Author: Katie L. Carroll (Page 88 of 142)

Elixir Bound in the Flesh!

December 18, 2013 / Katie L. Carroll

Yesterday, a nice surprise came in along with the snow: my paperback copies of Elixir Bound! I feel like it was so long in coming, so it was more with a sigh of relief than a whoop of excitement that I held them in my hands. Not to downplay the awesomeness of it all, but I think I had built the moment up in my head for a little too long to really be in the moment when it happened. But they are here, and they are beautiful! Check out T.B. Markison’s blog post today for a spotlight of Elixir Bound, including an excerpt.

I’m hoping to book some local events in the New Year, and I’ll keep you all updated with what’s happening on that front. If you won a signed copy of Elixir Bound, those went out in the mail this morning, so keep an eye out for them next week…maybe even before Christmas! For anyone who is interested, I have bookplates (little stickers that I can sign and personalize) I can send for you to put in your own copies of Elixir Bound. Just send me your snail mail address and personalization info using the Contact page of my website (don’t worry all personal info only goes to me).

I think the most rewarding part of having the book was to see the dedication I wrote for my sister Kylene. She was the inspiration behind the book and set me on this crazy, wonderful path of being an author. I think I’ll leave you all with that dedication:

To Kylene

In life your were a sister, friend, and confidant.

In death you are a sister, friend, confidant, and muse.

The Dirt Diary Author Anna Staniszewski on Creating Diverse Characters

December 11, 2013 / Katie L. Carroll

Let’s give a big welcome to returning guest blogger Anna Staniszewski, author of the upcoming tween book The Dirt Diary, as she discusses creating a diverse main character. I was very pleased to receive an ARC of this fabulous book and shared my thoughts on it in my 5-star Goodreads review. Welcome, Anna!

When I first began writing The Dirt Diary a few years ago, I knew early on that the main character, Rachel, had a white mom and a Korean-American dad. Perhaps this character detail emerged because the story took place in middle school, a time in my own life that I associate with one of my closest friends (then and now) who is Korean. Or perhaps Rachel appeared in my head that way just because that’s who she is.

For several drafts of the novel, however, I struggled with how overt I should make Rachel’s ethnicity. It didn’t play a large part in the story, but it was part of her character. Also, did I, a Polish-born, American-raised author have a right to write about a character who wasn’t like me?

As I mulled this over, I came to two realizations. First, why couldn’t Rachel’s race be part of her character without it affecting the plot? Rachel being biracial was just as much a part of her as being a girl or an only child. It didn’t guide the story; it just felt like a natural part of her character. And second, I realized that none of the other characters I had written were “like me.” If I stuck to the “like me” criteria then I could only write about characters who had lived in Poland until they were five and then moved to New England. How boring would that be?

So I set out to write Rachel not as a biracial character but as a real character, one whose desires and emotions I could tap into and understand. I realized that my personal experiences did play a part in shaping her character. Not only do I know a thing or two about teen mortification, but having been raised bicultural made it easier for me to imagine how Rachel might feel about being biracial.

Have I made any missteps in depicting a biracial character? Perhaps. And it’s precisely that fear that kept me from acknowledging her ethnicity in early drafts of the book. Ultimately, though, I felt like it would be worse to ignore her true identity than to not try writing it at all.

The Dirt Diary blurb:

Cleaning up after the in-crowd gets Rachel all the best dirt.

Rachel can’t believe she has to give up her Saturdays to scrubbing other people’s toilets. So. Gross. But she kinda, sorta stole $287.22 from her college fund that she’s got to pay back ASAP or her mom will ground her for life. Which is even worse than working for her mother’s new cleaning business. Maybe. After all, becoming a maid is definitely not going to help her already loserish reputation.

But Rachel picks up more than smell socks on the job. As maid to some of the most popular kids in school, Rachel suddenly has all the dirt on the 8th grade in-crowd. Her formerly boring diary is now filled with juicy secrets. And when her crush offers to pay her to spy on his girlfriend, Rachel has to decide if she’s willing to get her hands dirty…

About the Author:

Born in Poland and raised in the United States, Anna Staniszewski grew up loving stories in both Polish and English. She was named the 2006-2007 Writer-in-Residence at the Boston Public Library and a winner of the 2009 PEN New England Susan P. Bloom Discovery Award. When she’s not writing, Anna spends her time teaching, reading, and challenging unicorns to games of hopscotch. She is the author of My Very UnFairy Tale Life series, published by Sourcebooks Jabberwocky. Look for the first book in Anna’s next tween series, The Dirt Diary, in January 2014, and visit her at www.annastan.com.

Grounding Myself Update

December 9, 2013 / Katie L. Carroll

Back in September, I mentioned how I’ve been doing this whole literal grounding technique (full grounding post here, but in short it’s my attempt to put my feet on the actual earth everyday for a year). Okay, admission time: I haven’t been out everyday since the weather has turned cold, but I have been trying to get out at least every few days.

We had a bit of cold spell in November (like temps in 20’s and low 30’s for almost a week straight). This proved to be a slight deterrent, but didn’t totally derail my grounding. And just the other day, in December, we were back in the high 50’s. A good day to get out there in bare feet.

Barefoot on the beach during an unseasonably warm October day.

A few tips if you ever decide to attempt such a crazy thing. Don’t go out in bare feet because any concrete, asphalt, unnatural surface will be colder than a natural one and will freeze your feet before you get to your intended spot (even throwing on sandals or slippers works). Scout out a good spot before going outside because that equals less time in the cold. Don’t go out when you’re already cold. A good time to venture out is right after a shower when you’ve still got the residual heat of the warm water.

So all in all the grounding is still happening, and I think I’m a more relaxed person for it (and getting heartier in the process). What have you been up to lately?

Book Blast for The Shadow of the Unicorn by Suzanne de Montigny

December 4, 2013 / Katie L. Carroll

I’m very happy to host Suzanne de Montigny’s fabulous middle grade story The Shadow of the Unicorn (see my Goodreads review here). Don’t forget to enter the giveaway for a $25 Amazon gift card or Pay Pal cash!

Title: The Shadow of the Unicorn: The Legacy (The Shadow of the Unicorn, Book #1)

Author: Suzanne de Montigny

Recommended age: 9+

Summary

A loud, hissing sound filled the air. The unicorns looked up, their eyes filled with horror.

Azaria, a unicorn colt, is intrigued when the young clairvoyant dinosaur, Darius, foresees a terrifying change in the world. When a giant fireball smashes into the earth, the unicorns struggle to survive the hurricanes and starvation that follow. Danger of a more sinister nature threatens when the creatures-that-walk-on-two-legs settle in the valley and their leader, Ishmael, discovers the healing power of the unicorns’ horns. Azaria, now a young stallion, must use his wits to save the herd from complete extinction.

* #1 in the Animals in their World list on Goodreads Listopia *

* #1 in the Christmas Stocking Stuffers list on Goodreads Listopia *

Winner of the 2013 Global E-book Award for Best Fantasy/Alternate History

The Buzz

“Kudos to Ms. de Montigny for writing an original variation on the fantasy epic–unicorns intermingling with dinosaurs! The book’s themes include the humane and environmental concerns that Watership Down and the films of Hayao Miyazaki have in common. If you have a middle grader or are just young at heart, pick up The Shadow Of The Unicorn.” ~ 5 Star Review, Stuart W., Amazon

“The Shadow of the Unicorn is a must-read for all unicorn lovers, but even more so for the ones, like my self, who hadn’t read anything about them yet. It is a thrilling and encouraging story about a young unicorn that has to save his herd after a meteor nearly destroyed their environment and killed the dinosaurs. Suzanne de Montigny created a compelling universe with believable characters and a great adventure story to challenge them with. While the story finishes in this book, I can’t wait to read about the new adventures the unicorns will face..” ~ 5 Star Review, Antje H., Amazon

“This story pulled me in with a beautiful portrayal of a time and place where unicorns and dinosaurs live side by side. It moved me forward with unexpected twist and turns (a requirement in any good story). I found it hard to put the book down and was totally engaged in seeing the young characters (unicorns and dinosaurs) survive and grow because of the challenges they faced.” ~ 5 Star Review, NW Harris, Amazon

“I just finished reading The Shadow of the Unicorn. What a story teller Suzanne de Montigny is. She combined unicorns with dinosaurs and spun a tail of magic that kept me turning the pages, not to mention throwing in an evil that came in the form of a human! What an enjoyable story – and here I thought these mystic animals were extinct. I just didn’t know what to look for!” ~ 5 Star Review, Penny E., Amazon

“What a delightfully unique book. Unicorns and dinosaurs facing changing conditions. Darius is a young dinosaur capable of seeing the future. Azaria is a young unicorn who becomes a friend and learns from Darius. Yes, there are humans in this book. They are the villains of the story. Greedy beasts. I think both boys and girls will love this story. Very quick paced and easy to read. A delightful story, and I look forward to more from this author.“ ~ 5 Star Review, DM Lawrence, Amazon

*Half of all proceeds go to the Third World Eye Care Society, a group of eye specialists who travel to third world countries with thousands of pairs of glasses and perform eye surgery for free.*

About the Author: Suzanne de Montigny

Suzanne de Montigny wrote her first unicorn story at the age of twelve. Several years later, she discovered it in an old box in the basement, thus reigniting her love affair with unicorns. The Shadow of the Unicorn: The Legacy, is her first novel. Suzanne lives in Burnaby, B.C. with the three loves of her life – her husband and two boys.

Website | Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

* $25 Book Blast Giveaway *

Prize: $25 Amazon Gift Card or PayPal cash (winner’s choice)

Contest runs: December 2, 2013 to January 1, 11:59 pm, 2014

Open: Internationally

How to enter: Please enter using the Rafflecopter widget below.

Terms and Conditions: NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW. A winner will be randomly drawn through the Rafflecopter widget and will be contacted by email within 48 hours after the giveaway ends. The winner will then have 72 hours to respond. If the winner does not respond within 72 hours, a new draw will take place for a new winner. Odds of winning will vary depending on the number of eligible entries received. This contest is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with Facebook. This giveaway is sponsored by the author, Suzanne de Montigny and is hosted and managed by Renee from Mother Daughter Book Reviews. If you have any additional questions – feel free to send and email to Renee(at)MotherDaughterBookReviews(dot)com.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Magnetic Poetry Weather Theme

December 2, 2013 / Katie L. Carroll

You many not know this because I haven’t featured guest poetry in awhile, but I have a pretty expansive magnetic poetry set on my refrigerator and I like to show off on the blog what people have been creating. These snippets of poetry have accumulated on my fridge over the last couple of months (spaces have been preserved to show the use of different tiles).

winter woman desire s the ghosts s of too little heart

hard night easy party

cold gray man taste little snow spark s

love rain

ask her not to wet y our past

blue light make s the garden speak in sweet whisper s

play every day

There seemed a weather theme going on with “winter”, “cold”, “rain”, “wet”, and “snow” all being used. I was quite pleased to see that the ever overused “prostitute”, “monkey”, and “manacle” were left in the unused pile this time around.

Here are some more poetic creations from the past: July 2012, February 2012, July 2011, and May 2011. Enjoy! And feel free to share any of your poems in the comments. 🙂