#BookReview The Bridge of the Golden Wood by Karl Beckstrand #RBRT

On March 16, 2017March 12, 2017 By shelleywilson72In Authors, Book Review, Book Reviews, Books, Children's Fiction, Fiction, Inspirational, Non Fiction, RBRT, Rosie Amber's Book Review Team, Tuesday Book Blog, Writing2 Comments

Book Review #RBRT

Book Title: The Bridge of the Golden Wood

Author: Karl Beckstrand

Category: Children’s Fiction/Business/

My Rating: 4 Star

My Review:

The Bridge of the Golden Wood is a delightful tale about a young Chinese boy who helps some hungry fish but learns a valuable life lesson along the way. According to the blurb, this illustrated folktale teaches the reader how to spot opportunities to help others and make money. After the story, there are money-making activities included, together with a valuable resource section.

The illustrations are beautiful, and the words are in a dyslexic font making this book accessible to a wide audience.

It’s aimed at children between the ages of 5 and 18 and has a business/non-fiction element to the story. However, I’m not sure my three teenagers would read it, even though two of them are studying business, and my young nephew would not grasp the business element, but I’m sure he would enjoy the story. The author is a bestselling and award-winning author of 18 multicultural books, so I’m pretty sure he knows what he’s doing.

I loved the inspirational message of the picture book and enjoyed reading it.

I received a copy of The Bridge of the Golden Wood from the author as part of Rosie Amber’s Book Review Team in exchange for an honest review.

Blurb:

A child with a knack for solving problems helps some hungry fish and finds a treasure.

Illustrated folktale teaches how to spot opportunities to help others and make money. Comes with ideas for businesses; money-making activities; and online resources on finding customers, managing money, and moving up in an organization (for ages 5 and up). Young children will be captivated by the story; older ones will want to apply the things they learn.

Teach someone to fish: a how-to book on careers, small business, and learning how to serve/earn money. Soon available in hard and soft cover—Asian characters, Chinese boy, red panda, 26-page picture book, 530 words in dyslexic font by Karl Beckstrand

About the Author:

Karl Beckstrand is the bestselling and award-winning author of 18 multicultural books and more than 40 e-book titles (reviews by Kirkus, School Library Journal, The Horn Book blog, ForeWord Reviews).

Raised in San Jose, CA, he has a B.A. in journalism from BYU, an M.A. in international relations from APU, and a broadcast & film certificate from Film A. Academy. Since 2004 he has run Premio Publishing. A college media instructor, Beckstrand contrasts traditional with digital book publishing. He has presented to Taiwan’s Global Leadership for Youth, city and state governments, festivals, and schools. Beckstrand’s nationally lauded Y.A. stories, e-book mysteries, ESL/ELL Spanish/bilingual books, nonfiction, and wordless books feature ethnically diverse characters—and usually end with a twist.

His work has appeared in Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Border’s Books, Costco, Deseret Book, iBooks, The Children’s Miracle Network, LDS Film Festival, the U.S. Congressional Record, Papercrafts Magazine, and various broadcasts. FB, Twitter, http://KarlBeckstrand.com, http://PremioBooks.com

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Motivate Me! Oracle Guidebook #Motivation #Happiness

On December 4, 2016December 6, 2016 By shelleywilson72In Authors, Books, Indie Author, Inspirational, Non Fiction, Self Publishing, Social Media, Steampunk, The Writing Process, Wellbeing, Writing8 Comments

A couple of years ago I ran a series of workshops for ladies called ‘Motivate Me!’ They were so much fun to facilitate, and I received wonderful feedback from the attendees. Off the back of these, I created a set of Oracle cards with a motivational twist.

If you’ve never come across Oracle cards before then, allow me to fill you in. They are a close relation to tarot, however, in a traditional tarot deck, you get 78 cards split into 22 major arcana and 56 minor arcana. With Oracle cards there is no set structure, some packs have 40 cards, and others have over 60.

Both tarot and oracle cards are used as a tool for guidance, encouraging a deeper connection. Ultimately they are used for entertainment purposes, but they can also offer profound answers to some of the complex questions we ask. Continue reading “Motivate Me! Oracle Guidebook #Motivation #Happiness” →

#BookReview Hogwarts: A Cinematic Yearbook #Activity #HarryPotter #SundayBlogShare

On October 23, 2016October 27, 2016 By shelleywilson72In Blogging, Book Review, Book Reviews, Books, Fun Stuff, Harry Potter, Reading1 Comment

Hogwarts: A Cinematic Yearbook: Imagine, Draw, Create

Scholastic Children’s Books

Category: Novelty/Activity Books

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

My Review:

Oh my! As an avid Harry Potter fan I couldn’t resist treating myself to this activity book (yes, I bought it for me, not my kids!). It’s a luscious hardback; very reminiscent of the annuals I used to get for Christmas when I was young. Continue reading “#BookReview Hogwarts: A Cinematic Yearbook #Activity #HarryPotter #SundayBlogShare” →

Writing for Children and Young Adults with Marion Crook (@author_mcrook) #BlogTour #wwwBlogs #HowToBooks

On September 28, 2016September 29, 2016 By shelleywilson72In Authors, Blog Tour, Books, Children's Fiction, Non Fiction, The Writing Process, Writespiration, Writing, Writing Tools, WWWBlogs15 Comments

Writing isn’t easy. Our creative skills need to be nurtured so they can evolve. Reading ‘how to’ books on various writing formats/genres has been an enormous help to me over the years, and in particular, with my YA novels. I am, therefore, delighted to have a master of writing for children and young adults on my blog today.

It is my pleasure to introduce author, Marion Crook, as she releases the third edition of her fabulous book, Writing for Children and Young Adults. Over to Marion…

The Fun Stuff:

What part of the world do you come from?

Gibsons, British Columbia, Canada. I live in a small town on the ocean, a 40 minute ferry ride from Vancouver.

What did you want to be when you grew up?

I wanted to be a veterinarian and when I couldn’t (women weren’t allowed way back then) I wanted to graduate from university and just keep learning. I didn’t tell my daughter my early ambition, but she is a veterinarian. Perhaps that’s why I have animals, particularly dogs, in every book.

List three words to describe yourself. Continue reading “Writing for Children and Young Adults with Marion Crook (@author_mcrook) #BlogTour #wwwBlogs #HowToBooks” →

#MondayBlogs Embracing Opportunities #MondayMotivation

On September 26, 2016September 25, 2016 By shelleywilson72In Authors, Blogging, Books, Fun Stuff, Self Publishing, The Writing Process, Wellbeing, Writing17 Comments

Embracing Opportunities.

It’s two years since I published my non-fiction book, How I Changed My Life in a Year and yet that title is still attracting changes and opportunities into my life.

From hitting the number one spot on Amazon’s best-seller list (twice!) to catching the eye of a big five, and helping me to meet so many amazing readers with inspirational stories to tell, my life really has changed.

Writing a book like this allows you to share a personal part of yourself with the world. I never thought of writing a memoir before, but How I Changed My Life in a Year fit perfectly into this genre.

People relate to the ‘real you,’ in the same way, readers devour author interviews to find out about their favourite writer. It’s a joy to share something so private and have it well received.

This book has opened up so many opportunities for me. I’ve been invited to numerous events, workshops, and networking groups to talk about the challenges I took part in for the book. I’ve appeared in the Writers’ Forum Magazine, been interviewed by some of my favourite book bloggers, and now I get to stand up on stage at the National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham to kick off the inspirational workshops at this year’s Mind Body Spirit Wellbeing Festival.

All the wonderful things that have happened can be traced back to my book. I met the very wonderful, Kim Nash, who blogs at Kim the Bookworm when she contacted me after reading my book. She introduced me to the hugely motivational author, Theresa Cheung who writes the best-selling afterlife titles such as The Ten Secrets of Heaven. It’s thanks to Kim and Theresa that I can join them at the NEC on the 4^th November. Our topic is finding Heaven and my section covers Heaven on Earth and what that means to me.

Finding my place as a writer in this world has brought me so much happiness, and this continues to be my focus. Taking myself seriously as a writer was a huge turning point in my life, and by embracing this passion and continuing to evolve my writing skills, I will be able to continue embracing every opportunity that comes my way.

If you would like to join author, Theresa Cheung, spiritual medium, Claire Broad, and myself, for our inspirational workshop, then click HERE for more information about the festival and to buy your ticket.

Claire Broad

Theresa Cheung

Shelley Wilson

We are on stage Friday 4^th November between 10.30am – 12.30pm.

Have you ever embraced an opportunity that changed you in some way?

#BookReviews Do Not Wash Hands In Plates by @BarbTaub #humour #Travel

On August 1, 2016August 4, 2016 By shelleywilson72In Authors, Book Review, Book Reviews, Books, Humour, Indie Author, Non Fiction, Travel10 Comments

#BookReview Do Not Wash Hands in Plates by Barb Taub

Author: Barb Taub, (Photography) Janine Smith, Jaya Ayyer.

Category: Travel/Humour

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Review:

The title and colourful cover design are an instant attraction and offer an insight of what to expect when you pick up a copy of Do Not Wash Hand in Plates. Many years ago, three friends left America to explore the delights of Europe – having survived to tell the tale (and with a few years of life experience under their belts) they decided to take another trip. This delightful book is a quick, humorous account of Barb’s trip across India with her best friends, Jaya Ayyer and Janine Smith. Continue reading “#BookReviews Do Not Wash Hands In Plates by @BarbTaub #humour #Travel” →

#FridayBookShare The Miracle Morning for Writers by Hal Elrod #NonFiction #WritingTips

On July 22, 2016July 27, 2016 By shelleywilson72In Books, Friday Book Share, Fun Stuff, Non Fiction, Reading, Social Media, The Writing Process, Wellbeing, Writing, Writing Tools8 Comments

With the weekend approaching it’s the perfect time to seek out new books to read, so I’ve created a Friday Book Share game to help search for that ideal novel.

Anyone can have a go – all you need to do is answer the following questions based on a book you are currently reading/finished reading this week and use the hashtag #FridayBookShare. Be sure to like, comment, and share other participants posts.

First line of the book.

Recruit fans by adding the book blurb.

Introduce the main character using only three words.

Delightful design (add the cover image of the book).

Audience appeal (who would enjoy reading this book?)

Your favourite line/scene. Continue reading “#FridayBookShare The Miracle Morning for Writers by Hal Elrod #NonFiction #WritingTips” →