A writer inspired by nature and human nature

Archive for the ‘Maine Author’ Category

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SENSATIONAL SUMMER: A Monarch Butterfly Poem by Bette A. Stevens


Illustrations for Sensational Summer are from Bette's award-winning children's picure book, AMAZING MATILDA.

Illustrations for the poem “Sensational Summer” are from Bette’s award-winning children’s picture book, AMAZING MATILDA.

Much like a Monarch butterfly, the summer is quickly flying past us here at The Farmstead in Central Maine. In fact, it won’t be long before these amazing butterflies begin their great southern migration to Mexico, where they’ll aggregate (cluster in dense tree cover) to keep warm, enabling this generation of monarchs to winter over before they mate and begin the next generation’s migration north for the 2017 season.  Matilda (a Monarch butterfly and the main character in my picture book AMAZING MATILDA) and I wish you and yours a sensational summer! ~ Bette A. Stevens, Maine author/illustrator 

We invite you to take a look inside AMAZING MATILDA, A Monarch’s Tale and check out other books by Bette A. Stevens

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Written

on 07/31/2016

Pure Trash


“This work was recommended to me by my editor, and now I know why… Most enjoyable!” ~ Kev Cooper
(Read all about it and grab a copy of PURE TRASH by Bette A. Stevens at YOUR AMAZON today!  http://bit.ly/1BMrqbL )

Category:

#IndieBooksBeSeen, Fiction, Inspirational Fiction, Literature, Maine Author, My Books, PURE TRASH by Bette A. Stevens, Recommended Reads, Short Stories, Uncategorized

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DOG BONE SOUP—ONLY 99¢ thru MAY 31st!


DBS 99¢ Limited TOM SAWYER & HUCKLEBERRY

“Adventures and misadventures to the likes of Tom Sawyer & Huckleberry…”

DOG BONE SOUP by Bette A. Stevens
ONLY 99¢ for 7 days: May 25–31, 2016
Grab a copy today on YOUR AMAZON!

SUMMARY

DOG BONE SOUP is not only the title of Bette A. Stevens’s debut novel; it ranks high among the paltry meals that the book’s protagonist, Shawn Daniels, wants to forget. Plodding through mounting snow and battling howling winds, Shawn is ready to leave it all behind—living in poverty, Dad’s drinking, life in foster care, the divorce, the bullies—it’s a story about survival, struggle and the human spirit—rising about it all.

Travel with Shawn Daniels through the guts and the glories of life. You’ll find them all in DOG BONE SOUP—a Boomer’s coming-of-age saga.

5✰ REVIEW

“DOG BONE SOUP is a fascinating literary study of poverty and family dysfunctional in the 1950 & 1960s. It is written in a fast-flowing, entertaining style that kept my turning pages, one after another.

“Despite the odds stacked against them, two brothers—Shawn Daniels and Willie—manage to survive, escaping the rants of a drunken abusive father and the hardships of rural life, cutting out on daily adventures and misadventures to the likes of Tom Sawyer & Huckleberry. DOG BONE SOUP is about making the best of what you have. It’s a story about survival, struggle, and the human spirit—rising above it all. As with all great literature, it is underscored with life lessons particularly memorable to this generation.

“This is true-to-life Americana; a story any Baby Boomer, rich or poor, can connect with and enjoy.” ~ Frank Scozzari, author

Tell your friends all about it…

And don’t forget to grab a copy of DOG BONE SOUP for yourself—only 99¢ at YOUR AMAZON today!

About the author

Inspired by nature and human nature, author Bette A. Stevens is a retired elementary and middle school teacher, a wife, mother of two and grandmother of five. Stevens lives in Central Maine with her husband on their 37-acre farmstead where she enjoys writing, gardening, walking and reveling in the beauty of nature. She advocates for children and families, for childhood literacy and for the conservation of monarch butterflies—an endangered species (and milkweed, the only plant that monarch caterpillars will eat).

Stevens is the author of AMAZING MATILDA, an award-winning picture book; The Tangram Zoo and Word Puzzles Too!, a home/school resource incorporating hands-on math and writing; and PURE TRASH, the short story prequel to her début novel, DOG BONE SOUP, a Boomer’s coming of age story.

DOG BONE SOUP by Bette A. Stevens
“Rising above it all!”
ONLY 99¢ for 7 days: May 25–31, 2016

Grab a copy today on YOUR AMAZON!

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Category:

#IndieBooksBeSeen, Books, DOG BONE SOUP by Bette A. Stevens, Fiction, History, Indie Authors, Literature, Maine Author, My Books, Parenting, Reading with Children

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Pure Trash… Free Book Promo


PURE TRASH, a short story prequel to DOG BONE SOUP #FREE at your Amazon MAY 19-23. Already have a copy? Please share the good news. Thanks, Bette A. Stevens http://www.4writersandreaders.com

Category:

Book Picks, Fiction, History, Maine Author, My Books, PURE TRASH by Bette A. Stevens, Recommended Reads, Uncategorized

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Get Caught Reading with Bette A. Stevens


YOU’RE INVITED

Friday, May 20th at 1:30 p.m. It’s GET CAUGHT READING MONTH and Annette Rochelle Aben will be interviewing me on The Magic Happens Radio Network. Come join us! ~ Bette A. Stevens, Maine author/illustrator

Category:

About the Author, AMAZING MATILDA by Bette A. Stevens, author interview, Author Interviews, Book Picks, Books, Inspirational Fiction, Maine Author, Video

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Amazing Matilda


Another AMAZING 5✰ REVIEW for MATILDA! ~ Bette A. Stevens, Maine author/illustrator http://www.4writersandreaders.com

Category:

AMAZING MATILDA by Bette A. Stevens, Children's Literature, Children's Picture Book, Education, Fiction, Maine Author, My Books, Nature, Reading with Children

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Season of Blossoms a Haiku by Bette A. Stevens


Inspired by nature

Apple Blossom HAIKU bas 2015Spring has sprung and apple trees are shouting about it here at the farmstead in Central Maine. After a long winter’s nap their branches are bursting into bloom. With temperatures in the 70s and sunshine in full array (Oh, but rain predicted to be on its way…), this writer is shouting about it too. Inspired by another of nature’s wonders ~ Bette A. Stevens, Maine author illustrator

What’s inspiring you this spring?

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Written

on 05/13/2016

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HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!


MOTHERS DAY 2016 Butterfly basWishing everyone a Happy & Blessed Mother’s Day.
~Bette A. Stevens, Maine author/illustrator

Author Bio

Inspired by nature and human nature, author Bette A. Stevens is a retired elementary and middle school teacher, a wife, mother of two and grandmother of five. Stevens lives in Central Maine with her husband on their 37-acre farmstead where she enjoys reading, writing, gardening, walking and reveling in the beauty of nature. She advocates for children and families, for childhood literacy and for the conservation of monarch butterflies (milkweed is the only plant that monarch caterpillars will eat).

Stevens’s children’s book, THE TANGRAM ZOO and WORD PUZZLES TOO! was first published in 1997 by Windswept House Publishing, Mt. Desert, ME; a second edition was self-published by the author in 2012.  AMAZING MATILDA , Stevens’s second children’s book, self-published in 2012 won a 2013 Purple Dragonfly Book Award (Honorable Mention for Excellence in Children’s Literature – Ages 6 and older category) and also placed #9 on The 2013 Gittle List for Self-published Children’s Picture Books. Stevens has written articles for ECHOES, The Northern Maine Journal of Rural Culture based in Caribou, Maine. In 2013, the author published her first book for the YA/Adult audience: PURE TRASH, a short story of a boy growing up in rural New England in a family whose poverty and alcoholism mark him as a target for bullying by young and old alike. This short story is a prequel to Stevens’s début novel DOG BONE SOUP released January 2015.

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Written

on 05/07/2016

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HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY! Mama I Miss You… (poem by Bette A. Stevens)


MAMA I Miss you POEMWishing everyone a “Happy Mother’s Day” and sharing a poem written in 2014 to celebrate my beautiful mother on her birthday. ~Bette A. Stevens, Maine author/illustrator

It will be nine years ago on August 8, 2007, when I called Mama to wish her a Happy Birthday and, as usual, we talked for hours. It was the last birthday we got to ‘celebrate’ together. Mama left us for her heavenly home the following April and there hasn’t been a day since that I haven’t thought about her and missed her. Mama’s strength of character, her poise, wit and unconditional love live on within all those whose lives she touched. The photograph (circa 1951) of Mama and me was taken in California.

Happy Mother’s Day, Mama. I miss you.

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Written

on 05/05/2016

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Award-winning Monarch Butterfly Book only 99¢ thru April 26th—AMAZING MATILDA by Bette A. Stevens


Celebrate Earth Month 

April is Earth Month. It’s a perfect time to celebrate with a copy of AMAZING MATILDA by Maine author/illustrator Bette A. Stevens’s award-winning children’s picture book for ONLY 99¢ through APRIL 26. Download this “Gem of a tale” at YOUR AMAZON today http://www.amazon.com/Amazing-Matilda-ebook/dp/B00AU9ZISA/

AM EARTH MONTH 2 promo 99¢ Apr 20-26Words from a reviewer

“I immediately fell in love with Matilda, an amazing, sweet, curious character. What a lovely story with a subtle and yet deep and understandable message for young (and those who are not so young ) readers. This book is one of “must have” books in your library. I already purchased a Kindle version for myself and I ordered two more copies in print for my library.” ~ Vida Zuljevic

Already have your copy?

Matilda says “It would be great if you would share this post with your friends so that kids everywhere can find out about the life lessons my book has in store for readers ages 5-11. Kids will learn important lessons about the value of patience, persistence and friendship as they read Matilda’s amazing adventure again and again. Grownups love Matilda too!”

MATILDA for New Cover 2015About Monarch Butterflies

Monarch Butterfly conservation is in the news. AMAZING MATILDA is too! Her story line and illustrations follow the monarch life cycle and highlight milkweed, an environmentally threatened plant and a critical food source for monarch caterpillars.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Matilda doesn’t want to leap onto ledges or bound across fields. She only wants to fly. “How can a creature without wings every hope to fly?” Matilda’s friends wonder as they laugh at the tiny caterpillar who only wants to fly. Meanwhile, as Matilda munches and crunches on milkweed leaves and progresses from egg to butterfly, her friends begin to recall how they felt before they were able to do all of the things they had dreamed of doing. With a little help from her friends, Matilda learns that if she keeps trying, she can do anything that she really wants to do.

LITERARY AWARDS—Excellence in Children’s Literature:

  • 2013 Purple Dragonfly Book Award (Picture Books 6+)
  • THE GITTLE LIST 2013 (Top 10 Self-published Children’s Picture Books)

AMAZING MATILDA, A Monarch’s Tale by Bette A. Stevens is available in print ($9.49) and eBook ($3.99) versions
Grab a copy of the eBook (Don’t forget to tell your friends) and Celebrate Earth Day with the kids while this award-winning picture book is ONLY 99 CENTS April 20-26 at Amazon.com http://www.amazon.com/Amazing-Matilda-ebook/dp/B00AU9ZISA…

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Inspired by human nature, author Bette A. Stevens is a retired elementary and middle  school teacher, a wife, mother of two and grandmother of five. Stevens lives in Central Maine with her husband on their 37-acre farmstead where she enjoys reading, writing, gardening, walking and reveling in the beauty of nature. She advocates for children and families, for childhood literacy and for the conservation of monarch butterflies-an endangered species (and milkweed, the only plant that monarch caterpillars will eat). Stevens is the author of AMAZING MATILDA, an award-winning picture book; The Tangram Zoo and Word Puzzles Too!, a home/school resource  incorporating hands-on math and writing; and PURE TRASH, the short story prequel to her début novel, DOG BONE SOUP, a captivating Boomer’s coming of age novel.

[Explore Bette’s Blog]

Written

on 04/24/2016

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