Katie Quirk is a woman prone to wanderlust. She’s lived in India for four years, Tanzania for two, and France for one. Her debut middle grade novel, “A Girl Called Problem”, is set in Africa and has been getting lovely reviews.
From Amazon: Thirteen-year-old Shida, whose name means “problem” in Swahili, certainly has a lot of problems in her life — her father is dead, her depressed mother is rumored to be a witch, her family bears the weight of a curse, and everyone in her rural Tanzanian village expects her to marry rather than pursue her dream of becoming a healer. So when the elders of Litongo make a controversial decision to move Shida’s people to a nearby village, Shida welcomes the change. Surely the opportunity to go to school and learn from a nurse can only mean good things. Nonetheless, mysterious calamities plague Shida’s people after their move. Desperate to stay, Shida must prove to her people that life can be better in their new home.
Katie is giving away two copies of “Problem” to MUF readers. To be eligible to win, please leave a comment below. And thanks, Katie!
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Tricia is the author of many books for middle grade, most recently "Every Single Second" (HarperCollins) and the third book in the Cody series, "Cody and the Rules of Life" (Candlewick Press). A frequent speaker at schools, libraries, and conferences, she lives in Cleveland OH. You can find out more about her and her work at www.triciaspringstubb.com
Thanks to all who commented for your interest and good wishes. The winners, who were randomly selected, are Morgan Mazzei of Bangor, ME, and Maura Cody of Kodaikanal, India.
Can’t wait for this one! What a GORGEOUS cover!
Thanks to all of you for your kind comments and interest!
Katie
katie-quirk.com
Can’t wait to read this book! I’ve read Katie’s writing before and it’s fabulous. She is a lovely person and a great writer. Congrats, Katie!
Looks fascinating!!
Sounds like a great book, Katie! Do you like your publisher–or do you wish you’d self-published? Thanks! Julie
Hi Julie,
I really appreciate my publisher. They have done so much legwork for me from cover art to sharp editing to promotion I couldn’t have managed on my own. I’m a big proponent of small publishers like Eerdmans Books for Young Readers–I think they bring a lot of wonderful books into the world that would be hard to find otherwise.
Thanks for the question!
Katie