About the Book

Book: Tyrone the Terrible
Author: Jan Lis
Genre: Children’s Chapter Book
Release Date: March, 2020
Tyrone is the skinniest chameleon in the swamp. No one wants him on their team. After going on a fitness program, Tyrone gets carried away with his new self and terrorizes his friends in Gnarly Tree Bend until he meets Sly, the meanest gator in the bayou. Looks like Tyrone is gumbo.
The moral of this story? Someone is always bigger and badder than you, so you’d best make friends along the way.
TYRONE THE TERRIBLE is a bullying tale. The feisty chameleon picks on his bayou buddies before meeting his match. In the process, he learns the value of friends and family and how actions have consequences.
This delightful story is filled with swampy animal characters with a distinctly southern voice – not quite Brer Rabbit, but a good deep-south feel.

Click here to get your copy!

About the Author

Jan Lis is south Florida writer and artist. Living in this multicultural area, Jan utilizes these diverse cultural influences in her stories. Jan fills her children’s books with spunky characters and rich imagery, bringing to her stories and illustrations the same vivid quality found in her fine art paintings.
Jan attended the Cleveland Institute of Art, has a degree from Ohio University’s School of Fine Art, and took post-graduate writing at Case-Western Reserve. She established her writing as a journalist contributing articles to publications such as the Miami Herald, and the Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel, and worked as Fine Arts Editor and Columnist for the Florida Arts Gazette.
Jan Lis is an established artist who has exhibited and won awards in many of the country’s top Annual Exhibitions including: The Butler Institute of American Art, the San Diego Watercolor Society, and the Piedmont Biennial at the Mint Museum. She is represented in corporate and private collections including: the State of Florida Art In Public Buildings Program, the Brevard County Florida Art in Public Places Program, and the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art, Winston-Salem, NC.
Jan is represented by agent Cyle Young, Hartline Literary Agency, and is member of the
Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.

AUTHOR INTERVIEW

Q. What was your first published work, and how was it received?

A. My first children’s book is A Treasure Book of Poems for Young Readers. It is self-published through Amazon. When it debuted, the self-publishing industry was in its infancy. Over the years, it has done quite well. Treasure Book is a fully illustrated collection of poems about pirate treasure, lazy dogs, sand castles, night noises and more.

Q. When creating your characters, do you base them on people you know,create them totally from scratch, or do a combination of both? Elaborate if you would like.

A. Usually my characters come from something in real life. Then the subject gets molded into its own little being in the story. In I Hate Oatmeal, a picture book that will release this fall, there is a family of baby ducks. Not to give the story away, what the baby ducks do is something I actually observed.

Q. How do you insert the faith element into these stories so that it is woven naturally into the storyline?

A. Some of my children’s books are written specifically for the Christian market. These kids are already familiar with some of the gospel message. But in both secular and Christian stories I try to include a good moral theme told in a humorous way. In Tyrone, I allude to the Bible story of Jonah and the Whale. Then I return to the Jonah Bible story with a question in the Discussion section.

Q. What book was the most difficult for you to write? The easiest for you to write? Why?

A. The most difficult to write is a Young Adult book – Best Friends Forever, A Story of Ruth. It required a lot of research into the customs of the period. However the story gave me a chance to engage young readers by asking questions pertaining to friendship.

The easiest was Tyrone The Terrible. I loved writing the back and forth dialogue between the characters.

Q. Do you have aspirations of your book being turned into a film or TV series?

A. Definitely. I think Tyrone is perfectly suited to be an animated movie. The characters have such great personalities. And the plot is a current theme. Already in the works for Tyrone is an Audio version.

More from Jan

How I first met Tyrone was an interesting adventure in itself. One day, a curious little chameleon climbed up on a stone, and watched me as I went for my afternoon swim. Day after day his little head popped up every time I entered the pool. Then he scrambled up onto his rock to watch me swim. Over the course of the summer I saw this skinny fellow gradually mature into quite an impressive chameleon. Sometime during the summer he gained the name Tyrone, and the story was born. Much of the action in Tyrone The Terrible takes place around Gnarly Tree, located along the bayou. While the setting of the story is fiction, the tree is not. My Gnarly tree is a venerable old Banyan, located along the pathway near my home. These days I give it a nod whenever I pass by. I loved writing the Tyrone characters, and the southern feel of the dialogue. It’s a story you just have to read out loud, and have fun with.

Blog Stops

For Him and My Family, June 1

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, June 2

Vicky Sluiter, June 3 (Author Interview)

Older & Smarter?, June 4

Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions, June 5

Texas Book-aholic, June 6

Simple Harvest Reads, June 7 (Author Interview)

Library Lady’s Kid Lit, June 8

deb’s Book Review, June 9

Inklings and notions, June 10

My Devotional Thoughts, June 11 (Author Interview)

Mary Hake, June 12

Splashes of Joy, June 13

Artistic Nobody, June 14 (Guest Review from Donna Cline)

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Jan is giving away the grand prize package of a $25 Amazon Gift Certificate and a signed copy of Tyrone The Terrible!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/fc14/tyrone-the-terrible-celebration-tour-giveaway

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