Great Middle Grade Reads discussion

This is your nomination thread for April, and as with last year, it's going to be an INDIE PICK.

So your choice is a book by an independent or self-published author, of which we have quite a few in the group!

We spent a few weeks last year devising the rules for this one, to avoid being deluged by people just trying to jump in on our forum having never participated before, and it worked okay.

So...
1) Nominations are open for a limited period in March. CLOSING DATE is 12th March
2) Anyone can nominate ONE indie book (must be shelved as MG on Goodreads), but NOT their own book.
3) Any nominations which appear to be from sockpuppets will be deleted. If you don't know what a sockpuppet is, you don't need to know or find out! My decision is final.
4) Nominations from members who joined after I post this will be scrutinised to see whether they are valid/active members.
5) after nominations close the BOTM for April will be drawn at random - each will be given a number and I'll use a random number generator to pick.
6) We will ask the author to provide a given number of their ebook free or at a very low price (99c).
7) We will have two discussion threads, only one of which the author can participate in (and will hopefully include an author interview to start)

I know it can be difficult to know whether a book is by an indie author: clues are - books without a well known name as the publisher; no paperback versions or paperbacks published by Createspace; author not a Goodreads author means they are probably not indies, but the other way round doesn't work. I will check them all and delete any nominations that do not appear to qualify.

If I am unable to contact the winning author after nominations close to check book availability and arrange an interview, I reserve the right to try again with another pick.

So... your nominations, please - just one, and not your own book!

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...

The Storm Bottle by Nick Green.

I haven't read many self published middle grade, but this one was really good and both my children enjoyed it too (aged 12 and 9 at the time)

I haven't read this one but am intrigued by the title and it's received many good reviews. Cheryl is part of our group. (Cheryl, if you're not an indie author, please let us know).
Young Knights of the Round Table: The King's Ransom

J.S. wrote: "I haven't read this one but am intrigued by the title and it's received many good reviews. Cheryl is part of our group. (Cheryl, if you're not an indie author, please let us know).
[book:Young Knig..."

Cheryl's an Indie author. One of those good reviews is mine ;)

I've checked Nick Green too - he's fine (nice book!)

I'm going to nominate Rebecca Douglass's Halitor the Hero. Yes that's our moderator Rebecca :)

I think this might be by an indie author, but I am not altogether sure.

The Trump Activity Book: Political Amusement for Tiny Hands

Manybooks wrote: "I think this might be by an indie author, but I am not altogether sure.

The Trump Activity Book: Political Amusement for Tiny Hands"

It looks like it may be indie, but do you think it's MG?

Jemima wrote: "Manybooks wrote: "I think this might be by an indie author, but I am not altogether sure.

The Trump Activity Book: Political Amusement for Tiny Hands"

It looks like it may be ind..."

Well, the author claims it is suitable for both children and adults, so I think it might fit the bill (and is in my opinion a fun way to be critical of Donald Trump). That being said, I also do not really want to offend anyone who is supportive of the POTUS, but as a mild political satire, I think this works (and it was featured in the author section of the Children's Literature Group as being suitable for older children, and that in my mind means Middle Grade).

I will nominate Ben Zackheim's The Camelot Kids: Volume One. I won it in a giveaway this winter and recently read it and was impressed and engrossed.

We've only got five books nominated, and five days to go. I confess I haven't done the shout-out to the whole membership this time around. That means we get those who are actively involved in group things - and I personally think we've already got good choices.

But... should I put out a group-wide call?

Jemima wrote: "We've only got five books nominated, and five days to go. I confess I haven't done the shout-out to the whole membership this time around. That means we get those who are actively involved in group..."

I think one of the reasons not so many books have been nominated is that Indie authors are not as well known and sometimes it is hard to know whether an author is in fact an Indie author.

Manybooks wrote: "Jemima wrote: "We've only got five books nominated, and five days to go. I confess I haven't done the shout-out to the whole membership this time around. That means we get those who are actively in..."

Yes, that's why we got asked to consider the call. We did it for the first time last year. Maybe we got loads because people were looking out for it. I'm happy if it's mostly people putting forward authors they know, rather than occasional visitors leaping out to not-spam us.

I just didn't want people to think I was being mean or something!

Until I got onto net-galley I read something like 80% indie authors.

Afterthought - I could just open it up to two nominations each....

I'd like to nominate The Secret of Pooks Wood by Helen Laycock. I've read one other of her MG books. It was well written and great fun to read.
The Secret of Pooks Wood

J.S. wrote: "I haven't read this one but am intrigued by the title and it's received many good reviews. Cheryl is part of our group. (Cheryl, if you're not an indie author, please let us know).
[book:Young Knig..."

Oh, this one looks right up my alley!

I would recommend this one. It was a charming story. Archie Wilson & The Nuckelavee

I have read a number of really good indie middle-grade books. I recommend The Gallery of Wonders (Magora Series) for the indie author category. I have to confess that I've only read a tiny bit of it. But my 10-year-old son read all three books in the series and is hoping for a 4th. He loved this book!

It has also won numerous awards. Disclosure: I do not know the author personally. But I was intrigued by his story idea and reached out to him and have been in communication with him a few times. I joined his mailing list and also follow him on Twitter. He is an artist and has combined his love of art into the premise for his fantasy novels. He has no idea I am recommending his book here.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...

B.S. Gibbs

Jemima wrote: "We've only got five books nominated, and five days to go. I confess I haven't done the shout-out to the whole membership this time around. That means we get those who are actively involved in group..."

Yes, the not being well known is a big obstacle for indies. Trust me on that... :)

The Mystery of Hollow Inn by Tara Ellis. I've read a few of the books in this series and really enjoy them.

B.S. wrote: "Yes, the not being well known is a big obstacle for indies. Trust me on that......"

Oh, I know, BS, I know! lol

Jemima wrote: "B.S. wrote: "Yes, the not being well known is a big obstacle for indies. Trust me on that......"

Oh, I know, BS, I know! lol"

I wish there was a like button here. :)

Okay, entries are now closed.

The nominations are:
The Storm Bottle
Young Knights of the Round Table: The King's Ransom
Halitor the Hero
The Trump Activity Book: Political Amusement for Tiny Hands
The Camelot Kids: Volume One
The Secret of Pooks Wood
Island
Archie Wilson & The Nuckelavee
The Gallery of Wonders
The Mystery Of Hollow Inn

That's 10, and I will number them and do a random number thing to select one. Then I'll contact the author about copies and an interview.

So... watch this space!

AND THE WINNER IS...

The Camelot Kids: Volume One by Ben Zackheim

I've been in touch with Ben, and he has generously agreed to offer you this ebook at 0.99 ($ or £) from 3/21 to 4/15, i.e. tomorrow until mid April (Easter Saturday).

You want the version called Book 1 or Volume 1 (depending on the version you're looking at on your local Amazon). The edition called Part 1 is only the first part of Volume 1 - if you see what I mean.

If anyone needs an epub (for Nook, Kobo, iPad) let me know here and I'll ask Ben if he can help.

You now have a week to suggest questions I can ask Ben for his author interview thread. I'll round up the questions and send them to him around 28th March.

A standard question that is always great is: where did you find the inspiration for your book?

Where will the book be offered at $.99? I've checked Amazon and it's still showing as $2.99.

Let's ask Ben about his favorite sources for Arthurian legend!

J.S. wrote: "Where will the book be offered at $.99? I've checked Amazon and it's still showing as $2.99."

Yes, I chased Ben about this on Friday and he apologises sincerely. He's now set the price and hopefully it will work through all Amazon stores soon.

It's already at the UK store: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Camelot-Kids...

Change the .co.uk to your area suffix if you like :)