Saturday, 26 October 2013

An Interview with Declan McLeod of Declan the Kid Detective

I caught up with Declan McLeod, the protagonist of the new book series Declan the Kid Detective, at Starbucks to talk about the first book of the series.

MD: “Hi Declan. Thank you for taking some time out of your very busy schedule to meet with me. You must be so excited about your new mystery series Declan the Kid Detective.
DM: “You’re right on both accounts, Maggy,” Declan ran his hand though his thick curly golden blonde hair. “I’m so busy right now. I’m in grade six now, so the homework is way more than I’ve ever had before in my whole life. I’m a member of Inspire Children to Read Book Club, play soccer, take swimming lessons and solve crimes. And about the book series, yeah, it’s pretty awesome.”

MD: “Do you get paid to solve these crimes?”
DM: Declan tensed up a little at the question. “Yes and no,” he answered. “But as I told you before, I don’t want to reveal too much about the book.”

MD: “Yes, I do remember you mentioning this. I guess I got a bit carried away with my questioning. I’m new at this. What can I say?”
DM: “It’s okay. No worries.”

MD: “Thanks! Declan, without revealing too much, I do think it would be beneficial if the public knew a little something about the main characters. Would you share with me your impressions of them?”
DM: “Out of Samantha’s friends I would say Javier is the quiet one. I don’t know if it’s because of his home life or if it’s part of his DNA. Personally, I think it’s a bit of both. He works at his father’s cafĂ© a few days a week. And boy is he lucky to have a father who can bake sweets like that,” Declan digressed. “I just love that stuff.  And he takes Spanish lessons once a week. Other than that, he only hangs out with Sam, Chris and Addison. Those are his friends. He’s pretty exclusive in that sense.

“Addison is a combination of the class clown and school jock. He almost single-handedly won Cherryfield Elementary School its first basketball trophy. He’s popular, a bit of a smart-alec, but always so cool.
“Christina, oh, Christina,” Declan rolled his eyes at the thought of her. “She can be difficult at times and quite demanding. She has a bit of a temper, so you don’t want to get her mad. But if that’s your goal, make sure to be next to an exit so you can get out of her sight before she deals you her wrath. Personally, I think Christina has way too much on her plate. She’s quite the ambitious one.”

MD: “Sounds like an interesting group of kids you go to school with. What about Samantha, the victim in Kidnapping of the Diamond Eyes Gingerbread Penguin?”
DM: Declan’s facial muscles softened. “I knew little about Samantha until I became a member of Inspire Children to Read Book Club four years ago. Like me, Samantha is an avid reader. Unlike me, Samantha is an A+ student. She’s very nice. She loves animals and cares about people. But she’s too trusting and too sensitive. She always cries.”

MD: “She sounds like a real fluffy roll of Cottonelle toilet paper. How sweet.”
DM: “Yeah, I guess so!” Declan let out a faint laugh.

MD: “I can’t let you go without asking you about Layla. What’s she like?”
DM: “She’s cool!” Declan smiled. “She’s different from other girls I know. I mean, she’s kinda a girlie-girl, but she likes sports, video games and climbing trees just like Nigel and me. She’s also really organized, which I’m not. And she rarely ever loses her cool. Whenever Nigel and I argue over something Layla’s always the one to rationalize it.”

MD: “She sounds like a pretty level-headed girl.”
DM: “Yeah, I think so. She’s a lot of fun and a great assistant.”

MD: “One more question. Would you tell us a bit about yourself? After all you are the protagonist of the series.”
DM: Declan was wearing a matter-of-fact smirk on his face. “Maggy, I’m no good at talking about myself. They’re just going to have to read the book to find that one out.”

MD: “Well everyone, it sounds like that’s it for now. Thank you very much, Declan for being a guest on my blog, and good luck to both of us.”
DM: “Thank you!”

MD: “Join me next week for my chat with Layla Price, Declan’s assistant and best friend.”

Saturday, 12 October 2013

Do you have Kindle?

Kidnapping of the Diamond Eyes Gingerbread Penguin is now available in Kindle version for the special price of $2.99.

Wednesday, 2 October 2013

Hooray for the Girl How Could Fly

Let me start off by saying Victoria Forrester is an exceptional storyteller.

Eleven-year-old Piper McCloud lives in Lowland County on a farm. She has been gifted with the extraordinary ability to fly since birth.

When Piper learns about her unique talent she decides to hone her God-given gift by flying from her parent’s roof top.  That is until her parents learn about it and put a complete stop to it, well they tried to anyway.  But like any tenacious child that went in one ear and came out the other. ‘How could she stop flying? She was made for this,’ Piper thought.

However, when the people in Lowland County learn about this, the gossip mill goes so far out that it reaches the headquarters of the Institute of Normalcy, Stability, And Non-Exceptionality (I.N.S.A.N.E), a government institute for children with extraordinary talents. Naturally, Piper becomes the latest recruit to join this talented pool of children.

Happy to be surrounded with children like herself, Piper settles into her new life at I.N.S.A.N.E. But just before Piper becomes all-too comfortable, her fairy-tale world begins to crumble, leaving her with shattered dreams and an urgency to get back home to her once simple life.

This story is so gorgeous and rich with quality writing. I could not put this book down. Each page came to life for me. It is a turn pager for sure.  I fell absolutely in love with the children, especially Conrad. There was a poignant part in the book that just left my heart broken in two.  

I highly recommend The Girl Who Could Fly for children both young and young at heart.

I hope she makes this into a series.