Over the coming weeks, the IWSG Anthology blog will be featuring posts
from each of the authors in Voyager: The Third Ghost.Our author today is Sherry Ellis.
Sherry Ellis on her short story "Ghosts of Pompeii" . . .
It’s always interesting to learn the story behind the story. Here’s the scoop about "Ghosts of Pompeii" which is part of the middle-grade anthology, Voyagers, the Third Ghost. I have always loved travelling and learning about the history, language, and culture of the places I visit. This prompted me to write a series of stories involving two siblings, Bubba and Squirt, who travel through a magical vortex and end up in places all over the world. It is my hope that these stories will teach kids about different countries in a fun way and help enforce what they learn in school. I’ve been writing these stories for ten years. They are finally making it out into the world. "Ghosts of Pompeii" is one of them. What’s in the anthology is not the original work. The original is much longer with sixteen chapters and alternating points of view between Bubba and Squirt. It also takes place entirely in the present. One of the requirements for the anthology contest was to have the story occur in the past. I had to get creative. After doing some research, I discovered that Mount Vesuvius erupted after 79 AD in the not-so-distant past. Using that knowledge, I was able to tweak the story and have Bubba and Squirt go back to that time. I also decided to tell it entirely from Bubba’s point of view. His perspective can be quite entertaining! Reducing the word count to meet the requirements of the contest meant cutting a lot out of the story. Somehow it still worked. In case you’re wondering, yes, I did visit Pompeii many years ago. The places mentioned in the story are places I’ve seen. And no, Mount Vesuvius did not erupt while I was there. Nor did any ghosts appear and warn me that the volcano was about to blow. Those are creations of my own wild imagination.
Blurb
Can everyone be warned before Mount Vesuvius erupts? Mount Vesuvius is about to blow and it's up to Bubba and Squirt to warn everyone, so they don't end up like the Ghosts of Pompeii.
Excerpt
"Ghosts of Pompeii" by Sherry Ellis
I wanted pizza, and I knew just where to find it. Italy! Mama said the people there make the best pizza ever. Except, when I told my big sister, Squirt, that I wanted to go, she looked at me as if I had tomato sauce for brains.
“Bubba, what are you thinking? We can go to Papa Gino’s and get some.” “But it tastes better in Italy,” I said. “How do you know? You’ve never been there.” “Mama says it tastes better. That’s how I know. So there.” I made a face and stomped off to the woods behind our house. That’s where the big hole was hidden, under the sycamore tree. I’d dug it with the magic shovel Grandpa Joe found at a garage sale. I knew it could take me to Italy because it had already taken me to China and Belize. It goes wherever I want it to go. I stopped under the tree and stared at the pile of branches on top of the hole. Squirt came up behind me. “You’re seriously thinking about going through the portal for pizza?” “I’m hungry!” “What if something goes wrong?” “What could possibly go wrong?"
Bio
Sherry Ellis is an award-winning
author and professional musician
who plays and teaches the violin,
viola, and piano.
When she is not writing or
engaged in musical activities,
she can be found doing
household chores, hiking,
or exploring the world.
Ellis' books include Don't Feed the Elephant; Ten Zany Birds; That Mama is a Grouch; That Baby Woke Me Up, AGAIN; Bubba and Squirt's Big Dig to China; and Bubba and Squirt's Mayan Adventure. She lives in Atlanta, Georgia. For more information about her work, she invites you to visit her websites at www.sherryellis.org and www.bubbaandsquirt.org.
It’s always interesting to learn the story behind the story. Here’s the scoop about "Ghosts of Pompeii" which is part of the middle-grade anthology, Voyagers, the Third Ghost. I have always loved travelling and learning about the history, language, and culture of the places I visit. This prompted me to write a series of stories involving two siblings, Bubba and Squirt, who travel through a magical vortex and end up in places all over the world. It is my hope that these stories will teach kids about different countries in a fun way and help enforce what they learn in school. I’ve been writing these stories for ten years. They are finally making it out into the world. "Ghosts of Pompeii" is one of them. What’s in the anthology is not the original work. The original is much longer with sixteen chapters and alternating points of view between Bubba and Squirt. It also takes place entirely in the present. One of the requirements for the anthology contest was to have the story occur in the past. I had to get creative. After doing some research, I discovered that Mount Vesuvius erupted after 79 AD in the not-so-distant past. Using that knowledge, I was able to tweak the story and have Bubba and Squirt go back to that time. I also decided to tell it entirely from Bubba’s point of view. His perspective can be quite entertaining! Reducing the word count to meet the requirements of the contest meant cutting a lot out of the story. Somehow it still worked. In case you’re wondering, yes, I did visit Pompeii many years ago. The places mentioned in the story are places I’ve seen. And no, Mount Vesuvius did not erupt while I was there. Nor did any ghosts appear and warn me that the volcano was about to blow. Those are creations of my own wild imagination.
Blurb
Can everyone be warned before Mount Vesuvius erupts? Mount Vesuvius is about to blow and it's up to Bubba and Squirt to warn everyone, so they don't end up like the Ghosts of Pompeii.
Excerpt
"Ghosts of Pompeii" by Sherry Ellis
I wanted pizza, and I knew just where to find it. Italy! Mama said the people there make the best pizza ever. Except, when I told my big sister, Squirt, that I wanted to go, she looked at me as if I had tomato sauce for brains.
“Bubba, what are you thinking? We can go to Papa Gino’s and get some.” “But it tastes better in Italy,” I said. “How do you know? You’ve never been there.” “Mama says it tastes better. That’s how I know. So there.” I made a face and stomped off to the woods behind our house. That’s where the big hole was hidden, under the sycamore tree. I’d dug it with the magic shovel Grandpa Joe found at a garage sale. I knew it could take me to Italy because it had already taken me to China and Belize. It goes wherever I want it to go. I stopped under the tree and stared at the pile of branches on top of the hole. Squirt came up behind me. “You’re seriously thinking about going through the portal for pizza?” “I’m hungry!” “What if something goes wrong?” “What could possibly go wrong?"
Bio
Sherry Ellis is an award-winning
author and professional musician
who plays and teaches the violin,
viola, and piano.
When she is not writing or
engaged in musical activities,
she can be found doing
household chores, hiking,
or exploring the world.
Ellis' books include Don't Feed the Elephant; Ten Zany Birds; That Mama is a Grouch; That Baby Woke Me Up, AGAIN; Bubba and Squirt's Big Dig to China; and Bubba and Squirt's Mayan Adventure. She lives in Atlanta, Georgia. For more information about her work, she invites you to visit her websites at www.sherryellis.org and www.bubbaandsquirt.org.
Coming on Wednesday, February 19, 2020 . . .
Next up is Louise MacBeath Barbour who shares her backstory for "Dare Double Dare," a tale in which Sara and her brother Kelsey find themselves in dire circumstances a long way from home after a rash "Dare" and "Double Dare."
The release date for VOYAGERS: The Third Ghost
is May 5, 2020,
but purchase links are available,
and you can preorder a copy now.
Print 9781939844729 $13.95
EBook 9781939844736 $4.99
Juvenile Fiction - Historical / Action & Adventure / Fantasy & Magic
Dancing Lemur Press/Freedom Fox Press
Amazon - Print https://www.amazon.com/dp/193984472X/ Kindle https://www.amazon.com/Voyagers-Third-Ghost-Yvonne-Ventresca-ebook/dp/B083C4WPR5/
Barnes & Noble - https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/voyagers-yvonne-ventresca/1135912991?ean=2940163430857
ITunes - https://books.apple.com/ca/book/voyagers-the-third-ghost/id1493413956
Kobo - https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/voyagers-the-third-ghost
Next up is Louise MacBeath Barbour who shares her backstory for "Dare Double Dare," a tale in which Sara and her brother Kelsey find themselves in dire circumstances a long way from home after a rash "Dare" and "Double Dare."
* * * * * * * * * *
The release date for VOYAGERS: The Third Ghost
is May 5, 2020,
but purchase links are available,
and you can preorder a copy now.
Print 9781939844729 $13.95
EBook 9781939844736 $4.99
Juvenile Fiction - Historical / Action & Adventure / Fantasy & Magic
Dancing Lemur Press/Freedom Fox Press
Amazon - Print https://www.amazon.com/dp/193984472X/ Kindle https://www.amazon.com/Voyagers-Third-Ghost-Yvonne-Ventresca-ebook/dp/B083C4WPR5/
Barnes & Noble - https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/voyagers-yvonne-ventresca/1135912991?ean=2940163430857
ITunes - https://books.apple.com/ca/book/voyagers-the-third-ghost/id1493413956
Kobo - https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/voyagers-the-third-ghost
