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Book Review Thursday: Under the Dome by Stephen King

Paperback: 1088 pages Publisher: Gallery Books; Media Tie-In edition (June 11, 2013) Language: English ISBN-10: 1476735476 ISBN-13: 978-1476735474 On an entirely normal, beautiful fall day in Chester's Mill, Maine, the town is inexplicably and suddenly sealed off from the rest of the world by an invisible force field. Planes crash into it and fall from the sky in flaming wreckage, a gardener's hand is severed as "the dome" comes down on it, people running errands in the neighboring town are divided from their families, and cars explode on impact. No one can fathom what this barrier is, where it came from, and when -- or if -- it will go away.  My Thoughts: Those who follow me know that Stephen King is one of, if not, my favorite author. There maybe many reasons why this is beyond his writing style. I tend to like many of the same books, movies and TV shows he does. We were both born on the same day, September 21st. Mostly, I think the reas

Podcast - What is Success with Guest Author, Filmmaker & Comedian Brian Scott Mednick

Join Marsha Casper Cook & Virginia S Grenier on the 1st Wed. of the month for the What is Success show where they will talk with guest, share tips and talk about the film and publishing industry. This month's guest is Brian Scott Mednick, an author, filmmaker and stand-up comedian who graduated New York University's Tisch School of the Arts with a BFA in Film and Television in 1995. Brian spent fifteen years writing and researching a biography of Gene Wilder entitled Gene Wilder: Funny and Sad , published in December 2010 by  BearManor Media . Brian is widely considered the foremost authority on Mr. Wilder and his work, and his book has been cited in publications in the United States, Europe, and India. Brian has reviewed film and theater for such publications as Show Business Weekly and Good Times. Learn more about Brian Scott Mednick at http://www.brianscottmednick.com Learn more about the World of Ink Network at http://worldofinknetwork.com

Book Review Tuesday: How Roland Rolls by Jim Carrey

Age Range: 4 - 8 years Grade Level: Preschool - 3 Hardcover: 68 pages Publisher: Some Kind of Garden Media; First Edition edition (September 24, 2013) Language: English ISBN-10: 0989368009 ISBN-13: 978-0989368001 HOW ROLAND ROLLS , winner of a 2013 Gelett Burgess Children’s Book Award, is a story about a wave named Roland who's afraid that, one day, when he hits the beach, his life will be over. But when he gets deep, he's struck by the notion that he's not just a wave - he's the whole big, wide ocean! The story shows humanity's interconnectedness through the metaphor of a wave in the ocean. In HOW ROLAND ROLLS, Carrey brings his wit and wisdom to the story of a wave named Roland who’s afraid that, one day, when he hits the beach, his life will be over. But when he gets deep, he’s struck by the notion that he’s not just a wave — he’s the whole big, wide ocean! The book is lavishly illustrated by award-winning artist/animator Rob Na

Interview Friday with Iain Reading, author of Kitty Hawk series

About Iain Reading Iain Reading is passionate about Root Beer, music, and writing. He is Canadian, but currently resides in the Netherlands working for the United Nations. Iain is currently working on the fourth book in the Kitty Hawk Flying Detective Agency Series, which will be released in 2014. For more information, go to http://www.kittyhawkworld.com/ VS: I want to thank you for being my guest here on The Writing Mama today.   Iain, How long have you been writing? Iain: I have been writing for just over a year now, although I now realize that I wish I'd started with it long ago. VS: What inspired you to write your book (if this is a personal story about you, please share about the decision to open up about your life)? Iain: The inspiration for writing my book comes entirely from the main character herself - Kitty Hawk.  The idea of a female teenaged seaplane pilot who wants to fly around the world just seemed so perfectly inspiring to me that

Why is good children's literature so powerful, so magical?

  Tim Myers is a writer, songwriter, storyteller, and university lecturer in English. His Glad to Be Dad:  A Call to Fatherhood (Familius) is in both e-book and print form; it was featured on Parents Magazine’s website, Disney’s BabyZone, and won the Ben Franklin Digital Award.  His full-length Dear Beast Loveliness:  Poems of the Body (BlazeVox) earned an excellent review from poet Grace Cavalieri.  He's placed numerous pieces in top children's magazines ( Cricket , AppleSeeds , Storyworks , New Moon ), and has 11 children's books out (and three in press), which have won a number of awards and honors.  These include excellent reviews from Kirkus , SLJ , Booklist , and The New York Times , a short stint on The New York Times bestseller list for children's books, and adaptations of his works for drama and dance; in addition, Basho and the Fox was read aloud on NPR and Basho and the River Stones was one of three nominees for a California Young Readers medal.

The Writing Mama Show with Guest Author Christy E. Bykowski

Come join host Virginia S Grenier on BTR’s Featured World of Ink Network Monday January 27th at 2pm Eastern - 1pm Central - 12noon Moutain - 11am Pacific The topic this Monday on The Writing Mama Show - Gluten Free Kids. This week come meet author Christy E. Bykowski and learn about her kid friendly celiac disease awareness picture book, Gluten-Free Me: Beckmin Goes to School January 2014. “Beckmin Goes to School” is Bykowski’s first children’s book and was inspired by her middle son Beckmin, who was diagnosed with celiac disease at 18 months, after extensive sickness and a series of hospital visits. Since then, Christy has worked with Beckmin through the everyday challenges of being a kid with this disease, dealing with his frustrations and his own learning curve as to what celiac disease is, how to explain it and what it means in his day-to-day life. Beckmin’s stories, written to help children define, understand and explain celiac disease, are meant to be both empowering an

Interview Friday with Children's Author Alicia Lloyd

Alicia Lloyd is a senior at West Chester University of Pennsylvania and is working towards her Bachelor’s Degree in Early Grades Preparation (PK-4) and Special Education. She has a strong passion for working with children and loves to write! Alicia lives in Oxford, Pennsylvania surrounded by her wonderful friends and family.  VS: Thank you Alicia for being here today. Can you tell us about your current book. Give a short summary. You can follow this up with any points you hope readers will take away with them. Alicia: This book is a friendly way for children to ease their bedtime fears. All children at one point in their lives hear unfamiliar and scary noises while trying to drift off into sleep. As soon as they get scared, they start thinking of all these scary things that can happen. The main message is just to remember that noises can just be familiar noises, like in this case, your mom going to bed. Being afraid of monsters is common however; I am hoping my