Mirror World Publishing and Sapphyria's Book Promotions Present
the 1-week virtual book tour for Tabitha Won't Sleep.
Please welcome David McLain to Sapphyria's Books today!
Top five lines from my books. (Not that anyone asked.)
I work at a lot of conventions and art shows, promoting my books. Sometimes if there are a lot of other writers at the show, I will ask them what’s the best line they have ever written. Their own personal to be or not to be, or their it was the best of times, it was the worst of times, or even their own the huge yellow spaceships hung in the sky in the same way that bricks don’t. It’s a test, you see, to see how well they know their own work. I am embarrassed to say, pretty much every single writer I ever have ever asked has failed. The number one answer has generally been ‘I don’t know.’ Some have said things that would have looked better written on the wall of a men’s room. Usually, I have to explain what I am asking them a couple of times. One guy once gave me a quote from someone else’s book. He had quoted it in his book, you see. I didn’t know what to tell him.
So, in order to prove I can give as good as I get, I have compiled my top five quotes from the five books I have published. For the record, although the books are here on the desk, I have typed all of these out from memory. These are listed chronologically, as opposed to best to worst. My publisher, Mirrorworld, would almost certainly prefer that I put my new children’s book, Tabitha Won’t Sleep, at the top of this list. Tabitha Won’t Sleep is a wonderful book about how my daughter Tabitha can do anything in life, provided she goes to sleep first. I love it dearly, but I am going to start with the older material and work my way up:
From The Life of a Thief:
Three years had gone by, and I had seen the sun rise and set over three oceans.
From Dragonbait:
Once, a long, long time ago, a little bit before your grandmother was born, and a little bit after the invention of fire, there was a princess, called Jocelyn.
From The Time Traveller’s Resort and Museum:
“I have loved three men, one from the present, one from the past, and one from the future. I have misjudged them all.”
From Witches, Witches Everywhere:
I will always love loving you.
From Tabitha Won’t Sleep:
“We can do anything, we can fill your life with experiences, and memories, and adventures. Wherever you go, I will follow.”
I can see a certain progression in these. If you write a book. I recommend making it quotable. This sounds like the most obvious advice in the history of liberal arts, but the truth is I don’t remember hearing it before. After all, a writer who doesn’t write something brilliant is just a typist. You can quote me on that if you need to.
David McLain
David McLain is the author of Tabitha Won’t Sleep, a new children’s book, available from MirrorWorld Publishing. It was illustrated by his wife, the lovely and talented Felix Eddy. It can be purchased from Mirror World Publishing or Amazon. Please see links below. You can follow him on twitter @mclaindave.
About Tabitha Won't Sleep:
It’s eight bells, and Tabitha Winter doesn’t want to go to sleep.
“Well, it’s time to go to bed,” Mama Kitty says. “Come on, let’s put your pajamas on. Dad will read you a story.”
Tabitha Won’t Sleep is a beautifully illustrated picture book about a young kitten whose parents encourage her to believe that she can do anything she wants to, as long as she goes to sleep first. Children will love exploring the wonderful adventures Tabitha has in mind as she tries to avoid bedtime, and adults will love that in the end, everyone goes to sleep. Seriously, it's past eight-thirty. Lay down your head and close your eyes.
Purchase Links:
Mirror World Publishing:
Amazon:
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Release Date: August 17, 2021
Publisher: Mirror World Publishing
Meet the Author:
David McLain is the author of the novels The Life of Thief, Dragonbait, and The Time Travellers Resort and Museum. His stories and poems have appeared in over two dozen magazines, including Harvard’s Dudley Review. He is an occasional contributor to the podcasts The History of England, and Geek Salad. He graduated from Purchase College, where he directed a production of William Shakespeare’s The Tempest. He lives in upstate New York.
Meet the Illustrator:
Felix Eddy graduated Magna Cum Laude from Alfred University. She has illustrated over two dozen books for children and young adults, including The Big Red Purse, Dinosaur Boogie, Barks Mulberry Socks*, K-9 Merlin-Police Dog Extraordinaire*, and The Bestiary Alphabet, which she also wrote. You can find out more about her art and embroidery at her website www.felixeddy.com. (* Bark's Mulberry Socks and K-9 Merlyn are both 2020 TAZ award winners.)
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