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My faves!

2014  has already come and gone and I have yet to share with you my favorite reads of the year. For those who don’t follow me on social media, the answer as to why is simple: I was dying of the plague. Okay, not really. I REALLY had the flu. And not just one. I had TWO different strands. So for my Christmas vacation, I spent 16 days in bed. Sleeping. Barely moving. Barely reading—which is the real tragedy. But now that we have enjoyed a full two weeks of 2015, let me share with you my favorite reads of 2014. First, I met my Goodreads goal of 115 books. As a matter of fact, I didn’t meet it—I spanked it. By year’s end I read 144 books (mostly YA and mysteries). I really like rounded up numbers, so I am bummed I didn’t reach 145, but hey, since I spanked my original goal, I will take it. Of those 144 boys, below I am sharing with you 15 of my favorite tween/YA reads in no particular order. Enjoy! ‘The Impossible Knife of Memory’ – Laurie Halse Anderson      I did...
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The Secret

The Secret

Guest Post: Cindy Callaghan


Hey all! Today I welcome author Cindy Callaghan, who is here to help promote her new novel as well as discuss how she engages her readers. 

Welcome Cindy!


Thanks for inviting me to guest blog on your site today.  I am so excited to talk about LOST IN LONDON, especially some of the ways that I’m engaging readers. 

I engage readers in lots of different ways:


1.    Visits:  I often visit schools or book clubs. I Skype if it’s too far. I encourage readers, librarians and book club leaders to contact me at cindy@cindycallaghan.com. I’m always up for a visit.

2.    Email:  I love getting fan mail – email or snail mail. Sometimes readers will email me a picture of a book report or something. I LOVE it! I get so excited. Usually I blog about it and add the pictures on my website. And I ALWAYS personally respond to fan mail. 

3.   Guest blogging: I invite readers to guest blog on my website, www.cindycallaghan.com, about my book, or ANY book, actually. Or, maybe not a book, but something relevant to the book. For example, you’ll see there are some girls who lived in London who guest-blogged.  Their stories are a hoot. Did you read the one about the bidet?

4.    Social media:  I am into all sorts of tween fun stuff on my social media sites. I recently did a giveaway of JUST ADD MAGIC cooking gear. I run contests, like Character Naming, and cool pop culture pictures, and general funnies. The readers engage there with their parents’ permission and it’s really fun.


How Book ‘Em! readers can get involved:

Become a socialite: This is an amazing group of readers from around the US who have contacted me via their parents. They were sent copies of LOST IN LONDON early. They read the book and wrote reviews on sites like Amazon and Goodreads. I also offer to Skype into their classrooms for free. It’s excellent to begin to develop online relationships with these new friends. If you know someone who is interested in being a Socialite for my next book, LUCKY ME (July, 2014), just gimme a shout. cindy@cindycallaghan.com. Oh and the Socialites are invited to guest blog on my site!

Photo caption: Here is a picture of one of the Socialites, Clara. I love the Union Jack sweater. She invited me to Skype into a London-themed party she is having. I got the Evite and everything. How cool is that?

For any author, engaging with readers is a win-win. They get to interact with a writer, ask questions, and get an opportunity to showcase their writing online, if they want to. For me, I get to interact with the target population that I want to enjoy my books. It inspires me and also gives me ideas for future projects. Paris, anyone?


Thank you Cindy for stopping by the blog today. 

Watch for a review of her new novel, 'Lost in London,' this weekend. I cannot wait to share my thoughts on this adorable tween read. Just look at that awesome cover.

Happy Reading!

     - The Hodgenator 

 

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Free $100

Free $100