I’ve lost track of how long I’ve been working on the second Elixir book, ELIXIR SAVED. Looking back over my folders of documents, inspiration pictures, and notes, I see at least one that dates back to 2010! Really, though, this is the book I had the idea for when thinking about writing a book for my sister Kylene (and ending up writing ELIXIR BOUND first). So really I’ve been “working” on this book for many, many, many years.
It’s been a labor of love (and hate). It’s been a hard book to write. I’ve taken many breaks. I still haven’t quite gotten to write “The End” for it yet, though my last round of revisions got me at least in a place where I felt like I can actually write the ending scenes. I had hoped to do that this summer, but life was too busy and my head (and my heart) wasn’t in the right place. Now I think they are.
As a reward for making it through those last revisions, I allowed myself to contact my awesome cover artist Susan Tait Porcaro. She sent me a concept sketch yesterday and it’s looking really good. It’s visual motivation to keep on pushing to get this thing done.
Plus, two of three of the boys will be in school all day starting later this week, so hopefully that will give me the time I need. If any of my novel critique partners are reading this, expect an email from me soon! It’s been so long since I’ve had anything for them to read.
Before I get to the summer reading giveaway, I have to give a shout out to all the people who made Pirate Day happen. Thanks the members of the Downtown Milford Business Association for organizing the event. We had perfect weather and a great turnout It was so fun meeting all the little (and big!) pirates and sharing PIRATE ISLAND with them!
On a personal, level thanks to my mom for spending the whole day with me, my sisters for supplies and/or for hanging out, my nephew for stopping by and introducing me to his girlfriend, my mother-in-law for making sure The Prince (my middle kiddo) had a special shopping trip on his birthday, my dad for grabbing lunch, and my husband and kiddos for always being my biggest cheerleaders. It truly does take a village!
Now for the summer reading giveaway! I have some copies of ELIXIR BOUND with the old cover hanging around, so I’ve decided to drop them in little free libraries while on my adventures this summer. As a bonus, whoever finds one of these books will also get a code to claim an ebook ARC (advanced reader copy) of the second Elixir book ELIXIR BOUND when those are ready in the fall!
I’ve chosen most of the little free libraries already, but I’m keeping a few copies open to spontaneous giveaways. Many of the libraries are in my home state of Connecticut, but upstate New York, Virginia, and Washington D.C. are among the other spots where you’ll be able to find copies. I’ll be posting pics of the libraries as the copies are dropped off on Instagram (yup, I finally joined!) @katielcarrollauthor, Twitter @katielcarroll, and Facebook https://www.facebook.com/katielcarrollauthor/.
You can always check out what I’m reading this summer on my Goodreads page, and I’ll probably do a post later in the summer highlighting some of my favorites. What’s on your summer reading list?
The pretty, new version of my YA fantasy ELIXIRÂ BOUND (with the gorgeous cover by Susan Tait Porcaro) is finally hitting all the online vendors. It’s been a bit of a thing to make the switch from the old version to the new one with reverting the rights back to me and getting the new cover, blurb, and actual book up on the sites, but you don’t need to know all the nitty gritty details of that.
(Or maybe your do want to know about that stuff. If you’re interested in learning more about indie publishing…I could blog about it…let me know in the comments if that sounds like something you’d like to read about. Mostly I feel like I don’t know what I’m doing 😉 but I’m doing it, so that’s something.)
So hopefully all this trouble wasn’t for nothing and it actually sells a few copies. So here are some places where you can find it (the new version isn’t up on IndieBound yet, but I’ll update my homepage and the books page once that link is ready):
If you do read it, I’d be ever so grateful if you left a review on any (and all) of these vedors and also over on Goodreads (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40489385-elixir-bound) if you’re there. And also just spread the word if you liked it. Buy it as a gift for the pre-teen or teen in your life (or the YA loving grown-up you know). Request it at your local library. Word of mouth is one of the best ways to get a book noticed. I’d love to keep making more books, and the more copies I sell, the more I can focus on creating more books. That goes for giving my MG adventure PIRATE ISLAND (Goodreads link https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34818093-pirate-island) a little love as well!
ELIXIR BOUND blurb:
Katora Kase isn’t the firstborn son nor does she possess the type of magic that can conjure spells or bewitch others.
In the land of the Great Peninsula—an epic fantasy world ruled by the Great Mother Nature and her offspring—those things aren’t a measure of one’s worth. And what Katora does possess is the subtle magic running through her blood that marks her as the next guardian of a secret healing Elixir that is her family’s legacy. It is such a highly guarded secret that Katora doesn’t know of its existence until a rare snowstorm blows through with a message for her father, the current guardian.
Katora sets off on a quest into the wilds of Faway Forest to find the flowers that give the Elixir its potency. Even though she is accompanied by her sister, her brother, an old family friend, and the handsome son of a mapmaker, she feels alone. For it is her decision alone whether or not to bind herself to the Elixir’s magic to serve and protect it until a new guardian is chosen. The forest hosts many dangers, including wicked beings that will stop at nothing to gain power, but the biggest danger Katora may face is whether or not to open up her heart to love.
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.
It’s finally time to reveal the big ELIXIR BOUND news that I’ve been teasing about for the past few weeks: it’s getting a makeover! Susan Tait Porcaro, the super talented illustrator behind the PIRATE ISLAND cover, created a brand-new cover for my YA fantasy ELIXIR BOUND! (Check out her website http://susantaitporcaro.com/ to fall in love with all her work.)
I truly loved the old cover, but this one with the bottle and vines and the forest is exactly what I wanted for the new cover (scroll down to see the full paperback cover below). It conveys the magic and atmosphere of ELIXIR BOUND perfectly. And when ELIXIR SAVED, a companion novel, comes out (I think I’m going to actually pull off having it ready for a 2019 release!), it will have a cover with a similar feel.
So what does it mean when a book gets a new cover? Well, for those of you who already have the old version, it’s still the same book inside, so that’s not gonna change. For anyone who decides to get the new version, it will include a map of the Great Peninsula and an expanded blurb.
Katora Kase isn’t the firstborn son nor does she possess the type of magic that can conjure spells or bewitch others.
In the land of the Great Peninsula—an epic fantasy world ruled by the Great Mother Nature and her offspring—those things aren’t a measure of one’s worth. And what Katora does possess is the subtle magic running through her blood that marks her as the next guardian of a secret healing Elixir that is her family’s legacy. It is such a highly guarded secret that Katora doesn’t know of its existence until a rare snowstorm blows through with a message for her father, the current guardian.
Katora sets off on a quest into the wilds of Faway Forest to find the flowers that give the Elixir its potency. Even though she is accompanied by her sister, her brother, an old family friend, and the handsome son of a mapmaker, she feels alone. For it is her decision alone whether or not to bind herself to the Elixir’s magic to serve and protect it until a new guardian is chosen. The forest hosts many dangers, including wicked beings that will stop at nothing to gain power, but the biggest danger Katora may face is whether or not to open up her heart to love.
The new cover also means that ELIXIR BOUND isn’t currently available for purchase, but I’ll update you all once it’s back up for sale. (FYI, I still have a few paperbacks of the old cover kicking around, so it you really wanted that version, email me at katielcarroll(at)yahoo(dot)com (replace the “(at)” with “@” and the “(dot)” with “.”) and we’ll work something out.
The best places to get the latest information about me and my books is to subscribe to the blog over on the sidebar there (mobile users, scroll all the way down and click on Desktop to view the sidebar) or follow me on Facebook and Twitter (@KatieLCarroll). Here’s the full paperback version of the cover!
