M.L. LeGette's Blog, page 24

Book to Picture :: The Orphan and the Thief {4}

Book to Picture is my project where I match an image to a scene in one of my books. I’m very excited to showcase the artist or photographer’s work as well as share some of my writing. I always link to the artist’s website or prominent social media page so you can discover more of their stunning work, so go give them some love.

This Book to Picture’s a little different. The image used is actually of a statue that the artist made from metal, clays, and paint. Ellen Jewett’s work is incredible. I highly urge you to check out her shop.

Image Credit: Ellen Jewett

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THE ORPHAN AND THE THIEF is on sale at Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

Adventures in Writing: Hunt for the Moonflower

“Let’s get some dinner and ask them if they know where they are.”

But the inn’s owner (a pink-faced cherub of a man) just shook his head and laughed, making his plump belly quiver.

“I haven’t laid eyes on those flowers for years! Not since I was your age,” he laughed.

“Years?” Melena gasped. “Why not?”

“The elk eat them.” And he waddled away.

Melena was stunned. There had to be one left. She turned back to Toad, who hadn’t paid the slightest attention to their conversation, as he was shoveling as many potatoes into his mouth as he could.

What would they do if they couldn’t find a plant before the full moon rose, which, if Melena had done her calculations correctly, which she was sure she had, was only in six days’ time? If they waited till next month, they would be very late in returning to Mr. Owl. Toad would miss his deadline, and she wouldn’t get her half of the payment.

Michał Włoch

So, before the sun had even peeked over the distant mountains, Melena (with a grumbling Toad in tow) started searching every nook and cranny of the nearby sweeping fields. They continued all day. The land was so flat that they were in perfect view of the inn. Melena began to suspect that they were the inn’s “entertainment”, as customers started setting up chairs on the front porch to watch. She even overhead a few of them taking bets.

As the days slipped away, and the first of February loomed closer, Melena felt her panic threatening to unhinge her. Surprisingly, Toad was doing the consoling.

“Ya gotta eat, Melena. We’ll find the flowers.”

“We only have one day left, Toad, before the full moon and then it’s February 1st!” was Melena’s strangled reply.

“And we’ll find ’em,” said Toad with calm confidence. “We still haven’t looked down by that creek I spotted yesterday. I got a feelin’ in my bones—we’ll find ’em there. You’ll see.”

But they weren’t there. There was nothing there but pebbles and scrubby shrubs. On the day of the full moon, with still no sign of the moonflower plants, even Toad lost his buoyancy.

“I suppose he wouldn’t notice we didn’t have the flowers?” Toad asked dully as dusk crept near.

Melena had been breathing heavily through her nose for the last half-hour, as if she were experimenting with breathing fire.

“Toad,” she said firmly, her eyes bright with a fierce determination, “this is our last shot at finding the moonflower and tomorrow is our deadline. I don’t know about you, but I’m not going to sleep tonight. If one’s out there it’s sure to bloom and then we’ll see it.”

The Orphan and the Thief is now .99 cents on Amazon, iTunes, Barnes and Noble, and Kobo and it will stay that way until January 5.

Merry Christmas!

I hope everyone is having a beautiful holiday. The sun is shining and the sky is ridiculously blue where I am. We’ve finished unwrapping and I wanted to share these goodies. Chocolates, a creativity mug, and a Sherlock card. Perfect gifts for this writer.

Merry Christmas!

(Turns out I’m a genius!)

 

Love to all,

Melissa

 

Spotlight on the Review #9

Happy readers make happy writers

Vonnie’s full review:

 Oh my goodness! I loved this book! I know that it’s mostly geared towards middle-grade children but even adults would enjoy this story. I was completely entertained and captivated by this book.

The story itself was quite fun. Here we had two kids, Malena and Toad. Malena was an orphan who was looking for her brother and Toad was a thief who was terrible at his job. These two encountered each other and joined together to seek mythical items for a potion. Along the way, Malena and Toad came across different obstacles. These obstacles as well as the journey, were described in a light and humorous way. As I read Malena and Toad’s story on how they gathered up the ingredients, I found myself grinning from ear to ear. This book made me quite happy after a long day of work.

Next, the characters were lovable! I was not able to pick a favorite since I simply enjoyed reading them all. Malena was the sweet and innocent girl who learned how to be more confident and become more adventurous. Toad was the clumsy boy who wanted to prove himself in being the best thief but ended up growing in a much different way. Then there were Hazel, Joe, and Agatha. Hazel was Malena’s pet dragon, Joe was an enchanted beer mug (yup), and Agatha was a time-warping spider. These side characters really helped out Malena and Toad in their quest and reading how they did so was incredibly amusing.

As a whole, this was such a great book! I was not expecting it to love it so much. I don’t think I have smiled so much when reading a book in a long time. I loved the story and I loved the characters. I highly recommend this book not only to kids but also to adults.

 THE ORPHAN AND THE THIEF is available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, and iTunes.

 

Holiday Discount has Begun!

The Orphan and the Thief is now .99 cents on Amazon, iTunes, Barnes and Noble, and Kobo and it will stay that way until January 5. Each day during this period, I’ll share a little goodie with all of you. To start things off, here’s the new trailer I made. I’m rather proud of it.

Adventures in Writing: Slow to Heal

No matter what Lavena said, life at Willow Manor was never going to be the same. It was as if the freezing cold had seeped under the doors to infect the people as they walked through the rooms. I had never been so lonely.

When Miss Perish had asked for permission to host a ball to show off my looks, Father had decided lessons would be best halted for some time. Without half of my day devoted to Miss Perish, I ended up ambling around Willow Manor, or spending time with Iris, waiting for the hours to crawl by.

Irene Suchocki

I even found myself drifting away from Lavena, and that’s what scared me most. She was my only ally, my only supporter in a steadily darkening world. Almost every time I sloshed through the snow to Lavena’s cottage, she was gone, and the few times she was there, she was jumpy and kept speaking to her owls about some woman. I’d ask what all the fuss was about, but she would quickly change the subject. She’d also remind me at the end of our meetings to stay away from Raven Wood at night. She even went so far as to say that it might be best if I didn’t visit her for some time.

“Stay in Willow Manor,” she had said two days before. “It’s safer there. I can’t explain now, but you will understand.”

“Why is it safer there?” I asked as she shooed me out of her house. “What’s going on?!” But she had closed the door.

I couldn’t deny that Lavena’s behavior scared me. Who was this strange woman that her owls were watching? I could tell when she was thinking about her—Lavena’s eyes would darken as if a thick cloud had passed behind them. Even though I had no idea who this mysterious person was, a nervousness was with me night and day because I knew Lavena was frightened.

 

Copyright by Melissa LeGette

Moth?

Went for a walk and came upon this.

Became increasingly excited over finding such a colorful moth.

Slowly grew suspicious.

Got up nerve to touch it.

Discovered (with even more excitement) moth was a leaf.

Book to Picture :: The Orphan and the Thief {3}

Book to Picture is my project where I match an image to a scene in one of my books. I’m very excited to showcase the artist or photographer’s work as well as share some of my writing. I always link to the artist’s website or prominent social media page so you can discover more of their stunning work, so go give them some love.

I think this might be my favorite Book to Picture yet.

Image Credit: Evgeny Lushpin

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THE ORPHAN AND THE THIEF is on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

Happy Halloween!

Serious points if you dress up as a unicorn.

Spotlight on the Review: ‘Delightful’

Happy readers make happy writers

Full review from SmartGirlsRead:

 

Mally Biddle is a young girl living on a farm with her widowed mother. She spends most of her days chasing her goats and trying to convince them to come home. It isn’t an especially exciting life, but she is happy. Well, happy if you don’t count the bullying, thieving knights that come to collect “taxes” and threaten the people of her village. Since the King of Lenzar was murdered many years before, the new king has allowed the knights to rule the country with cruelty and fear. Mally feels powerless until she joins a band of rebels. Their mission is to find out if the King’s infant daughter really did die of a fever all those years ago, depriving the kingdom of it’s rightful heir. To do so, Mally is hired at the castle as a servant where she can learn more of the circumstances surrounding the princess’s death.

This was a delightful book filled with excitement and more than a little espionage. Mally is a bright, strong character that is far from happy playing the delicate victim. She speaks up for herself and stands up for what is right, she doesn’t hide her talents, but uses them to help those around her and she is loyal and protective of her friends and family. While I admit it was a bit predictable, it was still a fun read. This would be a fantastic book for a young girl and I think boys would enjoy the adventure in it as well. I especially appreciate that it is a book I could recommend to a ten- or twelve-year-old and not worry about inappropriate content. It is a very sweet book and very well written. I really think you will enjoy it.

 

 THE TALE OF MALLY BIDDLE is available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

Also, Happy Fall, everyone.