Title: Love Charms and Other Catastrophes
Author: Kimberly Karalius
Series: Grimbaud #2
Genre: Fantasy Romance, Young Adult
Release Date: May 17, 2016
Aspiring love charm maker Hijiri Kitamura was excited to come back to Grimbaud for her sophomore year-until she learns about the upcoming charm making competition. Grimbaud has just started to recover from the tyranny of Zita’s love fortunes and it would be too easy for the winning charm maker to take Zita’s place. The only solution is for Hijiri, with the support of her friends and fellow rebels, to win the contest herself.
Unfortunately, that’s easier said than done, especially when Love itself has decided to meddle in Hijiri’s life. Concerned that it’s favorite charm maker has given up on finding a boyfriend of her own, Love takes matters into its own hands and delivers the perfect boyfriend to her in a giftwrapped box…literally.
Get ready to be charmed by this magical, quirky sequel to Love Fortunes and Other Disasters by Kimberly Karalius.
I’ve always been a big YA fantasy reader. My love for the genre started with my bottomless appetite for fairy tales; I couldn’t get enough of them as a kid, and I still love finding new retellings or illustrated editions. Naturally that led to me carrying armloads of fantasy books from the library as I got older. My favorite books were ones with young protagonists – and even though I’m an adult now, I have to say that hasn’t changed. As a writer, those are the kinds of stories I want to tell.
2. When writing a book, what is your favorite part of the creative process (outline, plot, character names, editing, etc)?
Definitely the beginning when a new story idea is simmering in my head. I love getting to know the characters that emerge and using what little clues they give me about themselves to run off and do some research. Part of that involves making a Pinterest board and finding images that fit with the mood of the story. Stumbling upon a photo of an actor that looks just like one of my characters, for instance, is one of those eureka moments that makes writing so exciting.
3. When reading a book, what genre do you find most interesting/intriguing?
YA fantasy is my favorite genre to read. I love meeting strange characters, learning about new magic systems and monsters, and embarking on grand adventures! There’s nothing more magical to me than cracking open a new book and tumbling into the world an author created.
4. If you could co-author with any author, past or present, who would you choose?
Hands down, Francesca Lia Block. I’ve been a big fan of her books since middle school. It’s easy to imagine how fun it would be to dream up a story with her.
5. Have you always wanted to write or did it come to you "later in life"?
I always wanted to be a storyteller, but I didn’t discover writing until high school. Before that, I wanted to be an animator or cartoonist! I joined the high school newspaper as an editorial cartoonist, but I also learned how to design pages and write articles. I discovered that I loved working on articles as much as drawing, especially feature stories that allowed for more creativity. My love for words just expanded from there as I adapted the quirky characters and fantasy worlds I had drawn into short stories and my first attempts at writing novels.
KIMBERLY KARALIUS holds an MFA in fiction from the University of South Florida, and has been sharing stories on Figment.com with a strong following of enthusiastic readers since the site’s conception. Although Kimberly lives in sunny Florida, she prefers to stay indoors and sometimes buys a scarf in the hopes of snow. She loves watching really old cartoons and silent films. Being in Florida certainly has one big perk: going to Disney World. Which she does. Frequently. Love Fortunes and Other Disasters is her debut novel.
KOBO / iTUNES / GOODREADS TBR
