Kickin' It Like the Girl That I Am

I'm joining in on the Kicks Like A Girl blog tour. Thank you Suzanne Casemento for inviting me!Check out KICKS LIKE A GIRL by Melissa Westemeyer here, and check out Suzanne's post here!

Now for this blog tour I tell you a little about myself.

First thing ever published in a magazine was this in Us Weekly back in 2000! :) (Yes, McConaughey is one of my all time faves). Okay, technically not a paid piece. My first paid piece was rhyming bird riddles in Nature Friend magazine!

My first picture book was published in 2012 by Meegenius. I wrote this story for an assignment for an online writing course. Several years and revisions later, it became BIG SISTER, BABY BROTHER.

I'm also the author of Meegenius book, HOLD THE MUSTARD. My other picture books include ROCKABET: CLASSIC EDITION and  the most recent, WORDS ON BIRDS. My debut middle grade novel, ROCK 'N' ROLL PRINCESSES WEAR BLACK, was published in March. (See cutie patootie Francesca Capaldi from Disney Channel below holding it!)

Lastly, after spending time with my family, my favorite thing is going to rock concerts. See below a depiction of all the bands I've seen and how many times! (This is actually from 2013. Since then, I've seen Buckcherry one more time plus Alter Bridge and The Toadies for the first time!)

Thanks for stopping by! If you want to hop on this blog tour, let me know and I'll link to your next Monday's post!

ROCKABET on the WGN News!

So, I'm pretty darn excited, because my ABC picture book, ROCKABET, and my celebrity book recommendation site, BOOK RECS OF THE ROCK AND FAMOUS, were both featured in a cute little segment on WGN Morning News yesterday! (My mother in law messaged me the photo above.)

If you don't watch Chicago's WGN Morning News  (you can watch a live stream here), you need to. The news team is so funny! I start every weekday morning with it on. They seriously crack me up.

You can view the news clip here:
http://morningnews.wgntv.com/2014/02/26/rockabet-teaches-children-history-of-classic-rock-and-abcs/

Thank you, WGN.  ROCKABET can be purchased here!

Check out BOOK RECS OF THE ROCK AND FAMOUS here. This week I have an actress from Once Upon A Time.

Also, thank you to all the fabulous people that have shared their expertise at IndieReCon this week. What a wonderful resource for writers.

Hope you all have an awesome weekend.  READING ROCKS!

ROCKABET Book Trailer

I played around with iMovie yesterday and made this!



You can purchase a paperback or hardcover ROCKABET book here! :)

Writers Help Writers and a Rockabet Giveaway!

Hello, friends. It's an exciting week in blogland. This week is the Writers Helping Writers Amazing Race and a ROCKABET giveaway!


Those amazing ladies Angela Ackerman &  Becca Puglisi at Writers Helping Writers (formerly The Bookshelf Muse) have added two more books to their Descriptive Thesaurus Collection: The Positive Trait Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide to Character Attributes and The Negative Trait Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide to Character Flaws. To celebrate, they are hosting a race, and not just any old race, either. It's the...

 
Writing is hard, isn't it? Create the perfect hook. Make your first page compelling. Craft an amazing 25 word pitch. Knock out a query that will blow an agent's mind. On and on it goes. And sometimes, well, you just wish someone would help.

WISH NO MORE!

From October 21st until October 27th, Writers Helping Writers is posting an OPEN CALL for writers. You can fill out a form, requesting help with critiques, book visibility, social media sharing, blog diagnostics, advice and more.

An army of Amazing Racers are standing by (ME INCLUDED!) waiting to help with your submissions. How many people can we help in a week? Let's find out! Did I mention there are Celebrity Racers too--amazing authors and editors who know their way around a first page. Maybe one of them will pick your submission to help with!

Each day this week, there's an AMAZING giveaway, too. So stop in at Angela & Becca’s new Writers Helping Writers website and find out how to take advantage of this awesome, unique, pay-it-forward event for writers.  See you there, baby!

PLUS A ROCKABET GIVEAWAY!

To celebrate writers helping other writers, I want to give away a signed paperback copy of my ABC's of rock picture book, ROCKABET: CLASSIC EDITION to a lucky commenter! If you want to win, write READING ROCKS! in the comments! :) That's it! I will choose a winner this weekend!

 

And the winner is JEMI! Congrats, Jemi!!!! :)

 

Rockabet Book Launch Party!

 

Last Monday I had my book launch for my new ABC picture book of rock, ROCKABET: CLASSIC EDITION! My local library was kind enough to host me and allowed me to use their party room for the festivities. I had refreshments, crafts, bookmarks, temporary tattoos, a reading, and a book signing that awesome evening. Over 100 people attended which made me so overwhelmed with gratitude. So wonderful for others to take time out in their busy schedule to celebrate with me! Even some of my former students stopped by! Here are a few photos (mostly taken by my dad) of the evening!

Thank you all for your wonderful support and nice words about my book!

I read Rockabet to the crowd!

Some of the wonderful people who attended.

Bookmarks, business cards, temporary tattoos!

Signing books next to my accountant.

I wanted everyone's autograph!

It was a fabulous night!

 

ROCKABET: CLASSIC EDITION is available at amazon, barnesandnoble.com,

and in select bookstores.

Rockabet Band Manager

Today I'm playing band manager to celebrate the release of my ABC's of rock 'n' roll picture book, ROCKABET: CLASSIC EDITION. You know I love my rock bands. If I could choose any band members from any bands to form the best band ever, these would be my rockin' picks:

Band Name: Indecision  (also the name of a band in my upcoming middle grade novel!)

First Gig: Red Rocks (I have never been there!! I'd love to see a concert there!)

So, like I said, I LOVE rock. I figured these musicians are pretty busy and probably should swap out gig by gig so they can still play in their other awesome band. So I have multiple choices, yo. (And yes, these are all my photos taken at concerts (except for Grohl) :) .)

LEAD VOCALS

 

Lead vocalist #1:  Jacoby Shaddix of Papa Roach - one of the most energetic frontmen I have ever seen! This man can ROCK!

Lead vocalist #2: Gerard Way formerly of My Chemical Romance - Love, love, love his voice.

Lead vocalist #3: Josh Todd of Buckcherry - He dances with his shirt off while he sings. Nuff said.

Okay, one more lead vocalist: Jared Leto of 30 Seconds to Mars - Energetic, blue eyes, smooth vocals.

LEAD GUITAR

Lead guitarist #1: Mark Tremonti of Creed/Alter Bridge/Tremonti - Awesome variety of guitar riffs. He's in three bands plus mine! He is a wanted man!

Lead guitarist #2: Synyster Gates of Avenged Sevenfold - My favorite intro guitar riff of all time is "Unholy Confessions" by A7X. This man can shred. And he's kinda cute.

Lead guitarist #3: Billy Corgan of Smashing Pumpkins - He's a Chicago guy who is mega-talented.

BASS GUITAR

Bass guitarist #1- Nikki Sixx of Motley Crue/Sixx: A.M - Love his lyrics, his looks, and he's in two of my fave bands!

Bass guitarist #2 - Matt Brady of New Medicine - Beautiful brown eyes with a beautiful heart (he spent the last year in Ghana!).

Bass guitarist #3 - John Taylor of Duran Duran - Play the #*&!-ing bass, John! More pop than rock, but Duran Duran was the first band I ever loved.

DRUMS

Dave Grohl of Nirvana/Foo Fighters - it's Dave freaking Grohl, people!



Who would you choose for your supergroup and why?
Here's a band name generator to create your killer band name!

Some very kind people are helping me celebrate the release by sharing who they would choose to be in their ultimate band in a ROCKABET BAND MANAGER post! Go check 'em out! Thank you!
Theresa Milstein , Lydia Kang , Shelli Johannes , Candyland , Bish Denham , Samantha Verant , and Leigh T. Moore. 

ROCKABET: CLASSIC EDITION can currently be purchased online at Amazon or at select bookstores. Hardcover books will be available at various online retailers and stores in October.

Kelly Polark is also the author of BIG SISTER, BABY BROTHER and the upcoming HOLD THE MUSTARD! from Meegenius. Come visit her on Facebook and Twitter! Check out her website and celebrity book recommendation site, Book Recs of the Rock and Famous.

READING ROCKS!

Happy Book Birthday, Rockabet!

Photo from Stacy's Sweet Shop.

 

Woo hoo! The day is here! My picture book ROCKABET: CLASSIC EDITION  is available! 

The first draft of ROCKABET was written about five years ago. I had a mixture of classic and current artists featured in the book. At a local SCBWI meeting and on a WriteOnCon messageboard, some suggested I stick with either current or classic musicians. This was fabulous advice, and that is what I did! My first edition of the book is classic, and I hope to publish a current edition of ROCKABET one day! My fabulous illustrator, Kelli Ann Little, helped make this book come to life. I adore her illustrations of the musicians.

ROCKABET: CLASSIC EDITION celebrates my favorite genre of music, good ole rock 'n' roll. It combines my passion for music and reading. The book promotes the arts and classic rock bands, reading, and learning the ABC's.

Some very kind people are helping me celebrate the release by sharing who they would choose to be in their ultimate band in a ROCKABET BAND MANAGER post! Go check 'em out! Thank you!

Monday: Theresa Milstein and Sharon Mayhew
Tuesday: Lydia Kang
Wednesday: Shelli Johannes and Candyland
Thursday: Bish Denham
Friday: Samantha Verant

Leigh T. Moore has a post for you this week, too. I will share my Band Manager picks on Thursday!

Here is my book! You can purchase the paperback HERE!
Hardcover will be available next month!

Thank you to all of you fabulous friends, family, and critique pals who have been my cheerleader and support system! YOU ROCK!

My Cover Rocks!

This is it! This is the cover of my upcoming picture book titled, ROCKABET, that comes out in September. Does it rock or what?!

Rockabet: Classic Edition is an ABC picture book of rock 'n' roll. The book introduces classic rock bands in catchy couplets. The illustrations depict the bands as chibis, which are childlike versions of characters. The book is illustrated by Kelli Little. More of her amazing artwork can be seen at her Facebook page, Catching Dreams Illustration. I just love it!

Speaking of Facebook pages, I just created an author page for myself and I'd love if you would hop on over and "Like" it! Here is the link: Author Kelly Polark. As you know, I love rock music and this book brings together two of my passions: promoting literacy and promoting good ole rock 'n' roll! I have another Meegenius book coming out this fall, and I will post a sneak peek of an illustration on my Facebook page next week. Thanks for stopping by the blog and liking my author page. Your support means so much!!

Now back to ROCKABET. Can you guess which band I chose for the letter A?