Welcome to The Saturday Spotlight, a weekly feature showcasing debut, Indie, self-published and authors who specialize in Ebook publishing. This week I have the pleasure introducing readers to:
KATE MCMURRY and MARIE AUGUST
Authors of Girl Vs.Ghost
Find out more about Marie at~Web~Goodreads Find out more about Kate at~Web~Goodreads
Hi Kate and Marie, welcome to TBR's, please tell us about yourself.
We are a mother-daughter writing team who joined together to write young-adult (YA) fiction because we discovered we can both get a lot more done together than we ever could separately. Girl vs Ghost, a YA, paranormal, romantic comedy targeted primarily at teens age 12-16, is our debut published novel.
Kate completed masters work English education and creative writing at the University of Missouri. She has worked professionally as a technical writer, English teacher, private writing coach and editor. She instilled her love of reading and writing in Marie, who has been creating stories since she was a small child, with Kate’s enthusiastic encouragement. Marie is also an artist with a B.A. in visual arts from George Mason University. She has been illustrating her stories all her life, up to and including being commissioned to create the cover and internal illustrations for Girl vs Ghost. As a special promotion for our book, Marie produced a webcomic of the first chapter which is posted at misdirectedmagic.com. She also writes and illustrates a fairytale webcomic called The Fox and the Firebird at www.fairytaletwisted.com.
What inspired you to write the Misdirected Magic trilogy (Book 1, Girl vs Ghost, was released in April, 2011 and Book 2, Witch vs Wizard, is scheduled for release in November, 2011)?
Kate experimented with adult romantic comedy, picture books and a middle-grade novel prior to Marie suggesting to her a few years back that we write a YA paranormal romantic comedy together, a genre that clicked for both of us. Marie is a huge fan of manga, which are Japanese graphic novels, and the animated films based on manga story-lines called anime. The vast majority of the protagonists of these stories are teenagers, and they have served as an inspiration to her for the kind of YA plots she would like to write. Marie and Kate have also shared and discussed current YA novels for many years, especially paranormal ones, and Kate has continuously enjoyed reading YA fiction since her own teen years. We both feel that the famous piece of writer’s advice, “Write what you love to read,” definitely applies to us for YA fiction. For both of us, it is our favorite genre, particularly paranormal comedy, because there are so many opportunities for humorous incongruity in contemporary fantasy plots.
Have any authors or books inspired or encouraged you in your writing journey?
Every time we read a YA novel that we love—which is quite often in today’s amazingly vibrant YA marketplace—it motivates us all over again to continue writing within this exciting genre. In particular, we are inspired by talented authors of YA paranormal comedy, including Janet Rallison, Tera Lynn Childs, Suzanne Selfors, Wendy Toliver, Rosemary Clement-Moore, Maryrose Wood, Alex Flinn, Ebony McKenna and Meg Cabot
What are you reading right now?
Kate is reading Julie Kagawa’s Iron Prince (Book 4, Iron Fey series. Marie is reading Trial by Fire (Book 2, Raised by Wolves series) by Jennifer Lynn Barnes. .
Do you have any future books in the works?
Girl vs Ghost, is Book 1 of the Misdirected Magic Trilogy. Book 2, Witch vs Wizard, and Book 3, Spells vs Spirits, are currently scheduled to be released in 2012.
Thank you, Tina, for interviewing us on your wonderful blog!
GIVEAWAY
Today Kate and Marie are offering a brand new copy of Ghost vs. Girl to one reader here at Tinasbookreviews. There is also an option for a Kindle copy-for international entry's. To enter please just leave a comment. Physical copies are available to US entry's only. No PO Boxes will be allowed. Please leave a link to your profile page or email. Winner will be drawn Nov 26, 2011.
Girl Vs. Ghost
Isabel Lindley doesn’t believe in magic, but her best friend, Tripp, is obsessed with witchcraft. Strictly as a favor, Isabel agrees to help with a spell and is shocked when the ghost of a teenage boy splat-lands in her bedroom. Her friend is thrilled—even though only Isabel can see or hear the ghost—but Isabel is horrified. She’s the most ordinary sixteen-year-old girl on the planet. What is she supposed to do with a ghost who doesn’t know his own name, how he died, or why the heck he’s tied to Isabel with a psychic chain? Her only hope to take back her life is to help him solve the mystery of his demise so he can go to the Light. Or wherever. She’s not particular, as long as the ghost is gone.
That's kind of awesome, a mother-daughter team of authors. And the book looks super cute--I can't imagine Isabel is going to be too thrilled with Tripp for getting her into that situation!
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Lori
LOL! That cover makes me giggle. I love the look on the girls face. I swear she is going to murder that ghost guy with her eyes alone. :D
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