Let's give a big Camp Bigfoot hello to S. J. Henderson's brand new Middle Grade novel, DANIEL THE CAMP-ER! Stick around the bonfire, here, to learn more about this deliciously fantastic tale, and be sure to enter the giveaway below for your chance to win a $10 Amazon card or your very own copy of DANIEL THE CAMP-ER.
Now grab a S'more and let's get this party started...
Ten Facts about DANIEL THE CAMP-ER and S. J. Henderson
1. Daniel doesn’t have a last name, just a last initial.“A.”This is a nod to my grandparents, who have been called “Mr. and Mrs. A” my entire life. Someday I will give Daniel a last name, but today is not that day.
2. Daniel’s best friend, Annie, was inspired by a girl my ten-year-old son has been friends with since kindergarten.I once read part of DANIEL OF DRAW-ER for her class then told them Annie was based on their classmate. I had to backtrack and make sure her class knew she doesn’t enjoy eating worms, like Annie.She does, however, love peanut butter.
3. I have never eaten a worm or an insect (not on purpose, at least).My older sister once ate a palmetto bug, though.Palmetto bugs are super icky.
4. When I was little, my friend and I used to pretend we ran a radio station. We tape recorded our conversations and made-up commercials.Our station’s call letters?WBUG.
5. Unlike Daniel, I really like Shepherd’s Pie and meatloaf.
6. If Sap was real, he would have mistaken me for one of Doctor Short Shorts evil cohorts.Someday I will be fashionable again.
7. If I was in a talent show and given the choice between singing and dancing, I would sing. I have two left feet.
8. When I was writing the part about the spider dropping from the ceiling of the Chipmunk cabin, a spider actually dropped down from my ceiling.
9. Glitter Pony and I have one thing in common: I wanted to be a pony until I was about eleven years old.I insisted people call me “Crazy Horse” and galloped around the house.
10.
I have never done a Trust Fall.We were supposed to do them at sixth grade camp, but my mom wouldn’t let me stay overnight there,
so I missed out.I’m super sad about that (not really).
DANIEL THE CAMP-ER Giveaway
a Rafflecopter giveawayAbout the Series
DANIEL THE CAMP-ER is the second book in the DANIEL THE DRAW-ER series. The first book in the series, DANIEL THE DRAW-ER, is available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and as an audiobook on Audible and iTunes.
Although Daniel’s adventures were written for boys and girls between 6 and 12, readers of all ages have found themselves swept up in these silly and imaginative stories. Fans of Captain Underpants and Diary of a Wimpy Kid will appreciate the humor in the DANIEL THE DRAW-ER books, and parents and teachers will appreciate the lack of potty humor and themes of friendship and loyalty. And fun. Can’t forget fun.
Blurb
There are a few simple rules Daniel follows.
Rule One: never let an adult see your weakness. Daniel made that mistake and look where he ended up—summer camp.
Rule Two: never make fun of the person who feeds you, unless you like Miss Gunderson’s peppery pancakes and green hamburgers.
Rule Three: stay away from girls who love
Glitter Ponies. They have cooties, after all.
And Rule Four: never, ever lose your magic pencil.
But Daniel has broken all of his own rules. Now he’s stuck and starving at Camp Bigfoot with the school bully as his bunkmate and an ooey-gooey girl who won’t leave him alone. If all of that wasn’t bad enough, his prized possession, a pencil that brings his drawings to life, has gone missing and wacky creatures are popping up all over camp.
Can Daniel survive Camp Bigfoot and find his magic pencil before it’s too late?
Excerpt
Annie catches up with me as I creep closer to the edge of the forest. Her eyes grow wide. “Why is there a moose wearing a cowboy hat here?”
“He likes soccer?” I shrug. “And that’s a sombrero, not a cowboy hat.”
“Whatever it is, I know you did this, Daniel. Are you
crazy?”
“I didn’t mean to, but I must’ve grabbed the wrong pencil when I was getting my things ready. Oops.”
“Yeah,
oops.” She rubs her face with her hands. “At least he looks friendly and doesn’t shoot laser beams from his eyes.”
I cringe. “Oops.”
“What do you mean, ‘oops’?” Annie latches onto me with her fingers and squeezes so tight my arm goes numb for a second. I wish people would hurt me in other places besides just my arms. There are lots of other parts of my body they could pick, but
no. Everyone picks the arm, which gets super-sore, and then I start drawing stuff like a-moose-that-should-be-a-bear. So, if you ask me, this isn’t my fault.
The moose lifts up his head and snorts, sending balls of green flame into the dirt.
“Oops,” I say again, flashing a guilty smile.
Annie ducks behind me to protect herself from the moose’s attack. “Erase it, Daniel.”
Which is what I mean to do, really. I have the eraser on the pencil line making up the moose’s right nostril when he looks me right in the eye and says, “Stop! Please!”
Get the Book
AmazonGoodreadsDANIEL THE CAMP-ER Giveaway
a Rafflecopter giveaway Meet S. J. Henderson
S. J. Henderson is the author of the DANIEL THE DRAW-ER series, as well as several not-yet-published Young Adult novels.
S. J. lives in Michigan with her husband and four wild boys. When she is not writing about talking cats and magic pencils, S. J. can usually be found riding one of her family’s horses or drinking a little bit of coffee with her creamer.
Connect with S. J.
WebsiteBlogFacebookGoodreads TwitterPinterest
I want to thank and welcome magnificent middle grade author, S.J. Henderson for sharing her personal writing journey with us on my blog today. S.J.’s book DANIEL THE DRAW-ER can be purchased from Amazon, and other on-line bookstores. Bonus: Stay tuned for a chance to win an ecopy or audiobook of DANIEL THE DRAW-ER at the end of this post. So let’s get this interview started…
How long have you been writing, Jen?
I think I learned to write just about when everyone else did… kindergarten. Which is funny, because I remember sitting down at my desk the first day and being told to do something—I didn’t hear the teacher because I was probably talking. So I peeked over at my neighbor and copied his work (I know, I know!).When I was done, I looked down and discovered I’d written “Nathan” on top of my paper. We were practicing writing our names! I still struggle with putting the proper name on my papers. Just kidding.
But, seriously, I’ve been writing stories since elementary school. I used to fill hundreds of wide-ruled notebook pages with my nonsense, then the nonsense would make its rounds in my classroom when all of us were supposed to be listening to lectures. I let writing go for a while in favor of family obligations, but one day the absence of words really got to me. That was about 3-1/2 years ago, to make a short answer very long…
I see. So, Nathan, er S.J., where did you get your idea and inspiration to write DANIEL THE DRAW-ER?
I got the idea for DANIEL from my kids. Last fall I participated in an online writing course called The Story Cartel Course (http://my.storycartel.com/join-course/), and one of our assignments was to write something for our audience. At the time, I didn’t really have an audience besides myself, so I decided to write a story for my three youngest boys. In fact, my seven-year-old son sat next to me while I wrote the very first draft of what would eventually become chapter one of DANIEL THE DRAW-ER. He picked out the name “Daniel” and laughed at all of the funny parts. He was the best beta-reader. Haha.
Kids are the best critics! What sets DANIEL THE DRAW-ER apart from other books in the same genre?
Wow, tough question, Sharon! There are so many fantastic books in my genre. But, if I had to try to pinpoint it, I think my book is unique because it awakens the imagination of the reader. I’ve had so many people tell me their child picked up a pencil after reading my book just to see if their drawings would come to life. Another person sent me a photo of two pages of ideas her son had written down for my next book. That’s not exclusive to my book, but, as someone who reads a lot with my own kids, it’s few and far between.
It would be awesome if you helped shaped the minds of a few future artists, S.J.! As a children’s author, what is your writing process?
Writing process? What writing process?
Basically, I just sit down and write. Some people know how to outline and take neat and orderly notes, but not me! I write down messy notes including any ideas I might have before I start writing, but my creative process doesn’t work quite as well when I plan each step of the story out in advance. It’s hard to outline allllll this weirdness, ya know?
Once I have a good first draft I like to have a couple of friends read it and offer suggestions, which I may or may not follow depending on how much coffee I’ve had that day. I repeat the revision/critique process about a gajillion times until someone begs for mercy (and it’s usually me).Then I release the monstrosity to the world, ready or not.
If, by “process”, you really mean what gets me into the writing mood… then the simple answer for that is coffee and super mellow music. And being by myself. Do you know how hard that is to achieve with four kids and a husband? Ugh.
Four kids and a hubby? Kudos for getting the book written! How long did it take for you to start and finish DANIEL THE DRAW-ER?
The original concept for DANIEL (what is now the first chapter) took shape within a couple of weeks last October, but I didn’t really add to it until March of this year. I spent two weeks eating, sleeping, and breathing this book until it was ready for publication. Just so you know, I wouldn’t recommend that particular strategy to most people.
Amen. Do you have any advice for other writers striving to write in your genre, S.J.?
Kids are the ultimate litmus test for authors. They won’t beat around the bush or lie to save your feelings because they’re still developing those filters. So have fun with your story. If you don’t enjoy it, it’ll show, and your young readers will call you out faster than Gordon Ramsay in a McDonald’s drive-through. (Gosh, I hope everyone gets that joke!)
LOL! Got it! What’s next for S. J. Henderson the author?
I hope to have the sequel to DANIEL THE DRAW-ER published by the end of the year. Then I’ll dive into editing and releasing my many Young Adult novels. Ridiculously excited about my YA paranormal, which is next in line.
Okay, here’s one for me, since I’m writing a time travel series—If you could time travel anywhere into Earth’s past, where would you go and why?
Probably back to the Garden of Eden so I could make a pair of cowboy boots out of that darn serpent.
One last thing! I’m so excited to share with you that DANIEL THE DRAW-ER is now an audiobook, available at Amazon, Audible, and iTunes. My narrator for the book, Jay Prichard, did a great job bringing the characters to life. I think kids will really enjoy listening to Daniel’s adventures on long car rides or at bedtime.
As a thank you to your readers, I’d love to offer a chance for one of them to win a copy of either the Kindle ebook version or the audiobook of DANIEL THE DRAW-ER.
Blurb:
"This is no ordinary pencil,” says the cat sitting on the end of nine-year-old Daniel’s bed. "It's magic."
Everything Daniel draws with his pencil--flying dragons, Octobears, and pizza-loving aliens from the planet Beezo--comes to life. It’s pretty awesome until the pencil draws a line between Daniel and his best (and only) friend Annie.
Come along with Daniel and his fantastic creatures on this fun-for-the-whole-family journey as he discovers that friendship is the greatest magic of all.
Bio:
S. J. Henderson is the author of the children’s book DANIEL THE DRAW-ER, as well as several not-yet-published Young Adult novels. S. J. lives in Michigan with her husband and four wild boys. When she is not writing about talking cats and magic pencils, S. J. can usually be found riding one of her family’s horses or drinking a little bit of coffee with her creamer.
Buy Links:
Social Networking Links:
a Rafflecopter giveaway
