Caroline Starr Rose

picture book and middle-grade author

Listen in on a MIRACULOUS interview hosted by author Linda Williams Jackson!

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A few weeks ago I had a wonderful chat with author Linda Williams Jackson. She interviewed me about MIRACULOUS over Zoom and has posted it to YouTube in two different parts. Linda and I have been online writing friends for years, so this was a real treat.

An author asking another author about her book makes for a really meaty discussion. Linda had some especially perceptive views of the book I’d never considered myself. Stop by to learn about choices I made in writing the book, including why it’s written from five different points of view, how long the drafting took (with some visuals!), the background on creating the character Mr. Kennedy, and how I’ve approached my writing over the years — from my teaching days, to my early days at home with my children, to the window of time I taught, mothered, and wrote, to my empty-nest present, and much more!

Linda and I think this would be great to share in classrooms or book clubs. We hope curious readers might tune in, too!

Part one is here. Part two is here.

Oh! Hey! My First Audiobook!

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My first audiobook published last month, a recording of Miraculous that released the same day as the hardback. What a thrill!

In March I got an email from Penguin Random House Audio letting me know the producer for my book. The email explained the book would be recorded a few weeks before the release date and that I’d be contacted by the producer, Orli Moscowitz, with any questions she had. I heard from Orli during our family trip to the Pacific Northwest. She gave me a choice between two narrators — samples included — that she thought would best suit my story. Thankfully, my first choice, Kirby Heyborne,* was available and interested.

Near the end of June, when I was sitting on a plane ready to come home, I got an email asking how to pronounce various names, including my own (I’m a LINE, not a LYN, in case you were wondering) as well as these three:

Kingsbury = kings-BAIR-ee  or  kings-BURR-ee ?

Mr. Mueller = MULL-er  or  MYOO-ler ?

McPherson = mik-FEER-son  or  mik-FERR-son ?

I honestly wasn’t sure about Kingsbury — I think I’ve said it both ways myself — but I settled on BURR -ee (after saying the name both ways to myself a couple dozen times).

On the day recording began, I got a quick text from Orli, then a few weeks later, I found this sample from my own book. So fun! Penguin Random House Audio sent me a copy of the entire book after it released.

I find it hard to read my own words and not get caught up in the rhythm or anticipate what comes next. But listening helped me be one step removed and kept me present in the story. Most authors are tired of their books by publication, but honestly, I love the chance to return to Book World. This was my final time through Miraculous (for now). It was the perfect way to cap off the years I’ve spent in Oakdale, Ohio.

I know I’m biased, but my gosh, I LOVE THIS STORY. I think it’s so good! It’s got all the things that get me excited: atmosphere, an interesting cast of characters, a whiff of mystery. I’m partial to the language, the layers of meaning, the promises scattered throughout that either come to pass or are somehow reversed (I guess authors call those foreshadowing and irony, right?). Sorry to gush. I’m SO proud of this one.

I hope you might listen in!

*Later on Instagram, Kirby told me he LOVED Miraculous, that it was a well-written and beautiful story. SO cool.

*** If you’ve read and enjoyed Miraculous, would you consider leaving a review at Amazon and / or Goodreads? I offer my endless gratitude! ***

Miraculous! Reviews are in!

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Or coming in. It takes a while sometimes.

Kirkus Reviews, which prides itself on being the toughest in the business, had a lot of great things to say. The review is a great synopsis, too, so I thought I’d share it all with you:

The residents of Oakdale, Ohio, don’t take kindly to strangers, and when Dr. Kingsbury and his assistants roll into town in October 1887 peddling Dr. Kingsbury’s Miraculous Tonic, folks are suspicious.

Thirteen-year-old Jack has traveled with the doctor ever since the tonic brought his little sister, Lucy, back from the brink of death. His work not only helps support his family, but repays their debt to the doctor. But when 16-year-old Isaac, his fellow assistant, mysteriously runs away, Jack discovers a darker side to the doctor. While Jack is beginning to suspect the doctor isn’t who he claims to be, the townspeople witness the tonic restoring one man’s hearing and helping another walk without a crutch. Soon after, they are buying up the tonic in the hopes it will bring the rain to their drought-plagued fields. Friendships with Bear, a stray dog, and Cora, the adventurous niece of the mayor, give Jack much-needed support. Hope is offered in the parallel story of Silas Carey, whose life 50 years earlier was not unlike Jack’s in the present day. Atmospheric with decidedly ominous overtones, this historical novel offers just the right mix of good vs. evil. Main characters are presumed White; there is a Black family in town, described using the term colored. The author’s note adds historical context about 19th-century patent medicines as well as commentary on changing language norms around race.

A deliciously sinister read.

Publishers Weekly had this to say:

A small-town mystery unfolds with creeping dread in Rose’s historical thriller…a chilling adventure that serves as a cautionary tale against insular life. You can read the full review here.

In the next few weeks I should hear from Booklist, School Library Journal, Bulletin for the Center of Children’s Books (BCCB), and maybe Hornbook (though seven books in, I still don’t understand how Hornbook reviews. Anyone care to enlighten me?)

Waiting for reviews to roll in can be stressful. Though most everyday readers don’t read them (or even know they exist), trade reviews help determine what books schools, libraries, and booksellers might purchase or carry. While they aren’t the end all be all, they do have a big influence on if readers will ever encounter a book. I’m happy to say so far things are looking good!

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Planning on preordering Jasper (releasing in paperback 6/28) or Miraculous (releasing  in hardback 7/26)? Or maybe you’ve already preordered? If so, you’re eligible for some fun giveaways. Click through to learn more.