I hate it when my antiques hurl me into the space/time continuum . . .

Depressed teen, Martin Conway didn't like it much either. Martin lives in the shadows of an alcoholic father, an overcritical mother and an over-achieving sister. What makes is worse is that everyone hopes that he will measure up to his namesake; a WWII hero of a Grandfather. But Martin can't measure up. He makes poor grades in school, has few friends and when he is picked on by a group of boys at school, he ends up suspended for something that he didn't do. It turns out that he has more in common with his alcoholic father and his mentally ill uncle more than his grandfather.

Everything changes when his mystical grandmother dies and leaves him her antique radio from the 1940's. As he falls asleep to the radio static, he is transported back in time to WWII Where a a boy named Jimmy is pleading for his help, although he's not exactly sure what he needs Martin to do. . . . yet.

This book was a pleasant surprise. I picked it up at the library on a whim. I luv, luv, luv it when that happens!

Book characterization: I like how the characters in this book are believable. They are all flawed yet have their own endearing traits. This book gently explores alcoholism, depression and mental illness in a positive way. I would recommend this book for children facing such issues.

Voice: I think the main characters voice was a little weak. He used several words that I wouldn't expect a teenage boy to use. However that didn't take away (much) of my enjoyment of the voice. I cared about the character and his circumstances. I loved the voice of the WWII boy, Jimmy. I felt like I got a good sense of who he was and his perspective.

The underlying drive of the book: I think this is what sets this book apart from other time-travel/historical fiction books. The underlying question asks, "What do you think makes one man a disgrace and another one a hero?" The story explores how some of those who have been deemed "great" may not be as wonderful as we would like to think. Likewise, those who we tend to look down our noses at may actually be the ones who come through for us in the end.

On a scale of 1 LUV to 5 LUVS, I rate it 4Luvs! <3 <3 <3 <3

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go find an old radio and see where (and when) it will take me.

Do you NaNo? Mini NaNo? PBWriMO? . . . . plus see critter trying on costumes

I did NaNo WriMo (for those of you not familiar with the term NaNo WriMo stands for National Novel Writing month) about two years ago. It was fun, but the story ended up being a flop. That was a huge disappointment. I may try it again another year. For now, I'm just trying to figure out how to fit "writing" into my schedule. I miss it. It's my "ME" time. My "therapy" time. My FuN time. Plus, I HAVE to write. If I get out of story writing for too long it makes me feel all wOnKy and causes me to type too many capital letters.

So . . . instead of diving into writing a whole new novel this November, I decided to set a goal that was more doable for my current situation. I'm taking 2 hours 3 mornings a week where I wrap myself up in my cozy local coffee shop while the kids are at school in order to dedicate time to finish my current novel. Hopefully it will become a habit and I can keep it up beyond November.

I only have about 5 more chapters left in my current novel, but it feels like much more. Wish me luck in trying to tackle that goal and being able to stay true to my scheduled writing times. It has felt so good to get out and write (and drink coffee) again.

So, how about you? Are you doing NaNo or another variation of it? Or, has the craziness inspired you to set another type of goal?

Don't forget to become a fan of Critter on
FaceBook by clicking here
and then hit the "become a fan" button

In other Critter news, you HAVE to HAVE to HAVE to read Angela's blog re: Critter's Halloween. He got to try on all kinds of costumes. It's Adora-sterical! (I just made that word up. I think I like it.)

Critter has made it to his last destination!

Critter has made it to Canada with Angela Ackerman over at The Bookshelf Muse. This is the grand finale of his world-wide tour before he is auctioned off for St. Jude. I understand that Angela has lots of fabu-tastic stuff in store for him. Why don't you go on over to to her blog and see how Critter adjusted to Canadian life in the Ackerman home. He's very sociable. He seems to make friends wherever he goes.

And the Winner is . . . .

The winner of the Sweetheart of Prosper County is . . . . .


Carol Baldwin!!!!

Congrats Carol!

Contact me at ChristyEvers (at) att (dot) net , with your snail mail address.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Also . . . . You need to clickity-click your way over to Ellen Oh's blog so you can see what Critter has been up to. He been getting into trouble with his new friend, Zombie Buddy.

Greetings: coming out of my world of ChAoS for a book give away

Hello! From my world of chaos to yours. I'm coming out of hiding for a long overdue post and book giveaway. Critter has recently been to visit Jill S. Alexander in Texas. You may remember my post about Jill and our serendipitous first meeting. You can visit Jill's blog to read about his visit by clicking HERE.

In honor of Jill's Critter Hosting awesomeness I'm giving away a signed copy of her fabulous book THE SWEETHEART OF PROSEPER COUNTY. It has heart, humor and a strong character voice.

Let me tell you. . . this book is a gem. I stayed up late; laughing, crying . . . copying down snippets of her writing in my little "favorite-quote-collection-book." Most books I read will only have one or two quotes that I decide to write in my little collection book. Jill's book took up 3 pages! Her writing is just that good!

Let me give you an example: Here's a brilliant passage where the main character is describing the town Mayor. It's brilliant because she describes him by describing the people around him. You get a sense of who he is by learning about his relationships with others.

"In addition to his swanky ride, Mayor Nesmith had a money-blowing wife, four whiney rugrats, and the hots for my momma. She avoided him like poison ivy."

Let me say it again . . . Brilliant. And entertaining to boot!

You have to read the book! I believe it so much that I bought 2 copies. One for me and one for a lucky winner.

Leave a comment below for a chance to win. You can gain extra entry points for commenting on Jill's blog, linking this contest to your blog, twitter, facebook or any other sort of social media and becoming (or being) a fan of Critter on Facebook. It will be a big help if you tell me, in the comments, which of these things you have done.

The winner will be announced on Tuesday. Good luck!

Mockingjay Winners!!!!

A great big, huge THNX to everyone who commented and sperad the word about Critter. I wish I had more books to give away to show my appreciation.

Since I only have two . . . it's time to announce the lucky winners.


Copy #1 goes to WordwrangerNC (Donna)

AND

Copy #2 goes to Llehn

You can contact me at ChristyEvers (at) att (dot) net with your snail mail address.

Congratulations!

2, Yes. TWO!!! Mockingjay copies giveaway!!!!

Critter at the Heart and Soul Ball, SCBWI LA

OK, I know Critter has had the majority of my blog time. But it's well deserved, don't cha think?

For those of you just tuning in . . . Critter is the bad-butt (family friendly word choice aptly chosen) flat-Stanley of children's literature blogs. He has been traveling since the fall of 2009 and is currently on his final leg of his travels. When his travels are complete, he will be auctioned off for the children of St. Jude.

Just an FYI, St. Jude runs on an operating budge of 1.5 million dollars a day, funded mostly by donations. ~gasp~ Yep. Makes me feel guilty ordering my daily Starbucks. I'm hoping Critter will be able to make a good dent in at least one day of operations. I need you to help me.

So . . . I figure . . . even if you don't have a ton of money to bid on such a fabulous piece of art, we are in a era of Twitter, Face book and blogs. If you help me get the word out re: Critter and his cause perhaps we, together, can find the people/groups who have the available funds and big-heartedness to make a generous donation to Critter's cause.

So . . . please, if you've got the time please follow Critter on his destination and let others know about his cause well. You can also leave comments on the blogs of people who are hosting Critter to show your support.

Currently Critter is with Cynthia Chapman Willlis in NJ.
Next he will visit Jill S. Alexander in Texas
From there he will go to Ellen Oh in DC
The Grand Finale will be in good ol' Canada with Angela Ackerman.
(insert Rocky theme song here) then the auction.

I want to thank everyone who has supported Critter thus far. Be sure to visit my side bar to see where Critter has been in the last year. Not to mention his brilliant creator, Ian Sands and his interview with the Texas Sweethearts.

You can also become a fan of Critter on Facebook by clicking here and then clicking on the "become a fan" button.

Kids lit peopel RaWk!!!!!!

Critter says he loves you! He thinks that you're all RaWk Stars.

In order to show my appreciation for those willing to help me get the word out, I'm holding a giveaway for 2 . . . that's right TWO copies of the last book of The Hunger Games Trilogy. The recently released Mockingjay.

I will give away two copies to two people who will comment on Cynthis'a blog re: Critter, blog, tweet, face book, be a fan on face book, or use any other social media to promote Critter. You have my permission to use info or pictures on my blog to explain critter's purpose.

you gain 1 entry for each attempt you make to promote critter, so please make sure to mention them all. I want you to get all the credit that you deserve, so in the comments, let me know how you helped me promote Critter.

You have until Tuesday Sept. 7th to comment. I will announce the 2 winners on Wed. Sept 8th

Also, please leave an e-mail or a way that I can contact you.