Catherine Knutsson's Blog, page 4
May 26, 2012
Almost there! Also, giveaways and interviews…
A week until the launch, and ten days until the release of SHADOWS CAST BY STARS – wow, how crazy is that? I’ve been keeping my head down, doing lots of work behind the scenes, like interviews and such, and today, one that I really enjoyed just went up on my good friend Shari Green’s blog – lots of talk about how SHADOWS came to be and such, plus a GIVEAWAY! And really, who doesn’t like free books?
Also, Claire Legrand, she of the awesome, forthcoming THE CAVENDISH HOME FOR BOYS AND GIRLS is hosting a GIVEAWAY on her blog, too! An abundance of giveaways!
And, if that wasn’t enough, I’ll be giving away a bunch of stuff on release day, including books and swag and art prints by a local First Nations artist, so mark your calendars!
Filed under: Shadows Cast by Stars
May 14, 2012
May 13, 2012
Guest Post/Spooky Story up on the Me On Books blog!
Hello everyone! Lindsay over at Me On Books is running a YA Can Lit feature on her blog, and today’s post is by yours truly! I’ve written about a real life ghost story that I used as inspiration for a scene in SHADOWS CAST BY STARS, and yep, it’s spooky and REAL. I know, because I was there!
Anyhow, should you wish to take a read, head on over to Lindsay’s blog. I hope my guest post sends shivers up your spine!
Filed under: Uncategorized
May 10, 2012
Winner of the Giveaway!
Drum roll please….
The winner of the personalized, signed hardcover of SHADOWS CAST BY STARS in celebration of one-month-until-release is….
ARANTZA!
Arantza, an email is on its way to you…
Many thanks to everyone who entered (so many nice comments, thank you thank you!), and please stop by on June 5 as I plan on celebrating the release of SHADOWS CAST BY STARS with another giveaway!
Filed under: Shadows Cast by Stars
Giveaway is closed!
Thanks so much for all the entries for my one-month-until-release giveaway. I’ll be posting the winner a little later today – stay tuned!
Filed under: Shadows Cast by Stars
May 9, 2012
Kirkus Review of SHADOWS CAST BY STARS
I wasn’t sure when I should post this, but since it’s popping up all over the place, I figured it was time to go public! Kirkus, “the world’s toughest book critics” (that’s what they call themselves!), liked SHADOWS CAST BY STARS! Here’s what they had to say:
SHADOWS CAST BY STARS
Author: Knutsson, Catherine
Review Issue Date: May 1, 2012
Online Publish Date: April 4, 2012
Publisher:Atheneum
Pages: 464
Price ( Hardcover ): $17.99
Publication Date: June 5, 2012
ISBN ( Hardcover ): 978-1-4424-0191-4
Category: Fiction
A post-apocalyptic debut breathes new life into a quickly flagging genre with its setting among the First Nations peoples of the Pacific Northwest.
Even though they live in the Corridor, Cassandra Mercredi and her family have kept to the Old Way. When a new strain of the Plague that killed their mother emerges, she, her twin brother, Paul, and her father flee to the Island, where the Band clings to treaty lands. Métis, they are apart from the specific culture of the Island, but they are nevertheless Other, and their blood contains the only known cure for the Plague. Cass finds herself apprenticed to healer Madda and increasingly drawn to Bran, the son of the Island’s vanished leader. She also experiences a terrifying connection to the Sisiutl, the serpent-spirit that dwells in the lake by her house. Knutsson’s narrative is ambitious, twining together Pacific Northwest mythology, standard post-apocalyptic tropes and a coming-of-age story inflected with romance. Readers of Sherman Alexie’s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian will recognize the harsh realities portrayed, albeit within the science-fictional framework. Knutsson’s language is often atmospherically beautiful, but the story flounders at times, introducing unfulfilled subplots that may be foreshadowing for events in future volumes or simply red herrings.
Nevertheless, it’s an absorbing read populated by characters hardly ever found in teen novels. (Science fiction. 12 & up)
***
Whew, and yay!
Also, the giveaway of a signed copy of SHADOWS CAST BY STARS ends tomorrow at noon (PST), so if you haven’t entered yet, get on over there, read the sample chapter, and enter away!
Filed under: Shadows Cast by Stars
May 5, 2012
Celebrating one month until the release of SHADOWS CAST BY STARS!
Well! A month today, SHADOWS CAST BY STARS will make its way into the world–my very first book, and what a journey it has been!
To celebrate the one-month-until-release date, I’ve got two things to offer up!
Firstly: I’ve received permission to post the first chapter of SHADOWS CAST BY STARS–read it here!
Secondly: A giveaway! I love giving stuff away. This time, I’m offering up a personalized, signed copy of SHADOWS CAST BY STARS (open internationally!)! And, if the mood strikes, I may just throw in a piece of swag or two…*wink wink*
Details: I’m running this giveaway from today, May 5, until May 10 at noon PST, which, as it happens, is my birthday! I’ll announce the giveaway winner later that day.
To enter: Since this giveaway coincides with the posting of the first chapter of SHADOWS CAST BY STARS, you’ll have to answer a question to enter! Don’t worry, it’s not a hard question & the answer is in the first few paragraphs of the opening chapter: What bird haunts Cassandra’s brother, Paul?
Leave me the answer in a comment to this post (comments will be screened), along with your name and email. I’ll contact the lucky winner when the giveaway is over, and I’m happy to send the book anywhere in the world!
Please enter only once, so that it’s fair for everyone.
And if you haven’t taken part in the YAmazing Race (hosted by the Apocalysies) for your chance to win Mgnificient prizes, you’ve got until May 8th to do so!
One last thing: I’ll be running another giveaway to coincide with the launch of SHADOWS CAST BY STARS, which will involve another signed hardcover and some swag, so stay tuned for details close to June 5!
Filed under: Uncategorized
April 30, 2012
Start Your Engines: The YAmazing Race with MG-nificient Prizes!
Hello Racers! This is my first time participating in the Apocalysies’ YAmazing Race with MG-nificient Prizes – yay! In addition to winning great Apocalysie-centric prizes, I’ll also be hosting my own giveaway on May 5 to celebrate the one-month-to-launch date of my own book, so stay tuned for that post.
The race details:
First of all, if you haven’t read the rules for the YAmazing Race, check them out on the Apocalysies website. Everything you need to know to participate can be found there.
Secondly, the race runs from May 2, 2012 at noon EST to May 8, noon EST.
Now, onto the race!
SHADOWS CAST BY STARS
Two hundred years from now, blood has become the most valuable commodity on the planet—especially the blood of aboriginal peoples, for it contains antibodies that protect them from the Plague ravaging the rest of the world. Sixteen-year-old Cassandra Mercredi might be immune to Plague, but that doesn’t mean she’s safe—government forces are searching for those of aboriginal heritage to harvest their blood. When a search threatens Cassandra and her family, they flee to the Island: a mysterious and idyllic territory protected by the Band, a group of guerilla warriors—and by an enigmatic energy barrier that keeps outsiders out and the spirit world in. And though the village healer has taken her under her wing, and the tribal leader’s son into his heart, the creatures of the spirit world are angry, and they have chosen Cassandra to be their voice and instrument… Incorporating the traditions of the First Peoples as well as the more familiar stories of Greek mythology and Arthurian legend, Shadows Cast by Stars is a haunting, beautifully written story that breathes new life into ancient customs.
And now, click here to go to the next stop of the YAmazing Race!
Filed under: Uncategorized
April 29, 2012
Art and Cookies
A few days ago, I came across the following quote, copied and pasted it into a document, and forgot about it. Today, I remembered it as I was struggling to come to terms with the hurdles of having a work of fiction out in the viewing public. The quote is this:
“A good workman can’t be a cheap workman; he can’t be stingy about wasting material, and he cannot compromise. Writing ought either to be the manufacture of stories for which there is a market demand–a business as safe and commendable as making soap or breakfast foods–or it should be an art, which is always a search for something for which there is no market demand, something new and untried, where the values are intrinsic and have nothing to do with standardized values.”
Willa Cather, “On the Art of Fiction” (1920)
I’d like to think my writing is art. Maybe just that, deciding that’s how I see it, makes it so. I’m not sure. But, what I do know about this: fretting about something out of my control is never useful, or helpful, or good for my mental health. Aiming to make art is.
So, on the rough days, because there will be rough days (and today was one of them), I’m reminding myself that I want to make art. And maybe cookies. Art and cookies. Because cookies are art, too.
All I hope is that there’s room for my art in the world. Please, please, powers-that-be, let there be room for my art in this world.
Filed under: Uncategorized
Wordapalooza, the next generation
So! I’ve written about 10,000 words in the last couple of days and last night, decided I need to come up for air. But, this was good, this airing thing, because the airing involved thinking about what I’m doing and where I’m going and the stories I want to tell.
I’ve made some decisions. I think there’s a sea change in the air. Not sure what that means, exactly, but judging by the explosion of notes and hand-written thoughts on my desk this morning, things are afoot. Big things. Perhaps scary! (oooo, scary!) But, nothing like a wordapalooza to make me sit back and take stock and think about what my writerly strengths are, and where I want to go, and where my story-heart lies.
Gotta get a run in, and then words before Game of Thrones tonight (and also, pizza!), but before I go: I haven’t felt this excited about the stories I’m telling in a good, long while.
Now, must run! Literally!
Filed under: Uncategorized
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