Saturday, December 21, 2013

Blog Hiatus

Hello, everyone!

I just wanted to let you know that with the business of Christmastime I am taking a break from the blog this week so don't be concerned if you don't hear from me here. 
You can still keep in touch through my Twitter or Facebook or the "Contact Me" tab on he blog.
I hope you have a wonderful week, and Merry Christmas!

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Broadway Tuesday: Let It Go

Hello!
A couple of weeks ago, I saw the wonderful Disney movie, Frozen. It's my favorite movie from Disney in a while!

Here is Idina Menzel singing "Let It Go", my favorite song from this beautiful film.


Monday, December 16, 2013

Book Review Monday: Various Book Info

Hello!
I was going to share an interview with you today, but decided I have some other things to share with you instead.
First of all, I wanted to say I did an author interview on Caryl McAdoo's blog.

Don't forget to read that!


And, I also wanted to mention Swept to Sea is on Goodreads, so please mark it as "To-Read" or rate it if you have read it.


Finally, don't forget to take a look at Swept to Sea on Amazon.


Oh, and, I also want to know: are you interested in helping me promote Swept to Sea?

You could do an interview with me on your blog, invite me over for a guest post, or talk about it on social media.

Interested in a free review copy, if you have a blog to review it on and don't have your copy yet?

Want to learn more ways you can help me with Swept to Sea?

Shoot me an email at heathermanningauthor(at)gmail(dot)com and we can talk!

Sunday, December 15, 2013

Bible Verse Sunday: The Messiah

Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 
Luke 2:11

Friday, December 13, 2013

Writing Friday: The Busy Schedule of a New Author

Hello, everyone!
I just wanted to let you know that I have a pretty busy schedule right now so I am very sorry if I accidentally skip a few posts.

Today I wanted to share some links with you.

My guest blog post is up on the USA Today book blog, where I talk about the life of a teenage author.



I also have an interview on the Covers and Ink blog.



Finally, I have another interview on the Backing Books blog.

I have more events planned for the future, so be sure to keep checking back!

Do you not have your copy of Swept to Sea yet?
find Swept to Sea on Amazon!

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Bible Verse Wednesday: Immanuel

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).
Matthew 1:22-23

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Monday, December 9, 2013

Blog Tour: Cave Secrets of the Pterodactyl


Hello, friends! I am taking part in the blog tour of my author friend, Aidyl Ewoh. Here's a little bit about her and her book, "Cave Secrets of the Pterodactyl."

About the Book:
Cave Secrets of the Pterodactyl:Traveling with her parents brings Lydia, daughter of explorer and singer Buddy Davis, plenty of adventure and mystery - from hidden clues in bookstores to cave paintings deep underground. 
About the Author: Whether she’s building life-sized models of dinosaurs with her adopted family, trying her hand at cooking at a private retreat, or living in a barn, author Aidyl Ewoh (aka Lydia Howe) seems to have adventures follow her wherever she goes. Check out her book, Cave Secrets of the Pterodactyl and find out more about her at her BlogFacebook, and Twitter








On to the post. :)
I'll hand the reins over to Aidyl.
Funny though it may be, I never even thought of those things as a kid. It was only after I started doing stuff with Answers in Genesis that I began to find them interesting. 



Hey y’all! I’m here today with my character, Lydia Davis from my book, Cave Secrets of the Pterodactyl. I’m so excited to be interviewing her, so you guys can get a little glimpse into her exciting life! If you’ve never read a character interview before, this might be a little weird at first, but it’s something that authors often do to help others, and themselves, get to know their characters better. So hang on tight and here we go!
Wow, that was quite the intro. Thank you, Miss Aidyl, for inviting me to join you today! Most people want to talk my parents and I’m kinda a tag-along, so it’s really a pleasure to be the actual interviewee.

I think we’re going to have a lot of fun! Alright, first off, can you tell us a little bit about your life? 
Sure. I’m twelve and the only child of Buddy and Kay Davis. My dad is an internationally known singer who works for Answers in Genesis. I think he has about eighteen CD’s out. Our family travels a lot. And I do mean a lot. I’m home-schooled, which is actually a funny thing to say, since I’m not home much. I want to be a writer when I grow up, so I take every chance I get to fill notebook after notebook with our family’s adventures. 

Sounds quite exciting!
Oh, goodness it is! 

What would you say is your favorite thing about your lifestyle? 
Probably how I get such a different perspective on life than the average kid my age. That gives me a lot of stuff to write about!

I would say so. What it’s like to travel so much? 
First off, it can get a lot more tiring than most people realize. Second of all, when you do it often enough, you fall into a routine and when I’m home too long at a time, I actually begin missing it. That hasn’t happened for a long time though! I really like getting to see new places and meeting new people. It’s fun. 

If you could change one thing about your life, what would it be? 
Huh? I’ve never heard someone ask my dad that question before on an interview. I haven’t really thought about it I guess. Is this going on the record? 

It is, but don’t worry, you don’t have to come up with an answer. Let me ask another question: Are you involved in your dad’s career? If so, how? 
Ok, thanks for letting me off the hook! Yes, I am involved in my dad’s career. I travel around with him a lot. I help carry his instruments, I work with selling our books, DVD’s and CD’s, and I talk to people. That kind of stuff. I’d say the biggest thing I do though is just being there. Being a family means a lot to us. 

Aww, that sounds so lovely. On the same train of questions: How much time do you get to spend with your dad? Do you get pestered in school because your dad’s famous? 
Well... Let’s see. I would say I get to spend a lot more time with my dad than most kids, because I travel around with him and Mom. Do I get pestered at school because my dad’s famous? No, because I’m home-schooled. Which rocks, just sayin’. 

Oh right, you already said that, didn’t you? Sorry, I didn’t think to remove it from my list of questions. 
That’s fine. I didn’t think anything of it! 

You seem to be really good at answering these questions. Why is that? 
Really? Aww, that’s sweet of you! I guess it’s because I have been interviewed a lot, plus people come up and ask these sorts of questions all the time. 

Interviewed a lot? What does that mean? 
Well often times when my dad is on TV or the radio or in front of an audience, people think it adds interest to have me come up and answer a few questions, so I do. 

And that doesn’t bother you? You don’t freeze up when you’re in front of a large group? 
Naw, I guess that’s what comes with being raised like I was. I mean, I know I sometimes mess up and give stupid or non-sense answers, but I don’t beat myself up over it, because I know I did my best. 

Wow, that’s impressive. 
Thank you, Miss Aidyl.

Well, it looks like we’ve run out of time here, but there’s still some questions I have for you to answer that I’ll be posting on my blog. Thank you so much, Lydia, for joining us for today. 
It was fun! Thanks for having me! 

You’re quite welcome. And peoples, head on over to my blog to find the answers to the rest of Lydia’s interview questions.


To find out what I like best about writing, and to get the answer to the true or false question, check out THIS blog tomorrow





Now, on to the best part of the post! Aidyl is giving away one copy of her book for one lucky blog reader!

*GIVEAWAY OPEN TO US CITIZENS ONLY!!*

Be sure to share this giveaway with friends, and good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Sunday, December 8, 2013

Bible Verse Sunday: Jesus

"She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
Matthew 1:21

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Bible Verse Wednesday: Seed Sown

Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop---some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown.
Mark 4:18-20

Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Broadway Tuesday: Edwin Drood

Hello, everyone! Today I decided to share some more songs from the musical "The Mystery of Edwin Drood." Here are some highlights from the version with Stephanie J. Block. Enjoy!

Monday, December 2, 2013

Book Review Monday: It's YOUR Turn!

Hello, everyone!
I do not have a review for you today because it is YOUR turn to write a review!

I want to encourage you to think of the last book you read.

Have it?

Okay. Now, I want you to think about what you thought about that book you read.

Remember?

Now, write down your opinions of that story.

Okay?

That was easy. Now all you have to do is post your review to a site like Amazon. See? Painless.


Now, I know that the art of writing reviews is not that easy. But after you have read a book, I strongly urge you to please, please, please write a review of it and post it on a site. It helps the author, and it helps the future buyers. The review doesn't have to be eloquent and perfect. Just tell other people what you thought.



You may be thinking, "Well, Heather is only writing  a post about writing reviews because she wants us to write a review of her book."

This is partially true, but these reviews are truly beneficial to everyone. I would, however, really love for you to write and post a review of "Swept to Sea" when you finish reading it, if you do read it. Authors treasure reviews and get excited when they see a new one. The ratings help others find the book and decide whether they want to buy it or not.

And, I encourage you to post an honest review. I would like you to think twice before writing a one-star review, because I have found those to almost always be needlessly hurtful and harmful to the book. But if you didn't like the book, either don't review it, or tell the truth. Most authors would prefer if you would not review it if you are going to give it a terribly negative review.


Anyway, I really want to ask you to go out, think of a book you have read, and try your hand at reviewing it.

Here is the link to Swept to Sea on Amazon if you want to post a review there.