Celebrating Stephanie Faris's Cover Reveal: A Book My Granddaughter Would Like

I'm joining others this week in celebrating Stephanie Faris's new Piper Morgan Series and Cover reveal for Book 3 in the series:

Piper Morgan to the Rescue

When I first learned about Stephanie's character Piper, I thought of my spunky eight-year-old granddaughter Liza and her family's menagerie of pets. At one time I counted 3 dogs, 2 cats, 2 birds, one frog, and a beta fish. Oh, and I probably missed a hamster somewhere in the mix.

Their household changes with the seasons, and some of their pets have been adopted too. Their home could easily be an animal shelter, because, like Piper, they love animals. I plan to share the series with Liza. The story is endearing, and isn't the cover a delight to the eye? I just love the bright colors.

Read Book Blurb Here...

Piper Morgan to the Rescue: Piper helps some four-legged friends find the perfect home in the third book of the brand-new Piper Morgan series.

Piper is super excited to help out at Bark Street, a local animal shelter in town. Who wouldn’t want to be surrounded by adorable puppies and dogs all day? And when Piper sees Taffy, the cutest dog she has ever seen, Piper is determined to find a way to bring Taffy home. But it won’t be easy—especially when she finds out someone else wants to make Taffy a part of their family, too!

Release Dates

--PIPER MORGAN JOINS THE CIRCUS (Simon & Schuster/Aladdin, August 2016)
(Click on title if interested in an advanced reviewer copy. Stephanie is giving away a free copy through the 28th)
--PIPER MORGAN IN CHARGE (Simon & Schuster/Aladdin, August 2016)
--PIPER MORGAN TO THE RESCUE 

Bio:
Stephanie Faris knew she wanted to be an author from a very young age. In fact, her mother often told her to stop reading so much and go outside and play with the other kids. After graduating from Middle Tennessee State University with a Bachelor of Science in broadcast journalism, she somehow found herself working in information technology. But she never stopped writing.

Stephanie is the Simon & Schuster author of 30 Days of No Gossip and 25 Roses, as well as the upcoming Piper Morgan series. When she isn’t crafting fiction, she writes for a variety of online websites on the topics of business, technology, and her favorite subject of all—fashion. She lives in Nashville with her husband, a sales executive.


Links:
Website
Blog
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram

I wanted to add that I appreciate Stephanie's professionalism. She made it easy to share her book series and cover reveal on my blog. She emailed me a Press kit, complete with Book jacket, Head shot, Blurb about her book/series, Bio, other Books published, and Links.  

   

Congratulations, Stephanie. Wishing you the best of success!!

On another note, this is Celebrate the Small Things Friday. I haven't been keeping up that much, but I still love the simplicity of this lovely blog hop. As I spent most of this week fighting a nasty cold, today I'm celebrating a clean bill of health. 

I've neglected my writing, but I did manage to finish our taxes (just need to mail) and especially enjoyed the sunshine today. It's in the 50s here and the warm air (when out of wind) feels glorious. 

Happy Weekend Everyone!

Celebrate the Small Things: To join, please visit Lexa's Blog for the rules. We post every Friday about something we are grateful for that week. It can be about writing, family, school, general life or whatever.

Sharon M. Himsl

Writer/Author. Blogging since 2011. 
Published with Evernight Teen: 
~~The Shells of Mersing

When Cats Take Over

A crazy busy week, so sharing a funny video. I think I need a cat in my office, don't you? I'm reminded of Sassy's "cats rule and dogs drool" remark in the movie Homeward Bound. Remember that?

Also wanted to let you know about a contest called "Pitch Madness" coming up this March. A friend just clued me in, so I thought I'd give it a try--practice pitching my novel and see if my first 250 words are strong enough. Check out the link below.




(for Young Adult, Middle Grade, New Adult, and Adult)

http://www.brenda-drake.com/2014/01/announcing-pitch-madness-clue-edition/

Sharon M. Himsl

Writer/Author. Blogging since 2011. 
Published with Evernight Teen: 
~~The Shells of Mersing

Book Buddies: A Good Thing to Celebrate

Reading is a gift we give our children.

 

 Berks County animal shelter’s ‘Book Buddies’ program is the cutest thing

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/phillypets/Berks-County-animal-shelters-Book-Buddies-program-is-the-cutest-thing.html#QjWLh4ZuZ3axlHET.99

This cat reminds me of an old cat adopted my family one year. She was promptly named "Tina" by my sweet daughter Rachel, who had a "Tina the Ballerina" doll at the time and was taking dance lessons. Cuter than cute as I recall, except Tina our new cat was hardly a pink-slippered ballerina!

Our orange tabby was a feisty old gal, as big as a small dog with a tough barnyard personality. She would sit on her haunches in the road in front of our home and challenge any car that tried to pass. She often won. The drivers would shake their heads and simply drive around her. She wasn't a lap-sitter either, but I remember the one time she made an exception to the rule. I was suffering from a root canal and in terrible pain. She slept next to me on the couch for most of the day, purring the way cats do. They know, they really do. Animals know when we need love the most.  

I have never heard of a "Book Buddies" program in an animal shelter before. Have you? What a terrific idea. It satisfies three of my loves - Reading, Children, and Animals. The program not only teaches kindness and epitomizes the love that people and animals sometimes share, it promotes reading and the joy of following the words out loud.

How I cherished sitting down and reading to my own children. For a time, we even had a 'Story Time' in our home after school. My husband and I sometimes read books to each other, or as a family. There is something to be said for 'hearing' the words of a good book read out loud. Soul nurturing, comforting, safely tucked in, cherished . . . words like that come to mind, and when I saw this article, my heart just warmed. Haven't done this kind of activity before? Do . . . DO. Before it's too late! Reading is a gift we give to our children . . . and to each other.


Animals love the sound of our voice, too, and I doubt if the little boy above will ever forget his experience. For all we know, no one reads to him at home and his reading level is poor, although he appears to be off to a good start. Thought this was a pretty good thing to celebrate this week. Such a simple idea, such a huge benefit!! 

Happy Valentine's Day!!

'Celebrate the small things' was started by Viklit at Scribblings of An Aspiring Author. Sign up below and meet some terrific writers and bloggers!   

Sharon M. Himsl

Writer/Author. Blogging since 2011. 
Published with Evernight Teen: 
~~The Shells of Mersing

Good Friends: Stereoviews A-Z

I was a Tomboy once. That could have been me on the left in the pink. I climbed every tree in the neighborhood. My favorite was a monkey tree on the University of Puget Sound campus in Tacoma (WA). I lived about 10 blocks away and would bike there whenever I could. Mishaps were inevitable. 

"The Young Tomboy" (ca. 1900)

I fell out of another tree when I was six years old, puncturing the bottom of my foot on something hard. Billie, one of my playmates, had just returned from boy scout camp and knew everything there was to know about first aid. He ripped his white tee shirt off, wrapped it around my foot, draped my arm over his shoulder, and walked me home. ~~Swoon~~ I have been a hopeless romantic every since.

"Seaside Sunbeams" (1894) 
(Underwood & Underwood/Jarvis/Littleton) 

I love the title "Seaside Sunbeams." It was too faded to read at first, but another stereoview online in better condition solved the mystery, and also gave the exact date. I am reminded of Point Defiance Beach as a girl in Tacoma. I liked to see how far I could travel jumping from one piece of drift wood to the next without touching the sand. Ever do that?

"Bobbing Party" (ca. 1900)

"Heavy Load"   (ca. 1890s)

 "Good Friends" (ca. 1900)

Good friends. Who are they really? For me, a good friend is someone who loves me unconditionally, in my best of times and worst of times. Emerson wrote: "I didn't find my friends; the good God gave them to me." I like that, too. Friends are a blessing, a gift from God. How about you? What does friendship mean to you?

Copyright 2013 © Sharon Himsl [stereoviews from Gravseth family archive]

Sharon M. Himsl

Writer/Author. Blogging since 2011. 
Published with Evernight Teen: 
~~The Shells of Mersing