Susan Navas's Blog, page 4
September 9, 2014
Trailer for Agnil and the Wizard’s Orb
Yes, I know the book has been out a while, but I have now managed to find the time to produce a trailer for Agnil and the Wizard’s Orb!
Enjoy and please share!
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Five Star Reviews for Agnil’s Worlds!
Several months ago, I submitted the first two of the Agnil’s Worlds books to a Readers’ Favorite, a book reviews and awards organisation requesting professional reviews for them. I wanted to get honest reviews so I went for a free rather than their paid option nor do I know any of the people at Readers’ Favorites in any way, shape or form. That way they were not obliged in any way to give a favourable review. It took a few months to get the reviews back but, suddenly, both notifications arrived in my inbox within 24 hours of each other!
To receive one five star review was brilliant but when the second arrived I couldn’t quite believe it! I was over the moon to discover that both books had been awarded five star reviews!
Readers Favorite also run a prestigious annual award and I am currently considering whether I should submit one of them for next year’s contest. What do you think? Are you more likely to read or recommend a book which has won an award?
Here are links to the reviews:
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August 17, 2014
Price change!
Usually when someone announces a price change it means that the price has gone up. In this case it’s the opposite! The e-book version of The Rise of Agnil, book 1 of the Agnil’s Worlds series, is now reduced in pice to 77p/99c on a long-term basis. Grab it at the new bargain price and pass the good news on to others.
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July 24, 2014
Life changing
Today is the first day of the rest of my life. Until yesterday I worked as a teacher in a wonderful primary school. I had been there for a long time and all my children attended the school. It has been a part of who I am for very many years but today I have left it behind. I am ready to move on to the next chapter of my life by turning to writing. This will give me time and energy to continue the Agnil’s Worlds series and maybe branch out into other genres too.
However, life is never straightforward and the best laid plans don’t always go without a hiccup. I do have some family problems to deal with over the next few weeks. Because my internet access will be rather intermittent, I may not be able to update this blog for a little while. On the other hand, I do hope to have some time to write. Book 4 is bubbling away in my mind, desperate to appear!
Remember, if you haven’t yet read the third book, Agnil and the Tree Spirits, it is now available from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, iTunes, Scribd and right here!
If you have read the book but haven’t yet left a review on Amazon, please help me out by spending a few moments doing this. Reviews on a book help its ‘visibility’ on Amazon and enables us to further promote it to a wider audience.
Children’s reviews can be sent to me via the contact page for inclusion on the reviews page.
Many thanks to you all for following me on this exciting journey through Agnil’s Worlds!
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July 3, 2014
Indie Book of the Day
Yesterday evening, I came home tired after an awful drive to do an airport pickup. The M11 motorway had been closed in both directions due to an over-turned lorry spilling glue across both carriageways. Imagine how delighted I was to find this in my inbox! During the week of promoting The Rise of Agnil to celebrate Children’s Book Week, it has been awarded Indie Book of the Day! Agnil and I are very happy! Visit their web site to see the full post.
Indie Book of the Day
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June 29, 2014
Children’s Book Week Special Offer!
To celebrate Children’s Book Week, the ebook version of The Rise of Agnil, book 1 of the Agnil’s Worlds series, will be on special offer for the bargain price of 77p – you can’t even buy a cup of coffee for that price! And, because I’m feeling generous, this offer isn’t restricted to the UK. In other parts of the world, the price will appear as 99c. Please tell all your friends and forward the link to the post to anyone you think might be interested. The promotion will run from Monday 30th June until Sunday 6th July.
What a catch for 77p!
Buy The Rise of Agnil on Amazon
Children’s Book Week is an annual celebration of reading for pleasure for children that has been running for over 80 years. It is organised by The Book Trust in the UK. This year it will take place from Monday 30th June until Friday 4th July. Many schools and libraries all over the country will be organising events activities to promote reading for pleasure, to use libraries and explore bookshops. Now is the time to treat yourself or somebody else to a good children’s book! Visit The Book Trust’s web site to find resources.
Once the week is over and you’re all fired up about reading, why not sign up for the Summer Reading Challenge at your local library? This year’s theme is “Mythical Maze”. The web site is packed full of activities and book suggestions for children of all ages. You’ll just need to create a profile with parental permission to log in and then you can even add book recommendations to the Book Sorter!
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June 24, 2014
Book + Chocolate = Bliss
So what’s a chocolate book blog?
As I sit in the shade of my pergola on a glorious midsummer day, the air around me scented with jasmine, I’m worried that the chocolate on this blog post will melt!
I’ve been passed the baton in a chocolate book blog tour by the lovely Karen Emma Hall, founder of the Kid Literature Authors group that I am involved with. You can read her chocolate book blog here.
The challenge is to choose six books and six different varieties of chocolate that I feel are a good match for the books. Most of the chocolate book blogs I’ve read so far have focused on children’s books but I really wanted to include some books for adults too, so I’m going to break the mould a little.
The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
Perhaps the best known of all the Narnia books by this author, I suppose it was inevitable that I should include it here. After all, my own books fall into the same genre. But it’s more important to me than that to not miss this book out. The Chronicles of Narnia was the first book series that really enthralled me as a child and I was so bitterly disappointed when I got to the end of it that I searched the library high and low for any more books written by C.S. Lewis.
This much-loved classic children’s book describes the fantasy world that four WW2 evacuees enter and echos the war going on in the real world through their battles against evil. Good, as in all decent children’s books of this type, triumphs.
To match this book I’m choosing Fry’s Five Boys chocolate. Although this is no longer for sale, I remember it so well from my childhood, I feel it’s a good match for my vivid memory of the book.
Goodnight, Mr Tom by Michelle Magorian
Another book recounting the life of a WW2 evacuee. This time firmly set in the very real world that William, the main character, finds himself in. Pulled away from an abusive home life, William finds himself placed in the home of widower, Tom. Initially reluctant to become a carer for the child, Tom quickly realises how much the boy needs him. The very moving story is about the growing bond between the two, friendships made and lost and William’s agony at returning to stay with his mother for a while before being rescued by Mr Tom.
I’ve read this book many times to classes of children over the years and every time I have to warn them in advance that I’m likely to shed a tear or two.
To match this book I’ve chosen Cadbury’s Dairy Milk. Available on rationing during WWII, and advertised as having a glass and a half of milk in every half pound, I’m sure Mr Tom would have done his best to get hold of some for William!
Northern Lights by Philip Pullman
I have no idea why, but in North America this book is known as The Golden Compass. This first book of the YA epic series, His Dark Materials, was introduced to me by my daughter who was working in a children’s book shop in Cambridge at the time. It’s another fantasy book set in a parallel universe to our own, but more than that, this book has a message so powerful it even upset the Pope! It features the journey of a girl called Lyra to the Arctic in search of her missing friend, Roger, and her imprisoned uncle, Lord Asriel, who has been conducting experiments with a mysterious substance known as “Dust”.
Choosing chocolate to match this book proved difficult, but as it was a story of someone heading into a very cold region, it reminded me of white chocolate. I present you with Hotel Chocolat’s Sleekster White Selection.
The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey
Set in Alaska, this is an adult fairy tale based on a traditional Russian folk tale, Little Daughter of the Snow. It tells of a couple unable to have children. One day the wife, Mabel, makes a child out of snow and the very next day the snow child has disappeared leaving a set of footprints leading away from where it stood. It’s a magical story, but please don’t make the mistake of thinking that this version might be suitable for children; it isn’t.
This is a story of love and hope, so to match it I have found these raw chocolate strawberry and pink peppercorn hearts from the Magic Chocolate Company.
The Novel in the Viola by Natasha Solomons
This beautifully written second novel from Natasha Solomons, whose first was Mr Rosenbloom’s List, is set in Dorset and tells the story of a young Austrian Jew from a wealthy family who flees her home country shortly before the start of WW2. She goes to work as a maid in a country home and it tells of how she adapts to her new life. It is a moving story with wonderful descriptions of English country life in the 1930s.
In my mind the perfect match for this book are the delicious Mozartkugeln, chocolate balls (in some cases still hand-made) from Austria.
Chickens, Mules and Two Old Fools by Victoria Twead
This book, the first of the Two Old Fools series, is a light and lovely memoir about when Victoria, a former teacher, and her husband moved to a little village in the mountains in Andalucia. If you need something that will make you chuckle, as well as green with envy for the life she now leads, this is the book for you! I first read this book in 2011 and have since gone on to read the others in the series. However, I have chosen this book for the very simple reason that the author has had a profound influence on my life. Three years ago she was just the author of a book I read but today she is my publisher and responsible for bringing Agnil’s Worlds into public view.
I happen to know that Victoria is rather partial to McVities’ Chocolate Hobnob biscuits. Even if biscuits aren’t allowed, it’s my blog and I’ll have chocolate biscuits if I want to!
I am passing the baton to Sandra Stoner Mitchell, the author of Hedgerow Capers which is all about a group of friends who live in Hedgerow Village. Just like children, they have lots of fun playing and making things and getting up to all sorts of capers. You can find her web site here. Look out for her chocolate book blog tour post the week beginning 28th June.
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June 13, 2014
Agnil and the Tree Spirits is launched!
With a little help from a few locals…
a happy song…
and the best fireworks show ever…
I am over the moon to announce the arrival of Agnil and the Tree Spirits, book 3 of the Agnil’s Worlds series!
Now available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and right here!
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June 6, 2014
Agnil and the Tree Spirits – cover reveal!
With the imminent release of Agnil and the Tree Spirits, book 3 of the Agnil’s Worlds series, I wanted to share with you the cover and the blurb for the new book!
In Lilurrian, one of the eight elf worlds, tree spirits and elves live in harmony with nature in a beautiful forest. The Great Library, the centre of elf learning and culture, lies at its heart. When the Navigator sets out to mine the crystals of Lilurrian, the whole forest is under threat of destruction. How can Agnil, the half-elf, prevent this disaster? Who is the Navigator and what does he really want?
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May 28, 2014
Illustration Reveal Number 2 – Book 3
Not long now till the release of book 3 so we’re going to peek through the curtains for another hint of what’s coming your way! This time I’m revealing an illustration from the first chapter of Agnil and the Tree Spirits. I hope you enjoy the picture. All illustrations in the Agnil’s Worlds books are by Charlotte Moore.
Agnil is on a beach with her dad who’s fallen asleep. With nothing else to do, she decides to go for a walk and explore the rock pools, when it starts to rain…
As Agnil watched it, first one and then a lot more large raindrops plopped into the pool, sending ripples across the surface of the water.
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