My Blog

ANother blog

Thu, 1 Oct 2009 23:19:41 -0500

ANother blog? What?

In an effort to be “crazy internet lady with too many blogs,” i’ve set up a new one over at
http://kaholt.posterous.com.

It gives me a lot of space to blab about writing and writers and sci-fi and whatever else may come up.

please drop by over there to see what’s going on. I’d love to read your comments. Also, please check back in often, because it’s still very brand new. i will be adding links and widgets and other fancy things as time allows (And as I figure out to get them on the site).

And don’t forget about twitter, too. I’m @karianneholt.

you can be privy to my late night snack cravings and questions about how EMP pulses work. Exciting!

Keep an eye out (so to speak)

Fri, 4 Sep 2009 10:34:49 -0500

Woo! I wanted to let you all know that I have a new book coming out next year, from the Neal Porter imprint of Roaring Brook Press. We’re still working on a title, but right now we’re calling it BRAINS!

It’s a book about a boy named Loeb, who’s a kid just like you. Except that Loeb just happens to be a zombie. Loeb goes to school with other zombies, regular humans, and chupacabras. (Do you know what a chupacabra is? It literally means “goatsucker”. It’s like a vampire animal that eats goats. Gross. And cool!)

The book is a day in Loeb’s life. School, friends, enemies, crushes, teachers, detention - all of that familiar, interesting everyday stuff, zombie-style.

And the whole book is written in haiku. (Do you know what a haiku is? It’s a little three-lined poem. The first line is five syllables, the second is seven, and the third is five again.) If you think about it, when you hear a zombie talk (or I guess I should say - when you *imagine* hearing a zombie talk) it kind of sounds like he’s speaking in haiku. So that’s what I did with this book!

The best news? Gahan Wilson - super awesome famous Gahan Wilson - is going to illustrate the book! It’s going to be really, really incredible. I can’t wait for you to read it!

Best.Book.launch.ever.

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 02:05:57 -0500

We had the Mike Stellar: Nerves of Steel release party at BookPeople in Austin, Texas on Saturday.

It was amazing! Such a great turn out, so many awesome kids. I couldn’t have wished for a better event. I was thrilled to be able to read a bit from the book and answer questions. (#1 question: Is there a sequel? Answer: Ask my editor, I hope so!)

The liquid nitrogen ice cream was a huge hit (and very tasty), and I had so much fun meeting everyone and signing books.

Thank you so much to everyone for coming out! And thank you to David Gilder for taking such wonderful photos (click here to see a video of the kids making ice cream)! The first four up there are his, and the last two were taken by my husband (good job to you, too, Hubs).

Special thanks to BookPeople for keeping things so organized and running smoothly. You guys are the best. For reals. Also thanks to Ruth for procuring the liquid nitrogen. Woo!

And thanks to the young lady who painted her fingernails with scenes from the book (Larc’s braces! Spaceships!). You really made my day. :)

I look forward to more events where I can meet more fantastic kids. You all rock my socks. Thanks for such a great day!

tweet tweet tweet

Sun, 5 Jul 2009 14:25:20 -0500

There’s a very cool article in the Austin American Statesman today about me and Mike Stellar, and how I’m trying to use social media (and 6 degrees of separation) to help get out the word about the book.

Take at look at the article here.

And if you would like to follow me on Twitter, you can go here.

Follow Mike on Twitter here. (More to come about this - Mike is planning something really cool for his Twitter followers.)

Wanna be my friend on Facebook? Go here!

Have I covered it all?

Thanks to Jeff Salamon at the Statesman for the great article - and thanks to you guys for reading it!

The book launch is coming up

Sat, 4 Jul 2009 01:29:33 -0500

The Mike Stellar book launch shindig is a week from today!

At 6pm next Saturday, there will be some crazy fun going on at BookPeople in Austin, TX. Please come by to say hello, get a book signed, and see the amazing surprises we have planned.

As soon as I can say more, I’ll let you know. I have some extra exciting things ruminating in my brain, and all my fingers and toes are crossed in hopes we’ll be able to make it happen.

Keep stopping by for more updates - and hopefully I’ll see you on Saturday!

Mike is in stores today!

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 11:07:11 -0500

It’s out! In bookstores today!

The first two people who email me a picture of the book out in the wild will win a prize of undetermined but awesome proportions. (Think homemade signed bookplate.)

grasshrinker@gmail.com

Go!

T-minus 30 minutes!

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 23:38:44 -0500

Mike Stellar: Nerves of Steel is launching tomorrow! I'm going to go to every bookstore in town and I'm going to bring my camera. I'm proud to say I’m going to be a big fat dork about it. Yay!

I can’t believe it's coming out tomorrow. I've been waiting for this day since I was a kid, I really have.

I would always tell people, "Yep, I'm going to write books when I grow up." And now I’ve done it.

Here's to you ten-year-old self. Thanks for never letting me growing up!

Mike just called from the future!

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 13:13:53 -0500

Mike just called from the future.

He is wondering if someone can leave him a pile of cherry bombs buried under the stop sign in front of The Project.

What is this dude up to?

And how did he get my mobile number?

The Book trailer is up!

Sun, 7 Jun 2009 13:48:43 -0500

the mike stellar book trailer is live!

Here’s a sneak peek at all of the action-packed excitement of Mike Stellar: Nerves of Steel. I hope you like it!

great news about mike!

Thu, 4 Jun 2009 13:16:12 -0500

Hey guess what?

Mike Stellar: Nerves of Steel was just chosen as only one of four Random House books for Instructor Magazine’s fun summer reading list. Sweet!

Mike also just got a great review from Kirkus! Woo hoo!

Here’s an excerpt:
“Readers will enjoy watching Mike work his way through both muddled feelings and adult secrets with savvy sleuthing, sharp observation and courage in the clutch.”

I'm so excited that the book is getting this kind of great buzz. I can't wait for you to read all about him and let me know what you think.

When you spend a lot of time writing and re-writing a book, your brain gets kind of discombobulated, you start to worry (or at least I did) that people might not like it. So when you see that people actually DO like what you’ve worked so hard on, it’s extra super exciting.

Yay, Mike!