Kathy Cyr's Blog: Kathy Cyr- Author, page 91
August 14, 2016
Morning
Good Morning, lovely people,
I hope you're all doing well and feeling fine.
There's no current updates just yet. I'm still in the middle of book 5.
It's going well. I'm currently constructing some exciting scenes and letting the characters take me where they want to go.
I'm just popping in to say hello.
There's been a long stretch of massive heat, humidity and storms here.
I'll be glad when it begins to cool off. I hope wherever you are that it's not too bad.
There are some new mini book banners in the freebies section. I was attempting to animate them, but I haven't done that in years and found that I am more than rusty. My attempts to make animated banners failed, so they are static instead. Not the greatest, but not that bad either.
Besides #amwriting, I'll be switching around the front page of this site later today.
Can you believe summer is just about over? I know, for some of you, it has already ended as school has started up again.
I've had a few people ask about the Max Hamby series and how much I write. LOL, alot. I know I've posted how I write it some where in this blog. I write long hand, multiple times before I type into the computer. I'll take a couple photos, so you can see for yourself. It's weird and crazy, but it works for me. ;)
Alright, it's time to get down to work. I hope your day (or evening) is a good one for you. May it be filled with love, laughter and light.
#books #ebooks #readers #kindle #fantasy #bookseries #maxhamby #blogger
I hope you're all doing well and feeling fine.
There's no current updates just yet. I'm still in the middle of book 5.
It's going well. I'm currently constructing some exciting scenes and letting the characters take me where they want to go.
I'm just popping in to say hello.
There's been a long stretch of massive heat, humidity and storms here.
I'll be glad when it begins to cool off. I hope wherever you are that it's not too bad.
There are some new mini book banners in the freebies section. I was attempting to animate them, but I haven't done that in years and found that I am more than rusty. My attempts to make animated banners failed, so they are static instead. Not the greatest, but not that bad either.
Besides #amwriting, I'll be switching around the front page of this site later today.
Can you believe summer is just about over? I know, for some of you, it has already ended as school has started up again.
I've had a few people ask about the Max Hamby series and how much I write. LOL, alot. I know I've posted how I write it some where in this blog. I write long hand, multiple times before I type into the computer. I'll take a couple photos, so you can see for yourself. It's weird and crazy, but it works for me. ;)
Alright, it's time to get down to work. I hope your day (or evening) is a good one for you. May it be filled with love, laughter and light.
#books #ebooks #readers #kindle #fantasy #bookseries #maxhamby #blogger
August 13, 2016
August 2, 2016
Meet Knoxby
This is Knoxby, half-human & half-troll. He's a part of the Max Hamby book series.
The Max Hamby series. Check it out!
Drop by the website!
The Max Hamby series. Check it out!
Drop by the website!
July 17, 2016
Updates
Good Morning, my lovely readers,
I hope your weekend is going great for you.
Just a few quick updates this AM.
Book 5 is coming along nicely. I thought I might be at the halfway point before, but there was too many strange things happening. Max, his family and friends are on a rollercoaster of trouble and danger. I might be at the halfway point now, but you never know. ;) Either way, book 5 will be for you in the next couple of months.
On the front page of the website, chapter 1 of books 1 - 4 are free to read right now. Go read them! :) If you like what you've read, the books are available on Amazon (& other online retailers) in ebook and paperback. A review, a share, a link or anything similar is always appreciated.
I think that's it for the moment. I'll be switching up the site here and there, adding things, etc. Stop by any time or you can visit any one of my social media sites and say hello.
Have a great day, my friends! May it be good to you and yours.
K. :)
I hope your weekend is going great for you.
Just a few quick updates this AM.
Book 5 is coming along nicely. I thought I might be at the halfway point before, but there was too many strange things happening. Max, his family and friends are on a rollercoaster of trouble and danger. I might be at the halfway point now, but you never know. ;) Either way, book 5 will be for you in the next couple of months.
On the front page of the website, chapter 1 of books 1 - 4 are free to read right now. Go read them! :) If you like what you've read, the books are available on Amazon (& other online retailers) in ebook and paperback. A review, a share, a link or anything similar is always appreciated.
I think that's it for the moment. I'll be switching up the site here and there, adding things, etc. Stop by any time or you can visit any one of my social media sites and say hello.
Have a great day, my friends! May it be good to you and yours.
K. :)
July 7, 2016
Jacqueline Woodson’s Windows
Good Morning, lovely readers,
In browsing through The Writer magazine, I came across this lovely profile & article on Jacqueline Woodson. Have you read her books, Brown Girl Dreaming or Miracle Boys?
Check out the profile and article below. And for you writers out there, she gives some wonderful advice for MG & YA.
Jacqueline Woodson compares the writing process to pregnancy: A story seeds, gestates and takes form in the author’s psyche before being delivered onto the page. And if you stick with the well-known “birth a book” metaphor, you could say Woodson has a rather large family: In the last 25 years, she has become the proud parent of more than 30 works of fiction, poetry and nonfiction for children and young adults. The prolific author, who usually works on two or three books at a time, crafts vivid prose and poetry that have won many awards, including the Margaret A. Edwards Award for Lifetime Achievement. After publishing the memoir Brown Girl Dreaming last fall, Woodson decided to take a rare break from the work.“While writing the book, I became conscious of all these connections to many of the other books I’ve written,” she says. “I realized Coming On Home Soon came from the time my mom went to New York and left us with our grandparents so she could find a place to live, and that Locomotion was connected to the moment in fifth grade when I realized my dream of becoming a writer would become a reality. I decided to stop writing until I could start again from a place where I wasn’t too aware of where the story was coming from.”
Brown Girl Dreaming is made up of short poems that tell of Woodson’s growing up in the American North and South during the ’60s and ’70s when the legacy of Jim Crow gave rise to the civil rights movement. The memoir, which Woodson describes as “a book of memories of my childhood,” explores the separations and losses in her family, along with the triumphs and moments of tenderness.
“There isn’t much precedence for the kind of writing Jackie does,” says author Veronica Chambers, who reviewed Brown Girl Dreaming for The New York Times. “There are the mega books – the Harry Potter series, the Roald Dahls, books that become movies – but in terms of literary fiction that is also accessible and offers thoughtful writing for children, there isn’t a huge group of people doing this, especially in terms of sharing the same gender and skin color. When Virginia Hamilton won the first MacArthur Fellowship for writing children’s fiction, my first thought was, ‘Great, that means one day Jacqueline Woodson is going to get one.’”
Early years
Brown Girl Dreaming also recounts Woodson’s journey of self-discovery through storytelling. In the segment “Composition Notebook,” she writes:
I don’t know how my first composition notebook ended up in my hands, long before I could really write someone must have known that this was all I needed.
Woodson used her first notebook to learn to write letters, her name and, eventually, stories.
“Writing was the outlet,” she says. “I always had story inside me but didn’t know what it was. I got into trouble for telling stories because people said I was lying, which was confusing. I didn’t know I could take what was happening in my head and shape it into this thing called writing. I didn’t know I could put it down on paper and be calmer. I write because I need to get it out of me.”
As a girl, Woodson read Judy Blume, Hans Christian Andersen and other popular children’s authors but missed seeing characters that looked like her in the books’ pages. When she began writing, one of her primary goals was to populate her stories with diverse casts of characters. Woodson cites inspiration from children’s literature scholar and professor emerita of education at Ohio State University Rudine Sims Bishop, who suggested that reading provides windows into other worlds and mirrors as reflections of the self.
“Kids of color have not had the mirrors to see reflections of themselves in literature,” Woodson says. “They have looked through windows into white worlds but the reverse has not been true.”
Maggie Hanelt, assistant director and youth services librarian at the Truro Library on Cape Cod in Massachusetts, invited Woodson to read at the library last summer because she wanted to present an author who could speak to issues of diversity. Each year, Hanelt offers books as gifts to graduating sixth graders from the Truro Central School and, in 2014, those books were Woodson’s Feathers and Miracle’s Boys.
“On the Cape, there isn’t as much diversity as in the city,” Hanelt says. “I wanted to show the sixth graders there are different writers and experiences. Jacqueline was so well-received that one mother said she planned on reading Brown Girl Dreaming to all three of her children.”
Click here for the full article.
In browsing through The Writer magazine, I came across this lovely profile & article on Jacqueline Woodson. Have you read her books, Brown Girl Dreaming or Miracle Boys?
Check out the profile and article below. And for you writers out there, she gives some wonderful advice for MG & YA.
Jacqueline Woodson compares the writing process to pregnancy: A story seeds, gestates and takes form in the author’s psyche before being delivered onto the page. And if you stick with the well-known “birth a book” metaphor, you could say Woodson has a rather large family: In the last 25 years, she has become the proud parent of more than 30 works of fiction, poetry and nonfiction for children and young adults. The prolific author, who usually works on two or three books at a time, crafts vivid prose and poetry that have won many awards, including the Margaret A. Edwards Award for Lifetime Achievement. After publishing the memoir Brown Girl Dreaming last fall, Woodson decided to take a rare break from the work.“While writing the book, I became conscious of all these connections to many of the other books I’ve written,” she says. “I realized Coming On Home Soon came from the time my mom went to New York and left us with our grandparents so she could find a place to live, and that Locomotion was connected to the moment in fifth grade when I realized my dream of becoming a writer would become a reality. I decided to stop writing until I could start again from a place where I wasn’t too aware of where the story was coming from.”
Brown Girl Dreaming is made up of short poems that tell of Woodson’s growing up in the American North and South during the ’60s and ’70s when the legacy of Jim Crow gave rise to the civil rights movement. The memoir, which Woodson describes as “a book of memories of my childhood,” explores the separations and losses in her family, along with the triumphs and moments of tenderness.
“There isn’t much precedence for the kind of writing Jackie does,” says author Veronica Chambers, who reviewed Brown Girl Dreaming for The New York Times. “There are the mega books – the Harry Potter series, the Roald Dahls, books that become movies – but in terms of literary fiction that is also accessible and offers thoughtful writing for children, there isn’t a huge group of people doing this, especially in terms of sharing the same gender and skin color. When Virginia Hamilton won the first MacArthur Fellowship for writing children’s fiction, my first thought was, ‘Great, that means one day Jacqueline Woodson is going to get one.’”
Early years
Brown Girl Dreaming also recounts Woodson’s journey of self-discovery through storytelling. In the segment “Composition Notebook,” she writes:
I don’t know how my first composition notebook ended up in my hands, long before I could really write someone must have known that this was all I needed.
Woodson used her first notebook to learn to write letters, her name and, eventually, stories.
“Writing was the outlet,” she says. “I always had story inside me but didn’t know what it was. I got into trouble for telling stories because people said I was lying, which was confusing. I didn’t know I could take what was happening in my head and shape it into this thing called writing. I didn’t know I could put it down on paper and be calmer. I write because I need to get it out of me.”
As a girl, Woodson read Judy Blume, Hans Christian Andersen and other popular children’s authors but missed seeing characters that looked like her in the books’ pages. When she began writing, one of her primary goals was to populate her stories with diverse casts of characters. Woodson cites inspiration from children’s literature scholar and professor emerita of education at Ohio State University Rudine Sims Bishop, who suggested that reading provides windows into other worlds and mirrors as reflections of the self.
“Kids of color have not had the mirrors to see reflections of themselves in literature,” Woodson says. “They have looked through windows into white worlds but the reverse has not been true.”
Maggie Hanelt, assistant director and youth services librarian at the Truro Library on Cape Cod in Massachusetts, invited Woodson to read at the library last summer because she wanted to present an author who could speak to issues of diversity. Each year, Hanelt offers books as gifts to graduating sixth graders from the Truro Central School and, in 2014, those books were Woodson’s Feathers and Miracle’s Boys.
“On the Cape, there isn’t as much diversity as in the city,” Hanelt says. “I wanted to show the sixth graders there are different writers and experiences. Jacqueline was so well-received that one mother said she planned on reading Brown Girl Dreaming to all three of her children.”
Click here for the full article.
July 6, 2016
Book Riot Giveaway
Good Morning, lovely readers,
Came across Book Riot's giveaway and thought you might be interested. Check it out.
This giveaway is sponsored by I’m Your Biggest Fan by Kate Coyne.
The Executive Editor of People Magazine provides an unfiltered and hilarious look at her life alongside the rich and famous, as she reveals how being a fan-girl lead to celebrity close encounters she could only dream of growing up.
“Kate Coyne tells all in I’M YOUR BIGGEST FAN, her honest, funny, insider-y new memoir of her years chasing stars.” – Good Housekeeping
I spilled white wine on Lauren Groff on a boat once. I talked to Jeffrey Eugenides about roast beef sandwiches for an awkward amount of time. When I met Megan Abbott, the first thing I did was apologize for all the cursing I do on Twitter. I’m pretty awkward with authors.
Plus, you can win a copy of I‘m Your Biggest Fan by Kate Coyne, and a $100 gift card to any book retailer. Cool, right?
Read more here .
Came across Book Riot's giveaway and thought you might be interested. Check it out.
This giveaway is sponsored by I’m Your Biggest Fan by Kate Coyne.
The Executive Editor of People Magazine provides an unfiltered and hilarious look at her life alongside the rich and famous, as she reveals how being a fan-girl lead to celebrity close encounters she could only dream of growing up.
“Kate Coyne tells all in I’M YOUR BIGGEST FAN, her honest, funny, insider-y new memoir of her years chasing stars.” – Good Housekeeping
I spilled white wine on Lauren Groff on a boat once. I talked to Jeffrey Eugenides about roast beef sandwiches for an awkward amount of time. When I met Megan Abbott, the first thing I did was apologize for all the cursing I do on Twitter. I’m pretty awkward with authors.
Plus, you can win a copy of I‘m Your Biggest Fan by Kate Coyne, and a $100 gift card to any book retailer. Cool, right?
Read more here .
June 26, 2016
New Promo Graphic
New promo graphic that includes book 5 (coming Fall 2016). :)
Happy Sunday & A Thank you.
Good Morning, lovely people!
It's super early for most of you (5am), but it is my favorite time of day.
The sun is just coming over the horizon, most of the world is still asleep, the birds are singing and the humidity has not set in just yet.
Pair all that with a large mug (52 oz Bubba Cup. lol.) of coffee and it makes for the perfect writing time.
Yes, you read that right. 52 oz. My coffee cup looks like a mini barrel and can fit about 10 cups or more in it. Crazy, right? It's all good, because that's (most of) the coffee I have for the day, with the exception of a small cup in the afternoon. The rest of the time it's water. You'd think I'd be bouncing off the walls with so much caffeine, but I'm quite used to it.
I woke up this morning to a few more readers and lovely comments about the Max Hamby series. What a great way to start the day. Thank you past, current and new readers. The day has just begun and you already made it a great one. I do believe the Max Hamby series is slowly gaining momentum. That is fantastic. I do hope you all enjoy reading it, as much as I enjoy writing it.
Speaking of writing, it's time to get to work. Have yourself a wonderful day. May it be very good to you and yours and make sure you do something today that makes you happy. It doesn't matter how big or small.
Sending positive vibes and good thoughts your way.
K. :)
It's super early for most of you (5am), but it is my favorite time of day.
The sun is just coming over the horizon, most of the world is still asleep, the birds are singing and the humidity has not set in just yet.
Pair all that with a large mug (52 oz Bubba Cup. lol.) of coffee and it makes for the perfect writing time.
Yes, you read that right. 52 oz. My coffee cup looks like a mini barrel and can fit about 10 cups or more in it. Crazy, right? It's all good, because that's (most of) the coffee I have for the day, with the exception of a small cup in the afternoon. The rest of the time it's water. You'd think I'd be bouncing off the walls with so much caffeine, but I'm quite used to it.
I woke up this morning to a few more readers and lovely comments about the Max Hamby series. What a great way to start the day. Thank you past, current and new readers. The day has just begun and you already made it a great one. I do believe the Max Hamby series is slowly gaining momentum. That is fantastic. I do hope you all enjoy reading it, as much as I enjoy writing it.
Speaking of writing, it's time to get to work. Have yourself a wonderful day. May it be very good to you and yours and make sure you do something today that makes you happy. It doesn't matter how big or small.
Sending positive vibes and good thoughts your way.
K. :)
June 25, 2016
Book 3 Reviewed
Good Morning, lovely readers,
It is a beautiful Saturday morning. I've got coffee in hand and book 5 in front of me. Today will be all about chapter 5.
Book 3, Max Hamby and the Onyx Eyes has been reviewed by the wonderful Barbara over at A Different Kind of Read. Thank you, Barbara! :)
Here's a little snippet...
SUMMARY
This is the third book in the children’s fantasy series featuring Max Hamby. The battle at Dunmere is over, the first two stones have been found, and Milo is safe. But, Milo’s mom and grandma are now trapped with Max’s parents in the Shadowlands. They will fade away and cease to exist unless the other stones can be found. Max, along with friends and family, prepare to journey to find the next stone, but his plans are thwarted. In a bold move, Isolde sends the Trith to Merrihaven with a message and two strange children are chased from the Downs by an enormous ogre. Birdie and Basil Salisbury have awakened from a two-hundred-year sleep with a dark secret. One is good and the other is evil. Both are set to become pawns to gain the stones. It is up to Max to find out who Birdie and Basil are and what they want.
A DIFFERENT KIND OF READ REVIEW
Busby Stoop—that’s where the closest Elemental Stone lies, and Max Hamby has to find seven of them to save his parents from the Shadowlands; but as he makes plans to go there, the dangerous Trith, which turn out to be two innocent people under Isolde’s command, enter Merrihaven with harmful intentions. With magic, he removes the threat and returns to his plans to find the next stone.
You can read the rest here .
Have a wonderful day, my friends. I hope the weekend is a good one for you and yours.
It is a beautiful Saturday morning. I've got coffee in hand and book 5 in front of me. Today will be all about chapter 5.
Book 3, Max Hamby and the Onyx Eyes has been reviewed by the wonderful Barbara over at A Different Kind of Read. Thank you, Barbara! :)
Here's a little snippet...
SUMMARY
This is the third book in the children’s fantasy series featuring Max Hamby. The battle at Dunmere is over, the first two stones have been found, and Milo is safe. But, Milo’s mom and grandma are now trapped with Max’s parents in the Shadowlands. They will fade away and cease to exist unless the other stones can be found. Max, along with friends and family, prepare to journey to find the next stone, but his plans are thwarted. In a bold move, Isolde sends the Trith to Merrihaven with a message and two strange children are chased from the Downs by an enormous ogre. Birdie and Basil Salisbury have awakened from a two-hundred-year sleep with a dark secret. One is good and the other is evil. Both are set to become pawns to gain the stones. It is up to Max to find out who Birdie and Basil are and what they want.
A DIFFERENT KIND OF READ REVIEW
Busby Stoop—that’s where the closest Elemental Stone lies, and Max Hamby has to find seven of them to save his parents from the Shadowlands; but as he makes plans to go there, the dangerous Trith, which turn out to be two innocent people under Isolde’s command, enter Merrihaven with harmful intentions. With magic, he removes the threat and returns to his plans to find the next stone.
You can read the rest here .
Have a wonderful day, my friends. I hope the weekend is a good one for you and yours.
June 20, 2016
Morning
Happy first day of summer and happy Monday!
4 chapters down and countless others to go. Book 5 is coming along.
Let's talk summer reads. What is on your to be read list?
I have too many to name. lol. I like to keep a stash off to the side.
I'm really excited about reading the next Unwanteds by Lisa McMann & The Royal Institute of Magic by Victor Kloss. I hope, one of these days, there's another book in the Adventurers Wanted series, but I know the author has been feeling poorly. I do hope he recovers and feels better soon.
What are your plans for the summer? Something fun? Travel? Creative?
I'm not sure what this summer holds for me, besides really getting into books 5, 6 and 7 of the Max Hamby series.
Happy Monday everyone! I hope the week is good to you and yours. :)
4 chapters down and countless others to go. Book 5 is coming along.
Let's talk summer reads. What is on your to be read list?
I have too many to name. lol. I like to keep a stash off to the side.
I'm really excited about reading the next Unwanteds by Lisa McMann & The Royal Institute of Magic by Victor Kloss. I hope, one of these days, there's another book in the Adventurers Wanted series, but I know the author has been feeling poorly. I do hope he recovers and feels better soon.
What are your plans for the summer? Something fun? Travel? Creative?
I'm not sure what this summer holds for me, besides really getting into books 5, 6 and 7 of the Max Hamby series.
Happy Monday everyone! I hope the week is good to you and yours. :)
Kathy Cyr- Author
Kathy Cyr writes in an underground cave, but has her eye on a wizard's castle.
On an average day, she's usually surrounded by a dwarf with a curious addiction to coffee, a moody dragon and a pink pixie ...more
On an average day, she's usually surrounded by a dwarf with a curious addiction to coffee, a moody dragon and a pink pixie ...more
- Kathy Cyr's profile
- 15 followers
