“… a captivating fantasy story with a well-thought-out plot … people who like medieval-style fantasies with wraiths, spirits, and even an attacking swamp tree will enjoy the story. I certainly did, and the excitement, adventure, and suspense will easily keep the reader’s attention …”
As a fantasy fan myself, I agree that Teresa did a great job on this book. She improved in every way from Book #1 — more world building, more complex plotting, and a deeper emotional identification with the characters. I can’t wait to see what she writes next.
To celebrate the release of Hunted, the ebook version of Banished—the first book in the Riddled Stone series—will be on sale for 99 cents for the next few weeks.
Finally, the first two books of my math games series are finished and loaded up on Amazon.com (and the other Amazons worldwide). To celebrate, I’m offering an introductory sale price this weekend: US$2.99 per book, now through Monday.[Sorry, expired.]
Math Your Kids WANT To Do
Are you tired of flashcards and repetitive worksheets? Now your children can practice their math skills by playing games.
Math games pump up mental muscle, reduce the fear of failure, and develop a positive attitude toward mathematics. Through playful interaction, games strengthen a child’s intuitive understanding of numbers and build problem-solving strategies. Mastering a math game can be hard work, but kids do it willingly because it is fun.
Teachers and other math nerds are preparing to celebrate an epic Pi Day on 3/14/15. Unfortunately, the activities I see on teacher blogs and Pinterest don’t include much actual math. They stress the pi/pie wordplay or memorizing the digits.
With a bit of digging, however, I found a couple of projects that let you sink your metaphorical teeth into real mathematical meat. So I put those in the March “Let’s Play Math” newsletter, which went out this morning to everyone who signed up for Tabletop Academy Press math updates.
If you’re not on the mailing list, you can still join in the fun:
In math, symmetry is beautiful, and the most completely symmetric object in the (Euclidean) mathematical plane is the circle. No matter how you turn it, expand it, or shrink it, the circle remains essentially the same. Every circle you can imagine is the exact image of every other circle there is.
This is not true of other shapes. A rectangle may be short or tall. An ellipse may be fat or slim. A triangle may be squat, or stand up right, or lean off at a drunken angle. But circles are all the same, except for magnification. A circle three inches across is a perfect, point-for-point copy of a circle three miles across, or three millimeters…
The ball is traveling around a shape that can’t exist in our real world: the Penrose triangle. This illusion is the basis for some cool art, like Escher’s Waterfall. And I’m using it in my Math You Can Play books as a design on the back of my playing cards:
Want to Play Around with the Penrose Triangle?
Here’s a few links so you can try it for yourself:
I’ve sent the first two Math You Can Play books to a copy editor (she edits the text part), so my focus this month is on finishing the illustrations and downloadable game boards. And designing the book covers — I think I’ll call this latest iteration done.
If everything stays on schedule, both Counting & Number Bonds and Addition & Subtraction should be available by mid- to late-spring. Fingers crossed…
My February Tabletop Academy Press Updates newsletter went out this morning to everyone who signed up for math updates. If you signed up for Teresa’s fiction updates, please be patient. She writes much slower than an adult author, but we’re hoping to get her second book published in late spring.
I noticed a couple of people who joined the mailing list but neglected to ask for either the math or fantasy fiction updates — and we won’t send you any updates unless you ask for them! If you thought you signed up, but you didn’t receive this morning’s email (and it’s not in your spam folder by mistake), then leave me a comment here or just go sign up again.
If you’re not on the mailing list, you can still join in the fun:
What better way to say “I love you forever!” than with a pop-up fractal Valentine? My math club kids made these a couple years back, and they turned out great.
To make your card, choose two colors of construction paper or card stock. One color will make the pop-up hearts on the inside of your card. The other color will be the front and back of the card, and will also peek through the cut areas between the hearts. Fold the papers in half and cut them to card size.
Set the outer card aside and focus on the inside. The fractal cutting pattern is simple: press the fold, cut a curve, tuck inside, repeat…
The July “Let’s Play Math” newsletter went out earlier this week to everyone who signed up for Tabletop Academy Press math updates.
Denise Gaskins' Let's Play Math 