Happy 1st Year Book Anniversary & GIVEAWAY!

Hello world!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!! I wish you health, joy, compassion, and of course, love.

January is a big month for me. Last year on January 1, I released my STEM book DEEP, DEEP, DOWN: The Secret Underwater Poetry of the Mariana Trench illustrated by Juan Calle and published by Capstone Editions, a Capstone imprint. This book was a labor of love and combines my two biggest passions: science and poetry.

Here’s a summary: Deep, deep down, at the very bottom of the ocean, lies a secret world. Through lyrical narration, this spare-text STEM picture book takes readers on a journey to a place very few humans have ever been–the Mariana Trench. The imagined voyage debunks scary myths about this mysterious place with surprising and beautiful truths about life at Earth’s deepest point. DEEP, DEEP, DOWN: The Secret Underwater Poetry of the Mariana Trench shows a vibrant world far below, and teaches readers how interconnected our lives are to every place on the planet.

I’m kicking 2024 off with an awesome giveaway! See the Rafflecopter link at the end of this post.

The past twelve months have flown by and its been a wild ride. I’ve had so many memorable moments so I wanted to share some highlights:

DEEP, DEEP, DOWN: The Secret Underwater Poetry of the Mariana Trench earned (my first) orange best seller banner on Amazon!

Babar Books supported me by buying a slew of my books early on, which I signed with love.

Then I hosted a book launch with Babar Books! It was a magical experience.

In May, a massive dream came true. For years I wondered how and if one of my books would ever get an end cap display at a bookstore…and the moment had finally come!!! My book DEEP, DEEP DOWN had its very own end cap display at the wonderful Paragraphe Books in Montreal.

I also got to work with Ecole Montréalaise (https://ecolemontrealaise.info/), an awesome organization that supports underprivileged schools in Montreal. They also bought FOUR HUNDRED copies of my book Deep, Deep Down so every student I meet during the presentations was gifted a copy! I’ve never been able to do that before and it was an unbelievable experience. Thank you to Nancy Saltarelli!

Then in June, I experienced a huge milestone in my career. The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington DC invited me to join their World Ocean Day festivities! It was an unbelievable experience as I got to chat with patrons of all ages about the magic of the Mariana Trench and about the importance of ocean conservation.

The adventure continued as I headed over to the famous Prose & Politics independent bookstore to sign my book and then concluded when I got to work with An Open Foundation, an organization that promotes literacy in disadvantaged schools. They bought each student in my workshop a copy of Deep, Deep Down which I got to sign. I will never forget this whirlwind of an experience! I feel utterly grateful and humbled.

And to end the year off, my book was shortlisted and nominated for several awards!

-Shortlisted for Silver Birch Express Award (Forest of Reading)
-Voted as “Best Books for Kids & Teens- 2023” by The Canadian Children’s Book Centre
-Nominated for a Cybils Award, Children’s and Young Adult Book Lovers’ Literary Awards for elementary nonfiction
-Selected as “Book of the Month” and nominated for Best Book of 2023 by LASR, Long and Short Reviews
-Nominated in “35 Best Nonfiction Books of 2023 for Kids” by blogger Melissa Taylor for Imagination Soup Reviews

Click HERE for the Rafflecopter giveaway to win a free signed copy of my book along with magnets, bookmarks and stickers! Contest ends Jan 27, US & Canada only.

Thank you to everyone for their support, it definitely takes a village. I’ll be back in a few days for my regular Q & A posts with giveaways!

Love & Light,

Lydia