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Cover Reveal SUPER BAD by Kai Strand

February 26, 2015 / Katie L. Carroll

Kai Strand joins us today with a cover reveal for SUPER BAD, the third and final book of the Super Villain Academy series. Kai is one of those prolific writers that I love to hate. 😉 Congrats, Kai, on a super cool cover and another upcoming release! Make sure to check out the giveaway, too.

Watch out. Things are about to get really bad.

Excerpt from Super Bad:

The classroom door opened and Sandra glanced toward it, along with the thirty other kids in the room. She snickered and raised her eyebrows at Lexa when a young man wearing a Hermes costume, complete with wings fluttering on his heels, floated in.

“I’m not gonna lie,” Lexa leaned over to whisper. “I hope a draft lifts his skirt so we can see what’s underneath.”

Sandra giggled. “My guess is bun huggers. Gold lame to match his shiny winged cap.”

Lexa waggled her eyebrows. “Shiny gold buns. I like.”

The teacher frowned at the young man. “Can I help you?”

“I have a delivery for Sandra Tohler.”

Sandra gulped. This couldn’t be anything besides embarrassing. A tidal wave of heads turned toward her causing her cheeks to flush with heat.

Seeing where everyone’s attention settled, the Hermes guy floated between the rows of desks and came to rest near hers. “Sandra Tohler?”

Reluctantly, she nodded.

He cleared his throat before delivering a soliloquy in a clear, resonating voice that Sandra was sure the students in classrooms across campus would hear.

“Sandra, oh Sandra, my lovely, stormy vixen, hear my humble plea. Your essence has absorbed into my every thought and now I wonder how I will sit for my exams. Will I answer essay questions by describing the intense sable color of your hair, or the enticing moss of your eyes that makes me imagine us lying in each others arms in a fairy forest?”

Sandra’s forehead hit her desk with a loud thunk, her voice a mumble against the surface. “Please stop. Go away.”

But the Hermes guy continued in his orator’s voice. “I’ve relived our kiss uncountable times. Your lips were velvet soft, but demanding.”

A chorus of “Ooo,” erupted through the room.

SUPER BAD The unexpected conclusion to the Super Villain Academy series.

The world is in chaos. Violence and thievery reign. And with the supers still balanced, it’s only getting worse. Without good versus evil, the supers care less and less. In order to restore purpose, the world needs its super heroes and its super villains, but the one who balanced them in the first place is missing.

Sandra’s concern over finding her brother, Jeff, isn’t her only problem. Her pathetic excuse for super powers has left her needing a new ankle. And though she’s still very much committed to her boyfriend, Source, she’s growing unreasonably attracted to Set, the boy who double crossed Jeff by stealing his girlfriend.

When Sandra is taken and held as bait by kids who want to unbalance the super world, it becomes the inciting event that changes things for supers everywhere and forces them to answer the question, “Hero or villain?”

***

Super Bad is scheduled for release in June, but there have been whispers of it releasing sooner. Don’t miss out. Subscribe to Kai’s mailing list and be among the first to know.

King of Bad – Jeff Mean would rather set fires than follow rules. He wears his bad boy image like a favorite old hoodie; until he learns he has superpowers and is recruited by Super Villain Academy – where you learn to be good at being bad. Is Jeff bad enough for SVA?

Polar Opposites – Heroes and villains are balanced. After Oceanus is kidnapped, Jeff learns the supers are so balanced, they no longer care to get involved. Ironically Jeff’s superpowers are spiraling out of control. Will they find Oci before he looses it completely, and will they find her alive?

***

Win a $10 Amazon gift card or an ecopy of either King of Bad or Polar Opposites. Plenty of chances to win. Open internationally. Enter here:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

About the Author:

When her children were young and the electricity winked out, Kai Strand gathered her family around the fireplace and they told stories, one sentence at a time. Her boys were rather fond of the ending, “And then everybody died. The end.” Now an award winning children’s author, Kai crafts fiction for kids and teens to provide an escape hatch from their reality. With a selection of novels for young adult and middle grade readers and short stories for the younger ones, Kai entertains children of all ages, and their adults. Learn more about Kai and her books on her website, www.kaistrand.com.

Where on the Web Have I Been Lately?

February 24, 2015 / Katie L. Carroll

You would think with so many snow days that it would feel like a lazy time of year. But snow days means days with no baby-sitting and missed school for The Boy, which means less work time for me. So all these “lazy” snow days have me feeling behind on my work. With quite a few workshop opportunities booked for the first half of the year, it’s got me feeling a bit frantic.

Plus, February has to be my absolute least favorite month of the year when I tend to be low on both energy and good spirits. So that always takes its toll on me this time of year. I don’t even have any place to ground myself right now and I’m itching to get my feet on some grass…even in this crazy cold. (Normal high this time of year is around 40 degrees. This year our warm days have been in the low 20s.)

I have many ideas for thoughtful blog posts, but they take more time and brain energy than I have right now, so unfortunately thoughtful blog posts have taken a back seat for now. Lucky for all you blog readers, I’ve had some wonderful guest posts to share with you all to make up for my lack of ones. Don’t worry, I’m sure I’ll find the time and energy for some good blog content soon.

In the meantime, here are some other places where you can find me on the web. I have lots of short posts with my thoughts, trials, and triumphs as a mother on Tumblr called Observation Mommy. You don’t have to be on Tumblr to check these out.

Lightning Quick Reads is a great short story blog I’ve been contributing to. Each month there is a different theme and each author posts once a month. My day is the 11th of the month and throughout the year I’ll be posting a series of related stories called “Tale From the Field” about a women’s high school soccer team. Each post is form a different players point of view, and I’m really enjoying tapping into my own memories of when I played competitive soccer. January’s was Captain Megan with a goals theme, and February’s was Addison in Love? with a, wait for it…love theme.

And if you’re local, the New Haven, CT launch party for The Great CT Caper has been rescheduled for Wednesday, March 25th from 4-6 p.m. It’s at the Yale Peabody Museum and all first floor exhibits will be open, including the Great Hall of Dinosaurs! Parents, kids, educators, librarians…everyone is welcome to come, and it’s free. Sign up here!

Finished (Almost) Attic Writing Space

February 20, 2015 / Katie L. Carroll

The attic office space is finished! Sort of. There are still some finishes that need to be done (molding, doors to close off the eave storage areas and for the closet, more seating options and eventually a new desk, and a few other things), but it’s completely functional and even starting to look pretty now that I’ve started filling up the bookshelves.

I love sitting at my desk that faces the window with my view of the neighbors’ rooftops and yards (though mostly there’s just a lot of snow out there right now), and the boys certainly enjoy the space. A bonus for the winter is that it’s the warmest room in the house.

Now that we’ve been clearing out the boxes and getting organized, I’m realizing how much good space we have up there. The floor space is big, and even with the limited headroom on the sides, it feels spacious. I’ll have to go through all my pictures of the attic and put together some before and after photos for you all. But for now, I’m just gonna enjoy my new room for what is meant for: writing!

Facts in Fiction with THE GREAT CT CAPER Author Laura A. Woollett

February 16, 2015 / Katie L. Carroll

Have you read chapter 4 of The Great CT Caper yet? If not, you’ll certainly want to after getting an inside look at how chapter 4 author Laura A. Woollett conducted her research for the Caper. Welcome, Laura!

Facts In Fiction

by Laura A. Woollett

I’ve been thinking a lot about how facts figure into the writing of fiction. If your fictional story is set in a real place or has real people in it, how much creative license do you have?

Research is a crucial element to creating historical fiction. The reader must feel as if he or she is IN that time and place. That means getting details such as clothing, cuisine, and architecture correct for the time period. But what about realistic fiction that takes place in the current time period? What about in a story like The Great CT Caper, which is a fictional mystery set in a real location that young readers can visit for themselves?

My first book, Big Top Burning: The True Story of an Arsonist, a Missing Girl, and The Greatest Show On Earth (Chicago Review Press, June 2015) is nonfiction. Every detail was meticulously researched through primary source documents. I’m accustomed to gathering facts and presenting them in an engaging story format. As I wrote my chapter for The Great CT Caper, I wondered how close I had to stick to the facts of the real-life setting.

I began thinking about this project by taking a trip Gillette’s castle. It was a beautiful, sunny September day, and flowers were still blooming. The Connecticut River rushed by far below the castle’s teeth-like walls. Inside, I passed through a secret passage and leaned over the balcony to look down on the great hall. I touched the walls covered in a woven hemp-like material and counted the Gillette_Castle many carved wooden doors, each one unique. Fiction feels its most real when the sensory details are just right. Since our story would take place at this real location, it felt important for me to experience what Li-Ming and Thomas would first hand.

Including details from the castle was important, but I did not want my chapter to sound like a report, so stuffed with facts it would appear I were teaching kids about the castle rather than telling a story that happened to take place there. I had to pretend the castle wasn’t a real place at all, but an imagined one, and like in any well-written fiction, I would only include details that gave the essence of the setting and furthered Gillettes_Bedroom the plot. If the detail was not important to the scene, I cut it, even if it were true. Somewhere in Chapter 4, I took a bit of artistic license. Can you tell where?

Whether writing fiction or nonfiction, writers want their scenes, their characters, and their stories to ring true. Here are my goals for any writing project:

Do your due diligence.

Go online and research reputable sites that have information on the time and place where your story is set. Better still, go to a library and ask a librarian. Best case, if you’re using a real setting you don’t know much about, visit. Take notes and pictures. Talk to the experts or people living there.

Be true to the time and place.

This means no anachronisms. If trolley cars had stopped running through Hartford during the time of your story, you cannot have your characters riding on them. Get the clothing right, the types of food, the music people listened to, and the world events that shaped their lives.

Do your best.

In the past, I’ve wrung my stomach into knots worrying that I’ve messed up some factual detail. And in my experience, if I’m feeling this way, it means I’ve definitely done #1 and 2, so it’s time to let that worry go.

About the Author:

Laura A. Woollett has a Master’s degree in Children’s Literature from Simmons College and is a full-time writer and editor of literacy curriculum for children in kindergarten through grade 12. Her first book for middle-grade readers, Big Top Burning: The True Story of an Arsonist, a Missing Girl, and The Greatest Show On Earth, a nonfiction account of the 1944 Hartford circus fire, will be published by Chicago Review Press in June 2015. Laura is the author of Chapter 4 of The Great Connecticut Caper, a middle-grade serialized whodunit published online through the CT Center for the Book, January–June 2015.

“Serial Killers Are People, Too” From Author Stuart R. West

February 13, 2015 / Katie L. Carroll

Writer friend and return guest poster Stuart R. West has a seriously deranged and hilarious post that is perfect for Friday the 13th. Stuart is celebrating the release of his latest thriller THE SECRET SOCIETY OF LIKE-MINDED INDIVIDUALS. Welcome, Stuart!

Serial killers are people, too.

First of all, I’d like to thank Katie for allowing me to step up on my soap-box. Look, I know I have an up-hill battle, campaigning for serial killers’ rights. But, here’s the deal. The serial killers I’ve written about in my newest book, The Secret Society of Like-Minded Individuals, are an interesting lot, people you may like to get to know. Um, just be very careful around them; hide the sharp utensils during dinner gatherings.

My protagonist, Leon, is just about the most well-adjusted, highly moral, nice-guy serial killer you’re ever gonna’ run across. (And you probably don’t wanna’ run across many of them, just saying.) He only kills those who need it, he has his reasons. Okay, okay, so he has a few issues. Still, all in all, not a bad guy.

On the other hand, we have Cody, aka “the Denver Decapitator,” Leon’s nemesis. Sure, he’s young, immature, cocky, and yanking the world by the tail. But there’s something about the guy. Something unspoken, some sort of humanity lurking beneath his rough, soul-patched veneer. He’s just got an odd way of showing it.

Let’s talk about the “Good Samaritan Killer.” Well…I really can’t without giving away spoilers. A big surprise. But they’re human, only too much so. (Wait, did I say “they?” Heh. Read the book and find out.)

“The Mad Doctor?” Such an ugly nom de plume, one he’s not fond of. After all, he kills in the name of love. Why can’t everyone just get along? It’s complicated.

Wait, look over there, it’s “Donny and Marie,” the two most charmingly psychopathic hit-men you’re ever gonna’ run across. It’s not just a job to them, we’re talking fun and games.

And fun and games is what you’re gonna’ get with The Secret Society of Like-Minded Individuals. A lot of people who’ve read it had their doubts at first, believing it might be a bit too much for their tender psyches to take. I understand. But they all agreed…they were in for a big surprise. Suspense, thrills, action, surprises–heck, even romance–and a light dusting of dark humor.

Here, author Heather Brainerd (of the exceptional Jose Picada mystery series) sums it up best: “I really, truly, and almost surprisingly loved SSLMI. I was a little scared of the whole serial-killer-as-protagonist concept, but it was awesome. Looking forward to the next one.”

See? SO, the next time you meet a serial killer (assuming you survive the encounter), just remember that they’re people, too. Shake their hand (don’t linger! And don’t look ‘em in the eye!), pat ‘em on the back, and give ‘em an “attaboy.”

Okay, maybe not, but you know what I mean.

THE SECRET SOCIETY OF LIKE-MINDED INDIVIDUALS blurb:

Leon Garber has his reasons for ridding the world of abusive people, call it justifiable homicide.

Opportunity comes knocking from Like-Minded Individuals, Inc., a global company fulfilling the needs of people like Leon. LMI’s clientele are provided with new identities, security, and even lists of potential “projects.” But let’s not call it “serial killing.” Such a nasty business. For Leon, it’s a dream come true.

However, LMI’s put a target on Leon’s back. He has no idea why.

LMI, the police, sanctioned hitmen, and a vicious psychopath are after him. He collides with other Like-Minded Individuals: The Good Samaritan Killer, The Mad Doctor, Donnie and Marie (don’t ask). Heads are chopped, dropped and swapped as Leon fights for his life. But nothing will keep Leon from finishing his current project. Nothing. Not even the chance to fall in love with the woman of his dreams.

Sometimes a killer business idea is just that. Killer.

Amazon link: The Secret Society of Like-Minded Individuals

About the Author: