BLURB:
The kids at Ralph Bunche Middle School love to pick on Elliot Kravitz-Carnucci. He struggles with his weight, looks like a geek, makes top honors, and lives above the Carnucci Home for Funerals in South Philadelphia with his distant, workaholic father and Nonna, his quirky, overbearing grandmother.
Since his parents divorced, he splits spending his time with his funeral director father and his mother Rayna, who dreams of becoming the queen of commercials on the west coast.
At the hands of his peers, Elliot experiences a series of bullying episodes that escalate from entrapment in a school supply closet to a brutal “swirly” (head dunk in the toilet) that lands him in the hospital emergency room.
Elliot has a small circle of loyal friends and a mentor named Duke, an aging school custodian, who root for him to overcome his bullying issues so that he can enjoy his life as a teenager and a budding singer/performer. Can Elliot win his fight against the nasty bullies, or is he doomed forever? Read this funny, sad, and crazy book to find out.
Excerpt:
What were they planning to do to me? Had they all gone over the edge? I tried to scream, but all that came out from under the gag was Mmmmmmmmm.
Most of the teachers and staff had already left to get an early start on spring break. Duke was probably somewhere in the building, though, giving the place a final once over before locking up. His doctor had told him to slow down after the tests proved he had lung cancer, but it only made him work longer hours.
Kyle slammed me on the back. “Tell you what, promise not to open your mouth and I’ll take the gag off.”
I nodded yes like my head was going to roll off.
“Mmmmmmm…”
He untied the gag, and I heaved in a gulp of air.
“We don’t want you to suffocate when your head hits the water.”
Were they going to throw me in the river? Drown me? Could they be that crazy?
I tried to make a run for it, but Kyle caught me before I could make it to the door. His biceps bulged like baseballs from his lean arms. How I wished I’d added weight lifting to my fitness routine.
Canfield looked at his friends. “Part of the fun is the anticipation. Right, guys?”
Why couldn’t they look at me?
I heard on the news that when you’re threatened if you call a person by name, maybe he’ll act more human and be less likely to hurt you. Was it worth a try?
“Kyle, you don’t want to do this…”
A Day in the Life of the Author
By Catherine DePino, author of Elliot K. Carlucci is a Big, Fat Loser: A Book About Bullying
I retired from the Philadelphia School District where I taught high school English and later became a department head of English, world languages, and ESL. I didn’t have much time to start writing until retiring from my full time job. I wrote some newspaper and magazine articles and enjoyed it so much that I promised myself I’d write a book once I could find the time. However, while I was working, when I went home at night, I was busy with my family and school-related duties, such as marking papers and calling homes of children with problems. After I left the school system, I worked part time as a student teaching supervisor and finally was able to make the time for writing, my dream job.
Now that I have more time, I usually write in the afternoon after doing exercise, something I never had the time to do while I worked. For many years I did Jazzercise and now enjoy doing Sumba as it’s very fast-paced, and you can lose yourself in the music. I’ve found that when you sit at a computer for long hours, it’s important to get a lot of rigorous physical exercise to avoid extra pounds. I wrote extensively about this in my latest book, Fire Up Your Life in Retirement: 101 Ways for Women to Reinvent Themselves.
I don’t have any specific writing schedule and try to keep my days flexible as I enjoy my life better that way. During the week, I often write a little before lunch, but I save the bulk of my writing for the afternoon. After dinner, I sometimes write and edit, but usually don’t work late into the night. Early mornings are not my most productive time, so I rarely write before 10:00 or 11:00 AM. I enjoy staying up late but am usually up by 8:00 or so.
I had to spend some time researching Elliot K. Carnucci, my bully prevention book, because this story for middle grade children takes place in the funeral home where Elliot lives with his father and grandmother. His parents are divorced but have shared custody. Because his mother lives on the west coast where she makes commercials, Elliot sees her less frequently than he sees his dad and his ever-present grandmother.
Since I knew little about the funeral industry, I had to research the business if I wanted to make the setting more authentic. I decided to do my research late at night because usually research is less taxing than writing. I was surprised to find that I sometimes got scared when I read first-hand accounts of the business. After a while, I realized that Elliot’s words to his mother rang true: “It’s just a job like any other job, Mom.” I realized that all jobs have their pleasant and unpleasant parts, although being a funeral director seems to present definite challenges to one’s emotional outlook. I have to give these service providers credit for what they face each day.
Aside from the research I did for the book, the rest of the story seemed to flow easily. I felt like I already knew Elliot, the main character. One of my children says that Nonna, the grandmother, is me. I can be outspoken but I don’t think I’m as wild and wooly as Nonna.
Elliot’s mentor, Mr. Boardly, is patterned after Scotty, a school custodian I knew well and deeply respected. He cared about everyone in the school community and dedicated his life to helping others. Unfortunately, he died on a major highway when his car became disabled. One part that was hard to write was about Mr. Boardly’s illness (lung cancer) because I identified him so strongly with Scotty.
After I complete a book, I don’t have to spend a lot of time editing. Instead, I’m very conscious of using grammar as I go along. I know that goes against all the rules that say you should get everything down on paper first and then edit. However, it bothers me to see poor grammar and stylistic errors as I write, so I edit as I go along. That goes along with my theory that you should do what feels best to you. If you want to break all the rules and find that doing that works well for you as a writer, I say go ahead and do it your way. Whatever you’re comfortable with is the best way to go.
I want to invite your readers to visit my website, www.catherinedepino.com. I love getting feedback from readers and writers.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Catherine DePino has sold thirteen books for parents, teachers, and children to mainstream publishers. She self-published her fourteenth book, Elliot K. Carnucci is a Big, Fat Loser: A Book About Bullying because she wanted to give it a wider forum. Her background includes a BS in English and Spanish education, a Master’s in English education, and a doctorate in Curriculum Theory and Development and Educational Administration from Temple University. The author worked for many years as an English teacher, department head of English and world languages, disciplinarian, and curriculum writer in the Philadelphia School District. After this, she worked at Temple as an adjunct assistant professor and student teaching supervisor.
Catherine has also written articles for national magazines, including The Christian Science Monitor and The Writer.
For many years she served on the board of The Philadelphia Writers’ Conference. She holds membership in the Association of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.
Her new self-help book, 101 Easy Ways for Women to De-Stress, Reinvent, and Fire Up Your Life in Retirement,appeared on the market in March, 2014.
Visit her website at http://catherinedepino.com
Additional Links
Fire Up Your Life: 101 Ways for Women to Reinvent Themselves
http://www.paragonhouse.com/product.php?productid=508&cat=0&page=&featured=Y
Elliot K. Carnucci is a Big, Fat Loser: A Book About Bullying
http://www.amazon.com/Elliot-Carnucci-Big-Fat-Loser-ebook/dp/B00G3IUEDG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1393457610&sr=8-1&keywords=elliot+k+carnucci+is+a+big+fat+loser
Excuse Me, Your Participle’s Dangling: How to Use Grammar to Make Your Writing Powers Soar
Who Says Bullies Rule?: Common Sense Tips to Help Your Child Cope
Hi, God, It’s Me: e-prayers for teenage girls
Real Life Bully Prevention for Real Kids
In Your Face, Pizza Face: A Girl’s Bully-Busting Book
101 Ways to Help Preschoolers Excel in Reading, Writing, and Speaking
Quick and Easy Grammar Games to Boost Writing Power
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=quick%20and%20easy%20grammar%20games%20to%20boost%20writing%20power
Blue Cheese Breath and Stinky Feet: How to Deal with Bullies
http://www.amazon.com/Blue-Cheese-Breath-Stinky-Feet/dp/1591471125
Hi, God, It’s Me: e-prayers for Teenage Boys
http://www.amazon.com/Hi-God-Its-Me-E-Prayers/dp/1585952117/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1393518362&sr=8-1&keywords=hi+God+it%27s+me+e-prayers+for+teenage+boys
Ready, Get Set, Go, Grammar!
http://www.amazon.com/Ready-Get-Set-Go-Grammar/dp/1931334188/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1393518500&sr=8-1&keywords=ready+get+set+go+grammar
Grammar Workout: Twenty-Eight Lessons, Exercises, and Activities to Jumpstart Your Writing
Catherine will be awarding a $20 Amazon GC to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour.
Please follow the tour and comment; the more you comment, the better your chances of winning. The tour dates can be found here:
http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2014/04/virtual-book-tour-elliot-k-carnucci-is.html
9 Comments
-
yes i had some dealings with people who made fun of me in high school because i was overweight.the good thing is that i had an older brother in the same school once i told them about him they backed off real quick.
-
Busy day
bn100candg at hotmail dot com
-
-
Dear Readers: Here’s a question for you. Have you or your children ever had any dealings with a bully? If so, how did it work out? Please write your answers on this site. Thanks.
-
-
Thanks very much for hosting me, Ruth! I appreciate this opportunity.
-
-
Thanks for hosting!
-
Thank you for the chance to win 🙂
-
Good luck with all the contests you enter!
-
-
Thank you for sharing your “day”. Most informative.
marypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com
-
Thanks! I appreciate it.
-
