I’ve always loved those BuzzFeed personality quizzes: Which Disney Princess Are You, What YA Dystopian Novel Would You Live In, What Fantasy Character Fits Your Personality. They remind me of my adolescents days when I would take the quizzes in Seventeen Magazine (when a physical magazine would actually come to your mailbox…I’m old!).
So I decided to make one for my latest YA fantasy ELIXIR SAVED. It was a lot of fun to make, and even more fun to take. (Can you tell all my marketing efforts for this book have been about doing things that I enjoy? If you haven’t seen my launch video with ELIXIR SAVED’s birth story, definitely check that out.)
One aspect of the worldbuilding I expanded upon from ELIXIR BOUND to ELIXIR SAVED was the magic. In book 1, we know some characters can use magic and others don’t. But as far as where magic comes from or what governs how it can be used, there’s not much there. What we do know is that Katora has inherited the magic of guardianship of the Elixir from her father and Hirsten has inherited his mapmaking magic from his father. We also know the higher beings use magic a lot more than humans and demicks, the mortal beings.
In book 2, I expanded upon how the magic in the world of the Great Peninsula works. One of the old theories is that magic comes from the elements, but that belief has fallen out of fashion in the time where the Elixir stories take place. Turns out, this is true. Each human or demick has one element that fuels their magic, though many mortal beings don’t tap into their magic at all. And higher beings can tap into all four elements as a source of magic.
The magic is fueled by the elements, but the magic itself isn’t necessarily tied to being able to manipulate a certain element Avatar-style (I only watched the series Avatar: The Last Airbender in the last couple of months and loved it!). So someone who gets their magic form the element water doesn’t use their magic to manipulate water…it’s simply the source of it. Each person’s magic is usually tied to being able to do one thing (like making maps move and hold memories), though, again, the higher beings aren’t restricted by this.
Which brings me to the quiz (finally!). You can find out what element fuels your magic, but what you do with that magic is only limited by your imagination. It also shows you what Elixir characters share that same element. It’s only 7 questions, and there are no wrong answers…the best kind of quiz!
B.T.W. I’m pretty consistently earth magic (no surprise that matches Katora’s element). I’d love to hear what your results are. Oh and if anyone is reading any of my book, I’d love pictures of them in the wild, so please tag me when you share.
Today’s the day…ELIXIR SAVED is out in the world! It’s been quite the journey with this book. It took me a very long time to write (here’s a post I wrote back in 2017 “Why Is It Taking Me So Long To Write The Second Elixir Book?”) and was more work than I anticipated, even though I knew it was going to be a hard book to write.
I’m really proud of it, though. I think it reflects how much I’ve grown as a person and a writer since those long ago days when I wrote ELIXIR BOUND. Most importantly, I think it gives the character based on my sister Kylene the journey I wanted for her, the story I couldn’t give her in the first Elixir book because I wasn’t ready yet. And it has a gorgeous cover thanks to the very talented Susan Tait Porcaro, who has turned from a colleague to a friend.
I decided to roll with the idea of book birthdays and give ELIXIR SAVED its very own birth story. This video was fun (and embarrassing) to make, but I hope it shows how much I love writing and my books, even when they’re difficult…much like having kids. Plus I got to wear the dress I got (pre-pandemic) for book events.
I’m trying to be positive in this release post because I want to send my book baby out into the world with good energy. But I can’t say it’s been easy to release a book during a pandemic. I rely on hand-selling at events to help get the word out and reach new readers. I’m also missing out on an unknown number of opportunities for both Elixir books that may have arisen as a result of ELIXIR BOUND winning an award last year. I’m also aware of the privilege I have of getting to this at all.
There are the usual release day nerves and jitters there, too. This book is long–maybe too long–despite my efforts to trim it as much as possible. Things have been so hectic this year, I ended up doing most of the final edits on my own, so I’m nervous about what I may have missed. After working so long on a book, it’s hard to have any perspective. Way to sell you all on buying the book, right? *insert awkward laughter*
So if I haven’t totally scared you away by now, here are the details on what the book is about and where you can buy it. Thanks so much to each and every one of you for being a part of my author journey!
ELIXIR SAVED by Katie L. Carroll
Three lives saved by the Elixir; three lives bound by it.
The Elixir entwines the lives of those it touches. Once upon a time, Kylene, Zelenka, and Devon tasted it and escaped death. None were left without scars. Now, a shocking message from the Ice Queen—one of Mother Nature’s higher beings—sends each survivor on a quest. Kylene travels to the frozen depths of Blanchardwood, Zelenka heads back to the wilds of Faway Forest, and Devon journeys to a reclusive mountain temple. The three paths converge in a war against an ancient and tricky foe. And even the Elixir cannot save everyone. The fate of the world balances on the edge of a sword, and the outcome depends on whether the survivors will sacrifice their second chances.
Escape back into the world of the Great Peninsula in this much-anticipated sequel to the award-winning ELIXIR BOUND. Perfect for fans of the Thrones of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas.
With ELIXIR SAVED releasing tomorrow and three family birthdays this week, it’s all about books and birthdays on the blog (say that three times fast!). Stop by tomorrow for the official ELIXIR SAVED launch video…where I may have taken the idea of a book birthday a little too far.
On Wednesday, I’ll be on author Kai Strand’s blog talking about my biggest challenge in writing book 2 (I cheated a little on this one and wrote about two things that challenged me). Then here on Friday, I have an author interview with Estelle Laure, whose book MAYHEM shares a book birthday with ELIXIR SAVED.
First kiddo, a.k.a. The Boy
There will more fun on the blog the rest of July. Next week, you can take a quiz (don’t worry, it’s only 7 questions and there are no wrong answers) to find out what element fuels your magic. And then some posts about the process of writing ELIXIR SAVED. If you have any questions about the writing process or any of my books, drop them in the comments and I’ll answer them here on the blog.
Second kiddo, a.k.a. The Prince
Today, though, is all about birth stories. I’ve shared here on the blog the exciting birth stories of my first two kiddos, one of whom was born during a hurricane (check out “A Beautiful Life Is Born”) and the other who was almost born in the car (check out “The Precipitous Birth of Baby Boy #2”). When I went looking for a post about the third kiddo’s birth story, I realized I never wrote it up (such is the way of parenthood after the first couple of kids), all I found was a post called “Summer 2017 in Pictures – All About Adjusting” with me saying his birth story will get up on the blog eventually.
Third kiddo, a.k.a. The Gentleman
The Gentleman (kiddo #3) came in an equally exciting way as the other two. The only reason we made it in time to the hospital was because we knew from the very quick birth of kiddo #2 to head there at the very first sign of labor. We still never made it to labor and delivery, and he was born in one of the tiny triage rooms before my doctor made it to the hospital. This was despite the several warnings my husband and I gave them about how our previous baby was born in one of those same triage rooms and maybe they should go ahead and send me to labor and delivery. It all worked out in the end, and that’s the important thing.
Baby Katie
Turns out my own birth story was rather exciting as well. My dad worked for the local newspaper at the time and wrote about it in his column. My parents didn’t have health insurance, so when my mom went into labor at about 9:00 p.m., she decided to try and labor at home until midnight to avoid the extra night’s charge. The hospital was down the road from our house, so they almost decided to walk but got a ride from my aunt at the last minute. My mom was admitted at 12:01 a.m. (with my dad double-checking the time on the paperwork) and I was born at 1:03 a.m. I guess quick births run in the family!
Anyone else have an exciting birth story? See you all tomorrow where I embarrass myself on video and share ELIXIR SAVED’s birth story!
Versions of this post about how I became a writer have been on several other people’s blogs, but I don’t think I’ve ever posted it here on my own blog. I was thinking about it as the release day for ELIXIR SAVED rapidly approaches and figured it was a good time to put it up here.
Katie reading to Kylene
I thought my life as a writer began when I was 19 on particularly hot day in early spring 2002, a black-letter day, the blackest of black-letter days in fact. I was in college on track to becoming a physical therapist with an early acceptance into the graduate program. But I didn’t become a physical therapist; I became a writer.
I’ve since come to realize, with the help of my mom, that it was much earlier than that that I began my writing life. On my blog post on the release day of the ebook version of ELIXIR BOUND, she wrote, “Although you would have done fine as a physical therapist, I always knew it was not your calling. You were a writer ever since you could pick up a pencil and I think I always knew that, after all the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree (of course I’m talking about your dad).”
Well, my mom was mostly right. Even before I could pick up a pencil, my mom would read stories to us: the Little Golden Books, the Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder, all kinds of fiction. I think that’s when I became a writer.
When I stop to think about it, I don’t know why it took me so long to figure out I was a writer. The signs were all there. My family and I used to write and illustrate our own picture books about the adventures of Sam the Billy Goat. At the climax of the story it would always read, “Voop Whoosh! Up went the Billy Goat.” And he would fly up to save the day.
I wrote (and sometimes illustrated) stories my whole childhood. In middle school, high school, and college I worked on the school newspapers. Yeah, I think I had been in a state of denial for 19 years…which brings us back to that black-letter day…April 16, 2002. The day my sister Kylene died.
Kylene and Katie
I don’t like to talk about that day. How the forget-me-nots were in bloom. How there were recording-breaking high temps. How it was the worst day of my life.
So what do you do when you’re 19 and your sister’s just died? Well, once you’re in a place where you can think again, you reevaluate. Everything.
For me that meant rethinking what I wanted to do with my professional life. Kylene gave me the permission to pursue my passion. So I began writing. Eventually I decided not to continue studying physical therapy. I kept writing, often not even sure who I was writing for. Kylene, an audience, myself?
I pursued publication. And got rejections, along with some encouragement. I revised, learned a lot more about the business of publishing. Wrote some more. Revised some more. Got a lot more rejections…you get the picture.
Ten years and four months after Kylene died, my book was finally born into the world. And what was that book about? A young woman, entrusted with the future of her family’s secret healing Elixir, going on a quest to find the Elixir’s secret ingredient.
I don’t need a psychoanalyst to tell me I was fulfilling a wish with that book. It was supposed to be about Kylene, and it is in some ways, but it’s really about me. Because for those 10 years, it had been too hard to write Ky’s book. I tried. ELIXIR BOUND started out from her point of view, but I just couldn’t write that book yet.
But I did eventually. ELIXIR SAVED is Kylene’s book…and a few other characters’, too, because writing just her story was too much (or not enough). It’s complicated.
As for Kylene’s real life story, I believe each of us as individuals doesn’t truly realize the impact we have on people. Each person we touch—whether it be with a story, a hug, a smile as we pass a stranger on the street—leaves a ripple.
Kylene, in her short life, left lots of ripples. With the people she loved. With the people she cared about. The people she felt compassion for, which was pretty much everyone. The people she shared the Harry Potter books with. Even the nurses in the hospital from the short time she was sick felt her ripples.
I like to think that each ripple I make with the Elixir Series is really Ky’s ripple…because I’m not sure I would have discovered my life’s passion if it weren’t for Kylene. It makes my heart smile to think that Kylene is still making ripples on the world, and that I have my own little role to play in that.
About ELIXIR SAVED: Three lives saved by the Elixir; three lives bound by it.
The Elixir entwines the lives of those it touches. Once upon a time, Kylene, Zelenka, and Devon tasted it and escaped death. None were left without scars. Now, a shocking message from the Ice Queen–one of Mother Nature’s higher beings–sends each survivor on a quest. Kylene travels to the frozen depths of Blanchardwood, Zelenka heads back to the wilds of Faway Forest, and Devon journeys to a reclusive mountain temple. The three paths converge in a war against an ancient and tricky foe. And even the Elixir cannot save everyone. The fate of the world balances on the edge of a sword, and the outcome depends on whether the survivors will sacrifice their second chances.
Escape back into the world of the Great Peninsula in this much-anticipated sequel to the award-winning ELIXIR BOUND. Perfect for fans of the Thrones of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas.
I hope you all enjoyed the reading I did of my middle grade adventurePIRATE ISLAND last week. I love presenting workshops and talks to writers and readers in person, but something about recording a video makes me nervous. I think I’m just the type of person who thrives on that face-to-face interaction, but we all must adjust during these strange times.
I’ve been working on my video space and equipment in particular because I recently became Talkabook Certified. Talkabook is a website where readers can book live video calls with authors. I’ll be offering several different options once they launch later this year, and I’m excited to be able to connect with readers this way and details will be on my author visits page.
In book news, ELIXIR SAVED launches in less than a month! It’s been a bit of an ordeal to get it listed for pre-order, but after many chats and emails with various distributors, I think it’s up in paperback and ebook most places now, including IndieBound, BookShop, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo. If there’s somewhere you like to buy books and it’s not there, let me know and I’ll see what I can do.
It’s really hard to have book coming out amidst everything going on in the world, but I’m doing my best to get the word out without being obnoxious about it. If any bloggers have guest spots open in July, I’d be happy to hop on your blog. I’m working on some fun promo stuff for release day, including a “book birthday” video and a quiz take will tell you what element your magic is aligned with.
At the beginning of the year, I ordered a bunch of bookmarks (pictured above) to give out at in-person events, which obviously aren’t happening. I’m not running any kind of official pre-order campaign for ELIXIR SAVED, but if you have ordered it, drop me a comment or an email and I’ll send you one (U.S. only…sorry).
As for work-in-progress news, I’ve been getting up early a couple mornings a week and hopping on video chat with one of my writer friends to continue drafting my witchy middle grade book–think Mean Girls meets The Crucible with a slight paranormal twist. With everyone still at home , early mornings are the best option for any kind of writing time…at least distance learning for the two older kiddos is over and they’re on summer break. I’ve come up with themed activities for kids for the summer that will hopefully allow me some time to work during the day.
One last thing (this update turned out longer than expected!), I have a secret project I’m working on that I’m hoping to release later this year or early next year. It involves a design skill set that I’m teaching myself, and it’s a project some of you might be familiar with. I got all the rights for it settled, so now it’s a matter of carving out the time for it and figuring out how to make it work.
Sending you all healthy vibes! I’d love to know what you’ve been up to or if you have any summer plans.
