Here is a second chance to win a copy of Claire Nolan picture book, EVIE'S FIELD DAY, illustrated by Alicia Teba and publish by Cardinal Rule Press. Claire has agreed to send a copy to the one lucky winner in the US.

All you have to do to get in the running is leave a comment. Reblog, tweet, or talk about it on Facebook with a link and you will get additional chances to win. Just let me know other things you do to share the good news, so I can put the right amount of tickets in my basket for you. Sharing on Facebook, Twitter or reblogging really helps spread the word for a new book. So, thanks for helping Claire and Alicia.

If you have signed up to follow my blog and it is delivered to you everyday, please let me know when you leave a comment and I will give you an extra ticket. Thanks!

BOOK DESCRIPTION:

Competitive Evie loves to run, jump, hop, and win. She even has ribbons and trophies to prove it. So, when the school's field day comes around, she is sure she will add to her winning collection, but things don't go as planned. When Evie finds herself ahead of the pack, she is faced with an important decision. Does she choose the chance at a trophy or the chance to be a good friend?

Join Evie as she navigates the playground and learns about sportsmanship and the challenge of losing.

BOOK JOURNEY:

Thank you, Kathy, for featuring my debut picture book, EVIE'S FIELD DAY: More Than One Way to Win, on Writing and Illustrating. I am a faithful follower and have been the grateful recipient of your book giveaways. I am so excited that now I'm able to give a copy of my book to one of your readers.

I had been trying to write a story about losing for a very long time but my attempts kept falling flat. As a child, I wasn't very athletic. I was the one with her nose in a book. I was always picked last for teams and I never seemed to win – even at board games!

As a teacher and mom of four children, I saw over and over again children's experiences with losing. We all know the saying, "it's not whether you win or lose that matters, but how you play the game," yet we see on television, social media, and on fields and courts everywhere, examples of bad sportsmanship.

I thought of the children who are super competitive and focused on winning. Are they really having any fun? Losing is a part of life. How can we help our children to compete and learn to win and lose graciously? I couldn't find many picture books on the topic so I thought there could be a spot in the market for a book dealing with sportsmanship.

My original idea was a main character who always loses but that was depressing. When I changed my focus to a character used to winning, the story almost seemed to write itself.

Most schools have Field Days where classes spend the day playing games. It is a fun way to celebrate the end of the school year. But as all teachers know, there are kids who take it too far and get upset when they lose. Field Day seemed like the perfect setting for my story. I included old-fashioned events like the bean bag toss and a sack race just because their purpose is to promote friendly competition.

In the fall of 2018, I saw that Cardinal Rule Press was open to submissions. I looked at their website and catalog. Then I read their books. Cardinal Rule Press has a very specific focus. They publish picture books featuring children and the real-life problems they face as well as promoting positive character traits. I truly felt that my story would fit with CRP's titles. I polished my manuscript and hit send at the end of January, just before the submission period closed. I received a prompt follow-up e-mail the next day. Ten days later, the publisher, Maria Dismondy, set up a meeting. Two weeks later, I was offered a contract!

I'll admit, I was shocked. Though I have published in the magazine, educational, and work-for-hire markets, I had no success in the trade market. EVIE'S FIELD DAY is an example of the right manuscript coming across a publisher's desk at just the right time. Maria shared that a friend had recently asked for suggestions on how to deal with a child who has melt downs every time he loses. Then, she opened her email to find a manuscript about a character who has difficulties when losing.

The process from acceptance to the book's launch was smooth. Maria chose Spanish artist, Alicia Teba, to illustrate the book. I love her use of gray tones with pops of color which gives the book a vintage look. Her illustrations do a great job of showing Evie's emotions.

I developed back matter on sportsmanship for teachers and parents. There's also a teacher's guide and downloadable resources on my website.

I know that I am fortunate to have my debut book published by Cardinal Rule Press. They have a clear marketing plan and make sure that their authors understand how to best promote their books. They offer us masterclasses taught by industry experts on topics including productivity, Pinterest, social media, and email marketing. When you publish with CRP, you become part of a community.

Of course, launching in the midst of a pandemic has had its own challenges. All plans changed and we pivoted to an online launch. Instead of bookstores and school visits, we held an #At Home Field Day where families were invited to celebrate the end of the school year by creating games and posting photos on Instagram. Cardinal Rule Press held a raffle and generously offered prizes to participants.

 

On a final note, I want to encourage everyone to keep writing and improving their craft. My writing journey has been long but I never gave up. In fact, I just won the Northern Lights Late Bloomer Award! As Evie would say, "There's more than one way to win!"

CLAIRE'S BIO:

Claire Annette Noland is a children's author of easy readers, board books, and picture books for young children. She knows that everyone who reads is a winner and as a children's librarian, reading specialist, and author, her life's goal is to excite kids about books and reading. Born and raised in California, Claire writes from her home in Central California with her literary dog, Mr. Ernie. When not writing, you can find Claire stocking her Little Free Library and taking field trips using kidlit as her travel guide.

Claire's second home was the library where her mother took the five siblings to weekly story hour. She still remembers the librarian reading "if you were a bee and a bull sat on you, what would you do?" from her favorite book, The Story of Ferdinand.

Claire traveled with her grandparents and stayed in trailer parks all over the west. In every town, they stopped at the local library to read. Her favorite section was 398.2, folklore and fairy tales.

Claire attended the University of California, Santa Barbara, where she studied geography and comparative literature combining her love of travel with the stories of the places and people she visited.

Claire went on to earn her master's degree in library and information science and became a children's librarian. She earned her classroom and reading specialist credentials and taught for many years while she and her husband Michael raised their four children. Now that the kids are grown and off on their own adventures, Claire promotes literacy by making sure that children have access to books and information through her work with REFORMA as well as developing library collections for children in Nicaragua and in a local women's shelter. Claire spoke on using childhood experiences to develop picture book ideas at the Children's Book Academy Picture Book Palooza earlier this month.

Website: https://claireannettenoland.com/

Blog: http://afieldtriplife.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/clairesfieldtriplife/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/claire_noland

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/claireannette.noland

ALICIA TEBA'S BIO:

Alicia is an artist from Barcelona, and her three passions are: Drawing, Animals and Cinema. She studied cinema and illustration. Storytelling and fairy tales had a powerful influence on her. She is mostly vegan (as she only eats cheese from time to time when eating outside gets difficult) and applies the zero waste idea in her daily routine by using bamboo toothbrush, free plastic shampoo and soap bars, and also cleaning the tap water with active charcoal to avoid using water bottle plastics. She is also an avid animal advocate. She usually donates to animal refugees and collaborates with them to create illustrations to fundraise for refugees and animal veterinary costs.

Claire, thank you for sharing your book and journey with us. I enjoyed reading about how you took your book and flipped it from a child who lost all the time to a girl who is used to winning and doesn't know how to handle losing. Love the message and love Alicia's fun illustrations. Good luck with the book.

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy