Cover reveal THE CAMELOT CODE: THE ONCE AND FUTURE GEEK by Mari Mancusi

Imagine a world without pepperoni pizza . . .

When young Arthur of Camelot accidentally time-travels to the 21st century and Googles himself, he discovers the not-so-happily ever after in store for him once he pulls the sword from the stone. Yes, he’ll go from squire to sovereign basically overnight, but he’ll also lose the love of his life to his best friend and eventually die in battle. What’s a once-and-future king to do? Easy: stay in the future, where he’ll actually have a future—and join the football team instead. Unfortunately, this kind of puts a crimp in the universe’s timeline.

Now, with the help of the great wizard Merlin, modern-day gamer-geeks Sophie and Stu travel back to Camelot and find themselves in a race against time to get that sword pulled from the stone and the stubborn soon-to-be-king Arthur back to the past where he belongs. Complicating the plan? Lady Morgana—Arthur’s sister and greatest enemy—has traveled to the future as well, determined to take Arthur out and seize the throne. Can Sophie and Stu use their gaming abilities to defeat the evil Morgana and set the timeline right? With the very existence of their friendship, their families, and the world as they know it (including pepperoni pizza!) at stake, they’ll use every skill, power-up, and cheat code they know in their quest to save the day.  

And here's the AMAZING cover...

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 How gorgeous is that cover?

Now who is excited to check this one out?

About the Author

Mari Mancusi always wanted a dragon as a pet. Unfortunately the fire insurance premiums proved a bit too large and her house a bit too small--so she chose to write about them instead. Today she works as an award-winning young adult author and freelance television producer, for which she has won two Emmys.


When not writing about fanciful creatures of myth and legend, Mari enjoys traveling, cosplay, snowboarding, watching cheesy (and scary) horror movies, and her favorite guilty pleasure—playing videogames. A graduate of Boston University, she lives in Austin, Texas with her husband Jacob, daughter Avalon, and their two dogs.

Website: www.marimancusi.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bloodcovenvampires/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/marimancusi

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marimancusi/?hl=en

Tumblr: http://mariannem.tumblr.com

Going Home Again with Harry Potter

Ever since I discovered Harry Potter in my mid-20s, I've never stopped reading it for more than a few months. Whether it's the UK editions or the French or the new illustrated volumes, picking up Harry Potter is like going home again. Great books, either for children or adults, give us a sense of belonging and comfort, while at the same time challenging us to see the world in new, magical ways.

My love of Harry Potter is what inspired me to become a writer, and I hope to emulate at least one tiny piece of J.K. Rowling's magic in every book I write. Much of her magic, however, remains a mystery to me. Like how she makes readers care so deeply about her characters. Perhaps it's the way she introduces them and immediately tugs at our heartstrings, like Dumbledore, who despite being a formidable wizard, is immediately likable thanks to his mild demeanor and his weakness for sherbet lemons. This is similar to Hagrid, who, although he breaks down a door and appears like a wild man, his eyes “glinting like black beetles,” proceeds to ask for a cup of tea and offer Harry his first ever birthday cake (50).

Even her minor characters are introduced with whimsy and the utmost attention to detail. For example, from The Chamber of Secrets: “Gilderoy Lockhart came slowly into view, seated at a table surrounded by large pictures of his own face, all winking and flashing dazzlingly white teeth at the crowd. The real Lockhart was wearing robes of forget-me-not blue which exactly matched his eyes…(63).” What a perfectly endearing way for us to meet a character whose vanity will eventually lead to his downfall.

There's so much to say about the many-layered world that J.K. Rowling has created, but I want to come back to the most important aspect for me: the sense of coming home. Like most people, my head isn't always a happy place to live in, but I know that whenever I need to escape or calm down I can slip into the wondrous world of Harry Potter, where love triumphs over evil, where surprises hide around every corner and where larger-than-life characters feel more like old friends. If I can one day write something that gives readers that same sense of going home again, of finding a pleasant and necessary escape, then I will have truly accomplished my goal as a writer.

 (Quotes from the 2014 UK paperback editions)

COVER REVEAL: THE FRAME-UP by Wendy McLeod MacKnight

LOOK BEYOND WHAT YOU THINK YOU SEE...

Have you ever looked at a painting and wondered what it would be like if the people/creatures inside the painting were alive?

And if they were, what if they were living lives parallel to our own, living in the world beyond the frames, a part of, and yet completely separate from, our own world?

Wendy McLeod MacKnight's next middle grade novel, THE FRAME-UP, coming June 5th from Greenwillow Books, explores exactly this question, and what might happen if someone from our world, in this case twelve-year-old Sargent Singer, discovers this secret world.

Set in a real art gallery, the Beaverbrook Art Gallery in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada, the story mixes thrilling adventure, loads of art theory and art history, real masterpieces as characters, and plenty of humour.

The Description:

Don’t let anyone know the paintings are alive. Thirteen-year-old Mona Dunn has adhered to that rule for almost one hundred years, ever since her portrait was hung on the walls of the Beaverbrook Art Gallery. So when the gallery director’s son, Sargent Singer discovers the truth, she’s sure she’d just exposed the gallery’s biggest secret. But Sargent, an aspiring artist himself, just wants to know more about the vast and intriguing world beyond the frames. With devious plots, shady characters, and grand art heists, this inventive mystery adventure celebrates art and artists.

Mona Dunn, William Orpen, oil on canvas, 1915

And now for the cover reveal!

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The artist is the very talented Ian Schoenherr, and he has absolutely captured the essence of the book and exceeded Wendy's hopes and dreams for what the cover would look like. If you want to learn more about Ian, visit his website.

Want to pre-order the book?

Indiebound

Barnes&Noble

Amazon.com

Amazon.ca

Chapters.ca

About the Author:

Wendy lives in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada, and wrote her first novel at age nine. During her first career, she worked for the Government of New Brunswick, ending her career as the Deputy Minister of Education. She has been know to wander art galleries and have spirited conversations with the paintings - mostly in her head, though sometimes not. Her debut middle grade novel, It’s a Mystery, Pig Face! was published by Sky Pony Press in 2017. She can't wait for The Frame-Up to come out so she can share her love of art and her love for the world-class  Beaverbrook Art Gallery. She hopes readers will be inspired to create their own masterpieces and visit their own local art gallery. And even better, she hopes they'll come to Fredericton and visit the  Beaverbrook Art Gallery and meet Mona and the rest of the characters in the book (and maybe Wendy, too!)

Want to follow Wendy to learn more about The Frame-Up in the coming months and get in on cool giveaways? Then click below!

Twitter: https://twitter.com/wendymacknight

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wendymcleodmacknight/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WendyMcLeodMacKnightAuthor/

Website: http://www.wendymcleodmacknight.com