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From Kirkus reviews

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TITLE INFORMATION

SOCK MONSTER

Stacey R. Campbell
Illus. byElizabeth Thiem
CreateSpace (32 pp.)
$14.95 paperback, $3.99 e-book
ISBN: 978-1-5174-5699-3; October 15, 2015

BOOK REVIEW

In this mildly scary, funny picture book, a mom’s bedtime-story ploy encourages her little boy to clean up his messy room or risk attracting the attention of a hungry “sock monster.”

In her first picture book, author Campbell (Scream: A Lakeview Novel, 2015) imparts a tidy-up lesson with gentle humor, enhanced by artist Thieme’s quirky illustrations. Little Billy’s idea of picking up his dirty laundry at the end of the day is to stuff it under the bed and in any available closet or corner. When Billy asks for a scary bedtime story, his mom, a savvy sort who isn’t above using a tricky scare tactic to make a point, decides the time is right for a particularly apt tale about a sneaky, slithery, laundry-hungry Sock Monster with a penchant for hiding under beds with found footwear. (The book’s target audience will undoubtedly get “ew, gross” enjoyment out of Campbell’s description: “his head is made of underwear. His arms are dirty socks.” And, “he slurps and burps and gathers dirt, loving all the goo.”) Billy’s not thrilled with the direction the story takes, and when Mom says goodnight and turns off the light, he, unsurprisingly, has trouble going to sleep, imagining that every sound—dog scratching, pet mouse squeaking— is the Sock Monster, attracted by Billy’s messy “clean-up.” Billy knows that there is just one thing to do. He gathers up all of his potential Sock Monster fodder and fills his laundry basket. Humorously, the author doesn’t let Mom rest easy on her laurels, however. Adults will appreciate the fun little visual twist at the end, courtesy of illustrator Thieme, which gives Mom a taste of her own medicine. (Kids will, too, although they may need the joke explained to them.) Indeed, the appeal of this lighthearted “message” picture book is due in great part to the offbeat charm of Thieme’s colorful illustrations.

An unexpected twist and wacky, well-rendered illustrations keep this simple picture book from skewing a bit preachy and dark, despite its clean-your-room lesson.

DA-pirates-Stacey-Campbell

Non-Profit Dyslexic Advantage Welcomes Aboard “Arrgh!” Author Stacey R. Campbell for “Pirate Invasion” Online Fundraiser (7/21)

On Tues., July 21 (10:30 a.m. PST / 1:30 p.m. EST), prolific dyslexic children’s book author, Stacey R. Campbell, will board the “good ship” Dyslexic Advantage for an online Pirate Invasion Celebration based on her pirate adventure book, “Arrgh!” (selected for a Mom’s Choice Gold Award). Attendees are encouraged to pre-register on the Dyslexic Advantage blog with a $15 donation.

All proceeds will benefit the nonprofit Dyslexic Advantage whose mission is to “promote positive identity, community, and achievement among dyslexic people by focusing on their strengths.”

Campbell will regale listeners with pirate tales and pirate lore. Attendees who apply early may participate in Pirate Contests for:

  1. Best Pirate Joke
    2. Best Pirate Drawing
    3. Best Costume
    4. Best “Arrgh!”

Deadline for contest applications is Mon., July 20.

Campbell conducts citywide workshops in Seattle area schools that encourage every child to read and write. “Dyslexia is not a disability,” Campbell tells students during power point presentations. “It’s a creative asset.”

Studies do show that those diagnosed with dyslexia are often creative.

“I had the pleasure of meeting Stacey and found her enthusiasm for writing and discovering absolutely contagious,” said Dr. Fernette Eide who co-wrote the book, “Dyslexic Advantage” with her husband, Dr. Brock Eide before founding the organization in 2012.

Dyslexia Advantage serves the international “dyslexia community” via its website and blog, organizing conferences and offering online interviews with dyslexic luminaries, such as Henry Winkler of “Happy Days” TV fame, who has co-authored 17 “Hank Zipzer” novels.

The Seattle Children’s Museum has invited Campbell to participate in their National Talk Like a Pirate Day (Sept. 19), and the Children’s Museum of Skagit County will host her Pirate Invasion activities in October.

“I believe there’s no such thing as a bad reader,” said Campbell, who at an early age was warned by her teachers that she could never be a writer because of her reading challenges. Proving them all wrong, Campbell is also the author of the Lakeview Novel Series:

– “Hush”
– “Whisper”
– “Silence”
– “Scream” (due out July 20 on Amazon)

She has one more Lakeview novel on the way (“Bliss”), as well as the children’s picture book, “Sock Monster” to be released in October.

All Campbell’s books are published by Green Darner Press in Seattle, Wash.

For more information:

Register at Dyslexic Advantage Blog
http://blog.dyslexicadvantage.org/2015/07/10/pirate-tales-with-dyslexic-author-stacey-campbell-july-21st/

Author Stacey R. Campbell’s Website
http://www.staceyrcampbell.com

“Arrgh!” Press Kit
http:///arrghpresskit.blogspot.com

Dyslexic Advantage
http://www.dyslexicadvantage.org

Mailing Address:
Dyslexic Advantage
6701 139th Pl SW
Edmonds, WA 98026-3223

Phone
206-521-1014

E-Mail
team@dyslexicadvantage.org

Publicist
Marlan Warren
Book Publicity by Marlan
memoircity@gmail.com

arrgh awards -website-1 From the Midwest Book Review

Volume 15, Number 6

Reviewer’s Bookwatch

June 20, 2015

http://midwestbookreview.com/rbw/jun_15.htm

ARRGH!

Stacey R. Campbell
Illustrator: M.S. Corley
Green Darner Press
9600 Stone Avenue North, Seattle, WA 98103 http://greendarnerpress.com
9780988478442, $15.95, 282 pages, www.amazon.com
ASIN: B00MX7ATRM, $5.95, 284 pages, http://www.staceyrcampbell.com

Marlan Warren, Reviewer http://roadmapgirlsbookbuzz.blogspot.com

“Arrgh!” is a true treasure: Five not-easy lessons on the high seas. Stacey R. Campbell’s Kidnapped-by- Pirates tale is greater than the sum of its title.

This Coming of Age Voyage takes off like a cannon blast when a runaway orphan finds himself forced onto a cargo ship by pirates posing as merchant seamen, and gathers momentum with inventive action until its gratifying conclusion.

Thirteen-year-old Christopher has escaped from an orphanage to search for family members. Ironically, he is nabbed off the street by two pirate thugs who pass him off to the ship’s captain as a relative. Threatened with death if he does not pretend to be mute, Christopher enters a world of repressed silence – broken only during moments when he can communicate with Leo the Attack-for- Hire Mouse who comes to his assistance as a kind of life coach. The trained and certified Leo sets about teaching the timid youth Five Life Lessons.

Campbell deftly melds fantasy with reality; excitement with education; and classical storytelling with contemporary sensibility that honors Friendship, Family and Literacy.

As in “Peter Pan,” there is a line between non-adult and adult perceptions and abilities. When Christopher is befriended by the Captain’s twelve-year-old daughter Lucy, it turns out that she can also understand the talking animals who come their way because she is not an adult. And when the duo find themselves stranded on an island, they revel in it as a paradise where they can do whatever they want without adult interference.

In a world where many are illiterate, Lucy begins to crack the mystery of Christopher when she sees him reading books from her father’s library.

Herein lie the expected dark moments and violence of the genre. However, Christopher and Lucy achieve their victories through The Power of the Plan – hopping from plan to plan as their fates shift.

The biggest lesson comes to Christopher when he must stay on the island without Lucy, and subdue the pirates with only the assistance of animal helpers. He comes out of it with this newfound truth: “I was never alone.”

Young readers will be enthralled by the vivid imagery that makes up the swashbuckling action sequences, as well as the evocative sights and smells of this time period. A Glossary of Nautical Terms opens the book. Lessons include such vintage practical gems as how to manage a galleon in a storm. M.S. Corley’s beautiful vintage-style illustrations would be at home in the earliest editions of any classic pirate tale.

About the ending: Lesson Number Five brought tears to my eyes.

About the Author: Stacey R. Campbell lives in the Seattle area with her husband and three daughters. A graduate of University of Washington, she is a dyslexic writer who believes there is no such thing as a bad reader. She is also the author of the Lakeview mystery series (YA).

Genre: Middle Grade / Adventure — This review first appeared in L.A. Now and Then: http://losangelesnowthen.blogspot.com

 

homepage Silence

For immediate release

Title: Silence (Novella 1, Lakeview Novel Series) Author: Stacey R. Campbell
Publisher: Green Darner Press (May 28, 2015)
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ASIN: B00YGCAR1K
Amazon Kindle Only 55 pages $.99
Available at: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00YGCAR1K Website: http///www.staceyrcampbell.com

On May 29, Green Darner Press launched Silence via Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing. The e-novella is the first sequel to the first novel in Stacey R. Campbell’s popular Lakeview Novel series, Hush.

“Fans have been on pins and needles for two years, waiting to find out what happens next,” said publisher Kari Hock of Green Darner Press.

The series features the adventures of two American adopted sisters, Blakely and Halle, at the fictional Canadian Lakeview Academy. Hush came out in 2013, and was optioned for a film. Whisper followed in 2014; and a third novel, Scream, is slated for release Fall 2015.

About Silence
“Well, time to find my parents.”–Silence

This contemporary fairy tale picks up where its novel predecessor,

Hush, left off. Now 18, Blakely presides over the obscure country she inherited after finding out her biological family is an assassinated monarchy. The story takes off when Blakely decides she must find her biological father who was banished and forbidden to see her unwed mother again. Armed with a few clues, Blakely sets out with her family and bodyguards on a quest to find the other half of her roots. But can they sneak around without being noticed? And will the young monarch’s search lead to greater happiness or disappointment?

About the Author

Prolific author Stacey R. Campbell was told by teachers that she should forget her dream of becoming a writer because she was born with the reading/writing challenge of dyslexia. Now, having written four novels (including Middle Grade pirate adventure, Arrgh!) and one e-novella, Campbell has not only proven them wrong but had to pause from working on her next Lakeview sequel Bliss to give Roadmap Girl Book Buzz blogger, Marlan Warren, this interview.

Where did the names for the Lakeview heroines come from?

They are named after my three daughters.

How did you start writing the series?

When our eldest left home to go to boarding school, I started writing Hush as a way to stay in touch with her. Pretty soon her friends got involved and the project took on a life of its own.

Are your daughters actually portrayed in these novels?

Some characteristics are theirs, but the characters are composites. If there is something any daughter feels uncomfortable with, I change it.

What has influenced you plot-wise?

Hush started when my husband told my middle daughter that her red hair came from the Tudor side of the family. Our eldest then asked if that meant she could be a princess. When I told her several hundred people would have to die first, she replied, “Well, there could be a giant family reunion that we weren’t invited to and everyone could be killed.”

What is your favorite reader reaction to the series so far?

My favorite reactions are from readers who have a learning disability telling me that I have inspired them. If I can get that one kid, like me, who struggled to enjoy reading, I feel like I’m on top of the world.

Is there a fan club for the Lakeview series?

I am lucky to have a great group of reviewers and bloggers who love what I write. I call them my “Lakeview Street Team.” They are the first to get free ARC copies of new work and help me spread the word of what’s going on. The group is open to anyone who writes reviews. If you like what you see and want to help spread the word, stop by my website and leave me a message.

Can you talk a bit about the Lakeview titles?

In Hush, Blakely’s true identity is kept from her and only talked about in hushed tones. In Whisper, a ghost speaks to Halle in whispers. In Scream, Halle is running from drug dealers who want to do away with her and her boyfriend so it is very intense. Silence is the story of Blakely finding her biological father who was silenced by the king and told never to contact her. And Bliss, is the royal wedding, which will conclude the series.

What would you tell any young people who want to write?

Don’t listen to the negative. If writing is in your heart, write.

Contact | Book Publicity by Marlan | memoircity@gmail Facebook | Author Stacey R. Campbell
Twitter| @staceyrcampbell

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For immediate release

Title: Scream (Book 3, Lakeview Novel Series)
Author: Stacey R. Campbell
Publisher: Green Darner Press
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
Pub. Date: September 2015
ISBN: 978-0986439001
Paperback and E-Book Formats
Author Website http///www.staceyrcampbell.com Publicist: Book Publicity by Marlan (http://bookpublicitybymarlan.blogspot.com/)
Contact Publicist Marlan Warren: memoircity@gmail.com

Green Darner Press to launch Lakeview Novel 3: Author Interview with Stacey R. Campbell on overcoming dyslexia and writing from the heart

Seattle, WA, May 28, 2015–PR.com–Green Darner Press has announced plans to launch Scream—Book 3 of Stacey R. Campbell’s Lakeview Novels—this Fall. “We are very pleased with readers’ enthusiastic responses to the Young Adult series,” said publisher Kari Hock. “Each can be read as a stand-alone, although it’s fun to read them in order.”

The Lakeview novels follow the high school adventures of two adopted sisters, Blakely and Halle, at the fictional Canadian Lakeview Academy. Despite the fact that in Book 1 (Hush), the graduating Blakely discovered her birthright entitled her to rule a small country, Halle modestly continues her studies at Lakeview where she enjoys her friends and solving the occasional ghost mystery (Book 2, Whisper). Hush has been optioned for a film.

About Scream

“Oh yeah and there’s a reason the food sucks…
I’ll bet the garbage they’re serving us isn’t even prison grade.”

In Stacey R. Campbell’s latest heart-pounding thriller, Halle Henry kicks off her senior year with the perfect boyfriend, perfect roommate (his twin sister) and the prospect of getting into the perfect college—all of which become endangered when her boyfriend Alex witnesses a murder and ends up expelled for drugs planted in his backpack. Faced with uncooperative adults, Halle devises her own plan to corner the culprits using all the high-tech electronic equipment and methods at her disposal from full-on Internet, social media and digital tools to ordering spy stuff off Amazon. Halle joins forces with an unlikely ally—Alex’s edgy roommate Wyatt—as they set out to bring the real criminals to justice and bring back Alex in time for graduation. But can they keep from getting killed in the process? And almost as important: can they find out why the food in the cafeteria sucks?

Pages: 202

About the Author

Journalist Marlan Warren caught up with Stacey R. Campbell to talk about the Lakeview series and Scream. At an early age, the Seattle-based author was told by her teachers that she should forget her dream of becoming a writer because she was born with the reading/writing challenge of dyslexia. Now having written four novels (she recently authored the Middle Grade pirate adventure tale, Arrgh!), Campbell has not only proven them wrong but had to pause from polishing her next Lakeview installment—an e-novella entitled Silence due out in early June—to give this interview. Read the full interview at Roadmap Girl’s Book Buzz at http://roadmapgirlsbookbuzz.blogspot.com/.

How did you come up with the plot for Scream?
The main idea for Scream came from my own boarding school experience where after a year of complaining about the school’s food, it was found that the school cook had been skimming from the school’s food budget to supplement his cocaine addiction.

What is your favorite reader reaction to the series so far?

I can totally see your books as movies!” is always fun to hear, but my favorite reactions are from readers and other writers who have a learning disability telling me I have inspired them. If I can get that one kid, like me, who struggled to open a book and enjoy reading, I feel like I’m on top of the world.

I understand there’s a kind of fan club for Lakeview?

I am lucky enough to have a great group of reviewers and bloggers who love what I write. I call them my “Lakeview Street Team.” They are the first to get free ARC copies of new work and help me spread the word of what’s going on. The group is open to anyone who writes reviews. If you like what you see and want to help spread the word, stop by my website and leave me a message.

What would you tell any young girls out there who might be wanting to write books?

Don’t listen to the negative. People love to criticize. If writing is in your heart, write. Not for fame or money, but because it is part of who you are.

Contact | Book Publicity by Marlan | memoircity@gmail Facebook | Author Stacey R. Campbell
Twitter| @staceyrcampbell

 

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Title: ARRGH!
Author: Stacey R. Campbell
Illustrator: M.S. Corley
Publisher: Green Darner Press
Date of Release: Nov. 1, 2014
Genre: Middle Grade / Adventure
ISBN-13: 978-0988478442 Hard Cover and Paperback (282 pages) Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Arrgh-Stacey-R-Campbell/dp/0988478447 Kindle (284 pages) ASIN: B00MX7ATRM http://www.amazon.com/ARRGH-Stacey-R-Campbell-ebook/dp/B00MX7ATRM Author Website: http://www.staceyrcampbell.com/

2015 MOM’S CHOICE AWARD: HONORING EXCELLENCE SEAL OF APPROVAL

Join Christopher and Lucy, Leo the Attack-Mouse-for-Hire, Sugar the Monkey, and a throng of talking bats—as they battle pirates on the high seas. When 13-year-old Christopher runs away from an orphanage, he is kidnapped by undercover pirates who force him to pretend he is a mute relative, as the villains sign on to a merchant ship they are plotting to plunder. Christopher discovers he can talk with a highly skilled mouse who offers to teach him Five Life Lessons. The Captain’s 12-year-old daughter Lucy discovers the truth about Christopher and befriends him. But can they stop the pirates? Get ready for all the fun, hidden treasure, swordfights, terrifying storms and island paradise adventures that make pirate sagas so exciting. What sets Arrgh! apart from standard swashbucklers is its young hero’s longing for family, and how he comes to find a family he will treasure forever.

A delightful symphony for children, tuned with evocative prose that conjures images of the seafaring life. Satisfying and well-told.

—Kirkus Reviews

Arrgh! is a true treasure.

—Midwest Book Review

An awesome book. It will make kids long for the adventurous life of piratedom. I also enjoyed the illustrations, maps, and glossary of seafaring terms.

—Readers’ Favorite

AUTHOR BIO: Stacey R. Campbell is also the author of the Lakeview Novel
Series: Hush and Whisper (Young Adult). Hush was optioned for a film. A sequel to Hush is available as the e-novelette, Silence. The third Lakeview novel, Scream, debuts Fall 2015. A graduate of the University of Washington, Campbell is a dyslexic writer who believes there is no such thing as a bad reader. She lives in the Seattle area with her husband and three daughters (whom the Lakeview teen heroines are named after).

Stacey R. Campbell would love to present a fun pirate event at your educational facility, and read/sign her book. She welcomes all media interviews and interest.

MORE PRAISE FOR ARRGH!
The fighting is light, making it a really good MG book. An entertaining story that can be

enjoyed by older teens and adults alike.—Books and Ashes Blog Heroes to love, villains to hate, and lovable guides…Inspiring, fun.

—Sunshine, Bubbles & Books

Delightful, adventurous and sometimes heart pumping. I could not put it down!

—Novels, News and Notes

ARRGH! IS ALSO AVAILABLE ON
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