Thought for the Day:
“A drop of ink may make a million think.”
~ Lord Byron ~
Gifts for My Writer Friends:
I have been struggling trying to find the right title for one of my manuscripts for a long, long time, so I was happy to find the post HERE from M. L. Davis at Uninspired Writers with some good tips about how to find good titles for novels.
Getting dialogue right is so important when writing. K. M. Allen has a good post HERE that will help you get it right.
You know I love historical fiction and I also write it. I’m always interested in posts about research. HERE is a wonderful, rich post by Beth Castrodale that will help you with your research questions.
If any of you are Dodger fans, you might want to avert your eyes here. I’m watching what I hope will be the last game of the World Series as I write this. Not that I want baseball to be done for the year, but I sure want the Sox to win it. And they have been magnificent. What a fun post-season it has been. No matter what happens, it will be over before I post next. Then I will start to count the days to opening day. I do love baseball, but I will have hockey to help fill that void. Go, Sharks!
Last week, Joyce Moyer Hostetter, author of Drive, generously offered to give a copy to one of you. This week’s winner is Suzanne Warr. Congratulations, Suzanne! If you don’t know Suzanne, she has a wonderful blog where she and her cat review middle-grade books, and she is a writer and martial arts expert. Check out her blog HERE. She has a really cool book review up right now.
This week I want to tell you about a book that has such an intriguing title, that I chose it based on that alone. Once I read that title, I had to read the book. I sure hope I can find a title that good for my manuscripts. The book is The Boy, the Bird, and the Coffin Maker by Matilda Woods. How can you NOT pick up that book? Anyway, here is the review I wrote for the San Francisco Book Review.
Alberto, a carpenter, lives alone in a small town by the ocean. He built beautiful furniture and lovely toys for his children, but he lost his wife and all three of his children when a plague gripped the town. After he lost his family, he lost the desire to build anything except coffins. A young woman dies and is brought to Alberto for burial. Something about her touches him, and she stays on his mind. Soon, Alberto notices food missing from his kitchen, and he discovers the thief is a young boy, Tito, with a glittering bird, Fia, for a pet. Alberto finds a way to talk to the frightened boy, and an unlikely friendship forms. Alberto hears the boy’s story (Tito is the young woman’s son) and knows he must protect Tito and Fia.
Author Matilda Woods has written a sweet but melancholy story that has the feel of an old-fashioned folk tale from some long-ago culture. The writing is lovely and quite lyrical, and the characters are sympathetic and well-drawn. The books has decoration on every page and is interspersed with simple drawings in muted colors. Middle-graders who like quiet books will like this.
There will be no giveaway this week. I am giving the nice hardbound copy I received for review to the library at my granddaughter’s charter school. They have a tiny budget and really need books. Check back next week. I will have a giveaway then. And it’s a good one! If you are reading this in your email, please click HERE to get to my blog, then click on the title of the post, and leave a comment. And don’t forget to check for other Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday posts at the Greg Pattridge’s blog HERE.
Rosi Hollinbeck 
This sounds like a beautiful story!
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It really is. I think you will enjoy it.
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I forgot to thank you for visiting and commenting. Good luck in the drawing.
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Shoot. It’s late and I’m tired. No drawing this week. Sorry.
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Haha! I read your last comment and thought to myself… But there is no drawing!
No worries 🙂
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The title grabbed me too. I thought it said Coffee Maker at first. This sounds like a very deep and emotional tale.
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It is such a great title. Funny that you thought it was Coffee Maker. Was it early in the morning? Thanks for the comment. Good luck in the drawing.
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Shoot. It’s late and I’m tired. No drawing this week. Sorry.
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I just added this to my TBR. This book sounds like a good one to place in between the more action packed books I have on my book stack right now.
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It is a quiet book. I really like quiet books now and them. Thanks for stopping by and commenting.
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I love the themes in this story and the title captures your attention. Great cover. Sounds like a compassionate read!
Enjoyed your sharing the information on “research” for historical novels. I love historical fiction, and am reading a really different story right now. The journalist in me would have fun digging up information, interviewing people, visiting places and just doing the research. But how to pull it all together, would be my challenge.
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A compassionate read. Good way to put it. I love to research and can get lost in it and forget about writing. Thanks for always reading and commenting. I appreciate it.
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Thanks for this review. I saw this book in the library and the title caught my eye too. And yay Red Sox!
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That was quite a final game. 🙂 This is such a great title. I just love it. Thanks for the comment.
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I enjoyed your entire post today, Rosi; but my favorite part was the link to the historical research article. I enjoy using the Library of Congress online resources for my writing research and my own personal interest. Thanks for sharing a great post for MMGM.
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Glad you enjoyed the post. I haven’t used the Library of Congress online very much. I need to spend more time looking around it. Thanks for mentioning that. And thanks for reading and commenting. I appreciate it.
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This sounds like a lovely story. Your granddaughter’s library will be richer because of the wonderful books you’re able to donate!
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Thanks for stopping by and commenting. It is a lovely story. I know the librarian at Gracie’s school is always happy to see me. 😉
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Yay! Thanks for the beautiful new book-win and shout out! As for this title, you’re totally right–I got absolute chills as I read it. Sounds like another lovely read to go on my TBR pile!
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I think you will love Joyce’s book. Yes, this title is terrific, and so is the book. Thanks for the comment!
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Congratulations Suzanne. I am packaging DRIVE for you now and will get it to the PO in the next day or so. Thanks again to you, Rosi. And thank you for introducing us to Matilda’s lovely book. What a gift to your granddaughter’s school library!
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Thanks, Joyce!!!
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Busy week and I’m only just this morning getting through the MMGM links. The post on book titles was excellent as I’ve changed one of mine way too many times. This helped me focus on a much better strategy for naming. Also, the historical fiction piece assured me I’ve been doing it right with my own attempts in this genre.
Loved the sound of this new book. The story line is so unique and one I will have to read…although it may be early next year before I get to it. Happy Halloween!
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I know about busy! Glad you like the links. You will like this book when you get to it. Thanks for the comment.
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Oh, this sounds like a lovely story. The title grabbed me, too; and the cover is beautiful. I’m glad “quiet” books are making a bit of a come back. Kids need those as well as the intensely exciting ones. I’m glad you’re donating it to the school library, too. A great addition to any library.
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Oh my goodness, I love the title and the cover!! I also love how it has a feel of an old folk tale. Modern books that feel old are often fun!
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