2016 Debut Author Bash - Interview: Aditi Khorana (Mirror in the Sky) + Giveaway

   Welcome!

   I am incredibly excited to be part of this years Debut Author Bash hosted by YA Reads. Today I am bringing you the third of my four posts promoting amazing debut authors and their incredible books, along with giveaways giving you the chance to win them!

   Today I have another very interesting interview for you since I've had the chance to ask the wonderful Aditi Khorana, the author of Mirror in the Sky, a couple of Qs. Check out her As, along with her book and the giveaway below!

Mirror in the Sky by Aditi Khorana

Published: June 21st 2016 by Razorbill

Number of Pages: 352 Pages (Hardcover)

Series: No

   For Tara Krishnan, navigating Brierly, the academically rigorous prep school she attends on scholarship, feels overwhelming and impossible. Her junior year begins in the wake of a startling discovery: A message from an alternate Earth, light years away, is intercepted by NASA. This means that on another planet, there is another version of Tara, a Tara who could be living better, burning brighter, because of tiny differences in her choices.

   The world lights up with the knowledge of Terra Nova, the mirror planet, and Tara’s life on Earth begins to change. At first, small shifts happen, like attention from Nick Osterman, the most popular guy at Brierly, and her mother playing hooky from work to watch the news all day. But eventually those small shifts swell, the discovery of Terra Nova like a black hole, bending all the light around it.

   As a new era of scientific history dawns and Tara's life at Brierly continues its orbit, only one thing is clear: Nothing on Earth--or for Tara--will ever be the same again. (goodreads.com)

Interview with Aditi Khorana

   1 – Describe Mirror in the Sky with a haiku.

   One day, a new world

   Making everyone wonder

   How special are we?

   2 – What sparked the first initial idea for Mirror in the Sky?

   I spent most of 2012-13 working on and querying a manuscript that was very close to my heart, to no avail. A relationship that I had been in for nearly a decade had recently ended, and I moved from my home of six years – a place I loved – to a tiny sublet, putting most of my possessions in storage. I felt pathetic, lost, like a total failure, and I was really questioning all my choices, spending most of my evenings wrapped up in a blanket on my couch, watching Cosmos and crying.

   Sometime around this period, a friend came over for dinner and told me about Cheryl Strayed's Ghost Ship column. I read it and wondered if there was an alternate universe where all the choices we never made somehow came to fruition, saw the light of day, and as a result, there were other versions of us living lives that were fuller and richer because of tiny but different decisions. I started jotting ideas down and Mirror in the Sky is what eventually emerged from those musings.

   3 – What do you like most and least about your protagonist Tara?

   I love Tara’s introverted and thoughtful personality, but in many ways, I also think it’s her most challenging characteristic. She’s constantly in her head, observing those around her, even watching herself from a distance. I think this is what makes her a strong narrator, but difficult for the people around her to crack.

   4 – What do you think makes Mirror in the Sky stand out? And why do you think people should pick it up?

   I think the combination of the discovery of an alternate Earth, along with a protagonist who is brown makes MITS a unique story. If you’ve ever contemplated life on other planets, or wondered about the lives that you didn’t choose, or simply felt isolated, alone, separate from those around you, Mirror in The Sky is the book for you.

   5 – In retrospective, is there anything that you’d change about the story or are you happy with the way it turned out in the end?

   We actually enhanced some of the storylines and trimmed others in the revision process, so I’m pretty happy with the way it turned out in the end. That being said, I’m curious (and a little nervous) to see how readers will respond to the atmospheric tone and the various story threads and how they come together.

   6 - How long did it take you from first idea until publishing deal? Out of curiosity, how many queries did you have to send before you found ‘the one’?

   I was very lucky with the process of finding an agent and publishing house for Mirror in the Sky. I wrote the book very quickly and had a completed manuscript within three and a half months. My first offer of representation came in within 48 hours of querying. By the end of the week, I had several offers from a number of wonderful agents. I chose Jenny Bent, who is fantastic. We revised the manuscript over the course of a couple of months before it was sent to editors, and I signed with Razorbill/Penguin. My editor there is the most amazing editor I could have ever asked for. I’d say from starting the MS to getting a publishing deal, it took a little over six months total. It all happened very quickly - really unusual, and I was extremely fortunate, but it does happen.

   7 - How do you feel about the fact that in a couple of weeks, hundreds of people will be able to read your book?

   Nervous, thrilled, excited!

   8 – While writing the story did you ever imagine how a cover might look like and what do you think about the absolutely gorgeous final version?

   I LOVE the final version. We played around with a couple of ideas for covers, but this one truly popped and stood out. I really didn’t think as much about cover design till I noticed how much positive feedback we got for the MITS cover, but now I think about covers all the time!

   9 – What lead you to writing and wanting to be an author? Is it the way you imagined it would be?

   It’s better than I imagined it would be. I always wrote, but in my free time, on the weekends or in the evenings. Now I freelance occasionally and spend the bulk of my time writing. I love working from home and imagining new worlds, but mostly, I love working towards my own vision rather than someone else’s, as I did for so many years working in the corporate world.

   10 – What advice could you give aspiring authors?

   Embrace failure, fear and the Unknown. Embrace the dark parts of you that you typically don’t want brought up the surface and exposed to the light of day. Now channel your fears, your discomfort with the Unknown, and your terror of failure into your work and you might find that your dream is bigger than your fear. That you’ve somehow healed parts of yourself that you didn’t even know were wounded, just by speaking them, writing them, acknowledging them.

   11 – If you could have any superpower, what would it be and why?

   I’d want to fly. Flying dreams are my favorite. Also, I live in LA – city of constant gridlock – and flying seems like a fantastic alternative to being stuck in traffic.

Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

About the Author

   Aditi Khorana spent part of her childhood in India, Denmark and New England. She has a BA in International Relations from Brown University and an MA in Global Media and Communications from the Annenberg School for Communication. She has worked as a journalist at ABC News, CNN, and PBS, and most recently as a marketing executive consulting for various Hollywood studios including FOX, Paramount and SONY.

   MIRROR IN THE SKY is her first novel. She lives in Los Angeles and spends her free time reading, hiking, and exploring LA's eclectic and wonderful architecture.

Twitter / Instagram /Goodreads: Mirror in the Sky / Goodreads Author Page / Website

Blog Tour - Review: The Sound of Us by Julie Hammerle

   I'm excited to be part of the The Sound of Us blog tour, which gave me the chance to read an eARC of the book so I could bring you my review with all my thoughts. Thank you to Entangled Teen for the eARC and YA Bound Book Tours for making me one of the tour stops.

   Below you'll find the book, my review, infos about the author and a giveaway you should definitely check out!

The Sound of Us by Julie Hammerle

Published: June 7th 2016 by Entangled: Teen

Number of Pages: 304 Pages (Paperback)

Series: No

   Kiki Nichols might not survive music camp.

   She’s put her TV-loving, nerdy self aside for one summer to prove she’s got what it takes: she can be cool enough to make friends, she can earn that music scholarship, and she can get into Krause University’s music program.

   Except camp has rigid conduct rules—which means her thrilling late-night jam session with the hot drummer can’t happen again, even though they love all the same TV shows, and fifteen minutes making music with him meant more than every aria she’s ever sung.

   But when someone starts snitching on rule breakers and getting them kicked out, music camp turns into survival of the fittest. If Kiki’s going to get that scholarship, her chance to make true friends—and her chance with the drummer guy—might cost her the future she wants more than anything. (goodreads.com)

* Thank you to Entangled TEEN for providing me with

an eARC in exchange for my honest opinion *

   The Sound of Us is an interesting read. It doesn't have some overly complicated world you need to get to know, or a way too complicated plot, it's simply filled with realistic teens spending their summer at opera camp trying to be one of the seven that will go home with a scholarship. As someone who always wanted to go to music camp, used to be a choir kid and loves to sing, this definitely tickled my fancy so I'm very happy I got the chance to experience that through Kiki's eyes.

   I really liked Kiki, especially the fact that she was obsessed with this TV Show Project Earth and how it was constantly on her mind or she compared different things happening in real life to the show. That was very realistic because, as any fan of any TV show or book can tell you, that's what people in fandoms do. I also enjoyed how realistic she felt in terms of her thought processes and how awkward and shy she sometimes got.

   The other characters were also quite interesting and fun to read about. I liked how they all interacted and really acted like actual teenagers, how they all just want dot have fun but, at the same time, knew they really had to stay focused and concentrated because their futures depended on getting that scholarship.

   The Sound of Us also had a romance element, of course, which I fairly enjoyed since it thankfully wasn't your typical insta-love situation, but rather slowly developed, which is always nice to see. There was also some teenage drama, because of course there would be, it's set at a summer camp filled with teens, but it seemed fine. Sure, some of it could've been avoided, but it didn't make the story any less enjoyable. 

   I also really enjoyed the Twitter aspect of the story, how every chapter starts with a tweet and how it's also mentioned in the chapters itself, since social media is such a big part of todays lives, especially teen lives. We don't get to see that often enough in YA so points for that.

   Julie Hammerle's writing style was quite good, showed that she knows what she's doing, and I really enjoyed the voice she created for Kiki.

   All in all, I really enjoyed The Sound of Us. It's a fun summer read perfect for anyone who want to read something light and fun, people who enjoy movies like Camp Rock or High School Musical, or those who like music in books. 

I give The Sound of Us by Julie Hammerle 4 out of 5 Stars.

Amazon│Barnes & Noble│Kobo│Amazon UK│Amazon CA│

The BookDepository│Books a Million

About the Author

   Julie Hammerle is the author of The Sound of Us, which will be published by Entangled Teen on June 7, 2016. Before settling down to write "for real," she studied opera, taught Latin, and held her real estate license for one hot minute. Currently, she writes about TV on her blog Hammervision, ropes people into conversations about Game of Thrones, and makes excuses to avoid the gym. Her favorite YA-centric TV shows include 90210 (original spice), Felicity, and Freaks and Geeks. Her iPod reads like a 1997 Lilith Fair set list.

   She lives in Chicago with her husband, two kids, and a dog. They named the dog Indiana.

Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

2016 Debut Author Bash - Interview: Jenny Manzer (Save Me, Kurt Cobain) + Giveaway

   Welcome!

   I am incredibly excited to be part of this years Debut Author Bash hosted by YA Reads. Today I am bringing you the second of my four posts promoting amazing debut authors and their incredible books, along with giveaways giving you the chance to win them!

   For todays post I had the chance to ask by Jenny Manzer, the author of Save Me, Kurt Cobain, a couple of Qs- Check out her amazing As, along with her book and the giveaway below!

Save Me Kurt Cobain by Jenny Manzer

Published: March 8th 2016 by Delacorte Press

Number of Pages: 272 Pages (Hardcover)

Series: No

   What if you discovered that Kurt Cobain is not only alive, but might be your real father?

   Nicola Cavan has been an outsider since age four when her mother vanished from their home in Victoria, British Columbia. Now 15, Nico is determined to find her beautiful, music-obsessed mother. After glimpsing “Cobain” on a ferry from Seattle, Nico follows the man with the blazing blue eyes to a remote Vancouver Island cabin—and her life will never be the same.

   “Save Me, Kurt Cobain is: Utterly gorgeous. Mesmerizing. Hypnotic. I was intoxicated by Nico's quest for her mother, father, and self, as well as by Jenny Manzer's magnetically lovely writing. I love this book.”

   –Jennifer Niven, New York Times bestselling author of All the Bright Places

   “Raw and authentic.” –Jennifer Mathieu, author of The Truth About Alice and Devoted

   This nuanced and bittersweet YA debut will keep you guessing until the end. (goodreads.com)

Interview with Jenny Manzer

   1 – Describe Save Me, Kurt Cobain with a haiku or a twitter pitch.

   A Haiku:

   Girl in woods wonders:

   Could Cobain be her father?

   Unsolved mystery.

   2 – What sparked the idea for this novel? Why Kurt Cobain?

   The idea came from a news article about a mysterious and sparsely attended Nirvana show in Victoria, British Columbia, on March 9, 1991—just months before the band went galactic with the album Nevermind. Cobain—well, he was so talented, and charismatic, and troubled—he is a compelling figure and always will be.

   3 – What do you like most and least about your protagonist Nico?

   Nico is smart, funny, independent and a survivor—but she ends up hurting her loved ones by making impulsive decisions in her search for answers.

   4 – What do you think makes Save Me, Kurt Cobain stand out?

   I think both the focus on music, and on the real life of Kurt Cobain. The book has a strong non-fiction thread, which is a little unusual. It’s a quirky book, for sure.

   5 – In retrospective, is there anything that you’d change about the story or are you happy with the way it turned out in the end?

   That’s hard to say. Some readers feel there is too much about Cobain and Nirvana. For other readers, this is what makes it a memorable story for them.

   6 - How long did it take you from first idea until publishing deal? Out of curiosity, how many queries did you have to send before you found ‘the one’?

   I started writing SAVE ME, KURT COBAIN in September of 2012, and my book deal was announced in May 2014. I have a wonderful agent now, but I did have to send out dozens of queries—and revise my manuscript once—before I made that breakthrough.

   7 - How did you feel when you first realized that this story you wrote would soon be read by hundreds of people and how do you feel now, a couple of weeks after the publication?

   Excited and nervous! Time was passing too quickly and too slowly as we approached launch date. I think these are the typical symptoms of DAS (Debut Author Syndrome).

   8 – What lead you to writing and wanting to be an author? Is it the way you imagined it would be?

   I am a journalist by training, so I write as part of my daily work, but I have always loved making up stories as well. The facts can only take you so far! I don’t think I had a clear picture of what being an author would involve—it can be so many things. One thing I’ve really enjoyed is connecting with other debut authors. As a Canadian on the west coast, it has been thrilling to share stories with authors from around North America—and to meet fabulous bloggers, too.

   9 – Seeing as you’re a YA author I’m sure you also read YA, so I wondered, what were the last three books you’ve read and what did you think of them?

   I recently read HOW IT ENDS by Catherine Lo, THE SERPENT KING by Jeff Zentner, and FIRSTS by Laurie Elizabeth Flynn and they were all wonderful in very different ways.

   10 – What advice could you give aspiring authors?

   I’ll do another Haiku:

   Keep moving forward

   Write every day, with a goal

   Revise, read, and learn.

   11 – If you could have any superpower, what would it be and why?

   I would like to shoot lasers from my eyes—that would be an awesome addition to my parenting toolbox. However, I will say: time travel. The possibilities would be endless!

Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

About the Author

   Jenny Manzer is a writer in Victoria, British Columbia.

   She has worked as a newspaper reporter, magazine editor, and an investigative journalist, and has loved writing stories ever since she was a little girl. Now that she has two children of her own, she does most of her writing (and listening to Nirvana) at night while they’re asleep.

2016 Debut Author Bash - Guest Post: Sarah Alexander (The Art of Not Breathing) + Giveaway

   Welcome!

   I am incredibly excite dot be part of this years Debut Author Bash hosted by YA Reads. Today I am bringing you the first of my four posts promoting amazing debut authors and their incredible books, along with giveaways giving you the chance to win them!

   Today I have a very interesting guest post written by Sarah Alexander, the author of The Art of Not Breathing, in which she lists her top ten things about being a debut author. Check out what she wrote, along with her book and the giveaway below!

The Art of Not Breathing by Sarah Alexander

Published: April 26th 2016 by HMH Books for Young Readers

Number of Pages: 228 Pages (Hardcover)

Series: No

   Since her twin brother, Eddie, drowned five years ago, sixteen-year-old Elsie Main has tried to remember what really happened that fateful day on the beach. One minute Eddie was there, and the next he was gone. Seventeen-year-old Tay McKenzie is a cute and mysterious boy that Elsie meets in her favorite boathouse hangout. When Tay introduces Elsie to the world of freediving, she vows to find the answers she seeks at the bottom of the sea. (goodreads.com)

  Being an author is hard. It’s one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. Fortunately, there are many aspects of it that are totally awesome, and these are the things that have got me through the tougher times. I’m only a couple of months in to this new and mysterious role of author but here are my highlights so far:

   1. I’m surrounded by book people all the time – OK, so this is mostly through social media but it’s a new world for me, and I don’t have to go far to seek out a conversation about books and writing, or, you know, fantasy world trips that involve visiting all the bookshops in the world. And book people are the loveliest.

   2. Seeing my book in a bookstore and receiving pictures of my book in stores all over the country. I don’t think I’ll ever get bored of that.

   3. People telling me that they loved my book. I’ll never get bored of that either. Never.

   4. It’s perfectly acceptable to spend the day in bed surrounded by books. It’s all part of the job.

   5. Book-related post – a particular highlight was receiving my Society of Authors pack and card. Yay! I’ve also received wonderful packages from both my publishers containing other authors’ books, and, of course, there was the day the final copies of my book turned up. I hugged the box for a while before opening it.

   6. Signing books, especially for friends and family – their enthusiasm is infectious. I’ve just about perfected my book signature, though there a few illegible scribbles out there. Sorry if you end up with one of those.

   7. I’m gaining a ton of new skills and knowledge – from getting the hang of social media to setting up my own website. From working out how to sell myself and my book in 15 seconds to talking to larger audiences. Getting to grips with strange publishing terminology and acronyms, recovering lost documents when laptop dies, and generally discovering more about people, life, myself, everything.

   8. I have a great excuse to pop into book stores when I’m out and about. I never come out empty-handed so my bank balance has taken a bit of a battering.

   9. Exciting events – I’ve got a few coming up later in the year. Will keep you posted!

   10. Realising that I created a story, with characters and a world for them to live in. I made something that I can share with other people. That, really, is the best thing of all.

Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

About the Author

   Sarah Alexander grew up in London with dreams of exploring the world and writing stories. After spending several years wandering the globe and getting into all sorts of scrapes, she returned to London to complete a Master's degree in Creative Writing at Birkbeck College in 2013. Previous jobs include: tomato picker, travel consultant, mental-health support worker and suitcase administrator. Now she works in publishing. Sarah lives in London with her husband and two chickens. THE ART OF NOT BREATHING is her first novel.

Website // Twitter: @SarahRAlexander

Cover Lust Friday: Phantom Limps by Paula Garner

   Cover Lust Friday is a weekly meme that's all about covers. Pick a cover that stands out to you, add your reason why you've chosen that particular one or what you like about it. Let's have fun with it and share the love for our favorite covers.

   The Cover:

Phantom Limps by Paula Garner

Expected Publication: September 13th 2016 by Candlewick

Number of Pages: 368 Pages (Hardcover)

Series: No

   How do you move on from an irreplaceable loss? In a poignant debut, a sixteen-year-old boy must learn to swim against an undercurrent of grief—or be swept away by it.

   Otis and Meg were inseparable until her family abruptly moved away after the terrible accident that left Otis’s little brother dead and both of their families changed forever. Since then, it’s been three years of radio silence, during which time Otis has become the unlikely protégé of eighteen-year-old Dara—part drill sergeant, part friend—who’s hell-bent on transforming Otis into the Olympic swimmer she can no longer be. But when Otis learns that Meg is coming back to town, he must face some difficult truths about the girl he’s never forgotten and the brother he’s never stopped grieving. As it becomes achingly clear that he and Meg are not the same people they were, Otis must decide what to hold on to and what to leave behind. Quietly affecting, this compulsively readable debut novel captures all the confusion, heartbreak, and fragile hope of three teens struggling to accept profound absences in their lives. (goodreads.com)

   The Reason:

   This cover is literally everything!

   Sure, this cover is kind of simple, but that's the thing that makes it just so amazing. The simplicity definitely caught my eye, and then I read the blurb and wow I want it and I want it now. (If Candlewick would like to send me an ARC I would be overjoyed, ha ha) I love the font, the fact that it looks like the title and author were just written onto the page by hand. Such fonts are amazing and so unique! And the tear drops that also form a heart in one place are just so pretty. 

   I definitely want to congratulate the cover designer for their work because this cover is everything!

 * * *

Want to join in? No problem! Just follow the 'rules' below:

1. Write a blog post (or post a picture using #CoverLustFriday on Instagram) about a cover you love.
2. Add your link in the comment section of the original post (click here) so we can have something like a list going on.
3. And if you’d be so kind, I’d appreciate a link back from your own post.
4. Check out other posts, and have fun!

Ask the Author: Katherine Fleet (The Secret to Letting Go)

   Welcome everyone!

   Thanks so much to Alice for hosting me on her site today! I’m Katherine Fleet, the debut author of The Secret to Letting Go. It’s a YA contemporary set in a fictional town on the Gulf Coast of Florida during that magical summer after high school graduation when the whole world is out there waiting for you. It’s the story of two teens – Clover, a mysterious girl who shows up in town lost in her secrets and fears, and Daniel, a boy who’s drawn into her troubled world despite his better judgment. Life keeps throwing them together, but their secrets keep them apart. Ultimately, it’s a story about living through tragedy and learning to forgive your self.

The Secret to Letting Go

Published: February 1st 2016 by Entangled: digiTeen

Number of Pages: 334 Pages (Kindle)

Series: No

   One summer can change everything...

   Haunted with guilt after his girlfriend’s death, Daniel Hudson has no interest in committing to anyone. At the end of the summer, he’ll be leaving Florida for a new start in college. If only he could avoid the mysterious new girl in town, who seems every bit as naive and eccentric as she looks. Trouble is, she’s hard to ignore, with her beautiful piercing eyes, pitiful-looking dog, and unsettling tendency of finding trouble.

   Clover Scott lived her whole life off the grid and arrives on the Gulf coast in search of her grandparents. She never expected to nearly drown, or get caught in a hurricane, or fall in love with the boy who rescues her. Now, she has a chance to rewrite her life’s story, to finally fit in somewhere, but Daniel wants answers about her past. When the police start asking questions about the disappearance of her parents, she must make a choice: go to jail or confess her secrets—even if they might destroy her chance at a happily-ever-after. (goodreads.com)

Interview with Katherine Fleet

   1 - Describe The Secret to Letting Go with a haiku or twitter pitch.

   Since I was always terrible at our annual holiday haiku contest at the office, I’ll stick with a twitter pitch!

   Homeless and running from her past, Clover needs saving. Daniel’s not good at being anyone’s hero, but he can’t walk away.

   2 - What was the first initial thought or thing that sparked the idea of The Secret to Letting Go?

   This will probably sound cliché, but I had a dream, which was basically the first scene of the book. When I woke up, I just lay there, letting the characters take shape. I didn’t know what Clover had been through, but I knew it was something bad. From there, I started writing.

   3 - What do you like most and least about your protagonists Clover and Daniel?

   I love that after everything they’ve been through, neither one of them has given up on life, hope or love. What do I like least? That’s a hard one. It’s probably that they had so many self-doubts. I wanted them to be confident in their own goodness and worthiness, but I knew that it would take a while for them to accept it.

   4 - What was the most challenging thing about writing The Secret to Letting Go and which scene was the most fun to write?

   The most challenging part was portraying Clover’s character to the reader in the same way I saw her. To me, Clover is a girl with quiet strength. She requires saving on several occasions and she has her phobias, but she’s survived so much and still has the ability to see good in the world and feel compassion toward others. I believe it takes great personal strength to emerge from trauma and tragedy, without losing hope and optimism. So, I was surprised when feedback on early drafts mentioned that she seemed weak and needy. That’s when I realized that a writer’s vision of a character may not always come across clearly. So I revised and tweaked until readers could see Clover the same way I see her.

   I love writing emotional scenes. So the parts I had the most “fun” writing are actually the ones where I was on the verge of tears as I was typing. There are a lot of emotional scenes in this book, but the cemetery scene in the middle of the storm was probably my fav.

   5 - How long did it take you from first thought until publishing deal? Out of curiosity, how many queries did you have to send until you found 'the one'?

   This book had an unusually long timeframe. Unfortunately, I’d just started writing when I was diagnosed with breast cancer. It took over six months before I was able to return to the story and eighteen months in total before it was finished. The publishing deal took many, many queries and another three years of waiting and perseverance!

   6 - How did you feel when you first realized that this story you had written would soon be read by hundreds of people and how do you feel now, a couple of weeks after the publication?

   I was nervous, because a part of me was afraid no one would read it or like it. When the initial reviews started to come in, I realized that readers were forming their own thoughts and relationships with the characters I’d created. It’s an amazing and surreal feeling, because the story takes on a life of its own, independent from me. The amazingness of this still hasn’t worn off.

   7 - Why do you think the readers out there should pick up The Secret to Letting Go? What makes the story stand out and, in a way, important?

   There are so many great YA stories available right now, so it can be difficult for readers to choose. I like to think that my book is a unique emotional journey. At points, it’s deep and raw, but always hopeful. The romance is sweet, but the secrets are dark. It’s a small-town book, with a rich cast of characters, some surprise twist and turns, and an eccentric heroine that readers are falling in love with.

   8 - While writing the story did you ever imagine how a cover might look like and what do you think about the absolutely gorgeous final version?

   I had some basic ideas for the cover, which I shared with Entangled, but what they created looked very different from what I’d envisioned. So when I first saw it, I was a little disoriented, but it didn’t take long for it to grow on me. Now, I love it and can’t imagine anything else!

   9 - Did you listen to any particular songs or artists while writing The Secret the Letting Go? If so, could you give us an example?

   I love writing to music and have different playlists for different activities. Certain songs put me in the right mood to write emotional scenes, and other songs I listen to when editing. Most of The Secret to Letting Go was written while listening to Mumford & Sons.

   10 – What advice could you give aspiring authors?

   Writing is a craft and a skill, and like any other skill, it gets better with practice. Your first book may not get published, but if you keep writing, you will succeed. Oh, and if you are serious about being a writer, tell people you are a writer. Saying these words out loud to family, friends and even strangers makes it real, and it makes you accountable. It will help you hang in there, even when you feel discouraged. Also, find the people who will support and encourage your writing goals. It may be your family, friends, a critique partner or an online writing community. You may need to put yourself out there to find them, but the reward will be worth it!

   11 – If you could have any superpower, what would it be and why?
   My selfish answer is that I’d love to be able to fly! It probably wouldn’t be very helpful for crime-fighting and helping people, but it would be so cool☺

About the Author

   Originally from Newfoundland, Canada, Katherine Fleet moved with her family to the Caribbean island of Curaçao in 2007. The slower pace of island life gave her time to pursue a long-time goal - becoming an author. When she’s not writing, she spends her time baking, chauffeuring her three amazing, talented kids around, and having sun-filled adventures with her wonderful friends. She is a member of RWA™ and several of its chapters. She also loves NaNoWriMo and is an active supporter of the associated Young Writers Program. She is represented by super-agent Carrie Pestritto of Prospect Agency. The Secret to Letting Go is her debut novel.

Website / Twitter: @KatherineFleet / Instagram: @katherine_fleet

Ask the Author: L.E. Sterling (True Born)

   Welcome to this weeks edition of Ask the Author! For this time I'm bringing you the amazing L.E. Sterling, author of True Born, who took some of her time to answer my Qs for you guys. Check out her amazing sounding book (I'm actually currently reading it and it's really good so far) and As below!

True Born by L.E. Sterling
Published: May 3rd 2016 by Entangled: Teen
Number of Pages: 304 Pages (Hardcover)
Series: Yes, book #1 in the True Born Trilogy

   Welcome to Dominion City.

   After the great Plague descended, the world population was decimated...and their genetics damaged beyond repair.

   The Lasters wait hopelessly for their genes to self-destruct. The Splicers pay for expensive treatments that might prolong their life. The plague-resistant True Borns are as mysterious as they are feared…

   And then there's Lucy Fox and her identical twin sister, Margot. After endless tests, no one wants to reveal what they are.

   When Margot disappears, a desperate Lucy has no choice but to put her faith in the True Borns, led by the charismatic Nolan Storm and the beautiful but deadly Jared Price. As Lucy and the True Borns set out to rescue her sister, they stumble upon a vast conspiracy stretching from Dominion’s street preachers to shady Russian tycoons. But why target the Fox sisters?

   As they say in Dominion, it’s in the blood. (goodreads.com)

Interview with L.E. Sterling

   1 – Describe True Born with a haiku.

   How about this?

   Moody antlers rule

   What the Fox twins’ blood reveals –

   The blond panther snarls.

   2 – What sparked the idea for True Born? The sole idea of writing a sci-fi tale involving a apocalyptic world stricken by a plague or something completely different?

   There are a few things that led to the book but the most interesting is the incredible story of my great-grandmother, who was born in England and sent to the U.S. to be an indentured servant. As the story goes, she was very young when she was shipped over, and I imagine the whole voyage was traumatic, because apparently my great-grandmother forgot her identity through the crossing. When she finally arrived in the U.S. she gave them her twin’s name. And she lived her entire life, until she was a middle-aged adult, as her twin. I loved the idea of having a bond with someone that was so close that it took over your own, so I explored this in a fictional world.

   3 – What was the most challenging thing about writing True Born and which scene was the most fun to write?

   I really, REALLY loved writing the action scenes – which were, of course, also among the most challenging. I wanted these scenes to seem believable and not too gory but also really kick ass. These are harder to write (and more fun) when the characters doing the ass-whooping aren’t quite human.

   But now that I think about it, the thing that I really struggled with was trying to fit these really odd people, the True Borns, into a plague world where everyone else is so frail, so fallible and human.

   4 – What do you like most and least about your main character, Lucy, and her sister Margot?

   Ohh, great question. I adore Lucy – she’s got spunk and depths that she’s only just beginning to explore. But at the same time she’s really trapped by the thought paradigms she’s grown up with. I think that strange duality leads to some of the best tension in the book, because she’s always fighting with her desire and inclination to play it safe, play by the rules of her parents and her upper class world. In the end, she just can’t. She just isn’t that person, no matter how much she wants to be. She’s far bigger, and the world is not going to let her forget it.

   As for Margot…well. Margot is a whole different problem. I don’t like that Margot is not a responsible character and continually lets Lucy hold the bag for her, so to speak. She doesn’t even seem to be aware of the privilege she has within her family – and it’s so arbitrary! Lucy is identical to Margot, after all, so why are they treated so differently?? At the same time, she needs to be free. I love that Margot seems to use all the systems she lives in against themselves to help her bust free of what she views as painful constrictions.

   5 – In retrospective, is there anything that you’d change about the story or are you happy with the way it turned out in the end?

   I’m extremely happy with the book! In many ways, I’d say that this book turned out much better than I could have ever imagined. It’s the most nuanced, layered, complicated, FUN book I’ve ever written. 

   6 – I heard the story has previously been published on Wattpad. How did you handle the transition from posting your story on there to moving over to the publishing world, getting an agent and publisher?

   Funnily enough, I already had an agent when I published the story as a novella on Wattpad! I wrote the story to work the kinks out of a world that I wanted to set a whole other series of books in – the world of Dominion. And I posted it with the hopes of drawing more attention to my second novel, Pluto’s Gate, which I published with a very reputable small press – who did absolutely no marketing of the book.

   But the True Born story just…really took off. The response was so completely overwhelming (the sections I posted were read 500K+ times) that I realized I’d better just finish the whole novel and see if my agent wanted to sell it.

   7 - How did you feel now when thinking about the fact that in only a couple more weeks your  book will finally hit the shelves and people will able to buy and read it?

   Scared. Nervous. Exhilarated. I feel a bit like the whole world is about to see me with my pants down, if you know what I mean. Publishing anything is such a vulnerable experience… and I’ve already published two books previous to True Born, so I know what of I speak!

   8 – What do you think about the cover for True Born? Does it do the story justice?

   I adore the cover – it’s a moody, hypnotic, symbolic cover. I love that the leader of the True Borns, Nolan Storm, has a characteristic (the antlers) that can be used to tell an interesting story on the cover. The antlers define him, certainly, but it’s what those antlers point to, his unseen qualities, that are really his power.

   I can hardly wait to see what the designers do for Book 2 and 3 of the series!

   9 – Do you have a writing routine or do you write whenever creativity strikes?

   I get up at 5 am to write. Every day. So obviously, there’s coffee involved. I don’t have a lot of time because I have a full-time day job (and I’m a mom to a little kid) so I get pretty busy. I write in a journal before sitting down to the novel, though, because I need to empty my mind. It’s a very zen experience for me. Writing is a career for me, even if I can only get it done very part-time.

   10 – What advice could you give aspiring authors?

   You know, I’ve been thinking a lot about this question. The advice I would always give is to read and write as much as you can, because that teaches you everything you need to know. The other is to treat writing as a business. Learn as much as you can, learn from each and every rejection, because those will teach you far more about what you need to do than your successes.

   11 – If you could have any superpower, what would it be and why?

   Do I really need to pick just one??? I think I’d have to pick immortality… it’s the one power that would allow a person to develop in so many amazing ways. Think of all the languages one could learn, the places one could travel, the books one could read and write!!

About the Author

   L.E. Sterling had an early obsession with sci-fi, fantasy and romance to which she remained faithful even through an M.A. in Creative Writing and a PhD in English Literature – where she completed a thesis on magical representation. She is the author of two previous novels, the cult hit Y/A novel The Originals (under pen name L.E. Vollick), dubbed “the Catcher in the Rye of a new generation” by one reviewer, and the urban fantasy Pluto’s Gate.

   Originally hailing from Parry Sound, Ontario, L.E. spent most of her summers roaming across Canada in a van with her father, a hippie musician, her brothers and an occasional stray mutt – inspiring her writing career. She currently lives in Toronto, Ontario.

Blog Tour: The Darkest Lie by Pintip Dunn (Review + Giveaway)

   Welcome to my tour stop for The Darkest Lie by Pintip Dunn!

   I was very happy when I saw that there were open spots for the blog tour, since I loved Forget Tomorrow by Pintip, so I was even more overjoyed when I was given a spot. I was truly excited to dive into The Darkest Lie, eager to see what story she'd created this time. Check out my thoughts below along with the giveaway!

The Darkest Lie by Pintip Dunn

Expected Publication: June 28th 2016 by Kensington Publishing

Number of Pages: 256 Pages (Paperback)

Series: No

   “The mother I knew would never do those things.

   But maybe I never knew her after all.”

   Clothes, jokes, coded messages…Cecilia Brooks and her mom shared everything. At least, CeCe thought they did. Six months ago, her mom killed herself after accusations of having sex with a student, and CeCe’s been the subject of whispers and taunts ever since. Now, at the start of her high school senior year, between dealing with her grieving, distracted father, and the social nightmare that has become her life, CeCe just wants to fly under the radar. Instead, she’s volunteering at the school’s crisis hotline—the same place her mother worked.

   As she counsels troubled strangers, CeCe’s lingering suspicions about her mom’s death surface. With the help of Sam, a new student and newspaper intern, she starts to piece together fragmented clues that point to a twisted secret at the heart of her community. Soon, finding the truth isn’t just a matter of restoring her mother’s reputation, it’s about saving lives—including CeCe’s own… (goodreads.com)

* Thank you to Kensington for providing me with an eARC in exchange for my honest review *

   Mystery thriller type books are my jam, have always been and will always be, so when I realized that The Darkest Lie was one of them, I was excited. The story we get to read unfolds slowly but pulling you in more and more as you go along since you want to know what really happened.

   Something that stood out to me about The Darkest Lie were the descriptions that really make you feel whatever it is CeCe is feeling, which is only made better by how realistic her feelings and her struggles are, especially when thinking of her mother and dealing with the aftermath of her suicide. I also enjoyed the lack of sugarcoating whenever we experienced CeCe being bullied in horrible ways at school. Adults always say that kids are just kids, but The Darkest Lie shows that high schoolers can be downright cruel if they want to be. I really appreciate that because that's reality.

   When it comes to the characters, I liked the depth they all had, above all, CeCe. The loss of her mother was always present, not something that was just mentioned from time to time, but rather something she suffered of and struggled with at all times. I loved the way her feelings for her mother slowly changed and the way CeCe hunted down all the small clues.

   Sam, CeCe's love interest, was also a really interesting character. He's really into journalism, doing an internship at a newspaper and all, which I could identify with since I used to be just the same. I love the fact with just how much respect CeCe and Sam treated each other because it was refreshing. Good job, Pintip.

  I also liked the way that the tension was built in the story, though in a few places I would've wished it would happen a little quicker. I also wasn't the biggest fan of Liam. Something about him just seemed off at all times. The idea behind the story, a scandal surrounding the main character's mother's suicide was something I've not seen done before, so it was fun to read something original like that.

   Even though I liked Pintip's writing style in Forget Tomorrow a little more then in The Darkest Lie, I still liked it well enough to make me read on. She is a good author, no arguing with that, but something just didn't quite grab me about it as much as it did with the other novel.

   All in all, The Darkest Lie is a interesting mystery read without sugarcoating the ugly stuff but with an honest narrator that struggles with the loss of her mother, something I don't even want to imagine. It's not the longest story, but it's a good one, perfect for a rainy day to just read in one go. So if you're into mystery type reads, definitely give it a shot.

I give The Darkest Lie by Pintip Dunn 4 out of 5 stars.

About the Author

   Pintip Dunn graduated from Harvard University, magna cum laude, with an A.B. in English Literature and Language. She received her J.D. at Yale Law School, where she was an editor of the YALE LAW JOURNAL. She also published an article in the YALE LAW JOURNAL, entitled, “How Judges Overrule: Speech Act Theory and the Doctrine of Stare Decisis,”

   Pintip is represented by literary agent Beth Miller of Writers House. She is a 2012 RWA Golden Heart® finalist and a 2014 double-finalist. She is a member of Romance Writers of America, Washington Romance Writers, YARWA, and The Golden Network.

She lives with her husband and children in Maryland. You can learn more about Pintip and her books at www.pintipdunn.com.

Author Links: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads

Giveaway!

   Tour Wide Giveaway (International)

   $25 gift card to Amazon OR Book Depository (International)

a Rafflecopter giveaway