Friday, October 16, 2015

AN INTERVIEW WITH DELIA WITCH, HER AUTHOR, AND A BOOK GIVEAWAY

I'd like to welcome two very special guests to The Storyteller's Scroll, today--  



I'm interviewing Little Delia Witch and her creator, Rebecca Colby.




Hi! My name is Rebecca Colby and this is Delia.”

Delia nods. “Hi. It’s nice to be here and you were lucky to catch me as October is a very busy month for me. It’s when the annual Witch Parade takes place and I fly in it every year.”

“So, Delia, I’m sure the readers would like to know more about you and ITS RAINING BATS AND FROGS. Could you tell us something about yourself?”

Delia: I’m the youngest witch I know and I don’t like rain. Or at least I didn’t until recently. So I changed the rain. You see, I have a magic wand which I use to change the weather.  

“So the weather wouldn’t cooperate for your Witch Parade. And the witches kept finding things wrong with the weather. Could you comment on that for us?”

Delia shakes her head and sighs. I’ve never heard so much complaining. The rain made the other witches wet and miserable so I changed the rain to cats and dogs. Everyone was thrilled, at first. But it didn’t last long. So I changed the rain again--this time to hats and clogs. But they didn’t like that any better. They just kept fighting over the hats and shoes.

Several witches defend themselves about fighting over shoes and hats.
Witch 1: That’s because it was MY hat!
Witch 2: No, it was MY hat!
Witch 1: Well, they were MY shoes!
Witch 2: I saw them first!

Delia answers. See what I mean? So I kept changing the rain to something new but none of these things made the other witches happy. In the end, I realized there was only one thing I could do to save the day. But you’ll have to read the book to find out more.

So, Delia how do you come up with the different creatures for the weather?
 
Delia grins and answers. Sometimes it pours so hard that people say it’s raining cats and dogs, and I thought it would be fun it if really did rain cats and dogs. After all, who doesn’t like animals? But as a witch, I quickly realized bats and frogs would be far more appropriate—not to mention tastier!

“Rebecca, what do you have to say? You’re seated next to Delia. Did she make those changes on purpose or did the idea to change the weather just come to you on a whim?”

Ha! Delia certainly didn’t like getting wet in the rain, but I love it. In fact, I was out walking in the rain with my waterproof notebook when I came up with the idea for this story. So I did give Delia a bit of help with the idea, but being a witch, she brought her own magic touch to the book! 

“Delia, can you tell The Storyteller’s Scroll readers where they can find ITRAINING BATS ANFROGS to read for themselves?”



If you have a magic wand like me, wave it and say:

It’s raining, it’s pouring,
hear me imploring:
Quickly, magic up with speed
a copy of this book to read!  

If not, simply say “ABRACADABRA!” and click on one of these links: 

or

 And now for the winner of the Annual Storyteller's Scroll Halloween Poetry Contest. We had wonderful WITCHY entries… mischievous witches, chef witches, scary witches, powerful witches and one who's curses were reverses.

Delia congratulates every author, but has a fondness for Spookadilly Stew. Angie Calabrese could your please contact me at krausehousebooks@yahoo.com with you address, so Rebecca may send you a personally signed copy of ITRAINING BATS ANFROGS.  Congratulations!




Wednesday, October 7, 2015

WIN A SIGNED COPY OF IT'S RAINING BATS AND FROGS

The Witches are calling, “Yoo-hoo! Yoo-hoo!”




Actually, it's Delia Witch and she's calling to remind you about the “WITCHY” Poetry contest starting tomorrow on The Storyteller’s Scroll.


So, try your wand (oops, I mean your hand) at a silly poem. . . Or make it scary!

The winner will receive a signed copy of Delia Witch’s new picture book,
 It’s Raining Bats and Frogs, all the way from Great Britain.

Contest runs from October 8th to October 15th and then Delia and her author, Rebecca Colby, will be interviewed on the Storyteller’s Scroll. Come see how Delia’s story got started.

Here is my poem.

Do You See a Witch?
By Gayle C. Krause

Be she a witch of beauty?
…or does she wear the face of hags?

Does she dress in sparkly gowns?
…or black and tattered rags?

Does she hold her magic
in a fancy-feathered frond?

…or does she use a gnarled stick
for her magic wand?

Is she the wicked type?
…or does she hail from good?

Keep your eyes open, child!
She's in your neighborhood!



@Gayle C. Krause 2015

Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Witches, Vampires, and Dryads, Oh My!

Super Freak by Vanessa Barger
Tantrum Books

Critiqued by Gayle C. Krause

Caroline Bennings is no ordinary girl, well. . . she is, but in her magical family, in her magical town, that’s not always a good thing. With dryads for parents and vampires for best friends, being ordinary is a problem, especially when you are the only one in the whole town who doesn’t possess any magic or supernatural power.

But lucky for the town, Caroline is ordinary, because with her lack of a magical sense and fondness of solving puzzles, she is able to figure out an age-old mystery that has plagued her town for two centuries—the disappearance of her long-lost ancestor.

Fast paced, and easy to follow, middle school readers will enjoy the unusual story once they get past the cliché beginning of a middle grade child being forced to move into a dilapidated old mansion with her parents. With the contemporary setting, and common school cafeteria and classroom scenes, the reader is not even aware that supernatural beings populate the town. However Ms. Barger’s writing allows the reader’s imagination to soar, and once the story gets going, it’s a non-stop read even a reluctant reader will enjoy.


Clues, treasure hunts, and secret rendezvous by Caroline and her best friends lead to more mayhem than magic. Witches, shape-shifters, dryads, and vampires fill the pages, but thirteen-year-old Caroline Bennings, a super freak by supernatural standards, saves the day.

Friday, September 25, 2015

The "Witching Time" is fast approaching and with it a new interview with a little witch named Delia.

On October 1st, The Storyteller's Scroll will be interviewing Delia Witch and her creator Rebecca Colby.

And on October 8th we will continue the Storyteller's Scroll tradition of featuring the Annual Halloween Poetry Contest.  (Poems must be suitable for children).

It will run from October 8th to the 15th and the themes will be……….Witches, of course! You may write your own variation of Delia's Witch Parade or an original witch poem for children. And what do you win?

Well, you won't be locked in a cage to be fattened up for Halloween dinner…

And you won't be winning any poison apples…

But you will get a chance to win a signed copy of Rebecca Colby's, It's Raining Bats and Frogs.


So put your witch hats on, grab your brooms, and get ready for a witchy treat! 

First, Delia and Rebecca, and then your "Witchy" poems for Halloween.


Here is an example of mine.


Do You See a Witch?
By Gayle C. Krause

Be she a witch of beauty?
…or does she wear the face of hags?

Does she dress in sparkly gowns?
…or black and tattered rags?

Does she hold her magic
in a fancy-feathered frond?

…or does she use a gnarled stick
for her magic wand?

Is she the wicked type?
…or does she hail from good?

Keep your eyes open, child!
She's in your neighborhood!


@Gayle C. Krause 2015

Monday, September 7, 2015

WINNER! WINNER! DRAGON'S DINNER!

Oops! I mean winner of Penny Klosterman's 



There Was an Old Dragon Who Swallowed a Knight is:



Julie Rowan-Zoch

A huge thanks to everyone who participated in Penny's "Two Truths and a Lie." 

Keep your eye on The Storyteller's Scroll for some Halloween fun coming soon.