Young Adult Literature | Marcha's Two-Cents Worth

About the Story:

Bensin, a teenage slave and martial artist, is desperate to see his little sister freed. But only victory in the Krillonian Empire’s most prestigious tournament will allow him to secretly arrange for Ellie’s escape. Dangerous people are closing in on her, however, and Bensin is running out of time. With his one hope fading quickly away, how can Bensin save Ellie from a life of slavery and abuse?

What is the Collar for, and What is a Cavvarach?

The story is set in a world very much like our own, with just a few major differences. One is that slavery is legal there. Slaves must wear metal collars that lock around their neck, making their enslaved status obvious to everyone. Any slave attempting to escape faces the dilemma of how and where to illegally get their collar removed (a crime punishable by enslavement for the remover).

Another difference is the popularity of a martial art called cavvara shil. It is fought with a cavvarach (rhymes with “have a rack”), an unsharpened weapon similar to a sword but with a steel hook protruding from partway down its top edge. Competitors can strike at each other with their feet as well as with the blades. You win in one of two ways: disarming your opponent (hooking or knocking their cavvarach out of their hands) or pinning their shoulders to the mat for five seconds.

More About the Story

Set in a world alarmingly like our own, The Collar and the Cavvarach is the story of fourteen-year-old Bensin, a slave, whose status is made obvious to everyone by the steel collar locked around his neck. A martial artist who competes to win money for his owner, Bensin fights in tournaments with a cavvarach. But his greatest battle is the struggle to protect his little sister from the horrors of legalized slavery in a world where slaves have few rights. Desperate to keep her safe, Bensin struggles to find a means – legal or otherwise – to arrange for her freedom.

(For a fun introduction to the story’s setting and its culture, including an explanation of how cavvara shil works, click here.)

About the Author

Annie Douglass Lima considers herself fortunate to have traveled in twenty different countries and lived in four of them. A fifth-grade teacher in her “other” life, she loves reading to her students and sparking their imaginations. Her books include science fiction, fantasy, YA action and adventure novels, a puppet script, anthologies of her students’ poetry, Bible verse coloring and activity books, and a fantasy-themed cookbook. When she isn’t teaching or writing, Annie can often be found sipping spiced chai or pomegranate green tea in exotic locations, some of which exist in this world.

Email: AnnieDouglassLima@gmail.com

Elle Klass is the author of the popular “Baby Girl” series of short stories which chronicle the quest of Cleo, a girl abandoned at a young age, who’s in search of her true identity, literally and figuratively. Her adventures span the globe and take the reader along for a wild ride filled with increasing mystery and intrigue as the story progresses. Elle’s characters are believable and engaging with Cleo’s growing maturity and self-identity slowly emerging with each exciting episode. The third installment, “Baby Girl 3: City by the Bay” is being released for Kindle today, July 15, 2014, with its precursors also on sale so this is your chance to grab all three.

MF: Where did your idea for the Baby Girl series originate?

EK: I was on summer break from work and had an itch to write. The story formulated itself and the characters evolved as I wrote. I get all kinds of ideas in my head for absolutely no reason and write them down. I have tons of rough drafts awaiting revival so they can become full fledged novels.

MF: The Baby Girl series has grown in suspense and complexity with each episode and gathered considerable momentum through its many interesting twists and turns. Has the story evolved as you’ve written it or did you know from the beginning where it was going?

EK: When I first wrote it all I had was a very rough draft that I put on a shelf for several years. I dusted it off last fall and began reworking it. I decided to publish it in short stories form because it seemed more time efficient to break it down. Each segment has grown by 5,000 to 10,000 words from my original draft. Each short has taken on a life of its own as well as my characters. Reworking the draft I knew how the story ended. When I first began the story all I had mentally was a beginning and an end. It was how she got from point A to point B that surprised me.

MF: Besides Cleo/Justine/Shanna i.e., her various pseudonyms, who is your favorite character and why?

EK: Cleo, she is and always will be Cleo even though she hides out and disguises herself. I had the most fun with Cleo-Shanna. In book 3 she finally comes into her own on her own. She realizes she is an adult and her life is hers to direct. She does a lot of growing up and finally finds a place in her life that works for her. She wants the mystery of her birth resolved and plunges forward. In book 3 she also makes friends that she keeps. Until this book the only friend she ever kept was James. She has attachment issues but I guess most of us would if we had been abandoned at a young age and had someone stalking us .

MF: Will Baby Girl 3 complete the story with Cleo finally discovering who she really is or will it be an ongoing series?

EK: In Baby Girl 3 she doesn’t find all the answers. She does fit a lot of the pieces together. The rest of them come together in Baby Girl 4 when she discovers the secrets she’s been searching for. I don’t want to give away too much. The story is ongoing and this November I will be finishing Baby Girl 4 and the sequel to it. The sequel is about half done. What I can say is another mystery blasts her in the face and she has to rescue La Tige from a ghost of her past.

MF: As a teacher of junior high age youth and an author, what advice would you give parents who have a child with an interest or talent for writing?

EK: Let them write, read their work, encourage them. I have students who bring me their stories to read and ask about how to publish a book. I critique their work and have found some very talented youths that I hope pursue their creative writing talents. Junior high students aren’t as autonomous as they like to display. They seek encouragement and support from adults with their interests. I would also recommend checking out the public library. Sometimes they have workshops and writing groups that meet.

MF: What is your favorite part of the creative process?

EK: Free writing! That’s how all my stories start. I have a rough idea in my head that materializes. Once I start writing the words flow, creating more than I expect. Free writing allows the monsters, goblins and frightened little girls to rise to the surface. Equally as entertaining is taking the free write-rough draft and further developing the characters. I love each one even the lowdown- evil ones.

CONNECT WITH ELLE:

Amazon author page- http://www.amazon.com/Elle-Klass/e/B00F2Y48C0/
Goodreads- https://www.goodreads.com/author/dashboard
Blog- https://thetroubledoyster.blogspot.com
Website- https://elleklass.weebly.com
Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/ElleKlass
Twitter handle- @elleklass
Tumblr- http://elleklass.tumblr.com

BOOK LINKS

Baby Girl 1: In the Beginning
http://www.amazon.com/Baby-Girl-Book-1-Beginning-ebook/dp/B00GYP1DXS/

Baby Girl 2: Moonlighting in Paris
http://www.amazon.com/Baby-Girl-Book-Moonlighting-Paris-ebook/dp/B00IX5SSZS/

Baby Girl 3: City by the Bay
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00LT5VSQU

	Joe Ajlouny on Guest Blog Post by Robert G. W…
	Beem Weeks on Guest Blog Post by Robert G. W…
	Guest Blog Post by R… on Guest Blog Post by Robert G. W…
	Review of Robin Wall… on Review of Robin Wall Kimmerer…
	foguth on Reciprocity

Marcha's Two-Cents Worth

Random ponderings on the state of the Universe

Tag Archives: Young Adult Literature

A GRIPPING YOUNG ADULT ADVENTURE!

This great story is now available as an audiobook!

Or Read for FREE! (Details below)

About the Story:

What is the Collar for, and What is a Cavvarach?

More About the Story

Sound Like a Book you Might Enjoy?

Like to Read Along While You Listen?

Enter the Giveaway to Win a Bundle of Action and Adventure eBooks!

About the Author

Interview with Elle Klass, Author of the “Baby Girl” Series