Tag Archives: kidlit

Book Birthday For “Miss Fatty Cat’s Revenge!!”

Today is officially the publication day and Book Birthday for “Miss Fatty Cat’s Revenge!” If you follow my blog, this book is not big news for you, and if you follow me on other social media you are more than aware that this is the big day. Book releases and Book Birthdays are not subtle events!

Click on the cover to get your copy from amazon.com now!

Personalized and autographed paperback are also available here at my website, so just look for the shopping cart on the right hand column or go to the Purchase Books page.

Today is also Samantha’s (aka Miss Fatty Cat) 9th birthday. She is not sure what all the fuss is about as far as the book goes, but she’s hoping for some extra food and love today. I’m sure “Leia” will take care of that. You can celebrate with special prices on “Why Kimba Saved The World” (FREE) and “Vacation Hiro” (99 cents) too.

Kimba is not too sure about this nonsense about a book that doesn’t have her image on the cover, but I have assured her that it is still all about her and the adventures that she has at Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge. Convincing her that I should spend time on “Max’s Wild Night” where she will only be a side note is a different challenge altogether. Maybe we can distract her with Disney plush toys. Buzz Lightyear was waiting for me this morning on the floor outside my office, so he must have gone for a wild ride. To infinity and beyond, indeed!

I’m really grateful to the bloggers who have supported today’s book launch. I didn’t reach out to as many this time, but most that I contacted answered the call at one time or another in the process. Some have already posted reviews, and I’ve shared them. Today Chris at The Story Reading Ape share a nice interview with me and information about all three books, and Johanna Rae shared a separate interview at her blog. There are a couple of others scheduled that have not been published, so I’ll just have to share them when they come out.

Summer is busy with our guest house business, but fall is when the book tours and fun really get going. There is something nearly every weekend, and I’m so excited to get back out and share the Cats in the Mirror series face to face with new readers and talk with fans. On Sept. 20th & 21st, “Leia” and I will be in Joplin for the Cat Fancier’s show, and September 27th we will be at the Springdale Library for their annual author event. I’m sure I’ll be blogging about that cat show! I’m also participating in two blog tours for other authors this month. Stay tuned!

Free Books, A New Cat, and Great Reads Recommendations

First, I don’t usually post on the weekend, but “Why Kimba Saved The World” is free on kindle Aug. 30th & 31st. Making sure to get that out there spurred me on. Who doesn’t love free books? I’m betting most anyone bothering to follow this blog already has a copy, but you can certainly tell your friends and get them hooked on the series as well! Click here for the amazon.com link.

Okay, that said we can move on to what’s new. Some big exciting news is that we have a new feline grandfurbaby. “Mindy” felt that Tabitha was lonely, so she and her roommate adopted a kitten from Good Shepherd Humane Society in Eureka Springs. Here’s the latest photo in my brag book.

Meet Rhaego!

Wait. Let’s get a close up of that face…

From the reports I’m getting, that look about sums it up. He’s a wild boy and loves to try to steal their food. Tabitha has ceased making terrifying noises any time he comes close, and “Mindy” found them on the sofa together. Hopefully they can become friends once that kitten energy runs out. Yes, I now have a new character for Book 4 (“Slinky Steps Out”) and even more plot ideas. I can’t call him Rhaego. There might be come copyright issues there. Besides, it’s hard for kids to read, let alone pronounce. The shelter had named him Willow, so that’s probably what I’ll stick with. Where will he fall into the alien agent hierarchy? You’ll have to wait until next summer to find out!

I have a couple of books to recommend: “Noisy Creek” by Pamela Foster and “Thursdays at Coconuts” by Beth Carter. Just the covers alone are so inviting! I freely admit that I know both authors, and they are delightful women. That alone won’t get me to read a book, however. I’m halfway through “Noisy Creek” and loving it. The first person voice Pam uses for this story is just fantastic. It even inspired me to try reworking a middle grade story in the first person for the main character, and I’m excited to play with that some. I was waiting for the paperback of “Thursdays at Coconuts,” but I happened to win a free ebook copy through a blog tour giveaway so that’s next up on the agenda. It just means I’ll have to wrestle my husband’s kindle away from him more often. I’ll share the full reviews when I’m done. If only I could tuck away and read for hours.

All the contest entries for the Ozark Writer’s League and the Ozark Creative Writer’s Conference are done and submitted, but September doesn’t leave much time for writing. Between the fall activity at our guest house, book events, and doing some substitute teaching (“Leia’s” braces and “Mindy’s” college tuition are not going to pay for themselves!) I’ll be lucky to spend time doing some tweaking on “At the Corner of Magnetic and Main” before I start talking to High Hill Press about it again in October. I may just need to come up with some lock down time. It makes me grateful for a husband who can cook and isn’t afraid of the vacuum cleaner.

I hope you each have a fantastic holiday weekend. I’m going to try to take some chill out time. Maybe hide away and read a bit. Maybe write a bit. You never know.

FREE Books for Kids on Kindle April 17-21

In celebration of Kimba and Hiro’s 7th birthday on April 18th, both of my kindle books for kids will be free from April 17-21. I’ve never done a free kindle day before, and I don’t know when I’ll do it again, so be sure to grab an extra copy or share one of each with a cat lover or child in your life. These books would make great Easter gifts or just a special treat for anyone you think would enjoy these free books for kids.

Click here to get your free copies!!

I understand that not everyone enjoys reading on a kindle. I’m with you on that one. But giving away free kindle copies is the only way to be able to share thousands of books at no expense to the author. I’m forever putting freebies on my husband’s kindle (much to his dismay), and I’m getting better about reading that way–along with the stack of paperbacks on my beside table. Especially with a series, free kindle days are a wonderful way to introduce readers to books they wouldn’t find otherwise. We’ll see how it goes.

We are thrilled that BookBub has accepted “Why Kimba Saved The World” for an ad during this sale. If you are not familiar with their email promotion service, check it out here. I receive the middle grade promos and have found some great authors that way. They are very particular on what books they promote. “Kimba” was rejected several times before it was accepted. I think the Mom’s Choice Award helped push it through. Whatever the reason, this freebie promotion will go out to 20,000 middle grade readers through their service, and that’s super exciting. Kindle books for kids with low prices is such a great way to give them lots of reading options. It is the future, so we may as well embrace it. Free books for kids are always welcome!

I hope you have a wonderful and blessed weekend–whether you are celebrating Easter or Passover or just looking forward to warmer spring weather. And Happy 7th Birthday to Kimba and Hiro! It seems like only yesterday they were newborn kittens abandoned in a box.

Babies!!

Author School Visits: The Branch School, Jan. 9, 2014

The Branch School

You can only imagine that I was super excited to make my first author school visit a few days ago at The Branch School in Houston, Texas. As a general rule, independently published books are not as in-demand for school events, so I don’t spend a lot of time trying to arrange this type of visit. And Houston is a long way from our home in Arkansas. But I was on vacation in Houston, and I have worked for The Branch School as a librarian and substitute teacher in the past, so we all knew each other well. The cards all fell into place at the same time to make this visit work out perfectly.

Besides the chance to visit with old friends, I was thrilled to find the students interested and attentive. The school runs from pre-kindergarten to 8th grade, so we broke up my talks into four age groups. With the older kids I could talk about writing as a career and even options they have right now for publishing and blogging. I loved sharing the This Kid Reviews Books blog of twelve year old Erik as a wonderful example of ways to share their love of reading and writing right now. With the younger groups, we talked more about finding the inspiration for writing and just letting the ideas flow. Some students were already enjoying writing stories and putting together book projects, just like I did at their age. “Keep all of it,” I told them. “You never know what it can turn into.”

Talking with the middle school students in Melcher Hall at The Branch School.

Not every author school visit can be this great. There is certainly an added bonus to working with a private school where parents and students are super-vested in education and appreciate the benefits of books and reading. They were supportive in buying copies of both “Why Kimba Saved The World” and “Vacation Hiro,” but more than that everyone was just welcoming and polite and involved. It certainly makes me want to take the chance on doing more school visits when the match is right. The second graders even made me a special drawing inspired by Kimba, using their pinkies to make paint prints around the frame. Priceless!

Second grade class at The Branch School and the artwork they made for me.

Art work by The Branch School 2nd grade class. Kimba looks very cool.

Talking with kindergarten and first grade. I think I was talking about how tiny Kimba and Hiro were when we found them.

Today has been a hard writing day. It can be tough to stay inspired when it is just you and the computer (and sometimes Kimba) day after day. No matter how many great reviews you get, one snarky critic can break your heart. In the end, it’s about those smiling faces who think Kimba is hilarious and enjoy reading about her imagined adventures. That is what keeps me going when I just want to chuck it all. Hitting the wall today I thought, “I should write that school visit blog and look through the pictures again. That will get me back on track.” And it has.

Signing books for students at The Branch School.

I loved watching new and old friends fall in love with Kimba and Hiro, and their stories, and I look forward to sharing Book 3 with all of them in the fall. Thank you, Branch School, for letting me share my books with your families…and for keeping me inspired to write more.

New Book Review and Wrap Up of Blog Tour

The last official stop on my fall blog tour is a book review for “Why Kimba Saved The World” at the blog of Erik The Great: This Kid Reviews Books. Follow this link to his nice review of “Kimba.” I love it when a review comes from a reader who is closer to the actual intended target audience of my middle grade books. Adult reviewers sometimes over-think the process. Kids will just tell you whether or not they liked it. In the end, that’s what it’s all about.

Erik’s blog is full of delightful reviews and commentaries on the books he has enjoyed. He has very mature taste for an 11 year old, so I’m glad he could still enjoy the simplicity of my book. I’m happy to be including him in my blogroll so visitors to my site can find his as well.

Erik says of “Kimba”: “The story is written very well and is appropriate for all ages. Ms. Dendler does a great job of getting the reader into the cat’s minds.”

I sometimes worry about how much time I spend trying to figure out Kimba’s thoughts, but at least it paid off for my books. She is sitting outside my office door right now, and I have no idea what she is plotting. A good bath and a nap are probably all she has on the agenda, but you never can tell with cats.

I hope you will visit the sites of all of the bloggers who were kind enough to do interviews and book reviews of either “Why Kimba Saved The World” or “Vacation Hiro” (or both!) as part of this Fall Blog Tour. There will be a few more reviews along the way with others who have not set firm dates, and I will keep sharing them!

Kimba, plotting something

New Book Review of “Why Kimba Saved The World” From Say What Savannah Mae

The blog tour continues today with a book review of “Why Kimba Saved The World” at Say What Savannah Mae’s blog. Click here to see the whole review.

Here’s a quick portion of the review, but go to Savannah’s blog to read the whole thing:

“In this charming tale, it is a cat’s perspective of life and loyalty. Peeking into the thoughts of why cats do what they do. Some of the things that Kimba was instructed to do for her missions made me giggle and look at my own kitty and imagine that yes, this indeed could make sense.”

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

First Book Review for “Vacation Hiro” From Arkansas Book Reviewer

What a great beginning for an exciting week!! The very first book review for “Vacation Hiro” was posted today by the Arkansas Book Reviewer, and she gave it 5 stars. That’s a great way to get things going! Please click here to read the whole review at her site, and be sure to click on the social media share links at the bottom and leave a comment for her. I loved the way she ended it: “Best of all, Vacation Hiro ends with a cliffhanger that’ll have you clawing for the next book!” Love it! Nothing like a 5 star review to start of a book launch week with a bang!

Official launch day is Friday, November 15. Getting all of my ducks and links in a row and ready to share with you.

Book 2 in the Cats in the Mirror Series

Jenn’s Book Review of “Why Kimba Saved The World”

Newest stop on the Fall Blog Tour is Jenn’s Book Review Blog and her thoughts on “Why Kimba Saved The World.” I love that her son was in on the reviewing process. It can be hard for adults to judge a book designed for kids. I’ve gotten some really odd reviews from some who have. So I always get extra excited when the reviewer is a teacher used to reading kid lit or an actual child — and super-duper excited when they enjoy it. Yay! Here’s the link to Jenn’s review, but my favorite part of the review was this:

“The characters of Kimba and Hiro were adorable and we fell in love with them quickly. We give Kimba a 5/5!”

It doesn’t get much better than that!

Unless someone I’m not expecting jumps into the schedule, and that may well happen, the next stop on the blog tour will be the very first review of “Vacation Hiro” from the Arkansas Book Reviewer. On pins and needles!

Meg Welch Dendler