All posts by C. J. Milbrandt

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About C. J. Milbrandt

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#amreading Serious Matters

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In the classic The Family Under the Bridge, Armand is an adorable curmudgeon who lives under a bridge in Paris. When he comes home one day to find three children in his usual spot, he knows he’s in trouble. Especially when these “starlings” decide he should be part of their family. Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes, shortly after the second World War, a lively girl who loves to run begins to show symptoms of “atomic bomb disease.” Sadako’s whole world becomes a hospital room, where she spends her days folding paper cranes. They’re a kind of charm. Each a wish to be well again. And The Year of Billy Miller, Billy bumps his head over the summer, and he becomes concerned that this will prevent him from being able to be good enough for the second grade. Family stuff. School stuff. Kid stuff.

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#MGBookMarch

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Week 2. I’ve been keeping up with (most of) the themes for Middle Grade Book March over on Twitter. For some reason, it took me until today for me to recall that I should probably be tagging authors. As a reminder, here are ALL the themes:

Day 08 – Celebrate International Women’s Day – I have a special fondness for strong moms & mentors in middle grade stories.

Day 10 – The Last Book You Read – Since I’m doing the A-Z Challenge over on Great Middle Grade Reads (on Goodreads), I’ve been reading my MG books in alphabetical order. I’ve reached the letter G.

Day 12 – Books Reaturing Multiple Characters – The intent of this was multiple POV characters.

Day 13 – Anticipated Book that Is Not MG – The first title that came to mind was the third book in Kyle Kirrin’s Ripple System series, which is in the LitRPG genre. They’re narrated by Travis Baldree, who also does the audio books for my Galleries of Stone trilogy.

Day 14 – A New Creator for You – I’m always encountering new authors. Here are three I’m very glad to have discovered.

That’s Week 2! Hope to see you taking part next week!
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Release Day!

Galleries of Stone,

Meadowsweet (Galleries of Stone, #1) has released as an audio book, narrated by Travis Baldree! Here’s another quick sample:

A magical master sculptor banished from his homeland hires the only Flox boy with the nubs to take his hand.
In places where the Twelve Mountains are honored for their magic, children are tested for affinity. But the villages in Morven’s foothills no longer remember stone lore. The Flox have forgotten the Statuary and the wonders that fill its winding galleries. All that remains are stories to frighten children and gossip about a monster living in the heights.
Necessity drives Freydolf to hire a Flox servant. Tupper Meadowsweet isn’t the cleverest child, but he’s brave enough to follow his Pred master onto Morven, where he finds hints of faraway lands, diverse races, unique customs, long histories … and danger.

Meadowsweet on Audible >>

#MGBookMarch

#amreading

Middle Grade Reading. My participation in #MGBookMarch has been hit-or-miss over the years. Some of their themes are just easier than others. This year, there’s a good crop, and I’ve been making an effort to take part. Here are their themes for 2022:

Use the hashtag wherever you participate on social media. I’m taking part on Twitter.

Day 01 – Double Letters in the Title

Day 02 – Character’s Name Starts with “C” – Christopher, Colophon, Coyote

Day 03 – A Book You Think Only You Have Read – I went with somewhat obscure classics & an out-of-print title by a favorite author, but lots of people recommended underrated & indie books

Day 05 – Book Featuring a Weather Event

Day 06 – Stunning Book Covers – HOW do you even choose? There are so many stunners. For the sake of the challenge, I simply chose three favorites that look lovely together.

Day 07 – Book with a Setting You Want to Visit – I’d like a corner table at The Boneyard Cafe … to lurk in Winterhouse’s library (or do puzzles in the lobby) … and throw paint around in a Soho art loft on Greene Street.

That’s Week 1! Hope to see you taking part next week!
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