
Book Summary: Two best friends. A Top Secret incident. A souvenir. A wild cross-state adventure. It’s 1947 on a U.S. Army base near Roswell, New Mexico, and eleven-year-old Kate’s friend and neighbor, Billy, shows her a secret. A CIA agent arrives at Billy’s house, to recover the Top Secret items, and threatens the family, warning them to never talk about the incident-ever! Special Agent Falco informs them of their sudden reassignment to Germany. Billy, not wanting to move to Germany or return his treasures, begs Kate for help. Feisty and fiercely loyal, she agrees to hide him. Thus begins a most unusual road trip in which the two friends use their wits, their knowledge of the terrain and geography around the base, and sheer determination to evade capture. Kate must also reach her grandfather, more than two hundred miles away, and warn him how the secret poses a dangerous threat … to anyone involved. Their race has begun, and there’s no turning back.
How long have you been writing?
I’ve been grinding away at it for around ten years, but got serious over the last five, which helped me complete four books and one ‘wip’ (work in process).
What did you enjoy most about writing ‘Foiled’?
I enjoyed most empowering my young gutsy female main character. Adults are constantly telling children what they can and can’t do. In Foiled, I set out to write a story about an eleven year old stumbling over endless physical and mental pits, picking herself up, and pushing herself on to discover for herself what she can do. I also enjoyed constantly testing her and asking, “Would an eleven-year-old stop at the established limits set by the grown-up world to save her friend and family, or would she break those limits?”
Are you working on a series for ‘Foiled’? If so, have you written a second book? What is the title? Tell your readers about it.
Presently I have no plans for a series for Foiled; however, I’ve just finished the last book in my sea-island Action trilogy:
(1) Shanghaied: Escape from the Blackwolf.
(2) Shipwrecked: Dragon Island.
(3) Sea Raiders.
I served in the U.S. Navy on board nuclear hunter/killer submarines, which inspired me to write Book 1.
Shanghaied: forced to join a ship lacking a full crew by kidnapping or other underhanded means. Twelve-year-olds Emma and Scott stumble across a dark secret and are shanghaied by a rogue submarine that once suffered a ghastly fate: a radioactive incident that transformed its crew into mutants. They are plunged into the depths of the ocean, far beyond the reach of help, where the Blackwolf battles against lurking enemy navies. Now they must find a way off the submarine without being killed first—or even worse, being forced into service for the rest of their lives. The race to escape has begun.
Book 2. The trek has begun, and the trail will show no mercy. After escaping a rogue submarine, twelve-year-old cousins Emma and Scott, and sixteen-year-old Harrison wash ashore on the beach of a remote tropical island lurking with jungle dragons and headhunters. So begins their trek to find safety and civilization so they can return home to their families in Australia—but not before having to fight for their lives across a savage land. Can the young castaways survive long enough to find help? Trapped in a wild place and with high stakes, Carey Fessler’s sea-island adventure forges ahead with this exciting sequel to Shanghaied: Escape from the Blackwolf.
Book 3. Kidnapped by a rogue submarine crew with mutation magic, twelve-year-old Aussie cousins Emma and Scott, along with sixteen-year-old Harrison, escaped their captors by swimming to a remote tropical island, where they fought off man-eating monster lizards and a village full of headhunters armed with blowpipes and endowed with deadly aim …
Now taken hostage during a modern-day pirate raid, Scott and Emma fight for their lives and swim back to the last place on earth they want to return to—Dragon Island. Meanwhile, Harrison faces his fears and tries to thwart the pirates. Can the three young survivors stay alive and raise the alarm—and return home to their families? Set in a wild and dangerous location and with even higher stakes, Carey Fessler’s sea-island adventure forges ahead with this exciting sequel to Shipwrecked: Dragon Island.
What question do you wish that someone would ask about ‘Foiled’, but nobody has? How would you answer your own question?
Why did you pick Foiled as the title?
There are three subtext meanings in the title Foiled:
(1) Foil: noun- referring to the ‘magic foil,’ (piece of thin metal sheet) in the story, which is a piece of alien technology from the crash site of a UFO. On the front cover, you can spot the girl holding it in her hand. 😉
(2) Foil: noun- The two MCs contrast each other and so emphasize and enhance the qualities of the other.
(3) Foil: verb- prevent (antagonists) from succeeding.
Also … is Carey Fessler your real name?
I use the pen name Carey Fessler to honor the two people who encouraged me to read as a kid—my grandparents: My G’ma’s maiden name is Carey and my G’pa’s last name is Fessler … Carey Fessler worked perfectly.
What real-life inspirations, if any, did you draw from for the story within your book, ‘Foiled’?
Some years ago, I was in the States, visiting my family in New Mexico. While at my sister’s house, her husband, Jack, showed me three photographs that may or may not have been a UFO near Roswell, NM.
As an author, I didn’t care if the photos were real or not. My mind was busy trying to cook up a cool idea for a UFO story.
Whenever I need to come up with an idea for a scene (remember, a story is just a series of scenes you weave together) I just ask myself: What happens if…
So I thought: What happens if two kids get a piece of alien technology from a UFO crash-site near Roswell, and they go on the run from the authorities?
That was the seed that inspired me to write my first book, Foiled.
Ideas can come from everywhere, which is why I’m open to trying new things.
The more experiences I have in life the more I have to draw from to inspire my writing.
What book that you have read has most influenced your life?
I don’t remember the title, but it was a modern-day submarine novel that was dull and littered with errors and inaccuracies. I had grown so bored and frustrated by the time I reached the halfway mark that I chucked the book straight into the rubbish, thinking I could write a better story than that. And so I put pen to paper and started writing my first novel, which was a hot mess, but it got me started on the path to becoming an author and I’ve never looked back.
What do you love most about the general writing process?
Coming up with the story outline. You let anything fly, no matter how over-the-top. It’s the most creative time and comes before you even start writing. You’re just focused on telling an entertaining story.
What character in ‘Foiled’are you least likely to get along with? Why?
Special Agent Falco. I respect that he was a loyal patriot just doing his job and loved his country, but it made him emotionally detached and gave him tunnel vision.
What character in your book are you most likely to get along with? Why?
Grandpa Clyde. I like hanging out with salty old farts and I like fishing too.
Do you see writing as a career or a hobby?
I write full time. Up at dawn, walk the dog, and then write until lunchtime. Walk the dog again and then re-write/revise work from previous day of writing. Knock off around three. Do some domestic stuff and errands. Have supper. Walk the dog again at dusk. Binge on Netflix. Read for fun for an hour before hitting the sack. Rinse & repeat.
How long does it take to complete one of your books?
My first book, Foiled, took me a couple of years to complete. My latest book, Sea Raiders, took me six months to finish. For my current wip, House of Ash (working title) I’m shooting for four months.
What advice do you have for beginning writers?
Write for your own pleasure. I write my stories because they’re the kind of books that I would’ve wanted to read when I was a kid.
Talent is nice to have, but I relied more on practice and determination to achieve my dream, which was to write a book. When you’re passionate about something, it never feels like work.
Dreams do come true, so don’t give up on yours!
FOILED
Author: Carey Fessler
Illustrator: N/A
Publisher: Foeg
Genre: Children’s Books/Mysteries & Detectives/Action & Adventure/Historical Fiction
ISBN: 978-0992514501
Pages: 252
Price: $5.00 (Paperback) $3.49 (Kindle)
Available at: Amazon.com

Author Bio:
I grew up in a military family and moved around more often than a gypsy until we planted roots in Albuquerque, New Mexico. With my head always in the clouds, I learned to fly, parachute, and even scuba dive before dropping out of university and enlisting in the US Navy to roam beneath the seven seas in a submarine. When my hitch was up in the Navy, I unpacked his seabag in Sydney, Australia, where I worked as a postman, an international flight planner for QANTAS, and an animator for Disney before awakening my imagination and becoming a children’s author.
Author Website:
www.careyfessler.com
Author Links:
Amazon.com