The Rock of Ivanore
The annual Great Quest is about to be announced in Quendel, a task that will determine the future of Marcus and the other boys from the village who are coming of age. The wizard Zyll commands them to find the Rock of Ivanore, but he doesn't tell them what the Rock is exactly or where it can be found. Marcus must reach deep within himself to develop new powers of magic and find the strength to survive the wild lands and fierce enemies he encounters as he searches for the illusive Rock. If he succeeds, he will live a life of honor; if he fails, he will live a life of menial labor in shame. With more twists and turns than a labyrinth, and a story in which nothing is as it seems, this tale of deception and discovery keeps readers in suspense until the end.
Middle readers will find that The Rock of Ivanore fits nicely among the traditional fantasies they so enjoy. They will also appreciate its fresh and inventive take on the genre.
Laura's LINKS:
Website: http://www.laurisawhitereyes.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Laurisa-White-Reyes/148553665188339
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/lwreyes
Blog: http://1000wrongs.blogspot.com/
Website: http://www.laurisawhitereyes.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Laurisa-White-Reyes/148553665188339
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/lwreyes
Blog: http://1000wrongs.blogspot.com/
Praise:
"This is a swift and compelling epic that readers of high fantasy will love!"
— Tony Abbott, author of The Secrets of Droon
“Magic! Swords! Mysterious cloaked figures! A good choice for middle-grade fantasy lovers.”
– Marissa Burt, author of Storybound
“Fast paced and very engaging.”
– So Simply Sara
“Elementary school libraries and middle school libraries can confidently add this book to their collections.”
– Cerulean Librarian
Author Laurisa White Reyes
Laurisa White Reyes has been writing since the age of 5 when she wrote her first poem on a scrap of poster board. After earning a degree in English at California State University at Northridge, she spent thirteen years writing for various magazines and newspapers, working as a book editor, and teaching creative writing. She gave up all that six years ago to follow her lifelong dream of writing novels. Her first book, The Rock of Ivanore, will be released in May 2012.Besides writing, Laurisa is also a voracious reader. She also loves musical theater, chocolate, sushi, ancient history, bearded dragons, and rain storms. She lives in Southern California with her husband, 5 children, 4 birds, 2 lizards, 2 turtles, 1 fish, 1 dog, and a partridge in a pear tree.
Giveaway Details:
$50 Amazon.com Gift Code
Open to anyone 13 or older who can legally enter & use an Amazon.com Gift Code
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Ends 5/22/12
From her site, on how she found a publisher (copied from her blog)
MY STORY: HOW I FOUND A PUBLISHER FOR MY BOOK
May 21st is my big day! It's the day my first novel hits the shelves, the day my life long dream FINALLY comes true! It's been a loooooong road. How did I get here?
Like many writers, I've wanted this almost my whole life. I was born to be a writer. Once, when I was 5 years old, I woke up in the middle of the night, fished a piece of cardstock from the trash, and scrawled my first poem on it.
That was the beginning of a lifelong love affair with words. I wrote plays and coerced my brothers and cousins to perform them for our parents. I wrote poems, short stories, essays. I won third place in my high school writing contest. When I was about 14, I set a goal for myself and wrote it in my journal: I would publish my first book by the time I turned 30.
As an avid reader, I could think of nothing more exciting than seeing my name on a shelf at Barnes & Noble. I spent countless hours practicing my signature, getting that sweeping 'L' just right. Later, I earned my B.A. in Creative Writing. I kept on writing after I got married and started having kids, writing for magazines and newspapers. I had my own editorial column that ran in three papers for awhile. I even had a short stint as a book editor for a homeschool publisher.
Why did I spend so much time NOT writing novels? Because I didn't think I could. I lacked confidence in my own abilities. Eventually, I simply got sick of producing what I called disposable writing. My articles would appear in a magazine or newspaper, a few people might read them, and then they would get discarded and forgotten. (This was before the immortality of the internet took off.) I wanted to write something permanent. It was time to finally live my dream.
My first attempt at a novel stunk. But I learned a lot in the process. My second attempt came from the bedtime stories I told to my son. These stories eventually became The Rock of Ivanore. It took an entire year to write the first draft, and several months more for the revisions. As an anxious new writer, I sent the manuscript off to 50 publishers. I figured that if I got 50 rejections, then I'd know it was no good. I had no idea what a slush pile was or how many thousands of manuscripts every editor has to wade through to find that one gem worthy of getting published. I didn't have a clue how the publishing industry worked. I was so naive!
Every day I'd run to my mail box praying for that magical letter that said "Loved Your Book! Let's Publish It Tomorrow!" Of course, it never came. Over the next year I did receive six requests for the complete manuscript, but eventually The Rock of Ivanore was rejected no less than 46 times. The remaining publishers didn't even bother contacting me at all.
I was ready to give up. I was discouraged. By the time I went to the SCBWI Editor's Day in Long Beach (Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators), two years had passed since I sent out that first submission. One of the speakers was Jay Asher, author of the New York Times bestselling YA novel 13 Reasons Why. He said it took ten years to find a publisher for his book, and he told all of us in attendance to NOT GIVE UP. I took his advice and started writing another novel.
Then, one day I got the following email out of the blue. The date was June 12, 2008:
Hi Laurisa,
I'm sure you never thought you would hear back from Tanglewood, as it has been a couple of years since you sent me this manuscript. Anyway, I just unearthed this manuscript a few weeks ago, and while I think it needs some rewriting (the beginning is too slow), I think it has real promise. So I want to make sure that it is available before I go any further.
Best,
Peggy
Was it available?????!!!!! YES!!!!
Needless to say, I screamed, I cried, I got down on my knees and thanked God. It's been a long road from that email to actual publication. Nearly four years will have passed by the time The Rock of Ivanore finally hits the shelves in May, six years since I first submitted the manuscript. But the journey has been well worth it. In that time I've completed a total of ten manuscripts, and I hope to one day publish them all. The best part is that I am living my dream -- maybe I didn't do by the time I was 30 (I'm well beyond that) but because of Tanglewood Press and my family's support, I've finally done it.
So, what can I say to writers who are still waiting for that first acceptance of their book? The same thing Jay Asher told me. Keep writing, keep dreaming, keep submitting. And DON'T GIVE UP!
Well, there it is. My story. And hopefully it's just the beginning of a long and happy career.
Pin It
"This is a swift and compelling epic that readers of high fantasy will love!"
— Tony Abbott, author of The Secrets of Droon
“Magic! Swords! Mysterious cloaked figures! A good choice for middle-grade fantasy lovers.”
– Marissa Burt, author of Storybound
“Fast paced and very engaging.”
– So Simply Sara
“Elementary school libraries and middle school libraries can confidently add this book to their collections.”
– Cerulean Librarian
Author Laurisa White ReyesLaurisa White Reyes has been writing since the age of 5 when she wrote her first poem on a scrap of poster board. After earning a degree in English at California State University at Northridge, she spent thirteen years writing for various magazines and newspapers, working as a book editor, and teaching creative writing. She gave up all that six years ago to follow her lifelong dream of writing novels. Her first book, The Rock of Ivanore, will be released in May 2012.Besides writing, Laurisa is also a voracious reader. She also loves musical theater, chocolate, sushi, ancient history, bearded dragons, and rain storms. She lives in Southern California with her husband, 5 children, 4 birds, 2 lizards, 2 turtles, 1 fish, 1 dog, and a partridge in a pear tree.
Giveaway Details:
$50 Amazon.com Gift Code
Open to anyone 13 or older who can legally enter & use an Amazon.com Gift Code
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Ends 5/22/12
From her site, on how she found a publisher (copied from her blog)
MY STORY: HOW I FOUND A PUBLISHER FOR MY BOOK
May 21st is my big day! It's the day my first novel hits the shelves, the day my life long dream FINALLY comes true! It's been a loooooong road. How did I get here?Like many writers, I've wanted this almost my whole life. I was born to be a writer. Once, when I was 5 years old, I woke up in the middle of the night, fished a piece of cardstock from the trash, and scrawled my first poem on it.
That was the beginning of a lifelong love affair with words. I wrote plays and coerced my brothers and cousins to perform them for our parents. I wrote poems, short stories, essays. I won third place in my high school writing contest. When I was about 14, I set a goal for myself and wrote it in my journal: I would publish my first book by the time I turned 30.
As an avid reader, I could think of nothing more exciting than seeing my name on a shelf at Barnes & Noble. I spent countless hours practicing my signature, getting that sweeping 'L' just right. Later, I earned my B.A. in Creative Writing. I kept on writing after I got married and started having kids, writing for magazines and newspapers. I had my own editorial column that ran in three papers for awhile. I even had a short stint as a book editor for a homeschool publisher.
Why did I spend so much time NOT writing novels? Because I didn't think I could. I lacked confidence in my own abilities. Eventually, I simply got sick of producing what I called disposable writing. My articles would appear in a magazine or newspaper, a few people might read them, and then they would get discarded and forgotten. (This was before the immortality of the internet took off.) I wanted to write something permanent. It was time to finally live my dream.
My first attempt at a novel stunk. But I learned a lot in the process. My second attempt came from the bedtime stories I told to my son. These stories eventually became The Rock of Ivanore. It took an entire year to write the first draft, and several months more for the revisions. As an anxious new writer, I sent the manuscript off to 50 publishers. I figured that if I got 50 rejections, then I'd know it was no good. I had no idea what a slush pile was or how many thousands of manuscripts every editor has to wade through to find that one gem worthy of getting published. I didn't have a clue how the publishing industry worked. I was so naive!
Every day I'd run to my mail box praying for that magical letter that said "Loved Your Book! Let's Publish It Tomorrow!" Of course, it never came. Over the next year I did receive six requests for the complete manuscript, but eventually The Rock of Ivanore was rejected no less than 46 times. The remaining publishers didn't even bother contacting me at all.
I was ready to give up. I was discouraged. By the time I went to the SCBWI Editor's Day in Long Beach (Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators), two years had passed since I sent out that first submission. One of the speakers was Jay Asher, author of the New York Times bestselling YA novel 13 Reasons Why. He said it took ten years to find a publisher for his book, and he told all of us in attendance to NOT GIVE UP. I took his advice and started writing another novel.
Then, one day I got the following email out of the blue. The date was June 12, 2008:
Hi Laurisa,
I'm sure you never thought you would hear back from Tanglewood, as it has been a couple of years since you sent me this manuscript. Anyway, I just unearthed this manuscript a few weeks ago, and while I think it needs some rewriting (the beginning is too slow), I think it has real promise. So I want to make sure that it is available before I go any further.
Best,
Peggy
Was it available?????!!!!! YES!!!!
Needless to say, I screamed, I cried, I got down on my knees and thanked God. It's been a long road from that email to actual publication. Nearly four years will have passed by the time The Rock of Ivanore finally hits the shelves in May, six years since I first submitted the manuscript. But the journey has been well worth it. In that time I've completed a total of ten manuscripts, and I hope to one day publish them all. The best part is that I am living my dream -- maybe I didn't do by the time I was 30 (I'm well beyond that) but because of Tanglewood Press and my family's support, I've finally done it.
So, what can I say to writers who are still waiting for that first acceptance of their book? The same thing Jay Asher told me. Keep writing, keep dreaming, keep submitting. And DON'T GIVE UP!
Well, there it is. My story. And hopefully it's just the beginning of a long and happy career.
Pin It
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