Hi lovelies!
It gives me great pleasure today to host Sheri S. Levy and her new book, “Seven
Days to Goodbye & Starting Over”!
For other stops on her Goddess Fish Promotions Book Tour, please click
on the banner above or any of the images in this post.
Be sure to
make it to the end of this post to enter to win a $20 Amazon or Barnes and
Noble Gift Card!! Plus, check out all
the adorable pics of Sheri’s furbabies that are featured throughout this post!! They are sooooo cute!! Also, come back daily to interact with Sheri
and to increase your chances of winning!
Seven Days to
Goodbye
&
Starting Over
&
Starting Over
by Sheri S.
Levy
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GENRE: Young Adult – Coming of Age
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLURB:
Thirteen year
old, Trina has chosen to raise service dogs and have puppy after puppy. But
during her seven day beach vacation, Trina struggles with having to return
Sydney at the end of the week and worrying about her best friend changing into
a stranger. To complicate the week, Sydney, meets a young boy with autism and
the girls meet his two older brothers. Tension is raised over the guys, and
Trina fears she’ll lose more than her service dog. Will Trina's lose her best
friend, also?
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EXCERPT
TWO:
Uh,
oh. The wind lifted the Frisbee into the air. It looked as if the disc had
sprouted wings, and disappeared up and over the jetty. Sydney halted, staring at
me. He was used to chasing his toy. His eyes asked for permission as his body
quivered pent-up energy. Letting him struggle for a minute, I giggled and said,
“Okay, Syd. Find Frisbee.”
I
did a slow jog towards the rocks and seconds later, Sarah called, “Wait for
me.” I did a slow jog towards the rocks and seconds later, Sarah called, “Wait
for me.”
I
turned around and stopped. “Wow, you're joining me! Come on. I’ve got to
find
Syd’s Frisbee. It’s on the other side.”
We
climbed over the jetty. The dogs used their four-legged drive and moved much
faster than Sarah or me. When we reached the top of the mound, Sydney stood a
distance away with his Frisbee at his feet, leaning close to a small boy. The
boy continued to pat the sand in his bucket and turn it upside down, making a
row of mounds.
My
heart did a triple beat in quarter time. I started running. Sydney’s stub
wiggled and jiggled as soon as the boy’s sandy hands rubbed his back.
“I’m
sorry,” I said running ahead. I bent, face to face with the boy. “I hope he
didn’t scare you.”
The
boy never looked at me, only at Sydney and back to the sand. He said in a
monotone voice, “Doggy, doggy.”
Sarah
meandered up to us. I panted in fast spurts. Worried about the boy and Sydney,
I never noticed the rest of the group. A little ways from the small boy, two
guys around our age worked on a fort or it could have been a sand castle. The
one who seemed to be the oldest, stood. He had long legs and was much taller
than I expected. Using his hand, he shoved his longish brown bangs out of his
eyes.
Oh,
Sarah had definitely noticed. She smiled, pushed loose hair back into her braid
and pulled her bathing suit in place.
I
rolled my eyes. Okay. Here she goes.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GUEST
POST:
Reasons You Should
Read, “Seven Days to Goodbye”
Mix together a week on Edisto Island
with your best friend, connect with guys for the first time, meet a young boy
with autism who falls in love with your service dog, learn about protecting
loggerhead turtles, and you’ll have the ingredients for Seven Days to Goodbye.
Years after my husband and I spent long
weekends with our best friends and our dogs on Edisto Island, I turned my
memories into a young adult novel. The fun began with creating unique
relationships that transport the reader.
I used my experience of teaching
children with autism, my knowledge of training dogs, and my research with
PAALS, a service dog organization.
Facts you need to know about autism:
1. Autism affects one in sixty-eight
children.
2. Autism is not a disease. The brain
happens to
function differently.
function differently.
3. Autism is an ability, not a
handicap.
My favorite quote from Dr. Temple
Grandin, born with severe autism and a professor at the University of Denver.
“Autism is part of who I am. It has given me special skills.”
Dr. Temple Grandin helps families
understand why children with autism flap their hands, spin in circles, make no
eye contact, lack social interaction, use repetitive behaviors and can be
verbal or non-verbal. She believes her life changed because of the people who
believed in her and pushed her to interact in social environments. If you are
interested in understanding more about autism, please watch or read, Seeing in
Pictures, about Temple Grandin’s life.
In August, 2017, I met a PAALS client,
Jory Fleming, a sophomore at the University of South Carolina. After receiving
his service dog four years ago, college students approached him with questions
about his dog, Daisy. This forced him to speak to strangers and develop social
skills. He began volunteering with extracurricular activities, and making
friends. He was the first person with autism awarded the American Rhodes
Scholar for 2017, and is off to Oxford to study with Daisy.
“Seven
Days to Goodbye,” shares the magic between Logan, a young boy with autism and
Trina’s first trained service dog, Sydney. Guys play a major role in creating
new types of relationships. There is humor, growing-up, and plenty of puppy
love in both varieties.
During
teen years, emotional changes occur at different times. Meet Trina, a
thirteen-year-old puppy raiser, who chose to train dogs and give them up to
help others. She must decide after returning Sydney at the end of their week
vacation if she wants to train a new puppy.
Her
best friend since first grade, Sarah, lives down the street, plays soccer, and
is interested in guys.
Trina
and Sarah are at odds with each other while driving to Edisto. Trina talks
about playing on the beach, swimming, and training Sydney. Sarah wants to
cruise the beach for guys.
During their first afternoon on the
beach, Sydney meets Logan. Sydney responds to the boy’s flapping hands by
standing in place as Logan pats his back. Trina speaks to Logan, but he makes
no eye contact.
Throughout the story, a magical
connection happens with Logan and Sydney. Trina gets introduced to his older
brothers, Peyton and Chase. Afraid she’ll lose her alone time with her Sarah,
Trina doesn’t share that the boys want to meet them on the beach.
Adult readers found themselves
relating to the changing relationships from their own teen days. And young
readers recognized the challenges Trina and Sarah face.
One of my favorite parts in the story
is about Loggerhead turtles. On Edisto Island, during the months of May through
October, the rule is: No lights on porches. A turtle’s instinct is to lay its
hundred eggs where it hatched. If the turtle sees any light, it will return to
the ocean and loose its way to the beach. The Turtle Patrol polices the
turtles’ nests every morning. If a new nest is found, they stake and rope off a
square area around the nest, marking the date on one stake. As the sixtieth day
approaches, the patrols inspect the nest for signs of a hatch. Sometimes they
actually help unearth the babies before they suffocate. The word spreads around
the island about the hatch, and residents stand guard as the baby turtles crawl
to the ocean.
From my readers, they shared their
favorite parts: the girls meeting Peyton and Chase, beach walks with the dogs,
the beautiful setting, the connection with Logan and Sydney, the Loggerhead
turtles, and the fostering of relationships between old friends and new.
The
series, Trina Ryan’s Dogs in Training, evolves and continues with the sequel,
Starting Over, due July 18th. “Starting Over,” introduces a new character and
horseback riding.
Please
stay tuned for more information. www.sherislevy.com.
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AUTHOR
BIO:
Sheri, originally
from California, moved to South Carolina with her husband, two children and a
Siamese cat. Soon they adopted their first rescue dog who influenced their need
to continue living with dogs. Sheri taught a multi-handicapped Special Ed
class, and then a GED-parenting class, which included home visits. Because of
her love of reading, Sheri found unusual ways to encourage children to read.
After her rescue of a difficult dog, Sheri enrolled in dog classes to change
his behavior. Her dream of writing, Seven Days to Goodbye, came from the
culmination of her beach experiences, her understanding of behaviors, and from
research with PAALS, a service dog organization.
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CONNECT
WITH SHERI:
Website:
Facebook:
Twitter:
Goodreads Author Page:
Goodreads Book Page:
Amazon Author Page:
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BOOK
BUY LINKS:
Amazon Kindle:
Amazon Paperback:
Barnes and Noble:
Amazon Kindle:
Google Play:
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GIVEAWAY
INFO:
Sheri will be awarding a $20 Amazon or Barnes
and Noble Gift Card to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the
tour.
**This post contains affiliate links and if clicked and a
purchase made I may receive a small commission to help support this blog. This does not cost you anything, it just
helps pay for all those awesome giveaways on here.**
This contest is sponsored by a third party. Fabulous and
Brunette is a registered host of Goddess Fish Promotions. Prizes are given away by the sponsors and not
Fabulous and Brunette. The featured author and Goddess Fish Promotions are
solely responsible for the giveaway prize.
