Sharon Watts's Blog, page 2
March 19, 2013
Want a sample of Series II?
Then meet Rosie Opia, Hamelot’s farsighted hairdresser. While she might not give you the hairstyle you wanted, you will love Rosie!
Here is a sampling of Rosie’s story, which appears in Kingdom of Hamelot Series II: With Mettle and Grit! The illustrations are by Tasia Duckart and the narration is done by Joan Coombs.
March 12, 2013
Hamelot now available in print!
We are excited to announce that we have released print versions of Kingdom of Hamelot Series I: Menagerie of Murder and Kingdom of Hamelot Series II: With Mettle and Grit on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.
While we will continue to make our Kingdom of Hamelot series an enhanced eBook experience that is helping to transform old-school publishing, we certainly understand the desire for many of our fans to have traditional print versions to keep and give as gifts. Each of our first two print books feature the original, full-color illustrations from the eBooks by our amazing illustrator, Tasia Duckart.
Don’t forget that you can pair the print book with the audiobook versions to read along with our talented narrators!
March 6, 2013
Trading cards and bookmarks now available!
We’ve create a series of trading cards of all 11 of the Hamelot characters from the first two series. If you have an event or an opportunity to hand these out to parents and/or kids 8-13, we’d be happy to mail a bunch to you. Just let us know – jen@kingdomofhamelot.com. They are getting great reviews!
We also have bookmarks available.
We’re seeking a publicist intern!
As part of bringing the Kingdom of Hamelot to the world, we’ve created a separate company called Wired Ballywho. While we initially thought that we’d focus our efforts entirely on Hamelot, other opportunities in enhanced eBook publishing have presented themselves. We are now full steam ahead on publishing other multimedia eBooks while not skipping a beat on releasing Hamelot stories. Those increased opportunities for us are leading to some opportunities for you – and here is the first one!
Oh, and if you know of any ePublishing possibilities, you should always keep us in mind. We are looking to expand our business!
Intern with Wired Ballywho!
Wired Ballywho is seeking a publicist intern for a three month internship. The position begins immediately and is based in Seattle.
About Wired Ballywho:
We are a scrappy startup focused on transmedia publishing. We are on the leading edge of the new wave of book publishing and storytelling. While our biggest client is the Kingdom of Hamelot, we are working with a number of authors, organizations and businesses to publish their works. You can read all about us on our website — http://www.wiredballywho.com.
The Internship:
We are looking for a hungry, creative publicist intern who wants to dedicate himself/herself to all things publicity. You will essentially help run our publicity shop for three months and get the experience of a lifetime! You’ll maintain press lists and contacts lists; develop individualized communications plans for each of our eBook projects, including daily contact with industry reviewers and press and combing the web for opportunities; monitor opportunities for awards and recognition; assist with events; and support regular communications to our projects’ fan base. This isn’t an internship that involves collating and getting coffee. You will get real-world work experience with a startup that has a bright future.
More Details:
Seattle based. Flexible days and hours (we know the likelihood is high that you have class and/or part-time jobs). We’d want you in person 1-2 days a week. We work out of our home in West Seattle, so you need to be okay with hanging out with us. The position will receive a $1,000 stipend upon completion of the internship.
You:
Here are the absolutes: You need your own cell phone and computer and know how to work it (almost everything we do is online). You must be mobile (either have your own car, take public transit or ride your bike to West Seattle). Be a high school graduate/have your GED and maybe some college under your belt. You must also be able to write well! And you must be extremely social and engaging and fearless (you are the publicist!). Be dependable. We are totally okay with a flexible schedule and time working on your own, but we’d want to see your shiny face 1-2 times a week. Be fun and happy and wildly creative and excited about life. We are especially interested in hearing from folks with experience/skills in publicity/newspapers/sales/whatever. If you don’t have a ton of experience, sell us on the experience that you do have (but don’t lie or embellish). That’s part of being a publicist!
Send Us:
Your resume and cover letter detailing your skills and telling us why you can do this job – jen@wiredballywho.com.
Helpful hints:
We’ll pay more attention to those who have really read the website, checked us on out on Facebook and maybe even read one or more of the eBooks. And liked them. We’re looking for confident but not cocky. And someone who can write well.
And finally:
We think this is an awesome opportunity for someone to build his or her resume, network with really smart people and learn a ton. We are great folks and even better managers. We like to laugh, work hard, come up with ideas that no one has done before and create success for everyone around us.
February 28, 2013
Series II: With Mettle and Grit now available on Amazon!
Woo hoo! We are so excited to announce that our second eBook, Kingdom of Hamelot Series II: With Mettle and Grit, is now available on Amazon!
Series II will be available on iBookstore, Barnes and Noble, Audible and iTunes soon, so stay tuned!
Even though the conniving Doctor Leachum and Testin Gruberson have been banished into the mist at the end of our last book, not everything is back to normal in Hamelot. There are folks whose courage and confidence are being tested. Has Royal Mail Carrier Posten Letterby finally learned his lesson about gossiping? Cat Biggerton is being verbally bullied. How will she deal with her embarrassment and pain? Brill, the aging dragon slayer and hero, is a lonely man. Will a young friend help him get a new outlook a life? So much uncertainty and so many new characters to meet—onward to Series II!
February 27, 2013
Hamelot Word of the Day: Raconteur
It’s the Kingdom of Hamelot Word of the Day! Do you know any raconteurs?
Here’s where the word appears in our Series I eBook:
He loved to gossip, he loved the telling of tales; he was a raconteur, one of the best, and he loved laughing amongst his friends, with whom his stories made a stir.
The description is about Posten Letterby, the Royal Mail Carrier, who has a bit of a gossiping problem.
February 21, 2013
Looking for book reviewers!
If you are interested in reviewing Kingdom of Hamelot Series I: Menagerie of Murder for your publication or blog, let us know, and we’ll hook you up with the free file for your tablet. Here is the release we sent out to various press and bloggers this morning.
New Transmedia Shakespearian Kingdom Unleashed
Downton Abbey for Kids
February 2013
CONTACT: Jen@wiredballywho.com
SEATTLE— The Kingdom of Hamelot is a vast array of stories and approaches to storytelling that has just been released to tablets everywhere. The series is set in the Elizabethan age with historically-accurate details and could easily serve as a gateway to Shakespeare for kids and tweens.
The Kingdom of Hamelot is a true transmedia approach to storytelling through multiple mediums and various access points. The stories themselves are written as poem-stories in the style of Shakespeare. Some are traditional stories, while others are simply character sketches about the fascinating people that make up the Kingdom. The reader can literally enter the Kingdom from any point and choose to follow the course they wish to take in learning more about the Lords and Ladies of the Kingdom or the more common folk that work in the tavern and other local businesses.
The educational nature of the writing has already gained attention from teachers. Terms of the day are described in a vocabulary list with each story. Also surrounding each story is historic information about the time and place in which Hamelot is set.
The transmedia approach to this Kingdom isn’t just in the style in which it is written but also in the delivery. These eBooks feature illustrations, animation, supplemental video, narration (both dramatic and journalistic), background music and even a Minecraft server dedicated to replicating the Kingdom and introducing vocabulary words.
With more than 200 characters and nearly as many stories, the first series has just been released: Kingdom of Hamelot Series II: Menagerie of Murder. This series includes several profile sketches of the lead characters as well as a tale involving all of them. Kingdom of Hamelot Series II: With Mettle and Grit is due out in a few weeks with even more stories and sketches. Three more series are scheduled for release during 2013.
Kingdom of Hamelot Series I: Menagerie of Murder is available for iPad, iPhone, iPod, Nook, Kindle, and through your browser from the following retailers: iTunes, iBooks, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Vook, and Audible (fully narrated version). It is coming soon to Kobo.
About the Sharon Watts, the author
At the ripe young age of 70, Sharon Watts finally hit on the ultimate outlet for her skills, knowledge and artistic talents, becoming the creator of her own magical world – the Kingdom of Hamelot. A true Anglophile and lifelong lover and student of Shakespeare, Watts has created a Kingdom involving every level of society involving tales of good and evil, always in a historically accurate setting. A fan of Upstairs, Downstairs and now Downton Abbey, she has created these fun tales follow in a similar tradition.
For a complimentary copy to review or for more information about the Kingdom of Hamelot, please contact Jen Olson of Wired Ballywho at jen@wiredballywho.com. Visit our website at http://kingdomofhamelot.com.
February 20, 2013
Hamelot Minecraft server update
Elijah, Zaccary, Trevor and the gang are hard at work on the Kingdom of Hamelot Minecraft server, which will be released in beta in early March.
We are going to add a lot of fun bells and whistles and challenges to the game, so you won’t want to miss it. Until then, here’s a screenshot of the Royal Palace. Pretty cool, eh?
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New Hamelot animated video
Just in time for our release of Kingdom of Hamelot Series II: With Mettle and Grit, our esteemed illustrator and animator Tasia Duckart has updated our animated video.
For those of you who get Series II on the iPad or certain models of the NOOK, you’ll be able to view the video within the eBook. We think that’s pretty darn cool and hope that someday all devices will have the capability to show video.
Until then, you’ll have to enjoy it via YouTube..
February 13, 2013
Tech Savvy Teacher Needed to Write Lesson Plans
We are publishers of a new eBook series for 8-13 year olds called the Kingdom of Hamelot. We have just released the first eBook and are looking for a teacher to write fun, innovative and meaningful lesson plans around the eBook.
We are giving away copies of the eBook to teachers with iPads who want to use Kingdom of Hamelot Series I: Menagerie of Murder in their classrooms (feel free to tell your friends about that!). But we don’t want to stop there: We want to have some really useful resources and ideas for how to best use this enhanced eBook as a learning tool. And that’s where you come in!
Something of a cross between Harry Potter and Downton Abbey for kids, this complex kingdom comes to life for the reader through the iconic characters and the magic of enhanced books. The Kingdom of Hamelot stories are based in a mythical, Elizabethan-era kingdom. The world is rooted in historical facts about the time period and includes tales of magic, intrigue and deception, as well as friendship, acceptance and love. The Kingdom of Hamelot is an enhanced series, meaning the words on the (digital) page are accompanied by music and narration, challenging vocabulary words and rich illustrations–and even entertaining supplemental videos.
The lesson plans would target teachers throughout the country, so the learning objectives should be tied to Common Core standards. Lesson plans could involve vocabulary, background information on the time period, activities or projects and a formative assessment.
We want you to be creative and have fun! Your lesson plans will be posted on our website and other sites like ReadThinkWrite.org (and of course you’d get credit). We have a $200 budget for this project, and we need you to deliver the final project within five days of our final agreement. You must have or have access to an iPad to read the eBook. We will provide you the eBook.
If you are interested, please send us one of your lesson plans and tell us about your classroom experience and a little bit about your teaching philosophy. Remember, we need you to turn this around quickly, so only those who can complete the work quickly should apply.
It won’t hurt if you know a little bit about us and Hamelot — you can find that out on our website – http://kingdomofhamelot.com.
Send your information and questions to jen@kingdomofhamelot.com.
We look forward to hearing from you!
