Showing posts with label Author Spotlight. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Author Spotlight. Show all posts

Saturday, January 11, 2014

Author Spotlight - A. G. Howard

Anita Grace Howard, aka A. G. Howard, is the author of a new series that is based on Lewis Carroll's book "Alice In Wonderland". She was inspired to write while working as a school librarian. She enjoyed the old fairy tale stories and wondered what their lives were like and how they could be different.

Howard is a huge fan of Lewis Carroll's works and her idea for "Splintered" was born after watching Tim Burton's adaptation of Alice In Wonderland. Tim Burton is famous for his characters and his slightly dark and creepy settings. Howard wanted to expand on Burton's vision, but wanted to go for a darker feel. Her idea solidified when she read Melanie Benjamin's "Alice I Have Been" and she knew what she wanted to write. As she states "everything clicked". Howard decided to base her character on a distant relative of Alice Liddell instead of Alice herself.

Who was Alice Liddell? Alice Liddell was the inspiration for Carroll's novel "Alice In Wonderland". Charles Dodgson, Lewis Carroll was a pen name, was close friends with the Liddell family. He would entertain Alice in her sisters with stories. One particular story Alice had asked Dodgson to write down and eventually he did and gave her the story in November 1864. That manuscript would eventually become the famous "Alice In Wonderland".

A. G. Howard lives in the Texas panhandle and is married and the mother of two teens. She is also mom to two fuzzy friends - labrador retrievers. In her spare time she enjoys reading, rollerblading, gardening and family vacations. She especially loves to visit 18th century graveyards and condemned schoolhouses. Her first book "Splintered" was released in January 2013 and is recommended for grades 8 and higher.

PUBLISHED WORKS

  • Splintered, book 1 (16 January 2013)
  • Unhinged, book 2 (7 January 2014)
  • A Moth In The Mirror, novella (22 October 2013)

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Author Spotlight - Action Books For Young Athletes




Whether you're an athlete or a sports fan, Fred Bowen is an author you can't miss! He's written many sports books for young readers spotlighting baseball, basketball, football and soccer. Many of his books are born from his own childhood in Maplehead, Massachusetts where he grew up with his 4 brothers and 2 sisters. Sports were always a big part of his life until he enrolled in the University of Pennsylvania as a history major. Sports history was a particular favorite of his. After Fred graduated from college he married Peggy Jackson who was a journalist and they had 2 kids. Fred enjoyed coaching his kids through sports and coached more than 30 teams if you added them up!

Fred Bowen lives in Silver Spring, MD with his wife who is a substitute teacher at Woodlin Elementary School. Both of his kids have grown up. His son is a college pitching coach and his daughter works for a nonprofit. Fred worked as a lawyer for many years before retiring to write books for kids. I'm glad he did too! Boys are the hardest group to get interested in books and with authors like Fred Bowen, Dan Gutman and Mike Lupica we now have a whole genre to offer to our Edgewater athletic youth. And by the way, our girl athletes love these books too! This only leaves me with one question...where are the lacrosse books?

If you would like to ask Fred Bowen this question personally, then hop down to Edgewater Books on September 28 from 3:30pm - 5:00pm. Fred Bowen will be available to autograph books and a portion of the proceeds will benefit our very own SRYA and AAMC children's wards.

Fred Bowen Books

Baseball
- Dugout Rivals
- Golden Glove
- Kid Coach
- Perfect Game
- Playoff Dreams
- Throwing Heat
- T.J.'s Secret Pitch
- Winners Take All
- No Easy Way: The Story of Ted Williams and the Last .400 Season

Basketball
- Final Cut
- Full Court Fever
- Hardcourt Comeback
- Off The Rim
- On The Line
- Real Hoops

Soccer
- Go For The Goal
- Soccer Team Upset

Football
- Quarterback Season
- Touchdown Trouble

You can find out more information about Fred Bowen at:
www.fredbowen.com