3.1 - BookElves Anthology Volume 1

by Jemima Pett, Rebecca M. Douglass, Fiona Ingram, M. G. King, Wendy Leighton-Porter, Sandra Smith, Ben Zackheim

Overview

Seven stories, seven situations threatening the festivities. Will the holidays be a disaster? Will families be left out in the cold? Will there be tears before bedtime, or will there be happy endings all round? The MG BookElves group brings you its first anthology of tales to enjoy during the holiday season:

* Reliable Clooney Dockins delivered his town's mail on time for thirty-two years, until that strange and impossible Christmas Eve when he woke up late. M.G.King (Fizz & Peppers at the Bottom of the World, Librarian on the Roof)

* Max the Tonkinese cat finds Santa Claus on the roof and is whisked away to retrieve a very special message from another time and place. Wendy Leighton-Porter (The Shadows from the Past series)

* Shirley Link is an amateur sleuth who lives in a town that could use all the sleuths it can get! What is it about Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts that makes it such a hotspot for dastardly deeds? Even on Christmas Day? Ben Zackheim (Shirley Link Detective Series, The Camelot Kids)

* Champ may be a rescue dog, but he’s the best person around to stop the dognappers and save heartbreak at Christmas. Fiona Ingram (The Secret of the Sacred Scarab, Champ: My Story of Survival)

* When the railroad gets snowed under, the two bit town of Skunk Corners has to play host to a load of mighty difficult strangers. Can Big Al and the Ninja Librarian keep the season of goodwill from breaking into a riot? Rebecca M. Douglass (The Ninja Librarian, Halitor the Hero)

* Far away on the west coast of a western Scottish island, Dylan and Dougall face yuletide in Castle Haunn with no heat, light or food. Can Dylan get the message through to the mainland for help, or is there something nasty waiting for him in the hills? Jemima Pett (The Princelings of the East series)

* It’s Christmas holiday and Lily is stuck in a remote mountain village. With school out for a month and no internet connection, at first she wonders how she will fill the time. In this sweet romance, Lily discovers there’s more to gift-giving than just the giving. S. Smith (The Seed Savers series)

Each tale weaves its own seasonal magic. Each magician has already warmed the hearts of thousands of young readers with their stories. Enjoy these frantic races to meet the Christmas deadline while you curl up in your favourite reading spot this winter.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940046410259
Publisher:	Princelings Publications
Publication date:	11/25/2014
Sold by:	Smashwords
Format:	eBook
File size:	4 MB
Age Range:	5 - 11 Years

About the Author

I have been writing since I was about 8 years old. The evidence is a small booklet found in my mother’s box of treasures, written in a very childish hand, entitled The Little Stream. I've been creating articles and event reports for newsletters and magazines ever since, often with a slightly fictional theme, but early attempts at novels failed for want of suitable inspiration: characters and plot were sadly missing! I had a career in business and in environmental research that kept me gainfully employed but chained to a desk for many years. But I kept writing: manuals, reports, science papers, blogs, journals, anything and everything that kept the words flowing. Finally the characters jumped into my head with stories that needed to be told.

I now live in a village in Norfolk with my guinea pigs, the first of whom, Fred, George, Victor and Hugo, provided the inspiration for the stories. Sadly Fred (pictured) followed George and Hugo across the Rainbow Bridge in 2011, but he knew that publication was on its way. And he knew he was a star anyway.

Rebecca M. Douglass mostly resides in Daly City, California, with her husband and two teenaged sons. Her imagination resides where it pleases, in and out of this world. After a decade of working at the library, she is still learning the secrets of the Ninja Librarian.

I can’t remember NOT having a book in my hand. My schoolmates called me a bookworm, and nothing’s changed since then. I was brought up on the children’s classics because my parents are also avid readers. My earliest story-telling talents came to the fore when, from the age of ten, I entertained my three younger brothers and their friends with serialized tales of children undertaking dangerous and exciting exploits, which they survived through courage and ingenuity (of course!). Ghosts, vampires, werewolves, and skeletons leaping out of coffins were hot favourites in the cast of characters that populated “Gruesome Gables” where all these adventures were played out. We also acted out the stories for my long-suffering parents, whom I see now were remarkably tolerant of my budding thespian and script-writing talents!

I graduated from the University of Natal, Durban, South Africa, with a double first in my B.A. (French & Drama). After completing my Honors in Drama at Natal, I then went to the University of the Witwatersrand to do my Masters degree in French-African literature. I also studied drama at The Drama Studio in London and mime at L’Ecole Jacques le Coq in Paris. Upon my return to South Africa, I immersed myself in teaching drama at community centres, and became involved in producing community and grassroots theatre with local playwrights and performers in Natal for several years.

A move to Johannesburg took me in a new direction—that of journalism. I have written freelance for the last fifteen years on everything from serial killers to relationship advice (making me a popular dinner guest to revive any flagging conversations). Writing a children’s book— The Secret of the Sacred Scarab—-was an unexpected step, inspired by a trip to Egypt. The tale of the sacred scarab began life as a little anecdotal tale for my 2 nephews (then 10 and 12), who had accompanied me on the Egyptian trip. We had a marvellous time and it truly was the catalyst in changing my career. This short story grew into a children’s book, the first in the adventure series, Chronicles of the Stone. The book has done well, even though the young heroes are South African, and has already garnered impressive indie award nominations.

I've already finished in the next book in the series—-The Search for the Stone of Excalibur-—a huge treat for young King Arthur fans (and older ones as well). Look out for Book 3: The Search Temple of the Crystal Timekeeper.

I became a writer in the third grade, when my best friend started the illustrious Cat Courier and needed reporters to capture feline news around the Jeffersonville, Indiana neighborhoods where we lived. We sold copies up and down the block for 5 cents each.

I've held a few jobs since then. I've been a camp counselor, ESL instructor in Japan, and a registered nurse who has worked critical care, transplant, and surgical recovery. The only job I've ever been fired from was my brief stint as a short order breakfast cook -- I've never been able flip fried eggs over easy without breaking the yolks.

Now I live in Texas with my husband and two sons, a Labrador named Bowzer and a cat named Mews, who all keep me laughing. We spend a lot of time looking for homework and lost keys under the books that clutter our house.

Wendy Leighton-Porter devotes her time to writing books for children after 20 years of teaching French, Latin and Classical studies. Shadows from the Past is a series of time-travel adventure stories, featuring three children and a rather special Tonkinese cat. She is currently working on the ninth book in the series, The Shadow of the Two Princes.

S. Smith grew up on a farm with a tremendously large garden. She maintains that if you can't taste the soil on a carrot, it's not fresh enough. Although she now lives with her husband, children, and three cats in the city, she still manages to grow fruit and vegetables on their lot, as well as tend to a couple of egg-laying and friendly hens.

Smith has been writing since she could hold a pencil, although the lettering she left on her grandmother's books sometimes contained a reverse capital R. In high school, she won awards for her poetry and short stories, and later was an editor on her college newspaper. Upon graduating with a degree in Communication Arts, Smith accepted a job at a small newspaper in eastern Oregon. She later declined the offer, choosing instead to teach English in China. Though she had an idea for a novel or memoir back then, the only writing produced were the many letters home detailing her exploits to friends and relatives.

After China, Smith spent many years teaching in private and public schools, filling hoards of notebooks with her writing--though mostly lesson plans. Along the way, she has written essays, newspaper articles, children's books, and poetry, very little of which she bothered to publish.

S. Smith currently devotes more time to her writing, resulting in a weekly blog, two complete novels, and two more nearly finished. Ms. Smith is a member of SCBWI (Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators) and an OSU Master Gardener. She gardens and writes at her home in the beautiful and green Pacific Northwest.

Ben Zackheim spent over a decade producing online games that have been played by millions of people. His dream of writing for a living became a reality when he released the Shirley Link mystery series (for kids 9-12 years old).

Ben's work on the Shirley Link books has been praised for its focus on the power of intellect and the limitless potential of every girl's hard work and dreams.

His series The Camelot Kids has been called by readers, "The best re-invention of Camelot I've ever encountered" and "A thoroughly modern and thoroughly fun new take on the legend!"

Ben has taken up a writerly life in the Forbidden Forest at 42.5098° N, 72.6995° W.

He's scheduled to begin teaching classes in digital marketing at New York's School of Visual Arts MFA Visual Narrative program in 2015.

Sign up for Ben Zackheim's newsletter and enjoy peeks at his upcoming releases at http://www.benzackheim.com