Book Title: The Clock Flower by Barbara Casey (Book 3 of The F.I.G. Mysteries)
Category: YA Fiction, 208 pages
Genre: Mystery / Fantasy
Publisher: Gauthier Publications, The Hungry Goat Press Imprint
Release date: February 2018
Content Rating: PG-13 (There is light profanity and some threat of violence.)

Synopsis

Dara Roux, abandoned when she was seven years old by her mother. Exceptionally gifted in foreign languages. Orphan. Accepted to Yale University.

Mackenzie Yarborough, no record of her parents or where she was born. Exceptionally gifted in math and problem-solving. Orphan. Accepted to MIT.

Jennifer Torres, both parents killed in an automobile accident when she was sixteen. Exceptionally gifted in music and art. Orphan. Accepted to Juilliard.

The three FIGs—Females of Intellectual Genius—as they are called, have graduated from Wood Rose Orphanage and Academy for Young Women after returning from New York City where Dara learned why her mother abandoned her all those years ago, and they are now attending universities where they can further their special talents. This means they will be separated from each other and from Carolina, their much-loved mentor and teacher who is “one of them,” for the first time in their young lives. They vow to try living apart for one semester, in the so-called real world that doesn’t include the orphanage; but if things don’t work out, they will come up with another plan—a plan where they can be together once again.

​Dara is invited through Yale University to take part in an exciting archeological project in China. Jennifer, once again visualizing black and white images and the unusual sounds of another cadence that seem to be connected to Mackenzie, is engrossed in creating her next symphony at Juilliard. Mackenzie, because of her genius at problem-solving, is personally chosen by a US Senator to get involved in a mysterious, secret research project involving immortality that is being conducted in a small village in China—not too far from where Dara is involved with the archeological site. Once there, however, she finds herself facing a terrifying death from the blood-dripping teeth of an ancient evil dragon. Her best friends, the FIGs and Carolina, rely on their own unique genius and special talents to save her as she discovers the truth of her birth parents.

Interview

We are very excited to have author Barbara Casey here with us today answerng some questions about her writing, and the newest book in the FIG Mystery series, The Clock Flower.  I hope you learn as much as I did about Barabara and these books!

The Clock Flower is the third book in the FIG Mystery Series. What can you tell us about it?

It is such a pleasure to be here with you, Leslie. Thank you for inviting me.

The FIG Mystery Series involves three orphaned girls from different backgrounds and geographical locations who wind up at the same orphanage. They are known as the FIGs (Females of Intellectual Genius) because all three have IQs in the genius range. In addition, each girl’s genius focuses on a special ability. Dara, the most outgoing of the three girls, has an understanding of foreign and obsolete languages. Mackenzie is the problem-solver and is a genius in all things involving math. Jennifer, the most belligerent of the three, expresses her genius through her art and music. In the first book, The Cadence of Gypsies, their teacher and friend, Carolina, takes them to a small village in Italy to try to discover her own background. In Book 2, The Wish Rider, the three FIGs and Carolina go to New York City where Dara has learned her mother might be. The Clock Flower is Mackenzie’s story, and it takes place in China.

Your characters are so vivid in each book. Do you have a favorite?

I really don’t. I love them all. Each book presents its own unique problems and mystery to solve. Each FIG goes through so much in trying to find the answers she is searching for and why she was an orphan. I feel their pain and fear, but there are also laugh-out-loud moments of pure joy usually brought on when the FIGs feel the urge to “express themselves” in an effort to combat boredom.

In The Clock Flower, the FIGs leave the orphanage and start attending the universities where they have been accepted. Will you keep Wood Rose Orphanage and Academy for Young Women in your story?

Wood Rose plays an important part in the FIGs’ lives and will remain so in this book as well as the final book in the series. That also means that many of the same characters will not be left behind—the headmaster at Woodrose, for example, and his long-suffering secretary, Miss Bell, Jimmy Doake, the security guard and his old hound dog, Tick, and, of course, Lyuba, Carolina’s gypsy mother.

You write for both young adults and adults, fiction and nonfiction. Do you prefer one over the other?

I started out writing only fiction, and I love it. However, a couple of years ago one of my publishers asked if I would be interested in writing a nonfiction book for adults to be included on his publishing list. I have to say, I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would—especially doing the research. The book is Kathryn Kelly: The Moll behind Machine Gun Kelly, and it has gone on to win several awards in addition to being optioned for a major film. Last year I decided to write another nonfiction book for adults—Assata Shakur: A 20th Century Escaped Slave. It has also won several awards, and I just learned that it has also been optioned for a major film. As far as having a preference, it all depends on what my writer’s voice is saying. Sometimes it is talking about something that is strictly from my imagination. Other times it talks about the challenges of writing someone’s true story.

Leslie, thank you again for your interest in my writing. I sincerely appreciate it and wish you and your bloggers all my best. – Barbara

About the Author

Barbara Casey is the author of several award-winning novels for both adults and young adults, as well as book-length works of nonfiction true crime and numerous articles, poems, and short stories. Her nonfiction true crime book, Kathryn Kelly: The Moll Behind Machine Gun Kelly, has been optioned for a major film and television series. In addition to her own writing, she is an editorial consultant and president of the Barbara Casey Agency. Established in 1995, she represents authors throughout the United States, Great Britain, Canada, and Japan. Barbara is also a partner in Strategic Media Books Publishing, an independent publishing house that specializes in cutting-edge adult nonfiction. Barbara lives on a mountain in Georgia with her husband, and three dogs who adopted her: Benton, a hound-mix; Fitz, a miniature dachshund; and Gert, a Jack Russel terrier of sorts.

Website

Giveaway

Prizes: ​ Win a paperback copy of The Clock Flower + a $10 Amazon GC (open to USA & Can / 1 winner) or win a gifted Kindle copy of The Clock Flower + a $10 Amazon GC (open to USA only / 3 winners)

(ends April 7, 2018)

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