It’s always an honor to be recognized for your work.  I don’t think anyone could deny that statement and recognition from your peers is always a grand experience.  With Danny the Dragon receiving non-stop recognition since its release, I keep thinking it can’t get better.  A few months ago, I received confirmation that my eBook about my other undeniable cause Celiac Disease and Gluten-Free living Gluten and Your Aging Body had not only been nominated, but won a Silver Medal for eBooks in the Florida Publisher’s Association’s President’s Book Awards.

The Florida Publisher’s Association is a collection of publishers, self-publishers, authors, publishing industry friends and publishing vendors from Florida founded in 1983 by Betty Wright with the intent of giving Florida’s growing group of book publishers an opportunity for education and networking.  In 2005, then-President of the group Dinah Arnette decided to start recognizing the authors and publishers of the group in honor of their 25^th anniversary, establishing the FPA President’s Book Awards.  The tradition continued and in 2011 they decided to open the competition up to the public for the first time.

I cannot express fully how honored I am to be a part of this incredible group and to be featured among the other winners.  To have two books recognized for excellence by my peers in the publishing and writing industry is the greatest honor I could ever ask for.

Thank you, FPA and thank you colleagues.  It truly is a great honor.

Tina

www.GlutenFreeHelp.info

It’s been such a pleasure being able to tour around the country, and even the world, on my Danny the Dragon Book Tours. As a result of our travels, you never know in what neck of the woods Danny and I are going to be mentioned in next! What a pleasure it was discover our names in the Baytown Sun of Houston,Texas!

Juvenile book critic JoAnn Martin gave Danny the Dragon Meets Jimmy a rave review! It was a delight to read, as she summarized in fun detail the story without giving it a way. My favorite parts of the review:

“Young readers will be impressed with the books message of politeness and helpfulness and such acceptance of strangely different appearances and personalities.” (I love it when readers walk away with this message!) and “Hopefully, there will be a sequel.” (Of course! There are many more adventures in story for Danny the Dragon and his traveling companion, Skipper!)

Tina Turbin

 It’s always so exciting when Danny and I are mentioned in the papers! During my Danny the Dragon East Coast Book Tour, we really made waves as reviews and news of Danny the Dragon Meets Jimmy seemed to pop up everywhere. I just had to share one of the articles with you that is particularly special to me!

The Dunedin Beacon of Tampa Bay not only talked about Danny the Dragon but discussed one of the causes I’m highly passionate about–deaf children’s literacy–and my DVD developed on behalf of this cause. I will never forget that fateful day of my book tour when I visited a school for the deaf and read them my book with the help of a sign language interpreter. The author of the article writes: “…she was alarmed to learn that a high percentage of deaf high school students graduate at the 4th grade reading level…This opened up her eyes to the need for materials to assist their education and raise awareness to these facts. Turbin personally produced the DVD as a result.” And what a success the DVD has been! Parents and children love it, and it’s the recipient of the Creative Child Magazine Media of the Year Award! Profits are being donated to my favorite literacy and other worthy causes.

Thanks so much to the Dunedin Beacon for mentioning Danny and me, and most importantly, for bringing awareness to this important cause!!!

Tina Turbin

Danny is indeed a very well-traveled dragon!!! He has participated in book fairs and conferences all around the world, and now he can add Portsmouth, Virginia to the list of places he’s visited: Danny the Dragon was featured in the Virginia Library Association’s Annual Conference where he hobnobbed with a fine group of librarians and some of the top publishers in the industry!

As a literacy advocate, I love to get behind the cause of libraries, and this is especially true when it comes to the Virginia Library Association. The people who make up this group are passionate about promoting literacy and, boy, do they know how to put on a conference!

It was an honor to have the first book of my illustrated book kids book series, Danny the Dragon Meets Jimmy, be a part of THE biggest gathering of libraries in the state of Virginia ALL YEAR!

Stay tuned to more news on where you can find Danny and me!

Tina Turbin

As you can imagine, as a children’s author, I do a lot of reading and love to pass on to Danny the Dragon fans my children’s literature recommendations.

You’ve probably heard me talking about the illustrated kids book by Kevin and Laura Sanchez, Nikki’s Hurricane Adventure, and the amazing true story behind it. If not, here’s a refresher: Nikki the cat was separated from her family in 2008 during an evacuation for Hurricane Gustav 85 miles from home, and she found her way back 4 months later! Her owners Kevin and Laura later wrote down their imagined adventures of Nikki the Cat, and Nikki’s Hurricane Adventure was born! What’s more, half of the profits of the book are being donated to cancer research.

I published a review of this delightful book and was pleased to find that Kevin and Laura Sanchez have featured it on their website, NikkisHurricaneAdventure.com. It’s so nice that my words of praise mean so much that they’ve been placed directly on their home page. Check it out!

You can read more about the book and Nikki’s story here or at NikkisHurricaneAdventure.com. Little ones will love to hear about it, trust me!

Tina Turbin

www.DannytheDragon.com

Danny the Dragon is quite the worldly traveller–he’s made the news in Iran!  www.ibna.ir, the Iran Book News Agency, has reported that I took first place for Best Illustrations in the Five Star Publication Purple Dragonfly Awards for my illustrations  by Aija Jasuna.

Here’s an excerpt:“Turbin’s illustrations were enthusiastically praised by the judges who praised them as ‘outstanding.’ They went on to say, ‘Not only are the illustrations charming and expertly rendered, the paintings practically leap off the page! Rather than static or two-dimensional, they are full-bodied, full of movement and motion. They speak well to the story and would engage the imagination of old and young alike. An excellent job!’

“Turbin searched far and wide with uncompromising standards for an illustrator who could bring her vision of Danny the Dragon to life, connecting with Aija in Latvia, Europe. ‘It’s so gratifying to see the book and illustrations have resonated so deeply with another judging panel as they have with our public. It really goes to show that the author and illustrator are quite a team in picture books.’”

You can read the full article here: http://www.ibna.ir/vdcba8b8wrhb8zp.4eur.txt

What an unexpected pleasure it was to discover this!

Tina Turbin

www.DannytheDragon.com

 Danny the Dragon fans are the best! Hearing from them lights up my day like nothing else!

Recently a family purchased the Danny the Dragon set (the Danny the Dragon Meets Jimmy softcover book and Danny the Dragon DREAMS CD). The mother, Chantelle, wrote in to tell me how happy her son Rohan was with his set, and she even sent me PICTURES!

 “We have one VERY EXCITED little boy!! ” Chantelle wrote, “He absolutely loved waking up to a package on Saturday morning.”

The Danny the Dragon set that Rohan is posing with in these pictures is available for sale here. The set is the recipient of the Creative Child Magazine Media of the Year Award!

I always love to hear from my fans, especially when they send in fun things like pictures and drawings. I can’t wait to hear from you!

Tina Turbin

www.DannytheDragon.com

    As you can imagine, as a children’s author, I do a lot of reading and love to pass on to Danny the Dragon fans my children’s literature recommendations.

    You’ve probably heard me talking about the illustrated kids book by Kevin and Laura Sanchez, Nikki’s Hurricane Adventure, and the amazing true story behind it. If not, here’s a refresher: Nikki the cat was separated from her family in 2008 during an evacuation for Hurricane Gustav 85 miles from home, and she found her way back 4 months later! Her owners Kevin and Laura later wrote down their imagined adventures of Nikki the Cat, and Nikki’s Hurricane Adventure was born! What’s more, half of the profits of the book are being donated to cancer research.

    I published a review of this delightful book and was pleased to find that Kevin and Laura Sanchez have featured it on their website, NikkisHurricaneAdventure.com. It’s so nice that my words of praise mean so much that they’ve been placed directly on their home page. Check it out!

    You can read more about the book and Nikki’s story here or at NikkisHurricaneAdventure.com. Little ones will love to hear about it, trust me!

Tina Turbin

www.DannytheDragon.com

Danny the Dragon is quite the worldly traveller–he’s made the news in Iran!

www.ibna.ir, the Iran Book News Agency, has reported that I took first place for Best Illustrations in the Five Star Publication Purple Dragonfly Awards for my illustrations  by Aija Jasuna.

Here’s an excerpt:

“Turbin’s illustrations were enthusiastically praised by the judges who praised them as ‘outstanding.’ They went on to say, ‘Not only are the illustrations charming and expertly rendered, the paintings practically leap off the page! Rather than static or two-dimensional, they are full-bodied, full of movement and motion. They speak well to the story and would engage the imagination of old and young alike. An excellent job!’

“Turbin searched far and wide with uncompromising standards for an illustrator who could bring her vision of Danny the Dragon to life, connecting with Aija in Latvia, Europe. ‘It’s so gratifying to see the book and illustrations have resonated so deeply with another judging panel as they have with our public. It really goes to show that the author and illustrator are quite a team in picture books.’”

You can read the full article here: http://www.ibna.ir/vdcba8b8wrhb8zp.4eur.txt

What an unexpected pleasure it was to discover this!

Tina Turbin

www.DannytheDragon.com

As early as Virginia Woolf’s A Room of One’s Own, people have been talking about the importance of having a place of your own to write. People often ask me, “What does your writing space look like?” I love to close myself up in my studio, tucked away in a quiet part of my house. From my writing desk is a beautiful view through my French doors behind our home of a Monet-like setting—calm lake water, shady trees, and colorful flowers. It’s an ideal setting for sure, but you know what? With my busy schedule I’m hardly home, so I have to create my own writing spaces wherever I go in hotel rooms and vacation rental properties.

When I’m on a book tour, visiting schools, libraries, and hospitals, I travel far and wide. Perhaps I’ll be staying just for the night, maybe even a few weeks. It’s a good thing I have bicoastal residences—one in Los Angeles and another in Florida—but even then I often find myself on the go.

In the end I’ve found that a writing space is important, but at the same time all you really need to have are the right tools and a place where you won’t easily be distracted. If it’s hard to find a whole room just for your writing, a corner of the room or just a desk will do the job just fine. Laptop, paper, pens, and paper on a desk top–that’s all I need! I turn off my cell phone and tell everyone, “I’m writing! Do not disturb!”

All right, you aspiring writers out there: What does your writing space look like?

Tina Turbin

www.DannytheDragon.com