I am excited to be highlighting
Circle of Secrets today by
Kimberley Griffiths Little, with an interview and giveaway as well! I can't remember how I came across her blog, but I am so glad I did. Kimberley is a super-nice lady and in addition to her busy writing schedule, takes time to give back to the community through projects like
Write On Con, blogging at
From the Mixed Up Files... of Middle-Grade Authors, and
Spellbinders: a blog for librarians, authors and educators working together to create lifelong readers.
I just went back and read a few of her blog posts over the past year and was particularly intrigued by
this one which details all the different writing-related things she had going on in the months previous to the post. It makes me really appreciate the hard work she puts in as a writer and shows her dedication to her chosen craft!
Book Description: (from Amazon) Critically acclaimed author Kimberley Griffiths Little weaves a haunting story
of friendship and family and the power of faith, once again set against the lush
backdrop of the Louisiana bayou.
After her mother walked out on Shelby
Jayne and her dad, Shelby thought she'd never speak to her mamma again. But with
her dad leaving the country for work, it turns out she doesn't have a choice:
Shelby has to move back into her mamma's house, deep in the heart of the
Louisiana bayou.
Her new classmates tease and torment her, so Shelby's
relieved to finally find a friend in Gwen, a mysterious girl who lives alone on
the bayou. But Shelby can't help wondering if Gwen has something to do with the
puzzling messages she finds hidden in the blue bottle tree behind her house. The
only person who might be able to explain is her mamma -- but Shelby's not ready
to ask. Not yet. It may take a brush with something from the beyond to help
Shelby see that the power to put her own ghosts to rest is within her reach.
Kimberley Griffiths Little's haunting and powerful tale brings one
girl's attempt to grapple with family, friendship, and forgiveness to beautiful,
vivid life.
What makes it marvelous: Right away I felt a reason to feel sympathy for the main character. Shelby Jane's daddy is leaving her in the care of a mama she wants nothing to do with, in a swamp house you can only get to by boat. By the third chapter a mystery reveals itself: secret notes left in the blue bottle tree. After Shelby Jane has a hard time making true friends at school, I wanted to root for her - in finding a friend in Gwen, and in repairing the bond she desperately needed with her mother. I found myself staying up late one evening because I just had to see how it all worked out.
Note from Kimberley: I had asked her if there was an order to Circle of Secrets and The Healing Spell and this was her answer. "I guess technically you should read The Healing Spell first but they are stand-alone books (it was a blast to revisit the world in a whole new way). You may want to read The Healing Spell first. The surprise at the end may have more impact.
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Interview with Kimberley!
Where you can make friends with Kimberley:
website:
http://www.kimberleygriffithslittle.com/
Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/kimberleygriffithslittle
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/KimberleyGLittl
Goodreads:
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/484627.Kimberley_Griffiths_Little
1.
In another interview you mentioned "leaving one agent to acquire
my dream agent." Can you tell us how that connection came about,
and how you knew it was time to leave the first agent?
I made my connection through an art form known as
“stalking”! Ha!
Okay, here is “The Story”: I published three MG
novels with my first agent over a decade ago, and then I had what I call “The
Famine” where, for 7 years, I kept writing like crazy, but couldn’t sell
anything (for a variety of reasons.) One reason was my agent wasn’t subbing to
more than a very few publishers (3-4); she lived out of the country for part of
that time; eventually she stopped spending much time in the children’s lit
arena, focusing instead on adult titles and genres. So we parted ways – very
amicably. It was my husband who pushed me into moving on because I was just
spinning my wheels, although I never stopped writing new work. But trying to
find a new agent can be just as difficult as finding the first one so I was
pretty nervous and worried that it would never happen again.
I’d heard great
things about Tracey Adams through the online grapevine so when I began querying
for a new agent, I researched her and emailed clients to find out more. But
when I was ready to start my query submissions Tracey closed her agency for a
time period, only taking submissions if she’d met you at a conference. I found
out which conferences she was attending that year—as soon as possible!—and stalked—I
mean “followed” her to SCBWI Los Angeles. I made a point of meeting her at the
evening social, she asked what I was working on, I pitched two books (a MG and
a YA) in a sentence or two, and she asked me to submit. Two months later I did
(after polishing some more!), but I waited many months before hearing from her
because she came home from SCBWI absolutely swamped! I was getting requests for full manuscripts from
other agents, but when Tracey wanted to set up a phone call appointment, I was
elated. We talked for nearly two hours and it was a done deal. I couldn’t ask
for a better agent. Within 6 weeks she sold a 3 book deal for me to Scholastic
(stand-alone books). And last year she sold a YA trilogy to Harpercollins for
me in an amazing deal. The first book will launch Fall 2013 as a lead title.
It’s impossible to tell you how thrilled I am after a lot of very, very hard
work.
2. How
did you decide on the bayou swamps for the settings of your MG books The
Healing Spell and Circle of Secrets? Do you have a connection to
that area of the country, and what kind of research did you have to do in
order to make the books feel authentic?
My family traveled through Louisiana about 13 years
ago and I fell in love—hard. I went home and read everything I could get my
hands on and immediately started planning a detailed research trip. I’ve spent
the past 13 years going back over and over again, making lots of friends,
boating on 6 different bayous with local fisherman, researching at the
Louisiana State University. I think I’ve been to just about every small town in
Cajun country—between Lafayette and Morgan City, as well as north to Pierre
Part and south to Houma and Thibodeaux, too. I love the people, the culture,
the food, and the magic of the wild scenery.
3. In your acknowledgements you mention
contacting real traiteurs. What were the traiters'
reactions to you contacting them, and what tips do you have for authors who are
needing to interview people for research?
I was so touched at how open and warm and friendly
the traiteurs were to welcome me into
their home and talk freely about their work, their beliefs, and the various
ways they get trained and practice their healing arts. I also had the
generosity of their friends or family members who helped me set up a visit,
usually on the spur of the moment! I initially read about traiteurs in some of my nonfiction reading by professors at LSU
(extremely brief references, but I was very curious!)
I kept digging around
the internet for more info (this was before Facebook or Youtube, even) and
discovered a beautiful documentary done by a local film company who highlighted
more than a dozen traiteurs. That
documentary helped enormously to jump start my own personal visits as well as
scouring the archives at LSU library for more information.
4.
I won The Healing Spell from you on
your blog (thank you!) and you also sent me a bunch of bookmarks (double thank
you!) My son spied the bookmark for Circle of Secrets and said he
wanted to read it. I was surprised and quickly answered "but it's
about a girl." He didn't seem to care and proceeded to read both
books before I cracked open either of them! Did you write these books hoping to
connect mostly with girls or did you intentionally try to write them
to appeal to both girls AND boys?
I love hearing this about your son, Julie, and so
glad he enjoyed both books!
I knew that girls would probably be the primary
reader of the books because the MC’s are girls, but I always seem to put boys
into the story that play an important role, or that affect the MC in a huge
way. I don’t consciously think, “I need to put a boy into the story” though. My
boy characters have naturally evolved as I’m thinking about the story and
plotting. They just sort of spring, full-blown into my mind and I know they’re
the right catalyst for my MC, like Livie’s annoying cousin, Thibodeaux in The Healing Spell. He figures out the
secret Livie is hiding and also commits an act at the end of the story that
breaks Livie’s heart—but she has to forgive him in the end, just as she has to
forgive herself for her own “sins” as well as the rest of her family.
It has been very
gratifying to see boys purchasing the books and email me fan letters. At my
live bookstore or school events, boys even buy the charm bracelet to look at
while they read the book! I think the stories are very universal and there is a
“mystery” in each story, too, that appeals to both boys and girls.
5.
How were you paired with Erin McGuire for your MG book covers? How
much involvement did you have in this process?
Scholastic has an Art Department with professional
designers and artists who discuss various cover concepts with my editor (as
well as choosing the fonts, layout, interior design, borders, chapter heading
artwork, etc). The art dept folks receive portfolios of artists around the
country and keep abreast of the artists in the industry who are doing picture
books or other book covers, and choose the one they think will evoke the
concept the best.
Erin
McGuire was chosen to do Circle of
Secrets, and she spends a few weeks coming up with thumbnails of potential
covers or concepts to show the art dept. They then discuss and choose some
sketches they think are close to what they’re hoping for, have the artist work
some more on it, or change this or that, and then the final is chosen from a
second round of thumbnails with final tweaks until everyone is satisfied.
Circle of Secrets is a spooky, moody cover (I love the
headstones and the dripping Spanish moss on the trees) and Scholastic liked it
so well that they asked Erin to do the cover for my new book, When the Butterflies Came (April 1, 2013).
It’s a completely different feel and color palette, but you can tell it’s
Erin’s beautiful work. She created thumbnails and the final within about a week
or so—very fast! Erin shared her process for When the Butterflies Came in this blog post on her website. It’s
fascinating to see the sketches and hear about the final tweaks. Something we
writers often don’t get to see!
***Fun Little Tidbit: My editor asked me if I had
any cover ideas for When the Butterflies
Came and I gave her a couple of concepts I’d thought of. My first choice
became her first choice and that’s the one that Erin created! I love that I got
to be a part of the creative process and see my idea come alive in the gorgeous
cover. (I use it as my wallpaper on my computer, too. :-))
6. What is one question
(about writerly stuff) you have never been asked but always wanted to
answer? Oh, and please provide the answer too!
Okay, here goes a dorky answer!
“If you came across a genie while walking along the
banks of the Rio Grande (where I currently live) and she told you that you
could have one wish to live inside the
world of one of your favorite books, which book would you choose to live
inside?
It’s hard to make a choice, but in the end I’d have
to go with The Little White Horse
by Elizabeth Goudge. The book takes place in 19th century
England. A country manor house, hills and forests and lakes, and also a place filled
with lots of magic so that every day would be beautiful and an adventure. I
also love the bedroom the MC gets to stay in at her uncle’s “castle”. You’ll
have to read the book to find out about the circular room with stars on a domed
ceiling and a snug, miniature door that only Maria can fit through.
I’ve always been an “olden-days-castle-girl” and
about a year ago started writing a YA novel set in a castle in Scotland. I’ve
written half of the first book and the entire trilogy is now planned out. (Hopefully
I’ll sell it one day). Years ago I stayed in the haunted tower room at Borthwick
Castle outside of Edinburgh. One of the best things I’ve
ever done on a trip. I highly recommend it!
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Thanks again Kimberley for taking the time to answer my questions. I enjoyed learning more about you and your publishing journey and I hope others will too!
Where you can make friends with Kimberley:
And now for the giveaway!
I have a signed copy of The Healing Spell that I won from Kimberley and would love to pass it on to one lucky reader. All you have to do is leave a comment and I will draw a name next Monday and announce the winner then. It would be nice if you signed up to follow my blog, but not necessary to be entered in the drawing.
No international entries. US and Canada only.
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Marvelous Middle Grade Monday (MMGM) was created by Shannon
Messenger. To find other bloggers participating in MMGM go to
her blog for a list of
links.
SLEUTH OR DARE #1: PARTNERS IN CRIME
The other two books in this series are Sleuth or Dare #2: Sleepover Stakeout and Sleuth or Dare #3: Framed & Dangerous. 
2. Since my 10-year-old son loved this series, I was wondering if your target audience was mainly girls, or did you intentionally write them in a way you hoped would appeal to both girls and boys?
Marvelous Middle Grade Monday (MMGM) was created by Shannon
Messenger. To find other bloggers participating in MMGM go to her blog for a list of links.
Book Description: (from Amazon) Critically acclaimed author Kimberley Griffiths Little weaves a haunting story
of friendship and family and the power of faith, once again set against the lush
backdrop of the Louisiana bayou.
5.
How were you paired with Erin McGuire for your MG book covers? How
much involvement did you have in this process?
