Author: Katie L. Carroll (Page 123 of 142)

Wintry Reading Update

January 12, 2011 / Katie L. Carroll

As New England got buried in snow once again (seriously, when am I ever going to benefit from global warming) and I got the rare snow day off from work, I was happy to have plenty of indoor activities to keep me busy, i.e. writing and reading. I have a big ol’ stack of books in my to-be-read pile (some of which have been lent out even before I’ve read them) and an order of books on its way to my house, but really, one can never have too many books.

One of the books that is on its way is the YA dystopian XVI by Julia Karr. Julia and I roomed together at the SCBWI Summer Conference in L.A. last summer and had a blast. Aside from her talents as a writer, Julia is a kick-ass dancer! I am so excited for her debut novel.

Another debut I’m looking forward to is in the middle grade category: Charlie Joe Jackson’s Guide To Not Reading by Tommy Greenwald, who is an esteemed member of my critique group.

A couple of books that are part of a series have also made my most-anticipated-books list. There’s The Dark and Hollow Places by Carrie Ryan, Fury of the Phoenix by Cindy Pon, and Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore. With these books, there will be lots of fantastic things: magical powers, zombies, handsome fellows, and strong females.

What are you looking forward to reading?

The Pages I’ve Read in 2010

January 6, 2011 / Katie L. Carroll

As we turn the page on 2010 to a new one on 2011 (yeah, yeah, pretty corny!), I’ve been thinking about the pages and pages I’ve read this year, which just happens to be enough fill 65 books (not to mention all the magazines, newspapers, blogs, and cereal boxes I’ve read). Interestingly that was the same exact number of book I read in 2009. I had hoped to read more books in 2010, but I put reading somewhat aside in the second half of the year in order to give myself more writing time, or as was often the case, more revising time.

Throughout the year, I featured the book trailers of some of my favorite books, including my absolute most favoritest book of the year: The Sky Is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson (which my twin-not-twin sister gave to me for my b-day). I also picked up a bunch of signed books (some of which are still on my to-read list): Al Capone Shines My Shoes by Gennifer Choldenko (which came highly recommended by my 11-year-old nephew), Dead Girl Walking by Linda Joy Singleton, and Princess Ben by Catherine Gilbert Murdock to name a few.

In honor of Banned Books Week, I draped myself in only banned/challenged books. After reading that post, a certain book buddy of mine gave me The Giver by Lois Lowry when she found out I didn’t have my own copy.

As for 2011 in addition to print books, I’ve now had my Nook for over a year and hope to add to my Nook book collection. At Girls’ Christmas a new book bag was started. Basically, a group of us girls pass around the bag of books and when it’s out turn to have the bag, we can read none/any/all of the books in it and write in the enclosed journal if we choose to. Then you take out any books you had previously put in and add more books if you want to.

Up next, I’ve got some 2011 releases I’m really, really looking forward to reading! Enter a great contest on Anna Staniszewski’s blog to maybe win some of those books. What were your favorite books of the year?

The Sweet Tradition of Christmas Cookies

December 27, 2010 / Katie L. Carroll

It just wouldn’t have been a complete Christmas without making cookies with the nephews and niece. I love to see the creativity come out of each of them in different ways.

(This is just a sampling of the cookies we made. I don’t think any of them are mine. I played around with different combinations of black and white frosting this year.)

My 11-year-old nephew is my writing buddy. We pack up our laptops and head out to the local cafe or Barnes & Noble and work on our projects (and eat too). He has a fast mind that’s always churning away, so he works feverishly on projects (and sometimes has trouble finishing them). He has always liked to draw figures, from baseball players to super-heroes, so it was no surprise that he turned some of the cookies into his favorite music artists.

My 5-year-old niece is a girl’s girl. She loves princesses, her favorite colors are pink and purple, and she often compliments me on a cute shirt or accessory. She is also very creative and passionate in her pursuits, especially drawing and coloring. She was the last kid standing when it came to decorating.

My 4-year-old nephew is what I like to call mechanically creative. He’s a very literal little boy, who watches and explores how things move and work. He is also super sweet and indulges his auntie when she asks for a little “sugar” (hug and kisses) or to eat his cheeks, which have the cutest dimples. He tends to be very methodical with his creations.

(From left to right: we have Squidword as made by my little nephew, a trendy snow lady complete with rosy cheeks courtesy of my niece, and Michael Jackson as envisioned by my older nephew.)

Naturally I forgot to bring my camera this year, so thanks to my mom (and here is where my brother would say, “Thanks to your mom!”) for the pictures. What are your favorite traditions?

Being a Sun Junkie

December 18, 2010 / Katie L. Carroll

I have a confession: I’m something of a sun junkie. And living in New England, I find myself jonesing for some of those good, warm rays as winter rolls around. By the time winter ends, I’m sure I’ll be “looking all pale and tragic” (five stars for the first person to comment with the correct movie reference!).

When the sun is actually shining this time of year, I try to get outside for what I call my “15 minutes a day.” It doesn’t always happen, and when it does, it’s not always in optimal conditions because I often have my head covered. I’ve read (and I can’t for the life of me remember where I read this) that the back section of your head near the crown is the most absorptive part of the body.

There’s just something about being out in the sun and fresh air a little bit everyday that invigorates me. And let’s be honest, my self-esteem gets a nice boost when I have at least a little bit of a tan (as opposed to the aforementioned pale-and-tragic look). It’s not only anecdotal evidence that supports my “15 minutes a day” theory, either.

Actual science backs this claim (and I’m not talking about overexposure to the sun…we all know skin cancer, sun spots, and wrinkles are bad…moderate exposure is key). The aptly named SAD (seasonal affective disorder), which can make you moody, tired, and depressed (admittedly, similar to the symptoms of PMS), usually occurs in conjunction with the lack of sunlight in the winter. Proper sun exposure also helps your body produce vitamin D, which is important for strong bones.

Okay, is this starting to sound too much like a commercial for sun? Well, I don’t care. I really do love the sun. Without it, we don’t have plants, food, animals, earth, life. I’d say it’s about tied with water as the most essential element of life, so you really can’t over emphasize its importance.

All this talk about the sun has made me a little twitchy. Unfortunately it’s night right now. I hope it’s not cloudy tomorrow. I need to get my fix before I start to go through withdrawal! My sun, my precious (please tell me someone knows this book/movie reference!).

Gathering Book Ideas From Song Lyrics

December 5, 2010 / Katie L. Carroll

I may be stating the obvious here, since all my blog titles are song lyrics, but music is important to my writing. Sometimes it’s just a lyric or two that inspires me, but other times a whole song speaks to a scene on which I’m working or a character I’m developing.

In my story Elixir Bound, there’s a scene where the main character, Katora, floats above the forest via a magical binding (yup, it’s a fantasy). Katora normally can’t fly and it’s a malevolent creature that binds her, but for a minute she feels a rush of adrenaline that gives her an intense high and sense of freedom. When I think about this part, I always hear the long musical beginning of the live version of Naveed/Life by Our Lady Peace (pretty much my favorite band of all time). This song gives me the same kind of feeling I imagined Katora having when I wrote that scene.

In my reimagining of The Little Mermaid, one of the main characters Poe is in love with his best friend, but he thinks she’s never going to love him back. Naturally, his song is Jason Mraz’s If It Kills Me. The lyrics “Well, all I really want to do is love you/A kind much closer than friends use/But I still can’t say it after all we’ve been through” are such a perfect description of how he feels.

And then there’s this new idea that’s been percolating in my imagination for a few months now. This one is rife with musical inspiration. The original idea popped into my head while I was listening to Godsmack’s song Voodoo. I heard the lyric “Never did I wanna be here again/And I don’t remember why I came” and a whole scenario played out in my brain like a mini-movie.

Then I realized (as I often realize when I think I’ve had an inkling of an original thought) that my idea was just a YA dystopian ripoff of The Bourne Identity with a female teenager as Bourne. So I decided to actually read the book instead of watch the movie yet again (really, who can get enough of Matt Damon as a reluctant assassin?).

Anyway (I do digress), that’s not the only song that has inspired this new story. The main character (who may or may not have a name that was inspired by the lead sing of the aforementioned favorite band…I haven’t decided if it’s the right one…but who does have a nickname of Black Butterfly) has a past that she can’t remember, but may somewhat be described by Civil Twilight’s song Soldier.

And seeing as the opening scene of this story was inspired by a song, it’s fitting that the closing scene was also inspired by a song: Linkin Park’s Waiting for the End. Mind you, I’ve done a lot of thinking about this new story, but I only have bits and pieces of it scribbled in some notebooks. The rest is all in my head…for now. I have a couple off other projects that are taking priority over this one, but it’ll get written down one day soon.