Illustrator Submission Guidelines

Lily Ruth Publishing is seeking illustrators for upcoming projects. We are looking for illustrators who can design supporting artwork for book manuscripts, as well as front/back cover illustrations and promotional material. Quick turn-around time is a must. Payment will be made on a per project basis as outlined in our illustrator contract. Pay will be discussed with candidates who are contacted by Lily Ruth Publishing for possible contract.

For any illustrators wishing to be considered by Lily Ruth Publishing's acquisitions department, please submit 3-5 sample illustrations along with contact information, links to your professional website and/or links to previous work to lilyruthpublishing@yahoo.com. Please include sample illustrations in the body of the email. No attachments.

Updates to Lily Ruth Publishing's Submission Guidelines

Lily Ruth Publishing is accepting submissions once again for children's fiction books ranging from beginner to young adult. All submissions should be directed to lilyruthpublishing@yahoo.com. Please do not include attachments, as these won't be opened.

FOR MIDDLE GRADE AND YOUNG ADULT BOOKS: Lily Ruth Publishing is a publisher of children's fiction with an interest in growing our category selection. We will consider humor, action/adventure, fantasy, historical and romance provided it is wholesome and appropriate for children. Keep in mind that we won't accept any materials containing obscene language or themes.

All material submitted for consideration by Lily Ruth Publishing should be double-spaced. The publisher would prefer only the first three chapters and query letter or brief synopsis be sent to the email listed above. (See picture book guidelines below) Please remember to include you name, contact information, the title of your story and word count in the body of your email.

FOR CHILDREN'S PICTURE BOOKS: Submissions are now open for children's picture books intended for children ages 2-6 years old. For children's picture books please submit the complete manuscript along with your contact information and brief bio.

Illustrations are not necessary. Lily Ruth Publishing reserves the right to assign an illustrator to any manuscript as deemed appropriate. However, if you have illustrations for your manuscript, please feel free to submit 3-5 samples for consideration.

These guidelines can also be viewed at www.lilyruthpublishing.com/submissions.aspx.

Young Adult Title by Jennifer L Stone

Lily Ruth Publishing is proud to introduce our debut young adult fiction title, Quest of the Swords: Swords of Blood by new author, Jennifer L Stone.

Stormi Claver is a seventeen-year-old girl living in a land driven by prejudice and fear. When Stormi is captured by Rylan, the rogue Finin prince, she fears her death is near, for their clans share a common curse – to war with one another until none remain.

Her fear heightens when she learns Rylan is taking her to the Temple of the Swords – home of the evil Goddess that cursed their clans; a place where no Claver has ever left alive.

Stormi knows her brother, Gideon, pursues her rescue, but her captor continues to evade him. While the desire to kill one another burns strong in Stormi and Rylan, they find themselves working together toward a common goal – to retrieve their clan swords from the temple and break the curse that is devastating their people.

Gideon is forced to abandon Stormi’s rescue when he learns the Finins are plotting a war against the Claver’s homeland of Malinna.

With war at hand and the curse consuming their clans, Stormi and Rylan must battle friend and foe to defeat the curse while Gideon, aided by a mysterious, dark ally, raises an army to battle the blood-thirsty Finin forces that have set out to annihilate the Clavers.

Young adult readers will be swept away to a world of dark secrets and vengeance, where the triumph of good over evil lies within the hands - and heart - of a young, captive girl.

“Quest of the Swords: Swords of Blood” tells a story about finding the strength to love and trust in the face of hatred and war; about the power of the human spirit to defy the destiny thrust upon it. With open hearts and minds, and a dash of courage, even the most difficult of circumstances can be overcome.

Now Available!

Lily Ruth Publishing is proud to announce the release of their debut children's picture book, The Sundancer, (published under the imprint, Lily Ruth Kids).

The Sundancer is a wonderful story about a boy whose job is to make the sun rise every day. But he doesn’t yell or poke at the sun to make it rise, Instead, the boy dances!

This story encourages kids to express themselves in creative ways and teaches them that everyone has an important role to fulfill in their community.

Purchase your copy today by visiting:
http://lilyruthpublishing.com/lilyruthbooks.aspx.

The Sundancer by Ben Joy

Paperback - $11.95

To the PRESS!!

We are excited to announce that production on Ben Joy's new children's book, "The Sundancer", is well underway! We have had the opportunity to view preliminary proofs of the book and it has come together nicely. We will be hard at work over the next few months, preparing for the book's September release and will be sure to keep everyone posted on it's progress.

New Author - Ben Joy

Lily Ruth Publishing would like to welcome new author, Ben Joy, to the Lily Ruth Publishing family! Ben Joy's debut children's picture book, The Sundancer, was recently offered a publishing contract under the new picture book imprint, Lily Ruth Kids. We have been hard at work getting the book through pre-publication and look forward to working with Ben and illustrator, Heather Payer-Smith, as we finalize the book for print in the coming months. The Sundancer is scheduled to be released in September of 2010! Congratulations Ben Joy!

Now Accepting Submissions

Lily Ruth Publishing is excited to introduce our new children's picture book division, Lily Ruth Kids!

Submissions are now open for children's picture books intended for children ages 2-6 years old. For children's picture books, please submit the complete manuscript along with a cover letter and brief bio. Please include a SASE with your submission for a response or if you would like your materials returned. Any submissions lacking a SASE will be recycled. LPR will not respond to submissions that do no have a SASE enclosed.

Please direct all materials to Lily Ruth Publishing, P.O. Box 2067, Jacksonville, TX 75766, ATTN: Lily Ruth Kids.

My-Weird-Family-Series:-My-Vampire-Cousin

Now accepting submissions

Calling all authors! Lily Ruth Publishing has just opened submissions for children's books no more than 30,000 words in length that follow an adventure/humor or sci-fi/fantasy slant. If you have a ready manuscript that you would like us to consider, please review our submission guidelines by visiting www.lilyruthpublishing.com/submissions and send us your materials!

Now on YouTube.com!

J.K. Hawkins and "My Weird Family Series" are now featured on YouTube.com! You can check out the video for "My Vampire Cousin" at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zN0LNLlLAQ and the video for "My Werewolf Brothers" at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-oKqaGbxP4 - both of which are narrated by J.K. Hawkins herself! The videos also feature illustrations out of the books.

J.K. Hawkins Featured on KLTV News

Check out the news story covering one of J.K. Hawkins' recent book signing events at Goodday Coffee + Books in Kilgore as featured on KLTV (link to report below)!

Child Author Publishes Second Book
An aspiring east Texas author has published her second book in a series, at the age of 13.
http://www.kltv.com/global/story.asp?s=10567847

Be a part of the action!

Want to see J.K. Hawkins as a guest on The Oprah Winfrey Show? So do we!!! But we need your help, your VOICE, to get there. We ask all of J.K.'s followers to go to: https://www.oprah.com/ord/plugform.jsp?plugId=216 to fill out the form and submit your request for Oprah to interview young Miss Hawkins as a show idea! Be creative, be sincere... most of all, BE A SUPPORTER! Thanks to all who will help get the word out about our talented young author!

New Releases

June is quickly approaching, and with the much anticipated release of TWO new books in the "My Weird Family Series" by young author, J.K. Hawkins, we at Lily Ruth Publishing have been busy busy! Some events to look forward to for the release of the new books:

Back to back book signings for the Premier Release on June 20th from 1-3pm at Goodday Coffee + Books in Kilgore, TX and again from 4-6pm at the Hastings Book Store in Longview, TX. We hope to kick of the new releases with a bang and encourage those of you in the area to "Save the Date" for one of these upcoming book signing events.

Want to schedule J.K. Hawkins for a book signing at one of your local book stores? Drop us an email at lilyruthpublishing@yahoo.com!

Book Review from AllBookReviews.com

Title: My Weird Family Series: My Vampire Cousin

Author: J.K Hawkins

My Weird Family is about a young girl of twelve who finds out that her long-lost relatives are in fact, monsters. The story portrays Alice Trivett as a true adventurer with a quick wit and attractive personality. After stumbling accidentally-on-purpose into a haunted castle, she comes across her vampire cousin and learns things about her family that she hadn’t known before. Alice has to decide whether she has enough curiosity to continue on the path of monsters and vampires or to return back to the human world, something that no one has ever been able to do before.

J.K Hawkins’ has a very developed and hilarious writing style. Her story, My Weird Family, reminds me of the types of stories that made me fall in love with reading when I was younger. Although targeted at a slightly younger audience than myself, her quick one-liners would make even the oldest of readers smile if only for a moment. All of her fictional characters have realistic personalities with quirks and pet peeves. It is these types of traits that make one story stand out more than others. My Weird Family is definitely a stand-out kind of story.

J.K Hawkins is a first time children’s book writer who created her first character, Alice, at the age of eight. She is now the author of the, My Weird Family Series, which includes twenty stories, including My Vampire Cousin. Her favourite hobbies include writing and playing soccer.

In conclusion, My Vampire Cousin, is creatively written and inspires the imagination of it’s readers. Highly Recommended, for young readers who want a memorable read that will inspire their own creativity.

Nicole Harris, Allbooks Reviews www.allbookreviews.com

Online Interview with J.K. Hawkins

J.K. Hawkins recently corresponded with www.coolstuff4writers.com in an interview where she shared comments and insight into her inspirations, ideas, characters and more. You can check out her interview at http://www.coolstuff4writers.com/Interviews/JKHawkins.html.

A big thanks to Sandy and Lowell from CoolStuff4Writers.com for their interest and support of J.K. Hawkins and "My Weird Family Series."

Book Signing in Paris Texas - APRIL 18th

J. K. Hawkins and Heather Payer-Smith will make an appearance at Hastings in Paris, TX! Look for them on April 18th, 2009 from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m.! Hastings in Paris, TX is located at 3518 Lamar Ave., Paris, TX 75460.

Anxious for a sneak peek of book 2 in "My Weird Family Series?" J.K. Hawkins will be featuring pre-released copies of both the NEW EDITION of "My Vampire Cousin" and book 2, "My Werewolf Brothers." This is your chance to preview what's to come and talk to both the author and the illustrator about the books.

Reader Views

We'd like to thank Brenna for her review! We appriciate her opinion and hope that readers will take a moment to see what others think of "My Weird Family Series: My Vampire Cousin."

"My Weird Family Series: My Vampire Cousin"
Reviewed by Brenna Bales (age 11) for Reader Views (3/09)

This exceptional novel by J.K Hawkins is both thrilling and humorous. The outstanding storyline, along with the main theme of the story, create a tale that I know many kids will really enjoy reading.

The story’s main character, Alice, is strong, and confident, and smart. This is what all kids look for in a fairy-tale. They can easily imagine themselves as the character, fighting off the vampires, andreacting to finding out that their whole family is made up of mythical creatures. This book is probably for children ages 8-10, but any kid who loves a great adventure story will adore this book.

In the story, Alice finds out that her family is not only dead, but the living dead! As she escapes from all the vampire teeth coming at her, she discovers that no matter what types of creatures your family is made up of, you can still love them. It is a superb work of fiction that any child will find irresistible to put down.

The overall plot of the book is very intriguing, and kept my attention throughout. It did have some parts that went a little too fast, or confused me as to what was happening. No book is perfect though, and it amazes me that the author is only 12-years-old! Her writing is stunning!

The cover of the book looks very spooky, but that famous saying to not judge a book by its cover applies here nicely. The book was very captivating, and J.K. Hawkins is an amazing author.

I am really looking forward to reading the rest of this series, and any of the other books that she has written. I give “My Weird Family Series: My Vampire Cousin” by J.K. Hawkins a 5 out of 5.

Goodreads.com Book Review for My Vampire Cousin

My Weird Family Series: My Vampire Cousin by J. K. Hawkins

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
Young author, J.K. Hawkins captures the true imaginative spirit of a 12-year-old in her debut book, "My Vampire Cousin", the first installment of "My Weird Family Series." Her quick wit and lively characters drive the story of Alice Trivett, a curious little girl who discovers a creepy old castle and a dark family secret that lies deep within. "My Weird Family Series: My Vampire Cousin" is full of non-stop action and clever, laugh-out-loud scenarios that keep the story moving from page one.


View all my reviews.

Young New Author

13-year-old-author, J.K. (Julie) Hawkins has recently announced the release of her debut children's book, "My Vampire Cousin," part of a clever and humorous new series "My Weird Family Series," published by Lily Ruth Publishing.

“My Vampire Cousin” is the first of TWENTY stories written by J.K. Hawkins for “My Weird Family Series.” It is a series to look forward to with laugh-out-loud scenarios played out by unique and unforgettable characters.

J.K. Hawkins is looking forward to the up coming release of a new edition of "My Vampire Cousin" along with the release of book two in the series, "My Werewolf Brothers" in June 2009!

In the meantime, J.K. Hawkins will be making appearances at several East Texas book signing events, including the Barnes and Noble New author Expo on March 28th, as well as several book signing events at Hastings book stores in Paris, TX on April 18th and a back to back signing event with the Hastings in Mount Pleasant and Longview, Texas on May 16th.

We encourage you to learn more about J.K. Hawkins and her book(s) by visiting www.lilyruthpublishing.com.