Meet Penny Estelle

Today I am thrilled to host Penny Estelle as she talks about her Wickware Sagas. Welcome, Penny! I'm thrilled to have you here. What can you tell us about  the Birth of the Wickware Sagas?

I was visiting my daughter in Utah a few summers ago and my grandson, who was ten, and several of his friends came in. One of the boys picked up a small toy that was a bow and arrow set. The arrows had those suction tips on them. They all took turns shooting at the target and missed. I said, “William Tell’s record is safe.” They all gave me a confused look and said, “Who?”

LOL! I bet that got you some funny looks.

These boys didn’t know who this famous legend was. I got to thinking about it and the next day the Wickware Sagas were started. I took seventh graders of today and sent them back in time (with the help of old lady Wickware) and they came nose to nose with the famous, historical person they were to do a report on.

How wonderful! Reminds me a little of the Magic Treehouse series my son read in elementary school.

Billy Cooper’s Awesome Nightmare, Book 1 of the Wickware Sagas, which is the William Tell story, was picked up by MuseItUp Publishing. I was asked to do four more short stories that will eventually become a book.

How exciting! Tell us more about how you chose your historical figures.

As history and I were never close friends this wasn’t a walk in the park for me. I tried to find characters that were not well known. I finally came up with Sybil Ludington, Molly Pitcher, Francis Scott Key, and the Orphan Trains. (I have to confess, I only recognize Molly Pitcher and Francis Scott Key) The research on all these stories was a real eye-opener. As pathetic as this sounds, I knew very little about these subjects. As a matter of fact the only thing I knew for certain was that Francis Scott Key wrote our National Anthem and even that fact has some twists and turns. I found the research to be interesting and enjoyable – Who knew!!!

Oh! Now you've really piqued my interest. What do you hope the Wickware  Sagas will do for teen readers?

My fear is some kids will see my stories as educational and not give them a chance.

My hope is, maybe, just maybe, kids will read the Wickware Sagas and not only find stories that are fun and adventurous, with time travel thrown in, but also learn a little about some folks who made our world what it is today.

What happens in book 2?

Book 2 of the Wickware Sagas, is Ride of a Lifetime. This is the story of a 7^th grade bully, who gets a “big” attitude adjustment when he ends up in 18-century New York and meets the female Paul Revere. He learns a lesson in humility and finds out what bravery is all about!

Humility and bravery are excellent lessons. Where can we find these two releases?

Billy Cooper’s Awesome Nightmare                                      Ride of a Lifetime

 MuseItUp - http://goo.gl/QwMMv                                   MuseItUp - http://goo.gl/HfaMX

Amazon - http://goo.gl/HnfGa                                           Amazon - http://goo.gl/Rbvts

For a limited time, if you order Ride of a Lifetime from MuseItUp, you get a 20% discount AND Billy Cooper’s Awesome Nightmare – FREE! – FREE!

Now, that's a great deal!!  Thanks so much Penny, and good luck! Come back soon and tell us about book three and four!