Book Giveaway: MAGIC FOR SALE by Carrie L. Clickard & Kudos

Kudos to John Shelley for being dominated for the The ALMA Award. The ALMA is a whole-career award rather than for a particular book, so the nominating bodies are library organisations and other national bodies rather than publishers. Congratulations John!

John also illustrated Carrie Clickard’s new book, MAGIC FOR SALE. She has agreed to give away a copy to one lucky winner. All you have to do to get in the running is to leave a comment. Reblog, tweet, or talk about it on Facebook with a link and you will get additional chances to win. Just let me know the other things you did to share the good news, so I can put in the right amount of tickets in my basket for you. Check back to discover the winner.

BOOK’S DESCRIPTION:

A deliciously spooky, spectacularly illustrated story of a boy’s adventure in a magic shop that’s perfect for Halloween . . . and beyond!

On the corner of Hemlock and Blight, the magic shop of Miss Pustula Night is open for business. Enchantments fill the shelves, but it’s the rumor of a shop ghost that really has kids excited. Brave Georgie McQuist is prepared to find the phantom, but he’s not prepared for what happens when Miss Night catches him in the act!

CARRIE’S BOOK JOURNEY:

I had come to that terrible time in every writer’s life, when you run out of deadline projects, revisions and “must do’s”.  You wake up and have to face the harsh reality of…  house cleaning.  Sigh.  I was surrounded by serious spring cleaning — and it was already July. To make the task ahead less horrible, I clicked on a favorite playlist filled with patter songs, those high speed Broadway tunes filled with tongue twisting lyrics.

I was happily bellowing along to “My name is John Wellington Wells” about a sorcerer’s magical goods, when the idea danced into my brain – who wouldn’t want to wander through a magic shop?  What if you could spend the night in one and explore?

Faster than you can say “housework avoidance” I was at the keyboard and stacking up piles of magical goodies instead of tattered  jeans  and pathetic pumps.  Over the next few weeks I stocked Magic for Sales’ store with everything from dainty dragons to fresh pickled elves.  I didn’t want to stop exploring all of Miss Night’s  shadowy nooks and crannies.

When the manuscript was polished, since at the time I was unagented  I held my breath,  crossed my fingers and sent it to Sylvie Frank.  Sylvie was then an editor at Holiday House, and had given me a few encouraging  “no’s” to previous submissions.  To my delight, she loved Magic for Sale’s spooky silliness and read-aloud-ability.  A few months later I was holding a signed contract and looking forward to seeing John Shelley’s amazing illustrations bring our store to life.

I hope each reader’s journey into Magic for Sale’s is as fun for them as it was  for me.

CARRIE’S BIO:

Carrie L. Clickard is an internationally published author and poet.  Her picture books include include MAGIC FOR SALE (Holiday House, 2017), DUMPLING DREAMS (Simon and Schuster 2017), VICTRICIA MALICI (Flashlight Press) and the forthcoming THOMAS JEFFERSON & THE MAMMOTH HUNT (Simon and Schuster, 2018). Her poetry and short stories have appeared in numerous anthologies and periodicals including Spider, Muse, Ladybug, Highlights, Andromeda Spaceways, Havok, Myriad Lands, Clubhouse, Spellbound, Penumbra, Haiku of the Dead and Underneath the Juniper Tree.

You can learn more about Carrie & her work at http://www.clclickard.com.

JOHN SHELLEY’S BIO:

John Shelley was born in Birmingham UK and began illustrating in London, his first children’s picture book being shortlisted for the Mother Goose Award. Fascinated by Japanese art, he lived in Tokyo for over 20 years, receiving awards for a wide variety of illustration work in addition to producing children’s books for Western and Japanese publishers. Once more based in the UK, he currently lives in Norfolk with his daughter and a cat called Pixie.

He’s a former board member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI), and is a member of the Society of Authors. He’s nominated for the 2018 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award. John was featured on Illustrator Saturday.

Thank you Carrie for sharing your book and journey with us. John congratulations again for you nomination. We love your illustrations. Wishing you both another successful new year.

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy