Author Spotlight - A. G. Howard

Anita Grace Howard, aka A. G. Howard, is the author of a new series that is based on Lewis Carroll's book "Alice In Wonderland". She was inspired to write while working as a school librarian. She enjoyed the old fairy tale stories and wondered what their lives were like and how they could be different.

Howard is a huge fan of Lewis Carroll's works and her idea for "Splintered" was born after watching Tim Burton's adaptation of Alice In Wonderland. Tim Burton is famous for his characters and his slightly dark and creepy settings. Howard wanted to expand on Burton's vision, but wanted to go for a darker feel. Her idea solidified when she read Melanie Benjamin's "Alice I Have Been" and she knew what she wanted to write. As she states "everything clicked". Howard decided to base her character on a distant relative of Alice Liddell instead of Alice herself.

Who was Alice Liddell? Alice Liddell was the inspiration for Carroll's novel "Alice In Wonderland". Charles Dodgson, Lewis Carroll was a pen name, was close friends with the Liddell family. He would entertain Alice in her sisters with stories. One particular story Alice had asked Dodgson to write down and eventually he did and gave her the story in November 1864. That manuscript would eventually become the famous "Alice In Wonderland".

A. G. Howard lives in the Texas panhandle and is married and the mother of two teens. She is also mom to two fuzzy friends - labrador retrievers. In her spare time she enjoys reading, rollerblading, gardening and family vacations. She especially loves to visit 18th century graveyards and condemned schoolhouses. Her first book "Splintered" was released in January 2013 and is recommended for grades 8 and higher.

PUBLISHED WORKS

• Splintered, book 1 (16 January 2013)
• Unhinged, book 2 (7 January 2014)
• A Moth In The Mirror, novella (22 October 2013)