Tag: YA Fantasy (Page 4 of 9)

What’s Your Real Story? from Juliana Spink Mills Author of NIGHT BLADE

November 8, 2017 / Katie L. Carroll

It’s always fun when a writing friend has a new story out and I get to share it on the Observation Desk. Let’s give a big welcome to Juliana Spink Mills as she celebrates the release of her latest book, the YA urban fantasy NIGHT BLADE.

What’s Your Real Story?

by Juliana Spink Mills

So you’ve written a novel, or novella, or short story. Well done! Now you get to the fun bit, where everyone asks you “what’s your story about?” Maybe you’ve memorized your blurb, or have a terrific ‘elevator pitch’. Hopefully you’re not like me, and don’t go red and stammer out, “uh, vampires and demons and sword stuff…?”

But what’s your story really about?

Every work of fiction has underlying themes – on purpose or accidentally – and these, to me, are the real story. Perhaps it’s tenacity, or courage, or the power of love. For instance, Harry Potter, for me, is a tale of belief. Believing in yourself, believing in your friends, trusting in the belief that your instincts are leading you in the right direction, no matter what other people say.

On the surface, my new YA urban fantasy novel Night Blade (book 2 of the Blade Hunt Chronicles) is a story of robbery and trickery, of ball gowns and politics. It has sword fights! Magic! A prophecy! Here’s the blurb:

In the aftermath of the Heart Blade’s return, Del and Rose have different roads to follow. One leads forward, the other to the distant past. Rose is on a mission to infiltrate and double-cross the ultimate heist, and retrieve a game-changing prize. Meanwhile, as the Court of the Covenant prepares to meet, Del has a quest of her own. She must untangle her lost identity or risk her entire future.

With the Blade Hunt prophecy in motion, darkness threatens to rise, and a new sword emerges from the shadows.

But halfway through writing Night Blade, I realized something. Both this book and the one before, Heart Blade, are actually about choices. Choosing your own path in life, rather than following the one you were set upon. Choosing right from wrong. Choosing your family, choosing your friends. Hard choices. Easy choices. And things that, at the end of the day, end up being no choice at all.

I didn’t set out to write a book series about choices. I wanted exciting fight scenes, some romance, cool supernatural elements, and maybe a car chase or two. But now that I’ve noticed it, I can see that the theme has been there from the start. Realizing this has given me a whole new perspective on my writing, and when my next project is done, before I begin revising, I plan to have a good hard look at it and figure out what my underlying theme is. That way, I can reinforce it when I get to the editing stage.

A writer might set out with something they want to push from the very beginning. Or, like me, that theme may emerge in a more organic way. However these themes come to permeate a work of fiction, they’re the backbone that the story builds upon.

What’s behind your stories? The ones you read or write? Why not try taking apart some of your personal favorites to figure out what’s beneath the words?

Buy HEART BLADE: http://hyperurl.co/HeartBlade

Buy NIGHT BLADE: http://hyperurl.co/NightBlade

Find NIGHT BLADE on Goodreads

About the Author:

Juliana Spink Mills was born in England, but grew up in Brazil. Now she lives in Connecticut, and writes science fiction and fantasy. She is the author of Heart Blade and Night Blade, the first two books in the young adult Blade Hunt Chronicles urban fantasy series. Her short stories have appeared in anthologies and online publications. Besides writing, Juliana works as a Portuguese/English translator, and as a teen library assistant. She watches way too many TV shows, and loves to get lost in a good book. Her dream is to move to Narnia when she grows up. Or possibly Middle Earth, if she’s allowed a very small dragon of her own. Find her on her website or Twitter @JSpinkMills.

Why Is It Taking Me So Long To Write The Second Elixir Book?

March 24, 2017 / Katie L. Carroll

It’s been over four years since the ebook version of ELIXIR BOUND came out and over three years since the paperback version released (so forever in terms of publishing a companion novel). I’m sad to report that I’m only about 2/3 finished with the draft of the companion novel ELIXIR SAVED. And even once the draft is done, I’ll still need to revise and such. So why exactly is it taking me so long to write the second Elixir book?

Well, it’s complicated (isn’t everything!?). For starters, there are the less-than-stellar sales stats of BOUND. I wasn’t expecting a best-seller or anything, but it’s been hard to press on with a second book when the first has low sales. So, yeah, I’ve worked on other projects in between. And, no, I don’t write for the sales or the money, but the validation of selling books doesn’t suck.

There’s also life. I have kids and do freelance work (and blog). I like reading books and watching TV and getting out every once in awhile to do grown-up things. Writing novels is an important part of my life and I’ve gotten more consistent with actually, ya know, writing, but it doesn’t always take top priority.

Then there’s the fact that I’m not a very fast writer. Even when I’m in a good flow and I’ve been writing consistently, my word counts are just not that high. I’ve done a lot of things with the drafting of SAVED to try and speed up the process. I mapped out all the scenes I still need to write. I’ve set timers in order to write without editing myself for that set amount of time. I did a modified NaNoWriMo in November to try and finish this draft.

And now I’m here on the blog writing about how I’m not writing the book. Blah, blah, blah, wah, wah, wah! I know…but all those reasons I mentioned above are not the main reason why it’s taking me so long to write ELIXIR SAVED.

The real reason why it’s taking me so long to write the second Elixir book is because one of the main characters is based on my sister Kylene, who passed away at the age of 16. My intention when I wrote BOUND was to give Kylene a fantasy adventure of her own. I started the book in her POV (point of view), but it was too damn hard to write, so it ended up in the POV of her sister. It’s been almost 15 years since she passed away and it’s still hard to write this story, her story. It feels so presumptuous and impossible to do her justice in what are ultimately my words. It’s emotionally draining and terrifying.

But it’s a story I know I have to tell…eventually. It would be far worse for me to never tell it than to have a hard time doing it.

So I keep reminding myself that I’m not writing from Kylene’s POV. That’s impossible. Only she could do that. Instead, I’m writing from the POV of a character that’s inspired by Kylene. It may seem like a small distinction, but it makes all the difference in be being able to persist in drafting this novel. Though it doesn’t necessarily make it easier.

It’s a process that refuses to be rushed. I do my best to push myself to continue the task, but I’ve come to realize it’s just gonna take time. I’ll keep slowly working on it (while I also work more efficiently on other novels) and one day it will be done. Well, as done as any book ever is.

Thank you to anyone who’s read ELIXIR BOUND and/or inquired about a follow up book. It coming…one of these years!

January #InkRipples: The Cover Process for ELIXIR BOUND by Katie L. Carroll

January 9, 2017 / Katie L. Carroll

I originally wrote this post back when I did the blog tour for my YA fantasy ELIXIR BOUND. I don’t think I’ve ever posted it on my blog, and I thought it would be fun to highlight the cover process of my book during the January #InkRipples theme of book covers.

I was lucky enough as a MuseItUp author to have a little input (mostly in the form of an author questionnaire) when it came to the cover of ELIXIR BOUND. That’s not to say that I can take any credit for how gorgeous it is. All that credit goes to my cover artist C.K. Volnek.

The beauty of what she did was to take some of my thoughts on what types of covers I like (I happened to cite the American cover for Melina Marchetta’s Froi of the Exiles as one that caught my eye of late) and a few key elements of the story and integrate them into an engrossing and detailed cover that in no way looks crowded or busy. If I knew how she was specifically able to do this, I would probably quit writing and become a cover artist myself (not really, I would never quit writing).

What I can tell you are some of the details I gave her and how they showed up in the cover. (I’ll be honest, this post is really just an excuse to let me point out all the cool things on the cover!) ELIXIR BOUND is essentially about Katora’s quest to retrieve the main ingredient to her family’s secret healing Elixir so she can take over as guardian.

Let’s start with character. Katora is definitely the central element on the cover. I expected to be asked about how she looks, but what I didn’t expect was to be asked about her personality. The three words I chose to describe her: stubborn, confident, independent. I think the model depicting Katora was a great fit. Her expression and body language were just right. So character: check!

Let’s move onto plot. The subject of the quest is the Elixir, which is prominently represented in the left-hand corner near the title. The objective of the quest is to find the Elixir’s main ingredient, which just happens to come from the tiny white flowers vining their way along the edges. So plot: check!

Next let’s discuss setting. Most of the journey takes places in a forest. The background gives you a sense of the rustic setting with the tree to the right and the mysterious doorway-type thing behind Katora (is it a cave, the entrance to a tomb?). I like how it sets a mood, but doesn’t get too specific because when I read, I like to let my own imagination fill in those details. Have you noticed the mountain range at the bottom of the cover? Did you notice its shape? The mountain range is aptly called The Sleeping Giant and I was so thrilled to see it included on the cover. So setting: double check!

And finally, my favorite aspect of the cover…my name, of course! It’s been my dream for so many years to see my name on the cover of a book and I couldn’t be more pleased with the result.

#InkRipples is a monthly meme created by Katie L. Carroll, Mary Waibel, and Kai Strand. We pick a topic (January is all about book covers), drop a ripple in the inkwell (i.e. write about it on our blogs), and see where the conversation goes. We’d love to have you join in the conversation on your own blogs or on your social media page. Full details and each month’s topic can be found on my #InkRipples page.

January #InkRipples: The Allure of a Book Cover

January 2, 2017 / Katie L. Carroll

Welcome to #InkRipples 2017! It looks like it’s going to be a big year for #InkRipples with lots of new bloggers joining Kai Strand, Mary Waibel, and me (Katie L. Carroll) in our monthly meme. We’re starting off the year by talking about book covers.

The rise of online shopping and ebooks have changed the way I view a book cover. It’s a much less tactile experience than it used to be. Often my first exposure to a book is a small picture of the cover on a screen. Any kind of texture it might have is not evident, and the small details are hard to discern.

This creates a new challenge for cover designers. How do you simultaneously create a cover that pops on a bookshelf and stands out in a small picture on a screen? Well, I’m no cover designer, so that’s not a question I can answer. I can, however, share some of my favorite book covers and why I like them.

Silver Phoenix (Kingdom of Xia, #1) The hardcover of Cindy Pon’s YA fantasy SILVER PHOENIX immediately grabbed my attention the first time I saw it. The colors are bold and gorgeous (something about the combo of the pink and blue hit all the right aesthetics for me), and the yellow/gold color in the background makes it looks like the cover is glowing. I get a strong sense of character from the cover model and hints of the fantasy world I’m about to delve into.

Froi of the Exiles (Lumatere Chronicles, #2) Another favorite YA fantasy cover is Melina Marchetta’s FROI OF THE EXILES. The colors are subtle, but, again, the use of color to convey light is so effective in catching my eye. The somber expression of the cover model and the sword hilt in layered in front of his face give it a dangerous feel, and the mountains at the bottom provide a sense of mystery. Looking at these two first examples, I’m noticing they both have clouds and a sunset (sunrise?) in them. Not sure what to make of that similarity, but felt worth pointing out.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Harry Potter, #1) I have the Harry Potter books in the British and U.S. versions, but for me, nothing tops the covers of the U.S. hardcover editions. The illustrations of Mary GrandPré are superb. It’s hard to pick a favorite (maybe Half-Blood Prince), but the first book serves as a beautiful example of a magical middle grade cover. The movement of Harry, the sense of wonder every detail evokes, the magical elements to it, the iconic font of Harry’s name…I could go on, but let’s just say these covers are among my all-time favorites.

So many of my favorite covers are fantasy ones, but I wanted to include something more contemporary. Nova Ren Suma’s IMAGINARY GIRLS has fantastical elements to it but is also deeply rooted in a more contemporary world. The calmness of the girl underwater creates so much drama and intrigue. Is she drowning? If she is, why is she so calm? And again, it comes back to color. The tranquil blue juxtaposed by the pop of red ribbon, and the utter paleness of the girl. Well, this cover totally made me want to read the book!

What aspects of a book cover grab your attention? What are some of your favorite book covers? Next week, I’ll be posting about how the cover of my YA fantasy ELIXIR BOUND came to be.

NaNoWriMo and ELIXIR SAVED Sneak Peek

November 21, 2016 / Katie L. Carroll

NaNoWriMo is in full swing! As I’ve mentioned, the book I’ve been working on is ELIXIR SAVED, a companion novel to my published YA fantasy ELIXIR BOUND. I thought as little treat, I’d share the working blurb (i.e. jacket copy) for the second Elixir book.

The Elixir has a way of entwining the lives of those it saves. Kylene was spared from a painful death by a poisoned spear, Zelenka from a vicious animal attack, and Devon from an incurable childhood illness. Although saved by the Elixir, none were left without scars. After a shocking message from the Higher Beings, each one will embark on a journey. Kylene is sent to the frozen depths of Blanchardwood, Zelenka back to the wilds of Faway Forest, and Devon on a spiritual journey of self-discovery. Three paths that lead to war against an ancient foe where even the Elixir cannot save everyone. They will be pushed to the limits of what they think they can do. It all comes down to how much they are willing to sacrifice with their second chances.

Three lives saved by the Elixir; three lives bound by it. In ELIXIR SAVED, escape back into the world of the Kase family in this much-anticipated follow up to ELIXIR BOUND.

Alrighty, back to the grind for me. Gotta get those 25,000 word finished!