Tag Archives: blog hop

Stanley & Katrina’s Book Blasty Tour

I’m thrilled to be the first stop in Stanley & Katrina’s Book Blasty Tour for the new book “The Observations of the Obstreperous Animals” written by Felicia Maziarz, which has already received a 5 Star rating from Reader’s Favorite.

My Reviewish Thoughts

Stanley the dog and Katrina von Cat the Master of Wisdom and Knowledge are the main characters and sort of authors of “The Observations of the Obstreperous Animals.”

Obstreperous means “resisting control or restraint in a difficult manner; unruly” or “noisy and disruptive.” I’ve been an English teacher and I had to look it up! What a great word. I wonder if that has been one of Stanley & Katrina’s Words of the Week yet. Anyhow…

The book is more a series of sassy and silly anecdotes about Stanley & Katrina’s lives and adventures instead of a full story. I found myself wondering how many of those stories had a little basis in fact, like the ones in my books.  Some chapters are from the perspective of one of the characters, and some from an all-knowing narrator (who is occasionally corrected by Katrina von Cat). I loved it and can see why it is getting such great ratings. I will be posting one myself on amazon.com today. 5 stars from me as well!

Kimba wanted me to be sure to mention that she felt that Katrina von Cat the Master of Wisdom and Knowledge was horribly maligned and mistreated throughout the book, and clearly Stanley and the owners do not understand that Katrina is not only a famous ice skating cat from Europe but she is also an alien — like all cats — and deserves more respect. She hopes Katrina will be the only star of any future books. Felicia can take that all with a grain of salt, as I’m sure she does with all advice coming from cats.

I should also offer huge congratulations to Felicia because on October 1 she won the Silver Award from the 2014 Moonbeam Children’s Book Awards in the “Best Book by Youth Author (Under 18) for her first book (she was 9 when she wrote it), The Perpetual Papers of the Pack of Pets. Go Felicia!!

Celebrating

Stanley and Katrina von Cat the Master of Wisdom and Knowledge are celebrating the release of their second book, The Observations of the Obstreperous Animals, by hosting their very own “Book Blasty Tour”. Thank you for taking the time to visit this special stop along their tour and be sure to enter the giveaway!

About the Book

Title: The Observations of the Obstreperous Animals

Authors: Stanley & Katrina, Pet Authors

Year published:  2014

Number of pages: 106

Recommended ages: 10+ Independent Readers; 5+ Read-Aloud

Summary (Amazon): Cat and dog. It is a love/hate relationship. Stanley and Katrina are back to share more humorous glimpses into their exciting lives in their second book via short stories. Yes, the pets are at it again but this time compete in a slam poetry contest, visit a pet psychic, and much more.This cat and dog writing team makes you stop and wonder what happens at your house when you’re not there.

Book Preview Video

Click Here For The Video Preview!!

Amazon U.S. * Amazon U.K. * Amazon Canada

Barnes & Noble

The Buzz

“All the animal snippets are very funny. If you like animals and a good laugh, this is the book for you.” ~Carly K., Age 10

“Hilarious! Instantly became my favorite book!” ~Stephen E., Age 12

“You did it again! I loved reading about your crazy adventures!” ~Rachael S., Age 13

“Another one? How do they do this?” ~Stanley & Katrina’s owners

About the Authors: Stanley & Katrina

CirclePawPrintAuthorPicNew

Stanley and Katrina are the pet authors of The Observations of the Obstreperous Animals.

Stanley is a three-year-old black Labrador/Rottweiler mix who does his best to ignore Katrina. Stanley enjoys snow, attention and turkey.

Katrina von Cat the Master of Wisdom and Knowledge is an eight-year-old grey tabby cat who loves her toy mouse.She enjoys treats, naps and bossing the dog around.

Neighbor Girl (Felicia) is the human who knows us (Stanley& Katrina) the best and helps us with everything. She loves writing, reading, acting, singing, reading gymnastics, doodling, reading, ice skating, painting, reading, doing computer stuff, oh… did we mention reading? She is the co-creator and co-host of “The Write Chat.”

You may visit the entire gang online at www.StanleyAndKatrina.com.

Twitter * Facebook  * Google+

Pinterest  * Goodreads * YouTube

* Free Printables For This Book! *

Book2PrintableActivityCollage_Small

Kid Lit Printables has created fun and FREE printables for The Observations of the Obstreperous Animals and will be adding more in the future. Click here to view all available printables now.

Get the First Book in the Series Free

10/6 & 10/7/2014

The pets are offering their first book for free, via Amazon Kindle, the first two days of the Blog Tour. Click here to download Book 1 in the Stanley & Katrina series now.

Stanley & Katrina’s

Book Blasty Tour Stops(2014)

*Denotes Book Review Stops

October 6

Meg Dendler’s Site*

Mother Daughter Book Reviews*

Michigan Saving and More

October 7

The Book Lovers’ Lounge*

October 8

BeachBoundBooks*

Writer Side UP!

October 9

Amanda’s Books and More*

October 10

Spark and Pook*

October 11

The Squishable Baby*

October 12

Bookaholic Chicks

October 13

Education is Special*

Kid Lit Reviews*

October 14

Adalinc To Life*

October 15

Stitch Says*

We are the DinoFamily*

October 17

Talking Animal Addicts*

October 18

Jemima Pett, Author*

October 19

The Sassy Schnauzer*

October 20

Lobo’s Follies*

October 21

Hey, Miss Adventures!*

October 22

Bookworm for Kids

October 24

My Devotional Thoughts*

* $25 Book Blasty Tour Giveaway *

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Prize: $25 Amazon Gift Card or PayPal cash (winner’s choice)

Contest runs:October 6 to October 31, 11:59 pm, 2014

Open: Internationally

How to enter: Please enter by clicking here.

Terms and Conditions: A randomly drawn winner will be contacted by email within 48 hours after the giveaway ends. The winner will have 72 hours to respond. If the winner does not respond within 72 hours, a new draw will take place for a new winner. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest or any other entity unless otherwise specified. If you have any additional questions, feel free to send us an email at stanleyandkatrina (at) gmail (dot) com.

* This giveaway is sponsored by the authors, Stanley & Katrina.*

 

 

Writing Process Blog Hop

I’m thrilled to have been tagged in the Writing Process Blog Hop by wonderful author Jan Morrill. You can connect with Jan at all of these links.

If you move quickly, you can even click here to get in on a free copy of her new Haiku collection at amazon.com.

As a part of this blog hop, my job is to answer some specific questions about my writing process and then pass the next blog stop on to another blogger. Here are my answers to the questions.

1) What am I working on?

I have several projects in the air right now. Book 3 in the Cats in the Mirror series is in the final stages of my own revisions/editing, and “Miss Fatty Cat’s Revenge” will be heading to a professional editor sometime in the next week or so. The cover art is already complete, so it is down to more of the final touches and formatting/production process at this point. It is well on schedule to release in September of 2014, if not a bit sooner for fans of the series. While that book is with the editor, I will be refocusing on an adult book called “At The Corner Of Magnetic And Main” that is set here in Eureka Springs. An editor at Delacorte/Random House had been interested enough to want to read the full manuscript, but the time frame for that exclusive has run out. In April I’ll be talking with a couple of smaller houses to see if there is any interest from them. I also want to start work on adapting a picture book manuscript into a middle grade book. “The Brave, Frail, and Delicate Princess” has been in and out of my desk drawer for years, and that’s the direction it seems to be headed at the moment.

2) How does my work differ from others of its genre?

If we stick with the books that are published, the middle grade Cats in the Mirror series, I would have to say that I’m not aware of any other alien cat books like them out there at any age level. Certainly alien cats are nothing new, but mine are based so specifically on my real cats and have photos of them throughout the books. I did quite a lot of research on what is available before I committed to self-publishing the series, and I think they are quite unique. The reader enters the world of the cat like in the Warriors books, but there is a whole science fiction element and the ultimate struggle that Kimba and Hiro face between loyalties to their loved humans and the obligation to their cat family.

3) Why do I write what I do?

I rarely sit down and decide “I’m going to write about book about X.” Over many years as a freelance writer, I just learned to jump on the ideas and subjects that come to me each day. My first book, “Why Kimba Saved The World,” evolved over a few years. The story ran around in my head and kept getting bigger and bigger. Living with Kimba provided ideas daily. Once during the process I just sat down for three hours and thought about “what ifs” for the story. That brought it to where it is now and developed her one story into a whole series of stories and characters. The idea of “Magnetic And Main” slapped me upside the head, and I had it outlined and the first scene written in 24 hours. Doing an adult book was not in my plan at the time, but you have to jump on those inspirations when they come. At least write them down. Writer’s block in not a problem for me. Having the time and energy to write everything I’d like to is the problem.

4) How does your writing process work?

I’m not big on serious outlining, but I do like to know where the story is going. I usually write in scenes, like a movie. I know X is going to happen, and I know X is going to happen, but I’m not always sure how all of that is going to end up at Y or the whys and motivations for it all. Once I have some framework done, I go back and fill in the pieces and adapt what now needs to be changed. With “Miss Fatty Cat’s Revenge,” I found I needed to make lots of adjustments because when it came right down to it the “why” for some of the characters didn’t end up being what I thought it would. I don’t think I’ve ever written anything straight through from start to finish. Even articles and short stories or contest essays are more a piecemeal process.

Getting that first draft down is like pulling teeth for me. As Dorothy Parker says: “I hate writing. I love having written.” I have to make myself sit down, and I time my writing sessions or set a word count/scene goal. For “Vacation Hiro” I actually went away on a retreat for several days. I knew exactly what was going to happen in the story, but getting it typed up was giving me trouble. I held up in a rental condo through our time share system for four days and just pounded it out–that good old 5,000-6,000 words a day. Then I was very happy because it was all there and ready to mess with. Revising and editing and making the story better is the reward, not to mention having the actual book in your hand to share with an excited reader.

Well, I hope you learned a little bit about me as a writer. Now I tag my friend Cat McMahon of Cat’s Stories. She has her writing fingers in several different pies.

Here’s a little bit about Cat:

Author of the Road Trip Photo Adventure Series, Cat McMahon is a wordsmith who enjoys outdoor discovery, culinary exploration, her cats, and making memories with her family; she lives in the craggy wilderness off the slopes of the Cascade Range in the Pacific Northwest USA.

CatMcMahon

Here’s where you can find her!

Link to her website:
Links to her books:
Click here to see this book at amazon.com.

Click here to see this book at amazon.com.

Click here for this book at amazon.com.

Click here for this book at amazon.com.

Links to her other websites:
Be sure to check out both Jan and Cat and their wonderful blogs!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Flat Stanley Visits

We had a visitor in our house this week: Flat Stanley came to visit from Holly Academy in Michigan. He was sent by my great-niece Sage, and he had a great time helping out in the yard and with our guest house. He also hung out with Kimba for a while.

Flat Stanley hung out with Kimba in her favorite spot on the dining-room table.

Flat Stanley hung out with Kimba in her favorite spot on the dining-room table.

Flat Stanley didn’t have time to help me edit and revise “Miss Fatty Cat’s Revenge” before he had to return home. I imagine he would have found that kind of boring, but it’s pretty much all that I’m up to these days. Book 3 should be heading out to my new editor by April 1!

The other big excitement around here is that I’m upgrading my computer and getting my own Adobe Creative Suite system so I’m able to do most if not all of the formatting for my books myself. This is the biggest expense with self-publishing, and if I can take on significant portions of the process myself it means the door is open to do more Cats in the Mirror books without ruining any profit margin. I’m grateful to everyone who has helped with the formatting along the way, but it’s time to take the next step.

I was also thrilled to have “Why Kimba Saved The World” and “Vacation Hiro” listed as one of the top books about cats by Cat’s Stories web site. Check out her list right here!

Next week, I will be posting as part of a fun writer’s blog hop. I was invited to join by my excellent writer friend Jan Morrill. If you have not read her book The Red Kimono, follow the link to find it on amazon.com. Here is a link to her blog post from this week. My post in the blog hop will appear here on Monday, March 31st.