New Book Release | Writing for Love

It's said that we can sometimes speak our outcome into existense by what we say. Then, what if you could write your dreams into reality? What would you do?

The long awaited Christian romance novel Writing for Love by Dawnette Blackwood-Rhoomes, was released on Monday December 15th, 2014!

This book is a must-read inspirational romance with faith at the core of its message. With two stories happening simultaneously and the plot of one story transcending into the other, the book provides an interesting reading experience!

Writing for Love will be available in print and ebook format on  CreateSpace and Amazon.com and other online retailers. Be sure to get a copy of Writing for Love this Christmas!

Book Description:
Is God concerned with our love lives? If we ask, will He actually give us the desires of our hearts?

Willow Pichard is on a quest to find out the truth, as well as true love and her Prince Charming. When the opportunity came to enter a writing competition, held by Wickham Publishing, Willow decides to write her own dream fairy tale romance. In her story of Esther and the King, Esther enters The Fair Maiden Contest and must do the unthinkable, contend with the lovely Princess Leah to win the King's hand in marriage!

But as this fairy tale plot thickens, Willow finds that the love story of so long ago transcends the pages of her book and parallels a real life romance drama between her and Chad Wickham, heir of Wickham Enterprises! It would have been nice if Chad didn't get on her last nerve, and she didn't have to contend with the ex-girlfriend. Now with Willow entangled in a romance drama and the story of Esther playing out so vividly in her own life, Willow fears to finish the manuscript! Must she forfeit the contest or must she keep on writing for the sake of love?

Happy Reading!

Falling in love with the writing style

Currently we are reading, The Cubicle Next Door  by Siri Mitchell, author of Kissing Andrien. We are absolutely falling in love with the writing style of Siri Mitchell, and we love, love, love the candid, carefree narrative and dialogue of the book!

 Here's one of those easy dialogue scenes from the book:

"...And when they came into my office, they asked the question that would change my life.
"Where are they going?"
"Where are what going?
"The panels."
"I don't know. Don't you guys?"
"No. Who ordered them?"
"I did."
They stood there in front of my desk, all three of them in camouflage battle dress uniforms, arms crossed in front of them, ready to take on the world. "So...what do you want us to do?"
"Go find out who they're for." Duh. Double-duh.
They just stood there.
"Go ask Estelle."
That made them happy. Estelle was the department secretary. She knew everything-except how to use a computer.
That's what they'd hired me for.
They sauntered off down the hall, but they came right back two minutes later. "They're for you."
"No they're not. I ordered them, but they're not for me."
"That's what Estelle says." " (Mitchell, The Cubicle Next Door. 6-7)

Can you see the scene unfolding? Can you feel the confusion? Wasn't the dialogue realistic? As a by-stander listening to them going back and forth, can you envision your head swiveling back and forth as the conversation swirls around you?

We just thought we'd share this moment of 'awesome read' with you! When reading, slow down and take time to enjoy the setting, narrative, and dialogue of the book!

Happy Reading!

Guest Post | New children's books byJoanne Lécuyer

The following guest post was written by Joanne Lécuyer, author of new books My Friend Merlin and The Witch, The Cat, and The Water Dragon.

With a little bit of magic, anything is possible...

I’ve always enjoyed fantasy and sci-fi in books, art, and movies – especially magic, wizards, fairies, and dragons. Even now, I love to read about them or watch animated movies like How to Tame Your Dragon, Epic, The Sword in the Stone, and the BBC television series Merlin. They take me away from the day-to-day routines. They allow me to imagine and explore other possibilities.

In 2009, I started writing my own fantasy stories for kids. My chapter books are full of magical characters and creatures sprinkled with real life challenges and lessons that are dealt with in positive ways. I like to create characters that use their wits and imagination and enjoy helping other and doing good deeds. Adding some images makes the story really come to life, and more fun to read!

One of my favorite characters is the wizard Merlin. I decided to create a story around him, with a few twists on the legend, to make him more accessible to kids. In My Friend Merlin, a young druid boy named Merlin shows a young Prince Arthur that magic can be used to do good despite what King Uther and his followers have come to believe. It’s the tale of the meeting of Arthur and Merlin and how they changed the fate of magic. The book contains over 20 amazing color images by a Canadian illustrator, Rich Lauzon. Rich and I met at a Geek Market in Ottawa, Ontario a few years ago. He was drawing an image of a young boy and a dragon, which gave me the inspiration to start writing the story. I used it as the first image in chapter 1. I’m sure the kids, even adults, will love his illustrations.

When I first wrote The Witch, the Cat and the Egg in 2009, I had no idea that it would turn into a series of books. Juliane and Magicus, and the forest creatures, remind me of the magical stories that I read when I was young. In the sequel, The Witch, the Cat and the Water Dragon, Juliane is a young witch and forest guide to the magical Forest of Ennyar. The egg she had transported has now hatched and Tarak the last magical water dragon has emerged. As Juliane and the dragon will learn, not everything is as it seems. Friendship and courage will be required to face the unknown, and help save magic and the forest. For the images, I worked with another local illustrator, Brooke Alexander. I watched her drawing with colored pencils while I was at a book fair. I needed to find a new illustrator for the sequel and Brooke was a perfect fit.

My goal is to write books that make kids feel good and smile. I also teach writing workshops in schools and libraries with the hope that I might inspire some kids to become future writers and illustrators.

My other books include The Witch, the Cat and the Egg (2010), Kaptain Vamp (2011), and The Tales of Anex and Bit (2012). You can read more about me and my books, and purchase copies on my website .

The first three are also available on Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble.com.

I hope that you will make Topsy Books part of your reading collection.
J:O)anne

Thank you and Congratulations!

TO: Our Readers and Subscribers

Thank you to all who participated in our Survey Raffle - "How Did You Hear About DBR Books?"

A winner was randomly chosen and now for the grand announcement!

The winner is Karl R. of USA! Congratulations Karl!

Keep checking our Blog to see what's next.

Best Regards,
DBR Books

What did you read this summer?

The summer is almost over and soon it will once again be Back-to-School for our kids! Then comes that famous back-to-school essay question: What did you read this summer?

Get an early start on that question or on the school reading list and purchase a copy of the classic American novel - To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.

Now available at our DBR Designs Tripleclicks store at  http://booknews.tripleclicks.com

Price: Now $5.95 - 34% Savings!

The Reading Journal | Little Women and Me Part 3

In our recent journal entries, we reviewed Little Women and Me written by Lauren Baratz-Logsted, and found the book to be a controversial yet appealing read.

There is a tug-of-war that will happen to the reader when reading Little Women and Me. Pointed details of Little Women, such as conversations and narratives are lost in Little Women and Me, which makes you feel that you'd like to know more about the other characters. However, one has to keep in mind that the story is really about Emily. To be honest, reading it from a different perspective is refreshing.

Although, the book has the foundation of the classic novel Little Women, Logsted tells Emily's 'version' in a modern, brash, yet unique way. However, some similarities still remain toward the ending of the book. Like Alcott's Little Women, main character Emily in Little Women and Me learns a valuable lesson; and also like the classic characters, Emily battles selfishness and gains insight to the significance of 'true sisterhood'.

This is our final journal entry for this book. Get a copy of Little Women and Me by Lauren Baratz-Logsted and read for yourself. Let us know if you agree with some of our main points here.

Happy Reading!

The Reader's Journal | Little Women and Me by Lauren Baratz-Logsted Part 2

For all those who have read Little Women by Louisa May Alcott and find the story captivating and the characters lovable, you will appreciate Lauren Baratz-Logsted's efforts in rewriting the well-known story with a very modern twist to it in her novel Little Women and Me.  Logsted's main character, Emily March, is given an English assignment to chronicle what she would change in her favorite book. In rising to the challenge, Emily March is transported into the book, and becomes the middle sister of the infamous March sisters.

The first surprise in the book Little Women and Me, is that in a typical story of transporting back in time, the character is usually a bystander on the scene - the new kid on the block, if you will. However, Logsted chose for her main character to be added as a sibling to the March family, thus becoming the middle child. If that wasn't bold enough, then consider adding the character to an already existing story to continue on as if 'life as usual'. There was no expression of shock or surprise when Emily suddenly 'showed up' in the story, but instead she was accepted as if she is always expected to be there. We thought that this was a very ingenious way of continuing on Alcott's story of Little Women without shaking its foundation too much while actually changing parts of the original plot. Of course the dynamics and the storyline of the original fiction would have to make way here for the new, and we thought it was a good way of setting the stage and building the scene to carry out Emily's assignment - which is to look for areas in which she would change the plot. Emily was doing so without realizing it!

The first two chapters of the book set the pace and unfold the basic story plot change Emily had in mind for her assignment. Reading further into the book, readers will actually want to see how much Emily will accomplish her goal, and may be dissapointed if they were expecting more of the March sisters to play a greater part. But one has to remember that this plot (Little Women and Me) is written from a different viewpoint. Alcott's world with classic mannerisms and speech of 1860's New England is primarily lost in the narrative and perspective of Emily March; and understandably so because the story is being told by a teenager of the 21st century. Therefore, there is the typical whining and moaning about mondane life and boredom by a teenager who is far removed from all modern day technology and way of life. It's expected, and fans of Alcott may struggle with this.

Interesting read as we see Alcott's heroines from a different perspective. If you had a chance to change the plot, scene, the characters, or the outcome of your favorite book, what changes would you make?

Keep reading and follow along with us on our blog for updates in our journal entry on Little Women and Me!