Cheryl C. Malandrinos is a contributing writer for Writer2Writer. Her articles help writers increase productivity through time management and organization. A member of Musing Our Children, Ms. Malandrinos is also a reviewer for the Muse Book Reviews.
Cheryl is a Tour Coordinator for Pump Up Your Book Promotion and interviews authors and editors at her blog, The Book Connection. She lives in Western Massachusetts with her husband, two children, and three pesky cats.
What I'm Reading
"My Father, My Don" by Tony Napoli
Subjects I'd Like to Learn More About
American Civil War, Children's Literature, Pioneering Era, Settling of the West, and Theology.
Today's guest blogger is Garasamo (Gary) Maccagnone, author of For the Love of St. Nick.Two California boys, coping with the loss of their mother, find themselves uprooted when their father, a Navy Commander, is transferred to a base in Northern Michigan. With the youngest boy continuously sick, the family must survive military life and the northern elements as they dwell in their little hunter’s cabin on Lake Huron. When the boys’ father must leave prior to Christmas to fulfill his secret mi... Read Full Story
The story of Dred Scott has been told before, but never has it been told in such a moving and engaging way as in Am I Not A Man? The Dred Scott Story by Mark Shurtleff.Born Sam Blow on a plantation in Virginia, he was born into slavery, an issue that plagued the nation since its inception. But slavery was more than just an issue for Sam Blow and his family. While they were treated well and Sam and his younger brother, Dred became good friends to the Blow children, as a slave, they knew there ... Read Full Story
We are thrilled to have with us today, Joan Hochstetler, a multi-published author who is also the Publisher and Editorial Director of Sheaf House. Joan is currently on a virtual book tour with Pump Up Your Book Promotion to discuss her contemporary miracle story, One Holy Night, which we reviewed here.An unforgettable story of forgiveness and reconciliation, One Holy Night retells the Christmas story in a strikingly original way—through the discovery of a baby abandoned in the manger of a chu... Read Full Story
I would like to congratulate the winners of our October giveaways: - tetewa won a copy of Rain Dance by DeKok- AmandaSue will receive a copy of My Son, John by Kathi Macias- And a copy of Stewards of the Flame by Sylvia Engdahl will be going out to NancyeAll winners have been notified by email, so we are ready to start with the November giveaways. I'll be posting about our first one shortly.Congratulations again to all our winners and thanks to all who participated in our October giveaways. ... Read Full Story
72 Virgins is a novel about Jihad terrorism and the security agencies’ struggle to thwart its stratagem and trounce the perpetrators. Abu Musa is an Islamic Terrorist with an agenda, a ticking bomb inside the US. Arik Golan is an Israeli who tries to bring him down and pull the plug on his terror organization. Stanley Cramer is an FBI agent on a hunting mission, seeking to place both Abu Musa and Arik within his crosshair. The FBI, the Israeli Mossad, the US-based Iranian clandestine terror n... Read Full Story
Today's guest blogger is Diana Rumjahn, author of the children's picture book, Charlie and Mama Kyna.After Charlie the frog accidentally breaks his mother’s vase, he runs away from home. Charlie and his new best friends Leo and Joe, live in a little orange tent outside Mrs. Cupcake’s bakery. A homesick Charlie, Leo and Joe, journey far away to find Charlie’s mother. A delightful children’s picture book children of all ages will enjoy!"Turning a film into the book" by Diana Rumjahn Turning a f... Read Full Story
And as if I didn't have enough to do with virtual book tours, NaNoWriMo, volunteering at the girls' schools and at church, and just normal family stuff, The Book Connection will be partcipating in National Blog Posting Month (NaBloPoMo) in November too. In between hosting authors on tour, I'll have some reviews posted, provide some holiday recipes and let you know how NaNoWriMo is going.This year I am writing a middle grade novel that I've titled Amelia's Mission. It is about a young orphan... Read Full Story
It's about 11 p.m. here and I have yet to be able to sit down and write for this first day of NaNoWriMo. I guess I could get upset that my day quickly turned into one where I spent little time at home and couldn't even manage to find five minutes at a normal hour to type out even the title, but today is not a beat myself up day. As long as I write a few words before turning in tonight, I will consider my first day of NaNoWriMo a huge success.Good luck to all my fellow writers who are partic... Read Full Story
Until recently I never thought much about how dangerous blogging can be. You start a blog and decide to share what interests you. But what if someone doesn't like it? What if someone is offended by one of your posts and leaves a nasty comment on your blog? Worse yet, what if your blog is reported and subsequently suspended and you suddenly don't have access to months or years worth of work? Depending upon the comment left at your blog, your online reputation could be damaged and there is... Read Full Story
Well, by now most of you know how my week has gone. Up until yesterday I was having a very productive week. It came to a standstill when I went to post a review at my kid's blog and found it suspended. I don't know if venting here was the wisest choice, but I guess since I don't usually do it I'm allowed one error in judgment from time to time. Not only am I disappointed, I'm angry that one person could do that to another human being. It would have been such an easy thing to ask if I woul... Read Full Story
