Tag: Witches (Page 2 of 3)

Highlights Foundation Unworkshop: A Little Creepy, A Lot Productive

October 28, 2019 / Katie L. Carroll

The long weekend I spent earlier this month at the Highlights Foundation for an Unworkshop writing retreat now almost feels like a dream. Time moved differently there. The words flowed during the uninterrupted hours of writing, my fingers moved swiftly on the keyboard, but in the moment, time went slowly. Yet when it was all over and I was back home, it felt like the weekend had flown by.

My personal writing mantra in the word garden.

Did it really happen? (Yup, I got the bill for the tolls in the mail just the other day.) Did time stand still while I was there? (Nope, I had to go grocery shopping the day after I got home because of all the food the kiddos ate while I was gone.) So not a dream, and I really do have over 5,000 words written for my next middle grade book.

Inside the Barn where they serve three delicious meals a day, have 24-hour snacks and beverages, and writing spaces.

If you have the means and time, I would definitely recommend a writing retreat. And I recommend going with a friend (or five). My writing friend Katlyn Duncan and I went together, and it was so nice to have her there. She created a schedule for us and was a fun driving companion. We ate all our meals together (the food is as good as everyone says it is!), kept each other accountable, kept each other company during most of our writing sessions, and even took a nice hike one day.

Katlyn vlogged about her experience, and it’s well worth the watch to get a feel for what it’s like there. We’re working on planning a group retreat for next fall!

The Highlights campus in October was the perfect place to start the draft of my witchy, mean girls story. Maybe too perfect a place. Another writer who was there for an Unworkshop happened to have stayed in my cabin when she was at Highlights last year for a workshop. She told me of a ghostly encounter she had one night, and it promptly freaked me out. I lay in bed that night in the dark and couldn’t fall asleep. It was just so quiet! And, as you can imagine, with three growing boys, quiet is not something I’m used to.

Unfortunately I haven’t cracked that document back open since being at the retreat. I’ve had freelance work, author events, and this never-ending Elixir book to work on in preparation for it releasing next year. All good stuff, but that witchy story is itching at my mind, just waiting for me to scratch it.

Geese are turning out to be important in this witchy WIP, so it was very fitting to have this writing companion next to me one writing session.

I’m hoping to use the excitement of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) in November to get back into the draft. Katlyn and I have already scheduled a few writing meet-ups for the month. Anyone doing NaNo this year? My username on the website is ktlc1113.

Busy Summer, Busy Fall, & ELIXIR SAVED Cover Sneak Peek

September 23, 2019 / Katie L. Carroll

Happy autumn! It’s been so busy here since school started! Summer was busy with fun activities and relaxing with the family, which I loved, but I got so little work done. So I’m happy to have been able to focus more on work this past month.

I’m loving my new schedule with the two bigger boys at school all day and just The Gentleman (who still naps in the afternoon!) home with me. I’ve been able to get a lot done, and I’ve really been pushing myself on the ELIXIR SAVED revision. This is seriously the book where everything has taken forever. Other exciting news for ELIXIR SAVED includes an upcoming cover reveal (sneak peek below)!!!

I’m also gearing up for a long weekend writing retreat at the Highlights Foundation! A writer friend and I are doing an Unworkshop. I’ve heard wonderful things about the Highlights workshops, so I’m excited to experience the place for myself. The idea of the Unworkshop is that you have time to focus on whatever project you’d like; they provide the meals, the lodging, and an inspiring rural setting. The plan is to get some major words written for my witchy middle grade book. Picture MEAN GIRLS meets THE CRUCIBLE!

Indie Author Day at the Norwalk Public Library is also coming up on Saturday, October 12. The full list of authors attending hasn’t been released yet, but based on past years, I’m guessing there will be large number. I’ll be there with ELIXIR BOUND and PIRATE ISLAND.

What are you all up to this fall?

Summer Writing Update: Elixirs, Witches, and Pirates!

June 21, 2018 / Katie L. Carroll

The kids have been out of school for a week and summer break is in full swing here! We’ve made out lists of activities we’d like to do and places we’d like to go this summer. Some we’ve already done or have planned (like going to the zoo and strawberry picking), while others are probably not going to happen this year (like visit NASCAR’s Hall of Fame).

As for my writing, I’ve got a couple of things going on. I’m working on getting my YA fantasy Elixir Bound with the new cover back up for sale. Right now you can get the ebook of Elixir Bound from Amazon and that’s it. I’ll post when I get it up in paperback and on ebook for the other vendors. Plus, I finally created a book trailer for it, which was a lot of fun. It was nice to work a different set of creative muscles for it. (The map it features is part of the map of the Great Peninsula, which can be seen in full in the new version of Elixir Bound.)

I’ve been on something of a roll with drafting the companion novel Elixir Saved. I’ve been drafting this novel for years…yes, I said years! So long, in fact, that I’ve been calling it my perpetual WIP (work-in-progress). But I think I’m finally crested the murky middle section and can see the far side of the hill. I’m hoping to keep that momentum going over the summer and get it ready for beta readers before the end of the year. I’d like to publish this one some time next year (fingers crossed!).

Research for my next middle grade book has been going well. I’ve been doing a bunch of reading about the witch trials that took place in Connecticut (mostly before the more famous Salem Witch Trials) and what colonial Connecticut was like. I checked out a local history book from the library and mentioned it to my dad because he’s a history nerd. He was like, “Is that the book where I helped write and edit the updated history in the 1980s?” Turns out it was! And my grandfather, who was there when I mentioned it to my dad, was like, “My father, your great-grandfather, helped with the version that was written in the 1930s.” So that was an interesting serendipitous moment.

The witchy middle grade book–which in my mind is pitched as Mean Girls meets The Crucible–doesn’t take place in history, but it will be a contemporary middle grade that delves into history and ties it to the present, much like Pirate Island does with Captain Kidd’s history being woven into Billy’s story in the present day. I hope to start drafting this story soon, but I need to focus on Elixir for now.

Speaking of Pirate Island, the ebook is on sale for $1.99 for a limited time, so scoop that up if you haven’t already (links for Pirate Island on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo). I’ve also got an exciting announcement coming up for Pirate Island once my local library makes it public…just to give you a little teaser there. 😉

And I always have stuff I’m waiting to hear back about, so there’s always the potential for good news (or devastating rejections!). Thus is the nature of the publishing biz.

Anyway, I’m excited for the summer weather and hanging out with the boys and family day trips. And a certain writer/mama’s birthday is coming a few days before a certain gentleman’s first birthday. Oh, and I’ll be going to the big SCBWI conference in L.A. this summer. I’m so excited (I won the trip, so the airfare, hotel, and conference fee were paid for!), but super nervous about leaving the baby. I keep telling myself it’ll be fine. Busy times, busy times.

What are your summer plans?

Weaving Historical Facts Into Middle Grade Fiction

May 15, 2018 / Katie L. Carroll

Coming on the heels of discussing the real history and legends that inspired my middle grade adventure PIRATE ISLAND (see my post “The Real Pirate Lore That Inspired PIRATE ISLAND”) and while I’m currently deep in research mode for my next middle grade novel, I’ve been thinking a lot about how to weave real history into novels. And how to do this for children’s books in particular.

Much of the history I’ve researched both on famed pirate Captain William Kidd (for PIRATE ISLAND) and on witch trials in Connecticut in the 17th century (for my current WIP) deals with dark topics and violence. Both involve execution by hanging, murder charges, and other not-so-pleasant topics. I’m a firm believer that children’s writers should not shy away from writing darker stories, and that these stories are important, so long as the material is handled in a thoughtful way (see Newbery winner Kate DiCamillo’s essay in TIME “Why Children’s Books Should Be a Little Sad”).

The key is to keep it age appropriate, which is hard to do when kids anywhere from say 7 or 8 all the way up to 13 or 14 might be reading your book. That’s where subtlety comes in. You can include heavier themes and images in a subtle way where more mature readers will get them and less mature readers will simply gloss over them. I like to think of animated movies for a good example of this. So many drop in jokes that are for the adults but that children just won’t (even if they’re funny to the kids on the surface, they won’t get the innuendo behind it).

Beyond making the material age appropriate, I think it’s important to make the history relevant. Whether that means making it fun (which isn’t necessarily the case of the history I’ve included) or by making it personal. Captain Kidd’s history is personal to Billy, the main character of PIRATE ISLAND, because Billy becomes obsessed with Kidd and models Kidd’s behavior to be brave. The history of the hidden treasure drives the plot of the story, but Billy’s emotional connection to Kidd drives the emotional story line.

I’ve only scratched the surface on this topic, but in the interest of keeping my blog posts short, I’ll leave you all on that thought for now. But there’s so much more material I have on weaving history into stories, I have to revisit this topic. Anything in particular you all would like me to discuss on the next post?

Trailer Reveal for THE DARKNESS WITHIN by Kelly Hashway

March 6, 2015 / Katie L. Carroll

Kelly Hashway (another one of those darned prolific author friends of mine 😉 ) joins us today with the trailer for her YA paranormal THE DARKNESS WITHIN. I loved the first book THE MONSTER WITHIN in this series (see my 5-star Goodreads review here) and am very much looking forward to Darkness. Welcome, Kelly!

The Darkness Within blurb:

After dying of cancer at seventeen and being brought back to life by an evil witch who turned her into a monster, Samantha Thompson thinks she’s finally gotten past all the tragedy in her life. Now she’s part of a coven of good witches who are helping her and her boyfriend, Ethan Anderson, learn to use the powers they received from other witches. Aside from the fact that Sam and Ethan are still in hiding from their old lives–the ones they had before Sam was brought back to life–things couldn’t be better. Sam and Ethan are inseparable. What could go wrong?

Magic.

Ethan’s magic came from a witch who’d turned as evil as possible, and though his coven thought he’d be fine, the more he uses his magic, the stranger he starts acting. The magic inside him is changing who he is. One minute he’s Sam’s sweet, perfect Ethan and the next, he’s a complete stranger. Even with all her witchy power, Sam is helpless against the magic corrupting Ethan. Can Sam find out what’s wrong with him before she loses him to dark magic forever?

Links: Goodreads/Amazon/Barnes and Noble

The Monster Within blurb:

The moment seventeen-year-old Samantha Thompson crawls out of her grave, her second chance at life begins. She died of cancer with her long-time boyfriend, Ethan, by her side—a completely unfair shot at life. But Ethan found a way to bring her back, like he promised he would. Only Sam came back wrong.

She’s now a monster that drains others’ lives to survive. And after she kills, she’s tortured by visions—glimpses into her victims would-have-been futures had she not killed them. Barely able to live with herself and trying to make things right, Sam ends up a pawn in a vicious game of payback within the local coven of witches.

But when the game reveals what Ethan had to do to save Sam, she must make a choice that will change all their lives forever.

Links: Goodreads, Barnes and Noble, Amazon

What people are saying about The Monster Within:

“An intense read and original plot. Kelly Hashway’s THE MONSTER WITHIN carries a noir vibe that will leave you in chills.” ~Jen Murgia, author of Forest of Whispers

“Hashway does a great job creating characters that stir your emotions and a mystery you want to unravel.” Cherie Colyer, author of the EMBRACE and HOLD TIGHT

“Witches, lies, black magic, murder…and the ultimate act of selfless love. Kelly Hashway has a spellbinding hit with “The Monster Within…” ~Michelle Pickett, Bestselling author of “PODs”

“Resurrection has a dark price. The Monster Within is a fast paced and twisted read that will keep you guessing to the end.” ~Heather Reid, author of Pretty Dark Nothing

About the Author:

Kelly Hashway grew up reading R.L. Stein’s Fear Street novels and writing stories of her own, so it was no surprise to her family when she majored in English and later obtained a masters degree in English Secondary Education from East Stroudsburg University. After teaching middle school language arts for seven years, Hashway went back to school and focused specifically on writing. She is now the author of three young adult series, one middle grade series, and several picture books. She also writes contemporary romance under the pen name Ashelyn Drake. When she isn’t writing, Hashway works as a freelance editor for small presses as well as for her own list of clients. In her spare time, she enjoys running, traveling, and volunteering with the PTO. Hashway currently resides in Pennsylvania with her husband, daughter, and two pets.

Hashway is represented by Sarah Negovetich of Corvisiero Literary Agency.

LINKS: Website/Goodreads/Facebook/Twitter