Introducing Kristina Circelli:
Tell us a little bit about your book(s) and yourself.
Eccentric, crazy cat lady, avid reader, wannabe treasure hunter. I’m a little weird – good thing I’m a writer! Writing has always been one of the most important things in my life; I’ve always said writing is the only thing that makes sense to me. I understand words and love how it feels to piece them together. That translated into a passion for writing pretty early on, and I wrote my first book at 15 – and kept on writing.
I have many different interests, so my books take on many different genres and plots. I suppose I like to break some of the rules when it comes to my writing. If everyone else is writing a genre or trend, I’ll do the opposite just to be difficult . I like finding new topics with each book I write so my readers never know what to expect (this could be a very good or very bad thing). But overall they tend to tell a bittersweet tale, and I’m known to kill off a few characters in every story.
When was your first book published?
My first book, The Helping Hands, was published when I was 17 (2004) and its sequel when I was 19. I took time off for school and work, and published my next one, Beyond the Western Sun, in 2010. I have 10 novels total now. The Helping Hands books have since been reprinted with a new company so I can better market them as well as expand upon the series.
Why did you decide to become an Indie Author?
I’ve been with a publisher and we parted ways due to creative differences. As an indie, I love the freedom I have and that I can do things on my own schedule. Everything is my choice, from the characters’ names to the cover to the price. I guess you could say I like having control. But more than that, the culture itself is fantastic. My best friends are all indie authors and I’m so happy to have met them through the indie world.
Are you currently working on anything?
Oh yes, lots of stuff! My new book, Fragile Creatures, is out February 25th. It’s my first YA Contemporary, about a teenage girl’s journey of healing at a wildlife preserve after her father’s death. As for my works in progress, I’m working on a nonfiction dedicated to raising awareness about a brain-eating parasite (my cousin lost her life to it a couple years ago), and a contemporary adult fantasy/romance with knights.
Who and what inspired you to write?
I don’t know that I ever had one certain inspiration to start writing, other than I just always loved to create. I’d look at a rock or a bug or a family and instantly build a story around it. You could say my imagination has always been too active for my own good. My mom got me hooked on books very early on, so I was always a big reader and got to see other people create stories and figured, why not me too? Poetry, short stories, novels, I wrote them all. Mom was a huge inspiration in that she always encouraged me to write and to the day remains my biggest fan.
Each author has his or her own inspiring journey. How did you begin writing?
I guess that’s kind of answered above. To expand, I started writing short stories and my mom always acted like each one was the best thing ever written. Even though NOW I know she was full of it, at the time that encouragement gave me the drive to write even more. As I grew, so did my writing style to what it has finally matured into today.
When I was first published, ebooks weren’t even a thing. You either were traditionally published, or no one knew who you were. All of that changed in a relatively short amount of time, so it was an adjustment getting caught up again in this new indie world after a good five years off. But, this new world has opened up so many doors. I’ve met amazing people, written more books, reached more readers, had the chance to teach college writing classes, and even fulfilled my childhood dream of owning my own editing company for authors (Red Road Editing – shameless plug).
It’s funny to look back on those first stories and know that while they certainly were creative, the style is just so different than what it is today (in other words, it went from awful to interesting, haha). I love where I’m at now.
What is on your writing playlist for your book(s)?
I don’t actually have one. To be honest, I’m not a big music person. If I’m listening to music, it’s film scores. I haven’t listened to the radio in probably two or three years, unless it’s Christmastime music.
Who is your favorite character in your books?
That’s like asking which of my kittens I like more. I love them equally . Melanie O’Conner of The Helping Hands series will always have a special place in my heart. She was my very first book character, and she’s so rough and tough while equally vulnerable that she’s taken on a life of her own far outside what I ever imagined she would be. I also completely love Whisper of The Whisper Legacy. She embodies everything I love about my Native American heritage, and her intense focus and unwavering courage are inspiring to me. Further, I am a big fan of Tyler Mason from The Helping Hands, for his devotion to Melanie combined with his refusal to take any of her shit.
What is your favorite book of all time?
Ah, man. This is a hard one. I honestly can’t pick one because each of my favorites gives me something different. The Neverending Story and Peter Pan are my go-to books, the stories that inspired my imagination and still fascinate me. I re-read Dreams Made Flesh by Anne Bishop constantly because I love the character of Lucivar Yaslana (you want to talk about a book boyfriend, holy Hera he’s it). And I also love Dance upon the Air by Nora Roberts, because it gave me hope in a time when I really needed it.
Tell us in one sentence why we should read your books.
I like to go against the grain so my readers always have something different – every one of my books varies from the others either in genre or subject matter, yet have that similar underlying theme of the flawed, strong, and at times fragile woman overcoming everything the world throws at her.
Bio:
A lover of the written word since the time she first picked up a pen, Kristina Circelli shares her passion for fiction in her multi-genre novels.
Circelli is the author of several fiction books, including The Sour Orange Derby, a young adult novel about family and childhood imagination steeped in southern traditions; Beyond the Western Sun and Walk the Red Road of The Whisper Legacy, which centers on Native American cultures and the legends that come to life in the spirit realm; and The Helping Hands series, books that follow a gang of friends who rescue abused children.
Currently, Circelli works as a copywriter, author, book editor, and creative writing professor at the University of North Florida, where she received her Bachelor's and Master's degrees in English. She resides in Florida, with her husband and two kittens.
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Kristina Circelli's Books
One lone tree is all that remains of the cherished Standridge family orange groves, a legacy that goes back as far as the Civil War. But for young Colly Standridge, that solitary tree is at the center of a magical world.
Inspired by real people, The Sour Orange Derby follows the lives of Colly, who dreams of becoming a professional baseball player, and K.B. Standridge, an imaginative old man who spends his days creating stories for his grandchildren to enjoy while searching for a new family legacy - and finds it in his last beloved orange tree.
A story about love and healing steeped in southern traditions, The Sour Orange Derby is a tale of one family joining together to celebrate life and history, and how their last remaining orange tree holds them all together when the young boy's fight with cancer threatens to tear them apart.
Kristina Circelli, accomplished author of The Helping Hands and The Whisper Legacy series, is proud to take readers on a literary journey into her childhood, offering a glimpse of the magical worlds and imaginative stories created by her beloved grandfather.
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"Out of nothing, we create something."
Arianna has spent her entire life being called a dreamer, an artist who created a world no one else can see. And for her entire life, she has taken the medication that keeps that world - and the one who brought her there - at bay.
Now an adult, Arianna reawakens that part of herself kept locked away in the darkest corners of her mind. When she hides her medicine from her fiancé's ever-watchful eye, he returns - the shadow in the night who collects her for an adventure known only in her fantasies.
But something is different about this world called The Never. It is no longer the cheerful place filled with light and natives battle to the death against the tribe of children. And the pirates, led by the feared captain called The Hunter, seek out Arianna for their own sinister plans.
As Arianna goes deeper into The Never, she discovers just what her connection to the land means - and must choose between her life rooted in reality, and the world where anything is possible.
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Abducted in broad daylight, locked away in a basement cage, starved for food and light - how would you escape your prison?
Valentina Murdoch finds herself asking that same question after she is attacked and kidnapped one ordinary morning. Brought to a secluded hideaway in the middle of the woods to await her fate at the hands of "the boss," she has but days to survive.
Utilizing her love of action movies to create a plan, Valentina plots her escape while battling a crippling fear of the dark - for the dark is where her childhood nightmare lurks, waiting for her one moment of weakness. But as the clock winds down and her husband's search for her threatens his own life, Valentina realizes that her true fight lies within herself.
Will she have the strength to survive, or will the dark - and all the figures that haunt it - finally win?
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On a sunny day at a Smoky Mountain campsite, seven year-old Cole Daivya vanished beneath raging river rapids. Now, Ian Daivya has a choice—to bury his son and say good-bye forever, or face a perilous journey through the Land of the Dead. Along with Whisper, a Cherokee apprentice born into a world she was destined to change, he will face the creatures of Native American lore and have his very character tested by those who hold his child hostage in death.
The Watchmen who guard the terrifying Bridge of the Dead, the giant inchworm that feeds on women, deceitful Mole who dwells beneath the earth, all will challenge Ian and Whisper as they journey beyond the Western Sun that separates them from their past lives. Their destination—the Fire Tower, where they will face the Raven-Eater, a ferocious tyrant who rules over the land with the desire to destroy the living world. What Ian soon learns, though, is that there is more to this quest than Whisper is willing to share, and in order to survive he must put all his faith in the secretive woman with haunting black eyes and the ancient Elder who speaks to the dead.
As the Army of the Dead marches closer to the Western Sun, as Whisper leads them deeper into the Land of the Dead, and as the truth behind Cole’s death is slowly revealed, Ian discovers that the fate of both worlds depends on his courage, his humility, and the life of his son.
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Deep in the heart of the Land of the Dead, the half-breed struggles to be free.
Eighteen years have passed since she destroyed the Raven-Eater and took her place as the rightful heir of the Fire Tower. Now, Whisper must face her most treacherous enemy yet in Walk the Red Road. Book Two of The Whisper Legacy takes readers on a deep exploration into spirit realms on the brink of self-destruction, where betrayal and death lurk around every shadow.
Guided by Kamama and protected by Hunting Hawk, Whisper embarks on a journey of discovery that will show her the way to the Red Road, and to the child who threatens to end her reign. But when Smoke Speaker breaks his sacred vow and the Great Spirit steals from Whisper what is rightfully hers, she must decide which bloodline she will follow—the gentle heart of her mother, or the spiteful vengeance that once drove the Raven-Eater.
Continuing the realm-crossing saga of Beyond the Western Sun, Walk the Red Road spirals into a journey to the Self, revealing the pains of betrayal and the struggle to accept both halves of one’s soul in order to become whole. This sequel by accomplished author Kristina Circelli exposes the deepest, darkest parts of her extraordinary characters while reminding us all of the delicate balance between faith, love, and legacy.
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Destiny. Adventure. Redemption. Legend.
She destroyed the Raven-Eater and declared war on the Great Spirit. Now, Whisper must embrace her dark destiny yet again, traveling deep into the shadow world to right the wrongs committed by her own hand. In a place where strength and hope do not exist, her every power and belief will be tested, reminding her of the lover she left behind - and the child she abandoned.
In her absence, her enemies thrive. Sun Woman seeks revenge on the living realm. Creator's servant seeks to destroy the heir to the Land of the Dead. And the third rises from the dead while luring Whisper closer to her own destruction.
Into the Shadow Realm takes readers on Whisper's final quest through the shadows to reveal her path - and the sacrifices she must make to save the ones she loves. In Book Three of The Whisper Legacy, author Kristina Circelli weaves figures of Whisper's past into stories that tell her future, completing her journey of warfare, power, and self-discovery.
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The kidnappings of seventy-one children began the legend, but five friends with troubled pasts and courageous futures created it.
Melanie O'Conner was known to the world as the seventeen year-old bad-ass delinquent of Knoxport, California. A drug dealer, a junkie, a criminal, she had earned her reputation through the leadership of the much feared rebellious gang called the Hell Hounds.
But there was more to her than met the eye, the side she kept hidden from others with her rough-and-tough exterior and relentless, sharp green eyes. Her past, filled with the pains of foster homes and merciless, cold-hearted guardians had created within her a deep, undying devotion to saving the lives of children who were victim to child abuse. Bringing them to a secluded island called the Treehouse, Melanie and her gang fed, schooled, and cared for them all, leaving to the parents nothing more than a message claiming that their child had been taken.
Now, four years into the project that had been given the name the Helping Hands by the members of the cover-up gang the Hell Hounds, Melanie has to fight to keep the nosy, self-interested television reporter Stephanie Mathews from exposing the truth behind the Hell Hounds.
And Melanie is willing to do anything to save the lives of the children from their abusive parents, even if that means risking her own.
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Melanie O’Conner is being released back into society after her arrest seven years ago. Fighting to keep hold over new Helping Hand gangs across the country, she struggles to find the balance between her past and “normal” life. But transitioning into that new, normal life doesn’t come easily. Her friends have gangs of their own, past acquaintances have moved on, and now someone is after her, vowing to kill those she loves so she can watch them die… Melanie is forced to watch the Helping Hands run into traps, thwarted by abusive parents and thugs wanting money, until they lose sight of what O’Connor has taught them. When Tyler turns away from her, a close friend is murdered, and the Helping Hands are threatened by shadows lurking in the night, Melanie must make a decision - give up her project and save her friends, or embrace her past, and fight to the death.
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When one of their own was murdered, everyone feared it would be the end to the Helping Hands. But as they are now learning, the real difficulty lies not in mourning the loss of a friend, but in protecting the project that took his life.
Kelly Mitchell is dedicated to just one thing - protecting her little sister from their stepfather's wrath. When her family moves to San Francisco, she struggles to keep her home life a secret, avoiding the charms of her neighbor, Robbie Anderson. But when her stepfather sets her up and sends her to a juvenile detention camp, Kelly will attain her own protection in the service of Melanie O'Conner.
Forcing herself back into society as a reformed rebel, Melanie finds herself surrounded by a life filled with friends, security, and family. But the illusion of a life without disaster is shattered upon the discovery of a new, unplanned gang of Helping Hands, and two cops threatening to put her back in prison.
When faced with the copycat gang that brings the FBI to her front door, when Kelly and her sister plead for an escape from the iron fist of their abusive stepfather, when Tyler lands in the hospital and faces death, Melanie must decide which is more important - having a normal life away from the burdens of her past, or protecting the project that granted her that life.
Whatever choice she makes, someone must suffer the consequences.
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