I don't know about you, but when I was in the middle grades, unicorns and mermaids were all we needed! If you or someone you know feel the same, check out this excerpt from The Mermaid and the Unicorns by LT Getty. You can also read her thoughts on making her character Daphne both flawed and likeable. Be sure to let her know what you think in the comments as you follow the tour for more! Best of luck entering the giveaway!
I may be a grown adult, but I still love to read middle grade novels and then share them with others. There's just something special about that age group and level. Today, author C.W. Allen talks about her love for writing this genre as well as shares an excerpt from The Secret Benefits of Invisibility. Let the author know your thoughts in the comments section. Be sure to follow the tour for even more! Best of luck entering the giveaway!
It's the third book in Sunayna Prasad's series Alyssa McCarthy's Magical Missions. Check out an excerpt from this installment and then read on to find out the author's thoughts on making this into a movie. Be sure to follow the tour for more. Best of luck in the giveaway!
Friendship and adventure are the name of the game in Friends to the End by C.L. Colyer. Read an excerpt from this middle grade action adventure book and then learn a bit more about the author in a special guest post. Follow the tour for more! Best of luck in the giveaway!
My bewildered gaze slithered from Dom to Josh, finally coming to a stop on Morgan as I tried to decide if they were crazy.
“If the house is invisible, how do you expect to find it?” I asked.
Morgan sat on the stoop next to me. “It’s not always invisible. My brothers saw it once. They said it’s a big house with a long porch. It vanished before they could set foot on the first step, and I’m glad, too.”
“Why? What would have happened if they were on the steps?” I asked. Not because I believed an old ghost story had any truth to it, but I was curious to know what she’d say.
Morgan had to pick her jaw up from the walkway before she could answer, and when she did her voice came out in a high-pitched squeak. “If they had been on the porch or worse—” she swallowed loudly “—inside, they would have disappeared with it.”
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Read an excerpt:
The Dark Beast lunged toward Agnew and grabbed him, but his hand smashed into something. The wizard had put up as a barrier, invisible to the Beast.
“A nice spell,” the Beast said, “but there are ways around it, as well.”
“It will be too late,” the wizard said. He then shot out a large burst of blue energy. The Beast jumped out of the way, grabbed onto one of the rafters, and did not come back down.
“Do you know what your problem is?” the Dark Beast asked.
“Right now?” Agnew replied. “You.”
“No,” the Dark Beast continued, “even in my form, you are more than my superior. You have great power.” Agnew almost seemed pleased to hear this.
The Beast continued explaining. “However, you are too vain and unwilling to get your hands dirty. No one turned me into the beast that you see before you. I chose to do it. It made me stronger. You would never do it.”
The wizard released another blast, almost missing, but indeed striking the Dark Beast. He fell to the ground.
“It would appear that you have overestimated yourself,” Agnew proclaimed. “I stand above you, and you are defeated.”
The Beast looked up and said, “But you won’t touch me, will you, even if I am dead?”
“Of course not,” Agnew replied. “That is why I have guards.” He raised his hand to give the final blow.
The Dark Beast rolled and smashed another vial on the ground. The mist penetrated Agnew’s shield. When he smelled it, he immediately got sick and tried not to vomit.
The Beast slowly rose with a glare aimed directly at Agnew. The Beast was unaffected. His form was resistant to the sickly fumes.
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Just $0.99 during the tour!
Welcome to the book tour for A Link Between Two Worlds, which is a French bilingual fantasy story! I would have been all over this as a kid, because I always loved reading stories in French as well as English. Even more impressive is the age of the author! Check out an excerpt and the author giving us a sneak peek into an upcoming book/series. Let her know what you think in the comments section! And be sure to follow the tour for even more. Best of luck entering the giveaway!
Read an excerpt:
The story of how it all began
Alaura — Wow, where is this place?
Elesore: this is the kingdom of Aliese. Welcome.
Alaura and Reven: Wooooooooooooooooooow! Reven — This is like a dream but real, and wait, how are we still alive? We’re in space with no air! We could die any second.
Elesore — Aliese has its own air source, but only those who receive its magical essence can stay alive.
Alaura — Wait, so we have magical essences?
Elesore: Yes, Alaura. The princess has been waiting and searching for you ever since.
Alaura — What do you mean? I don’t even know her.
Elesore — Are you sure about that?
Reven (whispers) — Hey, Alaura, this is a really big change. An hour ago we were regular high school students, and now we have, umm, made-up magical powers or something.
Elesore — You know I can hear you, right?
Reven — Wait, how?
Elesore — You whisper really loudly and my magic allows me to, umm, hear your vibrations and voices.
Alaura — Cool, so what power do I have?
Welcome to the Name Before the Masses tour for The Wonders of the Peculiar Parasol, the first book in a series about Mandy Mandez and her extended family's special magic. Check out an excerpt from this book and a special preview of the next book in the series! Be sure to follow the tour for even more. And then enter the giveaway for a $20 gift card at the end!
Read an excerpt:
She opened the parasol and placed it on her shoulder. Just as she started twirling it, she heard the creak of the back door to the house open. Grandma rushed out, waving her arms and shouting, “Mandy, wait! Don’t!”
Too late, it’s my turn! Mandy thought.
A blue glow fell across her. Her vision blurred in the blue light. She felt like she was standing still… and spinning at the same time. Indistinct, blurred images appeared and disappeared in front of her, quickly fading away. She felt frustrated; she couldn’t quite make out what the images were.
Finally, she found herself standing on a desolate hillside. Below spread an open vista of hundreds of acres of land covered in boulders. Across this landscape, large and small vents spewed steam, which condensed into shimmering silver, white, and blue water vapor rising into the stark blue sky.
Turning to her right, Mandy saw a large unevenly formed mountain some distance away. On top of the mountain sat what appeared to be an old stone castle with massive parapets and what Mandy thought was… a drawbridge.
There were some… creatures flying around the castle and in between the fortifications and towers.
“I wonder what those are,” Mandy said aloud, squinting her dark hazel eyes to try and make out their shapes.
Behind Mandy, a deep bass voice loudly said, “Oh… no! How did we get to Talon?”
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Take a sneak peek at the next book:
The Wonders of the Peculiar Parasol is the 1st book of a 4 (currently) book series. The subtitle of the book, “A Dragonstone Story”, identifies the ongoing story of Mandy Mandez and her extended family as they deal with the magic they can wield through a dragonstone.
The raindrops darkened into black, looking as if ink fell from the sky. Alyssa leaned closer to them. She squinted to determine the shapes they formed on the kitchen window… letters.
No! That couldn’t happen. Yet, a message spelled out as more pigments plopped onto the glass. Alyssa gasped at what it said.
Your life will never be the same again, Alyssa McCarthy, as magic will interfere.
What? Magic didn’t exist—at least that’d been what others had told her when she was little. No one on Orion Street could possess enchanted abilities.
Alyssa had lived here since she’d lost her parents in that car crash five years ago. She’d only been seven then. How would she tell her uncle, Bruce, about this? He’d consider her crazy. He’d already toughened up his attitude and rules. So he might consider it an excuse to escape this house.
Although Alyssa’s parents had designated her godfather as the first priority guardian, Uncle Bruce forbade her to try and contact him. He’d hidden the phone number and other information about him.
Since Alyssa’s aunt, Laura, had died three years ago, Uncle Bruce had required fun to be earned. And that took more effort than Alyssa could often accomplish.
Turning around, she spotted her babysitter, Mrs. Hutchinson, examining the kitchen floor. Alyssa’s eleven-year-old cousin, Hailey, watched the progress. Hailey had mopped the floor. Would she earn a break now? Ever since her uncle, Bruce, had hired Mrs. Hutchinson, Mrs. Hutchinson had admired the way Hailey had done her chores more than Alyssa.
“Hailey, you can take a break until your next chore,” said Mrs. Hutchinson. “Alyssa, get back to work. You’ve been staring at the rain for too long.”
“Okay.” Alyssa turned back—only to see the message gone and the rain back to its normal transparency.
“What did I say?” asked Mrs. Hutchinson.
Alyssa sighed. “Fine, I’ll finish washing the dishes.”
“Did you leave any lights on downstairs?” he asked as he seated himself at the table once again.
“No,” Mom answered. “I turned everything off.”
“She did,” Mary added. “I made sure.”
“The lights were all on in the kitchen,” Dad said. “Some of the cupboard doors were wide open. I closed them.” At that, the banging doors started up again.
“I guess it’s official,” David announced. “We have a ghost.” He made his move and passed ‘Go’. Holding out his hand to the banker (who was always Dad to ensure some modicum of fairness in the game), he demanded, “Two hundred dollars, please.”
“Sounds to me like the ghost is checking us out,” Dad said, handing over the Monopoly money. “It’s not hurting anyone, so let it be.”
“Spoooooky!” David howled, laughing.
Mary didn’t laugh. She wasn’t sure why they thought it was funny, but if no one else was afraid, maybe ghosts weren’t scary.
Marti Dumas is a native New Orleanian with a passion for storytelling. When she is not teaching or parenting, she is reading or writing. She prefers to do some combination of the above within view of ancient oak trees or the banks of the river. Or both.
