Keira Gillett Author

Fierce Middle Grade Fantasy Reads

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Blog Tour Stop: 9 Things that Inspired Scenes in the Zaria Fierce Trilogy

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I’m at Emily’s blog Midwestern Book Nerd sharing 9 things that inspired me to write scenes in the Zaria Fierce Trilogy. I hope you’ll hop over and and take a peek.

Emily wrote a wonderful review for the third book, which you can find here:

Zaria continues to be an excellent example of courage, her group continues to be the best of friends despite every single thing they face, and they all show us the importance in being true to you.

Blog Tour Stop: Author Interview and Audio Book Giveaway

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Good day! I’m excited to share an interview I just did with Susan of Dab of Darkness. We go all over the map talking about jobs, writing, quests, book covers, artwork, and more. I hope you’ll join us. There’s also a giveaway at the end of the interview for those who would love to try the Zaria Fierce audio books.

Susan has also reviewed the first two books in audio format from the Zaria Fierce Trilogy. I’m thrilled! Here’s what she had to say:

Book One:

This was quite a fun children’s book that I think will appeal to many adults as well. First, I really like the set up. We’re in Norway so we have the great frozen forests and water ways. Then there’s Zaria, a female non-Caucasian lead in a fantasy story. Lastly, Zaria made a mistake in choosing to break her deal with the river troll Olaf, which sets this whole adventure in motion.

She also has some fantastic things to say about Michele Carpenter’s performance in both books.

Book Two:

Once again, Michele Carpenter did a great job. She has the perfect voice for Zaria and I love how she gives light Norwegian accents to the all the boys. There’s even one song that is actually sung (though I believe another voice actress came in and performed it). Still, it was nice to have that little addition to the book and it was well edited in – the volume was the same, etc.

So with that said, be sure to check out the interview I did with Susan and enter the giveaway.

Happy Listening!

10 Random Facts about Me

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I saw this prompt go around the blogosphere and wanted to join in the fun. Here are some random facts about me that you might enjoy:

  1. I love to browse museums. I rarely get the opportunity to do so unless I’m on vacation, but I love museums. One of my fondest memories as a kid was going to a science museum (pretty sure it was this one) in Finland. It was crazy fun and I remember this giant room filled with computer stations where you answered questions about your physical appearance. At the end of inputting in all that detail the computers tell you if you have had a twin go through the process too or not. If you had a twin, or several twins, it tells you how many twins you had. I had none and my mom had one.
    13010644_10108422907153361_1869852684999494937_n
  2. I remember my library card number from middle school for my school library. I don’t know why I know it, but I have a theory: I must have visited the library often without my card for me to have memorized it. In case it was hard to guess from this nerdy fact, I am a huge reader and fan of books. Good thing too, right? I mean as an author it should be a given. LOL (By the way the picture below is not my middle school library, but one in Camden, Maine.)
    camden maine library
  3. On a trip to Antarctica, onboard a big cruise liner, I saw penguins in the water and until they began to “fly” through the wake I was totally convinced they were arctic sea turtles that I had never heard about before. Go ahead and laugh, I do thinking back to it. Give me some credit though because until they moved in the water only the tops of their heads and eyeballs were above the water surface so I hadn’t seen their beaks. I was also really high up above the waterline.
    IMG_3375
  4. I like to binge-watch Korean TV dramas on Netflix. Check out Boys Over Flowers. Be still my heart. It was my first show in this genre and is still my favorite today. I also love the shorter Noble, My Love. Sung Hoon could have played Edward Cullen if he’d been a Korean character. Gorgeous.
    sung hoon
  5. This will sound terrible, but I love the Pride and Prejudice films and television shows over the book. When I read the book the only reason I knew who said what and to who was because I had seen the films. There seemed to be a dearth of dialogue tags in the version of the book that I read. I can only hope I somehow had accidentally read an abbreviated version.
    pride and prejudice
  6. I was an extremely picky eater as a kid, which isn’t to say I didn’t eat, but only that I really ever ate what I was comfortable with. Traveling exposed me to new tastes and my developed palate I attribute to the trips my mother and I took out of the country. I really started being brave on a trip through China. You haven’t had Chinese food until you go. Amazing, blow your socks off delicious food! This isn’t to say your local Chinese takeout can’t be delicious too, because I love that as well, but it’s a totally different experience and flavor profile when you go to the country.
    china2001 (11)
  7. I love to travel and see new places. One of the things I’d love to do is to take a cruise around the world. That sounds amazing. I’m ready to pack my bags, just give me the money so I can go.
    Overlook beach
  8. I collected and played with Beanie Babies, Trolls, Barbies, Polly Pockets, and dollhouses growing up. I would take Polly Pockets to my brother’s basketball games and play with them in the stands. I still have a box of each that I keep for sentimental reasons. Also, I swear my Beanie Babies will be like worth millions later. They’re my nest egg…. Okay so maybe not. LOL
    dollhouse
  9. I never had a dog before getting Oskar. I’m hooked on pet ownership now because of him. Given the right location and finances I would totally be a crazy dog lady with shibas roaming my house and property.
    oskar
  10. I dressed up for every Harry Potter premiere starting with the release of book four. Some of my favorite costumes were Moaning Myrtle, Rita Skeeter, Voldemort, and Luna Lovegood. My least successful were Professor Trelawney and Nymphadora Tonks. I even made props. When I was Voldemort I made papier-mâché masks for my friends so they could go as my Death Eaters. As Luna, I created a Quibbler magazine that could be read “upside down.” I never won a costume contest though. They were rigged. I was robbed. I’m sure of it. 😉pottercostumecollage

So what did you think? Are we “twins” in any way? 🙂

Zaria Fierce Book Talk: Melbourne Public Library 7-13-16

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I had a great time at my book talk today sharing an excerpt from Zaria Fierce and the Dragon Keeper’s Golden Shoes. The kids were great and had a lot of good questions, good interactions, and really paid attention. I’m so glad I got to meet them.

Things we learned today from the Melbourne Public Library reading:

  • How many animals make up a winter-wyvern.
  • How many animals make up a water-wyvern.
  • What an enraged water-wyvern sounds like as it roars.
  • What a water-wyvern sounds like when it’s been shrunk.

Questions for you:
If you could create your own hybrid creature, what would it be? And, can you make those water-wyvern sounds?

Thanks for watching!

Photos from the Event, plus ice cream social:

Thanks for sharing everyone!

Q: Are there currently any plans to expand the Zaria experience beyond the planned trilogy? Perhaps with a prequel or other story set in the same setting?

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A: When you finish reading book three in the trilogy you will see the same possibility for the story to continue as I did. So that said, get excited! I’ve started writing the fourth book in the series. To get a sneak peek of it you can go to its book page. Let me know what you think. Are you as thrilled as I am for a continuance?