Welcome Geoffrey Saign, author of the award-winning WhipEye Chronicles and  Gorgon.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQQt4_0PIO0

I write about nature and self-awareness—sometimes directly, sometimes indirectly.

When I was seven years old, for some reason I loved nature. I ran to ponds to find crayfish and frogs, delighted in snakes and salamanders, and anything from birds to squirrels excited me. By the time I was fifteen, I was already a member of Greenpeace and looking at the larger world. I decided by the year 2000 humans would have to change or the planet would be a mess. About that same time I began to look inward.

I work in education now, and often my students (18-21) have not been in nature and are even apprehensive about it, care little about it, or think it’s important but that society is destroying it. Many are so tied to technology their devices are glued to their hands, their eyes glued to screens. Their world is much smaller now, even though it may feel larger. Among other courses, I teach a self-awareness class that offers a wide array of options for students to explore on the path to happiness, awareness, and inner calm.

I think awareness, especially self-awareness, has to include your relationship with the planet and nature. You cannot be fully aware if at the same time you have no awareness of how you are impacting the planet. I think most people get that, but I’ve never done a poll to find out.

When I created the fantasy story, WhipEye, I wanted a main character, Samantha, who is in love with wild animals and nature, so the reader sees nature and wildlife through her eyes. I wanted a doorway for readers to see wild animals as precious and beautiful. I also wanted readers to discover some self-awareness, so I sent Samantha on a journey to resolve grief, learn how to trust herself through intuition, and decide that love matters more than anything—and act on that understanding. These are threads through the whole series of WhipEye Chronicles, and it’s very satisfying to see that those threads have been part of winning the 2015 International Book Award in Children’s Fiction, and the 2015 Outstanding Children’s Fiction in the IAN Book of the year Awards. As a writer, any time you win an award or get a great review on Amazon or Goodreads, it is validation that you are doing something right, and reaching your audience as you hoped you would. Some of my greatest reviews were on LitPick, a top online site where kids review books. It was rewarding to be chosen as a Top Choice book.

When I was younger, I often read my mom’s thriller novels, and thus I always have that kind of ramped up suspense or tension in my stories. For that reason, WhipEye is a fast-paced thriller, with surprises and lots of action. I never want to hit readers over the head with lessons, and prefer to have them discover those elements while enjoying a great story.

With book 2, GORGON, due out Sept.1, 2015, I’m already working on book 3, Drasine. I’m also working on a non-fiction adult stress reduction book, another lower middle grade book, and a non-fiction environmental book proposal that one of my traditional publishers is interested in. My brand is self-awareness, nature, and environmental issues, and it’s a joy to be able to put those elements into many different types of writing.

I still delight in frogs, snakes, and salamanders, and in any wild animals, and I’m in nature often either hiking, swimming, or sailing. I think it’s even more vital now that nature be protected at every opportunity. I hope young and old readers of my work enjoy the journey of the stories I write, and if they are not already doing so, that they will be inspired to take every opportunity to protect nature and wildlife—and appreciate their beauty.

About the author:

Geoffrey Saign can often be found looking for interesting critters, and magic, while swimming, snorkeling, sailing, or hiking in the woods. His passion for nature and wildlife inspired his novel, WhipEye. He has a background in biology, assisted in field research with hummingbirds and humpback whales, and sailed as far away as Australia. With more than twenty years of experience working in special education, he has taught adults and children everything from sailing to self-awareness and novel writing. He won the Shabo Award in 2010. He lives in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Geoffrey has written a number of books on wildlife and ecology, as well as the WhipEye series.

About WhipEye:

Charlie, a thousand-year-old wise-cracking parrot, convinces animal nerd Samantha and her spunky side-kick Jake to save him and two worlds. The two children are hunted by magical Great Ones, and have twenty-four hours to decipher the supernatural staff, WhipEye, and find the courage to stop a traitorous guardian and his enslaved monstrous animals.

…a story about love, nature, wildlife, intuition, and trusting yourself…

To connect with Geoffrey:

Website: http://www.geoffreysaign.net

Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/WhipEye-Chronicles-Volume-1/dp/0990401308

You Tube Book Trailer; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQQt4_0PIO0

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/geoffrey.saign

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20508452-whipeye

Twitter: https://twitter.com/geoffreysaign

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/geoffreysaign

Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/114262100326061133831/posts

Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/whipeye?store=allproducts&keyword=whipeye

iBooks; https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/whipeye/id926521924?mt=11