The Dark Unwinding Blog Tour: Interview with Sharon Cameron and Giveaway!

I am proud to be a part of the marvelous blog tour for Sharon Cameron’s marvelous book, The Dark Unwinding. I love this title so much! Hannah at the Book Vortex organized this blog tour and she did a wonderful job, as usual. You should all go out and get a copy of the Dark Unwinding; it is fantastic! Sharon answered some of my questions and I hope you all enjoy her responses! Below is some more info on Sharon and her book.

 

Sharon Cameron Author Bio:

Sharon Cameron was awarded the 2009 Sue Alexander Most Promising New Work Award by the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators for her debut novel, The Dark Unwinding. When not writing Sharon can be found thumbing dusty tomes, shooting her longbow, or indulging in her lifelong search for secret passages.

You can find Sharon…

on Twitter: @CameronSharonE
on Facebook: Sharon Cameron’s Page
on her Website: sharoncameron.com

 

 

The Dark Unwinding by: Sharon Cameron
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Publication Date: September 1, 2012
Genre: Steampunk, Historical, Mystery
Page Count: 318
Buy the Book: Amazon, Barnes and Noble

Summary from Goodreads:

A spine-tingling tale of steampunk and spies, intrigue and heart-racing romance!
When Katharine Tulman's inheritance is called into question by the rumor that her eccentric uncle is squandering away the family fortune, she is sent to his estate to have him committed to an asylum. But instead of a lunatic, Katharine discovers a genius inventor with his own set of rules, who employs a village of nine hundred people rescued from the workhouses of London.
Katharine is now torn between protecting her own inheritance and preserving the peculiar community she grows to care for deeply. And her choices are made even more complicated by a handsome apprentice, a secretive student, and fears for her own sanity.
As the mysteries of the estate begin to unravel, it is clear that not only is her uncle's world at stake, but also the state of England as Katharine knows it. With twists and turns at every corner, this heart-racing adventure will captivate readers with its intrigue, thrills, and romance.

And now for the interview!

Describe The Dark Unwinding in one sentence.
The Dark Unwinding is an eerie gothic mystery with splashes of steampunk, romance, intrigue, and insanity, a bit like Jane Eyre, only with gears!

What kind of research is involved in writing a steampunk novel?
The research for the steampunk aspects of The Dark Unwinding was much more hands on than the other topics I researched (like autism and mental illness). It involved things like listening to a steam engine, or watching clockwork run, or manufacturing gun cotton in the basement and exploding it in the back yard. Really I just needed to know how bad the gun cotton smelled (confirmation: it reeks!), but the opportunity to explode it was more than my husband could resist. Still worried we’ve put ourselves on some sort of FBI list by purchasing all those weird chemicals!

Is there a message in The Dark Unwinding that you want your readers to grasp?
Many! Compassion, and the willingness to stand up and sacrifice for those you love being two of them. But I think one of the more subtle messages in the book is the question: “what is normal?” The Victorians had such rigid ideas of “normality” and Uncle Tully certainly flies in the face of all them. I think one of the major lessons for Katharine is learning to let go of her idea of “proper” and allowing herself to become a free and independent thinker.

What do you think makes a good story?
Tone and atmosphere, to begin with. I’m always hooked immediately when I can “feel” a story from the first few sentences. And of course multi-layered characters with difficult choices make a good story. But I’m always looking for a “great” story, and for me a story becomes “great” when not only am I sucked in by the atmosphere and characters and the plot, but by a deeper meaning that runs beneath it all. It may be a meaning that only I pull out, but that’s okay!

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
Not a writer! The thought never occurred, which seems ridiculous to me now. I wish it had! I wanted to be a musician, and then later I wanted to teach music. I loved teaching, especially one on one, though now I realize that what I was really doing was just delving into people’s brains and learning what made them tick, which is not all that different from what I’m doing now! I think teaching was great training for developing characters.

What did you consider most challenging about writing The Dark Unwinding, or writing in general?
I think my toughest challenge so far has been learning to how to find a way to please others while pleasing myself. When you’re getting critiqued from several different sources (agent, editor, critique group) it can be hard to find ways to solve problems that are obviously problems, but in a way that still makes the story uniquely yours. I think I’m still working on this. Probably always will!

What was your inspiration for Katharine?
Well, she’s definitely a little like Jane Eyre in her strong-willed practicality, but she’s also got a liberal dash of Anne Shirley when she puts on those roller skates and goes sliding down hills.

Is there something that makes The Dark Unwinding stand out?
That’s a difficult question, Sara, especially when you’re talking about your own work! But I think maybe what makes my book different from other YA out there is that it’s not easily defined, it’s historical (only different), gothic (only different), steampunk (only different) and romance (only different). And maybe that it feels a more like a classic than most books out there, though with structure and language that is a touch more modern.

Thanks so much to Sharon for the wonderful interview! I definitely think that The Dark Unwinding is unique to YA!

 

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Authors at the Decatur Book Festival 2012: Interview with Kristen-Paige Madonia and Giveaway!

I have the immense pleasure of having Kristen-Paige Madonia on the blog today! She is the author of the much anticipated book, Fingerprints of You, which released yesterday! She will be attending the Decatur Book Festival in September, so I thought I would let you all get to know her and her book a bit better! She was also generous enough to provide a signed copy of the book to one lucky winner! Below is some more info about the book and Kristen.

Fingerprints of You by: Kristen-Paige Madonia
Publication Date: August 7, 2012
Publisher: Simon and Schuster BFYR
Genre: Contemporary, Road Trip
Page Count: 272
Author Website: Kristen-Paige Madonia
Buy the Book: Amazon, Barnes and Noble

Summary from Goodreads:

Lemon grew up with Stella, a single mom who wasn’t exactly maternal. Stella always had a drink in her hand and a new boyfriend every few months, and when things got out of hand, she would whisk Lemon off to a new town for a fresh beginning. Now, just as they are moving yet again, Lemon discovers that she is pregnant from a reckless encounter—with a guy Stella had been flirting with.
On the verge of revisiting her mother’s mistakes, Lemon struggles to cope with the idea of herself as a young unmarried mother, as well as the fact that she’s never met her own father. Determined to have at least one big adventure before she has the baby, Lemon sets off on a cross-country road trip, intending not only to meet her father, but to figure out who she wants to be.

Author Bio (From her website):

Kristen-Paige Madonia is the author of Fingerprints of You, a young adult literary novel that will be published in August by Simon & Schuster. Her short fiction has appeared in various publications including Upstreet, New Orleans Review, American Fiction: Best Previously Unpublished Short Stories by Emerging Writers, and Sycamore Review; she has received awards or fellowships from the Sewanee Writers’ Conference, the Vermont Studio Center, the Juniper Summer Writing Institute, Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Hedgebrook Writers’ Retreat, Millay Colony for the Arts, the Key West Literary Seminar, and The Studios of Key West. She was a finalist for the 2011 Virginia Commission for the Arts Fellowship in Fiction, and in 2010 she was awarded the Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival Prize. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from California State University, Long Beach and a BA in Media Arts and Design from James Madison University. Kristen-Paige currently lives in Charlottesville, Virginia where she teaches creative writing and is at work on her second novel.

 

Here’s my interview with Kristen:

Describe Fingerprints of You in one sentence.
A pregnant teenager embarks on a cross-country road trip to San Francisco in search of her father, a man she has never met, as she tries to unravel the secrets of her family.

What inspired you to write Fingerprints of You?
Fingerprints of You began with the central characters, and I first imagined Lemon and Stella when I was living in San Francisco just after finishing my MFA. I liked to work in coffee shops in the city, and one afternoon I spotted a woman and a teenager crossing Fillmore Street in front of the cafe where I was writing. They immediately became Lemon and Stella: a feisty mother-daughter duo in the mist of that strange period of time when the child is becoming an adult and the parent is becoming, in the eyes of the child, an individual or person outside of their parent role. A good portion of the book is about Lemon's realization that her mother has a complicated past, a history that has informed every decision she has made for the two of them, and the novel, in part, began with that idea. I was inspired by the mother-daughter relationship, but particularly by the relationship between a child and a single-parent. Stella became pregnant when she was still very young and, as expected, not prepared for that sort of situation. And Lemon has never met her father, Stella managed to keep any information about him a secret, so the consequences of that decision was intriguing to me. Exploring that void and the affects of it on Lemon's relationship with her mother was one of the primary seeds of the book. San Francisco was always a central source of inspiration - I lived there for over three years, and I wanted to pay tribute to the rich art and music culture there. In a way, Fingerprints of You is a love letter to San Francisco, it's a thank-you note for the ways it shaped and changed me.

Is there a message in Fingerprints of You that you want your readers to grasp?
I hope readers leave the book with a greater awareness of the impact we can make on one another. We don’t always know that we’re doing it, but we leave marks on one another all the time. The interaction may seem small or insignificant when it happens, but we often affect one another in ways we’re not always aware of. It may be a quick conversation on a bus or a handful of weeks working together, a shared concert experience or a brief moment in a restaurant… we don’t always know that we’re doing it, but we can affect one another in monumental ways. I hope readers leave the book inspired by that idea: we’re constantly impacting the people around us – the people that pass in and out of our lives – we’re all connected. The exchanges we have may seem small, but can often be more powerful than we know. 

Who are your top three favorite authors and why?
Oh I could never pick a top three! I read all kinds of things depending on my mood, so my favorites change all the time. Tom Robbins, Jhumpa Lahiri, T.C. Boyle, Milan Kundera, and Zadie Smith… the list is endless and absolutely wide-ranging. Charles Dickens comes to mind because I tend to read Great Expectations every few years, and it always feels familiar but simultaneously changed each time I return to it. It seems to me that a book is a different book for every reader, and that once it is published, it doesn’t belong to the author at all. Once it exists in the world, it becomes the readers’ as they bring their own experiences, emotions, and viewpoints into the novel. Great Expectations changes each time I read it depending on what I’m facing in my own life. Raymond Carver and John Updike have also been a large influence on my work, and I often reread their work when I'm looking for inspiration. Same goes for Chekhov, Irving, and Vonnegut.

What books have you read lately and loved?
Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley is a new favorite, and I was thrilled to hear the news when he won the William C. Morris Debut Award and the Michael L. Printz Award. It's a super smart book, and I've been recommending it to everyone I know.  I also recently read Model Home by Eric Puchner, which I loved, and Eleanor Henderson's Ten Thousand Saints, a brilliant book and fascinating study of point of view. This summer I taught a creative writing class at the University of Virginia, and I reread Flannery O'Connor's collection A Good Man is Hard to Find, a book I think all writers should read at some point.

What books have most influenced your life?
I can’t remember exactly when I received my copy of the Giving Tree, but that slick green cover is the first book I think of when I try to retrace my steps as a reader, as the kind of person that curls up with a set of characters for hours with no recognition or care that the “real world” continues to spin outside the pages. The book follows the life stages of a young boy and a tree as the boy ages and the tree provides any and everything the boy asks for: branches to swing from as a child, apples to sell and lumber to build a home with as an adult, and, eventually, a stump to sit and rest on as an old man. Shel Silverstein is a brilliant writer, the first I remember being truly moved by as a child, and I owned all his books. But The Giving Tree is the one I returned to most. And now, I wonder if it’s also the book I should credit in terms of my first interest in writing coming-of-age stories. Because isn’t that what’s it’s about? A child gradually loses his innocence and makes his way into that eyes-wide-open phase of life when he realizes things aren’t always what they seem, that life can be devastating and demanding just as often as it can be delightful. And if we believe the tree serves as metaphor for a parent, which I do, the boy, like most children, doesn’t recognize the sacrifices the parent has made; he doesn’t understand how much the tree gives up to take care of him. The parent-child relationship, the loss of innocence, that strange but brilliant time in life when you realize the world is much larger than you thought, those are the ideas that continue to fascinate me as a reader and motivate me as an author.

As a college student, like many college students do, I fell in the love with the Beats, and part of my literary heart will always belong to Jack Kerouac’s On the Road. It was published in 1957, but there’s something timeless about the spontaneous cross-country road trip, the jazz and the booze, the poetry, and the indulgent sex and drug binges. It’s a journey book, a genre I tend to favor, and the characters are on a quest for faith and love and friendship, as they hunt for a sense of an authentic and meaningful life. At the time Kerouac wrote the novel, it was a proclamation for a stripped and nonconformist existent, a reaction against the 1950s culture and social “norms”, but I think the book resonates with young readers across generations regardless of the current national climate.

It's typically the voice I remember most about a good book, so inevitably, Jonathan Safran Foer’s Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close falls at the top of my list in terms of books I have read often and studied for my own work; I’m fairly certain I’ve bought at lease five copies. When I think of the book, it’s Oskar Schell I hear, that raw and frantic nine-year-old that carries the reader through the streets of New York in the wake of 9/11. It’s his humor, his heartache, his honesty, and his grief that haunts me -- not just the feel of the emotions, but the SOUND of them. He floats through an adult world as a child fighting the struggle between self-destruction and self-preservation, another coming-of-age novel, I suppose, but the voice is strictly his, Oskar unfiltered and up close, and that’s what stays with you after you close the book. As a writer and a reader, it’s always the voice that leaves me breathless; it’s the voice of the work that serves as my barometer for amazing fiction.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
A writer - for as long as I can remember, I've always wanted to be a writer, no questions asked.

What did you consider most challenging about writing Fingerprints of You, or writing in general?
In general, I don’t work well with outlines and tend to find them restricting… for me the process is messy and unpredictable and without rules, which one of the things I enjoy most about writing first drafts, so I don’t usually know where a book is beginning when I first start. It’s a process of discovery and I like to allow the work to surprise me and to go places I hadn’t predicted or planned for. Because of that approach, I spend an incredible amount of time revising my work and often write dozens of drafts before I'm satisfied. With Fingerprints of You, I struggled with the ending during my first round of rewrites and again after we sold the book to Simon & Schuster while I was working on the final version. I always knew something was off but never could quite get it right in terms of the sequence of events that followed the climactic scenes. Endings are always so challenging. I'm fortunate because I have the most amazing agent, one of the few that still makes time to work with her authors editorially, so we talked a lot about those final chapters, and I wrote a variety of versions before we began submitting the manuscript to publishing houses. And then I went through the same process all over again once I started working with editor! It was worth it though, and in the end I was absolutely satisfied with the way the book concludes.

What did you enjoy most about writing Fingerprints of You?
One of the most enjoyable sections to write were the scenes that explored the live music setting in San Francisco. There's such a rich historical music culture in San Francisco, and it was important to me to portray that in the novel. When the book opens, Lemon has never been to a concert, but seeing live music and going to concerts and festivals is a huge part of my own life, so I wanted to give that to her. I revisited some of my favorite shows and memories from my time in San Francisco and tried to merge the most interesting moments and people from my experiences at the Fillmore, the Warfield, free concerts in Golden Gate Park, Great American Music Hall… I sent Lemon to the Haight to watch the street musicians and to a New Year’s festival where she’s introduced to the underground music scene and jamtronica, a Burning Man kind of vibe. I loved writing those sections and showing her how impactful live music can be, how it can change your perspective and create a sense of community.

Thanks so much for having me on Through the Looking Glass, Sara!

And now here’s the wonderful giveaway!

 

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Authors at the Decatur Book Festival 2012: Interview with C. J. Redwine and Giveaway!

C. J. Redwine, author of the upcoming book, Defiance, is here today to share a little bit about herself and her book! I have wanted to read Defiance since 2011 when I heard about it and the thrilling plot. I also have a giveaway going on at the end of this post for some SIGNED Defiance bookmarks! This is the second installation of my blog series featuring authors appearing at the Decatur Book Festival in September. Be sure to check it out and come if you live in GA. It is so much fun and lots of popular YA authors will be there! Below is some information about C. J. and Defiance.



Defiance by: C. J. Redwine
Publication Date: August 28, 2012
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Genre: Fantasy, Dystopia, Fantasy
Series: Defiance #1
Page Count: 416
Author Website: C. J. Redwine, Blog
Pre-order the book: Amazon, Barnes and Noble
Summary from Goodreads:

Within the walls of Baalboden, beneath the shadow of the city’s brutal leader, Rachel Adams has a secret. While other girls sew dresses, host dinner parties, and obey their male Protectors, Rachel knows how to survive in the wilderness and deftly wield a sword. When her father, Jared, fails to return from a courier mission and is declared dead, the Commander assigns Rachel a new Protector, her father’s apprentice, Logan—the same boy Rachel declared her love for two years ago, and the same boy who handed her heart right back to her. Left with nothing but fierce belief in her father’s survival, Rachel decides to escape and find him herself. But treason against the Commander carries a heavy price, and what awaits her in the Wasteland could destroy her.

At nineteen, Logan McEntire is many things. Orphan. Outcast. Inventor. As apprentice to the city’s top courier, Logan is focused on learning his trade so he can escape the tyranny of Baalboden. But his plan never included being responsible for his mentor’s impulsive daughter. Logan is determined to protect her, but when his escape plan goes wrong and Rachel pays the price, he realizes he has more at stake than disappointing Jared.

As Rachel and Logan battle their way through the Wasteland, stalked by a monster that can’t be killed and an army of assassins out for blood, they discover romance, heartbreak, and a truth that will incite a war decades in the making.

Author bio:
C.J. Redwine loves stilettos, lemon bars, and any movie starring Johnny Depp. She lives in Nashville with her husband, four kids, two cats, and one long-suffering dog. To learn more about C.J., visit her website at http://cjredwine.blogspot.com/
 




Here is my interview with C. J. Enjoy! Share!


Describe Defiance in one sentence.
When Rachel Adams commits treason to escape her cloistered city and search for her missing father in the Wasteland beyond, she discovers romance, heartbreak, and a war two decades in the making.


What inspired you to write Defiance?
I had the idea of a fire-breathing Leviathon-like beast living underground and then saw a picture of a fortress that reminded me of a city-state. I asked myself why people would choose to go back to living in city-states and from there Defiance was born.


Is there a message in Defiance that you want your readers to grasp?
Hope is precious and worth hanging onto even when it seems all is lost.


Who are your top three favorite authors and why?
Oh, man. Only three? Hmm ... definitely J.K. Rowling. I'd crawl inside her head and just live there for a year or two if I could. I re-read the Harry Potter books every couple of years and am just amazed at the world building and the scope of imagination. I also am a huge fan of Stephanie Perkins. Her books are just delicious. The world wraps around you, and I love the way she notices quirky details about her characters. And finally C.S. Lewis because not only did he create incredible fantasy realms, he brought a depth of intellect and passion to his works that few can equal.

What books have you read lately and loved?
Timepiece by Myra McEntire (so funny and fast-paced!), Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry (raw and beautiful!), and Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo (amazing fantasy word!)


What books have most influenced your life?
The Bible, The Chronicles of Narnia, Grimm's Fairy Tales, The Hunger Games, and the entire Harry Potter series.

What do you think makes a good story?
Feeling a strong connection to the characters and the world. If I care about them, I care about the outcome of the plot. My favorite books are both epic and intimate, and I think that's accomplished by having an intimate story of characters we love played out on an epic stage in a world that transcends our own ordinary lives.


As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I wanted to be Nancy Drew. And also Wonder Woman. The plan was to be Nancy Drew until it was time to spin madly in circles and shed my clothes to display my HOLY AWESOMESAUCE BATGIRL! Wonder Woman underroos. Please don't tell me I'm the only one who did that.

What did you consider most challenging about writing Defiance, or writing in general?
Beginnings are a challenge for me. I almost always (Ok, FINE. Always.) start in the wrong place and have to revise and revise until I nail it. I also think it's a challenge to get the world building right. It's all about knowing your world inside and out and then seeding in little details here and there to create the overall picture.


What did you enjoy most about writing Defiance?
The sense of accomplishment when I finished. This was by far the most ambitious book I'd ever attempted, and when I finished the last scene, I felt proud of myself for seeing it through and telling the kind of story I wanted to read.


Is there something that makes Defiance stand out (except the absolutely gorgeous cover)? 
Well ... it's genre-bendy. (Oh, yes. That's totally a word. I'm a writer. I get to make this stuff up.) It's a fantasy adventure, but it has elements of post-apocalyptic, dystopia, steampunk, romance, and light sci-fi, so ... something for nearly everyone, lol.

Thanks so much for doing this interview! I cannot wait to see C. J.  at the Decatur Book Festival in September!




And now here’s the wonderful giveaway you’ve all been waiting for!
Guidelines:
- There will be two winners (1 bookmark per winner)
- US Only.

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Authors at the Decatur Book Festival 2012: Jessica Khoury Interview

The author of highly anticipated book, Origin, Jessica Khoury is here today and I am thrilled to share with you a fantastic interview with her to kick off my series on the Decatur Book Festival 2012! When I saw that Origin is comparable to lost, I was sold! I hope you all enjoy the interview! Below is a little more info about Jessica and her book.

Origin by: Jessica Khoury
Publication Date: September 4, 2012
Publisher: Razorbill
Genre: Science Fiction, Dystopia, Fantasy
Page Count: 372
Author Website: Jessica Khoury
Pre-Order the Book: Amazon, Barnes and Noble

Summary from Goodreads:

Pia has grown up in a secret laboratory hidden deep in the Amazon rain forest. She was raised by a team of scientists who have created her to be the start of a new immortal race. But on the night of her seventeenth birthday, Pia discovers a hole in the electric fence that surrounds her sterile home—and sneaks outside the compound for the first time in her life.
Free in the jungle, Pia meets Eio, a boy from a nearby village. Together, they embark on a race against time to discover the truth about Pia’s origin—a truth with deadly consequences that will change their lives forever.
Origin is a beautifully told, shocking new way to look at an age-old desire: to live forever, no matter the cost. This is a supremely compelling debut novel that blends the awakening romance of Matched with the mystery and jungle conspiracy of Lost.

Author Bio (From her blog):

Hi! I'm Jessica Khoury, I'm 22 years old, and I'm part Scottish and part Syrian. I was born, raised, and still live in a small town called Toccoa in the mountains of north Georgia with my husband, Ben. When I was four, I wrote my first book--an unauthorized sequel to Syd Hoff's Danny and the Dinosaur--which I illustrated, stapled together, and placed on the shelf of my preschool classroom. That's right. My career began with four-year-old fan fiction.

Besides writing, I love playing and coaching soccer, directing stage plays, and traveling around the world. Some of my favorite things: airports, funnel cake, thunder, Spanish national soccer team, beech trees, MINI coopers, and southern sweet tea.

Origin is my debut novel and will be released from Penguin's Razorbill imprint September 2012. Rights have also been sold in Germany, Spain, Poland, Bulgaria, and Holland. Film rights have been optioned by Scott Steindorff and Dylan Russell at Scott Pictures/Stone Village.

Without further adieu, here is my interview with Jessica!

Describe Origin in one sentence.
Origin is the story of Pia, who has been genetically engineered to be immortal, and her journey to escape the scientists who created her and, with the help of a boy from the jungle, discover the dark truth behind her existence.

What inspired you to write Origin?
I was out taking a walk one day and thinking about my writing. Up until last summer, all I had written was high fantasy, and I just couldn't get it off the ground. So I though, "Hey... there are other genres. What if I wrote something else?" So I kept walking, and a few minutes later this image fell into my mind: a crying girl trapped by glass walls and surrounded by jungle. I was fascinated by her and asked myself, Why is she crying? My self said to me: Well, because of a boy, of course. One question led to another, and ten minutes later I was running home to write the first chapter.

Is there a message in Origin that you want your readers to grasp?
I write to tell a story, not a message--though every book, ultimately, does end up having a message, usually even the author doesn't know what it is until the book is finished. At least, that's how I work. I think if I had to choose one message that I found in the book for readers to take away, it would be the challenge for them to ask the same questions of themselves that Pia must ask of herself (and there are lots of those).

Who are your top three favorite authors and why?
Lloyd Alexander--it was his books which first inspired me to take writing seriously, and prompted me to write my first novel when I was thirteen. He remains to this day my most beloved author; he had a gift with words, characters, and worlds that continually amazes and enthralls me. I also love Lois McMaster Bujold, who creates the most unique and compelling characters of any science fiction writer I've read--and she's won more Nebulas and sci-fi awards than any other woman! Go, girl! I also greatly admire Jean Craighead George; her books made me fall in love with nature and animals, and these passions I got poured into Origin.

What books have you read lately and loved?
Earlier this year I finished reading the Tomorrow series by John Marsden. It's an Australian series about a girl named Ellie and her friends, who go camping and return to find their country has been invaded by an enemy force. She and her friends become guerrilla fighters behind enemy lines. Very emotional, epic, and spine-tingling books. The movie version just came out and it was amazing too!

What books have most influenced your life?
Syd Hoff's Danny and the Dinosaur was the first book I ever read, and the first book I ever wrote was its unofficial sequel. ;-) Lloyd Alexander's Westmark trilogy was the book which inspired me to write my own first novel. Brian Jacques' Redwall made me fall in love with fantasy. Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game made me fall in love with science fiction. But the book which has most influenced me is the Bible--but I know, I know. That's cheating. =)

What do you think makes a good story?
A good character. That's all that it comes down to. When we read, it is the characters to whom we relate. They are the ones we cheer for, boo, or cry over. No book will live in readers' hearts if the characters are not compelling, endearing, and unforgettable.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
An author. (Also, an orca trainer and a zoologist--and those dreams are by no means over! ;-)

What did you consider most challenging about writing Origin, or writing in general?
Origin, being set in the Amazon jungle, was challenging because I'd never even been to a jungle of any kind, except concrete ones. So I had to spend twice as much time researching as I did writing for this book. That meant hours on the internet, reading books, watching documentaries--even playing "Sounds of the Rainforest" tracks while I wrote.

What did you enjoy most about writing Origin?
I really enjoyed studying the culture of the indigenous people in the Amazon basin. I knew a little bit about them, having read extensively on the life of Steve Saint, a missionary who, with his friends, was killed there over fifty years ago. I got to learn a lot about their lives, folklore, and, of course, the jungle. This is saying a lot--in school, I always hated research. Still do. But when I'm researching for a book, it's a totally different story. I fell in love with the Amazon, its people, and the mystery which enwreathes this mighty forest, which is one of the last true wild frontiers on our planet.

Is there something that makes Origin stand out (except the absolutely gorgeous cover)?
There is really nothing like Origin on the market right now. There are very few YA books set in the jungle, which makes it unique. Also, in Origin I approach immortality (usually always found in paranormal/fantasy books) from the perspective of science fiction, which is also kind of unusual in YA. Though the story isn't without its paranormal elements--it just depends on whose perspective you end the book with. That's all I'll say about that. ;-)

Thank you so much for this interview, Sara! What an honor to be on your blog! =)

Thanks so much for doing this interview! I cannot wait to see you at the Decatur Book Festival in September!

The Near Witch Blog Tour Stop: Video Interview with Victoria Schwab and Giveaway!

Today on the blog, I have the grand pleasure of interviewing the wonderful author of the Near Witch, Victoria Schwab! She was awesome enough to answer all of my questions in a video from her current location in France! To read my review of the Near Witch, a riveting mystery, click here. Be sure to enter the giveaway for a paperback copy of the Near Witch at the end of this post! Now, on to the fun stuff!

Here is my video interview with Victoria:

The Near Witch paperback release date is officially May 15, 2012.

Here are some links for news and info about Victoria!

Author Victoria Schwab’s Website
Victoria’s Blog
Goodreads Page
Twitter

And now for the giveaway of awesomeness!


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Other stops on the blog tour:

The Book Vortex – May 8
Starting the Next Chapter – May 9
Writer Quirk – May 10
Kelly – May 11
Through the Looking Glass – May 12
The Violet Hour – May 13
Word Spelunking – May 14
Starting the Next Chapter – May 16
Kelly – May 17

Between Shades of Gray Blog Tour Stop! - Character Interview and Giveaway!

Welcome! This is the first blog tour I have been a part of and it has been such a fun time working with the host, Hannah from the Book Vortex. Between Shades of Gray by: Ruta Sepetys will stay with me for years to come and I encourage every person out there to read it, even those of you who don't read will love it! With much thanks to Ruta, I am proud to have on the blog, Lina from Between Shades of Gray to answer some much anticipated questions plus a fabulous giveaway at the end of this post!


Interview with Lina:


Did you ever think about running away from the camp?

Lina: We all thought about it. We dreamed about it. We could imagine ourselves doing it. But we always came
to the same conclusion. It was selfish. If I ran from the camp I would have had to leave Jonas. He needed me. In the camp,
it was the  "we" not  "me" that was important.


What are the things that kept you going during the time you were captured?
Lina: The smallest things took on massive proportion. Seeing sparkles inside of a stone was enough to make me fight
for another day. It was proof that life had beauty to offer and that whisper of a promise was enough. And for me personally,
seeing Andrius's handwriting - where he made notes in my book - sustained me. It was part of him. It was as if I could feel him
by looking at his handwriting.


If you could go back and say one last thing to your father, what would it be?
Lina: I would tell him what I whispered so often through the lonely darkness in Siberia. "You are my hero."

How was life after you made it out of the NKVD's control?
Lina: When I returned from Siberia I was treated as a criminal. I wasn't allowed to attend university and I couldn't even rent an
apartment because I had a "criminal record." People who knew me prior to the deportation had to ignore me to protect themselves.
They couldn't be associated with me. But I understood and was grateful for what I did have - my life and the capacity to love.

There are people suffering from human trafficking, poverty, and imprisonment in the world today. What would you say to them if you had a chance?
Lina:  I probably wouldn't have to say anything. We would speak without uttering a word. We'd feel the wind blow through our hollow places onto one another. We'd recognize the absence in each other's face and the painful memories of what created that absence would make us shiver. Then perhaps I would nod, acknowledging
that the Soviets took my flag, took my language, took my country - but they would never take my spirit. And I would hope that she would nod back, proof that she too, was still fighting.

In what ways did the imprisonment change you?
Lina: I learned that suffering can be a spiritual teacher. And as difficult as it is, I learned that forgiveness is the solution to most problems. In the camps, when I let go of my anger I could literally feel strength returning to my body.

Between Shades of Gray is a bestseller and close to the hearts of thousands today. What is your reaction to the popularity and reality that your story brings to us?
Lina: I want people to know that this isn't just my story. Thousands of families from Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia experienced the deportations. It's our story.
And together we're proof of the force of life, the power of love, and the miraculous nature of the human spirit. I don't want this part of history to be a secret so as
I mention in my letter in the book - please tell someone, share the story.

To learn more about Ruta, please visit rutasepetys.com. For more info about Between Shades of Gray, go to betweenshadesofgray.com




Now for the giveaway! There is a bookmark and bookplate, both signed by Ruta Sepetys up for grabs! To enter, simply use the Rafflecopter form below!

Read more »

Interview With Author Kendare Blake!

Today, I am proud to have the privilege to share with you an interview I did with the fabulous author of YALSA 2012 Best Fiction winner Anna Dressed in Blood! I absolutely loved the book. It was chilling and had great romance mixed in. You can read my review of the book HERE. For more info about Kendare and her books, visit kendareblake.com.

 What was your inspiration for the story of Anna Dressed in Blood?

I wanted to write something disturbing. I'd just been to graduate school and had written a few literary novels, but my reading roots were all Stephen King and Poppy Z Brite. I missed the blood and the nasty. Then I thought of the name Anna Dressed in Blood and it sort of went from there!

Was it scary to write some of the parts like it was scary for us to read?

 It was scary to think of some of the parts. I thought of one part (those who have read can probably guess which it was) when I was walking up a dark wooden staircase toward a locked door. A cat ran past that I hadn't known was there. That was pretty fun. Writing the scene brought back flashes of that.

Was it difficult to write the relationship between Cas and Anna? (You know, with her being a ghost and him being a ghost hunter)

 Yes, it was difficult. I mean, I love Anna, but wasn't sure if readers would. She really kills a lot of people. And how could Cas see past that? But as a ghost hunter, part of him actually empathizes more with the ghost he's putting down. Still, she's pretty dead, so those two have, shall we say, a definite obstacle.

What authors inspire/influence you most in your writing?

 Milan Kundera blew my mind and I haven't recovered all the pieces. He blends novel and philosophy and observation and magic. But I could never write like him. I did learn a lot though, and when I read writers like Joe Hill, or Caitlin R Kiernan, or Holly Black, I definitely pay attention to the way they do things. When I'm not lost in the story, that is.

What are your three favorite books (currently) and why?

 Favorite? And only three? But I'll try to think currently. I really loved Suzanne Young's A NEED SO BEAUTIFUL. Loss and forgetting are always themes I enjoy. The sequel, A WANT SO WICKED comes out in June, I think. Maybe July. I still really remember Ty Roth's SO SHELLY. Lots of dark and broken things in that book. And this is a little early, but I'm fairly sure that in March my new favorite book will be Caitlin R Kiernan's THE DROWNING GIRL.

Is there anything you do for inspiration while you write? if so, what?

Depending on what it is I'm writing, I occasionally listen to music. If what I'm working on is too serious, then I can't do that because everything starts to be a joke. If my writing sucks, then I read favorite passages from writers I admire, to get back in the groove.

Kendare's next book in the Anna series, A Girl of Nightmares, releases in August of this year. I know I am very excited and looking forward to seeing the next installment in Cas and Anna's story!

Thanks so much to Kendare for doing this interview!

 You can Follow Kendare on Twitter to hear more about her books and other fun stuff!