Today we are having a blog hunt and GIVEAWAY in celebration of Stephanie Morrill's newest book, Lost Girl of Astor Street. If you would like to participate in the clue hunt, and try and win a copy of her novel, check out Stephanie Morrill's blog for details.
But, first, an interview :D
1. Welcome, Stephanie, to Keturah's Korner! Could you tell us a bit about yourself?
Thanks for having me! I have been writing since I was a kid, and The Lost Girl of Astor Street is my seventh published novel. It's my sixth young adult novel, but my first historical mystery. I'm also the creator of GoTeenWriters.com, a website that's purpose is to encourage teen writers. And I live in the Kansas City area with husband, three kids, and a dog.
2. Tell us about your novel, The Lost Girl of Astor Street? What inspired you to write it?
The Lost Girl of Astor Street is a 1920s mystery set in Chicago. The main character, Piper, has a best friend who goes missing from their affluent neighborhood, and she knows her friend never would have run away. She throws herself into search efforts, and finds more than she bargained for. It has a Veronica Mars meets 1920s feel.
My initial idea for The Lost Girl of Astor Street came while I was putting away laundry, of all things. My mind was wandering (as it often does during chores), and I started thinking about different stories I like. I thought about Veronica Mars for a while, and then something triggered a thought about Downton Abbey, and I thought, “I wish there was something out there that was like Veronica Mars but in a Downton Abbey kind of setting. Oh, maybe I could do that!”
I hope they'll enjoy the story and feel like they've been on a vacation to the 1920s. The lesson I was learning as I wrote it is that we can only take responsibility for our own choices, so if the book spurred them to think about that, I would feel pretty happy.
4. Can you share a fun quote from your novel?
Piper is off sleuthing, when she spots a stray dog. She's terrified of dogs and says to Mariano, "My archenemies in this world are children, dogs, and my Home Economics teacher, so if we could please move faster.”
I have five contemporary YA novels that have been published, and countless other drafts that will probably never see the light of day. I absolutely loved the experience of writing a historical, and I will be staying in this genre for the foreseeable future!
I have so much that I created a whole website! It's hard to pick just one thing. I meet a lot of young writers through my work, and so often they feel really stressed out. I can relate, because when I was a teen, I worried a lot about if I would get published, when I would be good enough, how I would ever make the right connections, and so forth. if I had known about all the social media and platform stuff that was expected, I would have been even more nervous! I always encourage young writers to do their best to let that stuff go for now. Your primary job is to learn how to tell great stories, and to have fun doing it. Yes, it's good to be thinking about how you want to position yourself in the market and all that stuff, but not at the expense of learning to be great at your craft.
7. A fun question: can you think of something really random that just makes you happy? If so please, do tell us!
Cardinals. It's winter time here in Kansas City, and every I time I see one of those bright red birds perched on our bird bath, my heart leaps.
8. How can people contact you?
Through my website, StephanieMorrill.com
On Twitter: https://twitter.com/stephmorrill/
On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StephanieMorrillAuthor/
or on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stephaniemorrill/
9. Thanks so much, Stephanie, for joining me today! I hope you and your family are blessed very much, and that your novel has a great reception into the world!!
Thank you, Keturah!
Also, check out my review of the book!!!
And the clue is:
safety,
Find the rest of the clues and enter the giveaway by following these links
Find the rest of the clues and enter the giveaway by following these links
Keturah, thank you so much for featuring The Lost Girl of Astor Street on your blog!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed it so much! ☺
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