Carmela A. Martino

        From now through Labor Day (Sept. 3), I'm offering a FREE ebook copy of either of my award-winning novels to any teachers or homeschooling parents interested in previewing the books for possible classroom use.   Plus, I will schedule a FREE 20-minute virtual visit (via Skype or Google Hangouts) with any class that reads either book as a result of this offer. PLEASE NOTE: Free virtual visits will be limited to the first 20 teachers who request them and must be scheduled for the 2018-2019 school year. 

     Playing by Heart  is appropriate for grades 6 and up. The novel won Third Place in the Books for Teens and Young Adults Category of the Catholic Press Association Book Awards and it received a Silver Medal in the Books for Teenagers Category of The Wishing Shelf Book Awards, voted on by teen readers in the UK. The novel is also one of three finalist in the Young Adult Category of the American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) Carol Awards. UPDATE as of 7/5/18: Playing by Heart has been named a finalist for the Catholic Arts and Letters Award (CALA) in the Children's/YA Fiction category! The winner will be announced at the Catholic Writers Guild conference August 1. 

See this page to read excerpts from the award reviews. I'll be putting together classroom discussion questions for Playing by Heart this summer.

     Rosa, Sola is for grades 4-8. The novel was named a Booklist Top Ten First Novel for Youth and, like Playing by Heart, is a Catholic Press Association Book Award winner. The ebook of Rosa, Sola includes a "Discussion Questions" section specifically for classroom use and there is also an Accelerated Reader Test available for the book. See this page to learn more about the novel and for links to information about Italian-American culture.

To receive your free ebook, email me via the link in the left sidebar or use the form on the Contact/Press Kit page. And please help spread the word by sharing this offer with any teachers you know!

For a limited time, I'm offering a free ebook copy of Rosa, Sola for teachers to preview for possible classroom use. (If you'd prefer to receive an autographed paperback copy, I'll mail a copy to a U.S. address for only $3.99 postage/handling.) Both the ebook and paperback editions include a "Discussion Questions" section specifically for classroom discussion. If you or someone you know teaches grades 4-8 and would like more information, email me via the link in the left sidebar or use the form on the Contact & Press Kit page.

I confess, I got the idea to extend this offer from author A. J. Cattapan. She's currently giving away free ebook copies of her novels, Angelhood and Seven Riddles to Nowhere, to teachers interested in previewing them for use in their classrooms. See her website for details.

Click on this link to read a lovely BookNotes review of Rosa, Sola by Barb Szyszkiewicz at CatholicMom. The review includes interview questions with me and some of the novel's characters. Let me know what you think!

The Goodreads giveaway of the revised edition of Rosa, Sola was a great success, with over 600 entries! I mailed off the three copies this morning. I hope the winners enjoy the novel.

In honor of the new release of Rosa, Sola, I was interviewed for the VCFA Launchpad blog--they asked lots of questions about how the story came to be written and published. You can see the post here.

Also, today, Barb Grady Szyszkiewicz posted a lovely review of the novel at CatholicMom.com. She included some great character interview questions at the end of the review. I hope you'll head over to read the responses.

Rosa, Sola is included in the SCBWI Book Blast campaign. You can watch a brief video there of me discussing the book . While you're there, I hope you'll sign the guest book and click the "like" button for a fun surprise. (Caution: don't have your volume too loud!) Also, check out the
Fans of SCBWI Facebook page for fun Book Blast-related giveaways, including a chance to win copies of your favorite books.

I forgot to mention in my last post that I gave a presentation on "Coping with Your Inner Critic at the Catholic Writer's Guild live conference in July. I'll be repeating the presentation for the online conference in February, 2017. For more information, see the conference website.
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