The Inspiration Behind Bitter Frost
Hi Readers!
I've been book touring with Bitter Frost last week and one of the questions that keep coming up is:
What was my inspiration for writing Bitter Frost.
Believe it or not, I've been mentoring teen and young adult women throughout the years, and last year a few of the girls told me what they liked in a book for teens and young adults. They were reluctant readers and could barely find the time in their busy lives to read a fiction book outside of their regular English class.
I thought about it, and was thinking back to my own high school years about how (although I was active and involve in high school and had friends) hard it was to fit in and find your own identity. I tapped into those teenage memories and then the story of Bitter Frost began forming.
I saw Kian first (actually in a dream), and he was the most beautiful being. And then I felt and knew the story of Breena, who was pretty, an individual, and not popular in school. She was picked on because she was different, but also because there was jealousy from one of the girls at school.
I was writing a non-fiction book for teens and young adults about bullying The Shy Girls Social Club Handbook for Dealing with Bullies and Other Meanies at the same time, and incorporated some of my anti-bully theme into Bitter Frost, but in a subtle manner and as part of the story.
It all came together as the story unfolded.
Then when I heard about the death of Phoebe Prince, the beautiful teenage girl who was bullied to death, my heart broke. There were so many similarities between Phoebe Prince and Breena. Like Breena, Phoebe was beautiful and have a strong Irish/Celtic background. She was bullied because of her uniqueness and because she was with a popular boy in school, which caused jealousy among the bullying girls. Like Breena, Phoebe Prince's father was absent in her life. Even her likeness in coloring was similar to Breena's.
The coincidence and similarities were astounding, and I felt compelled to write a book that honor the strength and uniqueness of girls, hopefully help with their self-esteem building through vicariously living through Breena's experience, and provide an anti-bully message.
There is a discussion question sheet for Bitter Frost found on my publisher's side, TheEDGEbooks.com containing questions related to bullying and other themes in Bitter Frost.
It is my hope that Bitter Frost is not only entertaining, but will help in some way whatsoever to shed some light on the issue of bullying in school (especially among girls)as well.
Hugs,
Kailin
I've been book touring with Bitter Frost last week and one of the questions that keep coming up is:
What was my inspiration for writing Bitter Frost.
Believe it or not, I've been mentoring teen and young adult women throughout the years, and last year a few of the girls told me what they liked in a book for teens and young adults. They were reluctant readers and could barely find the time in their busy lives to read a fiction book outside of their regular English class.
I thought about it, and was thinking back to my own high school years about how (although I was active and involve in high school and had friends) hard it was to fit in and find your own identity. I tapped into those teenage memories and then the story of Bitter Frost began forming.
I saw Kian first (actually in a dream), and he was the most beautiful being. And then I felt and knew the story of Breena, who was pretty, an individual, and not popular in school. She was picked on because she was different, but also because there was jealousy from one of the girls at school.
I was writing a non-fiction book for teens and young adults about bullying The Shy Girls Social Club Handbook for Dealing with Bullies and Other Meanies at the same time, and incorporated some of my anti-bully theme into Bitter Frost, but in a subtle manner and as part of the story.
It all came together as the story unfolded.
Then when I heard about the death of Phoebe Prince, the beautiful teenage girl who was bullied to death, my heart broke. There were so many similarities between Phoebe Prince and Breena. Like Breena, Phoebe was beautiful and have a strong Irish/Celtic background. She was bullied because of her uniqueness and because she was with a popular boy in school, which caused jealousy among the bullying girls. Like Breena, Phoebe Prince's father was absent in her life. Even her likeness in coloring was similar to Breena's.
The coincidence and similarities were astounding, and I felt compelled to write a book that honor the strength and uniqueness of girls, hopefully help with their self-esteem building through vicariously living through Breena's experience, and provide an anti-bully message.
There is a discussion question sheet for Bitter Frost found on my publisher's side, TheEDGEbooks.com containing questions related to bullying and other themes in Bitter Frost.
It is my hope that Bitter Frost is not only entertaining, but will help in some way whatsoever to shed some light on the issue of bullying in school (especially among girls)as well.
Hugs,
Kailin
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Stacey
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Jun 14, 2010 11:45AM
It's so true what your saying about kids nowadays not having enough time to read, because I always question my little cousins and ask them what books they like, they say we don't like to read or they don't have enough time. I remember when I was younger between 8-15 I loved when the book fairs would come to my schools and it was just wonderfull. I ask the kids around me have you read this, tuck everlasting,to kill a mockingbird,the great gatsby,diary of anne frank,sounder and they're like we don't know those books and i'm like come one those are classics. What can I say, school nowadays is diffent from when I was there age. A friend of mine who's a teacher she like we don't have the luxury of time any more, there cutting class time and such. I really liked you posting. Hope I didn't bore you...LOL
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Hi Stacey,Tuck Everlasting, To Kill A Mockingbird, The Great Gatsby, Diary of Anne Frank, and Sounder are must reads! I'm glad you've read them when you were in school. These are books you can spend an entire semester studying. Thank you for liking my post. No, you are not boring me at all.
amazing Kailin, that is such a great way to shine a light on bullying. I love your characters, and I love the name Kian PS that's great how you first saw him in a dream :)
