Thanks to Tyndale House Publishers for these two freebies. Tyndale House will offer more freebies and discounted books throughout the month, and I’ll do my best to let you know about them. These books are offered on several different e-readers, but I have only included the link to the Kindle store. So if you have something else, please check their store, because they are probably free there also.
Jen is thrilled to be the winner of Captain Jack’s Treasure by Max Elliot Anderson, and being able to give her son a new book to read! I know he will enjoy it. Jen is also a fellow blogger, one that I follow and love to read her posts. Her blog is: http://savurbks.wordpress.com. I hope you take the time to check her blog out because I know you’ll enjoy it. I love how she constantly changes out the picture on her blog…she’s always finding cute ways to put books in unexpected places. Neat and creative!
Congrats, Jen! Come back and let us know how your son enjoyed the book.
Enter Book Giveaway: December 1-6, 2013: Make a comment below to enter.
I read this book and I truly enjoyed it and I think that young boys will love to read about the adventures of Sam Cooper and his friends. It’s an exciting book with strong morals and family values. I asked one of our young library patrons to read it and tell me what he thought. He liked the book and I asked him if he would be willing to write a short book review for this post. What he did was write an excellent book report, worthy of an A+ from any English teacher! I’m going to include clips of that report here (so as to not reveal the whole story to a young person who may be reading). I imagine though that our blog is read by adults with children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews and y’all won’t mind knowing the whole story. But for the sake of spoilers and in respect for the author, I’m going to just selects a few lines. If you are interested in reading Mac’s complete book report so you will know for sure that your young boy will enjoy the book, just put that in your comment and I’ll be happy to email it to you.
I Read Captain Jack’s Treasure (report done by Mac Wages)
I would like to start off this review by simply saying this: “Captain Jack’s Treasure” is a great book! In Captain Jack’s Treasure, Tony, Sam, and Tyler get hired by a old sea captain to help him fix up an old dilapidated boat. They help him completely renovate the boat….
The boys finally fix up the boat now named “My Treasure” by Captain Jack. Sam thinks that Captain Jack is going treasure hunting and will desert them. Little do the boys know that Captain Jack’s family has long been gone due to him wasting his life on failed attempts at treasure hunting….
a violent storm rips apart the shores but Captain Jack manages to keep himself alive and the boat intact….
(You can read my review of this book on this blog under “Book Reviews”. There are a lot of twists and turns in the book and Mac did a great job of describing all that was going on…but, for now, we don’t want to know how the story ends, just that you’re son will enjoy the adventures!)
Max Elliot Anderson
Max, thanks so much for being our featured author this month. We are so excited to have a man that writes books for our young children. I read Captain Jack’s Treasure myself and I enjoyed it and I know lots of young boys will enjoy the adventures of Sam Cooper.
When did you start writing? And have you always written for younger kids?
My writing began many years ago, although I didn’t think of it as writing at the time. As part of my video production business, I wrote hundreds of client video scripts and TV commercials. Writing for publication began about twelve years ago when I decided to focus on adventure and mystery manuscripts for young readers. I had always enjoyed the dramatic films I’d worked on for kids, and books for that same audience seemed like a natural next step. I’ve also written shorter pieces that have appeared in places including Guideposts magazine and a Guideposts book, some Chicken Soup for the Soul books, and several other anthologies. I write two monthly columns as well.
How many books are in the Sam Cooper Adventure so far? Do you have plans to continue with more books with Sam?
Currently there are three books in the series; Lost Island Smugglers, Captain Jack’s Treasure, and River Rampage. The series was planned to continue. Book #4 was to be This Property is Condemned. Sadly, the publisher decided to make a major change in direction, and ended the series as far as they were concerned. I’m currently discussing the potential of another publisher to continue the Sam Cooper Adventure series so we’ll have to see what happens there.
How do you come up with your adventures?
Much of my life has been an adventure. I shot my first dramatic film, in Germany, when I was just sixteen years old. That happened because the cinematographer on the project severely injured his foot on a piece of broken glass and couldn’t continue the project. But it was easy for me to step into this new role because I’d spent countless hours hanging around my dad’s motion picture production studio as a kid.
My film production work has taken me all over the world. It isn’t unusual to find many of those experiences in the pages of the books I write for kids today. Some of the stories, characters, and settings come directly out of these projects.
In this photo, Max and his father, Ken Anderson are working on a dramatic film in New Guinea.
Other ideas come from the news or magazine stories, crime reports, and reading the newspaper.
Do you write books for boys only, or do you have books specifically geared for girls also?
Something I learned in those film production days is that girls would watch an adventure movie with boys as the main characters, but boys were not interested in stories about girls. I decided to use that same template in writing my books. I don’t exclude girls, often they are included in the cast of characters, but the stories feature boys primarily. Part of the reason for this is we are in an epic battle to get boys interested in reading. More often they’d rather be outside playing, or glued to their electronic devices and video games.
I have written one manuscript recently that’s a girl’s story but it’s not ready to be sent to a publisher yet. This one could easily become a series.
Books by Max Elliot Anderson
I think these books would make some good, clean movies for families to have for their boys to watch. Have you ever thought about that? It would be great!
Again, given my background, I would agree with you. In fact, as I’m writing each one, I see it as a feature film, in my head, even as I write. For me it’s like watching as a film develops on the screen in front of me. I don’t write to an outline, so I’m often as surprised as anyone when certain characters show up or when certain things happen. I think visually and write visually, so it’s not difficult to see these stories as potential films one day.
What are your future plans? Are any new books in the makings?
I have contracts for 9 more books right now. Six of these are with an educational publisher in Toronto. The books are intended to reach reluctant, struggling readers. This publisher has their own representatives across Canada who sell directly to schools and public libraries. I have very high hopes for what may develop. The publisher is also exploring the market for a collection of short stores I’ve submitted to them recently.
One of my publishers has three more of my books planned in the months ahead, with plans for additional titles. And I still have sixteen other finished manuscripts available. With that much completed material, I spend most of my time in marketing and promotional activities, writing shorter pieces, and columns.
You write such great adventures, I think you must have enjoyed reading as a young boy also. Did you?
That’s the irony of my story as an author. I grew up hating to read. I’d rather be outside doing it, or have someone explain how to do something, rather than to read about it in a book. Even more ironic is the fact that my dad published over seventy books during his lifetime, and I never read any of them growing up. In the past couple of years, I’ve begun to dust off some of his kids books from the 1940’s and 50’s and read them.
What types of books do you enjoy reading? And who are your favorite authors?
I’ve read a couple of books lately. The first was Happy Happy Happy, the Duck Dynasty biography by Phil Robertson. And a book I would recommend to anyone in the church or in non-profit ministry, The Evangelical Recession by John S. Dickerson.
What did you think of Mac’s book report he wrote about Captain Jack’s Treasure? I thought it was wonderful. I bet, as an author, it makes you happy to hear how these young boys enjoy your books.
Yes, I love to read the thoughts and reactions from the readers of my books. If I were a teacher, and Mac had handed in his report, I would have given him an A+. It’s obvious he read the book, understood its purpose, and identified with the characters.
Is there anything else you would like our readers to know about you?
I think we’ve covered everything. I’d just like to say that adults hold the keys to getting kids interested in reading. Reading should be modeled in front of kids by adults, especially by men. If boys think it’s cool to read, it’s likely they’ll become readers, too. And as I like to remind kids when I speak in their schools, readers are the leaders others follow.
Thanks so much for being with us Max. We look forward to reading the comments to this post and drawing a blessed winner for our book giveaway of Captain Jack’s Treasure. It would make a great Christmas present for some young man, wouldn’t it?
Here’s what a couple of other writer’s have to say about Max:
“Sam Cooper Adventures are like good, family movies . . . as an ordinary kid findshimself in exciting andextra-ordinary adventures!”Bill Myers – Author
“Max Elliot Anderson brings a lifetime of dramatic film and video production to the pages of his action adventures and mysteries.” Jerry B. Jenkins, Author
Let’s meet Max:
Max Elliot Anderson
Max Elliot Anderson grew up as a struggling reader. After surveying the market as an adult, he sensed the need for action-adventures and mysteries, for readers 8 and up, that he would have enjoyed as a boy.
Using his lifetime of experience in the production of dramatic motion pictures, videos, and television commercials, Mr. Anderson brings that same visual excitement, humor, and heart-pounding action to his stories. Young readers have reported that reading one of his books is like being in an exciting or scary movie – good scary and not dark.
He writes monthly columns about middle grade readers, and short stories for young readers. His work has appeared in Guideposts, Chicken Soup for the Soul, and many others.
Readers compare Mr. Anderson’s books to the Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, a modern day Tom Sawyer, Lemony Snicket, and adventure author Jack London.
Links that I highly recommend you checking out. Max’s website is amazing!:
Ok, I’m totally blown away by this author and all his experiences and his family background. I hope you take the time to visit these links, especially his website! So, now for the giveaway.
Now for the autographed book giveaway:
Make a comment between Dec. 1-6, 2013 to be entered in the giveaway. The winner will be selected on Dec. 7th and be contacted by email.
Enter Book Giveaway: December 1-6, 2013: Make a comment below to enter.
You must be 18 years or older and be a U.S. resident.
Leave a comment in the comment section at the end of THIS post. One entry per person. Right now I’m not requiring you to “follow” our blog, but we would love to have you join us and keep up-to-date on all the interesting posts, interviews, etc. So, please think about clicking on that “follow” button. We are truly blessed with wonderful followers and if you are not already following us, we would love to have you join our “family”!
We will randomly compile a list of everyone who made a comment and will draw a name. We will then notify you by email giving you further instructions on collecting your free book. DO NOT include your personal mailing address in your comment for security reasons.
If we do not hear back from you in 5 days, we will draw another winner.
Please allow 2-3 weeks for book delivery.
If you win the book it would be really great if you could come back to this post after you have read it and tell us what you thought about the book.
Ahoy, Come Aboard for a Great Adventure! (5 Stars)
We will be giving away a copy of this book, Dec. 1-6, 2013. So stop by and read the interview with the author and make a comment to that post to enter.
Captain Jack’s Treasure (A Sam Cooper Adventure #2) by Max Elliot Anderson
Three boys, best friends, Summertime, the ocean, treasure hunting, and Captain Jack! Ahoy, matey’s! You are in for a treat reading this second adventure with Sam Cooper and his friends Tony and Tyler.
They live in Harper’s Inlet, FL and Tony’s dad own’s a marina. They are out of school for the summer and Sam’s dad surprises him with a metal detector. Now Sam is obsessed with finding buried treasure. So he gets his friends involved and they set looking for adventure. After a long time digging, all they came up with was an empty metal drum. But then at the marina they meet up with an old “crusty” sailor, named Captain Jack. He’s just bought and old dilapidated boat and ask the boys if they want to work for him this summer in fixing the boat up. Of course they jump on that offer and off they go on a grand adventure on finding out Captain Jack’s secret and Sam’s getting more and more obsessed with finding treasure. Captain Jack always offers the boys a wonderful “tale” after each work day and the boys just eat it up, just like the pizza Captain Jack gives them.
Sam’s dad explains to him that earthly treasure are only temporary and true treasure is things that last. Sam finds out the hard way what his dad was trying to teach him.
The morals in this story are wonderful and the excitement is good enough for any young boy, maybe 4th grade through middle school even. Even I, an old grandma, enjoyed the story.
You don’t have to read the stories in sequence but I would recommend it. This story refers to the boys harrowing adventure in the first book that I’m going to have to read now! And I’m sure Book 3 will be just as good.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from bookfun.org in return for my honest opinion and did not receive any compensation for a favorable review. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
Remember, to come back on December 1-6, 2013 and read our interview with Max Elliot Anderson and comment on THAT post to be entered to win a copy of this book. It would make a great Christmas present for some blessed young boy in your life.
I received some great news from Tyndale House Publisher this morning with some great FREE e-books. Some start this week and some next week, so I’ll keep you informed about those next week. I have also found some other great e-book deals I’m passing along. I’m including the Kindle link to take you directly to the amazon site to “purchase” the book, but most of these books may be “on sale” on other e-readers too, so check your e-reader store and see if they are free or discounted. I also encourage you to click on the author’s name and you’ll be directed to their website/blog and you can get to know them better and find out about other books they’ve written.
I have the dates that the book will be either free or discounted on some (and I’m posting that along with the book) otherwise, I don’t know, so get it now. Sometimes they are free one day and regular price the next. I’ve missed out on some good books by waiting! Double check the price before downloading. Happy Reading!
FREE (9/8 – 10/12) on Kindle: The Sea Glass Sisters (Prelude to The Prayer Box)by Lisa Wingate (Tyndale House) This is a novella that takes place before Lisa’s book, The Prayer Box, which I really enjoyed, so I’m looking forward to reading this novella and getting some background info.
FREE (9/8 – 9/14) on Kindle: When God Intervenes: The Extraordinary Story of Faith, Hope, and the Power of Prayer by Dabney Hedegard (Tyndale House)
$1.99 (9/1 – 9/30) on Kindle: Blind Spot 1: (RPM) by Chris Fabry (Tyndale House) For ages 10+
You can visit Vessel Project and see the books they have listed as free and discounted today.
Here are a few great deals from Tyndale House for your e-reader. These deals are available on various e-readers, but I have only linked to Kindle. If you have something other than a kindle, then just look up your e-reader store and you should find the same deal.
FREE (8/25 – 8/31) on Kindle: Misery Love Company by Rene Gutteridge. I’ve read this and done a review (you can read it under our “Book Review” section. I highly recommend this book if you like a good suspense/mystery.
FREE (8/25 – 8/31)Kindle: Heaven Hears: The True Story of What Happened When Pat Boone Asked the World to Pray for His Grandson’s Survival by Lindy Boone Michaelis
FREE (8/1 – 8/31)Kindle: Death Trap (Robot Wars 1) by Sigmund Brouwer (for ages 10 and up)
I have linked to Kindle on these books, but most are available in other e-book formats also, so check your e-reader store.
I just received a notice from Tyndale House Publisher about some free and discounted e-books and I’m really excited to share them with you. There will be more as the month progresses and I’ll let you know, especially when, Misery Loves Company by Rene Gutteridge is FREE toward the end of the month, you don’t want to miss that one! Wow! So keep tuned in.
Here are some more e-book deals, a free one and some discounted. I don’t know how long these will be free, so if you like what you see, you’d best go ahead and download them. Just double check the prices.
Well, it seems she grew up and went to college in 2000 (that’s when the first book was published) without my knowledge. We have quite a number of the ChristyMiller books in our Media Center for our youth. The are written by Robin Jones Gunn. I just found out the first book in the Christy and Todd: College Years #1, is FREE. Here’s the usual info…double check the price to make sure it’s free before downloading. To view the book description/reviews just click on the e-reader and click on the authors name to be directed to their website/blog to learn more about them. They can be very interesting people!
Three boys, best friends, Summertime, the ocean, treasure hunting, and Captain Jack! Ahoy, matey’s! You are in for a treat reading this second adventure with Sam Cooper and his friends Tony and Tyler.
They live in Harper’s Inlet, FL and Tony’s dad own’s a marina. They are out of school for the summer and Sam’s dad surprises him with a metal detector. Now Sam is obsessed with finding buried treasure. So he gets his friends involved and they set looking for adventure. After a long time digging, all they came up with was an empty metal drum. But then at the marina they meet up with an old “crusty” sailor, named Captain Jack. He’s just bought and old dilapidated boat and ask the boys if they want to work for him this summer in fixing the boat up. Of course they jump on that offer and off they go on a grand adventure on finding out Captain Jack’s secret and Sam’s getting more and more obsessed with finding treasure. Captain Jack always offers the boys a wonderful “tale” after each work day and the boys just eat it up, just like the pizza Captain Jack gives them
Sam’s dad explains to him that earthly treasure are only temporary and true treasure is things that last. Sam finds out the hard way what his dad was trying to teach him.
The morals in this story are wonderful and the excitement is good enough for any young boy, maybe 4th grade through middle school even. Even I, an old grandma, enjoyed the story.
You don’t have to read the stories in sequence but I would recommend it. This story refers to the boys harrowing adventure in the first book that I’m going to have to read now! And I’m sure Book 3 will be just as good. This book will be donated to the Media Center and I’ll be buying the other two soon.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from bookfun.org in return for my honest opinion and did not receive any compensation for a favorable review. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
I think I’ve found some pretty good ones today. Even though only one is free…seems like there are not as many new free books as there used to be. But some of these special prices are good, so if you are into buying your e-books, these prices are good! So check them out by clicking on the “reader” and you’ll be directed to the site to read the description and reviews and then download. Just make sure the price is what you expect. Prices change quickly.
FREE on Kindle and Nook: The Ultimate Gift by Jim Stovall. This is a great book and the movies was pretty good too!
$4.99 on Kindle: Lost and Found by Ginny Yttrup. I’ve read her book Words and it was amazing! Our Women’s Book Club read it last year. So I’m expecting great things from this novel.
I just received an email from Thomas Nelson & Zondervan about Colleen Coble & Robin Caroll‘s new series for middle-school kids. I’ve read the book and it’s great! I read the Rock Harbor series that Colleen Coble wrote for adults and I really enjoyed reading this first book in this series because it’s all about the kids of the main characters in the adult series. I loved it, I’m sure you and/or your middle school age kids will love it to. You can read my review by clicking HERE.
Here is the link for the free book download. I hope this works, since it was an email to me and I’m in unchartered territory now, but I’m going to give this a try. Let me know if it works for you!
Exciting Mystery for Teens (and even adults who have read the Rock Harbor Series by Colleen Coble)
When two great Christian authors come together to write a novel, you know it’s got to be good. And this book is no exception. Colleen Coble wrote The Rock Harbor series for adults and it’s an excellent series about a woman-dog search and rescue team. Exciting to the end! And now she’s teamed up with Robin Caroll to write a series for middle school age kids (probably girls will like it better) about the kids in the adult series.
The story is about Emily O’Reilly whose step-mom, Naomi, is part of a dog search and rescue team with Bree Nicholls. Emily loves the adventure and wants to get a puppy from Bree to start training and become a search and rescue responder herself. A great aspiration for a middle school girl. Only she becomes suspect in the theft of a $1,000 necklace…and the mystery begins. I’m very much older than a teenager, but I enjoyed the book myself and plan on buying it for our church library. I want to get some teenage girls to read the book and I’ll even let the adults that read The Rock Harbor series know about this book, because I think they will enjoy it too.
The only two problems I had with the book were: #1 – it made passing references to incidents that happened in the adult Rock Harbor series and for me, it was not enough information to fully understand the background. But maybe teen readers will think it’s enough. #2 – I did not like Emily’s dad reaction to the suspicion of his daughter stealing the necklace. He didn’t really believe her when she told him she didn’t do it and she seemed like a girl that had not given him any reason to ever question her motives before. But I guess with a teen novel, you have to have some parent-child conflict. But still, it just didn’t set well with me.
If it weren’t for those two things I would have given it a 5 star, but in all fairness, I felt like since I had problems with two areas in the story I should give it a 4 star. But still, I loved the book and am anxious to get it and see what some of our teenagers think of the novel. It’s a great novel with wonderful Christian morals. I personally want to read the sequel.
I received a complimentary digital copy of this book from NetGalley and Thomas Nelson for my honest opinion and did not receive any compensation for a favorable review. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
One for adults and two for children. Just click on the e-reader and you will be directed to the site to read about the book and download. Also, click on the authors name and you’ll be directed to their website/blog to read more about them and their books. These books are offered free and discounted by Tyndale House Publishers (www.tyndale.com).
Here’s one book for your young reader. The book description on Amazon says it’s perfect for 10-14 year old readers. The authors are great and the book and whole series has some good reviews.
Captain Jack’s Treasure (A Sam Cooper Adventure #1) by 
Exciting Mystery for Teens (and even adults who have read the Rock Harbor Series by Colleen Coble)
WFBC Media Center 