Cover Reveal: Katie L. Carroll's Pirate Island

Hello and welcome to the Girls Succeed blog!

Today I am excited to feature the cover reveal for my author friend Katie Carroll. Pirate Island will be an exciting adventure novel for middle grade readers. I know Katie's writing and I'm sure grown-ups will get a kick out of the story too! Looking forward to its release this fall. Now here's some information on Pirate Island!

PIRATE ISLAND

by Katie L. Carroll (katielcarroll.com)

Cover Illustration by Susan Tait Porcaro (susantaitporcaro.com)

Coming October 2017!

PIRATE ISLAND blurb:

A thrice cursed island, a legendary pirate treasure, and one not-so-brave boy. What could possibly go wrong?

For centuries, the whereabouts of Captain William Kidd’s lost pirate treasure has remained a mystery. When Billy’s best friend, Andy, proposes they look for it on nearby Pirate Island, Billy thinks it’s just another one of their crazy adventures. It’s usually Billy who ends up in trouble as a result, but he goes along for the ride…like always. The more he delves into the life and death of Kidd, the more he thinks the treasure is real and that it might be buried on the small island in Long Island Sound. Billy—nope, call him William—becomes obsessed with the captain of the same first name. He even believes he’s possessed by Kidd’s restless soul. Now he and the spirit of a long-dead pirate are leading the crazy adventure on Pirate Island. And what they find is far bigger than the treasure they imagined.

About the Author:

Katie L. Carroll always says she began writing at a very sad time her life after her sister Kylene unexpectedly passed away. The truth is Katie has been writing her whole life, and it was only after Kylene’s death that she realized she wanted to pursue writing for kids and teens as a career. Since then writing has taken her to many wonderful places, real and imagined. She has had many jobs in her lifetime, including newspaper deliverer, hardware store cashier, physical therapy assistant, and puzzle magazine editor. She works from her home in Connecticut that is filled with the love and laughter of her sons and husband.

In addition to PIRATE ISLAND, Katie is the author of the YA fantasy ELIXIR BOUND. Find Katie on her website, Twitter, Facebook, and Goodreads.

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Story Behind the Story: Quest of the Hart by Mary Waibel

Wishing you a happy and safe Halloween!

Hello and welcome! Step back to the time of dragons, knights in shining armor, and princesses with Mary Waibel's post today. Don't worry, I have knights surrounding the room with swords drawn to protect us from any intruding fire-breathing dragons. (Truly, dragons in my area are more like lovable pets, so don't be scared.)

Are you familiar with the fairytale, Sleeping Beauty? Author Mary Waibel decided to mix it up a bit in her novel, Quest of the Hart. Find out what inspired her to write this version of the age-old tale.

Mary and I are exchanging blog posts, so while she's here, I'm at her blog. Come on over and visit me at Mary Waibel's World 

Welcome, Mary, to the Girls Succeed Blog! 

Thanks so much for hosting me today, JQ, and letting me talk about two of my favorite things: strong characters and fairy tales.

When I started writing the Princess of Valendria series, I never really gave a thought to the fact I was writing stories with role reversals, where a strong woman rescues the man. It sort of happened by accident, or as the story unfolded, so to speak.

Quest of the Hart came from a suggestion by a friend to write a story about the girlie-girl saving the prince. Instantly my mind went to work thinking of ways to take a squeamish girlie-girl and make her a strong, I-can-fight-for-myself-and-all-I-love woman. In fact, I knew the perfect fairy tale to twist to make it work: Sleeping Beauty. So I wrote and edited, and edited some more, and finally I have my girlie-girl who needed to save her prince.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I love strong, manly men. My shelves are lined with books where the guy goes out and shows his love for a woman by rescuing her. But switching up the roles can be fun too. Besides, behind every strong man is a strong woman. There has to be, or the relationship wouldn’t work very well; it would be out of balance, and relationships are ALL about balance. (Think about Aurora, Belle, and Cinderella–they weren’t just meek, mild, girls. They had opinions and shared them with the men in their lives.) So, seeing I like strong men, I need strong woman characters.

With Prince Devlin under a sleep spell for most of Quest of the Hart, you don’t get much chance to see how strong he is (something he complains to me about every now and again in hopes of another story), but I hope you do see the strength and character growth Princess Kalyee undergoes as she searches for a way to cure Devlin of the spell he is under.

About the Book:

YA fantasy, romance

Princess Kaylee has never had to fight for anything. Her entire life has been arranged, even her marriage. But when Prince Devlin falls under an enchantment, she finds she is willing to do anything to save him, even if it means fighting a dragon.

Devlin's own sister, Princess Arabella, is behind the deadly plot. She wants the throne and will use any means necessary. Her perfect plan unravels, leaving Devlin caught in a magical sleep that is slowly spreading through the kingdom of Breniera. All Arabella needs to finish her spell and claim the crown is a drop of Kaylee's blood, but obtaining the single drop is proving more difficult than expected.

To save her betrothed, Kaylee embarks on a quest to find an ancient sword and gather a drop of dragon's blood, while trying to stay out of Arabella's traps. But Arabella's traps aren't the only danger. Time is everything. For once the last inhabitant of the kingdom falls asleep, the spell will be sealed, and not even true love's kiss will break it.

About the Author:

Author Mary Waibel

YA Author Mary Waibel is a romantic at heart. Her love of fairy tales, fantasy, and happy-ever-after fill the pages of her stories. When not twisting her own tales, she can be found with her nose buried in any book she can get her hands on.

Mary lives in upstate New York with her wonderful husband, hockey player son, and two cats. Many a Friday or Saturday night, she spends hours gaming with family and friends. In the fall and winter she can be found at the ice rink, cheering on her son and his team, and in the summer, she enjoys escaping with her family on camping trips all over the states.

Interacting with her readers is one of Mary's favorite parts of being an author. You can find her at these sites:

Website: http://marywaibel.blogspot.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authormarywaibel
Twitter: https://twitter.com/mewtweety14
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6456213.Mary_Waibel
Blog: http://waibelworld.blogspot.com

Do you have a favorite fairytale?  What is it? Tell us in a comment below. We love to hear from readers.