade novels, I uploaded the kindle ebook and entered the drawing to win a kindle fire or a copy of one of the 14 books included in excerpt in the anthology.  I didn't win the kindle fire, which is fine, but I did get introduced to many interesting titles which I think my students might enjoy.






And I was lucky enough to win the ebook copy of the first story in the anthology, one excerpt which had me laughing as soon as I started reading.  





The following is the blurb about the book from Goodreads

3 weeks ...
2 boys ...
1 little penguin ...

What could possibly go wrong?

When 11 (and a half) year old Marty is partnered up with Jessica on the overnight science trip, he thinks all of this dreams are about to come true. It's his big chance to impress the most beautiful girl in Year 7 (and probably the world) and he wouldn't miss it for anything.

Only problem is: Marty can't afford to go on the overnight trip. 

Yet.

Inspired by the urban myth that it is possible to steal a penguin from the zoo on a school visit, Diary of a Penguin-napper is a hilarious tale of growing up, bending the rules and how one big fuss can be caused by stealing just one little penguin.




So thank you to Sally Harris, and the other authors, and best of luck getting your wonderful books out into the hands, and ebooks of people who will love them.


And because every chance to remind you about my books is a chance I am not going to pass up, here are the links to a couple of my own Novels for middle school on up.


Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Love Middle Grade Actually


Because my passion is books for middle grade and young adults, and because I am completely in love with a book called, The Ninja Librarian by Rebecca M. Douglass



I reviewed her book awhile back and am looking forward to the sequel which she promises me she is making progress on, :)
My review here:


and she is involved in this project, 
I am delighted to be able to tell you about a middle grade sampler









ABOUT THE BOOK

WIN A KINDLE FIRE (Value of $159!) WIN A $10 AMAZON GIFTCARD! WIN GREAT MIDDLE GRADE BOOKS!

Download this e-book, find the secret phrase, and enter it into the contest link embedded in the e-book to be entered into the draw to win a Kindle Fire, a $10 Amazon Gift Card or a great middle grade e-book from one of 14 fantastic authors!

Treat yourself and your kids with a special gift this Valentine's Day! This is a sample of 14 exciting middle grade stories that you will love and with the chance to win an e-reader.

Competition opens 7 February 2013 and the winner will be announced on 14 February 2013. This e-book will be available to download for free for 5 days from the 7-11th of February and at 99c for the remaining days of the promotion. The winners will be drawn on 14 February 2013 and announced shortly thereafter.

Whether you like fantasy, adventure, mystery or humor, "Love Middle Grade Actually" gives you a taste of it all!

This sampler includes:

Sally Harris - Diary of a Penguin-napper (3 weeks, 2 boys, 1 little penguin - what could possibly go wrong? Inspired by the urban myth that it is possible to steal a penguin from the zoo on a school visit using just a backpack!)

SW Lothian - The Golden Scarab (When JJ discovers the secret of time travel at his dad’s museum, he finds himself catapulted back to ancient Egypt with his best friend, smack-bang at the centre of an action-packed race against time and living statues to find the sacred Golden Scarab.)

Nikki Bennett - Four Fiends (Join Jinjing, Pietro, Saburo and Kate as they explore exotic lands, defeat evil demons, and discover the true meaning of friendship.)

Scott Clements - Gasparilla's Treasure (A fast paced adventure novel following Trip Montgomery on his quest through historic St Augustine, Florida to find the treasure of famed pirate Jose Gaspar.)

Paul R. Hewlett – Lionel’s Grand Adventure: Lionel and the Golden Rule (Meet Lionel, a lovable bully-magnet, as he arrives in Larrystown and discovers a magical Three-Toed-Potbellied Walbaun foot.)

Julie Anne Grasso - Escape from the Forbidden Planet (Caramel Cinnamon thought the worst day of her life was the day her grandparents, the King and Queen of the Elves of Cardamom went missing. She was wrong!)

Natalie Bahm - The Secret Underground (Anxious to forget the bank robbery she witnessed, twelve-year-old Ally joins her brother and the rest of the neighborhood boys (including the cutest boy in her class) in digging a secret tunnel to an abandoned steel mill.)

Jeff Bilman – Super Ninja Alien Robot Monsters (Ninja fighting, half-robot, half-monster aliens from Alpha Centauri have come to destroy the Earth. Are two bickering brothers the world's only hope?)

Jemima Pett - The Princelings and the Pirates (A simple mission to solve a problem with the winery turns into a nightmare as our guinea pig heroes, Princelings Fred and George, are captured by pirates, rescue a damsel in distress, and get more than they bargained for in the battle of Dimerie)

Rebecca M Douglass – The Ninja Librarian (Skunk Corners is a dusty, tough, unfriendly town until the Ninja Librarian—a mild-mannered librarian who offers his wisdom with a little extra when folks don’t listen—gets off the train and moves into the library).

Adam C. Veile - The Dreamcatcher Adventures: Greedy Jack Wallace (When the ghost of his rowdy Wild West ancestor appears, seventh-grader Blake Monroe joins him in the search for a hidden treasure, but they soon discover a deadly outlaw is in pursuit and they’ll be lucky to escape with their lives!)

Krista Michelle Breen - Knockout: The Hermit's Escape (When Phillip Brooks’ new horse leaves him face down in the mud, he soon discovers something very strange is going on inside the old hermit Bert Massey’s house.)

Stanley & Katrina - The Perpetual Papers of the Pack of Pets (Cat and Dog. It is a love/hate relationship. Enter the inner psyche of these creatures as they try to peacefully coexist within the same house. Cleverly written. Hilarious antics.)

Anna Olswanger - Greenhorn (Greenhorn is a powerful story that gives human dimension to the Holocaust. It poignantly underscores our flawed humanity and speaks to the healing value of friendship. )
DOWNLOAD YOUR COPY AND ENTER TO WIN!

IMPORTANT LINKS AND HASHTAGS


Entry page for the promotion: http://lovemgactually.blogspot.com.au/ but don't go here first as There is a restriction on the Rafflecopter page that means that readers must know the secret phrase to be able to enter. They may then add additional entries by liking any of us on Facebook or following on Twitter.  They will also get extra entries by tweeting about the competition and hopefully spreading the word further.

Twitter hashtag to use for this promotion: #lovemg 

Other hashtags to spread the word further: #kidlit #mglit #amreading #mmgm (And any others that you have at your disposal!)


Friday, February 1, 2013

Rays of Sunshine

     February is a month that always seems to slow me down and wear me out and leave me back in the bog of depression which I usually manage to avoid most of the year.  The cold that seeps into my bones and never leaves has settled in quite deeply by February, meaning that is I have any free time, I use it sitting by the wood stove, under blankets, or in a bath tub of very hot water.
 Even when the sun is up, there is often an all day fog or cloud cover that keeps it from feeling like there is any light.
 And I tend to make very bad choices about what to eat.  I might as well have an IV line from the coffee pot to my brain, with a plate of sugar always at my side.  I hibernate and give in to depression and the little things like the normal ebb and flow of income versus bills suddenly feels overwhelming.
 So this year I have made it through January with a bit more energy and a few more smiles than a lot of years.  i have taken my camera outside and played with the different modes, and walked my son's dog and worked a lot for the school district.


 I have no written much, or at all really, the blog sits there taunting me with the fact that the daily readers are reading posts I put up years ago, but not finding anything new.

 I need to work on the book I started in November and on the research for the next Double Time novel, because they will never be as familiar to me again, as the Oregon trail one was.
 I think we have been living with "Dementor Weather."  It has been cold and foggy and sucks the warmth and hope right out of me, but then along comes a beam of sunlight and I find that there is still some promises left to raise my hopes and eyes to the future again.

I need the equivalent of an Elizabethan Collar to keep me from digging at those thoughts that keep me feeling listless and sad.  I need to remember that the hibernation urge is a real part of the annual cycle and will be forgotten again in the spring sunshine.  I need to remember that there is purpose and growth in the dark, sleepy days and a conserving of energy to allow us to keep going another year.

I have goals that I set at the beginning of the year, and I've made progress on them.  I've paid the bills for one month after another, somehow.  I've been surrounded by wonders and people who love me.  Life is Good actually pretty great, and sometimes you just have to focus on what you have before you miss it and it becomes what you had instead.

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Setting Goals for 2013

Here are my New Year's Resolutions for 2013

This year I chose things I know I will get better at, because they are important to me, and because I am already making progress on them, I have written 3 1/2 books, and I have lost 40 pounds and given up soda and started adding in lots of random acts of fitness thanks to Jonathan Roche and The No Excuses Workouts.
I do live in a beautiful place where getting outside is a Joy
I do Treasure my Family but the miles between us makes it a bit more effort to keep those connections alive now. 
Balance, Well, sometimes, but not so much in my bank balance, so that is the focus this year.
 Do I love New Year's and the Resolutions to do things differently and better?  Well, yes and no.  Rather than going out to a party, I love going inside with my journal and reading notes and essays and lists from previous years. But I see that a lot of the things stay the same from year to year without change.  That is good and bad.  It means I hold the same values but also that I have the same problems. A couple of times I have followed the suggestion I saw years ago in a "Better Homes and Gardens" magazine that suggests not writing what you want to do, but making a list of 100 things you tolerate, small things that sap your time and energy if you don't deal with them.  That has worked well for me, I can always go back and check off several that I did deal with and feel empowered even as I move some to the new list.  I have gotten rid of a lot of the specific piles of clutter I've written about and done some of the maintenance tasks on house and car and marriage, because, yep, even after 30 years together, there needs to be time and effort in maintaining that closeness, especially as out role changes from family with children, to couple with grown adults who sometimes visit.

 Last year I chose only one thing to focus on, one small three letter word that I wanted to have be at the heart of the first and last thoughts in my mind every day. JOY!  That was a wonderful change in attitude for me because I often tended to walk around with a cloud of worries and anger.  Now i habitually find the good before The bad thoughts even start. If I panic over the money, I start to breath and tell myself, "for today, you have everything you need, yesterday you did too, trust that you will Tomorrow as well."

 So I have found Joy and beauty all around me, even in the worn and abandoned house down the street.  It is lovely in a strange, mysterious way I think.

 This year I am looking with Wonder on the giant stumps on the former Redwood logging camp land where I live, and thinking of how things change over time, but how those changes can let in the sun and bring wonder and growth too.
I see my blind dog trusting that he is safe if one of us is near and realize that we are a lot like that dog, we don't see all the things that are in out world, but if we can trust that we will be Ok, we usually will be.

So a year of Joy, Wonder, Balance and Storytelling for me. Blessings to you,


Love,

 Dixie

Thursday, December 20, 2012

Hopping With Lili Saki for the Alien Attack


Two Posts ago, I participated in the "Next Big Thing Blog Hop" and answered questions about my book.  The Next Big Thing, was big and a lot of people were participating, so I got asked to participate again by a few other people.  I said yes to one special author, a 12 year old girl with a book called, Alien Attack.  Lily Saki answered questions on her blog at the following link


and you can see more about her at her website


The following is a bit from the website about this young writer

About the Author
Author Lily Saki is twelve years old and lives in Brookline, Massachusetts, with her parents and two brothers. She was born in Ghana and immigrated to America when she was five and has loved to write stories since entering kindergarten. She has a huge passion for writing and has continued with it throughout her years. Lily is an Honor Roll student at Pierce School and is well known for being a great writer.
Alien Attack is her first published story, and she is very enthusiastic about it. Lily has drawn a lot of inspiration from her father, who is a physician, and her mother, a graphic designer.

I can not review the book, as I have not yet read it, but I can tell you I know the dedication required to complete and publish a novel, and this young lady has my admiration for her accomplishment.

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Why Duffy Has Cerebral Palsy



I was recently asked to explain a little about what led me to choose to have the main character in my "Duffy Barkley" books be a young boy with Cerebral Palsy.  The answer caused some serious looking back over my life and brought me to the following chain of thought.


I was in school in a time before the public mainstreaming law, when kids who were "slow" might be put in the "retard class" sorry, I hate that term but when I was in grade school that is what we all called it. We never even heard another word suggested. These kids were in a separate class and never even came out on the playground for the same recess.  By Jr. High it was common to see them being tripped and called names and to see thing like smoke bombs put in their lockers. Kids who had any more severe problems than a learning disability, never showed up at our school at all, they were put "in an institution" in another county, and never mentioned again.


When I was 12, I wanted to be a marine biologist and a writer and study marine mammals and write about them.

Then we were told that my Mom's ulcer had a heartbeat and that a baby would be here in 4 months.  Everyone was excited, until he was born with Down's syndrome, and that experience opened my eyes and taught me how to really love, and most of all, made me furious at the way handicapped people were labeled and locked away.  I wrote about my brother at http://echo-echosvoice.blogspot.com/2011/10/my-brother-has-downs-syndrome-and-i.html

I was in 9th grade when the mainstreaming law suddenly meant that people with more serious handicapping conditions were allowed in our school and suddenly I found out that one of my best friends had a twin brother who was blind since too much oxygen as a premie, and her twin and several other kids our age were suddenly in school with us.  And because her twin walked him with us every day, we became friends too.

my brother and I
 Then my brother was old enough to start school and I volunteered in his class and worked with him in special olympics and got comfortable with the other kids in his class and suddenly my goals were different. I wanted to be a teacher and work with the kids who tended to be overlooked because all anyone saw was the labels.  Of course, I thought I mostly wanted to work with kids with Down's syndrome.  But I was hired by a small, remote county and the class was a preschool Severely handicapped class with every kind of handicapping condition. I had deaf kids, and kids in wheelchairs, emotionally disturbed kids and kids with autism and kids with cerebral palsy and a few really rare syndromes I'd never heard of.  I had not worked with kids with CP much before, just one two week term as a counselor at an Easter Seals Camp in Northern California Mountains.  I hadn't known what CP was, or that it can be caused at any time in your life if you are oxygen deprived. I hadn't known the huge range of severity that the condition covers, from bedridden or wheelchair bound to able to walk and run, from normal intelligence to profoundly impaired. But Soon,  as every class I worked with had some children with cerebral palsy, I began to see them as what they were, not Cerebral Palsy kids, but kids first, Kids with some effects from Cerebral Palsy and a lot of individuality.

I found that the kids in my class that I loved the most, were the defiant, determined ones who argued every time they were told "NO."  But I found I didn't love them or dislike them because of their handicaps, I loved them or disliked them because of their personalities and their choices, just like normal kids. Because they were just another kind of normal.

Sure, the ones who ignored the word "No" were not easy, but they never gave up, and if they were told they couldn't do something, they just tried harder.  In later years, I have found myself a lot less patient with kids who could do anything easily but are too lazy to try.

So I love teaching.  I still do, but I also wanted to be a writer. Fortunately I could do both.  My first book was Duffy Barkley is Not a Dog
  http://www.amazon.com/Duffy-Barkley-not-Dog-Uhrlin/dp/1452836779

 and I wanted to make it a fantasy story to share with my kids, one like Narnia, Oz, Neverland or a Wrinkle in Time, where there was a chance to create another world and use my imagination.


My Brother and my sons
 But I wanted my hero to be someone my sons would love and be able to respect, and yet someone who could teach them love and courage and kindness. So I chose Duffy Barkley, and made him 9 years old, and gave him Cerebral Palsy, and normal intelligence but the need to use leg braces and crutches.  Then I made him bullied and called "Duffy Bark Bark" because he looked like he walked on four legs, and I made horrible things happen so he would have to show his strength.  I love the ending and the way Duffy treats the villain and I love that he learns, what I learned most of all from my brother and my students. That you are not defined or handicapped because of a condition, that you are the only you this world has and the only one with your strengths and gifts.  That maybe, even probably, you might not want to give up your condition to be "normal" if it meant not being you.




So then I wrote this book, and the sequel, set two years later, when Duffy returns to the other world, Uhrlin.  Duffy Barkley: Seek Well



and it has given me a lot of chances to talk to students about bullying, and differences, about never giving up, and about loving who you are.