What's a Boggart? and #Fantasy Creatures

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Sorry, HP fans, I'm not referring to the shape-shifting non-being that takes on the form of its observer's worst fear... 

Isn't it amazing how authors can characterize the same fantasy creatures in many different ways? Every enchanted world has it's own magical beasts, properties, and setting. Some creatures retain traits from one story to the next, but some are vastly different. Like the disgusting goblins from The Hobbit compared to the crafty, banker goblins in Harry Potter to my own nerdy goblins in Beast World. Authors have the prerogative to put their own unique spin on the creatures and settings in their worlds.

And today, for an IWSG treat, I'm hosting a special guest who's going to tell us about the boggarts in her new MG Fantasy series...

Elaine Kaye

Picture Book and Middle Grade Author

What is a Boggart?

Boggarts are the worst of fairies. They're squat, disfigured household fairies. Dirty and smelly, they wear wrinkled clothes that need to be washed. They have tempers, and enjoy playing nasty tricks on humans. Because of that, they are not welcomed into human homes. If they do get in to your house, they won’t leave willingly. They love to break things, rearrange furniture, and make the phone ring at odd hours in the night.

To get rid of a boggart that has caused you stress in your home, bang pots and sing loudly. Sort of like how you’re supposed to scare bears away from campsites with a lot of loud, obnoxious noise.

In BAD FAIRY, boggarts are a threat to the good fairies. They live just outside Pinecone Grove, in the forest. Thistle Greenbud and her family’s house is beneath a fern bush with blackberry vines around it to keep away critters and boggarts.

After a tornado devastates Pinecone Grove, the threat of boggarts increases as they come looking for things to break. But since the tornado already broke many things, the boggarts are even nastier than usual.

BAD FAIRY by Elaine Kaye

A Bad Fairy Adventure (Book One)

Age Range: 8-12

Thistle Greenbud is not a bad fairy. She simply doesn't like rules. It's just her luck that her homework is to create a new rule for the fairy handbook. But first, she has more important things to do. Like figure out how to get back at Dusty and Moss for playing tricks on her.

 

Before she can carry out her plan, though, disaster strikes and she finds herself working alongside the very fairies she wanted revenge on. Can they work together and trust each other, or will things go from bad to worse?

Amazon / Barnes & Noble

About the Author

Elaine Kaye is the author of A Gregory Green Adventure series. She first created Gregory Green after her son, who loved her homemade pea soup, thus inspiring the story Pea Soup Disaster. Bad Fairy is her middle grade debut and the first of A Bad Fairy Adventure series.

 

Kaye has worked as a library assistant and teacher’s assistant in elementary schools in the Sunshine State. She currently lives in Florida, but she has called Michigan; Honolulu, Hawaii; and Okinawa, Japan home. She is a grandmother of three boys.

Amazon / Goodreads / BookBub / Instagram / Facebook Twitter / LinkedIn / Blog

PLUS THERE'S A GIVEAWAY!

1 lucky winner will receive 3 Signed Paperback Picture Books:

Pea Soup Disaster, Doctor Mom, The Missing Alphabet

Hurry! Giveaway Ends: June 30, 2020

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Have a FANTASTIC week! And a safe & happy Fourth of July!

Life is a bully - always kicking you when you're down

2019 has been a brutal year in my writing life, and there's even more turmoil ahead...

Over the next few months, I'm going to publish WINDY HOLLOW myself. I'm also going to try to get my previous books back and publishable so I can go sell them at events. My heart broke not being able to go to Ohioana this year. I'm trying very hard to be strong in this transition. And since I recently accepted a permanent teaching position--we need $$ to live--I will have very little time during the school year to work on writing. I guess the balance of writing/teaching had to be achieved. Thank you fate, life, yin-yang, Murphy's Law, etc. You suck.

Unfortunately, that's not all. My rant isn't over, so hold onto your seat. This is an IWSG post for the ages...

You see, recovery from losing all my books at once was a blow I could handle, I saw it coming and prepared myself. But as my title suggests, I'm being kicked while I'm trying to get back up off the floor.

The same day my army son drove away to move to his new home base, I saw this...

coming out in 2020

THIS IS BEAST WORLD!! It's SO NOT FAIR! And it's Chris Pratt, my fave actor! Though the story line is a little different, they're teenager fantasy creatures who live in a suburban fantasy world with no humans, going on a quest - HELLO! That is BEAST WORLD! AHHHHHHH!!!!! Wahhh. Oh, and here's their cool trailer. I'm so UPSET!

Those two main characters, Ian and Barley are so close to my camp guides, Trevor and Bonk in CRADLE ROCK. Onward could be their sideline story!

I know this happens sometimes, but to this degree?? It's such a stab to my heart! So what do I do about it? My publisher couldn't even keep their $#!+ together to publish my third book. I've been sent back to the start, slipped down the longest Chute without a Ladder.

Well, I'll tell you what I'm going to do about it. I'm going to go on a campaign to be heard. The least they can do is enlist my writing skills in adapting my Beast World series for sequels!! Right? Well, maybe that's the most they can do. But they have to do something! Anything! It's so not fair that no one can breach the realms of big productions from little hometowns in "flyover" states. I'm not young, I'm not rich, I have no connections, and I have so many responsibilities that I can't just pick up and leave. But I have ambition, determination, and will power. I can't give up. Just like my DARN AWESOME CHARACTERS - I will find a way!

As you know, I always look for a solution and try to find the positives. So through tear-filled eyes and self-pitying sniffles, here is what I came up with...

• I have the tools--technology, social media, terrific books already written with publish dates before their measly idea was born
• I have more time--it's summer! though I always have a ton to do, my kids are self-sufficient and I don't have to plan or grade until August... two months of as much writing stuff as I can cram in!
• I have you guys--I know I've been pretty lame at visiting other blogs, but I always offer my services and shout outs. I don't like asking for something without offering something in return! Here's a volunteer FORM if you have time to help here and there this summer, easy stuff!

Maybe this was the kick in the pants I needed. Maybe I can get one of those people to notice me--they are just people after all. Things happen for a reason and we usually don't know why until we get to the end result (Life, you still suck).

So, Dragons as pets? We'll change that to "drakes" because the real Dragons will make a big appearance in the next one. Just you wait!

Thanks, you guys. I needed that. More news soon. It's going to be a busy summer.

We have a Cover! - Why a Fantastic Cover is Crucial

First, I want to share my totally awesome, shiny new WINDY HOLLOW Cover!

I'm so enamored! enchanted! encouraged! I have to thank my wonderful, talented cover artist Ricky Gunawan--he's a genius! Covers are vital. Even for ebooks. Covers set the mood of your book, give a glimpse of what adventures await inside, and help readers make up their minds to buy it! So for IWSG this month, I decided to share some tips for great covers...

"Remember: Most people in book publishing believe that a cover is a book’s No. 1 marketing tool." Writers' Digest

Cover Tips I love, from Writers' Digest, KoboWrititngLife, and 99Designs

• TITLE - Big and easy to read. Keep it simple. And pick a solid font--nothing too fancy or silly, unless your book is a joke book!
• ART - hire a professional. Or pay for a photo. Don't chintz! Don't frame images. Don't scare readers with crazy colors.
• AVOID CLICHES - No sunrises, no sunsets, no ocean beaches or fluffy clouds...
• THINK LIKE A READER - and know your audience. Take a poll on social media.
• LURE READERS IN - make them feel something, send a message without spelling it out
• GET FEEDBACK - keep an open mind, listen, and go with your gut

Sounds easy, right? No, I know. It's immensely hard! Your vision isn't the same as your friends or readers. And these are just guidelines to help. If your book is set on a beach -- a beach on the cover works!

Yes, I have a cover, but I don't have a release date yet. Here's hoping and here's the blurb...

WINDY HOLLOW, Beast World: Book 3

Gabe just can't stay out of trouble, even when he's just trying to help.

It's summer break and the young beasts are riding dragons across the Great Sea for a week-long wedding extravaganza. But Gabe suspects Professor Hardaway is up to something more serious behind all the festivities. Sneaking around and eavesdropping, Gabe discovers news of a human village across the mountains--Windy Hollow--and they might be in trouble from the mysterious activity at the old castle above the Mist.

Despite the professor's warnings, Gabe and his friends venture over, risking more than they realize when they get caught up in the dangerous experiments of a deranged scientist who's recruited a large, vengeful beast. Gabe wonders if he's gone too far this time, but he's in too deep to quit. It's do or die, hopefully not die!

And lastly, more encouraging NEWS!
I was honored to be featured in, not one, but TWO high school newspapers!

• The school where I'm currently teaching is Badin High School -- article
• Mason High School is where my older boys graduated, and I sub frequently there -- article

Thanks for hanging out! Enjoy the rest of the month. I'm cutting back on posts until things settle down with work and getting Windy Hollow published... Hope things are well with you!