Willard the Dragon - a children's favorite

      Willard the Dragon first appeared in Suzanne Cordatos' book Sneeze Fire, illustrated by LuisaGioffre-Suzuki. Children loved the Willard books beginning then and continuing through the second book Camp Dragon-Fire.

     The author shared the following pictures of her books for sale and in the hands of young readers:

 
           On the left, Willard on display. On the right, Suzanne with her books.

A young reader

                                              On the right

 Willard found his way to Turkey.

         

      The Willard the Dragon books can be found on the 4RV Bookstore, as well as through brick and mortar stores and other online stores. 

5 4RV Authors Have Signings in 2 Events July 29 - revised

      4RV Publishing's second Meet the Authors in July will be July 29 at Serendipity Market, Edmond. As part of Edmond, Oklahoma's annual Krazy Days, the book signing is one of the events and special happenings at Serendipity. The four authors participating will sign books in two shifts: 10 AM - 2 PM and 2 PM - 5 PM.

      For the first shift, Wayne Harris-Wyrick will have three of his releases: If You Swallow that Seed ... illustrated by Matthew Hughes; Why Am I Me illustrated by Stephen Macquignon;  and Kimmy Finds Her Key illustrated by Liz Warren. Partnering during the same time will be Kathleen Gibbs, author of Journey of the Cheyenne Warrior.

     During the second shift, the author who writes under the name vehoae will be signing her nonfiction book that many colleges have on reading lists, Conscience: Breaching Social Amnesia, which examines the treatment of indigenous peoples of North American from European leaders to the beginning of the United States. Also participating from 2 PM - 5 PM will be Jodi Heaton Hurst. Her book Merry Tilda: A Winter Fairy Tale was illustrated by Jeanne Conway.

      Other pre-signed books will also be available during the hours the authors will be: 10 AM - 5 PM.

      Kena Sosa will be part of the Kids' Book Day at Kinodunitya Bookstore, Carorrollton, Texas. 

     Kena has two books released by 4RV: Kindertransport, cover shown in the upper left corner, illustrated by Jeanne Conway; and Rey Antonio and Rey Feo, a English/Spanish bilingual book, illustrated by Jessica McClure. Kindertransport is the story of a Jewish family and a young girl in Poland as the Nazis take control and the beginning of the Holocaust.

     Hopefully, many people will take advantage of a chance to meet and visit wth these authors, and examine their books at both events and other 4RV books at the Serendipity Market in Edmond, Oklahoma.

    




          4RV books can be found through most online bookstores and physical bookstores. The publisher also has an online bookstore. Books by these authors and the other nearly 100 authors can be found there,

Reading to Improve Writing

by Vivian Zabel 

    Anyone who has attended classes about writing or who has been in sessions at conferences or who has read books or magazines about writing came across the adage at least once: "To be a good writer, read, read, read, read."

   I know what at least one reader thinks, "How can I learn anything if what I'm reading isn't worth reading?" Good question. However, reading bad writing can help a person become a better writer IF he realizes the writing isn't good. He can learn what or how not to write.

       Now, back to reading helping people become better writers.   When I took composition classes in college, I often became frustrated with all the reading I had to do, story after story after story, many times thousands of pages per assignment. Yet, as we discussed the stories and what made them interesting, or what didn’t, I was learning how to write. Even today, as I read and review on Writing.Com and for NovelSpot, I learn more about what makes a good story and what doesn’t. In fact every time I read someone else's work, I learn and share.

         I used the reading, discussion, and then writing idea when I taught, too. I tried to highlight one or two concepts per story, then had the students write something using those concepts and any others we had already covered. First, however, came reading and reading and reading.

        As I read the September, 2005, issue of The Writer, I discovered an article by Erika Dreifus titled “Learning short-story writing by example." She agrees with my university professors and me: “We learn by reading closely and reading as writers – attending to the ways others employ the elements of fiction: setting, plot, character, theme, and so on.”

        So where can a person find short stories to study, ones that will help him or her learn correct story writing? Of course books of short stories are found in all book stores. In fact, Holly Jahangiri and I have a collection of short stories for sale on the 4RV Bookstore, Amazon, and through brick 'n mortar stores, Hidden Lies and Other Stories. Plus many bookstores connected to colleges have anthologies for sale. If someone couldn’t afford to buy a new anthology or collection, used bookstores or libraries carry them. Using the library's copy is free.
 

      The best help found in reading to learn to write is to read well-written stories, and read, read, read. Reading well-written novels helps one to learn to write, too, for developing longer plots and sub-plots, for building consistency for longer works. As I stated above, reading even bad material gives ideas of how not to write. 

        Any writer who doesn't find time to read is hurting his writing craft and short-changing his readers.

4RV Website  

4RV Bookstore   

Sharing knowledge from editors, publisher, authors, illustrators

We at 4RV Publishing wish to bring writing and reading help to those who want to widen their knowledge base. On staff, we have former teachers, current teachers, and well educated members of the writing community. Our authors, illustrators, editors, and publishing staff want to share what they have learned with others.

We will be posting a newsletter at least once a month, hopefully more often. We will give writing, designing, illustrating advice as well as updates on current books from 4RV Publishing.

Our newest news is the creation of a 4RV Publishing catalog, which will be in print format as well as on a website.

Hopefully, tomorrow we'll have some information about 4RV's newest books.

You may subscribe to this newsletter via email by using the form in the right side bar.