I’m reading this RIGHT NOW. (Perhaps literally, depending on when you read this.) Review coming very soon!
Welcome, Kari; thanks so much for agreeing to be with us today!
What 5 things should readers know about you?
- I am an introverted extravert. I love people, but keep my own company very well.
- From age twelve to fifteen, I wanted desperately to be a cosmetologist. After that I wanted to be an attorney. Alas, neither panned out.
- I would rather travel back in time than into the future.
- I drink too much diet coke. If anyone is doing a study on the ill effects of splenda or aspartame, they should probably contact me.
- If I could spend one day with a fictional character, it would be either Scarlett O’Hara or Tyrion Lannister.
Is there such a thing as “too much Diet Coke”? Surely not! (And that same person should probably look me up too—for my Pepsi Max fixation. Though I really don’t want to know the results of that study, thankyouverymuch.)
Tell us all about your main characters—who are they? What makes them tick? Most importantly, what one thing would they need to have with them if stranded on a desert isle? 😉
Selah Kilbrid: 18 yrs. Daughter of Irish immigrants. Part human, part goddess. She is headstrong, capable, and has the ability to heal. Selah does not take well to being bossed, and often has to bite her tongue to keep from saying things that would be just plain inappropriate. She’s devoted to her friends and community.
She would like to bring her apothecary to the deserted island. Is that too big?
Of course not! This it’s a fictional desert isle, anyway–I vote no size limits.
Henry Alan Kilbrid. 19 yrs. Indentured servant from England. Agrees to stand in for Selah’s dead fiancé. Strong, intelligent, and very capable with a sword. Actually looks forward to a good fight. Or really any type of fight. Will do anything to protect those he loves. He has a temper when provoked, but after two weeks in a ship’s brig, has learned the benefit of biding his time. Bristles under authority, which doesn’t bode with his being a servant.
As the island is deserted, he wouldn’t need a sword. So perhaps music.
Interesting 🙂
If your book were being cast as a movie, who would you want to play the main characters?
Selah Kilbrid – Nina Dobrev or Emma Watson with dark hair. Both have looks and spunk
Henry Kilbrid – Chris Hemsworth. Who else is that tall?
Nora Goodwin – Emily Blunt – A great no-nonsense Quaker
Nathan Crowley – Cillian Murphy – Those cheekbones have fanatic written all over them.
Phoebe Trumble—Amanda Seyfried – Poised and beautiful. Plays the good girl well, but I think she’s got claws tucked away somewhere.
Dirk Fletcher – Jason Isaacs – the consummate bad guy
I am 100% in favor of any movie with Chris Hemsworth in it. I would see this over and over (and only partly because I *might* be a little distracted looking at Chris’s muscles and forget to pay attention to the scenes he’s in…)
How long have you been writing, and what (or who) inspired you to start?
I started writing a YA ghost story in December 2003. In April 2009, I finally finished it. Yes, that’s five and a half years. The manuscript was way too long at 155k words, but most of the delay came from having two children and my house burning down during the writing process. I started Goddess Born in May 2011 and was done by Christmas time that same year. I’m not a fast writer, so that was a huge accomplishment.
I can’t really say for sure who encouraged me to begin writing. What I can say is who encouraged me to keep writing once they knew how much I enjoyed it: my husband, younger sister, my older children and two best friends. Also, making it to the ABNA semifinals with the first manuscript was a huge encouragement to keep going.
Can I use the house burning down excuse without actually having the house burn down? No?
Reaching the semifinals is some fantastic encouragement, I have to agree!
What do you like best about being a writer? What is the most challenging part of being a writer?
Best part: My imagination is constantly in motion. With writing, I can finally move some of the characters, conversations, and places to paper. I can also travel through space and time without having to pack a suitcase or limit my gels and liquids to 3 oz bottles.
And no swabbing of your palms or those scary body scans either (can you tell we took a plane trip this weekend?)
Challenging part: The mechanics of writing can be a real bugger for me at times. I have so many ideas, but there are days when the words are super-glued to the inside of my head and refuse to budge.
Ugh—I hear you. I would greatly appreciate any ideas for getting them unstuck…
What are you working on right now? What can readers look for from you in the next year?
Right now I’m finishing the third Goddess Born. The second is due to release this November.
Yay! Can’t wait (times two).
What authors and/or books have inspired you?
Gabriel García Márquez’s One Hundred Years of Solitude as it was my very first introduction to magical realism.
Haven’t read that one yet—will have to see if it’s available on audio 🙂
What are you currently reading? What are your thoughts about it so far?
I just finished The Goldfinch. Ugh. Beautiful writing, just way too much of it. Paragraphs ran on for almost two pages at times, and all too often I felt trapped in the author’s head. Tartt is a brilliant writer. Problem is, she knows it and has subsequently tossed aside discipline. About a third of the way through, I began to feel the writing was more an expression of her talent than the actual story. Or else she’s a major control freak. I guess bottom line, I loved it and I hated it.
I can see how that would be frustrating…I’m undecided if I want to attempt that one or not. I’m leaning toward not at the moment…
If you had to “sell” this book in a single Tweet, what would you say?
A friend wrote this tweet for me.
Celtic myth & a fatal kiss. Kari Edgren’s NA Historical Fantasy GODDESS BORN.
Perfect! Thanks so much for agreeing to be with us this holiday weekend.
Thank you for hosting me today!
Kari Edgren Bio:
Kari Edgren did not dream of becoming a writer. Instead, she dreamed of everything else and was often made to stay inside during kindergarten recess to practice her letters. Despite doting parents and a decent school system, Ms. Edgren managed to make it through elementary school having completed only one book cover to cover – The Box Car Children, which she read approximately forty-seven times. Things improved during high school, but not until she read Gabrielle Garcia Marquez’s One Hundred Years of Solitude in college, did she truly understand the power of a book.
Ms. Edgren aspires to be a Vulcan, a world-acclaimed opera singer, and two inches taller. She resides in the Pacific NW where she spends a great deal of time torturing her husband and children with strange food and random historical facts. Ms. Edgren hasn’t stopped dreaming, but has finally mastered her letters enough to put the stories on paper.
Links:
Blog: http://www.kariedgren.com/
Author Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7579878.Kari_Edgren
GODDESS BORN Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20922507-goddess–born
Carina Press: http://ebooks.carinapress.com/3BA55474-855F-4F19-B74B-23F26180AC8F/10/134/en/SearchResults.htm?SearchID=10975805
Book Blurb:
Pennsylvania, 1730
Selah Kilbrid keeps a dangerous secret: she has the power to heal.
A direct descendent of the Celtic goddess Brigid, it’s Selah’s sacred duty to help those in need. But as the last of the Goddess Born living in the New World, she learned from an early age to keep her supernatural abilities hidden. The Quaker community of Hopewell has always been welcoming, but there’s no doubt they would see her hanged if her gift was revealed.
When a prominent minister threatens to try her with witchcraft unless she becomes his wife, Selah has only one hope–that her betrothed, a distant cousin from Ireland, arrives as planned. Marrying Samuel would keep her secret safe, preserve her sacred bloodline, and protect her from being charged as a witch.
But when news of Samuel’s death reaches the Colonies, Selah is truly on her own. Terrified, she faces an impossible choice–forfeit her powers and marry the loathsome Nathan? Or find an imposter to pose as her husband and preserve her birthright?
Buy Links:
Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/goddess–born-kari-edgren/1118476688?ean=9781426898365
Giveaway:
enjoyed the interview