What is it with Olivia and ghosts? No matter where Olivia Kidney goes, they follow. Even when she and her klutzy handyman father start over in a new brownstone in New york City—owned by the mad, bad, and dangerous Ansel plover—there is no escape from the weirdness that is Olivia's life. Their new living room is entirely submerged underwater, and Olivia needs a boat to navigate past the bobbing furniture and snapping turtles just to get to her bedroom. Complete strangers show up in the middle of the night to practice bumping into walls! And then, there are the ghosts. The house holds secrets, lots of them—Olivia can feel it. Why, she wonders, was she invited to live there?
Prompted by a neverending stream of letters pleading for advice on how to be a better writer, successful children's authors Anne Mazer and Ellen Potter put their heads together to create this useful guide.
With dozens of books and decades of experience between them, the authors brought their distinct personal styles to the advice they had to offer. Now they have done the same for this audio version, with each author narrating her own sections. Along the way they call in some friends for some delightful bits of storytelling to illustrate their points.
Filled with wisdom and delivered with wit, this funny, practical guide will be welcomed by anyone who wants to improve his or her skill as a writer. Whether you long to create compelling stories, or simply want to express yourself more clearly and directly, this is the book for you!
You'll love this warm and witty advice on how to make your stories sparkle!
If you thought Olivia Kidney's last apartment building was weird, wait until you see her new home! A lagoon in the living room. A room in which a person's every thought can be heard. Strangers showing up at all hours of the night to practice bumping into walls! And, of course, there are the ghosts. Why do they always seem to follow Olivia around? And why was Olivia invited to live at this strange place? Everything eventually falls into place when she meets a young woman in a coma, and Olivia realizes she has just as much ability to speak to the living as she does the dead.
Olivia Kidney's new apartment building is crazy! Talking lizards crawling everywhere. An exiled princess haunting the hallways. A tropical rainforest growing in 7B. Even an apartment made entirely of glass!
Maybe her father will get fired from his job as the building super, as he always does, and they can leave. But Olivia is tired of moving from place to place, from school to school. What she wouldn't give for a little slice of sanity. And maybe a friend to share it with.
In the tradition of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland comes a remarkable debut novel that is quirky, magical, and completely genuine. Ellen Potter offers us a world where even the oddest of characters feel right at home. Come in for a visit: you'll never want to leave.
