Author: Katie L. Carroll (Page 29 of 144)

Double Cover Reveal UNSEEN EVIL & EVIL UNLEASHED by Kelly Hashway

March 16, 2018 / Katie L. Carroll

Today I welcome Kelly Hashway back to the blog for a special double cover reveal of her latest YA paranormals UNSEEN EVIL and EVIL UNLEASHED. Welcome, Kelly!

Cover Reveal: UNSEEN EVIL and EVIL UNLEASHED are both coming your way April 3rd! Check out these awesome covers and preorder your copies today!

UNSEEN EVIL blurb:

How can you fight what you can’t see?

Seventeen-year-old Kaylan Bradford has no idea what she wants to do with her future, but dying sure as hell isn’t on top of her list. Yet everywhere she goes, strange accidents happen, each one nearly taking her life. Someone or something is after her.

Reese, the sexy new guy in town, immediately takes an interest in Kaylan, and something about him makes Kaylan feel more alive than ever. Reese isn’t the only new face in Kaylan’s life, though. Riley is beyond gorgeous, and he saves Kaylan’s life more than once.

But Reese and Riley are both keeping secrets—secrets about Kaylan’s future. The more Kaylan discovers about herself, the more the attempts on her life begin to make sense.

Kaylan is desperate to change her fate, but when she discovers the identity of the one who’s trying to kill her, she may not have a future at all.

→Amazon: http://amzn.to/2D7mdDG

→iBooks: http://bit.ly/UnseenEviliBooks

→B&N: http://bit.ly/UnseenEvilBN

→Kobo: http://bit.ly/UnseenEvilKobo

EVIL UNLEASHED blurb:

Kaylan Bradford thought having her boyfriend decide her future for her was the worst thing ever. She couldn’t have been more wrong. Discovering the truth about her past sets in motion a slew of events that unleash evil on the world.

Determined to fix her mistakes, Kaylan resorts to traveling through time, but every move she makes only creates new problems for her to deal with. People are dying, and she’s to blame.

She’ll need to figure out how to battle the ultimate evil…even if it means battling herself.

→Amazon: http://amzn.to/2D7Kppy

→iBooks: http://bit.ly/EvilUnleashediBooks

→BN: http://bit.ly/EvilUnleashedBN

→Kobo: http://bit.ly/EvilUnleashedKobo

Join Kelly’s VIP Reader Group, Kelly’s Coven: https://www.facebook.com/groups/KellysCoven

About the Author:

Kelly Hashway fully admits to being one of the most accident-prone people on the planet, but that didn’t stop her from jumping out of an airplane at ten thousand feet one Halloween. Maybe it was growing up reading R.L. Stine’s Fear Street books that instilled a love of all things scary and a desire to live in a world filled with supernatural creatures, but she spends her days writing speculative fiction and is a USA Today bestselling author. Kelly is also USA Today bestselling romance author Ashelyn Drake. When she’s not writing, Kelly works as an editor and also as Mom, which she believes is a job title that deserves to be capitalized.

Author Links:

Website: www.kellyhashway.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kellyhashway/

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/KellyHashway

Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/khashway

Newsletter: http://forms.sendpulse.com/323115810a

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/AshelynDrake & http://www.goodreads.com/KellyHashway

Amazon: http://bit.ly/AshelynDrake & http://bit.ly/KellyHashway

Ashelyn’s BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/ashelyn-drake

Kelly’s BookBub:

https://www.bookbub.com/authors/kelly-hashway

PIRATE ISLAND Book Launch Party Is Coming!

March 5, 2018 / Katie L. Carroll

My middle grade adventure PIRATE ISLAND came out way back in October, but I wasn’t able to plan a proper launch party for it…until now! Connecticut friends and beyond, join me at the Milford Public Library on April 17, 2018 from 2-4 p.m. for what I think will be a really fun party celebrating my latest book. All ages are welcome and there will be something for everyone, from the littlest library patrons to the oldest.

I’ll talk a little about the local lore that inspired the story and do a short reading. Then we’ll have a fun fishing game where everyone wins a prize (sneak peek of the prizes in the picture below), coloring pages, cookies, a pirate ship photo booth, and, of course, the opportunity to pick up signed books. And it’s at the library, so there’s all the usual goodness of a trip to the library.

I hope to see some of you local friends there! It’s during my kids’ April break, so it’s perfect for parents looking for a fun activity for the kiddos.

Young Kids, Short Attention Span, Short Writing Time

February 20, 2018 / Katie L. Carroll

Babies and young children have short attention spans, but the title of this post doesn’t refer to my kids’ attention spans; it refers to mine. I once read a quote about a mother’s attention span is only as long as that of her youngest child (I tried looking it up to cite it but couldn’t find it and, honestly, didn’t look that long 😉 ). My youngest is 7 months old, so that tells you about how long I can concentrate on any one thing. The shiny hot mess that is social media doesn’t help either!

via GIPHY

Hence why I’ve been focusing a lot of my writing time on picture books. Not easier to write than novels, but easier to feel like I’m actually making some progress on it in the shorter work sessions that fit into my current life. I’ve also been reading a ton of picture books with the kids, so I’m naturally inspired by that form.

Yet that old perpetual WIP (work-in-progress) Elixir Saved is weighing on me. I’m at the point where not working on it is always in the back of my mind. It’s different than when I’ve consciously taken a break from it because I needed to. This time I kind of feel like I’m just avoiding it. I’m in the meaty middle of the draft. I know where the story needs to go and I have a solid idea of how to get it there, but it’s gonna take a lot of work. So, yeah, I should probably make it a priority to work on it, instead of finding new things to work on.

Not that I’m going to stop working on my picture books. I just think I need a better balance. Isn’t is that what it always comes down to in pretty much everything in life: finding the right balance.

One last thing. I’m also in the market for a picture book critique partner. I’ve got plenty of writing buddies to exchange novels with, but not so much when it comes to picture books. I’d like someone with a little bit of experience in the area, but you you certainly don’t have to be an expert. Send me a message if you’re interested in seeing if we’re a good match!

Where Do I Find The Time To Write?

February 5, 2018 / Katie L. Carroll

I often get asked the question of how I find the time to write. The short answer to this–and every single writer you know will also have this answer–is that I make the time to write. It’s important to me; it’s part of who I am and how I navigate the world. So no matter how busy I am, I make sure there is time for writing.

I’m lucky to have help from relatives a couple days of weeks with the kiddos. I have a husband who financially supports me, so I don’t have to work for money. Do I have as much time as I’d like to write? Nope. Do I find myself distracted when I do have writing time? You betcha (I’m looking at you, social media!). Is it hard to write when the country feels like a pile of garbage? It sure is. Do I sometimes have to put the writing aside to deal with the business of being a writer? Of course (there’s submitting to do, marketing to plan, chasing people down to get paid, and lots of other stuff that’s not actually writing). Do I write every day? Nope, not even close.

But I do it. With help. I recognize the privilege I have. I think it’s important to point out my privilege because it’s not something writers always talk about. It’s easier to be a writer when you have support. That’s not to say I don’t have my own struggles. I have trouble balancing writing time and taking care of the kids (which is my primary responsibility in life right now). I worry about money, my retirement, and how to pay for the kids to go to college. Now that the boys are growing, I worry about having to go out and get a job just to feed those growing little bodies. Yet, I still make the time to write.

Here’s the thing, I know writers who work full time, have kids, and don’t have the kind of help I have. They make time to write. They do it because it’s important to them. They find a way to create, even when it’s hard, even when it’s done in the wee hours of the night when it feels like everyone else is asleep. They do it even though they’re bone tired. They do it because it’s important to them.

I find the time to write because it’s important to me. So when people ask me about how I find the time to write. I usually say something like, “Oh, I have help with the kids a couple of days a week.” Though the real answer feels far more complicated than that. Or maybe it’s not. Maybe it all comes back to the short answer. I find the time to write because I make the time to write. I’m a writer. I don’t know how not to be one…so I write (but not every day!).

Announcing a School Visit Special

January 29, 2018 / Katie L. Carroll

This offer for local schools has been extended to include the 2018/19 school year. If you’re not local and are willing to pay travel expenses, email me and hopefully we can set something up. My email is KatieLCarroll (at) yahoo (dot) com.

I’m offering a school visit special for the first time ever! If your school or organization purchases 30 or more of my books directly from me (at $10.00 each, either ELIXIR BOUND or PIRATE ISLAND), I’ll do a free writing workshop or assembly. Some of workshop topics include writing fantasy, revision, and generating ideas. I’m also open to working a specific writing topic to fit your needs.

This is for school’s I’d be able to visit without an overnight stay. So that means pretty much anywhere in Connecticut and extending out into parts of Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and possibly New York. If you’re not sure, just contact me at KatieLCarroll (at) yahoo (dot) com, and I’ll do my best to work something out.

Check out my School Visit Brochure here or my Author Visits page for testimonials. And here is the free Pirate Island Curriculum Guide that includes reader questions, a writing prompt, a nature lesson and activity, and a history of Captain Kidd and activity.

This offer is good for what’s left of the 2017/18 school year, though if I get interest for the fall as well, I might be able to accommodate you. If you know any educators who might be interested in this, please feel free to share my info with them.