Blog Tour Review and Guest Post of Moonbeam and Dreams by Gina Browning

About the Book:

Moonbeam Dreams is an intricately rhyming bed-time story written and illustrated by Gina C. Browning. It takes the reader and listeners on a magical, Dr. Seuss-like romp to the Land of Beddie-byes, where they meet all sorts of wonderful and interesting creatures. There are butterflies with gems dripping from their wings, dragons riding in red wagons, Lycra-wearing newts skating on moonbeams, unicorns, a frog climbing a kite-string, extra large snails and cats with fish-tails, and many, many more fun creatures to meet. It’s a positive, up-lifting and fun story that encourages children that almost anything is possible if you can dream it and believe in it strongly enough. It also encourages children to not be afraid of the dark, and that they have the ability to take control of their dreams. It also encourages children to welcome the weird and wonderful things that they might see in their dreams.

It is a story with a vocabulary that a child can learn from and grow into. It is also entertaining and interesting for adults to read as well.

It contains some interesting rhyming mechanics, alliteration and 22 bright and colorful, entertaining illustrations

About the Author:
Writer and illustrator, Gina C. Browning, says some of the verses in her poetry book first came to her in her dreams as she was recovering from surgery years ago.

The poems and illustrations in Moonbeam Dreams gradually evolved into “a keenly rhymed, fantastical romp through a fantasy land, with weird and wonderful characters for readers of any age to enjoy.” Her poetry truly is for the young at heart.

Browning thinks her dreams are fun and adventurous, as she always looks for the positive side to everything. Her book encourages children not to be afraid of the dark, and to believe in themselves and their abilities so that almost anything is possible. Browning says dreams can come true “either in daylight or night” if you believe in them strongly enough.

You can visit Gina online @ https://www.eloquentbooks.com/MoonbeamDreams.ht ml

Author’s Guest Post:
MoonbeamThe Inspiration behind “Moonbeam Dreams” by Gina C. Browning



In 1993 I was at my father’s house, recovering from a 5-day hospital stay and a complete hysterectomy. Since I was napping several times a day, every time I closed my eyes poetry verses kept pouring right out of my head. It was as if a portal to my creative imagination had been opened up, once again. I’d close my eyes and yet another line would come to me, and another, and another. I had to keep writing them down, and I wasn’t getting much sleep.


As a young child I had been a prolific poetry writer but that portal had been closed at age 17, twenty-one years earlier, when I wrote a poem in memory of my best friend who had been tragically killed in a terrible accident. It wasn’t really a conscious decision to stop writing; it just happened. I no longer found the urge to write about anything.


But that all changed with my hysterectomy. As anyone who has had a hysterectomy knows, needing that kind of surgery is as though “something” has died within you. Maybe it’s the finality of the ending of one’s reproductive years, or possibly it’s a less than positive milestone in the aging process. Either way, it’s a situation which also requires a period of mourning… and a period of adjusting to altered hormone levels!


So one death closed the portal and thankfully another “death” opened it again. For the next few weeks, I added to the first several verses and wrote new ones, and I also sketched a few of the preliminary illustrations. Since I was never able to bear my own biological children, writing a children’s bedtime story became a sort of healing process for me.


For the next 9 years, the whole project sat on the “back burner” while I pursued my jewelry business, while we raised our two adopted kids, moved internationally three more times and while I was distracted by other facets of life. Then in 2004 we moved from Australia to Thailand, where I could no longer work as a jeweler. As a foreigner, I was not allowed to “take a job away from a Thai national”, and I couldn’t compete with their inexpensive prices anyway. My “little voice in my head” (or my women’s intuition, or my guardian angel… or whatever you want to call it) said “Work on your book now! You have PLENTY of time.” So that is what I did. I tweaked the verses, wrote new ones, began painting some of the finished illustrations, and began looking for a publisher.


That brings us up to the present time. It’s been a LONG process and a continuing labor of love, and coincidently, that also describes life in general, doesn’t it? My creative “portal” has continued in the open setting, and I’m looking forward to bringing to light my next project. I hope it also receives the same warm reception and excellent reviews that Moonbeam Dreams has received.


Gina C. Browning is a creative, independent thinking, married mother of 2 adopted children and has been living her dreams for as long as she can remember. She is from Texas, but due to her husband’s job, moved to Australia with her husband and 17 month old son, Ryan, in 1989. Since then, they have moved internationally (because of her husband’s work) 4 more times, with a few domestic moves thrown in for good measure. In 1997 she and her husband adopted their daughter, Raechel, from China.


Having graduated from North Texas State University in 1979, with a BFA in “Metal craft and Jewellery”, Gina has been a professional jewellery designer/maker for the better part of 30+ years, and has written poetry, on the side, since she was a child. She is currently living in Australia (for the 3rd time), with her husband and daughter, where her dreams continue to inspire creativity. Her son, now 21 years old, no longer lives at home.


Gina’s book, Moonbeam Dreams, can be found at: https://www.eloquentbooks.com/MoonbeamDreams.html

My Review:
I wasn’t really sure about this children’s book at first glance. It seemed really iffy to me. But upon reading it,I find that it’s not so bad! It is a cute book for children. The author (who happens to be the illustrator too!) does well with the colorful pictures to capture a child’s eye. Her story line falls into line with that of a child’s night dreams, making this a book that is sure to capture, not only a child’s eye, but their heart as well.

When a child reads this, or has it read to them, it will a child the adventurous side of dreams. The rhyming in the book is a great attention grabber and makes it a perfect family night read before bed time! 4 stars to a talented author who also draws, great entertaining pics!

To purchase your copy of this book, visit Amazon.com  here.

*This book was provided for review by the author, for Pump Up Your Book Promotions*