Nov/110
TWO BOOK Virtual Book Release Party!
Whoo-Hoo!
We’re so excited here at Do Life Right, Inc. to have HomeschoolLiterature.com host a one-day virtual book release party for both THE HOWLING VOWELS and FRACTURED FATE today–Wednesday, November 16, 2011.
When asked recently which of these two books was my favorite, I had to answer honestly: I couldn’t possibly choose! Each is so unique in its own way.
THE HOWLING VOWELS by Leslie Schultz, illustrated by Heather Newman, is such a lovely middle-grade novel (set in a fictional town in Minnesota) that it makes me smile in a nostalgic sort-of way. To read more about Leslie, click here. To read more about Heather, click here.
FRACTURE FATE by Caja Coyote, illustrated by Sage Echo Sirotkin, is so full of action, adventure, superheroes, and romance, that it takes me to a different world (all while being set in a real-life town in Arizona). To read more about Caja Coyote, click here.
Nov/110
Our ninth title: THE HOWLING VOWELS
I’m super excited to announce the middle-grade novel, The Howling Vowels, as the latest addition to the Do Life Right, Inc. catalog. When I first read the manuscript, I said to myself, “Wow! This is a modern Little House type of book about a very realistic homeschooler of today!” With lots of love and hard work, author Leslie Schultz has perfected this modern tale of the homeschooling life in Minnesota, and illustrator Heather Newman (of Cody Greene and the Rainbow Mystery) has turned these sweet characters to life with her lovely illustrations.
From the back cover:
“Look! Five vowels, all howling!”
Welcome to Sundog, Minnesota! When homeschooled, Norse-myth-obsessed Alexa Stevens moves from New York City, she doesn’t know what to expect. What is a small town like? Explore a new landscape with Alexa as she observes wolves in the wild and forms a close pack of friends.
Meet A, Alexa: a lover of words and questions, quirky and sprightly, she wants to know everything so she can know the whole story; Meet E, Eduardo: tall and mysterious, with a streak of sadness, he speaks Alexa’s language and has a few tricks up his sleeve; Meet I, Isabelle: quiet and tiny, with big eyes that take everything in, she is good with her hands and good to confide in; Meet O, Otto: always in motion, with laughing eyes, he dances his way into Alexa’s heart; Meet U, Ursula: strong and headstrong, Ursula has a lot on her shoulders as she dreams of adventure and making her own way in life.
Join city girl Alexa as she tastes unfamiliar seasons, comes to know her friends, really sees herself, and discovers her own way to make her mark on the world.
Details:
- Author: Leslie Schultz
- Illustrator: Heather Newman
- Buy from Amazon here.
- ISBN: 0982482973
- ISBN-13: 978-0982482971
- LCCN: 2011940591
- Retail price: $12.99
- Published date: November 3, 2011
- Publisher: Do Life Right, Inc.
Oct/110
Our eighth title: FRACTURED FATE
Do Life Right, Inc. is proud to announce its eighth title, a YA (young adult) fantasy fiction!
From the back cover:
THERE’S A REASON IT STAYED LOST.
When five teens in Sahuarita, Arizona, find themselves in the middle of worldwide cataclysms, earth-controlling Joe rounds up super-strong Grace, information-absorbing Natalie, weather-making Valencia, and fire-starting Drake, in order to help defeat the force which created all the destruction. While overcoming unleashed mythical creatures and rebuilding their community, the team struggles to change the fate of a now fractured Earth.
What does the mysterious box have to do with anything?
Does Levi have plans of his own?
Can these strangers bring their powers together and save the world?
DETAILS:
- ISBN-13: 978-0-9824829-8-8
- Written by Caja Coyote
- Illustrated by Sage Echo Sirotkin
- $12.99 U.S.
- 362 pages, YA novel
- Published by Do Life Right, Inc., October 2011
WHERE TO BUY:
May/110
Our sixth title: ADVICE FROM DAD: INSPIRATION FOR THE NEXT GENERATION
Advice from Dad: Inspiration for the Next Generation by Bill O’Hearn is Do Life Right’s first nonfiction title. Bill is also our first previously published author. We feel that it is an honor to have Bill on our team!
Bill O’Hearn is the author of four previous books, all of which speak to the possibilities that open for us when we view our world with curiosity, enthusiasm, trust, openness, laughter and a willingness to risk. The lessons he shares encourage and inspire people from all walks of life to believe in all that they are and to become all that they can become. Bill is a speaker, author and life coach, who has spent over 45 years in the life insurance industry where his accomplishments placed him in the top 2% of the world’s producers. He was a founding member of The Oregon Speakers Association and is a past member of The National Speakers Association. Bill is the product of a lifetime of learning. He has succeeded and he has failed. He has known great joy and suffered significant adversity. In the process he has discovered how to create balance and success in life, and his mission is to help others do the same. In 1980 he founded the Alpha Learning Institute for the purpose of encouraging people to expand their growth as human beings.
Bill O’Hearn is the author of four previous books, all of which speak to the possibilities that open for us when we view our world with curiosity, enthusiasm, trust, openness, laughter and a willingness to risk. The lessons he shares encourage and inspire people from all walks of life to believe in all that they are and to become all that they can become. Bill is a speaker, author and life coach, who spent over 45 years in the life insurance industry where his accomplishments placed him in the top 2% of the world’s producers. He was a founding member of The Oregon Speakers Association and is a past member of The National Speakers Association. Bill is the product of a lifetime of learning. He has succeeded and he has failed. He has known great joy and suffered significant adversity. In the process he has discovered how to create balance and success in life, and his mission is to help others do the same. In 1980 he founded the Alpha Learning Institute for the purpose of encouraging people to expand their growth as human beings.
May/110
Our fifth title: CODY GREENE AND THE RAINBOW MYSTERY
Introducing new author, Linda Fields, to the homeschooling fiction “field” with her new release: Cody Greene and the Rainbow Mystery, a fabulous children’s chapter book.
Linda Fields is a first time published author with a million stories in her head. She’s been writing for years, yet especially loves books for children and teens. She came up with the idea for the character of Cody after seeing that most children’s books didn’t have people from a variety of ethnicities. On a trip with her family, she was inspired with the idea of a Rainbow Mystery and instantly knew that Cody had to be the one to solve it. Linda lives a quiet life in the southwest with her family and pets. She loves reading, writing, hiking, and watching movies. Check out www.AuthorFields.com to learn more about Linda.
Illustrated by ten different authors, this book is highly unique. Each illustrator fulfilled a unique role in this book, since it was set in a northern New Mexico art gallery.
The illustrators are (look for photos, illustrations, and more information about each of these talented people over the next few weeks):
Marsha Cottrell
May/110
Our second title: WRIGHT ON TIME: UTAH
Continue on the adventure with the Wright family as they continue their 50-state, 50-month, RV-living, homeschooling adventures through Utah as they explore on a dinosaur dig.
Wright on Time: Utah, Book 2 is the second book in the Wright on Time series of children’s chapter books by author Lisa M. Cottrell-Bentley. Although part of a series, this book can be read independently. Published in December 2009.
May/110
Our flagship book: WRIGHT ON TIME: ARIZONA
Explore a salted cave in southern Arizona with the fictional RV-living, homeschooling Wright family as they begin their 50-month, 50-state adventure around the United States of America!
Wright on Time: Arizona, Book 1 is Do Life Right, Inc.’s flagship book. It was through writing this first book in Lisa M. Cottrell-Bentley’s children’s chapter book series that Lisa was able to draw upon her love of homeschooling, learning all the time, and fun family adventures to build a whole new world for homeschooling kids of today to see themselves in. Lisa is particularly excited at how well received non-homeschooling families have found her books.
Wright on Time: Arizona, Book 1 was published in August 2009 and is available worldwide. Through the sales of this flagship book, Do Life Right, Inc. has been able to bring more books about realistic homeschoolers of today to the kids and families who have been craving them for years, only to be told that books about kids like them aren’t interesting enough for today’s readers. Do Life Right, Inc. is proudly proving that theory wrong!
Haven’t read Wright on Time: Arizona yet? Buy on Amazon.com or check out the special autographed four-pack available through wrightontimebooks.com for the month of May 2011!
Feb/110
More about the Founder of Do Life Right, Inc.
With my recent interview on Louise Wise’s “Wise Words” blog and recent exposure of having one of the “50 Best Blogs in the Unschooling Movement”, I realized that I haven’t posted much personal information on this site about who I am and why I, Lisa Cottrell-Bentley, started Do Life Right, Incorporated. Here are a few common questions I have received. If you have another, please let me know and I’ll answer as many as I can.
Who am I? I’m Lisa Cottrell-Bentley, a unschooling/homeschooling mother of two brilliant and beautiful daughters. I live in southern Arizona with my wonderful daughters, amazing husband, and five spunky cats. We love solitude and live out in the Sonoran desert on ten quiet acres. I’m originally from Iowa/Illinois, and have lived in Arizona since 1999.
What do I do with my days? Well…it depends on the day. 
My family spends a lot of time at home, yet a lot of time traveling. We love the balance. I write articles for my own sites (and I have quite a few), as well as Vegan Mainstream. I’ve been a Girl Scout Leader (of the best troop on Earth) for ten years now. I’ve been teaching Creative Writing classes to kids and teens for about a year (I *love* this passionately). I also, obviously, spend time writing fiction stories of my own, editing other authors’ work, marketing, doing interviews, taking care of finances, publishing books, and much more related to making my business run smoothly while growing.
Why did I start a publishing company? Great question! This is probably the #1 question I’m asked by interviewers. A little history: I started Do Life Right, Inc. in 2005 as a consulting company, helping people out with their personal conversions to homeschooling and/or vegan lifestyles. We incorporated in October 2007. We turned the company into a publishing company in April 2009, with an influx of capital from a private investor.
After years and years of my older daughter becoming frustrated with all the children’s books she was reading, we discussed why she didn’t like the books she was reading and what the ideal book series would be. She was frustrated with all the books that were school centric, had deceased (or at least absent) parents, had siblings and friends who hated each other, etc. Her ideal book would be a series of books where the characters had true growth, siblings loved each other, parents participated in the lives of their children, and school (and/or the hatred of school) was not the focus of the book. She wanted action and adventure, mysteries, and science fiction details.
Since nothing like that existed yet, I set out to write this “perfect” series. Once I’d written several books of the series, I took these manuscripts to publishers and agents. The only feedback I received was that while the writing was great, I needed to “get rid of the parents, make the siblings not like each other, get rid of the homeschooling aspect,” and basically make it just like every other book out there–the exact opposite of what I wanted to write.
I took this information, along with the fact that there are over 2.2 million homeschoolers in the United States of America alone, and found an investor who believed in my vision. I was able to take that funding and publish the first two books in my series (as well as do a lot of marketing, trademarking, and much more). I’ve then used the proceeds to grow the company. We’re now about to publish the fourth book in the Wright on Time series, as well as several books from other authors. We are actively seeking great manuscripts with realistic homeschoolers of today as the main characters.
Where do you work? I work from home when I’m home, and in motel rooms, friends’/family’s homes and roadside Wi-Fi locations when I’m on the road. Since nearly all of my work is done on a laptop, I can take my office with me wherever I go. I actually get quite a lot done while I wait for my younger daughter at her dance class.
When did you start writing? I’ve had stories in my head since my earliest memories. While I can’t pinpoint how old I was when I wrote my first story, I was nine when I won my first writing contest. That said, I believe anyone can begin their writing career at any age.
How do you find time for everything? Well… I do one thing at a time. My children come first, always, yet I have plenty of time to pursue my own interests, especially the older my daughters get. Yes, I have a lot going on in my life, but I thrive that way. I enjoy having a variety of activities.
More information about me, Lisa, can be found here:
- Do Life Right — my personal blog where I talk about homeschooling, unschooling, veganism, my family, my family’s adventures, and just random topics
- Wright on Time Books — my children’s chapter book series about an RV-living, homeschooling family who travels the USA; Click HERE to go straight to the media page with interviews, appearance dates and more
- Rich Author, Poor Writer — fledgling site where I discuss the pros and cons of various types of publishing, and how to pick which option is the best for each writer’s individual circumstances
Sep/100
Submissions, Submissions!
Wow! The volume of submissions has increased about tenfold since the beginning of our KickStarter crowdfunding campaign to raise money from people just like you. This is fabulous! I’m very excited by these submissions since the funds from this campaign are planned to do just this: Publish more amazing books about homeschoolers of today! By reaching our goal, we’ll be able to pick several of these interesting submissions and actually publish them!
While only a small portion of the queries are manuscripts Do Life Right, Inc. is currently interested in publishing, I want everyone submitting to keep their publishing dreams alive! What’s not right for us, is perfect for another publisher, and vice versa. Or, ultimately, you could start your own publishing company, or consider self-publishing.
In today’s world, there are a variety of ways to publish. Keep your options open, dreams alive, and mind open to jump at all the opportunities that work for you!
In the meantime, keep submitting and have fun!