Friday, October 23, 2015

Friday Prompt: Character Study

This week let's think about characters. A great way to come up with character ideas is to Google images of people. You can choose to search for Steampunk Men or Femme Fatals or just a general search for random images. Portraits can tell you the story of that person if you take a few minutes to really look at it and listen to what they have to tell you. Here are a couple of "characters" to practice with or maybe they'll be in your next story. NaNoWriMo is coming up! 

Take a look at each one. What do they do for a living? Where are they from? What music do they have on their iPod or in their record collection? Are they married or are they a player? Ask more questions and design the perfect character for your story. 








Thursday, October 22, 2015

Wesley Out West earns 5 stars from Readers' Favorite

Author Rhonda Walker's newest children's book, Wesley Out West has been awarded five stars from Readers' Favorite Reviews. Here is what they had to say...

Reviewed By Mamta Madhavan for Readers’ Favorite
"The story is exciting with a lot of bright and colorful illustrations. They make the characters come alive and they give good pace and movement to the story and scenes. It's a good bedtime storybook for children, and parents and grandparents can use it for their kids and grandkids. It's also good for read aloud sessions in classrooms and school libraries. Wesley the Walrus is adorable and it's nice to read about him trying to make his boring life more interesting.

The facts about marine animals given at the end of the book are informative and educational and give children more knowledge about these sea creatures. The author does a good job of introducing children to marine animals in a fun way, making it easy for them to understand. It's a good book for teachers and parents to teach children about marine life."

About Wesley Out West
Young Wesley Walrus leaves his ice home to travel on an adventure to Big West, where the town's citizens desperately need help. Arriving to cheers he quickly runs into Old Walter the Whale. Colorful illustrations and action take readers to an Old west town where the citizens expect Wesley to save them. Can he?

Five-star reader reviews are already coming in from readers and their parents. Don’t just take our word for it…

“I read the book to my son and great niece. They loved the book… the book teaches about finding adventure and fun in the little things, which happen daily…”

“A delightful book. I shared this story with my seven-year-old son, who enjoyed it immensely. It appealed to his own wild imagination and sense of adventure.”

“This is a story that helps you to find excitement in the little, everyday experiences we have. I do believe it encouraged my son to be a bit more creative, to think in a different way, use his imagination and always do what is right. No matter the cost.”

Author, Rhonda Walker has created lively characters that can spark creativity and teach important character values.

About the Author
Every day is icing on the cake of my life. It is challenging, fantastic, miracle filled, and troubled -- sometimes
all at once. There are memories of the blessings of family and friends, successes and failure. I live daily in grateful awareness for a God who provides abundant blessings, especially during times of embarrassing failures.

I discovered my passion for reading early in life (right after the ark anchored on a mountain top.) In 1979, when my daughters were young, I returned to college. There, English and Education professors taught me some needed writing basics and opened the door to children’s thinking. In truth, though, I began writing for myself in 1975, and my style was already developed. God blessed me with a passion for reading, the love of writing, and whatever ability I possess.

With training, skills, and God’s help, I fulfilled a long-held dream of writing stories for young readers. Several years ago, two of my grammar stories were published in a Scott Foresman textbook for first graders, and plans are underway to put those stories and others into a grammar series book. I write stories to encourage enjoyment and learning through reading.

Blog Tour! 
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Wednesday, October 21, 2015

Spark Your Creativity!

Every Wednesday we offer you a special photo taken by our CEO Janet Beasley to help spark your creativity. Whether you're an author, a painter, a musician, or clay sculpture artist we think you'll find her photos very inspiring!


Autumn Cutie

Happy creating!

JLB Creatives

JLB Creatives Blog Hosts

JLB Creatives Blog Hosts
JLB Creatives Editor Dar Bagby (L) and JLB Creatives CEO Janet Beasley (R)