Thanks to the talented and dear Angela Cater, illustrator of "Rickie the Raccoon Learns About Recycling" for creating this wonderful promo for our picture book.

Hi everyone,

I hope you are all doing well and have either enjoyed a wonderful vacation or will be going on one soon.

We just got back a few days ago from ours and although we had bad weather for most of our time in New Brunswick, we did get a couple of days of beautiful weather. We went to Moncton then to visit the Magnetic Hill Zoo, Parlee Beach and the Bay of Fundy. The kids had never been to that beach or the marvelous rocks, so they were delighted. Our time away flew by. It was great to catch up on sleep and to actually relax. I had almost forgotten how good it felt.

And now that vacation time has ended, I’ll be getting back to my busy but fun schedule. I have quite a few writing projects I’m working on,  so for the rest of the summer and fall, I’ll be super busy with writing, editing and promotion.

Before I leave you, I wanted to post a wonderful quote for “Rickie the Raccoon Learns about Recycling” I got in my inbox last week from bestselling and award winning Canadian author, presenter, and educator, David Bouchard. He is such a kind and supportive author and I am truly grateful he took time out from his busy schedule to read the story and let us know what he thought about it.

I met him about a year ago at one of his public speaking engagements. His lecture was spectacular. Kids and parents alike were captivated by his stories and his words.

And his books are amazing, as well. “For the Love of Reading” is a fabulous book to inspire your kids to read. My kids’ favorite book of his is “I am Raven”--what a marvellous, mystically book to read. Their great, great grandmother on my husband’s side was an Aboriginal, so this story simply enthralled them.

You can check out his awesome website and books at http://www.davidbouchard.com/

Oh, and before I forget, here is his quote about “Rickie the Raccoon Learns about Recycling”:

“It is lovely. It is simply lovely. It reads comfortably. It tells your story. It's a perfect little book. Congratulations also to your partner Angela for the perfect portrayal of every little girl's raccoon.”

That’s it for this blog. Have a great day and may the days ahead be filed with joy and happiness.

Ciao,

Gio

Okay, I’m finally blogging again after an eternity. Since it’s been so long, I’m staying away from the windows just in case lightning strikes.

Life has been just too crazy for me to blog on a regular basis. I’ve tried, but failed miserably.

I’ve been super busy editing and writing. I don’t know which I prefer more. It’s great when an idea for a story hits me and the characters start coming to life first in my mind and then on paper, but then again working with gifted authors and seeing them develop their stories and characters into spectacular masterpieces is just as gratifying. I guess having a place in both worlds is the most rewarding for me.

On the writing front:

I’ve been working with illustrator and author Angela Cater on our picture book “Rickie the Raccoon Learns About Recycling”. We made a few changes to it and added some resources we thought parents and kids would enjoy. We have a tentative release date of June 28^th with Tabby Cat Press.

As for the first book in my romantic suspense/horror series “With Black & White Comes the Grey-The Battle of Armageddon”, it’s scheduled for a summer release with Lachesis Publishing. Jinger Heaston created the cover for that story and did such a fantastic job on it. I couldn’t have pictured a better Miriam, Jonathan, or Nathan for it. Thanks, Jinger.

I’m posting blurbs I got recently for the story from two talented authors:

"Giovanna Lagana is a talented storyteller whose ability to blend religious-themed, supernatural horror and romance is keen and unforgettable. With Black and White Comes the Grey is a fast-paced, suspenseful page-turner that evolves into a chilling climax. You will enjoy the ride."

— Gabrielle S. Faust, Author of Eternal Vigilance

 

"With Black and White Comes the Grey was an engrossing read.  Ms. Lagana eschews cheap thrills as she weaves her tale of good versus evil and gets to the emotional core of horror.  There is a piquant element of romance that ups the ante for the characters and makes them all the more believable.  The ending gave me shivers and I look forward to seeing what Ms. Lagana has in store for the sequel." 

— David Lee Summers, author of Vampires of the Scarlet Order and editor of Tales of the Talisman Magazine.

I’m working on Book 2 now. I think this is the fifth time I start with an idea and then scrap it because I don’t like where the story is leading or how I’m developing my characters. Given that I have two antagonists in the second one and will be telling the story from only one of their POVs, it’s going to be a real challenge to write. Plus I’m adding some pretty complicated characters, who are really experiments in my head. Let’s see if these new ideas work for the story, or will I have to scrap this version and start over again.

I’ll know for sure once the detailed outline is completed later this week. Keeping my fingers crossed this is it.

That’s it for this blog. Hopefully, the next instalment won’t be that long in coming.

 

Cheers. 

Gio

The New Bedlam Project is a new quarterly speculative fiction webzine with a dynamite theme. The name obviously speaks for itself. New Bedlam is a fictional town where insanity and insomnia reside, wreaking havoc and dismay on its residences. Being that these two conditions can mean infinite things to different people and they can lead our imaginations on a psychedelic trip to places we never dared visit before, I’m anxious to read the first edition when it comes out April 1^st.

Jodi Lee is the Publisher and Managing Editor of the webzine, and Louise Bohmer is the Poetry Editor. They will open to general submissions April 1^st. If anyone is interested in checking it out, here is the website:

www.newbedlam.com

Lauren Sharman, a talented author and friend I've known for years, has a  new advice column at Examiner. com. It features a minimum of 4 articles per week, where she will answer questions and give advice on relationships of all kinds: friendship, marriage, love, kids, etc.

People can submit questions to her---either anonymously, or with their name---for advice at: AskLaurenAdvice@gmail.com

If you'd like to be automatically notified when she publishes a new article, you can subscribe to her column on her Examiner page!

Here's the link: http://www.examiner.com/x-3240-Baltimore-Relationship-Advice-Examiner

Castle in the Sky will be having their first Editors' Chat tomorrow January 17th.

It's an ALL DAY event and editors from many publishing houses will be attending during the day.

I'll be popping in as well later in the day. I haven't done an all day chat in years, so it should be fun.

If anyone is interested, here is the link for the Yahoo group:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/castleintheskyflightoffantasy/

Cheers,
Giovanna 

"Covenant" from Bram Stoker award-winning author, John Everson, is finally out. I’ve been waiting for this little gem for what seems like forever. I’m a huge fan of this gifted author and have known him for a few years now, not only is he funny, kind, artistic, and a pleasure to work with, but he has a knack to scare the hell out of me.

There hasn’t been a short story, novella, or novel I’ve read of his that hasn’t had this affect on me. Among my favorites are: "Failure" from Delirium Books and "Vigilantes of Love" from Twilight Tales.

And now that "Covenant" is out, I'll be running to my nearest Chapters bookstore to get myself a copy and am looking forward to reading it.

Here’s a little something just to give you a tantalizing hint as to what this amazing story is about:

"The novel follows Joe Kieran, an investigative reporter who discovers a web of mysterious teen suicides that somehow connect five women in a small coastal town. Is there really a malevolent presence inside Terrel Cliff that holds all of the town in thrall? Or is there a murderous covenant between five women to sacrifice their first-born?

Beneath the remains of a long-demolished lighthouse, Joe discovers Terrel's secret history and salvation and puts his own soul in deadly danger."

To learn more about this book and John Everson, check out his website at: http://www.johneverson.com