Genre: YA Fantasy
Publisher: Prizm
Books
Date of
Publication: June 26, 2013
ISBN: 1610404947
Number of pages:
212
Word Count: 55,000
Cover Artist:
Brandon Clay
Book Description:
Seventeen-year-old Carrie is lying in her backyard ignoring
all the looming responsibilities in her life, when a fox makes a mad dash
across the grass in front of her. After she manages to keep her dog from
attacking the frightened animal, the fox turns to Carrie and seems to bow in
gratitude before he disappears into the bushes. All Carrie knows in that moment
is that something has unexpectedly changed in her life.
Carrie has been
best friends with Lindsay Smith and Rebecca Campbell for years. During a summer
when they should focus on choosing colleges, the girls suddenly find themselves
swept away on the adventure of their lives.
The fox reappears
three days later and reveals to Carrie that he is Adom, emissary to the king of
Hadariah. With his land of music and magic in peril, Adom has been sent to seek
help from Carrie and her friends. In the blink of an eye, the three teenage
girls go from living an average suburban life to being the champions of a world
where they must contend with giants, witches, and magical beings. Will they
ever make it home once more?
Carrie Eisen lay in
the grass, knees bent, a sweatshirt pillowed under her head. The sun felt warm
on her body as she drifted off to sleep. She had gone outside intending to read
the new fantasy novel she had bought. She had read a few chapters and put it
aside, just soaking up the sun. In the backyard, her cocker spaniel, Finnigan,
was hunting flies. So far, he had caught none. But he refused to give up,
leaping about in the grass and futilely pouncing on the buzzing insects.
There was one month
left in summer vacation, and come September, Carrie would start the twelfth
grade. This was something she did not want to think about until it was
absolutely necessary. To her, her final year of high school meant she would
ultimately have to make decisions about her future, decide a path, and begin to
grow up -- something she dreaded with all her heart and soul. She wished she
could just run away and have an adventure like the characters in the books she
loved.
Already her parents
were on her case, encouraging her to research universities and pick out
programs she liked. She was finding the entire thing overwhelming. At the age
of seventeen, how was she supposed to decide these things? It was hard enough
some days to figure out what she wanted to eat for breakfast. But they were
pressuring her to start now. She would have to do her applications this year.
Her mind swam with choices and questions. What if she was rejected from the
programs she wanted? What if a school looked good on paper but was horrible
when she actually got there? She knew she could always change her mind, but it
might mean a wasted year. And what were her friends doing? She knew they were
as confused as she was, and Carrie was thankful she was not alone. She dreaded
going to a large university and knowing no one. She had this vision in her head
of being a lost first-year student dwarfed by a cold and massive campus. She
did not want this but feared it was inevitable.
Carrie was a tiny
girl in all respects, except her eyes. She had huge green-blue eyes that seemed
to take up a full third of her heart-shaped face. They peered out from behind a
sandy fringe of bangs, always drinking in every aspect of her surroundings. She
wore her hair in a shaggy pixie cut that she never let get any longer than chin
length, but it was constantly out of control.
She had been lying
in her backyard for over an hour. The idea of just being lazy and ignoring all
responsibility had appealed to her, and she had indulged this whim with a
vengeance. Barefoot, in a pair of raggedy cutoff jean shorts and an old
T-shirt, Carrie had run outside and flung herself out onto the grass, prepared
not to move until she absolutely had to. Finnigan had followed, leaping at her
ankles, begging to play, but Carrie had turned away, resolving not to use a
single ounce of energy on anything other than soaking up the sun on that hot
summer’s day.
Now, after some time
had passed, Carrie lay contented, her mind deliciously blank. She heard, as if
through a fog, the barking of her dog and the buzzing of the flies. She could
hear the happy panting as Finnigan occasionally walked up to her and left a
present of an unfortunate insect. Silently, a new sensation crept over her
body. Her blue eyes flew open, and she glanced around. Despite the sun’s
warmth, Carrie felt goose bumps prickling up and down her skin. She felt a
distinct feeling that someone, somewhere, was watching her. She sat up and
quickly spotted Finnigan. She opened her mouth to call to her dog but could not
find the voice to do it. The words caught in her throat. Finnigan was standing
and staring at a small bush that grew in a corner of the yard. He was growling,
a low rumble that Carrie could feel vibrating in the air around her. The
guttural sound caused the hairs to stand up along the nape of her neck.
“Finn?” Carrie
managed to get out. She could not believe how hoarse her voice sounded. Her
pet’s behavior was giving her the creeps. “Finn, what is it?”
Upon hearing his
name, Finnigan turned to Carrie and cocked his head to the side, as if asking
if she saw what he did in the bush. When he got no answer, he turned back and
continued to stare fixedly.
Carrie squinted at
the leaves, wondering what it was that had so enthralled him and so spooked
her. She peered intently and let out a small gasp when she spotted two
coal-black eyes staring right back at her.
Carrie scrambled to
her feet, never taking her eyes off the bush. A black, button nose appeared
below the eyes. A long red snout. Two large ears, a face, a small body. Carrie
made a grab for Finnigan as the fox sauntered out from within the branches.
“Oh no,” Carrie
breathed. She knew not to make any sudden movements around a wild animal.
Unfortunately, Finnigan did not seem aware of this bit of advice, and he lunged
at the fox. He snarled, gnashing his teeth at this creature who dared to invade
his yard.
Carrie let out a cry
of alarm as her dog escaped her. “Finnigan!” she yelled and propelled herself
forward as dog and fox made a mad dash across the lawn. Carrie ran, her bare
feet skidding across the ground, arms reaching, desperate to get a hold of her
pet. Finnigan leapt ahead, just out of reach.
The fox ran at the
head of the chaseeither bolder than Carrie had first thought or spurred on by
fear. Finnigan was merely a few steps behind him. Carrie made a leap for the
spaniel and just missed him, falling face-first on the grass, staining her
shirt and chin green. She quickly picked herself back up and tried to cut the
animals off from a different angle, but again she was unsuccessful. Her mind
filled with frightening ideas about what would happen if the fox turned on her
dog. What if it was rabid? What if it bit Finnigan? A whole list of horrible
scenarios filled her mind. She was panicking, not just for her dog but for the
fox as well. She did not know what would happen if Finnigan got a hold of the
animal. There was always a chance that he was not chasing it to play, but to
hunt and hurt.
Carrie tried again
to make a grab for Finnigan. This time she managed to get a hold of him,
eliciting a yelp of surprise. He tried to bolt out of her arms, upset at the
indignity of being kept from his prey. She held on for dear life as he squirmed
and struggled to get back to the chase. She held tighter, and he finally gave
up, panting against her chest.
Carrie stood and
surveyed the yard, trying to see where the fox had gone. She finally spotted
him sitting calmly by the same bush from which he had first emerged. He peered
back at her with intelligent, thoughtful, almost curious black eyes, his red
fur stark against the green of the bush. Carrie could not understand how he
could have hidden so successfully inside it. The fox looked directly at her,
bowed his head low in what seemed a gesture of gratitude, and disappeared the
same way he had come.
Carrie sat down on
the grass and stared long and hard at the bush. Had that fox somehow thanked
her? What had just happened? All she knew was that something had changed. The
air around her was uncommonly still. She stood up on legs that seemed to be
made of jelly, hugged Finnigan to her, and was rewarded with a lick. Then she
turned and entered the house, her day of laziness forgotten.
I got the idea for The Strings of the Violin quite a long
time ago. I was raised on the fairytales and legends from my grandmother’s
homeland of Poland. She lived with my family while I was growing up and would
often put me to sleep at night with stories of dybbuks, wise men, kings,
witches, and magical objects. I always knew that I wanted to be a writer, and
as one of the first people to inspire me, it felt natural to write a book
dedicated to her stories.
2. Your title. Who
came up with it? Did you ever change your title?
I came up with the
title myself, and it went through several incarnations. It felt very folkish, and I think it stays
true to the fell of the book.
3. Which came first,
the title or the novel?
The novel
definitely came first. I’m not a fan of naming things. It’s always the hardest
part of writing for me.
4. Since becoming a
writer, what’s the most exciting thing to ever happen to you?
This would have to
be the day I received my first contract from a publishing house. I love all the
people I’ve worked with through this process, but the day I received my offer,
it felt like all my hard work had finally paid off.
5. What book are you
currently reading or what was the last book you read?
I am currently reading
The Last Rite by Jen Frankel a local
author, and I am loving it!
6. What was your first
book that you ever wrote (very first one you wrote, not published)?
That would be Sitnalta, which is a more traditional YA
Fantasy. I wrote it for my younger brother years ago. Funnily enough, it’s
coming out soon with Pandamoon Publishing. Just goes to show you to never throw
anything away. Always work at it.
7. What is your
writing process?
I definitely
outline first. In the case of this book, I also did copious amounts of research
to get the folklore elements right. Then I come up with the characters and the
world itself. I do everything from drawing maps, to writing out their
backgrounds so I know exactly where they are at all times, and all their
reasons for why they behave the way they do. Then I write.
- Who
are your favorite authors of all time?
My favourite
authors are Charles De Lint, Neil Gaiman, Mary Doria Russell, Laurie R. King,
J.K. Rowling, and O.R. Melling. Aside from Laurie R. King who is a fantastic
mystery writers, they are predominantly fantasy/SciFi writers.
9. At a book signing,
do you just sign your name or do you write a note? How do you come up with
stuff to say?
I try to write a
message. I like to personalize it, though it is sometimes difficult to come up
with something original. Occasionally I will draw a picture.
- What
is something people would be surprised to know about you?
I think that people
would be surprised to know about my interests in other forms of art. Not only
am I a writer, but I am also a painter, using primarily acrylic paints, and I
am a performer on the stage. I am a huge fan of community theatre and have
performed roles such as Jack in Into the
Woods, Tzeitel in Fiddler in the Roof,
and Beth in Little Women. I find that
painting and performing give me an outlet in a very different vein than my
writing, and I try to keep up with all my art forms.
11. How do you react to
a bad review?
It’s funny, but I
kind of enjoy the bad reviews, so long as the writers are not overly cruel of
mean about how they write them. I look at them as a form of constructive
criticism, and I am glad that they actually read the book and reacted strongly
enough to actually write their thoughts out. I find that I have a fairly strong
skin when it comes to this sort of thing. Bring it on!
12. How did you
celebrate the sale of your first book?
I had a lovely
glass of wine with my husband and watched Game
of Thrones.
About
the Author:
Alisse Lee Goldenberg is an
author of Horror and Young Adult fantasy fiction. She has her Bachelors of
Education and a Fine Arts degree, and has studied fantasy and folk lore since
she was a child. Alisse lives in Toronto with her husband Brian, their triplets
Joseph, Phillip, and Hailey, and their rambunctious Goldendoodle Sebastian.
@AliLGoldenberg
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