Friday, January 22, 2021

Blurb Blitz and Giveaway: Journey to Zentobia by Stacy D'Alessandro

Welcome to my stop on the blurb blitz for Journey to Zentobia by Stacy D'Alessandro. This blitz was organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. On my stop, I have an excerpt from the book as well as the tour wide giveaway for a chance to win a $20 Amazon or Barnes & Noble gift card. Be sure to follow the rest of the blurb blitz for more content. Enjoy!
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Title: Journey to Zentobia
Author: Stacy D'Alessandro
Publication Date: November 5th 2020
Print Length: 216 pages
Genre: Middle Grade Fantasy Adventure
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A fast-paced fantasy/adventure that you won't want to put down! Discover exciting twists and turns around every corner in this new children's book.

When the Miller family moves to the small town of Hailsville, ten-year-old Maggie and her thirteen-year-old brother discover their neighbor comes from a magical world, Zentobia. After the amateur detectives try to help him get home, they're swept through a rainbow portal and end up in his world on their own.

In Zentobia, Maggie and Peter embark on an action-packed fantasy adventure where they encounter orange rain, cascade down floating water falls, and chat with talking animals. Before long, they learn danger lurks in Zentobia, where all magic has been banished. Maggie is captured by an evil leader who wants to bring back dark magic. Help is on the way from Peter and their dad, who team up with Zentobia's good leader. But once they reach Maggie, more trouble emerges.

Join Maggie and Peter as they navigate magical underground tunnels, use flying shoes to travel across the world, and race to save Zentobia from the return of dark magic. Will they make it in time to stop the world's last gold star from turning black, or will trouble find them first?

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EXCERPT:
Maggie held her dad’s hand, and they lifted off the ground. Her stomach dropped as the speed increased. The smell from the silver flames leaving the shoes reminded her of fumes from the gas station near her home in Hailsville. “This is amazing and scary, and I can’t believe this is happening.” Below, Zentobia got smaller and smaller as they flew higher. My body is so light up here. Am I in space? Doubt it, the sky's still blue. I have to try this on my own. She released her hand from her dad’s, and her body wobbled from side to side. Cold, fresh air blew swiftly against her face, causing her to squint. 

Brit flew next to her. “Just keep it steady. You’ll get used to the wind. Focus on moving straight ahead.”

“This is a lot harder than it looks.” Maggie’s legs twisted, and she circled around. Yikes! This is crazy! “Oh no! I can’t balance. Someone help!”

Brit grabbed her arm. “You’ve got this.”

I can do it. Maggie steadied her breathing and held her hands out to her sides. “It’s working. I’m flying! Woohoo!”

They flew in silence the rest of the way. Maggie practiced tricks but kept losing her balance. As they approached the palace, Brit signaled to the group to land on the side of the building behind a set of dead trees. 

Oh no. I forgot how to slow down. “Yikes! Dad! I can’t slow these things down!” 

“Tap your right foot twice,” Brit yelled from the ground. 

Maggie tapped her foot inches from the ground, and she landed on her hands and knees. “Ouch! That was the worst landing ever.”

Her dad ran to her side. “You okay?”

“Yep.” She stood. “I’ll stick the landing next time.”
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Routine trips to Disneyland with her daughter played a role in Stacy's passion for storytelling.

Her daughter inspired the idea for Journey to Zentobia on a road trip home from one of their visits to the happiest place on Earth. They would pass a piece of paper back and forth in the car and each write part of a story. Her daughter's idea for a brother and sister to transport back in time through a rainbow portal stuck with Stacy for almost two years before she sat in front of the computer and began to write Journey to Zentobia.

Though she changed her daughter's original idea of the main characters going back in time to ending up in another world, the credit still goes to her innovative, young mind.

When she wasn’t working on this children's book, she wrote freelance stories for the Las Vegas Review-Journal Real Estate Section. Prior to that, she worked in the public relations industry in Las Vegas for more than 25 years. And when duty calls, she volunteers for the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.

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GIVEAWAY:
Stacy D'Alessandro will be awarding a $20 Amazon or Barnes & Noble gift card to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter. To increase your chance of winning, leave a comment at a different stop on the blurb blitz each day. Good luck!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

112 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Hi...it took about a year and a half. Lots of rewrites and editing. Thanks for asking!

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  2. Thank you for hosting my book! I am happy to answer any questions. :)

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  3. Replies
    1. Thanks so much...I found a very talented illustrator.

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  4. I like the cover. It has very nice artwork.

    abfantom at yahoo dot com

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  5. Sounds like a great book. I love the color.

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  6. How do you ever come up with such amazing covers?
    Thank you for sharing this review.

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  7. Glad you like the cover! I had an idea for the cover and the illustrator really brought it to life. A brother and sister transport through a rainbow portal to another world so I thought a vision of that might work well to convey to story.

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  8. Replies
    1. Such a good question! It happens to me often. When it does, I honestly do something else instead of writing and go back to it when I feel I have a clear mind and more ideas to put down. I never try and force it because I am afraid the best ideas won't happen then.

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  9. Sounds like a great book. My Grand Daughter would love this book.

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  10. Replies
    1. Thank you! I tried to make it a fast-paced fun read.

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  11. Happy Friday! Thanks for sharing the great post :)

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  12. I think that the cover of your book is colorful and highly detailed.

    Nancy
    allibrary (at) aol (dot) com

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  13. Thank you! The illustrator is very talented and brought the characters to life!

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  14. Thank you! The illustrator Kim Dingwall is very talented and brought the characters to life.

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  15. Really well done, I was always a fan of fantasy books.

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  16. Thanks so much! It was really fun to write.

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  17. I enjoyed the excerpt. Thank you for the giveaway!

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    1. Glad you enjoyed it! Good luck on the giveaway. :)

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  18. Replies
    1. Thank you! I will pass all the great feedback on to the illustrator. :)

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  19. What inspired you to write this book?

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    1. Great question....my daughter inspired me. We would write stories together on road trips, and she came up with a slightly different version of this story idea. I tweaked it and brought Journey to Zentobia to life.

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  20. Your book sounds great and  I appreciate you sharing it and for the giveaway.. Thanks!

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  21. Great blog post- love finding new (to me) authors

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    1. That's great to hear! Thanks for your interest. :)

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  22. Replies
    1. Thank you...so glad you like it. I will pass along this wonderful feedback to the illustrator. :)

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  23. The excerpt is interesting. Thank you for sharing it.

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    Replies
    1. So glad you like it. You are welcome! Thanks for checking it out.

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  24. What's your main character doing today?

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    1. Hi...thanks for asking! On the cover, she is about to go through a rainbow portal to another world called Zentobia. Her brother and friend are running after her to try and stop her. :)

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  25. Nice cover. It sounds like a really interesting book. Thank you for sharing.

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    1. Hi...I'm glad you think so! Thanks for checking it out. :)

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  26. Do you listen to music when you write?

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  27. Replies
    1. Hmmm...I have never thought about that...I am not too sure. I do know there were a few words or phrases I used too much and had to go back and switch them up! One of them was Maggie reached for her journal.

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  28. I love the cover and would enjoy reading it too.

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    1. So glad to hear that and I hope you enjoy it if you decide to read it. :)

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  29. Sounds interesting! Thank you for sharing!

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    Replies
    1. Glad you think so! Thank you for stopping by to check it out!

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  30. Replies
    1. So glad you think so! :) Thanks for checking it out.

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  31. Replies
    1. Thank you Danielle. I appreciate you stopping by!

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  32. looks like a fun one

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  33. sounds good!

    mia2009(at)comcast(dot)net

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    1. Thank you for checking it out Edye! Glad you think so.

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  34. Looks like a cute children's book!

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    1. Thank you Doreen! Glad you stopped by to take a look at it!

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  35. Replies
    1. Thanks Thomas! Have a great weekend as well!

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  36. Replies
    1. Perhaps a little writing and relaxing. :) Oh, and some dreaded house cleaning.

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  37. Thanks for sharing the great post!

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    1. Thank you for taking a look at it! I appreciate it.

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  38. My son read this book a few weeks ago and absolutely LOVED IT!!! He can't wait for more!

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    Replies
    1. So glad he liked it! The sequel is in the works!

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  39. You are so creative and amazing!

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    1. Me? Why thank you! :) The cover credit must go to the amazing Kim Dingwall! She is based in Australia and brought the characters to life.

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  40. What author do you most like to read?

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    Replies
    1. Right now I am reading the Land of Stories series by Chris Colfer. My daughter is way ahead of me in the series so I am trying to catch up!

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  41. Replies
    1. Thanks Holly! Glad you like it and stopped by to check out the book. Have a great weekend!

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  42. I’m excited about reading the story!

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    1. Hi Julieh...that makes me so happy to hear that you are excited to read it. I hope you like it and would love to know what you think. Have a great day and thank you for checking out the book!

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