Tag Archives: upcoming books

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 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.

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!

New Facebook Fan Page For Kimba

Kimba has been tweeting for over a year now (click here to follow her personal twitter feed), but the time as come for her to have her own Facebook fan page. Click here to like her page and follow the silliness that is my Kimba Baby.

Over the next two years, I will be branching out into much more than my Cats in the Mirror book series, so my Facebook page will be evolving along with my published works. Kimba’s activities will move more to her own page. Just in case you didn’t know, there is already a fan page for each book in the Cats in the Mirror series: “Why Kimba Saved The World” and “Vacation Hiro.”

I’m also thankful for a review of “Vacation Hiro” that was shared by the Kidz Review Krew blog site. Eleven year old Rhiannan enjoyed this book as much as the first, and I love the fact that this site is actually kids reviewing the books themselves. Stop by and give them some traffic for their other reviews!

Here’s part of her review: “‘Vacation Hiro’ is another great book to add to the series. If you love cats and wonder why cats act a little strange sometimes, you will love this book. I now wonder if my cat is visiting an alien spaceship when he disappears sometimes!”

I hope y’all enjoy whatever plans you have for Superbowl Sunday. Football is fun, though I don’t really care who wins this game, but the food and family…and the commercials…are always the best part of the day for me. Kimba has already posed for some pregame photos.

Kimba picks the Broncos to win because she’s pretty sure even she could beat a Seahawk.

By Sunday I should also have a completed rough draft (okay, very rough draft) of “Miss Fatty Cat’s Revenge.” That’s more exciting than ANY football game, ever!

Have a wonderful weekend!

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.

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!

“Vacation Hiro” Book Cover Reveal!!

I suddenly realized that it’s going to happen today. When part one of my interview with the Arkansas Authors web site goes live this morning, it will include the book cover reveal for “Vacation Hiro,” so I guess I should officially reveal it here as well! The ebook and paperback are in the final stages of production, and we have set a date of November 15th for the official book launch. I’m so excited to share more of Hiro and Kimba’s adventures with you. So…here’s what the front cover looks like!

Book 2 in the Cats in the Mirror Series

Book Review from Arkansasbookreviewer.com

Thrilled to share a new connection and a new book review from Arkansas Book Reviewer’s web site. Click here to read to full review at her site, but here’s just a sample:

“Meg Dendler’s debut novel, Why Kimba Saved the World, her first in the Cats in the Mirror series, is a charming fantasy book appropriate for middle grade youth, cat lovers, or any animal lover in general. A chapter book, perfect for school rooms and personal libraries, comes complete with added photos to personalize the experience.”

She gave “Why Kimba Saved The World” 5 stars at amazon.com and at goodreads.com. Yay!

I have actually been diligently working on some technical revisions to this book for a few grammar changes. Earth should be capitalized the way we are using it (thank you www.askjanis.com for catching that in the next book). Some changes are just for continuity between “Kimba” and “Vacation Hiro.” There will also be a link at the end of the new version of the “Kimba” ebook to click and buy the next book right away and more live links for my web site, twitter, and Facebook pages. I’m learning how it all works as I go and am grateful for the freedom self-publishing offers to make whatever changes I want and keep my books up-to-date!

We are still waiting for the cover art for “Vacation Hiro.” Lesley already had some other projects lined up (of course she did, she’s fantastic), and we are waiting just as patiently as we possibly can. Once that’s all set, the book will be available quickly. Very excited!

Recent Features to Share

Things are bubbling along with the production of “Vacation Hiro,” and we are almost ready for the final round of book proofing! Still on target for early-November. In the meantime, I thought I’d share two recent features on my writing.

The first is through author Kim Scott and her facebook page. She shared book buy links for “Why Kimba Saved The World” and bio information from this website and really talked me up for a day, so head on over to her Facebook page and share the love. You can also follow her on twitter @KimScottAuthor. I do! She has a great indie book giveaway going on through Facebook right now. Everyone loves free books!

The second feature was through the website 1 Book Lover’s Opinion. Michelle shared some basic info about “Kimba” with her followers too.

There should be lots of reviews for “Kimba” coming up, and then we can move into reviews and features for “Vacation Hiro!” I hope to be able to share the cover art with you in a couple of weeks. So exciting!

“Vacation Hiro” Soon!

Summer has been crazy around here! Not only do we run a tourist-focused guest house that has been hopping all season, but I’ve been enjoying going to local fairs and being in touch with book review bloggers all over the world. I’ve lost track of how many reviews and interviews are coming up between September and October, but there will be a lot of them — and I’ll do blog posts to share them all as they come up.

I’m beyond excited that the edited manuscript of “Vacation Hiro,” Book 2 in the Cats in the Mirror Series, is on the way back to me, and my fantastic book guide is ready to start putting it all together right after Labor Day! There are a lot of variables on how long it will take to get through the production and ebook process, but we are all hoping to have copies ready to go out by early November. So excited! I must admit that I’m mostly aflutter about seeing what cover art Lesley will come up with this time. She blew me away with the cover for “Why Kimba Saved The World,” and it should be even easier this time since we already have a format to follow.

I’m still trying to get some actual writing done. There are entries ready for a few of the contests offered by the Ozark Creative Writer’s Conference I’m attending in October, and there’s two packets I need to turn in for manuscript evaluations through the SCBWI Missouri conference in November. Then, of course, there’s always “At The Corner of Magnetic and Main” (YA paranormal-lite) for me to spend some time with and hopefully publish in the spring. And “Miss Fatty Cat’s Revenge” (Book 3 of the Cats in the Mirror Series) is beginning to take form in my head and require my attention as well. Being a writer is definitely a full-time job!

For those of you who tweet, you can also find me now @megwelchdendler. Kimba has been tweeting for quite a while @kimbababy. There is also a new Facebook page just for “Why Kimba Saved The World” that you can follow for funny photos and stories. Our crazy cats provide those on a daily basis.

My editor’s cat guiding her through the process. www.askjanis.com.

Hiro: The Cheez-It Lover

We have known this for many years: If you want to find Hiro, just open a bag of cheese crackers or potato chips. She will come running and climb on you until you break off some little pieces for her munching pleasure. None of the other cats are impressed by fish shaped cheese crackers. Frankly, we don’t share “people food” with them, and they are rarely interested. Kimba, of course, must smell everything, but she rarely wants a taste.

Scott has just finished a read-through of the first draft of “Vacation Hiro.” As we were talking about it and sharing bits of Cheez-Its with Hiro, we agreed that I needed to work that in somehow. This will require a photo, which was not hard to get. Leave an open box available, and her head is inside the box in a flash. I’d love to hear from my readers as well. Which photo should I use for the book? Click here for the link to the Facebook album. Leave a comment on this post or on the Facebook page to let me know which one you like better: head in the box or arm in the box. While you are there, “like” my page and follow along with fun photos and book updates!

For those of you who don’t use Facebook, the photos are posted below as well. They are both so cute, I can’t decide. Help!

: Which one should I use? Head in box?

: Or arm in box?