C. Lee McKenzie

Young Adult and Middle Grade Author

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TaDa! The AtoZ Challenge is Upon Us AND Hat’s Off Corner Welcomes Diane Salerni

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Please read and follow the sign-up instructions outlined below so you sign onto the list correctly!

The brainchild of Arlee Bird, at Tossing it Out, the A to Z Challenge is posting every day in April except Sundays (we get those off for good behavior.) And since there are 26 days, that matches the 26 letters of the alphabet. On April 1, blog about something that begins with the letter “A.” April 2 is “B,” April 3 is “C,” and so on. You can use a theme for the month or go random – just as long as it matches the letter of the alphabet for the day.

The A to Z Challenge is a great way to get into the blogging habit and make new friends. For more details and its history, go HERE

We recommend short posts, turn off Word Verification, and visit five blogs (or more) a day beginning with the one after yours on the list.

Blogs must be on an open platform – no Tumblr, Facebook, Pinterest, etc. – and comments enabled.

To streamline legitimate blogs from advertisement blogs, the Co-Hosts will be visiting each blog on this list throughout the Challenge. Blogs on the list showing no activity once the Challenge starts or miss five days in a row will be removed.

Please note your blog name and number in all correspondences. Remember that as blogs are removed, your number will change.

There are categories for those looking for like-minded blogs. Select ONE category code and enter it after your blog’s title/name. The code applies to your blog, not your theme for the Challenge and is purely optional. See the first few blogs on the list for examples. However, if your blog has adult content, you MUST mark it (AC) or it will be removed from the list. Codes are as follows:

ANIMALS: (AN)
ART: (AR)
BOOKS/REVIEWS: (BO)
CRAFTS: (CR)
CULINARY: (CU)
EDUCATION: (ED)
FASHION: (FA)
FILM/MOVIES: (FM)
GAMING: (GA)
GARDENING: (GR)
HISTORY: (HI)
HUMOR: (HU)
LIFESTYLE: (LI )
MEMOIR: (ME)
MUSIC: (MU)
MYTHOLOGY: (MY)
PERSONAL: (PR)
PHOTOGRAPHY: (PH)
POLITICS: (PO)
SCIENCE: (SC)
SOCIAL MEDIA: (SO)
SPORTS: (SP)
TRAVEL: (TR)
WRITING/STORYTELLING: (WR)
ADULT CONTENT: (AC)

Be sure to grab the badge and display it in your sidebar so we know you are participating and link to the A to Z Challenge Blog.

For more information we recommend you follow the A to Z Challenge Blog and the hosts:

Arlee Bird @ Tossing it Out
Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh
Jeremy @ Hollywood Nuts
Nicole Ayers @ The Madlab Post
Author Stephen Tremp
Heather M. Gardner
AJ @ Naturally Sweet
Pam @ An Unconventional Librarian
Matthew MacNish @ The QQQE
Zalka Csenge Virág @ The Multicolored Diary
S. L. Hennessy @ Pensuasion
C. Lee McKenzie @ The Write Game
Joy Campbell @ The Character Depot
Susan Gourley @ Susan Says
John Holton @The Sound of One Hand Typing
Lisa Buie-Collard, Author

We also have a Facebook Page
Email address is [email protected]
Twitter hashtag is #AtoZChallenge and Twitter id is @AprilA2Z

Sign up below and join us for a month of alphabet fun!

Hats Off Corner. 

I’m really excited to host Dianne Salerni here today. Her books have fantastic covers and some powerful story lines. I love the combination of old myths with the modern day slant.

In The Eighth Day, 13-year-old Jax Aubrey discovered a secret day of the week hidden between Wednesday and Thursday and a mysterious girl living in the house next door who existed only on that day.  Jax learned that he and his guardian, Riley, and the girl, Evangeline, were descendants of people out of legend, tasked with maintaining the Eighth Day Spell and keeping the world safe from the dangerous and powerful Kin race imprisoned in that day.

Now, in The Inquisitor’s Mark, the adventure continues … and Jax has a terrible choice to make.

After the battle on The Pyramid of the Sun in Mexico, Jax, Riley, and Evangeline have gone into hiding from rogue Transitioners and evil Kin lords who want to gain control over the Eighth Day.

So when Finn Ambrose, a mysterious stranger, contacts Jax claiming to be his uncle, Jax’s defenses go up—especially when Finn tells Jax that he’s holding Jax’s best friend, Billy, hostage. To rescue Billy and keep Riley and Evangeline out of danger, Jax sneaks off to New York City on his own. Once there, he discovers a surprising truth: Finn is his uncle and Jax is closely related to the Dulacs—a notoriously corrupt and dangerous Transitioner clan who want Riley dead and Evangeline as their prisoner. And family or not, these people will stop at nothing to get what they want.

“Combining modern intrigue and ancient magic, this second volume in what continues to be an inspired series does not disappoint. Jax is an endearing mix of heroic and awkward as he struggles with his new identity. An exciting blend of Arthurian legend and organized crime.”  ~Kirkus Reviews

Eighth Day (paperback release date January 6, 2015)

Inquisitor’s Mark (release date January 27, 2015)

******

My Quote for the Day: “Books are a uniquely portable magic.”
― Stephen King, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft

******

Are you A to Zing in 2015? Hope so. Don’t Dianne’s books look interesting?  I hope you’ll stop by and give her books a boost. She’s a talented writer.

Comments

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  5. The A-to-Z Challenge looks like a lot of fun, but I'll probably be too chicken to try it out, heh. I can barely keep up with regular blogging anymore, so I'd hate to sign up, only to fall behind!

  6. The Eighth Day especially attracts me. What fun it would be to discover a hidden day that others don't know about. Kind of like Brigadoon, isn't it?

  7. I love these covers. So fun! I've definitely signed up for A to Z. I met so many great people last year-I highly recommend it if you're interested in meeting new blogging friends (and willing to put a little time in reading blogs of other participants, of course).

  9. Hey C.Lee and Dianne,

    Those are superb covers. Even better than my duvet covers. Well done and congrats.

    Personally, I think, no matter what time of the year, blog posts should be kept short. Very much like the brevity of my sporadic but must read posts.

    Look at all those fanatics joining the Alphabet cult. Very worrying, indeed. Why do people insist on using "brainchild"? The perpetrator of the A to Z Challenge should be whipped with a wet noodle!

    A to Z, kids. Just say NO!!!!!!!!

    Gary, the official anti- A to Z spokesman!

  14. Yay, it's almost A-Z time! I had so much fun when I did it in the past, and I'm still considering doing it this year, but I'm not sure I'll have time.

    Dianne's books sound awesome, too.

  16. Hello Clem. I don't like being a party pooper, but I've decided to set my own challenge through April-writing my novel every day. I've participated for years in the A-Z and it is really exhausting when you have so much else to do. I do drop by and read posts that interest me. Diane's books sound wonderful!

    Denise 🙂

  17. I always love reading the A-Z posts! Wish I had the time to participate- one year I am going to get organized ahead of time so I can participate. 🙂

    I have the Eighth Day to read and The Inquisitor's Mark will be arriving at my house sometime in the next week or two! So I hope to read the Eighth Day in the next couple of weeks. Both of Diane's books sound amazing! Wishing her the best of luck. 🙂
    ~Jess

  18. Dianne's books sound fantastic and congratulations to her!
    I would love to do the A to Z challenge but sadly, I won't have the time this year. I will be following my fellow bloggers as they dive into this epic challenge!

  30. My best to Diane! And silly me, while I was reading the codes, instead of reading "Photography" I read "Pornography". But I don't have dirty thoughts, I swear!
    Good luck as co-host of the A to Z!

  42. Congrats Dianne! I've seen so much great stuff about your books.

    I've signed up for the A to Z challenge, but I'm still debating what I'm going to do for the posts. >_<

  43. Okay, okay, okay… I've decided to do the challenge. I've even begun to work on my posts!

    Congratulations to Dianne! Those are, indeed, fabulous covers!

    Your mission, Lee, should you choose to accept it is to pick up an award on my blog. As always, should you be caught or killed, the Secretary will disavow any knowledge of your actions.