C. Lee McKenzie, I'm a Winner, and Thankful Thursday

Available at Amazon.

C. Lee McKenzie has released THE GREAT TIME LOCK DISASTER,  a new middle grade novel. 

Here's a blurb: There's nothing’s more dangerous than a wizard-in-training. And Pete Riley, has just proven it. He's worked a bad time spell--a very bad time spell. No YouTube, no smoothies, no Manga. Not ever again. Not unless Pete figures out how to reverse his spell and free Weasel and him from Victorian England. 


He has until the next full moon. Only a few days.

Tick. Tock.

PLUS, Lee is having a Rafflecopter giveaway so hurry over and sign up for a chance to win

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It's been a while since I've won anything. So, winning a copy of WOVEN by  Michael Jensen and David Powers King was a very pleasant surprise! (How did they decide who was getting top billing?)

About Woven:

Two unlikely allies must journey across a kingdom in the hopes of thwarting death itself.

All his life, Nels has wanted to be a knight of the kingdom of Avërand. Tall and strong, and with a knack for helping those in need, the people of his sleepy little village have even taken to calling him the Knight of Cobblestown.

But that was before Nels died, murdered outside his home by a mysterious figure.

Now the young hero has awoken as a ghost, invisible to all around him save one person—his only hope for understanding what happened to him—the kingdom’s heir, Princess Tyra. At first the spoiled royal wants nothing to do with Nels, but as the mystery of his death unravels, the two find themselves linked by a secret, and an enemy who could be hiding behind any face.

Nels and Tyra have no choice but to abscond from the castle, charting a hidden world of tangled magic and forlorn phantoms. They must seek out an ancient needle with the power to mend what has been torn, and they have to move fast. Because soon Nels will disappear forever.

Available at Amazon.

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Every Thursday, from now until I don't know when, I'm going to express my thankfulness, for at least ONE something.

I've chosen a picture of the Deep Field to remind us all of how precious and rare this tiny ball of dirt, that we call Earth, is. 

This is it. It's all we've got. Let us be kind to Earth and each other. Let us be THANKFUL for what we have.

Today I'm thankful for mockingbirds.

Hubby and I have a special fondness for mockingbirds. They are a portent of spring. When they start singing you can almost feel that their songs are lassos, or sky hooks they are throwing out to pull Spring up from the southern climes. On a sunny morning they will find the highest point on a tree and while they are singing, they will LEAP up into the air and flutter back down to the perch. Then a few moments later, again, LEAP. It's as if singing their joy isn't enough, they must leap for joy as well.

I had a dog named Chester that I dearly love who was devoted to me. He would have given his life without a thought and on three occasions proved himself ready to take on anything or anyone to protect me. And yet he wasn't in the least bit mean or aggressive. Chester loved exploring and seemed connected to nature in a special way. He played tag with the deer. (For TRUE!) On the day he died we came home to see a fine looking stag standing across the street staring at our yard. He stood there for a good five minutes before moving on. In all the years we've been here that's the only time a stag has done that.

The other thing that happened was that a mockingbird sang in our yard ALL. DAY. LONG. He went from tree to tree to tree and sang and sang and sang. It was as if he was singing about the joy Chester brought us, singing his praises. We'd had mockingbirds sing in our yard before he died and after, but never as long as that one bird sang.

Today I'm thankful for mockingbirds. They are starting to sing Spring into being.

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What are you thankful for?