Lone Star Book Blitz: UNDER THE TEXAS MISTLETOE by Karen Witemeyer ****ENTER THE GIVEAWAY***

      

UNDER THE TEXAS MISTLETOE

by

KAREN WITEMEYER

Genre: Holiday Fiction / Christian Historical Romance / Novellas

Publisher: Bethany House Publishers

Date of Publication: August 31, 2021

Number of Pages: 304 pages 

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This historical romance novella collection presents "A Texas Christmas Carol," where a town's wealthy, Scrooge-like bachelor finds his world invaded by a woman set on earning his donation for helping the local poor, and the penetrating questions of three mysterious visitors. It also includes "An Archer Family Christmas." When the Archer clan gathers for the holiday, they encounter an unexpected request for help that will require all their effort and a Christmas miracle to see them through. In previously published "Gift of the Heart," a widow uses the family brooch as collateral for a loan from the local resort owner. But the more she comes to know the man behind the stern businessman, the more she hopes for a second chance at love this Christmas.

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│Bethany House Publishers│

   

Voted #1 Reader's Favorite Christian Romance Author of 2019 by Family Fiction Magazine, bestselling author Karen Witemeyer offers warmhearted historical romance with a flair for humor, feisty heroines, and swoon-worthy Texas heroes.

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FOUR WINNERS!
Grand Prize:
Autographed copy of Under the Texas Mistletoe

+ a decorative Christmas sign;
 

Three Winners:
Autographed copies of the book
(US only; ends midnight, CST, 11/4/21)

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Non-Fiction Review: THE BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO GROWING GREAT VEGETABLES by Lorene Edwards Forkner

The Beginner's Guide to Growing Great Vegetables
by Lorene Edwards Forkner 

Published by Timber Press
March 16, 2021
224 pages
 

Overview: You can grow beautiful, healthy, delicious veggies and herbs right from the start—just follow the trustworthy advice found in The Beginner’s Guide to Growing Great Vegetables. Expert gardener Lorene Edwards Forkner shares all the information you need to create a thriving garden, from facts about soil and sun to tips on fertilizing, mulching, and watering. Regional planting charts show what to plant when, and a month-by-month planner takes you from January through December. Profiles of popular edibles explain exactly how to plant, care for, and harvest your bounty. Whether your garden grows in the ground, on a balcony, or in containers on a sunny patio, this is your guide to grow-your-own success. Your backyard bounty awaits!

Review: The Beginner's Guide to Growing Great Vegetables by Lorene Edwards Forkner is a very informative book that will help you growing your own vegetables in no time! The book is organized into three sections: Getting Started, Get Planting, and Edibles A-Z.  In Getting Started, Forkner covers gardening zones and the basics of gardening.  In Get Planting, she outlines everything you need to do by each month of the year by your growing zones.  In Edibles A-Z, you get a lot of information on vegetables and herbs and the best way to plant and harvest them.  

Forkner covers a lot in her book that will be very helpful to anyone who has trouble growing their own vegetables. No land?  No problem!  This book also covers growing from your balcony! A very easy to follow guide book with colorful pictures that is perfect for novice gardeners!  Recommended for anyone who needs that visual and step and by step guide to growing plants.  

Rating: 4 Hearts!

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Non-Fiction Review: TEEN WRITER'S GUIDE: YOUR ROADMAP TO WRITING by Jennifer Jenkins

Teen Writer's Guide: Your Roadmap to Writing
by Jennifer Jenkins

Published by Owl Hollow Press

March 24, 2020

171 pages

Overview: Imagine you had a road map for writing the book you’ve always dreamed of writing—a step-by-step guide from testing your story ideas, to visualizing your characters’ types and voices, to building a world that comes to life, to navigating the publishing industry, and going the distance to reach your writing goals.

As co-founder of Teen Author Boot Camp, one of the nation’s largest writing conferences specifically for teens, and Young Adult author, Jennifer Jenkins has helped thousands of teens travel the world of writing. Teen Writer’s Guide: Your Road Map to Writing is the culmination of years of research and teaching, providing a detailed road map to writing your own story and steering through the detours and pit stops along the way. Perfect for teen writers, their teachers, and anyone who has an interest in breaking down the craft of writing in fun and manageable ways, this book is sure to take you to your final destination—and help you enjoy the journey along the way! 

Review:  Teen Writer's Guide: Your Roadmap to writing by Jennifer Jenkins is a great resource for beginning writers of any age to learn the basic principles of how to write a story.  The book includes an example at the beginning of each chapter with a writing sample from Jenkins.  Afterwards, she explains an aspect of the writing process she mentions and gives you some things to consider.  The writing prompts were very useful to help come back to the main aspects of the chapter. I especially liked Chapter Four's focus on plotting.

Jenkins provides a lot of information in this book that beginning writers will need to know before they start writing their own stories.  She also shows potential writing snags that writers may run into and how to avoid them. Multiple topics are covered such as characters, POV, world building, dialog, plotting, editing, getting published and so much more. She even includes a chart that aligns her questions to common core standards for educators who teach writing. 

Overall, this is an excellent resource for all writers who are trying to learn the craft of writing their own stories.  I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who is thinking about writing a book or who is currently writing a book but needs direction.  A great addition to your home or school library.  

Rating:  4.5 Hearts!

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Lone Star Blog Tour: ONCE UPON A CAMEL by Kathi Appelt ***REVIEW & GIVEAWAY***

ONCE UPON A CAMEL

by Kathi Appelt

Categories: Middle Grade Fiction / Historical / Friendship / Ages 8-12
Publisher: Atheneum / Caitlyn Dlouhy Books 
Pub Date: September 7, 2021
Pages: 336 pages

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Zada is a camel with a treasure trove of stories to tell. She’s won camel races for the royal Pasha of Smyrna, crossed treacherous oceans to new land, led army missions with her best camel friend by her side, and outsmarted a far too pompous mountain lion.

But those stories were from before. Now, Zada wanders the desert as the last camel in Texas. But she’s not alone. Two tiny kestrel chicks are nestled in the fluff of fur between her ears—kee-killy-keeing for their missing parents—and a dust storm the size of a mountain is taking Zada on one more grand adventure. And it could lead to this achy old camel’s most brilliant story yet.

 

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Simon and Schuster ~ Bookshop.org

Once Upon a Camel by Kathi Appelt is an adorable story about a camel name Zada who (in her very old age), uses her gift of storytelling to help comfort and save two baby kestrels who were separated from their parents.  Zada, whose adventure began in Symrna, Turkey and ends in West Texas, takes us on two adventures.  The first is her current journey of saving these two baby birds in the present day, and the second is how she and her best friend Asiye (two racing camels in the Turkish desert), became pack camels for the US Army in Texas.  Through her storytelling, Zada keeps the baby kestrels distracted from the fact that they have lost their parents and don't know if they will ever see them again. It takes all of Zada's strength (literally) and love to make it through her most difficult adventure yet.

I loved how Appelt tells a story within a story.  Going back and forth from Zada's youth to present day.  Weaving her adventures for the baby kestrels in her care, all the while educating the reader on how camels came to Texas in the first place.  There are many facts about places, animals, and events in history that Appelt intertwines in her storytelling.  From the habits and anatomy of camels to how camel caravans helped transport goods from central Texas to southern California.  Appelt infuses facts and history into her story that creates a dual experience of fact and fiction.  I also enjoyed how the use of Turkish and French sayings were incorporated throughout the book. It gave authenticity to the setting and backgrounds of the characters.  The beautiful charcoal illustrations by Eric Rohmann gives life to Zada's story and helps the reader visualize the characters and experience the most important moments of her adventures.

Once Upon a Camel is a beautiful tale about life, friendship, and family.  A heartwarming tale for readers of all ages!  A must have your home or school library! 

5 Stars!

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Kathi Appelt is the author of the Newbery Honoree, National Book Award finalist, and bestselling The Underneath as well as the National Book Award Finalist The True Blue Scouts of Sugar Man Swamp, Maybe a Fox (with Alison McGhee), Keeper, and many picture books including Counting Crows and Mogie, the Heart of the House. She lives in College Station, Texas, with her husband and five gifted and talented cats.  

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Three signed copies of the book.
(US only. Ends midnight, CDT, 10/9/21)

  

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