TeachersPayTeachers/Decatur news/GoFundMe Campaign

An update on the gofundme campaign - I've had one donation (and it is much appreciated) but need to raise more funds to pay off my illustrator so I can get started with a new illustrator and get my state series back on track and out there.  If you can contribute or can recommend someone who can contribute, please stop by here and leave a donation.  Every little bit helps get me closer to paying her off. 

I've opened my TeachersPayTeachers store for my state stories to start selling in digital format.  Once the first illustrator is paid off, I will be getting that series back on track with (hopefully) three republished titles this year and at least the four new ones next year and probably two to four more as well (depending on how quickly my illustrator can get things done and how quickly I can format the stories for publication).  So if you have been following the Junior Geography Detective Squad (JGDS), 50-state, mystery, trivia series, please stop by the store and help me build my followers.  Also, please help spread the word to all teachers (especially social studies teachers) and homeschoolers that you know who would like to supplement their social studies curriculum with a fun state mystery series.  The files include the book specific study guides, all for one low price.  You can find my TpT store here and the more followers I have the better as you will receive updates when new items are added to the store.

The last thing is the Decatur Book Festival - the place I got my start when the first state story was first published under a publisher.  I've wanted to participate several years since then but haven't been able to afford it.  This year I get to participate with two groups so will be represented in two different booths.  The Sisters in Crime Atlanta chapter has asked the Palmetto chapter (SC) and the Upstate chapter (SC) as well as the Low Country chapter (SC/GA) and a chapter in Tennessee to participate with them in a booth.  I've already filled out my survey and hope to be hearing back from them soon about how they are going to do participation and what not. 

I'm also a member of the YA Authors Rendezvous group and one of the members actually lives about 45 minutes from Decatur and we're going to have a YAAR booth as well; of course with the help of the other members so as to keep cost to each of us low.  You can check out the group's website here and see what we have to offer.  A huge variety from paranormal to children's to everything in between geared for the younger readers. 

I know it sounds kind of crazy to be in two booths at the same time but here is the breakdown - The Kelly Watson stories and Imogene will be in the Sisters in Crime booth; the Kelly Watson series, A Moose in the Shower and the state stories published up to that time will be in the YAAR booth.  I will also help in both booths as needed but more than likely more in the YAAR booth than the Sisters in Crime booth as I think it will be a bit crowded with all the folks who will be represented from 5 chapters (as well as the national organization being promoted) to be there.  I've been ecstatic since finding out about being in Decatur again this year.  I've a lot of work ahead of me in the upcoming months so I should sign off now and get some shuteye so that I can start anew tomorrow, working on my crochet projects that need completing as well as some writing projects.  See you all in the postings - E :)

Half a Century celebration

I'm celebrating half a century, so what better way to celebrate than to do fifty giveaways in 50 days. Crocheted bookworms, ebooks, writing related giveaways, state related giveaways - all between now and the 2nd of August (no giveaways on Sundays or holidays, but may change my mind and do something for the 4th of July just because it ties in with my state series).

First giveaway today will be 10 red, white and blue crocheted bookworm bookmarks to the first 10 correct comments on this blog the answer to this question: Where does Ms. Elysabeth make her home? (hint - answer can be found somewhere here or here).

Happy hunting and when you comment, please leave your email (you can leave it in email addy (at) whatever server (dot) com format if you want to). I'll need to contact you to get mailing address so I can send out your bookworm.

This and That

This week is the start of my 50-day giveaway which will run through August 2. I've got a few postings up starting Tuesday. The giveaways will be from bookworms to crocheted kindle or nook covers, crocheted tablet covers, signed books, ebooks and many other items. So please tell everyone you know to keep checking back every day to see what I'll be giving away in celebration of my half century.

Sales this week have been slow but there have been a couple - 1 copy of "The Proposal" and 1 copy of "The Tulip Kiss", but there haven't been any online sales since the week ending the 12th of May so I'm happy with it.

I received a preview cover for "Butterfly Halves" yesterday and hopefully will be able to release it to the public soon. I can't share the cover yet because there were a couple of problems that I need fixed before accepting it as complete. Heather is doing an awesome job as usual.

I also need to review "Train of Clues" one last time before re-releasing it. I think we caught all the doubled pages/paragraphs this go round and we have made a few changes in the placement of the illustrations and made the book length a bit longer by putting more white space per page - the story is basically unchanged. So be on the look out for that to make its reappearance.

I've got all but one tablet cover completed and I'm not really liking the Old Glory yarn for the cases/covers because the yarn is softer than the Red Heart brand (I've only been able to find the red/white/blue varigated at Hobby Lobby and it's their brand "I Love This Yarn" which seems to be a very soft and not as stiff as the Red Heart brand). Once I finish the tablet cover, I'll post pictures of all the kindle/nook covers and the tablet covers. I hope to find some yarn at the "All About Fabric" plant this week to make more of the cases. I've got all summer to build up my supply until my next big event, Decatur Book Festival, Labor Day weekend. In October I have a librarian's conference and then a local event where I know my afghans will do well. The price of the kindle/nook covers is $8 and the tablet covers $10 (these are a bit bigger and take a little more time). Afghans are $75 in person and $85 shipped which includes shipping and tax.

Chances for the red/white/blue granny square afghan are still available either by purchasing from my website or the JGDS website under the gift tab or by purchasing any print book from me or from amazon.com or other place. If you make a purchase that isn't directly from me, all you need to do is email me (eeldering@gmail.com) with proof of purchase (attached receipt or electronic receipt) so I can send your chance to you. The more you enter, the better your chances. This drawing will be done December 1, so you have six months left to get all your chances in.

Come celebrate my birthday with me starting Tuesday and see you all in the postings

Let Us Not Forget the Tablet Holders

So, while I was completed the second Monet kindle cover, I got to thinking (dangerous territory) about tablet owners. The kindle cases may not be big enough for some tablets, so I picked up one of the other colors and decided to expand the kindle case by 2 clusters/V stitches (kindle cases are 6 and tablet cases are 8) and make it 2 rows longer and instead of a flap closure, I would just sew some velcro to the top row for a closure. I didn't add a carrying strap as I felt most people wouldn't want their tablets just dangling from their wrists. So the tablet covers will give you a little protection when puting your tablet in a pocketbook or satchel.

I can get one kindle case and one tablet case and one or two bookworms out of a skein of yarn or I can get two kindle cases and four bookworms out of a skein. So for now, other than the Monet (both Faye and Susanne picked the same kindle case), I will have one kindle case and one tablet case of each of the colors I have to offer - Primary, Aspen (completed), Woodsy (completed), melonberry, marrakesh, Old Glory, bonbon print (kindle case only right now) I have to replinish the Monet and bonbon print.

Next week the All About Fabrics plant is opened and since I have to be up there anyway, I'm hoping to be able to buy yarn in bulk (six skeins in a pack) for a fairly decent price. I'm also looking for some material to make my Ma America costume as well as buttons for the kindle cases. Fingers crossed they have everything I need, and hopefully a different brand of the red, white, and blue varigated yarn in the 6-skein packages. I'll post pictures of all the completed kindle cases and the tablet cases soon. See you all in the postings - E :)

Giveaways galore

Next week is my birthday and I'm not asking for presents but am going to do a half-century giveaway special. From June 5 (my birthday) through August 2 (no Sunday or holiday giveaways), I will do 50 giveaways. No purchase necessary. All you have to do is leave a comment on this blog and correctly answer the question and be the number of the day to win. Tune in Tuesday for the first giveaway. (Hint: These cute little critters stole the show in Savannah in November of 2011; if you need to figure out what is being given away, you can check the JGDS blog under the Savannah Children's Book Festival postings).

So let's all celebrate my birthday and hope you enjoy the prizes.

Of note, no matter how many times you enter comments, once you have won a prize, you can't win again for ten days; so that's like giving you all five chances throughout the giveaway time to win something. Stay tuned and let the celebration begin.

Book Review Friday - The Queen Bee of Bridgeton by Leslie Dubois

The next few weeks we will see books by Leslie Dubois who will be my guest on the 27th of this month. All the books I've read so far are written with interracial relationships as the main theme but the storylines are very different. The Queen Bee of Bridgeton is the first in the Dance Dream series.

Product Description
When fifteen-year-old Sonya Garrison is accepted into the prestigious Bridgeton Academy, she soon discovers that rich girls are just as dangerous as the thugs in her home of Venton Heights. Maybe more so. After catching the eye of the star, white basketball player and unwittingly becoming the most popular girl in school, she earns the hatred of the three most ruthless and vindictive girls at Bridgeton. Can she defeat the reigning high school royalty? Or will they succeed in ruining her lifelong dream of becoming a world class dancer?

QUEEN BEE OF BRIDGETON by LESLIE DUBOIS
Review by Elysabeth Eldering

Rating: 4-3/4 stars (I hardly ever give a 5 star rating)

In Queen Bee we find Sonya who wants nothing more than to dance. She gets accepted to a private "white high school" and works at the dance studio to help cover the expenses of her training. She tries not to get involved in the politics of the school and lets her older sister take care of that part. Sonya somehow attracts the attention of the star basketball player who wants to play on foreign teams or pro. Romance blossoms, scams abound and Sonya's dreams are shattered albeit briefly. This book is very well written and takes you on a wild journey through high school dreams and beyond.

I've read several books by Leslie as well as her other persona and I have to say that Leslie/Sybil is an excellent writer. I will continue to recommend her books.

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Product Details
Format: Kindle Edition
File Size: 360 KB
Publisher: Little Prince Publishing (March 9, 2011)
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
Language: English
ASIN: B004S7A9AM
Text-to-Speech: Enabled
Lending: Enabled

Also available in print and if you get any of Leslie's/Sybil's books, you can request a kindlegraph for them, just go here

AUTHOR BIO: Leslie Dubois lives in Charleston, SC, with her husband and two children and also writes children's books under the name Sybil Nelson.

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What's coming up for Elysabeth's blog: Saturday will be the This and That (sales report and announcement of free days for "Bride-and-Seek" as well as some ranking numbers for Faye Tollison who just had three of her free days for To Tell The Truth)

Monday will be the third part in my 3-part series of promoting your book; Tuesday will be a late update of sales/downloads on stories; Wednesday is supposed to be WWYWWQ but I've not received any questions from students from any of the classes I've worked with, so I will have to find something); Thursday will be two postings - one on what to do with the copies you receive (if you used Bookstand Publishing and had received the 48 copies of books) as well as a promotion of a friend's books; and Friday will be a review of Leslie's book Guardian of Eden.

Friday, Ma America and the JGDS will be traveling to Columbia, SC for the Geofest held at USC-Columia and hope that having the ability to now take credit cards will be a help in her sales. The This and That posting will be very late once Ma America has had a chance to get home and sort through emails and what not from the day being away from her computer. See you all in the postings - E :)

Writers on the Move free workshop

On Friday, September 16, Nancy and I will be copresenting a workshop on self-publishing through createspace - looking at the different ways to go about using this free service. But is it really free? For info on registering for the workshop, check out the Writers on the Move blog.

Hope to see you all in the workshop. We will be using everywherechat again for the workshop. Registration confirmation email will include instructions on how to access the workshop. E :)

Earthquake in eastern part of US

We've been watching and tracking Hurricane Irene since it is expected to hit either SC or NC coastline this weekend. What we weren't expecting was an earthquake. It looks to have originated just north of Richmond, Virginia, but quakes were felt all the way up and down the eastern seaboard from Norcross, Georgia, to about 2 hours north of Toronto, Canada. Here in my small town, the librarian said she felt it, the post office which is almost right next door to the library did not feel it and several people reported feeling it in different parts of the town. Neither Hailie nor myself felt it on our property. Students at Anderson University felt it while in their rooms. The fault line is widespread as reports from another town in South Carolina (Spartanburg) have reported feeling it and folks all over North Carolina (mostly around the Charlotte area northward) have felt it. From looking at a map showing reported "feels" of the quake - it runs from Georgia to New York, Ohio to New Jersey and every point between upper state South Carolina to Pennsylvania. I understood when it occurred in or around Richmond, Virginia this afternoon that they evacuated the Pentagon and the nuclear plant shut itself down. This is a good thing but we have a plant in South Carolina that isn't too far from where I live and we hadn't heard whether they shut down automatically or if any quakes were even felt in that area.

Pray that Irene doesn't hit land by the weekend and turns to go back out to sea. Cooler weather I'm all for but you see Ma America and the JGDS have an event outside of Charlotte Sunday and if Irene hits between Myrtle Beach and Outer Banks then Charlotte will likely get hit pretty heavy with the rain and all, which means the event possibly could be cancelled. If it hits down in the Charleston area, the Charlotte area should be okay but then again, one never can really tell with Mother Nature.

Keeping an eye out for after shocks from the earthquake as well as Irene - E :)

Afghan giveaway update

I'm on the last red strip (maybe). I got 6 blue strips, 5 white and am on the 5th of the red (am hoping that I can get 6 out of the red, but probably won't be able to get that 6th strip). The afgan will be 15 strips across (I've kind of laid it out and it is about the width of my computer twice over - I think I have a 15 inch laptop, so total should be about 30 inches across and 45 inches long- this should make a nice lap throw - I may have to get some more yarn and make it a bit bigger, will decide after finishing the strip of red). Pictures of the finished project will be posted once the strips are sewn together.

(this is what the strips will look like put together (strips are folded in half twice so they aren't dragging the floor) - with only 15 strips (5 of each color) the pattern will be two red, two white, two blue, one red, one white, one blue and then the 2-2-2. This was laid out on my computer and almost goes across the width of the computer, so I hope that 15 rows will be enough)

This afghan will be the prize in the drawing from all purchases made between May and my last event of the year (Savannah Children's Book Festival in November). Drawing will be done from all receipts on or about December 1, 2011, and afgan will be sent out on or about the 7th of December.

Good luck to everyone who is entered in the drawing and I appreciate your business. - Ma America, The Travelin' Maven (Mrs. E :)) & the JGDS