Another Blog Swap. This Time with Iva Valentino
Thursday, March 05, 2015Well it seems that I kind of missed the month of February on the blog!!! Sorry to all who visited and found the same post. At least it was a very short month. LOL Seriously, I was busy all month doing home things and getting involved in some pretty awesome things too!!!
Awhile ago I found out that I am going to be a panelist at Imaginarium 2015, which is an awesome convention taking place in Louisville, KY in September. I will be talking about this a lot more. Meanwhile, I can't wait to do this!! I am looking forward to being there, since I have never been to Kentucky and I love conventions. I will also be able to sell my books there too. It is a convention for all the arts including film, screen writing and books.
Anyway, getting back to the blog, I hope you were able to learn about Susan A. Royal who was also on my Blog Talk Radio Show, Red River Radio Tales from the Pages last month. I left up the blog post so people could read all about her.
Now I would like to introduce you to another MuseItUp Publishing writer, Iva Valentino. It seems I am going to be having a lot of these blog swaps, because once again we are swapping. For anyone who is interested in seeing her post about me please visit:
Iva's Head: http://www.ivavalentino.com/blog
Something Iva didn't tell you is we are both giving away a free copy of our book to a lucky person who wins the comment drawing. So please leave a comment here to win a copy of Black Cats and Ballet Slippers. Leave a comment on Iva's blog to win a copy of After.
Now let's learn more about Iva Valentino:
Bio:
Iva Valentino lives in Arizona with her husband and their
dog, Lupo. She graduated from the University of Arizona with a Bachelor’s
degree in Biology and a Master’s degree in Education. She loves living year-round
in the warm desert.
Iva spent many years as a middle school teacher, where she
enjoyed teaching her students all about science. She currently works as a
science editor at an educational publishing company. She loves travel, yoga,
and photography. There is nothing that brings her more happiness than a good
dance class!
That's interesting, because I was also a teacher, but science and I were not great friends!! I like teaching reading and writing so much more!!!
Iva, you are new to MuseItUp Publishing and this is your first book so I am very excited to let all my readers learn about it. I know I am intrigued about the title and would love to learn more.
Gemma Mayfield feels like middle school is a lot to bite off
and chew. School, ballet classes, and planning on how to get Trevor Davis to
ask her to the Halloween Dance are a tough balancing act. On top of that, Gemma
is convinced that her science teacher, Ms. Pruett, is a witch.
When things start getting fishy at school, Gemma knows that
Ms. Pruett is behind it all! Students are getting spells placed on them and
start to go missing. Gemma and her best friend, Izzie, vow to stop Ms. Pruett
from doing any more damage. Will they be able to save Middleton Middle School
from witchcraft?
Oh, I had some teachers I thought were witches, but they never did anything like that!! This is a big task for middle school kids.
Excerpt:
Okay, so something REALLY strange is
going on. Boys are from a different planet, but right now a few of them at
Middleton are acting like they’re from a different universe. (Wait. Does this
make sense? Is there more than one universe? Ugh. Maybe I should have paid more
attention last year in Astronomy.)
So, by the time I got to Ms. Pruett’s
class, I had already worked myself into a super version of “I Don’t Wanna Go To
Class Because I’m Creeped Out!” mode. I walked into the Science Laboratory, and
I swear I felt the cold of Building 400 smack me right in the face. I’m not
kidding.
Of course Ms. Pruett was at the door,
acting like her sweet old lady self (ha ha, I know better), and was welcoming
all the kids into the classroom. I just kept my head down and muttered a hello
as I passed. Staying below the radar was the goal. Then I sat down at my lab
table and shivered a bit.
Joey sat down at the table just a
second later. Normally he is really loud and obnoxious, cracking jokes, and
calling to the other Soccer Jocks across the room. Today he was quiet.
“Hey,” I said, trying to be friendly. I
thought maybe we could commiserate on us both having spells cast on us. Joey
responded with a “hey” but didn’t say much else. Hello? Was this the Joey I
knew?
“So, Joey, are you feeling okay?” I
asked. “You know, after yesterday…”
Joey didn’t say anything, but began
writing on a piece of paper. He folded up the piece of paper and passed it to
me. I gave him a questioning look. He gave me a weird look back that I couldn’t
decipher. The note was as follows:
Hey Gemma,
Sorry I gave you a hard time yesterday
about the “Cute Boy” list. It was kind of rude of me.
Joey
That’s when it hit me that Joey hadn’t
recovered from Ms. Pruett’s spell. For me it was just temporary, like a few
minutes. But Joey was acting weird. It had to be the spell.
“Um, thanks,” I said. “Don’t worry
about it.” I then started taking out all my school stuff so that I could look
busy and not have any more awkward moments with Joey until he felt better. He
was taking longer to recuperate.
After class I headed straight down
toward the lunchroom. On the way there, I saw Trevor going in the opposite
direction past me. Our conversation went like this:
Me: “Hi Trevor!” (with a big smile and enthusiasm)
Trevor: “Oh, hi Gemma.” (with zombie-like attitude)
Me: “Okay, have a good lunch!”
Trevor: “Okay, thanks. Bye.”
I wondered where he was going, in the opposite direction from the lunch room
when it was lunchtime. It took me another couple of moments to realize that the
ONLY classroom in that part of campus was Ms. Pruett’s room. He was headed back
toward Building 400!
Yikes! I turned myself around in mid-stride and turned back the way I came. I
knew there was no way possible that Trevor would be going to Ms. Pruett’s. Why
would anyone in their right mind be going there by themselves?
I didn’t want Trevor to think I was stalking him, because of course I would
never do that. But just in case that’s what it appeared to be, I used as much
stealth as possible. I walked in the shadows and stopped to peek out behind
bushes and building walls. I saw him up ahead…just before he ENTERED MS.
PRUETT’S CLASSROOM.
My mouth fell open, and I just sort of stared at the door for a while.
Weird things are going on here at Middleton. And I think Ms. Pruett’s behind it
all!
After reading this, Iva, it certainly seems so!! I'm sure everyone is wanting to know what is happening at that school!! I know I do!!
Here is where you find Iva Valentino and her book:
Website: www.ivavalentino.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ivaavalentino
Purchasing links for Black
Cats and Ballet Slippers:
MuseItUp Publishing: https://museituppublishing.com/bookstore/index.php/now-available-in-ebook/black-cats-and-ballet-slippers-detail
Iva, it has been a pleasure getting to know more about you and your book. I hope one of my readers will be lucky enough to win a free copy of Black Cats and Ballet Slippers. Thank you for being my guest.
Until the next time, it is ten months since my husband passed and I am feeling a little better each day. I still miss him very much, but at least I am able to feel sad and move on to take care of things. I am getting out alone more and it is easier and easier to do it. And I am still exercising and it makes me feel so much better!
I am also getting to work on the book I started at NaNo, "Jennifer's Story" and I hope to have it finished by the spring. Then I might be looking for beta readers.
My Blog Talk Radio show this month is getting me very excited to do it. My special guest for this show on Thursday, March 26th at 4PM EST is the renowned radio host and acclaimed poet J. Todd Underhill who with the help of JT Gunter and Michael Amidei hosts World Poetry Open Mic on Friday nights at 8PM Mountain Time. These guys who are located in Denver have created a community of poets who span the entire globe. You can call into the show and read your poem and there is no judgement except their applause when you are done!! For anyone who writes poetry and would like to share it with a very supportive audience, this is the show to share it. Being one of those poets who tentatively called into the show and stayed to tune in almost every Friday night, I wanted to bring you J. Todd Underhill who is also a poet in his own right. I think you are going to love this show!!!
Also on this same show is Cynthia Sharp who I met as a participant in the chat room on World Poetry Open Mic. Cynthia is a brilliant poet too and she has written a book called How to Write Poetry. Even if you are an experienced poet this book will definitely be for you. There are many exercises to help poets and to help teachers who are teaching poetry. I think the discussion between us three should be so much fun. This is another show you won't want to miss!!
Remember to leave a comment so you get a chance to win Black Cats and Ballet Slippers.
9 comments
Barbara, thank you so much for hosting me on your blog! The blog swap is tons of fun! It was great to learn more about you, especially that you were a teacher, too. :)
ReplyDeleteCaryn, thank you!! We met when I was a young mother and our children were toddlers. Yes, it has been a long time!! It's more than 30 years, Yikes!! I'm sure you have too!! Wish we could meet.
ReplyDeleteIva, thank you for hosting me on your blog too!! Ditto here!! Hope to one day speak with you on my show.
ReplyDeleteBarbara, that sounds like a lot of fun! I'd love to be on your show. :)
DeleteLet's do it!! Contact me by email and we'll set it up.
DeleteActually, I moderate comments. So unless I saw it you won't have it published immediately.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by the blog, Caryn!
ReplyDeleteHow exciting, Barbara.Have fun in Louisville.
ReplyDeleteYour book cover is adorable, Iva. Wonderful interview. I enjoyed my visit on your blog. Looking forward to hosting you on Monday.
Have a great weekend, ladies.
Beverly, I'm looking forward to being on your blog on Monday!
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