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Albert Camus

Don't walk behind me; I may not lead. Don't walk in front of me; I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend.

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Guest Post and Giveaway Lucky Phoo by Stacia Deutsch, Rhody Cohon

Published August 1st, 2013

Description:

When luck and the magic of friendship combine, anything is possible…

Seventh graders Caylie Jiang-Kahn, Lauren Blindell and Sabrina Robinson are making a movie about their friendship when a dirty stray dog shows up and ruins the day. In frustration, Lauren mutters, “Oh phooey,” which leads to the girls naming the dog “Phoo.”

When Phoo is caught and taken to the animal shelter, the girls agree to foster him until he can be adopted. They immediately notice something strange. Every time the dog is around, lucky things seem to happen. The moment he’s gone, the luck disappears. 

What happens when they all need the dog’s magic at the same time? It’s up to Caylie, Lauren and Sabrina to decide once and for all: Is Phoo truly a lucky dog?

GUEST POST
Why children should read and why it's good to have pets around them?
(MB's topic)
Hi. Thanks for letting me chime in on this topic. I both write for kids, and have pets. It seems fated.

I started my writing career as a romance writer. After one book sold to Kensington ten years ago, I tried to write another, but it just wasn’t clicking. Then one day, I was reading a book out loud to my own young kids and in the back of my head had an idea for a series about kids who time travel and meet famous people in history. Blast to the Past was born. I partnered with my friend, Rhody Cohon, and quickly sold the series to Simon and Schuster. (www.blastothepast.com). 

One thing led to another and suddenly, I was ghost writing for children’s mysteries, writing movie novels and working on my own books.

I love the 7-11 age group. Every time people ask me to write older, I bounce back. I like visiting schools and hearing what kids are thinking. Kids at this age are so creative and have the developed skills to express what they are thinking. Reading opens a world to them. In books, things aren’t specifically drawn out – characters, settings, story – each kids can place him or herself in the story, and imagine it however they see fit. I love it when a kids sees artwork or a movie and says, “That’s not how I imagines the character at all!” It shouldn’t be how they imagined it. Books are important because we bring ourselves into them.

I know that pets are also a terrific part of a child’s imagination. To play with a dog or cat, brings us all that youthful joy. So when I started LUCKY PHOO, I wanted to tap into that feeling. 

The characters were kids we knew. The complexities of their lives felt familiar. This cute little dog comes in and seems to make everything better for a while. Who wouldn’t want a little Phoo?

The book should open the question if a dog can bring luck, plus this is a playful dog that warms the hearts of everyone he interacts with. 

I really love this story. It’s fun and filled with adventure, friendship, and a touch of magic. I hope the tweens in your life enjoy it too.
Thank you,
From reviews

With punchy dialogue and a fast moving pace, LUCKY PHOO takes readers on a wild adventure as three friends try to share fostering duties of a lovable stray dog.” —Marianne Mitchell, author of FIREBUG 

Stacia Deutsch and Rhody Cohon are two very best friends who write books together, which is very lucky for their readers. You’ll want to share LUCKY PHOO with all your friends, too!” —Jennifer J. Stewart, author of CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF A THIRD WORLD KIND, Connecticut Nutmeg Book Award List; Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award List; Arizona Grand Canyon Reader Award List 

"LUCKY PHOO is a great story about friendship, love and responsibility--Phoo, the lucky dog who wanders into Sabrina's, Caylie's and Lauren's world is indeed lucky--although maybe not as lucky as these girls whose life he changes." —Terry Trueman, Printz Honor Author of STUCK IN NEUTRAL

"Okay, full disclosure: I LOVE good, strong, dog stories--Lucky Phoo is precisely one of those!" —Terry Trueman, Printz Honor Author of STUCK IN NEUTRAL

About the authors:
Rhody Cohon wishes she could adopt a million pets! Until her house is big enough she'll pamper the few she has and help others find the perfect home.





Stacia Deutsch sits at the keyboard crafting stories all day and then, plays with her own crazy, lucky, dog at night. She and her three kids live in Southern California. You can visit Stacia



Authors' Giveaway:
a Rafflecopter giveaway

7 comments:

The Twisted Red LadyBug / Anda Alexandra said...

cute giveaway :D

gregory said...

amazing

Stormy Vixen said...

Thanks for sharing Lucky Phoo and the giveaway. Sounds like a great book. evamillien at gmail dot com

Chaotic Karma said...

Thanks for the incredibly fun giveaway!! :)

~Veronica Vasquez~

Unknown said...

OO this is perfect for my young daughter.. so glad your doing YA and younger on your site.. makes it so much fun!!

erikalrhodes at gmail dot com

Kim Reid said...

I would love to read Lucky Phoo - sounds amazing!! Thanks for the wonderful giveaway :)

kimberlybreid at hotmail dot com

Unknown said...

So sad I don't have any pet. It's a huge responsibility...