**COVER REVEAL** TIME!!! And a TON of Easy Giveaways!

My hands are actually shaking a little as I begin this blog post and my heart is fluttering like a swarm of butterflies . . . I've got the go ahead from my wonderful publisher, Scholastic, to do a cover reveal today for my Spring, 2013 book, WHEN THE BUTTERFLIES CAME. (Hence, the very bad metaphor in the previous sentence.)

So what DO you call a group of butterflies? 

*raises hand*

Answer: A Flutter. Or a Rabble. Or a Kaleidoscope. 

Neat, huh?

Now Imagine a Dramatic Hollywood Drum Roll right about now . . .  TA DA!!! 

Isn't it simply STUNNING?!? I love the bright pastel colors! 

I love the Flutter/Rabble/Swarm/Kaleidoscope of all those butterflies just as they're described in my story. I'm so thrilled with this cover!  

Erin Maguire, artist extraordinaire has done it again! She is da bomb! 

                                            The first butterfly comes the day after the funeral. . . .

Praise for Circle of Secrets:

*** “Little’s rich, vivid prose and characterization create an intriguing universe in which realism and mysticism intertwine as the story’s secrets unravel.” — School Library Journal, starred review

“Readers will revel in the literary journey through a rare and unusual way of life.”

— Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

Praise for The Healing Spell:

“An incantational tale of Cajun magic and gators in the bayou and of the love and silence between mother and daughter.” — Richard Peck, Newbery Award–winning author of A Year Down Yonder

( ISBN 978-0-545-42513-1) $17.99 US / $19.99 CAN

Synopsis Cover Copy:

Everybody thinks Tara Doucet has the perfect life. But in reality, Tara’s life is anything but perfect: Her dear Grammy Claire has just passed away, her mother is depressed and distant, and she and her sister Riley can’t seem to agree on anything. But when mysterious and dazzling butterflies begin to follow her around after Grammy Claire’s funeral, Tara just knows in her heart that her grandmother has left her one final mystery to solve.

A strange butler shows up to take Tara and Riley to Grammy Claire’s house, where Tara finds a stack of keys and detailed letters from Grammy Claire herself. Note by note, Tara learns unexpected truths about her grandmother’s life. As the letters grow more ominous and the keys more difficult to decipher, Tara realizes that the secrets she must uncover could lead to mortal danger. And when Tara and Riley are swept away to the beautiful island of Chuuk to hear their grandmother’s will, Tara discovers the most shocking truth of all — one that will change her life forever.

From Kimberley Griffiths Little comes a magical, breathtaking mystery full of loss and love, family and faith.

******

Now comes the fun part!!! 

RIGHT HERE ON THIS VERY BLOG is where you ENTER TO WIN!!! 

THERE WILL BE *NINE* WINNERS TOTAL!

THREE AUTOGRAPHED copies of THE HEALING SPELL!!

THREE AUTOGRAPHED copies of CIRCLE OF SECRETS!!

And if you are a blogger yourself with a following, I will be drawing names to give away THREE ARCS of WHEN THE BUTTERFLIES CAME when I get ARC's later this summer. 

DOESN'T GET BETTER THAN THAT, EH? 

Enter below in this very nifty Rafflecopter Form 
(courtesy of the lovely Sheila Staley)  

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I'm Alive with Lots of News!!!

Hello dear friends and followers!!! Yes, I'm still alive! Weary, wrung-out, strung-out . . . but very much here. 

(Please find me on Facebook if we're not already friends! I'm usually there every day.) http://www.facebook.com/kimberleygriffithslittle

It was great fun to be part of the LDS Authors Giveaway with I AM A READER, NOT A WRITER blogger two weeks ago. All 6 of the winning books are off in the mail (except the winner Ann did not email me and I do not have your email addy, Ann. Please write to me at kglittle at msn.com to claim your book, SEAN GRISWOLD'S HEAD!!! Yes, you won! If I don't hear back I'll pick another winner so stay tuned everyone.) 

The last few months I've mostly been posting my SPELLBINDER (Past Posts - really good stuff!) posts - which are very awesome and chock full of good info and book buzz for anyone, because personally I've either been traveling, on deadline, or at doctor's offices and Emergency Rooms with my son.

Can you say tired? A bit weepy some days? Not that he's in dire, physical danger, and we're still running tests, but after two months of constant, terrible pain he's wearing me down (along with tons of travel which means not sleeping too well!). I can't remember the last full night's sleep I had. Tonight! I will try again tonight! Ah, famous last words, my husband will say.


Writing News from my Trenches--I mean Wanderings!:


1. Come back tomorrow for the Official *COVER REVEAL* of my upcoming middle-grade novel with Scholastic, WHEN THE BUTTERFLIES CAME. It is STUNNING. And I'm not just sayin' that because it's *my* book. It is seriously beautiful and the colors are exquisite. Can't wait to show it off. TOMORROW! 


2. Got my copy edits finished two weeks ago for WHEN THE BUTTERFLIES CAME, whew! Awaiting First Pass Pages and I'm eager to see the fonts they're gonna use and all that lovely stuff. 


3. Currently working on two new MG ideas and writing synopses and Sample Chapters. The pieces of plot are like unruly children and will not fit into their proper places . . . but I *will* discipline them into something coherent! Watch out Plot! 

4. Awaiting my editorial letter for FORBIDDEN, the first of my Young Adult trilogy with Harpercollins and my new editor there. *Excited* beyond belief because . . . drum roll . . . 

5. I just learned that FORBIDDEN will be a LEAD TITLE for Fall 2013!!! 

Yes, this is my DEBUT YOUNG ADULT NOVEL I've been working on for about 8 years. I don't think there are enough exclamation points in the world to convey how utterly thrilled I am. 

The story is about something like this: 

 How's that for a teaser??

6. I think I shall now lie down and take a cold compress. Herbal tea anyone? Oh, wait, it's back to herding unruly children--I mean Plot. 


Happy Day, everyone! 
xo,
Kimberley

 

 

We got Winners!!! LDS Authors Giveaway Hop!

WE GOT WINNERS TODAY! At last! 

Yeah, I'm slow. It's been one of *those* days!

Totally random drawing . . . all names in the random generator . . .

and here are 

THE WINNERS OF THE LDS AUTHORS GIVEAWAY HOP. . . !!!

Hwa Sun has won GLIMPSE!

Ann has won SEAN GRISWOLD'S HEAD!

Cathy has won MISSING IN ACTION

Darling Nikki has won PALACE BEAUTIFUL!

 Brooke DeSpain has won THE HEALING SPELL!

Diana has won CIRCLE OF SECRETS!

Congratulations!!!

Winners please email me at kglittle at msn.com so I can get your address to mail you your prize!

THANK YOU again for everyone who entered! I loved the comments and excitement. And thanks again for Following me and Friending me. :-)

Have a fabulous weekend! 

I'm ready for some cookies . . .  how about you? What are your favorites?

Last Call for Entries for the Massively Awesome LDS Author Giveaway of Six Books!!!

I am so honored and so pleased at all the entries to my LDS Author Giveaway this past week! Thank you, thank you all!


I've been trying to find y'all's blogs and Follow you. THANK YOU for following me, too! And if you haven't yet, well, darlin's, what are you waiting for? :-)


If you missed the original entry, just scroll down to the most recent entry, or go here to enter: 
http://kimberleygriffithslittle.blogspot.com/2012/05/for-next-week-ill-be-giving-away.html


It's the last day! Winners announced tomorrow!


I love the comments and the kudos so much I wish I could give everybody a copy! Seriously.

I've got butterflies about who the winners will be . . . do you? 

IT'S THE LDS AUTHOR GIVEAWAY HOP

MAY 11 - 17TH, 2012!!!

Sponsored by 

I am a Reader, Not a Writer

For the next week I'll be giving away several wonderful books written by LDS authors as part of the LDS AUTHORS GIVEAWAY HOP!!! (Enter until Thursday, May 17th!!)

Cool, eh? I certainly think so! There are SO many enormously talented LDS writers out there in Middle-Grade and Young Adult book publishing land. We're taking over! Mwah, ha, ha. Truly, I'm kidding. But only about the "take-over"! :-)

All you have to do is leave a comment and you're entered.

YES, I'm giving away FOUR BOOKS!!! (Winners randomly selected.)

AND I'm giving away a copy of my own books, the paperback of THE HEALING SPELL and a hardcover copy of CIRCLE OF SECRETS.

Which makes SIX BOOKS TOTAL!!! 

Here they are! 

 GLIMPSE

by Carol Lynch Williams

SEAN GRISWOLD'S HEAD 

by Lindsey Leavitt

MISSING IN ACTION 

by Dean Hughes

 

PALACE BEAUTIFUL 

by Sarah DeFord Williams

THE HEALING SPELL 

by 

Kimberley Griffiths Little

CIRCLE OF SECRETS

by

Kimberley Griffiths Little

Here are the other bloggers who are part of this amazing LDS Giveaway Blog Hop! Which means that if you enter all 100 blogs you could win an astounding number of books! 

SO ENTER TODAY - WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR???  

Spellbinders Lunch Chicago Style!

May 7, 2012 SPELLBINDERS LUNCH - CHICAGO STYLE or is it DINNER? A SPECIAL WELCOME TO THOSE OF YOU WHO SIGNED UP AT IRA TO RECEIVE OUR NEWSLETTER. YOU MAY UNSUBSCRIBE AT ANY TIME. Following the tradition of the past two years, we are wrapping up the spring semester with a Spellbinders Lunch, except in this case it happened to be a dinner with our other IRA author panelists. We all gathered at Mity Nice in the Water Tower on Michigan Avenue in downtown Chicago the night before our all day panel.   From left to right: Caroline Starr Rose, Kimberley Griffiths Little, Esther Hershenhorn, Carolee Dean, and Lisa Schroeder, Uma Krishnaswami, April Halprin Wayland, and Carolyn Meyer. Kersten Hamilton couldn't join us but showed up Sunday morning in a cowboy hat and boots. The author panel was a great success. Here are some of the comments we received on the evaluations: "Very interesting presentations with practical, motivating ways to teach writing and content areas." "The lecture came full circle as ideas for developing stories were shown put into practice by published authors." "This was my first IRA and I could not be happier with my first institute. I was actively engaged all day and I literally drank up every word. Thank you."       If you missed our author panel, you can still find some of the highlights online. From Carolee's poetry panel there is an entire power point taking examples of literary and poetic devices from her novel TAKE ME THERE and putting them into a fun format for middle and high school students. Look in the TEACHER RESOURCES section of Carolee Dean Books. From Caroline's revision discussion you may want to explore  STICKMAN CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT which includes a simple graphic to get kids thinking about deeper aspects of character development. From her history panel she also contributed a reading TRAVEL LOG and an activity called WHERE IN THE WORLD ARE WE READING. Check out Kimberley's examples of historical fiction at   KIMBERLEY'S BLOG    After this issue we will be going on a newsletter haitus for the summer so we may work on our book projects. That gives you three months to catch up on past issues of Spellbinders you may not have had time to read during the busy school year. You may find past issues at the SPELLBINDERS BLOG. Carolee'scolumn "The Secret Language of Stories" provides practical examples and discussions of her twelve step story analysis method. Kimberley's "Book Buzz" provides short descriptions of the latest titles in children's books so you'll know what to recommend for your students. Caroline's "Classroom Connections" gives fun and practical suggestions for how to run book clubs, and other helpful classroom tips.        GOODBYE FOR THE SUMMER! HAPPY READING AND HAPPY WRITING!    Join Our Mailing List! Meet the Spellbinders    Carolee Dean has made numerous appearances as a guest poet/author at schools, libraries, poetry events, and teacher/library conferences. She holds a bachelor's degree in music therapy and a master's degree in communicative disorders, and she has spent over a decade working in the public schools as a speech-language pathologist.      Her first novel, Comfort,was nominated as a Best Book for Young Adults, was named the Best YA Novel of 2002 by the Texas Institute of Letters, and was on the TAYSHAS (Texas Library Association) reading list. Take Me There is a YALSA Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers. Her upcoming paranormal verse novel, Forget Me Not, will be published by Simon Pulse in October of 2012.    She conducts teacher trainings on inspiring reluctant writers including "The Secret Language of Stories" and "Random Act of Haiku."                   Caroline Starr Rose spent her childhood in the deserts of Saudi Arabia and New Mexico, camping at the Red Sea in one and eating red chile in the other. She's taught English and social studies to upper elementary and middle-school students in New Mexico, Florida, Virginia, and Louisiana. Back in New Mexico, Caroline now writes middle-grade novels and picture books full time.     To find teacher's guides, writing activities, and information about author visits, go to my website.          Kimberley Griffiths Little is the recipient of the Southwest Book Award, The Whitney Award for Best Youth Novel of 2010, and the author of the highly acclaimed, The Healing Spell and Circle of Secrets, published by Scholastic Press. Look for her books at the Scholastic Book Fairs, as well as two more forthcoming novels in 2012 and 2013.    She lives on a dirt road in a small town by the Rio Grande with her husband, a robotics engineer and their three sons. Kimberley is a favorite speaker at schools around the country, presenting "The Creative Diary", a highly successful writing workshop and has been a speaker at many conferences.    Please visit her website to download free Teacher's Guides and Book Club Guides.                        Upcoming Author Events                  Wednesday, May 16  Bloomers, Buckboards, and Buffalo Chips presentation 7:00pm The Library Center Springfield, MO and Saturday, May 19 3:00pm George Washington Carver National Monument Diamond, MO Caroline Starr Rose    November, 2012 YALSA Literature Symposium  "Author Research Panel" Carolee Dean Kimberley Griffiths Little and two other authors St. Louis, Missouri

SPELLBINDERS at the International Reading Association!

April 30, 2012 GONE TO CHICAGO! ...and a giveaway SPELLBINDERS AUTHORS TRAVELED TO CHICAGO TO TALK ABOUT POETRY, PLOTTING, AND PROSE  A total of nine children's authors participated in an all-day panel pre-conference institute at the 2012 International Reading Association in Chicago yesterday, Sunday, April 29th. The institute was organized by Spellbinders' own Carolee Dean, a high school speech-language pathologist and young adult author. The focus of the Sunday panel was on "Rekindling the Reading Fire - Using the Story Strategies of Professional Authors to Inspire a Love of Reading and Writing."   Carolee started the day discussing The Secret Language of Stories, the twelve-step story analysis method she uses to both plot her novels and teach writing to students of all ages. The morning concluded with Spellbinders authors Kimberley Griffiths Little and Caroline Starr Rose leading writing workshops. Kimberley presented "The Secret Story Diary" and Caroline followed up with a revision activity she calls "Stick Man Character Development" where she gave practical suggestions for diving deeper into character descriptions.The afternoon involved several breakout sessions focused on recognizing the plotting strategies, literary devices, and other tools frequently used by authors, strategies useful to students for improving story comprehension and plotting original stories. Afternoon panel topics included: "Content Area Literacy: Making History Come Alive" by Carolyn Meyer, author of numerous historical novels including CLEOPATRA CONFESSES (Simon & Schuster) and THE WILD QUEEN (Harcourt Houghton Mifflin); and Spellbinders' Caroline Starr Rose, author of MAY B. (Schartz and Wade). ----------------------------------------------------------------- "Social Issues in Contemporary Fiction and Verse Novels: Recognizing Literary Devices and the Implications for Struggling Readers" by Spellbinders' Carolee Dean, speech-language pathologist and author of 3 young adult novels including COMFORT (Houghton Mifflin) and TAKE ME THERE (Simon Pulse); Spellbinders' Caroline Starr Rose, former middle school teacher and author of the verse novel, MAY B. (Schwartz & Wade); Lisa Schroeder, author of 4 verse novels including CHASING BROOKLYN and THE DAY BEFORE (Simon Pulse); and April Halprin Wayland author of Girl Coming in for a Landing (Dell Yearling Books).---------------------------------------------------------------------------  "Brave New Worlds in Fantasy and Magic Realism: Inspiring Literacy by Sparking the Imagination" by Spellbinders Kimberley Griffiths Little, author of THE HEALING SPELL and CIRCLE OF SECRETS (Scholastic Books) and Kersten Hamilton, author of the Goblin series which includes TYGER, TYGER (Clarion). --------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Social and Cultural Influences: Approaching Plot Through the Intersection of Character, Setting, and Time" by Uma Krishnaswami, author of THE GRAND PLAN TO FIX EVERYTHING (Ahteneum Books for Young Readers); April Halprin Wayland author of GIRL COMING IN FOR A LANDING (Dell Yearling Books); Esther Hershenhorn, author of S IS FOR STORY: A WRITER'S ALPHABET (Sleeping Bear Press).    ***The competition to get into this conference was stiff, and it was a great honor to have all of our Spellbinders authors participating. It was a lot of work, but we are also having a blast in Chicago, so be sure to join us next week for our final issue of the school year*** SPELLBINDERS LUNCH - CHICAGO STYLE - May 7th Issue!  AND... if you'd like to win a copy of THE YEAR WE WERE FAMOUS, the book featured in last week's Classroom Connections, simply leave a comment at the Spellbinders blog. Contest closes May 7th. Join Our Mailing List! Meet the Spellbinders    Carolee Dean has made numerous appearances as a guest poet/author at schools, libraries, poetry events, and teacher/library conferences. She holds a bachelor's degree in music therapy and a master's degree in communicative disorders, and she has spent over a decade working in the public schools as a    speech-language pathologist.    Her first novel, Comfort,was nominated as a Best Book for Young Adults, was named the Best YA Novel of 2002 by the Texas Institute of Letters, and was on the TAYSHAS (Texas Library Association) reading list. Take Me There is a YALSA Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers. Her upcoming paranormal verse novel, Forget Me Not, will be published by Simon Pulse in October of 2012.    She conducts teacher trainings on inspiring reluctant writers including "The Secret Language of Stories" and "Random Act of Haiku."                   Caroline Starr Rose spent her childhood in the deserts of Saudi Arabia and New Mexico, camping at the Red Sea in one and eating red chile in the other. She's taught English and social studies to upper elementary and middle-school students in New Mexico, Florida, Virginia, and Louisiana. Back in New Mexico, Caroline now writes middle-grade novels and picture books full time.    To find teacher's guides, writing activities, and information about author visits, go to my website.          Kimberley Griffiths Little is the recipient of the Southwest Book Award, The Whitney Award for Best Youth Novel of 2010, and the author of the highly acclaimed, The Healing Spell and Circle of Secrets, published by Scholastic Press. Look for her books at the Scholastic Book Fairs, as well as two more forthcoming novels in 2012 and 2013.    She lives on a dirt road in a small town by the Rio Grande with her husband, a robotics engineer and their three sons. Kimberley is a favorite speaker at schools around the country, presenting "The Creative Diary", a highly successful writing workshop and has been a speaker at many conferences.    Please visit her website to download free Teacher's Guides and Book Club Guides.                        Upcoming Author Events Tuesday, May 1 3 p.m. - 4 p.m. International Reading Association Conference Chicago, Illinois "The Secret Language of Stories" Carolee Dean                 Wednesday, May 16 Bloomers, Buckboards, and Buffalo Chips presentation 7:00pm The Library Center Springfield, MO and Saturday, May 19 3:00pm George Washington Carver National Monument Diamond, MO Caroline Starr Rose    November, 2012 YALSA Literature Symposium  "Author Research Panel" Carolee Dean Kimberley Griffiths Little and two other authors St. Louis, Missouri

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