Pages & Paws

Writing, Reading, and Rural Life With a Border Collie

Author Archives: Eowyn


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GUEST POST: Author Anna H. Cabral on Writing Hows & Whys

Kimber the Magnificent here. I’m doin’ my tornado tail-waggin’ thing today. Know why? Cuz today’s one of my favorite kinda days! It’s a Guest Post Day with a New Favorite Author! It’s also a day when we get to find out where an author gets her ideas – setting, characters, plot and stuff like that. Have you ever wondered about that? We have!

So today’s your Bow-Wow Day! Yes siree, Lassie! We’re getting to know Anna Hawkes Cabral, author of Purposeful Work, Blessed Rest: A 6-Week Devotional for Mothers. (Our review will be up on May 8. So save that date! ) 

Anna’s goin’ to share with us a bit about how she wrote her first book, her journey to publication, why she wrote Purposeful Work, and some insights into her writing schedule and struggles. Lots of good stuff here! question and more! (Think of it as Sirloin Steak Day with a side of T-bone!!)

So I’d dig in now ‘fize you. Take it away, Anna:

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Friday 56 & a Classic

“There’s a good girl!” 12 weeks old!

Hey! Hey! Whaddya say? It’s Friday! Woop! Woop! Time for another Book Beginnings and Friday 56!

This week our Book Beginning and Friday 56 are from the same book. A classic. Do you recognize this beginning?

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‘We Also Served’ Honors Animal Heroes

Kimber: Mom! Mom! I finally got myself in my very own book!! Can you see me doing back flips!?

Her Momness: “Slow down there, Kimmi. What are you talking about?”

Kimber: Well, okay. It wasn’t me exactly. But it coulda been! Cuz We Also Served is about animal heroes. You know. Like me! Or maybe my cousins! I’ll let Mom tell you more:

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What’s the ‘Buzz’ With Grandpa’s Honeybees?

What Grandpa Learned From His Honeybees: The Little Book to Be Smart with Your Money and Help the Environment

By  Henry and Mary Svec, 2023

Genre: Non-Fiction

Pages: 94

What Grandpa Learned From His Honeybees: The Little Book to Be Smart with Your Money and Help the Environment may seem like a mouthful. It may also seem like an unusual combination of topics. But Henry and Mary Svec make it work. Using clear, easy-to-understand language and real-life examples, the Svecs guide you through smart money strategies intertwined with lessons learned from bee life. It’s amazing!

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Wit & Whimsy Abound in ‘Olly & the Spores of Oak Hill’

Olly & the Spores of Oak Hill

By Glenn Somodi, 2022

Genre: Fiction/Middle Grade

Pages: 271

A cryptic map. A statue. A key. Gold nuggets. A strange symbol and a hole in a wall. A hidden door and a greedy developer bent on destroying a quiet community with a shopping mall. All this and more can be found between the pages of Glenn Somodi’s delightful and enchanting Olly & the Spores of Oak Hill.  

As the book opens, Oren Appleton is dead. The ”geeky, nature-loving” former Harvard professor died under suspicious circumstances. He left everything to his son and grandson, Oliver “Olly” Appleton. Olly and his parents move from Ohio to Littleton, Massachusetts to claim their inheritance and a world of mystery in this charming story that will captivate and delight middle grade readers.

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TEMPORARY “PAWS” ON NEW REVIEW REQUESTS

‘Turnin’ tail’ for a bit…

Hear ye! Hear ye!

As of February 21, 2023, we are officially CLOSED to new book review requests until further notice.

 

Kimber here. Lemme explain. Cuz Mom is going a little crazy. Well. Crazier than usual. But it’s a good kind of crazy. The smiley kind, if ya know what I mean.

The 4-1-1:

We love getting your book review requests. But we’re kinda drowning. As in, we just can’t keep up! That’s why we’re going to have to put a “paws” on new submissions for the time being.

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A Dream & A Dance: Memoir of the Garden Island Grille

 

The Last Dance: A Memoir of the Garden Island Grille

By Dave Trentlage

Genre: Nonfiction/Memoir, 2023

Pages: 260

Kimber: Someone say “burgers”?

Mom: No, Kimmi. I said “restaurant.” Now stop vulching.

Kimber: Vulching? I am not vulching. I am merely standing guard over the kitchen, ever-vigilant in case any stray top sirloin finds its way onto the floor. By the way, what’s a “restaurant”? It has burgers, right?

I am invisible. You Do Not see me. I am not vulching. Am not. Am Not. AM NOT!

Well. Let’s get one thing straight right out of the gate, okay? This isn’t a story about a restaurant. It’s not about what it takes to run a successful restaurant. It’s not even a behind-the scenes look at running a restaurant in the garden island of Kauai, although you’ll find all of the above and more within.

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‘Links of the Two Worlds’ a Breath of Fresh Air

Links of the Two Worlds

By Samantha Hopper

Indie author, 2020

Rise of the Royals, Book 1

Genre: Fiction/Fantasy (ages 7 to 18)

Note: We received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Long, long ago in a galaxy far, far away…

Oh, wait. That’s already been done.

Hmmm. How ‘bout : It was a dark and stormy night…?

Dufus Awards

Alright, alright. What we’re really after here is something more original, says I, Kimber the Magnificent. Something like The Dufus of the Decade Awards. And I have a nominee. (You knew that, right?) Lemme explain:

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21 Top Love Stories Of All Time

Happy Valentine's Day Red Glitter Free Stock Photo - Public Domain Pictures

Let’s celebrate Valentine’s Day with some great love stories!

Now, by “love stories” we don’t mean stuff you can use to line the bottom of your bird cage. That’s not what this post is about. You won’t find any cheap dime store boiler plate trash here. This list focuses on timeless love stories that go above and beyond boiler plate “romance.” (Hint: A transcendent theme of selflessness and sacrifice appears frequently in this curated list.)

Some of these titles are relatively new. Others have been around awhile. All reach straight for your heart. So climb aboard. And settle in to stay. (B.Y.O. tissue. In no particular order):

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‘The Cannastar Factor’ Kicks Up A Rumpus

The Cannastar Factor

By Stephen Steele

2021

First book in the Trouble With Miracles trilogy

Genre: Fiction: Action/Adventure

Via: Author Request

Pages: 312

Alex Farmer is a burnt-out E.R. physician from L.A. He receives a cryptic letter from an old colleague/friend, Maury, a molecular biology whiz. When Maury winds up dead under suspicious circumstances, Alex finds himself in the hinterlands of Montana looking into a murder. He discovers that Maury was working on a shadowy, super-secret project related to “transgenics” and the human immune system.

Montana rancher Cydney “Cyd” Seeley has a master’s degree in plant genetics. She and Alex get off to a rocky start. But when they finally start comparing notes, they discover that Maury was on to something that may have cost him his life. And they’re next on the hit list of a corrupt and crafty U.S. Senator who’s in the hip pocket of Big Pharma.

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