‘Maggie’ is a best-seller at Watermark Books, the region’s No. 1 bookseller.
Boosted by enthusiastic reader recommendations and online sales, the popular teen novel Maggie Vaults Over the Moon continues to soar as a best-seller at Watermark Books & Cafe, the region’s No. 1 bookstore.
Author Grant Overstake reads at Watermark Books on April 7, 2013.
Listed among works by writers such as Khaled Hosseini (The Kite Runner,And the Mountains Echoed), Maggie ranks 10th on the Watermark Books Best-Sellers list as of June 16, 2013. The novel has soared to as high as No. 3 in recent months.
“It’s been amazing and exciting to see how readers of all ages have responded to Maggie,” says author Grant Overstake. Continue Reading →
‘Maggie’ will be presented to the top female pole-vaulters at the Texas River Vault Championships in San Marcos Texas.
Didya hear the BIG news? Maggie is headed to Texas!
The gutsy farm girl from Grain Valley, Kan., will be ridin’ high atop the awards stand Saturday, June 15th, at the Texas River Vault Championship.
As many as 300 vaulters are expected to compete in one of the biggest pole-vault festivals in the nation — an event so Texas-sized that it includes seven categories just for female vaulters!
A copy of the inspirational sports novel, Maggie Vaults Over the Moon will be presented the top female finishers.
The beautiful San Marcos River is the setting for the Texas River Vault Championship.
“Of all the great things that have happened to Maggie, this is one of the best so far,” said author Grant Overstake. “She’s humbled and honored and a little bit nervous about a trip down to Texas, because, as they say, San Marcos is a fur piece from Grain Valley.” Continue Reading →
Richard and Laura Borman, longtime track coaches and parents of champions, gave “‘Maggie Vaults Over the Moon” to athletes in their youth program.
Author Grant Overstake scratched his head when a shipping invoice showed multiple copies of Maggie Vaults Over the Moon had been sent to Festus, Missouri.
The mystery was solved when he discovered to his delight that the order had been placed by Richard and Laura Borman — longtime track coaches and parents of champions.
“Maggie Vaults Over the Moon was one of the best books we have ever read as a family,” Laura explained. “We were so captivated by the plot that we bought copies for members of our youth track team, the Jefferson County Jets Track Club, and for our friends. We are looking forward to Grant’s next book!”
Brittany won the 2012 US Olympic Trials. In London, she had the best-ever Olympic javelin throw for a US woman.
This came as awesome news for the author, because the Borman family knows a thing or two, or three about track and field: Continue Reading →
The Sunflower State’s top pole-vaulter, Nick Meyer, Bishop Carroll senior and future KU Jayhawk, won the Wichita City League Championship.
Congrats to Maggie’s pole-vaulting friends Caitlin Hawk (10-8) and Nick Meyer (16-2) of Bishop Carroll HS for soaring to gold medals at the Wichita City League Meet!
The high-flying Golden Eagles, coached by Denis Fraizer, are big fans of the teen novel, Maggie Vaults Over the Moon, which captures the excitement of the world’s greatest sport.
Maggie says, “Way to go Caitlin and Nick! And best wishes to all Kansas HS pole-vaulters in the next few weeks. Knowing the Highest and Best for you at Regionals and State!” 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.
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 →
[Author's note: One of the greatest thrills a newly-published author can experience is to have a reviewer get excited about his or her first novel. I'm delighted that 'Maggie' earned a stellar recommendation from Fran Lewis, one of the blogosphere's most prolific and influential book reviewers! Like so many who follow this blog, Fran loved her journey to Grain Valley, Kansas. She grasped the story's message, and she fell in love with Maggie, Alex, Troy, Grandma, and all the other characters. Thank you, Fran, for reading my book, and for giving Maggie 'Five Gold Medals' and 'Five Golden Moons!' -- Grant Overstake]
Fran Lewis
Book reviewer Fran Lewis is a distinguished retired educator who worked in the New York City Public Schools as the Reading and Writing Staff Developer for over 36 years. She holds three masters Degrees and a PhD in Supervision and Administration. She is a member of Who’s Who of America’s Teachers and Who’s Who of America’s Executives from Cambridge. A successful writer and author, Fran has published ten books in various genres. Continue Reading →
“It’s one of the most pure and wholesome young adult books I’ve ever read.” — Shannon Clark
Thanks to Shannon Clark of I Run Read Teach for an Awesome Review:
You know that saying — “Don’t judge a book by its cover”? Well, it applies to this book. Most definitely! Grant Overstake, the author, contacted me about reading his book and reviewing it on my blog. I am so glad I did.
English teacher and Coach Shannon Clark is also a Girls Gone Sporty Ambassador, promoting health, life and fitness for girls of all ages.
It’s a young adult book that’s appropriate for young adults as well as 4th and up. When do you ever find a young adult book like that? Some words that would best describe it would be- PURE, WHOLESOME, GENUINE -those can also describe Maggie, the main character.
Not an inappropriate word throughout the entire book. No inappropriate content either. I mean that’s a hard find in today’s world! It’s one of the most pure and wholesome young adult books I’ve ever read.Continue Reading →
