BLOG TOUR/GIVEAWAY: Up in the Air by Ann Marie Meyers
ABOUT THE BOOKWith themes of confidence, trust, guilt, and forgiveness, Meyers has crafted a novel that will inspire children and adults alike.
Ever since she can remember, ten-year-old Melody has always wanted to fly. And when she leaps off a swing in the park one day and lands in the mystical realm of Chimeroan, her dream finally comes true. She is
given a pair of wings. She can fly! Life cannot be any better.
Yet, dreams do come with a price. Even with wings, Melody realizes she cannot outfly the memories of her past. The car accident that has left her father paralyzed, and her unscarred, still plagues her with guilt—
she believes that it was entirely her fault.
In Chimeroan, Melody is forced to come to terms with her part in her father's accident. She must choose between the two things that have become the world to her: keeping her wings or healing her father.
ABOUT THE AUTHORANN MARIE MEYERS grew up in Trinidad and Tobago in the West Indies. She has a degree in languages and translates legal and technical documents from French and Spanish into English. She lives in Toronto, Ontario, with her husband and energetic daughter. Meyers is an active member of SCBWI and facilitates a children's writing group twice a month.
AUTHOR'S GUEST POST
Guest Post: How the Story came about
One of the most popular questions people (especially children) have been asking me recently is how I came up with the idea for Up In the Air. Well, the inspiration for this story was unlike any other idea I have ever had.
One day while I was meditating, the concept for Up In The Air swept through my mind: images of a girl, unhappy, longing to fly, trying to escape her family life, landing in the magical world of Chimeroan and getting wings…
I was excited yet afraid I would forget the details, and so Istopped the meditation abruptly and ran to my computer and started typing. By chapter 3, I realized that I was in trouble. I had a vague idea about how the last chapter should go, yet what was supposed to happen between Chp. 3 and ‘The End’ was a complete blank.
So, I went back to my meditation spot, closed my eyes and waited. And waited.
Nothing happened.
I tried for several days, weeks, months even.
No use.
I was on my own. At first it was impossible to break the impasse. Nothing I wrote felt right. I kept wondering what would have happened if I had not halted the meditation and gotten the overall story idea. I should have waited. I should have…. I should have….
It was only when I stopped beating up on myself and accepted the situation that I was finally able to let my mind soar free and figure out who exactly Melody was, how the world of Chimeroan operated, and how the story had to unfold.
It took several years, during which time I wrote two other books, but I always came back to this story. And when the rejections started pouring in, I had to constantly remindmyself that the idea for Up In The Air came from some place beyond me and if that was the case, then I had to persevere. I could not give up.
And so, after many revisions and suggestions from my writing buddies, the manuscript was ready.
REVIEW
When I first started reading this book, I wasn't sure I was going to like it. Until I started to realize why Melody was behaving so closed off. Due to an accident her father can no longer walk and Melody blames herself for it. Because she won't talk about it she tends to alienate those around her. Shen ends up in a magical land called Chimeroan where she gets the opportunity to gain wings and learn to fly, but she ends up learning so much more than that. This is a story of learning to trust yourself and being willing to open yourself up to others. While not as detailed as I would have liked it is very appropriate for middle grade readers, the intended audience. A code coming-of-age story perfect for middle grade readers. Recommended.
GIVEAWAY
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