Guest Post: UK Connections by Karly Kirkpatrick & #Giveaway

UK Connections

Okay, I’m gonna go ahead and say it, if I could live anywhere in the world, I would LOVE to live in the UK . I am a completely hopeless Anglophile in every sense of the word. To me it has great people, great books, great beer and the coolest towns on the planet. I’ve loved it since I was little, and it’s only grown over time. My family traces its ancestry to Ireland and the UK, representing England and Scotland. In fact, my last name is Scottish and we still have a castle there. Okay, it’s not technically *mine*, but it does sound cool and some Kirkpatricks do live there.

My more recent connections to the UK started in the 9^th grade. We were allowed to purchase pen pals for a dollar from some organization at school. I signed up for a bunch, and received one from a girl in Ulverston, England. We wrote back and forth for years and finally met when my pen pal, Liz, invited me over for a visit. She and her family were the most gracious hosts and we toured around northwest England, visiting not only the cute town of Ulverston, but Barrow-in-Furness, Kendal and the Lakes District, and some farther destinations of Liverpool and Edinburgh, before winding up the trip in London.

Liz and I stayed in touch after that as well, through boyfriends, then engagements, and then marriage. I was invited to hers, and she to mine, but sadly our schedules just didn’t align. We both now have children, and we send presents back and forth a few times a year. I later met her husband, Adrian, through the wonders of Facebook and he is now my proofreader, catching all my mistakes before my books hit the stores.

I returned to London in 2006 (btw, one of my FAVE cities), but our time there was short and I couldn’t make it up to Leeds, where they now live. But we’re planning that for 2013. As for 2012, I’m actually meeting up with Liz, Adrian, and the kids in Rome this summer, and our kids will get to play together amongst the Roman ruins. I also plan to pay Adrian for his proofing services with some wine and/or beer and pizza.

I’m hoping to set one of my future books in the UK. Right now, I’m thinking the sequel to Bloody Little Secrets *might* be the one, I’ll know more when I start writing in the next month or so.

Thanks to Megan for having me on. *waves* And a big hello to all my UK friends out there! *hands out cupcakes* I hope to be back soon!

Karly Kirkpatrick has been writing since 2007 and released her first YA novel, Into the Shadows, in 2010.　In addition to writing YA novels, she blogs about epublishing, is a member of SCBWI, and teaches German and French in the Chicago suburbs.　 She currently lives in Elgin, Illinois with her husband and daughter. You can find her titles Into the Shadows, Bloody Little Secrets, The Green, and EIGHT, at Amazon UK and the Apple iBooks store, and Smashwords. They are also available at Amazon.com, its European affliliates and Barnes & Noble for everybody else.

Giveaway

Three winners will get to pick their choose of an ebook of the following books by Karly Kirkpartrick:

Into the Shadows, Bloody Little Secrets or The Green

To Enter just leave a comment below for Karly and pick which book you would like to win.
Please leave your email address so I can contact you if you win.

-International
-Giveaway sponsered by Karly Kirpatrick
-Giveaway ends 5th May 2012