Christopher Healy Book Tour!

Meet The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom author, Christopher Healy, at a bookstore near you!

Sunday, May 6th  - 2:00pm

Words Bookstore

179 Maplewood Ave.

Maplewood, NJ

Monday, May 7th - 7:00pm

Anderson's Bookshop Downers Grove

5112 Main St.

Downers Grove, IL

Tuesday, May 8th - 4:00pm

Magic Tree Bookstore

141 North Oak Park Ave.

Oak Park, IL

Wednesday, May 9th - 7:00pm

Books & Co. at The Greene
4453 Walnut St.
Dayton, OH

Thursday, May 10th - 7:00pm

Little Shop of Stories  *Children's Book Week Event with Sarah Pennypacker*
133A East Court Square

Decatur, GA

Enter the Fairy Tale Giveaway Hop

Welcome to the Fairy Tale Giveaway Hop! This hop is hosted by I Am A Reader Not A Writer and vvb32reads. It runs from Thursday, April 26th through Tuesday, May 1st! Check out our interview with Juniper Berry author M.P. Kozlowsky below and then enter our Fairy Tale Giveaway!

WaldenPondPress: What makes a fairy tale, a fairy tale? Must there be a moral? Must fairy tales always be dark, or can they be comedic too? 

M.P. Kozlowsky: For me, fairy tales are all about tone.  By reading the first few pages of a fairy tale, whether old or modern, or even just the first few sentences, it should be clear that a fairy tale is unraveling.  They should be whimsical with a touch of darkness -- which is not to say they can't be comedic, too -- with a clear sense of good versus evil.  Must there be a moral?  I suppose not, but the stories are certainly more effective when they reveal one by the end; that is what gives the tale its weight.

Walden Pond Press: What are some of your favorite fairy tales? Did any of them influence you while writing Juniper Berry?

M.P. Kozlowsky: I always enjoyed the fairy tales that frightened me as a child.  Rumpelstiltskin certainly did, as did Hansel and Gretel and the many fairy tales my grandfather told me as a child -- which I have developed into its own fairy tale.  None of them, however, directly influenced the writing of Juniper Berry.  I just set out to make a modern fairy tale, something with a clear moral and a strong female character that young girls could look up to.  I had something I wanted to say and wished to get it out to the world in such a pure way as a fairy tale.

Walden Pond Press: What makes fairy tales so appealing to both kid and adult readers?

M.P. Kozlowsky: I think the best fairy tales appeal to both kids and adults and do not fade over time solely because they never pander to their audience -- those that do, that try to become something else, are quickly revealed as impostors and are promptly and justly disregarded.  True fairly tales speak truths and in clear ways that reach deep within a person, young or old, and resonates there for many years to come.

Walden Pond Press: When you set out to write Juniper Berry, did you ever conceive of it as a fairy tale?

M.P. Kozlowsky: I definitely wanted Juniper Berry to have the feel of a fairy tale, that tone I talked about.  Granted, I think the best fairy tales work better in smaller doses, like those of the brothers Grimm, just a few pages or so.  It might be fun to create an anthology of modern fairy tales in this form, from some of the best writers today.  The results could be very interesting.

Walden Pond Press: What do you hope readers will take away from Juniper Berry?

M.P. Kozlowsky: When someone finishes Juniper Berry I want them to believe that one of the most important ways that a person can define themselves is by doing what is true to them, by remaining steadfast in one's beliefs.  To betray who one is at the core for foolish gain, in my opinion, is one of the worst possible decisions one could make.  Nothing is worth that sacrifice, as Juniper and her family learned.

Win a copy of one of Walden Pond Press's three remarkable and very different fairy tales: Juniper Berry by M.P. Kozlowsky, The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom by Christopher Healy, and Breadcrumbs by Anne Ursu.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

It's Blog Tour Time!: Welcome to The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom Blog Tour!

From Monday, April 30th through Monday, May 14th, author Christopher Healy will be touring the blogosphere to talk about his children's debut novel The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom. In addition to hosting Chris on their blogs, these amazing bloggers will be posting reviews and offering all sorts of giveaways.

Find a list of all the Hero's Guide tour stops below. Click on the title of the tour stop and then click the title again in the "description" section to be brought to the blog. Be sure to check out all the stops and enter all the giveaways!

 

Showers of Books Giveaway Hop

April showers bring May books in this new giveaway hop hosted by I Am A Reader Not a Writer and One A Day YA. For this hop we will be giving away signed prize packs of all of Walden Pond Press's May releases (Paperback and Hardcover)!

First up...

The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom by Christopher Healy (hardcover)

Four imperfect princes. Four improbable princesses. One hilariously unforgettable adventure. There is a lot you don’t know about Prince Charming...

And then...

Juniper Berry by M.P. Kozlowsky (paperback)
Juniper’s parents, two of the world’s biggest movie stars, have not been right lately. One night, Juniper follows her parents as they sneak out of their huge mansion into the cold, dark woods that surround their house. What she discovers is an underworld that is terrifying and enticing, lorded over by Skeksyl, a creature both sinister and seductive, who can sell you the world’s secrets in a simple red balloon.

And then, to celebrate the end of a great trilogy this May...

The complete Archer Legacy Series: The Billionaire's Curse paperback; The Emerald Casket paperback; The Mask of Destiny ARC by Richard Newsome
Gerald Wilkins never considered himself a particularly exceptional thirteen-year-old. But that was before he inherited twenty billion pounds, a Caribbean island, a yacht, and three estates from a great-aunt he never knew. With this fortune, however, comes a letter. One from his great-aunt Geraldine. One that tells Gerald that she was murdered, and it’s up to him to find out why.

Best of luck to all who enter!

In celebration of Neversink: Win a $50 Gift Card to Your Local Bookstore!

You heard it: our first ever Facebook giveaway! In addition to a $50 gift card to you local brick-and-mortar bookstore, one winner will receive a year long subscription to The National Audubon Society, a personalized copy of Neversink, a Skype call from author Barry Wolverton and a copy of Project Puffin: How We Brought the Puffins Back to Egg Rock, by Project Puffin scientist Dr. Stephen Kress.

Click "Enter Here" in the window below to be taken to the Facebook entry form. Best of luck!


Neversink Contest