Carina Axelsson's Blog, page 9
September 23, 2014
The Perks of Being A Model…
Job perks of being a model…
Hi everyone,
So what was my favourite job perk when I used to work as a fashion model?
Well, it wasn’t the traveling!
To find out, head over to US-based, The Young Folks, and read the short interview I did with them about how my career in the modelling world shaped my writing skills. Then let me know if my answer surprises you or not…!
And while you’re at the The Young Folks, take a moment to check out their site; they do lots of fun reviews on all kinds of entertainment. And what I think is really great is that their reviews are written by young people only – and their reviewers are based all around the world, which is also pretty cool.
Happy reading!
Carina x
The Young Folks Interview…
The Perks Of Being A Model…
Job perks of being a model…
Hi everyone,
So what was my favourite job perk when I used to work as a fashion model?
Well, it wasn’t the traveling!
To find out, head over to US-based, The Young Folks, and read the short interview I did with them about how my career in the modelling world shaped my writing skills. Then let me know if my answer surprises you or not…!
And while you’re at the The Young Folks, take a moment to check out their site; they do lots of fun reviews on all kinds of entertainment. And what I think is really great is that their reviews are written by young people only – and their reviewers are based all around the world, which is also pretty cool.
Happy reading!
Carina x
The Young Folks Interview…
September 20, 2014
Five Fab Fashion Books…
Fashion Brain Food!
Hi everyone,
I was thrilled when, two weeks ago, just as the fashion shows started, US book blog, I Am A Reader, asked me to do a guest blog post reviewing five of my favourite fashion books!
To read my full reviews of all five books head over to I Am A Reader, but, in the meantime, here’s a very quick lowdown…
1. I’ve just finished reading the Coco Chanel biography by Justine Picardie and it is a real page-turner!
2. I love, love, love the Grace Coddington (famous long-time fashion editor for Vogue) memoir.
3. And if you are a teen, or know of a teen, who longs for a career in fashion, then you must immediately read the Teen Vogue Handbook!
Now head on over to I Am A Reader to read my full reviews!
Happy reading!
Carina x
September 19, 2014
Writing, Fashion, Scooby-Doo and More…
Hi everyone,
In this fun interview I did for The Reading Zone, I discuss writing, fashion and Scooby-Doo.
My favourite quote from the interview:
“I’d like to say that I write from nine to five, but really I’ m a nine to five procrastinator.”
Yup, sometimes it feels exactly like that!
Carina x
September 16, 2014
US Cover for MUC2…
I love my new US cover!
Hi everyone,
Yay!!! Here is your sneak peek at the US cover of Model Under Cover: Stolen with Style, Axelle’s new and pacey Big Apple mystery!
This is what I love about it:
1. That fabulous electric blue on Axelle’s jacket and in the background.
2. The taxi is a fun touch.
3. The glitzy Manhattan skyline.
4. Axelle’s detective attitude!
5. The magazine-style typeface of the lettering – so cool.
Wowzee is all I can say – and thank you to my wonderful US publisher, Sourcebooks, for designing such a fun and fashionable cover. I love it!
To read an excerpt of Stolen with Style, head over to the Model Under Cover page of my website.
In America the book goes by the title of Model Undercover: New York, and it will be released in the US on February 6th – so not much longer to wait!
I’d love to know what you think about the cover…
Carina x
September 6, 2014
What does it feel like to have a book published?
Wowzee! What a fab feeling!
YAY!
Monday was the UK publication date for Stolen with Style, Axelle’s new and exciting New York City mystery!
Needless to say, I’m thrilled…and, also needless to say, I cannot wait for my next trip to the UK so that I can actually, truly, really see the book on shelves in UK bookstores! It’s hard to explain what an amazing feeling it is to see one’s own book displayed in a book store (next to other real, live, published books!!!). I don’t know what feeling even comes close, frankly…
As anyone who has written a book will know, seeing your “baby” all the way through to publication is a lot of hard work. Days and months, sometimes years, of sitting in a bubble, working in silence, while the outside world seems to exist outside your dimension (not to mention everyone thinking you’ve become a nut-case for locking yourself away of hours on end, supposedly “writing”). Then, finally, after who knows how long a time, your agent calls to tell you the good news: a publisher has accepted your book!
Yay! You’re walking on clouds – until the work of editing begins, followed by the pressure to get the next book finished, followed by more editing and writing, and more editing and writing, and more pressure to get yet another book finished. But you know what? It’s all so worth it! Writing is a wonderful thing – the best job in the world! (I would say that wouldn’t I?) And for me as an author, that moment when I hold my brand new, freshly published book for the first time…well, like I said, there are no words to describe it. I especially love the peace that comes with it, that certainly that, yes, I am doing what I’m meant to be doing – finally. (It came to me late, writing did.)
Not that writing isn’t without its moments (spoiler alert: sometimes those moments can become days!) of total frustration…without forgetting the fear, desolation, and major attacks of procrastination that seem to hit me bang between the eyes whenever I’m feeling confident that things are finally, maybe, kinda, sorta, going well. ARGH!
Anyway, I love it all, the entire process, from putting those first few words down on blank page one, to promoting the finished labour of love on a book tour. It’s all quite magical!
I’m one lucky girl. :-)
Carina x
PS: Just a reminder to US readers that Stolen with Style will be published in America on February 6th, 2015. The book will be titled Model Undercover: New York.
PPS: In case you’re curious, I’ve been helped along the road to publication by my fabulous agent, Jenny Savill at Andrew Nurnberg Associates, and by my wonderful UK publisher, Usborne Publishing. Please do check them out. If you’re interested in being an author too, these are the kinds of people you want to work with!
Hard to describe: holding the freshly published book in your hand!
September 1, 2014
YAY! Stolen with Style Publication Day!
YAY!!!
Hi everyone,
I am over the moon!!! Today is the UK publication day of Stolen with Style! So head on over to your nearest bookseller, or get online, because you can now find Stolen with Style on bookshelves near you! Read all about Axelle’s tricky new case in this fast-paced and glamorous New York City mystery. No high heels or magnifying glass required!
I’m also super excited about my upcoming Stolen with Style UK book tour! I will be visiting schools and book stores up and down beautiful England for a week, at the end of September and beginning of October. Keep checking this space for my more details of my itinerary. I hope to see you!
For US readers, Stolen with Style will be published in America on February 6th, 2015. The US edition will be titled Model Undercover: New York. Keep checking this space for more details on publication.
Happy reading! And let me know how you like Stolen with Style!
Carina x
Do I look excited yet???
August 29, 2014
Cheltenham Literary Festival!
Hi everyone,
I’m super excited about the event I’ll be giving at the Cheltenham Literary Festival on Sunday, October 5th. I’ll be talking about fashion and writing mysteries, so please come and join me!
By the way, I’ll be the brunette drinking tea and eating way too many biscuits due to nerves. Follow the cookie crumbs, and you’ll find me!
To book your tickets head over to their website.
I hope to see you there!
Carina x
August 27, 2014
National Burger Day!
Hi everyone,
It’s National Burger Day (in the UK) so of course I have to do a post about this!
Model Under Cover readers will know that Axelle’s fave, fave, fave detective fuel food is a classic burger and fries. Whenever she’s stymied while solving a case, there’s nothing like a burger break to get her detective wheels turning because – undercover model or not – a girl has to eat!
So should you find yourself on either side of the Atlantic – perhaps in buzzing, glamorous New York City, or maybe on this side of the pond, catching a bit of culture and oh là là in beautiful Paris – here are Axelle’s recommendations of where to go for a classic burger and fries. And you don’t need to be solving a mystery to enjoy these yummy treats! ;-))
NEW YORK CITY:
Should you find yourself in fabulous NYC, follow in Axelle’s footsteps! In Stolen with Style she enjoys burgers in two very different restaurants – one uptown, and one downtown…
The Burger Joint: I love this place! Part of its appeal is the whole Alice in Wonderland experience of even finding it. First you have to cross the uber-glamorous and elegant lobby of Le ParkerMeridien hotel (119 West 56th Street). Once you’ve done that you have to push you’re way past an enormous, heavy, blood-red velvet curtain. Then you open a tiny door, and behold! You’ll find yourself in a graffiti-covered, tiny box of a joint, with an open kitchen and paper tablecloths. And the menu is no nonsense: you can basically choose from a burger with fries – or without. And they do a mean brownie for dessert. (And, no, I won’t tell you who Axelle shares a burger with here…!)
Balthazar: Chic and sleek, and with a strong Parisian vibe, this is where Axelle has lunch with her agent when she first arrives in NYC. So if you’re in the mood to do some serious people watching, feel like you’re oozing with style, and are craving some French-via-NewYork brasserie food, then this is the place for you! I especially like Balthazar for lunch. But beware: those thin, French, matchstick fries are addictive! Oh, and if you happen to see the Beckhams, don’t stare!
PARIS:
Right. So now you’re in Paris for Fashion Week, and you’re tootsies are tired after running from one fashion show to another. Or maybe you’re in the City of Light because there’s no place like Paris in the spring…Whatever the reason, at some point you’ll need a break, so why not head over to Axelle’s fave Paris burger hangout in A Crime of Fashion?
Café Ruc: Deep velvet banquettes and low lighting give this busy all-day, all-night restaurant an unmistakably big-city vibe; plus the view from the large windows overlooking the beautiful 17th century Palais-Royal will definitely have you longing to move to the City of Light. Opt for the classic burger and matchstick fries, followed by the gooey chocolate cake, before exploring more of this gorgeous city…
Happy Burger Day!
Carina x
MUC reviewed!
Hi everyone,
Yay! Model Under Cover: Stolen with Style has been selected as a featured book by the LoveReading4Kids review panel. What’s great about this website is that the books they post about are all selected and reviewed by kids. So how can I not be thrilled to have been chosen?
For more fab reviews of books from all genres, check out their website. They have a lot of great teen book reviews up, and insightful reviews of the classics, too.
Happy reading!
Carina x
