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Scoring at UntitledTown

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Okay, that title is a stretch. I did not score in any way related to football, but I did indeed score a great time at a revived book festival in Green Bay, Wisconsin, the aforementioned TitleTown of renown.

The UntitledTown literary festival was long missed, stalled by the pandemic six years ago. But it came back. And I was honored to be invited to speak. I gave four talks: bringing humor into your story, creating sticky/memorable characters/plots, writing for young audiences, and plotting. In the photos below you see me talking both with my mouth and my hands. I talk a lot with my hands, it seems.

Anyway, it was fun! I met new authors. I learned stuff. I was creatively inspired. I highly recommend this and other literary festivals, whether you’re an author yourself or not, for the pure joy of meeting fellow lit lovers. Hope to see you at one in the near future.

 

Photo by Justin Keys

Photo by Kara Counard/Bloom Photography

Mail-Order Monster is up for awards!

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Wow, people. I am so thrilled to tell you that my book is a finalist for THREE awards. This is AMAZING and SO MEANINGFUL for me because, when you let a book out into the world, you never know how it’s going to be received, whether people will like it, whether it stands out. So when literary organizations pick your book out of all others, it’s… well, kinda wonderful.

So here they are. The Wishing Shelf Independent Book Award means so much to me because that award is chosen by kids! The target audience!

Chanticleer’s Gertrude Warner Award is specifically for middle grade works. Warner wrote the Boxcar Children book series.

And finally, Reader Views’ Reviewers Choice Awards, so the reviewers put the book up top.

Writing a book is a huge endeavor taking tons of mental gymnastics, time, energy, devotion to learning, and upgrading of skills. It’s…oof… a lot. So I’m incredibly grateful for any attention the work gets.

If you’ve read and enjoyed MAIL-ORDER MONSTERS: CRASH COURSE, please help others discover it by leaving a review or rating at any bookish site. Thank you! And if you haven’t yet ordered it, please consider doing so for the young monster- and robot-lover in your life or to donate to your local library.

Thanks, friends, for your support and encouragement. It means the world.

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.

Silvia Acevedo

Reads by the River Local Author Fair – and a sew talented friend

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Did you know that the suuuuper cute Reads by the River Books and Gifts in Waterford puts together a huge author fair? Now you do! And you NEEd to check it out. My husband and I were part of it this year (its second), as we share our new book, Mail-Order Monster: Crash Course. I was gobsmacked at how much talent there was in a single banquet hall. There was a book or collectible there for everyone. It was an absolutely AMAZING, one-stop shopping spot for your end of year, holiday gift giving. Mark your calendar for next year. Seriously, you don’t want to miss out.

Here’s how it went. Almost 50 authors displayed their wares and talked about books to anyone who came around. The fair was held  the Cotton Exchange Banquet Hall because, while the bookstore is ADORBS and has lots of offerings, it doesn’t have the empty space needed for a book fair, so the owner held it at this popular, nearby hall. The space had an open bar so browsers could enjoy a beverage while shopping. PLUS, the bookstore gave away a gift card. The whole events was well run and a lot of fun.

AND the incredibly talented author and sewing maven MJ Diem came to see me and give me some lovely gifts! She had read Mail-Order Monsters: Crash Course and loved it. She wanted a signed copy and also–because she knows I’m in awe of her sewing since the day I saw her conference faculty gift bags–gifted me some adorable new creations. Nice to see you, MJ! Thanks for being a great friend. 🙂

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. 🙂

Silvia Acevedo

At Blue House Books

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We had a great time with excited young readers at Blue House Books in Kenosha, WI. It’s an adorable bookstore. If you’re still looking for gifts ahead of the holidays,  reach out to Blue House to get your copies of MAIL-ORDER MONSTERS: CRASH COURSE (signed by me and the illustrator, Jeff) and THE HAUNTED STATES OF AMERICA (signed by me). Enjoy the pix. 🙂

 

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!

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