An Anonymous Letter to Zita | Guest Post by Kimberly Karalius

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An Anonymous Letter to Zita

In my many travels to Grimbaud, I’ve brought back souvenirs. Half-eaten waffles, love charms, and one very special key from a strange man offering me his spare. On my last trip to the charming town, I discovered that some townspeople were still mourning the loss of Zita in different ways. Letters to Zita had been shoved into the cracks in the rubble of her old shop.

When I couldn’t sleep, I left my hotel room and went to Verbeke Square. I saw the crumbled papers and ducked under the caution tape; one letter came loose and I picked it up before the wind could blow it away.

Zita’s gone. She’ll never answer their letters: not with her red-inked words and not with her fortunes. Yet Grimbaudians still need wise words and a little magic in their love lives. I hope Love answers this person’s plea:

Dear Zita,

I thought I found love, but maybe I’m wrong. I met a girl bundled in a red bomber jacket with pale purple cheeks and a scar on her chin from when she fought a playground bully for her last stick of gum. We both fell knee-deep in the snow while taking a shortcut through the buried grass between the bridges. She was behind me; I swam through the sludgy snow to unearth her while she laughed.

This was the first time I met a girl whose heart sang with mine. We matched in so many ways and I felt warm wrapped in the sound of her voice as we talked for hours about our favorite things. One blissful week of learning who we were, of holding hands and snapping biscuits in half to share on long walks through town. I was wishing for her, you know. Just this girl. But weekends can tear time apart and gnaw away at certainty.

I called out to the girl in the bomber jacket on Monday and she didn’t turn around. She didn’t call. She trudged through the snow and ate entire biscuits by herself.

I don’t know how “we” could disintegrate before it began. If you were here, what would you have me do, Zita? Did I miss something? Had I said the wrong thing? Or, if it really was just one, happy stretch of time – a fleeting gift – then what charm would you give me to take away the disenchantment?

Please, if you’re out there, I need you.

Love Charms and Other Catastrophes

Grimbaud #2

Kimberly Karalius

Published by: Swoon Reads

Publication date: May 17, 2016

Genres: YA Fantasy, Romance

Aspiring love charm maker Hijiri Kitamura was excited to come back to Grimbaud for her sophomore year-until she learns about the upcoming charm making competition. Grimbaud has just started to recover from the tyranny of Zita’s love fortunes and it would be too easy for the winning charm maker to take Zita’s place. The only solution is for Hijiri, with the support of her friends and fellow rebels, to win the contest herself.

Unfortunately, that’s easier said than done, especially when Love itself has decided to meddle in Hijiri’s life. Concerned that it’s favorite charm maker has given up on finding a boyfriend of her own, Love takes matters into its own hands and delivers the perfect boyfriend to her in a giftwrapped box…literally.

Get ready to be charmed by this magical, quirky sequel to Love Fortunes and Other Disasters by Kimberly Karalius.

About the Author

KIMBERLY KARALIUS holds an MFA in fiction from the University of South Florida, and has been sharing stories on Figment.com with a strong following of enthusiastic readers since the site’s conception. Although Kimberly lives in sunny Florida, she prefers to stay indoors and sometimes buys a scarf in the hopes of snow. She loves watching really old cartoons and silent films. Being in Florida certainly has one big perk: going to Disney World. Which she does. Frequently. Love Fortunes and Other Disasters is her debut novel.

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