(As of April 21, 2013)
1. “Nothing to Lose, Everything to Gain” by Ryan Blair
2. “Life After Life” by Kate Atkinson
3. “Maggie Vaults Over the Moon” by Grant Overstake
4. “A Kansas Soldier at War” by Ken Spurgeon Continue Reading →
Author Grant Overstake reads from ‘Maggie Vaults Over the Moon’ April 11th, 2013, at Watermark Books in Wichita. (Photo by Carl Williams)
An overflow crowd of nearly 70 Maggie Steele fans gathered at Watermark Books & Cafe Thursday night, April 11th, to hear Grant Overstake read from his new sports novel, Maggie Vaults Over the Moon.
Author Grant Overstake reads from ‘Maggie Vaults Over the Moon’. (Photo by Carl Williams)
It was an overwhelming show of support for the gutsy teen from Grain Valley, Kansas, whose compelling story of courage and triumph is capturing the hearts of readers young and old.
“Words can’t express how great it was to see so many people at this event,” said Overstake, a Wichita native. “I saw some people I hadn’t seen since third grade and met many new friends. To experience a reading and book signing event at Watermark was one of the highlights of my life. To see them putting out more chairs to seat all the people, well, it was just awesome.” Continue Reading →
Tonight’s book reading and signing of Maggie Vaults Over the Moon is listed as a featured event on Wichita Public Radio’s website!
“How cool is that?” said author Grant Overstake, a devoted listener to 89.1.
Everyone is invited to the author’s event, which begins at 7 p.m. at Watermark Books & Cafe in Wichita. And, be sure to support KMUW’s pledge drive, going on now!
Maggie Vaults Over the Moon author Grant Overstake is this week’s featured guest on Keyhole Conversations, an interview program especially for Kansas-based writers and authors.
The interview by hostess Bonnie Eaton and director/producer Hazel Hart 
took place in advance of the author’s reading and book signing event, to be held Thursday, April 11th, at 7 p.m., at Wichita’s premier bookseller, Watermark Books & Cafe. Continue Reading →
Maggie Vaults Over the Moon has vaulted onto the library bookshelves at Wichita Public Schools – a thrilling feat for author Grant Overstake, who was born and raised in “The Air Capital City.”
The new teen sports novel also can be found at the Wichita Public Library and in many private school libraries in the city.
“I was really touched when I heard that school officials had read and endorsed Maggie’s story, and that my book was going to be available to so many students in my hometown,” said Overstake, who attended Buckner Elementary, Brooks Junior High, and Heights High School.
Maggie Vaults Over the Moon retells the story of Maggie Steele, a gutsy farm girl from tiny Grain Valley, Kansas, who pours her broken heart into the daring and sometimes dangerous sport of pole-vaulting. The story climaxes at the Kansas State High School Track and Field Championships, held each May at Cessna Stadium on the campus of Wichita State University. Continue Reading →
GRAIN VALLEY, Kan. — The nostalgic and mouth-watering field harvest dinner scene in Grant Overstake’s new teen novel Maggie Vaults Over the Moon has been featured in the But What Are They Eating? blog, written by Shelley Workinger.
Author Shelley Workinger has devoted an entire blog to FoodFic, the creative use of food in fiction.
‘Maggie’ retells the story of Maggie Steele, a gritty farm girl who pours her broken heart into the daring and dangerous sport of pole-vaulting.
Kirkus Reviews says the novel “…exudes sweetness; in some ways, it feels as if it takes place in another era, as it lacks the dark edge seen in other popular young adult stories…”
A morsel of this story’s other-era sweetness can be tasted in a nostalgic food scene in which the stressed and grieving Steele family takes a break from a long day’s harvesting to savor a fresh, home-cooked dinner – transported from the farmhouse kitchen to a half-cut Kansas wheat field.
Workinger is the successful author of the The SOLID Series. When she’s not working on her own books, she’s chatting about FoodFic on her blog, which is completely devoted to the creative use of food in fiction.
Read about Maggie’s harvest dinner scene at But What Are They Eating?
Barbara Gruener, a school counselor at one of the US’s premier National Schools of Character, has endorsed Maggie Vaults Over the Moon because of the novel’s positive character-building message for young people.
Maggie’s review appears on Gruener’s The Corner on Character blog, which she created “to showcase people and experiences that corner the market on character and make the world a better place.”
In addition to brightening the blogosphere with uplifting messages, Gruener has helped make the world a better place by coaching students at Westwood Elementary School in Friendswood, Texas, to National School of Character status.
National Schools of Character are schools and districts that have demonstrated through a rigorous evaluation process that character development has had a positive impact on academics, student behavior, and school climate. They serve as models for other schools, helping them to achieve the same results. Continue Reading →
