It is so gratifying to get reviews from national journals dedicated to reviewing books in my genre! The last one comes from VOYA (Voice of Youth Advocates) a journal that is largely for librarians who specialize in Young Adult fiction. 

At any rate, here is the quote part: "Bell's novel is an entertaining read about a theme that never gets old: magic. Bell's cast of characters is driven as well as humorous. The transition from becoming a teenager to finding out you possess a hidden talent always makes for good subject matter. This book is an adventure from the very beginning..."

The rest of the review is more of a synopsis of the book, so I didn't include it here. I don't have a link to the review in VOYA, but they were kind enough to post on Barnes and Noble.com, so you can see the source here.

It's been another very busy few days here at Mockingbird Cottage. I've been trying to work on the sequel to The Kindling. A pretty good chunk of that was written a few weeks ago. But it was a magical fight (not guns) that took place in a movie theatre. After the shootings in Aurora, I didn't feel very comfortable with that, so now I'm trying to figure out how to change it.

I've had some more lovely reviews the past few days, and two interviews. Interviews are always fun because I get asked questions I don't often think about, so they present some sort of fun opportunities.

Okay, here they are. Go check them out!

Author L. C. Lewis reviewed the book this week (she did an interview last week):
"This is family entertainment at its best, a smartly-written, fast-paced, gripping spot-on, tour-de-middle school....[Bell] has deftly created a rich cadre of vulnerable, multi-layered characters youth will find it easy to cheer for, empathize, and identify with. The school setting is drawn so clearly you can practically smell the gym socks, and the action is described in such crisp detail one can easily “see” each battle play out like a movie. I hope someone actually makes The Kindling into a movie."  (Braden's note: me too!!!!!).  Read more here.


Author Rebecca Belliston provided a review and did an interview: "
"The Kindling was such a fun read! I highly recommend it for readers who enjoy a fast-paced, fun adventure novel. The characters are easy to love and unexpected." Read more here 


Finally, Author A. L. Sowards gave me another interview. If you want to find out what my favorite movies, or which world-historical figures I'd love to meet, come on over here.

Lisa over at A Casual Reader is the stop on the blog tour today. She gave a lovely review. I was especially excited at some of the things that she noticed and liked. It's hard to describe how exciting it is when a reader or a reviewer notices something you did, or responds to something you liked. It's hard to describe--but it's so cool!

"Overall, this was a super fun book. It was unique, and it had some great parts in it. Watching Connor having to fight the darkness within himself was particularly interesting. This is a book that younger and older people will be able to enjoy, and it will leave them dying for more."

Read her whole review here.

Thanks, Lisa!

Today's stop on the blog tour is over at Literary Time Out, where Andrea has this to say:  "The Kindling is  a fun story that is original and well delivered. The characters are great (quirky "teachers" and average teenagers who discover they're not average). There's action and even a bit of young love."  

She also had this very perceptive comment. It's very true, and I think she's the first reviewer to have articulated it. "One of the things I liked best about The Kindling is how much fun it seemed to be for Braden Bell to write it."  Quite true!

Andrea is sponsoring a giveaway for a free e-copy. Signing up is very simple--just visit her blog here.

Two great reviews today--and a chance to win a free copy.

Heather and Cathy over at Fire and Ice reviewed it and are also having a Giveaway, so if you want to sign up for a chance to win a free copy, head over there. 

"This book was amazing. I loved the engaging plot. I wanted to find out just what was going to happen next and the plot kept me guessing...I enjoyed the characters, they seemed real to me, and I care about what happened to them....I think this book will be an amazing book for kids to read, I can't wait to read more of this series!" (To enter the Giveaway, or read more, go here)

Morgan at Nothing Better Than a Book also was kind enough to provide a review. She's majoring in elementary education, so I was interested to read her review: "This book was action packed with just a hint of romance. I was so into this book! I could not wait to see what would happen next. I would look up like two hours after I started reading and not realize how much I had read. It was a very intriguing and creative story." (To read the entire review, go here) 

Thanks so much to Heather, Cathy, and Morgan! I appreciate their time and kind words!

Today is the first day of The Kindling blog tour! I'm really excited as a number of wonderful bloggers and writers have kindly agreed to review it. Today, we're over at Geo Librarian who gave a wonderful review. Heidi is a school librarian so I'm especially excited about her review. Come stop by!

"Wow! I just finished this book and what a ride! I am very excited to share this book with my students in just a couple of months, I think they'll love it. With plenty of action, interesting and diverse characters and great settings...this book is sure to win lots of fans."

Two great reviews and interviews are up today.  One from An Ordinary Mom and one from author Susan Dayley.  Come over and say "hi'!

I am getting behind lately!  It's summertime but the livin' is not easy.  Or at least not mellow.

There have been two more reviews of The Road Show.  Cami Checketts and Patty Ann Pitterle were both kind enough review it.  You can read Cami's review here and Patty Ann's here.

So, here's a question: would anyone be interested in being part of online book club?  Or, or you all already comfortably ensconced in your own book clubs in your neighborhoods and church groups?

No pressure--but if you are, why don't you drop me a line here. I thought it might be kind of fun since an online format would open it up to a.  Let me know if you are interested and enough people are, we'll work out the details.

One day, over at MMB, I was browsing through their "Post of the Week" feature.  I saw a title that caught my eye, although I forget now what it was.  I clicked on over to a new blog: Momza's House.  I was intrigued and inspired.  As I became a regular reader, I got to know Momza--a mature and wise mother of a large family.  She is a convert to the Church and loves the gospel with the zeal and passion of someone who understands its full value.  She is a thoughtful and evocative writer and I always enjoy her free-verse style as well.  I was thrilled that she agreed to review "The Road Show".  Go check her out!