Category: Children’s books

My Kids Play Opens in Cape Charles

greed, ecology, elves, warlords, love, friendshipThe Exciting Exploits of an Effervescent Elf  opens tomorrow at the Historic Palace Theatre in Cape Charles, VA.  That’s three openings for me this month; Chicago, Connecticut and now Cape Charles!
See?  Dreams Do Come True!  I am just thrilled!

Synopsis: In this stand alone sequel to “Emma and the Lost Unicorn”, Emma is held captive in Patsy, the Banana Spider’s web. No one can see her except the irrepressible elf, Cheets. Everyone in the forest has been searching for Emma to no avail and given his reputation, no one believes Cheets… Continue reading “My Kids Play Opens in Cape Charles”

Letters to Stanley, the Stalwart Dragon

Catie708979_n
Catie on the right

fairy tales, fables, elves, fairies, running away, audio booksRecently The Eastford Elementary School in Eastford, CT began rehearsals for my children’ play, Stanley, the Stalwart Dragon, directed by Catie Protonson.  The kids have really been working hard and I have enjoyed every minute of watching them through FB.

I suggested to the young actors that they write each other a letter, in character.  Here are some of the letters….and photos from rehearsals. Continue reading “Letters to Stanley, the Stalwart Dragon”

Emma and the Lost Unicorn…Book 1 in the Fabled Forest series

faeries, elves, warlocks, fables, riddles, fairy tales, theatre In addition to the color illustrated paper back, this charming book has had great success in audio books

In book 1 of the Fabled Forest Series: Rainey, the unicorn, is a prince who has been banished, for centuries, by the warlord, Hazard. He can never return home unless Emma solves more riddles than Kodak, Hazard’s Lieutenant who ultimately reveals his secret weakness. The fable ends with a surprise twist which will delight readers young and old. While written for children, this fairy tale is sophisticated enough to appeal to adults as well. Continue reading “Emma and the Lost Unicorn…Book 1 in the Fabled Forest series”

The Early Days of Rehearsal…Stanley the Stalwart Dragon

Elem.Sch.#4n Elem.Sch.#3n Elem.Sch.#2_n Elem.School#1_nEastford Elementary School Drama Dept. (Connecticut)  begins rehearsal for their production of “Stanley, the Stalwart Dragon” by Trisha Sugarek.

Opens in May 2015.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Researching Fairy Tales

fairy tales, books for children, children's books,bullying, literacy   When I decided to add some of the classic characters (from fairy tales we all grew up with) to my fourth fable,  I was amazed at the fascinating information I found….

I had so much fun researching characters like Little Red Riding Hood (Rhonda Rider in my story).  Where she originated..oh yes, way before Walt Disney was a twinkle in his Daddy’s eye.

While creating  “Bertie, the Bookworm and the Bully Boys”  I wanted to pay special homage to the classical fairy tales, by having some of the characters appear in my story and chat briefly with my friends in the Fabled Forest.  As seen here in this illustration, Druscilla, Cinderella’s stepsister, has stumbled into the Fabled Forest’s clearing. Continue reading “Researching Fairy Tales”

Cheets, the Effervescent Elf

I haven’t talked about Cheets, the lovable elf for some time and less about the book I wrote just for him.

Cheets was the first character to hop into my brain one morning at 3AM.  By the time I had stumbled to my computer he had introduced me to several other of his friends in the fabled forest.   I began the series with Emma’s quest to help an enchanted unicorn, Rainey. After the ‘Exciting Exploits of….’, Stanley,  the Stalwart Dragon ran away from home and, lost, ended up in my forest.  The fourth book, ‘Bertie, the Bookworm….’ is the story of the reading group being plagued by BULLIES.

children's plays, kids, stage plays, new

“The Exciting Exploits of an Effervescent Elf”, with beautiful full color illustrations. Available here, www.amazon.com and your local book store.

In this stand alone sequel to Emma and the Lost Unicorn, Emma is held captive in Patsy, the Banana Spider’s web. Continue reading “Cheets, the Effervescent Elf”

Skip to the Head of the Line

bookstoreMy book store is just a click away!  USE THIS CODE 336699 AND GET 10% OFF of any BOOK purchase UNTIL November 31st.   The Web Site has a new feature: you can now buy an autographed copy of any book directly from the author using your Visa, MasterCard through PayPal. And you don’t need a PayPal account to use it. It’s so easy!

Scripts about bullying and other teen issues.  Great for the

Ten Minutes to Curtain, Vol. I, II, & III
Ten Minutes to Curtain, Vol. I, II, & III

classroom!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fiction.  The new mystery series, ‘The World of Murder’ with Detectives O’Roarke and Garcia.artofmurder_cover (2)

 

 

WOW.BanW._wow (3)Don’t miss “Women Outside the Walls” 

 

 

 

 

and”Wild Violets“fiction, women, flappers, prohibition, San Francisco, roaring twenties

Continue reading “Skip to the Head of the Line”

My Narrator got Trapped in a Hotel Closet….

kids books, audio books, fairy talesThe weirdest, best, weirdest, most awesome, weirdest, and most fun thing is happening right now, and Cheets and my kids book, The Exciting Exploits of an Effervescent Elf are indirectly involved.  My wonderful narrator for the audio books got trapped in the closet at a hotel while narrating the EEElf?

It was a crazy hilarious saga, and because she was in the middle of narrating, and she had a sound recording of the whole ordeal. A few months ago, Carin pitched the story of her “trapped in the closet” saga to the NPR radio show This American Life, and they LOVED it! They were going to use it as a segment on one of their shows a few weeks ago, but Ira Glass (CEO) decided he wanted to do something totally different… by turning the story of me trapped in the closet into a mini opera.  Continue reading “My Narrator got Trapped in a Hotel Closet….”

‘Bertie, the Bookworm and the Bullies’ FREE on Kindle today and tomorrow!

children's story books, fairy tales, bullying, literacy, new books for kids    FREE TODAY AND TOMORROW!!!  Click here to get yours: 

Available on your Smartphone, Kindle, Nook!

 

Bertie, the bookworm is the fabled forest’s elder and teacher. Every week he has a spelling and reading circle where everyone is welcomed. Slam, the badger and his gang of bully boys are forever teasing, disrupting, and bullying Bertie and the group of faeries and woodland creatures. Pansy, the pixie is a new character in this third of the Fabled Forest series. She is a defender of reading, truth, and Bertie. Cheets, our beloved elf from past books joins the wrong crowd and his friends are worried that he will become the newest member of the Bully Boys.

Continue reading “‘Bertie, the Bookworm and the Bullies’ FREE on Kindle today and tomorrow!”

‘Brave’…Brilliantly Written…an Overdue, Alternate Ending to Prince Charming

braveI don’t really know why I’m writing about this topic…could it be because the writing for “Brave” was so exceptional?...filled with double entendre like the Mama Bear fighting to protect her ‘cubs‘.  Once in awhile I enjoy a good Disney animated film. And I hadn’t seen the advances of animation in a long time, so I rented ‘Brave’.

We all know the timeless, underlying theme, the girl is looking for her Prince Charming.  Her Prince finds her, usually rescues her and they live happily ever after. Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella, Snow White, Peter Pan, Lady and the Tramp, Robin Hood, The Little Mermaid, the list goes on and on.

God knows that’s how I was raised; that my Prince Charming would come someday and I too would live happily ever after.  After all, when all was said and done, every movie (in my days of growing up)  had an underlying story with this result and girls of my decade pretty much sat back and waited for HIM.  Now, fifty  years later and three husbands ago, I finally achieved some wisdom and the fact is there are NO Prince Charmings  and all three men that I married were just as human as I was. What a huge expectation I put on them! Continue reading “‘Brave’…Brilliantly Written…an Overdue, Alternate Ending to Prince Charming”