Category Archives: blog tour

Oct1

Day 4 of the 2026 Back to School Blog Tour

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Welcome to Day 4 of the Back to School Blog Tour. Today, I have a helpful book for those children going through a trauma with a parent that is doing drugs. As a retired teacher, it is sometimes part of teaching to try to help support children with trauma at home. It is also helpful to let other children know some of the difficulties other children might be experiencing in their daily lives.

The book, “It’s Not Your Fault: A Child’s Story of Drug Addiction” is a picture book that goes through the process of a child saving her mother from a drug overdose and what happens after. It’s a great read for any classroom during Red Ribbon Week to help understand the process of drug addiction and how it affects children.

Cindy is a third grader with a family that might differ from others. She tells her story about her mother’s addiction to drugs and how that has affected her. It’s a brilliant telling of how she calls 911 when her mother overdoses. She talks about the steps she goes through and all the people that help her and her mother along the way. From the police officers, to the judge and child services worker, Cindy relates her point of view of all that happened, including finally going to live with her grandparents. The message of it not being her fault is skillfully described through character dialog and personal thoughts from Cindy. It’s a beautiful depiction of what a child struggling through this kind of trauma might experience and want to share with others.

I would recommend this picture book as a great read-aloud during Red Ribbon Week to illustrate what illegal drug use does to families. Told through the sensitive point of view of the daughter of a drug user, children will relate with the protagonist and understand that this kind of situation is not the fault of any child. Plus, it opens up the classroom or home to discussions about this topic, whether there is a family member or friend going through a similar situation.

“It’s Not My Fault: A Child’s Story of Drug Addiction” is a read-aloud that tells the point of view of a child of a drug user and how it affects her family and life. It will be an asset to any classroom or home library to help explain how drug use isn’t the fault of the child related to the user, and that there are a lot of helpful safety nets available to help through this type of trauma.

“It’s Not My Fault” is available on the Wildfire Rose Book Company Website.

Purchase Your Copy Here

You can also donate this book as a gift to CASA workers, DJFS, foster care groups that can use this book in their work with children.

Info Here
Sep28

Day 1 of the 2026 Back to School Blog Tour

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Welcome to the 2026 Back to School Blog Tour event. This year, I’ve decided to heavily focus on book reviews to give a fresh look at books that can sweep your child into the world of reading. Each day this week, I’ll be featuring a new book and review ranging from picture books to middle readers. Please bookmark and check back each day to find out about a new book. Like what I’m talking about? Please subscribe!

For the first book review, I’ve chosen a beautiful drawn picture book with a mermaid at its center. “Penny Lane in Florence” is a journey of a mermaid dreaming to become an artist. It’s written and illustrated by the author, Sarah Arias.

Penny Lane has heard the legend of the magical hat given to any aspiring artist in Florence that has real talent. But trying to find the hat is the hard part. Along her journey, she’s helped by flamboyant Italians, a mysterious mouse, her animal friends and her own intuition. Will she be able to find the hat? Or is it something to be earned?

The one thing that strikes me about this book is the beautiful, whimsical artwork. It is amazing! A whole world of fantastical friends and creatures accompany Penny Lane on her adventure. The artwork keeps you anchored in her quest. I really enjoyed seeing the interactions and comical betrayal of her animal friends. It creates a fantastic world of fantasy to dive into.

The book is also divided into chapters to make it easy for beginning readers to join in. It’s a great way to help introduce the chapter structure in stories. There is the strong theme of finding the artist within which goes well with combining literature and art for reading units.

Sarah Arias is the author & illustrator of the picture book, Penny Lane in Florence.

 As far as the plot, Penny seems to find the hat within herself and her artwork which the whole story leads to easily. It is very predictable, which any children’s book should be to an extent. But I think the moment of the discovery could have been more dramatic then nonchalant as it’s shown in the book. A magical moment of self-discovery might have been lost, or it just became less important to her at the end, maybe symbolizing the journey being more important than the hat itself.

Overall, I found it to be a fun, fantasy story to help inspire children to not give-up on their artistic impulses. It does lend itself to the idea of exploring your artistic side and less to trying to find the recognition of being a real artist. I did relate to the action of burying myself in pillows when feeling the artistic rejection or failure. That’s relevant at any age. But that drive to keep going has to be intrinsic, which is delightfully illustrated and told throughout the book.

Children with artistic interest will enjoy this mermaid led adventure in self-discovery.

“Penny Lane in Florence” is available at Amazon.com as a print hardcopy or ebook. It’s recommended for ages 4-8.

Purchase on Amazon

Bookmark this blog and return tomorrow for another book review. Please leave in the comments if you enjoy this week of reviews. It is truly a labor of love to help connect teachers, parents and readers to fabulous Indie children’s authors and their books.

-Tiffany Turner

Editor/Head Writer of the Indie Children’s Authors Connection Blog

Aug28

Day 1 of The Back to School Blog Tour 2023: Interview with Peter Aronson

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Greetings and welcome to the 2023 Back to School Blog Tour. I have some great indie children’s authors and books to introduce you to this week. I am hoping you’ll find some fabulous home study or classroom resources for the 2023 school year. Having taught in the classroom for 18 years, I know that you want to find new and inspirational role models and books with themes that are helpful for teaching in the curriculum. I’ve lined up some fabulous titles and author interviews as well as book reviews.

So, let’s get started with our very first author for the week: Peter Aronson.

Peter Aronson is a former award-winning legal affairs journalist, former New York City attorney, and now writes essays, short stories and children’s books. His book, “Mandalay Hawk’s Dilemma: The United States of Anthropocene”, is a look at a futuristic kid take-over inspired by a middle schooler with a different view of how the world should be. Set in the year 2030, it’s a wake up call for the adults in the world to do something or the kids will instead. Mandalay herself is a rebel with a passion for the environment, and doesn’t seem to let breaking some rules stop her mission to save the world.

I got a chance to ask Mr. Aronson about why he became an author, what gave him the idea for his book, and what future projects he has planned.

1) What made you want to be an author?

Peter Aronson: I have been writing for a long time, because I was a journalist for approximately 20 years earlier in my career. I became interested in writing fiction when I read more novels and saw the limitless creative opportunities. When I am making up a story and I like what I am writing, I get a wonderful sensation of feeling free, of feeling like I can do anything. It’s a sense of accomplishment, or achievement, I don’t get doing anything else. I began writing short stories, then a I tackled a novel.

2) For your featured book, “Mandalay Hawk’s Dilemma: The United States of Anthropocene”, how did you get the idea to write it?

Peter Aronson: My daughters, Mabel and Maisy, were young then, in middle school, and they were reading apocolyptic-type books and I thought, wouldn’t it be nice if they read a novel that dealt with a real-world problem? It was 2015 and I believed then and even more so now that global warming was the biggest problem the world faced. So I decided to write a novel about kids fighting global warming, about taking the fight to the highest level. I got the idea before the amazing Greta Thunberg burst onto the scene and made such an impact.   

3) What writing projects are you working on now?

Peter Aronson: I am writing a TV mini-series based on my non-fiction middle-grade book “Bronislaw Huberman: From Child Prodigy to Hero, the Violinist who Saved Jewish Musicians from the Holocaust.” The story is still little known outside the music world. Huberman was a great humanitarian who overcame great odds in the 1930s to save Jewish musicians from the Nazis by establishing a orchestra in what was then Palestine. Huberman was a pacifist. A true maestro, he used his violin as his sword and enlisted people like Einstein to help him. 

Book Blurb:

“Mandalay Hawk’s Dilemma: The United States of Anthropocene” is a middle grade novel that presents an all-too-real 2030. The Big Heat hits that causes temperatures to rise to extreme heat waves that kill thousands. The world has a hazardous future, and one 13-year-old decides she’s had enough and wants to do something about it. Only her idea of what to do might break a few rules along the way. From creating her own group called KRAPP (KIDS REVOLT AGAINST ADULT POWER) where the adventure leads to Washington D.C. and rapping to a captive president, it’s a novel that may lead to a call of action for kids around the world.

“Mandalay Hawk’s Dilemma: The United States of Anthropocene” is available on Amazon.com.

For more information on Peter Aronson, please visit his Amazon author’s page here.

Be sure to bookmark and come back every day this week for new interviews with authors and book reviews of featured books.

May you have a fabulous start to your school year!

Until tomorrow,

-Tiffany Turner

Sep14

Back to School Blog 2022 Canceled

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I’ve ended up having to cancel this year’s blog tour due to lack of sign-ups. Not sure if it’s the pandemic or what. I did have to push back the date to mid-September due to my vacation this year. So, that might have been something to do with it. Or just so much going on now that there are more vaccines to beat the Omnicron variant of COVID19, or who knows. But it feels kind of sad after so many years of running this event that I didn’t get much interest.

But I’ll try again next year, maybe pushing it up to end of August. It’s been 10 years since I’ve done this, and I love supporting teachers and students as they go back to school. But the pandemic has changed things a bit, gotten people out of routines. Plus, I’ve had a lot of personal things I’ve had to catch up on due to delays of the pandemic. I think most people have had to do this during 2022 too.

But hey, there’s next year. 2023 should be better all around. One thing I’ve learned over the last few years; take everything with stride. The pandemic has just made things have to be adapted and changed, and it’s taking awhile for all of us to return to some kind of normal. Until then, enjoy my features of Indie Children’s authors over the next several months. There is still a lot of great book and authors to find out about. Feel free to sign up for my blog and stay informed about all that is to come.

So, until next year, 

-Tiff

Sep4

Day 5: Back to School Blog Tour 2020

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Welcome to the last day of the Back to School Blog Tour. I hope you have enjoyed all of our featured authors this week, and have added to your home or class online library. I’d like to wrap up this fabulous week by introducing you to my last featured author, Thomasina M. D’Arezzo. She is a published poet, and has written children’s books and women’s fiction.  She lives in New England citing autumn being one of her favorite seasons. She enjoys hiking, acting and listening to music when not involved in writing. She’s proud of her recent college graduate son.

Thomasina M. D’Arezzo is the children’s author of the mystery children’s book, “Marco The Mini Sleuth: Where did the Kitten Go?”

Her recent book, “Marco The Mini Sleuth: Where did the Kitten Go?” is a fun mystery adventure that any kid can get lost in. Great for writing assignments or studying the mystery genre, this book will introduce your child to her fantastic Marco The Mini Sleuth series. I had a chance to talk to Thomasina about her childhood reading interests, writing process, and what writing means to her.

1) Who was your favorite author and how did they influence you?

Thomasina M. D’Arezzo: For Children’s books there are multiple that I like. I enjoy a lot of classic tales. I particularly enjoyed “The Tale of Peter Rabbit” by Beatrix Potter and “Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland” by Lewis Carroll.

2) Do you have a writing routine?

Thomasina M. D’Arezzo: When writing a novel I have a routine where I try to write 5000 words per day. When writing a children’s book, I will sit on the idea for a while in my head before I bring it all to life.

3) What is writing to you in one sentence?

Thomasina M. D’Arezzo: It’s a beautiful escape from reality! A world where you can create what you want!

“Marco The Mini Sleuth: Where did the Kitten Go?” is a great mystery for any child to get lost in. Marco’s cousins have recently lost their new kitten. Marco is on the case. By using his magical magnifying glass, he goes out looking for clues. They all work together to solve the mystery, but they get side tracked along the way. Will the clues lead them to the kitten in time?

“Marco The Mini Sleuth: Where did the Kitten Go?” is available at Amazon.com.

To close out this year’s blog tour, I’d like to announce two things.

  • It’s not too late to still enter the Back to School 2020 Blog Tour $25 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway. The giveaway will be open through the end of the week, and will close for entries on Sept. 7, 2020. The winner will be announced next week on the blog. CLICK HERE TO ENTER!
  • New picture book release: I Don’t Want to Wear A Mask

I’ve been working feverishly on this project the last few months, and I’m happy to announce it’s release during this year’s Back to School Blog Tour. This picture book is a great way to help children validate their anxiety and concerns about the pandemic and how it is changing our lives.

A little about my new book:

Trying to teach your child about the importance of wearing a mask in school?

Albert is returning to school. But this year is different than all others before. He has to wear a mask. The COVID-19 Virus has spread around the world in the first pandemic in one hundred years. He has been studying at home, and has missed a lot of things. He misses his friends in preschool. He misses his teacher. He misses being outside and playing on the playground. But for his first day of Kindergarten, he has to wear a mask. Will talking with his mother about the reasons to wear masks help Albert understand how he can be a superhero?

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This picture book helps children understand the importance of wearing a mask in school. They can be a superhero just like Albert as they wear a mask like other adult heroes in grocery stores, post offices or libraries. Teach your little one the importance of mask wearing as they return to in-person school or prepare for online distance learning. Help children understand the new normal happening around them and why it is important. This book is recommended for ages 3 to 8. It’s available on Amazon.com as a print or ebook edition.

I want to thank all of the participating authors for sharing a little of themselves and their fabulous books. I look forward to this blog tour highlighting unique, Indie children’s authors at the beginning of each school year.

This year is so very different than many others, and I hope the book recommendations, interviews and my resources are supportive and helpful to parents and teachers during this school year of 2020 -2021.

***Please follow my blog to find out about wonderful, fabulous Indie children’s authors and their books all year long!

Until next year, remember to keep reading and writing,

-Mrs. Turner

Aug28

Coming Soon: Back to School Blog Tour 2020

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BacktoSchoolBlogTour2020It’s almost here. The 8th Annual Back to School Blog Tour is ready to launch on Monday, Aug. 31. This year, there will be a line-up of authors and featured books to help support kids, parents and teachers during this challenging year. With changes in routine to going to school masked or online, kids and parents are facing different challenges than ever before. I’ve lined up a variety of authors and their books to help support creative learning, children’s literature and distance learning.

back2schoolbanner2020Here is the line-up of authors for this year:

  1. Casey Gale
  2. Karen Goeller
  3. Devin Martin
  4. Craig R. Hazen
  5. Thomasina M. D’Arezzo

Each author will be featured each day of the blog tour. Feel free to visit information about their blogs/websites and about their featured book. As an added treat, I will be giving away a $25 Amazon Gift Card through a Rafflecopter giveaway. Just visit the link to win all week, and the winner will be announced after the blog tour is over.

Come join all the fun and get to know some new, fabulous children’s authors!

The Back to School Blog Tour will be Monday, Aug. 31 through Friday, Sept. 4. Hosted here by the Indie Children’s Authors Connection.

***Follow my blog to get all of the posts emailed to you.

See you next Monday!

-Tiffany Turner

Sep11

Day 3 of the 2019 Back to School Blog Tour

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book at powers1

Lisa Parkes is the author of the children’s book Stuck Between Two Worlds.

Welcome to third day of the Back to School Blog Tour for 2019. I’d like to introduce you to our featured author for the blog tour today. Lisa Parkes is an extraordinary author. She is an author and life coach that helps children deal with their trauma. With many years of training, she has helping children through PTSD, anxiety and depression. With many challenges as a child, Lisa Parkes has used her experience and training to create a story that will help and inspire children going through a similar crisis. Her book, Stuck Between Two Worlds, explores the ways to help heal from childhood trauma while incorporating the love of fantasy and magic, and escaping into another world. I had the chance to talk to Lisa about her childhood memories of reading, growing up, advice for aspiring writers, and what she has in store for us with future projects.

  • What is your favorite memory from reading as a child?

Lisa Parkes: I remember relaxing rainy days where we couldn’t go outside. I would sit in my playroom or lie on my bed and read. I could literally dive into a book and lose myself for the whole day. It was my idea of heaven and even now – all these years later- I love a rainy Sunday.

  • Who was your favorite author and how did they influence you?

Lisa Parkes: I loved Enid Blyton. In her book, The Enchanted Wood, she created other worlds to explore at the top of the Magic Faraway Tree. She helped me see that my imagination was limitless and gave me some respite from a noisy world. I realized I could go anywhere in my mind and nobody could find me there. It was my most private place and I was happy there.

  • Do you have a writing routine? Share what works for you.

Lisa Parkes: I love to write to music. Music is energizing and uplifting. I’m better writing early in the day. When I wake up my brain is full of ideas. I’m inspired by my work and by things I observe in daily life. I usually make notes in my phone if something happens or I see something that moves me or teaches me something. I like to write in a journal most days by hand. But when I’m writing a book or a podcast episode, I just sit down at my laptop and let my fingers do the talking. I write unedited and from my heart. I think about what I want to say, not what other people will want to hear. Then go back after a cup of tea and tweak it.

  • What subjects would you like to write about in future projects?

Lisa Parkes: I would like to write more about how we treat children and what they need to grow up feeling happy and healthy. I would also like to write more for the child who feels like they don’t belong or who feels alone or different.

hannah guest

  • What is your favorite memory growing up? 

Lisa Parkes: Going on holiday – stepping out of the daily routine and visiting somewhere new. I love the sea, ice cream, swimming and reading in the shady spots. I was lucky as a kid, in that I went to Disney a few times and I fell in love with the magic of the place. I can remember having my picture taken with the Minnie and Mickey. The highlight was watching the electrical light parade on Main Street and telling my Mum that I wanted to be a Disney dancer. That or a dolphin trainer. I loved swimming and dancing. I still do!

6) What inspired you to become a life coach and then children coach? 

Lisa Parkes: It wasn’t a path I chose – it chose me! In my personal life I had a lot of therapy to heal from childhood trauma which manifested as PTSD, anxiety and depression. As a life long learner and avid reader, I then began to study everything I could get my hands on. It was a long and painful process and lonely at times. I wanted to make a future contribution to break the cycle and for there to be less hurt children in the world.

  • What gave you the idea to write “Stuck Between Two Worlds”? 

Lisa Parkes: I didn’t know how, but I had the idea to write a book that would incorporate my childhood and my work with children in a way that could be understood on different levels. I think I have done that with the magic and the wonder of The Wilderness – a free place for children to follow their hearts, and Nettie the fairy mentor who is playing the role of the ‘good enough’ parent. Luckily for me, once I started to write it all fell out on the page easily.

  •  What would be some advice you could give to aspiring younger authors? 

Lisa Parkes: To write as often as you are able to. Find ways to make writing part of your daily routine – journaling is good for that. Don’t edit yourself. Write what is in your heart, not what you think people want to hear. Don’t be afraid to speak your truth and what is right for you. It’s your story, your words and it is unique to you. Write from your own real life experiences and the places you go to in your imagination. 

  • What is it you love the best about being a children’s author?

Lisa Parkes: This is my first book and I find it hard to wrap my head around that word! I’m excited that I can reach more people with my work and do it in a way that is enjoyable. Learning about ourselves and the world we live in should be fun. I like to think that my book would keep the reader company during those times when they felt lonely or disappointed by life.

  • What is writing to you in one sentence?

Lisa Parkes: Writing gives me the freedom to express my inner world, and share that with other like-minded souls.

B2W Final Front CoverStuck Between Two Worlds is a fantasy children’s book that helps many school-aged children learn to deal with those negative and scary feelings like low self-esteem and anxiety. Firecracker Ruby was in trouble again. Crying in her room seemed to be the only way she could express herself until she had a fairy friend visit her. Nettie takes Ruby to the world of the Wilderness where she learns that she is a “wildheart”, a strong-willed child with a sensitive soul. Ruby learns how to use her wildheart powers for good, to shrink her worries and master her fears while dealing with life’s lessons. This story will touch any child that needs inspiration to be themselves and inspire self confidence. This heart-warming story will bring them into a world where they learn they may be a wildheart too.

Stuck Between Two Worlds is available as a Kindle or paperback edition at Amazon.com.

For more information on Lisa Parkes, please visit her website at: http://www.smileyforlife.com/book.

To enter the Back to School Blog Tour Giveaway, please link to the Rafflecopter Giveaway HERE! Win a $25 Amazon Gift Card to add to your Back to School Library at home or in the classroom.

remember-9-11I’d like to close today’s entry with a moment of remembrance for all those lost 18 years ago today on Sept. 11, 2001. Never forgotten!

 

 

Aug26

Upcoming 7th Annual Back to School Blog Tour 2019 Sept. 9 – 13

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back2schoolbanner2019It’s time to start finalizing authors for the 7th Annual Back to School Blog! I’m looking for authors of picture books, beginning chapter books, middle grade or YA. I have several free slots open, but also will take sign-ups through my Fiverr gig which will guarantee you a spot in the blog tour.

The dates for the blog tour are Monday, Sept. 9 through Friday, Sept. 13.

Link to Fiverr Gig here:

https://www.fiverr.com/tiffmeister/do-an-author-interview-and-post-about-your-childrens-book

For Free Sign Up with Limited spots, fill out the form here:

https://crystalkeeper.wordpress.com/review-submission-requests-questions/

Last year, I had to double up on spots with two featured authors a day. Which was fantastic! I love getting the word out about fabulous books and the Indie children’s authors that write them.

Plus, there will be a blog tour giveaway which will be for a $25 Amazon gift card for a lucky follower of the blog. Just stop by on any day of the tour to enter. You can have one entry a day. 😉

There will also be some individual giveaways by the authors in which you can enter on the day they are featured.

So, come by to find out about awesome children’s books, enter to win prizes, and support Indie children’s authors. Until then,

summer1-Mrs. Turner

Author of the Crystal Keeper’s Chronicles series.

A Fantasy Adventure where fairies are real and they need your help.

Do you dare?

Sep20

After Back to School Blog Tour Interview: Belle Green

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bellegreenbiopic

Belle Green is the author of the picture book, I Am Good In My Heart.

I have another special After Back to School Blog Tour Interview. I’d like to introduce you to Belle Green. She is a lifelong writer that specializes in inspirational fiction and children’s books. She lives outside of Atlanta, Georgia with her husband and son. I had a chance to find out about her wish to help inspire children, her book I Am Good In My Heart, childhood reading memories, and what writing means to her.

  • What is your favorite memory from reading as a child?

Belle Green: Before I could read I would memorize books word for word and then “read” them to my mom or myself. But that wasn’t enough for me. I started to write by scribbling lines on a piece of paper. Then, I’d run to my mom to ask her if it said anything. I guess writing has always been in my heart, even before I knew my letters!

  • What subjects would you like to write about in future projects?

Belle Green: My son, Will, is four years old. So, most of my inspiration is coming from him. There are two more projects currently in the works for this series to follow I Am Good In My Heart. They are I Am A Good Friend: Helping Kids Understand Friendship and I am Bigger: Helping Kids Understand Growing Up. I love writing books that help preschoolers understand the world, but we need to have fun too! So I am also working on two entertaining stories about robots. My son is obsessed with robots!

  • What is writing to you in one sentence?

Belle Green: Writing is the act of pouring your heart out onto paper in an endless attempt to translate feelings into words.

goodatheartcvrHer book, I Am Good In My Heart, is designed for children at the preschool age to help them feel self-confidence while knowing that making mistakes is okay. It helps them realize that choices can be made better the next time. They are always good at heart and can improve with each new life lesson they accomplish.

I Am Good In My Heart is available at Amazon.com. It is a Kindle Unlimited title.

For more information on Belle Green, visit her website at: https://authorbellegreen.com/.