"Bouncing for Books" Tour - Week 2 Begins!

STOP PRESS!

To start off the second week of our
Children's Book Tour,
I get to interview an author with more
Online Magazine and Blog contacts
than a Mafia Don has
Goombahs!

Drum roll please. . . Introducing

Mayra Calvani. . .
and friend Amigo.

And at the end of this tour, Maura will give a signed
copy of her book "CRASH" to some
lucky commenter.

Bio
Multi-genre author, reviewer, dog lover and animal
advocate Mayra Calvani hails from San Juan, Puerto
Rico. She's a regular contributor to Blogcritics Magazine
and Suite101. When she is not writing, she enjoys
reading, playing the violin, interviewing other authors
for her blogs and newsletters, and watching too many
reruns of Gilmore Girls and I Dream of Jeannie. She’s
the author of the picture book, The Magic Violin, also
published by Guardian Angel Publishing. She's also
the Latino Books Examiner for Examiner.com.

This woman can take your Book, your Bio, and a few
details about you and your writing, and introduce
you to the Blogosphere via a dozen or more classy
venues.

She also writes delightful books for children
Her latest being

"CRASH!"

Illustrated by Anna Pylypchuk
Guardian Angel Publishing

"CRASH" the Book - read all about it!
This PUP also has his own Blog,
with games and coloring pages for kids

Synopsis:
Marcelo is thrilled when he gets a golden retriever
puppy for his birthday, but now he faces one of the
toughest jobs of his life, not only because owning a
pet is a huge responsibility, but because he has
to find the perfect name for it-and that's hard!

ISBN: 1-933090-54-5
April 2008
Paperback, 32 pages, $10.95
Picture Book, Ages 2-6
Now in English and Spanish

Review:

"I just read the cutest children’s book: it’s called
Crash!

Written by Mayra Calvani, Crash! tells the story of
a young boy who receives a Golden Retriever puppy
for his 5th birthday. After living with the puppy for
several days, the little boy still can’t figure out what
to name his new best friend. He eventually figures it
out after observing the puppy’s antics and silly
behavior…

Crash! is a great read and a fun children’s book for any
kid who loves dogs and puppies. It’s worth adding to the
children’s book collection!"

--Thoughts Fur Paws

More reviews and information
+ a really COOL
Book Trailer HERE

An animal lover from way-back, Mayra is donating
50% of her royalties to the Almost Heaven Golden

Retriever Rescue and Sanctuary.

And for "pet" insights into the lives and passions of
their author owners, Mayra has bribed many pets
to dish the dirt on their owners - HERE!

To fill the few empty cracks in her day, Mayra writes for
the Latino Books Examiner And yes, you guessed it,
Mayra is also the author of three "Dog Friendly" columns:
Finding the Perfect Name for Your Puppy
The Responsibilities of Owning a Dog
Online Resource for Dog Owners

To winkle out the other secrets Mayra was
hiding, I asked her to answer the questions below.

1 - Please tell us why you write for children, and if
you also have an upcoming book, as well as your
current one.

I write for children because I love it and because I have
to --I'd probably go crazy if I couldn't do it. My current
children's picture book is Crash!, about a little boy and
his first puppy and the ordeal of finding the perfect
name for it. I'm donating 50% of my royalties to a golden
retriever rescue. Readers may learn all about it HERE
The Spanish edition is scheduled for release in about a
month. I also have three more titles coming soon from
Guardian Angel Publishing: Humberto the
Bookworm Hamster, The Doll Violinist, and
Frederico the Mouse Violinist.

2 - Do you usually write about specific topics, and
are you always happy with your illustrations?

What happens with me is that I will be struck by an idea,
a concept, a premise... then I won't let it go--or my brain
won't let it go--until I put it on paper. I get obsessive this
way. So I don't go consciously looking out for topics. They
come to me. Since they're always coming to me, I never
run out of ideas. I have enough ideas right now to keep
me busy for the next ten years. :-)

In general, I'm always happy with the illustrations, but
not always. When I feel strongly about it, I let the publisher
and artist know my concerns. Of course, I do this in the most
polite way possible. I think it's great when an author and
illustrator understand each other and the book, but I also
try to let the artist do her part as far as the art goes.

3 - Are your friends and relatives thrilled you are
published – or couldn't care less?

I think those beyond my immediate family couldn't care
less! LOL

4 - When eBook Readers eventually fall in price, do
you think e-Books will become far more popular –
after all, they can hold dozens of books – musical
as well as voice.

That's definitely an important factor. For children's picture
books, however, we need an inexpensive device that will be
in color. I have a Sony Reader. I love it for novels, but reading
children's picture books there is no fun!

5 – I know you live in Europe. Does this make selling
books in English harder? What do you find is the
easiest way to sell your books – school visits, library
visits, bookstore signings, or some other way?

I live in Belgium and yes, this makes it more difficult to sell
my books in English. There are only a few English bookstores
and only one English library where I live. There are also few
English schools. I've visited about 3-4 schools since last
October and so far it's been great and I've been invited to
come back. My most successful sales have been with school
visits, but I think I do my most effective promotion online.

6 – You write book reviews and articles for a large
number of online magazines and other sources.
What started you down that road, and do you find
it helps you sell your books, or just gives you wider
name recognition?

I love writing reviews and interviewing authors so those
online magazines are a venue to publish my work. I do it
because I enjoy it, but also to promote my name and my
books. Writing for online publications is also an effective
way to bring traffic to your website, and though this may
not always lead to sales, it does bring your work into the
eyes of a wider reading audience.

7 – Do you have an agent, and if not, would you like
to have one? Do you think an agent would get your
books noticedby larger publishers?

I landed an agent last November. She started to approach
big publishers about my work this February, but so far no
luck. I'm staying hopeful. A good agent is a must if you want
to knock on the door of big NY publishers. Most will consider
looking at your work only through an agent.

8 – Do you feel that Blogging, Twitter and Facebook
etc, helps with sales and name recognition?

I'm not sure to what extend they help sales, but they
definitely help with name recognition and visibility.

Mayra, you are a whirlwind of Talent, Energy
and Imagination - a pleasure to host, mate.

Thank you.

*********************

NOTE from Margot Finke:
The paragraph layout of this page was
hijacked by Blogspot Gremlins!
I had no say in the matter!!

**********************

Wed, June 10th
I host Joy Delgado - Publisher and illustrator.

The 3 winners of last week's best comments have already
received their AUDIOS of me reading one of my stories
+ the illustrations.

See if YOUR sassy comment can win one
of my 3, FREE, AUDIO story
readings this week.

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My Website - Manuscript Critiques
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BUY any Autographed Book from my website, and
receive a FREE LINK to me READING that story!
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