All posts by Jojo Debrazza

Jojo Debrazza is a writer of young adult and children’s fiction. The Charm is her debut YA novella. Jojo has a vivid imagination and likes to make up stories. Her friends call it lying but she calls it writing. She lives mainly in a dream world with her partner and a house full of small furry animals. It’s a carefree happy place where everything is bright and fluffy. Jojo’s other passion is football (soccer). As well as playing and helping to run a club she works as a football development officer in Cambridgeshire, England.

books

Cover Reveal for Ascent: Unreachable Skies, Vol. 3 by Karen McCreedy

August 17, 2020 Jojo Debrazza 1 Comment

Welcome to the Cover Reveal for

Ascent:

Unreachable Skies, Vol. 3

by Karen McCreedy

About the Book:

Zarda, the Fate-seer, and the Drax she accompanied into exile have settled into a new life far to the north of their homeland, the Expanse. They have pledged their loyalty to Kalon, whose rightful place as Prime was stolen by his brother Kalis.

Zarda’s one certainty is that Kalis’ wingless heir, Dru, is destined to defeat their old enemy, the Koth; but how is he to do that when he is no longer the Prime’s heir? And how can Kalis, his scheming adviser Fazak, and their followers be overcome?

To find the answers and to help the rightful Prime take his place in the Spirax, Zarda must first find a way back through the Crimson Forest for the exiles – but danger and betrayal await them all.

The Cover:

Book Information:

Print Length: 229 pages

Publisher: Mirror World Publishing; 1 edition

Publisher Website: https://www.mirrorworldpublishing.com/

Publication Date: August 17, 2020

ASIN: B08FP2RNVG

Pre-Order Link:

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3aqDMku

Mirror World Publishing Bookstore: https://mirror-world-publishing.myshopify.com/

Meet the Author:

Brought up in Staffordshire, England, Karen now lives in West Sussex where she is enjoying her retirement. When not writing she enjoys reading, watching films, local WI and U3A activities, volunteering with the South Downs National Park Volunteer Rangers, and spending time with friends and family. She has also flown in a Spitfire!

Karen has written articles on films and British history for a number of British magazines including ‘Yours’, ‘Classic Television’, and ‘Best of British’. In 2009, her essay on ‘British Propaganda Films of the Second World War’ was published in ‘Under Fire: A Century of War Movies’ (Ian Allen Publishing). She also wrote a number of online articles and reviews for The Geek Girl Project (www.geekgirlproject.com), as their British correspondent.

Karen’s short stories have appeared in anthologies by Fiction Brigade (2012, e-book), Zharmae Publishing (‘RealLies’, 2013), Audio Arcadia (‘On Another Plane’, 2015), Luna Station Publishing (‘Luna Station Quarterly’ December 2015), Horrified Press (‘Killer Tracks’ and ‘Waiting’, both 2015; and ‘Crossroads’, 2016), and Reflex Fiction (‘Voicemail’, published online 2017). She also won second prize in Writers’ News magazine’s ‘Comeuppance’ competition in 2014 with her short story ‘Hero’.

‘Ascent’ is the third and final book in the ‘Unreachable Skies’ trilogy and Karen is now working on her next science-fiction novel.

You can follow Karen on Twitter @McKaren_Writer, or check out her website at www.karenmccreedy.com

Sunflowers

And the winners of the Bull-Knox Sunflower Contest 2020 are…

August 2, 2020 Jojo Debrazza Leave a comment

Naughty is the tallest flower of 2020, measuring in at a whopping 295cm. Carmma was determined to be the prettiest flower of the contest.

Naughty was so tall the judges had difficulty reaching the top to take the measurement.

Diane collected the prize on behalf of Naughty.

Measurements and judges comments for all competitors are below:

Sunflower	Height in cms	Judges comments
Naughty	295	Championi, championi, ole, ole, ole
Sprilbey	247	Wished it lived next door
Moomins	244	Good girth
Dennis	240	Solid candidate
Baby G	237	G for gorgeous
Steclaire	237	Furry
Bears	224	Late for the yellow BBQ
Shmelling	222	Big head
Gramps	215	Uninspiring
Team USA	210	Looks like Mr Tickle
Flower	210	Didn’t stick to its own lane
Carmma	189	Magnificent specimen
Holts	186	Disappointing
Wooper	172	Looks like it’s praying
Fozzy	164	Late for the party
Buddha	161	Late for the party
Knoxley	130	Knoxley sized head
Helomi	127	Late for the party
Bull-Knox	110	Proof the competition is not fixed

So that concludes the Bull-Knox Sunflower Contest 2020. Congratulations to the winners. And to the losers, there is always next year!

Sunflowers

Have these sunflowers bloomed too soon?

July 17, 2020 Jojo Debrazza Leave a comment

More sunflowers have shown their yellow faces in the Bull-Knox Sunflower Contest 2020.

Bull-Knox and Wooper were first to bloom and have now been followed by Sprilbey, Shmelling Gramps, and Knoxley.

With judging day still two weeks away, the keen flowers may find they have peaked too soon.

Flowers will judged on 1st August with the tallest and the prettiest being crowned winners.

Naughty is currently the tallest. Can she hang on to the high spot?

Sunflowers

Wooper and Bull-Knox First to Bloom

July 5, 2020 Jojo Debrazza Leave a comment

Sunflowers, Wooper and Bull-Knox, have bloomed in the Bull-Knox Sunflower Contest 2020.

Bull-Knox was the first to show its pretty face and was shortly followed by Wooper.

As pretty as these leaders are, they may have blown their chance at winning the contest. Early bloomers often stop growing, and their looks may have faded before the contest judging day where the tallest and the prettiest sunflowers are crowned.

Still, they look great now and it’s the taking part that counts.

Wooper, Naughty, Sprilbey, Shmelling, and Gramps.

Shmelling is the tallest so far! Will she be caught?

Sunflowers

Naughty sunflower still leading the way

June 15, 2020 Jojo Debrazza 1 Comment

Four sunflowers are peeking over the side fence. Naughty, who was first to sprout, was also the first to reach fence height in the Bull-Knox Sunflower Contest 2020. She was shortly followed by neighbouring competitors, Shmelling, Sprilbey and Wooper.

Positions to the right of the side fence seem to be the place to be with all flowers growing well. Helomi is still struggling height wise in the middle of the fence, although she appears to be healthy.

Sunflowers along the side fence — Team side fence

Four of the sunflowers along the front fence were late to the party and have some catching up to do.

All competitors are enjoying the sunshine and will be hoping for more in their quest to advance skywards.

Sunflowers

New arrivals take their places

May 20, 2020 Jojo Debrazza Leave a comment

Steclaire, Buddha, Carmma and Holts finally made it to Fort Bull-Knox on Sunday. They had initially been too weak or hadn’t sprouted and organisers feared they would all make an early exit from the Bull-Knox Sunflower Contest 2020. The troubled plants were given extra time under the special care of Moomin Papa and have all made fantastic recoveries.

Two spares had been planted at the outset and, as all the original competitors have made it into the Fort Bull-Knox garden, the spares were adopted by two keen sunflower contest fans. Welcome to the contest and good luck to Dennis and Fozzy.

All of the arrivals were planted in random order along the front fence.

Meanwhile, the plants along the side fence have been growing well, with the exception of Helomi. There’s always one!

The flowers were measured on 17th May 2020 and here are the standings.

Team USA	40
Shmelling	39.5
Knoxley	39
Bull-Knox	38
Flower	38
Wooper	38
Baby G	37
Gramps	36
Naughty	36
Moomins	32
Sprilbey	28
Steclaire	26
Bears	22
Helomi	19
Dennis	19
Carmma	9
Holts	9
Fozzy	8
Buddha	5

Team USA is leading the way.

Tallest

Buddha needs some encouragement.

Sunflowers

The 2020 competitors reach Fort Bull-Knox…mostly

April 25, 2020 Jojo Debrazza Leave a comment

Most of the sunflowers have been transferred to the hallowed soil of Fort Bull-Knox and were planted in random order along the fence.

Side fence (left to right): Baby G, Bull-Knox, Flower, Knoxley, Moomins, Helomi, Gramps, Shmelling, Sprilbey , Naughty, Wooper

Front fence (left to right): Team USA, Bears

Baby sunflowers along the fence — Take your places.

The remaining four flowers, Buddha, Carmma, Holts and Steclaire, took self isolation too far and failed to show up for the contest. In the spirit of lockdown love, they have been given a second chance and will remain under the care of Moomin Papa until they decide to join the fun. They will then be planted along the front fence if or when they are ready.

So, who’s looking good so far? I hear you cry from afar.

Gramps is looking strong.

Gramps, a competitor in the 2020 contest — Gramps

Flower and Knoxley are in good shape.

Flower and Knoxley, two competitors in the contest — Flower and Knoxley

Sprilbey and Wooper are doing well.

Bears is probably the smallest of the bunch so far but baby bears often grow into big bears!

Bears, a competitor in the Bull-Knox Sunflower Contest 2020 — Baby Bear

The tallest flower on judging day will be crowned the winner of the Bull-Knox Sunflower Contest 2020. Those that can’t be big can still be beautiful and will be in with a chance of winning the Indie award for the prettiest sunflower.

books

Exclusive Excerpt: The Haunting Near Battlefield Ridge by Rita Monette

April 22, 2020 Jojo Debrazza Leave a comment

Welcome to the 1-week book tour for The Haunting Near Battlefield Ridge!!

“I never believed in ghosts… until I met Oggie.”

Exclusive Excerpt:

“Hi, Nikki.” A strange, hollow-sounding voice came from somewhere behind me.

I turned and saw a young boy dressed in a blue uniform standing at the foot of my bed. I dropped the ball and fell against my dresser, knocking my kerosene lamp over. I quickly picked it up before the oil spilled out onto everything.

“W-who are you?”

He fit the description of the ghost we were looking for. Only now, I wasn’t too excited to see him. My knees were shaking.

“My name is Oggie.”

“Oggie? Jesse’s friend?”

I couldn’t think of anything real smart to say. In fact, my mouth didn’t want to work real good at all. I wanted to run away, but I stood frozen.

“I just want to talk to you.” He sat down on the edge of my bed as if to make himself at home.

“Are you a g-ghost?” I asked in a shaky voice.

“No, silly. I’m just a soldier. Don’t let this jacket fool you. I ain’t no Yankee.”

“So you’re the ghost from Battlefield Ridge?”

“I told you, I ain’t no ghost.”

“Then how’d you get in my room without anyone seeing you?”

He looked around. “I don’t know. Do you know where my regiment is?”

“No, I don’t know nothing about no regiment. I just know I’m here in my room talking to a ghost.”

“Why do you keep calling me that?” He glanced around again. “My name is Ogden Watkins, and I’d appreciate it if you’d just take me back to my regiment. I have to find where I buried that tin box.”

“What box?” I asked.

“The box I put my mother’s Bible in.”

“Whoa. You need to start from the beginning.”

“The beginning of what?” He looked confused.

“Okay, I know your name, but what happened to you? Why are you lost?”

He scratched his rough and dirty mess of brown curls. Then he stood up and inched closer to me. “I can’t remember.”

I backed toward the door. “How do you know my name?”

“I followed you from the graveyard,” he said. “I heard the other kids call you Nikki. For some reason I know you can help me, but I don’t know why or how.”

Looking at this young boy’s confused face, I was no longer afraid. His name was Ogden…Oggie for short. Even if he was a ghost, which it was apparent that he was, he was more lost than he was scary.

About the Book:

Nikki Landry and her friends discover strange white smudges in photos Patti’s grandmother had snapped at an old gravesite. No one can explain what they are.

Did Nikki’s little brother mark them up with a piece of chalk? Did a low-lying fog move in just as she snapped the photos? Could it be just a smear on the camera lens?

Spikes insists it’s a ghost.

Then Mrs. LeBlanc remembers a legend her grandfather told her of a spirit that haunts the small family cemetery located near an old Civil War battle site.

Will Nikki and her legend busting gang discover it’s just an old tale, or does the ghost really exist? If so, why is he there? What does he want?

Join Nikki and her friends as they go searching for the answers…and the truth behind the Haunting near Battlefield Ridge.

Make sure to visit all of the tour hosts and leave comments about the book, read the guest posts, and enter the giveaway!!

https://saphsbooks.blogspot.com/2020/04/book-tour-schedule-haunting-near.html

Book Details:

Publisher: Mirror World Publishing; 1 edition
Publisher Website: Mirror World Publishing

Publication Date: April 17, 2020

ASIN: B085MMZLFF

Purchase Your Copy:

Mirror World Publishing eBook

Mirror World Publishing Paperback

Amazon

Meet the Author:

Behind Every Legend Lies the Truth!

Rita Monette was born and raised in Southwest Louisiana. After retiring from her “real” job as an administrative assistant for the State of Michigan, Rita began doing what she always wanted to do…write and draw. Her stories are set in the beautiful, yet mysterious, bayous and swamps of her home state. The Haunting Near Battlefield Ridge is the fifth book in her Nikki Landry Swamp Legend series. Rita now lives with her husband, four lap dogs, and one lap cat, in the mountains of Tennessee.Social Media Links:

Enter the Giveaway:

Winner’s choice of a Kindle copy of one of the books in Rita Monette’s Nikki Landry Swamp Legends series. Go to Amazon to learn more about the books in the series

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Sunflowers

Naughty Sunflower Leads Others Astray

April 10, 2020 Jojo Debrazza Leave a comment

Naughty was the first flower to sprout in the Bull-Knox Sunflower Contest 2020.

Naughty’s appearance into the open air of Moomin Papa’s greenhouse was shortly followed by other competitors:

Baby G
Bull-Knox
Flower (nee Daisy)
Knoxley
Gramps
Shmelling
Sprilbey
Wooper (nee Pears)

Now we hold our breath in suspense (and to keep out the germs) to see if the remaining flowers join the fun.

Sunflowers

Coronavirus Can’t Stop the Sunflower Contest

April 2, 2020 Jojo Debrazza Leave a comment

Glastonbury, Euro 2020, Wimbledon and the Olympics may be cancelled but the Bull-Knox Sunflower Contest 2020 is on!

The aim of the game is simple: Be tall, and if you can’t be tall be pretty!

Previous contests have seen sunflowers destroyed by snails, rabbits, and strong winds. Threats of sabotage have been made. Plastic flowers have been planted in an attempt to trick the judges. And a tomato plant even joined the line up in 2019!

2020 brings an additional challenge. Will the sunflowers survive the coronavirus pandemic?

The Moomins took on the duty of planting the seeds from the safety of their garden while in self isolation.