I am absolutly thrilling to host JL Mulvihill on the blog today for The Boxcar Baby Tour. I reviewed this book and you can read the review Here. I really enjoyed this book and can not wait for the next book. Please welcome JL Mulvihill!!!!!!
The Elements of a Good Book
The room is dark except for the thin beam of moonlight
peeking through the blinds. In the
distance a train whistle echoes like a sorrowful Piper bird calling for its
mate. I can just barely here the
cluckunk sound as the train travels over the steel tracks. This is truly a childhood memory of mine and
incorporated into my new novel The
Boxcar Baby. In fact, I can honestly
say that there are a lot of real childhood memories that I drew upon when
writing this series. Of course I also
did some extensive research into the age of steam so that even though the story
is set in an alternative American history, it feels real. I believe that is a very important part of
creating a story. Not to just pull from
experience but to pull from the World’s experience or in this case, America’s
experiences.
I think another important element for a reader to enjoy a
good story is for the reader to have confidence that the author will take them
on a fulfilling journey and leave them wanting for not but for what will happen
next. I personally like fast pace and
short chapters to keep my readers intrigued and saying, “Oh, maybe just one
more chapter.” I love a good page turner
and when a reader finds an author who keeps them turning those pages they will
continue to follow that author wherever they may go, well at least until they
jump the proverbial shark.
For me the absolute Bees
Knees of The Boxcar Baby is the
cover of the book which really portrays all the important elements of the
story. The background is a map and a
clock which represents the journey and the fact that there is a time factor involved
with this journey. In front of that you
can see a factory representing the workers and the “workinhouse” which is a key
plot. Then there is the steam train
winding the tracks which is the base of the story. If you look closely you will see a name on
the side of one of the boxcars which is a really cool Easter egg on the book
cover. Then we have the huge tree with
the full lush red leaves and the twisting trunk and roots spreading out at the
bottom; another beautiful symbolism of a key element to the story.
When a people say “Don’t judge a book by its cover,” that
is not always true. I believe in this
case you can because everything you see on the cover is in the book. On the other hand I have so often picked up a
book simply by the cover and found nothing of the cover in the book so maybe
that is the point of the phrase. I have
been determined with my novel covers in making sure that they match the
story. I have also been very lucky in
getting amazing artists for my covers, in the case Matt Perry, who I cannot say
enough praise for his work on the cover of The Boxcar Baby. Matt took everything I conveyed to him and
created this amazingly accurate artwork; it was as if he could see the picture
in my mind and he just took it out of my head and put it on my book.
I hope that you enjoy reading The Boxcar Baby and when you
have finished feel free to let me know your thoughts on the Steel Roots Facebook
page. If you are interested in obtaining
a signed copy of the book my next event will be taking place in Louisville, MS
at the Backwoods Comic Festival. I am
working on getting the local food vendor to name their bacon wrapped hotdog the
“Hobo Dog” in honor of the novel, but either way I’m sure you can still get
one. After that event I am scheduled for
CONtraflow in New Orleans October 18-20 and then November 15-17 I will be
attending the Memphis Comic and Fantasy Convention.
Thank
you for having me on The Bees Knees Review and until next time remember, “No
matter where you go, there you are,” Confucius.
J L
Mulvihill
Book Synopsis: Born
in a boxcar on a train bound for Georgia. At least that is what Papa Steel
always told AB'Gale. But now, fifteen years later, the man who adopted and
raised her as his own is missing and it's up to AB'Gale to find him. Aided only
by a motley gang of friends, AB'Gale train hops her way across the United
States in a desperate attempt to find her papa and put her life and family back
the way it was. Her only guide is a map given to her by a mysterious hobo, with
hand written clues she found hidden in her papa's spyglass. Here is the Great
American Adventure in an alternate steampunk dystopian world, where
fifteen-year-old AB'Gale Steel learns that nothing is as it seems, but instead
is shrouded in secrets and mysteries ... and that monsters come in all shapes
and forms.
The Boxcar Baby is the first book of the Steel Roots series.
Art from the interior of the book.
Art from the interior of the book.
About J.L.
Mulvihill: Born in Hollywood and
raised in San Diego, CA, J.L. Mulvihill has made Mississippi her home for the
past fifteen years. Her debut novel was the young adult title The Lost Daughter
of Easa, an engaing fantasy novel bordering on science-fiction with a dash of
steampunk, published through Kerlak Publishing.
The Boxcar Baby, the first novel of her Steel Roots Series, was released
by Seventh Star Press in the summer of 2013.
J.L. also has several short fiction pieces in publication,
among them "Chilled Meat", a steampunk thriller found in the Dreams
of Steam II-Of Bolts and Brass, anthology (Kerlak Publishing) and "The
Leprechaun’s Story", a steampunk urban Fantasy found in the anthology,
Clockwork, Spells, & Magical Bells (Kerlak Publishing)
J.L. is very active with the writing community, and is the
events coordinator for the Mississippi Chapter of Imagicopter known as the
Magnolia-Tower. She is also a member of
the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI), Gulf Coast
Writers Association (GCWA), The Mississippi Writers Guild (MWG), as well as the
Arts Council of Clinton, and the Clinton Ink-Slingers Writing Group.
Author Links:
Amazon Links for The Boxcar Baby:
Print Version
Kindle Version
Other
eBook formats:
Nook
Kobo
iBookstore
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