Maureen Fergus' Buddy and Earl Book Launch Event

   Yesterday I went to my first book signing in a year! I was able to go to the launch event of Buddy and Earl by Maureen Fergus and Carey Sookocheff located at McNally Robinson, though it was a picture book and not a YA I really enjoyed myself! My father actually grew up with Maureen's husband, and so when I was younger we did some camping trips together. We had actually lost touch till recently, so it was great seeing them again!

Me, and Maureen.

   Besides meeting some old friends, I actually went to get my book, The Gypsy King signed by Maureen because alongside a few picture books she has also written a YA series! I've only read the first book but I really enjoyed it, so it felt good to get it signed!

   Anyhow the signing went as follows, we started off learning a bit about the lovely authors then went onto reading the book! It was all so adorable. After the reading and answering a few questions, Carey offered to have some of the little kids in the audience pick an adventure for Buddy and Earl to go on! The kids had some good ideas, Buddy and Earl ended up in the Jungle and in a Desert! Once again it was all so cute.

Carey drawing Buddy and Earl in the Jungle.

   After that we went onto signing some books! I ended up waiting till the line died down just a bit, but it was a perfect wait time so we could grab some cookies and drinks!

   In all it was a fabulous event and I can not wait to read the rest of Maureen's Gypsy King series!

   Maureen Fergus was born in Regina, Saskatchewan and grew up in Winnipeg, Manitoba. When she was sixteen her family moved east; while there, she received an Honours Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Western Ontario and a Master of Business Administration from McGill University. Upon graduating, she moved back to Winnipeg to embark upon her business career. She has worked in the aerospace, biopharmaceutical and financial services industries. She has also taught at the college level.

   When she was growing up, the idea of becoming a fiction writer never even crossed her mind. Then, six weeks after her first daughter was born, her husband Nick suggested that she give it a try. Thinking that it might be a good way to keep her brain stimulated in between diaper changes, she decided to do so. That first time she reached her fingers toward the keyboard to write a story it felt as though she was slipping her hands into a pair of gloves that had been waiting for her, her whole life. It was the first step on the long, challenging path that led to her becoming a published author.

   These days, her life is busy. She went back to work in the business world as the part-time Managing Director of a Financial Services company five years ago when her youngest child started grade one, so two days a week she lives in the fast-paced corporate world, three days a week (plus whatever other time she can manage!) She works on her writing. In between, she shops for groceries, makes lunches, does laundry, cleans the house, coaches soccer, runs twelve miles a week, studies karate and hangs out with her husband, her three kids and the family dog! 

Buddy and Earl by Maureen Fergus and Carey Sookocheff

Release Date: August 1st, 2015

Publisher: Groundwood Books

Series: Buddy and Earl, #1

Format: Hardcover, 32 pages

Description from GoodReads:

   Buddy does not know what is in the box that Meredith carries into the living room. But when the small, prickly creature says he is a pirate — and that Buddy is a pirate too — the two mismatched friends are off on a grand adventure.

   In this first book in the Buddy and Earl series, a dog who likes to play by the rules meets a hedgehog who knows no limits. Their friendship is tender and loyal, and their adventures are funny and imaginative. Maureen Fergus’s text is witty and understated, and Carey Sookocheff’s art emphasizes both the humor and the warmth of this odd and loveable animal couple.

The Gypsy King by Maureen Fergus

Release Date: January 22nd, 2013

Publisher: Razorbill Canada

Series: The Gypsy King, #1

Format: Hardcover, 434 pages

Description from GoodReads:

   A runaway slave with a shadowy past, sixteen-year-old Persephone has spent four long years toiling beneath the leering gaze of her despised owner and dreaming of a life where she is free to shape her own destiny. Then, one night, a chance encounter with a handsome chicken thief named Azriel changes her life forever.

   Sold to him for a small bag of gold coins, Persephone soon discovers what she already suspected: namely, that Azriel is not what he seems. And when she realizes that he believes Persephone has a special destiny—she is determined to escape him and his impossibly broad shoulders.

   But things are no longer as simple as they once were. Torn between her longing for freedom and her undeniable feelings for the handsome thief with the fast hands and the slow smile, Persephone faces the hardest choice she will ever have to make. And no one least of all her—could have imagined the shocking truth her decision will reveal.

   Thanks for stopping by! How does the Gypsy King sound? You interested in giving her a try? Definitely let me know if you do! I'd love to discuss it!