Carina Axelsson's Blog, page 8
February 10, 2015
Dear Teen Me…
Nerdy teen me! (Squiggle drawn by yours truly.)
So here’s the question I was asked by US-based book blog, Dear Teen Me: what advice would I give my teen self if I could meet her?
Hmmm…good question, right?
Would I tell my teen self not to worry, that everything will turn out just fine, and just sort of glide over all the coming ups and downs?
Would I tell my younger self to ditch the bad haircut and shoes?
Or would I simply tell Teen Me that I’m doing a fab job?…Not!
When US-based teen blog, Dear Teen Me, asked me to answer this question I was thrilled because I love the idea – I mean who wouldn’t want to go back in time and help their teen self out? Here’s an excerpt from the guest blog post “letter” I wrote to my teen self. To read the entire answer just click on ‘Read more’ at the end and you’ll link up to the Dear Teen Me blog.
Carina x
EXCERPT from my Dear Teen Me guest blog post:
Dear teen Carina,
I’m not really sure what to say because it seems we all have to go through (for want of a better word!) crap, and my teenage years, as far as I can remember, definitely qualify as that…bad hair days, bad skin days, bad outfit days, bad school days, bad parent days, bad all sorts of days. The only time the fog of frustration seemed to lift for me was when I was reading, writing, drawing or walking through the forest with my dog.
But that was enough to get me through the rest.
It was as if two hours of reading (on my OWN and with a book of MY choice) could cancel out six hours of sitting in class listening to a lot of blah blah blah.
Ditto the dog walks. One hour of walking with my dog easily cancelled out four or five hours of whatever other garbage there was to deal with (dressing up for family occasions springs to mind).
So if I had to say anything to you, maybe I’d just say this: Do what you love.
Whatever it is that floats your boat, just do it because it’ll cancel out the rough times and more.
So if you want to speak Latin because you love ancient Roman history, then learn Latin.
If you want to knit like your grandmother does, then do it.
If you want to act but don’t live near Hollywood or New York City, then get a plan together and start small (it might have to be very small, depending on where you are, but so what).
Find a way to indulge your passions and don’t give a thought to what anyone else, parents included – maybe, even, parents especially – say or think.
What would you tell your teen self if you could go back in time?
January 22, 2015
Writing Tips!
Check out these tips!
Hi everyone,
The lovely Amber Kirk-Ford at the Mile Long Bookshelf has just posted a blog piece with writing tips from 6 YA authors – including one from yours truly! So head over to Amber’s fabulous (and award-winning!) book blog to get a quick and sassy low down on what six of us authors think is important when it comes to writing that novel you’ve always wanted to write.
Happy reading! And writing!
Carina x
January 6, 2015
YAY! Book 2 out now in the US!
This feeling is THE BEST!!!
YAY!!!!!!!!
Today I’m celebrating my Book Birthday of the American publication of the second Model Under Cover mystery!!!!!
Do I sound excited yet?
My fab US publisher, Sourcebooks, has done a gorgeous job with this edition. And what a lovely surprise to come back from my New Year’s holiday and find a copy – hot off the press! – waiting for me at home this morning! The feeling of seeing one’s book, for real, in a physical form one can hold, is a feeling like no other!
In the US the book’s title is Model Undercover: New York and is now available at booksellers and online. So head over to your nearest local bookseller or Barnes & Noble! If you’re at your computer check out Indigo or Amazon!
Happy reading!
Carina x
Woohoo!
December 30, 2014
Happy Holidays!
Hi everyone,
Woohoo! I’m a bit late with my greetings because, as those of you following me on Facebook and Instagram know, I’ve been working over the holidays to meet my deadline for Model Under Cover book 3!
During the holidays I sat near the fire to work as often as I could, which I really love! Sitting in a comfortable armchair as I tap away on my laptop, with the sound of the crackling logs in the background and the dogs sleeping at my feet is such cosy feeling.
Finishing up Model Under Cover book 3!
Despite the deadlines, I did have a super lovely Christmas and New Year. And in between my writing I decorated my tree – sparkly dino included!
I love a sparkly dino!
And my morning and afternoon dog walks were extra magical thanks to a thick dusting of fluffy snow…
Winter wonderland!
And did I eat a lot? You bet! Here I am at lunch on the 26th…about to eat way too much!
About to eat way too much!
And Christmas, of course, included lots of chocolate! I picked up these at Fortnum & Mason while on my quick pre-Christmas trip to London. I love the caramel centred ones…
Yum…!
I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and I wish you all the most amazing and fabulous 2015! May all your dreams come true…
Gotta have some fun in between the deadlines!
Carina x
November 25, 2014
GHB Christmas Anthology…
Woohoo! Getting into the Christmas mood!
Hi everyone,
As you know, on occasion I write for the fab book blog, Girls Heart Books. Well, GHB has just published an ebook anthology of ten lovely, snow-flakey, wintery wonderful Christmas tales! You can download it from Amazon or the Kindle App (for phones and iPads). Proceeds go to the running of GHB, and, hopefully, to printing some posters for libraries to raise awareness of the GHB blog. So head on over to their website to find out more.
In the meantime enjoy the book’s gorgeous Christmas-y cover!
Carina x
November 1, 2014
Radio Winchcombe…
She looks cute, but she packs a punch! Laura interviewing me in the Writer’s Room at the Cheltenham Literature Festival.
Hi everyone,
Here’s the link to the radio interview I did with with nine year old Laura for Radio Winchcombe in the UK. Laura interviewed me at the Cheltenham Literature Festival, after I’d finished with my event and book signing. Clearly she’d done her home work – she was super well prepared! – and asked me a few good questions concerning my background in fashion, and about writing Model Under Cover.
The interview took place in the Writer’s Room at the Cheltenham Literature Festival. The Writer’s Room is actually a very large tent, with tables, comfy chairs, Wifi and tasty food – basically everything a writer could want, or need, while waiting for their event, or book signing, to happen. And because it’s quiet and private (it’s not open to the public), it’s also a good place to do interviews!
To listen to my Radio Winchcombe interview, head over to www.radiowinchcombe.co.uk and select Listen live. Below are the the times and dates when the interview will be aired.
· Saturday 1st November at 3pm,
· Sunday 2nd November at 3am,
· Wednesday 5th November at 1pm,
· Wednesday 5th November at 7pm
Happy listening, and let me know what you think!
Carina x
October 28, 2014
Cheltenham Literature Festival…
Woohoo! Talking about MUC!
Hi everyone,
I’m a bit behind with my posts because I’ve been buuuusssyy since returning from my fun and fabulous Model Under Cover book tour! So it’s time for me to catch up, and I thought the first thing I should write about is how amazing it was to be a part of the Cheltenham Literature Festival…
For those of you who haven’t been to Cheltenham for the yearly Literature Festival, I can only say, you should! It’s the perfect place to spend a buzzy, fun day surrounded by books. Author events are going on all day – so you can fangirl away! On the day that I spoke, for instance, author Cathy Cassidy was also doing an event, and Jacqueline Wilson showed up a bit later in the week. But there is a great line-up of authors everyday, so no matter what kinds of books you like to read, you’re bound to find an author whose event you’d like to go to.
Apart from that, Cheltenham is a very pretty town with a lot of history. From the little I saw, it seems to be made up of the most pretty Regency houses, all neatly lined up, street after street. I’d love to go back and have a proper look!
So what were the highlights of my day at the CheltLitFest?
1.) A super yummy bowl of gluten-free pasta with crab at Jamie’s Italian the night before…Okay, so technically, it wasn’t on the day of my event…but, still…if that didn’t put me in the best mood for my event the following day, nothing would have! Plus I had dinner with the super lovely Anna Howorth from the marketing department of my UK publisher, Usborne, and got to discuss books all night. Couldn’t be better, really!
Having fun!
2.) Everyone working at the CheltLitFest is really, really nice. Honestly. The smiles, helpfulness, and all around loveliness are authentic and constant. I lapped up every second of it!
3.) The venue for my event was gorgeous! It was held in the elegant Queens Inn Hotel, a large, grand, old hotel complete with sweeping staircase, and located directly across from the main festival tent.
Signing away!
4.) My audience – they were all an author could wish for: interested, keen on books, curious, and just plain lovely! Thank you so much to those of you who managed to make it on the day! It was lovely to meet you!
5.) Book signing! Waterstones, one of the festival’s sponsors, did a fabulous job of organising my signing (after my event). They had oodles of Model Under Cover books, a nice large table for me to sit at, and the crowd was great!
Wowzee! Book signing chaos in the Waterstones tent! I’m in the right corner, at a table, but you can’t see me!
6.) The Writer’s Room! This is the room where authors wait until their event, or take breaks between their events. You can leave your luggage there, have a yummy lunch (they do a fab buffet), and do any interviews you may have to, in the comfort of the serene surroundings. I did a radio interview with young Laura from Radio Winchcombe which should be going live in a couple of days. (I’ll post the link on my blog, so check back!)
7.) Fangirling! Yes, authors fangirl, too! At least I do. Sadly, I didn’t get to see Cathy Cassidy on the day I was there because our event times overlapped a bit…but, while in the Writer’s Room I did see – and speak with – Cambridge professor and classics historian, Mary Beard. I was sooo excited!!! And she was absolutely lovely!
8.) Before leaving, Waterstones asked me to sign their Hideaway Tent (that’s the name of the tent for the kids books) Chalkboard. The amazing looking chalkboard was designed and drawn by the super-talented Midlands based illustrator, Ashley King. All kids authors were invited to sign the chalkboard before leaving – and they could even doodle on it if they wanted to – which, of course, I did! So apart from my signature, I ended up adding a top hat to the tiger!
I added the pink top hat to the tiger! He was gorgeous!
I hope I’ll be invited to do another event at the Cheltenham Literature Festival. It really was the perfect way to end my Stolen with Style book tour!
Thanks CheltLitFest!
Carina x
October 14, 2014
Stolen with Style UK Book Tour!
Hi everyone,
I’m just back from my Model Under Cover: Stolen with Style UK book tour! I loved every second of it and had a blast meeting Model Under Cover readers up and down the UK.
My tour kicked off with a bang at my book launch party in London, where my friend and fellow author, Holly Bourne (Soulmates and The Manifesto On How To Be Interesting), gave me the most amazing gift – and one I’d never have thought of!
Take a guess…
Nah, you’re wrong! (At least I’m pretty sure you are because it’s a tough one to guess!)
Holly gave me a Book Tour Survival Kit!!!
If you’re wondering what the kit consisted of, I’m afraid you’ll have to wait a few days to find out! I’m going to do a blog post about it because Holly really did think of everything that an exhausted, but happy, and travel-weary author could need while on tour. Thanks Holly!
Wowzee! A Book Tour Survival Kit! Thanks, Holly!
And what about the rest of my tour? Well, here are some of the fabulous stops I made:
I had a fab visit with the MUC readers at Tolworth Girls’ School in Surbiton, Surrey. This was my first school on the tour, which meant things could have been a bit shaky – considering I hadn’t done an event in a few months! – but the Year 7 readers I saw were so curious and interested that I got off to a perfect start! Furthermore, not only did Tolworth’s lovely librarian Irene Marillat organise a brilliant visit, but she also laid out a fabulous “library picnic”! And, yes, it was exactly what it sounds like – lunch in a quiet corner of the school library, totally hidden from visitors by the high bookshelves surrounding us. A bookworm’s dream!
This is the perfect mug for me!
Another thing Irene did was to give away two signed copies of Model Under Cover: Stolen with Style to the two girls she felt had asked the best questions during the Q&A part of my event. This was the first time I’d heard of this, but what a great idea! (That was a hint to all other libraries, by the way!)
Thank you, too, to Glenthorne High School and librarian Lucas Maxwell for an enthusiastic group of readers! I really enjoyed my visit!
Thank you, Usborne, for the posters! And thank you, Glenthorne, for putting them up everywhere!
As part of my tour I also spent some time in the North of England – in Manchester and Liverpool, specifically – visiting various Waterstones book stores. This was a lot of fun because each Waterstones has its own individual flavour…
Signing stock in Waterstones Manchester Deansgate…thanks Charlie!
I’m loving the display at Waterstones Manchester Arndale – but I would say that wouldn’t I? Thank you Amber!
Thank you Sarah at Liverpool One Waterstones – and what a fab space!
I then headed to Flixton Girls’ School in Manchester for a fantastic morning with lots of lovely Model Under Cover readers. There was a bit of chaos in the book-signing queue afterwards, which added a good touch of excitement to the event!
Queueing chaos at Flixton Girls’ School!
While up North, I also visited one of my favourite schools, Altrincham Girls Grammar School, in Cheshire, for a second time this year. I love this school, its girls, and its library! And librarian Naimh Devlin does a fantastic job of organising the events, so thank you Niamh!
I love Altrincham Girls Grammar School!
Huge thank you, too, to Peter and Frances Hopkins, owners of the super charming, well-stocked, and cosy Urmston Bookshop in Urmston, Manchester. I had a lovely lunch at the shop, and a nice bit of quiet time in between two school visits. We also took a picture for the Books Are My Bag weekend. Independent book stores have a charm of their own, so make sure you support them, because, as book worms, we need them like a flower needs water!
I love independent book stores!
Friday included visits to schools outside of London. At both Enfield County Girls’ School, and Goffs School, I met oodles of gorgeous MUC readers! Plus both schools have well-stocked and well-run libraries, which I love hanging out in! (It’s hard to leave a great library, don’t you think?)
In the library at Enfield County Girls’ School.
It’s not always about signing the books!
I rounded out my Model Under Cover: Stolen with Style book tour with an event at the Cheltenham Literature Festival. Needless to say, I was thrilled at having been asked to do an event there, and I’m happy to say that it totally lived up to my expectations! The girls I met were all real book lovers, and had lots of good questions for me. So thank you girls (and parents!), and, of course, the Cheltenham Literature Festival organisers, for a wonderful time! If you’d like to know more about what it was like participating in one of the UK’s largest literary festivals, keep watching this space because I will do a blog post about all of the fun I had and who I got to fangirl in the famous Writer’s Room!
So thank you SOOOO MUCH to all of you gorgeous readers! Meeting you was such a blast!!! And I CANNOT WAIT until my next Model Under Cover book tour.
And, next time, just so you know, I will do more publics events, so that those of you whose schools I can’t make it to, can, hopefully, meet me at a book store!
I also want to give my Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter followers a shout out because it is so much fun to have your support as I do my book tours! You’re the best!!! Thank you!
Finally, I owe an enormous thank you to my UK publisher, Usborne, for organising my tour. I had an amazing time Amy Dobson, Anna Howorth, Hannah Reardon, and Liz Scott, so thank you so much!!! I can’t wait to do it again!
Carina x
October 6, 2014
Agatha Christie + Scooby-Doo = Model Under Cover!
Inspiration is important!
Hi everyone,
Inspiration is so important! As a writer, I find myself constantly looking for new inspiration – and sometimes new inspiration can come from old favourites!
Case in point: Model Under Cover.
Miss Marple has long been a huge inspiration to me!
As a child Scooby-Doo had me glued to the television on Saturday mornings, and Agatha Christie (otherwise known as the Queen of Crime!) has been one of my all-time favourites since I first cracked open And Then There Were None. So is it any wonder that I created my own detective series? And is it surprising that the fabulous Queen of Crime and fabulous and fun Scooby-Doo have been – and still are – huge influences on me? No way!
Still a fave after all these years!
Needless to say, I was thrilled when UK bookseller, Waterstones, asked me to write a guest blog post about how Agatha Christie and Scooby-Doo have inspired me while creating my own teen fashion detective series, Model Under Cover.
The equation is pretty easy in fact: Agatha Christie + Scooby Doo = Model Under Cover!
Head over to Waterstones to find out more!
Carina x
September 27, 2014
Tips To Spice Up Your Wardrobe…
Spice up your wardrobe!
Hi all,
I love book blogs (I would, though, wouldn’t I?), and the book blog, YA Book Nerd, run by YA librarian, Jennifer Rummel, is a fantastic one. And, yes, the fact that Jennifer and her blog specialise in tween, teen and mystery books definitely has something to do with why I like it so much!!!
As we’re right in the middle of the fashion shows, Jennifer kindly asked me if I’d write a guest post with tips on spicing up a wardrobe. She didn’t need to ask twice, so to find out what three tips I use, and recommend, head over to YA Book Nerd!
Spoiler alert: my tips are quick and easy and won’t break your bank account!
Happy retail therapy!
Carina x
Fab reviews of tween, teen and mystery books at the YA Book Nerd
