Saturday, July 28, 2012

2012 Hollywood Book Festival Award

 


Tom Kirkbride was awarded with an "Honorable Mention" for Book I, Gamadin: Word of Honor at last week's Hollywood Book Festival Awards Event at the Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood, CA. Though he wasn't able to receive his award in person, his daughter, Lara Kirkbride accepted the award on his behalf. Thanks to Jeff Romeo for the great photos and also to Maria Groschup-Black, of Sunbelt Publications, for her encouragement to enter the competition.

Thursday, March 22, 2012

Gamadin Book Series is Accelerated Reader approved!

Tom Kirkbride is very honored to announce that the Gamadin Book Series has been accepted in the nationwide Accelerated Reader (AR) reading list, and quiz production has already begun. This is wonderful news because students reading any of the the Gamadin volumes can now earn credit toward their grades. We will keep you apprised as to when the quizzes are available. Great thanks to the teachers and librarians who contacted AR regarding Gamadin, and made this possible!

On a side note, we also just found out that Larry Niven's Ringworld series has also been added to the AR listing. The series is a longtime classic science fiction favorite of Tom's!

Saturday, January 14, 2012

Gamadin Book Series - Accelerated Reader Campaign





Dear Teachers and Librarians,

The Gamadin Crew is on a mission to help students receive school credit for their efforts!
Many parents, librarians and teachers have discovered that the Gamadin Sci-Fi Adventure 
Series inspires students to read, especially the boys. That is why our slogan, 
“Finally, the Boys have a Series the Girls love to Read,” is fitting!

Over the past couple of years, we have been asked many times why the Gamadin 
Book Series is not on the Accelerated Reader (AR) program book list. 
The answer is simple: it's the process.

AR actually enjoys the series.  But because we are a small publisher, we have more hoops 
to jump through than the larger publishing houses. AR requires over 100 requests on their
website from teachers and librarians across the country to finalize the process.

 So we are seeking your help to achieve this goal.

Below is a simple step-by-step procedure that will take a brief amount of your time to complete.
Once AR has the numbers, the program will accept the Gamadin Book Series, so that boys and
girls may receive school credit for reading the volumes.

Even if your school is not part of the program, your contribution will help the students who are.
Thank you in advance for your assistance.


Francesca Romero, President
Wigton Publishing


1. Go to: www.RENLEARN.com

2. Click on the Accelerated Reader button.

3. Click on: “Suggest Quizzes” on the lower
     left side of the page under Quick Links.

4. Then fill in the required fields for
    “Give Us Your Recommendations.”

                     Title                                      Pub.Date                   ISBN

Book I - Gamadin: Word of Honor                    2009            978-1-9345720-6-1
Book II - Gamadin: Mons                                2010            978-0-9840643-0-4
Book III- Gamadin: Distant Suns                     2011            978-0-9840643-1-1
Book IV- Gamadin: Gazz                                2012            978-0-9840643-6-6

That’s all it takes!  Thank you!

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Mark Twain Rules for Writing


SOME RULES FOR WRITING by Mark Twain
(From the Atlantic Wire)















Mark Twain was a man with a lot of ideas going through his head. In 1895, one of them was how James Fenimoore Cooper violated 18 of the 19 "rules governing literary art in the doman of romantic fiction" in his novel The Deerslayer. Twain tries setting them all down on paper, and most of them are good tips if you're writing a piece of James Fenimoore Cooper fan fiction, but will probably be of limited help to other writers. Starting at point 12, the "rules" blend into general literary rules of the road.
·       Say what he is proposing to say, not merely come near it.
·       Use the right word, not its second cousin.
·       Eschew surplusage.
o   Not omit necessary details.
o   Avoid slovenliness (lazy or sloppiness) of form.
o   Use good grammar.
o   Employ a simple and straightforward style