'Bully Troubles (Adventures of Bear B & Stone, #1)' Available for Purchase

Hello everyone!

So much has been going on around here with the release of our newest book, Bully Troubles (Adventures of Bear B & Stone, #1).

Moving is never easy. Living in a new house, in a new neighborhood, where nothing is familiar can be hard. 

Bear B and Stone are experiencing these changes in their life. They are making new friends and learning to love their new home. 

Not everyone is very welcoming. Bossy and Butch are downright mean. They don't like Stone. It's not anything he did. It's just because he is a cat. 

Bully Troubles is about overcoming the bullies. Bear B and Stone want to be able to enjoy their lives. They don't want to let Butch and Bossy get in the way. 

Can they defeat the bullies without becoming bullies themselves?

 Bully Troubles is our first chapter book. It features a full page illustration to open every chapter. It is approximately 80 pages. There is an activity at the beginning of the book to help children understand that unkind words and mean actions hurt and that bullying comes in all forms.

Bully Troubles is available for purchase through these links (also listed down the side of this blog).

• Direct from Publisher
• Amazon (also available for Kindle)
• Barnes & Noble
• Directly from us through our website

There is still also a giveaway going on over on GoodReads. Check out our previous post for more information.

We are asking people to help us spread the word about this new release! Simply share one of the above links with your friends via FB, Twitter, or any other way you choose, or share this blog post. Thanks for your help!

Enter 2 Win!!

So much is going on here these days. We are happy to announce that Bully Troubles (Adventures of Bear B & Stone, #1) is available for Kindle. Visit Amazon to pick up your copy today. If you prefer to wait for the print version, you won't have to wait long. We are expecting it to be available by early next week. We will keep you posted.

In the meantime, you can enter to win a copy over at Goodreads. (Goodreads membership is required)

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Bully Troubles

by Tiffany A. Higgins

Giveaway ends August 31, 2013.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

Simply follow the link and enter!

We are working really hard on getting another picture book out for you all. This one is titled Witches Three and is a Halloween story. Also, Baby Brother (Adventures of Bear B & Stone, #2) is coming along fairly quickly. With a new puppy in the house, the inspiration and the stories just keep piling up. Hopefully it will continue to flow as quickly and smoothly as it has thus far.

So, that is what we have going on over here. As always, we love to hear from our readers and their parents. Please feel free to contact us, or leave us reviews on Amazon, Goodreads or Barnes & Noble. We will continue to keep you posted with all the goings on over here.

It's me again, the horrible blogger that never remembers to post...

Hi guys. I hope everyone is doing well. I am so sorry that I haven't posted in so long. We have been working really hard to get Adventures of Bear B & Stone: Bully Troubles ready for release. Things are going pretty well, although we are a bit behind our schedule. We are hoping that we will be able to schedule the release date for the first week of August.

In the meantime, I wanted to discuss the epidemic of bullying. Many people young and old do not realize just how often bullying happens. We are led to believe that bullying is what happens when one kid hits another kid over and over again or shoves them in a locker. Maybe even the stereotypical bully who hangs a kid (much smaller than them) by their ankles and "shakes them down" for their lunch money.

Bullying goes much deeper than that. Did you know that when you call someone a name, that too is bullying? Do you realize that every unkind word you've spoken has left a scar on someone's heart? Bullying is any form of abuse or intimidation. Many times, bullies aren't looking to hurt the other person as much as they are attempting to build themselves up. Many bullies were (or are) bullied themselves by someone else.

Your first instinct when someone is hurting you is to fight back. You want to fight for yourself. You want to make them feel as bad as you do. This is not the best way to handle bullying. I know it seems hard, it seems unlikely to work, but the best response is no response at all. Sure, if someone comes at you swinging, get your arms up to protect yourself. However, if the assault is verbal, do nothing. That's right, ignore them. OR (and I know this will shock many of you) say something kind back. Sometimes all a bully needs is to know that they can find a friend in you.

This is true in any situation. Not just for kids. But I think it is important for kids to know that they aren't alone and they are not out of options. Of course, I also encourage any child to seek adult assistance if they find themselves in a situation that makes them scared, uncomfortable or they just don't know what to do. Also, children need to know that if they ever see anyone hurting another person, they should get help immediately. They should be reminded to consider what they would want someone to do if they were in the person's shoes.

I hope that this article has helped some of you to understand how to talk about and handle bullying. We will be announcing the details of our release very soon. (Also, we may soon include an excerpt here on the blog for your reading enjoyment).

We're Getting Closer

Editing and Rewriting

Wow! Who knew that the editing and rewriting part of my job could be made so easy. I have heard from various fellow authors that editing can be done on your kindle. So, I decided what the heck. I gave it a try. It only takes a moment to turn the file into a Kindle compatible "book".

So, I sent it to my Kindle and began the reading, editing and rewriting process around lunch time today. I am already at 26% and, to be honest, I didn't work on it constantly throughout the course of the day. It seems to be going really fast and easy. I highlight a section, I make a note on what changes I need to make, and continue on.

Now, I am passing this little bit of knowledge on to my other fellow authors. I strongly suggest that you give it a try. Perhaps it won't work for everyone. Maybe it is one of those things. But, if you edit and rewrite like I always have, you are probably wasting stacks and stacks of paper. (which then has to be burned in the bonfire to protect my original works from being stolen). This way, when the editing and rewriting is finished, I simply delete this file from my Kindle cloud and create a new one and do it all over again. Paper saving, time saving and I think I am catching more this way than I would have working through page after page of hard copy.

We don't have a release date set. Clark is still working on the illustrations for the chapters, and I am working on editing and rewrites, but stay tuned because there will be many announcements during the course of the next couple of weeks.

Back on Track

As we wrap up our semester at school, we look forward to the weeks ahead. We have started to plan what comes next.

For Clark, this means getting back to work on the illustrations for Bully Troubles. He already has the rough draft ideas together, and I am hopeful that it won't take him long to finish up. When those are finished, he will start illustrations for Witches Three.

For me, I will be working on the next book in the Adventures of Bear B & Stone series. I have a few ideas that I am going to toss around, but mostly we will see where Bear B & Stone decide to take me. I also need to start working on some new picture books. For these, I may be changing my approach a little. If possible, I will continue to follow the rhyming that is prevalent in previous books. However, I am looking into something new and different as well.

Yesterday, I was talking to a mother of a kindergartener who is struggling to learn how to read. She said that she is always on the search for "popcorn words" books. She said that there doesn't seem to be any. She knows that her and the other parents at her child's school would jump on books that help children to learn their "popcorn words" as well as their Dolch sight words.

Since having this conversation, I have done some research online. I, too, have been unable to locate any books that expressly say they are chocked full of popcorn or Dolch words. So, I am going to do a little more research (because I don't want to step on any copyrighted toes) and if it is acceptable for me to put together stories using these words (in bold print of course) then that will be the focus of future books.

We will be looking for reviewers (those with blogs and the ability to share their reviews on Goodreads, Amazon, and B&N) to receive and review ARC copies of Bully Troubles and offer honest reviews that we can then use as part of the release. If you would be interested, please contact me at Tiffany@WeveSeenSanta.com. We will announce more details when we are ready to start selecting reviewers.

Don't forget to enter to win Monster Beneath my Bed, I Love the Changing Seasons, and We've Seen Santa in our Goodreads giveaway. Details are in a previous post.

SUMMER READING GIVEAWAY!!

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Monster Beneath my Bed

by Tiffany A. Higgins

Giveaway ends June 10, 2013.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win


Just in time for summer vacation! You could win one of each of the Higgins' 3 children's books, "Monster Beneath my Bed", "I Love the Changing Seasons", and "We've Seen Santa". All of these books are here on Goodreads for look up. 

2 winners will be selected. Good luck!!

Do you give them all they need?

I may not give my kids everything they want every day, but they always have what they need. They have food, they have drinks, a warm bed, and a roof over their heads. I see to it that they shower and wear clean clothing. They own books galore. I know, that is surprising considering that I am an author lol. They have video games and kindles and televisions in their rooms. They have bikes to ride and outside toys to play with. We even have a basketball hoop in our driveway.

Now, you may be reading my list and thinking to yourself that this author doesn't know the meaning of the word need. I do know that all these things are not necessarily stuff they need. However, I listed some items to reiterate the point that children do need fun stuff. They need to be allowed to play and be children.

I also teach them the value of the word no. You may be asking yourself how "no" can have value. You may already know. No is equated to zilch, zero, nothing. But that very absence of something can be very valuable. You tell your child, "NO! Don't touch the hot fire!!" No became valuable.

Now I am not saying that the following statement applies to any of my readers, but I say it with the hope that it will be passed around and perhaps reach some who do not understand this. Telling your child "No" when they ask for a new toy is a valuable lesson in itself. They need to learn that they cannot have everything they want in life. They need to understand that they will work hard for the things that they want, but they will still sometimes have to say no.

Do you know any adults that spend money they don't have? They have a term for it. They call it "living beyond their means." These people are struggling to keep the simple things like a roof and water and electricity because they wanted new clothes, video games, to go out partying, etc.. They didn't learn the value in the word no.

So, reward your children for good behavior. Tell them yes sometimes at the store. Don't be afraid to tell your child that you cannot afford that expensive pair of jeans they want. Don't be afraid to make them earn something in life. And, as they get older, charge them! Yes, ask them to pay for something. If everything comes easy to them in their formative years, they will not be equipped to handle the real world when they are thrust into it as adults.

"The Adventures of Tiffany and Clark"

Bushido Martial Arts Kick-a-thon

From now through May 17th, we will be donating 10% of all books sales purchased directly through us to the Bushido Martial Arts Kick-a-thon. Bushido in conjunction with the Rainbow Connection will be hosting its annual kick-a-thon on May 18th. Clark, along with our daughter Alexandra, will be kicking in this years kick-a-thon. Bushido students pledge to kick for one hour. The donations collected will be going to Martin, a fellow Bushido student, this year. Martin has kicked in many kick-a-thons, including last year. Since last years kick-a-thon, he has been diagnosed with Leukemia. This year, students kick to make his wish come true.
To donate to this worthy cause, you can purchase any of our books through our website, or you can click the donate button and donate your own selected amount (or a combination of both).

Donate button is also on our website if you are choosing to do a combination of both, you can still do it in one cart. 

Thank you to all who help with this worthy cause!

2013 KART Kids Book List Award Winner

Wow! Words cannot begin to describe how great it feels to have I Love the Changing Seasons selected as one of the winners of the 2013 KART Kids Book List Awards! It is an awesome feeling.

We are so excited to share this with you. Here is the badge they sent us. The actually certificate is in the mail.

Also, don't forget that this is the last week to enter to win on our Facebook Giveaway page. And this is the last week to take advantage of the $1.50 off of Monster Beneath my Bed. Check out previous posts for more information.

Bully Troubles is coming along...

Clark is working real hard on getting the illustrations drawn for each chapter. Of course, being the perfectionist that he is, he draws, he erases, and he draws again. He has finished the cover. Here it is:

There is still a change or two I may make before it is truly finished. Specifically, near the top is an option to include a quote. I think I may choose a line from the book, but I'm still milling it around.

In the meantime, I am working on editing and rewriting. So far, the chapter taking the largest number of red ink marks is chapter one. Not really sure why that is. Perhaps, because it was the first I wasn't quite in the flow of the story yet? Either way, I am really happy with how it is coming along.

I still need to write the description for the back of the book and for the websites that carry our titles. I want to portray the story without telling the story. Sometimes I wish I could hire somebody to do that part for me.

We don't have a release date, yet. We are aiming for August. The thirteenth or the twentieth, probably. We will continue to keep you posted as we get closer.

Adventures of Bear B & Stone: Bully Troubles FINISHED!!!

I am so excited to announce that I wrote the final chapter of Adventures of Bear B & Stone: Bully Troubles today! After months of suffering from writer's block and compounding that with life, I was beginning to wonder if it would ever be finished. I didn't think I could find a way out of the corner that I had written myself into. At times, I thought that I may just have to trash the entire story and start over. Today, I put the finishing touches on the final chapter. I am really happy with the ending. It took a lot of work, and there is still a lot of work to get done. Clark now needs to read through it to get a better understanding of the story. Then, he will begin putting together the illustrations. These will be black & white and only one illustration per chapter. It ended up being eleven chapters long. Then comes the long and tedious process of editing and building the book. After that, it will be ready for the printers. As we get closer to finished, I will select a release date. Stay tuned for the announcement!

Blocked no more...

Wow! What a GREAT way to end my writer's block. I have had Adventures of Bear B & Stone: Bully Trouble on the shelf for months. Today, I decided to pick it up again and see what I could do. At first, I did a little editing, a few changes among the chapters, and was not sure that there would be anything more than that. Once those changes were in place in the earlier chapters, I became inspired. It wasn't long before I began writing again. I managed to finish the chapter I was stuck on. I had gotten only a couple of paragraphs to that chapter before hanging it up. I also finished another chapter completely. It seemed to just keep flowing.

I am now on what I believe might just be the final chapter in this leg of their journey. Everything is coming to a head. The bullies are at their very worst, but Bear B & Stone have reached their breaking point. They are standing their ground. Where I left it off, something has gone terribly awry. Now, I just have to figure out how things are going to go from here for the next few paragraphs. After that, I already know the final stages of this incredible twist in the story and what the ultimate outcome will be.

After that, it is ready for Clark to design the illustrations that will accompany each chapter. Then, his final contribution will be cover design. Once he has handed over all these drawings, I will be ready to compile the final product and submit it for publication.

I will continue to keep you updated, and as we get closer to the release of Adventures of Bear B & Stone: Bully Trouble, I will let you know the release date. I am so excited to be getting so close to completing this my biggest children's project yet!

Broken Mental Health System...

As most of you know by now, we have two special needs children. Our daughter was recently diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder. Basically, she worries about EVERYTHING beyond what is even normal for an adult. Forgetting her library book on library day causes a complete meltdown (yelling and throwing items included).

About 6 weeks ago, we found ourselves looking for a new place to go for therapy and help. We found one that has thus far been great. They are teaching her coping skills. They are teaching her how to recognize her anxiety beforehand. They are even helping her to learn to realize when she is overreacting.

Last night at her appointment, we had a bomb dropped on us. The children have state funded medicaid. It turns out that the 6 weeks of therapy (once a week for a total of 6 visits) plus the 2 visits with the psychiatrist for medication purposes brings us to 8 out of our limit of 20 visits for the year. Yes, you get TWENTY visits for a year. This is for all mental health related appointments. We are 2/5 of the way there already. How can that be. So, for a child whose problems are great and require intensive therapy (meeting at least once a week), the limit runs out mid may. When you add in that the child needs to be monitored for their medication, you run out even sooner than that.

Does anyone else see a problem with this? What are we supposed to do for the remainder of the year? Expect her to shelve her problems? Expect her (a 7 year old with anxiety issues) to figure it all out for herself. Before you suggest that we pay for the sessions ourselves, I already inquired about that. It turns out that because she has medicaid, they cannot EVER accept cash from us.

The mental health system is broken. While we hear about all kinds of problems and incidents that therapy could have helped prevent or helped someone cope with, the help is just not available. How many times have you heard someone say "why didn't they seek help?" when you hear a horrible tragedy has transpired on the news. Well, we now have the answer to that question. It is because the mental health system is broken.

Monster Beneath my Bed Comic Strip (by Clark L. Higgins)

Check out the comic strip Clark made... :)


 

Monster March

March is reading month! Our daughter's school is doing a theme of "Monster Mash," so to honor March Reading Month and the "Monster Mash" we are offering $1.50 off of the cover price of "Monster Beneath my Bed". Offer good only through CreateSpace and only valid through March 31st. Simply enter discount code U9GUN2HT at the checkout. 
PS: Don't forget you can still enter to win over on the Giveaway page!

Crazy Little Thing Called Life

I feel as though I have been neglecting my duties as an author. I haven't gotten any writing done in some time. I still have to finish the last few chapters of Adventures of Bear B & Stone. I have a novel started that doesn't seem to be going anywhere fast, and I actually have some ideas for a novella floating around inside my head. With all these projects in my head, you would think I would at least be writing something down. Not the case. Instead, I am living this crazy little thing called life.

Clark and I are both back in school. We are working on business degrees. These will help with the production and selling of the books. They will also help us to open our own shop, which is something we are considering doing. Today, I am supposed to be working on my Principles of Business course, which I take online. Instead, I am having a hard time focusing because I am feeling guilty about my neglecting all of you. I feel horrible that I wanted to finish Adventures before Christmas and yet here I am in the midst of February, and still it is incomplete. I know that I made the mistake in predicting how long it would take for me to complete this newest project. I thought that it would flow as easily as it was living in my head. This has not been the case.

I also feel bad about the simple fact that I have not been blogging, Facebook posting, Tweeting, or pretty much anything else related to the books. It took me a month and a half to set up a giveaway that was supposed to start with the new year.

Our 15 year old son spent January taking driver's training (which now costs almost $300 I might add). He completed the course and earned his certificate last Tuesday. Wednesday we went to the Secretary of State to pick up his learner's license. He is also preparing to start college next year. It's a great program. The students agree to delay their graduation by one year. Junior year, they begin splitting their academic program between the high school and the community college. Senior year they spend more time at the college than the high school. Their "second senior year" is spent entirely in college classes. When their classmates graduate, they still walk across the stage and receive an acknowledgement certificate. They participate in all the Senior's activities. Then, when they complete their "second senior year" they are given both their High School Diploma and either an Associates Degree in their chosen field or help to transfer to a 4 year (Bachelors or Masters) Degree program at a University of their choosing.

Our daughter (who turns 7 at the end of this week) has been having a lot of problems at school. We have been spending our out of class time in meetings and appointments, all in an attempt to help her. She has been diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder. Something as simple as forgetting her library book on library day can be devastating to her. We are now learning new ways to parent her and help her to learn better coping skills. Some of you may recall that our son is on the Autism scale. He has Asperger's. Having 2 special needs kids is definitely a lot to handle.

So, now you are wondering why I am telling you all of this. The truth is, I need to explain myself. My lack of production is gnawing at me. I feel guilt ridden, which is only making it harder to work on what I need to work on. I have some stories finished, that Clark needs to work on illustrations for. We both are just having a hard time putting aside time to work with everything else in our lives. We are hopeful that when the school year ends, we will find some time to breathe. In breathing, we are hoping to find ourselves back to work. Please continue to have patience with us and know that we are still plotting and planning. We just aren't producing at this time. We don't want to give you something half rate because we weren't able to give it 150%.

We love our loyal readers and look forward to supplying you with many more opportunities to enjoy our work. In the meantime, we do have our giveaway going on. Read the previous blog post Enter to Win for details and to enter for your opportunity to win. Good luck!

Enter to Win

Contest begins February 9, 2013 and ends April 1, 2013. Enter to win your choice of "We've Seen Santa", "I Love the Changing Seasons", ~or~ "Monster Beneath my Bed". Tiffany A. Higgins & Clark L. Higgins will both sign your copy with a personalized autograph (made out to you, your child, your grandchild, your family, or anyone else you choose). Simply complete the entries below to be entered to win. See terms and conditions for more details. Winners will be announced April 2, 2013

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