Cole Alpaugh

I was tagged by Cole Alpaugh in the Meet My Character Blog Tour. I met Cole through our mutual friend and his writing partner, Regan Leigh. Regan was helping Cole get the word out about his first book, The Bear In a Muddy Tutu and asked whether I’d consider reading it to review. How could I resist such a title??? And once I read the book, I instantly became a fan of Cole and his writing. If you haven’t heard of Cole and his work, definitely check him out.

Baby Golden Lion Tamarin

At the beginning of this year, Italia Gandolfo contacted me and asked me to take a look at a project she had. To date, all my writing work had been in the Young Adult and Middle Grade age categories, but this was a chapter book, intended for 5-8 year olds. While not my normal area for writing, I’m always willing to take on new things as a writer and stretch myself, and I liked the concept, so then co-authored the chapter book with Luke Matthews. And I’d like for you to meet the main character from the book. So let’s get down to the questions:

1. What is the name of your character? Is he fictional or a historic person?
Timmy Hawkins is an eight-year-old fictional boy. By the way, the cute little critter pictured is Rin, a Golden Lion Tamarin, Timmy’s best friend in the WHOLE world.
2. When and where is the story set?
• The story is set in current day, small town America. Timmy lives in a house where there is an empty barn and a lake not too far from home where he can go fishing.
3. What should we know about him?
• Timmy is a smart eight-year-old with a sweet nature trying to cope with a recent move to a new town. He’s shy and has been having trouble making new friends at his new school.
4. What is the main conflict? What messes up his life?
• For Timmy, it’s not a what that messes up his life, it’s a who. Zeke McGee. Zeke is the third-grade bully who terrorizes Timmy every day. No one else will befriend Timmy because they are afraid of drawing Zeke’s attention. No one wants to be bullied.
5. What is the personal goal of the character?
• Timmy’s goal is to be able to go to school without fear of being bullied. And if he made a friend or two in the process, that’d be cool, too.
6. Is there a working title for this novel, and can we read more about it? When can we expect the book to be published?
• The title of the book is Timmy and the Golden Lion Tamarin and it will be coming out from True North Publishing in spring of 2015. To keep up with release and other information, you can subscribe to my newsletter or check out my Facebook Page.

Keep up with more characters as the Meet My Character blog tour continues on 8/25/14. I have tagged the following authors.

Elizabeth Isaacs Author of The Kailmeyra Chronicles Series elizabethisaacs.com	J. S. d’Raven Author of The Envoy’s Interlude www.jsdraven.com	Monica Enderle Pierce Author of Girl Under Glass and Famine stalkingfiction.com