MUSE MONDAY - Karen King's Giraffe-Cow

On this autumnal morning, the unicorn welcomes Karen King, whose muse might warm you up a bit...

Karen King with some of her books.


1. Who (or what) is your muse?
Karen: My muse is a soft cuddly baby giraffe. This is a picture of him. He’s a ‘hottie’ actually, which means he has a microwavable bag inside him that can be heated up to keep my hands warm. He sits on my desk and watches me write. Sometimes I tell him my ideas and he always listens very carefully. I also take him on school visits with me.

"Shall I warm your typing fingers for you?"
2. When did you first meet?
Karen: We met a few years ago, a friend of mine gave him me as a present. Only then I thought he was a baby cow! Now I call him 'Giraffe-Cow'.

3. Does your muse appear in any of your books and/or artwork?
Karen: No but I did blog about the time I took him on a school visit when I still thought he was a cow. The children soon put me right! Read the full post on Karen's blog.

4. If you won the lottery and had complete artistic freedom, what would you write/create?
Karen: I’d write up the TV series I’ve been trying to work on for the past couple of years. It would probably take me a year to write it so it would be lovely to have the time to do that.

5. Before you go, does your muse have a message for the Unicorn?
Yes, he wants to tell Unicorn that his author Karen King has written a book about a little unicorn called Unicorn Magic and he wants to know if Unicorn can do magic.


But of course! My magic is stored in my horn, which is why it glitters so much... though I must admit my author has a fluffy unicorn with a pink horn she sometimes takes on school visits instead of me.

More about Karen

Karen King has been writing children’s books since the mid-eighties. She’s written for many children's magazines too including Sindy, Barbie, Winnie the Pooh and Thomas the Tank Engine. Some of her short stories were featured on Playdays BBC and some of her poems on the BBC One Potato, Two Potato website. She writes for all ages and in all genres. She's written more than 100 books including picture books, story books and joke books. Her picture book I Don’t Eat Toothpaste Anymore! won the Gold Award for Best Product, and Country Companions: The Birthday Picnic won the Practical Parenting Award.

Her website is www.karenking.net


Karen’s first YA title Perfect Summer was published earlier this year by Astraea Press, USA.

Growing up in a society so obsessed with perfection that the government gives people grants for plastic surgery, 15-year-old Morgan can't help being a bit envious of her best friend Summer.

Summer is beautiful and rich, her father is a top plastic surgeon and her mother is a beauty consultant with a celebrity client list. Her life seems so effortlessly perfect. Whereas Morgan isn't so rich or beautiful and her little brother, Josh, has Down's syndrome - which, according to the Ministry and society in general, is a crime.

Then Josh is kidnapped and the authorities aren't interested so Morgan and Summer decide to investigate. They, along with another teenager, Jamie, whose sister, Holly, has also been kidnapped, uncover a sinister plot involving the kidnapping of disabled children and find themselves in terrible danger. Can they find Josh and Holly before it's too late?

This book is available in paperback or ebook from:
Astraea Press
Amazon
Waterstones
Barnes and Noble