Look, I can Talk with my Fingers! #OurAuthorGang

Children's book for ages 4-12 by Erika M Szabo

http://www.authorerikamszabo.com

ENGLISH

Read preview: http://tinyurl.com/ybdrytka

Buy print: http://tinyurl.com/ybnztorb

B&N: http://tinyurl.com/yakaxlf3  

Online stores eBook: https://books2read.com/u/4jKZP2

Signed print: http://tinyurl.com/y7ncdcko

A little girl teaches her family and her friends how to relate to someone who is hearing impaired.

When Grandma Rosa lost her hearing, Sandra and her parents became frustrated and sad. They didn’t know what to do and how to learn to communicate better with Grandma Rosa.

They tried shouting, changing the tone of their voices or leaning closer to her ear when they talked, to no avail. Rosa could hear some sounds clearly, but certain sounds she couldn’t hear well.

It became an everyday struggle for the family, and they missed the comforting family conversations at dinner time.

Sandra finds a website for hearing impaired people that explains how deaf people communicate. They start learning sign language and to “talk” with their fingers. Sandra and Grandma Rosa find realize that with compassion, love, and hard work, they can overcome the obstacles of disability.

This fun picture book carries an important message to children, how to learn not to judge or make fun of anyone just because they’re different. The life of any disabled person is no fun and living with a disability has many challenges, but we can help to make their life easier and not harder.

SPANISH

Read preview: http://tinyurl.com/yd8em2d7

Print: https://www.createspace.com/6001480

Amazon print: http://tinyurl.com/ych3r9kn

B&N: http://tinyurl.com/yb9jjk4t

Online stores eBook: https://books2read.com/u/3neQ2K

Signed print: http://tinyurl.com/ycjgh4ud

Sandra enseña a su familia y amigos a comunicarse con personas con discapacidad auditiva.

Este divertido libro ilustrado  lleva un importante mensaje para los niños, como aprender a no juzgar o burlarse de alguien sólo porque es diferente.  La vida de algunas personas con discapacidad no es divertida y vivir con una discapacidad conlleva muchos retos, pero nosotros podemos hacer sus vidas más fáciles en vez de más difíciles.

Cuando la abuela Rosa perdió la audición, Los padres de Sandra se sintieron frustrados y tristes. No sabían qué hacer  y cómo aprender a comunicarse mejor con ella. Ellos intentaban gritar, cambiar el tono de voz o acercarse a su oído cuando se dirigían a ella, pero no servía de nada. Rosa podía oír algunos sonidos claramente, pero otros no podía escucharlos bien. Para ellos se convirtió en una lucha diaria poder comunicarse y empezaron a echar de menos las reconfortantes conversaciones de sobremesa.

—Mira, abuela —le dijo  entusiasmada—, puedo mostrarte las letras con mis dedos cuando no puedas escuchar lo que te digo.

   —¿Qué quieres decir con “mostrar las letras con tus

dedos”? —la abuela Rosa preguntó.

   —He encontrado una página web para personas con discapacidad auditiva y explica cómo pueden comunicarse  entre ellos sin hablar. Hay un signo para cada letra y cada número, que ellos pueden hacer con sus manos. Podemos aprender los signos juntas, y cuando no puedas escuchar el sonido, yo puedo mostrártelo  —Sandra sonrió feliz.

   —Oh, creo que es una idea maravillosa, Sandra. —Los ojos de la abuela Rosa brillaron con entusiasmo— Pero parece un poco difícil, ¿tú crees que yo podría aprender los signos?

   —Por supuesto que puedes, abuela; y podemos aprender juntas.

Y lo hicieron. Ellas demostraron que con amor, compasión y trabajando duro se pueden superar los obstáculos que conlleva la discapacidad auditiva.

Erika M Szabo via Google+

1 year ago  -  Shared publicly

 

in this children's book for ages 4-12, Sandra learns sign language to help her grandmother

+

1
2
1

 

 · 

Reply

Erika M Szabo via Google+

1 year ago  -  Shared publicly

 

Look, I can Talk with my Fingers! #OurAuthorGang
Children's book for ages 4-12 by Erika M Szabo http://www.authorerikamszabo.com ENGLISH Read preview: http://tinyurl.com/ybdrytka Buy print: http://tinyurl.com/ybnztorb B&N: http://tinyurl.com/yakaxlf3   Online stores eBook: https://books2read.com/u/4jKZP2 ...

+

1
2
1

 

 · 

Reply

Joe Bonadonna

1 year ago  -  Shared publicly

 

Not only a cute story, but a very important one, too.

+

2
1
2

 

 · 

Reply

Erika M Szabo

1 year ago

 

 

Thanks Joe!

Joe Bonadonna

1 year ago

 

 

You're welcome!

Grace Au

1 year ago  -  Shared publicly

 

This is lovely, Erika! So glad you've translated it to Spanish. It is a most needed concept in our children today...to not judge on differences, but to embrace them.

+

2
1
2

 

 · 

Reply

Erika M Szabo

1 year ago

 

 

It will happen one day, until then, authors can help by taking baby steps and reach children early :)

Rick Haynes

1 year ago  -  Shared publicly

 

Great covers Erika, just perfect for kids.

 

Mackenzie Flohr

1 year ago  -  Shared publicly

 

Such a great way to introduce children to sign language and a second language!

 

 · 

Reply

Mackenzie Flohr shared this via Google+

1 year ago  -  Shared publicly

 

+

2
1
2

 

 · 

Reply

Joe Bonadonna via Google+

1 year ago  -  Shared publicly

 

Sunday's blog on A Small Gang of Authors is a fine excerpt in both English and Spanish from Erika M. Szabo​'s wonderful and education children's book, Look, I Can Talk with My Fingers. Check it out, please. Thank you!

+

2
1
2

 

 · 

Reply

Aure the Topaz, Book 1 of the Aglaril Cycle

By Rich Feitelberg

feitelberg.net

Twenty-five years ago, invaders captured Andropolis, the capital of Thalacia, and ended the rule of King Leonard. According to prophecy, the invaders can be ousted and the royal line restored only by wielding the Aglaril, seven elven gems of unprecedented power. 

However, the circlet in which the gems were set was destroyed millennia ago and the gems lost. At least, that was the common belief. Evan Pierce, a priest of St. Michael, discovers one of the gems belongs to the town jeweler. He also uncovers a plot to steal the gem and does what he can to keep it safe. But it is not enough. 

Now, Evan must recover the gem by relying on a motley group of adventurers for help. Together, they must overcome a series of obstacles or humanity's one hope for restoring the royal line will be lost forever.

From amazon.com: Five stars. Possibly one of the best books I have read so far this year and the best fantasy I have read in a while. This book read surprisingly quick, it is easily appropriated for younger readers even early teens but it still very much so appeals to adults. There wasn't a lot of detailed world building that you normally expect, it just naturally flows and you learn as you read but don't feel lost at any point. There are a wide variety of characters, each with their own clear back story. There are several storylines going on at once but they mesh so well you don't feel you need to keep track of them. This was a very well written fantasy novel and now I can't wait to get my hands on the next book in the series!

To buy: http://manasoftbooks.com/aure.php

My Music - Part 1 #OurAuthorGang

MY MUSIC – PART 1

By Rick Haynes

http://www.rickhaynesauthor.com/

“If music be the food of love, play on.”

So said William Shakespeare, and if you think about his words, the truism is still alive today.

Why would that be? 

Well, don’t we all have a favourite song, a song with meaning, perhaps evoking strong personal feelings? Or perhaps our favourite, is one that binds us to another, bringing either happy thoughts or sad memories?  

Music is everywhere. People all over the world listen to tunes on vinyl, cd, radio, television, and in digitised format, not forgetting live music from concerts, festivals and street artists. We are bombarded with the sound of music on a daily basis, and we feed off the fare on offer, sometimes unknowingly. 

Each one of us has our preferences, and our dislikes. And that’s another pointer as to why humans are similar, yet individually are so different to one another. 

Shakespeare introduced many words into the English language, for if one didn’t exist for his purpose, he invented it. And his sayings are used in our everyday lives. ‘Love is blind,’ and ‘Heart of Gold,’ come to mind. Songs with the same titles were sang by, Alicia Keys and Neil Young.

Here’s my story.

In the 60’s we had Rhythm & Blues and Tamla Motown, followed quickly by rock. The first band I followed, The Muleskinners had a great sound with a cracking guitarist - they had one hit with - Back Door Man. Supporting them was a band so poor that I had to stand outside the hall until they finished. 18 months later that band had a number one hit in the UK with, Go Now, and The Moody Blues story took off like a rocket.

My mate and I visited our local record shop once a week to check out the latest soul imports from America. It was great being the only ones to have them, as so few arrived in our local store, or anywhere else. I built up a collection, but one record would forever be my favourite. The parody of James Bond by Rex Garvin and the Mighty Cravers, entitled, ‘Sock it to em JB’, is even now played at my parties.

Next up was a trip to the famous Marquee Club in Wardour Street, London. I lied about my age to get in to see The Yardbirds. Standing transfixed in front of the stage as Eric Clapton played a solo, I looked a right plonker, but I didn’t care, even though I got chucked out soon afterwards. My love with the electric guitar would soon turn into the best habit of my life, but unfortunately my playing would be akin to a cat wailing in agony.

Later in the sixties I saw The Who. I didn’t have to guess where their energy came from, but the amazing sound from just 3 performers was mind blowing. Roger Daltrey sang, and Pete Townsend and John Entwistle played their guitars as if there were five guitarists on stage. Keith – Moon the Loon – was just that, but he’s the best drummer I’ve ever had the privilege to watch.

I saw Cream, live, not long before they split in 1968, and soon after the original line up of, Wishbone Ash - one of the most fan friendly bands ever.

Come the 70’s I danced in the clubs to the sound of the disco beat, yet collected music from an array of fantastic rock bands. Barclay James Harvest and ELO were firm favourites. I managed to see The Electric Light Orchestra at Wembley and I’ll never forget their spaceship emerging from beneath the stage covered in mist.

The music in the 80’s started the decline into mediocrity. Sugar pop was not for me, so I ignored the charts and looked elsewhere. Dire Straits, Asia, Wishbone Ash, The Eagles, I collected them all.

A night with Genesis was the best concert I’ve ever seen. Everyone thought the gig had ended but Genesis returned to play a second encore. 20 minutes of Tamla Motown brought the house down.

‘Run to You,’ by Bryan Adams has a special meaning, as does, ‘Django,’ by Joe Bonamassa. The former is personal, the latter mind-blowing. When Joe played the first notes of that instrumental, all the hairs on my arm stood up, and spellbound, I was. It’s the finest opening track I’ve ever witnessed. And if you haven’t heard it, then rectify that double quick. Buy the track, sit in a quiet room, turn the volume up, and close your eyes.

In the 90’s, I lost interest in the charts, yet continued to seek out new melodic rock bands from all over the globe. And by the most unusual of circumstances, I found a new sound, a sound that brought back memories of my youth, and dancing in the discos.

Sitting around a pool on the Greek island of Kefalonia, I heard a new track over the speaker system. It was soft, catchy and my interest was piqued. I listened as the same four notes repeated, then followed by a rising six - da da da da - da da da da - da da da da da da - which appeared to be from someone playing a piano, but it was different. I asked Aris, the barman, the name of the artist and the title of the track. As the beat intensified my love affair with the music of Robert Miles, and especially this track, Children, took off. Aris, even brought me in a copy before I left for home. Thanks matey.

My love affair with trance music had just begun, but you’ll have to wait for part 2 to read what happened next.

Droughtlander is official over!! #Outlander #HistFic #OurAuthorGang

By Mary Anne Yarde

So the long ‘Droughtlander’ is official over, and it is back on our screens. Thank goodness! This series promises to be as amazing as the last. Check out the trailer...

 Outlander | Season 3 Official Trailer |STARZ

Last September I found myself in Scotland and I could not but help checking out some of the fabulous Historical sites where Outlander was filmed, and I thought I would share some photographs with you today!!

Doune Castle Stirling

I was in heaven. I had Sam Heughan chatting away in my ear (the audio guide), explaining how Doune Castle was turned into Castle Leoch. What more could a girl want?!

If you have limited time in Scotland and want to go to just one Outlander location, then go here. Castle Doune, not only has the most incredible history, but there is something special about this place ~ although that might have been down to Jamie Fraser ~ I mean Sam Heughan ~ giving me my very own personal guided tour...hey, a girl can dream can't she?

Preston Mill –Edinburgh

Jamie found his way home to Lallybroch, and he had to make repairs to the watermill.

I loved this mill. You have to take the guided tour when you look around the mill, as it is an actual working mill, which I think is incredible.  I learnt so much about watermills, and the tour guide was fabulous.

Blackness Castle – Edinburgh

I can see why Blackness Castle was used on location as Fort William Prison. It is incredibly atmospheric.

Hopetoun House – Edinburgh

Outlander fans will recognise Hopetoun House as the home of the Duke of Sandringham's, and boy, was it impressive. The tour guide brought the history of the house to life, and it is beautiful. Well worth a visit, and the views from the roof are amazing.

If you fancy going back even further in time then why not check out

 The Du Lac Chronicles series?

FREE with Kindle Unlimited Subscription.

Amazon US

Amazon UK

Pick a Book Day at #OurAuthorGang

Pick a Book Day

Click on the link and read about our books

Thank you for your support!

www.amazon.com/author/feitelberg

https://www.amazon.com/50-Fabulous-Tomatoes-Your-Garden-ebook/dp/B01CRYKR86/

http://tinyurl.com/y9xqy7zz

books2read.com/u/bzp98G

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004NNUYLK

https://www.amazon.com/Du-Lac-Chronicles-Book-ebook/dp/B01CDK2MK0

https://www.amazon.com/EVIL-NEVER-DIES-MAXILLA-TALES-ebook/dp/B011GP1LQO/

http://a.co/ccWPQGk

World Building and Astronomy#OurAuthorGang

By Rich Feitelberg

feitelberg.net

When building a whole world, I like to start with the big picture and work down. You don't have to do that, of course. You can start small and work up, but I start at the top and work out the details the way they would be if the world was real. So I usually start with the astronomy of the world. This includes things like:

What is the spectral class of the star the world orbits?

How far from this star is the world? This is another way of asking how many days are there in a year?

And while we are on the subject:

How long is a day? How are months determined? Typically it is based on the phases of the moon. If the world has no moons, you'll need another method to figure that out. You'll also need to think about what, if anything, affects the tides on the world (assuming there are oceans to influence).

What does the night sky look like? What are the constellations? How do they fit in the mythologies of the world? What are the signs of the zodiac?

How many planets are there in the star system your world belongs to? What are these planets like and how far away are they? Are any visible in the night sky from the world?

Some or all of these questions may be irrelevant for your world. Oz, Alice in Wonderland, and Middle Earth do not bother us with these details. And they rarely come into play in my fantasy novels. But they have and it is better to have answers at your fingertips than have to stop and fumble for answers.

Notice all of these questions place the world in a star system. You can design the planets that orbits that star and decide on the number of moons for your world. This can be fun and may even teach you a few things about our own planet.

For my world, I decided early that the sun, Arien, was like our sun, Sol, a yellow G3 star. And that my world was about the same distance from it as Earth is from our sun. The only change I made was I shortened the year by five days so the calendar math came out even. That meant my world was a little closer to Arien but not much. That would affect the seasons and temperatures a little but not by much.

Then I decided on two moons, Ibilik and Ezer. One of the moons affects the planet's tides and the other is too far away to do much of anything. The moons are always fifteen days out of sync with each other and the time it takes for each moon to cycle through its phases is exactly 30 days. That gives me 12 months of 30 days each.

To keep things simple, I kept seven days to a week because I found most people had a hard time if I changed the calendar too much. (My original plans were a 10-day week; the only problem with that no one could remember whether Cooksday was before or after Highday. So I abandoned it that part)

Then I designed the night sky for the northern and southern hemispheres. This ended up being important because my characters stargaze and my bard needs to know what the constellations are called and what stories there are around each. I went this far because the Greeks named most of our constellations and their mythology still surrounds them, if you care to learn about it.

So you can see that these details relate back to important aspects of the world as a whole. You may choose to ignore them, but if you don't you can add real flavor to your world.

Next time another deep dive.

The Arien Star System