DIARY OF A TEENAGE FAIRY GODMOTHER
Ink Lion
Books
ASIN:
B00C62G8K6
Fairy
Godmother is not some pixie in a pink tutu. She’s a guardian and a warrior.
Lilliana Skye is sent undercover to a Texas high school to save one of
Cinderella’s troubled descendants, but everything goes wrong.
Jess
Harrison hates Lilliana. She doesn’t believe in magic or happily-ever-afters.
Jess is tough, angry, and so intelligent it’s scary. If she ever did see a
mythical fairy she would probably stomp it into oblivion with her army boots.
Matters go from bad to worse when Jess’s older brother meets Lilliana and falls
hard for the new girl. And Lilliana can’t keep her wayward heart in check. Jake
is, well, he’s just plain dangerous.
Falling in
love with a human is forbidden, not to mention… deadly.
KATHLEEN BALDWIN
Kathleen loves life – treasures every adventurous minute.
She roamed the Rockies, wandered in the desert, enjoyed way too many classes in
college, fell in love at least a dozen times, raised four free-spirited children
and is still married to her own personal hero.
Kathleen loves adventure. She roamed the Rockies,
wandered in the desert, enjoyed way too many classes in college, was stalked by
a cougar, lost an argument with a rattlesnake, fell in love at least a dozen
times, married to her own personal hero and together the raised four
free-spirited adventurous children.
FROM THE MIND OF THE AUTHOR
ANGI: How often do you get lost in a story?
KATHLEEN: Daily, I’m addicted
to story. My handle on Amazon is “Storiologist.” I always have a book
handy.
ANGI: What’s the first book you remember reading?
KATHLEEN:Pippi Longstockings, and I became permanently addicted after reading
Heidi.
ANGI: What’s your favorite cartoon character?
KATHLEEN: I’m a huge anime fan, but as far as traditional cartoons… I like Tweety Bird. It’s fun to see Tweety’s innocence triumphing over Sylvester’s schemes.
ANGI: What’s your favorite “love” word?
KATHLEEN: Love word(s). “I’m listening” or ‘I understand.” Because it means mountains
to me if a man cares enough to listen and even more if he strives to
understand.
ANGI: Is there a playlist you’d recommend for reading your latest release?
KATHLEEN: Not a playlist, but there is a cool music video that inspired me often when I was writing. It has the characters from final fantasy set to Far Away by Nickleback.
ANGI: Can you tell us about a real-life hero you’ve met?
KATHLEEN: I met this guy Tom Pippit who had almost no legs and only little stubs
for arms. When he was a kid he had to scoot around school on a wagon. But he
didn’t let that keep him from going to college, getting a job. He even fell in
love and got married. Tom worked with my husband, and buoyed up the spirits of
everyone he met. It was an honor to call him a friend.
ANGI: What do you like about the hero of your book?
KATHLEEN: Jake tries to protect Lilliana, the Fairy Godmother, from his sister’s
schemes and from the dangers they all face. I love his courage and willingness
to face death for her. But what I like even more is the deep bond that forms
between him and Lilliana despite the fact that it may cost them everything.
ANGI: Where do you read and how often?
KATHLEEN: WARNING: having a lighted Kindle can be hazardous to sleep. If I
haven’t found a chance to read during the day I sneak and read in bed late at
night.
ANGI: What sound or noise do you love?
KATHLEEN: Train whistle far off in the distance. Something about that sound twangs
my heart strings.
ANGI: Fairy Tale or Action Adventure?
KATHLEEN: I like both! So, how about an Action Adventure Fairytale? That’s the
kind of story Diary Of A Teenage Fairy Godmother is.
ANGI: What was the first story you remember writing?
KATHLEEN: I still have copies of most of my early work. Many short stories, but I
started my first novel in the fifth grade. It was a historical about an
orphaned French girl coming to America called, (ahem… no laughing) In A Field of Daisies. (Okay, you can go ahead and laugh. It was pretty cheesy.) Clearly, I
liked romance even back then.
ANGI’S GOTTA ASK: Tell us all about this picture. Purty Pleaz?
KATHLEEN'S GOTTA ANSWER: Well,
(chuckling) attractive hat, eh? I used to be rock climber. Loved it! Every free
afternoon you’d find me on a rock face. I even taught climbing and volunteered
on a mountain rescue team. But this photo was taken about two miles underground,
deep inside an extinct geyser near Lake Bonneville. A couple of guys talked me
into coming with them to help map this ‘cave.’
FIND
KATHLEEN
UP
NEXT for KATHLEEN
LADY FIASCO
...a fun Regency romp...
May 2013
KATHLEEN
is giving away 2 books - an eBook copy or
a hardcover of Diary Of A Teenage Fairy Godmother.
North America Readers (winner's choice) or International electronic giveaway.
Note: COMMENTERS
are encouraged to leave a contact email address to speed the prize notification
process. Offer void where prohibited. Prizes will be mailed to North America
addresses only unless specifically mentioned in the post. Odds of winning vary
due to the number of entrants. Winners of drawings are responsible for checking
this site in a timely manner. If prizes are not claimed in a timely manner, the
author may not have a prize available. Get Lost In A Story cannot be
responsible for an author's failure to mail the listed prize. GLIAS does not
automatically pass email addresses to guest authors unless the commenter
publicly posts their email address.
DON'T FORGET to FOLLOW us on Twitter #GetLostStories or LIKE us on Facebook to keep up with all our guest authors and their prizes. Join me next Wednesday when I host Barbara Kyle. And come back tomorrow when Clover hosts Angie Fox. ~Angi
KATHLEEN WANTS TO KNOW:
KATHLEEN WANTS TO KNOW:
What book addicted you to
reading? Do you have a list of your top 5 all time favorite books?
WELCOME TO GLIAS, KAT !!
ReplyDeleteThis is such a beautiful cover and I wish I had a 13 year old daughter to give it to!! Best of luck with a great book, my friend.
~Angi
Great to be here! Thank you Angi! And you did a great job with the post. BTW I love your books.
ReplyDeleteI'd Really DO want to know what book (or books) addicted you to reading? and also how old were you?
I fessed up about Heidi being the book that sealed the deal in 3rd grade for me. Last night I remembered Jamaica Inn was the book that addicted me to romance at age 14.
Good morning! The book that got me hooked on reading happened when I was about six! It was the book Are You My Mother. I LOVED that book and read it till it fell apart.
ReplyDeleteI guess book addiction can start young! Ha!
Brenda Maxfield
contact@brendamaxfield.com
I can't remember the precise title, but when my grandmother died she left a mini library of classics behind. I read one and became obsessed.
ReplyDeleterichardsfive @ centurytel.net
Hi Kat. I laughed when I read your comment about what books hooked you on reading. Pippi Longstocking and Heidi would have been my exact answer too. And those are pretty different books. I wonder what it is about them that drew us in.
ReplyDeletePamela Stone
I have a hard time thinking of what really hooked me into reading because after I learned to read, I don't remember not reading. Probably the year I read the most books was in eighth grade. I had signed up for study hall and you could visit the library during that period. I would check out a book, start it in study hall, and finish it that night, and turn it in the next day.
ReplyDeleteWhat I do remember reading a LOT of when younger were all the Nancy Drew series. Then also Trixie Beldin, but she was never in as much danger as Nancy.
Hi Kathleen. I love reading your interviews about our book. I also appreciate so much the work you are doing for it as I recover from my cancer journey. I think the books that started my addiction to reading were the Nancy Drew mysteries. From there I went on to others, but will hold Gene Stratton Porter in my list of top authors. Her A Girl of the Limberlost is one of my favorites. Here's to you! Here's to Diary of a Teenage Fairy Godmother.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting that both Liese and Andrea remember liking the Nancy Drew books and now they both write mystery/suspense.
ReplyDeleteI wonder how much that early love of mystery influenced your preferences as writers now?
Thank you for sharing!
Mine goes all the way back to Scooby Doo & 101 Dalmations (real book, not Disney).
DeleteI've always been drawn to the "puzzle" stories. I bet Kat can tell us why. LOL
~Angi
lol, Angie is wanting me to put on my psychology hat, here and mention the creative id, aren't you?
DeleteOkay, at the risk of sounding clinical...
most of our creative "self" (id) forms before the age of 5 or 6. Which means, of course, the books and stories read to us or that we read (early readers) had a strong influence on our creative development.
I suspect there are a couple other elements involved here. Stories that resonated with our personal issues would reinforce certain themes in our life.
For instance: I was always a go-your-own-way sort of girl. Naturally stories about Pippi Longstockings or Heidi or Ramona would resonate with me. By reinforcing that theme at a young age it is only natural that theme or persona would emerge in my writing later.
You kids that needed challenges like puzzles it does not surprise me that you are drawn to writing mysteries or suspense (as in Angie's case). (although, Angie, this is a little different operator than the organizational need that distinguishes Pantser from Plotters - for those of you who've taken my workshop.)
See Scooby Doo and the Dalmation books are all about the mystery and suspense. And that's what you love to write. This is getting more and more interesting for me.
Hi Pam! Smiling and waving because you loved Pippi and Heidi, too.
ReplyDeleteAnd wow, they are very different. so why those two? Now I'm racking my brain for what they had in common...
in each case they were heroines who were seen as peculiar by those around them. But they didn't let that get to them and they pressed forward resisting the pressure around them.
Oh and here's something eerie. That exact theme persists in all my books. What about in yours? Do you write peculiar heroines?
Hi Brenda!
ReplyDeleteThanks for coming by!
I remember Are You My Mother. It was a Dr. Suess book with the cute baby bird, right?
Hey I liked the excerpt of your book the Lance Temptation on your website.
Hi Regina!
ReplyDeleteWhat a remarkable gift your grandmother left you. A classic library... I'm guessing Dickens, and Kipling and Verne? (a few of my early favs)
How do you think those classics have influenced your writing?
Sounds like a great book! Interesting concept!
ReplyDeleteI love the cover of your book too!
My earliest memories of reading was Enid Blyton books as a kid. I was really hooked & used to beg my parents to buy them for me. That started my love of reading. I read mainly romance & fantasy now; I couldn't pick just 5 fav books. My list is too long!
ReplyDeleteLinda! You just introduced me to someone I'd never read before. Enid Blyton. How did I miss her? Just now I went and read an excerpt of one of her books - how intriguing they are. I can see why they hooked you!
DeleteThank you!
Like Regina, my dad got me started on classics but the Tom Swift books really got me started. My favorite list runs the gammit but usually unusual heroines. Outlander series, In Death books b Robb, Sweet Hush by Deborah Smith, Ain't She Sweet by Susan Elizabeth Phillips, and the Sam Jellicoe series by Enoch. ThEN, there's fantasy. So I write fantastical quirky heroines, lol. Can't wait to read "Diary". I'm intrigued by your excerpts and blog posts about your first love. You write with such emotion. Best of luck with the new release. (liviaquinnwritesATgmailDOTcom
ReplyDeleteHi Kat
ReplyDeleteWhat got me hooked on books was reading the British children's book series ANT AND BEE, when I was five. Mother taught me to read with this incredibly clever series of child-sized books with certain words (like ant and bee) throughout the book highlighted in red. I was so thrilled that I could read, so caught up in the magic of words coming to life on the page, that I was always to be found with a book in my hands after that. I would have to say that Dr. Zeus's The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins, all of Marguerite Henry's horse books and of course, Jane Austen comes to mind as completely unforgettable.
Hi Elizabeth, I'd forgotten about Marguerite Henry! Thank you.
DeleteThis is wonderful to be reminded of books we used to love and be introduced to ones we hadn't met yet.
Naturally, I'm a big fan of Elisabeth Fairchild's Regencies.
I loved every Dr. Seuss book--the rhymes, the pictures, The Cat in Hat cleaning up his own darn mess. But as far as big books goes, Mrs. Piggle Wiggle and I were real close.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the kind words Livia and May!
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad the emotion comes across to you. That is one of the kindest best compliments you could give me. I work very hard to get that right in a book, because it is why I write - to convey emotion. It is also why I read - for the emotional journey.
Thank you!!!
Too many favorites to list, so at random: Jane Eyre, because she was strong and honorable; Lord of the Flies, in a negative sort of way because it truly altered my notion of human nature; Ramona, my first love story; Fairy tales, because they were so often dark. I'm like you, am constantly reading. And I love your Regency romances, too.
ReplyDeleteHi Gretchen and Patience!
ReplyDeleteOh yes, Gretchen, Ramona! Loved Ramona. Felt like Ramona most of my life.
And the Miss Piggle-Wiggle books. Does anyone else remember her? My mom used to read those to us.
The ones I remember reading as a child was The Bobbsey Twins series. I loved the mystery and the way the kids took things in their own hands to find the clues and discover the answers. And by the way, I love Final Fantasy with it's beautiful artwork,music and love story. Even the songs in Japanese are great (had to search for the translation...smile).
ReplyDeleteCongrats on your book!
grandmabkr at yahoo dot com
Yeah, me too, I loved the artwork in Final Fantasy. And this fan video is my very favorite.
DeleteI bet you read the Boxcar Children, too? The Bobbsey Twins are even available on kindle now. So a whole new generation can enjoy them.
Fun interview. Judy Blume
ReplyDeletebn100candg at hotmail dot com
Terrific interview, ladies. I love Nickelback....The Black Stallion by Walter Farley is the book that got me hooked on reading.
ReplyDeleteHi Kay!
DeleteThanks for dropping by. Oh yes, Black Stallion is a moving story - a tear jerker for me. I kept my tattered copy until the pages fell out. Such a good book.
This looks like such a good book. Love the cover too.
ReplyDeleteGreat interview!
ReplyDeleteRegarding the book that got me started - Pride and Prejudice. My uncle gave me a copy when I was 10 and it changed my world! I still have that original paperback copy!
This is going to make me sound old, but my dad had the Harvard Classics library set. One of the books was a tome of fables and fairy tales. I read the original version of The Little Mermaid, (not the Disney version) about a bajillion times. I cried for her at the end EVERY time. Loved that story. That was my first romance and I've been hooked ever since. Except now I choose the ones with an HEA. :-)
ReplyDeleteI think it was the Reader's Digest books I got as a kid that really fired up my reading. Love all Jane Austen books!
ReplyDeleteMay, Brenda & Linda won copies of Kat's book!
ReplyDelete~Angi