Happy Launch Day to PJ Hoover!

THE NAVEL OF THE WORLD

by PJ Hoover

Forgotten World Series, Book 2

Publisher: CBAY Books

Launch date: October 12, 2009

At the end of summer school, Benjamin was given one task—find his missing brothers. Should be easy right? But Benjamin can't locate a trace of them anywhere. Then he finds a mysterious file written in ancient Lemurian with his name on it, which wouldn't be so weird except the file happens to be several thousand years old. Who would have known about Benjamin that long ago? And then Benjamin and his friends begin to wonder, have they been looking not in the wrong place, but in the wrong time?

"The Navel of the World is one of those wonderful times where the sequel of a series is even better than the first. It was funnier, more original and faster paced. This book was just so much fun to read!" Reader Rabbit

"What did I enjoy about this one? I loved the use of mythology. I loved the adventure. I loved the humor. And most of all I loved the time travel." Becky's Book Reviews

"Fast paced action keeps the reader turning the pages...Fans of Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson series will enjoy this fantasy as will Garth Nix fans too! My only question is how long do we have to wait for book three?" YA Books Central

"If you love books like the Percy Jackson series or just enjoy a good time-travel adventure then I heartily recommend this book!" Library Ninja

"The Navel of the World is excellent middle school grade fiction...I highly recommend the Forgotten Worlds trilogy for later elementary and middle school readers." Jen Robinson's Book Page

PJ is a full-time writer who lives in Austin, Texas with her husband, two children and critters, none of whom ever cross her since she has a black belt in Kung Fu. She also can solve a Rubik's cube in less than two minutes, which I think is way scarier than the black belt. In a pinch, PJ can dissect frogs and pigs, and led her Varsity Cheerleading squad in high school. She also collects smurfs and antique bricks if any of you are looking for the perfect launch gift for her!

Book 1 in the Forgotten Worlds trilogy, The Emerald Tablet, received the Gold Star Award of Excellence from Teens Read Too and it was also selected for the Tristate Books Of Note list for 2009. Book 3, The Necropolis, will be out in Fall 2010. Will the series fans survive till then?

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If you are in the Austin, Texas area, PJ and Jessica Lee Anderson, author of BORDER CROSSING and TRUDY will be having a Joint Release Book Party at the fabulous indie bookstore BookPeople on Sunday, October 18th at 2:00 pm.

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PJ will also be a featured author for the Austin SCBWI Conference in January, and on author panels at the Red Dirt Book Festival in November in Shawnee, OK, and the Virginia Festival of the Book in March in Charlottesville, VA.

If you aren't going to be in Austin or Shawnee or Charlottesville, you're in luck! You can also catch PJ at her blog.

You can pick up The Navel of the World here, or you can enter our contest to win a personalized copy for yourself, your favorite fantasy fan, or your local library. All you have to do is be one of our SVP followers and you are automatically entered. Or, you can give leave a whoop and holler to PJ in our comment section, and we'll enter you.

PJ, enjoy your launch day. Thanks for letting us join in the celebration!

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We are having a bonus SVP posting this week! Please come on back tomorrow for a interview with Laurie Helgoe, PhD, psychologist, speaker, trainer, and author of the wildly popular book Introvert Power: Why Your Inner Life is Your Hidden Strength. You don't want to miss it--