Krista Van Dolzer's Blog, page 19

Enter to Win Signed Copies of THE SOUND OF LIFE AND EVERYTHING and DON'T VOTE FOR ME!

To complement the Goodreads giveaway still going on for DON'T VOTE FOR ME, I'm giving away one signed copy of THE SOUND OF LIFE AND EVERYTHING and one signed copy of DON'T VOTE FOR ME right here on the blog. To enter, leave a comment below and tell me if you want to win THE SOUND OF LIFE AND EVERYTHING, DON'T VOTE FOR ME, or both. (I'll do two separate drawings, but you can enter both if you want to, which means it will be possible for one person to win both books.) Since I'll have to mail tw...

Operation Every Child

The teen blogger over at Bookish Serendipity recently alerted me to a fundraiser she's started that I wanted to share with you. Operation Every Child plans to give each kid at a Toronto women's shelter two new books for Christmas. All proceeds will benefit the shelter, and teen blogger Jessica has organized the entire thing, making it not just a great cause but a great extracurricular activity. I wish I'd had such great ideas when I was fourteen.

(Fellow children's authors, if you're inte...

Giveaways Galore

Sourcebooks has been great about sponsoring giveaways for DON'T VOTE FOR ME, and when I spied their latest effort, a twenty-book extravaganza over on Goodreads, I knew I had to join in. While their giveaway plays out over the never couple of months, I'll be sponsoring several smaller giveaways for THE SOUND OF LIFE AND EVERYTHING, and the first one just went up. It's also on Goodreads, so definitely hop over there and get your name into both giveaways. (The one for DON'T VOTE FOR ME is only o...

Bad Mom

I'm not the best mom (or the best blogger, clearly, but that's another post). I yell sometimes. I don't always serve vegetables. I avoid combing Lady's hair because I'm tired of the screaming. On the good days, I shake my head and tell myself that I'll do better, and on the bad days, I dissolve into a puddle of self-loathing who has to convince herself that she's still worth something.

I'll be the first to admit that motherhood doesn't come naturally to me. Well, some things come naturally--I...

Book Recommendation: WHEELZ by Steven C. Fotheringham

When I tell people I write books, a lot of them tell me that they have a book idea or that they'd like to do that someday. No one ever tells me that they're writing one--except for Steve Fotheringham. And when Steve told me that his book was about his crazy-on-a-wheelchair son, I knew I had to read it.

As the father of WCMX (or wheelchair motocross, for the uninitiated), Aaron Fotheringham has done some amazing things. He's successfully landed multiple backflips in competition, served as...

And the Winner Is...

Ella Zegarra!

Congratulations, Ella! Please e-mail me at kvandolzer(at)gmail(dot)com to let me know where I can send your copy of THE SOUND OF LIFE AND EVERYTHING. And thanks, everyone, for celebrating DON'T VOTE FOR ME's release day!

Happy Book Birthday, DON'T VOTE FOR ME!

The summer started with a bang with THE SOUND OF LIFE AND EVERYTHING's release, and now it's ending with another bang as DON'T VOTE FOR ME comes out. This book is a lot more lighthearted (though THE SOUND OF LIFE AND EVERYTHING does have its lighter moments, too), but it occurred to me not long ago that, deep down, they're both about finding friends in unexpected places. I guess I feel strongly about that:)

About DON'T VOTE FOR ME:

"It's class president election time, and no one is surprised wh...

Three Opportunities to Win DON'T VOTE FOR ME

Clearly, Honey Bear should have been an architect.
There are a handful of DON'T VOTE FOR ME giveaways floating around the Internet right now, so instead of tweeting about them one by one, I thought I'd put all the links in one blog post:

Goodreads

Rebecca J. Allen

Hopelessly Devoted Bibliophile

You can enter the blog contests anytime in the next month, but the Goodreads giveaway ends next week, so don't delay!

Book Review: GO SET A WATCHMAN by Harper Lee

It's no secret that I love TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD. (Case in point: the street names in THE SOUND OF LIFE AND EVERYTHING are my idea of a tribute.) It's been one of my favorite classics since I read it in the ninth grade, and when I reread it several years ago, my affection only grew. The scene in which Scout stands on Boo's porch and sees their summer through his eyes is one of the finest moments in American literature, and upon rereading it, I was literally moved to tears. So when they announ...

What I've Learned from My First Few Author Events

Jennifer got the last copy at my first book signing ever.I've been a published author for a little less than two months now, so I've had a chance to do my first few author events. I've done book signings at my local Deseret Book and Barnes & Noble, had a launch party at a popular independent closer to my hometown, and participated in a panel discussion at a nearby high school. Several people have asked me how those went, so I thought I'd put together a short list of things I've learned.

1....