Kevin McNamee and The Sister Exchange

Today we welcome Kevin McNamee, who will be talking about his children’s picture book, The Sister Exchange.

Kevin McNamee is a writer and poet living in Yonkers, NY. He primarily writes for the children’s market. Kevin’s published work includes the picture books, If I Could Be Anything, The Sister Exchange, Lightning Strikes, The Soggy Town of Hilltop and What Is That Thing?

Kevin’s poetry has been published in the collection, An Eyeball in My Garden: And Other Spine-Tingling Poems.

Kevin, what is the story behind this book?

This book is based on my nieces. Like many siblings, they have had their share of fights. One day, one of them asked my daughter is she would like a sister. Then she added, “You can have mine!” That sowed the seeds for what would become The Sister Exchange. I’ve worked in the Finance industry. So I thought what if you could trade your sister like you would trade a stock? The character of Mr. Michaels became the Wall Street broker who could do this for you.

What message are you trying to convey in this book?

That sometimes, the best things are right under our noses. In this case, Brianna already has the best sister. She just doesn’t know it yet. The wacky replacements just help her realize what she already has.

Do you think this book can help with any sibling rivalry issues?

Yes, definitely. I’ve done a few school visits and have read this book to grades 2 – 4. In the Q & A discussions that followed my reading, the children have always been able to determine that Julianne was the best sister for Brianna, and they could always tell me why other sisters weren’t right (Toecheez was always a favorite). They’ve also drawn parallels to their own brothers and sisters. That is exactly what I hoped children would take away from this book. I think that with the situations and the humor used here, this book helps to both validate a child’s feelings and reinforces the reasoning skills needed to sort out the complex emotions involved in having sisters and/or brothers.

What’s the hardest thing about writing a picture book?

One of the hardest things that I’ve encountered is trying to keep the story as short as possible without diluting it. A picture book still has to have all of the elements of a longer story. I needed to pay attention to plot, dialogue, pacing, character development, etc. But I also had to be very diligent about editing out anything that didn’t move the story along. The end result was a tightly written story that educates, entertains, and hopefully solves a problem.

Is there anything else that you would like to add?

I am a parent, so I’ve tried to make this book enjoyable both to children and any adult who may be reading to them. I really wanted to produce a book that is both useful and entertaining, and I think I succeeded. This book was a lot of fun to write, so I hope you have as much fun reading it as I had writing it.

The Sister Exchange by Kevin McNamee. Illustrations by Kit Grady

Print ISBN 13: 978-1-61633-015-6

eBook ISBN 13: 978-1-61633-016-3

 

Chatta?  No thanks.  Rackette?  No way!  Toecheez?  Ewwwww!

Brianna wants to trade-in her sister at The Sister Exchange.  But will she ever find the perfect sister?

This picture book deals with sibling rivalry in a fun and creative way. The Sister Exchange reinforces the bond between siblings, and increases reasoning skills through comparison.

This book is available as a print book, a downloadable e-book, or a book on CD from Guardian Angel Publishing at, http://www.guardianangelpublishing.com/sister-exchange.htm

Books are also available from Amazon.com at, http://www.amazon.com/dp/1616330155

Barnesandnoble.com at,

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/books/e/9781616330156/?itm=2&USRI=kevin+mcnamee

Or ask your local bookstore.

 

What Others Are Saying

“The Sister Exchange has more depth than your average children’s picture book. It meets an emotional need that an older sibling might not be able to express, but Mr. McNamee does an excellent job of using humor to teach just how sacred and eternal family relationships really are.” – Dixie Philips – Writing4littleones

 

“The Sister Exchange is one of those stories that will make you feel good by the time you reach the end. As your child follows along Brianna’s journey to trade in her sister, they learn how special siblings can truly be; that despite those little things about them that might bug you, you’re lucky to have them around.

In a fun and engaging way, McNamee has taken a serious issue and turned it into a story that will delight your children.” – Children’s and Teen’s Book Connection

 

“I think every family with more than one young child would be wise to get this book and read it to their kids often.” – Janet Ann Collins – On Words Blog

 

“The Sister Exchange is a fun read-aloud that will remind young readers that even though they’re tempted at times to trade in their brother or sister, there’s nothing like the sibling they have.” – Examiner.com – Book Review

 

“Author Kevin McNamee’s delightful story combines with illustrator Kit Grady’s humorous drawings to encourage children in developing, maintaining, and appreciating the relationships that they sustain with a sister or a brother that can result in a lifetime of enjoyment and comradeship.” – Home School Book Review

Other titles coming soon by Kevin include My Brother, the Frog, Papa’s Suns, Just for Today, and more.

To find out more about Kevin, please visit his website at http://www.kevinmcnamee.com or visit his blog at http://www.kevinmcnameechildrensauthor.blogspot.com.

You can friend Kevin on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/kevin.mcnamee.author

He is also on Linked-In and Twitter, but he admits that he doesn’t tweet much.

New Release! Immortal Echoes: The Forgotten Echo

My second short story is now out! SQUEEE!!

Blurb:

Sometimes death is only the beginning…

Even after the bad day she’s had, Cassy is still surprised to find herself shot, an innocent bystander in a drive by shooting. Bleeding to death in an empty parking lot, she knows she is going die.

What she doesn’t expect, is the arrival of a strange, and unnaturally handsome, man who tells her he can keep her from passing on in return for being his forever. In desperation, she agrees but afterwards she is beyond dismayed to discover she has died.

To make matters worse, the stranger has disappeared, leaving her spirit to wander through a series of worlds unknown to her. Her existence is one of fear and loneliness, until she meets another like her and discovers she’s not a ghost at all but something much more.

Excerpt:

Maybe if I hadn’t turned to look I would have been alright. Well, maybe not. Things would have been different if I hadn’t stopped to get milk. If I hadn’t worked late I wouldn’t have stopped at this particular corner store on my way home. If I’d been quicker, or longer, inside the store, I wouldn’t have walked into the middle of a gang fight. If…if…if…

I barely made it to the parking lot before the yelling and shooting started. A car sped by, passengers shooting at their rivals two feet from me. In reflex, I turned as the car passed. A bullet ripped through me like a punch to the stomach. The force knocked me up against the side of a van.

I looked down in, yes, surprise. I don’t know what kind of guns they had, but the shot went right through me. Gasping in panic, I stared in shock at the blood blossoming through my white blouse. Pain radiated from the exit wound in my lower back. Shit. This couldn’t be happening!

The street kids shouted obscenities. Another shot echoed in the night. Ducking instinctively, I slipped around the back of the van. I had to get to my car, find safety.

I stumbled, leaving bloody handprints on a few cars. I’d been shot. Things like this weren’t supposed to happen. My brain refused to believe it. I didn’t make it far. Everything spun, fading in and out. Shit. Somewhere I dropped my purse. My keys were in there. Damn dress pants with no decent pockets.

When did I fall to my knees? I toppled to the hard asphalt and rolled to my back. I instinctively pressed my wound, trying to stop the warm, sticky blood pumping from me.

The pain twisted around and through me, but dim and distant, like it wasn’t mine at all. I certainly wasn’t going to argue. I didn’t have anyone to argue with anyway.

Screams echoed from the store, but the parking lot remained quiet and empty. Except for me.

Should I bother calling for help? I didn’t waste my fading energy. First, they wouldn’t hear me, not over the noise they were making. Second, I was dying. Not to be melodramatic, but seriously, I’d been shot. Blood coated my hands and poured from my wounds, running down my side, pooling beneath me. My blouse clung to my skin.

My eyes closed and I heard the blood pumping out of me. My life’s blood, as I’d heard it called once.

Tears fell, cold on the side of my face. Damn it, I didn’t want to die. I guess no one did, though. Death just happened. You could die any day, get struck by lightning, run over by a bus, or as in my case, caught in a drive-by shooting.

Thankfully, I didn’t have a family who needed me. My parents died years ago, and I hadn’t spoken to my sister in Nevada in at least four years. No husband, no boyfriend…thank god, no children. No one to miss me. That hurt more than I expected. Dying alone.

I’m afraid of dying.

Afraid of what came next, if anything. I didn’t want to simply end. I didn’t want to be forgotten.

I heard faint laughter, like bells and little children and angels. It made me smile. Which said something, since I was dying. Or was I dead already?

The sound grew closer, but not very much louder. As I listened, I picked out tiny voices within the laughter.

“Come, come!”

“We found her! We did! We found her for you!”

“Hurry, hurry!”

Their words didn’t make any sense, and the little voices tumbled over each other so I missed more than I actually heard.

“It’s time! Come, come!”

I opened my eyes, not because I wanted to, but because dancing lights flickered though my lids and caught my attention.

I shouldn’t have been surprised, given the voices, to find a dozen tiny, glowing people surrounding me. They continued their constant babble, and one flew so close I saw its wings before it darted away again.

They were no larger than a quarter, and were mostly wings. Their thin naked bodies glowed a pale gold, their wings beautiful rippling shades of orange and red. From even a short distance, they looked like little dancing flames.

Other than a most interesting distraction from dying, I had no idea what they were. Would I know if I was dead?

“Quickly, quickly!”

I wanted to close my eyes again. The cops hadn’t arrived yet, but it felt like I’d been on the ground forever, losing myself. Bleeding away. I’d never been so frightened, so helpless, in my life. A strange calmness washed over me, likely since I couldn’t help myself. Soon I would be dead. End of story.

I watched the little dancing flames as I listened to my heart slow and my breathing turn shallow. Everything faded and the flames rose up, their angelic babble so loud and fast I couldn’t understand them.

I didn’t need to. The person they’d been calling had arrived.

Keep reading for only 0.99!  The Forgotten Echo is a long short story at over 11 ooo words. 😀

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