Veterans Day With ROCK 'N' ROLL SOLDIER

A propos Veterans Day, there's a great piece on Dean Kohler's Vietnam warzone band and Rock 'N' Roll Soldier in the Virginian-Pilot, daily newspaper of southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina.

Dean and I will be at Barnes & Noble Town Center in Virginia Beach tonight from 7-9 pm, signing books and doing a Q&A session. Nor'easter, shmor'easter – grab your umbrella and stop by!

Finally, profound thanks to all those who've served, and their families. This military wife is well aware of the daily sacrifice as we support our fine men and women in uniform. Veterans, you have our deepest gratitude.

Dean Kohler With Macrini Tuesday Morning

If you're in southeastern Virginia/northeastern North Carolina on Tuesday around 7:30 a.m., tune into Tony Macrini's morning drive-time show on Newsradio WNIS, 790 AM. Macrini will interview Dean Kohler, my co-author of Rock 'N' Roll Soldier, about Dean's experiences putting together a touring rock band in the middle of the Vietnam warzone – improvising instruments and equipment, teaching fellow MPs how to play, entertaining hundreds of battle-weary, homesick soldiers – all without missing a single patrol.

And a propos of Veteran's Day, Dean will be signing books Wednesday at the Barnes & Noble in Virginia Beach at Town Centre, 7-9 p.m. Knowing Dean, he'll have some rockin' show-and-tell, too.

I'll be there – hope to see you there, as well!

An APPLE PIE FOR DINNER Review That Will Make You Giggle

Need a chuckle?

Check out this great review of An Apple Pie For Dinner, penned by a publishing industry vet-turned-mom of two daughters under the age of six.

Out of the mouths o' babes, right?

Win Joy Preble's DREAMING ANASTASIA!

Contemporary teen rescues lost Russian princess, told from multiple points-of-view – it's the intriguing premise of Dreaming Anastasia, author Joy Preble's debut novel for young adults.

But instead of the historical fiction you'd might expect, Preble grounds the action in present-day Chicago. Lucid dreams, a secret society, a mysterious stalker, and a bit of witchcraft all add up to a suspenseful read more akin to an international spy thriller than a back-in-time epic.

Preble discusses her vision of the urban fantasy and personal connections to Russian folklore, the challenges of writing from several POVs, her love-hate relationship with revision, and more in my November children's market column at Authorlink.com.

After you check out our chat, come back here and leave a comment. You'll be automatically entered to win a copy of Dreaming Anastasia! The winner will be chosen at random on Sunday, November 8.

Good luck!

Children's Lit Loves APPLE PIE!

Another great review for An Apple Pie For Dinner – many thanks, Children's Literature!

Granny Smith wants to bake an apple pie for dinner. She has everything she needs—except apples! So she picks some plums and heads out the door thinking she might find someone in need of plums with apples to trade. Instead, she finds a woman in need of plums with feathers to trade. Being good-hearted, Granny makes the trade. Further down the road, she finds a pair of children in need of feathers; in return, they give her a splendid bouquet of flowers. Then she finds a prince in need of a gift for his ladylove; he gives her a gold coin for her generosity. A hungry family receives the coin from Granny and gifts her with a puppy. Will Granny ever get the apples she seeks? Based on an English folktale called The Apple Dumpling, Susan VanHecke's retelling is a beautiful celebration of kindness, giving, caring, friendship, and community-building. There could be no finer ending than this, which finds Granny bringing all of the many people back to her house to make and share a sumptuous apple pie. Carol Baicker-McKee's three-dimensional, mixed-media bas-reliefs are the perfect visual companion to this story. Each of the clever, three-dimensional illustrations hints at what is coming next in the story, and every one includes a tiny ladybug. Children will enjoy the images for their own merit, and they will have fun hunting through them for clues and bugs. This book is a delight; my four-year-old has declared it to be her "favorite!" Includes a recipe for apple pie.
Reviewer: Heidi Hauser Green

ROCK 'N' ROLL SOLDIER Book Signing Event With Dean Ellis Kohler, November 11

Will you be in the Hampton Roads, Virginia area on Vets Day, Nov. 11? Be sure to stop by the Barnes & Noble at Pembroke from 7-9 pm, where Dean Kohler will be signing copies of the Cybil award-nominated Rock 'N' Roll Soldier.

Knowing Dean, he'll have some very cool, very rockin' show-and-tell, too!

Barnes & Noble, 4485 Virginia Beach Blvd.,Virginia Beach.

Congrats To ROCK 'N' ROLL SOLDIER Winner!

Congratulations to Melodye of Orange County, California, who won a signed copy of Rock 'N' Roll Soldier, Dean Ellis Kohler's Vietnam War memoir with a musical twist!

Thanks to all who stopped by AuthorsNow! to enter!

Last Day To Win Signed Copy of ROCK 'N' ROLL SOLDIER!

You have until 11:59 PM CST to enter to win a copy of Rock 'N' Roll Soldier (newly Cybil-nominated!), signed by Dean Ellis Kohler and myself. Head to AuthorsNow!, leave a comment, and you're all set. Good luck!

ROCK 'N' ROLL SOLDIER Nominated For A Cybil Award!

Exciting news! Rock 'N' Roll Soldier has been nominated for a Cybil, the annual Children's and Young Adult Bloggers Literary Awards!

From the Cybils website:

Our purpose is two-fold:

--Reward the children’s and young adult authors (and illustrators, let’s not forget them) whose books combine the highest literary merit and "kid appeal." What’s that mean? If some la-di-dah awards can be compared to brussel sprouts, and other, more populist ones to gummy bears, we’re thinking more like organic chicken nuggets. We’re yummy and nutritious.

--Foster a sense of community among bloggers who write about children’s and YA literature, highlight our best reviewers (and shamelessly promote their blogs) and provide a forum for the similarly obsessed.

Finalists will be announced January 1, winners on Valentine's Day.

I'm thrilled and so honored!

Two Days To Win Signed ROCK 'N' ROLL SOLDIER!

Two days left to snag a signed copy of new Vietnam War memoir-w/-a-musical twist Rock 'N' Roll Soldier!! Leave a comment at AuthorsNow! and you're automatically entered to win!

Win A Signed Copy Of ROCK 'N' ROLL SOLDIER!

Stop by the AuthorsNow! website and leave a comment by 10/14 and you'll be entered to win a copy of the Vietnam War memoir Rock 'N' Roll Soldier, signed by Dean Ellis Kohler and yours truly!

Ann Haywood Leal's Personal & Poignant Take On ROCK 'N' ROLL SOLDIER

Ann Haywood Leal, author of the touching middle-grade novel Also Known As Harper, grew up with the Vietnam War. It was on TV at the dinner table; several close family members served and returned home unwilling or unable to speak of it. So her thoughts on Rock 'N' Roll Soldier, posted on her Backstory blog, are especially meaningful.

I think we often forget that when we send our sons and daughters off to war, it's entire families, even neighborhoods and communities, that are affected – not just the soldier doing his duty, asked to do and see things no young person ever should.

Thanks so much, Ann, for your thoughtful review. And congratulations on your Cybils [Children's and Young Adult Bloggers' Literary Awards]) nomination. It's well-deserved.

October Is National Apple Month!

Bake a pie, simmer some sauce, grab an apple and get crunching!

Learn more about the "real" Granny Smith here...

photo: Fir0002/Flagstaffotos

Lauren Bjorkman and MY INVENTED LIFE

Lauren Bjorkman didn't plan to write a novel about LGBT teens. My Invented Life (Henry Holt, 2009), her newly-published debut for young adults, just kind of happened that way.

It all started with a high school reunion.

"A few months before, someone started a pre-reunion forum online," Bjorkman tells. "A bunch of my classmates came out on it. I followed everyone’s stories with enthusiasm because I’m always interested in the lives of others – yes, I’m nosy – and no one was 'out' publicly during high school."

After speaking with her gay classmates before and during the reunion, their memories of their school-age experiences stayed with her. Says Bjorkman, "[They] wouldn’t leave me alone—like a haunting, really—until I realized I had to write a book with LGBT characters."

She also tossed in a high school production of Shakespeare's As You Like It, a myriad of mistaken identities, and an hilariously unreliable narrator to create her fresh, fast-paced, and near-farcical tale.

Bjorkman shares how she pulled it off, her expectations of controversy surrounding her book, and much, much more in my October children's market column at Authorlink.com.

Be sure to stop by her website and blog too – did you know she grew up traveling the world on a sailboat? Too cool.

Feelin' Cincinnati Library's ROCK 'N' ROLL SOLDIER Love

From the Cincinnati Public Library's Teenspace!

Rock ‘N’ Roll Soldier
a memoir
Dean Ellis Kohler, with Susan VanHecke
A promising musician finds his career temporarily derailed, and yet, strangely invigorated, by the Vietnam War in this fascinating true-life story, which manages to be both inspirational, and unflinching. Just after Dean Kohler signs a record deal, he finds someone else wants him, too: Uncle Sam. Before he knows it, Dean is in Qui Nhon, Vietnam, serving as a military policeman. Dean feel like he’s lucky to at least not be on the front lines, and then, he gets even luckier. His Captain orders him to form a rock band, to perform for fellow G.I.s, who are desperate to escape the emotions of war, even for a little bit. Tracking down musical instruments in the middle of a war zone is not easy, nor is the traveling through dangerous forests to get to audiences who can’t exactly come to them. Amazed by what his music does for the appreciative soldiers, Dean also begins to realize how the music is rescuing him, too.

Love that last line – so true!