The first book in the Zaria Fierce Trilogy is FREE this weekend on Amazon for Kindle.
Get your copy of Zaria Fierce and the Secret of Gloomwood Forest at this amazing price while you can.
Spread the word!! Share with your friend!!
Secret of Gloomwood Forest
Blog Tour Stop: 9 Things that Inspired Scenes in the Zaria Fierce Trilogy
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.
New Coloring Page from Michele Carpenter for Zaria Fierce
Hi folks! I have a brand new coloring page from Michele Carpenter for the Zaria Fierce Trilogy. It’s gorgeous and I hope you have a lot of fun filling it in. This below drawing is a scene from book one. Do you remember the order of the kids using the tunnel as they escaped?
To print, click on the image to view at full size.
Send you’re finished drawings to [email protected] because I’d love to see them!
Book Signing and Author Reading Event: New York City, April 11, 2016
Great news! I’m scheduled to appear on April 11, 2016 at the Queens Library/Corona Community Library, where I’ll be doing an author reading and book signing event. Please join me at 3:30 PM for an hour of fantasy-filled fun. I’m told parking can be tough so plan ahead.
You can click on the flyer image to print out a copy for your fridge and to color. If you do, bring it to the event. I’d love to see your finished masterpieces. There should also be some additional coloring pages available at the library. You can find these same coloring pages on my website if you would like to print at home.
I will be reading from Zaria Fierce and the Secret of Gloomwood Forest, the first book in the Zaria Fierce Trilogy. After the reading there will be time for a Q&A session where you can ask me questions about the book, writing, publishing, and more. Copies of both books will be on hand for purchase. I hope to see you there!
Details for Book Signing and Author Reading Event:
When: Monday, April 11, 2016
Time: 3:30 PM – 4:30 PM
Where: Queens Library/Corona Community Library
Library website: http://www.queenslibrary.org/corona
Address:
38-23 104th Street
Corona, NY 11368
Phone: (718) 426-2844
Hours of Operation:
Monday | 12:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Cost of Books: $15 ea. Limited supply available. If you can, consider purchasing a copy beforehand to bring with you. Details for purchasing can be found here.
Autographing: Free
Conquering Stage Fright at an Open Mic
As my name was closer to being called, butterflies erupted in my tummy, dancing and fluttering and twisting round and round. Why was I nervous? I’d read my book in front of strangers before, hadn’t I? What makes this any different?
The difference I believe is the situation. At a book reading, the audience had come to listen to me specifically. They wanted to learn more about me and my work. At this semi-informal stand-up mic event held in a friend-of-a-friend’s home it was different. I really only knew three people there and the event was a gathering of other friends sharing their poetry and songs. Would they really want to hear me, an interloper on the scene?
Then my name was called. I got up. I brought my book to the front. I said hello. I introduced the book and I started reading. I was reading aloud a scene I hadn’t practiced having realized in the middle of the event that my fifteen minute selection was too long for the program. So here I was, sitting on a chair, in front of a mic, holding a flashlight over my book and reading.
Luckily for me it was a scene I’d heard many times over as this was the scene I’d given as an audition piece for prospective narrators. I knew what I needed to do when – laugh, pant, shout. My shaking hands steadied, my heart rate returned to normal, and the story flowed. My friend recorded me at this event, and although I look a bit like a floating head that would fit right in at Hogwarts, I assure you I was fully present.
Lessons I Learned:
- Nerves come from thinking you’re unprepared. When you realize that the words you’re sharing are your own and that you do know them, everything falls into place as easily as breathing.
- Strangers are patient and interested. There’s no need to be nervous, because whether they’re at your book reading or open mic event, everyone is there to hear something they hadn’t heard before.
- These strangers are also amazingly talented and you’ll hear things you hadn’t before, too! There were singers, poets, and even another author at the event. Mingle and talk to everyone and you’ll make new friends and have a good time.
Overall, it was exhilarating and it was fun. I look forward to the next coffee house and poetry night where I may find myself.
Recap: Video, Audio, and Pictures from the Book Signing at the Melbourne Public Library
Thank you everyone who came and joined me at the Melbourne Public Library for the author reading and book signing. I had so much fun sharing my book with you.
If you took pictures, I’d love to see them. You can e-mail your pictures to me at [email protected].
Here are the highlights of the event:
Watch Again
Before the event started, I shared a little bit about Eoghan Kerrigan’s artwork in the Zaria Fierce Trilogy (incomplete).
Below is the video of the reading (incomplete, we ran out of space right at the very end):
Listen Again
Below is the audio (complete, includes Q&A) from the reading:
If you loved hearing the book read, you should check out Michele Carpenter’s narration of the Zaria Fierce books on Audible. She does an amazing job. She even gave me some tips for my reading today. I love her voices and you will too!
Transcript of the the Q&A Session
Q: When you wrote the book, did you imagine it in your head?
A: I definitely imagined it in my head. I imagine it when I read too. (Background: That’s what puts you there.) It’s like a movie. I can even picture some particular actresses and actors who could play the kids. That would be fun. Did you see it as a movie? (Background: Yes.)
Q: When you started writing it, did you – because you said it was like a movie – did you have advances like when you finished book one and you kind of knew where it was going? Or did that happen as you were writing it?
A: A bit of both. When I started the trilogy, I knew where I wanted to end the first book, I knew where the second book would end, and I knew how the trilogy would end, but all the steps in between, all the adventure part – how they get from point A to point B – was a total blank. It kind of came to me as I was writing.
Q: Were there some scenes that you had to rewrite several times before you liked them?
A: Yes. The one with Olaf at the bridge was one of those. I wanted to get it right.
Q: What about getting to a point where you may not be certain whether or not you want to go down one road or another? Would you stop and consider each one of them – options – and then decide whether or not that’s going to be best for the next book or the third book?
A: It really only happened once and that was while writing the second book. I got about halfway through book two and it occurred to me that I could end the book one way and have it be like how I originally planned, or I could end it another way and send the trilogy off into a series and have it be completely different. I did a little bit of exploratory writing for both, and I ended up sticking with my first gut instinct of where to end the second book, but it was fun to explore.
Q: What about writer’s block? Is that a reality for you like most writers?
A: Yes and no. A lot of time writer’s block for me is just a point where I’m kind of stuck. Since I don’t know the adventure – like what happens from point A and point B – I’ll get to midway between A and B, and I’ll be like where am I going to go next?
One of those places is in the first book. The kids are trapped in an underground troll city and they’re stuck in a prison and they have no way out. I kind of wrote myself into this big box and I was like, what am I going to do? They’re stuck in a prison cell. They don’t have any tools. They don’t have chains. It’s just rock and dirt and a door.
I put it aside for a day, I did my own thing, by the time I came back to it I knew the answer and without giving it away, it’s a pretty good answer. (Background: That’s awesome.)
Q: What about kids? How did you know kids would be the focal point of the book – of the product?
A: For writing it as a kids story? (Background: Yes, thank you.) I think I just knew that it was going to be that way because it’s just like what I loved to read going up was fantasy with Harry Potter and Percy Jackson and all my favorite book series like Half Magic. There’s just so much mystery and fantasy and stuff involved. And, at the core of all these stories is kids finding their way in these worlds and becoming heroes and heroines. I kind of liked that as an idea.
Your Pictures – Thanks for sharing with me!
Thanks for watching, listening, and reading! I had so much fun and I can’t wait for the next one. Happy Readings!
