Tag Archives: young adult fiction

Top 1% Reviewer on Goodreads give The Twain 5 stars!

Top 1% Goodreads reviewer gives a wonderful 5-star review of “The Ravenstone: The Twain,” (part 2 of our Ravenstone series).

REVIEW: “Younger readers, this one’s for you! (But don’t be surprised if the rest of the family wants to read it, too!)

Diane Solomon and Mark Carey have teamed up to pen another middlegrade fantasy that will rocket readers into the world of time travel, evil villains and a desperate attempt by twins Aidan and Nadia to keep their mother safe. Armed with a magical stone and their own special powers, these two young heroes must depend on each other through danger, adventure and slipping in and out of different eras, all while not changing the future a little too much, all while risking being trapped in the past with no way to get home.

THE RAVENSTONE: PART 2: THE TWAIN is written for younger readers to enjoy, understand and relate to, because, really, just how cool would it be to travel through time? Fuel for the imagination created in a rapid-fire pace without getting bogged down in too many details, positive role models, dilemmas to solve and even some socially conscious topics to wrestle with, delightful reading for the entire family to share and discuss!

I received a complimentary copy from Diane Solomon! This is my honest and voluntary review.”

Many thanks to lovely Dianne Bylo!

Dianne’s website/blog: https://tometender.blogspot.com/2020/07/the-ravenstone-part-2-twain-by-diane.html

Dianne’s Facebook page:  https://www.facebook.com/TomeTender

The Ravenstone: The Twain is available from Amazon, promotional price of 99c for the eBook!    AMAZON LINK

 

Fun Author Interview with Sally of Quills and Roses!

Thanks Sally, for the wonderful author interview you posted on your blog! 

Diane and Mark Author Interview excerpt:

“Hey all! Recently I’ve had the good fortune of being given an awesome MG time travel adventure to read (check out my review of The Ravenstone here) and now the talented authors Mark & Diane are doing an interview for me. (Seriously guys, y’all should become book reviewers. The perks are so cool.) In any case, less rambling from me and more from the lovely authors themselves!”

What were you like as a kid?

MARK: When I was in elementary school I was practically invisible. Average height, average weight, average looking and quiet as a mouse… when I was at school, at least.  In Junior High I grew so fast people didn’t recognize me in the fall after summer vacation. My newfound size brought with it confidence. By the ninth grade my English teacher told me I had found the power of words but not the wisdom to wield them. Fortunately, she liked me in spite of myself and did her best to give my verbal skills direction. I hope I have lived up to her expectations. Thank you Mrs. Campbell, wherever you are.

READ MORE:

https://quillsandroses.wordpress.com/2017/02/04/author-interview-diane-solomon-mark-carey/

 

Great new review! “This book really gave me goose bumps..An awesome read!”

Raventsone cover

 

Many thanks to Susan Hampson of “Books From Dawn Till Dusk” for her great review!

 


REVIEW EXCERPT:

“Diane Solomon and Mark Carey have made a formidable team creating a very original story line that links together very well. The use of a mirror and twins is very clever but also do check out the twins names and see if you can find anything unusual about them.  It is this attention, the going that extra mile, that makes this book very special. The detail of what life would be like in the past is super, with  writing that is very appropriate for middle grade readers. There are times in the book that will give an adrenaline rush but won’t leave the young readers frightened. This book really gave me goose bumps  which I have got again just writing about it. An awesome read!”

READ ON!

Are you a homeschooler looking for quality middle-grade books?

cover-front-kindle-aug-9-larger-textThe Ravenstone:
The Secret of Ninham Mountain

Buy The Ravenstone The Secret of Ninham Mountain at Amazon
Only $2.99 Also in paperback 

Many of the books, written for kids, feature main characters whose behavior is… well, appalling.  Diane and I set out to create characters with heart and honor.  We put the twins, Nadia and Aidan, in situations where they have to decide for themselves to do the right thing. They take risks for their family and they succeed in spite of their fears and flaws.  Our kids don’t have to be snarky to be cool.  As your kids read they accompany Aidan and Nadia on their adventure and are intrigued by the mystery they try to unravel. Plus, they learn, along with the twins, about; history, Native Americans, Celts, folk-lore, extinct plants and other environmental science, and more than just a little about morality. 

The action is fast-paced. Our younger beta readers couldn’t put the book down. One Skyped us from Oregon to tell us how much he loved it. He even honored us with the comment, “This book is better than Harry Potter!”  

We understand why you, as a parent, choose to teach your children at home. You may feel a level of concern about the academic quality of local public schools, quite justifiably! And you may feel that teaching them at home provide a higher level of moral instruction. Teaching them academic facts alone does not make them good people and we all want our kids to grow into people we can be proud of.  Those kinds of lessons are difficult to get across to kids without seeming preachy. Here is where a book like The Ravenstone can entertain and teach at the same time.

A fun, suspenseful, entertaining book helps to teach those lessons! And a classic quality book becomes part of your child’s heart and mind, something she will remember her entire life.

amazon-buy-now-button-two
The Ravenstone: The Secret of Ninham Mountain

REVIEW: 5.0 out of 5 stars

EXCERPT: “It’s a magical, hopeful story full of loyalty, courage and heart.” “I appreciate this honor, this depth of character, in an age where so much of our media, books, TV, and movies are full of violence, darkness and a kind of “attitude” or “snarkiness.” I am tired of that! This is a family-oriented book, wholesome even, and very heartwarming.”

FULL REVIEW:
By Dr. David Baltimore on October 5, 2016
Format: Kindle Edition

What a fun, suspenseful adventure! I got it for my niece, but read it myself first. I got hooked in and couldn’t put it down… It’s a magical, hopeful story full of loyalty, courage and heart.

The characters are well-drawn; the protagonists, Aidan and Nadia, are 13-year-old twins who are sent on a mission to help save their dad’s life work. But, they are also driven by the desire to achieve something great for mankind. They must take great risk, overcome fear, and survive great danger from a magic stronger than theirs.

I appreciate this honor, this depth of character, in an age where so much of our media, books, TV, and movies are full of violence, darkness and a kind of “attitude” or “snarkiness.” I am tired of that! This is a family-oriented book, wholesome even, and very heartwarming.

 
 
AMAZON:  Kindle or paperback
SMASHWORDS eBook
GOODREADS
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Diane Solomon’s Author interview on BookGoodies

bookgoodies Diane Solomon interview

EXCERPT:

What inspires you to write?
The joy of creativity, of being creative, drives me. It always has! As a singer/songwriter, I learned to trust the creative process and dive deeply into it. You have to dare to be criticized, dare to be silly, to be crazy, to be wild. There are moments during writing where you forget yourself entirely. You lose track of time. The writing seems to have taken over. Sometimes you look down and are surprised by what you read, as if you didn’t, in fact, write it! I can only describe this experience as somehow verging on transcendent, in that it feels beyond the limits of experience, or independent of this world. It is exciting, inspiring, and rewarding.

As for ideas for books, they stem from my life (and I have had a very strange but interesting life), and from my imagination. And from the “What if?” game!

READ MORE ON BOOKGOODIES