 |
| FREE BOOKMARKS! see below |
Some of you might already know me (Emma Right) but for those new to my
series, I’ll just recap about myself and the children/ young adult books I
write.
First, I’m a homeschool mother. I have been doing it for about
two decades now. Started when my son, now happily married and working, was only
three. I still have four more under our roof and our youngest is ten. So
probably another eight more years to go before the homeschool journey ends.
Phew! It’s been a long road (but with many happy memories).
Why did I start writing?
We did a lot of read-aloud through the school years and I’d
found that my children not only enjoyed this time together but I, too, looked
forward to the discussions and the moments we talked about some of the characters
and plots of the books I’d read to them. Sometimes I’d read the whole book to
the children. Other times, I’d ask them to read parts. It was fun and gave them
a chance to put on different voices as they pretended they were whatever
character they were reading.
I actually wrote two of my series as a read-aloud—the Keeper
of Reign Series, and now the Princesses Of Chadwick Castle Series.
Why a read-aloud series?
After about a decade of reading aloud, we ran out of good
books to read. Don’t get me wrong, there are thousands still available but most
were not written for young adults (10-17) and some were just too “heavy”. Also,
even though I enjoyed the classics, not all children, especially since our
children live in a different era from us, and are used to fast-paced stories,
can bear to listen to pages of Dickens’ description of fog in Bleak House, for
instance.
So I thought of writing stories for our kids. They enjoyed
them, and so I wrote more. Just kiddie stuff –ones I wouldn’t even dream of
publishing. But this gave the fruit to my first series, Keeper of Reign, (free now on
Amazon as a download) and the rest, as they say, is history.
How did the Princesses Of Chadwick Castle come to be?
Fast forward six years later (last year) and suddenly “Princess”
themes became popular. To be honest I’m a bit partial to princess-type stories
myself. I’d also been hooked on the Downton Abbey Series—not recommended for children,
but interesting for adults. Thus my writing is a princess tale about two royal
sisters living in a 19th Century castle in England. It’s a sort of a
Downton Abbey for girls minus all the “R” rated drama. But there’s still drama
in it, of course. And adventure. But still, at the back of my mind, I wanted
this to be a book a mother, or father, could read to her children (ages 6-12)
and have all the listening kids enjoy the fast-paced mystery.
But as a historical adventure, is “princessey” tale enough? Even
with all the mystery and intrigue?
I didn’t want to just write a chapter book. I wanted it such
that moms and their kids could look at pictures too as the story unfolded—sort
of like a cross between a chapter book (novella for kids) and a picture book,
so both the eleven-year-old and the seven-year-old could enjoy the reading at
the same time.
I’d always loved the artwork, pieces from master artists that
graced the walls of museums. We have several of those Art books lying around
the house. Some of the images though were inappropriate for children. Also, I
wanted the kids to have exposure to good art, not just splashes of oil paint
people throw on a canvas.
The process of creating the Princess Castle Series
So I started scouring Google images for art that have entered
the public domain. And I mean hundreds of hours of scouring! I pinned them on Pinterest
and when I was ready, I combed through the pinned artwork and picked those that
could be interwoven into my princess stories. Then I reworked the tale so the pictures
could make sense and gel with the words on the pages, too. But I didn’t just
use the art pieces whole—although I did for some of them.
Most of the paintings were cropped and I’d capture the
details of a sleeve, or the hem of a brocade gown, or finger-pointing, or a
fallen tiara. Do you get the picture? (Pun, intended). I wanted the readers to see
the pain and attentiveness the artists had gone through to give them the art.
Truly, I hope young readers and their moms, dads, or
teachers, reading to them, can appreciate the art pieces. At the end of each
book, I also feature an artist.
It was a painstaking process procuring the right images and getting the image sizes correct and so forth. But perhaps, long after the
story may have lost its charm—through over-reading, hopefully—the artwork could
still hold appeal, and inspire the children.
However, because I’ve grown to love the characters of the two
princesses, Elle and Belle, I’ve started on a second series that will hold its
own set of mystery and intrigue. While the Princess Castle Series deals with
art and the end of each book introduce readers to a particular artist, the
second series will have write-ups on ballet stories—like Giselle and Swan Lake, et cetera.
Also, I realize as a relatively new author, readers might be
hesitant to invest in the Princess Castle Books. So I’ve made it easy for
everyone. The first book, While Princesses Sleep, is available for download in
three formats (Kindle, Nook, and pdf) if you go to the emmaright.com site; the
second book, Beaded Dresses Mystery, is free for three days in April on Amazon,
and the third book, Lady With the Circlet, will be gifted to all entrants in
the Kindle Fire HD Giveaway I am hosting this month. (Check the giveaway link
below to win a Kindle Fire HD).
In case you don’t have time to read aloud—consider this free alternative.
I am excited about the audiobook for the first book, While
Princesses Sleep. It was professionally read
by a British voiceover artist. The story, after all, is set in an English 19th-century castle. For those who write me a review be sure to email me and I will
send you the MP3 recording for free! I hope the children will enjoy this
feature. They can listen and follow the
story with their book—ebook or paperback.
There are eight books in all. It’d only take thirty minutes
for moms to read each one. Maybe slightly longer if they dwelled on the
pictures.
Synopsis of While Princesses Sleep, Book1
of The Princesses of Chadwick Castle Series
While Princesses Sleep: Princesses of
Chadwick Castle Adventure, Book 1 (Princess Castle Adventure Mystery Series) is
a tale of two royal sisters who are princesses.
The Princesses Of Chadwick Castle
Adventure is an eight-book series set in 19th century England. The
adventure revolves around the sisters, Elle, age 12, and Belle, 10. It’s great for
readers who love Cinderella-type fairy tales and European princess stories.
While Princesses Sleep opens with Princess Elle discovering a strange sound in the night. Curious, she determines
the reason for these mysterious noises and starts the adventure with her
sister, Belle. Something is afoot at the castle and they must find out what
this is. However, finding the truth behind the secrets they stumble upon leads
them to strange answers? What sort of trouble will the princesses get
themselves into?
Titles in The Princesses of Chadwick
Castle Adventure Mystery Series
1. While Princesses Sleep
2. Beaded Dresses Mystery
3. Lady With The Circlet
4. Secret Mission Princess
5. Pretty Scary Lady
6. Down With The Crown
7. Peasant Princesses
8. Princess Rewards
Leave A Review! (Amazon) For While
Princesses Sleep
Leave A review (Barnes and Noble)
Twitter: @emmbeliever
*~*~*~*
Several of Emma Right's books have won awards. Before having children Emma Right was a copywriter for two major
advertising companies and won several international copywriting awards.
