Three Wishes with Kai Strand
My Wishful Thinking features a good-hearted, but so-last-century genie. See, his old master never really let him out of the bottle and he’s a little behind the times. I thought: Now that he’s out of the bottle–or in his case, the bag–maybe he could help a few other authors. Today, he’ll be granting wishes for Kai Strand.
When Shel Delisle asked what my three wishes would be, the answer was much harder than I expected. I would love to cure pediatric cancer, but I would also love to eat as much pizza as I want without gaining weight or clogging my arteries. Since I have such a wide range of wishes, I thought I’d target them to my writing career. Even if I had a genie offering me three wishes for my career, I find the possibilities too broad, but here it goes.
I’ve never wanted to be famous, but I would love for my career to be successful. There are many definitions of success, but for this purpose, we are sticking with financial. I’m a wife, and mother and I want to contribute financially to the family. I don’t want to have to eat potatoes and spaghetti because I can’t afford fresh veggies and meats. I would like to go to any movie I want without having to worry if I can afford the admission price. So Genie, I wish for my writing career to contribute to a comfortable lifestyle for me and my family. In other words, I’m not asking to be a New York Times bestseller, unless that is the only way to support a modest lifestyle (while allowing me to contribute to pediatric cancer research.)
I want to change the world. One reader at a time. Without them knowing it. My books are written to entertain first and foremost. I don’t write deep thinking books. I’m not angling to change your viewpoint on politics or prejudice or principles, but I do want to expose my readers to options. Some may be obvious, others not so much. You may never meet a gnome-elf that grants you a wish, but you may have to decide how to handle bad family members and my book, The Wishing Well, could show you how to endure. You may never invent a product that makes you a media sensation, but you might have rumors spread about you and my book, Save the Lemmings, could show you how to divert bad attention to good. So Genie, I wish for my books to find the right audience. Whether it is readers who simply want to be entertained or those who might need new options in specific situations.
Finally, a movie. I would really love a movie adaptation of the Super Villain Academy series. This is the over the top fun wish – if you couldn’t tell! I would love to see these teen villains and their counterpart heroes come to life on the big screen. To see their powers in action would be so exciting! And the good verses evil theme always makes a good story line. Especially when the viewer is conflicted about whom to route for. Ideally, I’d love to have Joss Whedon produce it. So Genie, I wish for Joss Whedon to produce the movie version of my Super Villain Academy series. Genie…? Genie…?
Those are sweet wishes, Kai, and I think Eugene is working out the details! Here are some details on Kai’s books so that you can be a part of the wish fulfillment.
Beware of the White
As is tradition, Terra learns on the Saturday past her twelfth birthday that she is a Natures Spirit. It is her legacy to serve in the peaceful underground city of Concord. Learning she is named in a prophecy and being threatened by the leader of the death tribe…that part breaks tradition.
The Trepidus are the death janitors of the Underworld, responsible for delivering fatalities with a smile and cleaning up after themselves until Blanco, recent leader of the Trepidus, decides the day of reckoning for his species is coming. He begins organizing the creatures and leads them toward an uprising. The prophecy says there is one person who can stop him. Terra.
With Spirit of Security, Frank, protecting her, Terra attempts to complete her training and discover her Spirit talents. Together, they go on a rogue investigation to learn how to defeat Blanco. In the end, it comes down to a battle of the minds. The future of Concord is at stake. Will Blanco, the older, more experienced being win? Or will Terra, the young, new Spirit earn back the peace of the city?
Buy it: Publisher, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, or look for it on iTunes. Add it to Goodreads
About the author:
When her children were young and the electricity winked out, Kai Strand gathered her family around the fireplace and they told stories, one sentence at a time. Her boys were rather fond of the ending, “And then everybody died, the end.” Now an award winning children’s author, Kai crafts fiction for kids and teens to provide an escape hatch from their reality. With a selection of novels for young adult and middle grade readers and short stories for younger children Kai entertains children of all ages, and their adults. Visit Kai’s website, www.kaistrand.com, to browse her books, download companion materials or to find all her online haunts.
Kai and her #1 bestseller, King of Bad will be on tour starting in late November. Don’t miss a stop, visit her website and subscribe to her newsletter!
One last note — I’m going to make Three Wishes guest posts a semi-regular feature on Wednesdays. If you’re an author that’s interested in contributing, please let me know. Click here to find out how you can reach me.
