Cover Stories: In the Time of Dragon Moon

Diva Janet Lee Carey's new book, In the Time of Dragon Moon, has a tagline that is irresistible: Beware the dark moon time when love and murder intertwine. Hello! Sold. She's here to tell the tale of her latest cover (my favorite part is a the glorious sunspot at the top!):

"Early on I thought the cover would show a dragon circling an eerie full moon. The trouble with that image is, it simply repeats the title and doesn’t show conflict or, more importantly the central characters. (Excellent example of why I was meant to be a writer and not a cover designer!)

"My editor, Kathy Dawson, was kind enough to ask for my ideas. Early on we both agreed we wanted a dragon on the cover, something that alluded to the powerful dragon on the cover of book 1 in the Wilde Island series..." 

Read the full Cover Story at melissacwalker.com.

Diva Delight: In the Time of Dragon Moon

Be ready to soar with dragons as you fly a final time over and into the luscious world of Wilde Island and Dragon's Keep. Janet Lee Cary's word choice glimmers as beautifully as her will-o'-the-wisps, and her mystery deliciously taunts the reader through her pages. A gorgeous conclusion to the trilogy, ringing with sensitivity, compassion, and deep truth.

"You are too anxious for what you want, Uma. Begin by wanting what you have."
"Joy and sorrow are songs women have long known. For women are healers."

Brava!



In the Time of Dragon Moon
Dragonswood
Dragon's Keep
by Janet Lee Carey
Kathy Dawson Books, 2015

Watch For It: In the Time of Dragon Moon

The day before we #rockthedrop, I wanted to give a shout-out to co-founder Janet Lee Carey for her new release, In the Time of Dragon Moon. Woohoo! I just zoomed it into my own Kindle. :)



Is it not gorgeous? What a special book for readergirlz, as Janet began this series with the publication of Dragon's Keep when we began our online community. Dragonswood soon followed. Here's what VOYA said about the trilogy conclusion:

"A story of courage and romance that readers will not soon forget. While Uma's struggle to help the queen and save her people is intriguing, the depth of her character reaches much further, exploring issues of race, gender, and identity....The text will be a sure favorite of fans of high fantasy."

The launch party was fabbity fantastical:


Katherine Grace Bond, Janet Lee Carey, and Justina Chen

Now, how about the summary:

An epic fantasy about dragons, dark secrets, Pendragons, and magic

On the southernmost tip of Wilde Island--far from the Dragonswood sanctuary and the Pendragon Castle--live the native Euit people. Uma, who is half Euit and half English, and not fully accepted by her tribe, wants to become a healer like her Euit father. But the mad English queen in the north, desperate for another child, kidnaps Uma and her father and demands that he cure her barrenness. After her father dies, Uma must ensure that the queen is with child by the time of the Dragon Moon, or be burned at the stake.
Terrified and alone, Uma reaches out to her only possible ally: the king's nephew Jackrun, a fiery dragonrider with dragon, fairy, and human blood. Together, they must navigate through a sea of untold secrets, unveil a dark plot spawned long ago in Dragonswood, and find a way to accept all the elements--Euit, English, dragon, and fairy--that make them who they are.

Grab this new work, rgz. And then drop a review online, everywhere. Your words matter! Read, reflect, and reach out! 

In the Time of Dragon Moon
by Janet Lee Carey
Kathy Dawson Books, 2015

7 Things You Don't Know About Janet Lee Carey

With love from author and rgz co-founder Janet Lee Carey:

Happy 7^th Anniversary, readergirlz!

It was an amazing privilege launching readergirlz with the dream-genius Justina Chen, the inter-dimensionally talented Lorie Ann Grover, and the multi-magical Dia Calhoun back in 2007. The founding divas hit the road in the inaugural year visiting schools and conferences, and created a unique convergent social media home reader/author connection. More talent joined the dynamic readergirlz team after the writer's siren call drew me away 2008. 

7 Things You Don’t Know About Me
1. I lived in Sweden for a year when I was four and learned to ice-skate on the Baltic Sea.
2. Spiders terrify me. I used to make my brothers suck them up with the vacuum cleaner – this made me fear vacuuming. What if the spiders crawled back out to take revenge?
3. I’m often writing in my head even while I’m shopping. This leads to small disasters like discovering I started loading someone else’s cart when I’m halfway through the store.
4. One of my books, Wenny Has Wings, became a feature film in Japan in 2008.
5. I dream of being a mermaid.
6. I try to climb a tree on my birthday each year and remember all the important things in my life starting with my first memory.
7. My cat is a dragon in disguise.

Keep updated on my books and exploits at my website or on Facebook or Goodreads.

Watch for it: Devine Intervention, Unbreak My Heart, and Dragonswood

You know the volunteer divas are all award-winning YA writers as well, right? Be sure to catch these books up and devour them. Each novel is just like her author, of course.



Fast, fun, and rings with Martha Brockenbrough's awesome wit.
Devine Intervention



Honest, dear, and heart-warming with hope from Melissa Walker.
Unbreak My Heart



Exciting raw imagery and intrigue from a master of high fantasy, Janet Lee Carey.
Dragonswood

Find these, rgz, as soon as they are all released. There is talent among us, and you will fall in love with the works of our staff. Ready, set, go!

Cover Stories: Dragonswood by Janet Lee Carey

Janet Lee Carey is a founding member of Readergirlz! She has been here before to talk about her cover for Stealing Death. Now she's back with a stunning new novel, Dragonswood. Here's her Cover Story:

"My cover ideas changed as I was writing Dragonswood. I often have a movie going in my head as I’m writing, so every once in a while I’d stop the movie to a still shot and think, 'Hey that would make a great cover.' Some images had to do with Tess’s fire-sight. I envisioned Tess staring into the fire entranced by the vision of a man swinging his sword, or of a fairy woman riding dragonback in the golden flames.

"I tossed a few ideas around with my editor, Kathy Dawson, at Dial Books for Young Readers. Along with the fire-sight images, we discussed a cover related to the early action scenes showing Tess and her friends’ escape from the witch hunter disguised as lepers. I pictured a bedraggled and muddy Tess dressed in a dark-hooded leper’s robe. Much later Kathy Dawson and I discussed the kind of medieval gown Tess would wear -- the colors, the fabric -- by then I realized we weren’t going with the fire-sight or the leper’s robe idea. I didn’t mind Tess wearing a gown since she does later in the book; still I remember asking, 'Will Tess have a knife in her hand?' Kathy paused a moment, then said, 'I think you will be surprised by the direction this cover is going in, Janet...'"

Read the rest of Janet's Cover Story at melissacwalker.com, and watch the book trailer below!

Happy Book Birthday, Janet Lee Carey!

This is the week for diva releases! We give a great cheer for rgz co-founder Janet Lee Carey's Dragonswood! With two starred reviews, you are in for a treat. Janet is a master high fantasy author. I can't wait to read this work and attend the masquerade release party! I hope to have photos to share with you. In the meantime, find Dragonswood and fall into the world of dragons and fey. Congrats, dear Janet!


Dragonswood
by Janet Lee Carey
Dial, 2012

Authors are Rocking the Drop All Day!

Authors are Rocking the Drop around their areas RIGHT NOW! Here's who's tweeting so far.... use the #rockthedrop tag and join in with readergirlz and Figment to ROCK THE DROP!

More updates to come throughout the day...

Rgz Street Team: Priya Reviews The Dragons of Noor by Janet Lee Carey

The rgz Street Team is a group of teens who bring YA reviews to our blog, led by Postergirl Miss Erin. Find out more.

Today, Priya reviews The Dragons of Noor by one of the original readergirlz founders, Janet Lee Carey!

"The old and ancient trees of Noor are dying, and the worlds of Noor and Oth are slowly tearing apart. Magic has started to disappear from Noor, and a mysterious and fierce wind has been picking up young children and carrying them away. Miles, his sister Hanna, and his friend Taunier, determined to find out what's going on and save Noor and Oth, travel to the forests of Jarrosh. There, they find the exiled dragons, who aid them in their quest to preserve the trees and 'break beyond the boundaries of self to discover the ancient magic joining all to all.'

"The Dragons of Noor was one of the best books I've read this year. What I love about Janet Lee Carey's writing, and this series in particular, are the imaginative and fantastical worlds that the reader is introduced to. In this book, we get to see more of Noor and Oth as well as explore the ancient history between the two. The scenes are so magically and culturally rich, with original creatures and foreign words, songs, and customs..."

Read the rest of this review on Priya's blog.

rgz Seattle HOST: Janet Lee Carey's Dragons of Noor!

Hello, readergirlz!


I'm so happy to see you. I've been away from book events for too long, so I was very glad for the chance to celebrate rgz co-founder Janet Lee Carey's latest book, Dragons of Noor! The party happened last night at Parkplace Books. It was a night full of celebration, yummy food, and giving to Plant a Billion Trees.

Children fly when worlds are shaken.

Now the children are Wind-taken.

Seek them there,

seek them here,

before the children disappear.

- Janet Lee Carey

How cute and foresty does Janet look? This is her with the amazing Chinese dragon her sister made years ago . . . Janet is looking surprised because she's just realized how many years ago. In dragon years, it's not really all that many. Janet explained that, to her, dragons are "conscious nature". I love that, don't you?

The party was full of characters. Literally. Favorites from the book came to life!

The party was also full of friends, readers and rgz Divas! Here's YA author Mary Jane Beaufrand with our own Holly Cupala and YA author Heather Davis. Holly did amazing face painting, and MJ and Heather are decked out with Noorish accessories.

What a blast. I'm constantly amazed by the talent of our rgz founders!

See you soon, girlz!

Story Secrets: DRAGONS OF NOOR by Janet Lee Carey

Hooray, the dragons are on the shelf! I'm very very very excited (can you tell how excited I am?) to invite my dear friend Janet Lee Carey, one of the most amazing authors and one of my own mentors, to Story Secrets today to talk about her latest YA fantasy, DRAGONS OF NOOR.

It's epic. It's wonderful. I've been incredibly fortunate to get to hear this book from the very beginning, so it's like watching a beloved niece or nephew go off to high school. It's here!

You must read it.

Plus, if you are in the Seattle area, you can come to the launch party at Kirkland Parkplace Books on Saturday, October 23rd, at 7pm!

Ok, enough strongarming...er, recommending. But Janet is wonderful. She contributed to my Children's Writer's and Illustrator's Market article, "Telling Your Secrets!" She's the author of STEALING DEATH and DRAGONSKEEP. You will love them. She was also one of the original four co-founders of readergirlz!

Welcome, Janet!

*****

Miles, Hanna, and Taunier are swept into a new adventure in the haunting sequel to THE BEAST OF NOOR. The tale begins when a mysterious wind steals Miles’s and Hanna’s younger brother Tymm. Tymm and other wind-stolen children are swept east across the sea. The three teens sail after Tymm blown by the wind into a Dragon war. Siding with the Dragons of Noor fighting to save the ancient trees is the only way to bridge the broken worlds, the only way to reach the missing children.

Holly Cupala: I love to hear the stories behind the story – how did you come up with the idea for DRAGONS?

Janet Lee Carey: THE DRAGONS OF NOOR began with a daydream. In a kind of trance, I saw a mysterious wind sweep in, steal a child and blow him across the sky. I followed the dream to see what lay behind it. As I asked questions the dream expanded on paper. I was soon traveling across the Noor Sea with Miles, Hanna, and Taunier to find Miles’s and Hanna’s little brother. When I began I didn’t know they’d meet up with Dragons who were fighting their own fierce battle, I didn’t know how the Dragon’s battle for the last great forest of Noor intertwined with the missing children...

Read more about Janet and the dragons here...

~Holly Cupala

Cover Stories: Stealing Death by Janet Lee Carey (+ Giveaway!)

Original Readergirl Janet Lee Carey's Stealing Death is newly out in paperback! In a starred review, School Library Journal called the book "fantasy at its best--original, beautiful, amazing, and deeply moving." (And you have a chance to win it!)

Here's Janet to talk about the two different covers:

"I had some ideas for the STEALING DEATH hardback (left); Kipp standing in front of his burning house with his arms out to prevent the Death Catcher from taking his family, or just a hand stealing a black sack (the Death Catcher's soul sack). I'm glad now the artists didn't go with either of those images. Both the HB and the PB covers focused on the characters and the ghost mare, ChChka, Kipp steals to make his getaway.

"The artists for the HB and the PB wanted to capture the right Zolyan clothing for Kipp who starts the story as a farm laborer, and for Zalika who goes from a high class landlord's daughter to escaped prisoner in nomadic dress.

"When queried about their clothing for the PB, I sent links like this one Ethiopian Women focusing on the pics with more traditional dress from the site.

"The Zolyan landscape was modeled on the arid climate in Sub-Saharan Africa. I looked to the more traditional clothing in pics of men and women living in drought conditions. Images speak. The desperate living conditions I saw in the photos spurred me on to get involved with PlayPumps now a part of Water For People. I also challenged readers to get involved on the 'giving back' page on my website.

"My first response to the HB cover = Magical! The night flight on ChChka captured the adventurous aspect of novel, as well as the romance between Kipp and Zalika. It didn't evoke the darker elements of the novel. Later feedback said the image appealed more to younger teens than older teens, so they changed the paperback..."

See the paperback cover and hear more of Janet's story, plus enter to win a copy of the book, at melissacwalker.com.

Shout Out: Chelmsford rgz!

When Janet Lee Carey, Justina Chen, and Dia Calhoun and I first sat in a coffee shop in Seattle and discussed the idea of rgz in 2006, we had a vision. Part of that vision was helping librarians across the country begin pods, or clubs, of readergirlz. We would provide everything we could to make those meetings fun.

What a thrill when we hear from a librarian who says he or she has begun a rgz group. Here's a shout out to Tricia with Chelmsford Library. Peek at her recent email. It's so spot on for what we hoped. Thank you, Tricia and rgz! We heart you. :~)

"Since beginning my career as a youth services librarian I have been attempting to start a successful book group. I tried everything: traditional book groups, book swaps, genre meetings, etc. Nothing worked. Then a few months ago I had a mini-epiphany--I should start a readergirlz group!

For over a year I had been reading along with each month's selection and following all the blog posts. I realized that all of those posted discussion questions would be the perfect way to keep teens engaged between meetings. We would have our fun monthly get-together (using play lists
and party ideas from the website) but the participants could also join the discussion online. The promise of author chats provided the icing on an already delicious cake.

And, guess what? It's working! We have a small, dedicated group (that I'm hoping will grow in size over the summer months) of amazing young women who are now proud readergirlz.

Let us know if you've begun a rgz group. You deserve a shout out!

A Book for All Seasons

A couple of weeks ago, husband and I went on a little trip into the Cascade Mountains to Leavenworth, WA, a community that rather ingeniously saved their town from recession after the Great North Railroad relocated by restyling the entire town into a Bavarian village. It's an odd weekend that Leavenworth doesn't have something going on, from Oktoberfest to Maifest to the Christmas Lighting Ceremony.

Here we are in front of A Book for All Seasons, and you can tell we haven't quite emerged from the Seattle cloudcover unscathed (wow, so THAT's the sun!).

Going into the store was even better - my friends' books on display! Like...

Janet Lee Carey's Dragon's Keep:

And Justina Chen's North of Beautiful:


And Lorie Ann Grover's Loose Threads:


And Dia Calhoun's Firegold (did you know the cover is by Adam Rex?):


And Deb Caletti's The Secret Life of Prince Charming:

And lots more, too many to document! Everyone, give a shoutout to the teens of Leavenworth, who are reading some excellent books in between all of those festivals. Tag, alles!

TRW Tribute: Janet Lee Carey 4:30

"Books are truthful mirrors. Teens who turn to books get a clearer vision of their lives. Thanks, YALSA, for turning teens toward good literature!"

Janet Lee Carey