Book Release Updates

Humans In My House 3 will release ON TIME for Kindle, July 1. Amazon price promotions on series e-books 1 and 2 will run July 1-7. Paperback publication will be delayed. I don’t know how long.

Ontogenesis is still ON SCHEDULE for July 6 in Kindle and paperback. There will be no Amazon price promotion for series e-book 1, but it will be available for 75% OFF through www.Smashwords.com for the ENTIRE MONTH OF JULY! Just search Acephalous or Amanda Marsico.

~Cover Reveal~ Ontogenesis: Acephalous Book 2

Available on Amazon July 6, 2018.

In book 2 of the Acephalous series, Breena must contend with the results of her previous actions. As book 1 follows her to rock bottom, book 2 sees Bree wake up to reality and make a plan to clean up her messes. It is a long road to Gehenna, and to reconciliation, but she has learned to forge ahead with others’ interests at heart rather than escaping as in the past. While certain conflicts are put to rest, others still seethe beneath the surface. Her new approach to balancing chaos with peace throws tradition to the wind as she takes her role as Queen of Gehenna.

The Acephalous series is a mature young adult (15+) metaphysical drama with an urban fantasy mood. Readers of Cassandra Clare, P.C. and Kristin Cast, and Lauren Kate will enjoy the series.

Look for book 3, the final installment, Winter 2019.

Cover Reveal: Humans In My House and the Animals Beyond It (series book 3)

Available on Amazon in paperback and Kindle e-book July 1, 2018.

 

Coming July 1, 2018: Humans In My House and the Animals Beyond It

Humans In My House and the Animals Beyond It chapter two illustration. Illustrator Victoria Lyons, 2018.

The third installment of the Humans In My House series is on its way! Look for a cover reveal Friday, June 15, 2018 and publication July 1, 2018 (Amazon Kindle and paperback).

In Kepler’s newest adventure, he and Emily meet animals from around the world during a trip to the zoo. Find out what conservationists are doing to help keep Kepler’s animal family happy and healthy both within the zoo and in their natural habitats, and learn how you can be a conservationist right from home!

Haven’t read the first two books in the series? Not to worry! Look for sales prices on books 1 and 2 during release, and get the whole series for a great deal!

Humans In My House is for readers aged 8 to 12, cat lovers, and anyone who loves our planet 🙂

Look for complimentary kid’s book club discussion prompts, vocabulary lists, and reading comprehension lessons after release. Downloadable lessons and other materials for previous volumes are here.

PREORDER Nova June: Inventor

It’s finally complete! PREORDER for Kindle ebooks is up and running on Amazon. PREORDER signed paperbacks directly from me here.

Ebooks will release April 7. Paperbacks are still an estimated April 15.

(Amazon preorders help an author’s Amazon ranking because they don’t count until release day. That’s how people can be #1 bestsellsers on the day the book comes out.)

RE-BRANDING: Acephalous Book 1 NEW Cover and Blurb

These new paperback covers are available only on Amazon. Ebooks now have this cover on all available platforms (Kindle, Smashwords, iBooks, and Kobo).

Love the old cover? My remaining stock, both Advance Reading Copies and Final Publications, are now event exclusives. Visit one of my events for a special signed copy. Less than 300 ever made.

New Back-Cover Blurb:

Breena wishes she was someone else and uses her dreams to escape. When a dream-figure presents the opportunity to transform, she seizes it. But, the learning curve to her new identity is steep and painfully loses its charm. Her teacher’s plan is chaos, and it’s spreading. Bree wants to do the right thing, but when she finally steps up, it’s too late, and she must sacrifice a part of herself to survive.

For the How & Why of the new cover, read on.

Official Cover Reveal for Nova June: Inventor

This beauty is finally ready!

Nova June: Inventor is available for pre-order (kindle only, paperback to follow) on Amazon.

Come see me at an event for a signed copy and a special bonus item for the first 12 people who purchase in person.

Who Is Nova June? Nova’s Top Role Models in Science

Nova is always learning something. She knows progress means paying attention to the scientists, mathematicians, engineers, and trail-blazers who came before her and that learning from their mistakes and successes is the way to improve. Here are 10 of Nova’s top role models, in order of birth.

• Sophia Brahe (1559-1643)
  • Danish genealogist, horticulturist, and astronomer, known for her 900-page genealogy of 90 Dutch noble families, and for assisting her brother, Tycho Brahe (who insisted on educating her when her brilliant scientific mind began to show around age 10), in his astronomy, which included the world’s most accurate astronomical observations pre-telescope.
• Ada Lovelace (1815-1852)
  • Mathematician and writer widely considered the first computer programmer for her creation and publication of an algorithm that would allow wider applications of a computing machine beyond calculation only.
• Maria Mitchell (1818-1889)
  • First American woman to work as a professional astronomer, discoverer of a telescopic comet (too small to see with the naked eye) later named “Miss Mitchell’s Comet”
• Ida Hyde (1857-1945)
  • American physiologist known for her invention of the microelectrode, an intracellular instrument used to monitor physiological parameters in marine animals. She also advocated for childhood health screenings in public schools to help combat tuberculosis and spinal meningitis among other infectious diseases. Because of the sexism and discrimination she faced in the scientific community, she, along with other female scientists and professors, founded the Naples Table Association to help fund and support women in scientific careers.
• Marie Curie (1867-1934)
  • Physicist and chemist, first woman to win a Nobel Prize, and the first person and woman to win a Nobel Prize twice. Her research in radioactivity led her to create mobile x-ray units, and the vehicles and generators needed to run them, for use during in-the-field medical care for soldiers of World War 1. This is just one of her many accomplishments.
• Bessie Coleman (1882-1926)
  • First woman of African descent AND first woman of Native American descent to hold a pilot’s license. She went to France to attend flight school because no one in America would teach her because of her race and gender. When she returned to the U.S. with her international pilot’s license, she became a successful air show pilot.
• Grace Hopper (1906-1992)
  • Computer Scientist and United States Navy Rear Admiral who invented one of the first compiling tools and influenced programming languages still used today. She received the National Medal of Technology in 1991 and was posthumously awarded the National Medal of Freedom in 2016.
• Chien-Shiung Wu (1912-1997)
  • Chinese-American experimental physicist who worked on the Manhattan Project developing the process to separate Uranium into Uranium-235 and Uranium-238 isotopes by gaseous diffusion. For this and other work, she won the Wolf Prize in Physics in 1978.
• Rosalind Franklin (1920-1958)
  • Chemist who discovered and published findings on the double helix shape of human DNA. These findings were not widely recognized until after her death, although she was recognized for her work with viruses and coal during her lifetime.
• Mae Jemison (1956-)
  • Astronaut, engineer, and physician, and the first African-American woman to travel to space.

 

If you’d like to learn more about these and others who’ve done great things, follow the links above or visit A Mighty Girl (my personal favorite source for inspiration), the Association for Women in Science, or read this article by Jan Sloan about the founding of the Naples Table Association published by University of Chicago Press.

Who Is Nova June? 10 Things She’d Want You to Know

Nova June is a curious and determined innovator and the main character of Amanda Marsico’s newest book, Nova June: Inventor, for readers aged 3 to 7 years.

Available for pre-order in March, and publishing April 7, 2018

10 Things About the Leading Lady

• Nova’s inventions don’t always work, but she never stops trying.
• Her pet box turtle, Georgie, is a great secret-keeper and helps to keep her projects under wraps until the big reveal.
• Sometimes the neighborhood kids don’t want to test Nova’s inventions, but most of the time they’re excited to see what she made.
• Nova likes to collect posters of her favorite people and role models. She hangs them over her desk so she can see them while she’s creating.
• Silver is her favorite color because the robots in her favorite books and shows are made of metal.
• Like many kids, Nova loves to play hide-and-seek, and she wants to invent an invisibility shirt so she can sneak back to home base before the seeker finds her.
• She wants to see space and the bottom of the ocean and the inside of a volcano.
• Nova knows she’ll have to do some great inventing to get to some of those places.
• When she’s not in her room hard at work on a project, she’s at the library reading about the inventors that came before her.
• She realizes it’s important to give her brain a break, too, so Nova likes to climb the trees in her back yard and skate with her neighborhood friends.

 

Check back for the next installment of “10 Things…” where Nova shares her top 10 role models in science!

ANNOUNCEMENT! NEW Children’s Book, Nova June: Inventor

HAPPY WORLD READ ALOUD DAY!

If you’re part of my mailing list or frequent my Facebook page, you know I’ve been teasing this announcement for a couple of weeks.

IT’S FINALLY HERE!

Nova June: Inventor is coming April 2018.

This picture book is for readers aged 3 to 7 years and features leading lady, Nova, age 7, and her pet box turtle, Georgie, in her quest for innovation.

Preview the concept art for Nova June below, and keep an eye out for the cover reveal and summary March 1, 2018.

Nova concept 1: Prismacolor pencils and Copic Marker; a bolder first sketch, very time-consuming

Nova concept 2: Prismacolor watercolor pencils only; lighter end-result (which would be enhanced digitally), but very fast application

Talk to me! I welcome your thoughts on media used.

Please keep in mind that these images are CONCEPTS/media tests and are not the cover design or any particular interior illustration.