Wednesday, December 31, 2014

100 Posts! Great Party! Huzzah!

With this post, we Izzy Elves have reached our goal of 100 posts by (or close to) Christmas. We would have done this on Christmas, but as you would expect, we were all so tired by the Last Minute Push the day before (Christmas Eve) that we have been mostly sleeping, except for the Elf Celebration, of course. And then, as some of you know, this is what we do:

When Santa flies home every year in his sleigh
He throws us a party on each Christmas Day.
We feast and we frolic (it's kind of a perk
To celebrate ending our annual work.)
For after each elf belly finally is full,
We pull on our parkas and mittens of wool
Then, joining our hands in an elfentine ring
Which circles the arctic, we dance and we sing.
Our finale is fireworks which fill the night sky
With curtains of color that shimmer so high!




























We Izzies all hope you had a very merry Christmas. 

We'll be back very soon to start on our NEXT hundred posts.
   

Happy New Year!




Much Love,

Bizzy
Blizzy
Dizzy
Fizzy
Frizzy
Quizzy
Tizzy
Whizzy 
(and Honorary Izzy Elf, Deedy)
 


P.S. (Just wait until you hear where Santa is taking us for our Izzy Elf Holiday this year!)





Friday, December 19, 2014

Our Official Policy on the So-called Elf on the Shelf Surveillance

We've tried to keep quiet about this brewing scandal for two reasons:

1. We worried that people would think we are just jealous of that sly, nosy, blabbermouth elf's commercial success.

2. We didn't want mothers and fathers who had bought one of these dolls for their kids to Feel Bad. After all, they did so in good faith: they didn't know it might make children a teensy bit paranoid.

Now, we Izzy Elves feel it is time to Speak Out. Those guys are spoiling the reputation of all elves!

The risk is great because the first of our stories, Tizzy, the Christmas Shelf Elf,  does have the word SHELF in the title.  In fact, the original title of that book, first created in 1991, was The Elf on the Shelf. (Tizzy is quite embarrassed about this and doesn't want anybody to think he is one of THEM.)

So here is our Official Izzy Elves Policy on Surveillance:

We love children and would never ever rat them out to Santa!

In the second of our stories, Blizzy, the Worrywart Elf, Bizzy comes very close to stating our position on this (and we quote):

                I've heard that some other elves spy on bad kids
                But that's way too creepy, that Santa forbids.

So next year, when our Izzy Elf dolls are ready for mothers, fathers, and grandparents etc. to buy for kids, they should have NO FEAR that we will be reporting back to ANYBODY. 

That's our policy and we Izzies are sticking to it!

Much love,

The Izzy Elves

P.S. Besides, we all voted and decided that we are WAY cuter than those Spy Elves.









Wednesday, December 17, 2014

EEK! ONE WEEK!

Well, it's the usual Wild Week Before Christmas Frenzy up here at the Pole. Sometimes it looks as if we are in fast forward! Quizzy is turning out word and board games nonstop. Blizzy is making thousands and thousands of snowflakes and snowglobes to put 'em in. Fizzy is building her cool new "Jill in the Boxes" etc.. Dizzy and Frizzy are making m______ t_____ (don't want to spill the beans on what they are doing now - you'll have to read Frizzy, the S.A.D. Elf to find out!). Tizzy is madly reading books and deciding which one to send to which child. Whizzy is wrapping gifts galore so fast he's a kind of a blur. And Bizzy is trying to keep track of all the wishlists on the internet, which we are all happy about because it keeps him out of our hair. (Sorry, Bizzy.)

Meanwhile, Tizzy would be happy to send any of Santa's Izzy Elves stories to you a little bit more directly than in Santa's sleigh! Just click on the buy links on the right side of this page.

As he mentioned in a previous post, Tizzy has terribly Mixed Feelings about selecting our own books to put in The Pack.  Please help him out by buying them directly from this page! That will save him a lot of angst.

And believe us when we tell you that there is already plenty of angst around the Pole.  We Izzies always work against a Certain Deadline and it is only one week away!

P.S. E-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-k!


Love,
The Izzy Elves





Friday, December 12, 2014

INQUIRING ELVES WANT TO KNOW!

We Izzies decided to ask Deedy (that’s Dorothea Jensen to you) a few questions about how she came to write our stories.

Q. When did you start writing about us Santa’s Izzy Elves?

A. I first wrote down Tizzy’s story in 1991. Although it was automatically copyrighted at that time, I didn’t register it for copyright officially until 1999. It was originally titled The Elf on the Shelf. Unfortunately, titles cannot be copyrighted, and someone else eventually used that title. To avoid confusion I changed mine to Tizzy, the Christmas Shelf Elf, before I published it as a Kindle book in 2011.

Q. When did you write the sequels, Blizzy, the Worrywart Elf, Dizzy, the Stowaway Elf and Frizzy, the S.A.D. Elf?

A. In 2012, I was working on my new historical novel for children, A Buss From LaFayette. When I had written about a third of the story, I learned that someone in my family was very sick. For a long time, I helped take care of him and was unable to continue with the complex task of writing historical fiction. I found, however, that writing stories about elves was an excellent way to escape for a little while from the problems of real life.

In 2013, I finished Blizzy, the Worrywart Elf, and Dizzy, the Stowaway Elf, got illustrations done for all three stories, and released them in the fall.

I wrote Frizzy, the S.A.D. Elf in the spring of 2014, at the same time I was finally completing A Buss from Lafayette.

Q. If our stories are not aimed at toddlers, who do you aim them at instead?

A. School-aged kids and their parents, grandparents, teachers, et al. I use some words that children probably don’t know and they will need an explanation from an adult. Besides, I try to make stories that adults will enjoy, too. Furthermore, I do not like to write “down” to children: I believe that entertaining stories are great avenues for discovering fun new words.

When I wrote The Riddle of Penncroft Farm, my editors at Harcourt Brace Jovanovich pressured me to remove archaic words because they thought kids would not understand them. I (mostly) prevailed, and almost all the fan letters I’ve received from young readers over the years have stated that they loved the interesting old words.

Q. How did you come up with our names?

A. I named my first elf Tizzy to convey the idea that he was pretty upset with being stranded so far away from the North Pole – in a tizzy, so to speak. Then I discovered that putting -izzy together with other initial consonants yielded surprisingly meaningful names for elves: Quizzy – who makes puzzles; Blizzy – who makes snow globes; Fizzy and Dizzy – who make “toys that surprise”; Frizzy – who cuts and curls the dolls’ hair; Bizzy – who like to boss the other elves; and Whizzy – who rushes around wrapping presents. Then it occurred to me that they are all known as Santa’s Izzy Elves.

Q. Will there be stories for the rest of us elves?

A. There certainly will. I pretty much know what happens to Whizzy, Quizzy, Bizzy, and Fizzy. Just have to carve it out into poems.

Q. Is writing in rhyme difficult for you?

A. Not at all. It almost writes itself. I like to say that I have eight elves inside my brain dictating poetry for me to write down. Sometimes it really feels as if that is what is happening. If I get stuck, I use a rhyming dictionary, find an interesting synonym with the right rhythm, and use it to shape my line, but I don’t need to do that very often.

Q. Who are the boys in our Izzy Elf stories?

A. They are my grandsons. Their response has been interesting. Owen explained to me that Tizzy, the Christmas Shelf Elf (the story he is in) wasn’t real because 1) they don’t have an upstairs at their house, and 2) he doesn’t know how to turn on the Christmas tree lights, as he does in the poem. I told him that was the “pretend” part. Alex was delighted because when he analyzed the illustration showing them in bunk beds, he was the one in the top bunk (he figured that out by the color of the PJs). They don’t have bunk beds, and Alex wants to get the top bunk if they do get them. Maybe he thinks this establishes a precedent for his claim.

The boys in Dizzy, the Stowaway Elf are two more grandsons, Stuart and Drake. I recently overheard Stuart explain to his little brother that I get up early because elves pop into my head and wake me up. Not far from the truth.

I have two more grandsons (twins) but they are young enough that I have awhile to figure out how to put them into a story.

Q. Why are you publishing these stories yourself?

A. These stories don’t fit neatly into an established category. Yes, they are picture books, but no, they are not aimed at toddlers. After trying unsuccessfully to get the first of these published (as The Elf on the Shelf) I put the manuscript on a shelf (if you’ll pardon the phrase) for nearly twenty years. In November, 2011, I found out it was possible to publish on Amazon.com and decided to release it myself. Of course, by then, I had to change the name to Tizzy, the Christmas Shelf Elf to avoid confusion. I also changed the names of the kids to those of my own grandboys, who weren’t even born when I wrote the original story. Via the internet I found an illustrator, Michelle Alfonso, to create a cover for me. She had just graduated from art school and was from Manchester, New Hampshire, not far from where I live. In 2013 she fully illustrated the story. I discovered it was great fun to be able to help shape the marvelous images that she conjured up of all my elves.

When The Riddle of Penncroft Farm was being readied for publication, many years ago, I had no input on the cover art that Harcourt Brace Jovanovich commissioned. Thus the original cover showed Geordie as being somewhat transparent, a condition that would surely have revealed immediately to Lars, the modern protagonist, that Geordie was a ghost (or “shade”, the term Geordie prefers). I told my editor that this made no sense in terms of the story, but Geordie stayed transparent.

I find that it is much more satisfying to work directly with an illustrator.

Q. Why did you decide to record audiobooks of our stories?

A. It’s not always easy to read poetry aloud, and my poem-stories are a little longer than many read-aloud books. I thought that parents, grandparents, or any grown-up might like to have a recorded version to play for their kids if they themselves just cannot stand the thought of reading one of my stories aloud for the umpteenth time. I have done quite a bit of acting, and I’m comfortable using a microphone. I found a terrific professional recording studio and had a wonderful time reading my stories aloud there.  I just read the poems as if I were reading them to one of my grandchildren.

Thank you, Deedy. We’ll be back with more questions later!

Bizzy, Blizzy, Dizzy, Fizzy, Frizzy, Quizzy, Tizzy & Whizzy


Thursday, December 11, 2014

AND THERE'S A COOL AWARD EMBLEM STICKER, TOO!


LOOK WHAT CAME IN THE MAIL TODAY!!


Frizzy is going to hang this on her wall, but she doesn't know if all the excitement will keep her awake!

Congratulations, Frizz (and Deedy)!

Love,

The Rest of Us Izzies
 

ONLY 14 SHOPPING DAYS LEFT UNTIL CHRISTMAS!

 (Shameless Promotion Alert)

Well, really only 13.  Not many people shop on Christmas Day.

When you are making your last minute Christmas lists, please don't forget us Izzies!

You can buy our award-winning stories as paperbacks, Kindle books, Nook books, downloadable audiobooks and audiobook CDs.

Amazon purchase links are right here.  Yes, there they are up on the right side on this page.  For links to buy through other online retailers, please visit our websites: dorotheajensen.com  or izzyelves.com.

People keep telling us how much they love reading these books to their kids. (Plus those who get sick of doing this can always play an audiobook once in awhile instead!)

By the way, next year you'll also be able to buy Izzy Elf Dolls, too!

We hope you make our stories part of your holiday tradition.

Much love,

The Izzies





Sunday, December 7, 2014

Wow! Deedy Really IS an Honorary Izzy Elf!

Here she is getting ready to read and sign our books at MainStreet BookEnds at 2 today!

Deedy (that's Dorothea Jensen to you), says the only trouble with her elfin sweater is that it has bells, so she can't sneak up on anybody. We Izzies don't wear bells. Too noisy when we are all working in the Workshop! Of course, the reindeer all wear bells. There's nobody up in the sky to hear them except Santa!




Friday, December 5, 2014

A SHOUTING SUCCESS!!


We Izzies are delighted to report that many, many people came to the Hopkinton, NH, Library on Wednesday to hear Deedy (Dorothea Jensen to you) read Frizzy, the S.A.D. Elf. It was apparently a record breaker for attendance at a children's event there!

Our very favorite moment was when Deedy reached the end of Frizzy's story. While everyone was clapping, one little boy shouted "I WANT THAT BOOK!"

This is just a reminder that Deedy will be doing only one more book reading/signing between now and Christmas.  Here are the details:


2 p.m. Sunday, December 7, MainStreet Bookends, Warner, NH. (Click on the link to learn more.)


Please come if you can!

(We'll be there, too, but only in print!)

Love,

Bizzy, Blizzy, Dizzy, Fizzy, Frizzy, Quizzy, Tizzy, and Whizzy





Thursday, December 4, 2014

WE'RE NOW FEATURED GLOBALLY!

On a new website (under construction) via its Facebook page.

We like this especially because we Izzies have always considered ourselves to be Global Features. We do live at the Very Top of it, after all.(The Globe, that is.)

Check it out!


Global Cultural Exchange

Love,

Bizzy, Blizzy, Dizzy, Fizzy, Frizzy, Quizzy, Tizzy, and Whizzy.







Wednesday, December 3, 2014

DD Solidarity!

Here's a little something Dee Dee Lozier, who is working on prototype dolls for us Izzy Elves, posted on Facebook.

So now we Izzies have TWO Dee Dees on our team!!! (Although Dorothea spells hers DEEDY.)

************

"Check out the winner for the young adult children's category. I have the privilege of having met the author of Frizzy the S.A.D. Elf and I am currently collaborating with her to use my sewing talents to bring this spunky elf to life in doll form. If you are looking for a gift to give your little for Christmas, her elf series is creative, jolly, intelligent, and fun for littles and parents alike..."
We're so excited to announce the winning books from The 2014 Red City Review Book Awards...
First Prize Winner - Young Adult/Children's - Frizzy the S.A.D. Elf by Dorothea Jensen
Follow this link for more information:

Monday, December 1, 2014

LOOK WHOSE STORY WON 1ST PRIZE!

                                      FRIZZY!!!!



                              FIRST PRIZE WINNER!!!



We Izzies are all so proud of her winning story, Frizzy, the S.A.D. Elf. Frizzy is proudest of all. Except for Deedy (Dorothea Jensen to you.)

If we could turn our blog any redder, in honor of the Red City Review Book Awards, we'd do it!

Look up on the right to find links to buy the (ahem) AWARD-WINNING Santa's Izzy Elves stories!

Don't forget that Deedy will be reading bits of Frizzy, the S.A.D. Elf  (and autographing all of her Santa's Izzy Elves stories) this week. Come meet her if you're anywhere near New Hampshire!

Wednesday, December 3, Hopkinton Town Library, Hopkinton, NH at 3:15 p.m.
Sunday, December 7, MainStreet Bookends, Warner, NH at 2 p.m. (in the gallery)



Meanwhile, here's a little preview of Deedy reading Frizzy:

You can find lots more information about us Izzies, our stories, and Deedy/Dorothea Jensen at our websites:

Love from all the Izzy Elves:

Bizzy, Blizzy, Dizzy, Fizzy,
Frizzy, Quizzy, Tizzy & Whizzy




Monday, November 24, 2014

Come Meet Deedy!




Deedy (the only HONORARY Izzy Elf, also known as Dorothea Jensen) will be reading bits of the Frizzy, the S.A.D. Elf  (and autographing all of her Santa's Izzy Elves stories) this week. Come meet her if you're anywhere near New Hampshire!

3:15 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 3, Hopkinton Town Library, Hopkinton, NH
2 p.m. Sunday, December 7, MainStreet Bookends, Warner, NH

 Meanwhile, here's a little preview of Deedy reading Frizzy, the S.A.D. Elf (Did we mention that it is a Red City Review Book Award First Place Winner, or that it also won a Santa Choice Award???)

So Exciting.

Here's a little preview of Deedy reading Frizzy:



As always, for more information about us, our books, and about Deedy, go to our websites:

izzyelves.com

dorotheajensen.com

Love,

The Izzy Elves

Saturday, November 22, 2014

Internet Crevasses


When last we wrote to you, Deedy (that's Dorothea Jensen to most of you) had just managed to post the CD of Frizzy's audiobook for sale on Amazon.com. Much celebration all round!

Unfortunately, after that things got a Bit Murky. Deedy did manage to upload listings of Tizzy, Blizzy, and Dizzy's audio CDs, but they kept Slipping Between Internet Cracks. And we all know there are lots of those riddling the web. Sort of like Crevasses.

Anyway, after flurries of e-mails back and forth, all the CDs have been found and firmly (we think) attached to the listings for the print and e-book versions. Deedy says that before they disappear again (she's a bit paranoid about the internet) she is posting all the locations to make it easy for people to find 'em.

Here we go: 










Tizzy, the Christmas Shelf Elf CD

 Want to hear an excerpt? Click here:

Santa's Izzy Elves: Excerpt of Tizzy, the Christmas Shelf Elf Audiobook













 Blizzy, the Worrywart Elf CD



 Want to hear an excerpt? Click here:

Santa's Izzy Elves: Excerpt of Blizzy, the Worrywart Elf Audiobook






Dizzy, the Stowaway Elf CD

 Want to hear an excerpt? Click here:

Santa's Izzy Elves: Excerpt of Dizzy, the Stowaway Elf Audiobook















Frizzy, the S.A.D. Elf CD

 Want to hear an excerpt? Click here:

Santa's Izzy Elves: Excerpt of Frizzy, the S.A.D. Elf Audiobook







Love from the Greatly Relieved Izzies!


Santa's Izzy Elves: Trailer for Grownups

Santa's Izzy Elves: Trailer for Kids



Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Deedy MIGHT have figured it out!

Deedy (that's Dorothea Jensen to you) thinks she has managed to list the BRAND NEW CD edition of the audiobook for my story, Frizzy, the S.A.D. Elf  for sale on Amazon.com!

Here it is!

Frizzy Audiobook CD

Not bad for an Older-Type Human!

(We Izzies are very proud of her. Although we do get a bit tired of hearing her talk about "Steep Learning Curves", whatever they are!)

If you want to hear a sample of this recording, follow this link:


 Frizzy Audiobook Excerpt

Now she has to list the other three Santa's Izzy Elves audiobook CDs.

If she hasn't already forgotten how to do it.

Love,

Frizzy






Saturday, November 15, 2014

A PICTURE OF BLIZZY WITH A SNOWGLOBE




BLIZZY INSISTED WE POST THIS AGAIN FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO MISSED IT

SANTA KEEPS A "WEATHER EYE" ON, WELL, THE WEATHER

Santa has been as excited as we Izzies are about the wintry weather that has been hitting the Northern Hemisphere.  (It's not only you people out there who dream about a White Christmas.)

He figures that there's nothing like few beautiful snowflakes to put everyone in a holiday mood.  Even he must admit, though, that Mother Nature has been sending a bit more than a few flakes to some places.

Such blizzards make it difficult for all of us, too!  Even the Virtual Reins have a hard time getting Santa where he has to go in a Complete White Out.

And although there is nothing we Izzies enjoy as much as a snowball fight, we know there can be Too Much of a Good Thing.

So we'd like all of you who have been digging out of snowdrifts lately to know that all of us at the North Pole know what you are going through. Even Santa.

Meanwhile Blizzy said she hopes this Snow Overdose doesn't put children off her snowglobes. We tell her "don't be a worrywart"! The snowflakes in her globes are much warmer on the fingers than the real stuff, after all.

Cheers,

The Izzy Elves







Wednesday, November 12, 2014

ALL OUR AUDIOBOOKS HAVE BEEN UPDATED AT AUDIBLE.COM, AMAZON.COM, & ITUNES!

Now they all have beautiful Christmas tunes by the Wise Women (Louisa, Ruth, Lucy, and Rowena Wise)!





You can follow the links to the right to find the audiobooks on Amazon, or go straight to Audible.com.

Here are the Audible links:

Tizzy Audiobook

Blizzy Audiobook

Dizzy Audiobook

Frizzy Audiobook

(NOTE: you can listen to samples of all these at Audible.com. The music might not be on the sample you hear, but it is definitely on the audiobook itself.)

We have no idea how to use iTunes. (Not even Bizzy, who prides himself on his internet savvyness.) You are all on your own with that!

Don't forget to send an e-mail with Free Frizzy Audiobook in the subject line to enter our giveaway of a free download!

Also, as soon as Deedy (that's Dorothea Jensen to you) figures out how to do it, actual CDs of these audiobooks will be for sale on Amazon.com.

Cheers,


Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Santa Choice Award for Frizzy!




We Izzies are so very delighted to announce that Frizzy, the S.A.D. Elf  has been named a Santa Choice Award Winner!

The announcement said "the reviewers found your poetry entertaining, the story engaging and delightful!"

We are all so happy for Frizzy (and Deedy)!

Much love,

The Izzy Elves






Sunday, November 9, 2014

Hooray for Frizzy! (And thanks to MDBR)

Frizzy's Book Review Wrap up

We Izzies have had such fun reading all the reviews that have come in for Frizzy, the S.A.D. Elf at many websites via Motherdaughterbookreviews. (To read all the excerpts, click on the link at the top of the page.)

Most people LOVE the wonderful pictures by Shayne Hood, but a couple didn't like 'em much. (We didn't let Frizzy see those reviews in case they hurt her feelings. Girl Elves can be a little sensitive about these things. So can boy elves, for that matter.) Some people said only older kids would enjoy the story: others reported that their 3 year olds liked it a lot.

All we can say is "hmmmm, very interesting".

Anyway we are all very grateful to everyone who shared their thoughts on Frizzy's story. And we are especially grateful to Renee at motherdaughterbookreview for introducing Frizzy to the blogosphere!

Love,

The Izzy Elves


Thursday, November 6, 2014

Oops. I forgot.

There are links to buy our books RIGHT ON THIS BLOG POST! (Over there on the right side.)

Sheepishly,

Tizzy

P.S. Oh, well, by following the links on the post I just wrote, you can visit Deedy's website and see all the Cool Stuff there!

PLEASE HELP TIZZY AVOID A CONFLICT OF INTEREST


As some of you know, my job at the North Pole is to pick out the gift books Santa brings to children.  I  always try to match the books to each child.  I've never had any trouble doing this in the past. (Except for the time I was packed by mistake inside a bookshelf when I was only doing my job. Probably by Whizzy. If you haven't read that story, here's a handy dandy link: Tizzy, the Christmas Shelf Elf )

But now there are four books (including the one linked above) that I know all kids aged four and over will LOVE.  The problem is that these are about me and three of my best friends, Blizzy, Dizzy, and Frizzy. (Although four other elves—Bizzy, Fizzy, Whizzy, and Quizzy—Santa Claus, and four little boys are also in these stories.)

I just cannot decide if I can put these books in Santa's pack without feeling that I am somehow playing favorites!  I'm sure that there are lots and lots of great books out there besides our Izzy Elf Stories. At the same time, I KNOW  that kids will LOVE having our very own story/poems read aloud at Christmastime. (Or as some reviewers have said, anytime at all.)

Please help me out with this problem!  If you will order the books for your children YOURSELVES, then I won't have to make this tricky decision. (I have to confess this is keeping me awake nights. And Christmas IS coming.)

Here are more links so you can do this:

BLIZZY, THE WORRYWART ELF

DIZZY, THE STOWAWAY ELF

FRIZZY, THE S.A.D. ELF

Thank you so much!

Gratefully,

Tizzy







Tuesday, November 4, 2014

S.C. IS NO SLOUCH AT TECHNOLOGY EITHER!

We Izzy Elves have heard that some people think our boss, Santa Claus, is an old-fashioned kind of guy. What a hilarious notion that is! Santa uses the very latest technology for everything from finding out what kids want for Christmas by reading their internet wishlists to finding his way to all their houses to deliver toys by using Virtual Reins! And he makes sure we Izzies have the most up to date gizmos for getting our jobs done in the most modern, efficient way.

Of course, S.C. is old-fashioned in other ways. We do have to give him a hand sometimes with new electronic devices. (He says this requires a "younger-type brain".)

So he's still very much a Merry Old Elf and whatnot.

He is also very, very wise and helps us solve our problems (just as he recently helped Frizzy get over her Seasonal Affection Distress in Frizzy, the S.A.D. Elf).

Just like kids the world over, we do love him!

Cheers!

The Izzy Elves






Monday, November 3, 2014

GIVEAWAYS!!!!

Our author, Deedy (Dorothea Jensen to you) is helping with a giveaway of a kindle for kids.  Here's the link to enter:

Holiday Kindle Fire for Kids Giveaway Link

Also, don't forget to send us an e-mail (elfenterprisesllc@gmail.com) with Frizzy Audio Giveaway in the subject line to enter our Very Own Giveaway of a download from Audible.com of the Frizzy, the S.A.D. Elf audiobook!

We love to give away free stuff!

The Izzies


WE REALLY LOVE OUR NEW JOBS!

We are trying to write about how much we do love our new jobs without giving away what they are!  This is not easy to do.  But we hate it when people tell the ending of a story before we read it, and we assume that you don't want to know the ending of Frizzy's story, Frizzy, the S.A.D. Elf, before you read it!  (Of course, all of you who have read it already will know exactly what we are talking about.  If the rest of you want to know, you'll have to buy our book through one of the links we are putting at the end of our post. That's just the way it is. Besides, the children in your lives will love it when you read the story aloud to them.  Even big kids. Especially big kids, actually.)

First of all, I (Frizzy) am having SUCH a GREAT Time putting r - - -b - - - , e - - l - - - - - , and l - - s - - - - on my new toys!  (I think they are EXTREMELY beautiful, even if some b - - - don't like them!) It did take quite a while for me to find just the right thing to do to cure my S.A.D. (Seasonal Affection Distress) but finally Santa came up with the perfect solution.  Yay, S.C.!!!!

Secondly, I (Dizzy) am so HAPPY working on my new toy, m - - - - - - t - - - - -!  My symbol has always been bolts of l - - - - - - - -, so I get a real kick out of painting them on! Not to mention talons, and fangs, skulls, etc.

Besides, I am still making all the remotes for both my new toys and Frizzy's, so we still get to be "co-worker elves". To quote from Frizzy's story (talking about me and Frizzy):

He would make the remotes to control all the movements
And then they would test them to make new improvements...


We like working together best of all! (But don't tell the other Izzies, or they will tease us about that.)

Love,

Frizzy and Dizzy




Here are the links to buy Frizzy's story!

Frizzy, the S.A.D. Elf






Saturday, October 25, 2014

Hooray! All the Way to 10 K!!!!

All right, we know we said we weren't going to write again about our pageview stats.  But if you will look over there—just to the right underneath the "translate" button—you will notice that we have over ten thousand (that's 10,000) pageviews on our counter.  We were so excited when we watched that number click over (Santa, too: none of his other elves have a blog and he is VERY proud of us) that we had an extra-special Elf Celebration. Usually we only have these on Christmas day, as any of you know who have read our stories, Tizzy, the Christmas Shelf Elf and Bizzy, the Worrywart Elf.  But here's a reminder:

When Santa flies home every year in his sleigh
He throws us a party on each Christmas Day.
We feast and we frolic. (It’s kind of a perk
To celebrate ending our annual work.)
For after each elf belly finally is full,
We pull on our parkas and mittens of wool
Then, joining our hands in an elfentine ring
Which circles the Arctic, we dance and we sing.
Our finale is fireworks which fill the night sky
With curtains of color that shimmer so high!








































If you look very, very carefully, you might be able to spot us in the circle of dancing elves. (We invited some non-Izzies to celebrate with us.)

Thank you, thank you, Dear Readers, for helping us reach this milestone!

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ (♥)

Bizzy, Blizzy, Dizzy, Fizzy, Frizzy, Quizzy, Tizzy, Whizzy (and H.I.E. Deedy)


Friday, October 24, 2014

YUP! WE'RE REALLY REALLY HIGH TECH ELVES!


 Fun Holiday Book with a Great Message, October 23, 2014
The book is a fun mix of both traditional and contemporary holiday charm! Frizzy is one of Santa's elves and she loves making dolls. However, she's always sad when Santa takes the dolls to deliver them to the children. So Frizzy talks with her friend Dizzy and decides that she must find a new toy to make - one that she won't miss when Santa delivers them on Christmas Eve.

It's a fun twist to see what Frizzy decides to do and also the outcome of her new toy-making adventures. The author includes some very up-to-date and funny references to technology throughout the book which the kids thought was great! I like the problem-solving aspect of the story and how Frizzy approaches her dilemma (and also how Santa and her friends help out along the way).

The story is actually written in verse and mimics the poem "A Visit from St. Nicholas". I wasn't sure I would like this when we first got the book but it works really nicely with the story! My 10 year old and I read this book together so it was great to get into the rhythm of the poem as we read. And I also like the connection of old and new (old being the link to the original Christmas story and new being the fun introduction of technology throughout the book).  - Jacqueline Fisher, Amazon.com

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Frizzy's Not the Only One Getting Great New Reviews! Hooray!

Tizzy, the Christmas Shelf Elf: Santa's Izzy Elves #1
Home for the Holidays has a whole new meaning
This children's book has it all! Amazing pictures, a rhyming story line to grab a child's attention, and the magic of everything children love about Christmas...This one is sprinkled with enough realism and fantasy that it will be a family favorite during the holidays for many years to come. It's not only the children who love this book...Grandparents who share this story will become one of the best memories of childhood Christmas. An engaging 5 Stars!!
                                                                                                       - Peggy M., Amazon.com

 Blizzy, the Worrywart Elf: Santa's Izzy Elves #2
This is such a cute story. My little one loves it. No matter how many times we read it he is entranced in the Story like he is hearing it for the first time. 5 Stars 
                                                                                                - Kera Montgomery, Goodreads.com 
Dizzy, the Stowaway Elf:Santa's Izzy Elves #3
 
My grandchildren really loved the story of Dizzy the Stowaway Elf

My grandchildren really loved the story of Dizzy the Stowaway Elf. Thank you so much for the Christmas fantasy! It's always easy to spot a winner in the eyes of a child. 5 Stars
                                                                                                         - Goodreads Reviewer

We Izzy Elves LOVE people who write nice things about our stories. (Deedy likes them, too!) We're thinking of handing out Honorary Izzy Elf certificates to our Worthy Readers (if we can figure out how to deliver 'em)!

Thank you so much!

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ (♥)
Bizzy, Blizzy, Dizzy, Fizzy, Frizzy, Quizzy, Tizzy, Whizzy (and Deedy)


Wonderful New Review for Frizzy!




We Izzies love it when Frizzy gets a great new review.  She deserves it! Here's the latest:


I had a great time reading this book: such beautiful rhymes, illustrations and story, too!
I’d like to point out that the message brought about by Frizzy is not just for children – a lot of adults can definitely relate to it as well. Although the “poem” was really long, it did show that sometimes, you have to go through a trial-and-error process to find out that thing that you really want in life (yes, even kids go through that with their toys!). At least, the author did not create a shortcut to the story and give a solution right away.

The illustrations that come with the rhymes were also well done. I love how colorful they are and they portray the characters’ emotions very well, too. It is something that will definitely catch the attention of very young kids who might not yet be interested with the text.
                                                                                                the bookloverslounge.com


Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Today is a Big Day for Tizzy!





I just found out that the New Improved Downloadable Audiobook of my story, Tizzy, the Christmas Shelf Elf, has been released!  Now it can be bought at Audible.com, Amazon.com and the iTune stores!

(Anyone out there who has already bought the old version will be able to download the new version for free.)

Yee Haw!

Love,
Tizzy

P.S. Here's the link to buy it from Audible.com.  Hope you like it as much as i do!

Tizzy, the Christmas Shelf Elf Downloadable Audiobook!

Tomorrow is a Big Day for Us Izzy Elves (or for 4 of us)

We are all very excited up here because tomorrow CDs are arriving here for the first four of our stories, Tizzy, the Christmas Shelf Elf; Blizzy, the Worrywart Elf; Dizzy, the Stowaway Elf and Frizzy, the S.A.D. Elf!

Deedy read them all aloud at Rocking Horse Studio to make these recordings. (She says she pretended to be reading to her grandsons, but we know she was really reading to all of us.)
Then music was recorded at a studio on the other side of the world by Louisa, Ruth, Lucy, and Rowena Wise and put at the beginning and ending of each of these stories.

We know that CDs are very old-fashioned, and modern parents like to buy audio downloads instead, but Deedy says that some parents and most grandparents still like to have a CD to play when they are too tired to read one of these stories aloud to children for the 100th time!

We Izzies love listening to these over and over and over again!

Deedy says she will get them up on Amazon.com for sale as soon as she can figure out how to do this. Bizzy says he will help, but we all know that sometimes he doesn't know quite as much as he thinks he does.
 
Here are some excerpts, so you can hear what these sound like:






 Santa's Izzy Elves: Excerpt of Frizzy, the S.A.D. Elf Audiobook
(now available from Amazon.com, Audible.com, and iTunes.



(New, Improved version will be available soon from the above websites.) 

New Improved Version is NOW available from Audible.com, Amazon.com, and the iTunes store. (See post above for link!)








Santa's Izzy Elves: Excerpt of Blizzy, the Worrywart Elf Audiobook
(New, Improved version will be available soon from the above websites.)














Santa's Izzy Elves: Excerpt of Dizzy, the Stowaway Elf Audiobook
(New, Improved version will be available soon from the above websites.)

Saturday, October 18, 2014

The Great Circle of Elf

So Bizzy has been snooping around in the innards of our blogsite and found a widget that makes it easy for people to sign up to get e-mail notifications whenever we Izzies write a cool new post! (It's over on the right, just under the page view counter.)

Naturally, once Bizzy installed it, we couldn't resist playing around with it a little.  We put our own address in.  Then we wrote a new post.  Then we watched our e-mail like hawks to get the notification that we'd written a new post. Then we go back to our blog and write another post and then watch for it to come through to our e-mail.

We have decided to call this "The Great Circle of Elf."

You must understand that there is not much to do for entertainment up here at the Pole. Mostly we just 1) work in the Workshop, 2) work out in the ElfGym, 3) munch in the Munchroom, or 4) play with Quizzy's games and puzzles in the ElfDen.  (Of course, there is also the Great Outdoors, where we have snowball fights that go on for days.  And days around here can be REALLY LONG during some parts of the year.)
 
In any case, we have been having fun going round and round the G.C. of E.

Please join us, by putting your e-mail into that tiny slot on the right and following directions to set it all up.

Bizzy also put a "subscribe" button on here, but we haven't figured out yet how it works. We'll get back to you when we do.

In the meantime, here is a fun picture for you of some of the elves working out in the ElfGym.

Cheers,

The Izzy Elves

Can you spot the non-Izzies who have sneaked in to play in our gym?



Friday, October 17, 2014

More Translation Chuckles!

So we Izzy Elves cannot resist playing with the "translate" button (see it on the right??).

We just tried translating our names into Portuguese (because Deedy speaks it a bit - she was in the Peace Corps in Brazil 45 years ago!)

Guess what?  Just like in French, Frizzy's name is the only one that is changed into something else. Here's the list:

Bizzy 
Blizzy
Dizzy
Fizzy
Cabelo Crespo
Quizzy
Tizzy
Whizzy 
(e Deedy)

It's always fun to see how similar words can be in these Romance languages:

French Cheveux Crépus = Portuguese Cabelo Crespo.

We prefer the Portuguese, because we don't have to hunt all over the keyboard trying to figure out how to put in the  ´.  (Which we just did anyway, which kind of defeats the purpose. Oh, well.)

Luckily, Dizzy seems to have learned his lesson about teasing Frizzy about this. Just in case, Bizzy looked online and found out that Dizzy in Portuguese is "Vertiginoso". We're all ready to start calling him that if he starts calling Frizzy "Cabelo Crespo". 

Deedy (that's Dorothea Jensen to you) has been pestering us lately asking our opinions on which of Bizzy's "adventures" (or misadventures) she should put in the next Izzy Elves story. (It's going to be about Bizzy, obviously.) She says she won't start writing it down until after Christmas—which is just as well because we are all slammed with work here at the Pole until then, of course, and don't have time to chat with her.

Meanwhile, Bizzy is looking a little nervous. We tell him not to worry, Deedy won't put anything in his story that will embarrass him—too much!

Much Love,

The Izzy Elves (and Deedy)

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ (♥)

(Whizzy likes this picture because his name is first! Since his name starts with "W" he's usually at the end of the list!)