Acquired Book By:I am a regular tour hostess for blog tours via Chapter by Chapter, where I receive opportunities to host Cover Reveals & Author Guest Features on behalf of the Indie Publisher Month9Books. This is the second time I was offered to host a blog tour outside of Month9Books, featuring another Indie Publisher: Rebelight Publishing! I jumped at the chance to read this exciting novel for Middle Grade readers, as I am always seeking out light infused Children’s Lit which has a resounding story-line stitched together with a life lesson and/or a character who children can relate too as much as they can celebrate having found. For a bit of background on Rebelight Publishing, please read my anchour supplement on the top of my review for “Missing in Paradise”.
I received a complimentary copy of “Wonder Horse” direct from the publisher Rebelight Publishing in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.
Horse dramas and Jorie:
I grew up with a wicked fascination with horses and the horse dramas writers would spin into creation via novels and motion pictures. I still remember staying up way past my bedtime in order to finish reading one of the Black Stallion series novels or one from the Thoroughbred series! I was the girl who cherished The Saddle Club and wished she had a wicked awesome group of girls to ride horses with and develop a keenly wicked friendship circle!
Horse dramas were simply an organic progression of where I would want to go literally through stories from the moment I stepped outside the saddle as I was a young rider. I have loads of happy memories following the hooves and dramas of horse girls, women, and men in motion pictures inasmuch as I get a wicked excitement in my heart when I find a new book coming out about the strength of the bond between horse and humans. Young or old, Children’s Lit related or Western Fiction, if the story has a grounding of insight into horses and the inseparable connection of love they give back to those of us who have realised the friendship they give so freely, than the odds are favourable I am going to find the next story which reaches my hands to be a memorable read!
Hence why when this blog tour was only a whisper of a thought on Twitter when Rebelight started tweeting about it, I *knew!* I had to take part! I wanted to read the story which has been re-translated into English from it’s original published Norwegian!
By the by, with the current winner of the Triple Crown creating a buzz in the twitterverse with the tag #WonderHorse, methinks we should have started tweeting out with #WonderHorseMG to create the distinction. Sometimes I worry books will be overshadowed by more popular tags whose ‘chatter’ is anything but on the publishing industry radar.
Fitting into a new school in a new city isn’t easy, but dreams come true for Sera with a gift from her parents: a gorgeous and spirited American Paint horse. Sera’s bubble bursts when a mean girl, Brittany, tells her that neither she nor her less than well-trained horse belong with the rest of the “reiners” in their riding class. As Sera sets out to prove Brittany wrong, she risks losing her passion for training and the friendship of Dev, another girl who truly understands her.
Originally published as “Wager the Wonder Horse” by Stabenfeldt(Stavanger, Norway) in 2011 and distributed in six languages: Norwegian, Hungarian, Czech, German, Finnish and Swedish.
Anita Daher has been entrenched in the publishing industry since 1995, and is (thus far) author of fourteen books for children and teens. Aside from short stints as grave-plot seller, tour guide, and children’s party clown, she’s worked in aviation, publishing and broadcasting. When not word wrangling, she enjoys inhabiting characters on stage and screen.
You might remember a very short time ago, I blogged about a wicked sweet vlog style YouTube series entitled “Classic Alice”?! Today, I have the pleasure of bringing an interview AND LIVE! Q&A to you, featuring Kate Hackett the writerly creative visionary behind “Classic Alice”!
The important bits to know are as follows:
The LIVE conversation in the comment threads will start @ 5:30pm LA (PST) | 8:30pm NYC (EST) The comment threads will be *OPEN!* throughout the day leading up to the live event! Ms. Hackett will be responding to your comments & questions directly, wherein you have the chance to respond and interact with her when she arrives @ 5:30pm Pacific! (think: West Coast USA!)
{ Back-Story on “Classic Alice” }
Classic Alice, is a vlog-style mockumentary series on YouTube, and is
geared towards teens and young adults. It is the story of a girl who gets a
bad grade on a test and decides to live her life according to classic
literature. The show brings the value of humanities to the forefront by
interacting with fans in an educational way.
Classic Alice, funded on Kickstarter early last year, raised north of $9k
for Books 2-7. The Series has since garnered a drove of fans, and in an
effort to #SaveAlice, a few spirited fans decided to embark on a crowd-
funding journey of their own. Moved by the support, Kate Hackett &
team are at it again, looking to produce another 25-30 webisodes. With
$10k already raised 5 days into the campaign, there’s no telling what
will happen in the remaining days.
{ Creative Team }
Photo Credit: Jonathan Vandiveer
Kate Hackett is an up and coming actress in Los Angeles, California, known for a quick wit and an ability to dig deep emotionally. She has been acting since she was four years old, all the way back in Maryland. She grew up doing musicals (she sings!) and other straight plays, but made the transition to film when she attended Boston University for college. Kate has worked on many independent films and commercials and has produced, starred in, and written her own content. She is fully trained in the Stanislavski, Adler, and Meisner techniques (see resume for schools) and has both studied and performed at UCB, Upright Citizen’s Brigade, in Los Angeles and with Jackson’s Onus, an awesome improv troupe. Kate loves dramatic acting, but is equally versed in comedy. Her web series, which she wrote and stars in, reached over 230,000 views in six short months – you can view it here. She believes strongly in writing and creating her own material, so there’s always something new just around the corner! What’s your favorite book? Lolita, Nabakov
I must give a bit of credit to a dear bookishly lovely friend of mine, who has kept the #ClassicAlice badge in her bookish linkage section of her sidebar ever since she originated a new book blog title (Macaroons & Paperbacks) and re-defined her bookish presence within the book blogosphere! I spied that badge, I was CURIOUS about that badge, yet until the TEAM behind *Classic Alice!* pitched me an idea to host them on my blog as a way to seek out new audience members for their episodic web series (on YouTube!), I must confess, I never had the proper chance to ‘experience Classic Alice’!
Fast forward a wee bit to Wednesday night, where I had this smashing idea to pitch a “tweet me your favourite Classic Alice episodes for a newbie to watch AHEAD of binge watching the ENTIRE serial!”
(tweets returning soon)
This was the same night I had mistook Wednesday for Thursday, (woe was Jorie!) whilst camping out in the twitterverse a full two hours AHEAD of the projected start-time for #StoryDam! Yes, dear hearts, I even logged myself into #Nurph, settled inside my [ Home ] button feeds, grabbed a bottle of water, chowed down on some homemade pudding & raisin cookies, and tried to sort out why there wasn’t anything happening in/round #StoryDam!
Alas! *lightbulb!* There was a *Wednesday, 8pm NYC* chat I had forgotten about and thereby have unfortunately missed completely for the past (oh, let’s be hopeful!) ‘few’ months! I remembered discovering the #VeganFoodChat quite by wicked accident, as I was starting to follow a few vegans & vegheads on Twitter after posting my first #TheBookishFoodie posts wherein I started to blog about healthy living, cookery, & baking via cookbooks by Front Table Books!
(tweets returning soon)
After a complete hour of veg friendly information overload of joy, and a cheekily bookish ending to the conversation where everyone attempted to ‘best the ideas for ‘foodie’ classic novels’; I headed off into #CreatureChat which is my stand-by meet-up for readers & writers (more writerly than readerly!) of Fantasy Fiction! You could consider this the hour where Jorie finds a rather keenly unique way to cross-compare a heap of #dragonfiction (archive) with her beloved #LelandDragons series by Jackie Gamber! Thus, a direct signal she hasn’t earmarked off enough new Fantasy novels to consume, and is surely lacking a bit in comparative literature options when it comes to fantasy creature fiction! Ironically, Wood Nymphs, Fairies, Sprites, and other such lovelies have yet to thread through the conversations!
Tonight’s moment of highlight came where we started to bounce ideas off each other, whilst collaboratively and rather ingeniously coming up with a few wicked stellar options for ‘armour’ trade specific to dragons!
In the background, I had pitched an ‘end-time’ of suggesting Classic Alice episodes to me @ 11pm (as let’s face it, I hadn’t turnt my blog off yesterday until *5AM!*, so how far into the dawn could I last this night? if you wondered if I were a ‘burnt the midnight oil book blogger, this surely confirms it!) to which end, I would then randomly select the “Top 5 Classic Alice episodes for a Newbie!” Quite a smashing idea, but the full credit for such a landmark choice goes to Rinn @ Rinn Reads who helped me sort out this non-traditional introduction to Doctor Who! (a project of which will be revised, completed, & published during #RRSciFiMonth 2015!) Read More
Dr. Jeykll & Mr. Hyde (1941) Original Film Trailer starring Spencer Tracy via TCM
The uncanny part of watching Tracy in this role is how well he absorbed himself into the role itself and conveyed such a primal transformation as to capture the pure horror and terror of being ‘other’ than himself within those seconds of where Hyde took over his life. I can still remember being glued to my seat whilst transfixed on his emotional conveyance of the character! Tracy had this uncanny ability to delve so deeply into his role as to bring out the raw connective tissues that stitched his essence into the heartbeat of Jekyll & Hyde; he was so tied into this role, the most chilling aspect for me was reminding myself *he!* was Spencer Tracy! The atmospheric intensity of the set decoration, the period costumes, and the elemental eerie effects of how they produced this particular version of the story solidified this as one of my favourite Tracy pictures! I also realised whilst watching this film how much I appreciate psychological suspense bordering on the horrific — as this short clip from Turner Classic demonstrates, there is quite a unique transmorphication to the Jekyll & Hyde story itself.
I can only watch this every so many Halloween’s due to the performance of Tracy and due to the intensity of how Jekyll & Hyde fit into the era in whence they lived. My goal is to read the novel and then watch the film; I had given the thought to doing this for the 2014 Horror October event but methinks it would be wiser to schedule that for 2015!
Adding to the joy for me was the inclusion of Ingrid Bergman, of whom, I had originally discovered in the film Intermezzo and lateron in Notorious & Gaslight. Her performances are golden as they are innocently natural with a gentleness of intelligence. I love watching her perform, she gave it a certain type of artistry that is also reflective and reminiscent of Spencer Tracy. For me, they were two equals who shared the screen and gave performances that never leave you!
Selection Two:
The Haunting (1963) Original Film Trailer starring via TCM
I found this film quite by accident, as I had taken a fancy to watching Turner Classic on *Halloween!* for a few years as I wanted to expand my viewings of classic films set against the backdrop of the holiday itself! I knew this would involve Classic Horror, Film Noir, Psychological Suspense, & Gothic Lit entries, but that was part of the appeal for me! What I hadn’t expected is to become so fully entertained on Classic Horror films! With each startling discovery whilst I watched one film after another per each Halloween I had tuned in, I was fascinated by everything the film-makers had used to create the appeal of creating a suspenseful night of fright! In this one, *everything!* is simply perceived and unseen – the mind of the characters in the film have convinced themselves of what they fear the most, thus giving the plot the deadliest thread of narrative! I enjoyed watching each of their technique of how they brought their characters to life and even though there is a death in the story; it is how the death occurs & why it occurs that left me full of museful thoughts on the haunted and the hauntings themselves.
Selection Three:
Mystery at the Wax Museum (1933):
I still remember being a bit creeped out about the entire premise surrounding the Wax Museum plot, but what drew me into the film itself was the original spin on it! I have this film on dvd and thus, it is one of the only Horror films I actually own! I have a small collection of Halloween & Classic Horror films on dvd, but this most definitely one of my favourites! The very nature of how the museum is curated with new ‘pieces of art’ is enough to make your hand stand on end and your stomach to flip into somersaults! There are some key comical moments, but not due to the vein of action or dialogue but due to the nature of how they filmed certain sequences — especially when they are say transporting a body? I caught myself in a near-fit of giggles, because the time of when this film was produced, they made a few gaffes as far as how they sorted out a few of the filming locations & scenes! Needless, it did not take long to feel the full breath of danger, horror, and intrigue! I nearly closed my eyes — I wasn’t sure how this one was going to end, and even though I braced myself for the worst, I admit it — I was a bit of a chicken! If Mum wasn’t watching this with me for the first time, I seriously doubt I would know the ENDING at all! Laughs. No, seriously,… I’d be in the dark! Yet. Yes. It is still a bonefide favourite!
Selection Four:
Gaslight (1944) Re-Issue Film Trailer starring Ingrid Bergman via TCM:
I hadn’t realised that Angela Lansbury had her start in motion pictures within this particular film, as I was keen on watching it after a dear friend of mine in California mentioned to me by letter how much I’d fall over the moon in LOVE with this film! She not only was quite right in that pre-assessment of my reaction, but it has become a beloved movie for me to watch around Halloween! I love everything about this film, most especially watching Ingrid Bergman’s character descend into madness & emerge out of the darkness of that plight into a stronger, braver, and very sane woman whose heart led her astray but her fortitude of strength gave her the courage to survive! I loved the details of this film, as it isn’t something you can understand completely the first time you see it; my second viewing was a full year after I had seen it originally, and I was still picking up subtle clues and little bits of foreshadowing strokes of genius! Not too many, mind you, this is a very tightly writ screenplay!
Hearing Lansbury’s cockney voice throughout the film was a pure delight for me, as I’ve been fascinated by how the words & rhymes sound out loud! You can tell even within this film the dexterity of performance Lansbury would use throughout her career! She was so young, yet held such a pose of presence as to belie her age! She would endear me years (decades, really!) lateron in her career with Murder, She Wrote as I grew up watching her sleuth her way through Cabot Cove! To go backwards in time, seeing the roots of her filmography knit together has been an absolute joy!
Selection Five:
Rear Window (1954) Re-Issue Film Trailer starring James Stewart via TCM
I wanted to focus on bonefide Horror films before shifting into straight-up Psychological Suspense films but in many ways I think the two merged together irregardless of my intentions! Hitch has been in my life for as long as I can remember, as there was something innately wicked about his films – he had this intricate way of telling a story through camera, performance, atmosphere, and that line between what is real and what is imagined real; he bridged the art of film-making with the art of story-telling with precision! Rear Window never fails to keep me on the edge of my seat, even though out of all his films, I have seen this repeatedly throughout my life! I cannot remember how old I was when I first watched an Alfred Hitchcock movie, but I believe I was at least in middle school at the time!?
James Stewart had already captured my heart from It’s A Wonderful Life (my joy of seeing a Capra film is intense!) yet in Hitchcock’s films, Stewart steps out of the warm & cosy settings of the family stories providing such a convicting performance as to make me wonder each & everytime I see this particular film if he will come out alright in the end! I kid you not, I’m always curious, will they solve this in time? Will there be enough evidence?! And, of course, I had to sort of resolve the fact the villain is Raymond Burr (my beloved Perry Mason!) of whom I wish was NOT cast in this role! Talk about giving you shivers! I never like seeing actors I appreciate in strong lead roles go ‘over to the dark side of the screen’ and this is one moment where I truly wished another actor could have played the part! I love the rest of the supporting cast, especially Thelma Ritter as Stella!
Selection Six:
Vertigo (1958) Movie Clip from the Opening Credits via TCM:
Out of all the films I could have picked as my second favourite Hitchcock, I went with Vertigo over The Lady Vanishes (1938) for the simple reason that I am never quite certain if I have sorted out the plot and by the time I realise that I know *exactly!* which way is up in this film, I find myself completely captured by the suspense of not knowing all over again! I love how I continue to watch this film in enough intervals of time as to forget half of it — which is unique considering I have a solid memory for films & books, but in this particular case, I nearly try to forget the pieces of the puzzle, because I want that ‘first look’ experience where I was wholly captured by the gravity of truth as equally as Stewart’s character was himself! Not to mention the fact, I found it incredible how Kim Novak played her role as both Madeleine & Judy!
Selection Seven:
Cape Fear (1991)
I can honestly say after I saw this film, I purged it out of my memory, it was THAT terrifying! To this day, I cannot and will not watch it for a second time! Yet, the main reason I am placing it on this list is simply because it captured what I felt the genre of Horror Films would always contain; hence the reason I made the choice to stay within the fringes of horror rather than to crossover completely into it full throttle. To say this is a favourite of mine is not as accurate as saying it was one of the most mind-numbing films I ever survived watching! I cannot deny that whilst I watched the film, it not only held my nerves in suspense but it quite literally nearly choked me into a fit of nightmares! Oy vie!
This feature post is part of my participation in:
Reader Interactive Question:
Your turn! :) What are your Top Favourite Horror Films & why!? Do you lean towards psychological suspense, thriller, & the more atmospheric side of the Horror Film genre like me? OR are you a bonefide Horror lass or bloke, who is only entertained by the harder hitting films full-on with gore & violence? List the films that captured you & the film-makers and/or studios that hold your attention the most! All answers are acceptable – even if your interests do not run parallel to mine! Speak openly! :)
{SOURCES: Horror October banner provided by Oh! The Books for participants to promote the event on their book blogs; used with permission. #OTBHorrorOctober badge for Jorie created by Jorie in Canva. Film Trailers &/or Film Clips for Classic Movies embedded due to codes provided by Turner Classic Movies. Tweets embedded due to the codes provided by Twitter.}
If you are a regular reader of mine or a frequent visitor, you might have noticed I have always been quite eager to host and devour the Leland Dragon series by Jackie Gamber! I was first introduced to this wicked fantasy series last Autumn, whereupon I read Redheart – a story that set my world afire for the Leland Province and the dragons who nestled into my heart! I have even created a #DragonFiction tag on Twitter to help promote my booklove for dragons as much as to help encourage others to spread the joy of dragons in fiction! I regular converse on the chatter channels of #FantasyChat & #CreatureChat meeting up with like-minded souls who appreciate dragons, gryphons, and all the lovely characters who enchant our minds & hearts in the fantasy realms. I’ll admit I’ve learnt quite a heap from my fellow chatters!
When the Trilogy tour came along for Jackie Gamber, I *knew!* I wanted to be a part of the continued celebration of a series I know I will be re-reading quite a heap in the years to come! The multi-layers knitted into her world-building and the strong characters, both dragon and human make the story and the series evolve inside your mind as you read it; each time discovering something that hadn’t affected you the time before. On Sunday, I will be talking about each of the three stories within the trilogy and my overall recollections of the series as a whole.
Today, I happily invited Ms. Gamber to share her Top Favourite Dragons, which would have been quite keen if I had been able to post this on Tuesday as scheduled as Tuesdays are *always!* wicked happy for Top Ten Tuesday lists! Forgive the slight delay, my migraine would not allow this to appear sooner!
“Top Ten Dragon Favorites by Jackie Gamber”
Artwork Credit: Matthew Perry
Since I’ve been a genre girl as long as I can remember, and since writing the Leland Dragon series, lots of folks ask me, “Why?” And more specifically, “Why dragons?”
The quick answer is, “Why not?” The longer version is a something along the lines of, “I don’t know.”
What I do know is that the road to the Leland Dragon Series has been paved by dragons that have come before, that have either influenced me a great deal, or enhanced my enjoyment because they are dragon-related. I’ve compiled a list of them, as the top dragon-related goodies I have personally enjoyed over the years.
1. Book: “My Father’s Dragon” by Ruth Stiles Gannett,
Random House Children’s Book.
This is very likely the book that started it all, for me. I have cherished this book since I first laid hands on it as a child. The version still on my bookshelf, worn and loved, is the Weekly Reader Book Club edition, copyright 1948.
If I could hug a movie, it would be this one. I think it was my first introduction to the concept of a friendly dragon. It seemed logical at the time to think of a dragon as lovable, and I wanted one of my very own to love. No doubt, this movie made an impression.
I share a joy of Pete’s Dragon as this was one of my favourite motion pictures whilst I was growing up as I simply loved how you could have a dragon as a best friend! I had the same sentiments truly; as I never created the concept that dragons were inherently cruel hearted nor evil; I always felt that although there are bad dragons, there were more good dragons out there to befriend, love, and welcome into my world!
I’m not against bad guy dragons, however. This film has a bad dragon. Much of what I enjoy is more than just the dragon, though, such as a clever maiden trying to disqualify herself for a dangerous lottery by…no longer being a maiden, if you know what I mean. How is she the first girl to think of this?
This is a German book, translated and published in English in 1983. I love the concept of the ‘never ending story’ in the book, which is impossible to duplicate in the movie. Read the book!
Wonder Horse
