He started his online career by participating in an online forum – MyLot. His questions were funny and witty, and his answers were informative and concise.
that made me realize he had more to offer. He moved on to contribute to Helium.com , a writing site, with his varied articles like poems, songs , and health topics. Then he published his first poem online through Gewgaw Writings with – “A Zany Cinquain from Zorlone.”
Dr. Lorenzo Bernardino
The embers of his passion for writing was gradually turning into a conflagration that was difficult to extinguish , prompting him to create his firs blog at blogspot.com – Zorlone.
Slowly his star started to shine. He was a fast learner and in no time at all, he had learned the intricate ways of blogging to go on and win several contests with his award Reader’s Choice Award and Best Storyteller for his story My blog reconnected me to my lost son.
Readers began to troop to his blog. This post had more or less 90 comments.
He had also his seconds of fame in the boob tube by being the resident Doctor for Channel 2’s primetime TV show -PBB -PINOY BIG BROTHER
He continues to be an inspiration to others, a good doctor, a prolific poet, an uber blogger and a wonderful friend- that’s Dr. Lorenzo Bernardino, for you AND Doc Zorlone to his online friends.
Rank 4 - Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs for 2009- Courtesy of Ada Lajara
He now has to turn a new chapter in his book of life. Doc Zorlone, we pray for your success , well being and happiness.
We will miss you for sure, but we know, this chapter has to be written!
Paint the sky with your poetry in your soon to be new IP address. lol.
Title of Book: A Puppy, Not a Guppy
Author:Holly Jahangiri Illustrator:Ryan Shaw Genre: Children’s Picture Book
“The message here is that you can choose to be miserable, or you can be resourceful and choose to find something to be happy about. It’s also about treating people (and animals) the way you hope they’ll turn out – not necessarily the way you expect them to turn out.”
These are the thoughts of the author herself – Holly Jahangiri.
Today it’s my utmost pleasure to host this virtual book tour. I’m rolling the red carpet for the children’s book :A Puppy, Not a Guppy!
About the Author
The Author
Holly Janhangiri ‘s propensity for writing has started at a very early age which was prompted by her passion for reading. She was into Edgar Allan Poe even before girls of her age came to know about the famous author. She was a precocious child as evidenced by her entering college, in a special class in French , at age 12.
In college, she attended Theater Arts and switched to Rhetoric & Writing. Consequently, she was able to pursue law but opted to work as a computer specialist later, and then eventually as a technical writer. It was in this field that she was able to fulfill her dream of being a “novelist.”
There are two other good books to her name: Trockle was her first children’s picture book released in April 2008 and Hidden Lies and Other Stories – a collection of interesting short stories.
The Book: “A Puppy, Not a Guppy”
Irma, the heroine of the story is a girl who wanted to have a puppy for a pet. Her parents though were opposed to her plans. How Irma ended up with the guppies gives an interesting plot that you should read in this book.
This book was intended for children by the author. After reading it though, I realized it’s a good read for adults as well. If you have come across The Little Prince by Antoine Saint de Exupery where the famous quotation : “It is only with the heart that one can see rightly,” and Jonathan Livingstone Seagull by Richard Bach focusing on “doing the impossible”, then this book – A Puppy, Not a Guppy - has encompassed both of the themes of the two books mentioned, and more.
a book you should own
My two cents’ worth
I have concentrated on 4 categories to describe my personal thoughts about the book.
1. Interest
Children’s books should be presented in simple but titillating sentences that would perk up the interest of the child to go on reading. The habit of reading should be cultivated in children; allowing them to have visually attractive books could motivate them to read more.
The book’s opening lines: “We can’t have a puppy, and that’s final,” said Irma’s mother;’ is a powerful, action sentence that successfully kindles the curiosity of the reader on how the problem would be resolved. Parents should cultivate in children the passion for reading for various beneficial reasons, and this book could serve this purpose.
2. Usefulness
It has quite a number of lessons, not only for children, but also for adults. It demonstrates the values of “Positive Reinforcement’ and “shaping”, among all the other lessons that a child could learn. Both parent and child could read the book and go through the wonderful experience together. This activity would definitely strengthen the bond between parent and child.
3. Layout/illustrations
The perfect team-up of author and illustrator -Holly Jahangiri and Ryan Shaw
- harnessed the book’s attractive, visual presentation. Ryan Shaw – who works for Three Bros Studios – stated that being an illustrator for children’s books has been his dream. The dynamic duo had come up with a notable work of art , in this book.
4. Over-all Impression:
A Puppy, Not a Guppy, for all the reasons I mentioned above , should be a part of every family’s library collection. The most important rationale is the priceless life’s lessons that children could learn from it.
As a bonus, the author was gracious enough to answer my questions:
1. Considering your extensive experience in writing, how come you’ve written children’s books instead of adult books? Adult books like – books on writing, SEO, marketing, fiction or adult novels.
“I write grown up non-fiction daily, or nearly so. I write technical documentation for a living, and I have written and published non-fiction articles for years. Before I wrote Trockle’, most of my fiction was aimed at an adult or teen audience – you can find some of it on the Web, but very little of it has been published,” she enthused.
“I’m really terrible when it comes to submitting my work to a publisher. I tend to share it with my children, maybe with a few friends, then I stick it on a disk or CD and shove that into the back of a drawer and forget about it.
Writing is the easy part – the fun part. I am not cut out to be a salesman, though I’m getting a little better at it. Anyway, I’ve published self published two books of my own, and two anthologies with Vivian Gilbert Zabel, who later established 4RV Publishing and asked if she could publish Trockle and A Puppy, Not a Guppy. She’s one of the few people I’d ever shown those stories to, and she knows about my awful habit of sticking things in the back of a drawer. You might say she rescued Trockle and A Puppy, Not a Guppy from obscurity.”
2. What would be one major identifying factor between your two books, Trockle and A Puppy, Not a Guppy?
“Well, Trockle is pure fantasy, but it has a purpose. At some point, most children develop a fear of “things that go bump in the night.” My son was no exception. I was trying to dispel his fears, when Trockle popped up and insisted on telling HIS side of the story. He’s the monster under the bed – and as it turns out, he’s just as afraid of the big old smelly boy who lives OVER the bed. Trockle is a story that can be read by a parent or older sibling to a child; it’s also a good early reader. The book came about, really, because my son refused to sleep or let me turn the light off – so I figured he might as well be practicing his newly emergent reading skills.”
A Puppy, Not a Guppy deals with a little girl’s very real disappointment when mom and dad say “no” to a puppy. She’s really got her heart set on it, but they think a dog will be too much trouble and too destructive. The inspiration for this one, of course, was my daughter. To be perfectly honest, Katie was never really satisfied with the fish. Or the roly-poly pill bug. Or the green anole. But her Dad was firmly opposed to having a dog or cat in the house, so she tried to find things to like about them. I really understood Irma’s bitter disappointment, and her grudging acceptance of the guppies. This is an easy reader – a short chapter book – and it’s written for a slightly older audience than Trockle was.
“Of course I hope everyone will read Trockle and A Puppy, Not a Guppy, for themselves – especially if they have young children to share them with. I think they’ll enjoy the stories and be a little surprised by them both.”
THE ULTIMATE BONUS
Here are Holly Jahangiri and Ryan Shaw personally greeting everyone.
Thanks, Holly and Ryan.
Buy your copy now, and see for yourself what the book has to offer.
If you have questions for the author, feel free to ask them in the comment section, and earn a chance to win good prizes. (click here to learn more).
You could also, simply leave a comment, for a chance to win.
A contest for the book is up, for two – free copies. All you have to do is to accomplish the following:
Irma and her guppies.
Prizes (two will be awarded):
One autographed copy of A Puppy, Not a Guppy. RULES
To enter: Leave a comment at http://jahangiri.us/books containing verifiable evidence that you have completed one or more of the following activities:
3. A question for one of the characters in Trockle or A Puppy, Not a Guppy
4. A question for the author, Holly Jahangiri
5. Answer to the question: What kind of pet do you like best, and why?
6. Either of the following:
* Blog about A Puppy, Not a Guppy (be sure to include, in your own blog post, a link back to http://jahangiri.us/books and a link to this blog; or
* If you already own a copy of Trockle or A Puppy, Not a Guppy, you may complete this activity by posting a new review of either the book on BarnesandNoble.com or Amazon.com. (NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Previously posted book reviews are not eligible as contest entries in this contest.)
Each activity equals one (1) entry, and you may do each activity once for a possible maximum of six (6) entries per valid email address. Your comment must be entered using a valid email address so that you can be contacted for mailing info if you win! Entries that do not have a valid email address will be considered null and void.
DURATION
Contest begins at 12:01 AM on December 9, 2009 and ends at 11:59 PM on December 15, 2009. Winners will be drawn on December 16, 2009.
ELIGIBILITY
Contest is open to anyone age 13 or older. Tour hosts are eligible to enter. WINNERS
Two (2) winners will be randomly chosen (numbered in the order in which they are received, with the winning number chosen at http://www.random.org/ ) from all qualifying entries, and will be required to provide a physical mailing address in order to collect a prize (one free book). Only one entrant per household is eligible to win. If a second entrant from a single household is chosen, another name will be drawn until all prizes are awarded.
Contest void where prohibited by law.
Additional Winners:
1. $10 (thru paypal) would be awarded to one (1) reader who would ask the author – Holly Jahangiri- the most interesting QUESTION on December 15, 2009 (tomorrow).
2. One (1) free book – “Inspirational Stories from Bloggers from All Over the World” to the most engaging COMMENT on the book tour post on December 15, 2009.
Requirement:
A link back to this blog: http://www.jenaisleonline.com Jena Isle’s Random Thoughts
Good luck for tomorrow.
BOOK TOUR STOPS
I would like also to acknowledge the following Book Tour stops of “A Puppy, Not a Guppy”
The Contest begins on December 9, but you’ll just have to wait until December 8 to find out the details. I’ll be posting them early, so you’ll have plenty of time to enter. (The deadline is the last day of the tour – December 15 – with winners to be announced during my Tour Wrap-up on December 16.)
Do women get attracted (more) to men with a “BAD BOY” image?
