Welcome to the WordCrafter “Haunted Halloween Holiday” Book Blog Tour
Posted: October 3, 2022 Filed under: Blog Tour, Book Promotion, Book Release, Book Review, Books, Children's Books, Giveaways, Guest Post, Review, WordCrafter Book Blog Tours | Tags: Children's Books, Haunted Halloween Holiday, Michael Cheadle, Robbie Cheadle, WordCrafter Book Blog Tours 56 Comments
Welcome to the WordCrafter Haunted Halloween Holiday Book Blog Tour, in celebration of this delightful new children’s Halloween adventure by Robbie and Michael Cheadle. This is going to be a wonderful tour with a guest post from author Robbie Cheadle and a review at every stop. Today will be a real treat with not one, but two tour stops, but you may comment on either stop here. Instead of making Robbie sit through another tedious interview, we will have each tour stop host ask her two questions, so you can learn more about her at every stop if you follow the tour, and she also has a great giveaway.
Tour Schedule
(Links won’t work until the post goes live.)
Monday – October 3 – Double Stop Day! – Guest Post & Review – Writing to be Read
– Guest Post & Review – Undawnted
Tuesday – October 4 – The Showers of Blessings
Wednesday – October 5 – Patty’s World
Thursday – October 6 – Carla Loves to Read
Friday – October 7 – Zigler’s News
Saturday – October 8 – Annette Rochel Aben
Give Away
For a chance to win one of three US$10 Amazon vouchers or one of three paperback copies of Haunted Halloween Holiday just leave a comment to show you were here.
Follow the tour and comment at each stop for more chances to win.
The prizes will be given away in a random drawing.
About Haunted Halloween Holiday
Count Sugular is delighted when the Sugarpop Bats invite his family to a Halloween party at the Haunted House. He and his wife, Witch Honey, decide to hire a caravan and enjoy a weekend away with their family.
Includes some fun limericks to introduce the various characters.
You can find the book trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fr5OxyUfd4
Purchase links:
TSL Publications: https://tslbooks.uk/product/haunted-halloween-holiday-robbie-and-michael-cheadle/
Robbie’s Questions
Question: You illustrate your children’s books with elaborate fondant scenes, with buildings and characters which are very detailed. How long does it take you to create a whole fondant scene for illustration in one of your stories?
Answer: The fondant and cake illustrations are time consuming. The amount of time required depends on the number of flowers and figurines I include and their complexity.
Each figurine takes, on average, between 4 and 5 hours to complete. I always start with the heads. Some of the figurines have detailed facial features including teeth, lip detail, and layered eyes and these take a lot of time and effort to make.
Hair is also time consuming, especially curly hair, as each strand is wound around a cocktail stick and allowed to partially dry before it can be attached to the head. Timing is important because if the fondant hair strand dries to much, it wont stick to the head.
My next step is usually the body and shoes, and that is followed by the arms and legs. Attaching arms and legs can be tricky as you have to keep them in the correct positions until they dry. Standing figurines are much more difficult to make than seated ones. The legs have to dry completely before you can attach the weight of the head and body to a standing figurine or the legs collapse.
Flowers are also made in layers. I start with the centres and leave them to firm up before adding the second layer of petals. Flowers are also tricky from a timing perspective as the petals must firm up enough to hold their shape but not dry so much they crack or break.
From a cake perspective, sponge cake assembly is not that difficult for me. The carving and assembly of shaped cakes isn’t that difficult if you have an eye for proportions which I do.
The gingerbread caravan that features in Haunted Halloween Holiday was difficult to make because I had to bend the gingerbread to make it harden in a curved shape. I did have to make adaptions to my initial plan and I created the sides and top of the caravan in two parts instead of one as I’d originally planned. I did have to redo that piece of gingerbread. You have to bend it while it is still hot but not so hot it collapses (or burns you) but before it starts to harden or it cracks. Another tricky timing situation.
The windmill was complex to make because of the blades which I made separately from fondant and attached to wooden kebab sticks. The entire bladed structure had to then be attached to the gingerbread windmill structure. It was a great challenge and I was delighted at how both of these structures came out.
Question: You have done many collaborations for anthologies, and you also co-wrote a book with your mother. Do you have more fun collaborating with your son Michael on the children’s books than you do with your adult collaborators on adult themed works? Why or why not?
Answer: The children’s books are fun to write and illustrate. The text for the Sir Chocolate and other children’s books is much less, 600 words or less for the Sir Chocolate picture books in line with the industry standard, than books for older children or adults.
My collaboration with Michael involves conversations and chats about characters and ideas for story lines as well as the illustrations. This makes the entire process fairly easy and companionable.
Writing While the Bombs Fell was a more difficult collaboration because I was writing my mother’s memories. I had to coax the memories from her, research the details and historical context of the time period and lay them over her personal timeline. It was an interesting and rewarding process and I learned a lot more about my mom’s early life and my own family.
There were some difficulties, especially around the structuring of the story and the fictionalised elements. My mom didn’t always agree when I filled gaps in her memory with information based on historical research to give the book a little more meat. In the end, we came to a meeting of minds and were both happy with the book. The difficulties with writing someone else’s memories is one of the reasons why the sequel, After the Bombs Fell, is not finished. My own writing process has changed and it’s more difficult for me to work with someone else now.
Thank you, Kaye, for these great questions and for hosting my post.
About the Authors
Michael Cheadle is a student at a high school in South Africa. His favourite subjects are IT, and History and he enjoys creative writing, especially writing poetry. In his spare time Michael enjoys computer games, boxing, tennis, and sleeping.
Robbie Cheadle is a South African children’s author and poet with eleven children’s books and two poetry books.
The eight Sir Chocolate children’s picture books, co-authored by Robbie and Michael Cheadle, are written in sweet, short rhymes which are easy for young children to follow and are illustrated with pictures of delicious cakes and cake decorations. Each book also includes simple recipes or biscuit art directions which children can make under adult supervision.
Robbie and Michael have also written Haunted Halloween Holiday, a delightful fantasy story for children aged 5 to 9. Count Sugular and his family hire a caravan to attend a Halloween party at the Haunted House in Ghost Valley. This story is beautifully illustrated with Robbie’s fondant and cake art creations.
Robbie and Michael have also written Haunted Halloween Holiday, a delightful fantasy story for children aged 5 to 9. Count Sugular and his family hire a caravan to attend a Halloween party at the Haunted House in Ghost Valley. This story is beautifully illustrated with Robbie’s fondant and cake art creations.
Robbie has also published two books for older children which incorporate recipes that are relevant to the storylines.
Robbie has two adult novels in the paranormal historical and supernatural fantasy genres published under the name Roberta Eaton Cheadle. She also has short stories, in the horror and paranormal genre, and poems included in several anthologies.
Robbie Cheadle contributes two monthly posts to https://writingtoberead.com, namely, Growing Bookworms, a series providing advice to caregivers on how to encourage children to read and write, and Treasuring Poetry, a series aimed at introducing poetry lovers to new poets and poetry books.
In addition, Roberta Eaton Cheadle contributes one monthly post to https://writingtoberead.com called Dark Origins: African Myths and Legends which shares information about the cultures, myths and legends of the indigenous people of southern Africa.
Find Robbie Cheadle
Robbie Cheadle Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Robbie-Cheadle/e/B01N9J62GQ
Robbie Cheadle Goodreads Author Page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15584446.Robbie_Cheadle
TSL Publications Robbie Cheadle Author Page: https://tslbooks.uk/product-tag/robbie-cheadle/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/bakeandwrite
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SirChocolateBooks
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVyFo_OJLPqFa9ZhHnCfHUA
My Review
Haunted Halloween Holiday is a ‘just a little scary but lots and lots of fun’ kind of story. Fans of the Sir Chocolate books by Robbie and Michael Cheadle will not be disappointed as the mother and son duo write and bake their way into reader’s hearts with this delightfully delicious story. Stuffed full of delectable fondant illustrations, highlighted with lovely rhyming verse to tell the story of an unique holiday celebration.
This book is a bit longer than previous Sir Chocolate formats, and contains less verse, but it’s a delightfully fun adventure to please readers both young and old. Who could resist all the colorful characters who attend this festive holiday party? Count Sugular; Baby Howler; Skelly the Skeleton; Teddy the posessed teddy bear; the Trolls – Tar and Liquorice; Toot, the clown who smiles upside; Witch Goody; and Jack Frost all help to make this Halloween celebration one to be remebered, and enjoyed over and over, every time you pick up the book.
I give Haunted Halloween Holiday five quills.
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That wraps up this stop on the WordCrafter Haunted Halloween Holiday Book Blog Tour, but be sure to drop in to Undawnted for another great review of the book. Join us tomorrow over at The Showers of Blessings, for another guest post by Robbie and a review by Miriam Hurdle.
Writing to be Read 
Great start to your tour Ghoulfriend!
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Yes, I’m excited, Annette. Robbie and Michael have written a wonderful book and this is going to be a great tour. 🙂
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Thank you, Annette.
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I adore Robbie & all her creations!! It’s lovely to see her and Michael showcased on your site, Kaye Lynne!
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Yes, Robbie is quite talented in many areas. She’s an amazing lady. And I think it is pretty awesome to be able to showcase Michael, the young author, too. Thanks for your comment. 🙂
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Thank you, I am so delighted to know that. Kaye Lynne has shared a lovely review and we are thrilled.
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Hi Kaye, thank you for your lovely review, we are thrilled. Thank you also for adding Michael to the CV, he is pleased.
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Reblogged this on Robbie's inspiration and commented:
Kaye Lynne Booth from Writing to be Read and WordCrafter Press is hosting day 1 of Michael and my new book, Haunted Halloween Holiday. Kaye has shared a terrific review and we are delighted.
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Looks like a fun book, even for adults! Congrats on your launch Robbie!
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It really is, Terri. Thanks for visiting and commenting. 🙂
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You are very welcome!
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Hi Terri, I do think adults sometimes need to read children’s fantasy and reset their minds. It can help put life in perspective, can’t it? Thanks for visiting.
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Hi Robbie. The book is lovely. I so very much enjoyed the story.
I think I’m going to buy it for my grandchildren.
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Hi Patty, I am so pleased you enjoyed this book 💞
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Hey there :). I hope you will enjoy the book review I have written which is scheduled to go out with your guest post tomorrow :).
Patty Fletcher lives in Kingsport Tennessee where she works as an author and social media marketing assistant. Learn more at: http://www.pattysworlds.com
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I am sure I will. Thank you, Patty.
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You’re welcome. Have a great day.
PS. Let me know if you have any trouble when you share the post today. Kaye wrote to say the images gave her issue.
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Hi again, Robbie. Only reason I am asking is because I want to try and figure out the wrinkle so if people let me know whether there is a problem or not this will be most helpful.
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So loved this interview with Robbie and Another fantastic book from Robbie and Michael
Good luck with your Book and Tour…. Sending Hugs ❤
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I am glad that you enjoyed the interview Sue. I enjoyed thinking up the questions and Robbie’s answers were wonderful. 🙂
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It was a really good interview I learnt a lot . Thank YOU. x
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HI Sue, thank you so much for visiting and for your kind words. Hugs.
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❤️💕❤️
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A great kick-off post for the tour! Those fondant creations sound very fiddley, but the end result sure pays off.
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I think the fondant creagtions are wonderful, too, Liz. Tbhanks for dropping in. 🙂
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You’re welcome, Kaye Lynne.
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Hi Liz, I enjoy making the fondant figures although they are fiddly. It is restful to my mind which tends to be a little overactive most of the time. Thanks for stopping by.
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That makes sense, Robbie. You’re welcome.
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Fantastic to learn more about Robbie and Michael’s new book, and also the fondant art. Toni x
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Thanks for visiting, Toni. I’m glad you enjoyed this post.
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Sounds like a fun read!
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Hi Norah, it was certainly fun to write.
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Excellent!
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[…] https://writingtoberead.com/2022/10/03/welcome-to-the-wordcrafter-haunted-halloween-holiday-book-blo… […]
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I enjoyed this interview and love this book! The tour sounds wonderful and Congrats again to Robbie and Michael for their awesome creativity.
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Thanks Lauren. The book is really wonderful, and I am glad you enjoyed my questions. I hope you will check out some of the other tour stops. Today is a double stop so there is a guest post and review over at Undawnted, too. The link is in the schedule at the top of the post. 🙂
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Hi Lauren, I am so pleased you enjoyed this introductory post. Thank you.
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Great interview and the right place for the blog tour, for sure. I loved the amount of detail about the process involved in making the scenes, and I have always been intrigued about author who cowrite books, so it was perfect for me. Thanks, Robbie, Kaye Lynne and congratulations to both authors. Good luck!
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Thanks for your kind words, Olga. I am so glad you enjoyed the Q & A. At each stop on the tour, Robbie answers two, so you learn a little more at each stop. Also, today was a double stop, so be sure to click the link on the schedule at the top for a guest post and another review. 🙂
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Hi Olga, I am glad you enjoyed this post. I think my process for co-writing is a little different from other people because my co-authors are family members. Writing with Michael is easy and fun.
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Really great interview Robbie and Kaye. Interesting to learn about working with fondant Robbie. I wish you and Michael much success on this well timed for Halloween release. ❤
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I’m glad you enjoyed the Q & A. Robbie’s responses were quite informative. There are two questions answered at each stop on this tour. Be sure and check out the other stops on the tour through the links at the top of the post, but remember the links won’t work until the posts are live. There’s a second stop over at Undawnted today, too. 🙂
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Just visited there. Thanks Kaye 🙂
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☺️
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Hi Debby, I really enjoy working with fondant. I always loved sculpture at school. Thanks for visiting.
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You are a master of fondant Robbie 🙂 x
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Great post, Kaye. I find it very interesting to see how Robbie and her mother worked together to write When the Bombs Fell. I love this Q&A setup for this blog tour.
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HI Carla, writing with Michael is easier than writing with mom. My mom is a bit of a stickler for absolute accuracy and it can be a little restrictive. Thanks for visiting.
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Hi Robbie. I just hopped over to your tour at Undawnted. There was no place to comment there so I thought I’d hop back here and tell you that I feel for you as a child moving around so much leaving not enough time to form deep friendships. I so agree with you about our online friendships. These are the friends we communicate with almost daily and no doubts form great bonds with. I know it’s been my online friends who’ve kept me inspired and going through many things going on in my life. Just wanted to share that. Hugs ❤
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Hi Debby, thank you so much for visiting Dawn’s post and leaving a comment here. I was definitely a lonely child and moving around did impact the way I relate to people and form friendships. I am also thankful for my on-line friendships. I am glad you also benefit from our lovely community [I can see that you do].
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You know what they say Robbie – it takes a village ❤
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What a delightful review Kaye!
LOVE ROBBIE! 💗
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So glad you found it helpful. I’m sure you will enjoy the book. ☺️
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I sure did!
💞
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☺️
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The Haunted Halloween Holiday book tour sounds spectacular. Good luck!
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