Author Interview - Carrie Harris!

Hey All! 

So, yesterday I put up my post about the great upcoming book, Sally Slick and the Steel Syndicate. Today, I'm beyond excited to have the author (one of my favorites!), Carrie Harris, visiting the blog. 

Welcome to the blog, Carrie! I'm so excited you took the time to answer just a few quick questions for me...

1. How long did it take from first spark of idea to final proofs to write Sally Slick?

This book was spin-your-head-around fast. It all started with a tweet. (Honest. Twitter is USEFUL, and I’m not just saying that to justify my tweeting. HONEST. CROSS MY HEART.) Sally is an established character and had already appeared in books, a roleplaying game, and a board game by the time she got to me, so I had a lot of catching up to do! But by the time I’d gone through it all, I knew what I wanted to do. We started talking in January. I started writing in March. Who knew that you could get a book on the shelves in less than a year?!?!

2. If you could write a book under a pseudonym that no one would ever connect to you, are there any genres you would love to secretly explore?

I love the idea of pseudonyms, and I already have one picked out (but can’t tell you because then how pseudo would it be, right?!?). But I’m not sure I have any secret genre loves. I’d love to write a New Adult...so I am. I’d love to write an adult comic fantasy…so I am. I also have a YA WIP about a possessed Mr. Bacon figurine. And really, I’m not too proud to claim all that weirdness. Or maybe it’s more accurate to say that I AM proud to claim all that weirdness. I think weirdness is pretty awesome. 

*I, for one, think that your particular brand of weirdness is extremely awesome, Carrie!*

3. If you could cross one thing off your bucket list tomorrow, what would it be?

I’d go to Australia! It’s very cold here in Michigan right now, and I do not like the cold. The cold turns me into a cranky old person who complains about her joints and tells everyone to get off her lawn. It’s not pretty. If I had a flowered housecoat, I’d be wearing it right about now. You think I’m kidding, but I’m not.

4. Quick picks list:
Favorite vacation destination?
I went on an epic cruise with my best friend once, so I’ll pick that. Anything in the middle of the water where it’s warm and people can’t walk on my lawn is good. J

Favorite childhood book?
The Hobbit! I did book reports on it for four years in a row before anyone caught on that I’d been recycling them.

Favorite writing snack food?
Anything salty combined with Diet Dr. Pepper. Not in the same bowl though, because ewww.

*OMG, I also love Diet Dr. Pepper, even though people keeping telling me diet soda will kill me... I just can't give up the Diet Dr. P!*

Favorite clothing item?
My zombie unicorn dress, naturally!

5. What's next on your writing horizons?
Well, I kind of already spilled the beans on my current projects, but there’s still more because I’m nothing if not an overachiever. In 2014, I have two books hitting the shelves—Demon Derby (YA about a cancer survivor turned demon fighting derby girl) and War of Ashes: Off on a Ylark (game tie-in about cute muppets facing an invasion of not-cute muppets). But there’s also a Sally Slick sequel in the works…Sally Slick and the Miniature Menace. Sally’s going to deal with a nefarious villain, the threat of WWI, and the beginnings of a very complicated romantic life. I’m super excited to write it!

*I CANNOT WAIT TO READ ALL OF THESE. REALLY. ALL OF THEM.*

Thanks so much for letting me visit, Jessica! You are the bestest. That is too a word.

Thank YOU so much, Carrie, for letting me interview you. It was a pleasure!

For more information about Carrie and her books, check out her (AH-MAZING) website, blog, Facebook page, or stalk follow her on Twitter like I do.  Believe me, you won't regret it.  

Sally Slick and the Steel Syndicate

Sally Slick and the Steel Syndicate 
by Carrie Harris
Young Centurians, book one

Publication date: December 23, 2013

Every hero has a story. This one starts with a girl and a racing tractor. Sally Slick knows she's meant to be more than a Midwestern farm girl. What she wants more than anything is to be an inventor when she grows up-and she has the custom-built racing tractor to prove it. But good girls in 1914 don't go off to the city in search of adventure. Everything changes when Sally's big brother comes back from Chicago with a robot in hand and mobsters on his heels. With the help of her friend, wannabe hero Jet Black, Sally will risk everything to protect the people she loves. Those big-city bad guys are about to get a giant wrench thrown right into their plans. (description from Amazon.com)

Let me just say, I kinda want to BE Sally Slick when I grow up. No really, she's that cool.  This is a girl who can do it all.  Maybe she's not the greatest at some of the "girly" stuff, but her loyalty, caring, and good intentions overshadow what could be perceived as faults in 1914, and luckily Sally has a family that appreciates her for herself.  Especially when her special "talents" save the day. 

In the best sort of "pulp" fiction-y way, Sally's oldest brother gets mixed up with a Chicago mob led by a man with a metal face.  The Steel Don, looking to create a robot army to rule the city, ends up trying to recruit Sally to work for his organization because her mechanical skills are just that good. With her trusty sidekick, Jet Black, by her side, though, Sally is unstoppable and a shrapnel-throwing stink bomb, the very first jet-pack, and several other awesome invention-laden prank-style evasionary tacticts later, this teenage phenom saves the day.  

When Sally actually feels bad for doing what she can do, afraid her mother and brothers will frown upon her actions, she finds the exact opposite.  Happily, they embrace her awesomeness, AS THEY SHOULD, and her mother says something that really stuck with me:

"Darling, you have time enough to figure out what kind of woman you're going to be. Whatever that is, I'll be proud. And I'm proud of my girl now, because she's a hero to me." 

Amazeballs. I love it. No smart shaming here. Kudos to Carrie Harris and the other authors who are truly embracing female characters with skills.  Similar to my favorite character of all time, Tamora Pierce's Alanna, Sally Slick is a girl that I think could tackle any problem set in front of her.  I cannot wait to read her next adventure in Sally Slick and the Miniature Menace, coming in 2014.  

Full disclosure: Review copy received from Author

Cover Reveal - Sally Slick and the Steel Syndicate!!

I'm SUPER excited today to be part of Carrie Harris' cover reveal for her newest book, SALLY SLICK AND THE STEEL SYNDICATE! I love all of her books and this one sounds just as great. Want to know more?

Here's the basics:

SALLY SLICK AND THE STEEL SYNDICATE

Release date: December 3, 2013

Book Description:
Every hero has a story. This one starts with a girl and a racing tractor.

Sally Slick knows she’s meant to be more than a Midwestern farm girl. What she wants more than anything is to be an inventor when she grows up—and she has the custom-built racing tractor to prove it. But good girls in 1914 don’t go off to the city in search of adventure. Everything changes when Sally’s big brother comes back from Chicago with a robot in hand and mobsters on his heels. With the help of her friend, wannabe hero Jet Black, Sally will risk everything to protect the people she loves.

Those bad guys are about to get a giant wrench thrown right into their plans.

So, do you want to see it yet??
Here it is...

What do you think of the cover? I'm loving the fact that it doesn't look just like everything else out there right now. This one looks so adventurous... I can't wait to read it!