Amazon

Book Review – You Are Fatally Invited

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Wow, I loved this book. You Are Fatally Invited by Ande Pliego* takes us to a writers’ retreat hosted by an anonymous bestselling author bent on murder. Everyone here has something to hide, something they’re ashamed of, something that could damage their career and reputation. But their host–and a few among them–know how the subterfuge has ruined lives and fortunes. It seems no one will let the others get away with it.

If you like books steeped in the writerly world, tainted with prophetic writings, and wrongdoers getting what’s coming to them, pick up this title. The audiobook is superb too. Five stars. Highly recommended.

(*This post contains affiliate links, meaning I make a few cents off a purchase, at no cost to you.)

Silvia Acevedo

Short-listed for the Gertrude Warner Award

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I am thrilled to announce that Mail-Order Monsters: Crash Course is a semi-finalist in the Gertrude Warner Award for Middle Grade Fiction, put out by the Chanticleer International Book Awards. Gertrude Chandler Warner authored the original  19 books of the beloved Boxcar Children series.

There is just one round of judging to go, and I’m so happy to be considered. Thank you, GWA and CIBA. 

cover image of Mail-Order Monsters: Crash Course by Silvia Acevedo

Silvia Acevedo

AI IS DUMB (and unethical and environmentally catastrophic and … and … and …)

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AI is so bad at *absolutely everything.*

I asked Google who I dedicated my book to. The exercise was based on author John Scalzi asking various AI programs the same regarding his own works.

It confidently states that MY book, Mail-Order Monsters: Crash Course, was written by R.L. Stein, the creator of Goosebumps, and is part of that series. Nope. Not true. Absolutely not. If search engines and their AI sloppery can’t correctly identify info as basic as authorship, you should know that it will get everything wrong and *you cannot trust it.* Here’s a screenshot of its results:

It is easy enough for real, live people to find the correct author by scrolling past Google’s awful AI results. And, yes, it’s easy enough to find the dedication page elsewhere online or by pulling the book off your shelf, assuming you have it. And, yes, I know “AI will get better,” but that’s not the point. AI is not smart nor to be trusted nor ethical *in any way,* so using it until it gets better doesn’t ease my anxiety in the least. AI truly sucks.

Oh, and for the record, here’s the answer. Mail-Order Monsters: Crash Course by Silvia Acevedo is dedicated to (granddaughter) Eliza, “who asks me to check for monsters under the bed. May she someday love these monsters friends.”

Silvia Acevedo

*****FIVE STARS from Reader Views

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Mail-Order Monsters: Crash Course gets a FIVE-STAR Recommended review from Reader Views! Whoo hoooo! I’m so thankful for organizations and regular folk who leave positive reviews. They help other readers learn about a title and whether it’s their jam and worth the purchase.

If you’ve left a nice review, thank you! If you want to–but don’t know where to start–here’s the link to my book’s Goodreads page. Remember, you don’t have to assign yourself a book report! No summary needed. A simple sentence or two stating how/why you liked the story or characters or how the book made you feel is absolute gold to an author and so very helpful to a  reader deciding whether to try out a book.

November always makes me turn an eye toward gratitude. I’m thankful for all y’all who support their friends and help creators soldier on.

Chapter Break

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Many thanks to the Wisconsin Writers Association for featuring me on their Chapter Break podcast. Hosts Luella Schmidt and Ken Humphrey asked great questions and had me read an excerpt of MAIL-ORDER MONSTERS: CRASH COURSE. If you’d like to hear me read in falsetto (yikes haha), click here or on the image below. Now, break!

Silvia Acevedo

The BookLife Report

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Sweeeet. My book was featured in Publishers Weekly‘s BookLife Report under “What’s On Our Radar” Nice. 🙂

Monsters on The Morning Blend

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My husband and I had a lot of fun this morning The Morning Blend, the TV talk show on Milwaukee’s NBC station. My hubby, Jeff, is a professional illustrator and did the art for the entire book, including 13 black-and-white drawings within. Some of that art was highlighted on the big screens behind us during our talk.

Hosts Molly Fay and Tiffany Ogle are a hoot and great to talk to, as always. Enjoy the talk by clicking here or on the thumbnail image below. Cheers!

Silvia Acevedo

An Amazon ORANGE BANNER day!

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I’ve been posting a whole lot lately about my new book, but posting is how we get word out about our stuff, right? So now I want to say THANK YOU to all of you who’ve reached out with congratulations and to support the book. You’ve given so much love, in fact, that Mail-Order Monsters hit a huge milestone its first day: an Amazon orange banner as the #1 new release for children’s robot stories. WHOOP, WHOOP! Sound the alarm! That is sooo much bigger than you may think, and I seriously thank y’all so much.

Being a genre bestseller is big because, when you search on Amazon for, say, “vampire stories,” the results you see are books with that content. And you better believe those results are ranked. Being #1, however briefly, is nothing short of amazing, even more when many of the other books in the category have the word Robot right in their title or they’ve ranked high for a very long time.

Mail-Order Monsters also hit #5 in new releases for children’s books on bullying and #14 in new releases for children’s Hispanic and Latino stories. I mean, amazing. I’m floored and so very grateful.

Anyway, release day was an orange banner day, and today I saw friends and had an orange-ish latte (my first pumpkin spice of the season). I’m going to hold y’all and these past few days very close to my heart. ?

Silvia Acevedo

Release day for Mail-Order Monsters

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Hey friends! Today is RELEASE DAY for my latest book, MAIL-ORDER MONSTERS: CRASH COURSE! It’s the story of a ten-year-old boy who’s so desperate for a new best friend that he orders monsters from an ad in the back of a comic book. Hijinks ensue. It’s a tale of friendship breakups and makeups, of monsters and robots, and of racing and chasing. Kirkus Reviews’s verdict is to get it! Perfect for ages 7-12. There’s even a little Spanish sprinkled in.

If you’re thinking about buying, please consider doing so TODAY because good first-day sales boost a book’s entire trajectory.

Thanks friends, and I hope the kiddos in your life love it!

Silvia Acevedo

A LOVELY Kirkus review–and what exactly that means

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Friends and neighbors,

I am thrilled to share that I’ve received a positively epic review for MAIL-ORDER MONSTERS: CRASH COURSE, my new middle grade fantasy. Kirkus Reviews, which is the industry gold standard and premier reviewer for stores and libraries, gave my book a verdict of GET IT.

They called my story “an entertaining fantasy romp that mixes uproarious japes with wise insights into friendship and forgiveness.” PLUS, they loved my writing style (!), saying, “Acevedo’s prose is colorful and evocative, with lots of rambunctious energy. Tweens will get a kick out of the spiky characters and vigorous storytelling.”

Wow, I LOVE this. Kirkus’s “Recommended Reviews” are treasured by creators, for good reason, as they assure readers that MAIL-ORDER MONSTERS is a good bet. Click here or on the preview below for the whole review. And please do consider buying the book for a young person in your life! 🙂