Jo Linsdell is a best selling author and illustrator, award winning blogger and freelance writer. Originally from the UK, she now lives in Rome, Italy with her husband and their two young sons. Her published books include:
But today we're here to talk about her newest book, Fairy May, available now!
Fairy May
Written and illustrated by Jo Linsdell
Fairy May dreams of one day becoming a tooth fairy but she struggles at school and always seems to get things wrong. With hard work and determination she prepares for her test. Will she realize her dream and become a tooth fairy?
Product details:
Paperback: 32 pages
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1481951424
ISBN-13: 978-1481951425
Product Dimensions: 10 x 8 x 0.1 inches
Purchasing links:
Q & A with Jo
Q: Please tell us a bit about Fairy May.
Fairy May is a rhyming children's picture story book about a fairy called May that dreams of one day becoming a tooth fairy. She struggles at school and always seems to get things wrong but with hard work and determination she prepares for her tooth fairy exam.
Q: What lessons does this book carry for the reader?
The story carries two main lessons for the reader;
A. To follow your dreams. Just because it isn't easy doesn't mean it can't be achieved.
" But Fairy May tried and tried for she had a special dream;
one day she'd be a tooth fairy, the best you've ever seen."
B. The importance of dental hygiene. The text subtly introduces the reader to how to take care of their teeth correctly.
"She learnt how to brush and keep teeth clean
and how to floss right in between."
Q: What was your inspiration for this book?
This book is dedicated to my niece who, after seeing that my last book Out and About at the Zoo was dedicated to my two sons, asked if I'd write a book for her too.
It needed to have fairies in it and so I brainstormed on ideas and came up with Fairy May. I wanted her to be a little girl fairy and to show that it's OK to not be perfect. I wanted young children to be able to relate to her and to encourage them to go after their dreams.
The tooth fairy part came about because several of my 5 year old's friends have recently lost their first tooth and he has been full of questions on the subject. My 17 month old is also teething at the moment and so the topic of dental hygiene comes up a lot in our house at the moment.
Q: What did you learn while writing Fairy May?
The importance of having the right direction for my story not just a good text. In the original version the text worked fine as a story and rhymed nicely but the overall message wasn't as strong. After rewriting the last part I was much happier with the focus of the story. Simple changes can make a big difference.
Q: What projects are you working on now?
I'm busy with several projects at the moment. "The Bedtime Book" which is another rhyming children's picture book. "The Writers and Authors Guide to Social Media" and "Virtual Book Tours" which are two non-fiction books. 2013 is going to be a busy year for me as I have lots of other ideas too.
Q: What advice would you give to aspiring writers?
I could write loads here but I'll limit it to my top 3: 1) To learn as much as you can about writing and the writing industry. Understanding how every works really helps. 2) Build your online presence. Marketing is part of the job description and what ever publishing route you take you'll need to do some marketing. By building your online reputation and growing a solid fan base you'll have more success at sending your content viral. 3) Write. If you write you are no longer an aspiring writer. You ARE a writer. Think about it, if you write just one page a day at the end of a year you'll have written 365 pages. That's a novel. if you don't have the time to write, make time. You'd be surprised at how many words you can get down in just a 5 minute writing sprint. Taking part in challenges like NaNoWriMo or more genre specific ones like PiBoIdMo can be a great motivator too. Q: Why do you think it's important for young people to read? Reading is an important life skill. Reading is needed to understand day to day things like what's on a medicine bottle. It's needed to enable you to find a good job. Through reading we learn new things and develop our imaginations. Reading is exercise for our brains and helps encourage creativity. Reading strengthens character too as it gives you the chance to build your own educated views on things. Knowledge is powerful and leads to better self esteem. I could go on and on but the bottom line is that young people are the future and by being able to read that future will be better. Q: Any closing words? Be like Fairy May and always follow your dreams. Just because something is difficult doesn't mean it can't be done.
To learn more about Jo and her books, please follow these links:
Author website: www.JoLinsdell.com
Contact details:
Email: webmaster@jolinsdell.com
Social Media Links:
Happy Readings,
Casey Sean Harmon
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Showing posts with label books for children. Show all posts
Showing posts with label books for children. Show all posts
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Author Interview - Jo Linsdell on her new book Fairy May
Sunday, January 6, 2013
Calling All Bloggers: I Need YOUR Help!
Hello, thanks for responding to my call for help. I would like to ask a favor. Don't worry, I'm not expecting you to do something without giving you something in return. I recently started a Kickstarter project to raise money to 1) promote family-friendly reading, and 2) to raise money for my national book tour.
What am I asking you to do? Please help me get the word out about my Kickstarter campaign by posting about in on your blog. It can be as simple as posting the link to my campaign with a headline that says, "Check out this author's new book and help him to promote family-friendly reading."
What will I give you in return? If you decide to post about my campaign, please message me your e-mail address and I will send you a PDF copy of my bestselling poem book, "The Earth is a Floating Sphere," FREE of charge!
As of today, my campaign is already up to 37 backers and $1,068.00 in pledges! I would like to get this up to $2,000.00 by 26 January. Please help me achieve this goal!
This is the link to my Kickstarter campaign:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/caseyseanharmon/the-everafter-chronicles-reign-of-the-night-creatu
Thanks in advance for your support,
Casey Sean Harmon
What am I asking you to do? Please help me get the word out about my Kickstarter campaign by posting about in on your blog. It can be as simple as posting the link to my campaign with a headline that says, "Check out this author's new book and help him to promote family-friendly reading."
What will I give you in return? If you decide to post about my campaign, please message me your e-mail address and I will send you a PDF copy of my bestselling poem book, "The Earth is a Floating Sphere," FREE of charge!
As of today, my campaign is already up to 37 backers and $1,068.00 in pledges! I would like to get this up to $2,000.00 by 26 January. Please help me achieve this goal!
This is the link to my Kickstarter campaign:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/caseyseanharmon/the-everafter-chronicles-reign-of-the-night-creatu
Thanks in advance for your support,
Casey Sean Harmon
Saturday, September 22, 2012
Thursday, September 13, 2012
Book Excerpt - Reign of the Night Creatures
(Not Official Cover)
James looked behind him to see that the phoenix had returned, and he was flying straight toward him! He grabbed the girl by the arm. “We have to run!” he yelled. “The phoenix is back!”
The girl looked James in the eye, and for a brief moment, a sign of surprise, followed by a curious expression of joy, flashed across her face.
James and the girl ran as fast as they could toward the big tree. The phoenix was right behind them. Charlotte and Susan had heard the commotion and came running from within the village. They stopped dead in their tracks when they saw the phoenix.
“Hurry, James!” they cried.
James and the girl were only a few yards away from the safety of the tree when, like a racing train, the phoenix flew right into them.
“No!” Charlotte yelled. The girls helplessly watched as James and the girl disappeared over the side of the cliff.
Dehmar and the village people ran to the side of the cliff. They looked over and saw that the children fell helplessly toward the ground.
“What do we do?” one of the creatures cried.
“We have to do something!” Charlotte cried as she ran to the side of the cliff. Her heart was racing and tears were pouring from her eyes. She turned to Dehmar, “Please, think of something!”
Dehmar took off his Indian headdress and held it against his heart. Tears dripped down from his eyes. “My friend,” he cried.
Charlotte looked down at her brother and suddenly her knees felt weak. Before she knew it she was on her knees, crying.
Suddenly the village people got loud as they pointed their fingers and yelled, “Look! Do you see?”
Out of nowhere a large griffin appeared in the sky. A great shadow was cast as the creature flew in front of the setting sun.
“It’s Apollo!” Susan yelled. She jumped up and down. “Charlotte, Apollo has come back for us!”
James and the girl held hands as they sped toward the ground.
“Do you believe in heaven?” James yelled, squeezing the girl’s hand rather tightly.
“For the longest time I thought this place was heaven,” she said.
“I guess we’re about to find out.”
They fell closer and closer to the ground. Their hearts were racing so fast that they thought they were going to explode.
“I never thought it would end this way,” Jessica yelled. “If only we had a parachute!”
“This is it,” James yelled. He closed his eyes. “We are going to die!”
Just as the children had prepared for impact, they felt something wrap around their waists and pull them upward. It was an awkward sensation; it felt as though their stomachs were still falling. When they opened their eyes, the first thing they saw was the ground, which was only a few feet beneath them.
“What is happening?” the girl yelled.
James looked above them. He could see a set of large bird’s wings. He smiled. “We are in the hands of a dear friend.”
Apollo looked down at them. “Are you kids okay?” he said. “I’m sorry it took me so long to catch up with you. You were falling quite fast.”
“Yes, w-we know,” the girl said, trying desperately to catch her breath. “You n-needn’t remind us.”
Quuuaaaaaaahh!
The sound of the phoenix squawking filled the air. Apollo held the children tightly. “Hold on,” he yelled. “This isn’t over yet!”
The phoenix swooped in and shot a stream of fire out of his mouth. Apollo closed his wings and did a roll in the air, dodging the fire but almost collided with the side of the mountain. The griffin was three times the size of the phoenix, but the phoenix was like a fierce wolverine, quick and deadly.
Apollo pushed off the side of the mountain with his hind legs and swiftly opened his wings, knocking the phoenix off its course. The phoenix quickly recovered and flew at Apollo with all his might. Apollo flew up the side of the mountain, climbing up the air as if he were being propelled by rocket engines.
From the top of the mountain, the village people were watching as the griffin and the phoenix battled in the air. They held their breath as the phoenix shot another stream of fire at the griffin, and then again when the griffin kicked the phoenix so hard that he fell toward the ground. But the phoenix was determined. He quickly recovered, flying so fast and so hard that he collided with the griffin.
Apollo screeched. The phoenix flew around him, pecking him with his sharp, fiery beak. He laughed. “Admit it. You’re no match for me!”
“I’ll do no such thing,” Apollo growled. “By the power of the sun, I will defeat you.”
Apollo took off across the sky like he was a jet. He flew over plateaus and between mountain peaks. He skimmed the tops of trees and went a little higher and touched the clouds. He flew on and on, leaving the phoenix in his wake. Finally, the griffin stopped and looked around.
James and the girl both felt very dizzy. The girl looked around and yelled out to Apollo, “I think I know what you are looking for. It’s right down there.”
Apollo quickly made a nosedive straight down into a canyon. The phoenix was right on his tail. Soon they came upon a great waterfall, tucked in between two mountain peaks.
“Hold on,” Apollo yelled to the children. The phoenix shot a stream of fire at them just as they flew through the waterfall. The phoenix backed away just in time to avoid flying into the waterfall, gently landing on some nearby rocks.
There was a shallow cave behind the waterfall where Apollo and the children had landed. They looked through the waterfall and could see that it was getting dark. It had been minutes since they had flown through the waterfall, and they knew that the phoenix was still out there, waiting for them to come out.
“How long do you think he’ll wait?” James said.
“Could be a while,” Apollo answered. He was staring at the waterfall with an angry look in his eye. “Phoenixes are unpredictable creatures.”
“And so are griffins,” James said, an upset look on his face. “Where have you been? I thought you had forgotten about us.”
Apollo turned his head and looked at the boy. “I have been searching everywhere for you and your sisters,” he said. “I thought for sure that I had lost you. And then I heard a lot of noise coming from the village, and something in my heart told me to check it out.”
“It’s a good thing you did,” the girl said. “You saved our lives.”
The griffin looked back at the waterfall. “It was nothing,” he said. The children could tell that the griffin was upset about his conflict with the phoenix.
James opened his backpack and pulled out the “night light.” He used the lantern to light up the cave.
“So where were we?” James said, looking at the girl.
“You were just about to ask me my name,” the girl replied.
REVIEWS:
"Adventure reigns in this debut novel. What a fun ride."
-Obert Skye, National Bestselling author (Leven Thumps series, Pillage Trilogy)
“Inspired, imaginative and very exciting, it’s a great adventure for young readers."
-Brian Falkner, Bestselling author (The Tomorrow Code, Brain Jack)
"Reign of the Night Creatures is an action-packed modern story in the brilliant tradition of the Chronicles of Narnia. James and his sisters are kept on their toes in the imaginative world of Everafter, where the battle of light versus dark rages. Who knows what darkness's next move will be?"
-E.P. Marcellin, Bestselling author of Element Keepers
"I truly enjoyed reading this book; I found the story to be incredibly innovative and imaginative."
-Meghan Gregg, Tate Publishing
"Upon starting this book I found it to be a magical adventure of bravery, intelligence and team work. The characters are life like and seem to come out of the pages. The story is very well written and imaginative. The Land of Everafter Draws you in and doesn't want to let you go. In My opinion 'Reign of the Night Creatures' is a must read for all young readers."
-Melissa Steele, avid reader
To discover what happens next, read
The Everafter Chronicles: Reign of the Night Creatures
by Casey Sean Harmon
Available wherever books are sold Spring 2013 from Tate Publishing!
Casey Sean Harmon
Author
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