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NATIONAL TEEN RECIPIENTS OF THE 2019 SCHOLASTIC ART & WRITING AWARDS

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Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning actress, writer and producer Tina Fey addresses students, their families and educators at the National Ceremony for the 2019 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards held at Carnegie Hall in New York, Thursday June 6, 2019. (Stuart Ramson/AP Images for Alliance for Young Artists & Writers)
Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning actress, writer and producer Tina Fey addresses students, their families and educators at the National Ceremony for the 2019 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards held at Carnegie Hall in New York, Thursday June 6, 2019. (Stuart Ramson/AP Images for Alliance for Young Artists & Writers)
Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning actress, writer and producer Tina Fey addresses students, their families and educators at the National Ceremony for the 2019 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards held at Carnegie Hall in New York, Thursday June 6, 2019. (Stuart Ramson/AP Images for Alliance for Young Artists & Writers)

Celebrity guests Tina Fey, Rose Byrne, Zac Posen, Tracy K. Smith and Astronomer Lucianne Walkowicz honor America’s most creative teen artists and writers. . . 

More than 800 teen artists and writers were celebrated Thursday evening at the world-famous Carnegie Hall in New York City as National Medalists in the 2019 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards—the nation’s longest-running and most prestigious recognition program for creative teens, presented by the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers. Emmy® and Golden Globe® Award-winning actress, writer and producer Tina Fey (SNL, 30 Rock) opened the ceremony by giving insight into her experience as a creative individual working in the arts, as well as advice for the students as they move forward in their lives, regardless of the paths they choose. Lucianne Walkowicz, prominent Astronomer at the Adler Planetarium and co-founder of The JustSpace Alliance, received the 2019 Alumni Achievement Award, which was presented by fellow Scholastic Art & Writing Awards alumnus Zac Posen, fashion designer and founder of luxury brand House of Z. During the ceremony, Emmy and Golden Globe-nominated actress Rose Byrne (Bridesmaids, Damages) and 22nd poet laureate of the United States Tracy K. Smith took the stage to congratulate students for their exemplary work, encouraging them to remain true to their craft.

“The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards are honored to continue their long history of celebrating and empowering our country’s young student artists and writers,” said Christopher Wisniewski, Executive Director of the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers. “This year, we saw nearly 340,000 works submitted to the program and felt the honesty, authenticity, power and beauty in the work. Teen artists and writers continue to push the boundaries of their creativity and create discourse on the issues and topics most important to them. We are proud to provide a platform for them and honor them with this recognition.”

More than 2,700 teens in grades 7–12, ages 13 and up, from the U.S., Canada, and American schools abroad received national recognition, including 16 high school seniors who received the program’s highest national honor—the Gold Medal Portfolio—along with a $10,000 scholarship. The Alliance annually provides more than $300,000 in scholarships to top Awards recipients and continually partners with esteemed colleges and universities to make scholarships available for college-bound National Medalists.

For video and photos from the 2019 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards National Ceremony, visit: http://mediaroom.scholastic.com/artandwriting#downloads.

2019 National Ceremony Quotes

Tina Fey, Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning actress, writer and producer: “Having the experience and achievement of what you’ve already done, the great thing is that no matter what you end up doing, you’ve already accessed the creative part of your life and of yourself. You have all had the experience of making something where there once was nothing, so you know that anything is possible.”

Lucianne Walkowicz, prominent astronomer, multimedia artist, former chair of Astrobiology at the Library of Congress, and 2019 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards Alumni Achievement Award Recipient: “As someone who’s made their career in the sciences as opposed to the arts, I really have found it challenging at times to maintain space for my artistic practice in my life. In part that’s because there are 24 hours in a day and you’re supposed to eat and sleep some of that time, but also it’s because we live in a world where people sometimes try to put us in boxes so that we can be easier to define. And that is to be resisted at all costs.”

Rose Byrne, Emmy and Golden Globe-nominated actress: “Know your power, know that your vulnerability can also be your power, keep asking questions, keep listening, keep being creative and keep striving.”

About the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards

Founded in 1923, the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards are presented by the 501(c)3 nonprofit organization the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers, and are made possible through the generosity of Scholastic Inc., The Maurice R. Robinson Fund, New York Life Foundation, Wells Fargo Foundation, Command Web Offset Co., The New York Times, Blick Art Materials & Utrecht Art Supplies, The Herb Block Foundation, Golden Artist Colors, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Entertainment Software Association Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, Amazon Literary Partnership, and numerous other individual, foundation, and corporate funders; and, for the National Student Poets Program, the Institute of Museum and Library Services and the Poetry Foundation.

For more information about the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers, visit www.artandwriting.org.

 

BLC 2019 Lottery Events by Kathie Firzlaff

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The idea of the Lottery Events is that an event can be exclusive with only a certain number of people who get into the event. It helps keep an event personal and intimate while it also allows the host or hosts to know exactly how many gifts or food to be ready for.

Lotto Events
Lotto Events

The lottery events were really the best part of BLC 19. They consisted of author reader-author experiences, parties, and off-site events. Not only were they unique and fun experiences planned by an author, or groups of authors, with special swag and prizes, but also a wonderful way for readers to get to know authors and truly connect with them. What a great experience to sit down with your favorite authors for fun games, conversation, even a fairy make-up party, a Starfish team party, a Paint & Sip, or a Louisiana swamp tour. Although there were a few exceptions, most lottery events seemed like great events.

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To me the lottery events were really the way participants got the “Ultimate Reader Experience.” Great idea BLC!

HARLEQUIN LAUNCHES FEEL GOOD DAY ON OCTOBER 5, 2019, IN SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS

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fgm_s_750_mainToday, Harlequin announced that October 5, 2019, will be Feel Good Day, a one-day immersive celebration focused on feeling and being our best at the Omni La Mansión Del Rio hotel in San Antonio, Texas. This event is part of the Harlequin Feel Good Project that launched last fall.

Tickets for Feel Good Day are on sale now, and more information can be found at www.celebratefeelgood.com. Enjoy a day filled with unique and enriching experiences designed to bring guests happiness, including creative activities, discussions with New York Times bestselling authors Robyn Carr, Brenda Jackson and Susan Mallery, and empowering and fun workshops focusing on gratitude, movement, inspiration, nature, vision boarding and cooking. San Antonio’s own Mariachi Las Coronelas and chefs from The Culinary Institute of America will add regional flavor to the programming. In addition, Feel Good Day celebrates the power of community and has created a charitable component that will support and contribute to a variety of important initiatives in San Antonio. Follow along on social media at #feelgoodday.

“Fans of Harlequin tell us over and over again that our stories make them feel good. I’m constantly inspired by the heartwarming experiences they share with us about how our books have helped them with life’s challenges, whether they’re dealing with daily stresses or looking for hope in times of personal crisis. Harlequin books are uplifting, and Feel Good Day brings that feeling to a new immersive experience,” says Merjane Schoueri, the Feel Good project director.

Along with this premium experience, Feel Good Day has created The OutStander Awards to recognize San Antonio heroes. Nominations for local residents are open until July 31, 2019, and nomination submissions and more details about categories can be found at www.celebratefeelgood.com.

fgm_s_1080-white_main2THE OUTSTANDER AWARDS

The OutStander Awards are designed to spotlight outstanding and upstanding residents of San Antonio who champion the Feel Good mission every day. Five winners will be chosen, one in each category.

Person of Positivity: Those with stories of resilience, faith, optimism and overcoming challenges.

Harlequin Hometown Hero: Women who serve and protect with their unwavering bravery, inspiring courage and commitment to the collective good.

Community Catalyst: Advocates, volunteers and tireless contributors who affect positive change for populations at risk or in need.

Cultural Champion: Those committed to making arts and literacy programs accessible for all.

Millennial Groundbreaker: This groundbreaker is making waves through philanthropic or entrepreneurial efforts, or their active citizenship.

The Harlequin Feel Good Project is a four-part initiative including the Harlequin Creator Fund, the Feel Good Challenge, Feel Good Day and Feel Good Sciences, designed to explore the power of positive experiences that fans expect from their stories. For additional information about the Harlequin Feel Good Project, please visit FeelGood.Harlequin.com

About Harlequin
Harlequin (Harlequin.com) is a leading publisher of commercial fiction and narrative nonfiction. The company publishes more than 110 titles a month, in both print and digital formats, in as many as 150+ international markets and 30+ languages. Encompassing highly recognizable imprints that span a broad number of genres, the publisher is home to many award-winning New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling authors. Harlequin is a division of HarperCollins Publishers, the second-largest consumer book publisher in the world, with operations in 18 countries. For more information, please visit Harlequin.com and Facebook.com/HarlequinBooks. Follow Harlequin on Twitter: @HarlequinBooks and Instagram: @HarlequinBooks.

Book Lovers Con 2019 Concludes with Brunch and Bubbly

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BLC LogoNew Orleans, LA

May 20, 2019

Book Lovers’ final event was a Sunday goodbye brunch with champagne and mimosas.  The final drawings were held for some very nice gift baskets before it was time to say goodbye to friends, both old and new, as well as authors we’d met this week.  BLC’s first year was full of changes and new experiences, especially reader experiences with authors.  The lottery system for reader/author events really worked wonderfully.  More on the lotteries in my final post, tomorrow.  Next year, I think, will be even better. See you at the Gaylord in Nashville, Tennessee.

IMG_0658 IMG_0656 IMG_0648 IMG_0646

~ Kathie Firzlaff for Readers Entertainment

 

Sneak Peek: Spirit Singer from Edward Willett

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Shadowpaw PresSpirit-Singer-Generic-645x1024s releases brand-new, revised edition of multiple-award-winning young adult fantasy

The latest release from Regina publisher Shadowpaw Press is a brand new edition, revised by the author, of Edward Willett’s multiple-award winning young adult fantasy . Available now in ebook format, it will come out in print on April 30.

Originally released in 2002 by Awe-Struck E-books in electronic form and in print by Earthling Press, Spirit Singer won the Regina Book Award for best book by a Regina author; a Dream Realm Award (young adult category) for best electronically published science fiction, fantasy, and horror; and an EPPIE Award for best electronically published young adult fiction. A second edition was published in 2013 by Tyche Books.

Spirit Singer is the story of Amarynth, a teenaged girl who has been gifted – or cursed, as she sometimes thinks – with the ability to lead the spirits of the dead from the Lower World through the Between World to the Gate of the Upper World and the Light that lies beyond it.

While she is still an apprentice, her grandfather and tutor is slain by a mysterious creature in the Between World, an evil Beast blocking access to the Upper World’s Gate. Without a Spirit Singer, her village cannot survive, so Amarynth embarks on a hazardous quest to find out what the Beast is, how it can be defeated, and how she can become a full-fledged Spirit Singer – a quest that takes her not only from her tiny seacoast home to the city of Havenheart and the haunted mountains to its south, but across the even more rugged terrain of her own soul.

Spirit Singer garnered immense praise when first released: “.

..deserved the Saskatchewan Book Award it won…a strong, well-written book with great adventure and sympathetic characters…fast-paced adventure, sword-play, ghostly help, kidnappings, automatons who serve pure evil, royalty, and brave commoners…

It is about deception, both external and internal, in the eternal search for love and acceptance. It is about the need to accept oneself to be able to move forward and achieve great things and the need to be wise and discerning about others.” – Lynn (J.R.) Wytenbroek, Canadian Literature Magazine

“This is a fast-paced, spiritual quest book, full of narrow escapes, evil masquerading as good, good appearing in nasty people (just like in real life!), adventure, dreams, and bits of wisdom. The writing is spare and the words wellchosen, so that complex characters and interesting places emerge full-blown in the reader’s mind, and the plot moves apace. I felt always in the story, and not a mere spectator/reader. Written for teenagers, but this fifty-something guy had a great time.” – 
David Waltner-Toews, Saskatchewan Book Awards juror

“Clearly defined characters, setting, and plot carry a reader eagerly from page to page through adventure-filled chapters that deftly conclude with cliff-hangers…

The plot is fast-paced and clever, the writing never disappoints, a and the author clearly keeps his target audience in mind. A great read from start to finish.”
 – Shirlee Matheson
, Saskatchewan Book Awards juror “

…a fun novel with engaging characters and having all the basic elements of a good fantasy…young readers would likely get much more out of this book in terms of good succinct plotting and writing than they’d ever be likely to from the droves of role-playing game tie-ins and fat fantasy trilogies.”
 – Georges T. Dodds, SF Site

“This book takes the reader on a magical journey to a mystical land…It is a quick, but very satisfying read; I spent any free time I had reading over the two days it took me to read the story. I recommend this book for anyone that is in the mood for an adventure…

Spirit Singer definitely does not disappoint.”
 – Amy Mehta, MyShelf.com

More about the author

Edward Willett is the Aurora Award-winning author of more than sixty books of science fiction, fantasy, and nonfiction. His most recent novel is Worldshaper (“a rollicking contemporary fantasy”—Publishers Weekly starred review), Book 1 in the Worldshapers series from DAW Books. Book 2, Master of the World, comes out in September. His short-story collection Paths to the Stars (Shadowpaw Press) was shortlisted for two 2019 Saskatchewan Book Awards. A YA dark-fantasy novel, Changers, is in the works for ChiZine Publications. Willett also hosts The Worldshapers podcast (www.theworldshapers.com), featuring conversations with science fiction and fantasy authors about their creative process.

You can find out more about him at www.edwardwillett.com.
For more information Edward Willett 306.536.5421 ewillett@sasktel.net www.edwardwillett.com
Shadowpaw Press publishers@shadowpawpress.com
www.shadowpawpress.com

Murderously Hot Summer Mystery Reads

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prologuePrologue To Murder: A Beyond The Page Bookstore Mystery #2 by Lauren Elliott

After a career working with rare books at the Boston Public Library, Addie Greyborne is back in her seaside New England hometown—where unfortunately, murder is not so rare . . .

Gossip columnists love a bold-faced name—but “Miss Newsy” at Greyborne Harbor’s local paper seems to specialize in bald-faced lies. She’s pointed a finger of suspicion at Addie after librarian June Winslow never makes it home from a book club meeting. And when June’s found at the bottom of a steep flight of stairs, Addie’s not only dealing with a busybody, but a dead body.

It’s a good thing the guy she’s dating is the police chief. But both the case and her love life get more complicated when a lanky blonde reporter from Los Angeles shows up. She’s trying her hardest to drive a wedge between the couple . . . as if Addie doesn’t have enough problems dealing with angry townspeople. Despite all the rumors, Addie doesn’t know a thing about the murder—but she plans to find out. And the key may lie in a book about pirate legends that June published. Now she just has to hunt down the clues before she becomes a buried treasure herself . . .

You can purchase PROLOGUE TO MURDER at:
Kensington Books

reading roomMurder In The Reading Room: A Book Retreat Mystery #5 by Ellery Adams

Storyton Hall, Virginia, is a paradise for book lovers who come from all over for literary getaways. But manager Jane Steward is temporarily leaving for another renowned resort—in hopes of solving a twist-filled mystery . . .

Jane’s boyfriend is missing, and she thinks she may find him at North Carolina’s historic Biltmore Estate. Officially, she’s there to learn about luxury hotel management, but she’s also prowling around the breathtaking buildings and grounds looking for secret passageways and clues. One of the staff gardeners promises to be helpful . . . that is, until his body turns up in a potting shed.

When she finally locates the kidnapped Edwin, his captor insists that she lead him back to Storyton Hall, convinced that it houses Ernest Hemingway’s lost suitcase, stolen from a Paris train station in 1922. But before they can turn up the treasure, the bell may toll for another victim . . .

“Combines clever clues, a smart and courageous heroine and an interesting setting in a whodunit that will inspire readers to make further visits to Storyton Hall.” —Richmond Times-Dispatch on Murder in the Paperback Parlor

You can purchase MURDER IN THE READING ROOM at: 
Kensington Books 

divaThe Diva Sweetens The Pie: A Domestic Diva Mystery #2 by Krista Davis

In New York Times bestselling author Krista Davis’s new Domestic Diva mystery, Old Town’s annual Pie Festival crumbles into chaos after a celebrity judge is murdered, leaving it up to entertaining maven and sometime-sleuth Sophie Winston to dole out justice . . .

Nothing heats up Old Town quite like the annual Pie Festival, and this year is no exception, especially since Sophie’s professional rival, Natasha Smith, is barred from participating. Sophie, meanwhile, has been asked to oversee the pie eating contest. But the drama really rolls out when celebrity judge, Patsy Lee Presley, host of television’s most popular cooking show, bites the crust during the competition, and Sophie’s friends are suspected of the crime.

As the folks of Old Town dish, the tough truth about Patsy’s meteoric rise to domestic stardom begins to leak. It turns out that Patsy’s sweet exterior hid a secret sour side, which alienated many of her closest allies, including a jilted ex-husband, a bitter ex-mentor, and a jaded ex-best friend. With the festival falling apart, and her friends in danger of being boxed up for murder, Sophie must cobble together the clues and stop a flakey fiend from serving up any more deadly desserts.

Includes delicious recipes and entertaining tips!

You can purchase THE DIVA SWEETENS THE PIE at:
Kensington books

seaMurder By The Sea: A By The Sea Mystery #3 by Kathleen Bridge

When a murderer crashes a masquerade ball, it’s up to Liz to unmask the killer . . .

It’s been quite a year for novelist Liz Holt. She’s overcome a lot and is finally feeling at peace with her new life at her family’s hotel, the Indialantic by the Sea, on the beautiful barrier island of Melbourne Beach, Florida. She’s ready to ring in the New Year at the Florida Writes Literary Masquerade Ball.

But when her ex-boyfriend surprises her at the ball, she can’t disguise her anger, and the two engage in a very public argument. When her ex turns up on the hotel grounds, shot through the heart, Liz finds herself topping the suspect list. With the help of family and friends, she needs to clear her name before the real killer waltzes away scot-free . . .

Recipes included!

You can purchase MURDER BY THE SEA at:
Kensington Books

cardinalCardinal Sin: A Bird Lover’s Mystery #9 by J.R. Ripley

Birds & Bees owner Amy Simms will need help from her fine-feathered friends when an uncommon bird sighting plunges her into a hornet’s nest of black magic and murder most foul . . .

Amy’s enjoying a rare moment of relaxation when a customer shows up seeking her expertise in ID-ing an unusual bird she’s seen flying around her wooded cabin at the edge of town. Ruby Lake, North Carolina, newcomer Yvonne Rice resembles an exotic bird herself—apparently the kind that doesn’t fly. When she’s found shot to death in her locked cabin, the only witness found is a statue of a voodoo deity staring down from the mantel.

Does the rare yellow cardinal Yvonne spotted hold any clues to her demise? What about the Ouija board spelling out the words I am murdered? As Amy delves deeper into Yvonne’s life and meets her strangely secretive neighbors, she’s determined to stop a fowl-hearted murderer from migrating to a new killing ground . . .

You can purchase CARDINAL SIN at:
Kensington Books

Free Ebook of Mueller Report Now Available from Libraries

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muellerThe Report On The Investigation Into Russian Interference In The 2016 Presidential Election, or the Mueller Report, is now freely available in ebook format to read on your phone or tablet from DPLA’s website and the Open Bookshelf collection. The Mueller report was released to the public by the Department of Justice as a PDF last month, initially in a format that was not text-searchable. By making the report available as an ebook in our Open Bookshelf collection, anyone can download and read it for free, all in the SimplyE app – no library card or sign in required.

One of the primary objectives of DPLA’s ebooks work is to make the best openly-licensed e-content available to libraries and their patrons. For libraries offering New York Public Library’s SimplyE app, the Mueller Report can be easily integrated into the ebook offerings made available to their patrons. SimplyE and Open Bookshelf are freely available to anyone with an iOS or Android device.

Read the Mueller Report today

Download on the web: Visit https://muellerreport.dp.la, download it in one click, and read it with your computer’s e-reader like iBooks.

Read in SimplyE on your phone or tablet:

  1. Download the SimplyE app to your iOS or Android device.
  2. Use the library selector icon in the upper left corner, select Manage Accounts, then Add Library, and select Digital Public Library of America.
  3. Find the Mueller Report in the top row.

SNEAK PEEK: The Sheikh Doc’s Marriage Bargain by Susan Carlisle

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SheikThe Sheikh Doc’s Marriage Bargain by Susan Carlisle

From shy Cinderella…
To convenient princess!

For sensible Dr. Laurel Martin, heading up a new lab for royal doc Sheikh Tariq Al Marktum is the chance to conduct the study of a lifetime. But to protect Laurel from the scandal her presence in his palace will cause, Tariq has his own condition—a paper marriage! Swept into his desert kingdom, passion overtakes the convenient couple, but can Laurel find her place in Tariq’s world—and his heart?

Excerpt from: The Sheikh Doc’s Marriage Bargain

Tariq followed her toward the door. “There is just one more matter.”

She looked at him. “Yes?”

“You will need to marry me.”

“What? Are you crazy?” Laurel stood with her mouth gapping open. There was no way she was going to marry this stranger. It was taking all she had in her to even travel to Zentar. Marrying some man that she didn’t know was out of the question. “What do you mean I have to marry you?”

“My country still holds to the traditional values. They expect a single woman to be under the care of a man. No one is going to answer your personal health questions without you having a man’s name associated with yours. Our social rules have not changed that fast.”

“You have to be kidding.” Her bag hung at her side.

He gave her a direct look. “I assure you I am not.”

“You don’t want to marry me.” Laurel couldn’t believe the turn this conversation had taken.

“I had no plans to marry.” His words came out flat and to the point.

“Then why would you want to marry me?”

“Because I know your work is important and I know what must be done to get you to come to Zentar.”

“And you’re willing to put your personal life on hold?” This man was unbelievable.

“If that is what is necessary.”

“If I agree, this will be a marriage in name only. You understand?” The idea of getting tangled up with the prince made her shudder. She was so out of her league. Once before she’d been in this position and she vowed never to go there again. Who would have thought lightening would strike twice in the same place?

“I would expect nothing less.”

He made it sound like the thought had never crossed his mind to treat it as a real marriage. Laurel wasn’t sure she liked being dismissed so easily. The hot sizzle of attraction she felt apparently didn’t go both ways. That suited her just fine. “Couldn’t we just say we are married and not make a further deal of it?”

“No. If the media discovers that my people would feel deceived.”

“They want this way?”

“How I live in my home is my business. They need not know.”

She could do that to her parents. “Can I at least tell my family? You can trust them.”

“No. The media may ask them about it. I don’t want them to be forced to lie or to see something on their faces that may say something different from what our Minister of Communication has put out.”

“My parents are going to be so hurt.”

“In time you can explain it to them.”

There was no way they were ever going to understand. Maybe she could slip off and be back before they had to know much about what was going on. She could just tell them she was going away for a while. “What is your family going to think when you show up with some woman they have never heard of?”

“I will tell them that I chose you as my wife and that will be it.” He said that like a man that didn’t make a habit of answering to anyone.

“You say your country is so traditional but they will accept me with no questions.”

“I did not say there would not be questions. Many I am afraid. But in the end it will not change my decision.”

“Me coming with you is that important?” 

“It is. I will make the arrangements. We marry as soon as we arrive in Zentar.”

YOUR CAN PURCHASE The Sheikh Doc’s Marriage Bargain AT:
Harlequin Books
Amazon

About The Author:

300 Susan CarlisleSusan Carlisle’s love affair with books began when she made a bad grade in math in the sixth grade. Not allowed to watch TV until she brought the grade up, Susan filled her time with books. She turned her love of reading into a love of writing romance. Susan has currently authored more than twenty-five books for the HarperCollins Harlequin medical imprint. Her heroes are strong, vibrant man and the woman that challenge them.

In her past life Susan has been a full time mother to four children, a high school substitute teacher and now when she isn’t writing she is busy being a fun grandmother. She lives near Atlanta, Georgia, with her husband of over thirty-five years. Susan loves castles, traveling, sewing and reads voraciously. Visit her at www.SusanCarlisle.com

 

Coretta Scott King Book Awards 50th Anniversary Celebration

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Celebrating 50 Years of Excellence_0In 2019, join thousands of libraries and classrooms from across the country in the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Coretta Scott King Book Award,

Given annually, the Coretta Scott King Book Awards serve as a guide for parents, librarians and caregivers to the most outstanding books for youth by African American authors and illustrators that affirm African American culture and universal human values.

Since 1969, such outstanding African American authors and illustrators as Toni Morrison, Maya Angelou, Walter Dean Myers, Virginia Hamilton, Jerry Pinkney and Christopher Paul Curtis have been honored by the American Library Association (ALA) as Coretta Scott King Book Award recipients. Winners are selected by the Coretta Scott King Book Awards Committee and announced annually to a waiting national audience at the ALA Youth Awards Press Conference, held on the Monday of the ALA Midwinter Meeting.

Award recipients are selected within three categories, including the Coretta Scott King (Author) Book Award, Coretta Scott King (Illustrator) Book Award and Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Award. The awards are sponsored by ALA Ethnic and Multicultural Information Exchange Round Table (EMIERT) and supported by ALA’s Office for Diversity, Literacy and Outreach Services (ODLOS). Award founders Glyndon Flynt Greer, a school librarian in Englewood, New Jersey; Mabel McKissick, a school librarian in New London, Connecticut; and John Carroll, a book publisher; envisioned an award that would recognize the talents of outstanding African-American authors and encourage them to continue writing books for children and young adults.

The award commemorates the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and honors his wife, Mrs. Coretta Scott King, for her courage and determination to continue the work for peace and world brotherhood. Additional information regarding the Coretta Scott King Book Awards and other ALA Youth Media Awards, please visit www.ala.org/csk 

Carolina Soul: The Down Home Taste of the Carolinas by Chef Rome

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carolinaCelebrity Chef Rome Pays Homage to His Culinary Roots with New Cookbook

Celebrity chef, Army veteran, and health correspondent Jerome Brown celebrates his Southern roots with his new cookbook Carolina Soul: The Down Home Taste of the Carolinas. In the book, the Personal Chef to the Stars showcases a compilation of family recipes, client favorites and low-calorie meals indigenous to North and South Carolina.

Chef Rome makes it no secret that he loves his home state of North Carolina, so it should be no surprise that his newly released cookbook is a celebration of sorts to the state’s cuisine and culture.

In the book Carolina Soul: The Down Home Taste of the Carolinas, the Personal Chef to the Stars showcases a compilation of family recipes, client favorites and low-calorie meals featuring frog legs, oxtails, marsala meatloaf, and other Southern delicacies indigenous to North and South Carolina.

“I put everything I could into this book, and I did it with love,” said Chef Rome, who has cooked for athletes and celebrities such as Shaquille O’Neal, Colin Powell, Byron Cage and Cam Newton. The former Food Network Star and featured Epcot International Food & Wine Festival chef prides himself on putting a healthy spin on Southern cuisine, helping many of his clients, like former NBA great Shaquille O’Neil, lose weight.

Similar to his bestselling cookbook, Eat Like a Celebrity: Southern Cuisine with a Gourmet Twist, Chef Rome included stories of his family and the influence that Carolina has had on his life and on the country as a whole.

“If you loved Eat Like a Celebrity, you’re absolutely going to love Carolina Soul,” Rome said. “I talk about the origins of Pepsi and some of my favorite restaurants along the Carolina coast. This book is nothing more than being authentic, giving readers what is within me.”

He added that Carolina Soul is especially special because his family contributed to bringing the book into fruition. For instance, he prepared many of the recipes in his sister’s kitchen, and he added the meatloaf recipe because it was specially requested by his nephew. Additionally, the book celebrates everything related to the history of North and South Carolina from its college-related color scheme to the photos placed throughout the book.

Carolina Soul has already amassed tremendous sales through social media. Carolina Soul was published by Prosperity Publications, LLC and is currently available for order on both Chef Rome’s and Prosperity’s websites.

Explore the Cook With Rome website: http://www.cookwithrome.com
Chef Rome ranked #8 in the world. Co-owner of Rhema Restaurant Group. US Army Trained.

(REPRINTED WITH PERMISSION FROM BLACK PEARLS MAGAZINE)