About the Book
Title: Things Are Not What They Seem | Authors: Anne Rothman-Hicks and Kenneth Hicks | Publication Date: April 9, 2014 | Publisher: MuseItUp Publishing | Pages: 268 | Recommended Ages: 10+ Summary: What would you do if you were sitting on a park bench, minding your own business, and one of those annoying pigeons suddenly started to talk to you? And what if the pigeon didn’t just talk to you – in a meticulous British accent, no less – but pleaded with you to help untangle a piece of string that had accidentally attached his leg to a wrought iron fence surrounding the playground?And what if, while you are still convinced that this is all a big nasty trick, a hawk swoops down out of the sky and starts cursing at you, also in the King’s English, for getting in his way when he wanted to execute the pigeon? That is the quandary in which Jennifer (almost 13 years old and probably a bit too smart for her own good) finds herself one sweltering July morning while babysitting her 11-year-old (very precocious) brother James and his mopey, allergy-prone friend Sleepy. She soon learns that the bird is actually a man named Arthur Whitehair, a 19th-century Englishman who had been turned into an eternally-lived pigeon by misreading an ancient spell that was supposed to give him eternal life as a human.
Likewise, an unscrupulous colleague of his, named Malman, had been turned into a hawk by Whitehair’s blunder. After years of searching, Whitehair claims (half-truthfully) that Malman has found him hiding in Central Park and is now out for revenge. On top of all this strange business, Jennifer has recently begun having weird dreams in which a crazy-looking man with curly red hair speaks cryptic phrases in Latin. Are they random phrases, or messages? And why would some sketchy guy be sending her messages in her dreams?
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GUEST POST
Today, I am excited that Ken and Anne will be joining us with a hilarious insight into their writing .... ha hum .... process.
Ken: Hey, Anne, what are you doing with that wooden mallet?
Anne: (Puts her hand on it protectively). Nothing. Nothing at all. (whispers to herself) Yet…
Ken: So what are we working on today?
Anne: We should start developing the idea for the sequel to THINGS ARE NOT WHAT THEY SEEM.
Ken: How about a little snack first?
Anne: How about a little work first? You just had lunch.
Ken: Okay, okay. What about that idea you had involving the Battles of Manhattan and Harlem Heights from the Revolutionary War?
Anne: That might work. Lots of people are not aware that there were a couple of battles in Manhattan during the Revolutionary War.
Ken: Sounds good so far. (Stands up). How about that snack?
Anne: Please sit down, Ken.
Ken: But I need energy to think. For example, we have to figure out what four kids can do in a battle and how we get them there? That’s worth at least a cookie.
Anne: You can have a cookie after we figure this out! Okay?
Ken: Deal.
Anne: I think we should let them be kids, the way we did in our other book. What do kids that age do that could get them involved in the Battle of Manhattan?
Ken: Have serious crushes on the opposite sex?
Anne: Focus, Ken! But wait a minute! What if one of the four of our main characters is doing a history project on someone from the battle? And she develops a crush on that person?
Ken: Great, Anne. You get a cookie for that.
Anne: I’m not hungry.
Ken: Can I have it then?
Anne: (Reaches for the mallet).
Ken: I can wait….
Anne: So, who should develop the crush?
Ken: Katylyn. She falls in love at least twice in Things Are Not What They Seem.
Anne: Okay. Only the person she has the crush on in the new book is someone who actually dies in the battle.
Ken: Oooh, creepy sad. And she wants to stop him from dying and so she goes back in time to save him!
Anne: But if she saves him she will change the course of history in a way that will be very bad in the long run. So Jenny and James and Sleepy have to stop her.
Ken: Two cookies! One for you and one for me.
Anne: When we’re done!
Ken: My stomach is rumbling so loud I can’t even think.
Anne: First we have to decide how we can get Whitehair into the action?
Ken: Someone should bribe him with food. Whitehair is always hungry in our other book. Remember?
Anne: Can’t imagine where that came from.
Ken: Hey!
Anne: Whitehair sometimes makes bad choices. He will have made another bad choice that causes him to time travel into Jenny and James’ world.
Ken: Right. And then Katylyn should offer Whitehair a big piece of bread pudding—his favorite food—so he will tell her the secret of time travel. Then she will go back and try to save the person she has a crush on.
Anne: And Jenny and James and Sleepy have to go back also and stop her so that history is not changed.
Ken: But the forces of evil will be trying to make them fail!
Anne: Whew. I love it! Good job!
Ken: Cookies all around!
Anne: Go for it. Did you get all of those ideas down?
Ken: I thought it was your turn.
Anne: Where’s that mallet? It seems to have disappeared.
Ken: Was that your mallet? I thought it was a cookie.
Anne: (Puts her hand on it protectively). Nothing. Nothing at all. (whispers to herself) Yet…
Ken: So what are we working on today?
Anne: We should start developing the idea for the sequel to THINGS ARE NOT WHAT THEY SEEM.
Ken: How about a little snack first?
Anne: How about a little work first? You just had lunch.
Ken: Okay, okay. What about that idea you had involving the Battles of Manhattan and Harlem Heights from the Revolutionary War?
Anne: That might work. Lots of people are not aware that there were a couple of battles in Manhattan during the Revolutionary War.
Ken: Sounds good so far. (Stands up). How about that snack?
Anne: Please sit down, Ken.
Ken: But I need energy to think. For example, we have to figure out what four kids can do in a battle and how we get them there? That’s worth at least a cookie.
Anne: You can have a cookie after we figure this out! Okay?
Ken: Deal.
Anne: I think we should let them be kids, the way we did in our other book. What do kids that age do that could get them involved in the Battle of Manhattan?
Ken: Have serious crushes on the opposite sex?
Anne: Focus, Ken! But wait a minute! What if one of the four of our main characters is doing a history project on someone from the battle? And she develops a crush on that person?
Ken: Great, Anne. You get a cookie for that.
Anne: I’m not hungry.
Ken: Can I have it then?
Anne: (Reaches for the mallet).
Ken: I can wait….
Anne: So, who should develop the crush?
Ken: Katylyn. She falls in love at least twice in Things Are Not What They Seem.
Anne: Okay. Only the person she has the crush on in the new book is someone who actually dies in the battle.
Ken: Oooh, creepy sad. And she wants to stop him from dying and so she goes back in time to save him!
Anne: But if she saves him she will change the course of history in a way that will be very bad in the long run. So Jenny and James and Sleepy have to stop her.
Ken: Two cookies! One for you and one for me.
Anne: When we’re done!
Ken: My stomach is rumbling so loud I can’t even think.
Anne: First we have to decide how we can get Whitehair into the action?
Ken: Someone should bribe him with food. Whitehair is always hungry in our other book. Remember?
Anne: Can’t imagine where that came from.
Ken: Hey!
Anne: Whitehair sometimes makes bad choices. He will have made another bad choice that causes him to time travel into Jenny and James’ world.
Ken: Right. And then Katylyn should offer Whitehair a big piece of bread pudding—his favorite food—so he will tell her the secret of time travel. Then she will go back and try to save the person she has a crush on.
Anne: And Jenny and James and Sleepy have to go back also and stop her so that history is not changed.
Ken: But the forces of evil will be trying to make them fail!
Anne: Whew. I love it! Good job!
Ken: Cookies all around!
Anne: Go for it. Did you get all of those ideas down?
Ken: I thought it was your turn.
Anne: Where’s that mallet? It seems to have disappeared.
Ken: Was that your mallet? I thought it was a cookie.
Thanks Ken and Anne, that was certainly enlightening, now for some peanut butter cookies....
The Buzz
"I LOVED "Things Are Not What They Seem"!! It is funny, exciting, and touching, and very fun to read. The characters are relatable and interesting, so I really cared about all of their adventures while I was reading. "~ 5 Stars, Hermione, Amazon
"The story line is original and makes for an incredibly fun read. This is a book which is VERY hard to put down, all of their adventures will definitely have you on the edge of your seats and you read from page to page. All of the characters in this book (both large and small) are well developed and their personalities definitely come off the page." ~ 5 Stars, Alex, Goodreads
"The characters are well-developed and fun. The story moves along at a brisk pace. Lessons on love, friendship, kindness, and finding your inner strength shine through. And the humor is plentiful! Great for tween readers, as well as a quick, fun read for adults. " ~ 5 Stars, HFBrainerd, Amazon
"Things Are Not What They Seem is a well written story and a joy to read. I was hooked from the start." ~ 5 Stars, Granny's Hill, Amazon
"What a sweet, interesting, and overall wonderful book! I love the interesting, multi-layered, realistic characters, the numerous, unexpected but extremely interesting plot twists, and the use of Latin phrases to enhance the magic. I love the simple, yet powerful message that was woven throughout- that things are not what they seem- even in the rough, harsh world of New York City. That message strongly resonates for kids, teenagers, adults, and anyone in between. I strongly recommend this book to anyone who reads this review!! " ~ 5 Stars, Pat D., Amazon
About the Authors: Anne Rothman-Hicks & Kenneth Hicks
When Anne Rothman was a student at Bryn Mawr College and Kenneth Hicks was a student at Haverford College, they began writing together in an independent-study course with one of Ken’s professors. A brief interlude ensued while Anne wrote wonderful poetry and Ken wrote a book about hitchhiking (The Complete Hitchhiker Tobey Publishing, Dell Distribution), but they soon got back together as writers when Ken was in law school at Columbia University and Anne was paying the rent by working in publishing. They have continued to write together for about forty years and in that time have published four adult novels, eleven non-fiction books for children, two fiction books for middle readers, and two photography books.They also produced three children whom they love even more than writing. Their most recent middle reader book is Things Are Not What they Seem, published by the MuseItYoung division of MuseItUp Publishing, and available in all formats. Their three latest adult novels are Kate and the Kid, a mainstream novel, Mind me, Milady, a mystery thriller, and Praise Her, Praise Diana, a thriller. Between projects, they started a web site www.randh71productions.com. In case you were wondering about the address, “R” is for Rothman, “H” is for Hicks, and “71” is the year of their marriage. No secret codes or numerology anywhere.
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"Things Are Not What They Seem" Blog Tour Schedule (2015)
February 20February 21
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March 1
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March 5
* Blog Tour Giveaway *
Prize: One winner will receive a $50 Amazon gift card or $50 PayPal cash prize, winner's choice
Contest closes: March 19, 11:59 pm, 2015
Open to: Internationally
How to enter: Please enter using the Rafflecopter widget below.
Terms and Conditions: NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW. A winner will be randomly drawn through the Rafflecopter widget and will be contacted by email within 48 hours after the giveaway ends. The winner will then have 72 hours to respond. If the winner does not respond within 72 hours, a new draw will take place for a new winner. Odds of winning will vary depending on the number of eligible entries received. This contest is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with Facebook. This giveaway is sponsored by Anne Rothman-Hicks and Kenneth Hicks and is hosted and managed by Renee from Mother Daughter Book Reviews. If you have any additional questions – feel free to send and email to Renee(at)MotherDaughterBookReviews(dot)com.
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Thanks so much for having us on your blog. It was a lot of fun!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for hosting Anne and Ken for the "Things Are Not What They Seem" Blog Tour. Those two are such a hoot! It's exciting to see where the foursome from the first book are headed to next. The first book was such a fun read - can't wait to read the second one!
ReplyDeleteLoved the interview! This seems like such a great book for a middle school child; I will have to tell my nephew about it! Thanks for sharing :)
ReplyDelete