Tag Archives: blog interviews

Docent Day & Miss Fatty Cat Book

Today I hung out with Thor for several hours. Yes, Thor. No, not the one with the big hammer, though he is almost as impressive. This Thor.

Thor the Lion
Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge

Today was my first official day as a docent at Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge, and so I spent the morning hanging out with Thor and talking to guests about him and BamBam the grizzly bear, who was just a few feet away. It was hot, so Thor looked like this very soon.

Thor in the heat.

I had a tent for some shade, so it wasn’t so bad. I’ve gotten used to seeing Thor and the other big cats, but it was fun to hear little kids (and some adults) encounter him for the first time. It gives you a healthy respect for why having one of these cats in your home is not a great idea. Actually, it’s a TERRIBLE idea. I could show you the bowling ball that Brody the lion bit in two. Here’s a boomer ball that Indie the tiger made short work of.

That took her four days. Solid plastic. 32,000 pounds of bite pressure should never be underestimated.

That took her four days. Super-thick plastic designed for big cats. 32,000 pounds of bite pressure should never be underestimated.

Now if the refuge can just meet their goal of getting all of the animals out into grassed enclosures in 2014. Thor has waiting long enough. I’m looking forward to being back at Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge over the July 4th weekend, but publishing & promotion work does not stop over the summer. Just last night we attended a circus-style event in Basin Park here in Eureka Springs.

There were fire stunts…

And a cutest dog contest. Tristan thought our table was the best place to hang out.

and a cutest dog contest. Our friend’s dog Tristan thought our table was the best place to hang out. Especially my daughter’s feet.

Most of my book events are in the fall, but it’s fun to attend some things in town as well.

Most exciting is that Book 3 of the Cats in the Mirror series, “Miss Fatty Cat’s Revenge,” is available at amazon.com for a soft launch for friends and family. I don’t have any copies available to autograph and send out yet, but if you want to read it as an ebook the files are ready and waiting for you! Click on the book cover to visit the amazon.com page.

You can also try to win one of 5 free paperback copies through Goodreads. Click here for the giveaway page.

The official launch date is set for Miss Fatty Cat’s birthday on September 12. There will be some discounted offers on the first two books, but the ebook price on Book 3 will be the same for a good long time. Grab it now. You won’t be missing out on a deal later. And, of course, post a review if you enjoyed it! When you see paperbacks hit the $9.99 mark, that will be their price unless amazon chooses to discount it. Or you can wait a couple of weeks to order a signed copy right from me. Coming soon!

The Arkansas Book Reviewer had this to say about Book 3:

“Miss Fatty Cat’s Revenge is a fun and charming tale that will have readers questioning their own cat’s sly looks and supposed unassuming demeanor. Cat lovers of all ages will love this latest addition to the series set in the Ozarks of Arkansas! Recommended for all ages and libraries! Another 5 Star for Dendler!”

You can read the whole review here at her blog.

Other recent media attention has included a nice interview at Cheryl Carpinello’s blog and a great review of “Vacation Hiro” from Erik the Great at This Kid Reviews Books. Several reviewers and bloggers are lined up for posts surrounding the September 12th release, and I love that they are following the series and ready to support it.

That’s all the excitement for now. I hope you are having a wonderful summer and enjoying some stress-free vacation time. Maybe you should read a good book… about alien cats…

Read An Ebook Week & Freebie

Freebie of “Why Kimba Saved The World” this week! In honor of Read An Ebook Week, I have put out a coupon code at Smashwords so you can get Book 1 of the Cats in the Mirror series for free. This includes gifting it to someone else. I tested the system today, and it is beyond easy. If you have the email address, you can send a copy out for free in about 10 seconds. It’s really that easy. Share the love!

Click on this link to go to the Smashwords page and get or share a free copy of Kimba’s book right now.

With this special week going on, I also decided to leave the .99 kindle sale for both of my books up at amazon.com through March 9th. Grab a copy of the award-winning books!

Click here for “Why Kimba Saved The World”

New book cover with Mom’s Choice Award in place.

Click here for “Vacation Hiro”

New cover with Mom's Choice Award in place.

New book cover with Mom’s Choice Award in place.

In other fun news, I had an interview posted recently at Between The Covers. Thanks, Anita! You can follow her at twitter at RacePointUS.

I am also really excited to be attending the Northwest Arkansas Writers’ Workshop meeting on Saturday, March 8, in Fayetteville. Last year’s meeting was fantastic, and I got some great ideas for “blinging” up my writing. That’s hard to do with middle grade books, but I was inspired to add almost 3,000 words of bling to “At The Corner of Magnetic and Main” that made it so much better. Can’t wait to see what I take home with me this year–along with a few new books from the authors present as well, I’m sure. The conference is free, so sign up and come on down!

The only other things going on around Serenity Mountain Publishing right now are the final revisions on “Miss Fatty Cat’s Revenge.” You know, this is the time where I over-think every detail and fuss and bother with commas until I go a wee bit mad. We are snowed in once again, so there’s not much else to do anyhow. Cover art is already in process, and I can’t wait to share it all with you in a few months.

Stay warm! Spring will be here someday, even if it feels like it never will.

Look for great sales at Smashwords and other ebook sites this week. Give indie authors some love and try one for free!

Two New Book Reviews For “Vacation Hiro”

The official book launch is only a few hours away!! As part of the blog tour, two new book reviews for “Vacation Hiro” posted today.

The first review is from Found Between The Covers, and I’m thrilled that Sherrey enjoyed Book 2 even more than Book 1. Click here to see the whole review at her blog, but here’s my favorite part:

“When I finished reading and reviewing Why Kimba Saved the World, I couldn’t imagine Meg Dendler surpassing that story or the personification of the animals in her first book in the Cats in the Mirror Series. I. Was. Wrong!”

Thanks, Sherrey!

The second review is from The Styling Librarian, who also thoroughly enjoyed it and recommends the series to her readers. Yay! Thanks, Debbie! Click here to see the whole review all the way from Hong Kong.

Be sure to visit both of their sites and follow them on twitter and Facebook. I’ve loved following them myself.

“Vacation Hiro” hits the world Friday morning!! Watch out world!

Book 2 in the Cats in the Mirror Series

Author Interview of Meg at Missy Frye’s Web Site

One special part of my blog tour was to do an author interview with award-winning writer Missy Frye for her web site. Missy and I had connected on twitter, but we had the chance to meet and chat at the Ozark Creative Writer’s Conference in October here in Eureka Springs. I love the fact that Missy asked me very specific questions about my writing life and journey (usually you just get a set of pre-fab questions). Follow this link to read the whole interview.

Here’s her fun final question:

MF: If you could jump into a book, and live in that world … which would it be?
MWD: “The Dragonriders of Pern,” without question. I’ve been reading Anne McCaffrey’s books since I was 10. I love that world and her dragons and fire lizards and heroes. I can’t believe they have not pulled off making a movie out of the first books. I have a stuffed gold dragon “Ramoth” that keeps me company when I write. Kimba has pulled it behind my computer monitor to sleep with her these days, but I know she’s there. Together, they inspire me.

Kimba with Ramoth and many others in her nest behind my monitor. I never know who she’ll drag back there.

Book Review & Author Interview at Magnolia Blossom’s Blog

Wow! I think this is the most detailed book review “Why Kimba Saved The World” has gotten so far. Reviewer Bud Scott broke it down into several categories and commented on each section. I thought it was funny that he assumed the book would be about a giant cat saving the world based on the cover. That’s the first time I’ve gotten that feedback! Click here to visit Magnolia Blossom’s blog and read the whole review and detailed interview with me.

In concluding the review and interview, the web site says:

“The Bestowing of the Blossoms…

It certainly looks like Meg Dendler’s book ‘Why Kimba Saved the World’ was the cat’s meow for reviewer Bud Scott as it earned a total of 88 out of 100 points giving it a very strong 4.85 (and a wee little bit more) blossom rating. That’s an exceptional thing to say about a book that, because it wasn’t actually written for the ‘older’ set so to say, kept the attention of the reviewer well enough that he not only has said he’ll recommend it to others and that he was able to see the personalities of the cats shine through. We are so pleased that Meg asked The MBR to review her book, Why Kimba Saved the World and hope that you, Kind Reader, will check it out for yourself – especially if you know of a child who might enjoy it. What’s more – perhaps you could get a copy and donate it to your local school’s library! Wouldn’t that be a wonderful way to not only spread the love for reading to our youth but also to shine a bright light on a terrific writer for an age group that is in sore need of some quality, high interest books!”

Be sure to click on the link and give their blog some traffic and read the whole book review, as well as other book reviews at the site. I’m always so grateful for the book lovers who agree to review independent and self-published books!

Author Interview with Arkansas Authors Web Site

As a part of my blog tour and my wonderful relationship with the Arkansas Authors web site, a two-part interview with me is currently being featured at their site. Click here to read the whole thing. You can also find “Why Kimba Saved The World” in their Book Spotlight section and available for sale. They are even featuring my book on the home page today!

This site is a fantastic resource for authors from Arkansas, but also for readers who just want to find great books. The site will be offering a holiday buying guide as well. Stop by, read the interview, and check out their other authors and books as well.

Here’s one of the interview questions, but be sure to go to www.arkansasauthors.com for the full interview.

What drove your decision to self-publish?

I did send the manuscript for “Kimba” out to a few publishing houses and agents over a couple of years. Sometimes you have to wait months, and they want it to be exclusive. It’s an arduous process. Many big publishing houses are closed, and agents are hesitant to take on an unknown writer. You never hear back from most of them. They want you to get your platform set and have a fan base first. It’s rather like needing to be in the union to get a job, but you can’t get a job unless you are in the union. The nature of self-publishing has changed so much in the last few years that I started to explore that. As I met some agents/publishers through conferences and got real feedback, they all liked the story but didn’t feel it was right for them. I just wanted to go forward and get the book out there. It is a ton of work to be your own publisher, but it gets the job done instead of just sitting on manuscripts and waiting for answers.

Cover 2 Cover Book Review of “Kimba” Today

Just a quick shout-out to blog tour host Cover 2 Cover today for her great book review of “Why Kimba Saved The World.” She is also running a free copy giveaway, so be sure to share her link with your friends so they can enter for a free copy. Thanks, Stephanie!! Click here for the full feature and review, but here’s my favorite part:

“As I was reading this book, I was laughing and thinking about my cat, and how he too is a found stray and how many of his first places and movements were similar to Kimba and Hiro’s. I think Cooper (my cat) may too be communicating with and accomplishing his missions with the strange things he does and things he gets into…”

Yes, Stephanie, watch out if Cooper pays too much attention to YOUR computer. You never know!

There’s another blog tour stop tomorrow, so stay tuned!

Great New Review and Interview

I’m so grateful for my new twitter-connection friend The Styling Librarian and the great new review she gave to “Why Kimba Saved The World.” This blog also includes a wonderful interview with me about my favorite animal-based stories. Click on this link to read her comments and follow her blog too. She recommends fantastic books, and I’m thrilled to be included in her list.

Guest Blog Post at Candysraves.com

I’m trilled to have a guest blog up at Candysraves.com today! It is an interview with me about being a writer and “Why Kimba Saved The World.” You can see the interview at Candysraves.com, or it is copied below as well. Thank you, Candy, for helping to get the word out about “Kimba!”

Guest Post by Meg Welch Dendler, Author of Why Kimba Saved the World

Tell us about yourself…

I spent 15 years working with young children, 10 of those as a classroom teacher. I have been writing since I was a little girl and have always wanted to be a full-time author. For many years I did freelance work while I was teaching and raising my daughters. Now writing has my full attention.

What genera do you write and why?

My current series is for middle grade readers, roughly ages 8-12. That is an age group that I really loved working with as a teacher, and this story was perfect for sharing with them. But I will freely admit that I have lots of adults who love the book and read it right along with their kids.

Tell us about your book…

“Why Kimba Saved The World” is about a pampered house cat who wishes she could be wilder and have more freedom, until she suddenly learns that she is really part of an alien race and has a whole huge destiny and big adventures expected of her. It’s exciting at first, but she has some life-changing choices to make about what is important and where her loyalties lie.

What was your inspiration for this book?

The main character is based on one of the cats in our house, Kimba. I had grown up with the idea that cats might just be aliens — my mom read lots of science fiction — so it wasn’t much of a stretch to wonder if that was true of Kimba too. Later books in the series will focus on different characters and how each deals with their own challenges in coming to terms with their alien heritage.

Do you have a favorite character and why that one?

Kimba is definitely my favorite because she is based on the real cat that is mine out of the clowder of cats we have at home. When we found Kimba and her sister Hiro at only a day or so old, we already had four cats. That’s a lot of cats! Kimba is just wild and crazy and totally nutty and an independent cat. She’s my favorite. As I write this, she is sleeping on a chair next to me in a pile of stuffed toys. She’s a real character. The cat on the cover of the book is an actual photo of her.

Did you find anything particularly difficult in writing this book?

When I first started writing it, I hoped to have something for an even younger age group — very early readers. But that is limiting for the vocabulary you can use, the length of the story, and technical things like that. As it progressed, I just knew I had to kick it up a notch and hope that those younger kids who are still developing their reading skills will have someone who is willing to read it aloud to them.

What project(s) are you currently working on?

Right now, I am very focused on writing the second book in the series, “Vacation Hiro.” I really want to have that published next spring so I can take both books with me to the fairs and festival in 2014. That is one of the great things about self-publishing. Once you have the text ready to go, getting it into print format can be done in a couple of months.

Right after that, I will be publishing an unrelated book called “At The Corner of Magnetic and Main” that is for a bit older reader and follows the spiritual journey of a young woman who is having trouble moving on from her life here on earth to what lies ahead. That manuscript is in the hands of some much trusted friends and colleagues right now for their feedback and critique.

Do you have any interesting writing quirks you want to tell us about?

I will freely admit to being quirky. I think most writers are! Writing a first draft is hard for me. Just getting it out of my head and onto the paper for some reason is very frustrating. So I reward myself with breaks. If I write a chapter or a certain amount of words, then I can take a break for 10 minutes and play Zoo World on Facebook, or something like that. My office is also filled with my collection of Disney mini-plush characters. I have about 75 of them right now. They watch me write, and that makes me very happy. Kimba has pulled 10 of them down onto her special chair today for her nap. I don’t mind sharing them with her.

Do you have any advice for writers out there?

Write, and then write some more. If you have a book in your head, go for it! But also be sure to get input from people around you that you respect. Join a critique group. Go to conferences. Sometimes I get the best idea on how to tweak a story or “bling” it up some just by listening to others talk about their work. And pay an editor if you are self-publishing. Pay someone to help you make the best cover you can. If it doesn’t look professional in the end, it won’t matter how good your story is. Make it great!

Where can we find you?

My website and my blog are at www.megdendler.com. I am on Twitter @kimbababy and on Facebook at Meg Dendler, Author (there’s a link at my website). You can sign up to follow my blog and get my newsletter. I’m also active on Goodreads and have a YouTube channel with fun videos. I’m in production right now on a series of videos where I read “Why Kimba Saved The World” aloud one chapter at a time and will share fun photos and “behind the scenes” stories. That should be up soon.

And of course we have to know, where can we find your book?

“Why Kimba Saved The World” is available in paperback and ebook through Amazon.com and Barnes&Noble.com. You can also get signed paperback copies directly from me through PayPal right at my web site. I’m happy to personalize it and add a matching bookmark just for fun.

About the Author:
Meg Welch Dendler is a former teacher with a Master’s Degree in Early Childhood Education. While over a decade as a freelance writer gave her the chance to interview individuals as diverse as the Archbishop of Cape Town and Sylvester Stallone, in 2010 Meg set her focus on publishing several books for young readers that she had been working on for years. Meg is thrilled to be sharing her first book, “Why Kimba Saved The World,” with young readers worldwide. In this first book of the Cats in the Mirror series, feisty house cat Kimba learns that she is really part of an alien race and has to pick sides between her loyal human family and her feline destiny. The second book, “Vacation Hiro,” is already in the works. Meg and her family (including four cats and her dog Max) live at 1,400 feet in the Ozark mountains on what they call Serenity Mountain, just outside of Eureka Springs, Arkansas. Visit her at www.megdendler.com for more information about upcoming books and events.