World Adventurers

Coming Soon from M.G. Edwards

Dear Reader,

My blogging has slowed recently while I focus on writing projects. I hope to pick up my blogging pace again soon and publish more travelogues with photos. In the meantime, I want to update you on exciting news about some big launches that I have in store for this year. My literary factory, The Wordshop, is working overtime behind the scenes to produce a steady stream of new material, and I’m happy to give you a glimpse of things to come.

Ellie the Elephant Children’s Book – April 1

Ellie the Elephant, book two of the World Adventurers for Kids Series, will be available as an e-book on April 1, 2013. Ellie the Elephant is an illustrated picture book that encourages children to follow their dreams. A young elephant named Ellie who lives in Thailand dreams of joining the elephant polo team and playing in the Elephant Cup polo tournament, but her parents want her to work in the rice fields. Will she realize her dream of playing polo?

Inspired by the author’s adventures in Thailand and real elephant polo matches, the story features Ellie and her family, Monk the Monkey, human boys Ball and Mallet, and a host of elephants. Fun for kids and adults alike, the story will introduce readers to the amazing game of elephant polo and inspire children to dream big.

Zoe the Zebra Children’s Book – June 1

Zoe the Zebra, book three of the World Adventurers for Kids Series, will be available as an e-book on May 15, 2013. Zoe the Zebra is an illustrated picture book that teaches children not to bully. A young zebra named Zoe who lives in the African bush joins forces with her friends Emma the Impala and Barry the Baboon to protect their friend Wally the Warthog from a pack of bullying hyenas.

Inspired by the author’s safari adventures in Africa, the story features Zoe and a host of safari animals. Fun for kids and adults alike, the story will take children to the African plains and teach them how to handle bullies.

World Adventurers for Kids Books #1-3 – July 1

World Adventurers for Kids Books 1-3 will be released on July 1, 2013. It will feature the first three e-books in the illustrated picture book series: Alexander the Salamander, Ellie the Elephant, and Zoe the Zebra. The collection will take children on adventures in South America, Asia, and Africa and encourage them to listen to authority figures, to follow their dreams, and to respect others.

The first book in the World Adventurers for Kids Series, Alexander the Salamander is about a salamander named Alexander living in the Amazon who joins his friends Airey the Butterfly and Terry the Tarantula on an unforgettable jungle adventure. Set in the Amazon region of Brazil, the story teaches children the importance of listening to teachers and other authority figures. Co-authored by M.G. Edwards and his son Alex, the story was inspired by their 2008 visit to the Amazon.

Book two, Ellie the Elephant, encourages children to follow their dreams. A young elephant named Ellie living in Thailand dreams of joining the elephant polo team and playing in the Elephant Cup polo tournament, but her parents want her to work in the rice fields. Will she realize her dream of playing elephant polo?

Book three, Zoe the Zebra, teaches children about bullying. A young zebra named Zoe who lives in the African bush joins forces with her friends Emma the Impala, Barry the Baboon, and other animals to protect their friend Wally the Warthog from a pack of bullying hyenas. Can they help him and stop the bullying?

The World Adventurers for Kids Series features illustrated adventure stories told in a way that children ages four to nine will find entertaining and educational. Filled with illustrated photos and moral tales, they will take children all over the world.

New M.G. Edwards Website – July 2

M.G. Edwards and World Adventurers will merge into one website on July 2, 2013. My relaunched website, www.mgedwards.com, will feature a completely new look and will be a single resource for my books, travelogues, photos and videos – including this blog.

Eurasia: Getting into Travel in Europe and Asia – November 2013

Eurasia: Getting into Travel in Europe and Asia, the second book in the World Adventurers Series and follow up to Kilimanjaro: One Man’s Quest to Go Over the Hill, will be released as an e-book in August 2013. It’s a coming-of-age memoir that chronicles the author’s adventures in Europe and Asia as a college student on a shoestring budget in 1994. The six-month journey by air, rail, and foot took him to 20 countries from Spain and Ireland to Russia and China — and almost everywhere in between.

Join him for an amazing journey through fascinating countries and cultures, encounters with memorable people and personalities, unforgettable moments and madcap misadventures . Love, ambition, and self-discovery mix in a story about a young man discovering the world and getting into travel – and trouble – for the first time.

Other News

All of these books should be available in print soon after their e-book releases.

I’ll update this page and publish new posts as more information comes available. Stay tuned for more news and information about these upcoming releases!

M.G. Edwards is a writer of books and stories in the mystery, thriller and science fiction-fantasy genres. He also writes travel adventures. He is author of Kilimanjaro: One Man’s Quest to Go Over the Hill, a non-fiction account of his attempt to summit Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest mountain and a collection of short stories called Real Dreams: Thirty Years of Short Stories. His books are available as an e-book and in print on Amazon.com and other booksellers. He lives in Bangkok, Thailand with his wife Jing and son Alex.

For more books or stories by M.G. Edwards, visit his web site at www.mgedwards.com or his blog, World Adventurers. Contact him at me@mgedwards.com, on Facebook, on Google+, or @m_g_edwards on Twitter.

Introducing Brilliance Reviews

Dear Reader, let me introduce you to Brilliance Reviews, my new blog dedicated to reviews of the books, novels, and short stories I’ve read. I will publish a new post whenever I finish reading and reviewing a work. You’re welcome to follow Brilliance Reviews as well as World Adventurers; both will run independently.

Why are you starting a new blog? Book reviews didn’t fit the theme of my current blog, World Adventurers, which has evolved into a popular blog featuring travelogues and whimsical musings about life. Both blogs have unique target audiences. World Adventurers will primarily feature my work while Brilliance Reviews will focus on other authors’ works.

What kind of books do you review? I’m an avid reader and enjoy discovering books from many genres. Book written by indie authors are of particular interest to me because I believe that much of the groundbreaking literature is being written by self-published authors. I still read traditionally published books and will review those too, but my preference is toward indie authors’ works.

What kinds of book reviews do you write? I try to write honest reviews with a 1-5 star rating (1 being poor and 5 being excellent), clearly stating whether I recommend the book (or not). I try to offer positive and negative points about each book regardless of their rating. No book is perfect, and most have at least some redeeming qualities that attract certain types of readers even if I don’t like them. The reviews reflect my own opinions, and I recognize that others may enjoy books I don’t.

How did you get started? For the past year, I made it a habit of posting book reviews on Amazon, Goodreads, and other sites. I thought it was time to post them on a single blog that others can follow. The purpose is to support fellow writers, especially indie authors, who need book reviews to get the word out about their books. I’m happy to support my peers whenever I can.

How often will you post reviews? I try to read about three books a month and post reviews. I’ll post as often as I can.

Why did you choose the name Brilliance Reviews? Brilliance Press is the name of my publisher. I chose the name because it evokes positive images of something intelligent or dazzling.

I’m an indie author. Will you review my work? If you’re an indie author and would like to submit an book for review, contact me at me@mgedwards.com and send me your book in Kindle (MOBI) format. I don’t accept print books. I can’t guarantee that I will review your book or give it a high rating. Reviews will be posted to Brilliance Reviews and the book’s page on Amazon and Goodreads. Those who submit their books for me to review must agree to allow the cover art to be published along with the review and accept the rating and review I give. I will try to give honest feedback.

Do you do author interviews? Certainly. I’m happy to feature other authors on this blog. If you want to be interviewed for this blog or cross-post material, contact me at me@mgedwards.com.

I hope you’ll follow Brilliance Reviews and learn more about some of the great books out there waiting to be discovered.

M.G. Edwards is a writer of books and stories in the mystery, thriller and science fiction-fantasy genres. He also writes travel adventures. He is author of Kilimanjaro: One Man’s Quest to Go Over the Hill, a non-fiction account of his attempt to summit Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest mountain, a collection of short stories called Real Dreams: Thirty Years of Short Stories and Alexander the Salamander, a children’s story set in the Amazon. His books are available to purchase as an e-book and in print from Amazon.com and other booksellers. He lives in Bangkok, Thailand with his wife Jing and son Alex.

Reader Appreciation Awards World Adventurers

Thank you fellow literary colleague and friend Lada Ray for nominating me for the Reader Appreciation Award! I am honored to receive this recognition from a peer I greatly admire. Lada is my indispensable resource for all things Russia, feng shui, felines, New York, and international thrillers. What do these topics have in common? Visit Lada’s blog by clicking here and find out for yourself!

ABOUT THE AWARD

You may know from the One Lovely Blog Award and the Versatile Blogger Award I received that I love digging into the origins of blogger awards to discover what inspired their creation. I learned that The Reader Appreciation Award was created in November 2011 by blogger Jennifer Avventura, a Canadian living in Sardinia, Italy (her Italian surname is an assumed pseudonym). On her blog, which I am now following, she wrote:

“I’m giving an award to those that have made this past year of blogging worthwhile. You have kept me on my toes, left comments, advice and tons of encouragement. For this I am grateful. Thank you.” (Jennifer Avventura)

AWARD CRITERIA

Jennifer’s rules were a bit different than the ones I received. Here are her original instructions:

1. Award your top six bloggers who have commented the most.

2. Be thankful.

3. You cannot award someone who has already been awarded. And you cannot give the award back to me.

4. Don’t forget to tell the bloggers you’ve awarded.

5. If you don’t want to pass on this award, that’s okay too. Just admire it.

A few more rules passed on to me were:

1. Post seven interesting things about yourself.

2. Nominate five people who in turn will post on their page the award with the link to the giver.

3. Let them know about the nomination.

4. Thank the blogger who nominated you and link back to their blog.

5. Post the award logo.

READERS APPRECIATION LOGO

The first order of business is the award logo. I’ve posted the original daisy flower logo and a new one that I want to suggest as an alternative logo. Other blogger awards I’ve seen have more than one variation of the award logo, so I’m proposing one that’s a bit less flowery and may look more attractive on some blogs. A daisy on a post-apocalyptic, avant garde, or industrial blog may leave some readers askance, so I made a new alternative one with a metallic trophy. The blue, white and red lettering reflect the standard colors of competition ribbons.

OTHER CRITERIA

It’s a tall order fulfilling ten different award obligations, so let me try an amalgamation and answer as many as I can.

1. Award your top six bloggers who have commented the most.

2. Nominate five people who in turn will post on their page the award with the link to the giver.

3. Thank the blogger who nominated you and link back to their blog.

These are similar and reflect how the award criteria have changed. Let me do this — I will award the top six bloggers who have commented the most on World Adventurers and in turn will post on their page the award with the link to the giver. Here are my nominees, great friends and colleagues who always post excellent comments on my blog (in alphabetical order):

David Cassidy (http://www.davidccassidy.com): David is a writer, photographer, and graphic designer. Check out “Blog Categories” to read his many posts about writing, photography, and his endearing support for other writers with book reviews and author interviews. I really appreciate his efforts to help fellow indie writers and must mention that his novel “Velvet Rain” about a mysterious drifter with godlike powers is on sale September 28-30.

Renee Craves Adventure (cravesadventure.wordpress.com): Renee writes lovely stories about the West and enjoying life to the fullest. I love her photos and enthusiasm! She recently started a new series called “Living the Big and Beautiful Life” that you might enjoy.

August McLaughlin (augustmclaughlin.wordpress.com): A wonderful, talented lady who shares her passion for writing through her blog and books. August has some of the best insights I’ve read on everyday life and success. I love her health tips and witty sense of humor.

Sheila Pierson (sheilapierson.wordpress.com): A writer who pens some of the most profound and inspiring poems and short stories that I’ve read. She has a gift for conveying emotion through her words and connecting with readers.

Russel Ray (russelrayphotos2.com): A photographer and blogger from Southern California who helps keep me grounded with reminders of the United States and words of wisdom from his grandmother, among other platitudes. A great melding of stories and photos.

♡ The Tale Of My Heart ♡ (justsimplyinlove.wordpress.com): Although he doesn’t comment often, I know he’s there because he visits my blog and always leaves his “Like.” It’s an honor because his blog is popular, and for obvious reason — his poetry, prose, and imagery are genuine works of art.

4. Be thankful.

I am thankful for great readers like you who make blogging worth the effort. A special thanks goes to Lada Ray for her nomination and to Jennifer Avventura for creating the award.

5. You cannot award someone who has already been awarded. And you cannot give the award back to me.

True, but I can acknowledge Jennifer Avventura for creating the award. Her initiative has taken on a life of its own.

6. Don’t forget to tell the bloggers you’ve awarded.

7. Let them know about the nomination.

These are duplicates, methinks. I will if they don’t post a comment on my blog first!

8. If you don’t want to pass on this award, that’s okay too. Just admire it.

I’ll pass it on and admire it.

9. Post the award logo.

Done. Well, two actually.

10. Post seven things about yourself.

Based on the original criteria, I don’t have to share seven more things about myself. That’s a relief! I would rather focus on the award giver and six recipients; seven things, one per person. After all, it’s an award to acknowledge the readers, not the blogger. Please visit their blogs and learn more about these intriguing people and their fascinating stories.

ONE MORE ROUND OF THANK YOUS

Thanks again, Lada and Jennifer!