Blake Hoena's Blog, page 9

Review — Treasure Island

Fun to see my Treasure Island adaptation up on LitPick, a site where kids (my readers!) are the reviewers. Check it out Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island.

Eek and Ack are back!

Just received my comp copies of the four, all new adventures of Eek and Ack. These chapters books contain much of the same silliness that the graphic novels are known for. They are almost prequels to the graphic novels. Not only are they for a younger audience, but their adventures focus largely on events on their home planet of Gloop.

When Eek and Ack’s sister Bleck dares them to conquer Earth, they have no choice but to try. Things don’t go as planned, as they end up zapping the wrong planet!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ack has to write a paper about black holes, and he doesn’t know a thing about them. Eek is there to show Ack all the ins and outs about these space vacuums!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ack wants a pet, but he knows that Mom will never get him one. That’s no problem. Eek will just make him one instead!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After observing earthlings, Eek decides to build a spaceship so that he and Ack can go conquer Earth. What will happen when their ship lands in the Sudsy Duck Laundromat?

What I’m Reading

This year has not been the best for my to-read list—mostly because I’ve been busy with house projects like remodeling my kitchen. So that to-read list has turned into a to-read pile. Soon, I may even need a bookshelf dedicated to the books I want to read, but here are the ones I’m working on.

—Mudville and The Robots of Winter by Kurtis Scalletta. I recently saw him read at one of my favorite book stores, The Red Balloon in St. Paul.

—The One and Only Ivan, a Newberry winner by Kathrine Applegate,

—The Breadwinner trilogy, which I received as a birthday present, by Deborah Ellis.

My goal is to knock this off my list by the end of the year.

Blurb —Campfire Crisis

“Are you ready for an adventure? Campfire Crisis takes you deep into the woods where you’ll have to make smart decisions too save the day!”

—Chris Everheart, author of Recon Academy and Hub’s Adventures

Review — Treasure Island

“Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island is not only a fun action packed adventure it is a treasure hunt for the story itself. Readers are challenged to make choices as to whether or not the story could end before it really gets started. Readers have the option to end the story as they see fit. Chapter one of this tale can be found on page 64. Your name is Jim Hawking and you help your mother run the Admiral Benbow inn. A strange sea fellow carrying a chest with him rents a room. After months of keeping to himself he asks you, for a few coin of course, to keep an eye out for a peg legged man. There might be a lot as stake. So, if you decide to help, go to page 47. If not, page 26. The reader decides which direction the adventure will go.

Author Blake Hoena has adapted one of his favorite childhood stories into a Choose Your Path book. These already exciting stories now offer a fun way for readers to enjoy them all over again or for the first time. Readers are encouraged to make a decision as to which way they want to read the story and follow the adventure. Parents and teachers will love this storytelling method and can use it as a tool to get those kids who wouldn’t normally pick up a book to actually have fun reading and enjoying the adventure.”

—Kristi’s Book Nook

Friendship Poems

Since graduate school, I haven’t worked on a lot of poetry, other than dabbling here and there with cinquains. But earlier in the year I was asked to compose children’s poems to be included in several anthologies due out next spring. The first batch was for Trust, Truth, and Ridiculous Goofs—all poems about friendship.

Below is my favorite of the bunch, and what more loyal friendship is there than a boy and his dog’s. For this one, my dog Ty, helped with the inspiration, as she’s constantly chasing squirrels and racing about. She has so much more energy than me. The poem is also a villanelle, which is my favorite form. The sing-songy feel of the repeating lines plays into the happy, mindless joy a boy and his dog have simply playing together.

Raw (Live 2 Skate)

Just received author copies for my latest skateboarding book, Raw. It’s one of the initial books in the new Tony Hawk: Live 2 Skate series and also the story that prompted me to get back on a skateboard. A few too many years have passed since I used to bomb down the hill near my house on a yellow penny board.

Can’t say that I’m able to carve it up on a half pipe like Gavin, the main character, does in Raw, but my Santa Cruz Woody Shark cruiser is now how I get to and from the library.

SUMMARY: In this edition of Tony Hawk: Live to Skate, Gavin Cole is the newest student at his glitzy suburban school. From the poorer north side, Gavin doesn’t have much in common with his wealthier classmates. When he finds a few skaters, though, he wonders if they could be his new crew. Will they accept Gavin and his skills for fixing up skateboards?

My next book in the series, Rival, a story of two half brothers who compete against each other for a spot on the skate team, will be out early next year.

Treasure Island Kickstarter

So . . . my adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island is written, edited, laid out, and ready for the printer. Now I wait.

Since I will have copies in hand later this fall, I’ve launched a Kickstarter project to help me with marketing. I’ll be working with a publicist, having cases of books sent out for review and traveling for book signings; all of which costs a pretty penny. So, I’m hoping to get a little support from you, my readers. Anything you pledge to my project will earn you incentives, so it’s not like you’re giving money away, but more like you’re purchasing merchandise through me.

If anything, go to my project page and check out the video. If it provides a laugh, I hope you’ll considering pledging for the cause.

Tanks (big green booming ones),

Blake

Live 2 Skate — Bombing (working title)

I just wrapped up my third book in the Live 2 Skate series, which is licensed through Tony Hawk and published by Stone Arch Books. The working title is Bombing, as the main character, Lei Tían, is a longboarder. She wants to impress upon her friends that longboarding is just as respectable as trick skating, even if she can’t Ollie. So she bombs down a steep street know as “The Hill” and breaks into a powerslide at the bottom to wow her friend.

To celebrate the completion of this book, I decided to hit a skatepark myself. I bought a cruiser (a hybrid between a trick board and a longboard) earlier this summer to get back and forth between the library and to help wear out my pooch, Ty. She loves breaking out into a full on run and pulling me along as I carve behind her somewhat like a waterskier. But I have never been to a skatepark before to actually skate.

So here I am, prepping for my first drop in. Even though I’ve watched videos on how to do this simple move, I ended up on my butt the first (and second) try. And while I didn’t do any tricks beyond some kickturns and riding over rollers, I still had a blast, and will try it again sometime—after my wounds heal.

 

Terry Brooks

Some of  you may know the story behind the book (JRR Tolkein’s The Hobbit) that nudged me toward wanting to be a writer. While Tolkein may have planted the seed, it was Terry Brooks, and his Shannara trilogies, who nourished my aspirations. Yeah, I was big into fantasy when younger, and the genre still holds a special place in my writing aspirations—I will one day write a book about dragons!

Next week, Terry Brooks will be reading at the Hennepin County Library from his newest book in the Shannara saga. I am beyond stoked! I even managed to find my original copy of The Elfstones of Shannara to possibly get signed. Too bad my copy of The Sword of Shannara, the first book in the series, had fallen apart years ago—it was a well read and treasured book.