Have you heard of The Crafty Chica? She's pretty hard to escape if you're into crafting of any type. Kathy Cano-Murillo, a.k.a. The Crafty Chica, is an all-encompassing craft force to be reckoned with.
From her yearly Crafty Chica cruises, seven crafting how-to books, television features, and a line of Crafty Chica products sold nationwide at places like Michaels, Kathy's pretty much done it all with flair, amazing amounts of upbeat energy, and of course, a healthy dose of glitter.
This uber-crafty gal has done it again, branching out by writing her first novel! Waking Up in the Land of Glitter is in stores now.
After the jump, read a review of the book and enter to win a free copy of your own!
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This book was one of the most fun reads I've had in a while. Waking Up in the Land of Glitter oozes energy, fun, drama, and crafts, and will surely suck in any craft-o-phile in from page 1!
The story opens with a mystery at La Pachanga, one of Phoenix, Arizona's landmark Mexican restaurants. Star Esteban, daughter of the restaurant's owners gives an uncomfortable interview to news-reporter-slash-craft-diva-wannabe Chloe Chavez about vandalism that occured at the eatery, which sets a whole energetic chain of events in motion.
Star and her best friend Ofie share crafty adventures (and mis-adventures!) as they continue to cross paths with Chloe; eventually the three end up in a craft collective together with a new friend Benicio. The four are tasked with creating table centerpieces for the upcoming CraftOlympics; as they learn some new techniques and grow as artists, they learn something about themselves as well.
I don't want to give too much away, so I'll stop there. I loved reading this book because Kathy Cano-Murillo's true personality shines through on every page. It almost felt like she was on the train with me, reading it out loud enthusiastically. I also loved the craft project ideas she included at the end of the book – I can't wait to try making a love shrine of my own!
Another fun aspect of Waking Up in the Land of Glitter was references to real crafters sprinkled in with the fiction. When I was reading the chapters about the CraftOlympics, and the people Star, Ofie, Chloe and Benicio were seeing there it was just neat thinking “Oh, I've met her! I know her!” When asked if her ficitonal characters were based on real people, The Crafty Chica replied:
“Chloe, Star and Ofie – all of them have a little bit of me from different phases in my life… As for the other characters, in my first draft, I did have specific people in mind, but as I went through dozens of rewrites, the characters bloomed in their own way. They didn't want to reenact my experiences; they had their own stories to tell.”
We have a free copy of Waking Up in the Land of Glitter to give away, courtesy of the Hatchette Book Group. Since glitter is a major theme in this story, it's a major theme in our giveaway as well! Leave a comment telling us your thoughts on glitter, and you'll be automatically entered to win a free copy of the book. Do you like glitter? Hate it? (gasp!) Is there something fabulous you've made featuring glitter that you can link to? Share, share, share!
Leave your comment before midnight on Friday, May 7 and you'll be automatically entered to win. We love conversation here, but only one entry per person will be counted! After the close of the contest, a winner will be chosen at random by www.random.org. Retail value of prize is $13.99. If you've won a Gettin' Made giveaway in the last 30 days you'll be ineligible to win so others have a chance at awesomeness!
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Waking Up in the Land of Glitter is available in bookstores now. For more information on Kathy Cano-Murillo, a.k.a. The Crafty Chica, visit her website or follow her on Twitter!
