Traveling to Texas

Author Bonnie J. Doerr has been traveling to promote her eco-mystery Island Sting. She’s been to FL, PA, VA, MD, and NC. Next up: TEXAS. She’ll be in the San Antonio area this weekend and through next week, so if your bookstore, library or school is interested in having an author visit next Monday, contact Cathleen Cartwright, Public Relations Assistant for Leap Books, at marketing@leapbks.com.

Teachers and reading specialists have been raving about Island Sting. It’s a fast-paced mystery that ties into the science curriculum. Suitable for tweens or hi/lo and reluctant teen readers, Island Sting pits a group of teens against a deadly poacher of the endangered Key deer.

Not familiar with Key deer? These tiny deer, about the size of a German shepherd, are only found in the Florida Keys. A former science and reading teacher, Doerr shadowed the National Key Deer Refuge rescuer workers and now helps out the shelter by donating profits from her books.

Stay tuned this week as we feature some stories from Bonnie’s travels—from accompanying rescuers of endangered turtles to helping to save dying pelicans. She also shares her adventures with authors Ruth Spiro (Lester Fizz, Bubble-Gum Artist), Emily Ecton (Night of the Living Lawn Ornaments), Deborah Heiligman (Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith), and Laura Rennert (Emma, the Extraordinary Princess), and Edie Hemingway (Road to Tater Hill).

Talk of the Town

If you weren't in Cold Lake, Alberta, this weekend, you missed out on some great fun. Yep, that's author Judith Graves at the mic, ready to sing about her book characters, accompanied by the all-girl band, Shenanigans.

A singer/songwriter, Graves is multi-talented, which she had an opportunity to demonstrate not only through song, but during her book reading. You can catch some of the fun here or at Graves' Wolfy Chicks blog:

Radio Spot

Thanks to radio station Kool 101.3 FM in Bonnyville, AB. They've been advertising Judith Grave's author appearance with spots throughout the week. And Judith went in for an interview on Wednesday morning.

We'll post some mp3s of the visit and the great ads.

And now only 1 more day until the launch party...

Check out the Wolfy Chicks blog for more info.

Celebrate Earth Day

Do something wonderful for the planet today. Pick up trash. Turn off the electricity for an hour. Or try one of the main ways our author, Bonnie J. Doerr has compiled to help save the environment. She made a list of 25 suggestions. We'll post them a list next week when you find out more about Bonnie. In the meantime, here are two quick suggestions you can try:

1.    Downloading music saves production of the greenhouse gas produced during the making, packaging, and distribution of the discs UNLESS you burn a CD.

2.    Americans eat at least four servings of beef a week. If you consume only one less beef meal a week you can reduce your environmental footprint by 25%. Why care? Raising cows requires acres of land, tons of water, grain, and pesticides. And cows produce a staggering amount of methane (yes, through belching and “tooting”), thus contributing to global warming.

Stay tuned for more environmentally friendly ideas or visit Ms. Doerr at Bonnie Blogs Green for more ways to save the planet. Better yet, pick up a copy of her book Island Sting to see how other green teens not only save the environment, but also nab the poacher of the endangered Key deer.

DANGER--INTRIGUE--ADVENTURE...

Up to Some Shenanigans

So the countdown goes on...

Judith Graves' launch party begins in 3 more days.

In addition to great food, a chance to meet this exciting debut author in person, and to hear her reading from Under My Skin, you'll get to hear awesome tunage by Shenanigans, an all-girl band. Some of the band members used to be part of Judith's former band.

Yes, this multi-talented author is also a singer/songwriter. And she'll be joining the band for a song or two. If you want a sneak peek at Judith's abilities, check out her vlog below. She's written a song about her book characters.

You won't want to miss any of her Shenanigans this weekend. So head to Cold Lake, AB, or join us for some live footage of the event via her vlog posts. And check out the Wolfy Chicks blog for some awesome coverage of the event.

Goth Graveyard

Love goth? 

Author Judith Graves is going black, black, black this weekend. These two huge walls have been painted black in her honor. And this corner of a coffee house will be the scene of a graveyard, complete with crows and roses.

A goth dream...or nightmare, as the case may be.

So break out the black eyeliner and lipstick and head on over to the party. Everyone's invited--goth or not.

WHEN: April 24, 2010

WHERE: BeanTrees coffee house
               5112 50 St
              Cold Lake AB, T9M 1X2

WHO: Mural created by Lauri Ansell, based on illustrations within Under My Skin (UMS), created by Val Cox

WHY: To celebrate the launch of UMS written by author Judith Graves

Ta, da! The finished product. And if you're curious about the original art on which this was based, here are some of the great illustrations by Val Cox that Lauri used.

If you can't get to Cold Lake, Alberta, this weekend--or even if you can--you can enjoy seeing these pictures of a work in progress. Even better, watch it unfold via vlog. And meet Judith and Lauri in person.

So if you're into the paranormal, love werewolves, vamps, sprites, and other beasts that haunt graveyards, Bean Trees is the place to be this Saturday night. Great music, stuff to eat and drink, and lots of paranorms roaming the crowd...

Come celebrate with us...

Win Free Vintage T-shirts

 Skulls, dead trees, crows... All this great goth stuff on a vintage T-shirt. Author Judith Graves is giving them away to celebrate her book's release. Wanna snag one? It's easy, but you only have until the witching hour--midnight EDT (or EST) tomorrow (Wednesday, April 21, 2010) to enter.

All you have to do is visit the Wolfy Chicks blog and ANSWER THIS QUESTION:

What's YOUR favorite paranormal creature, and why?

Be sure to let  the Wolfy Chicks know you heard about it here. Maybe they'll give you bonus points. You can also show up at the launch party for another chance to win. Good luck!!

And if you need more info about the launch, here it is....


Stayed tuned for the countdown and more fun stuff about the launch every day this week.

Only 4 more days until Saturday, April 24th.