Happy New Year!

January 3, 2018January 3, 201846 Comments

Hi Everyone!

Happy New Year!

I hope you all had spectacular holidays!

I was going to have a spectacular pitch pick today – two actually – but I haven’t heard back from all the pitchers… so I’m either going to post that later or wait until next Wednesday.

Meanwhile, for the sake of filling today’s space (and not because I’ve been pushed into it by a headstrong llama who desperately needs a haircut!) there’s a new llama in town!

llama_needs_haircut_wide_cover

I am so excited about this book! A lot of you are probably familiar with Daniel’s art from WHEN YOUR LION NEEDS A BATH and WHEN YOUR ELEPHANT HAS THE SNIFFLES, but he gets better with every book. The art in this one is hilarious! I just love the llama’s expressions 🙂

I owe this book a little attention, but I felt like I’d blog-toured myself and everyone else out last summer with LION, ELEPHANT and TRUCKS, and following so close on the holidays I didn’t want to impose on your good nature. So maybe I’ll think up a little something at some point, but for now, I hope you’ll just all get a chance to enjoy the book somewhere!

Here’s a little sneak peek at some of the interior art:

llama 1st page screen shot

Screen Shot 2017-11-21 at 9.20.04 PM

Screen Shot 2017-08-12 at 3.21.09 PM

There’s a GoodReads giveaway for this book if you’re interested… and I think I still have a couple copies available if anyone wants one to read and review on GoodReads, Amazon, B&N, their blog, etc… Email me if you’d like one!

Goodreads Book Giveaway

When Your Llama Needs a Haircut

by Susanna Leonard Hill

Giveaway ends January 23, 2018.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway

And now you are all excused to go about your happy Wednesdays! You’ll be the first to know if I end up posting pitch picks later 🙂

Have a wonderful day! 🙂

Would You Read It Wednesday #259 – If Only I Could Be A Cat (PB)

July 12, 2017July 11, 201717 Comments

Happy Wednesday, Folks!

We’re taking a quick breather from the blog tour today for our regularly-scheduled programming 🙂

Given the whirlwind of all that’s going on in this neck of the woods, though, I’m going to be uncharacteristically to the point!

I don’t think anyone will argue that the best way to begin the morning is with Something Chocolate, so let’s! 🙂

No-Bake Chocolate Mousse Cake

Chocolate-Mousse-Cake-Plated-Cravings-5-640x854@2x

Recipe HERE at PlatedCravings

No-Bake Chocolate Mousse Cake is perfect for summer! No baking and the cake stays refrigerated for a nice, cool, chocolatey treat!

YUM!!!!! 🙂

Now then, (and just look how well I’m focusing on the job at hand and not wandering off on tangents! 🙂 ) onto today’s pitch which comes to us from Colleen who says, “I’m a 7th grade Math teacher (with a law degree and once-CPA), proud mother of three daughters – a Veterinarian, a First Lieutenant in the Air Force (CSO/EWO) and a Broadcast Journalist, and lifetime poet still pining to publish. Now that our three daughters are all graduated from college, it is, at last, time to pursue my dream of having my books in the hands of children.”

Here is her pitch:

Working Title: If Only I Could Be A Cat

Age/Genre: Picture Book (ages 3-8)

The Pitch: “If only I could be a cat like our cat Daisy May!” So the narrator of the story thinks; it would be great to eat, sleep and play all day. Or would it? When she considers what she would be missing – like Mom and Dad’s hugs goodnight, she realizes it may not be so great after all. Follow along with the rhyme and the reasoning in If Only I Could Be a Cat.

So what do you think? Would You Read It? YES, MAYBE or NO?

If your answer is YES, please feel free to tell us what you particularly liked and why the pitch piqued your interest. If your answer is MAYBE or NO, please feel free to tell us what you think could be better in the spirit of helping Colleen improve her pitch. Helpful examples of possible alternate wordings are welcome. (However I must ask that comments be constructive and respectful. I reserve the right not to publish comments that are mean because that is not what this is about.)

Please send YOUR pitches for the coming weeks! For rules and where to submit, click on this link Would You Read It or on Would You Read it in the dropdown under For Writers in the bar above. There are openings in July, so you could get your pitch up pretty soon for helpful feedback and a chance to have it read and commented on by editor Erin Molta!

Colleen is looking forward to your thoughts on her pitch! I am looking forward to continuing the blog tour! Even though Publication Day was yesterday, rest assured that the fun and games continue! 🙂

For your convenience, here’s a handy list of the blog tour stops to date (with helpful links) 🙂

7/1/17 – Susanna Leonard Hill – Blog Tour Kickoff

7/2/17 – Lauri Fortinos’s Frog On A Blog – Guest Post on Writing A Series PLUS a Giveaway!

7/3/17 – Jena Benton’s Of Tea And Mermaids Blog – Simply 7 Interviews with Susanna & Daniel PLUS a Giveaway!

7/4/17 – Lynn Davidson’s Polilla Writes Blog – LION book review and GAME

7/5/17 – Susanna Leonard Hill – Fun With LION – reveal of LION ACTIVITY KIT and LION BOOK TRAILER

7/6/17 – Lynn Davidson’s Polilla Writes Blog – Interview with Susanna PLUS a Giveaway

7/7/17 – Vivian Kirkfield’s Picture Books Help Kids Soar – LION/ELEPHANT Reviews and Crafts PLUS a Giveaway

7/8/17 – Vivian Kirkfield’s Picture Books Help Kids Soar – Will Write For Cookies With Susanna – Picture Book Writing Inspiration

7/9/17 – Susanna Leonard Hill – Fun With ELEPHANT – reveal of ELEPHANT ACTIVITY KIT

7/10/17 – Julie Abery’s Little Red Story Shed – 3 Posts!
WHEN YOUR ELEPHANT HAS THE SNIFFLES Plus Preschool- Friendly Elephant Ears Recipe!
WHEN YOUR ELEPHANT HAS THE SNIFFLES Plus Preschool Art Activity!
WHEN YOUR LION NEEDS A BATH Plus Preschool-Friendly Lion Pancake Recipe!

7/11/17 – PUBLICATION DAY!!! – 2 Posts
Lynn Davidson’s Polilla Writes Blog – ELEPHANT Review Plus Elephant Tightrope GAME
ReFoReMo Post by Keila Dawson – Mentor Text Author Study Susanna Hill

I’d hate for you to miss any of the fabulous participating blogs so remember that if you comment on every post, you will earn yourself a chance toward the Special Prize Raffle at the end of the tour! (The goody bag and signed books described on the kickoff post.) And if you share this, or any related post, item, photo, etc. on Social Media with the #whenyourbooks, each share will add to your chances to win Special Prize #2 at the end of the tour! (3 $25 Amazon gift cards up for grabs!)

And be sure to tune in tomorrow for Lynn Davidson’s interview with Daniel Wiseman (illustrator of LION and ELEPHANT) Plus a Giveaway!, and on Friday we will be on the World-Famous Kidlit411 with an interview with yours truly in which you can learn something most people don’t know about me! 🙂

Have a wonderful Wednesday everyone!!! 🙂

(And after all that blog tour talk, don’t forget to let Colleen know what you think of her pitch! 🙂 )

When Your Books Go On A Blog Tour – Fun With ELEPHANT!

July 9, 2017July 8, 201720 Comments

BlogTourBanner

Hi Everyone!

I know.

It’s Sunday!

You’re supposed to get a day off from the computer and laze in bed with the comics.

Oh, wait. That was so last century. Nowadays you laze in bed but require some form of computer to access the comics 🙂

But today is July 9!

Only 2 DAYS until publication day!!!

The blog tour is going along swimmingly – tons of fun at every port! In case you might have missed any along the way, here’s a handy list to date 🙂

7/1/17 – Susanna Leonard Hill – Blog Tour Kickoff

7/2/17 – Lauri Fortinos’s Frog On A Blog – Guest Post on Writing A Series PLUS a Giveaway!

7/3/17 – Jena Benton’s Of Tea And Mermaids Blog – Simply 7 Interviews with Susanna & Daniel PLUS a Giveaway!

7/4/17 – Lynn Davidson’s Polilla Writes Blog – LION book review and GAME

7/5/17 – Susanna Leonard Hill – Fun With LION

7/6/17 – Lynn Davidson’s Polilla Writes Blog – Interview with Susanna PLUS a Giveaway

7/7/17 – Vivian Kirkfield’s Picture Books Help Kids Soar – LION/ELEPHANT Reviews and Crafts PLUS a Giveaway

7/8/17 – Vivian Kirkfield’s Picture Books Help Kids Soar – Will Write For Cookies With Susanna – Picture Book Writing Inspiration

Now, then! Although I can’t exactly offer comics, I do have something almost like a comic for you today!

Are you ready?

It’s Elephant Fun!

Here’s a sneak peek at the ELEPHANT Activity Kit!

Like the LION Activity Kit, it will be up on my website any day now under For Teachers and Parents in the Coloring Pages & Activities section!

Plus you will no doubt be thrilled to know that the ELEPHANT book trailer is possibly finished and will possibly be revealed in the not-too-distant future!!!

And, if all that weren’t enough, if you’d like yet another shot at winning a signed copy of the book, you can hop on over to GoodReads and enter the giveaway!

Goodreads Book Giveaway

When Your Elephant Has the Sniffles

by Susanna Leonard Hill

Giveaway ends July 14, 2017.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway

Enjoy your lazy morning in bed visiting the other tour stops (since you have your computer or stand-in for the comics anyway 🙂 ), coloring, and entering the giveaway!

And be sure to continue with us tomorrow at Julie’s Little Red Story Shed where she will teach us to make Elephant Ears and Lion Pancakes… which will come in very useful NEXT Sunday when you’re making breakfast! (Okay. I guess there’s no point in pretending we’re going to wait for Sunday to eat pancakes. Tuesday then… well, okay, tomorrow for dinner 🙂 )

Here’s the upcoming schedule:

Blog Tour Schedule

Don’t forget to share this post (or participating bloggers’ posts, or the LION book trailer, or the giveaway, or the book covers, or reviews, or a photo of your child or class reading one of the books, or anything clever and related you think up) using #whenyourbooks! Every time you post with #whenyourbooks you get an entry in the end-of-tour raffle for 3 lucky people to win a $25 Amazon gift card! (Don’t forget the # – which I keep doing and have to go back and edit my posts! – because without it I may miss your post!)

Have a lovely Sunday, everyone!!! 🙂

When Your Books Go On A Blog Tour – Fun With LION!

July 5, 2017July 4, 201759 Comments

BlogTourBanner

Hi Everyone!

It’s July 5!

Only 6 days til Publication Day!!!

That’s less than a week!

(I’m just a teensy bit excited… can you tell?! 🙂 )

To keep myself from bouncing off the ceiling, I’ve got something fun to share with you today . . .

When your books go on a blog tour, you’re going to need a little entertainment! After all, there’s only so much “Are we there yet?” you want to endure!

To keep boredom from creeping in on the long trip, you can take side tours to the wonderful sites listed below and visit with the locals 🙂 You might even learn something fun while you’re there! If you comment on every post, you will definitely earn yourself a chance toward the Special Prize Raffle at the end of the tour! (The goody bag and signed books described on the kickoff post.) And if you share this, or any related post, item, photo, etc. on Social Media with the #whenyourbooks, each share will add to your chances to win Special Prize #2 at the end of the tour! (3 $25 Amazon gift cards up for grabs!)

7/1/17 – Susanna Leonard Hill – Blog Tour Kickoff

7/2/17 – Lauri Fortinos’s Frog On A Blog – Guest Post on Writing A Series PLUS a Giveaway!

7/3/17 – Jena Benton’s Of Tea And Mermaids Blog – Simply 7 Interviews with Susanna & Daniel PLUS a Giveaway!

7/4/17 – Lynn Davidson’s Polilla Writes Blog – LION book review and GAME

After the visits, you’ll probably need a snack! I always recommend a midmorning break for some sustaining chocolate, so help yourself!

Deep-Dish Double-Chocolate Breakfast Cookies

Recipe HERE at RunningWithSpoons

After that delicious and extremely healthful pick-me-up, you’ll probably want to watch a video!

So check out the World Premiere of the WHEN YOUR LION NEEDS A BATH Book Trailer! (And if you like it, give it a thumbs up! 🙂 )

Once the video is over, you’ll probably want to watch it again.

And again. . .

. . . and again . . . 🙂

But eventually you’ll want to try something new. And boy do I have something fun! A whole pack of LION activities! Coloring! A maze! A matching game! More coloring!

Here’s a sneak peek!

The activity pages will be on my website soon… but I asked my brilliant web manager to wait to put them up until after today’s reveal.

All that fun coloring will make you wish you had a copy of the book! So hop on over to GoodReads and enter the giveaway for a signed copy!

Goodreads Book Giveaway

When Your Lion Needs a Bath

by Susanna Leonard Hill

Giveaway ends July 14, 2017.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway

Have fun visiting the other tour stops, watching the video, coloring, entering the giveaway, and eating chocolate cookies! And be sure to continue with us tomorrow for an author interview and giveaway at Lynn Davidson’s Polilla Writes, and on Friday and Saturday at Vivian Kirkfield’s Picture Books Help Kids Soar for reviews, giveaways, and a special Will Write For Cookies episode which you KNOW will include a delicious recipe! 🙂

Here’s the upcoming schedule:

Blog Tour Schedule

Don’t forget to share this post (or participating bloggers’ posts, or the book trailer, or the giveaway, or the book covers, or reviews, or a photo of your child or class reading one of the books, or anything clever and related you think up) using #whenyourbooks! Every time you post with #whenyourbooks you get an entry in the end-of-tour raffle for 3 lucky people to win a $25 Amazon gift card!

Have a wonderful Wednesday, everyone!!! 🙂

When Your Books Go On A Blog Tour – Kickoff!

July 1, 2017July 4, 201766 Comments

It’s July!!!

And you know what THAT means…!

It’s National Lasagna Awareness Month!

(It IS actually – I am not making that up! It also happens to be National Blueberries Month and National Doghouse Repairs Month… so many things appropriate to life on Blueberry Hill! But that is not actually why we are here… 🙂 )

At long last the much-anticipated, eagerly-awaited BOOK BIRTHDAY MONTH has arrived!

I am thrilled beyond measure to introduce you all to WHEN YOUR LION NEEDS A BATH and WHEN YOUR ELEPHANT HAS THE SNIFFLES, coming to a bookseller near you on July 11! (to be followed by a third book birthday a couple weeks after…but we’ll get to that later 🙂 )

For now . . .

Woo hoo! Strike up the band! Shower down the confetti! Release the balloons!

It’s time for . . .

BlogTourBanner

Thanks to a group of kind, generous, kidlit-enthusiast bloggers who are absolutely lovely in every way, we have a fun-filled couple of weeks in store for you all, full of interviews with the author (me 🙂 ) and illustrator (the amazing Daniel Wiseman!), book trailer reveals, activity and coloring page reveals, recipes, crafts, and games, articles on different aspects of writing, as well as giveaways and prizes! It’ll be almost like all of you are celebrating your birthdays too! 🙂

Let’s have a look at the line up, shall we?

Blog Tour Schedule

* one small note: Sue of KidLit Reviews may not be able to post.*

I hope you will all join us as we welcome these two brand new books into the world! All the participating bloggers have worked hard to make this fun, and I’d hate for you to miss anything. And I’d love as many people as possible to come visit!

So I am offering two special prizes to be awarded after the close of this blog tour.

One prize will be given to a randomly-selected person who visits and comments on every single post in the blog tour! All 19 listed here! (18 if Sue is unable to post.)

That special prize will be personalized signed copies of WHEN YOUR LION NEEDS A BATH and WHEN YOUR ELEPHANT HAS THE SNIFFLES, a “goody bag” containing items relating to both books – stickers, bookmarks, orange-scented kid-friendly lion soap, an elephant memory game, lion bubbles…plus a couple surprises! (and I’m not saying there will be chocolate, but if you’ve spent any time around this blog at all you should know that’s a distinct possibility…) :), PLUS your choice of any one of my other books personalized and signed.

The other prize will be given for sharing on social media. The hashtag we are using to promote the books is #whenyourbooks. Every time you share a post on Face Book, Twitter or Instagram using #whenyourbooks you will get an entry into a raffle where 3 winners will each get a $25 Amazon gift card.

Did you read a blog post you thought was so great all your friends should read it too? Share it with #whenyourbooks

Do you have a photo of a child reading WHEN YOUR LION NEEDS A BATH or WHEN YOUR ELEPHANT HAS THE SNIFFLES? Share it with #whenyourbooks

Did you try an activity, craft or recipe that was included in one of the posts with your child or class? Or one you thought up related to these books? Share the results and/or a photo with #whenyourbooks

Live video footage of you bathing a lion? 🙂 Definitely share THAT with #whenyourbooks 🙂

Although the tour ends on August 3, I’ll give you a couple days to comment on that last post, and announce the winners on Monday August 7.

So, are you ready to join the high jinx and shenanigans?

Comment below to start your eligibility for prize #1, and share today’s post with #whenyourbooks to start earning points toward prize #2! Then tune in to Frog On A Blog tomorrow, when Lauri Fortino will have a guest article from yours truly on writing a series!

Let’s get this blog tour underway! 🙂

P.S. Since the Blog Tour Schedule is a photoshop-made graphic that can’t have live links (plus when I made it none of the posts were actually posted yet so no one had urls) I will list the links to the ones that have gone up below for your convenience.

7/1/17 – Susanna Leonard Hill – Blog Tour Kickoff – well, you’re already here 🙂

7/2/17 – Lauri Fortinos’s Frog On A Blog – Guest Post on Writing A Series PLUS a Giveaway!

7/3/17 – Jena Benton’s Of Tea And Mermaids Blog – Simply 7 Interviews with Susanna & Daniel PLUS a Giveaway!

7/4/17 – Lynn Davidson’s Polilla Writes Blog – LION book review and GAME

Susanna Leonard Hill

Children's Author

Category: When Your Books Go On A Blog Tour

Happy New Year!

Goodreads Book Giveaway

When Your Llama Needs a Haircut

by Susanna Leonard Hill

Would You Read It Wednesday #259 – If Only I Could Be A Cat (PB)

No-Bake Chocolate Mousse Cake

When Your Books Go On A Blog Tour – Fun With ELEPHANT!

Goodreads Book Giveaway

When Your Elephant Has the Sniffles

by Susanna Leonard Hill

When Your Books Go On A Blog Tour – Fun With LION!

Goodreads Book Giveaway

When Your Lion Needs a Bath

by Susanna Leonard Hill

When Your Books Go On A Blog Tour – Kickoff!

illustration copyright (C) Daniel Wiseman 2017