Giveaway of Nate Rocks the Boat by Karen Pokras Toz

I know this is not the usual genre I read, but what can I say!? I love the Nate Rocks series! They make me feel like a child again, and that is always a great feeling to have. And, I love the adventures Nate goes on. But, the real reason I love these books is that I find myself comparing my childhood to Nate’s and loving it. OMG, when did I become so old, that I am starting to reminisce about my childhood? Oh well, if you are a person who is young at heart, you need to check  out these books, and what better way than to win the second book, and read it for free? You can win one copy of Nate Rocks the Boat, and the giveaway will be open till May 17th!

You can check out my reviews of both books here:

• Nate Rocks the Boat: Welcome to a new adventure with Nate Rocks! In this book, we may get less of Nate Rocks’ adventures and more of Nate’s adventures, but, this …  —–> Continue reading the review!
• Nate Rocks the World: I really did not know what I was getting into when I picked up this book to read. The only thing I knew …  —–>   Continue reading the review!

ABOUT NATE ROCKS THE BOAT

Buy on:    Amazon   |    Barnes & Noble

With fourth grade finally winding down, 10-year-old Nathan Rockledge is looking forward to a fun and relaxing summer at home with his friends. That is, until his mom decides he has to go to overnight camp with his annoying older sister.  When his best friend Tommy decides to tag along, Nathan thinks maybe his summer won’t actually be so bad. After all, he does get to be away from his mom’s awful cooking for an entire six weeks.

Amongst Color War competitions, a flaky counselor, and a bully named “No-Neck,” Nathan turns to his trusty sketchpad, transforming himself into Nate Rocks: 10-year-old extraordinaire. His speedboat ready for action, Nate saves the day time and again from the perils of floods, snakes, ghosts, and even the most wanted criminals.

Join Nathan, Tommy, Abby, and a whole new cast of characters as Nate Rocks once again proves nothing can hold him back in this second book of the Nate Rocks series.

Giveaway of  Nate Rocks the Boat

by Karen Pokras Toz

How to enter the giveaway:

1. Your name and email address ensure 1 (one) entry.
2. Following me on twitter gives you 1 (one) additional entry.
3. ‘Liking’ my Facebook page gives you 1 (one) additional entry.
4. Following this blog by email gives you 5 (five) additional entries.
5. Following me on Networked Blogs gives you 1 (one) additional entry.
6. Only your name and email are required and ensure you an entry. All others are optional and get you additional entries in the giveaway.
7. If you are already doing any of the above, just leave your details below, including you  twitter username, Facebook name if different and email you used to follow me, and you will receive the extra entries.

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Giveaway rules:

1. Only one entry per user.
2. Giveaway is open internationally.
3. Entries will be open till May 17, 2012.
4. I will notify the author of the winner, and will pass your email address to her. The author will contact the winner.
5. It is the responsibility of the author to ensure that you receive your book. If you do not receive your book in 15 days, please let me know.
6. My decision of the winner will be final, I will use a publicly available random number generator to pick the winner.

Writing to me is … Guest Post by Karen Pokras Toz

Writing To Me Is…

by Karen Pokras Toz

…A new endeavor.  Had you asked me to finish this sentence five years ago, I might have said that writing to me was a chore. It was something that didn’t interest me one bit.  I was a reader – not a writer. But a story in my head kept nagging at me, asking to be put to paper. So, two years ago, I decided to give it a try. An amazing thing happened. I found out I enjoyed writing. In fact, I quickly became infatuated with this new activity I had discovered. Here I was, a 40 something year old woman giddy over this new passion. I wrote every day – the words flowed fast and furious, and before I knew it, I had an 85,000-word novel written. It was awful! But it didn’t matter, as I had discovered something so fulfilling, I was not about to let it escape me. So instead, I worked at improving my art. I found a writing coach, joined critique groups, and asked everyone and anyone for advice. The advice was consistent: “You have a young voice – you would make a great children’s author.”

I took this advice to heart, put aside my first manuscript, and began developing my popular character, “Nate Rocks” – 4^th grader extraordinaire and star of Nate Rocks the World, and newly released, Nate Rocks the Boat.

So now when you ask me, “Writing to me is…” I answer: “proof you can accomplish anything you set your mind to.” A lesson I try to convey in the Nate Rocks Series and beyond.

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ARC Review of Nate Rocks the Boat by Karen Pokras Toz

Nate Rocks the Boat by Karen Pokras Toz

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Welcome to a new adventure with Nate Rocks! In this book, we may get less of Nate Rocks’ adventures and more of Nate’s adventures, but, this does not make the book any less fun and interesting. I was really happy to see Nate in action. Seeing him living in the real world, and less in the adventures he creates was wonderful!

This book is perfectly created for the MG reader. In this book, Nate is going to summer camp. I remember the time I dreaded to go on one sponsored by my school. I dreaded being away at a new place, among new kids, and having to adjust to a completely new environment. I dreaded that I would not be accepted, would have to face bullies and I would end up doing something stupid or dangerous. Nate also has to face all these things. But, add to it the fact that is elder sister is going to the same camp, and it gets a whole lot worse. The only solace is that he has his best friend along with him. I can imagine, and somewhat remember going through the same problems that Nate does in this book. Every kid wants to be accepted in school and at camp. Most boys, including me, who have an elder sister feel that their sisters are out to get them. Also, we have all been bullied by someone at some point when we are that age (well almost everyone).

Interview with author Karen Pokras Toz and Nate of the Nate Rocks series

Today, I have two amazing guests with me. You may already know them from my review of Nate Rocks the World here. If you haven’t already guessed, I have author Karen Pokras Toz and Nate of the Nate Rocks series with me today. They both answer some questions I had. I had an amazing time talking to the two of them, hope you do too!

 Interview with author Karen Pokras Toz

Describe your series? What genre would you classify it into?

Nate Rocks is a middle grade series I created just over a year ago with the first book, “Nate Rocks the World.” Nate Rocks is about 10-year-old Nathan Rockledge. On the outside, he seems to be just an average kid. His family drives him crazy, and he doesn’t exactly love school. But he does have something he loves: drawing. Give Nathan a pencil and some paper and watch as he transforms himself into Nate Rocks – hero extraordinaire. I originally wrote “Nate Rocks the World” for the 7-12 age group, but I’m finding that all age groups are enjoying Nate’s adventures. I suppose we are all young at heart.