Carina Axelsson's Blog, page 4

My Number 1 Holiday Writing Tip…

On holiday on the Dorset coast!

 

I’m back at my writing desk and it’s PILED HIGH with STUFF that needs my attention! Coming back from holiday is always the same, isn’t it? It makes me even more thankful for the fantastic summer I had.

I had a great time in Dorset, on the southern coast of England, which is where I spent most of my summer holiday. When I’m there I stay in a cottage that is near the dramatic cliffs of the magnificent Jurassic coast, which means lots of lovely walks for me and my dogs.

I tend to be someone who gets up early no matter where I am, but on holiday, even if I wake up early, I make sure I enjoy a LONG and LEISURELY breakfast – something I don’t have the chance to do normally because I like to get to my writing desk first thing in the morning. But on holiday I LOVE having a long breakfast. In fact, I consider it a huge luxury. As far as I’m concerned, long breakfasts are right up there with other luxuries like large yachts and expensive handbags…only better because I can easily afford a long breakfast! And I can share a long breakfast with my dogs. I’m not sure how I’d share an expensive handbag with them…and I really doubt they’d like being on a yacht the whole day – they like their long walks too much!

I love a long and leisurely breakfast – preferably with a view!

So, do I write when I’m on holiday? Well…this was the first holiday I’ve had since I started writing Model Under Cover where I did not have to write. For the last few years I’ve had endless deadlines to meet – but this year, for once, I didn’t! So I did NOT write. Not a lot, anyway. What I did do was to write notes and think about the secret project I’m working on. (I can’t tell you anything about it yet, but, yeah, it’s a new book series! Shhh!) Which leads me to my Holiday Writing Tip…

Holidays are a great time to soak in all kinds of new information and experiences. A holiday is the perfect time to visit new places, see new landscapes, try different projects, read books, and, basically, just do a ton of fun stuff that you normally don’t have the chance to do (like long breakfasts!). In other words, holidays are the perfect occasion to fill your memory bank with all kinds of new experiences that you can recycle once you’re back home and at your writing desk.

Pay attention to whatever the tour guide might have to say, or buy a guide book so you learn about what you’re looking at. Any little detail you come across, whether it’s a tantalising tidbit of historical information about a painting, a scary local legend (check out the ones in Dorset about the screaming skull), or a famous romance from way back when, can fire up your imagination and give you all kinds of exciting ideas to consider for a story.

I went to the Edinburgh Book Festival whilst on holiday. Here I am checking out Holyroodhouse Palace in Ediburgh. Research, research!

 

Speeding through London on my way to Edinburgh. Travelling is a great source of writing inspiration!

Personally, I find it especially exciting to see new landscapes. I find that visiting a place I’ve never been to or meeting new people can really get my creative juices flowing with ideas in a way that just sitting at my writing desk at home, surfing online, can’t do. And, like I said, the more you experience while on holiday the more inspiration you’ll have to draw on when it comes time to creating characters and scenes for the book you’re writing.

Don’t forget to find out about any local legends – they’re a great source of inspiration!

So remember: Use your holidays to soak in new information and experiences, any of which can inspire new characters or scenes in a the book you’re writing.

I also recommend buying a guidebook or a postcard (I buy a TON of postcards) to remind yourself about what you’ve learned. You can also take photos with your phone – this is something I do all the time. I take pictures of the labels next to a painting if there is something interesting I want to remember about the painting or the artist who painted it (and I also take a picture of the painting if it’s allowed). And you can take notes, either at the time (carry a notebook and pen with you – I do!) or once you’re back home. Keep all of this information and take it out once the ideas start flowing.

Which leads me to my next piece of advice. Don’t expect the ideas to start flowing as soon as you’re back in the car and on your way home from your sightseeing trip. A great idea might come immediately, of course…but sometimes it can take longer. Sometimes a tiny nugget of information needs a while before it becomes a brilliant idea. In fact, an idea from your summer holiday might not hit you until one day a few months down the line, when you’re crossing the street to buy some winter boots, Holy Dior!, it will come to you out of nowhere!

That’s how it works with me, anyway…

So when will my next holiday be? Hmmm…probably at Christmas time. And do I have some new places and things lined up that I’d like to see? Yup, you bet! So I’ll make sure I have my phone fully charged and my notebook and pen with me when I go!

Carina x

Remember! Sometimes even a restaurant experience – good or bad! – can make its way into your writing!

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Read 1st chapter of Dressed To Kill!

Hey MUC readers, want to read the 1st chapter of Dressed To Kill?

Axelle, Ellie and Sebastian are back – and they’re waiting for YOU! The latest Model Under Cover adventure was published on Friday – yup, July 1st!!! – and I am SUPER excited! Head over to my previous blog post to read all about what I did  – and what I else I’ll be doing (#EdBookFest here I come!) – to celebrate the book’s UK publication.

But for those of you who want to head straight to Milan and jump right into Axelle’s new fashion mystery then click HERE to check out the entire 1st chapter of Dressed To Kill on my publisher, Usborne’s, website!

To order Dressed To Kill from my website click here.

Happy reading!

Carina x

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Dressed To Kill is out!!!

Dressed To Kill is out! And FYI MUC readers: to celebrate the publication of Axelle’s 4th mystery I was in London last week to sign some early copies for a number of London bookstores. So if any of you happen to live in the London area you might still be able to find a signed copy of Dressed to Kill at one of the following bookstores:

Watersones Piccadilly – yes the HUGE one on Piccadilly!

The Kew Bookshop just across the road from Kew Gardens.

Nomad Books on Fulham Road near Parsons Green.

Watersones at Notting Hill Gate – although I think they sold out of the signed copies the day after I was in!

Waterstones on Trafalgar Square. They have a fab kids department.

Waterstones on King’s Road in Chelsea. I signed a small MOUNTAIN of books at this one, so chances might be best here for a signed one.

At Waterstones Piccadilly.

A little more FYI: I’ll be doing author events at schools in the fall as soon as the new school term starts. I’ll visit schools both in and around London and also in the north of England. But before all of that I will be doing an event at the Edinburgh Book Festival on Saturday, August 13th! I can’t wait! Book your tickets and find out all about my upcoming event at the #EdBookFest here. I hope to see as many of you there as possible. I loved meeting so many of you there last year!

When I think of the last few years, it seems just a short while ago that I was editing the first fashion mystery in my Model Under Cover series…and now we’re already on book 4. What a thrilling adventure it’s been and I’ve loved every second of the writing and publishing process. For me, though, by far the best perk of the job is meeting my readers. Thank you SO MUCH to all of you! I love all of your comments, emails, pictures and photos. You guys make my day, every day, and I love you all to bits. Writing for you is a thrill and I love how you keep me on my toes!!!

Happy reading and let me know how you like Dressed To Kill!!!

Carina x

At the super cute Nomad Books!

 

 

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I’ll be at the Edinburgh Book Festival!

Edinburgh Book Festival 2016 – I can’t wait!!!

 

I’ll be at the Edinburgh Book Festival again this year and I need hardly tell you how TOTALLY excited I am about this!!! The Edinburgh Book Festival is the most amazing festival – international, buzzing, and located in one of the loveliest cities anywhere, this festival offers up all the best stuff to feed your inner bookworm! There are events to appeal to all ages and interests…so get your skates on and come and join me for some Model Under Cover fun on Saturday 13th August. You can hop on over to the EdBookFest to book your tickets now.

 

Last year, hanging out at the Edinburgh Book Festival Author Yurt…

 

So what will I be doing for my event? Having FUN, that’s what! No, seriously, I plan on talking all things Model Under Cover, of course…and that includes a reading from Dressed to Kill, the newest (and 4th!) Model Under Cover book, which will be out next month in the UK. I can’t wait! In addition to the reading I’ll talk about the series, and what inspired me to write Model Under Cover. I’ll also touch on my days in fashion and some of my personal modelling experiences. And I’ll be answering your questions, too, so if you have anything you’d like to ask me about writing or the books, this will be your BIG chance! There will be a few more things going on, too, but I’ll leave them as a surprise…!

 

After my event I’ll be signing books. This is my favourite part of any event because getting to meet my readers and have a one-on-one chat with them is absolutely the best thing in the whole world! So if you’re coming to join me be sure to bring your books from home! Otherwise, all of the Model Under Cover books will be on sale at the festival – including the latest one, Dressed to Kill. And if you forget to bring your books, please come and say hi to me anyway at the signing!

 

I LOVE meeting my readers! Here’s a pic of me, last year, at the signing after my #EdBookFest event.

 

So if you’re anywhere near Edinburgh, Scotland on Saturday 13th August book your tickets now and come join me. And if you’re not – then get on a plane and come and stop by!

 

I can’t wait to see you all there!

 

Happy reading,

Carina x

 

After my event last year I did some sightseeing and visited friends outside of Edinburgh. I love Scotland!

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Support your local library!

 

With some of the books purchased with my 2015 fundraising.

Support your local library! As a child my parents took me to our local library every week, something I absolutely loved! It was the highlight of my week and our visits were never long enough for me. I loved exploring the various libraries – there were a few we went to regularly – and I can still feel the excitement of discovering new titles, or finding old favourites to check out again, and again, and again…well, you get the picture.

Anyway, because I enjoyed libraries so much as a child, I’m very keen on helping them out now, as an adult. I do this by selling a Christmas Advent calendar I designed and illustrated. I sell them throughout the year in various local shops and also through my network of friends. Sometimes when I go to London, for instance, I take a box of them with to sell. I also sell them at parties I’m invited to – anywhere, basically, where I think I can flog them and get away with it!

The sales results are tallied at the end of winter, every year. And then my local library puts together a list of books that they think the kids frequenting the library would like. After I okay the list, they place the order, and PRESTO! – the books arrive every year in time for the Easter holiday. That’s when we take the yearly photo (yeah, the one you see above) and let everyone know that the new books have arrived.

When I started raising money for my local library, my only stipulation was that the funds raised go towards the kids’ department. The library has honoured this wish…so the kids’ department is really starting to fill up quite nicely! In the above photo I’m posing with some of the books purchased with my 2015 fundraising.

Please, please support your local library either by checking out books whenever you can or by coming up with a fund-raising scheme of your own. Every little bit helps and if we don’t use them we’ll lose them!

Carina x

 

In one of the local newspapers, announcing the arrival of the new books.

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#modelundercover #fanart

I love getting snail mail! And there’s nothing like a gorgeous MUC drawing to make my day!

I have the BEST readers and they send me the coolest #modelundercover #fanart! So I’m sending you all a HUGE thank you for the brilliant Model Under Cover fan pictures, school reports, book reviews and art work that you send me. Seeing your gorgeous, creative, razzle-dazzle stuff always, ALWAYS, makes my day!

Some of you tag me on Instagram to show me your pictures. Others of you write to me directly via the Contact page of my website and send me your school projects that way. And still some of you send me hand-written letters, which is pretty amazing.

But, however you do it, just know that I love it and appreciate all the effort and creativity that you put into your Model Under Cover art work. In fact, as those of you following me in Instagram know, I can’t help reposting pics of your #fanart (when I have your permission!) – often for #fanphotofriday. Speaking of which, below (and above) are a few of the fab images I’ve received lately…

Please keep them rolling in. I LOVE them!!!

Carina x

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So you want to be a model…?

Lots of readers write me to say that Axelle’s world in MUC makes them feel inspired to model…

 

So you want to be a model? Lots of readers have written me to say that reading about Axelle and her world has made them feel super inspired about fashion…more specifically, many of you have me asked if I have any advice to share about becoming a model. So if you’re one of the readers who has asked me that very question…then this blog post is for you!

Just keep in mind that everything you are going to read below is based on my own experience of over a dozen years as a fashion model living in New York City and Paris, and working all around the world. I can only tell you about my own experiences – all of which for the most part were pretty good! Regardless of that, though, there will probably be some things you won’t want to hear, and others things that will surprise you. Right. End of intro. Read away!

 

Photo by Tim Walker of British model Lily Cole, for Vogue.

 

Typical question: Hi Carina, I’m fourteen and I want to become a model. Do you have any tips or contacts?

You bet I do…

1.) First of all, many of you who ask me about becoming a model are under sixteen. My answer to you is always the same and that is, Great! Super that you’re interested, but fourteen is very young and there are laws that the fashion industry has to respect when working with underage employees! So I’d suggest, if you are under sixteen, that you concentrate on your studies and treat fashion as a hobby. Follow your favourite models on Instagram and read the fashion magazines as much as you like – but keep your school grades up! Then, if you are still keen on modelling when you are sixteen, ask your parents or gran or favourite relative to take you to meet with a reputable modelling agency (more on this below). Working with underage girls is complicated for agencies because of the laws protecting children, so they will prefer you to be a bit older. But if they think you have real potential they will probably want to keep in contact with you and your parents. They might even start asking you to work, providing they have your parents’ consent, and you can fit modelling into your school schedule. This is what Axelle does.

 

Yours truly, back in the day. Pic for US Glamour magazine.

 

2.) You shouldn’t pay for anything! Sometimes readers ask me if they have to pay for photos for their portfolio. No, you don’t! If an agency is interested in representing you they will take on all of the initial costs of organising photos for your portfolio, getting your hair cut, etc. You might have to pay them back later for some of this but a reputable agency will be the one who splashes out – not you. After all, if they really believe that you have potential as a model, they’ll be excited to get your career started. Think of how Axelle got started – her first agency, Miriam’s (no, it doesn’t exist – except in my books!), in A Crime of Fashion, set up her first test shots and hair appointments.

3.) There are lots of modelling agencies out there, but you should only work with reputable ones! Only the really good ones have the knowledge and contacts you need to build a long-term career – and only the really good ones are taken seriously by the big magazines and fashion designers. So how do you find a top agency? Well, if you don’t know anyone in the business, then go online and start searching. If you’re living in the UK search for London agencies. Literally Google “top London fashion modelling agencies” and see what comes up. If you’re living in the US you can search for agencies in New York City, but if you live far from the Big Apple, you’ll have to search for one in the largest city near you. So, for instance, search for an agency in Atlanta if you live in Georgia, or Los Angeles or San Francisco if you live in California. Check out the different agency websites to find out who they represent. If you find recognisable names on their roster – Karlie Kloss, Gigi Hadid, or Jourdan Dunn, for instance – then you can be pretty sure they know what they are doing! Check out Storm Model Management‘s main women’s board and talent board to see what I mean. As you scroll down the headshots of the women they represent you’ll see lots of faces you recognise. This is how it should be.

 

If you’re wondering why I choose Storm Models as an example of a great agency it’s because they are super professional! I know because they used to represent me – and today they help my with my MUC research! Here I am, last summer, at their London HQ.

 

4.) Most agencies hold “open call” days. These are days when anyone can walk in off the street and straight into an agency without an appointment. Check on the agency’s website to find out on which days and at what times an agency holds its casting. Here, for instance, you can check out details for Storm’s open call day. Sometimes you can also apply online (again, check out Storm).

5.) There is one last piece of advice I need to share…Although the fashion industry is slowly (too slowly, if you ask me) trying to embrace different types of women, the fact is, you still have to conform to an industry standard in terms of height, weight, leg length, etc. That’s because the fashion designers believe that clothes look best on women of a certain size and build. In this case, modelling is like ballet or football – no matter how much you may dream of being a prima ballerina or a high goal football champ, if you don’t meet the physical requirements of the job (i.e., footballers need to be able to run fast and have outstanding eye-ball coordination and ballerinas need to be light enough to be lifted by their dancing partners and flexible enough to do the movements required of them) then you probably won’t be able to do it at a top level. That’s the truth, tough as it can be to accept. Having said that, even if you do get taken on by a top agency and start working as a model, there will always be clients you’ll meet at castings who will tell you straight out that your skin is the wrong colour for the job or your lips look funny or you’re too big or too small. You’ll have to develop thick skin – something incidentally that you have to have as a writer, too (trust me – literary agents and editors can be very critical of a manuscript!).

Now for some good news! You might feel that you really, really want to work in fashion…just NOT as a model. Well, guess what? You’re in luck because the fashion industry has oodles and oodles of really interesting, glamorous jobs – such as magazine editor, fashion designer, fashion journalist, in-house PR for a major fashion label, buyer for a department store, etc. In part two of this blog post I’ll write a bit more about these jobs. You might find that one of them is the perfect way to combine your passion for fashion with, say, your love or journalism or talent for math. I’ll post it next week so check back!

And in the meantime, if you want to find out more about how my personal modelling experiences inspired me to write Model Under Cover click here.

Happy reading!

Carina x

 

 

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New video – in French!

Check out my new video!

I have a new video up – in French! A few days ago my lovely French publisher, Fleurus, posted a new video in which I talk about all things MUC – in French. And although I do speak French, being filmed whilst answering questions is actually…difficult. Especially when the following happens:

 

1.) The night before filming you wander the streets of Paris (for reasons of research, of course) with your good friend and fab hair colourist to the stars, Christophe Robin – the real life inspiration for Victor in A Crime of Fashion – which means you get to bed way, way, too late.

2.) You have to be at the Gare du Nord station at 7:30 in the morning to catch a train. I don’t know about you, but 7:30 train times are not my fave – especially when I’m supposed to be looking camera ready when I step off the train!

3.) You arrive at the filming site with your chin covered in buttery crumbs from all the croissants you scarfed down on the train ride there. You then wipe off half your makeup getting the crumbs off your face.

4.) It’s pouring buckets, and although Paris looks beautiful in the rain – you don’t. Especially not your hair. Or mine, at any rate. (See video.)

5.) Your French is not formidable, even at the best of times – and especially not at 9 in morning when having a bad hair day. It also doesn’t help when you haven’t been speaking French in ages!

 

Thankfully my publisher is SO NICE. They kept telling me that he crumbs didn’t matter, that everything looked fine and that my French was totally très bien. And while I might not be sure about any of that, the fact is, my publisher did a fantastic job of putting the cutest video together. So check it out because I love it! Axelle looks super cute and I love the sound effects. And I got to speak directly to French MUC readers, which, actually, is super, super cool! Vive la France! I’m ready to shoot my next video in français!!!…I think…  

Carina x

I’m so excited about the publication of L’Affaire Moon!!!

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Model Under Cover in Japan!

A Crime of Fashion’s Japanese cover!

Model Under Cover is now published in Japan – and I love, love, love the cover of book 1, A Crime of Fashion! Many thanks to my Japanese publisher, Hayakawa Books, for the stunning MUC cover!

I love how well both Axelle’s undercover fashion detective side and her glamorous model persona are captured. I also love the way intrigue and fun combine in the overall vibe of the image and I think the drawing does a great job of conveying danger, mystery and style (I love the skulls!). Some of the Paris sights that Axelle explores in book 1, like the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower, are on the cover, too – and I love that Halley and Miu Miu are on the cover, too!

I’m often asked if I get to choose the covers of my foreign editions. The answer is no, I don’t! I’m sent the initial cover ideas for final approval – and I can veto a choice if I really, really, really don’t like it (and my agent agrees with me) – but it’s not like I get to dictate what I’d like to have on the cover – or not. The publishers are in charge. Again, every country is different, and publishers know (at least  hope they do!) what their country, or market, likes, so I have to trust that they are doing what’s best for my book in their own market.

Another question I’m often asked if I have any say in the translated editions of my books…well, the answer is, that depends on whether I speak the language or not! Now, I don’t speak Japanese (unfortunately!)…so, again, I just have to believe and trust that my publishers stay true to my original manuscripts. However, when one of my books is translated into a language that I do speak and read, like French, then I definitely have a go at reading the translated manuscript before it’s printed. But, in general, publishers are experts at what they are do, and they want their edition to be what the author originally intended it to sound like and read like.

But to get back to Japan…now I can’t wait to see the cover for book 2!!!

Carina x

 

Me with my Japanese publisher at the Frankfurt Book Fair.

 

 

 

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Paris, London, books, and fur-babies!

So, basically, this has been one CRAZY holiday season filled with Paris, London, books and fur-babies – amongst many other things!!! The craziness kicked off in Copenhagen, Denmark, right at the start of November. I was there to launch the Danish edition of Model Under Cover book 1, A Crime of Fashion (Model Under Cover: En Modekrimi, in case you’re wondering about the Danish title!). I had a blast and met a ton of lovely readers.

 

I had a fab time with readers at Rygaards International School in Copenhagen! Thank you for having me!

 

Selfie time!!!

 

Doing an event at the Copenhagen Book Fair with my friend, the actress Ellen Hillinsø. I had such a fab time!

 

Signing books at the Egeskov Christmas Fair.

 

Then I was off to gorgeous Paris for a couple of events to help launch the French edition of Model Under Cover, A Crime of Fashion. As those of you following me know, I love Paris, so I said oui oui to my publisher as soon as they asked me if I wanted to join them at the big Paris book fair for kids. You never have to ask me twice to go to Paris – especially now that I can combine a visit with Model Under Cover! Seriously, does life get better than that? Non!

I LOVE the cover of the French edition of MUC book 1!

 

At the Salon du Livre et Presse de la Jeunesse – in other words, I’m at the Paris book fair for kids!

 

Filming a video for my French publisher – IN FRENCH!!! ARGH!!!

 

Signing at WHSmith, the Paris branch…seriously, I love that book store!

 

Paris is just so gorgeous no matter what. Like even the sunsets there are super fab! I took this in the Tuileries Park, btw.

After Paris, Big Ben called. Okay, so I didn’t really get a call from anyone at Westminster, but you know what I mean!

I LOVE London – especially at Christmas-time! I met with my agent, and had a mega-meeting with my publisher, Usborne, about MUC book 4. Yes, it’s going well, yes, I love it and, yes, you’ll be able to read it this summer!!!

 

Meeting with my publisher at this totally cute tea salon!

 

Hanging out at my agent’s.

 

While in London I also squeezed some Christmas shopping (seriously, how could I not?)…including stopping by one of my fave doggie stores, Mungo & Maud. I found the perfect gifts for my dogs there – and yeah, all four of them get something, of course!

 

Christmas shopping for my fur-babies!

 

I also couldn’t resist stopping by the fabulous Claridge’s hotel in Mayfair. Every year they ask a different fashion designer to decorate the big Christmas tree in their lobby, and this year it was Burberry who did it…the result was totally surprising and absolutely stunning!

 

Umbrellas! Like who would have thought you could make a tree from umbrellas? Burberry, the iconic English fashion house, that’s who.

In between all these trips I did manage to get everything ready for Christmas. I love to decorate my Christmas trees and my favourite time to do it is in the evening when the twinkling lights are on and my dogs are all around me. I lay my decorations out on a large table and start hanging – after I’ve made sure that I’ve turned my Christmas songs on! I have the cheesiest ones – old and new – playing on a constant loop over the holidays. It might drive you nuts if you’re not me!

 

Yes, I have a serious ornament addiction. I can admit it!

 

I even have fur-babies on my trees!

 

Someone liked that green octopus from London, after all!

I want to wish you all a super fabulous 2016! May your new year be filled with a lot of love, good health, and general fabulousness in all you do! Oh, yeah, and may your year be filled with lots of great books (including mine!!!). And fur-babies. Everyone needs a fur-baby!

Lots of love!

Carina x

 

Working on this!!! I can’t wait until you can read it!

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