Off The Rails - A Wilderness Survival Adventure by Susan Count ~ Middle Grade Fiction

 

Off The Rails - A Wilderness Survival Adventure by Susan Count

About Off The Rails:

 

Off The Rails - A Wilderness Survival Adventure

Middle Grade Fiction

Reading age ‏ : ‎ 8 - 12 years

2nd in Series

Setting - Montana

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Hastings Creations Group

Publication date ‏ : ‎ September 1, 2026

Print length ‏ : ‎ 204 pages 

Paperback ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1952371236

ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1952371233

Digital will be available too.

After planning a fun experience for a year, two Texas cousins make their first trip to Montana. When their train stalls, the boys leap from it into the white wilderness, beginning a perilous run for their lives.

As a blizzard hits, the boys spend a miserable night trying not to freeze. They struggle along the tracks to find shelter, but a disaster leaves them exposed to the elements and every famished wild creature.

Frustrated by their too-real situation, Davy and Anderson struggle to endure. Instead of vacationers at a wolf sanctuary, they become players in an unplanned survival experience.

Just because your cousin jumps from a train in the wilderness doesn't mean you should too.

About Susan Count:

Susan Count is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, American Christian Fiction Writers, and Texas Association of Authors. She takes studying the craft of writing seriously. Revision is her super-power.

Ms. Count has published Texas Boys Adventures, Dream Horse Adventures, and Dream Pony Riders. All series are for young readers ages 8 – 14.

Susan is a life-long equestrian and owned by a Rocky Mountain Horse that is kind-hearted enough to take her on long, forested trail rides. She says the only thing more fun than riding might be writing adventure stories for children.

Answer to why did I write Off The Rails

Ten of my novels are horse books for girls. But on the rare occasions that I do an event book table, I’m inevitable asked if I’ve written any books for boys. So, I wrote this two book series (Texas Boys Adventures) because you asked and kept asking. You and my four grandsons. Finding wholesome books that will engage 8- to 12-year-old boys is a parental challenge.

I’m so old school. Let the kids keep their childhood for as long as possible. I believe in protecting their young hearts and minds. Give them adventures where they learn to build friendships and be the hero of their own stories. Capture their interest and then encourage and strengthen them to grow into the arrows they are destined to be.

Social Media Links:

Website http://www.susancount.com

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LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/susan-count-7bba4427/

YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtHR27qiVUc

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Buy Link - Amazon

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KidVenture Through the Maize by Steve Searfoss ~ @KidVentureBook @RABTBookTours #RABTBookTours #Kidventure #SteveSearfoss #MiddleGrade

KidVenture Vol. 3

KidVenture Through the Maize 

by Steve Searfoss

Middle Grade Fiction

Date Published: 03-30-2023

 

 

About the Book:

Chance, Addie and Sophie launch a new venture when they get lost in the country and stumble on the idea of starting a corn maze business. They quickly discover that while it’s easy to rush into a maze, finding your way out is hard. They will need to convince an investor to fund the venture, persuade a reluctant farmer to let them build their maze on his corn field, and figure out a way to work with his headstrong nephew. Along the way they will realize just how little they know about planting corn, designing mazes and writing business plans. Through many twists and turns —and dead ends— they will learn how to keep a partnership together and what the true job of a leader is. There’s only one thing harder than finding your way out of a maze: creating a maze people want to get lost in.

About the Author:

KidVenture stories are business adventures where kids figure out how to market their company, understand risk, and negotiate. Each chapter ends with a challenge, including business decisions, ethical dilemmas and interpersonal conflict for young readers to wrestle with. As the story progresses, the characters track revenue, costs, profit margin, and other key metrics which are explained in simple, fun ways that tie into the story. 

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The Secrets of Chilkoot Trail by Suse Wilcox ~ @RABTBookTours #RABTBookTours #TheSecretsofChilkootTrail #SuseWilcox #MiddleGrade

The Secrets of Chilkoot Trail 

by Suse Wilcox

Middle Grade Fiction

Date Published: August 2020

 

 

Pearl and her brother, Frances, go on summer vacation each year with their adventurous grandparents. This year, they’re going to Alaska. The only glitch, if that is what it can be called, is that CJ is going too. He is the foster kid their grandparents are taking care of until his father gets well.

After hiking along the historic Chilkoot Trail, Pearl, Frances, and CJ have no choice but to rely on each other when they are taken astray by a gruegle, a keeper of the forest. They work to help all the gruegles save the trees from sickness and escape from the tyrannical Grand Gruegle. In the process, they experience the magnificence of the forest. They discover that trees look after each other through an amazing symbiotic relationship which mirrors relationships in their own families.

At the end of the book is a list of questions that relate to science, social studies, vocabulary, and reading/comprehension. Educators can use this resource to ascertain the reader’s understanding of various subject matter.

 

About the Author:

Suse Wilcox lives in Michigan with her husband and two sons. She has and MBA from the University of Michigan and worked in the field of finance before pursuing her passion to write. She hopes to motivate children and young adults to read books that are both fun and entertaining but also have thought-provoking messages regarding life, personal choices, and faith.

Contact Link:

Website

 

Purchase Link:

Amazon https://amzn.to/48mW82S

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The Lost Journals of Bud Wiper by S.M. Morgan ~ @RABTBookTours #RABTBookTours #TheLostJournalsofBudWiper #SMMorgan #MiddleGrade

The Lost Journals of Bud Wiper 

by S.M. Morgan

Middle-Grade Fiction

Date Published: 03-10-2021

Publisher: Morgan Publishing

 

 

"Help!! My head is being lowered into the swirling vortex of a toilet!”

My name is Teddy, and I’m in the 6th grade. It’s my first day at a different school, and so far, the only person I know is Zane, the school bully. I was just your everyday kid trying to stay off everyone’s radar, but when I met my new best friend, Bud Wiper, everything changed.

Bud is a 6th grade millionaire from 60 years ago.

Yep, that’s right, Bud Wiper is a treasure hunter from the 1940’s who left behind his journal full of life and adventure, and even though we’ve never met, I think he might be the only thing that gets me through the 6th grade alive.

The Lost Journals of Bud Wiper is a fantastic story of bravery and friendship, perfect for kids, middle school students, and adults.

About the Author:

S.M. Morgan is the author of The Lost Journals of Bud Wiper — A Middle Grade Adventure. He lives in East Texas with his wife, daughter, and son, and when not writing potty humor for kids, he is trying to get alone to read more mystery adventure stories.

When the real world calls him to be social, he can be found canoeing with his family or trying to convince his wife to watch action movies.

Contact Link:

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Book Blast & #Giveaway: Beyond the Birch by Torina Kingsley ~ Middle Grade Fiction (Fantasy) ~ @GoddessFish

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Torina Kingsley will be awarding a $10 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

About the Book:

Eleven year old Macy dreams of action and adventure that will take her far beyond her family's farm. But what will happen when that adventure finds her?

Long ago, faeries were banished from the land after a legendary battle. So long ago that many wonder if faeries really exist or if the battle was just a tall tale. But one mysterious night, Macy's mother is attacked, and ever since, unusual things start happening. Missing items, changing moods, and most strange of all, the family's sheep start behaving unusually.

Her mother is suddenly determined to get rid of the sheep, and Macy suspects that the reason may be sinister. When Macy meets a boy her age, the aloof and sarcastic Jay, they embark on a journey to discover the truth and save her mother. In this twist on The Wonderful Birch, you won't find kings, queens, or evil stepmothers. Instead, you'll find two courageous pre-teens from the outskirts, ready to defend Odele from the magical forces that threaten it.

Genre: Middle Grade Fiction (Fantasy)

Read an Excerpt:

It wasn’t long before the sun disappeared behind a hill, leaving Laurel to wander in darkness. It’s no use, she thought, I’m not going to find him tonight. I’d best be getting back home. Maybe Macy can help me search in the morning.

She turned around searching for the lamplights that lined the Jensen farm. She could barely make them out in the distance. Steeling herself for the long walk back, she gathered her skirts once again.

SNAP! The sound of a twig snapping nearby alerted her that she may not be alone.

It was probably just an animal, Laurel told herself. The wind stopped suddenly—as if holding its breath too.

SNAP!

“Hello?” she called out. She whirled around frantically, her eyes searching for the source of the sound. “Is anyone there?”

A frail voice answered her, “I’m sorry, my dear. I didn’t mean to scare you.” An old woman peeked her head around the tree trunk. Upon seeing Laurel, the woman’s face relaxed a little, and she slowly hobbled over. “There are wolves in these woods, and I fear I don’t stand a chance if I run into one. Best I can do is hide and cross my fingers.”

Laurel squinted in the dark, trying to get a good look at her. Her clothes were worn, and her skin was paler than anyone from around these parts. “Are you traveling to Grimsby? You don’t look like you are from around here,” Laurel replied, eyeing the stranger.

Amazon:

https://amzn.to/38LMkGx  

About the Author:

Author Torina Kingsley masterfully creates a world where things aren't always as they seem. Beyond the Birch is an imaginative spin on an old folktale that reminds us all to hold our loved ones close and always believe in own our capabilities.

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Book Blitz ~ ORPHEUS RISING by Lance Lee ~ @RABTBookTours #RABTBookTours #OrpheusRising #LanceLee #MiddleGrade

 

By Sam And His Father, John/With Some Help From A Very Wise Elephant/Who Likes To Dance

Children's Fiction, Middle Grade Fiction, Fantasy, Epic Fantasy

Publisher: LWL Books

About the Book:

A visionary, imaginative retelling of the Orpheus legend in modern guise with a happy ending as Sam and his father John with Lepanto, a very wise elephant who likes to dance, rescue Sam's mother from the afterlife in Dread City, an ocean and a world away. A variety of reviewers have compared its scope, sweep, and imagination to "Alice In Wonderland" and "The Wizard of Oz" and even to "Gulliver's Travels," and to Neil Gaiman in general! While aimed at youthful readers, its exuberant story defies simple categorization and can be enjoyed as well by adults who are sure to appreciate its charm.

Kirkus Reviews claims it can "stand with the classics of children's literature."

It combines compassion and renewal with an epic fantasy adventure in a manner sure to touch reader' hearts.

About the Author:

Lance Lee is a poet whose "Elemental Natures" (2020) climaxes a career in poetry, a novelist, "Second Chances" and "Orpheus Rising" (2021), playwright ("Time's Up and Other Plays)," and an environmentalist active in founding the state park system in the Santa Monica Mountains near Los Angeles. His recent focus on children's literature has been rewarded by high praise for Orpheus Rising, a Best Book of 2021, Indie, and his forthcoming "The Tale Of Brian And The House Painter Mervyn," already an Editor's Pick at Booklife-Publishers Weekly. His family is split between Los Angeles and London where he visits frequently.

Contact Links:

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Book Tour & #Giveaway ~ KidVenture by Steve Searfoss @KidVentureBook ~ @RABTBookTours ~ #rabtbooktours #KidVenture #TwelveWeekstoMidnightBlue #SteveSearfoss #MiddleGrade ~ Middle Grade Fiction

 

KidVenture by Steve Searfoss

KidVenture Vol. 1 

Middle Grade Fiction

Date Published: 01-26-2020

 About the Book:

Chance Sterling launches a pool cleaning business over the summer. Join Chance as he looks for new customers, discovers how much to charge them, takes on a business partner, recruits an employee, deals with difficult clients, and figures out how to make a profit. He has twelve weeks to reach his goal. Will he make it? Only if he takes some chances.

KidVenture stories are business adventures where kids figure out how to market their company, understand risk, and negotiate. Each chapter ends with a challenge, including business decisions, ethical dilemmas and interpersonal conflict for young readers to wrestle with. As the story progresses, the characters track revenue, costs, profit margin, and other key metrics which are explained in simple, fun ways that tie into the story. 

 

 About the Author:

I wrote my first KidVenture book after years of making up stories to teach my kids about business and economics. Whenever they'd ask how something works or why things were a certain way, I would say, "Let's pretend you have a business that sells..." and off we'd go. What would start as a simple hypothetical to explain a concept would become an adventure spanning several days as my kids would come back with new questions which would spawn more plot twists. Rather than give them quick answers, I tried to create cliffhangers to get them to really think through an idea and make the experience as interactive as possible.

 I try to bring that same spirit of fun, curiosity and challenge to each KidVenture book. That’s why every chapter ends with a dilemma and a set of questions. KidVenture books are fun for kids to read alone, and even more fun to read together and discuss. There are plenty of books where kids learn about being doctors and astronauts and firefighters. There are hardly any where they learn what it’s like to run small business. KidVenture is different. The companies the kids start are modest and simple, but the themes are serious and important.

I’m an entrepreneur who has started a half dozen or so businesses and have had my share of failures. My dad was an entrepreneur and as a kid I used to love asking him about his business and learning the ins and outs of what to do and not do. Mistakes make the best stories — and the best lessons. I wanted to write a business book that was realistic, where you get to see the characters stumble and wander and reset, the way entrepreneurs do in real life. Unlike most books and movies where business is portrayed as easy, where all you need is one good idea and the desire to be successful, the characters in KidVenture find that every day brings new problems to solve.

 

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Book Tour & #Giveaway ~ Elanora and the Salt Marsh Mystery by Kathleen Jae @KathleenJae2 ~ Middle Grade Fiction ~ @pumpupyourbook

 

Will Elanora persuade the colony and swimmers to overcome their fear of the unknown and embark on a dangerous journey to their new home?

By Kathleen Jae

Title: ELANORA AND THE SALT MARSH MYSTERY
Author: Kathleen Jae
Publisher: Twenty Paws Publishing
Pages: 213
Genre: Middle Grade Fiction

About the Book:

After a series of terrifying events, Elanora is transported to a strange neighborhood where the only way to get about is by water and the only food to eat is the grasses of the marsh. When she discovers that the water level in her new home is falling, she suspects humans are the cause and puts together a plan to save the creatures who live there.

Will Elanora persuade the colony and swimmers to overcome their fear of the unknown and embark on a dangerous journey to their new home?

CHAPTER ONE

Elanora the Questioner

Dangers lurk both high and low,

Marauders, curs, moggies too.

When darkness comes, we must not go,

And wait for light’s renew!

Elanora’s mother uttered the verse daily, just as her mother’s mother had told it to her, so who was Elanora to question it? It gave her shivers when she heard the serious way her mother told it, as if every menacing creature mentioned in the verse were waiting just outside their burrow, ready to pounce on them for daring to leave the safety of their home. The first time her mother recited it, Elanora was busy studying the stripes on the back of her sister Vala. All of them had these same stripes, even her mother, but Elanora thought them quite unnecessary.

“One…two…three…” she counted, poking hard at each line, until her sister screamed for her to stop. Elanora was quietly scolded, as it was normally a time for rest. She promised herself to ask her mother about the stripes at feasting time, for she had an almost vital need to know things.

“Please tell me now—why do we have these silly stripes on our backs?” Elanora asked her mother this question after they arrived at the edge of a clearing where the cobbings grew on the popple trees. She pulled a piece of cobbing from the tree and shoved it in her mouth. Her sisters and brothers foraged around her, and she had never heard them complain about the ugly and slimy things. But Elanora thought they tasted like dirt, and their shape reminded her of the lily pads she had seen in the pond that was not far from their home. Elanora accepted the tops, but she had long ago rejected the stems for she thought they made her tummy hurt. At least that is what she told to all who would listen.

Her mother smiled at Elanora’s question. “Hava has used her wisdom once again with the creation of our stripes. You noticed they are different colors, yes?”

Elanora nodded.

“That is so we are one with everything else she has created.”

“But—”

“Look at your brother there,” she directed, pointing to Calum. “You must use your eyes skillfully to see him among the leaves and the twigs and the ground.”

Elanora tried to observe the scene in an open-minded way and decided that her mother was right: when Calum was still he seemed to disappear.

Elanora nodded. “I agree, Mother. But if Hava has done this good thing, why did she also create the defyers—those awful creatures who watch for us and take us away with their sharp claws?”

Her mother stopped eating and frowned at Elanora. “You are asking too many questions! We will leave that for another outing!”

She had been told such things before, like when she would ask why the water fell from the sky or why the brightness left and the darkness arrived at the same time. She knew her queries annoyed her family, but she could not help herself. That was why she loved to talk to Damhan. He answered her questions thoughtfully and always welcomed more.

That eventide, Elanora asked if she might explore the nearby pond the next brightness, and her mother agreed. Just as the light pushed through the tops of the trees, Elanora’s mother received a report of a cur wandering near the rock wall. After securing a promise from her daughter that she would not be away long, Sorcha gave Elanora permission to leave the nest.

She peeked from the opening of their burrow. Elanora loved the cozy home she shared with her family, and her mother once told them that she had lived in the same burrow when she was a youngster. The tiny entrance was at the bottom of a tall honey tree, and once inside, Elanora had to turn to the right, climb up two steps, and turn left. A feathered creature had bored a hole through the bark at this point, and Elanora loved to watch the brightness of the moon push through the opening and into their burrow, and it was the last thing she saw before falling asleep. The other part of the burrow, one that Elanora did not like, was under the ground. Its entrance was just beyond the steps, and the tunnel that led downward was narrow. They sometimes slept in a nest in one of the larger pockets, usually after hearing the cries of a moggie.

Dangers lurk both high and low,

Marauders, curs, moggies too.

When darkness comes, we must not go,

And wait for light’s renew!

Amazon

Check out Elanora and the Salt Marsh Mystery at Goodreads!

:

FROM PROMPTING TO SHAPING TO LETTING GO

Kathleen Jae has been writing in one form or another for almost twenty-five years. Her greatest success story is her daughter, Katie, whom she refers to as “my hero,” and their journey is chronicled in Kathleen’s first book, From Prompting to Shaping to Letting Go: My Love Affair With ABA and How Being a “Bad Mom” Helped My Daughter With Autism Succeed. In past lives the author has been a proofreader, editor, newspaper reporter and columnist, newsletter writer for a wildlife organization and writer of stage plays and screenplays. She considers her six-year stint as a home-based behavioral program director in the ’90s her most difficult, albeit important, job and is counting the days until all autism-related ABA therapy positions go the way of the dodo. Two of Kathleen’s short stories made it to the finals of the 2017 Florida Writers Association Royal Palm Literary Award competition.

WEBSITE & SOCIAL LINKS:

Website: http://www.kathleenjae.com

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/kathleenjae2

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/authorkathleenjae

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/kathleenjaeauthor

Amazon author page: https://www.amazon.com/Kathleen-Jae/e/B07YQ7JNF9%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share

GIVEAWAY!

Kathleen Jae is giving away a $50 Amazon Gift Card

&

One Printed Canvas Bag

Included in the canvas bag printed with the Elanora and the Salt Marsh Mystery book cover by Etsy shop owner BAGANDTOTE1: One plushie muskrat (Beathas, Lachi and the rest of the colony); one plushie chipmunk (Elanora); one plushie gray squirrel (Nara); one roseate spoonbill (Moira and Muireall) photo transfer hanging by Etsy shop owner FeelinGroovyPhotos; one framed manatee (sea cow) art print by Etsy shop owner SammWehmanArt; one cormorant (Pelles) printed tea towel by Etsy shop owner HearthandHarrow; one yellow-crowned night heron (Morven) signed printed note card by Etsy shop owner BlueHenCraft; one set of 5 vintage bobcat (bullycat) postage stamps by Etsy shop owner AxmxZ; one red-tailed hawk (defyer) applique iron-on patch by Etsy shop owner PatchParlor; one diamondback terrapin (Ùna) vintage, upcycled and hand-soldered glass pendant with ball-chain necklace by Etsy shop owner ObjectFound; one reusable shopping bag adorned with assorted forest animals including red fox (oppect), white tailed deer (Damhan), rabbit (quidge) and owl (marauder); one bird-watching notebook with blue jay (Jae) on front; two signed copies of Elanora and the Salt Marsh Mystery and two Elanora bookmarks.

Terms & Conditions:

• By entering the giveaway, you are confirming you are at least 18 years old.
• One winner will be chosen via Rafflecopter to receive $50 Amazon Gift Card & one winner will be chosen to win tote bag with goodies.
• This giveaway ends midnight April 30.
• Winner will be contacted via email on May 1.
• Winner has 48 hours to reply.

Good luck everyone!

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