Friday, December 13, 2013

SPECIAL GUEST MIKEY BROOKS


Welcome to the Official Blog Tour of:
THE DREAMSTONE,
Book Two in The Dream Keeper Chronicles
A thrilling fantasy-adventure series for middle-grade readers!
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Don't forget to check out the GIVEAWAY
at the bottom of this page for a chance
to win one of over 30 prizes! 

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Friday the 13th is always associated with Fear. Whether it’s the fear of superstition or a masked man hiding in the closet, fear is real. It can thrill, excite, even cripple. Many will go to extremes to push the fear factor within themselves—to feel fear. Spooky movies, haunted houses, a scary book—anything that sends a quick shiver up the spine is always fun for me. Is it any wonder I wrote a book about nightmares?

A lot of readers ask me how I came up with some of the scary dreamlings in my books. I answer them honestly: those were the nightmares of my childhood. From the rubber chicken wielding psychotic clown to the creature made up completely of spiders—I dreamed about those things as a kid. Even to this day, clowns still give me the heebie-jeebies. It wasn’t easy facing some of those nightmares again, but one of the themes in The Dream Keeper Chronicles is that kids need to face their fears to overcome them. I learned as I faced the nightmares of my childhood I was able to confront them. And with the help of Parker, Kaelyn, and Gladamyr, I was able to defeat them.



In book one, The Dream Keeper, Parker and Kaelyn have to face numerous nightmares and overcome their fear of them. In book two, The Dreamstone, it is Gladamyr’s turn to face what he fears most—himself. Gladamyr is a reformed nightmare, when he was bad, he was the worst. After an encounter with a dream catcher leaves Gladamyr powerless, the only thing that will return his shape-shifting gift is to become a nightmare again. It was intense writing this because it is one thing to face your outward fears like clowns and spiders, it’s another to face the inner demons. I think those are the hardest things to overcome. Overall I want to teach kids that it’s okay to be afraid. You cannot be brave if you don’t recognize that what you’re up against is scary. I want them to recognize the fear and overcome it.


I am excited to announce the release of book two in my middle-grade fantasy-adventure series, THE DREAM STONE. It is an action-packed adventure with a toe in both the real world and the fantastic. So go check it out…what are you afraid of?
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DREAMS: 
Dorothy called it Oz, 
Alice called it Wonderland, 
but Nightmares call it HOME. 

When Parker’s mom is dreamnapped by the wicked Mab, it is up to him and Kaelyn to save her. When they return to Dreams, they discover Mab isn’t their only problem. Gladamyr has lost his powers and the only way to get them back is to become what he fears the most—a nightmare.

SYNOPSIS:
In Book 1, The Dream Keeper, Parker and Kaelyn discovered that Dreams was a real place that everyone visits while they sleep. An evil nightmare named Fyren took control of the gateway to that world. Parker and Kaelyn teamed up with Gladamyr, the only dream keeper to escape capture by Fyren, and together they save Dreams from Fyren’s rule. After the defeat of Fyren the children return to Awake to find Mab, Fyren’s next in command, has dreamnapped Parker’s mom. 

The story continues in Book 2, The Dreamstone, as the children return to Dreams to save Parker’s mom. Finding her, however, is not their only problem. Mab has waged a war on the Crossing and has sent an army of dragons to bring it down, nightmares have been released from prison, and Gladamyr has lost his powers to shape-shift. Parker, Kaelyn, and Gladamyr must once again defy all odds to set things right and save Parker’s mom before it’s too late.    

In Praise of THE DREAMSTONE:
“The Dreamstone, by Mikey Brooks, is a wild stallion of a story: fast, thrilling, and unpredictable. I was hooked in chapter one. If he can snare the attention of an old reader like me, he’ll have kids sneaking this one into class underneath their text books…If this one isn’t a kid-pleaser, I don’t know what is.” –Michelle Isenhoff, author of the Divided Decade Trilogy and the Taylor Davis Series.

“This really is a cracking novel. Action-packed and spellbinding!”—Cas Peace, author of The Artisans of Albia series.

"If you like the Percy Jackson, Fablehaven, or the Harry Potter series, you'll love this!" –An Amazon Reviewer.

AUTHOR BIO:
Mikey Brooks is a small child masquerading as an adult. On occasion you’ll catch him dancing the funky chicken, singing like a banshee, and pretending to have never grown up. He is the author/illustrator of several books including the best-selling ABC ADVENTURES: MAGICAL CREATURES and BEAN’S DRAGONS as well as the middle-grade fantasy-adventure series THE DREAM KEEPER CHRONICLES. His art can be seen in many forms from picture books to full room murals. He loves to daydream with his three daughters and explore the worlds that only the imagination of children can create. Mikey has a BS degree in English from Utah State University and works full-time as a freelance illustrator and cover designer. As a member of the Emblazoners, he is one of many authors devoted to ‘writing stories on the hearts of children’. He is also one of the hosts of the Authors’ Think Tank Podcast. You can find more about him and his books at: www.insidemikeysworld.com
Now Available in Audiobook!

BOOK LINKS:
eBook: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GP33YZO

ISBN:
Hardback: 978-1-939993-22-9, Paperback: 978-1-939993-23-6, eBook: 978-1-939993-24-3

PRICE:
Hardback: $19.95, Paperback: $12.99, EBook: $2.99.
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10 winners will receive a gift bag with numerous signed books marks, 
collector cards, wrists bands, and a handmade dream key necklace.

Paperback Books:

Can You Survive? Treasure Island, by Blake Hoena

The Super Spies and the Cat Lady Killer, by Lisa Cole Orchard

Color of Freedom, by Michelle Athearn Isenhoff

Explorer X-Alpha, by Lm Preston

Gangsterland, by Ansha Kotyk

Cycles, by Lois Brown

Andy Smithson: Blast of the Dragon’s Fury, by L.R.W Lee

Princess Kandake, by Stephanie Jefferson
Weight of the Crown, by Stephanie Jefferson
Arrow of the Mist, by Christina Mercer
Cassidy Jones, by Elise Stokes
The Seventh Attendant, by Elise Stokes
Curse at Zala Manor, by BBH McChiller
The Curse of the Double Digits, by Lynn Kelley
Into the Forest and Down the Tower, by Ann T. Bugg
Off to Camp and Discovering Art, by Ann T. Bugg
Agency, by Shantal Hiatt
Psyched, by Juli Caldwell
Ragesong, by J.R. Simmons
EBooks:
Secret Sisters Club, by Monique Bucheger
Trouble Blows West, by Monique Bucheger
The Alien Mind, by Virginia Jennings
The Last Time Keepers, by Sharon Ledwith
Frogs & Toads, by Stacy Lynn Carroll
Nexus Point, by Jaleta Clegg
Warrior Beautiful, by Wendy Knight
Shahira and the Flying Elfs, by Anna del C Dye (PDF)