Friday, May 30, 2014

Nate Rocks!


Marcus Brocket (AKA Brocket the Rocket) from The Secret Files of Fairday Morrow has teamed up with Nate Rockledge from the Nate Rocks series to bring you the Nate Rock's Virtual Sketchbook.


Hey guys! Brocket here. I'm your host for Nate's Virtual Sketchbook. Nate is amazing with a pencil, and it's awesome that I get to share his ideas with you!

Don't forget to enter the fun bonus contest at the end. Trust me, you don't want to miss out! Rock on ✌ ~ M



Nate Rock's Virtual Sketchbook
Hold onto your pants- here we go!
As I head down their driveway, toward the open garage door, a tall lanky teenager runs out of the garage towards me.
              "Nate, thank goodness! Come quick, he needs your help!"he says in a panic, grabbing my arm.
               "I already told Mr. McCullen- I don't know anything about bursitis! I'm just looking for my rakes. How do you know my name anyway?"
               "Who said anything about bursitis?" he yells at me, yanking me towards the garage. "I'm talking about Desmond. The show starts in ten minutes and something is terribly wrong!"
               "Desmond?" I ask confused, walking into the garage. But it is not a garage at all. We are on a stage. Everything is black, except for rows of spotlights above us.A curtain, hanging directly in front of us, is the only thing separating us from what sounds like a million screaming people. How odd that I couldn't hear them from the driveway. 
                "I don't understand- where are we?" I ask, looking around, trying to find any sign of Mike or Mr. McCullen. Behind me are five guys all tuning their various instruments. Massive speakers and amplifiers are spread throughout the stage, and in front of me is a microphone resting on its stand.
                 "Well, we are at the stadium, of course! Desmond is supposed to go out in just a few minutes, but he won't come out of his dressing room. There are 30,000 people out there waiting for a concert. You have to take his place, Nate! You are the only one who can fill his shoes."
                "I look down at my clothes. I am suddenly dressed in black leather pants and a white t-shirt. Someone pushes me up toward the front of the stage, just as the curtain starts to rise.
                "Ladies and gentlemen, let's give it up for... NATE ROCKS!" 
                "Wait, I..."
                The spotlight shines directly on me, and I stare out at the crowd. Masses of people are jumping up and down cheering- chanting my name over and over again.
                 I look behind me and nod at the band, grabbing the microphone. The band starts playing an unfamiliar tune, yet I sing the words, as if I have been performing my entire life. I feel completely at ease, getting into the music, jumping up on the speakers, interacting with the cheering crowd. The color spotlights follow my every move.
                 I grab the spare electric guitar I see in the corner and play an amazing solo. There are full size screens on each side of me streaming video of my performance, for those who can't see the stage. After the first song ends, I wait for a lull in the roar of the crowd.
                 "Thank you!" I yell into the audience. "You may have noticed I am not Desmond Harper." The crown starts laughing and cheering all over again.
                "Unfortunately, Desmond isn't able to perform tonight, but if it's okay with you, I thought I'd hang out with you guys tonight."
                Once again, the audience erupts into cheers and screams. The band plays song after song, and I completely rock the crowd, leaving them begging for more. After three encores, the curtain goes down, ending the show. 
Sign up for DMS Monthly News and Highlights to find out when Nate's next adventure will be! ☞ Preview newsletter


FUN BONUS CONTEST!

Is there a scene in a story that you would just love to see come to life? Send us one paragraph that describes a scene from your favorite middle grade book, and Nate will put his pencils to work. We'll choose a scene that we think is awesome and feature it on Fairday's Blog. Not only will you get to keep the sketch, but you'll be famous!  

You can send in your scene description to: haightjess@gmail.com.

Nate Rocks the Stage is taken from Nate Rocks the World by Karen Pokras Toz. Check out our author interview 


If you want to find out what's going on in Nate's head, stop by the Character Book Club and get ready for some hilarity! Don't worry, you don't have to eat the Sunday Surprise. ~ DMS  

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

28 comments:

  1. I love the urgency and excitement in the excerpt, and I want to know what happens next!! :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Replies
    1. Tracy- Karen is such a wonderful writer. I love this story! :) ~L

      Delete
  3. Terrific excerpt! AND AWESOME ILLUSTRATIONS. I work in pencil, pen and ink as well and the effects are just so artistic and cool. With all the pumped up computer imagery these days, it's so refreshing to see classic ink drawings with such incredible life and flair!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Michael- Thank you so much for your compliment! I love to draw in pencil and have been trying some work in pen and ink. It is always fun to draw scenes from my favorite stories, like the Nate series. :)
      ~Jess

      Delete
  4. This is a lot of fun. I'm sure kids will love the books.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Rosi- It is a lot of fun. I think kids will love it for sure! :) ~L

      Delete
  5. How fun. A scene from a book, illustrated here! I look forward to seeing what scenes you bring to life in pictures.

    Thanks for the great excerpt!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lee- Thank you so much. I love to read a scene and draw what I am picturing. So glad you enjoy seeing the illustrations. :)

      This is a fabulous book!
      ~Jess

      Delete
  6. Love the illustration. How fun. I totally have this series on my kids wish list.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Heidi- Thanks for the compliment. :) Your kids will love this series!
      ~Jess

      Delete
  7. What fun and thanks for all of this. I shall now duly head over at check it out.

    A good weekend to you.

    Gary

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Gary- I hope all is well with you and how fabulous that you checked out the book. :) ~L

      Delete
  8. Thank you so much for once again bringing Nate's adventures to life!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Karen- We love Nate and are happy to share this book with our readers. :) ~Jess and Stephanie

      Delete
  9. Huge fan of both Fairday and Nate the Great - love the sketch! Can't wait to go on more adventures with Nate!

    Oh, and when will Fairday have a sequel? Loved The Secret Files of Fairday Morrow - hoping there will be more books soon!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Susan- Wonderful to meet another Nate fan! :)

      Thanks so much for your kind words about The Secret Files of Fairday Morrow. We are working on the second book in the series now. :) The final edits are being done on the first book. So exciting!
      ~Jess and Stephanie

      Delete
  10. Awesome excerpt. I love reading about Nate' s adventures and Jess' illustrations are phenomenal! Great job!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Greg- So happy you enjoyed the excerpt! Nate is awesome! :) Thanks for the kind words about my illustrations. :) ~Jess

      Delete
  11. Something the kids would love, thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nas- Kids will definitely love this one! :) ~L

      Delete
  12. I had a great time reading all of this, so I know it will resonate with kids. Great illustrations!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Stephanie- Kids will dive right into this story. So glad you liked the illustrations. :) ~Jess

      Delete
  13. So cool. It really does look like he's rocking the stage.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Medeia- Thanks! Such a wonderful story. :) ~Jess

      Delete

Thank you for stopping by and commenting. We love to hear your thoughts! We had to turn on comment moderation due to a high volume of spam. Fairday's Blog is no longer accepting awards. We appreciate all the nominations that we have received and are honored to have been mentioned! Happy Reading!

Twitter Bird Gadget Twitter Bird Gadget