fuonlyknew

Do you have another profession besides writing?

Drawing and playing on the piano or both professions that I incorporate with my stories. I make illustrations for my books and come up with themes on the piano to put into a book trailer.

How long have you been writing?

Third grade was when I decided to be an author, and I’ve been making up stories ever since.

Do you ever get writer’s block? What helps you overcome it?

I only get writer’s block when I doubt myself. When doubt creeps in it stifles creativity and can leave one totally at a loss about what you set out to create. It is vital that one realizes that writer’s block is a self-induced mental barrier that only you can demolish. My personal method is to take a break and do something fun to get my creative juices flowing again. I usually listen to music, draw, or play on the piano to help me chase away that dastard little demon known as doubt.

Do you snack while writing? Favorite snack?

Occasionally, I’ll snack while writing because I’m so immersed in what I’m writing that I can’t leave my desk. My favorite snack foods are chips, fruit, and string cheese…and popcorn (my dad makes the best popcorn).

If you were stuck on a deserted island, which three books would you want with you?

I remember a couple of my friends and I discussing this once, since we’re all bookworms. I can confidently say that it would be one of the Harry Potter books, maybe the third one, Little Women, and Anne of Green Gables.

The Three Little Horses and the Big Bully Donkey (Book 1)

The author put her own spin on the tale of The Three Little Pigs.

Her characters are three horses, brothers, who’ve just lost their home to a fire.

Each one sets out to build their own home. One takes the lazy way, one takes the impractical way, and one takes his time.

All of these houses might have worked accept for one thing, the big bully donkey.

I wish I could share with you the illustrations for this tale. They are so fun and full of little details. I found myself taking a lot of time on each page, looking for little things, like a bird here, a frog there. Such a delight.

Max, Lax, and Jack, the three horses, are so different. I could see what was coming for each one and the author had me giggling as the donkey came kicking on their doors.

Any child would love these brothers and pour over the illustrations, taking away some valuable lessons, and smiling all the way home.

5 Stars

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Book Description

A tale (based on the “Three Little Pigs”) about three little horse brothers who suddenly lose their house that is destroyed by a fire. The young horses are totally alone and thrust into the reality of having to depend on themselves and each other against a bully donkey, who wanders the forest wrecking homes and bullying the other animals. This warm-hearted tale promotes strong values and has a fun premise. Written and humorously illustrated in vivid color throughout by Liana-Melissa Allen, the story is a proven winner for reading aloud to children.

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I very much enjoyed the first book in this series so I knew I was in for more fun adventures with Max, Lax, and Jack, and their new friend, Donkey.

The friends are excited. it’s a perfect day for kite flying and each has made their own, hoping theirs would be the one to fly the farthest.

Poor Donkey’s kite won’t fly and he asks for help from his new friends. But, one each one is too busy to listen to him.

Donkey wanders down to the lake, sad and frustrated. Some mean Canadian geese poke fun at him,  putting him on the receiving end of bullying. Then, with a swoosh and a huge splash Gusty, the big white goose, crashes the bully party and shoos away the mean geese.

He listens to Donkey, and together they build a new kite. It’s a good one and everything is fine, until it isn’t.

This is another fun adventure in Horse Valley. I enjoyed visiting with the characters again and meeting some new ones.

Children will learn the true value of friendship and not giving up. There were more wonderful illustrations that kept me lingering, looking for all the hidden gems secreted on each page.

With such fun, colorful characters and lessons to be learned, children will delight in this new adventure and be begging for more.

 5 Stars

****

Liana-Melissa Allen is a young author and illustrator of children’s books and books for youth. She has written, illustrated and published six books. Her most recent one is the colorfully illustrated children’s book “Donkey’s Kite”, the second book of “A Horse Valley Adventure” series. The first was “The Three Little Horses and the Big Bully Donkey”. The lovable cartoon characters, Max, Lax, Jack and Donkey makes them a favorite of first and second grade students. She is now working on her third book of “A Horse Valley Adventure”.

The magical world of fantasy has inspired Liana’s imagination since as long as she can remember. Part of this was fueled by her dad reading aloud to her every day when she was younger. As a result, reading is her primary passion along with music. These two passions feed her imagination into stories and drawings, which she joyously sketches out into storyboards for a potential book.

Liana-Melissa is also a dedicated classical/jazz pianist, and mostly enjoys older music, especially from the big band era and the 1940’s, 50’s and 60’s. While playing the piano, her imagination often leads to a great amount of improvising. Frequently, Liana will improvise a theme for one of the stories she is writing. Capturing this improvised music became a priority, which ultimately resulted in theme music for “A Horse Valley Adventure”. The “Horse Valley” theme will be used for a short animated video featuring her Horse Valley characters.

Liana-Melissa loves to hear from her young readers. Please visit her website at www.lmabooks.com for more information, and to contact her by email. Visit her on Facebook too.