Go Beyond the Pages of Carmer and Grit: The Crooked Castle with Author Sarah Jean Horwitz + GIVEAWAY

The Crooked Castle is the second book in the Carmer and Grit series. Out today from author Sarah Jean Horwitz, Carmer and Grit are headed out on yet another thrilling, suspenseful adventure. We teamed up with Algonquin Young Readers and author Sarah Jean Horwitz for a book giveaway and an inside look into the characters and settings inside the book.

Sarah kicks things off with an introduction to her story below and continues taking readers on an in-depth journey through where the characters are at at the beginning of this story, where they’re headed, who they’ll meet, and the magically mysterious locales they’ll visit throughout The Crooked Castle. For more Carmer and Grit magic, click here to explore the world of the first book in the series, The Wingsnatchers.

“The Crooked Castle has murderous mermaids, supernatural blizzards, daring aerial feats, and just a hint of industrial espionage, which are all very exciting things (even the industrial espionage bit, I promise). But perhaps even more than the first book, it’s also a story about finding your place in the world. Carmer, away from his adoptive family for the first time, must decide how involved he wants to be in his best friend’s new (and occasionally frightening) magical realm. Grit has to figure out her role in the world outside her own kingdom – a world where she can’t totally escape her royal destiny as a faerie princess, as much as she might want to. Carmer and Grit are both traveling in new territory – literally and figuratively! I hope readers enjoy coming along for the ride.” – Sarah Jean Horwitz

Go Beyond the Pages of Carmer and Grit: The Crooked Castle:

CHARACTERS

Carmer

Felix Cassius Tiberius Carmer III, better known as Carmer, is a former magician’s apprentice, aspiring inventor, and Friend of the Fae. A shy tinkerer by nature, Carmer must adjust to the wild and unpredictable magic of his best friend Grit’s faerie world.

Grit

Princess Grettifrida “Grit” Lonewing is the sole heir to the Seelie faerie kingdom of Skemantis – and she’s doing her very best to forget it. Now able to fly thanks to a mechanical wing designed by Carmer, Grit is excited to travel the world with her new best friend. But Grit soon realizes that her royal status and responsibilities aren’t as easy to leave behind as she might have wished.

Bell Daisimer

Seventeen-year-old Bell Daisimer is a fun-loving balloonist obsessed with all things that take flight. He dreams of becoming a pilot and learning to fly the latest invention in aviation: airplanes.

Yarlo

Described by Grit as a “cowboy faerie,” Yarlo is a tough-talking, wingless earth faerie who leads the Free Folk on Rinka Tinka’s Roving Wonder Show.

Julius Tinkerton

Inventor and aeronautic specialist Julius Tinkerton is the enigmatic owner of the flying circus known as Rinka Tinka’s Roving Wonder Show.

Purslain Ashenstep

The dark to Grit’s light, Purslain “Pru” Ashenstep is the hundred year-old Unseelie princess of the Driftside City kingdom. Pru is obsessed with collecting and understanding human technology in the hopes that it might be combined with magic to restore the fae to their former power and influence.

Gideon Sharpe

Formerly an assistant to the evil mastermind the Mechanist, Gideon Sharpe is a changeling – a stolen human child raised by faeries – now imprisoned by the Wild Hunt for his past crimes against the fae. Carmer feels guilty for not being able to protect Gideon from the full wrath of the Unseelies and his imprisonment without trial.

Nan Tucket

A young high-wire walker known for performing with baskets on her feet, Nan is Carmer and Grit’s key to getting inside the mysterious Roving Wonder Show – but she may also know more of its secrets than she lets on.

SETTINGS

Rinka Tinka’s Roving Wonder Show

A haunting tune gliding through the air heralds the arrival of this famous flying circus. The hot air balloons, ornithopters, and great animal-shaped airships may delight the crowds, but Carmer and Grit suspect there may be hidden faerie magic at the root of the show’s success.

Driff City

The coastal Driftside City, Virginia – or “Driff City” to the locals – is an airship travel and manufacturing hub home to some of the leading aeronautical experts of the time. Unfortunately, ships in Driff City have been plagued by a recent series of accidents, including the crash of the famous transcontinental airship The Jasconius.

The Airship Graveyard

Driftside Metals is a scrapyard and storage facility for decommissioned airships – also known as an airship graveyard. This graveyard is the final resting place of the ruins of The Jasconius – ruins that just might contain clues about the cause of the crash.

Wetherwren Light

An abandoned lighthouse located on a tidal island just off the coast of Driftside City, Wetherwren Light is rumored to be one of the last Seelie fae strongholds in the Unseelie-dominated kingdom.

The Unseelie Palace

Deep beneath the abandoned docks of the Driftside City shoreline, the rarely seen Unseelie King holds court. The palace under the waves is home to mermaids, kelpies, and water fae of all sorts – including the king’s powerful daughter, Princess Purslain Ashenstep.

FAERIE LORE

Changelings

Changelings refer to human and fae children switched in infancy by the fae. A healthy human child is abducted and raised by the fae, while a sickly fae child is left in its place. Fae changelings do not typically survive in the human world.

Carmer and Grit: The Wingsnatchers Book Giveaway:

Want to see where it all began? We teamed up with Algonquin Young Readers to giveaway FIVE copies of Carmer and Grit book one, The Wingsnatchers. Good luck, book lovers!

WHAT DO I WIN?:

– FIVE (5) lucky winners will receive a copy of the first book in the Carmer and Grit series, The Wingsnatchers, provided by Algonquin Young Readers.

HOW DO I ENTER?:

Get permission from your parent/guardian and fill out the form below by April 24, 2018! Giveaway begins on April 10, 2018 at 12:00 pm ET and ends on April 10, 2018 at 11:59pm ET.
You must be 18 or older to enter. If you are under 18, you’ll need to get permission from your parent/guardian to enter and again if you win. Please provide THEIR email address when entering below. If chosen as a winner, you’ll need to provide contact info where we can reach your parent/guardian if you win. They’ll need to sign an affidavit permitting us to send your prize. Be sure to read the fully detailed rules HERE before entering. Note: Algonquin Publishing will be sending your prize, so we will need to share your information with them if you win.

THIS GIVEAWAY HAS ENDED AND THE PRIZE HAS BEEN CLAIMED.

Feeling enchanted? Carmer and Grit: The Crooked Castle hits bookstore shelves today. Want to see where it all began? The author took YAYOMGers on a journey within the pages of The Wingsnatchers, here.