Authors, Kai Strand & LA Dragoni

I'm trying out a new look. What do you think? I need to simplify my writing world. Even though I love my current website: www.kaistrand.com , I'm thinking about letting it go and point my domains here. So, dear readers, before I make such a dramatic change, does this site fill your needs? If you were to need to look up something - anything - about Kai Strand or LA Dragoni, would this site fill those needs? What is it missing that you generally need/want out of an author website? I need to make a final decision soon, so the more input I get right away, the better.

If you aren't an author yourself, you might think that we all hobnob with each other regularly. But the truth of it is, we almost all have our own holy grail of authors that when/if we meet we are reduced to squealing fans around. Before I was published, I met Tamora Pierce. The reason I was at her reading was because I was a fan, not because I was an aspiring writer. So when I won a copy of her new book in a drawing, I was beyond happy. But I've always been painfully shy, and I couldn't even bring myself to approach her to get the book signed. What a dork! I really wish I could relive that moment. Just to prove I'm not the only author out there who fangirls when she meets her faves, I collected a few stories to share. Tracey M. Cox on meeting Bruce Coville: It was amazing. One of those moments when you tell yourself to, “Be cool. Be cool”, but inside your hopping around going, “Oh my gosh. Oh. My. Gosh. OH MY GOSH!” Hahaha. Kim McDougall  on m...

Let’s face it, it’s unlikely I will ever be asked to give a commencement speech, but this time of year all the You Tube links to inspirational speeches show up in my news feed and my very own son graduates high school in a few days, so I was inspired to give a commencement speech regardless of the lack of venue. Pretend we are in an auditorium packed with family, friends, and-most importantly-graduates. The Principal/Dean steps to the lectern… *** Today we present our graduates with a woman who is a wife, a mother, an author, a daughter, a sister, an aunt, an employee, and a friend. Welcome Kai Strand. *Applause* Thank you to the faculty, staff, parents, family, friends, and students for the warm welcome. You may be wondering why I’m standing here in front of you today. I don’t have major accomplishments to tout; such as, organizing clean water for people in remote African villages, or providing warm coats for homeless children. I don’t even have an impressive degree t...

My first book, The Weaver , was published in December of 2010. Almost five years later I'm finally revealing my logo. What took so long? Author branding is harder than it looks. Well maybe just for me. But I've been struggling to find a brand that would cover the variety of books I have published, while leaving room for whatever might come. Though my current works are all fiction, they span readers' ages from five to eighty-five (honestly I don't know the top age for young adult readers.) So it can't be too juvenile or too mature. My books can be categorized as speculative fiction, fantasy, contemporary, romance, and suspense. I couldn't think of anything that represented fiction beyond a book or a quill and I didn't want either of those. One thought I kept coming back to is the emotion I try to put into my writing. Regardless of the age of the target audience I try to tap into the emotions the characters feel due to whatever their circumstances are in t...

One of the most difficult aspects of being a published author is the public feedback on your work. After toiling over a story for however long, sharing with critique partners, integrating editor suggestions, combing, combing, combing…Obviously, you’ve left little fleshy pieces of your heart scattered throughout your work. Then it goes out into the world. You hit up family and friends and solicit bloggers for honest reviews. The ball starts rolling. Reviews start coming in from all over. So many are good. Three people said, “great writing.” A couple people give props to your favorite character, the best friend. And then…oh…wait… “ It’s like Hunger Games, which I’ve never read, but more complicated and lame ” What the…?! Did you even read the book? But here’s the thing. No book will EVER be the same experience for every reader. There are about a bazillion factors behind why two readers interpret a book differently. Picture credit Let’s say you read a review that says, ...

Welcome to Three Times A Charm. I love meeting new authors, illustrators, bloggers, agents, editors or promoters from the children’s publishing industry and sharing their careers with my readers. Today I'm happy to be hosting a stop on LRW Lee's book release tour. LRW, please tell us a little about you. As early as 8 years old, after reading The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe by CS Lewis, I wanted to write a book. My family didn’t have a lot of money and my older brother and I were encouraged to use our imaginations to entertain ourselves.  And use them we did – climbing trees and tree forts, using a quilt for a matchbox car city, making puppets and putting on shows, and much more and my creativity and imagination grew. I went to college and got a degree in Accounting.  However, most folks frown on “creative accounting”, so I put my imagination on hold.  My business and creative interests eventually led me to found and grow a successful company which, with...

A wise person once said, “Write your name on the heart of a child.” We hope to emblazon our stories there. Introducing Emblazon. A blog by seventeen middle grade authors designed specifically for middle grade readers. This unique concept blog caters directly to the tween crowd. They offer book recommendations, blog posts and much more to keep your tween engaged in reading. Visit EMBLAZON to explore and learn more about them.

Welcome to Three Times A Charm. I love meeting new authors, illustrators, bloggers, agents, editors or promoters from the children’s publishing industry and sharing their careers with my readers. Today’s guest is illustrator and author, Hazel Mitchell. (Isn't she adorable?) Welcome Hazel. Tell us about you, please. Originally I am from Yorkshire, England, but now I live in Maine, USA   creating books for children. It's my dream job! I went to art school in England, then got sidetracked, joined the Royal Navy, later ran a graphic design business and then moved to America and began illustrating. When I'm not drawing I love to sail, read, garden and look after my animals. I have 2 horses, 2 dogs, a cat and several snow shovels. I still miss England, especially fish and chips and mushy peas, but I'm learning to love lobster. See more of my work at www.hazelmitchell.com .      Mushy peas? Really? Ha ha. Can you tell us about your latest book? '1,2,...

Welcome to Three Times A Charm. I love meeting new authors, illustrators, bloggers, agents, editors or promoters from the children’s publishing industry and sharing their careers with you. Today’s guest is author and artist, Marit Menzin. Marit tell us about yourself, please. I’m a collage artist as well as an author. My award-winning art has been seen in galleries, magazines, and other publications. I was the recipient of the 2010 Ann Barrow Scholarship from the New England chapter of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators and a finalist at the 2005 SCBWI Winter Conference Showcase in New York City. In college, I studied chemistry and biology, and later computer science. I have loved art since childhood, and Song for Papa Crow, my first picture book, combines my love of nature and art. I’m a member of SCBWI. What a seemingly eclectic background for an author/artist. Tell us more about Song for Papa Crow. I’m the Author/Illustrator of Song f...

Happy New Year Everybody! Welcome to the 2013 version of Three Times A Charm. I’m happy to say I’ve decided to continue my weekly feature – at least for now. I love meeting new authors, illustrators, bloggers, agents, editors or promoters from the children’s publishing industry and sharing their careers with you. As long as the guests keep coming, I’ll keep Charming. However, I’ll be out of town next week, but rest assured the feature will continue after that.   This week children’s author, Janel Rodriguez Ferrer, is visiting with us. Jane, tell us about yourself, please. I am a Native New Yorker of Puerto Rican descent (AKA: a "Nuyorican") and the product of loving parents, a living, breathing city, and lots of cafe con   leche .   Like my main character, Gina Santiago, I was an art major at a High School of the Arts in Manhattan, but unlike Gina, I'm not much of a guitarist (but want to go back to taking lesson.). For fun I like to read, listen to ...