James Horvath's Blog, page 2

Build, Dogs, Build Giveaway on Goodreads!

It's getting closer to the release date for Build, Dogs, Build: A Tall Tail. So I set up a Giveaway on Goodreads. I'll be giving away 5 signed and personalized copies of the new book once it releases in December. So follow the link and sign up for a chance to win a copy of my next book!






 

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How to Draw Dig, Dogs, Dig

In preparation for the Orange County Children's Book Festival this coming weekend I created a simple "How-to" page to show everyone how I draw my dog characters.

The festival is this Sunday, September 29th from 9:30AM - 4:30PM at Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa California. Hundreds of children's authors and illustrators will be there signing and selling their books. If you get a chance, come on down and stop by my booth. I have activity sheets, stickers, books and a raffle for some signed and personalized copies of my next book Build, Dogs, Build: A Tall Tail.

I'll be on the illustration stage at 1:00PM and again at 2:45PM giving a live drawing demonstration and showing you all just how easy it is to draw your favorite dog characters. But if you can't make it, no problem. I've created this little "How-to-Draw" activity sheet that will walk you though the steps.

Hope to see you at the festival!

Play, Learn, Share... Dig!

I'm almost always online so when I ran across a blog post by Taryn and her kids on how much they enjoyed Dig, Dogs, Dig I couldn't help but respond. As a parent of home schooled/un-schooled kids I love reading about other parents who are fully engaged and excited about sharing wonderful learning and growing experiences with their kids. At this, Taryn is an expert!

So I couldn't wait to share some activity sheets and a special unbound copy of my next book Build, Dogs, Build: A Tall Tail. I'm so pleased they loved it as much as the first. With me, flattery will get you everything! 

Thanks for the great post Taryn.


http://playlearnshare.blogspot.com/2013/09/dig-dogs-dig-surprise.html

Goodreads Giveaway!

I'm giving away 3 signed copies of Dig, Dogs, Dig: A Construction Tail on Goodreads. The giveaway ends on September 30th so follow the link and sign up for a chance to win a free book. Dig, Dogs, Dig Giveaway.

New Ad in Shelf Awareness

Running an ad this week in Shelf Awareness to see if I can reach a few more people. The book has been getting great reviews and selling really well. But since I'm not a household name... yet, every little bit helps.
The ad links over to the HarperCollins page with all the buy links and my book trailer. I'm curious to see what the response will be.




Order your copy today!
Amazon: http://amzn.to/XXcDvz 
Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/10dCkoc
Books-a-Million: http://bit.ly/ZOZSzW
IndieBound: http://bit.ly/17iDVQ1
To learn more, visit http://bit.ly/12IqdEQ 

San Francisco Book Review

I just found two great 5-star book reviews for Dig, Dogs, Dig on the San Francisco Book Review. What makes these two reviews great, aside from the 5-star ratings is they're written by two five-year-old boys. Talk about getting direct feedback from your target audience.

Thanks Adam and Hayden. I'm glad you liked my book, and hopefully you'll like my next book, Build, Dogs, Build: A Tall Tail, scheduled for release December 31st, 2013. 

Here's a couple quick quotes:

"I really liked this book because I liked reading about all of the different construction vehicles. I also liked how the words rhymed on each page. I noticed that the black cat was hiding on each page. I thought it was fun trying to spot the black cat! While the dogs were digging they found something hard. You will have to read the book to find out what it was! This book is one of my new favorite books!" - Adam, age 5

"I like this book because there is a kitty in it.  There is a dog in the book that looks like my dog so we called him Tucker.  The dog I call Tucker is friends with the kitty I like. I also like the illustrations.  It was fun to find the kitty on every page hiding among the dogs.  I liked when the kitty was spying on the ducks in the pond.  Kids who are my age (five) or younger would like this book.  I give it five stars." - Hayden, age 5

Check out Adam and Hayden's full reviews.

I love my job!!

The Children's Book Review

I'm featured in an "Authors Showcase" on theChildrensBookReview.com this month. You can check out the interview here.

I'm also doing a promotional give-away of 3 signed and personalized books. You can go to this link and register for a chance to win. The give-away ends on July 31st.

New York Times highlights Dig, Dogs, Dig.

Building a Playground
‘Construction Kitties’ and ‘Dig, Dogs, Dig’




By PAMELA PAULPublished: May 15, 2013


Great new article in the New York Times today. Click on the link below to get the full article. Here's a quick quote: 

"With its punchy rhymes and Hanna-Barbera panoramas, “Dig, Dogs, Dig” hops along with the bouncy effervescence of P.D. Eastman’s “Go Dog. Go!,”

 
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/15/books/construction-kitties-and-dig-dogs-dig.html

Launch Event

We had an amazing launch event for Dig, Dogs, Dig on Sunday. Lots of people dropped by to purchase and have their books signed and I got the chance to do a fun reading with some of my biggest fans!

The event was held at Coalesce Book Store in beautiful downtown Morro Bay. 

The Levon "Lemon" Horvath Interview

So my youngest sone, Levon, although he prefers to go by the name "Lemon" has been very helpful to me during the process of writing and illustrating Dig, Dogs, Dig. So helpful, that he's pretty sure he did most of the work himself. 

We decided to interview him and see what he had to say. He does eventually give me a little credit. And truth be told, he was a very big part of Dig, Dogs, Dig!

I dedicated the book to both my boys, Levon and Ezzy. And you can see them on the inside credits page.