✍The First Page: Evan's Stormy Voyage by Karen Charles

 

EVAN'S STORMY VOYAGE

By Karen Charles

 Children's Fiction

Eight-year-old Evan has never crossed an ocean before. Leaving behind the familiar streets of New York, he boards a massive freighter ship with his parents, bound for West Africa, where his family will live for the next four years. Excited yet uncertain, Evan watches the Statue of Liberty fade into the mist and wonders what waits for him on the other side of the Atlantic.

Life aboard the freighter feels like a floating world of its own. The ship carries only a handful of passengers, and Evan quickly befriends Mateo, another boy his age who is traveling to Ghana to live with his grandparents for a year. Together, the boys explore the ship’s narrow passageways, climb to the bridge where Captain Morales lets Evan help steer the vessel, and spend long afternoons in the ship’s library building model kits and solving puzzles while storms churn across the ocean outside.

As the days pass, their friendship deepens. Evan learns that Mateo misses his family as much as he does, and the two boys discover what it means to trust someone far from home. But when Evan’s prized airplane model kit suddenly disappears, suspicion and hurt threaten to destroy their friendship. Angry and confused, Evan must decide whether to hold onto resentment or search for understanding.

Meanwhile, the voyage itself grows more dangerous. A hurricane drifts far off its usual course, slamming the freighter with towering waves that leave passengers frightened and seasick. In the middle of the storm, Evan witnesses courage from the crew, compassion among strangers, and the quiet strength of his own parents as they face uncertainty together. Through the chaos of the sea and the heartbreak of betrayal, Evan begins to mature in ways he never expected.

When the ship finally reaches the bustling ports of Liberia, Ghana, and ultimately Lagos, Nigeria, Evan is overwhelmed by sights and sounds unlike anything he has ever known—towering cranes unloading containers, humid air thick with salt and diesel, crowded harbors alive with movement, and vibrant new cultures waiting beyond the docks. Yet the hardest moment comes when Mateo must leave the ship in Ghana. Their emotional goodbye forces Evan to confront how deeply friendship can change a person, even in a short time.

Filled with adventure, heart, humor, and emotional depth, Evan’s Stormy Voyage is a middle-grade coming-of-age novel about courage, kindness, forgiveness, and finding home in unfamiliar places. Inspired by the author’s experiences growing up in Africa, the story offers young readers a vivid journey across the Atlantic as it explores universal themes of friendship, empathy, resilience, and cultural discovery. Fans of heartfelt adventure stories will be swept into Evan’s unforgettable voyage as he learns that the greatest discoveries are often the ones made within ourselves.

Evan’s Stormy Voyage is available at Amazon.

Evan stood at the railing of the enormous freighter ship, his sneakers planted wide as the deck trembled beneath him. The engines rumbled low and deep, like a giant clearing its throat before speaking.
New York Harbor sparkled in the morning sun. Restless seagulls wheeled overhead, crying out sharp and wild. Tugboats puffed along like busy little beetles, guiding the massive ship toward open water.
And there she was.
The Statue of Liberty stood tall against the sky, her torch glowing gold in the light. She appeared brave and steady, her torch raised high as if she were waving goodbye just to him. Evan raised his arm and waved.
“Goodbye,” he whispered.

The wind pressed against him harder now, flattening his shirt against his chest. It felt different out here, stronger, wilder. The water slapped against the ship’s sides with a hollow boom...boom... boom... like a drumbeat echoing from somewhere far below.
Behind him was everything he had always known. He would miss this place.
Ahead of him was Nigeria, West Africa, a place of bright sun, red earth, and tall palms that rustled like whispers of secrets. His parents had new jobs there, and he would be going to an American boarding school. He imagined classrooms filled with maps, new accents, new games, and nights under stars bigger than he had ever seen.
Excitement fizzed inside him like fireworks.
But underneath it, something else moved.
A twisty feeling. Like clouds gathering where the sky had just been blue.
He watched as the Statue of Liberty grew smaller and smaller, her torch shrinking to a tiny spark against the horizon.

  

Karen Charles grew up in West Africa and traveled across Africa, the Middle East, Central America, and Europe. Her rich background and lifetime experiences are reflected in the depth of her writing. In her stories, she transforms real-life narratives into gripping thriller fiction. Her novels intricately weave threads of truth into a tapestry of suspense, intrigue, and riveting storytelling. She is the author of three children’s books in the “Evan’s Adventures in Africa” series, including Freeman Earns a Bike, Evan’s Gift, and Evan’s Stormy Voyage. Her three thrillers include Fateful Connections, set in the aftermath of 9/11, and Blazing Upheaval, set during the Rodney King riots in Los Angeles and the Northridge earthquake. A Glimpse Too Far offers the mystery and heart-pounding suspense of a psychological thriller and is based on a true story. Karen Charles has two businesses—a global company that trains international teachers to teach American English and an Airbnb on a beautiful bay in Washington State, where she and her husband currently live.

Karen’s latest book is Evan’s Stormy Voyage.

Visit her website at www.weaveofsuspense.com.

Connect with her on X, Facebook and LinkedIn.

✍The First Page: Nurse Florence for Beginning Readers Coloring Book: Why is Chicken Healthy to Eat? by Richard Dow

 

 NURSE FLORENCE FOR BEGINNING READERS COLORING BOOK: WHY IS CHICKEN HEALTHY TO EAT?

By Michael Dow

Publication Date: May 6, 2024

Children

Jean, Condi, and Sonia see Nurse Florence in the cafeteria and ask if they can sit with her so they can learn something new.  The nurse is eating chicken, and the girls ask her why it is healthy to eat.  Nurse Florence discusses the types of nutrients inside like vitamins, minerals, and protein.  The nurse mentions that research shows eating chicken with lots of vegetables is very healthy for you.  The girls are amazed at how the body works and how chicken can help them have a healthy lifestyle.  They can’t wait to see Nurse Florence again and keep learning new things about the body.
  

You can purchase your copy at Lulu.

 

 

                     

Jean, Condi, and Sonia are going to eat lunch. They hope to see Nurse Florence so they can talk with her.

 

Michael Stephen Dow is married to Perla in Arizona and has 3 kids.  Michael was on a path to attend medical school and then the events of September 11, 2001 occurred.  Michael became angry at the terrorists and decided to join the US Air Force.  He went through Officer Training School and then graduated specialized Navigator training to become an Electronic Warfare Officer.  Michael deployed 6 times for the Global War on Terror between 2005 and 2009 with the EC-130H Compass Call mission.  Michael medically retired in 2010 and then became an US Army contractor serving Wounded Warriors and ensuring they received all of their entitled benefits for 8 years.  Michael always had a love for science and the human body so he then used his GI bill to go through nursing school and graduated in August 2020.  Michael now works as a Registered Nurse at an inpatient psychiatric hospital.  Michael’s education is as follows: B.A. in Psychology from Auburn University in 1999, B.S. in Biology from the University of Alabama at Birmingham in 2001, M.S. in Management from Troy University in 2010, Masters in Health Administration from the University of Phoenix in 2017, and M.S. from the University of Arizona in 2020 through its 15 month accelerated Masters Entry to the Profession of Nursing program.  Michael is the Founder and Manager of Dow Creative Enterprises, LLC.  His books have garnered the Silver Nautilus Book award in 2020 (Nurse Florence, Help I’m Bleeding) and an Award-Winning Finalist in the Religion category for the 2021 International Book Awards (A Prayer to Our Father in the Heavens: Possibly the Greatest Jewish Prayer of All Time).  Michael believes we will need the best of science and religion to successfully navigate ourselves, our civilization, through the future obstacles we will face.  More information can be found at www.DowCreativeEnterprises.com and www.NurseFlorence.org.  Nurse Florence® is a federally registered trademark by Dow Creative Enterprises.  The Nurse Florence® series seeks to promote science and health among children and to help increase the health literacy levels of our society.  With teamwork, inclusion, faith and perseverance, we can bravely face our problems and help each other reach our better selves as well as our best collective good.

Author Links 

 Website | Facebook   

 

 

The First Page & Interview: ELANORA AND THE SALT MARSH MYSTERY by Kathleen Jae

  

ELANORA AND THE SALT MARSH MYSTERY

by Kathleen Jae

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?

PRAISE

Elanora and the Salt Marsh Mystery features interesting animal characters with distinctive character traits and personalities who can absorb the middle-grade reader. The salt marsh environment is sufficiently detailed to become a character on its own, with its ebbs and flows. The self-contained world created stands on its own with a microcosm of both conflict and friendship… A child or even an adult reader of this book can identify with and applaud the book’s characters… all in all a very good read.

ORDER YOUR COPY

Amazon  

https://amzn.to/3lIQUY6 

 

 

 

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! 

 

E

lanora’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 

 

The First Page: The first page is perhaps one of the most important pages in the whole book. It’s what draws the reader into the story. Why did you choose to begin your book this way?

 

Kathleen Jae: When I think back, this is the very first thing I typed. I mean, it took a little while to work out the animal names that critters in Elanora’s world would use and to make it rhyme, but I always knew I wanted the verse to be the first words readers would see. These are the beasts of Elanora’s world, the enemies that she and her family had to contend with. 

The other bit of information I wanted to convey right away is that Elanora is a curious youngster. Her questions might vex others, but it was her way of making sense of everything in her environment. 

TFP: In the course of writing your book, how many times would you say that first page changed and for what reasons? 

KJ: The book went through five complete drafts, and along the way I added a subplot and additional characters here and there. But the only thing I changed on the first page is when Elanora pokes her sister’s back while counting her stripes. I tried to describe the animals in the book and would sometimes give them names that were similar to what humans have given them, but because I didn’t want them calling each other these human-made names, I realized I would have to describe them better. Middle-grade readers are quite clever, and I knew they would be able to imagine Elanora’s world. 

TFP: Was there ever a time after the book was published that you wished you had changed something on the first page? 

KJ: No, after I added the information about the stripes, I thought the first page would work much better. 

 

TFP: What advice can you give to aspiring authors to stress how important the first page is? 

KJ: Elanora and the Salt Marsh Mystery is my first novel and since then I’ve written another one that is a different genre. I have started research for the sequel to Elanora, and because so much happens at the end of this book, the first page of the next book has to be pretty much perfect. I always knew how the first book would begin, but this time not so much.  

 

The first page of a novel is extremely important. Elanora’s world is a treacherous one, so I chose to create a verse to reflect that, and I thought it important enough to be the first words of the book. Two other things I thought important for the reader to know right away is she has stripes on her back, which is a characteristic of chipmunks, and she is extremely curious. So right away, a reader suspects Elanora is a chipmunk, is very curious, and must always be alert for enemies in the air and on the ground. 

 

I also believe that two people given the same material will write a different first page. The words I think should be included on the first page are personal to me. Another writer will wonder how I ever came up with a rubbish first page and create a completely different one. I am sure a more experienced writer would be able to eloquently explain the mechanics of how to write a fabulous first page. But in the end the words that appear on the first page of your book should make the reader want to turn to the second page.  

 

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

The First Page: I Have Faith by Davin Whitehurst

Title: I Have Faith
Author: Davin Whitehurst
Publisher: Childlike Faith Publishing
Pages: 26
Genre:  Children

Are you ready to get your child excited about faith? “I Have Faith” puts your child right in the footsteps of Danny as he begins to learn about faith. Danny and his older brother have been wanting a dog, but both know their parents don’t think they are ready for a dog. When Danny’s mom begins teaching him what the bible says about faith, he puts his faith into action. After praying and releasing his faith for a dog, doubt and even his best friend keep telling him that he will never get a dog. Over time Danny never loses his faith in the promises of God and finds that God is faithful and that faith works. Come along on this journey that is a real life event that took place in the author’s life as a child.

This book has great illustrations that support a wonderful story about finding faith in God. As you are teaching your child about principals in the bible; this book will help you teach faith. What a wonderful experience it is when we can see our children begin to develop their faith in God, and grow from a tiny mustard seed to a firmly planted tree. The back of the book has a parent/child discussion which will help children gain understanding in faith and some scriptures that Danny’s mom used to get him excited about faith.

For More Information

• I Have Faith is available at Amazon.
• Pick up your copy at Barnes & Noble.
• Discuss this book at PUYB Virtual Book Club at Goodreads.

First Page:

Interview:

Welcome Davin. Can you tell us what your book is about?

The story is based out of my childhood. All names have been changed to protect the innocent, just kidding, but the names have been changed. Danny is a young boy who has always wanted to get a puppy. As his mom begins to teach him about faith, Danny decides to put his faith into action. Danny prays for a dog one night and believes it is a done deal. The only issue is everyone around him says the opposite of him. His brother, parents and even his best friend all say he can’t have a dog. Over time he comes home from school to find his dad with his prayer in his lap. The story shows how faith is developed and is a great way for parents to teach children about faith.

The first page is perhaps one of the most important pages in the whole book. It’s what draws the reader into the story. Why did you choose to begin your book this way?

I wanted to start the book from Danny’s prospective. It’s his story so he draws the child in and lets them know that he is going to show them what faith is and how they can develope it.

In the course of writing your book, how many times would you say that first page changed and for what reasons?

In my first draft I had it starting off with Danny and his mother reading and learning about faith. As the illustrations started coming together, I felt a void in the story. That’s when I came up with the idea of Danny telling the story. Not only did this show I needed a different first page, but I also had to change up the manuscript a little to reflect the change in storytelling. Once we had the first page done and the story change, it all seemed to fit.

Was there ever a time after the book was published that you wished you had changed something on the first page?

Because I was patient in getting the story and illustrations right, I never second guessed the outcome. I think it fits the story well so that children can relate to Danny.

What advice can you give to aspiring authors to stress how important the first page is?

To me, the start of anything is crucial. The first page is what sets the tone for the book in so many cases. I think that patience is a key element to the story line. Let the elements come together and when there is a hole in the story, fill it. Let the first page kick start the story and get the child or audience engaged with what is happening. Sometimes you only have a page to get them in. If that needs to be the first page, do it.

About the Author

Davin Whitehurst lives in the beautiful high desert of Southern Arizona with his wife and son. He is releasing his first book "I have Faith" in May of 2016 but has so many more that are in the making. The motivation behind the books are deeply rooted from in his own past. He is a living testimony of Proverbs 22:6. Growing up in Southwest Kansas and in a Christian household, he was trained up in the way he should go. By the time he became a teenager, Davin turned away from God and left church. Fast forward into his late twenties and God brought him back with a powerful calling. He and his family have been faithfully serving at Seed of Abraham Christian Center International for over seven years now. Proof that when we teach our children the way they should go. When they get older, they know where to turn and will not depart from God. Davin wants each book written to be a resource that parents have to help train their children in the way they should go. He writes stories in a simple way that will be fun and practical for every child. He wants children to get excited about faith and the things of God.

His latest release is the children’s book, I Have Faith.

For More Information

• Visit Davin Whitehurst’s website.
• Connect with Davin on Facebook and Twitter.