Straight Chatting from the Library: Eva Legre Zigre

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Eva Legre Zigre will be awarding a $25 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

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What is your reading comfort zone?

I enjoy both nonfiction and fiction books. I love to learn, so I like historical nonfiction along with documentary-type books. In fiction, I enjoy the same genre I write in, Children’s fiction, for many reasons, including the fact that I love reading to children. Their expressions are priceless, and the stories I choose usually have a very strong moral lesson.

 
What will inspire you to recommend a book?

If it is a nonfiction book, historical, memoir, or documentary, I would say the amount of information it gives in the clearest form. For a children’s book, it would be how well the author described the picture scene and how well the character came alive in the book.

How often do you agree with critics about a book?

Since I rarely check with critics before reading a book I think I will like, I would say never on purpose.

How do you feel about giving bad/negative reviews?

If they are constructive, I feel like they are just as important as a good review. I would like to know where I can improve. If there is no constructive criticism, then I feel like, “Why bother?”

If you could read in a foreign language, which language would you chose?

French is my first language, so I would definitely read in that language. English is next and it is a must. I might try reading in Italian.

What distracts you easily when you’re reading?

Family. My household is very busy. I usually have to wait until everyone is in bed or I wake up early in the morning. 

How often do you skim a book before reading it?

It is very rare for me to do that. I have to be on the fence about reading it and have few other choices.

Question for our readers:  Since I write children fiction adventure in the form of travel, what city do you think would make a good place for RJ to travel to?

 

 

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If you've had a chance to visit Temecula, California, you'd be one of many who have had the privilege of watching hot air balloons take flight during sunrise and descend at sunset, walking the grounds of one of the most beautiful rose gardens in California, and visiting a rare and noble tree that looks to have stood the test of time. You will find some of the most popular and heavily visited sights in Temecula, beautifully illustrated and captured in child-like conversation.

RJ’s Adventures in Temecula is a vibrantly colored board book featuring thirteen of Temecula’s most visited attractions. The illustrations jump off the page, offering children fun images to look at while learning more about Temecula, California’s historic sights.

Beware. Your child may ask to visit some of the attractions presented in this 20-page book, such as Professor Pennypickles' Workshop or the Sugarplum Zoo and Chocolates. Come visit for a week, but first, do your research and take this adventure around Temecula, California with RJ.

READ AN EXCERPT

Hello Friend!

My name is RJ.

Welcome to the beautiful and sunny city of Temecula. Today is a great day to show you around!

Are you ready for an exciting tour?

MEET THE AUTHOR

Eva Legre-Zigre is a children's book author passionate about writing stories that reflect the beauty of communities. Inspired by years of experience as a nanny and a volunteer teacher, she crafts engaging stories that encourage creativity and wonderment in children. Her passion for community, culture, and finding beautiful differences in various states throughout the country gives her the desire to share those unique and exciting places with children.

A resident of Temecula, California, known for its wineries, Mrs. Legre-Zigre was inspired by her own child to find and highlight family- and child-friendly attractions in her city. Some of these attractions are featured in her debut book.

Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/authorevalegre
Website: http://www.rjsadventures.com

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Straight Chatting from the Library: Nicole Givens Kurtz

This post is part of a virtual book tour orgainzed by Goddess Fish Promotions. Nicole Givens Kurtz will be awarding a $20 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

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What is the favorite book you remember as a child?

NGK: Where the Wild Things Are was the first horror/fantasy book I read, and it remains one of my favorites to this day. Max being sent to his room for not eating his supper and sailing away in his imagination to a kingdom where he ruled deeply resonated with me as an only child. My brother arrived six ½ years later.

What is your favorite book today?

NGK: My favorite book right now is by L. Marie Wood and it’s titled, The Promise Keeper. It is a deeply intricate story within a story told from a protagonist who is on dead row in the last 1950s. Her neighboring inmate is a vampire, but that’s of little consequence, as she recounts the horror of how she came to be on death row and how the vampire who made her continues to hunt for their son—to kill him. It’s such an astounding story. After I finished it, it stayed with me, emotionally and from a historical context as well.

Tell us about your current book in 10 words.

NGK: Fabricated is a multi-layered mystery set against the backdrop of the former U.S. capitol.

What are you reading right now?

NGK: Right now I am reading Breath Warmth & Dream by Zig Zag Claybourne.

One book at a time or multiples?

NGK: To read or write? It is the same for me for both reading and writing. I only read one book at a time and for the most part, I only write one book at a time. If I try to write multiple books or read multiple books at the same time, I lose focus. I loose my connection to both stories, so I like to read and write one story at a time.

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Cybil Lewis, a private inspector in futuristic D.C., now The District, begrudgingly works with the Territory Alliance agents to track down an escaped violator, Nico Mars. Almost immediately, Cybil is tossed into the District's gritty underbelly of political ambition, drugs, and betrayal. This case will take her and Jane deep into the reaches of The District's notorious Sector 12, where life is cheap and currency is king. When her investigation leads back to those responsible for protecting citizens, Cybil discovers she's in danger. She's reminded once again that everything can be fabricated.

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Lynn sighed in dramatic fashion. “She’s been following the stories in the news files about you for months.”

Agent Winsome yanked down her jacket. “Not just months. Two major political and high-profile cases solved within this last year. I still remember the governor’s case with the souped-up hatchling serum, The Change, a while back. Right?”

“Yeah. Right.” My mouth tasted like I’d been chewing leftover tofu. The Change had destroyed the love of my life, introduced me to Trey, and cast me into the spotlight. “Look, agents–”

“I have been following your career since I joined the T.A.,” Agent Winsome said. “I admire trendsetters in the field, blazing paths for us to follow.”

Did she just call me old?

Well, I was waxing poetic about my wisdom and age. What bothered me more was the contradiction. Didn’t she come in talking about my rudeness and flair for firing my laser gun at folks? But now, with forked tongue, Agent Winsome admired my work?

This whole thing reeked like the Atlantic Ocean’s contaminated banks or the Sector 10 sewer system.

As if to fill the silence, Agent Winsome rushed forward. “But, you’re the best P.I. in The District. That’s why we want you.”

Agent Winsome’s round face remained closed off but attempted to be professional. My concern locked on to Lynn. No way she believed a word of the newer agent’s words.

That made two of us.

MEET THE AUTHOR

Nicole Givens Kurtz has been called “a genre polymath who does crime, horror, and Science Fiction and Fantasy (Book Riot).” They’ve named her as one of the 6 Black SFF Indie Writers You Should be Reading, 30 Must-Read SFF Books by Black Authors, and The Best of the West: 8 Alternative History Westerns (Sisters of the Wild Sage). She’s a two-time Atomacon Palmetto Scribe Award winner. With over 20 years in publishing, She’s written for Pseudopod, Apex, Fiyah, White Wolf, The Realm, Baen, Subsume, and MV Media. Nicole has over 50 published short stories, including her story, “The Way Home,” in Marvel®’s Captain America: The Shield of Sam Wilson anthology from Titan Books. Nicole is the author of the Cybil Lewis and Death Violations cybernoir series as well as the Kingdom of Aves fantasy mystery series.

She has conducted workshops for Writer’s Digest Online, Clarion West online, SAGA, and is the owner of Mocha Memoirs Press. She’s the editor for the groundbreaking SLAY: Stories of the Vampire Noire and co-editor of Blackened Roots: An Anthology of the Undead anthology. Nicole is professional level member of SFWA and HWA.

Website: http://www.nicolegivenskurtz.net
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/mochamemoirspress
TikTok: http://www.tiktok.com/mochamemoirspress
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/nicolegkurtz
Buy Nicole a coffee at http://www.Ko-fi/nicolegkurtz

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