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Month: October 2017

Seven Quick Takes

Published by CAstfalk on 10/27/2017

7 Quick Takes

Monarch Butterfly Edition

My oldest daughter has been a butterfly lover since she was a toddler, capturing and identifying butterflies long before she could read. With the addition of native plants to our yard, we’re attracting more creepy crawly creatures than ever, including the Monarch butterfly.

A large part of our summer was spent rearing butterflies from egg to butterfly. Admittedly, we got in a bit over our heads. We learned so much together – the whole family – as we marveled at these amazing little creatures and their journey.

Here, in seven pictures, is an overview of their life cycle. They’ve been gone from our yard for weeks, but almost daily I still see a Monarch flying across a road or field, headed south.

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Interview with YA Author A.J. Cattapan

Published by CAstfalk on 10/16/2017

Seven Riddles to Nowhere includes one of the most original, intriguing minor characters I’ve come across in a children’s book. Old Man Englebert uses an electronic voice box, something I remember quite vividly from my own childhood. Several men that inhabited the smoky fraternal clubs my dad frequented used them, and they left a lasting impression on me. What inspired the character, whose voice provides an interesting contrast to the protagonist Kam’s selective mutism?

7 Riddles to NowhereI have to admit I never thought about what an interesting contrast Old Man Engelbert’s voice box is to Kam’s selective mutism! The truth is that I just wanted to make the man seem as scary as possible, and somehow the idea of an electronic voice box popped into my head. Maybe it was all those years of watching Star Wars movies with my brothers and listening to Darth Vader’s scary voice.

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Playing by Heart Blog Tour

Published by CAstfalk on 10/12/2017

Playing by Heart Blog Tour

About the Book:

Emilia Salvini dreams of marrying a man who loves music as she does. But in 18th-century Milan, being the ‘second sister’ means she’ll likely be sent to a convent instead. Emilia’s only hope is to prove her musical talents crucial to her father’s quest for nobility. First, though, she must win over her music tutor, who disdains her simply for being a girl. Too late, Emilia realizes that her success could threaten not only her dreams but her sister’s very life.

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Ta’Mara Hanscom’s ‘The Pretender’ Blog Tour and Giveaway

Published by CAstfalk on 10/09/2017

Despite just meeting each other, Tillie and Noah’s lives have been mysteriously intertwined for many years in Ta’Mara Hanscom’s The Pretender. From the moment they met, Tillie and Noah wanted to spend the rest of their lives together, but a deliberate omission will keep them apart – and that same omission will be responsible for the escape of a murderer, and a bride’s deception.

About the book:

Set in South Dakota in 1975, where eighteen-year-olds could order beer in a bar, and loaded guns were kept under the counter.

Frankie Valli sang “My Eyes Adored You,” and American soldiers returning from Vietnam struggled with their new reality.

It’s within this tumultuous season of American history that Tillie Caselli meets Noah Hansen, and they are never the same again. Their lives were mysteriously intertwined – and had been for many years – yet they had no idea.

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The Other Side of Freedom, Cynthia Toney’s New Historical Novel

Published by CAstfalk on 10/09/2017

AVAILABLE TODAY!Other Side of Freedom Promo

About the Book:

When the reward is the most costly sacrifice of all . . .

In a southern U.S. farming community in 1925, thirteen-year-old Salvatore and his Italian immigrant father become involved against their will in a crime that results in the murder of an innocent man and family friend. Will Sal keep the secrets about that night as his father asks, or risk everything he and his family cherish in their new homeland, including their lives?

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Standing Strong: Going All In with the West Brothers

Published by CAstfalk on 10/04/2017

AVAILABLE TODAY!

Couched in ordinary circumstances and ordinary characters (except that, well, they live in sort of a castle), Standing Strong deals with the most important things. We start asking ourselves the relevant questions sometime in the elementary school years: What do I want to do? What kind of person do I want to be?

And we answer them every day with our actions or inaction, our habits, our determination, and our willingness to accept who, ultimately, will rule our lives.  To whose will do we bend? Our own? Or God’s will?

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