Wednesday 15 August 2012

C.Lee McKenzie's Alligators Overhead Launch

Today I'm very excited to help the lovely and talented Lee to celebrate the launch of her Middle Grade novel Alligators Overhead. Lee is giving away ecopy of Alligators Overhead. To be entered for the giveaway, please comment and include your email address. A bit of info about  the author and this wonderful MG book, and a superfun trailer at the end of this post.


Book Description

Alligators, witches and a spooky mansion aren't your average neighbors . . . unless you live at the edge of the Ornofree swamp in the backwater town of Hadleyville. The town’s bad boy, Pete Riley, may only be twelve, but he’s up to his eyeballs in big trouble, and this time he isn’t the cause. This time the trouble arrives when a legendary hundred-year-old mansion, materializes next door and the Ornofree alligators declare war to save their swamp from bulldozers. Things only get worse when Pete’s guardian aunt and several of her close friends vanish while trying to restore order using outdated witchcraft. Now Pete must find his aunt and stop the war. He might stand a chance if his one friend, Weasel, sticks with him, but even then, they may not have what it takes.






About the author


A native Californian, C. Lee McKenzie lives on the edge of a redwood forest with her husband and assorted cats. When she's not writing or blogging she's hiking or practicing yoga. She usually writes young adult fiction that deals with contemporary, realistic issues. In Sliding on the Edge (2009) she dealt with cutting, and in The Princess of Las Pulgas (2010) she wrote about a family that loses almost everything and has to rebuild their lives together. Alligators Overhead is her first Middle Grade novel. Lee blogs at [http://writegame.blogspot.com] and her website is [http://cleemckenziebooks.com





And now I hand the reins over to Lee. :)
 
Just a week ago you talked about your scariest monster when you were little--you mentioned a humongous, rabid Cerberus kind of dog that had scared you the most. That would scare anybody!

As for myself, besides the Boogie Man that I was sure peered into my window after I climbed into bed, alligators were right up there with creatures that gave me nightmares. So why would I ever even think of making alligators a part of my book? I’m asked that question a lot. I have answers like this: “Cats and dogs and horses have tons of stories; alligators don’t have many.” Or, how about: “This idea came to me after I spent a lot of time staring up at my knotty pine ceiling, and all the brown streaks and knots looked exactly like alligators overhead.”

Stories are everywhere, even in ceilings! And writers can find stories in anything that scares people. So alligators and snakes and big dogs with three heads are perfect for inspiration.

Thanks, Cece for having me here. Hope Alligators Overhead entertains. That’s really what I wanted it to do . . . with just a touch of the scare factor to make it fun, too.


Book Trailer:


Buy Links:


AMAZON KINDLE

AMAZON PAPERBACK


B & N


SMASHWORDS



Author Pages/contact:

TWITTER : @cleemckenzie
GOODREADS

21 comments:

  1. We both have Lee on our blogs today. :) I'm so excited for her book.

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  2. I never thought I'd like alligators, until I read Lee's book. Now, my whole attitude about them has changed. Thanks to the alligators I met in Lee's story.

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  3. Hi Cece, Kelly and Beverly. I don't exactly "love" alligators, but I certainly "know" more about them! Thanks for today's Swamp Hop excitement.

    All of your are the best!

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  4. I do love th reminder that stories are everywhere. You never know where the next idea may come from. Great post! :)
    ~Jess

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  5. @Kelly
    Yes we do... and I loved Weasel's interview. I'm excited for her book as well.

    @Beverly
    Oh, I'm looking foward to read it. Looks likea fun one.

    Lee
    I really think Team Gators is pretty cool :) Got my copy and look forward to reading it.

    @DMS
    Very true, Jess. thanks for stopping by :)

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  6. I'm seeing Lee everywhere! hurray! So happy for lee and her book :)

    Nutschell
    www.thewritingnut.com

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  7. You always introduce us to such wonderful authors. Thank you.

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  8. Lee is a-swamp hopping maniac! And I'd love to read her book.

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  9. Lee is a-swamp hopping maniac! And I'd love to read her book.

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  10. Lee I love how the idea came to you! You're right, alligators really don't have many stories. But now they do :)

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  11. Of course, now that the alligators have their story, the cats are in an uproar!

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  12. Nice to meet you Lee. Good luck with writing adventure. :-)

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  13. Inspiration sure comes by unexpected ways ..interesting! --Thanks Ms. Lee for the giveaway & Ms Roberts for hosting. Please count me in.

    jinkyisreading at gmail dot com

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  14. Okay, I really enjoy this book premise here. My son would totally love it. Do you think its too old for a 7 yr old?

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  15. I haven't heard of this book until now, it sounds like a really fun cute read! I will definitely be adding it to my TBR pile.

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  16. this sounds right up my grandson's alley--and i love lee :)

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  17. So great to be here and getting your wonderful comments.

    DMS I'll bet your story sources are so varied. You come up with the best ideas.

    Waving at Nutschell. So good to see you here on Cece's blog.

    Savannah, it's great to meet you.

    Good morning, Bish!

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  18. Samantha, you are right. Maybe we'll see more about alligators. :-)

    Alex, once I have this Alligator issue resolved, I'll tackle the cats again.

    Appreciate the good luck wish, emaginette!

    Hi Jinky. Have missed our exchanges. Glad you dropped in.

    Mina, he might need help entering the story. There's a short preface before Chapter 1, but I think he could follow the adventure.

    Thank you Kindlemom! And what a great title Kindlemom is.

    Thanks so much, Lynn. Let me know if your grandson enjoys the alligator adventure.

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  19. Hi, thanks for the comment on my blog! :)

    Aww, I love books that takes you through that emotional rollercoaster. I've only heard really great things about Daughter of Smoke and Bone.

    And I've wanted to read The Night Circus ever since it came out. I've been following Erin Morgensterns blog: http://erinmorgenstern.com/blog/

    You should check it out! ;)

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  20. Daughter of Smoke and Bone is just wow!All i can say is Read it. Oh, thanks for the link. I will check out Erin Morgenstern's blog. :)

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  21. *waves to Lee*

    I have Lee's book. I moved it higher up my TBR pile (meaning the front page of my Kindle). I hope to get to it soon.

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