Halloween Ride by Elaine Kaye

Today I'm handing my blog over to Elaine Kaye, who has a new book out in time for Halloween. Welcome, Elaine!

When I was little, my favorite part of Halloween was the moment my parents brought down the Halloween boxes full of play clothes. We would dress up for days and days before Halloween, trying to decide what we would be. My favorite outfit was a cowgirl. Back then, we used pillowcases to collect candy. Or I would decorate a brown paper bag.

After I had a family of my own, I was able to really get into the Halloween spirit. I went all-out with decorating the house. The best décor I did was life-sized ghosts, holding hands in a circle around the palm tree in our front yard. They were made out of white sheets and shovels in the ground, and their hands were tied to make it look as though they were really holding hands. Once, I even encased our porch in fake spider webbing. It looked so real.

While my kids were growing up, I would go trick-or-treating with them dressed as a witch. Every year, I would bring out the witch costume, which consisted of a black dress; a cape; a plastic witch’s hat; and long, fake black hair with white streaks. I loved to dress up as the witch. He-he-he. So, there’s no wonder that there’s a witch in Halloween Ride!

SHARE: Some of your Halloween memories.

NEW RELEASE:

BLURB: One Halloween night, Gregory and his teddy bear Sammy go trick-or-treating, hoping for lots and lots of candy. But Sammy is scared of everything and is constantly asking, “What’s that?” Gregory gets annoyed until one of those things turns out to be a flying broomstick. And this broom wants them to go for a ride. Where will it take them? 

*Story picture book Ages 4-8.

EBOOK 99 CENTS:

Amazon / Nook / Kobo

Print:

Amazon

ALSO ON SALE FOR 99 CENTS!

Pea Soup Disaster: Amazon / Nook / Kobo

Doctor Mom: Amazon / Nook / Kobo

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: 

Elaine Kaye is the author of A Gregory Green Adventure series. She first created Gregory Green after her son, who loved her homemade pea soup.

Kaye has worked as a library assistant and teacher's assistant in elementary schools in the Sunshine State. She currently lives in Florida, but she has called Michigan; Honolulu, Hawaii; and Okinawa, Japan home.

She is a grandmother of three boys.

Website / Goodreads / Amazon / Instagram / Facebook

GIVEAWAY:

Enter here to win a signed paperback copy of Pea Soup Disaster, a hand-stitched bookmark, and a pea pod key chain! Open to all from September 16, 2018 – October 1, 2018!

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Monday Mishmash 8/24/15

Happy Monday! Monday Mishmash is a weekly meme dedicated to sharing what's on your mind. Feel free to grab the button and post your own Mishmash.

Here's what's on my mind today:

1. Editing  Surprise, surprise, I'm editing this week. ;) I have client edits and Seek edits to work on.
2. Writing  I didn't get back to work on my novella last week. :( Maybe this week? Hopefully.
3. Happy birthday to my mom!  My mom's birthday is tomorrow. It's also my cat's birthday on the same day. Happy day before your birthday, Mom! (She reads these posts, so feel free to wish her a great day.)
4. Our Little Secret Blitz sign-up  Sign ups are open for the Our Little Secret Release blitz. No blog needed. Sign up here.
   
5. First Seek Acquisitions  I acquired my first two titles for Leap Books Seek. I loved these books. Here is the announcement in Publisher's Weekly. 
   
6. Fish Detectives is now available!  My newest picture book, Fish Detectives, is now available. 

   

When a treasure chest mysteriously shows up in the goldfish tank, it's a case for Horatio and Alexander, Fish Detectives. But a diver is guarding the treasure, and he's not talking. Horatio and Alexander will need all their comet goldfish speed and know how to crack this case. Suggested age range for readers: 4-8. Get it on Amazon.

That's it for me. What's on your mind today?

Monday Mishmash 7/27/15

Happy Monday! Monday Mishmash is a weekly meme dedicated to sharing what's on your mind. Feel free to grab the button and post your own Mishmash.

Here's what's on my mind today:

1. I'm the New Acquisitions Editor For Leap Books Seek  In case you missed my announcement last week, I'm the new acquisitions editor for Leap Books' middle grade line, Seek. I'm so happy about this. I've also decided to open to unagented submissions for a brief time in August, so stay tuned for that announcement.
2. Our Little Secret Has a Cover  I got to see the cover for Our Little Secret (releasing September 15 through Limitless Publishing). I'm SO happy with it. Can't wait to share it soon.
3. Pepe Maurice Pierre, Poodle Extraordinaire is Now Available!  You can grab your copy of my newest picture book here. 
   
4. Falling For You is Available and FREE!  My secret Ashelyn Drake title isn't a secret anymore, and it's doing really well on Amazon. Check this out. 
   
   
5. Signing at Books-A-Million  I want to thank everyone who came out to see me this past Saturday for my book signing. I had an amazing time and got to see returning fans, which is always great.
   

That's it for me. What's on your mind today?

Monday Mishmash 7/20/15

Happy Monday! Monday Mishmash is a weekly meme dedicated to sharing what's on your mind. Feel free to grab the button and post your own Mishmash.

Here's what's on my mind today:

1. Signing at Books-A-Million  I'll be at Books-A-Million in the Stroud Mall in Stroudsburg, PA on Saturday from noon to 3:00 p.m. If you're in the area, come see me. I'll be signing copies of The Monster Within and The Darkness Within.
2. News!  I'm most likely going to have news to share with you this week. Stay tuned!
3. Pepe Maurice Pierre, Poodle Extraordinaire  I got to see the cover and illustrations for my upcoming picture book, Pepe Maurice Pierre, Poodle Extraordinaire this past weekend. 

   

   Pepe is not an ordinary French poodle, and he doesn’t want to be one either. But when Meg, his beloved owner, enters him in a dog show, he tries to be the perfect pedigree. It doesn’t take long
   

   for Pepe’s differences to make him the star of the show. 
   

4. Our Little Secret  I've been busy with edits for my upcoming Ashelyn Drake title, Our Little Secret. I love this story and can't wait for the release, which is happening in September! Tomorrow, I'll be sharing the blurb and tag line all over social media, so stay tuned for that.
5. Hot Pink in the City Cover Reveal  Check out the cover of Medeia Sharif's upcoming YA title, Hot Pink in the City:

   

   HOT PINK IN THE CITY, Prizm Books, 2015

Release date: August 19, 2015

Asma Bashir wants two things: a summer fling and her favorite '80s songs. During a trip to New York City to stay with relatives, she messes up in her pursuit of both. She loses track of the hunk she met on her airplane ride, and she does the most terrible thing she could possibly do to her strict uncle…ruin his most prized possession, a rare cassette tape. A wild goose chase around Manhattan and Brooklyn to find a replacement tape yields many adventures—blackmail, theft, a chance to be a TV star, and so much more. Amid all this turmoil, Asma just might be able to find her crush in the busiest, most exciting city in the world.

Find Medeia – YA and MG Author

Blog   |   Twitter   |   Goodreads   |   Instagram   |   Amazon

That's it for me. What's on your mind today?

Writer Wednesday: The Common Thread

A while back, Beth Fred and I were talking about mission statements and the common theme in the books we write. Now, you all know I write across genres and age levels, so you can imagine my reaction when Beth said there must be a common theme in all my books.

Um… Yeah, that was me. I've always said I'm not one to write to trends. I write the stories I feel I need to tell. And that's led me to having a pen name for romance while I write speculative fiction under my own name. But after a while, I realized Beth was right. There IS a common theme in all my books. It's self-discovery.

In my Touch of Death series, Jodi finds out she's a special kind of necromancer descended from the Gorgon Medusa. She struggles with what this means for her and how she'll have to adapt her life now that she's poisonous to humans.

In The Monster Within books, Sam dies of cancer at seventeen and is brought back from the dead as a monster who has to kill to survive. She struggles to figure out where she fits into the world and whether or not she's willing to kill others in order to live.

In Perfect For You (Ashelyn Drake title), Meg is trying to find herself again after having her heart broken in a very public and humiliating way. As much as it's about her finding the right guy, it's about her finding herself.

In A Lion's Song (my most recent picture book), Amara is trying to figure out her place in the pride when she's the only lion who can't roar.

I could keep going with all my books, but I think you can see the common thread. All my MCs are struggling to figure out who they are in this world and what that means for them. So I do have a common theme after all, even if I didn't know I did at the time I wrote these books.

What common theme pops up in your work?

Monday Mishmash 4/13/15

Happy Monday! Monday Mishmash is a weekly meme dedicated to sharing what's on your mind. Feel free to grab the button and post your own Mishmash.

Here's what's on my mind today:

1. Monroe County Book Expo  I'll be at the Hughes Branch of the Eastern Monroe Public Library this Saturday from 10am-3pm selling copies of ALL my titles (both Kelly Hashway and Ashelyn Drake titles). If you're in the Stroudsburg area, please stop by to see me and a bunch of other local authors.
   
2. Scholastic Book Fair  Someone help me. I'll working the Scholastic Book Fair at my daughter's school again this week, and it's a BOGO sale! My poor wallet. I just can't help myself when it comes to buying books.
3. New Adult Scavenger Hunt  I'll be participating in the New Adult Scavenger Hunt April 23-26 as Ashelyn Drake. I'm Team Blue! I'm promoting Looking For Love and giving away a copy of the Campus Crush paperback, which includes ALL the books in the series—yes, even Looking For Love. Find out more about the hunt here.
   
   
   
   
4. The Monster Within in a B&N Ad?  I was on my email last Friday and this was the ad that appeared in my sidebar. That's The Monster Within! No idea how this happened, but woo hoo!!! Totally made my day. I hope others saw this ad in their email sidebars, too. I'm just going to tell myself they did. ;) 
   
5. New Picture Book Released  I had a new picture book release through Guardian Angel Publishing. It's titled A Lion's Song and you can purchase a copy on Amazon or the publisher's website. Right now the paperback is available in both places, but the ebook version is currently only up on the publisher's website. Robert Lee Beers did such a great job with the illustrations. Just check out the cover: 

   

   Amara is the only lion who can't roar. Every time she tries, it comes out like a song.  She doesn't know what her purpose in the pride will be if she can't be ferocious. But when a Nile crocodile threatens her family, Amara's song just might save them.

That's it for me. What's on your mind today?