Hey everyone! I’m so excited to have Fiona McIntosh, author of The Whisperer (Knopf Books for Young Readers, April 14, 2015) here for an interview today! First, here’s more information about The Whisperer:

In this classic middle-grade fantasy/adventure story, the lives of a runaway prince and a carnival pauper become intertwined as each is compelled to fight for his life and family. Fans of The Sixty-Eight Rooms and Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy won’t want to miss this.

Lute is a prince, next in line to the throne. Griff is a poor carnival worker who does the heavy lifting while the malevolent ringmaster orders him about. But there’s something special about Griff: he can hear the thoughts of everyone around him. And one day, he begins to connect with Lute’s mind, even though they’ve never met and are miles apart.

When Lute must run for his very life, Griff may be the only one who can help him. In a journey over land and sea, these heroes battle deadly foes and make unlikely allies, including a host of magical creatures and their caretaker, a bitter old dwarf, and a mysterious lady pirate. When the boys finally come together, they will learn they are connected in ways they could never have imagined, ways that may save them—or cost them both their lives.

Goodreads
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The Book Depository | Kobo

And now here’s the interview! Enjoy!

Question: The Whisperer will be out in stores very, very soon. How does it feel?
Answer: I am pinching myself that this story might now be reaching into the lives of young American readers. It was exciting enough when it was released in Australia/NZ and was then chosen for our Children’s Book Council best reads for that year but to realise that the wonderful tale I dreamed up is now heading overseas into a whole new audience of young readers is such a buzz and the very best reward for my imagination.

Question: The Whisperer sounds amazing! Where did the idea for it come from?
Answer: I had been writing adult fantasy for many years and my stories were best sellers and translated into a lot of languages but I had young sons growing up and they knew my adult tales were often brutal in parts and they wanted me to write a story ‘they could be proud of in the playground’! It had never occurred to me that our little fellows were embarrassed by the ruthless nature of some of my characters in the grown up tales. So I had to fix that immediately and I sat down to write the sort of story that not only my sons would love but that I would have loved to read when I was in that 9-11 age group. All I knew was that it had to be a romping adventure with loads of suspense, lots of tension for the characters and with a lively, diverse cast. I wanted it to be a blend of colourful people and mysterious creatures and I wanted the magic to feel fresh and most importantly, I wanted the story to have a sense of comedy in parts. With all of that roaming my mind I just let go with my imagination and because I have twin sons, Will and Jack, I decided to give them the leads in the story although they never made the connection! And the boys had a wonderful girl friend all through school called Paige (they’re still very close) and she was feisty and independent, brave and determined so I made sure all three of them were in the story. As to the story … I think it wrote itself because I was having so much fun playing with all of these characters and their challenges.

Question: The Whisperer has been described as a, “fresh twist to the tale of The Prince and the Pauper.” What made you decide to write a retelling of The Prince and the Pauper? Why do you think it’s an important story to tell?
Answer: Honestly, I’ve never thought of it in that light but I can see why the comparison would be made. I think we all love a rags to riches story or Cinderella, Oliver Twist, etc, wouldn’t have enchanted us for years. But I write to no plan and so when I began crafting the story and Griff reaches out and hears this voice filled with trauma I had no idea who it was that he could hear. I was having fun writing the curious circus that Griff was a part of and so I just kept writing knowing that the voice would show me who it belonged to in due course and then the royal characters arrived. I didn’t plan any of them, especially Pilo or his marvellous relationship with Lute.

As I say, I didn’t plan it but the Pauper and the Prince ‘model’ is always a fun one to play with and I think it’s a great basis for a story for youngsters who might read it and take on board the notion that anything and everything is possible in their lives, even when their lives might feel inconsequential….there is always hope to enjoy enriching experiences, there is always new opportunity around the corner and you never know who is going to cross your path or influence your life. I think that’s why the Prince and the Pauper works … it could be any of us.

Question: Whose story/voice was easier to write – Lute’s or Griff’s? Why?
Answer: I think it was easier to write Lute’s story because despite being a royal and such an important person in the land, he did have a lot of infrastructure around him. His life, until it goes so horribly wrong, was moving to a pattern and it was easy to write that early part with his drills, duties, rituals around the palace as much as all the influence and entitlement that he was part of. A royal is far easier to set up than a poor boy working in a circus and especially one with Griff’s problem.

Question: Did you do a lot of research while writing? If so, craziest thing you had to Google? Most interesting thing you learned?
Answer: I do loads of research for my adult books – tonnes of it. It’s relentless. In fact I’m doing this interview for you while propped up in a hotel room in southern France where I am busy researching for my next novel. However, for The Whisperer I wanted to draw all of it from my childhood and so I filled it with all the joy of my reading in junior primary back in the 1960s when tales of magic were my favourite fodder. I loaded in all the adventuresome ideas that I could dream up and knew I would have loved to read when I was younger and essentially I just let my imagination run amok. I didn’t want to be constrained by any truth or reality so everything from Ellin’s Whistle to the Silver Wind magic ship was my imagination in overdrive. Once you begin to lose yourself in research, you sort of feel obliged to keep it a bit real. I didn’t want any constraint for this story so I made absolutely everything up although I do remember googling all the weird and wonderful circus acts of the previous century. I was searching for the great oddities like the bearded woman, the flaming sword swallower, the reptilian man with the skin of a lizard and so on. I couldn’t resist the travelling curiosity shows of the Depression era and these discoveries on the internet definitely fuelled my imagination.

Question: You’ve written a lot of books across various genres. What’s been your favorite genre to write? What genre would you like to explore next?
Answer: Well, fantasy is always fun because with this genre all that constrains you as the creator of the story is your imagination. I’m lucky to have a rampant imagination that I can turn loose and so my fantasy stories can take on epic proportion with usually a big cast. So I do love to write fantasy for adults and for younger readers but right now I’m very busy writing historical fiction based on the real world. I tend to set these huge stories around either of the two world wars because those were such tense times in the world’s history and yield such a dramatic backdrop for any story to play out against.

Question: You’ve also written books across various age groups, specifically books for adults and children. Do you have a preference? Would you ever consider writing a New Adult or Young Adult book?
Answer: No preference because the challenge is identical for adults or children and the workload is the same. Right now I’m in demand for my adult historical fiction so I’m head down and busy with that genre. But yes, of course, YA is a wonderful area of storytelling to be involved with. In fact my earliest adult fantasy novels – the Trinity trilogy is a huge favourite with YA readers as much as their parents and grandparents ☺ It has a massive cast of amazing characters and an epic storyline of war between gods and humans. Huge fun to write and because these were the first books I ever wrote, it’s as though I threw everything I had at them so the story is enormous in its scope with characters to love and loathe. I think YA is the most interesting audience to write for too because they demand full on entertainment but also intelligent, credible plots.

Question: According to your bio, you worked in PR and Sales/Marketing for a number of years. Did that experience help when you went to pitch your first book? Did it make the publishing process easier?
Answer: Definitely. I think my working background has fuelled how I write my books too because I come at them from a highly commercial aspect. Yes, I think because I’d owned and operated a monthly magazine with my husband for 15 years before I wrote my first book, I had a solid understanding of writing to deadlines and being edited through to getting the job done fast, without complaint.

Being able to pitch is crucial and having a firm understanding of how to self promote is also so valuable in the publishing industry because writers in this age of the internet need to be independent and busy at their own marketing rather than leaving it all to the publisher. I am never daunted by the marketing and publicity aspect of the workload but I know many writers who are so my background is a boon to my writing career.

Question: Your bio also says that you’ve traveled a lot for “book research.” How does traveling aid in your writing? Favorite place you’ve traveled to? Place you’d love to travel to next?
Answer: I travel every year to somewhere new to learn. Travelling opens the mind to new experience and cultures and it enriches my writing. I spent 20 years in the travel industry travelling the world and now I’ve spent the last 15 years travelling for books. I think most people who read my stories will comment on the fine ‘sense of place’ and that’s because I visit everywhere I write about. Most of my fantasy worlds are based on real places so they do have a sense of familiarity for readers while still being wildly different to our own reality. My favourite visit ever was to the San Rafael Glacier in Patagonia at the southern tip of Chile. Just mind bogglingly amazing and especially sobering to see how the ice had retreated over the decades. I’ve been lucky enough to see a lot of the world in my lifetime but one place I’ve never been to is Canada, so that’s on my absolutely must do hitlist!

Question: Working on anything new?
Answer: Always working on new books. I write up to three a year so there’s usually one on the go. Right now I’m in France researching two new novels and putting the final touches on a new historical novel for Christmas 2015 that is set in the south at the start of WWI.

I’m also thinking about a children’s picture book. I have the characters in mind and I’m just playing around with a storyline that could lead to a series. I’ve been inspired by a tiny three-legged dog that our family rescued from a horrible and uncertain future so dear little Mouse may well find herself as a character in a future book.

About the Author:
 
It’s been a curious pathway to writing novels having spent years in PR, sales/marketing for the travel industry and including 15 years running a travel magazine with my husband. I was fortunate that my first attempt at a creative tale won the notice of a global publisher and I’ve been writing fiction ever since and across various genres although I am best known for my adult fantasy and my historical adventure-romances.

I’m still globetrotting regularly but only for books research now, and while our family calls South Australia home, I do my best writing from Tasmania.

There’s not a great deal of space in my busy life for hobbies but I do make time to bake (usually very late), exercise (usually early), and to ritually make a great coffee brew daily – coffee is my vice…along with dark chocolate. I love watching movies and these days I am deriving immense pleasure from reading loads of research books for my historical novels.

If coffee and chocolate are my vices, then my addictions are winter boots…and Paris.

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Hey everyone! I’m so excited to have Jennifer Banash, author of Silent Alarm (Putnam Juvenile, March 10, 2015) here for an interview today! First, here’s more information about Silent Alarm:

Alys’s whole world was comprised of the history project that was due, her upcoming violin audition, being held tightly in the arms of her boyfriend, Ben, and laughing with her best friend, Delilah. At least it was—until she found herself on the wrong end of a shotgun in the school library. Her suburban high school had become one of those places you hear about on the news—a place where some disaffected youth decided to end it all and take as many of his teachers and classmates with him as he could. Except, in this story, that youth was Alys’s own brother, Luke. He killed fifteen others and himself, but spared her—though she’ll never know why.

Alys’s downward spiral begins instantly, and there seems to be no bottom. A heartbreaking and beautifully told story.

Goodreads
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Book Depository | IndieBound

And now here’s the interview! Enjoy!

Question: Congratulations on the release of Silent Alarm! How does it feel, having it out in the world?
Answer: Unbelievable. The reception so far has been amazing. I’ve heard from more readers with this book so far than with any other novel I’ve written, so it seems to be striking a chord. And that’s a great feeling. You work on a novel in a vacuum for sometimes years at a time, so you lose all perspective. I’m so thrilled to know that it’s affecting people so deeply.

Question: Describe your book in your own words. As a challenge, see if you can describe it in ten words or less!
Answer: Intense, heartbreaking, gritty, powerful, and ultimately hopeful.

Question: What made you write a book about a school shooting? What do you hope your readers will take away from it?
Answer: I first got inspired to write Silent Alarm after reading an article about the 2012 shooting in Chardon, Ohio. The article mentioned that the shooter had a sister who was only a year younger than him. They didn’t actually go to the same school, but the wheels began to turn in my brain, and I wondered, what if?

Question: With school shootings happening so often in the country today, why do you think teens need books like Silent Alarm?
Answer: Well, precisely for that reason! If school shootings didn’t occur with such stunning regularity, there might be no need for my book at all. But the fact is that not only do school shootings happen, they are becoming increasingly more frequent.

Question: In Silent Alarm, the story is told by Alys, the sister of the shooter. Why was it important to you that the story be told in this narrative? How would the book be different if the main character wasn’t related to the shooter?
Answer: I think it’s important that Alys narrate the book because it offers the reader a perspective they might not have access to otherwise. Everyone wants to write about the shooter or the physical victims of the event, which is all well and good. But what about the family unit itself/ What about the people who are left behind to clean up the mess, the emotional victims of the shooting? And so often people are quick to blame the families of the gunmen when they are often themselves trying to figure out what went wrong. These incidents do not always happen in households where parents are abusive or neglectful. Far from it.

Question: What scene was the hardest to write? The easiest? What scene do you most regret having to cut? What was your favorite scene that got added?
Answer: The hardest scene to write was the shooting itself, which is the opening scene of the book, and it was hard for obvious reasons—writing a scene like that is intense! I’m also a high school teacher, so I could viscerally imagine the scene itself, which felt harrowing. And I neither cut nor added scenes—just expanded on material that was already there.

Question: Did you do a lot of research while writing Silent Alarm?
Answer: I did. I read countless books on school violence and teen violence in general, on the Columbine massacre as well as books and articles that primarily explored the psyche of shooters, psychopaths, and sociopaths. It was exhausting. But after a certain point, I just had to internalize everything, put it all away and just write.

Question: If you could create an “alternate ending” for your book, what – if anything – would you do differently? Why?
Answer: I don’t think an alternate ending would be realistic. I didn’t want an ending that was tied up in some neat little bow. That felt disrespectful to the families who live through these events, and to the victims of them. So I don’t think I’d do anything differently. I WISH there could be a different ending. Like Alys, I wish Luke had never picked up that gun in the first place. I wish he’d talked to someone. Anyone.

Question: Readers and reviewers called Silent Alarm, “…very dark, very gritty, and very powerful.” They said it was “tough to say this was a fantastic book because of the horrific events that take place. However it is a fantastic book and once again, Penguin … and this author have brought yet another memorable and wonderful book to my … Reading year!” How does it feel, knowing Silent Alarm has touched so many people already?
Answer: It’s more than I ever hoped for. It’s everything. It’s the reason I write in the first place.

Question: What books would you recommend to a reader who loved yours, and wants to read something similar?
Answer: Well, my other contemporary, White Lines, would be a good place to start ☺ But also books like E. Lockheart’s We Were Liars and Peggy Kern’s novel Little Peach, both of which blew me away when I red them recently.

Question: Are you working on anything new?
Answer: Yes!!! But shhhhhhh . . . it’s a secret ☹ I will say this: it takes place in Malibu, California, and it’s about a online relationship that gets taken into the real world. It’s also tangentially about bullying, catfishing, and not fitting in. And above all, it’s a romance. It’s about when you lose your heart to someone for the very first time.

And now for an awesome giveaway! Thanks to Jennifer, we have two signed ARCS and one signed hardcover for three lucky winners! US only.

Hey everyone! I’m so excited to have Fonda Lee, author of Zeroboxer (Flux, April 8th, 2015) here for an interview today! First, here’s more information about Zeroboxer:

A Sci-Fi Thrill Ride Set in the Action-Packed Sports Arena of the Future

A rising star in the weightless combat sport of zeroboxing, Carr “the Raptor” Luka dreams of winning the championship title. Recognizing his talent, the Zero Gravity Fighting Association assigns Risha, an ambitious and beautiful Martian colonist, to be his brandhelm––a personal marketing strategist. It isn’t long before she’s made Carr into a popular celebrity and stolen his heart along the way.

As his fame grows, Carr becomes an inspirational hero on Earth, a once-great planet that’s fallen into the shadow of its more prosperous colonies. But when Carr discovers a far-reaching criminal scheme, he becomes the keeper of a devastating secret. Not only will his choices place everything he cares about in jeopardy, but they may also spill the violence from the sports arena into the solar system.

Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository
Indiebound | Powell’s

And now here’s the interview! Enjoy!

Question: Congrats! Zeroboxer will be out in the world in just a few days! Do you have any last minute things you’re trying to squeeze in before release?
Answer: There are a number of launch-related details to work through, but for the most part, at this point I’m just waiting impatiently.

Question: Zeroboxer sounds AMAZING! Where did the idea for it come from?
Answer: Several years ago, I was working in corporate strategy at Nike and was in a room where we were showing product and marketing plans to LeBron James. I think he was about 22 years old at the time. I remember thinking, “Wow, he’s still so young.” Here’s this guy who has a room full of business people working to make him a star and he’s barely out of his teens. I started thinking about how much we as a society invest emotionally and economically in our star athletes. Another example came to mind: when Manny Pacquiao gets into the boxing ring, business in the Philippines practically shuts down so people can watch his matches.

My science fiction-loving brain starting imagining a prizefighter in the far future who rises to become a celebrity, a young man who represents and inspires people on Earth at a time when Earth is no longer the only inhabited planet. From there, the story of Zeroboxer fell into place.

Question: That cover is so, so cool! Without spoilers, can you explain what the cover is depicting?
Answer: My editor and I wanted a cover that conveyed the feel of the book without making it seem like it was “just about fighting.” (It isn’t.) We wanted something futuristic, epic, and emblematic. Carr’s name in the prizefighting Cube is “the Raptor.” Early on in the story, he has wings tattooed across his back to reflect his identity. We asked the designer to play off of the symbolism of the wings, along with the imagery of space. When I first saw the cover I was floored by how awesome it was.

Question: Why space? Why boxing? How does the setting boost the plot? Do you think Zeroboxer could have worked as well if it was set on Earth?
Answer: Basically, the idea of what combat sports might look like in a distant future was too ridiculously cool to not write about.

In the future depicted by Zeroboxer, humankind has colonized the inner solar system with the aid of genetic engineering. The societal effects of both space colonization and genetic engineering are crucial to the story. As for whether the story would have worked if it was set on Earth: as Carr says, “Planet life is overrated.”

Question: YA books set in space seem to be very popular lately. What sets Zeroboxer apart from them?
Answer: Zeroboxer isn’t a space opera. It’s not about exploring space, or space battles, or aliens. At its core, it’s a sports drama, set in a science fiction universe, about an athlete struggling with extremely difficult challenges and decisions.

Question: Did writing from a male POV come naturally? What did you do to get yourself into your MC’s head and voice?
Answer: This question always bewilders me because I don’t find male POVs any harder or easier to write than female ones. I’ve taken the Myers-Briggs personality test a number of times, and apparently my personality type is one of the most “masculine” and male-dominated of the sixteen possible combinations. So perhaps that says something. Carr’s personality and voice were loud and clear to me from the start, though I did read a whole lot of MMA and boxing memoirs to get into the head of a professional fighter.

Question: According to your bio, you wrote your first novel – about a young dragon and assorted magical companions on a quest for a magic pendant – in fifth grade! Will we ever get to read it? (Joke! Sort of..)
Answer: Not a chance in hell.

Question: According to your bio, you’re a long-time, avid martial artist in karate and kung fu and a corporate strategist by training. It seems like those things helped with writing Zeroboxer! Did you pull a lot from your real-life experiences?
Answer: For sure. I pulled on my martial arts background to think about how zeroboxing would work—imagining what moves would be effective and what wouldn’t, and how a combat sport might really evolve to take place without gravity. And my business career definitely informed a lot of Carr’s experiences as he becomes not just a top athlete, but a marketable celebrity.

Question: Weirdest thing you’ve had to Google for a WIP?
Answer: “Liquid armor.”

Question: Are you working on anything new?
Answer: Yes. I have another young adult science fiction project, and a fantasy novel for adults in the works.

About Fonda:
 
Fonda Lee writes science fiction and fantasy for teens and adults. Zeroboxer (from Flux/Llewellyn) is her debut novel. Fonda is a recovering corporate strategist, an avid martial artist, a fan of smart action movies, and an Eggs Benedict enthusiast.
 
 

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Hey everyone! I’m so excited to have MarcyKate Connolly, author of Monstrous (February 10th, 2015 by HarperCollins Children’s Books) here for an interview today! Here’s the official Goodreads excerpt for the book:

The city of Bryre suffers under the magic of an evil wizard. Because of his curse, girls sicken and disappear without a trace, and Bryre’s inhabitants live in fear. No one is allowed outside after dark.

Yet night is the only time that Kymera can enter this dangerous city, for she must not be seen by humans. Her father says they would not understand her wings, the bolts in her neck, or her spiky tail—they would kill her. They would not understand that she was created for a purpose: to rescue the girls of Bryre.

Despite her caution, a boy named Ren sees Kym and begins to leave a perfect red rose for her every evening. As they become friends, Kym learns that Ren knows about the missing girls, the wizard, and the evil magic that haunts Bryre.

And what he knows will change Kym’s life.

Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Hope you guys enjoy the interview!

Question: Congratulations! Monstrous will be out in the world very soon! How do you feel?
Answer: Terrified. And crazy excited. So, terrifited? Really, it’s just surreal that my book is going to be on shelves, and in readers’ hands.

Question: Think about how you imagined publishing to be before you landed your agent. Now think about how it’s actually been. In what ways has reality differed from your imagination?
Answer: I was fortunate that several of my critique partners got agents and deals before me, so I had some insight already when it was my turn. However the one big thing that surprised me (and really shouldn’t have) was that publishing can be really slow. And really fast. At the same time. Basically there’s a lot of hurrying up to wait. And that isn’t a complaint; it’s just a side effect of a process that requires a small army of people to function. Once you’re in the publication pipeline your book belongs to so many more people than just you, and that takes some getting used to!

Question: The title, Monstrous, is creepy and intriguing. Who came up with it?
Answer: Me! :) I love titling books, and that along with the opening page were two of the first things I came up with.

Question: And that cover is fascinating! Without spoilers, can you tell us more about it? How well does it represent the story?
Answer: Thank you, I love the cover so much! The team at Harper did an incredible job, and the artist pretty much plucked my main character out of my head and placed her on the page.

Everything about it is spot-on. Her expression – wide-eyed and innocent, and a little bit worried – to the castle and city behind her, and the river and creepy forest hinted at on the back cover. It’s a scene that could take place on any of the nights Kymera has to sneak into Bryre and save the girls.

Question: Monstrous sounds amazing! Where did the idea come from? According to your bio, Monstrous is Frankenstein meets the Brothers Grimm. That’s absolutely epic! Why Frankenstein?
Answer: The idea for Monstrous came to me randomly. I was on my way into the city to meet friends for dinner and was stuck in gridlock traffic when the first line popped into my head. I had to write it down on my iPhone (the car was not moving an inch, I swear!), and spent the rest of the night very distracted and jotting down possible plot twists. I had to know who would say those words in that first line (“I will never forget my first breath.”)!

The Frankenstein elements came organically out of exploring who the character was, why she would say that, what she’d look like, etc. It was a perfect match for exploring the theme of what really makes a person a monster.

Question: Did you do a lot of research for Monstrous? What was the most fascinating thing you learned?
Answer: Not really, but I did spend a fair amount of time reading Frankenstein and a big book of Grimm’s fairy tales if you count that? I was fascinated to learn that many of what we see as classic fairy tales actually have several different versions.

Question: In your Frankenstein retelling, the “creature” is a young girl. How do you think her experiences differ from those of the creature in the original Frankenstein? Do you think it’s easier for kids/teens to relate to your MC as opposed to the creature in the classic?
Answer: Monstrous is more inspired by Frankenstein and Grimm than a real retelling, but the big similarity to Frankenstein is Kymera’s monstrous form and how she feels alone in the world. She’s one of a kind. Also the idea of what really makes a monster connects them too.

I hope kids will connect with Kymera, not because she’s like Frankenstein, but because sometimes everyone feels like they’re alone, like they’re on the outside looking in. A lot of kids struggle with that – I know I did when I was in middle school!

Question: What lessons can readers learn from Monstrous?
Answer: Appearances aren’t always what they seem, and anyone can be a hero

Question: Do you think retellings encourage young readers to read classics?
Answer: That’s a good question! I’d like to think that retellings have the ability to pique interest in the original stories too. They’re classics for a reason, and many of their themes translate to updated versions quite well. Now I’m curious to know if anyone’s ever done any research on this!

Question: If you could write a retelling for any classic, what would it be and why?
Answer: Funny you should ask – I’m currently letting an idea marinate for a YA sci-fi retelling of the Trojan War from Helen of Troy’s viewpoint. Sort of a retelling of The Iliad mashed up with Euripides The Trojan Woman. In space. We’ll see if that sells :)

Question: Are you working on anything new?
Answer: I am always working on something. I just recently turned in my next book, another middle grade fantasy that will be out in Winter 2016 (hopefully I can talk about it more soon!). I’ve also got a few other projects in various stages of completion (though none under contract yet) including a YA contemporary, a YA fantasy, the YA sci-fi from the last question, and more MG fantasy ideas. What can I say? I like to keep busy :)

About the Author:
 
When I was a child I dreamed of becoming a Broadway star. I read my first Shakespeare play (A Midsummer Night’s Dream) in elementary school.

The rest is history.

It wasn’t until I went to Hampshire College that I began to write and compose seriously. I wrote an opera chronicling Hamlet’s journey through the afterlife and using a potpourri of Shakespeare’s own words for the libretto as the culmination of my course work. Eventually I realized that one of my favorite parts of the process was devising the plot of the opera. While I still dabble with music from time to time, my main creative outlet is now writing books.

Though I’ve written poetry as long as I can remember, I began my first full-length novel in 2008 and completed it in 2009. Since then I’ve completed seven other novels including MONSTROUS (Upper MG Fantasy, Frankenstein meets the Brothers Grimm) and have three others languishing in various states of incompletion and disarray. I have more book ideas than I know what to do with, so I always have many other projects in the works!

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Hey everyone! I’m so excited to have Meredith McCardle, author of Blackout (January 13, 2015) here for an interview today! Here’s the official Goodreads excerpt for the book:

Seventeen-year-old Amanda Obermann (code name: Iris) has more on her mind than usual. As a member of a covert government organization called the Annum Guard, which travels through time to keep history on track, Iris has been getting some particularly stressful assignments. Plus, Jane Bonner, the Guard’s iron-fisted new leader, seems determined to make life as hard as possible. Thankfully, Iris has Abe (code name: Blue), her boyfriend and fellow Guardian, who listens to her vent—and helps her cope with her mentally ill mother’s increasingly erratic behavior.

When Guardians start to disappear on their assignments, Iris makes a terrifying discovery: a “blackout” squad is targeting anyone who gets in the way of a corrupt force that’s selling out both the Annum Guard’s missions and Guardian lives. Together, Iris and Blue must go undercover to untangle the Guard’s elaborate web of secrets and lies. But when Iris discovers that the terrible truth may involve her own father, a former Guardian undone by his own greed, she must decide how much she’s willing to risk to rescue her friends…and how dangerous the consequences will be for all of humanity.

A thrilling time-traveling adventure that spans from Abraham Lincoln’s assassination to the Cuban Missile Crisis and back to the present day, this pulse-pounding sequel to The Eighth Guardian reveals that playing with time can turn into a deadly game.

Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository

Hope you guys enjoy the interview!

Question: Congrats on the release of Blackout! How does it feel, knowing people are going to be reading your book?
Answer: Honestly, I’m feeling very zen this time around. I know a lot of debut authors go through increasing levels of panic when their books are first released (heck, I know I did with my first book), but I think we all learn eventually to let it go. Once my book is out there in the world, it no longer belongs to me. It belongs to readers, as it should. All I can do is hope they like it or channel Taylor Swift and shake it off if they don’t.

Question: Blackout is your second book. Was the process for book two different from book one? Which lesson from book one helped you most with the process for book two?
Answer: SO DIFFERENT. I wrote the first book, The Eighth Guardian, as a standalone, but then the publisher liked it so much, they bought it as a series. I’ll be honest, it was a pretty big challenge to take a book I’d envisioned as a one-and-done and craft a sequel, all while on a tight deadline. But at the end of the day, it all came together.

I definitely learned a lot from the experience of writing book 1. I had a lot of starts and stops with that book because I had no idea who my main character, Iris, was when I first began writing. It wasn’t until I figured her out that the words finally flowed. So for Blackout, I focused on character character character and let the plot work itself out from there. It really helped.

Question: The Eighth Guardian and Blackout sound AMAZING! Where did you get the idea for them? Why time travel?
Answer: Thank you! The Eighth Guardian was inspired by a song, actually. I was driving and I had the Chill station on Sirius playing in my car. A song by Autechre called “Iris Was a Pupil” came on, and I became OBSESSED with the title. I started asking myself all sorts of questions—Who’s Iris? What’s she a pupil of? Why is she no longer a pupil? I immediately crafted a story in my head about a girl who’s at a secret government-run boarding school, and originally I had her leading a rebellion against the school establishment. But then a few days later, seemingly out of nowhere, the idea for time travel hit me, and I realized Iris’s experiences at school were just the beginning of the story. The tip of the iceberg. I ran with the idea and didn’t look back.

Question: Those covers are so amazing!! Can you explain what they represent (without spoilers)?
Answer: Thank you! The covers were both illustrated by the legendary Cliff Nielsen. I was blown away when I first heard he was designing them.

In both books, Iris projects back and forward in time, and the art director at Skyscape wanted to capture what that split second would look like—the moment right when she projects, hence the swirling, almost dream-like nature of the covers. I really love that both covers stay true to the plot of the books. In The Eighth Guardian, one of Iris’s first missions is the Boston Massacre, which is what’s featured on the cover. Blackout gives us two snapshots of missions Iris goes on. In one, she’s aboard a Civil-War era train, and in the other, she’s present for some very important happenings during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Question: If you lived in the world you created, what would happen to you on Testing Day? Would you have passed, like Amanda did? Would you be able to survive in your world?
Answer: Oh man, I probably would have failed miserably.

Okay, I take that back. I would have rocked the written test because I’m good at those, but I would have fallen apart during the practical challenges because I have a tendency to completely lose my head in a crisis. I’d like to think I’d be a good addition to Annum Guard because I’m very thorough, but I don’t know if I’d get past the entrance exam!

Question: If you could time travel, where/when would you go? Why?
Answer: Anywhere and everywhere! How’s that for an answer? But I think I’d start in the 1920s. I love the Jazz Age.

Question: According to your bio, you have degrees in magazine journalism and theater AND you went to law school. Did any of these areas of study help you in your pursuit of writing a book? Which helped the most? In what ways?
Answer: Oddly enough, I don’t think The Eighth Guardian or Blackout would exist if I hadn’t gone to law school. First, I went to law school in Boston, where the books are set. I like to think that the city and history of Boston is another character in the books, and that’s all thanks to the years I spent living there. And second, the analytical training I received in law school absolutely helped make me a better writer. I question everything! It really helps me dig deeper into my characters, to figure out their motivations.

Question: Craziest thing you’ve had to Google for a Work in Progress?
Answer: I did just read the entire Geneva Conventions a few weeks ago for my new WIP. Does that count? Or for The Eighth Guardian, I spent a few hours trying to figure out when trash cans were put in Boston Common. That was definitely a weird Google adventure!

Question: Are you working on Annum Guard #3? Or are they just a duology?
Answer: Hard at work on Annum Guard 3! Stay tuned for details!

Question: Do you ever think you’ll venture into other genres? Like contemporary or dystopian? Why or why not? When you aren’t writing, what do you enjoy doing?
Answer: I’m a fantasy writer at heart, but I have always and will always love historical. I have a few historical fantasies in a drawer, and I’m plotting out a straight historical now that’s set in the Jazz Age (hence my answer above)!

About the Author:
 
I grew up in South Florida dreaming up stories in my head and writing down the good ones. I attended the University of Florida and received degrees in both magazine journalism and theatre. In a moment of sheer practicality my senior year of college, I realized that journalism wasn’t my passion and that theatre was nothing more than a hobby, and I went to law school. After graduating from Boston University School of Law, I spent seven years working as a commercial litigator by day and toiling away as a writer by night. Following the birth of my first daughter in late 2009, I left the law behind to focus on my writing full-time.

I live in South Florida with my amazingly supportive husband, my two lovely young daughters and my hyperactive wheaten terrier.

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Hey everyone! I’m so excited to have Dela, author of The 52nd (Out Now) here for an interview today! Here’s the official cover and synopsis for the book:

Not one of the sacrifices chosen over the long history had survived–until now.

On the tip of the Yucatan peninsula, the immortal Castillo family gathers in Tulum. Weary and haunted, they receive the names of fifty-two human sacrifices chosen once every fifty-two years for the Underworld, a tradition thought to have disappeared with the fall of the Aztec and Mayan empires.

Driving home one night, college freshman Zara Moss swerves to avoid hitting a ghastly figure in the road. Lucas Castillo witnesses the car crash, but when it comes time to supervise her abduction from the wreckage, he intervenes. Something is different about Zara: Lucas has been having dreams of her arrival for five hundred years.

As Lucas and Zara come together to put an end to the bloody sacrifices, they discover that the ancient tradition isn’t so easily broken. The gods are angry, and they have until the Winter Solstice to drag Zara to the Underworld.

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Hope you guys enjoy the interview!

Question: What was the last book you read?
Answer: Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

Question: What did you do before THE 52ND took over?
Answer: I went for long walks on the beach and ate apple pie every day…not true. I wish—but no. Actually, not much has changed. In fact, my schedule is still the same busy as before, only I get to add the hours of writing and revising to it. So fun!

Question: Why did you write THE 52ND?
Answer: THE 52ND was a product of my love for the Latin culture and wanting to create something fresh in the Young Adult Paranormal genre. When I begun writing this novel nearly 4 years ago, nothing out there existed like my plot. To this day, nothing exists like THE 52ND.

Question: Speaking of the plot, how’d you come up with the plot?
Answer: My coin phrase—research. I had to do a ton of research for accuracy on certain details with the Aztec and Mayan myths and legends. It helped develop my plot in the sense that I would find cool things and would say “Ooh, I want to add that.” I very much like the Aluxes. Read it, you’ll see what I’m talking about. Love me some Aluxes.

Question: What is your favorite scene?
Answer: Although I love multiple scenes for different reasons, it was always one scene that involved a snow-mobile ride. It isn’t the most fun or intense, but in my mind, it was pivotal—and most definitely magical.

Question: Who is your favorite character?
Answer: Easy… Zara. She gets to fall in love and be courted by a hottie, all the while having outer-body experiences. But writing Lucas was great too. He makes me giddy just thinking about him.

Question: What was the worst part to write?
Answer: My closest friends know that I hate two things: blood and ghosts. So yeah, those things. Why I chose to write a book that have either I have no idea why. Blood makes me pass out and it’s disgusting. And I can’t even watch scary movies. Well, I don’t even have ghosts, I have executioners, which are like ghosts but worse. They are horrible creatures that abduct people and sacrifice them in the Underworld. Plus they’re scary looking. Writing the blackouts that Zara suffers was a newer addition to the book, and makes my stomach queasy. It was more difficult to write old, bloody habits than it was in writing the medical scenes. Oh and the ending climax scene, forget it. I recall the clock saying two in the morning on many nights when I wrote that scene. And each night I went to bed super scared. I literally would pull the sheets all the way up to cover my face. I was a wimp. But it was so real in my head writing it that I just couldn’t even.

Question: What in the book is real history and what is fiction?
Answer: The events in the book are all historically accurate as far as dates and actually taking place, except when they involve the fictional family Castillos. So naturally, the councils don’t really exist because we all know that the sacrifices stopped when Cortez came…or did they? I believe they did. At least I HOPE so. But the battle between Cortez and the Tabascans is real. El Tajin being a ghost town because of the belief that it was the place of the dead, real. The mythical gods are another real element in the story. In the Aztec and Mayan cultures: Tezcatlipoca, Huitzilihuitl, Chaac, etc, were all loved and cherished gods. The Mayan Hero Twins are also real. Hunahpu and Xbalanque have always fascinated me. Picking a modern name for Hunahpu was difficult because he plays such a prominent part in the book. It had to be right. Also trying to decide which gods to put in the Council was difficult. There were hundreds to choose from, but I’m happy with who made the cut. And then of course we have detailed things like the color jade all over their home in Mexico and pet jaguars. Anything that symbolized the primal culture I tried to implement throughout the book.

Question: What’s something fun about yourself?
Answer: I went sky-diving when I was 18 and I just recently got to meet Taylor Hicks. I play tennis twice a week and will soon attempt my first 62-mile bike ride. Yikes! If I don’t survive, it was nice knowing you…

Question: What’s your favorite food?
Answer: Sandwiches and Mexican. I want to eat all the tacos in the world, and I make some mean red rice.

Question: If you could pick one band to write a soundtrack for THE 52ND who would it be?
Answer: The Killers or Twenty One Pilots.

And now for the awesome giveaway, courtesy of Dela! ONE winner will win a signed copy of The 52nd!

-Giveaway is INT

-Winner has 48 hours to respond. If winner does not respond, a new winner will be selected.

-You must be 13 or older to enter OR have your parents’ permission.

-I reserve the right to change any rules as I see fit for each individual giveaway

*The above giveaway rules were borrowed and modified from Jessica @ Just a Book Lover.

With that being said, I wish you luck! May the odds be ever in your favor!

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About the Author:
 
Dela is the debut author of THE 52ND saga, a multicultural paranormal for young adults. Before tracing the minds of Aztec gods, Dela worked as a paralegal and could be found snowboarding at Brianhead, Utah. She currently lives in Las Vegas with her husband, three kids, and two exceptionally fat Chihuahuas.

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