Mr. Howard the Rescued Cat by Erin Hayburn #spotlight #excerpts #childrensbooks #rescuedanimals #activitysheets

Synopsis:

An abandoned young cat must fend for himself and avoid the nasty bully cats patrolling the

streets, until he is rescued by new people, given the name; Mr Howard, and brought into a

home with good food, soft beds, and a very old dog! But to pass the test in the new home, Mr

Howard must follow The Rules. After an unexpected escape, he is faced with a choice: Will he

choose No Rules and a life on the streets? Or The Rules and a new family? What will Mr

Howard choose?

Excerpts:

Activity sheets:

Would you like to color a picture of Mr. Howard or fun activities involving him?  The author has included for me to share but you can find many on the website below.

Author Bio (courtesy of Mr. Howard):

My human, the author, Erin Hayburn, is a bit shy (and not as interesting as me), so I'll take over

from here - My name is Mr. Howard McGregor, thank you. Mr Howard The Rescued Cat is

based on my true rescue story as a young, and ever so handsome kitty cat.

I may be black and white on the outside, but I'm most certainly colorful on the inside!

After a spell of homelessness and trying to survive on my own (not too successfully, I might

add), a new family rescued me and welcomed me into their home - which already had an old

dog living in it! I won't bore you with the details of my hilarious antics in said new home (you'll

have to read my book for that!), let's just say there were a lot of new Rules I wasn't necessarily

keen to follow...

With my dashing good looks, charming personality, and riveting origin story, I always believed

someone should write a book about me. Although I look far more dapper in real-life than the

illustrations depict, the narrative is indeed accurate of my early escapades.

Website: https://www.mrhowardtherescuedcat.com.au/

Amazon: http://amzn.to/3KVKRN6

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61423293-mr-howard-the-rescued-cat

A Leap In The Darkness by Ray Petrolino #middlegrade #excerpt #giveaway #fantasy

Date Published: 10-28-2022

Publisher: Beasts at the Feast Press

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Magic stirs and a little dog speaks: the kingdom will fall. But will humans listen?

Jake is a fluffy little dog who just happens to be one of the Sculptor's "wise ones" . . . but nobody's told him. He's certain he's ordinary, and he knows he doesn't deserve living in a rags to riches fairy tale where he’s been rescued from his hardscrabble life by the King of Gorseland and pampered and loved by his two royal children, Janice and James.

But the good life is threatened with the arrival of the sorcerer, Beezeldorn, and his raven. Beezeldorn is a seeming charlatan: a crowd-pleaser with his sleight-of-hand and cheap spectacle. But his power from dark magic runs deep, on display in town when he heals a leper.

The queen senses the danger and pays for her instincts with her life.

Jake knows something is wrong, but what can he do? Beezeldorn is always one step ahead, moving into the castle, earning the king’s confidence, and befriending James. Even Janice is drawn to him.

Now it's up to Jake to protect his family . . . before it's too late . . . for the king . . . and his kingdom.

EXCERPT:

A silent, shrouded figure, her head wrapped in tattered strips of linen, stood before him.

Jake could hear Nigel whimpering and Maisie hissing. Jake shivered, but kept his head

lifted up, keeping a resolute gaze on the stranger’s thin eye slits.

“You’re lost,” the figure said, gesturing to the tunnel near the little dog. “Choose that

path and you choose the side of the weak.”

The figure peeled back the wrappings from its head. “Look at what he has done for me.”

Jake’s mouth dropped; he was staring up at the woman from town . . . the leper who had

been healed and transformed by Beezeldorn into this creature of absolute beauty shimmering

before him.

“Let me show you the source of that power,” she said.

The other animals gasped in awe as they inched closer to her.

The woman cast a radiant smile down at Jake and then turned and walked away, toward

an upward curving tunnel on the opposite wall. Nigel and Winston eagerly followed after her,

their backsides shaking and wagging joyfully like little pups. Vincent hesitated and then tracked

after them. Maisie remained seated and looked back and forth from Jake to the small parade

moving away from them.

Jake growled and sprang forward, barking. “She lies!”

WHERE TO FIND THE AUTHOR:

Ray Petrolino is an award-winning screenwriter and author.

He lives in North Carolina with his wife and family and their dog Jake (not just any dog, but a talking bichon with an unfulfilled set of demands).

When Ray is not writing, he's listening to his dog (and sometimes his wife); or he can be found working on film sets, playing drums at his house, or playing drums at someone else's house.

Website: http://www.raypetrolino.com

Amazon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BGNMKGQZ

Giveaway

Amazon Gift Card

Calla, Pixieland Diaries by Christina Bauer #Excerpt #Spotlight & #Giveaway

Calla

Book in the Pixieland Diaries

By Christina Bauer

Opening Excerpt

Day Seventy-Five

Dear Diary,

To be clear: I am not primping because Dare’s about to visit me. It’s just that I have routines. Before anyone visits my royalness, I always check my appearance.

Of course, there are some exceptions.

I don’t check how I look for my parents, Poppa and Muti. Or for my friend Bilge, the hobgoblin, and his piggy familiar, Oinky.

Other than that, no one really visits me.

All of which leads to one thing. Having a diary demands that I be totally frank with myself. In this case, I must break out my forthrightness into another list.

I, Calla, Get Brutally Honest

The truth: My appearance-checking is really a Dare-only activity.

He’s cute.

So sue me.

The end.

Whew. Glad I cleared that up.

Back to my me.

With Dare about to appear, I do you know what. In this case, I find myself looking pretty awesome in my ermine cloak and pink dress. In terms of pose, I lounge on a golden leather chair with a heavy book perched on my lap. Totally regal.

I whisper to the line in my palm. “You may visit.”

A small sphere of white light appears. The shape expands into what I call Ghost Dare. In reality, this is an astral body projection of the real Dare, but that’s a mouthful.

I check out my new visitor because, hey, it’s a good use of my time. Ghost Dare is crazy tall and broad shouldered. Longish dark hair highlights the sharp lines of his face. He still wears black armor and a fur-trimmed cloak. The guy must have closets stuffed with nothing but metal and furry things.

Ghost Dare bows. “Hello, your Majesty.”

“Oh, drop it.” I roll my eyes but secretly, I like the fact that someone else is acknowledging my new job.

Ghost Dare plunks down onto a chair across from me. His gaze turns almost worshipful. A new kind of energy fills the air.

I worry my thumbnail between my teeth and consider this turn of events. One minute ago, Dare and I were just saying hello. Now it seems like we’re moving into more personal stuff. Am I okay with that?

No question. The answer here is a big yes.

Ghost Dare moves to kneel beside my chair. Things keep getting better and better.

“I can’t stand the idea of you ever being hurt,” says Ghost Dare. “It highlights all the things I haven’t said.” He scooches closer. “It’s like this. I’ve shared my feelings for you before.”

Not this speech again.

“I remember. You said I’m like your little sister.”

When Ghost Dare next speaks, his voice is all low and growly. “What if things have changed?”

Gulp. That’s a shocker.

Reaching forward, Ghost Dare runs his fingertips along my cheek. Considering he’s mostly transparent, it’s a nice and tingly feeling.

“Talk to me, Calla. Would that be interesting?”

“Maybe.” My eyes widen as a realization hits me. “You’re scheming.”

“Absolutely.” Leaning forward, Ghost Dare presses his forehead against mine. It’s both tingly and distracting. “Sleep well, Calla.”

With that, Ghost Dare vanishes.

-----------

About the author:

Christina Bauer knows how to tell stories about kick-ass women. In her best selling Angelbound series, the heroine is a part-demon girl who loves to fight in Purgatory’s Arena and falls in love with a part-angel prince. This young adult best seller has driven more than 500,000 ebook downloads and 9,000 reviews on Goodreads and retailers. The first three books in the series are now available as audiobooks on Audible and iTunes.

Bauer has also told the story of the Women’s March on Washington by leading PR efforts for the Massachusetts Chapter. Her pre-event press release—the only one sent out on a major wire service—resulted in more than 19,000 global impressions and redistribution by over 350 different media entities including the Associated Press.

Christina graduated from Syracuse University’s Newhouse School with BA’s in English along with Television, Radio, and Film Production. She lives in Newton, MA with her husband, son, and semi-insane golden retriever, Ruby.

Stalk Christina On Social Media – She Loves It!
Blog: http://monsterhousebooks.com/blog/category/christina
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorBauer/
Web site: http://monsterhousebooks.com/authors/cbauer

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