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I will be signing my children's novel BELLYACHE: A Delicious Tale at The 2010 Summer Union Hill Block Party from 11am-3pm at Veneta Avenue Bremerton WA 98337 August 14th! Come for a day of fun with the family! Live Music, Entertainment, Food, Children's Parade, and more! I would love to meet you!

I will be signing my debut children's novel BELLYACHE: A Delicious Tale Oct 16th from 12-3pm at
The Bethel Avenue Book Store
1037 Bethel Avenue
Port Orchard WA 98366

I received a wonderful review from Mom to Bed by 8

They are also hosting a signed BELLYACHE: A Delicious Tale Book Giveaway until October 10th, 2010. Open to US & Canada.

I would love it if you entered and read the review!

I am honored to have received a fantastic Review from Moms Review 4 You! They are also hosting a Giveaway- Wonderful Kids novel- BELLYACHE: A Delicious Tale by Crystal Marcos Enter between now and Oct 31st (Halloween) to Win a signed copy at

This is my first blog post to give an insight into my personal life. I was hesitant at first, but I think it only comes natural to want to share "Growing up with Kaylee". I felt weird about only making posts about my accomplishments and events as a writer. That is only a fraction of who I am. I am first a mother to a wonderful baby girl named Kaylee who is now 16 months old. Kaylee is very bright and talks very well for a 16 month old. She also turns the page of a book very carefully. Something I think she learned by watching mommy and daddy. We are book lovers.

Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf was a Children's Picture Book Club read for the month of October. This wonderful group located here on ŷ������ has helped me stay in tune with one of my most favorite things; children's books. http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/4...

My favorite part of this book is the instructions for making bird treats. I made the bird treats last week with Kaylee, her two aunts, and her younger cousins. Can you tell what shapes the bird treats are? We all had fun. Kaylee understood that the bird treats where not for her, but for the birds. Max however was a little hungry. Don't worry we made sure to watch them carefully and wash their hands as we were working with raw eggs. My parents' chickens ate the left over bread that Max didn't eat. I hope you enjoy the pictures that tell the story. Sometimes pictures say more than words. =)

P.S.
The birds were feeding off them for a couple days. On the third day, there was nothing left there but the yarn! As you can see in the picture we hung them low for the children and we suspect they made a deer very happy!

I have been blessed to receive another wonderful review! This time it is from Allbooks Review. Allbooks is featuring BELLYACHE: A Delicious Tale on its website. Allbooks Review website has been chosen one of 101 Best Websites for Writers two years in a row by Writer's Digest Magazine. You can take a look at the review through the link below. WARNING: There are spoilers in this review found in the second paragraph. You could always skip that one if you don't want to know. =)

I wanted to share some “firsts�� shared with Kaylee this fall season. Although, around here it sure feels like winter! Record setting lows! The following pictures are of a trip to the pumpkin patch with her cousin Max. We picked out a pumpkin that stood out in the crowd, a gourmet white. After the trip she wanted to see pumpkins all the time and when she did, she was very excited. I even bought her a novelty Halloween book Little Jack. See our short review here: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/70....
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The next pictures are of our haunted garage and my little angel, Kaylee and her cousins Max & Alyssa. There is only 6 months between them, Kaylee is very tall and Alyssa is very small. For 3 years, my family has put our thinking caps on and built our haunted garage. The neighborhood kids absolutely love it. We skipped the year when Kaylee was born. The kids were disappointed, but I think they understood. I knew this was something we would continue to do. I wanted to introduce Kaylee to it early so she wouldn’t be afraid. We took her around and showed her when we were creating it. She thought it was funny. I also introduced her to the book Goodnight Goon: A Petrifying Parody. I thought this was a great book for aiding against Kaylee being afraid of the dark or monsters. See my review here: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31...
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Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World: 75 Dairy-Free Recipes for Cupcakes that Rule was a definitely delicious find. Let me start by saying I love cupcakes! Not just eating them, but looking at them. They are just so cute! I guess that is why I call my daughter “Cupcake�� as a term of endearment.

Even though I have only made two recipes from this book, I feel I can leave a confident review. Well written, easy to follow directions, extra added tips, and the healthy factor makes this a cupcake book I will return to over and over. Both recipes I made were not 100% vegan; partially because I am not a vegan and partially because I could not find some of the ingredients. Through conversations here on goodreads with vegan friends, I am now prepared to make 100% vegan cupcakes to get the full experience. The two recipes I made were the Dulce Sin Leche Cupcakes (I used regular powdered milk instead of soy powdered milk) and the Golden Vanilla Cupcakes with Rich Chocolate Ganache Topping. I made both in double batches for church parties. Each recipe makes 12 cupcakes. I only had to make one serving of the Ganache; there was plenty for all 24 cupcakes and enough to indulge in before throwing the pan in the sink. Oh my, was that divine! I made a substitution on both recipes one calling for maple syrup and the other for brown rice syrup. I used agave syrup instead. I never used it before and wanted to try it. I will say I will continue to use it, it is a winner. The cupcakes were a hit. I decorated the Golden Vanilla’s to look like reindeer which I saw in a FamilyFun magazine If you are a parent or anyone who cares for children you really should check out this magazine. I am always finding something in it of value. If you don’t want to get the magazine they have a wonderful website. The candies used to make the reindeer were not vegan. Either way the kids and adults loved the cupcakes! My little girl wanted to be lifted up several times to see them on the counter. I also felt better about letting her eat the cake portion of these cupcakes. My hubby snapped two pictures for me to share with you. He is not a professional photographer, no lighting or any fancy stuff was used. You have to admit these cuppies (my little girl’s word for cupcakes) say “EAT ME.��

I am honored to have my book reviewed, an author interview, & a book giveaway hosted by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer. So simple to enter this giveaway! Winner receives one signed copy of BELLYACHE: A Delicious Tale by Crystal Marcos!

GIVEAWAY is open until Jan 28th, 2011


Review can be viewed here

If you are interested in reading more about me and my book writing experience, please take a look at this interview by Dina Santorelli from makingbabygrand.com

Crystal Marcos