Today we’ve got a peek at K. N. Smith’s audiobook Urban Boys: Discovery of the Five Senses. This young adult urban fantasy tells the story of five friends who discover heightened senses in a forbidden preserve. Check out the audio teaser & enter the giveaway before grabbing your headphones and copy today!
Discovery of the Five Senses
Amazon | Audible | Universal Links | Goodreads
Narrated by: Glenn Steinbaum
Listening Length: 8 hours and 10 minutes
A suspenseful incident in a forbidden preserve heightens the senses of five friends. Sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell become super-gifts that forever change the world. But furious battles confront the boys as they try to understand their sensory super powers in a race to save mankind. With light beings and mysterious strangers complicating their plight, can the boys defeat the evil Druth before it’s too late? Get prepared for the twisting and grinding of this award-winning, action-adventure story—an edge-of-your-seat narrative for young and mature listeners alike.
About the Author
K.N. Smith was awarded “Best of” in the category of “Outstanding Young Adult Novel” at the 10th Annual Leimert Park Village Book Fair’s Jessie Redmon Fauset Book Awards. She is a Readers’ Favorite “Gold Medal” honoree for “Young Adult – Mystery”, the Royal Dragonfly Book Awards “1st Place Honoree” for “New Author: Fiction” and “Science Fiction/Fantasy”, and a Book Excellence Award Winner for “Young Adult Fiction”. Her lyrical flair sweeps across pages that twist and grind through action-adventure and urban fantasy in edge-of-your-seat narratives. She is an advocate of literacy and arts programs throughout the world. K.N. has over twenty-five years’ experience in communications and creative design as an award-winning consultant, and is the founder of Mental Health California, her signature nonprofit community initiative. Reading is still her foremost hobby. Visit K.N. Smith at www.knsmith.com.
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caffeinatedpr · DISCOVERY OF THE FIVE SENSES BY K. N. SMITH
Amazon | Audible | Universal Links | Goodreads
Giveaway
Enter to win a $50.00 US Visa Gift Card. International winner will receive a gift card with an equivalent amount of $50. Ends June 22, 2023. May the odds be forever in your favor.
Ellie cat wants to have a happy day. She tries really hard to be happy. She tries and tries and then goes out and does a variety of different activities that make her happy. And they do, and it’s wonderful, and she comes to realize that the only thing between her and happiness is a choice that she has to make every day.
Ellie Cat Wants To Know How To Wake Up Happy Everyday follows an adorable little cat that tries so desperately to be happy. I loved following her on her adorable journey toward happiness. I loved seeing her sit with her cute friends and tell them that they make her happy. It was so lovely.
Embedded in this charming tale is a powerful life lesson for little readers – happiness can be a choice. What if, instead of waiting for joy to find us, we chase after it ourselves? You can choose to have happy thoughts and go and enjoy the things in life that make you happy. That’s the brilliant and inspiring message that this picture book imparts.
Penned by Sam Rice, Ellie Cat Wants To Know How To Wake Up Happy Everyday is more than just a children’s picture book. It’s an endearing narrative with delightful illustrations that not only entertains but also nurtures a can-do spirit in young hearts. It’s a lovingly crafted ode to positivity, resilience, and the age-old wisdom that happiness is, indeed, an inside job.
On an otherwise ordinary morning, in a seemingly ordinary house, a surprise is brewing for one little girl. Her mother’s singing is replaced with an odd growl, oatmeal replaces their customary pancakes, and in a hilariously bizarre twist, her mom munches on her siblings! Has their loving mom been replaced by a monster?
A Monster Ate My Mom is a whimsical tale that shows young readers just how real some dreams can feel. I enjoyed how grounded this story felt, in that, it felt like a dream any child can have, and the response the little girl had to the dream the next morning was heartwarming.
This is a breezy children’s book that is easy to pick up and read as a bedtime story or a fun treat for kids who love to read. The vibrant illustrations are sure to capture young readers’ attention throughout this delightful book.
This charming picture book will have elementary-aged kids feeling a roller coaster of emotions that will leave them tickled and touched in equal measure.
If you have an affinity for love affairs brimming with tempestuous intensity, then Closer by Jeffery Wiederkehr is certain to provide a profoundly captivating reading experience. With its scenic backdrop nestled in southern California’s beautiful desert, this tale delves into a profound exploration of yearning and the ultimate anguish of heartbreak. The characters, much like the landscape surrounding them, persistently seek profound and enduring nourishment in the realm of love, yet remain tragically “always and forever shattered.”
Through vivid imagery, intricate characterization, and bold sexual description, Wiederkehr builds a rich story of the complicated lives of his characters as they struggle with extremely real dilemmas. What transpires when the embers of affection for one’s spouse fade, replaced by an irresistible desire for a captivating and mysterious Other? Can one choose between true, passionate love and familial obligations, or does the heart relinquish such decisions? And what becomes of the lovers when their clandestine liaison inevitably reaches its bittersweet end?
In an era where many writers strive to cater to fleeting attention spans, it is truly refreshing to discover an author like Wiederkehr, who possesses a profound love for language and wields it with remarkable skill. Though some may find his prose occasionally bordering on the grandiose, it undeniably serves as a poignant vehicle for expressing the vast depths of the narrator’s emotions. For instance, one passage encapsulates the narrator’s turmoil vividly: “My hurt rips through the forest of my mind, leaving behind a trail of smoke and ash that suffocates me. I find myself immersed in visions of Bambi and Thumper, fleeing from my presence amidst an orchestrated cacophony of strings.” The scenes devoid of throbbing, burning, and dripping bodies occasionally feel somewhat secondary, seemingly existing solely to propel the plot toward the next passionate encounter. Even the depiction of seemingly mundane elements, such as the exterior of a house, brims with florid emotions, as the protagonist’s “gloveless hands unwittingly curse and taint the very grain of the wood.”
Closer by Jeffery Wiederkeh is well-written and adept at drawing a response from the reader. It describes the kind of depth of feeling for which every human yearns.
A Birch Tree’s Year follows a big birch tree in a family’s yard who shares its feelings on watching the family grow and the changing seasons of the year. What was the inspiration for your story?
I have always had a strong relationship with nature. It is a very personal connection, and I often feel that individual elements of nature speak to me directly. I strongly feel the change of seasons, too. It affects all my being and thinking.
In my childhood, I lived for a meaningful decade in the middle of the beautiful Finnish lake district. Since then, the detailed images of everything I have seen and experienced have been drawn into the depths of my soul.
I can still go to my favorite places in my imagination whenever I want to. I can imagine wandering in the middle of a blooming meadow near my home. From there, I collected over a hundred plants for school biology classes, dried and labeled them carefully in a folder.
Trees are one of my greatest joys in nature. I am happy about their diversity and the shelter they provide for the nesting birds with their branches. This is important for me, as I’m also a fan of birds and birdsong!
Birch is an important tree for us Finns. It also has great symbolic value due to the sensitivity associated with it. This extraordinary tree changes with the seasons from a bare and stripped winter version to a plentiful and strong green summer birch tree. My favorite is the spring birch, which is just beginning to promise the arrival of summer by pushing out tiny light green buds.
What is your favorite season and why?
The substantial changes in the seasons in Finland mean a lot to me. This cycle of nature gives rhythm to the whole human life. Experiences in winter’s white, frozen nature are entirely different from those in the middle of blooming summer. Here is the richness of life!
However, I must admit that I am a spring and summer person. Especially that turning point is wonderful! Schools are ending, and summer vacations are ahead. People are full of dreams and plans. They think about traveling, meeting friends and relatives, digging and planting in gardens, walking in parks, and picking berries in the forest.
Spring and the beginning of summer are always intense experiences for me – year after year. I can’t help but admire the power of nature after winter. My ideal summer is as peaceful as possible. I need time to look at and listen to the blooming nature around me. I try to avoid traveling and doing too much work.
Of course, I can’t stop writing even in the summer. Then I have time to focus on a different kind of writing than in the winter. I always have some novels for adult readers in the making. But I don’t know how many summers it will take to complete them!
What were some educational aspects that were important for you to include in this children’s book?
I consider it essential that people and nature live in harmony with each other. It is good that children learn to respect nature in all its forms. Even that single tree next to the house can be very important to everyone living near it.
In my book, A Birch Tree’s Year, this connection between people, animals, and plants is examined by going through the life of the family, their house, and the yard around it in all months of the year. The point of view of the birch tree is emphasized because it offers quite a drama. There is the depression of autumn, the frosts of winter, the candles of Christmas, and finally, a new life at the dawn of spring with the pleasures of summertime to follow.
Although this is a fairy tale and can be taken just like that, I also want to highlight nature’s enormous power and influence on us humans. That union with the rest of nature is also a prerequisite for our well-being as people.
And it wouldn’t be bad at all if the children reading the fairy tale looked at the familiar yard tree with new eyes the next time. They could even experience its presence in a new, more sensitive way.
What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?
I got very excited about this question because I have a lot of good news!
The fourth book in the familiar FoxSeries is in the illustration. I’ve already seen the storyboarding by illustrator Andrea Alemanno for The Fox’s New Channel. My fox continues his crooked games, this time brazenly using new media and fake news.
My new illustrator, Iva Dukić in Croatia, currently illustrates my book Friends and Rivals. The prince brothers in the book end up in a bitter struggle for the crown and the throne. Fortunately, at the end of the book, the other brother returns to his brother’s side. The sad thing is that it took almost a lifetime in the dungeon.
I would like to highlight the third novelty, which is already well into the illustration. The Ukrainian Sofia Panchyshyn – the sister of the illustrator Roksolana, known from many of my other books – has taken up her delicate brush. Sofia’s gentle touch creates a magical and plentiful illustration for my story, The Bird Prison. In this book, we follow Griselda, who hates colorful birds nesting in her perfect garden with color harmony and begins a merciless battle against them.
We should get all these books in Wicwick’s fall/winter publishing schedule. I look forward to presenting them to readers and international partners. Since I’m so excited about the illustrations for the upcoming books, I’ve already been posting a few tastings of the artists’ works on my social media channels.
Author Links: Facebook | Website
Over the years, a little sapling has grown into a big birch tree, standing right next to a family’s house. It has a sturdy trunk and branches full of leaves. For the birch, the year is full of changes: the warmth of summer; the wistful farewells of autumn; the chill of winter; and the miracle of growth in spring. The birch is often the center of life for the children playing in the yard, but sometimes the birch is left all alone. In this book, each month depicts a vignette in the life of the birch and its surroundings. The tree and the family are in an ongoing, delicate interaction–from one day, one month, and one year, to another.
Snowfall follows a cursed ice witch who must find true love within a year or melt into a puddle of water. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
I design my covers using and purchasing pictures from Shutterstock. When I stumbled upon what became the cover for Snowfall, I was mesmerized by the ice forest. I immediately thought of a cursed ice witch and her quest to find love and break the spell. Readers who have read Snowfall may associate it with Frozen and Beauty and the Beast. I do not deny I was inspired by both and decided to combine the elements of a frozen heart, true love as a cure, and death as a penalty if Pristina the ice witch fails to win true love. However, there are far more complications entailed in this book. Pristina must battle with her conscience and must determine whether it is moral to interfere in Gabriel and Marleigh’s dysfunctional and abusive relationship.
Pristina Cardin was resigned to die when she unexpectedly found love, unfortunately, things do not go smoothly and she is faced with a difficult choice. What were the morals you were trying to capture while creating your characters?
I used to love preaching to readers because it made me feel important to be listened to, but now, I believe a good writer pinpoints issues and invites readers to think and debate instead of telling readers what to think.
In Snowfall, the morals and themes are:
1) Manipulation and deceit in a relationship.
2) Whether it is moral to intervene in a problematic and toxic relationship.
3) Sacrifice and letting go.
4) The value of life and cherishing it.
What were some goals you set for yourself as a writer in this book?
1) To capture the essence of the characters. Pristina is one of those protagonists who’s very different from me. She is lonely and craves love and companionship. Therefore, it was important for me to put myself in her position and think like her to make her realistic. Being an author, empathy is a must-have trait if we are to create a character whom
2) To convey moral messages without sounding like a preacher.
I’m always worried about over-preaching the readers and boring them, yet I insist on having certain scenes in my books that lead to some life insights. For example, here’s an excerpt from Snowfall:
“What did being alive mean? Did it mean living and breathing and watching each day come and go like a flowing river? Or was there something more to it? Fighting the tides of mundanity that threatened to numb one’s senses? Breaking the routines one set up for themself? Experiencing new, exciting things and going on adventures to expand one’s horizons? Embarking on different journeys that gave one a brand-new perspective on life and allowed them to view the grand, sublime, and sometimes terrifying universe in a whole new light?”
To me, writing novels means striking a balance between focusing on the morals and (hopefully thought-provoking) themes and making the storyline intriguing enough to not make readers slam the book shut before turning the last page.
What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?
I have finished twenty-two novels as of June 2022. Snowfall is my seventeenth-written but my ninth-published book. My eighteenth-written novel is titled Stars, Clouds, and Shadows, and I’m seeking an agent to represent it right now. My tenth-published book, available since May 15th, is Helen’s Tale, a companion novel to my Otherworld Trilogy.
I just finished another novel (YA literary) recently, and I might start the next book in September. It may be an adult contemporary romance titled Romantic Endeavor, focusing on the protagonist Katharina and her handsome, brooding neighbor who possesses a melancholic secret. However, I also have many other story ideas clamoring for my attention, so I am not certain if Romantic Endeavor will turn out to be my twenty-third-written novel.
As an ice witch, Pristina Cardin has lived alone in her manor ever since her grandfather’s death. She enjoys solitude and is content with her reclusive life. However, everything changes when a wicked witch freezes her heart with a curse. If Pristina fails to find true love within the next year, she will melt into a puddle of water and cease to exist. Fortune shines upon her one day when she saves a young man, Gabriel Deon, who is dying from hypothermia. Unfortunately, the rescue pushes her into an endless pit of troubles, and Pristina is almost murdered by Gabriel’s possessive girlfriend, due to a misunderstanding. In the end, Pristina must make a difficult decision that will determine her destiny—should she abide by her morals, or should she abandon them to save her own life?
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, her signature nonprofit community initiative. Reading is still her foremost hobby. Visit K.N. Smith at www.knsmith.com.
