Time for some silly writing fun...Goose style! + #giveaway

I like to think of writing as living my dream, but last fall writing became work. I’d been in a frenzy, whipping books into shaping and sending them off to my editor. My muse was tired, and the creativity well was running low. I promised my muse if she stuck with me in October I’d give her a break in November. We both kept to our end of the bargain. In the past two weeks I’ve been cleaning my house from top to bottom, dealing with a massive pile of dirt in my backyard (don’t ask!) and gearing up for holiday craziness.

The holiday anticipation got me thinking about the goose decoy sitting on a dusty shelf in my laundry room. Since my brother found it on the side of the road nearly twenty years ago, the goose has found its way into many gag gifts and special occasions. It is a now a staple of our holiday grab bag exchange. Whoever gets the goose at Christmas holds onto it for the year and regifts it in the holiday exchange the next year. I got the goose last year, which means I got to plot a fun way to turn it into a gift this year. Bwahahaha!

My silent muse suddenly came to life. “We should write a book. Yeah, to show your family at Thanksgiving. About how scared Goose is to leave the shelf in our house and go to a new home. We can illustrate it with real pictures. From the camera. We’ll have Goose act out all the adventure we have planned for her. We can have her climb a tree, fly off the roof and hang from the basketball hoop. Oh, this is going to be so much fun. Let’s get started!”

So, I wrote a book with a mere 500 words and plenty of pictures taken by me and my daughter. It’s ridiculous and silly. I carried the goose to the park to meet real geese, and my tween daughter was so embarrassed that people driving by would see me walking with a goose. (I was having far too much fun to be embarrassed!) I spent the rest of the weekend playing with page formatting and fonts. Finally, I uploaded the finished document to Office Depot and had it printed and bound.

Sharing this book over Thanksgiving and making my family smile and laugh was a special holiday treat for me and my muse. Now that she’s had her fun, hopefully she will cooperate and give me some nice productive word counts this winter, and we’ll be back to living the dream!

A New Home for Goose is available digitally from Amazon for 99 cents. It will be free this Saturday and Sunday (January 23-24) and well as President's Day/Valentine's Day weekend (February 13-15). It is free anytime on Kindle Unlimited.

Goose sits on a shelf all year. Now it's Christmas, which means it's time for Goose to go to a new home. But Goose is scared!

Join the fun as Goose sets off on an adventure. What happens when a plastic goose rebels? Will Goose be able to overcome her fears?

Illustrated with actual photographs of Goose, this short picture book is fun for all ages.

Amazon

This Little President by Joan Holub & Daniel Roode

Mother Daughter Book Reviews is pleased to be coordinating a Book Blast for the newly-released board book, "This Little President: A Presidential Primer" by Joan Holub and Daniel Roode.

About the Book

Title: This Little President: A Presidential Primer | Author: Joan Holub | Illustrator: Daniel Roode | Publication Date: January 12, 2016 | Publisher: Little Simon | Pages: 26 | Recommended Ages: 2 to 6

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Book Description:

A board book primer on presidents

Learn about the US presidents with this bright and playful board book! Highlighting ten of the most memorable presidents—and featuring all forty-four on the last page—parents and little leaders-in-training alike will love sharing this fun primer full of age-appropriate facts, leadership skills, and White House history.

Leading our country.
Helping you and me.
Keeping all fifty states
safe, happy, and free.

Little presidents have a great big job.

See more at Little Simon

Sneak Peek

About the Author: Joan Holub

Joan Holub is the author of 140+ books for children including the Mini Myths series of 8 board books: Be Careful, Icarus!, Brush Your Hair, Medusa!, Make A Wish Midas! Joan also authored the acclaimed picture books Little Red Writing, The Knights Before Christmas, and Mighty Dads, a New York Times bestseller. Joan also co-authors (with Suzanne Williams) three series: Goddess Girls (ages 8-12, Greek mythology with a middle school twist), Grimmtastic Girls (for ages 8-12, fairy tale adventure with a middle school twist), and Heroes in Training (ages 6-11, Greek mythology adventure chapter books).

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** Book Blast Giveaway **

Prize: One winner will receive a $25 Amazon gift card or $25 PayPal cash prize, winner's choice

Giveaway ends: January 26, 11:59 pm, 2016

Open to: Internationally

How to enter: Please enter using the Rafflecopter widget below.

Terms and Conditions: NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW. A winner will be randomly drawn through the Rafflecopter widget and will be contacted by email within 48 hours after the giveaway ends. The winner will then have 72 hours to respond. If the winner does not respond within 72 hours, a new draw will take place for a new winner. Odds of winning will vary depending on the number of eligible entries received. This contest is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with Facebook. This giveaway is sponsored by Joan Holub and is hosted and managed by Renee from Mother Daughter Book Reviews. If you have any additional questions – feel free to send an email to Renee(at)MotherDaughterBookReviews(dot)com.

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