Posts Tagged Amber J Keyser

Fresh Faces on Mixed-Up Files!

The applicant pool that applied to join Mixed-Up Files was absolutely amazing. We were sorry we didn’t have more spaces to fill and were energized by the enthusiasm for our mission. But we are delighted to welcome twelve amazing new contributors to From the Mixed-Up Files!

via GIPHY

Although you can read all about them on our Member Bio page, we also asked them for their reading and writing-related resolutions for the new year. Here’s what they had to say:

Patricia Bailey: “My writing resolution is to finish the middle-grade novel I’ve been working on.”

Jenn Brisendine: “I plan to finish my current WIP, then research and draft another by summer. I’ve been focusing on reading MG historicals lately so I want to pick up some new fantasies, contemporaries, and other genres. I also want to re-read my favorite craft books like Anne LaMott’s Bird by Bird.”

Heather Murphy Capps: “My New Year’s resolution is to amplify the voices of our writers of color — We Need Diverse Books!!”

Sean Easley: “I want to read at least twenty new MG books this year. I got a lot of them for Christmas and can’t wait to get started.”

Annabelle Fisher: “My reading goal is to read lots of MUF-member books, so I can get to know you all better. As for writing, I’m aiming to finish the first draft of my next book, which is about life in the library stacks.”

Robyn Gioia: “My goal is to write a graphic novel and read some marvelous new MG books!”

Amber J. Keyser: “My goal is to promote the heck out of the books I have coming out this year.”

S.A. Lawson: “I totally and utterly resolve to finish bk 2 of my MG series, (possibly write a sequel to my YA due out in March), & start a YA novel I’ve had mapped out for a year.”

Beth McMullen: “I want to finish the YA novel I started in 2016.”

Natalie Rompella: “To start from scratch on my mystery MG and complete drafts I and II by end of year. To have social media guide me to the best new books of 2017…and of course read them!”

Julie K. Rubini: “My writing goals are to finish MG bio I’m under contract for within deadline, complete and submit both PB bio and YA novel. I hope to read a work from each of our Claire’s Day authors and Illustrators!”

Suma Subramaniam: “My reading resolution is to add 40 diverse books to my bibliography (pb, mg and ya included), and my writing resolution is to finish the drafts of two MG novels.”

As you can tell by their resolutions, this is an energetic bunch. We are so excited to see what they bring to our Mixed-Up Files family.

Cover Reveal! The Long Trail Home

Today I’m honored to participate in some Cover Reveal Fun! I’m celebrating with Kiersi Burkhart and Amber J Keyser, whose new middle grade series, Quartz Creek Ranch, launches in January 2017.

It’s a bit out of the ordinary for all the first books in the series to drop at once, but I’m really excited about it! Books 1-3 in the series, are Shy Girl & Shy GuyOne Brave Summer, and At Top Speed. I got a sneak peek at the first few chapters of The Long Trail Home, the fourth book, to prepare for this cover reveal. I have to tell you,  I can’t wait to read them all.

Here’s what the publishers have to share about the series:

Every summer, the gates of Quartz Creek Ranch swing open for kids in trouble. Under the watchful eyes of lifelong ranchers Willard and Etty Bridle, these ten to twelve-year-olds put their hands—and hearts—to good use, herding cattle, tending the garden, harvesting hay, and caring for animals. Aided by two teenage horse trainers, the kids must forge a bond with their therapy horses, grow beyond the mistakes that brought them to the ranch, and face unique challenges in the rugged Colorado rangeland.

I spent many formative hours on a cattle ranch when I was a middle grade kid, and learning to coexist with working animals shaped my view of the world in some powerful ways. This volume in the series is also important because it helps young readers see themselves between the pages of a book. As Amber shared with me, this book is near and dear to her heart. “I so wanted to have a book about a Jewish girl that wasn’t about the Holocaust, and this is it!”

Also from the publishers, about The Long Trail Home, the subject of our post today:

Rivka can’t wait to get away from her family for the summer.  Since that terrible day last year, she wants no part in their Jewish community. At least at Quartz Creek Ranch, she feels worlds away from home among the Colorado scenery, goofy ranch owners, and baby animals. Other parts of Quartz Creek, however, are too familiar, including the unsettling wave of anti-immigrant threats to ranch workers. On a trip to the country, Rivka is also surprised to learn the history of Jewish pioneers in the area. When she and her defiant cabinmate, Cat, face disaster in the wild, Rivka will need to find strength deep within her to help them both get home safely.
I’ve read Amber’s work, both fiction and nonfiction, and her books are unique and wonderful reflections of this diversely talented author. I’m really looking forward to this series by Kiersi and Amber, and I hope you are, too.

And now, drumroll…

the-long-trail-home
The cover! Isn’t it lovely?

I will be so happy when these books are available to share with my favorite nieces, nephews, and school libraries…

More about Kiersi and Amber:

KIERSI BURKHART grew up riding horses on the Colorado Front Range. At sixteen, she attended Lewis & Clark College in Portland and spent her young adult years in beautiful Oregon—until she discovered her sense of adventure was calling her elsewhere. Now she travels around with her best friend, a mutt named Baby, writing fiction for children of all ages. Kiersi’s website is: www.kiersi.com. Find her on Twitter @kiersi.

AMBER J. KEYSER is happiest when she is in the wilderness with her family. Lucky for her, the rivers and forests of Central Oregon let her paddle, hike, ski, and ride horses right outside her front door. When she isn’t adventuring, Amber writes fiction and nonfiction for young readers and goes running with her dog, Gilda. Her website is: www.amberjkeyser.com and you can follow her on Twitter: @amberjkeyser.

Thanks so much for allowing me to share in the fun with our readers, Amber and Kiersi!

 

In fourth grade, Valerie Stein touched an ancient artifact from an archaeological dig. Though she never got to travel the world in search of buried treasure, she ended up journeying to new and exciting places between the pages of books. Now she spends her time researching history in museums and libraries, which is like archaeology but without the dirt. Valerie’s book, The Best of It: A Journal of Life, Love and Dying, was published in 2009.  Both her current work and upcoming middle grade stories are historical fiction set in Washington State. Valerie is Publisher at Homeostasis Press  http://www.homeostasispress.com/index.php, and manages Gather Here: History for Young People https://gather-here-history.squarespace.com/