Sandra C. Lopez's Blog, page 221

Blog Tour: SOPHIE WASHINGTON: LEMONADE DAY by Tonya Duncan Ellis

 

Sophie Washington: Lemonade Day

by Tonya Duncan Ellis

 

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GENRE:   Children's Middle Grade

 

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BLURB:

 

When Life Gives You Lemons…Make Lemonade
Sixth-grader Sophie Washington and friends learn lessons about entrepreneurship and team work when they sign up for a city-wide, Lemonade Day event. Sophie wants to buy her mother something special for her birthday, but she’s short on cash. Her bestie, Chloe, comes up with the perfect solution. Build their own lemonade stand to raise money at Lemonade Day! The girls add friends Carly and Nathan, and Sophie’s little brother, Cole, to their team, and decide to donate some of their earnings to a local animal shelter to help save stray animals. Things are going great, until the family dog destroys their supplies. They get worse when Sophie tries to impress another boy in their class and upsets Nathan. Can they save their business in time for the event?

 

 

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Excerpt One:

 

Lemonade (clap, clap, clap)

 

Crunchy ice (clap, clap, clap)

 

Sip it once (clap, clap, clap)

 

Sip it twice (clap, clap, clap)

 

Lemonade

 

Crunchy Ice

 

Sip it once

 

Sip it twice

 

Turn around

 

Touch the ground

 

Kick your partner out of town!

 

Freeze!

 

"Watch out, Sophie!" Chloe yells.

 

"Whoa!"

 

I accidentally kick a ginormous, cardboard box off the coffee table before freezing into an Egyptian pose.

 

My best friend and I are teaching Alexis, the five year-old we're babysitting, a hand game called Lemonade. Back in kindergarten, I was a Lemonade champ. Six years later, not so much.

 

"Oops!" I squat to pick up the box and tip it over. Papers and file folders spill on the floor.

 

"Let me help!" Chloe sweeps some of the printouts into a pile with her hands.

 

"Me too!" Alexis drops her robot pose and slides behind us, tumbling into Chloe. We twist like a pretzel, spreading paperwork all over the rug.

 

Wiggling near the fireplace, Alexis fans her arms and legs to make a paper snow angel. "This is fun!"

 

Our spacious den has copy paper everywhere.

 

"OMG!" I hold my hand over my mouth to cover my giggles.

 

"Get up, Alexis!" Chloe snickers, scooting to us on her bottom, and one of the papers rips.

 

"Girls!" Mom rushes into the room, and we freeze for real. "What are you doing?! I spent two hours organizing these files!"

 

My stomach drops.

 

 

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My review: Sophie needs money, so what should she do? Open a lemonade stand!

In this story, we follow Sophie and her friends and as they work together to save money and start their own business.

Quick and easy with some nice illustrations. There were some lagging areas, but, overall, a pretty good summer read.

My rating: 3 stars

 

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

 

Tonya Duncan Ellis is author of the award winning, bestselling, Sophie Washington children's book series, geared toward readers ages 8 to 12, and is a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI). Her independently published books have been featured in the Houston Chronicle and the Baltimore Sun and have seen over 70,000 downloads and sales in the United States, India, Canada, and Great Britain. She has worked as a journalist and a freelance magazine writer, and is a graduate of Centre College of Kentucky and holds an M.B.A. degree from Washington University in St. Louis.

 

The twelve book Sophie Washington series stars a sweet and sassy African American preteen from Houston, TX and her diverse group of friends. Each funny and heartwarming story teaches lessons about friendship, responsibility, truthfulness, and perseverance.

Tonya loves to travel and has visited 49 American states, 20 countries, and three continents, but some of her best journeys have been between the pages of a novel. As a girl she could always be found with a book in her hand, and reading is still one of her favorite hobbies. When she's not reading or writing, the author likes to ride her bike, swim, and spend time with her husband and three children. She lives in Missouri City. 





 

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Tonya+Duncan+Ellis&i=stripbooks&ref

 

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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE:

 

Tonya Duncan Ellis will be awarding a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review: DEVIOUS INTENTIONS by Cyra Wilde

A late-night workout at the office. A wife welcomes home her husband in a delightful way. A divorced woman gets the best birthday gift ever!

Short and hot quickies!

 

My rating: 4 stars

Review: MEN IN UNIFORM Anthology

The last thing Office Jake expected to see when his plumbing burst was a woman plumber, especially one as hot as the bombshell that showed up.

A ruse with a Navy seal to make an ex jealous ends in a wild and passionate night. Unfortunately, it ended up lasting more than one night.

A small-town sheriff checking out an alien sighting ends up getting the ride of his life…in the back of his pick-up truck.

What could be better than being stranded with a hot air force pilot?

A trained army guy ordered to protect a woman from a terrorist. But who would protect him from her?

Sweet and sexy shorts! These stories make you hot and make you want more!

 

My rating: 5 stars

Review: IRRESISTIBLE by Jenna Hartley

 

“I’d rather be cold-hearted than broken-hearted.” That was the credo Lauren lived by, prompting her string of “love ‘em and leave ‘em” affairs.

Hunter was bored with sex, but still didn’t stop him from bringing nameless women home.

Story is slow with a lot of flirty banter between the characters with no real heat. Twenty chapters in and nothing really happens.

 

My rating: 2 stars

Review: GETTING HARD by Carina Wilder

 

A girl embraces her new single life by going off to Paris. Of course, the first hottie she feels compelled to romp with is the grumpy British guy who’s also going to Paris.

Her affair begins in the airplane bathroom. Wow, kinky! One quickie and they both feel a connection they can’t let go? C’mon! Unrealistic! Don’t get me wrong, that was one hot encounter.

The narrative was rather witty and clever, although you don’t always get the British lingo.

Overall, this is a nice romance with a few sexy scenes.

 

My rating: 3 stars

Review: ROAD TRIP COLLECTION

 

A divorced woman hits the road with her best friend’s little brother, who wasn’t so little anymore.

Stories were sweet and long. A lot of them were pretty much the same. They’re nice and mild, although they would’ve been better with a little heat.

 

My rating: 3 stars

Review: HOW TO MARRY A MATADOR by Ginny Baird

 

Waking up married to a Spanish matador? Yikes!

I thought this would be a fun romantic comedy, but it really wasn’t as good as I expected. Not funny at all. Just kind of drags on after the whole “I married a matador” debacle. Really, it couldn’t get any better than that?

 

My rating: 2 stars

Review: LOVE, LAUGHTER, AND HAPPILY EVER AFTER

 

Stories are full of neurotic and obsessed women that need directions to get to a point. That’s what you get: pointless, drivel. Not funny at all; just annoying.

 

My rating: 1 star

Blog Tour: SEVENTEEN BUTTERFLIES by Anna Katmore

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Anna Katmore will be awarding her entire GROVER BEACH PLAYERS series as ebooks, or alternatively any of her own novels in ebook format the winner likes, to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

The embarrassment of being the only “un-kissed” girl in senior high is something Sandy Cardington refuses to accept. The first kiss project is her foolproof plan to finally get rid of the status at her birthday party while her parents are out of town.

With several kissable boys on her guest list, this should be a walk in the park. But she didn’t reckon on her older brother returning from college days before her 17th birthday, putting a spoke in her plans. To make matters even more complicated, he has a friend in tow, and the cute hockey player stirs unexpected butterflies in her stomach every time their paths cross.

While Sandy moves heaven and earth to make her party and project come true, she doesn't know that Thane Griffyn is making his own plans to teach her the real meaning of a first kiss.

Read an Excerpt

“Since when are you in charge of dressing rules in this house?” I fling back at my brother, stemming my hands to my hips.

“Since Mom asked me to come home and keep an eye on you.” His voice takes on a much sharper edge. “Now change into one of your decent dresses or the party’s off.”

My eyes find Thane’s, and I know I’ve lost this battle because his stunned glare on me scratches on cold rage. “Sorry, Sandra,” he growls as he screws the cap back on the water bottle, “but this time your brother’s right.” Totally startling me, he skirts the counter, grabs my hand—none too gently this time—and drags me out of the room.

“Where are you taking me?” I protest when there’s no chance to withstand his pull.

“Upstairs to find you more suitable clothes for tonight. You want to get kissed, not laid.”

Why the hell is he so angry? He’s the last one to get a say in my life. And still, here I am, being hauled into my room by him and wincing as he slams my door shut, cutting us off from the rest of the house. I spin around in front of my bed and cross my arms rebelliously over my chest.

“And now what?” I spit.

“Now you take those boots off.”

A cynical laugh escapes me. “My boots are none of your business.”

As Thane takes one stride closer, the air suddenly cools with his intense scowl. Two feet away from me, he folds his arms, mirroring my stance, and arches one eyebrow. “Either you take them off, or I will. You have one second.”

Jesus Christ! 

 

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My review: Sandy was approaching her 17thbirthday and had never been kissed. This year, she aims to get it done before the day.

This story line was decent with a nice, diary-style narrative. It had some enjoyable hijinks and some witty retorts. At times, however, the character can be kind of silly and neurotic about this die-hard quest for a kiss. I certainly applaud the attempt at humor and, overall, I found this to be a quick and easy read.

My rating: 3 stars

About the Author:

I’ve been a storyteller all my life, building bridges into different worlds. Already in kindergarten, I’ve seen the most fantastical things and wanted to share them with everyone. My teacher called me a liar back then. Today, I call it the first real flash of my spiritual gift and the cornerstone of my writing career.

When I got older, I’ve had many visions of a perfect career, while writing has always been more of a hobby and kind of a therapy for me when the longing for more magic in this world once again caught up with me in a crushing way. When my first book was finished, I couldn’t even imagine sharing one of my stories with others, ever. In fact, I only got used to the idea while I wrote my second book and learned in a very miraculous way where the many stories in this world really come from.

It’s funny how, at that point, everyone told me I can’t possibly make a living with writing. They even warned me not to quit my job. But after my debut novella PLAY WITH ME came out and sales skyrocketed within the first week, I knew I could do anything I wanted if only I never stopped dreaming.

That’s also part of what I teach my students in writing and spiritual workshops today. Always dream big! If your dreams don’t scare you, they aren’t big enough.

Some personal stuff:

“I’m writing stories because I can’t breathe without.”

Disney is my attitude to life, and if I could I’d save the world from itself. My Patronus is a wolf, my wand the broken twig of an apple tree, 13 ¾ inches with a unicorn hair core. I can’t deny that on some days, I prefer my book characters over real people, but there’s not a single day going by where I wouldn’t try to find magic in reality. And when I’m alone, I love to listen to the many stories of the wind in a mystic mid-summer night.

So you see, I’m lucky enough to live in an enchanting world of my own. It’s peaceful there and full of magical things, fairies and wonders. You’re welcome to follow me there – if you’re ready to open up your mind and leave everything you learned about reality behind. But beware, if you dare to step through this door, you may never want to leave again…

Website: http://www.annakatmore.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/annakatmorebooks

Buy link for Amazon and Kindle Unlimited: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09BD3XDZQ

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Excerpts: DARLING HEDGEHOG GOES DOWN A FOXHOLE by Auralee Arkinsly

 

Darling Hedgehog was worried…

…because she couldn’t find her parents.

Where had they gone?

Everyone loves an adventure, and this story is sure to delight young and old (parents). When Darling meets Miss Fox the two become friends, but there is danger in the world, and one must be careful.

Beware of strangers bearing gifts.

Miss Fox wants to be a good friend, but she has a secret that makes it harder than she would like. Can she overcome her instincts?

What will happen at dinner time?

You’ll love this wonderfully illustrated early chapter book because it introduces your future bookworm to Onomatopoeia, Simile, Opposites, Homophones, and much more while keeping the action going.

Get it now.

Psst.This book makes a lovely gift for first graders, members of hedgehog societies, and hedge-pig lovers.