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| The Princess Academy:
a graphic novel by Jessica Elizabeth Cole and J. David McKenney |
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About the Illustrator and Author:
Jessica Elizabeth Cole, Author has a flare for the dramatic. Originally a Seattle girl, Cole moved to The Big City in 2001 to attend New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. After studying screen writing and film criticism, Cole completed a BA thesis on the subject of contemporary avant garde Chinese cinema, graduating in 2005. After university, Cole embarked on a career in fashion, working her way up from Victoria's Secret fit model to Director of Marketing for luxury apparel brand Kiki de Montparnass. Today, Cole is a fulltime MA student and Ph.D. candidate in the anthropology department at the New School for Social Research in Manhattan, where she studies children medicated for behavioral disorders. |
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| Underground with
Nickelan Wand, Book One: Kid City by Peter Landau |
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Like many kids, Nickelan Wand hates to bathe. Unlike many kids, he has carried his avoidance of cleanliness to great extremes, writing the number of days he has avoided ablutions on the dirt covering his belly. When his fastidious parents, Mr. and Mrs. Wand, finally force him to bathe, his worst fears become reality: he is literally sucked down the drain. Nickelan emerges from a vast network of pipes landing in a fantastical underground world. There, a mysterious stranger named Selwyn Harris befriends him. Nickelan discovers a world divided between the enslaved children of the violent adult Thunder World and the grown-up free paradise of Kid City, a candy land of caramel-coated streets and roller coaster public transportation. Nickelan teams up with a ragtag army of kids to escape Thunder World and battles a giant rideable crocodile, fierce creatures called Makas, dinosaurs, dragons and teenage pirates-not to mention contending with the trickery of Selwyn Harris-on an action-packed and whimsical odyssey through the Lands Between to Kid City. Along the way he hears the legend of the Redeemer-someone who will come from above to save the underground world. He also learns his parents have been kidnapped and are being held prisoner in Kid City. Whether he is the Redeemer or not, it's up to Nickelan Wand to save his parents and Kid City from the forces of destruction. About the author:
For almost two decades he has worked in magazine publishing, freelancing or editing a range of publications from Esquire, Entertainment Weekly, Bust, Movieline, Gene Simmons' Tongue, Variety, Adweek and numerous online consumer and business sites. He created content for a wireless New York City entertainment guide, whose launch heralded the beginning of the dot-com crash, and has ghostwritten several impulse-buy books, such as That's Disgusting (Ten Speed Press). Born in New York City, he currently lives in Los Angeles with Helena Harvilicz from whom he steals his best material under the law of intimate domain, and their three children: Simon, Ira and Ada. He edits a monthly industry trade magazine and spends his free time picking up after two poodles, one baby and wrangling two feral boys; shucking these responsibilities whenever possible to write unmarketable short stories, novels and novellas, for children and adults. Twitter: www.twitter.com/peterlandau
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| Revenge of the Pink
Granny Panties (Middle Grade) by Michelle Brown |
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Chuck isn't gunnin' for trouble, he just wants to have a little fun. Fun's not something his one-horse Oklahoma town is known for. It is known for basketball, and Chuck's the MVP of the eighth grade team. That changes when Chuck and new kid, Foster F. Finkman, pull one prank too many and cause a long-time substitute teacher to resign. Chuck's conscience kicks in, and he foils Finkman's next stunt-which commences an all-out war. Chuck and his buds, Naz and Bryan, launch the Revenge of the Pink Granny Panties. But his get-even scheme backfires, big time. Chuck loses his spot on the basketball team, the respect of the coach he looks to as a father, and finally, his friends. Chuck wants to get his life back on track and put away paybacks. But it seems he's doomed to keep covering his butt. Literally. About the author:
She's won several writing awards for her humorous middle-grade fiction, most notably Highlights Author of the Month, February 2010, and Highlights 2009 Fiction Contest Winner. Michelle and her husband, Bob, also write plays and musicals. Michelle is resident playwright for her local children's theatre. The one-time music theater major says her own ten kids supply her with all the comedy and drama she needs. Learn more about Michelle on her website: http://www.michellelbrown.com and follow her on Twitter @MLBrown_writes |
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| Pair of Normals:
The Creeping Hills Have Eyes (Middle Grade) by D.M. Cunningham |
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Since his 7th birthday, Bernard has been deathly afraid of flowers and plants. When his father gave him a Venus Fly Trap as a present and it ate his pet hamster, Godzilla, he thought all plants were carnivorous and out to get him. Our story takes place on a Wednesday in Creeping Hills, which has been taken over by strange looking and horrific smelling plants and flowers. Bernard and Wendal investigate the disturbing occurrences around town and discover that the plants are bent on destroying everyone and everything in their path. With the help of Nitzy Fitzzlehorn a young plant-loving scientist, they uncover the deadly plot of the town's founding father's children, Charlie and Ivy Creeping. And unfortunately for Bernard and Wendal, the Creepings are armed with a militia of twisted foliage willing to do whatever they want. PON: The Creeping Hills Have Eyes follows the Normal brothers as they set out to battle the Creepings to save their family, friends, and town from becoming fertilizer. The story pushes along with more twists than a licorice assembly line, building to an intense action-packed page-turning conclusion - rivaling such classics as Night of the Living Dummy, Dracula, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, and Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. About the author:
He is a film and television writer who has worked with several of Hollywood's top production companies such as Disney, MTV, NBC, and Lions Gate. Throughout the years he has worked in every capacity of production from special makeup effects to directing feature films. Some of his credits include: Starship Troopers, Scream 2, Alien Resurrection, 3 Ninja's Kick Back, and Decampitated. He's a graduate of the Institute of Children's Literature and published writer. His stories can be found in Stories for Children, Bumples, and Crow Toes Quarterly. When he is not in the lab creating literary monsters, he fulfils the role of blog warden at Literary Asylum (http://literaryasylum.blogspot.com ) which interviews many of the top children authors in the industry on the craft of writing books, comic books and graphic novels. For more info see: http://www.dmcunningham.com |
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| In The Matter of
Nikola Tesla (A Historical Graphic Novel) by Anthony Flacco |
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Tesla was subjected to constant harassment by Thomas Edison in the
"War of the Currents" when Edison fought to make the world
use his D.C. power (requiring a booster station for every mile of cable).
Through Tesla's eyes, we witness his successful invention of our entire
western world's electrical grid as we are also acquainted with the inner
working of the mind of an eccentric genus. The fictional aspect of this
story revolves around Tesla's love affair with a beautiful young
"Muse" who follows him throughout his life and inspires his
creativity. We watch Tesla design and build the world's first water
electrical generating station at Niagara Falls, which illuminates the
entire eastern seaboard and is awarded dozens of patents on his experimental
work in all manner of electrical high-power research. Only his thoughts
and dialogue are fiction-all of the action in this story is based
on reality. About the author:
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| Burden of the Soul
by Kate Grace (Young Adult) |
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A year later, the demand to keep her mother's abduction a secret has deranged Clara's life. Depression has tightened its grasp on her and continues to pull her away from disintegrating relationships with friends. Even her father and aunt, the only family she has left, are distant and cold. No wonder she begins to find comfort in her dreams and forms a deeply emotional and passionate connection to the mysterious young man that appears to her there. But when her family finds out about the boy that appears to her in her dreams, the life Clara always knew chaotically unravels as the light returns again taking the remaining members of Clara's family and leaving her utterly alone. The loss pushes her over depression's edge into determination. With vengeance, Clara seeks out the answers her family hid from her all along: she is half of the oldest soul and has returned to the physical world to end a clandestine battle being fought between the Gaurdians and Fallen Souls. A battle ignited by Rex Dimun, the first Fallen Soul whose thirst for power wreaks havoc on the balance of life. And when Rex kidnaps Clara, she learns the young man from her dreams is real. But reality becomes a nightmare. Devin is the other half of her soul stolen by Rex to use as a weapon against her. And the only way to end this transcendental battle and save those she loves is to kill Devin, or be killed by him. About the author:
Visit her Web site at www.abitofgrace.com or follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/kategraceb |
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| Tara Normal & The
Case of the Boyfriend Robbers from Outer Space by H.C. Noel |
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The first book in an ongoing series of graphic novels, Tara Normal and the Case of Boyfriend Robbers from Outer Space, begins with the funeral of Tara Normal's mother, who was also her closest friend. The saddest week of Tara's 16 year-old life takes a turn for the better when she meets Christian-a handsome, motorcycle riding rebel at his brother's lame birthday party. Before the candles are blown out on the birthday cake, Tara witnesses a UFO abduction of her new boyfriend. Not one to take an alien cutting in on her date, Tara forms a team of paranormal investigators and leads them into battle to rescue her boyfriend from aliens and along the way, save the world.
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| Starvation Heights:
The Graphic Novel (Adaptation from previously published novel without accompanying
illustration) by Gregg Olsen, NY Times Bestselling Author |
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About the author:
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| The Brotherhood
and the Shield: The Three Thorns (Middle Grade/YA Novel) by Michael Gibney |
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About the author:
With The Three Thorns comes his highly developed debut novel, the first story of the epic The Brotherhood and the Shield Trilogy, an elaborate dark fantasy, curved with a sense of realism and subtle political and societal undertones that challenge the reader as well as entertain. He spends most of his time in Ireland and the UK either writing, working, or painting. http://www.thebrotherhoodandtheshield.com
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| Death's Island (Historical
Young Adult) by Kelsey Ketch |
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Meriden Cook's troubles began a hundred years before, when her great grandfather stumbled into the mysterious world. A former naval officer, Cutup Cook was on the run for piracy. Death ensnared him in a deal that entailed the harvesting of human souls in exchange for unimaginable treasure. However, Cutup grew weary of his duties and tried to shirk his commitment. For this act, Death wrecked his ship The Plunderer, and placed a curse upon his family's bloodline--a curse that later caused the mysterious disappearance of Meriden's father. Decades pass. The story of Cutup fades into legend until one day, Meriden unearths Cutup's map. She takes command of her father's ship, The Orion, and journeys across the sea to solve her family secret. Her good friends-the dashing Doctor George Hobson, the playful cook Matthew Kettlesworth, the wealthy and attractive Rupert Railing and the handsome and passionate stowaway, Gregory Wilson, accompany her. Despite their efforts, the group finds trouble around every corner including a mutinous crew, treacherous storms, and sailors bewitched by greed. However, those issues pale in comparison to the cursed forests and hideous monsters they find once on Death's Island. About the author:
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| Shoreline (Young
Adult Novel) by Nikki Katz |
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About the author:
Follow Nikki on Twitter at http://www.Twitter.com/katzni |
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| Fatal Beauties (Young
Adult Paranormal Fiction) by Renae Mercado |
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About the author:
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| The Raven in Bermuda
Shorts (Middle Grade Novel) by Ron Rutler |
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About the author:
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| The Awoken (Young
Adult Graphic Novel with artwork included) by Genaro Zamora |
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About the Author: |
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| Freezing Fire (Young
Adult Graphic Novel with artwork included) by Randy Staples |
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About the author:
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| Planting Words:
My Friend Oscar Micheaux (Middle Grade Historical Fiction) by Lisa Rivero |
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Told in the classic style of Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House on the Prairie, Planting Words follows the friendship between a fictional character, Thomas, and the historical Oscar. As we accompany Thomas through the thirteenth year of his life, we learn of the diversity of life and experiences on the Great Plains at the beginning of the twentieth century, from Thomas' step-father Joe's education at a Pennsylvania Indian boarding school to Oscar's work as a Pullman porter. Planting Words is written with careful attention to historical detail, from the description of the land lottery where Thomas's mother gets her homestead, to the way in which Thomas and his step-father build their sod home. Nearly all of Oscar's mannerisms, his experiences as a farmer, and his stories from his past as a porter and salesman are gleaned from his autobiographical novels. While breaking sod, Thomas slowly breaks down barriers that had kept him from pursuing his own dreams. Oscar's attitude and example lead Thomas to question many of the assumptions he has made about his family, himself, and his future. Just how Thomas learns to plant words while planting crops is the story's final chapter. About the author:
As an adult, Lisa has taught and mentored children and teens both individually and in writing groups. She teaches writing to college students at the Milwaukee School of Engineering, and is an award-winning author of four books on education and learning: The Smart Teens' Guide to Living with Intensity (Great Potential Press, 2010), A Parent's Guide to Gifted Teens (Great Potential Press, 2010), The Homeschooling Option (Palgrave Macmillan, 2008) and Creative Home Schooling (Great Potential Press, 2002). Lisa speaks regularly at both local and national conferences on giftedness, learning, and creativity. |
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| Suds, Suds Everywhere
(A rhyming picture book about bath time fun with overzealous bubbles!) by JoAnna Haugen |
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As the suds move throughout the house, they crawl over toys and bears, on lamps and chairs, down sinks and up the stairs. Suds even visit the cat-asleep upon the welcome mat-in this bath time picture book. When Mom pulls the plug on the fun, the suds make their way back through the house to the bathtub-but they pick up everything in their path along the way! The end result is a bathtub stuffed with dishes, furniture, toys and the main character, who leaves everything squeaky clean. Many young children detest bath time, but this rhyming picture book lends itself to humorous, colorful and animated illustrations that make a potentially unpleasant task fun and even entertaining. Imagine a framed picture of Gram and Gramps-Gram in a swept-up bubble hairdo and Gramps sporting a sudsy mustache. Picture the cat with a crown and cape made from bubbles. Envision a wave of bubbles carrying a plate of meat, peas and apple pie up the stairs. And, of course, there's our main character, holding her teddy bear and a soggy cat while sitting on a throne of chairs, dishes and toys in the bathtub-all sparkling clean-at the end of the story. About the author:
As an active travel writer, JoAnna has a large social media presence, runs a popular travel blog (Kaleidoscopic Wandering - www.kaleidoscopicwandering.com ), has been interviewed for several travel blogs and books, and is frequently asked to speak about her career as a writer. For more see: www.joannahaugen.com
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Princess
Academy is a sassy graphic novel series for smart girls who love being
girly. The stories follow our teenage heroine, Bennie, and her vivacious
cohort at the Princess Academy as they plot intrigues, romances and
adventures with royal flare!
J.
David McKenney, Illustrator and Co-Author attended the New School's
acclaimed Parson's School for Design. Soon McKenney's outstanding eye
for beauty and knack for girly pop iconography landed him a coveted
commission designing T-shirt graphics and fabric prints for superstar
design team Heatherette. Press attention led to further commercial and
fashion illustration commissions, including three marketing campaigns
for Mariah Carey's Elizabeth Arden fragrances. Ms. Carey even commissioned
McKenney to create her personal holiday and birthday cards. Additionally,
McKenney has worked with Girl's Life, Innovative Kids, Mattel, MAC
cosmetics, Nylon Magazine, Harper Collins, Penguin Group, Saatchi Group,
Scholastic Books, Elle Girl, and Seventeen Magazine. For Princess
Academy, McKenney took inspiration from the work of Macoto and other
greats of Japanese serial comics for girls, creating a fresh take on
the beauty and glamour of high concept graphic novels for young girls
everywhere! 
"Underground
with Nickelan Wand, Book One: Kid City," the first volume in a
trilogy, is a middle-reader fantasy adventure novel. 
Peter
Landau appeared in the only X-rated movie to win an Academy Award for
Best Picture ("Midnight Cowboy"). Despite this early success,
state-mandated education demanded he complete public school. His academic
excellence led to a degree in Illustration from Parsons School of Design
in New York City, which he promptly applied to a series of dead-end
jobs: liquor store stock boy, supermarket deli counterman and White
Zombie drummer.
Revenge
of the Pink Granny Panties reveals what happens when three friends
go below the belt in their quest for revenge. This fast-paced, 27,000
word tale will leave even reluctant readers laughing as they watch 12-year-old
Chuck Masters and posse battle bad guy and former friend, Finkman, with
a basket of oversized undies as their arsenal. 
Michelle
Brown spent her growing up years in small town Oklahoma, devouring such
books as Harriet the Spy and How to Eat Fried Worms. She
now lives just north of the border in Kansas. Michelle's publishing
credits include Highlights for Children, Chess Life for Kids, Story
Something, Characters and Bumples. 
Pair
of Normals chronicles the adventures of two brothers, Bernard
and Wendal Normal, and their everyday dealings with monsters, strange
occurrences and unusual happenings around their town of Creeping Hills.-a
send up to classic B monster movies and comedies. Pair of Normals
is filled with frights, laughter and gross out goodness for the reluctant
middle grade reader.
Growing
up on a healthy diet of comic books, science fiction magazines and monster
movies, D.M. Cunningham's stories for children are love letters to many
of his favorite writers and filmmakers that inspired him through the
years. 
A
casual web search of the name "Nikola Tesla" brought
back nearly 2 million results and a wide range of Web sites dedicated
entirely to him. Although many nonfiction books have been written about
Tesla, there has only been one obscure novel to date published
16 years ago dedicated to this handsome Serbian scientist. As the inventor
of the entire electrical grid of the western world, Tesla died too poor
to pay his own light bill and was cheated by the robber barons of his
day: Thomas Edison, J. Pierpont Morgan, and George Westinghouse.
Anthony
Flacco is the author of six published books, all with major publishers-four
nonfiction and two historical fiction. His first historical novel The
Last Nightingale (Ballantine), was nominated for a 2008 International
Thriller Award based on highly acclaimed reviews. His most recent historical
nonfiction, The Road Out of Hell (Sterling Publishing)
won the 2009 USA News Best True Crime Award.
Clara
Gaber excels at little beyond e-stalking her high school crush. She
struggles to keep up with Manhattan's teenage intellectuals and awkwardly
hides herself in the social backdrop of high school. But with her family,
she's perfectly at home. Her parents' perpetually blossoming romance
both comforts and humiliates her. Her edgy and modern Aunt Grace adds
a healthy dose of snark to the mix. Everything's perfect until Clara's
sixteenth birthday when she watches an intelligent and violent light
erupt through her family's Manhattan home chasing Clara and her mother,
in the end sparing Clara yet taking the other. 
A
Michigander turned urbanite by adaptation, Kate Grace has worked as
a freelance writer and editor for various regional publications and
Web-based zines for years. She received her BA from Columbia College
in Chicago and her MS from Columbia University's Graduate School of
Journalism. 
All
across America, unexplained phenomena occur every night. Hauntings.
UFO reports. Elvis sightings…and the one person best suited to
solve these mysteries is a highly intelligent teenager with a penchant
for purple trench coats. If Scully from the X-Files made a baby with
Tim Burton, you'd have the punk-goth paranormal investigating force
that is Tara Normal. Guided by her mysterious spectral friend, the Shadowman,
and encouraged by her adoptive father, magic storeowner Abe Normal,
Tara's ultimate quest is for the truth.
H.C.
Noel is a professional illustrator, cartoonist and paranormal investigator.
Noel's character Tara Normal investigates with the stars of TV's 
In
1911, Claire and Dora Williamson, two wealthy British heiresses visited
a sanitarium near Seattle to undergo the revolutionary fasting treatment
of Linda Burfield Hazzard. The sisters saw this as a holiday of sorts-a
way to cleanse their bodies of any ailments they might have been suffering.
Within a month of arriving at Hazzard's sanitarium, nicknamed "Starvation
Heights" by the locals of Olalla, WA., the two formerly lovely
sisters were emaciated shadows of their former selves, groaning in pain,
waiting for death.
Throughout
his career, Gregg Olsen has demonstrated an ability to create a detailed
narrative that offers readers fascinating insights into the lives of
people caught in extraordinary circumstances.
The
Brotherhood and the Shield Trilogy is in the same category of such
children's books as Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials, Harry Potter,
Tunnels, City Of Ember and the Eragon series. But unlike
the rest, its first installment-The Three Thorns-is totally
unique with an individual fingerprint that makes it distinctively its
own. The Three Thorns introduces a brand new plot, new invented creatures
with new worlds to explore and mixes fantasy and adventure with elements
of horror and science fiction .What makes The Three Thorns different
than any other children's fantasy is its dark aspect and undertone of
horror and suspense as well as fantasy and adventure. It is also a book
with subtle political undertones for the adult reader and would appeal
to readers of any age. Unlike most other fantasy books. 
Born
in Belfast, Northern Ireland in 1982, Michael Gibney is an artist whose
interests in world politics, literature and the love of film encouraged
him to do his studies at an early age of sixteen within the media and
journalism field. Through his studies at college and the BBC, he developed
an instant passion for creative writing that exceeded his love for media,
art and music. His somewhat emotionally charged storytelling is mostly
derived from his personal experiences and feelings about the world we
live in today as well as a strong will to captivate all readers (both
young and old) with fantasy, horror and pure escapism, using nothing
less than originality. 
Hidden
under the cover of fog, unseen by most mortal eyes, an island lies just
east of the colonies. Here, Death wields his power and chooses
the fate of his victims' afterlife. 
Kelsey
Ketch is a graduate student living in North Carolina, where she finds
a wealth of resources for her writing. Much of her young life was influenced
by her father's love of the sea and nature, inspiring her sense of adventure
in both her hobbies and future careers. When he died of cancer, Death's
Island was her way of escaping the world and coping with the loss.
She spent years researching the lifestyles of the eighteen-century in
England and the colonies, as well as maritime history to create this
adventure. 
Shoreline,
a young adult urban fantasy novel, follows sixteen year-old Maya Georgiou
as she moves with her family back to Bar Harbor, Maine where she expects
to easily remedy the sickly marine life developing offshore. After all,
she is an ocean nymph and this is her territory. But nothing goes as
planned. The poor sea creatures continue to die, rain falls whenever
she's upset while her cousins whisper cryptic comments behind her back.
Nikki
Katz lives in San Diego with her husband and three young children. Nikki
has been reading and writing since she was four years old and spent
many recess periods on the playground writing plays. Her obsession with
books followed her into adulthood and she devours young adult novels
at a rapid pace. She has been a freelance writer for the past ten years
for companies including iVillage.com, About.com, and b5media. Nikki
currently co-authors a teen website (
Sirens.
Their screams can stop a human heart and their songs can drive men to
the brink of madness. But these cruel fates are nothing compared to
what happens if a Siren falls in love. Fatal Beauties
mixes the elements of mystery, romance, and mythology, bringing a fresh
new twist to the paranormal young adult romance genre.
Renae
Mercado was born and raised in Kansas, growing up in the small town
of Dodge City. She went on to graduate from Fort Hays State University
with a degree in Elementary Education. She now resides in Manhattan
Kansas, otherwise known as The Little Apple, with her husband
and two young children. Ever the avid reader, Renae has a tremendous
love for all things mythic and paranormal. Fatal Beauties
is her debut novel which twists her favorite obsession into a world
for all to enjoy.
The
Raven in Bermuda Shorts is a high adventure novel perfectly
tailored for all middle grade and young adult readers. This uniquely
self-referential story follows the pen and writing pad of a 13-year-old
adventure writer, Nash Roberts III, who along with his magical leather
bag, is dropped from the talons of a Bermuda-Shorts-clad Raven into
the action of each chapter that he is to write about. 
Ron
Rutler was raised in Wyandotte County in Kansas City, Kansas, an area
that is affectionately referred to as The Dotte. Ron's most notable
acting role was a small speaking part given to him by Robert Altman
in the movie Kansas City. Additionally, he has been a lead singer and
rhythm guitar player in several classic rock bands. He attended Donnelly
College and Pittsburg State University. He has five kids, six grandkids
and presently lives in Gardner, Kansas, with his wife, Heather, and
son John.
One
minute they were laughing and enjoying the warm crisp Texan night on
the way back from the prom, and in the next flashing seconds the laughter
stopped with nothing but clashing metal and shattering glass as two
vehicles collided.
Born
and raised in Port Arthur, Texas, Genaro Zamora is a Mexican-American
who has seen first-hand the effects of a suburban community plagued
by gang activity. Rather than succumb to his environment, Zamora became
a corrections officer and channeled his outraged and frustration into
his writing. The Awoken is his debut graphic novel.
If
Artemus Fowl took Harry Potter's magic into the battles of Chronicles
of Narnia, you would have a pretty adventurous read. But when you
add a few deceitful and deadly faeries battling a legion of demons on
earth in 2010, and a not-so-pleasant Eragon whose hunger can
only be satisfied by human consumption, then you have Randy Staples'
debut young adult graphic novel, Freezing Fire. 
Randy
Staples is a single father of six and currently lives in Boston, Massachusetts.
He always dreamed of being a writer but when the economic downturn forced
his family into homelessness, it looked like all hope was lost. Not
one to ever let anything get him down, Randy kept plugging away. The
experience inspired him to write his first graphic novel, Freezing
Fire, which he wrote for his daughters. Randy Staples is also
a public speaker who has strong relationships with schools in New England.
He has worked as a coach, counselor and mentor to young people for over
24 years. Randy is also active in social media and is working with Gumbo
Entertainment's online book marketing division which specializes in
social media marketing for young people, in order to build an audience
for Freezing Fire. 
Planting
Words: My Friend Oscar Micheaux is a chapter book of historical
fiction for ages nine through twelve. The book introduces today's young
readers to the real life character of Oscar Micheaux, whom the United
States Postal Service will feature this summer on the 33rd stamp in
their Black Heritage series. The U.S.P.S. describes Micheaux as an "ambitious,
larger-than-life figure." He formed his own publishing company
and produced, directed, and wrote more than forty feature-length films,
earning him a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Micheaux was also
a homesteader in South Dakota and the author of seven novels, many of
which described his homesteading and farming experiences, and it is
this part of his life that Planting Words explores.
Lisa
Rivero grew up on a farm and ranch on the same Rosebud Indian Reservation
where Oscar Micheaux homesteaded. There she attended a two-room country
school and was one of three students in her class. Like her protagonist,
Thomas, she knew she wanted to be a writer from a young age, winning
several state high school journalism awards before travelling to Milwaukee,
Wisconsin to attend Marquette University.
As bath time begins, our main character starts to wash with suds from
her nose to her toes and everywhere in between. But when the bubbles
seep out of the bathtub onto the floor, out the door, down the hall
and climb up the wall, a fun, rhyming adventure begins.
JoAnna
Haugen is a globe trotter, former Peace Corps volunteer and avid recycler
who is usually planning her next great adventure. She resides in Las
Vegas, where she works as an accomplished freelance writer and editor.
JoAnna shares a home with her husband, two cats, two dogs and several
foster kittens, who remind her why it's important to laugh, have fun
and live like a kid every once in awhile. They served as her inspiration
to write Suds, Suds Everywhere.