Book Giveaway: The Palace Rat by Lynne Marie – Plus Mentoring Session Bonus Opportunity

Lynne Marie has written a new picture book, THE PALACE RAT illustrated by Eva Santana and published by Yeehoo Press, which comes out on September 5, 2023. Yeehoo Press has agreed to share a copy with one lucky winner living in the United States.

As a bonus prize, Lynne Marie is giving away a half hour mentoring session with her to help pave the path for someone else’s journey.

All you have to do to get in the running is 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 other things you do to share the good news, so I can put the right amount of tickets in my basket for you.

Sharing on Facebook, Twitter or reblogging really helps spread the word for a new book. So, thanks in advance for helping Lynne Marie and Eva.

If you have signed up to follow my blog and it is delivered to you everyday, please let me know when you leave a comment and I will give you an extra ticket. Thanks!

BOOK DESCRIPTION:

Henri is a palace rat living as the pampered pet of King Louis the XVI! He’s waited on paw and foot . . . but not everybody is happy about it. When a dastardly plan by the royal staff casts Henri out to the streets, he must find his own way safely home. Street mice take Henri in and kindly show him their ways of living. To survive, Henri will eat field strawberries, fashion new clothes out of rags to match the latest Parisian styles, and sleep on grass nests, dreaming of his return to the palace.

In no time, Henri will become a popular figure, spinning rich and colorful tales of palace life for growing audiences. Yet every great tale must have a happy ending . . . and when the time comes for Henri to determine how his own story will conclude, will he choose to stay with his new friends on the street or return to his regal life of comfort?

Perfect for fans of Kevin Henkes’ Mouse Adventures and Leo Lionni’s Frederick, or young readers taking their first steps towards independence!

BOOK JOURNEY:

A big thank you, Kathy, for giving me the opportunity to share my book journey for The Palace Rat on your blog.

I am particularly excited to share this backstory because it began quite some time ago, in 1997. By that time, I decided to finally pursue my first-grade dream of becoming a children’s author. I returned to  school to learn more about writing, storytelling, poetry, folklore / fairy tales / myths, and children’s literature. And during that summer, my son and I vacationed in France for three weeks with my parents. While standing in line to buy tickets to tour Versailles, my eye caught a rat scurrying across the courtyard. I had always been fascinated by French History and the French Revolution (and stories like The Scarlet Pimpernel), so I wondered…

What if that rat is a relative of rats that lived before or during the French Revolution?

What if that rat lived not only at Versailles, but in Versailles?

What if that rat relative was not *just* a rat, but a pampered pet of King Louis the XVI?

And with those seeds planted, the story of The Palace Rat started to take root.

As I toured Versailles – in particular the dining area and royal bedchamber, I imagined the rat being treated like royalty and enjoying all the perks of a palace life (fine food and fashion). But listening to the history and knowing/learning of the economic disparity between the royals and the peasants, I didn’t feel being rich served my story.

I thought about it some more. Keeping in mind the gruesome ending to the last monarch to live in Versailles, I realized that being rich wasn’t all that if you ended up without a head. So I decided that my story would explore what being “truly rich” meant. So I had my main character, Henri the Rat, start out as the pampered pet of King Louis the XVI, only to have his life take a turn which would enable him to discover true riches for himself.

Prior to visiting Versailles, we had also visited the South of France, in particular, Avignon and Provence. In a place similar to those, I imagined Henri experiencing life’s simple pleasures and finding himself.

But how would Henri get from Versailles to Provence? Well, I imagined that the Queen, as well as those who had to wait on Henri paw and foot, would be quite put out by the rodent and that they would team together and devise a plot to “rid the palace of vermin.” They would cart him far, far away, but ultimately, their plot would fail.

Within those details, I intertwined my love for epistolary picture books, storytelling, and France, and continued to wonder “what if?” in my head. When it all came together, The Palace Rat was born, a fracture (with great liberties) of the tale City Mouse, Country Mouse.

From then, The Palace Rat underwent many major revisions over almost as many years. The magic number – 30!

The Palace Rat was always what I believed to be a good story. It had a lot of essential elements.

1. A fresh and unusual take on the City Mouse / Country Mouse Folktale.
2. An underrepresented setting – location (Versailles / Provence) and time period (pre-French Revolution).
3. A main character who is displaced from the life he knew – surely there are many kids that can identify with this, whether a product of a divorce, a move, a financial situation, adoption or foster system.
4. A main character who is engaging, and imparts humor, but ultimately, despite his proclivity for grandeur, tries new things and makes the best of each situation.
5. Villains and tension.
6. An embracing of the oral tradition of storytelling.
7. Animated dialogue.
8. Essential story elements like failure, character development, character change and an important message.

From the onset, it did get positive attention at conferences, but it never came across the right desk. Then, as kidlit changed and grew, it was suddenly way way too long for the market. I had to cut many, many, many words, some letters and even a character, but still tell the same rich tale.

I transferred some of the story into illustrated letters to get the word count down. I cut one character (Papa Mouse) and his dialogue. I finally got it to a manageable length and still maintained the story and important message. And then, I continued along my path as it gathered dust – waiting for just the right moment to dust it off and send it out into the world.

When Yeehoo Press shared their wishlist that mentioned “international stories,” I sent it in. And voila, finally, my illustrious Henri found a home!

I hope that there will be much takeaway for the reader of this post – first, take great pains to learn your craft and learn it well. Next, have patience and keep writing. And lastly, and most importantly, to persevere. If you keep on your path and pave it well, one day, when you least expect it, your character will find a home, and your book, a spot on the shelf.

LYNN MARIE’S BIO:

Lynne Marie is the award-winning author of Hedgehog Goes to Kindergarten — art by Anne Kennedy (Scholastic 2011), Hedgehog’s 100th Day of School — art by Lorna Hussey (Scholastic 2017), The Star of the Christmas Play — art by Lorna Hussey (Beaming Books 2018), Moldilocks and the 3 Scares — art by David Rodriguez Lorenzo (Sterling / Scholastic 2019) and Let’s Eat! Mealtime Around the World — art by Parwinder Singh (Beaming Books 2019), The Three Little Pigs and the Rocket Project and The Three Little Pigs and the Rocket Project Coloring Book — art by Wendy Fedan (Mac and Cheese Press 2022), The Palace Rat — art by Eva Santana (Yeehoo Press 2023), BroomMates (co-written with Brenda Reeves Sturgis) – art by Nico Ecenarro, and more, forthcoming.

She’s the Owner/Director of RateYourStory.org, ThePictureBookMechanic.com, and the Creator/Host of March On With Mentor Texts (www.rateyourstory.org/march-on) and Mentor Text Talk by Rate Your Story). She’s also the Co-Host of #SeasonsOfKidLit (www.seasonsofkidlit.com), a Cybils Judge since 2016 (www.cybils.org) and a Feature Columnist at Children’s Book Insider (www.writeforkids.org).

When she’s not mining story ideas, she lives in the heart of Florida with her family, a Schipperke named Anakin and a Mini Pinscher named Marlowe Charlotte. Visit her at www.LiterallyLynneMarie.com. Lynne Marie is represented by Marisa Cleveland of www.theseymouragency.com.

EVA’S BIO:

Eva Santana was born in Badalona, ​​a coastal city near Barcelona, ​​during a stormy night in July. When I was little, what I liked the most was reading and I always did it on the street, colliding with the lampposts and breaking glasses. I have always been writing, as long as my memory reaches. I also really liked to draw, but I didn’t learn how to do it until I was older. Now I dedicate myself to both, writing and drawing. In addition, I run a children’s magazine. I believe that books help children to become amazing people.

 

She took illustration lessons in a school for adults who, like herself, were very curious about things they had not learned in school. As a child, what she liked the most was reading. She used to walk down the street with her book open, colliding with the streetlights and breaking her glasses. She does believe that books help children to become marvelous people.

She worked as an editor for ARA Kids (a children’s magazine included in a newspaper) from 2011 until 2013 and for  Súpers! (a children’s magazine related to the Super3 TV channel). 

Lynn Marie, thank you for sharing your book and journey with us. This is a very cute tale. Henri the Rat lives a luxurious life in a grand palace as the pampered pet of King Louis of France. Each night, Henri weaves bedtime tales to put His Majesty to sleep, then slumbers beside him on a satin pillow. Until Queen Marie can no longer tolerate his presence and Cook and Tailor are tired of waiting on him paw and foot – very funny. Together, they plot to rid the palace of the spoiled rat and use poison to try to exterminate him.

Henri wakes up the next morning outside the palace, somewhere in the country wondering where he was and who was going to take care of him. Who would feed him? Who would clean and make his clothes?  He writes to the King for help. While awaiting rescue, Henri learns how to look for food and make his own cloths. He starts spinning colorful tales. “There once was a rat, the most elevated rat in all of France, who lived in a grandiose palace as the pampered pet of King Louis . . .” and crowds listened and then filled the fields. That’s when Henri realizes how much he haslearned in his new home and decides to write a letter and says, This time, I’ll deliver it myself.” That night Henri returns to place and whispers, in the Kings ear while he sleeps. “Do not come save me, but visit anytime.” And leaves his letter for him to read when you wakes. It was so much fun seeing King Louis skipping around the fields with Henri and his firends at the end of the book. Very cute.

I enjoyed Ava’s illustrations. They provided a lot of little details to discover as the book is read over and over agian. I thought the addition of French words throughout the book was a nice touch. And I like how Henri wrote on leaves to send his messages asking for help from the king. A nice story about how making your own way in life can be more satisfying than being a pampered pet. Good luck with the book.

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy