Blog Tour: Mini-Review/Excerpt/Giveaway!! The Castle Blues Quake, by Linda Covella

The Castle Blues Quake

THE CASTLE BLUES QUAKE by Linda Covella Children's, Young Adult - Sci Fi / Fantasy Tour Dates: October 14 - October 24, 2014 Blog Tour with Giveaway 12-year-old Pepper Connelly leaves her best friend, Chrissie, behind when her family moves from New York City to Santa Cruz, CA. Pepper discovers a boy, Corey, hiding in her backyard shed. Unknown to Pepper, Corey is a ghost trying to contact his grandfather, Boppie, before he crosses over. He tells Pepper he must locate Boppie before Social Services finds him. Pepper agrees to help. While Pepper’s communication with Chrissie dwindles, her friendship with Corey grows. She tells Corey about her passion for writing songs, and throughout the story, she composes a song about Corey. Corey teaches Pepper to play the harmonica. Soon, she’s torn between finding Boppie and knowing when she does, Corey will certainly go back on the road with his traveling-musician grandfather. Other characters help her on her quest: new classmate Ally Cressman, who dresses in an odd-ball, non-mall style; Sawtooth Sam, the mysterious saw-playing street musician; and Madame Mchumba, who performs her psychic readings at the Boardwalk amusement park. Earthquakes, haunted house rides, poltergeists, and crystal ball readings propel Pepper toward the shocking conclusion of her search.

Mini-Review

From the two excerpts of this book I've read -- both from the Amazon reader -- I can tell that this is a very compelling paranormal tale. That's pretty obvious from the synopsis, as well.

Regarding Chapter One, the voice of the character,  Corey, is just perfect. The way he expresses himself, the swaggering, "tough act" tone of his language, identifies him as someone who has seen a lot of trouble in his life. Although he's no longer in the world of the living, Corey's personality is still clearly very much that of a boy who won't be intimidated.

In Chapter Two, Pepper takes over the narration, and the tone is completely different. She's obviously a very sensitive, observant, girl, as any writer would have to be, and she definitely is one. She's also a very curious person, braving the spookiness of the shed in the backyard to see what might be inside.

I love it when an author so skillfully shifts voices and perspectives from one character to another, as Ms. Covella does. These are two very engaging narrators, and I imagine the rest of the novel will be alternately told from each of their viewpoints.

This is a book I definitely want to read from cover to cover, and it's just perfect for the Halloween season, too! 

Book Except

Chapter One

Corey
Watching o'er the gnarled limb
He does not whisper, does not stir
It's not her house; it belongs to him
He has no choice but to get rid of her

Man, that girl don't scare, not easy, anyhow. Look how she kicks open the gate, paying no mind to the wolf spider. Big and hairy, it is. I'd planted it there earlier, but it ain't doing no good now. She just scrunches her nose and says, "Gross". She strides through the creaky, rusty gate into knee-deep weeds like walking on just-mowed grass, the kind you see on those fancy golf courses. For sure, she's no scaredy cat like the other girls who lived here. Put some a them boys to shame too. She could be trouble. But I'm just getting started. I got plenty a other ways to scare.

The girl sits on the swing hanging from the tree. I know she can't see me. Still, no harm in taking precautions, so I'm laid out on a branch like a snake high above her. She gives herself a good shove off the ground with her feet and glides back and forth with her legs stretched out in front a her.

She bends her head back, a face full a freckles, and braids hanging down like two pieces a twisted red licorice. Closing her eyes, she mumbles, "Wish you were here, Chrissie." Then she rambles off a string a rhyming words, "Wish, dish, fish, squish,swish....hmmm, possibilities."

All I'm thinking is, this girl ain't right in the head.

She stops swinging, tugs a small notebook and pen from the back pocket of her jeans and scribbles something.

"Pepper, Pepper!" a lady's voice calls, coming from the front where a moving van just pulled up.

The girl does a big sigh. She stuffs her notebook and pen back into her pocket and shuffles to the gate.

As she heads back down the driveway, I'm thinking, here I go again. More folks to scare off. I ain't worried, though. I got my bag a tricks. 

This is my house. She and her family got to go.

  

You can buy THE CASTLE BLUES QUAKE at:

Amazon US Paperback

Amazon US Kindle

 

 

Linda Covella’s varied job experience and education (Associate Degrees in Art, Business and Mechanical Drafting & Design, a Bachelor of Science degree in Manufacturing Management) have led her down many paths and enriched her life experiences. But one thing she never strayed from is her love of writing. A writer for over 30 years, her first official publication was a restaurant review column in a local newspaper, and as a freelance writer, she continued to publish numerous articles in a variety of publications. But when she published articles for children’s magazines (“Games and Toys in Ancient Rome” and “Traveling the Tokaido in 17th Century Japan,” in Learning Through History magazine, and “Barry’s Very Grown Up Day” in Zootles magazine), she realized she’d found her niche: writing for children. She wants to share with kids and teens her love of books:  the worlds they open, the things they teach, the feelings they express. Yakimali’s Gift, a historical novel for young adults published by Astraea Press, and middle-grade paranormal, The Castle Blues Quake, published by Beau Coup Publishing, are her first novels. She’s a member of Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI). No matter what new paths she may travel down, she sees her writing as a lifelong joy and commitment.  

You can find Linda at these links:

Linda’s Website/ Facebook/ Twitter

Goodreads/ Pinterest

 Giveaway!!!

This Giveaway is open Internationally. You must be 13+ to enter.

PRIZES

2 Winners will each receive a 
$5 Amazon Gift Card

1 Winner will receive a 
$10 Amazon Gift Card

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