Interview with Stephanie Ward, Author of Wally, The Warm-Weather Penguin

Stephanie M. Ward is the author of the children’s book, Wally the Warm-Weather Penguin. Stephanie has been writing in various forms over the last 20 years. Most notably she spent over 15 years in PR and Marketing at Amazon and Fujitsu writing everything from press releases to white papers, executive bios to product blurbs. Stephanie’s wanderlust finally got the best of her and she spent a year traveling across all seven continents. It was then that she decided to focus on writing stories for children about amazing places around the world. Stephanie currently lives in Sydney, Australia with her husband and young son.

Author Website & Blog –  http://www.stephaniemward.com

Facebook Fan Page – http://www.facebook.com/wallythewarmweatherpenguin

Twitter – http://twitter.com/stephmward

Where did you grow up?

I grew up in Spokane, Washington on the west coast of the U.S. but left for college in California and have been living in various places around the world ever since.

When did you begin writing?

As a child I loved to read and write and in school I excelled in English classes. Not surprisingly, my professional work involved a lot of writing. Then in a break between marketing jobs, I started writing for an online travel magazine and contributed to the book Tana’s Habitat: The Ultimate Guide to Finding and Affording Your First Places. I started writing children’s stories on a year-long honeymoon traveling around the world and that’s when I decided that some day I wanted to be a writer. “Some day” came two years ago when I left the corporate world to focus on publishing Wally the Warm-Weather Penguin.

What is this book about?

Wally the Warm-Weather Penguin is the story of Wally, an Emperor Penguin from Antarctica, who is always cold and dreams of life on a tropical island. When Wally learns about the Galapagos Islands, he sets sail immediately and discovers an amazing world of tap-dancing crabs, racing hundred-year-old tortoises and diving birds with bright blue feet.

What inspired you to write it?

Visiting Antarctica and being amidst Emperor Penguins in the icy conditions made me wonder why they didn’t just pack up and go somewhere warmer. A couple of months later, I was in the Galapagos Island and saw a colony of Galapagos Penguins and there was the story: What if an Emperor Penguin learned that he could live on a warm, tropical island?

The Galapagos Islands is an amazing place with so many unique plants and animals. In publishing Wally the Warm-Weather Penguin, I wanted to give back to the place that inspired the story. To that end, a portion of the proceeds from the sale of Wally the Warm-Weather Penguin is donated to the Galapagos Conservancy (galapagos.org) to support conservation efforts in the Galapagos Islands.

Was the road to publication smooth sailing or a bumpy ride?

We took a fairly unique approach to publishing Wally the Warm-Weather Penguin and issued an ebook edition first. The full-color illustrations are arranged in a fixed format and optimized to be read on a tablet or computer, so each spread is perfectly laid out on any device. Once we learned how to create this layout, it was smooth sailing.

Where can readers purchase a copy of your book?

Wally the Warm-Weather Penguin is available on Amazon websites worldwide.

Amazon.com: http://amzn.to/1q0qzoc

Amazon.ca: http://amzn.to/1t50d2w

Amazon.co.uk: http://amzn.to/1iYsY9o

Amazon.com.au: http://bit.ly/wallypenguin

Amazon.de: http://amzn.to/1lPKKjS

Amazon.es: http://amzn.to/1iYtkNf

Amazon.fr: http://amzn.to/1lPL8i8

Amazon.in: http://bit.ly/wallypenguinINDIA

Amazon.it: http://amzn.to/1lPLk0Z

Amazon.co.jp: http://amzn.to/1jVLiFy

Amazon.com.br: http://www.amazon.com.br/dp/B00JN79R0K

Do you have a video trailer to promote your book?  If yes, where can readers find it?

Yes. I created a “teaser trailer” before Wally the Warm-Weather Penguin was published. It’s available on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apbBIngs4Wk.

What is one piece of advice you would like to share with aspiring authors everywhere?

Write your story. If your story can’t be defined in a specific genre or written in the traditional format, there are many options for authors to get a book into readers hands. I have met some talented indie authors whose wonderful children’s books are longer than the 1000 word maximum that an agent will accept for review. And I recently read a fantastic novella that is the perfect length, but in traditional publishing may have been expanded or reduced to a short story or looked over completely due to the number of pages. It’s a whole new world in publishing today, so don’t worry that your idea doesn’t “fit”, just write your story!

What is up next for you?

Currently, I’m working on a picture book version of Wally the Warm-Weather Penguin for older children. I hope to have this edition out by the end of 2014.

Beyond that, there are so many interesting (and warm) places that Wally wants to visit! I’ll be writing Wally’s next adventure in the coming months.

Children’s Book Week Kid Lit Giveaway Hop

Welcome to the 2nd Annual Children’s Book Week Kid Lit Giveaway Hop, hosted by Mother Daughter Book Reviews and Youth Literature Reviews.
We are celebrating Children’s Book Week (May 12 to 18, 2014) by providing all of YOU, our loyal followers, with the opportunity to win fabulous children/teen’s books, gift cards, cash, or other prizes by hopping around to the 100+ participating blogs/authors listed below in the Linky List (see end of post). What better way to celebrate Children’s Book Week?

For this hop, here are the books I’m giving away to one lucky winner! This is more than $120 worth of FREE books!

Books by Liesbet Slegers:

 

Books by Guido Van Genechten:

 

Books by Anita Bijesterbosch and France Quatromme & Parastou Haghi

Terms and conditions:

• By entering, you confirm you are 18 years of age or older.
• Contest open to residents of the United States only with a U.S. mailing address.
• One winner will be selected from eligible entries.
• Winner will be notified by email and have 72 hours to claim the prize before a new winner is selected.
• Prize will be shipped via U.S.P.S.
• This blog and its sponsors are not responsible for items lost or damaged in shipment.
• VOID WHERE PROHIBITED.

Enter using the link to the Rafflecopter form below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Click here to enter your link and view this Linky Tools list…

New Arrivals

 

I love it when the mail carrier brings me books. Last week, an entire box of books arrived from Clavis. I’ll be using at least some of these titles for next week’s Children’s Book Week Kid Lit Giveaway Hop sponsored by Mother Daughter Book Reviews and Youth Literature Reviews. The deadline to sign up for this giveaway hop is tomorrow night.

Books by Liesbet Slegers:

 

Books by Guido Van Genechten:

 

Books by Anita Bijesterbosch and France Quatromme & Parastou Haghi

 

Have you received any children’s books lately?

In the Mail and Blog Goals for 2014

Every year I receive numerous unsolicited books for review. Sometimes I read them, oftentimes I don’t. As we move into 2014, I’m setting new goals for all my blogs. The largest change is that I will be participating in fewer virtual book tours next year. I’ve been blogging since 2007; and while I enjoy new reading material, at this point I have more than I could read in five years. I also want the freedom to read for pleasure instead of sticking to a strict blogging schedule. While I will definitely keep blogging–I truly love it–I want to share more posts that interest me (and hopefully you) than promote books being featured on dozens of other blogs at the same time.

To get the new year started off right, I am going to make a brief mention of some of the unsolicited books I’ve received lately. You might see reviews of some popping up later in 2014, but for now I simply want to share them and then move forward.

Love is everywhere! And it’s not just us humans. From birds to elephants, rabbits to turtles, there is love and togetherness on every page.

Very young readers will enjoy the surprises in this cheerfully inventive little book.

*

A stunning reworking of the classic tale.

Once upon a time, there lived a poor woodcutter with his wife and two children, Hansel and Gretel …

And so begins the thrilling story of two children relying on their wits to survive in a hostile world. Sybille Schenker’s evocative and exquisite illustrations bring a unique beauty and graphic excellence to this enduring fairy tale.

Blogger’s note: I realize the story of Hansel and Gretel is a classic, but it is such a frightening story (made even more so by this black cover). The artwork is beautiful and the book’s design unique, but if I had read this to the girls when they were younger they would have nightmares for days.

*

Fuzzy and Coco are guinea pigs who live with their kindly owners, Ben and Henrietta Bliss. Coco likes to spend her days pampering herself and listening to harp concertos. Fuzzy is much more down to earth – he is a passionate cook who wants nothing more than to learn to make delicious meals for Ben and Henrietta.

So when Fuzzy spots an ad run by glamorous local chef Scarlet Cleaver stating ‘Guinea Pigs Wanted’, he is enormously excited – what a chance to learn some cooking skills! Coco warns him that the ad is not what he thinks, but he won’t listen; when she’s not looking, he sneaks off to find the restaurant.

And so Coco has to get online to try track Fuzzy down. But when Micespace reveals that guinea pigs from all over town have been taken away in a van by Scarlet Cleaver herself, Coco must set off on a rescue mission to prevent Fuzzy from ending up as main course on The Meat Cleaver’s menu!

A captivatingly funny story that will delight readers age 5+.

*

Frightfully Friendly Ghosties, described as “exciting, charming and ridiculous,” by The Guardian, is a hilarious book for young readers about the adventures of a funny, charming, and terribly polite group of ghosts who just want to get along with their housemates. The cast of classic characters, brilliant one-liners, and clever plotting will delight children and parents alike.

Tabitha Tumbly, Charlie Vapor, Rusty Chains, and their friends can’t understand why the still-alives in their house are so mean. The friendlier the ghosties are—whether hiding under beds and rushing out to read the still-alives a bedtime story or swooping down the chimney just to say hello—the meaner the still-alives become!

When the still-alive family puts garlic around the house and calls in a priest, however, the ghostie gloves come off. Tabitha and Charlie decide to invite The Ghoul to sort out the still-alives once and for all. But could the terrifying Ghoul prove to be more trouble than the ghosties bargained for?

*

Sammy Feral is a lucky boy. His family run a zoo and so he spends his spare time hanging out with orangutans, crocodiles and snakes. But his luck has just run out – his entire family has been infected with a werewolf virus! Now his mum, dad and sisters are howling at the moon, craving raw meat and, worst of all, trying to infect Sammy! Luckily, Donny and Red – a crack team who investigate animals that don’t exist – are on hand to help. But with an evil professor determined to take over Feral Zoo and no known cure for the virus, things aren’t looking good for Sammy!

*

Meet the Rat: A dancing, football-playing gangster-baiting ten-year-old. When she foresaw her father’s death, she picked up her football and decided to head for New York.

Meet her older brother Bob: Protector of the Rat, but more often her follower, he is determined to find their uncle in America and discover a new life for them both.

On their adventures across the flatlands of Winnipeg and through the exciting streets of New York, Bob and the Rat make friends with a hilarious con man and a famous rap star, and escape numerous dangers. But is their Uncle a rich business man, or is the word on the street, that he something more sinister, true? And will they ever find him?

Hughes has created a funny, warm, unique world that lives and breathes. Like I Capture the Castle, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, The Curious Incident, Hughes’ story and characters will resonate for many and for years to come.

New Books for Review

Clavis sent me a group of books to review, which you’ll be seeing soon. Here’s a list of what arrived this week:

 

The Seesaw and Good-bye, Fish by Judith Koppens,

Circus 123 by one of my favorites, Guido van Genechten,

A Big Book of Face Painting by Charlotte Verrecas,

Kevin’s Big Book of Emotions by another favorite, Liesbet Slegers.

 

I also purchased a copy of The Crypto-Capers in The Peacock Diaries by Renee Hand. I’ve been following this series since the beginning, so I sure don’t want to miss out on any of them.

Overdue is my review of Soccer Dreams by Clare Hodgson Meeker, but it’s coming soon. I promise.