HOW NOT TO TRAIN A ZOMBIE!!
by Annie
Rachel Cole
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLURB:
How does a thirteen-year old become
the most popular kid in 8th grade? He trains a zombie to be a pet... And that's
exactly what Max Taylor plans to do, even if he had to lie, steal, and lose his
best friend in the process.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EXCERPT:
“That’s not only the stupidest idea I’ve ever heard, but
it’ll get us in all sorts of trouble.” Chad’s nasally baritone voice blasted
its way through the crowded hallway. Only the clanks of locker doors slamming
shut were louder, but not by much.
Up and down the hallway, students turned and stared at Chad
and Max. Some pointed and laughed, but most just ignored them as if they didn’t
exist.
“Sheesh! Can you talk a little louder? I don’t think they
heard you in the band hall.” Max’s face turned several shades redder than the
lockers lining the wall. This wasn’t exactly the kind of attention he wanted,
especially not after yesterday’s Career Fair. How his mom found out about it,
was beyond him. He had thrown away the first flyer asking for volunteers to
speak to his class about their careers over a month ago, and he made sure to
throw away every flyer he had gotten since then.
But somehow she found out.
And yesterday, she showed up in a bright pink flower shirt
and her overalls and talked to the class about the joys of being a gardener.
Max wanted to die. Gardening wasn’t even her career. It was her hobby! And
everyone knew it. And then his mom singled him out when she left. Shaking hands
would have been okay, but is that what his mom did?
Oh no!
She hugged him in front of the whole class. Even having Eddy
Pratt’s dad talk about being a zombie exterminator couldn’t erase the embarrassment
and humiliation Max endured the rest of the day.
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
I live in Texas with my husband,
son, and two cats who think they run the place. I read, write, play Texas
Hold’em poker (I'm actually part of a local league), and occasionally I compete
in BBQ competitions with my husband. Our team name is Outcast Cookers. I also
teach in a public school.
My likes include: a wide variety of
music (see my play list for book 2 on my blog), Star Trek (My son got me a
signed picture of Patrick Stewart which sits on my desk.), Star Wars, Grimm (TV
series), winter (though we don’t have snow), the holiday season, coffee, hot
tea (with cream and sweetener), pizza (no anchovies though), puzzles, Edgar
Allan Poe, Ray Bradbury, and JK Rowling.
Buy Links
Amazon (Kindle): http://www.amazon.com/How-NOT-Train-Zombie-ebook/dp/B00BEB2YEY/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1362452994&sr=8-2&keywords=how+not+to+train+a+zombie
Amazon Paperback: http://www.amazon.com/Train-Zombie-Annie-Rachel-Cole/dp/1482348322/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1362452994&sr=8-2
Barnes and Noble (Nook):
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/how-not-to-train-a-zombie-annie-rachel-cole/1114502583?ean=2940016367675
Giveaway!!!!
The author will award a $25 Amazon GC to one randomly drawn commenter during the tour.
The more you comment, the better your chances of winning. The tour dates can be found here: http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2013/03/virtual-blurb-blitz-tour-how-not-to.html
Good Luck!!
Thank you for hosting.
ReplyDeleteAwww...I really feel for Max being embarrassed since I was an outcast in school too. I hope he shows them all in the end
ReplyDeletefencingromein at hotmail dot com
I too remember the feelings of not fitting in, and now teaching junior high, I see the day struggles some of the kids go through.
DeleteSometimes it's hard for me to distinguish between middle grade and young adult literature. What do you think the main difference between the two is?
ReplyDeleteandralynn7 AT gmail DOT com
A lot of people have this difficulty. I've struggle with it myself, and I've taught 8th grade reading. LOL I struggled with the idea of classifying my book as MG instead of just YA because I believe that good stories tend to cross over, i.e. Harry Potter series has a wide age group reading it.
DeleteWith that said, how do I tell the difference between MG and YA?
The length is one thing. MG tends to be shorter than YA. The characters' ages. The characters are usually around the target audience's age, within a couple of years. The sentence structure and vocabulary used comes into play with MG being a little "simpler" and YA being a bit more complex. MG stories tend to have things happening externally to the characters, while YA have more internal stuff going on as well as the external stuff. YA also tends to deal with "heavier" issues too.
Is this a perfect? No. Will a high schooler enjoy a MG book? Yes, depending on the student. Will a middle grader enjoy a YA book? Yes, depending on the student. Reading abilities, interests, level of maturity all comes into play. Oops! Sounding like a school teacher again. :)
You're welcome. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm a hugger, so no doubt I've caused my own embarrassment at times.
ReplyDeletemarypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com
This book sounds so cute with the title and excerpt.
ReplyDeletestrive4bst(At) yahoo(Dot) com