#YADebut2019 #MagicMirror

CURSED by Karol Ruth Silverstein

Coming in June from Charlesbridge Teen

From the publisher:

A debut novel for fans of The Fault in Our Stars that thoughtfully and humorously depicts teen Ricky Bloom’s struggles with a recent chronic illness diagnosis.

No. I have another YA novel that I wrote, an adaptation of one of my family film screenplays. Hoping to get back to that one next. I also have several completed picture manuscripts and a middle grade novel manuscript in the early stages.

How long did the writing process take you?

Forever. Honestly, the first 10 pages of Cursed won the manuscript contest at a SCBWI Writer’s Day in 2010. I worked on this manuscript off and on for close to a decade. The book’s slow progression was due to several factors, including but not limited to my working on several projects at the same time, having to take off time to deal with health issues, and the extremely personal nature of the story.

What was the most fun moment or your favorite part of writing this story?

I used to joke that I don’t like writing, I like having written. Sometimes the writing itself is fun, but more often than not, it’s the accomplishment of completing a quality piece of writing that I cherish. So with Cursed, getting the call from my agent saying we’d gotten an offer has been my favorite part of the process – so far anyway. She’s on the east coast and I’m out in California. I remember she called at 9:59. She’d gotten the offer much earlier and was trying to wait until 10 my time (she’s well aware that I’m not a morning person!), but she just couldn’t wait one more minute to tell me the great news.

As an author with deep personal experience about the topic in your book, what is one fact of life about chronic pain that people might find surprising?

The thing I don’t think people realize is all the mental machinations that come along with living with chronic pain. So much planning and paying attention to details is required in order to navigate any given day with a modicum of grace – where and how you’re going to sit, how much energy you’re going to have left at the end of a day or week, which clothes and shoes are going to make your day easier rather than more difficult. For many people with chronic pain, a constant state of planning and problem solving is necessary.

Which part of your book are you most proud of, can you hint at it and tease us? 🙂

There is karaoke! Interestingly, though I adore karaoke (private room only), the draft that sold to Charlesbridge didn’t feature any karaoke scenes. My editor, Monica Perez, asked me to further develop the relationship between my main character, Ricky, and her mom. It was the exploration of that relationship that ultimately resulted in some key karaoke scenes – and I couldn’t be more thrilled!

So much fun!

I can’t wait to read this!

All right, so for the last time, to enter — or to re-enter — the contest:

1. One entry: Comment on this blog, and I will enter your name once for every comment during the week of the contest.
2. Two entries: Share the link to this contest on Facebook or Twitter #YADebut2019 #MagicMirror (You can also either tag me or email me with proof at katiawrites@gmail.com.) Instagram is cool too! (Someone needs to teach me how to use it!)
3. Three entries: Subscribe to this blog ( if you haven’t yet.) Or re-subscribe, if it’s been a while!

Tomorrow, that’s it. We select the winner!

Love,

Katia