The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug - Official Trailer

I am so looking forward to this...

12-13-13

Littlest Pet Shop Back in One Month!

Just finished my fourth script for Season 3. It's a privilege to write for such a fun show. Doubly so since they really seem to like my stuff. Season 2 starts on Nov.2 so set them DVRs!

iAi Book of the Month: The Bones of the Earth

This month's featured iAi book is...  

 

The Bones of the Earth  by Scott Bury

The Dark Age. Western Rome has been shattered by waves of invaders. The earth itself seems to have turned on the remaining Eastern Empire: rising seas drown cities, a year of clouds destroys crops brings famine, and a new plague kills a third of the population, including the Emperor Justinian himself.

Far from the Empire’s borders, rejected by his own people, Javor heads for Constantinople, centre of civilization, encountering more raiders and mysteries — like Danisa, a girl crucified naked in the middle of the ancient, crumbling Roman highway. He rescues her, but she has a strange fascination with his heirlooms. And when she disappears again, Javor quest changes: what is the link between the girl he loves, his enemies and the two items he inherited from his great-grandfather?

The answer, just out of reach, lies in the nature of the earth itself.

Click on the book's cover to visit its Amazon.com page.

 

Scott Bury is a journalist, editor and writer living in Ottawa. His articles have been published in newspapers and magazines in Canada, the US, UK and Australia. His first published novel was The Bones of the Earth, followed a year later by the erotic comedy One Shade of Red. Other published fiction includes two related short stories, “Dark Clouds” and “What Made Me Love You?” His first published fiction, “Sam, the Strawb Part,” is a short story; all proceeds from its sales go to a charity for children with autism-spectrum disorders. Scott Bury was born in Winnipeg, grew up in Thunder Bay, and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Carleton University. He has two sons, an orange cat and a loving wife who puts up with a lot. You can read more of Scott’s writing at Written Words and Scott’s Travel Blog, and on his website, The Written Word. Follow him on Twitter @ScottTheWriter. 

Blog: http://scottswrittenwords.blogspot.com 

iAi Book of the Month: American Goddesses

This month's featured iAi book is American Goddesses by Gary Henry. 

When two small-town women find themselves with nearly unlimited powers of mind and body, their lives get complicated. Things turn nasty as a shadowy organization attempts to use Meagan and Trish for their own evil ends, and destroy them, their town and the USA in the process.

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About Gary Henry: 

"Grew up at the beach in Virginia. Discovered the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Rockies in college, where I studied journalism and theater. Honed my writing craft in the military as a "Navy Journalist." Taught journalism at the Defense Information School.

Discovered spelunking while stationed in Nashville, Tenn. Love the AP Stylebook. Retired from the Navy, live in Lawrence, Kansas with spouse Karen Ann and dogs Sophie Jones and Lambchop.

Write marketing copy and technical for a manufacturer of construction products. Enjoy running all day and night on trails in woods. Wrote my first novel a couple months after discovering Smashwords. Now living happily ever after."
 
You can learn more about Gary and his books by visiting his blog, Honest Indie Book Reviews.

Click on the iAi Book of the Month tab on the top of this page to discover additional featured books from previous months. 

Click on the book's cover to visit its Amazon.com page.

Soon-ish

Earlier this week I posted the following update for backers of my old Dragonfriend Kickstarter project. I offer it here for those patient souls who have been asking me "When is the next book coming out?" Translation: "When are you going to publish it you dope?!" Here is my vaguely specific and "waffle-y" response:

"Hi folks! I just wanted to give you a quick update on the status of Giantkiller -- primarily because some of the Dragonfriend backers are owed a copy of the new manuscript in one form or another, but also because I'm excited about getting closer to an actual publication date.

Just this past weekend, I was finally able to send off the Giantkiller file to the same pro editor who pummeled Dragonfriend into shape. Iguana Proofreading's Darren Robinson informs me that he should be finished critiquing and proofing the book sometime in the next three weeks! I'll review his suggested edits (which have been dead on and saved me from some embarrassing errors on Dragonfriend -- exactly the reason I did a "Help me hire an editor" Kickstarter project), make the necessary changes, then format and upload the book. Hooray!

I'm not going to give an estimate as to when all of this will be finished because I'm always wrong when I do. Suffice it to say it will be "soon-ish."

Thanks again for your support of the original project. As I mentioned in the project proposal, any leftover funds would be used on the sequel to Dragonfriend. Between purchasing the cover art and hiring Darren again, that's exactly what happened."

 My excuse for the delay is that I've been blessed with some great animation work and while there is no downside to being fully employed, it hasn't left a lot of time for Giantkiller. That said, I promise to keep chugging along and deliver the book to you in a "soonish manner." Which, in this case, I hope, means before the end of the year.

...waffle waffle waffle...

Writin' on The 7D

The 7D Writing Staff (L to R): Shea Fontana, Randy Rogel, Deanna Oliver, Me, Sherri Stoner, Paul Rugg, Tom Ruegger.

Since April of this year I've been a staff writer on a fun show called The 7D. It's for Disney and, as you might guess, it has a little something to do with the seven dwarfs of Snow White fame. In this case, we meet the guys a generation before all that business with a vain Queen and a poison apple.

Show runner Tom Ruegger posted a fun behind-the-scenes look at the writing process we've been employing and I invite you to check it out HERE.

I haven't heard an exact airdate, only that it'll start running sometime in 2014. I'll keep you posted.

Meanwhile, writing continues on the third season of another fun show, Littlest Pet Shop. The second season begins airing on November 2nd so set those DVRs.

Go The 7D! Go Littlest Pet Shop! Go employment!

Book Review: Ned Firebreak

I had the privilege of reading Brian Clopper's manuscript for Ned Firebreak as a beta (early) reader an am pleased to report that I thoroughly enjoyed it. Fast-paced and highly readable, this novel sets up the adventures of the Firebreak family, fearsome dragonslayers who earn their living rescuing princesses from those terrifying beasts of legend. Clopper layers in a healthy dose of his comic wit, nicely balancing comedic scenes and moments with some truly exciting action sequences.

I can easily see "Ned" becoming the first book of a series and hope that the author intends to do just that. Recommended.

About Brian Clopper:  "I am a 5th grade teacher in North Carolina whose comic book work has garnered praise from the likes of Lincoln Child, Mark Crilley and Piers Anthony. One of my projects, IMAGINATION ROCKET, even received an Eisner nomination. I have done numerous author talks on brainstorming with odd pairings, changing expectations and randomizing through both public schools and libraries."

Mr. Clopper's Class Draws Piffle the Brownie

By far, one of the most popular characters in Dragonfriend is a mischievous little brownie named Piffle. If you go back two posts, you'll see that Mr. Clopper's class had a lot of questions about Piffle. As an author, it's been very gratifying to see readers spark to a character who is so much fun to write. Today we have the final installment in the "Mr. Clopper's Class..." series. The class drew some awesome interpretations of Piffle as you can see...

Thanks to author/teacher Brian Clopper for reading Dragonfriend to his class and then being kind enough to send me all of their "feedback." I loved it!

Mr. Clopper's Class Draws Glennys

Maid Glennys of Camelot is one of the main characters in Dragonfriend. She's feisty, brave, and has a tendency to get captured by mythological creatures - not anything she does on purpose, she just, as Leonard says in Giantkiller, "has a knack for it."

This is the second round of artwork from Mr. Clopper's 5th grade class. I was blown away by their wonderful interpretations of one of my very favorite characters...

Thanks for the wonderful art, everyone. Look for "Mr. Clopper's Class Draws Piffle" on Friday!

Mr. Clopper's Class Reads Dragonfriend

"Mantooth" by John

Well, technically, Mr. Clopper, (aka Brian Clopper, a 5th grade teacher, friend, and prolific children's author from North Carolina) read Dragonfriend to his class. They then took the time to draw some wonderful pictures of my book's characters and ask some very smart questions.

"Merlin" by Julia

(Note: You'll notice that I'm only including dragon drawings (and Merlin and a map) in this post. I will post the rest of the wonderful drawings later in the week. The reason I am doing this is that I want each drawing to get the attention it deserves! )

Finally, I must admit that this is a huge treat for me as a middle-grade author. There's nothing more fun and satisfying than to get feedback directly from Dragonfriend's intended readership. ;)

And now, witness the fabulous artwork and intelligent questions from Mr. Clopper's 5th grade class:

"No ale until the castle is finished" by Briana

Why did you write Dragonfriend?

Ever since I was a kid (about your age) I wanted to write a novel. It took a long time until I got around to it, but I finally did when I entered a writing challenge called NaNoWriMo (kids can do it too so if you're thinking about writing a book, check it out!) I'm fortunate enough to write animation for a living and would someday like to be well-known as an author, too.

How did you come up with this series?

I've always loved stories with magic and mythological creatures. Growing up, I also read everything I could find about King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table. When I finally decided to write a novel, it was an obvious choice to combine all of the stuff I like into my own story.

"Leonard Before and After he is a fly" by Gabrielle

How many books are you planning on writing?

Dragonfriend is the first book in a three book series. I'm just finishing up the second book in the series. It's called Giantkiller and should come out sometime this summer. I hope to start the third book in the fall. The working title for the third book is Elvenking. I have a lot of ideas for other books once I'm done with the series including some science fiction and a collection of scary short stories for kids.

 What ideas do you have for your next book?

"Cool Swords and Mini Map" by (unsigned - let me know who you are!)

I have a lot of ideas for my next book and they're already written down! In Giantkiller, Leonard and friends have a wild adventure up in the clouds in the kingdom of the Giants. Leonard climbs a monstrous vine  to rescue Glennys who's been captured by a cruel giant named, Gnarlroot (don't worry, she's very brave and fights just as hard as Leonard does).

Is Merlin close to 70 years old?

In my books, he's actually closer to 700 years old - having been born in a time long before King Arthur and Leonard came on the scene. He is a master of the "old magic" which he's used to extend his life.

"Mantooth" by Kaelan

Can you make this a movie?

I can't, but wouldn't that be just about the coolest thing ever?!

'Heckhound" by (unsigned, let me know who you are!)

What made you think of Piffle?

When  one of our Border Terriers was a puppy, I started pretending she could talk and did a funny voice to make my kids laugh. When I started writing Dragonfriend, I wanted to give Hubert a brownie friend and the thought occurred to me that our puppy's "funny voice" might make for a fun character trait.


What does Piffle look like?

Piffle is about twelve inches tall and has red hair. She is extremely fast and very brave. Her clothes are gray. She wears a cap, a doublet (close-fitting jacket), leggings, and a tiny pair of leather shoes.

"Mantooth in the Dungeon!" by Noah

What is your favorite character out of Dragonfriend?

Wow. That's a hard one. I really like Leonard so I guess he's my favorite. Of the supporting characters, Merlin was the most fun to write so I'd have to pick him, too.

Do you have children who write books?

Yes! I have three girls and all of them are talented artists. One is going to college to be an illustrator (for books and other things), one is a very skilled saxophonist, and one is writing her own fantasy novel!

"Helgad Being Vicious to a Heckhound" by Noah

Do you like to write about dragons?

I love writing about dragons! The dragons in my books are very smart and have a very dry sense of humor so it's a hoot to write scenes with them. In general, I like how powerful and nearly invulnerable a creature like a dragon is. I also like that they are unapologetic about who they are and how they behave.

Does Murck come back?

He's not in the second book, but I am thinking he might make an appearance in the third book.

Do you think you could make a story about Piffle?

That's a very good idea! Some of your classmates suggested that I write a story about Eater, the Leaf Dragon, and some of the other characters in Dragonfriend. I think that would make an interesting collection of short stories. What do you think?

"Mantooth!" by Mary

Do you keep Piffle (in the next book)?

Yes. Piffle is in Giantkiller and I see no reason why she wouldn't be in the third book.

Where did you come up with the names like Mantooth and Piffle?

I thought it would be amusing if a dragon was named Mantooth because he had a taste for humans (like saying that someone has a "sweet tooth" because they like candy). Piffle's name just popped into my head as sometimes happens when an author is writing.

Why did Leonard have a deformed ear?

That is a very good question and one that gets answered in Giantkiller. For now, let's just say that it probably has something to do with one of his parents.



How old is Leonard?

Leonard is fifteen years old as are Glennys and Hubert.

"The Leaf Dragon" by Cameron

Why are Master Prinkle and Sir Ronald (enemies)?

They dislike each other because they both fell in love with the same girl (who ended up picking Master Prinkle over Sir Ronald).

"Mantooth is in a Prison Crying Jewels" by Alex R.

Will Glennys and Leonard get married and have kids?

I think both of them would like that very much.

What other writers do you know?

I know a lot of writers who work in animation and in TV and film. I'm also lucky to be friends with authors like your teacher, Mr. Clopper, and Keith Robinson who wrote Island of Fog.

What cartoon are you writing for?

These days I am writing for "The 7D," a new show that will air on Disney (hint: it's about seven little guys) and "Littlest Pet Shop," a fun show which airs on Hub. Before that I wrote for "Scooby Doo: Mystery Incorporated."

"Dragonfriend Details" by Scottie

Are you married? Do you like basketball? Do you like pie? How old are you?

Yes. No, but I'm glad you do (I like baseball). Yes (it is my favorite dessert). 53.

##

Thanks for the great questions and art, everyone!  Look for more art from Mr. Clopper's class later this week and if you have any more questions, go ahead and ask them in the comments section.

iAi Book of the Month: Cassidy Jones and the Secret Formula

This month's featured iAi book is the first in a series, Cassidy Jones and the Secret Formula.

One Girl. One Accident. One Incredible Superhero.

Cassidy Jones is your typical fourteen-year-old— that is, until a seemingly harmless accident in the laboratory of a world-renowned geneticist turns her world upside down.

Discovering incredible strength, speed, and enhanced physical senses that defy logic, Cassidy embarks on an action-packed adventure that has her fighting for answers…and for her very life.

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Elise Stokes lives with her husband and four children. She was an elementary school teacher before becoming a full-time mom. With a daughter in middle school and two in high school, Elise’s understanding of the challenges facing girls in that age range inspired her to create a series that will motivate girls to value individualism, courage, integrity, and intelligence.

You can learn more about Elise and her books by visiting Cassidy Jones Adventures. 

Click on the iAi Book of the Month tab on the top of this page to discover additional featured books from previous months. 

Click on the book's cover to visit its Amazon.com page.

Book Review: The Barber's Conundrum

Although I don't normally review humor books (or read them, for that matter - I'm almost exclusively an sf/f guy), I did have a chance to pick up a copy of John Hartnett's recently released The Barber's Conundrum and Other Stories: Observations on Life from the Cheap Seats and must say I thoroughly enjoyed it.

A collection of "thirty-seven short literary humor pieces and humorous jokes," The Barber's Conundrum, is laugh out loud funny in many places, warm and genuinely touching in others. Author Hartnett's heartfelt tribute to his father is particularly moving.

Well-written and edited, my only quibble with this otherwise excellent read is that it ran a little long and would have benefited from being split into two books (a great "problem" to have - too much good writing in one place). That being said, I'm hoping there's a sequel in the works as I've discovered I really enjoy the view from the cheap seats. Recommended.

Book Review: Roads of Madness

Book 5 in the excellent Island of Fog series, Roads of Madness picks up where the exciting Lake of Spirits left off.

When the legendary phoenix does its thing and takes all the magic with it, shapeshifter Hal and several of his friends are stuck on the wrong side of an inter-dimensional "worm hole" connecting a post apocalyptic Earth (ravaged by a brutal virus that kills most and leaves behind hideously scarred and ruthless survivors known as "scrags"), and a largely bucolic world where magic and magical creatures still abound. Normally the scrags wouldn't prove much of a challenge to kids that can change into creatures like a dragon, an ogre, and a naga, but when the magic went away, so did their ability to shapeshift. Aided by a mysterious boy who appears immune to the plague, the stranded and "powerless" friends must make their way through scrag infested territory, past bio-suited active military units, and across a stretch of ocean to their original island home - all in the hope of finding or creating a new portal back to their friends and family.

As usual, author Keith Robinson delivers the goods by keeping the story moving and crafting memorable characters and exciting action sequences. Roads of Madness is a satisfying addition to this series and is highly recommended.

Littlest Pet Shop: Summertime Blues

Check out my most recent episode of Littlest Pet Shop, the season one ender entitled, "Summertime Blues."

Why, It's a Major Award (Nomination)!

UPDATE: I didn't win, Ziggy Marley (son of reggae great Bob Marley) did. Honestly, though, it really was cool to be nominated and I am very grateful for that. RE

My apologies to my social media friends who have already seen this, but I wanted to make sure my blog pals were in the loop, too. I woke up Wednesday morning to a congratulatory email from Tim and Julie Cahill, Exec Producers of Littlest Pet Shop, telling me that I and composer Daniel Ingram had been nominated for an Emmy! How cool is that?!

I had no clue we'd even been submitted so it came as a complete and very welcome surprise. Here are the details:

2013 Daytime Emmy Nominee

OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL SONG – CHILDREN AND ANIMATION
“IF YOU’RE A GUY” Littlest Pet Shop, The HUB
Daniel Ingram, Composer/Roger Eschbacher, Lyricist

Again I ask, "How cool is that?!" The awards will be held on June 16th in Beverly Hills. Positive thoughts are appreciated as we're up against some pretty stiff competition. Here's a clip of the song:



One more time...HOW COOL IS THAT?!!!