Love Charms and Other Catastrophes (34 page)

Many thanks again to the Figgies Underground crew: Lydia Albano, Kristin Yuki, Cara Clayton Olsen, Emily Rose Warren, Hannah Horinek, LiAnn Yim, Samantha Chaffin, Patrick and Janelle Labelle, Savannah Finger, Reagan Dyer, and Enaam Alnaggar. Phillippe Diederich, for sharing our author experiences and inspiring me to keep writing as prolifically (or close to it) as I used to in graduate school. JB Lynn, thank you for falling out of the sky and into my life just when I needed your friendship; may we continue being quirky and write like the wind.

To my family, for all the love and well-wishes and sending me surprise photos of my books out in the wild. Thank you, Mom and Dad, for understanding when I passed up on going to Disney to keep to my writing deadlines—it was only a temporary sacrifice. Biggest thanks of all to Misty, who did not change her ways just because I'm published now: she still sits on my lap and rests her head on my keyboard.

A Coffee Date

with author
Kimberly Karalius
and her editor, Holly West

“Getting to Know You (a Little More!)”

HW: What is your favorite word?

KK: My favorite word
at this very moment
is “toothsome.” I love what it means and how it sounds. I like to use it when describing the perfect scoop of gelato or spotting a cute boy with rolled shirt-sleeves.

HW: Nice! If you could travel in time, where would you go and what would you do?

KK: There are so many time periods I'm fascinated by, but I think the 1920s would be my first choice. Frankly, I'd try to track down silent-film comedian Buster Keaton and see him in action—maybe during the production of one of his films. I'd have lunch at a Horn & Hardart Automat. The fashion of the period was gorgeous; I'd probably be popping in and out of shops in the hopes that my time machine had room for the clothes!

HW: Ooooh! Good answer! I want some fun flapper dresses too! Do you have any strange or funny habits? Did you when you were a kid?

KK: I eat cereal without milk. I have trouble opening and closing umbrellas. One of my big goals is to rewatch all my favorite childhood shows and cartoons (I'm at least thirty episodes into
Legends of the Hidden Temple
and loving it—go, Blue Barracudas!).

When I was a kid, I was obsessed with watching Disney's
The
Little Mermaid.
I always had to dance at the end! My parents said I had terrific concentration, especially when sitting with a book. I never ripped the pages and they had to shout to get my attention if I was reading.

HW: Who is your current book boyfriend?

KK: Nawat from Tamora Pierce's
Trickster's Choice
and
Trickster's Queen
. He was a crow who took the form of a man to help the main character, Aly, and fell in love with her. He won my heart with his crow-isms as he adjusted to living as a human and how deeply he cared for Aly as the story progressed.

HW: I
love
Nawat, although Numair Salmalin will always hold a special place in my heart. And speaking of love, if you could have any love charm, what would it do?

KK: I still suffer from shyness, so a love charm that would arrange a meet-cute would be awesome. But then, I think the confidence charm that Fallon found would take care of that since having confidence is half the battle when meeting new people.

“The Swoon Reads Experience (Continues!)”

HW: Did publishing
Love Fortunes and Other Disasters
change your life?

KK: My life is full of bookish surprises now. I'm excited to open my email in-box each morning knowing that I may find fan emails, interview requests, or even news from Swoon Reads itself! I can attend conferences and literary events as a guest author. It's surreal. I used to dream about this. Now that it's happening, I'm enjoying every moment.

HW: What has been your favorite thing about being a Swoon Reads author?

KK: I love that readers have such a big voice in my Swoon Reads publishing journey. One of the most exciting moments for me was when readers voted on their favorite cover concept for
Love Fortunes
. That choice led to
Love Charms
having another fantastic Zara Picken–illustrated cover.

HW: What is the oddest thing a fan has ever said or done?

KK: While I was on the Summer of Swoon Tour, I had two different fans from two different cities tell me that I reminded them of Cather from Rainbow Rowell's
Fangirl
. At the time, I hadn't read
Fangirl
yet, but I knew enough about the book to feel flattered and kind of in awe by that comparison. I snagged a copy and devoured the book within two plane rides toward the end of the tour. They were totally right. Cather and I have a lot in common!

HW: I can see that. And what a nice comparison! What was the most unexpected thing for you about being a published author?

KK: Taxes! I didn't know much about the financial side of being an author before Swoon Reads, but I've learned a lot over the past few months. Makes me feel like I'm adulting correctly.

HW: Do you have any advice for aspiring authors on the site?

KK: Read other manuscripts on the site and get comfortable with giving feedback through the comments and rating system. As exciting as it is to upload your manuscript on Swoon Reads, it means so much more when you engage in the process. You may find your next favorite book—and new writer-friends—along the way!

“The Next Phase of the Writing Life”

HW: If you could change one thing about your writing habits, what would it be?

KK: I wish I used outlines more often. Outlines and I don't always mesh (if I get too detailed, I get bored), but when we do, it works beautifully. Trying out different outline techniques is definitely something I'll be doing in the future so that I can have a better balance between planning and experimenting.

HW: That could be fun. You know that I'm a big fan of outlines.;-) Where did you get the inspiration for
Love Charms and Other Catastrophes
?

KK: By the time
Love Fortunes
had been revised and off to print, I knew I couldn't leave Grimbaud just yet. Out of all the voices begging to tell their stories, Hijiri's was the loudest (ironically). I wanted to know what kind of future a love charm-maker would have in this newly liberated town and what kind of boy would capture her stubborn, “tiny” heart. Once I knew those answers, Kentaro was born. I've always loved those funny and heartwarming scenes where a person surprises loved ones by bursting out of a cake or a box. I knew Ken was going to surprise Hijiri by popping out of a box. It was one of the first images I started with when dreaming up
Love Charms
and the scene was so fun to write.

HW: Second books are notoriously difficult. What was the hardest part about writing
Love Charms and Other Catastrophes
?

KK: The tricky part about writing the second book was learning how to do so as an author, rather than an unpublished writer. People are finding
Love Fortunes
in stores. They're leaving reviews. I can't
not
see these things, yet at the same time, I had to learn how to balance that new dimension of my writing life with trusting my instincts and skills as a storyteller (and my fabulous editor!).

HW: One last question. What do you want readers to remember about your books?

KK: I hope readers will think of my books as quirky adventures with characters who never give up on their dreams.

Discussion Questions

1.   Hijiri is a love charm-maker, while Ken makes hearth charms and the twins control the weather. If you lived in Grimbaud, what charms would you make?

2.   For much of the novel, Hijiri feels that her heart is too small to ever find love. Have you ever worried that you didn't have room for more people in your life?

3.   During the first part of the contest, the love charm-makers had to come up with a single question to help someone choose the perfect date. What question would you have asked?

4.   If you had access to Hijiri's missed communications charm, who would you contact?

5.   Throughout the novel, Femke and Mirthe are fighting over their future plans. If the choice was yours, would you have specialized in a specific type of weather as Femke did or tried to be good at everything as Mirthe wanted?

6.   Hijiri's first instinct was to solve Nico and Martin's problem with a love charm, but Nico refused. What would you have done in that situation?

7.   Of all the charms mentioned, which is your favorite?

8.   Hijiri refers to Ken as her “puzzle boy” and tries to solve him. When you are attracted to someone, do you enjoy a sense of mystery, or do you prefer to know everything you can about them?

9.   While checking out the competition, Hijiri thinks about how love charms are usually monitored as potentially dangerous since they impact a person's emotions and thoughts. What do you think about love charms?

10. While under the influence of Stoffel's lovesickness, Hijiri says some things to Ken that really hurt his feelings and damaged their relationship. Have you ever accidentally hurt someone like that? What did you do to repair your relationship?

In which plans for a season without
romance are unapologetically foiled.

In this hilarious homage to Jane Austen, a lady
with a penchant for trouble finds a handsome
spy much more than merely tolerable.

 

CHAPTER
1

In which a young lady clinging to a cliff will eventually accept anyone's help

“
OH MY
, this is embarrassing,” Miss Juliana Telford said aloud. There was no reason to keep her thoughts to herself, as she was alone, completely alone. In fact, that was half of the problem. The other half was, of course, that she was hanging off the side of a cliff with the inability to climb either up or down and in dire need of rescue.