WFHB Bloomington Community Radio
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 29:30 — 40.5MB)
Today we are listening to the first chapters from The Book of Remembrance, a middle grade fantasy written and read by Julia Karr.
The character of Em escorts us right into the story in this new book from author Julia Karr, who has published three young adult novels in the XVI series (XVI, The Truth, and Homecoming), various essays, and some poetry.
We meet Em as she and her sister are scrambling to get ready and in just a few chapters we are introduced to the complexities of life – her father’s new wife, the dynamic between Em and her sister, and a bit of foreshadowing with Mrs. Tuttle.
SoS asked Karr what drew her to write YA fiction and she said she’s very in touch with her 16 year old self.
Young adults are not easily fooled. You can prevaricate with adults, but teens tend to see through it, so writing for a YA audience means keeping it authentic, keeping it real – because they will call you out if you are not being straight with them.
Being truthful in her writing and in real life is of utmost importance to Julia Karr.
ABOUT the author
Julia Karr lives in Bloomington, Indiana with three persnickety cats and one really chill one. Karr’s first paid publications were poems, followed by her first book, XVI, a young adult futuristic thriller that began its life as a NaNoWriMo novel. Her schooling in the art of writing came from reading, voraciously. While students were being forced to read the classics, Karr was busy going on author binges. As a young mother, reading books to, and eventually with, her daughters, she fell head-over-heels for children’s literature. Not a far stretch for someone who had loved reading since the age of three.
MUSIC
The Bill Evans Trio, “Witchcraft”
CREDITS
Narrator: Julia Karr
Producer & Host: Robert Shull
Audio Producer: Doug Storm
Recording Engineer: Cindy Beaulé
Literary Consultant: Shana Ritter
Executive Producer: Josh Brewer
