Happy Book Birthday: LITTLE TIGER and LITTLE PANDA Plus Giveaway

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WHAT’S GOING ON HERE?? I see two birthday cakes!! Could it be??

YES!!!!

We are celebrating the birth of TWINS! Two book babies for the lovely Julie Abery!!!

And although I’d be thrilled for any of my kidlit friends who had TWO BOOK BABIES…there is a reason why I am particularly tickled pink and blue about this. And here is the lovely Julie to give you a bit of the back story of how these beautiful books came to be. Take it away, Julie!

JULIE:

What inspired Little Tiger…

The inspiration came from a list of tigerish words I had scribbled in my notebook and your wonderful ‘50 Precious Words’ story writing challenge, Vivian! To my delight and amazement my lovable Little Tiger’s rhyming romp around the jungle won your heart and first place! I was so astonished to see it at the top of the winners’ list that I called my daughter, Sarah, to check I wasn’t dreaming. Then things got even better! As my prize I chose an agent critique with Essie White at Storm Literary Agency, and to my delight this resulted in her offering to represent me and you became my agency sister!

I am thrilled that Little Tiger, and Little Panda are now going to be the first two in the Little Animal Friends series of board books with Amicus Ink in Spring 2019 with the second two publishing in Spring 2020.

Thank you so much, Julie. What fun that we are debut author sisters AND I’m so very happy that I’ll get to hug you in person in exactly ONE WEEK!

There you go, my friends. Participating in writing challenges and contests is a wonderful way to get your work out there. And now, without further ado, here’s a big slice of cake for each of you as we enjoy looking at the precious covers of these brand-new books that were both illustrated by the talented Suzie Mason.

little tiger cover

 

little panda cover

And we can do more than just enjoy looking at the covers, right? Because the best gift we can give an author of a book we love is to buy the book, review the book, ask our local library to purchase it for their collection and tell friends about it.

I also want to add a little icing on the cake, so to speak. I’m giving away a copy of each of these book babies. And you  might be one of the winners! Please leave a comment  If you participate in writing contests or challenges, will you share which is your favorite?

As most of you know, I am on the other side of the world right now, enjoying the beauty of New Zealand and getting ready to fly to Geneva next week where I will visit with Julie and then train with her to the Bologna Book Fair. I’m so grateful for these friendships and for all of you in kidlitland who come by to visit my blog and comment and share on social media when good news is announced.

 

62 thoughts on “Happy Book Birthday: LITTLE TIGER and LITTLE PANDA Plus Giveaway”

  1. While I enjoy them all, Vivian, yours is my favorite…it was the first one I ever entered AND even though it’s the most word limited, it’s the most theme expansive; and that, gets my creative juices flowing.
    Congratulations on twins twice over, Julie. That’s fantastic and the covers look lovely! 🙂

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  3. I always enjoy reading the story behind the story. The Valentiny contest was my first contest. #50preciouswords is my second. I’ve enjoyed them both. They have pushed me to write. But I think #50preciouswordsforkids is my favorite. This will be the first year my oldest son will enter and he’s been asking me about it for months. My decision to start writing has sparked an interest in my son and that has been the greatest outcome. He will actually be entering in another contest. Thank you Vivian for holding both.

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  9. Congratulations on your gorgeous books, Julie! They look exceptional! Also, thank you Vivian for all you do for the community–I’m sure it is very rewarding to see such a great success story inspired by #50PreciousWords.

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    • Hoping you are recovering, Joan. Please take care!
      The contest winners will not be announced till the end of the month…this is due to the amazing number of entries (over 300) and the fact that I am without internet access for days at a time…plus I am launching my own three books with various events…and I do want to read each story carefully. The prizes won’t be awarded until I get home early in April – so I appreciate everyone’s patience.

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  15. Oh, I just love this post! What an awesome success story. And as a bit of encouragement to others, even an 11th place story can get published too (mine did!). My favorite contests are Vivian’s and Susanna’s. I really love the freedom of yours, Vivian, since it can be any topic. And I just LOVE the challenge of writing in so few words! Julie, I can’t wait to get my hands on these books. They look adorable! Congratulations!

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  18. Love the books, thank you for sharing! I just recently started participating in writing contests, so this was my first year doing Susanna Hill’s Valentiny contest and your 50 Precious Words contest. I’m also doing the 12 x 12 picture book challenge which is amazing because it really motivates me to keep writing, keep writing, keep writing. It’s probably my favorite challenge right now, just because of all that it offers, but I’ve found each of these contests to be fun and challenging in their own way!

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  20. Applause and confetti for you, Julie! Your writing journey truly inspires me to keep writing, writing, writing. I will recommend your two books to our local library and will buy copies for two good friends having babies this year. In fact, one of them is having TWINS! This is my first year entering the 12 x 12 Challenge and am LOVIN’ the experience. I’m being stretched, encouraged, and motivated to post a story and its revision each month. The professional support, candor, resources, and webinars are invaluable. I also entered #50 Precious Words for the first time. When I read the first entry about a caged bear finally being freed, I cried. The vivid imagery told with unique, musical phrasing with such few words startled my heart. Such a talented writer! I send my best thoughts your way for continued fulfillment and success in your writing. Blessings!

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