Posts

Reading To Your Children; The Greatest Gift of All

/0 Comments/in , , , /by

READING TO YOUR CHILDREN

Reading to your children is not only important, it is the greatest gift of all.  With the rain falling onto the rooftops and the parks closed over this past weekend, I pulled out the last two copies of Saltwater Taffy I have (we have sold through 5000 copies so far and onto our 2nd printing) and began reading the adventure to my daughter.  At first, she was more interested in her stuffed animal ‘Bunny,’ but when I tapped into my days of being an actor in high school in college, I began to change my voice and read the story as if it were some kind of play. Read more

Saltwater Taffy in Boca Rotan, Florida

/0 Comments/in , , , /by

Saltwater Taffy in Boca Rota, Florida

Saltwater Taffy, the award-winning children’s book, was recently at the Miami Book Fair International to pick up the Reader’s Favorite Gold Medal for Children’s Books.  Since we were there, we shot up the coast to Boca Rotan, Florida where the kids at Water’s Edge Elementary School went crazy for Saltwater Taffy!  Here are some shots from the amazing assembly for 3rd, 4th and 5th graders!

 

Saltwater Taffy has taken home two GOLD MEDALS for Children’s books.  We are so excited the children of the country are responding so favorably for this adventure novel.  We are currently on the Accelerated Reader List across the country and hoping to be added to the Sunshine Reading List in Florida.  This stop should help that desire.

 

7 WRITING SECRETS TO WRITE WELL AND SELL

/0 Comments/in /by

7 Writing Secrets to Write Well and Sell

Writing SecretsWhy only 7 Writing Secrets to Write Well and Sell?  While there are any number of amazing writing secrets, we’ve decided to focus on our 7 best writing secrets.  Now, everyone wants to  know about the latest writing secrets to help make the job of writing an easier and sell their work, but the truth is WRITING IS DIFFICULT.  Now that we know this, it’s time for us to GET OVER IT.

If writing were easy, then everyone would be doing it…right?  Oh…wait…everyone is Read more

READER’S FAVORITE BOOK AWARDS

/2 Comments/in , /by

READER’S FAVORITE BOOK AWARDS

The Reader’s Favorite Book Awards and winners have been announced for 2012.  We are happy to report that Saltwater Taffy has taken home the GOLD medal in the Children’s Book category 4th-6th Graders.

Book Awards

This marks the 4th book award taken home by the amazing Saltwater Taffy team.  A big shout out and thank you to R.C. Nason for his amazing artwork, which helped bring the kids of Saltwater Taffy to life.

We would also like to extend a huge thanks to Perseus Distribution and especially Sabrina McCarthy for believing in this indie title…we couldn’t have done it without your vision and guidance.  We are heading to the Miami Book Fair International on November 17th for the awards ceremony and yes, more east coast marketing!  We hope to see you there!  Congratulations Saltwater Taffy!

Saltwater Taffy was written by Eric DelaBarre and has been endorsed by 12 Teachers of the Year around the country and will soon be a feature film.  Due to hit theaters in the summer of 2014, Saltwater Taffy follows the epic journey of five Tweens as they uncover a treasure map leading to the lost treasure of Jean Lafitte.

7 SECRETS TO CREATE AVID TWEEN READERS

/1 Comment/in , , , , /by

7 SECRETS TO CREATE AVID TWEEN READERS

avid tween readersThe reason we have 7 secrets to create avid tween readers is because recent statistics by the National Endowment for the Arts shows us that there is a rapid decline in reading skills of American children.  As the author of Saltwater Taffy and a literacy advocate for children, I find this disturbing and sad.  Something must be done!

Despite the popularity of Harry Potter and other children’s books that have flown off the shelves in recent years, the following statement should be a wake-up call for parents, teachers and our entire nation:

“Americans ages 15-24 spend almost two hours a day watching TV, and only seven minutes of their daily leisure time on reading.”

Read more