The Monstore RV + Giveaway

Welcome back to the Kid Lit Blog Hop

 

Today Gigi and I are so excited we sound like we are have been sucking on helium balloons. SQUEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Why you ask, because today we have the one, the only, the talented, TARA LAZAR joining us in cyberspace, to talk to us about her hugely popular book “The Monstore”

How did we attain this honour you ask, well, that is the beauty of Twitter. We first started following Tara when she posted her amazing cover for the Monstore. Gigi was probably only about 1 at the time so I can’t actually claim that she was monster obsessed back then and that was the reason. No, I think I have to take the blame, there, I just loved the cover, who would not want to read it.

So we followed Tara’s progress eagerly awaiting the release, and WHOLE YEAR LATER here it is…. Here is our Review

 

THE MONSTORE by Tara Lazar

http://amzn.com/1442420170

 

Description from Amazon:

 

 

At the back of Frankensweet’s Candy Shoppe, under the last box of sour gumballs, there’s a trapdoor.

Knock five times fast, hand over the bag of squirmy worms, and you can crawl inside The Monstore.

The Monstore is the place to go for all of your monsterly needs. Which is perfect, since Zack definitely has a monsterly need. The problem? His pesky little sister, Gracie, who never pays attention to that “Keep Out” sign on Zack’s door—the one he has made especially for her.

But when Zack’s monsters don’t exactly work as planned, he soon finds out that the Monstore has a few rules: No Refunds. No exchanges. No exceptions.

 

 

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First Impressions:

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The moment this book entered the house, Gigi loved it. She asked us to read the "Monstore" 5 times before lunch and her eyes were glued to the page. Day 2 we couldn't leave the house without the Monstore. Day 3 she started paraphrasing the pages whilst flicking through them herself. As I started to write this review she saw the picture on screen and exclaimed "Monstore Mummy, go get Monstore" So we clambered up stairs to get it. I was trying to take a few pictures of our favourite pages but Gigi kept turning them so she could read it.  I couldn't wrestle the book from her chubby little hands. LOL So are you getting my point yet, THIS IS 100% TODDLER APPROVED… In the end I had to give up and ask Tara for a photo lol.

Check out a couple of our favourite pages. I just love Manfred. One because he is huge and red/orange our favourite colour, but 2,  I think I could possibly copy this one when Gigi insists we draw monsters every other minute of the day....

And then there's the Monstore.  WANT IT!

Our Review:

 Zack has a dilemma. A pesky younger sister in Gracie, but have no fear, Zack has a plan. He invests in the scariest monster called “Manfred”. You would think an enormous red beast would do the trick, but no, Zack’s plans go awry. Back he goes to the Monstore for a refund, where he finds he has failed to read the fine print… NO REFUND, NO RETURNS, NO EXCEPTIONS.

Zack is wooed by the Monstore sales pitch, so he takes home another monster, but yet again, his plans are thwarted. Buy, try, buy, try are clearly not working for Zack and eventually he finds himself with an entire house of monsters. What will he do? How will he ever scare his little sister into keeping out of his room? Well, I am not going to tell you, you will just have to read it.  I can tell you, you will have a monster chuckle when you find out what works. This is a delightful read with the most extremely awesome as Lola would put it illustrations. The toddler may not pick up on the attention to detail, but mum does and every page I find something else to giggle about.The detail in each page is just fantastic and this story is just so innovative and unique.  So there you have it. Any book that grabs a toddlers attention from the moment they make eye contact is a 10 STAR read for us.

But wait, there's more, did I mention a giveaway...

Well, you will have to wait a mo,  while I have a chat with the one and only

TARA LAZAR

Now, Tara,  we want to know everything….Well, not everything, let’s start with

1. Tell us about your publishing Journey.

a. How did it start

b. Where did the idea for the Monstore come from

c. How long did it take you to write

d. Did you get an agent

e. Was this the first book you pitched

f. How long did it take to sign a book deal

My publishing journey started in the 70’s (what my daughters would call “the olden days”). Honest! That’s when I knew I wanted to be a children’s author, in elementary school. But no one told me it would take 30+ years! Geesh! But I didn’t begin writing with a career in mind until I had my second daughter. I was a stay-at-home mom by then and I felt I finally had the time to get serious. In 2007, when she was about a year old, I snuck out to evening critique meetings and SCBWI events. (Don’t worry, I left her with her father.)

The idea for “The Monstore” began with just the title. When I came up with it, I dashed to Amazon to search for it because I thought someone must have written it already. But they didn’t! It was mine, all mine!

 

It remained just a title for months, until I was forced to devise a premise for an agent. Then I thought, “a boy wants to return the monster he bought because it doesn’t spook his little sister.” The agent told me it was a winning picture book concept. Great! Now I just had to write it!

 

I was afraid to write it because I thought I might ruin a perfectly good premise. But when I sat down and began typing, it just flowed from my fingertips. And then The Monstore manager told me he wanted to say, “No returns, no exchanges” and the story fell into place from there.

 

I was chicken to submit it. I had given up on submissions for about a year at that point; I decided the rejections I had been receiving meant I wasn’t ready. My friend, author Corey Rosen Schwartz (THE THREE NINJA PIGS) told me, “This is it! This will sell!” I still didn’t believe her. Not until she sent the manuscript to another author friend, Jean Reidy (LIGHT UP THE NIGHT), who also deemed it ready. And yet another author friend, Boni Ashburn (HUSH, LITTLE DRAGON), also loved it. Corey and Jean referred me to agent Ammi-Joan Paquette of the Erin Murphy Literary Agency, who enjoyed it and asked to see more of my work. Then Joan called me and offered representation. Amazingly, she sold “The Monstore” just four weeks later.

2. How did you land James Burks as your illustrator

a. Did you have an idea for each page mapped out

b. How involved were you with James during the drawing.

c. Did you have a specific vision for what Zack, Gracie, Manfred, Mookie and Mojo looked like

d. Were you just ecstatic when you saw the first drafts

e. What is your favourite page in the book

My editor and art director recommended James Burks. They showed me his online portfolio and said he could illustrate children and monsters equally well, which was a difficult feat. I immediately fell in love with his cartoony style and I agreed--hire him!

I wrote only two art notes in the entire manuscript. Otherwise, there was no art direction from me. I had no idea what my characters looked like. I like keeping my mind blank when it comes to the visuals. I know the illustrators are extremely talented and can do far better than anything I can imagine.

 

The first thing I saw were the character sketches when they were approved, about two years ago now. I was blown away and I thought The Monstore manager looked like Danny DeVito, LOL! Mojo had long, wavy arms—genius! Later on, James drew dozens more monsters, including “Peepers”, who’s the little blue eyeball guy. James hid Peepers on many of the pages, so look out for him!

 

 

 

My favourite page is a toughie! The opening page has an air of mystery, and I love how it seems to glow. It sets the right mood for the rest of the tale.

 

 

 

 Then the actual Monstore itself—wow! It looks very haunted-house-ish but not scary, more like a wacky-fun old-fashioned emporium. And when Zack has to leave his room—that scene of the monsters taking over is totally crazy! I love how Mojo is wearing Zack’s underwear on his head and how Gracie’s jump rope is actually a monster.

 

 

 

 

 

3. Tell us about your book launch

a. What did you do,

b. Who came

c. Were cupcakes involved

 

Unfortunately, I didn’t have a book launch. I don’t know—it felt totally frivolous and self-important to me. Plus I hate planning parties, it’s just not my thing. Which is funny since taralazar.com used to be owned by another Tara Lazar in North Carolina who was a wedding planner. People thought that was me! I would be the worst wedding planner in the world. I even eloped because I didn’t want to plan my own wedding!

4. The last page of the book ends on the toddler equivalent of a cliff-hanger, so my question is

a. Will there be a Monstore 2

b. When can we have it, today!!!!!!

c. How can Gigi and I get ourselves a cameo in your next book

d. Have you any other books on the horizon, we won’t be offended if we aren’t in them honestly….. you can tell us…….

I do have several ideas for a sequel (and a prequel), but it all depends upon how well The Monstore sells. We’ll see!

My next book is I THOUGHT THIS WAS A BEAR BOOK, about an alien who crash-lands, spaceship and all, into the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Hilarity ensues when the bears try getting the alien back into his own book.

After that comes LITTLE RED GLIDING HOOD, about Little Red as a figure skater. She desperately needs a partner for the pairs competition. I won’t tell you who she finds to leap and twirl with!

I have more projects on the horizon but I can’t announce them yet. Hopefully soon!



WOW, that was awesome Tara, thanks so much for joining me and Gigi all the way at the bottom of the pond. We loved this book and can't wait for more.

So where can you find Tara and The Monstore:

 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/taralazar

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authortara

Website :http://taralazar.com/

Amazon : http://amzn.com/1442420170

Now for that awesome giveaway...

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Welcome to the 20th Kid Lit Blog Hop. Hope those of you in the Northern Hemisphere are enjoying your summer. For those of you in the Southern Hemisphere, I am sending you many rays of sunshine! The Kid Lit Blog Hop takes place on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of each month. This Hop is a dynamic and engaged community of children's books bloggers, authors, publishers, and publicists, as well as parents seeking out their next great read. So, you are more than welcome to link in and take some time to make some new friends. Before we begin, I just wanted to let you all know (in case you hadn't seen it), that we are joining with Katie from Youth Literature Reviews in hosting the Best of Summer 2013 Kid Lit Giveaway Hop. If you are a children's, youth, or young adult book blogger looking to share copies of a fabulous book that you have read or are planning to read over July and August 2013 you are welcome to join this Hop. Authors, publishers, and publicists are, of course, also welcome to join in as always. In acknowledgement of our friends in the Southern Hemisphere who are experiencing the opposite season, you are more than welcome to grab some of our sunshine and link up as well!

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