Category: Author

News about the First Children's Book Ever Written and the New Appearance of the Site: Author Jodi Desautels

6/18/2014

Hello everyone. They say that in writing a book, the title can be one of the most important words of the book. That is very true. The title is usually the first text of the book that people read.
People will caution to have the title include keywords for search engine optimization. Others will say to make the title short and catchy.
Well, just out of curiosity, I looked up the first children's book ever written. The title of that book wasn't very short or catchy at all. (Hmmm! I wonder if that is why it is no longer in print.) Anyway, the title is twenty-four words long!!!! Can you imagine walking into the bookstore or library and asking for that book?
I won't share the title here. I will let you click the link to the page where I found the information. I just thought it was interesting, so I thought I would pass along the information. After all, I am a children's book author and many of my friends are children's book authors. I hope you enjoy it!
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I have some GOOD NEWS! If you haven't noticed, I am in the middle of changing the appearance of my author site. Many people have told me that it is more professional, more appealing, and easier to read to have a site with a light background and a dark font. As many of you may know, by site used to have a dark blue background with a white font. Please bear with me while I make the switch in the site. Thank you.
I am happy to hear your thoughts and suggestions about the new appearance. Thank you again.

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Three Examples of Marketing Pet Peeves Jodi Desautels Has Experienced on Facebook

6/4/2014

2 Comments

Hello everyone! As an author, I try to do what I can to market my books. I join groups, do research, create posters, and network. I do what I can to get myself and my work known. That is totally understandable.
So, I understand others wanting to do the same. However, there are some marketing techniques that just rub me the wrong way. You may consider them "pet peeves." Some push me too far. I will not help market or promote the product no matter how good my feelings are towards the product itself, because I don't want to "reward bad behavior." I will list three for you today that I have experienced on Facebook.
For example, I have had an email by someone who said that I was so closed minded because I would not try a product. So, I emailed back saying that I didn't ask for the email and that being called "closed minded" wasn't not enticing me to buy the product any more than any of the other conversation. Hmmm!
I have also gotten a friend request by another author. So, I accept. Then, without saying "hi" or "thank you for accepting the friend request" or any nicety at all, I get "check out my book." Umm! No! I am happy to check out books and even promote the ones that strike me nicely. However, if you are going to go through the trouble of friend requesting me, you are going to say "hi" before you are going to get me to check out anything.
I have also been tagged in a multiple chat about a book a launch or some sort of promotion. While that may seem like it is saving time to get the news out to people, it is a big put off to some. I don't check out the event or book, because of it. Notifications just keep popping up whenever anyone posts anything concerning the conversation. I get twenty notifications that people are leaving the conversation, plus all the other notifications when people actually say something. Hmmm! Nope! Not for me!
What are some marketing pet peeves you have experienced on Facebook?

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Reflections, Ponderings, Giveaways, and Announcements

12/11/2013

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“This above all: to thine own self be true,
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man.”
~William Shakespeare

Hi everyone! I have been doing some reflecting and pondering lately. Maybe it is because I have been answering interview questions for a few people who will be interviewing me on their blogs. More than likely, it is just the way I am. I like to reflect and ponder.
I have thought about how I have grown as a writer, illustrator, formatter, marketer, and person from when I first started a little over a year ago. (Well, I started as a person a little longer ago than that.)
I have met quite a few kind people along the way who have been willing to help me, encourage me, advise me, promote me, etc. We have shared, chatted, brainstormed, and helped each other. I have truly built friendships along the way.
In the beginning I was a beginner in all of it. Today, I still consider myself a beginner as I am still fairly new to the field. Yet, I am feeling more confident in the field and more experienced. Maybe, I could even consider myself in the intermediate level!
I have made quite a few changes along the way. Recently, I changed the cover to one of my books, "Clarinda Cloud," to make it more eye catching. I didn't think of that as much in the beginning. Yet, the importance of cover designs means more to me now and my illustrating skills have improved.
In the beginning, I also "liked" pages and shared things by other authors without considering my target audience, the family friendliness of my sites, or the quality of the things I was liking and sharing in hopes that other authors would return the favor. Yet, I have decided to be more discriminate in what I share or like. I want to "know" more about the things I like or share, so I can really stand behind them. I try not to say anything I don't mean or know about a book or author any more.
I still hope to be able to share, like, and promote books and authors. There are many wonderful books and authors out there. I just want to make sure that I am being honest with my shares, likes, and promotions. And, just because I don't recommend a book, it may not be that it is a great story. It may be that it has some errors in it. Sometimes if there errors were fixed, I would happily give a glowing review!
I am currently thinking of ways I could help encourage quality work in 2014 and beyond. I have thought about possibly offering a proofreading service for children's/MG/YA authors. If I don't do it myself, I have thought about creating a network and offering referrals to other wonderful people who do author friendly services such as editing, proofreading, formatting, PR work, illustrating, cover creations, etc. I have also thought about creating a "write and publish your own children's book" class or mentoring program. (Yes, I am only at the intermediate level with this, however I am an experienced educator. And, often times people will choose people just a little ahead of them in the progress to support them, so that they feel the supporter "knows how they feel and what they are going through" because he or she was there not long ago.)
Research and considerations are in progress for these things now. I would like to get your feedback and ideas. Also, if you would be interested in joining the network, please feel free to contact me.

Notes and Announcements

*Please check out the latest interview of me. It is by Fiona McVie and she did a wonderful job! Thank you, Fiona!
*Along with all of this reflecting and pondering, I have been thinking about how I could make my sites better. I would like your help there as well. For mainly that reason, I am offering a giveaway contest on my blogs. For more information and a chance to enter, please follow the links the posts on the following sites. I am hoping this chance for you to win a copy of "Clarinda Cloud" will be a win/win for both of us.
~DUO Education Learning Blog
~Clarinda Cloud's Feeling Blog
~What is New with Jodi Desautels?
Good luck!
*I am having a giveaway for my ebooks on Kindle on December 17th and 18th. That means you will be able to get the Kindle edition of "Clarinda Cloud" and "Johnny's Adventure Makes Reading Fun" will be free on those days. Taking advantage of free giveaways on Kindle is a great way to decide if you want to buy the softcover, give the author a review on the book, or have it for trips and in the car. (I don't particularly like the idea of ebooks for children, but they do have their uses.)
*Also, I am going to be co-hosting (with Virginia Wright) the "2nd Annual Author Christmas Giveaway" event on Facebook on December 17th. You are all invited! It is a great way to "mingle" with authors online, ask questions, get answers, play games, win books, etc. Many authors are expected to show up.

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Sandra L. Portman Guest Posts about How to Make Interactive Ebooks

11/27/2013

1 Comment

Hello everyone! I would like to introduce to you, children's author, Sandra Portman! She has some interesting information on how to make e-books interactive for children. I can't wait to try this out! Thank you, Sandra!

Now that I am retired, I get to play and do things I couldn't do while I was raising a family and working. I guess it's not so much that I couldn't do them, but there never seemed to be enough time and I really wanted to concentrate on my children and my husband. I worked long hours and I spent most of my free time cooking and baking fresh food for the family.

Now that I have "all the time in the world," I wanted to explore my childhood love of reading and writing. Back then, I spent a lot of time with friends making up stories and games for our never-ending list of clubs. I don't remember why this was so important to us, but we always had a new club for some new adventure or hobby. We even made invitations for the new club and went through the neighborhood inviting other kids to join.

My second venture into writing for children came with a new series for pre-school children. I wanted to explore the use of interactive functions within digital books. I could just imagine the fun kids would have choosing the correct answer and clicking on a button. All I needed was bright, colorful pictures ad buttons. Starting from birth, these books could start out with just the pictures from which the kids would learn subliminally.

This would have been a nice series of books for each stage of learning up to kindergarten, but I thought it would be much more fun to have all the books in one volume. Each of my children had a favorite book during those years that they wanted to read all the time. As parents, we quickly become bored and tired of the favorite book, but they don't.

To take advantage of this favorite reading habit of young children, all I did was extend the early concepts to take advantage of the levels of learning from birth to age four. This meant children would have their favorite book with all their favorite pictures that grows with them.

There are two books in the series to learn the numbers and the alphabet. Each book has four levels of learning:

Birth to age one: The goal is to respond to pictures by copying sounds and pointing and patting the pictures.
Up to age three: Answer questions, identify pictures, and attempt to read with "pretend reading."
At age three, children are ready to read by themselves, and perform activities for longer periods of time.
Age four is when children begin to recognize familiar signs and labels, and make up silly phrases and rhymes. At this age, most children can count to ten.

Developing the Books

I don't use fancy software or tools when writing my books. All my books are written using Microsoft Word. In this series, the first two levels mainly use pictures and pointing to introduce children to the concept of numbers and the alphabet. In "Learn the Numbers," level 3 is used to teach children to point to each number in a collage of numbers and say the number.

In level 4, children are introduced to counting. They are presented with multiple pictures on a page and given a multiple choice answer. To answer the question, they press the correct button that corresponds to the number of pictures. If the correct button is pressed to answer the question, they proceed to the next question. If the answer is not correct, they are given the opportunity to answer the question again.

To create this type of book, it's easiest to create a data flow showing where you will take the reader when a button is used. You have two choices, a correct and an incorrect answer. These will be defined in the document with the Insert: Bookmark feature and the Insert: Hyperlink feature. These features are added after your book is completed. Whether you're creating an interactive fiction book or an interactive non-fiction book, create the appropriate headings for the functions. These headings will be used for linking.

Bookmark Feature

The bookmark feature will be used as the target - it's where you want to link to. It's the destination for the reader after they click on a link in the book. The first step is to tag the chapter or section headings in the body as bookmarks. The links are added later.

In my "Learn the Numbers" book, each multiple choice answer must lead the reader to a function; either the answer is correct or it is not. One answer will take the reader to a new section for the next question; the other two buttons will take the reader to the error message section.

Go to each chapter or section in your document, highlight the title, and click on Insert: Bookmark. Give your chapter/section a name and click add. Bookmarks cannot have spaces or odd characters. As an example, if you are adding a bookmark for the title, "This is Question 3," you can create a bookmark for "ThisIsQuestion3," or "this_is_question_3."

Linking to Bookmarks

In my example above, I have a multiple choice answer with three buttons. For each button, highlight the button, right click and select Hyperlink. When a new box opens, click on "Place in Document" on the left menu. You will now see your bookmarks listed in the main window. Select the bookmark to be used and click OK. Repeat this process for all the bookmarked chapters/sections in the document.

Testing Your Links

This is the tedious part, but must be completed to ensure all the links work. Click on each link and make sure it goes to the correct location. If it jumps to the top of your document, it means you are not linking to a valid bookmark. Make sure you're not linking above or below the target destination.

The last step is to test for hidden bookmarks, which can corrupt your document. To locate them, click on Insert: Bookmark and click on the Hidden bookmarks option. Try turning it off and on look for any bookmarks that start with an underline, such as "_Hlt30xxxx" Click the name of the hidden bookmark, then click the delete button on the right to permanently delete it.

Interactive Fiction Books

My new series, "Nathan, Family & Friends" are fiction stories around 2K words. In 2014 I am going to explore the use of interaction to have the reader decide where the story should go. For example, what happens to a character when different choices are made? This simulates real life and will help children learn to think before taking actions which could negatively affect their life.

Sandra's blog: www.sandralportman.com

You can also find her on her social media sites at:
Facebook
Goodreads
Twitter
Pinterest

Here are images of Sandra's books. You can press on the images to see them listed on Amazon. You can read the reviews, read the descriptions, see the rankings, and even purchase your own copies.

Notes, Announcements, and Shout Outs

*There is still time to win a copy of the "Clarinda Cloud Activity Book." You can find out more information on how to win on this post. Also, Clarinda Cloud reveals more hints as to where the waterfall is on her new "Clarinda Cloud's Feelings Blog."

*I forgot to tell you, Clarinda Cloud has her own blog now! She is going to blog every Wednesday, just like me! Her blog is about feelings. Some of her blogs will be children's books promotions by talking about the character's feelings. If you are interested in having your children's book promoted, please contact me.

*I would like to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving and a Happy Hanukkah this week!

Shout Outs

*My friend, Virginia Wright, has a book titled, "The Chrismas Secret." It is a wonderful children's story with a great Christmas message. Press the link to see the book on Amazon. Maybe I can even get her to guest blog for me here, so you can get to know her better.

*This shout out is for someone who can greatly help authors. It goes out about Choice Social Media Management. Marie Anne is very helpful! She has helped me quite a bit this week!

*My friend, Joyce Van Kirk, has an adorable little book titled, "The Six Forest Friends." The little animals are so cute! And... the message of friendship is a breath of fresh air!

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Kelly Hagen's Interview of me for "Clarinda Cloud," Book Giveaway, Shout out about Author Friends

11/13/2013

8 Comments

Hi everyone! I have been interviewed lately on a friend's blog. I would like to thank, Kelly Hagen for the lovely interview. And, hope that you all will go to her site and check it out. at Author Kelly Hagen. Kelly did a wonderful job with the interview.
Networking is very important for authors, especially Indie Authors, like myself. Sometimes it is difficult work and sometimes it is a blast. You meet all kinds of nice people. I enjoy meeting people.
Author Rodica Iova has also been kind enough to post my books on her pages. Here is the link to "Down the Chimney Penguin Joe'" Facebook page. (That is the title of one of her lovely books.) There she has the "Clarinda Cloud Activity Book" featured. And...check out the illustration of her penguins! They are so cute! They make me want to read her book! Thank you for posting, Rodica.
I have another friend who just got a new logo for her author page, www.thecroak500.com. Check it out! Rhonda Patton is also a children's author. She has many more books out than I do. And, she loves to market and promote! She is a great resource for all authors.
And, I have another friend who is having a "Release Party" this weekend. If you are near Wakefield, MA on Saturday afternoon... it should be a blast! I hope you will stop by! Here is the link for the Release Party Event for more information. And, what book is she celebrating? Why, "Journey to Jazzland" of course! Great book for music lovers and especially music teachers! Check out her cool site! I wish I were closer to Wakefield, so I could go to the party this weekend.

Giveaway

Authors also will often run giveaways. I am no different! I am giving away a copy of the "Clarinda Cloud Activity Book."
I am trying to make it fun by placing a picture of the cover in another image and having people guess where it may be. Do you know where this waterfall is? If you do, please comment the answer below. If you do not, please comment with the name of an elementary school, library, daycare, or children's counselor where you think I should donate the book if nobody guesses the correct answer. (Please, only U.S. addresses at this time.) Go ahead and comment! Make this a fun contest! Thank you!

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Author Bill Hillman and his Movie; "Quigley's Christmas Adventure"

10/30/2013

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Hi everyone! I would like you to meet Bill Hillman! Bill has an impressive background as actor, writer, producer, director, songwriter, filmmaker, and author. I hope I didn't miss anything, Bill. LOL! I told you it was impressive.
Let me show you the fundraising site that Bill has going to raise money in order to create his movie, "Quigley's Christmas Adventure."

I saw this poster come across my Facebook page! Well, I like Christmas and I am all for cute animals, so I had to check it out!
I researched about Bill. Then, I researched about "Quigley's Christmas Adventure," which is also a book and the book is available on Amazon.

Aw! Here is a picture of the doggie auditions. Isn't it such a cute doggie!?! If the dog looks this cute for the audition, you can only imagine how cute it will be in the movie!
Okay. This movie isn't just a movie with a cute dog. No... and... it isn't a big business movie that we won't know anything about until after it is out. No, this is a movie with which we all can be involved.
I had never heard of such a thing. Maybe that is what caught my eye about this movie. So, check out this video clip about "Quigley's Christmas Adventure." If it is something you would like to help fund and be involved with... you can follow this link to Kicktarter. I know times are hard... but Bill will even tell you that the minimum donation of $5.00 will get you involved and keep you connected with this film. Every little bit helps.

I mentioned some of Bill's impressive background in the beginning of this blog post. And, from the picture, you can tell that Bill loves dogs. Yet, when I said that I wanted to post about Bill's film, I told him that I wanted him to share something that is not on his website. This is what he shared with me:

When I was in the Military Academy, we vowed not to lie, steal or cheat, but I fudged in journalism and took a shortcut. Instead of reading a few books and writing reports, I made up my own books and then review them. Of course I got caught, but the end result was a promise I made to my professor .. to become a writer. It took work to regain his trust, but I made a promise and never broke it.

If you want to read more about Bill Hillman, please visit his site at www.williamhillman.com. Please feel free to leave Bill or me a comment here.

Please remember that you still have a chance to win a free copy of "Clarinda Cloud" for the month. Do you know where this photograph was taken? You could win a free copy of "Clarinda Cloud" if you do. Yes... it is on a tractor. It is in Franklin County, Vermont. It is at a place that sells pumpkins! What is your guess?
Don't know? That is okay. You can comment anyway. If nobody guesses, I will still donate a copy at an elementary school, library, daycare, or children's counsellor in the U.S. Please comment recommending a place for me to donate a copy of "Clarinda Cloud." Thank you.

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An Author Interview with Kelly Hagen

10/23/2013

8 Comments

Hi everyone! I would like to introduce to you another talented author, Kelly Hagen. I hope you will check out her work. Hi Kelly.

Hello everyone! Thank you Jodi for having me as your guest, I appreciate that. My name is Kelly Hagen, and I'm the author of the recently released “Haunted by the Past”.

In “Haunted by the Past”, you’ll meet a young Christian named Nadia. Nadia’s life seemed to be just right, until one day when that all changed.

You’ll also meet Trent. Trent is a friendly guy, and has over a short amount of time grown very fond of Nadia.

But her past is making their friendship somewhat eventful.

Nadia never dreamed her life would be turned upside down, but that’s exactly what happened after her husband’s murder. After she receives a chilling letter in the mail soon after his death, she decides to move out of town, in hopes to leave it all behind. Trent has been praying for God to lead the right woman into his life. As soon as he lays eyes on Nadia he knows she’s the one. But will the situation they find themselves in be more than he can handle? Will their faith in God be enough to bring them through the uncertain future Nadia faces, letting their friendship grow into more?

1. Tell us a little about yourself.
Growing up I never enjoyed writing, or reading for that matter. It wasn’t until a few years back that the reading “bug” got a hold of me. To my surprise I found that I actually enjoyed reading historical romance. That was a very odd thing to find out about myself!

I didn’t grow up wanting to be a writer, like some authors, if not most authors’ do. The thought never crossed my mind to be perfectly honest. But God had other plans. He’s opened the door for me on many different occasions and things continue to move forward. So, for as long as He leads me in this journey, I will follow.

I also enjoy spending time with my family, and listening to music. That is one thing I have always enjoyed.

2. Have you written other books? If so, what are the titles?
As a matter of fact I have. I have a children’s book that was published in 2011 called “Jake and Jesus”. It’s a story about a boy and his best friend- Jesus. You can find it on Amazon.

3. Why do you write?
I write to glorify God, and to bring encouragement to others. I write to let people know, that no matter how old we are or what we’re going through God is there. He loves us.

4. Do you use an outline, plot, or just see where the story takes you?
I just see where the story takes me. I write what God places on my heart, and when God places it on my heart. I’m not one (at least not yet) that can sit down and “force” myself to write. I’ve tried that in the past and let me tell you, it did not turn out well. All that could change in time though.

5. Do you ever get writers block? If so how do you overcome it?
I don’t know that I’d call it writers block. There are just times of silence where I don’t write. Then from out of no where all these ideas and words will hit me. That’s when I tend to be in front of my computer for hours at time.

6. Do you prefer to read ebooks, paperback, or hardback?
Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy my kindle…but…nothing takes the place of me being able to hold a book in my hands and turn the pages.

7. What are you currently working on?
I’m currently working on the story of Trent’s past. I hope to have it out early next year.

8. What is your favorite book of the Bible?
My favorite book of the Bible is James. I think it really helps me to keep myself in check.

9. Where can readers find your books?
You can find “Haunted by the Past” & “Jake and Jesus” on Amazon.

You can find me on:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorKellyHagen

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Kelly_Hagen

Amazon Link: http://www.amazon.com/Haunted-Past-Novella-Kelly-Hagen/dp/1617521647/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1380657710&sr=8-1&keywords=haunted+by+the+past+by+kelly+hagen

Amazon Link: http://www.amazon.com/Jake-and-Jesus-ebook/dp/B0079G0UVM/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=8-1&qid=1380658501

Kelly, thank you for stopping by and sharing your work with us. I hope all of you will check out Kelly's books.
And, please don't forget the giveaway for "Clarinda Cloud." Do you know where this photograph was taken?
This one seems to be a tough one. So, I will give you another hint. Local Vermonters would probably recognize this better than anyone else. This tractor is located in Franklin County, Vermont. Do you know where in Franklin County it is located? If so, please comment for your free book. If not, please comment the name of an elementary school, library, daycare, or children's counselor where I should donate a copy if nobody guesses!

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Me on "Books Over Breakfast"

10/2/2013

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Hi. Today I am posting the interview I had on WCAX's segment called "Books Over Breakfast" this morning. I talked about my books "Clarinda Cloud" and "Clarinda Cloud Activity Book." I also mentioned my new site featuring Clarinda Cloud.... www.ClarindaCloud.com. Please check it out! I hope you enjoy it!
Was I tired? YES! Was I nervous? YES! Would I do it again? YES! It was a great learning experience and author experience!
You can watch the clip hear or go to http://www.wcax.com/story/23588471/books-over-breakfast-clarinda-cloud.

WCAX.COM Local Vermont News, Weather and Sports-

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A Guest Post by Deborah Heal

9/11/2013

4 Comments

Hi everyone! I hope all is doing well! As an author, I try to do quite a bit of networking. I like to meet new people. And, the author world is usually quite friendly. There is also quite a bit of sharing as well as give and take. I would like to introduce Debrah Heal to you. She asked me for an opportunity to post the following information. Please check it out! I hope you enjoy it!

Here and now are the perfect place and time to get your copy of Unclaimed Legacy.

Now? Because it's only 99 cents for Kindle (for the month of September only). Here? Because buying it enters you in a giveaway of the complete Time and Again trilogy (personally signed by the author) AND a pretty mug for your morning coffee. Hint: You might want to keep the mug and Kindle book for yourself and give the signed copies of the trilogy as a gift.

The Rafflecopter giveaway entry form is below, but first let me tell you about Unclaimed Legacy.

Those who have read Time and Again know that Abby Thomas is a college student on a summer service project with 11-year-old Merri. And they know that the summer is not going the way Abby had expected—but in a good way. For one thing, she meets a very nice guy named John Roberts. And for another, she discovers a strange computer program called Beautiful House that lets her fast-forward and rewind life. Not her own, of course, but those of the people who lived in Merri’s old house.

Those who have read Time and Again know that Abby Thomas is a college student on a summer service project with 11-year-old Merri. And they know that the summer is not going the way Abby had expected—but in a good way. For one thing, she meets a very nice guy named John Roberts. And for another, she discovers a strange computer program called Beautiful House that lets her fast-forward and rewind life. Not her own, of course, but those of the people who lived in Merri’s old house.

And now Beautiful House comes in handy when Abby, John, and Merri agree to help the “Old Dears” next door with their family tree. Except Abby and John learn more about one of the ladies’ ancestors than they ever wanted to know. Convicted in 1871 of murder and arson, Reuben Buchanan is a blight on the family’s reputation. But was he really guilty? Abby and John must get inside the mind of a murderer to find out.

And while they’re rummaging around in the Old Dears’ family history, they also find Nathan Buchanan, a heroic relative connected to the Lewis and Clark Expedition—and a legacy waiting to be reclaimed. But the most important discovery they make is that God’s promise to bless a thousand generations is true.

“In this sequel to Time and Again Deborah Heal has taken pieces of real life history and woven them [into] a fantastic story geared to keep the reader entertained and on the edge of their seat… I adored every single bit of this. It has the perfect blend of history and action-packed suspense to keep young adults glued to the pages… I think she has mastered a home run here. This one easily rates a 5 out of 5 stars for me…and I hope it will work its way to the top of the best seller lists for young adults.”

– Pirate2240 “Kat” Amazon Reviewer

Connect with Deborah

Website: http://www.deborahheal.com
Facebook Author Page: http://www.facebook.com/DeborahHeal
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DeborahHeal

The Clue of the Unclaimed Legacy

by Deborah Heal

The blurb above doesn’t say a lot about it, but Unclaimed Legacy features my heroes Lewis and Clark. I’ve always been fascinated by them, partly because I knew the explorers spent the winter of 1803 at Hartford, Illinois, near where I grew up in Woodburn.

They chose that site for the camp they called Camp River Dubois, because it was near the mouth of the Missouri River, which they would ascend the next spring. The captains spent the winter laying in supplies and training their men. I decided it would be fun to let Abby “time-surf” back to see Camp River Dubois. . .

Continue reading HERE to get more clues about Unclaimed Legacy.

As the blurb says, sometimes when Abby and John are “time-surfing” they learn more than they want to know about people from the past--like Bertram White a violent husband. Read my companion article about him HERE.

Read a free chapter of Unclaimed Legacy HERE)

Now, enter the contest to get your Kindle copy of Unclaimed Legacy for 99 cents and a chance to win the complete trilogy in paperback, personally signed by the author. Oh, and a mug.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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News about the First Children's Book Ever Written and the New Appearance of the Site: Author Jodi Desautels

Three Examples of Marketing Pet Peeves Jodi Desautels Has Experienced on Facebook

Reflections, Ponderings, Giveaways, and Announcements

Notes and Announcements

Sandra L. Portman Guest Posts about How to Make Interactive Ebooks

Notes, Announcements, and Shout Outs

Kelly Hagen's Interview of me for "Clarinda Cloud," Book Giveaway, Shout out about Author Friends

Giveaway

Author Bill Hillman and his Movie; "Quigley's Christmas Adventure"

An Author Interview with Kelly Hagen

Me on "Books Over Breakfast"

A Guest Post by Deborah Heal

Jodi Desautels

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