A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES GIVEAWAY!!

Soon to be released in paperback!!

Penguin is due to release the enormous best-seller, A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES, by Deborah Harkness on December 27, 2011. If you haven't read this part historical fiction, part paranormal romance, you need to mark your calendar, or pre-order this compelling novel.  I became hooked from the beginning and now I am restless waiting for the sequel. 

Several posts back I summarized recent reads from my bookstand. One of my favorite books in that list was A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES, by Deborah Harkness.  The setting is Oxford University and below I have a clip with Harkness giving a walking tour of Oxford. The story centers around the characters of Diana Bishop, a researcher who descended from a brilliant notable ancestry of witches. She has known she has some unique sorcery capabilities, but has been in a cloud of denial her whole life. She calls up a book called Ashmole 782 from the stacks of Oxford's Bodleian Library with unexpected results. Her hands sense the power within the pages and quickly sends the book back to the ancient stacks. Matthew Clairmont has observed this from a distance, anything but an ordinary geneticist, he is a vampire with a long history with seemingly endless resources and a strong interest in Ashmole 782.  Matthew is only one of countless daemons, witches and vampires who covet the same book. Harkness speaks of their first date in the video. It is myth busting for Diana and provides a challenge to her as she must create a menu that will please a vampire.  She learns that his taste in fine wine is paramount to food, but that's about all. A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES is part of the ALL SOULS TRILOGY, SHADOW OF THE NIGHT due to be released in the summer 2012. 

Deborah Harkness-Walking Tour of Oxford

Book Giveaway Details

My readers will be thrilled to have the opportunity to win a copy of the the paperback edition of A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES that will be released by Penguin on December 27th. 

Contest runs from today through December 31st. 

To enter you must:

1. Leave your email address in code and follow my blog. 

2. Extra chance if you post on facebook and/or twitter, leave link. 

3. Extra chance if you blog about it, leave link. 

4. Leave a comment about the video, question for the author, or general comment about the book and contest. It's up to you. :)

5. Contest limited to participants in US and Canada.

Good Luck to all!

All About Children Thursday-August 5, 2010

This week on All About Children Thursday, I have a perfect book for the young reader in grades 4-6. If you want to join the meme go to the link above to read all about it. This is a meme all about children and books they might like. I'm excited to share books for children with you and can't wait to see what everyone is reading.






This week I wanted to share a book I received from The Picnic Basket.



The Witchy Worries of Abbie Adams
Rhonda Hayter
Dial Books for Young Readers
978-0-8037-3468-5
242 pages

This is the story of Abbie Adams, a fifth grader who lives with her mom, dad and little brother. Pretty normal so far right? Except, Abbie and her family are all witches. Lately, it is becoming harder to control her magic spell impulses when she faces trouble in her classroom and when she tries to help her little brother out of a jam. One day her dad, who also happens to be a doctor working on a cure for witch flu, brings home a little black kitten. One day when Abbie is looking into the kittens eyes she sees a little boy. Eventually, the family learns he is the young Thomas Edison, inventor. Now all they have to do is figure out a way to turn young Tom back to a boy and return him to his century. Well, the task turns out to be not that easy.

Rhonda Hayter tells a hilariously imaginative story, with witty dialogue and a host of misfit characters. Told through Abbie's point of view, a bright, adorable, sarcastic and sensitive witch who you will fall in love with. You will chuckle at her thought process and cleverness. Thomas Edison, the boy in disguise as a cat is naturally inquisitive and you can only imagine what he thinks of our 21st century life.

The book lends itself so well as a riveting read-a-loud. The Witchy Worries of Abbie Adams is a charming fun-filled book about family, time travel and a little magic in a not so typical family, yet it seems some things never change.













© [Wisteria Leigh] and [Bookworm's Dinner], [2010].

Review--Once a Witch, by Carolyn MacCullough

Once a Witch
by Carolyn MacCullough
Clarion Books
978-0-547-222399-5
September 2009
$16.00





I received this ARC from The Picnic Basket. I read through it quickly and can only imagine how eagerly YA readers will embrace this novel once they pass the word around. My niece will be getting my copy and I know her head will be stuck behind the cover, hunkered in her bedroom for a night. It is marketed for the Age 12+ market, but adults looking for a unique plot written by a creatively inquisitive author will enjoy a peek at this too. I loved it and would not be surprised to hear MacCullough plans a sequel. Here is my review/comments that were posted on The Picnic Basket blog.

REVIEW................

It would be too obvious a word choice to say I was spellbound by the story and characters of Carolyn MacCullough’s coming of age story. However, spellbound in an enchanting pleasant way accurately describes my reading of Once a Witch. It is a spicy blend of sorcery, mystery and just enough of a romantic attraction to keep sparks flying.

Tamsin Green is an odd seemingly Talentless misfit of a witch growing up in an extended family of witches who all have interesting powers. At birth, her grandmother foretold that Tamsin would have great power such as the family had never seen. So, as the years pass it is with much surprise that Tamsin exhibits no talent at all. With great disappointment Tamsin grows up lacking any signs of Talent. She lives in the shadows of her sister Rowena’s grace and glory. One day mistaken identity provides Tamsin the opportunity to prove her value. She accepts a challenge that takes her beyond her corporeal capabilities.

The story evolved around a question the author asked herself about the character Tamsin. What would it be like to be born into a magical family with no magical talent?

MacCullough wondered: “How would she cope in a family like that? What kind of person would that make her be? Her story and her thought process provide young writers with a unique perspective as she provides the scaffold for the story. Further fun can be found at her sites www.onceawitch.com and www.carolynmaccullough.com.

Once a Witch, inspires the reader to examine the unique talent, unique beauty that is often untapped, hidden or unrealized within ourselves. I would highly recommend this novel for middle and high school age students.