View the blog
Rosita Valdez and the Giant Sea Turtle
at
www.rositavaldezbook.com
Come on an adventure with eight year old Rosie and her friends as she meets a giant sea turtle in a cove of the Pacific Ocean. Watch and learn with Rosie as she struggles with truthfulness and as she jumps into action when crisis comes to the cove.
View the blog
Biblical Character Lessons for Children
at
www.kidbiblelessons.com
Weekly Biblical lessons in a fun story format. These topical lessons can be used to help children grow in their faith. A great resource for personal devotions, family Bible study, and church sunday school lessons.
.
Aegeus and the Special Collar
Aegeus wears his collar
with pride. He got his special collar
years ago from a special person. At that time, Aegeus was young and living with
his family. He has a younger brother and sister and a mother and father. Aegeus is special
because he is the only pegacorn in his family. His family is all unicorns. He is
the only one with wings. His wings were a shock to his family because a pegacorn
is rare. He felt self-conscious with them until something happened to make him
proud to have them.
His father, Cole, is a
strong unicorn. He is horse and companion to a White Knight named Randall, whose name means "shield." Sir Randall was a knight in the Royal Guard for the
kingdom of Falkner. Randall was a hero and champion. He won many battles and killed
a dragon or two by that time. He got to this honor of knighthood because he was
strong and brave, and also his unicorn was fearless and surefooted. They worked
together as one. 
Cole is proud of his son Aegeus
because he is a pegacorn and rare. Cole spent many hours training Aegeus, but
he could not train him in flight. There was no other pegacorn around to help
him learn to fly with confidence and speed. Cole could only teach him the fine
art of carrying a rider with dignity and grace. He taught him what a horse
needs to do if ever he was in battle. Also, he taught him how to handle himself
in the court of the kingdom.
One day, Cole road
swiftly home to let his family know he would be gone for a while. A terrible thing
had happened. The Princess Adela, pronounced Ah-DELL-Ah and meaning Noble, had been
abducted or taken. She had been in the forest near the castle when a band of
men rode in fast and captured her. Cole said to Aegeus, “Son, I wish you were ready. We could use you on this rescue.”
Aegeus lowered his head, saddened that he was letting his father and the king down. He vowed to himself
he would not stop until he was an accomplished flyer. He hated it that he was
not ready to fly into action.
As soon as his father
left, Aegeus flapped his wings as hard as he could and took off in the air. He
worked on his turns, swooping, landing, and takeoffs. For three days he worked
and only stopped to eat and sleep for a few hours. He was something to watch!
His timing was getting perfect, and he looked smooth in flight.
When the band of bad
men got to the cave, they let the princess rest and eat. The terrible man
Kimball, pronounced KIM-Bull and meaning "war leader," said to Princess Adela, “Well my lady, you
have a choice. Marry me, or I will unleash my dragon on you and your precious kingdom.”
Adela stiffened and
said, “No! I will never marry you! Kill me if you must!”“Not afraid? Maybe a little hunger will make you change your mind. Better yet, the feel of my dragon’s breath on your neck will have you begging for marriage,” sneered Kimball. Kimball only wanted to frighten her into compliance. She was no good to him dead.
Adela knew the only
reason he wanted to marry her was to take over the kingdom. Her father knew
this and had forbidden the marriage. Anyway, she had given her heart away to the
young Prince of Newell long ago. With his image burned in her mind and heart, she knew could only marry her secret, yet true love. She knew he would come for her
hand soon, as they were now old enough for marriage. Adela would never marry
out of duty.
Meanwhile, Cole and the White Knight Randall, along with the Royal Guard, had tracked the band of men who had the princess. They had surrounded the camp and were waiting for the signal from
Randall to attack. Randall was watching and waiting for the perfect time for
the surprise attack. The timing seemed right, so the Royal Guard attacked from
all sides. It was soon a terrible battle. The Royal Guard was not as large as
the band of men. The Royal Guard was fighting out of duty to the king and love
for their princess.Adela, tied to a tree, helplessly watched it all unfold. She was watching the fierce fight close to her and didn’t notice Kimball escape to the back of the cave. There, he loosed his ferocious dragon.
The dragon came out and
started grabbing men by his huge jaws and throwing them into the air. Some landed
in trees, and some crumpled on the ground. Some he used like a bowling ball, knocking other warriors down. The dragon was hurting as many as he could and he
didn’t care whose side they were on. It was so horrible, Adela could not watch.
All of a sudden there
was a commotion. She opened her eyes to see Aegeus flying around the dragon
distracting him. The dragon lunged at Aegeus but he pivoted out of the way and
swooped at the dragon, landing a blow to its head. Randall and his men increased
the fight. Aegeus swooped and soared here and there. The dragon could not get a
hold of him. Aegeus kept the dragon busy as Randall, on Cole’s back, raced up and
threw his javelin into the dragon’s chest, killing him. The dragon fell and landed on
Kimball and five of his men. 
A great cheer rose up
from Randall’s men. Randall jumped off Cole and raced to untie the princess
Adela. Adela asked him, “Who is that wonderful pegacorn?”
Randall proudly said, “He
is my unicorn Cole’s son, Aegeus.”Aegeus landed beside his father. Cole turned and nuzzled him. “I am so proud of you, my flying son!”
A few days later, the king
had a great ceremony where Princess Adela gave Aegeus his reward for saving her
and the kingdom. Aegeus bowed to her as she placed a handsome collar over his
head then buckled it into place.
As he stood, the people cheered. With a mighty
flap of his wings, he rose to fly above the crowd proudly displaying the special
collar Princess Adela gave him. He has never to this day taken it off and never
will.
Article for WestBow Press
WestBow contacted me to write an article about keeping a blog. You can go to the link or read it here in its entirety.
http://blog.westbowpress.com/5-tips-for-keeping-an-author-blog/
5 Tips for Keeping an Author Blog
When I published my first book, one of the things that most frightened me was doing my own marketing. I discovered the best way to market my book was through social media, and that included a blog. There are many kinds of blogs, from how-to’s to devotionals. Whatever your interest is, there is a blog for you.
5 Tips for Keeping Your Blog Alive and Generating Hits
1.) Post often. For you it may be daily, biweekly, weekly or monthly. It is best to post at least once every week. This will bring your audience to your blog regularly, which will keep your name alive and may even cause you to come up in conversation. Sometimes, just writing a sentence or two, or posing a question for readers to comment on will help you to post more often. Don’t forget to reply to any commenting, even if they are not flattering or are negative.
2.) Write exciting posts. While your posts may range from informative to a simple, light story, you need to make the blog fun to read and keep your readers’ attention. Asking you audience questions can help with this. Keeping their interest and having them ask for more is imperative. Don’t be afraid to add a human element by mentioning things about yourself. Have a critical eye and read your posts periodically to see if your blog is on target and not getting bogged down. One of my blogs is for children, so I have an 8-year-old read it to see if the verbiage is fine, and to see if she understands it and is entertained by it. Have someone from your blog’s audience read it and provide you with honest feedback.
3.) Include pictures and a welcoming background. Pictures catch the eye and people are most likely to read your blog if there is a picture attached. It is also important to make sure your blog as a whole is easy on the eyes – choose lighter to mid-dark backgrounds with text colors that are easy to read. Also, you don’t want to clutter up your blog because if it is too busy readers’ eyes cannot take it all in.
4.) Make your blog easy to maneuver. In other words, make it user-friendly. People don’t want to work hard at finding their way around your blog. List the posts and articles that are on your blog; older posts should be easily accessible. It helps if your blog host has set up the template to include a sidebar.
5.) Use social media. Whenever you write a blog post, embed the link in social media posts on sites such as Twitter, Facebook and Google+. You should post from your social media accounts every day, or at least every other day. You can use sites that help you manage your postings so you can schedule your posts in advance so that if you have a busy week of writing and can’t do social media every day, you have already taken care of it. On Facebook and Twitter, share and retweet other people’s posts and tweets. This will engage them and make them more likely to share and retweet your posts, including the links to your blog. When they do, always “like” or tweet a thank you each time. This helps get your name out there, and getting your name out there is very important to building and keeping your blog. Remember to include relevant hashtags in your tweets so more hits will come your way.
Before I started my blog, I perused several different blogs looking for things I liked and things I didn’t. This helped me to tailor my blog accordingly. I currently host three blogs, two Facebook pages, my regular Facebook account, Google+ and a Twitter account. I have learned things that work well, and things that don’t work so well. Every author is different – make sure that you are doing what you are comfortable with, and what is right for you and your book. God bless you in your endeavor.
Robin Densmore Fuson is the author of Rosita Valdez and the Giant Sea Turtle. She is married, mother of three and grandmother of 11. She discovered her passion of storytelling as a teenager, and from then on she has served the Lord through teaching in the form of storytelling. A few years ago Robin put her passion of storytelling into the written word and self-published her first book in a series of children’s chapter book for grades 3-6 in 2012.
http://blog.westbowpress.com/5-tips-for-keeping-an-author-blog/
5 Tips for Keeping an Author Blog
When I published my first book, one of the things that most frightened me was doing my own marketing. I discovered the best way to market my book was through social media, and that included a blog. There are many kinds of blogs, from how-to’s to devotionals. Whatever your interest is, there is a blog for you.
5 Tips for Keeping Your Blog Alive and Generating Hits
1.) Post often. For you it may be daily, biweekly, weekly or monthly. It is best to post at least once every week. This will bring your audience to your blog regularly, which will keep your name alive and may even cause you to come up in conversation. Sometimes, just writing a sentence or two, or posing a question for readers to comment on will help you to post more often. Don’t forget to reply to any commenting, even if they are not flattering or are negative.
2.) Write exciting posts. While your posts may range from informative to a simple, light story, you need to make the blog fun to read and keep your readers’ attention. Asking you audience questions can help with this. Keeping their interest and having them ask for more is imperative. Don’t be afraid to add a human element by mentioning things about yourself. Have a critical eye and read your posts periodically to see if your blog is on target and not getting bogged down. One of my blogs is for children, so I have an 8-year-old read it to see if the verbiage is fine, and to see if she understands it and is entertained by it. Have someone from your blog’s audience read it and provide you with honest feedback.
3.) Include pictures and a welcoming background. Pictures catch the eye and people are most likely to read your blog if there is a picture attached. It is also important to make sure your blog as a whole is easy on the eyes – choose lighter to mid-dark backgrounds with text colors that are easy to read. Also, you don’t want to clutter up your blog because if it is too busy readers’ eyes cannot take it all in.
4.) Make your blog easy to maneuver. In other words, make it user-friendly. People don’t want to work hard at finding their way around your blog. List the posts and articles that are on your blog; older posts should be easily accessible. It helps if your blog host has set up the template to include a sidebar.
5.) Use social media. Whenever you write a blog post, embed the link in social media posts on sites such as Twitter, Facebook and Google+. You should post from your social media accounts every day, or at least every other day. You can use sites that help you manage your postings so you can schedule your posts in advance so that if you have a busy week of writing and can’t do social media every day, you have already taken care of it. On Facebook and Twitter, share and retweet other people’s posts and tweets. This will engage them and make them more likely to share and retweet your posts, including the links to your blog. When they do, always “like” or tweet a thank you each time. This helps get your name out there, and getting your name out there is very important to building and keeping your blog. Remember to include relevant hashtags in your tweets so more hits will come your way.
Before I started my blog, I perused several different blogs looking for things I liked and things I didn’t. This helped me to tailor my blog accordingly. I currently host three blogs, two Facebook pages, my regular Facebook account, Google+ and a Twitter account. I have learned things that work well, and things that don’t work so well. Every author is different – make sure that you are doing what you are comfortable with, and what is right for you and your book. God bless you in your endeavor.
Robin Densmore Fuson is the author of Rosita Valdez and the Giant Sea Turtle. She is married, mother of three and grandmother of 11. She discovered her passion of storytelling as a teenager, and from then on she has served the Lord through teaching in the form of storytelling. A few years ago Robin put her passion of storytelling into the written word and self-published her first book in a series of children’s chapter book for grades 3-6 in 2012.
Article for Today's Parent USA Magazine
You can find my article for Today's Parent USA Magazine here: http://www.todaysparentusa.com/site/2013/07/the-best-advice/#more-4719
OR read in full below.
The Best Advice
Advice is everywhere from magazines, radio, television, talk shows, internet, friends and family. We are bombarded with how to’s and which product is the best. You could try them all but you would soon be tired, broke, and frustrated. You would want to pull your hair out, but then you would have to find advice on how to grow it back again and what color and cut fits you best.
Sometimes the advice is based on what is popular in the culture at that moment. It may have been taboo to do something years before, but all of a sudden it is the thing to do. Just ask the one who is waving the “at the moment advice banner.”
I have received much advice through the years, some I wanted and some not so much. The best advice I have been given I give you now. It is communication. Communication is important between boss and employee, teacher and student, car repairman and car owner and so on. Communication is very important for any relationship. We have heard it said that it is vital to a marriage.
I don’t hear much about communication between parent and child. I feel it is also vital to communicate with your child. At first, the communication feels one sided. That new born communicates all the time in a demanding sort of way. You respond with many, “shhhh it’s okay.” Or, “are you hungry?” “Need a diaper?” If you are an affectionate parent, you kiss that sweet cheek many times, even though she is screaming that she needs food and a diaper at the same time. You are communicating even though she doesn’t understand the words. You are communicating that you are there and that you love that precious little one. You are letting her know she is safe.
When she starts talking, the communication between you changes. She is communicating to you through words. Sometimes you have to try to understand her language because it may not sound like any you have heard before. You may hear,” I wuv my wammy,” but she really said, “I love my lamby.” During this precious time, your communication needs to be direct because she is a literal thinker. Don’t promise anything you are not prepared to do, both in fun things and discipline.
As your child grows older, your communication becomes more connective. You can understand her and she understand you. She may not want to do what you want her to, but she understands you. This is when you need to communicate very well and say precisely what you mean. Not because she doesn’t understand you, but to make it clear what her action and your reaction will be. You may have to make sure she is listening by asking her to repeat it back to you. This way she knows and you know she heard you.
As she gets older, communication can become more of a challenge because hormones are raging. She may need one on one communication at all hours. You may come across your daughter not acting like your daughter. Something is troubling her, but when you ask her she says everything is fine. She needs you even though she acts like she doesn’t. I learned that sometimes the best time for her to open up is late at night when she is tired and curled up in her bed. You sneak in and sit by her and start talking about nothing in particular. Soon, words will start tumbling out of her mouth that was tightly shut just a few hours ago. Maybe your child needs to sit in front of a movie she has seen at least a bazillion times eating popcorn. The lights are out, and she feels safe. She’s pretending you can’t see her, but of course you can because you are her mom. You seize the moment and start a conversation. Then it happens, all her feelings and tears come tumbling out. It is okay, you can hand her a tissue, and she will pretend you didn’t because it’s dark. Soon, she will be in your arms and all will be right in the world.
You need to take the time with your child to read them and know when things are bad for them and talk it out. You start when they are little and continue into adulthood. Then you have grown your child into your best friend who will know it’s safe to tell you anything.
Robin Fuson is a storyteller who loves to teach. The book series Robin is writing are chapter books for grade school children. She has been teaching for over thirty years in various venues. Robin, along with her late husband, was the AWANA missionary for the Colorado Front Range. She had the great opportunity to go to Ukraine and Russia to teach teachers how to teach children by means of storytelling. Over the years, Robin has taught children and adults in small groups to groups of hundreds. Rosita Valdez and the Giant Sea Turtle is the first in a chapter book series for children. The underlining theme in the first book is telling the truth. Find out more on her web page: www.rositabook.com She also has a blog for children and young at heart at: www.kidbiblelessons.com Facebook.com/AuthorRobinDensmoreFuson and twitter: @RobinLFuson
OR read in full below.
The Best Advice
Advice is everywhere from magazines, radio, television, talk shows, internet, friends and family. We are bombarded with how to’s and which product is the best. You could try them all but you would soon be tired, broke, and frustrated. You would want to pull your hair out, but then you would have to find advice on how to grow it back again and what color and cut fits you best.
Sometimes the advice is based on what is popular in the culture at that moment. It may have been taboo to do something years before, but all of a sudden it is the thing to do. Just ask the one who is waving the “at the moment advice banner.”
I have received much advice through the years, some I wanted and some not so much. The best advice I have been given I give you now. It is communication. Communication is important between boss and employee, teacher and student, car repairman and car owner and so on. Communication is very important for any relationship. We have heard it said that it is vital to a marriage.
I don’t hear much about communication between parent and child. I feel it is also vital to communicate with your child. At first, the communication feels one sided. That new born communicates all the time in a demanding sort of way. You respond with many, “shhhh it’s okay.” Or, “are you hungry?” “Need a diaper?” If you are an affectionate parent, you kiss that sweet cheek many times, even though she is screaming that she needs food and a diaper at the same time. You are communicating even though she doesn’t understand the words. You are communicating that you are there and that you love that precious little one. You are letting her know she is safe.
When she starts talking, the communication between you changes. She is communicating to you through words. Sometimes you have to try to understand her language because it may not sound like any you have heard before. You may hear,” I wuv my wammy,” but she really said, “I love my lamby.” During this precious time, your communication needs to be direct because she is a literal thinker. Don’t promise anything you are not prepared to do, both in fun things and discipline.
As your child grows older, your communication becomes more connective. You can understand her and she understand you. She may not want to do what you want her to, but she understands you. This is when you need to communicate very well and say precisely what you mean. Not because she doesn’t understand you, but to make it clear what her action and your reaction will be. You may have to make sure she is listening by asking her to repeat it back to you. This way she knows and you know she heard you.
As she gets older, communication can become more of a challenge because hormones are raging. She may need one on one communication at all hours. You may come across your daughter not acting like your daughter. Something is troubling her, but when you ask her she says everything is fine. She needs you even though she acts like she doesn’t. I learned that sometimes the best time for her to open up is late at night when she is tired and curled up in her bed. You sneak in and sit by her and start talking about nothing in particular. Soon, words will start tumbling out of her mouth that was tightly shut just a few hours ago. Maybe your child needs to sit in front of a movie she has seen at least a bazillion times eating popcorn. The lights are out, and she feels safe. She’s pretending you can’t see her, but of course you can because you are her mom. You seize the moment and start a conversation. Then it happens, all her feelings and tears come tumbling out. It is okay, you can hand her a tissue, and she will pretend you didn’t because it’s dark. Soon, she will be in your arms and all will be right in the world.
You need to take the time with your child to read them and know when things are bad for them and talk it out. You start when they are little and continue into adulthood. Then you have grown your child into your best friend who will know it’s safe to tell you anything.
Robin Fuson is a storyteller who loves to teach. The book series Robin is writing are chapter books for grade school children. She has been teaching for over thirty years in various venues. Robin, along with her late husband, was the AWANA missionary for the Colorado Front Range. She had the great opportunity to go to Ukraine and Russia to teach teachers how to teach children by means of storytelling. Over the years, Robin has taught children and adults in small groups to groups of hundreds. Rosita Valdez and the Giant Sea Turtle is the first in a chapter book series for children. The underlining theme in the first book is telling the truth. Find out more on her web page: www.rositabook.com She also has a blog for children and young at heart at: www.kidbiblelessons.com Facebook.com/AuthorRobinDensmoreFuson and twitter: @RobinLFuson
Book review from MoreofHim
More Of Him
http://www.moreofhim.net/2013/05/book-review-giveaway.htmlSunday, May 19, 2013
Book Review & Giveaway!!!
MY REVIEW:
This is an adorable children's book! Rosita is a sweet little girl with a big imagination yet she is also a sweet friend and a kind little girl with her family. I like her helpful nature and how her parents have her doing her chores and school work as a part of the story. Homeschooling children would especially relate to this! :) I like how we really get to know Rosita through the little things like the fact that she struggles with math but enjoys her writing. I love her relationship with her Grandmother and how they share special moments together.
Rosita has two little friends that she goes swimming with at cove. While playing hide-and-seek, Rosita finds the giant sea turtle. He's a gentle fellow and she has great fun with him. Unfortunately, her two friends struggle to catch a glimpse of him!
The story has a surprise ending that will have you and your children talking. I think this would be an excellent book to include in your homeschooling or to just read to your children or grandchildren over the summer! It's an excellent book that I just know a child in your life would love!
*This book was provided to me for my honest review by the Bohlsen Group
Now for the really exciting part...I have THREE copies of this adorable book to giveaway!! I'm so thrilled to be able to do this! I will pick my winners on Sunday, May 19th!! You must be a follower of More of Him either on Google Friends or Bloglovin! Just enter on the Rafflecopter below!!
Article for Mygoodparenting
Mary Bowman was kind enough to ask me to write an article for her blog. You can find it here on her blog: http://mygoodparenting.com/2013/05/15/our-childrens-spiritual-education/
Or her it is in it's entirety:
Our Children’s Spiritual Education
by Robin Fuson
We love our children and we want them to benefit from a good education. Some of us homeschool or put them into private school. Many of us have our children in public school and are involved in what they are learning. We attend parent teacher conferences and volunteer in their class rooms or on field trips. We spend hours helping them with homework, reports, and science projects. Once in a while our homes become a disaster zone when the science project blows up. You may feel, as I do, that it is alright as long as they got the concept of that project and they help clean it up. These things show our children’s academics are important to us.
What about their spiritual education? Have you thought long and hard about shaping their beliefs? Wouldn’t it be great if they grew up and believed as we do? We need to be involved in this area as well. We take them to church and Sunday school. Some of us have them in church clubs where they are taught more about the Bible and learn verses. These are wonderful tools to help us in this area but there is more to it than that.
We are responsible for nurturing them in spiritual areas. Deuteronomy 6: 4-7, Psalm 78:1-7 112:1-2, and Joel 1:3 tell us to teach our children all about God and His word. This is so the next generation will know the Lord. This next generation is our children who will in turn teach our grandchildren and so on. There is nothing more important than teaching our children to have a relationship with the Lord.
It is not just knowing about God but trying to understand who God is and forging a relationship with Him. How do we go about sharing God in a way that they want to have a relationship to Him? We start by relaying the stories in the Bible when they are small. Recount the lives of great people of the Faith like Noah, Abraham, Joseph, David, Esther, and Rahab. Make the stories exciting and real. Then, as they get older have them read about the disciples and apostles like Paul and Silas. When they see you reading your Bible they will understand it is important to you and a way of life.
There are resources you can put into your children’s hands to help them grow closer to the Lord. Make sure the length and subject matter is appropriate for their age and understanding. There are great books and blogs that your children can read for themselves. DVDs and CDs are good tools to introduce and incorporate into their devotional times.
Devotions are times a person spends with the Lord. They don’t have to be long and boring. They just need to have a point. A regular set time is the best, but any time spent is beneficial. Reading, studying, and learning God’s word is beneficial. God speaks to us through His word. We cannot have a relationship with Him if we are not talking to Him and He to us. He speaks to us through His word and the Holy Spirit. We then talk to Him in prayer through the Holy Spirit. The more we listen and talk to Him, the closer we get and the relationship grows.
The Spiritual Education of our children is vital for their well-being. There is no time like the present to start shaping or strengthening their spiritual lives. I have a resource you can use at: www.kidbiblelessons.com. On this blog I have spiritual lessons written in a story format. Most of the stories use animals to teach a Biblical character lesson. At the end of each lesson is a verse they can memorize corresponding with the lesson.
Rosita Valdez: And the Giant Sea Turtle
is the first book in a fictional series that your child would love. It entertains while teaching Biblical characteristics through the life of a young girl. You can find it on Amazon, Barns and Noble, and Westbow Press.
is the first book in a fictional series that your child would love. It entertains while teaching Biblical characteristics through the life of a young girl. You can find it on Amazon, Barns and Noble, and Westbow Press.