YA Feature: Katilin Bevis


This weeks YA Feature author is Katilin Bevis author of Persephone. Enjoy the interview and leave a nice comment for the author!



Can you tell us a little about yourself and how you got into writing?

I've always loved writing. When I was younger I would rewrite the ending of books and shows that didn't agree with me. As I got older I found creative writing classes, and eventually majored in creative writing in college. It's not something I remember waking up one morning and deciding. I've always been a writer.

Other than writing, I'm a graduate student at UGA, happily married, and have a very cute toddler. I run a local mom's group and a writer's group, and keep myself insanely busy.

Can you tell us a little about your book Persephone?

Persephone is a modern day retelling of the Greek myth with a twist. It's a coming of age story with a big splash of supernatural thrown in. In my version Persephone didn't know she was a goddess until Boreas comes after her, and Hades rescues her. She's stuck in the Underworld all winter, and has to come to terms with her divinity and growing feelings for Hades. There's more going on in the Underworld than it seems, and some big stuff is revealed at the end. The sequel, Daughter of the Earth and Sky, is coming out in January.
 
Where did you get the idea for Persephone?

From the trailer of Clash of the Titans. Something about all the music, and yelling, and the whole "damn the gods" quote got me thinking. If any god was damned, it would be Persephone. In the classic version of the myth she's betrayed by Gaia (she allows Hades to open the earth), abducted by Hades, raped, held captive in the Underworld, and tricked into eating the food there. Her father witnesses the whole thing and looks the other way, only relenting to Demeter's demands she be rescued AFTER Demeter starves half the planet. And even then, she has to return every six months. It would be terrifying, sitting on the surface, knowing that you have to go back to the man that did that to you. I'd be counting down the days in dread.

That was a pretty depressing line of thought, so I started thinking of other ways it could have gone. What if we missed a bit of the myth. What if Hades hadn't taken her to be a jerk, maybe he was helping. From there all the pieces fell into place and suddenly I had an outline.
 
In Persephone some characters are from mythology like Hades for example. Do you like reading books involoving mythology?

All of the characters, except for the random girls at school, are from mythology. Even Persephone's best friend Melissa (Melissa was a title for Priestesses of Demeter). Pirithous, Boreas, Persephone, Demeter and every resident of the Underworld (except I think for Gloria) made an appearance at one time or another in ancient myths. Tons of research went into this book, which is exactly why I love reading books about mythology. It's very interesting to see the way a different creative mind interpreted the same facts and twisted them to suit their plot line. It's fun seeing mythical figures pop up in literature. It's seeing an old friend in an unexpected place.
 
Why should we read your book in one sentence?
Don't you want to know what really happened?
 
Some Bookie Questions:
Fave book as a child and why?
 
Ella Enchanted. It was a fantastic book. Best version of Cinderella ever.

Fave 2012 read and why?
 
Thirteen by Kelley Armstrong. It was the end of an amazing series. I love the Women of the Otherworld.

An author you would reccommend to my readers?
 
Scott Westerfeld. If you haven't read Uglies, download it now. He balances an amazing premise with tons of action and very solid characters.

Fave YA genre and why?
 
I'm torn between dystopian future and urban fantasy. I love reading the way different authors imagine future possibilities. It's interesting to explore the potential consequences to our actions generations down the road. But on the other hand, magic and supernatural stuff is tons of fun. I read both genres to an excess.
Complete this sentence
 
My perfect summer day would be sitting beside the sea drinking soda, eating pizza and reading a new book
I drink way too much soda, probably eat too much pizza too, but they are delicious. It doesn't matter what I'm reading. I love the thrill of reading through a new book.
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Interview: Charlotte Bennardo & Giveaway

Today on Reading Away The Days and am happy to have co-author of the Sirenz series, Charlotte Bennardo on the blog with an interview and an awesome giveaway!


Can you tell us a little about yourself and how you got into writing?

I've wanted to write since I was about 8 years old, although initially I studied, got a degree and was a journalist for a while. The pay was so bad that sometimes it came to feed the car or pay the rent. I went back to school to get my paralegal degree, which I used for a number of years--while earning my degree in English. Through that time, I wrote. Not seriously enough, now looking back, but life, family, kids intervened. It took me 10 years to complete my first novel, a ghost story that I'm currently reworking from adult to YA.



You co-write the Sirenz series with Natalie Zaman, can you tell us a little about them?

Sirenz and Sirenz Back In Fashion are based on several of the Greek myths. Most notably (much to the delight of many) is the character of Hades, Lord of the Underworld. What fun is it to have him as a creepy, zombie-looking god. How can THAT tempt you? Put the same villain in haute couture, make him sexy and sophisticated, with devious ulterior motives (and unlimited wealth), and well, it's a lot easier to sell your soul without thinking about the consequences. We used a number of gods from the pantheon because they're like a big, bickering family, always into each other's business, and always tormenting the poor humans, like Meg and Shar.

Where did you get the idea for the series?

Initially, our idea was a vampire story, but EVERYONE was writing vampire stories, so after some trolling through Barnes & Noble bookshelves, we threw around the idea of Greek mythology, Zena Warrior Princess--and the idea of sirens. No one had done sirens at that point. From there, it was just twisting the myths into a more contemporary, but accurate portrayal. Plus, the guys had Rick Riordan; when we wrote Sirenz, there didn't seem to be much for girls at that time.

In Sirenz frenemies Meg and Shar are made special-assignement siren by Hades. What exactly are sirens?

Here's a fun aspect; most people hear 'sirens' and they think of mermaids on the beach,calling to the sailors, causing them to wreck their ships on the rocks. In traditional Greek mythology, sirens were half woman, half bird. Since we stuck with the traditional, Sirenz is not included in the mermaid genre, which surprises many people after they read the books.

What is it like working with Natalie on the series?

Half the work, half the editing (which I am NOT a big fan of after the 3rd time....) and fun. We giggle and make jokes, which comes out in the books since we decided that a humorous book would stand out among all the dystopian and dark books currently in fashion. (Unintentional pun, but let's go with it!) It's nice to have someone to cheer you on, help work through blocks, inspire dialogue. You're never alone, struggling. But, we do have to work through disagreements- we've both wanted to cut something from the other's chapter (the series is written in alternating points of view of Meg and Shar). We had to come up with (sorry to be gross...) the Tampon Box Rule. In the first draft, there was a scene in which Meg stuffs expensive pantyhose in the tampon receptacle in the Ladies Room. I thought it was too gross, but she insisted that was the point. I'd cut it out when I revised, she'd put it back in. Finally, we had to agree that if one couldn't convince the other to scrap it, it stayed in--unless the agent/editor cut it. Their word was final. It's worked well for us.

Can we expect more from the series?

We planned 4 books in the series. The first two are published by Flux, the third will go straight to ebook, unless we get another publisher. The fourth is in limbo, although we have the synopsis written.

Why should we pick up the series in one sentence?
Life is hard enough, so lighten up--and enjoy the guilty pleasures of gal pals, to-die-for fashion, delicious dark gods, and laughing out loud.
Buy the Books from:
*Note: Independent bookstores, if they don't have the books, will be happy to order it for anyone.*


Stalk author Charlotte:

Twitter: charbennardo
FB: Charlotte Johnson Bennardo
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Author Interview: Gina Rosati

Today is the release of Gina Rosati's debut novel Auracle! Enjoy an interview with the author and don't forget to check out her book!



Can you tell us a little about yourself and how you got into writing?


I live in New Hampshire with my husband, two teenagers and two chubby guinea pigs. Before I had children, I was a secretary. One day when I was typing yet another contract, I decided I'd rather be writing stories instead. I enrolled in a creative writing course at Northeastern University, but while I was trying to figure out the mechanics of writing an entire novel, I had my first child, and then things got really busy and writing wasn't the priority. It wasn't until my mom was in the last stages of Alzheimer's when I realized that life is short and if I wanted to write that novel, I'd better get going.

Can you tell us a little about your debut novel, Auracle?

Auracle is the story of 16 year old Anna, who figured out during a serious allergic reaction that she can astrally project at will. She has a lot of fun with this talent until she witnesses the accidental death of her classmate, Taylor, and returns home to find Taylor has taken over her body. Now Anna has to figure out how to get Taylor out of her body before Taylor sends an innocent guy to jail for murder.

Where did you get the idea for Auracle?

When I was in college, I started getting these very scary nightmares that were always accompanied by an overwhelmingly loud buzz in my head. I did some research and figured out they were a stress-induced combination of lucid dreams/sleep paralysis. Years later, I was reading a book by psychic Sylvia Browne, and she described my dreams right down to the buzz - she said these were caused by waking up in the middle of an out-of-body experience. I can't astrally project - I tried while I was researching Auracle, but the writer in me wondered "what if".

Your novel is a YA paranormal romance. Is this the genre you prefer to read. If so who are some of your fave authors in that genre/ favourite books?

I love paranormal romance. And fantasy romance, historical romance and contemporary romance. I also prefer the YA genre. I have so many favorite authors, but some of my favorite YA paranormal romance authors are Carrie Jones, Libba Bray, Cassandra Clare, and Maggie Stiefvater.

How are you feeling about the release of your debut novel? Excited and nervous I would think :)

Yes! Excited, nervous, busy! I'm kind of shy, so the entire process of promoting a book is rather terrifying to me. I'm immensely grateful to all of the wonderful readers who have taken the time to review Auracle.

In Auracle Anna can astral project. If you could would you like to do it and where would you go and explore?

I'd love to be able to astrally project. I read a lot of books on the subject and tried, but I remain stubbornly body-bound. Researching places for Anna to visit astrally was an absolute blast! I'm not a fan of heights so I don't enjoy traveling on planes, but if I could astrally project, I'd explore everywhere on this planet, including underwater, and then I'd bounce around the universe and look for life on other planets.

Why should we read Auracle in one sentence?

You should read Auracle on a day when you're looking for some hope and positivity in your life.

To buy Auracle on:
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YA Feature: Dusty Crabtree author of Shadow Eyes



*Note: This post was from Friday 3rd August, due to computer problems it keep deleting, fingers crossed it stays up this time*

This week on the YA author feature is Dusty Crabtree author of Shadow Eyes! Enjoy the interview and leave a nice comment for the author!




Can you tell us a little about yourself and how you got into writing?

I’m a high school English teacher in Oklahoma and a youth sponsor at our church, so obviously I have a passion for teens. I’ve loved young adult books for a while now but never really thought about being a writer until my friend suggested I write a book like the ones we enjoyed (mostly about angels at the time). I took her advice, tried it out, and found that I actually loved writing fiction! With a little practice and lots of initial revision, the words eventually flowed as naturally as if I’d been a writer all my life.

Can you tell us a little about your novel, Shadow Eyes?

Shadow Eyes is about a girl named Iris who’s had the ability to see murky shadows and glowing light figures ever since a tragic incident on her 14th birthday…an incident that the reader doesn’t know about until the end. She’s the only one who can see these figures, which makes life difficult to say the least. To make matters more complicated, new and mysterious characters enter her life and challenge everything she thinks she knows.

Where did you get the idea for Shadow Eyes?

The inspiration actually came from a screenplay idea I had a few years before deciding to write a novel. The movie would have been about a cast of intertwined characters going about their lives and making mistakes with dark, creepy shadows hovering around them, whispering to them and influencing them to do evil things. Only the audience would see the shadows, though. The characters would be completely oblivious. It would have been like a Christian horror movie, if there ever was such a genre! To make it more fit for a young adult book, I decided to have a 1st person narrator be able to see this happening around her.

Shadow Eyes is a YA urban fantasy novel. Is this the genre you prefer to write in or is there any other genres you would like to explore?

Well, I like to write what I enjoy reading, and I love urban fantasies, paranormal romances, and dystopias. My next series may be dystopian – I’m toying with some ideas already even though I have 3 more books planned in the Shadow Eyes series! One I’m currently working on. J

In Shadow Eyes, shadows entice individuals towards evil. What exactly are the shadows? Are they live creatures? Can our shadows be affected?

Essentially, the shadows are demons, so their status as “living” creatures is kind of vague. I mean, most of them have something that passes as a face and some of their personalities show through the way they move and look, so I guess that would be considered living. Their shape varies from a foggy cloud to a very defined human-looking silhouette depending on their intentions.

Why should we read Shadow Eyes in one sentence?

Although Shadow Eyes is a book you won’t be able to put down because it’s intriguing, compelling, and mysterious, it can also deeply affect the way you view the world around you, give you hope, and even change your life. (Hey, it’s one sentence and grammatically correct.)

Bookie questions:
　
Fave book as a child and why?

A Wrinkle in Time – I guess I’ve always loved fantasy now that I think about it. The ability to travel through time and into other dimensions was just so cool! It was an awesome book and still is!


Fave 2012 read and why?


Divergent and Insurgent – Not sure which one I liked more, the first or second book. Of course there’s a third one coming, and I’m super excited! I loved this series because it was so unique and interesting! The characters were intriguing and the world she described was very entertaining and well-written!

An author you would recommend to my readers?

Well-known favs – Becca Fitzpatrick, Veronica Roth, Suzanne Collins
Musa author peeps whose books I’ve read and loved – Kristina Blevins, Liz DeJesus, Linda Benson

Favourite YA genre and why?

Right now, probably Dystopian because I love the uniqueness and bizarreness of the worlds authors can create. It’s creativity at its finest, and there’s always something unexpected.

　
Complete this sentence.

　
My perfect summer day would be sitting beside the sea/lake drinking something fruity and eating chocolate while reading the newest popular young adult book. (Hey, I can’t say a name, because I rarely ever read a book twice. There are just too many other books to read!)

Check out Dusty’s blog at http://dustycrabtree.wordpress.com/
Find her on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/dusty.crabtree.1
Follow her on twitter at https://twitter.com/dustycrabtree
Buy Shadow Eyes at http://musapublishing.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=176
(also available at all major online bookstores)
View the book trailer at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7UP9A0Fm78

　









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The Super Spies and the Cat Lady Killer Blog Tour: Book Excerpt & Giveaway


Today kicks of The Super Spies and the Cat Lady Killer by Lisa Orchard! I am very happy to be hosting the blog tour for Lisa and I hope you will all follow the tour along and check out the posts.

Today I have a book excerpt from The Super Spies and the Cat Lady for you and a Ebook giveaway of the book :)

Excerpt from The Super Spies and the Cat Lady by Lisa Orchard

Alarm bells rang in Sarah’s head—this has to be out of character for someone who never leaves their home. She turned back and whispered to the other girls. "Hey!"
Jackie poked her head out. "What?"
"The storm door’s open."
"So?"
"So…what do I do?"
"Duh…Ring the door bell."
Sarah shrugged and pushed the doorbell. It let out an irritating buzz and she had the feeling it had been broken long ago and never fixed. She dashed down the stairs. The cats scattered, alarmed by the sudden activity. Reaching the shrubs, Sarah hid with her sister and Jackie.
Gasping for breath, Sarah waited for a reaction from the old woman. Her heart pummeled her ribs and she pressed her hand to her chest to calm it.
After a few minutes, Sarah started to pace. "Well…nothing’s happened." She peeked out from behind the shrub and saw the screen door hanging ajar. "I bet she’s not even home. I’m going to try again."
Jackie shrugged. "Be careful, remember she’s a witch."
Sarah shook her head, and then peered out from behind the shrubs. Once again, she climbed the stairs. She was braver this time and it didn’t take her as long to make it to the door.
She looked inside, her heart lurching in her chest. She tiptoed to the picture window and peered through it. Gasping, she ran back to the entryway. Pulling it open, she lunged inside.
Sarah stared, unable to tear herself away. Shock ran through her body like an electrical current as she eyed the scene before her. The crumpled form of the Cat Lady lay on the living room floor, just inside the door. No life flickered in the old woman’s staring eyes. Her mouth gaped open in a silent scream and her hands were up around her head as if she were warding off blows. Turning away from the Cat Lady’s body, Sarah gagged as the coppery scent of blood assaulted her. There was blood splattered everywhere, on the wall, on the carpet and under the Cat Lady’s body.
Suddenly, Sarah’s throat constricted and she gasped for breath. Fearing she would faint, she stumbled back out the door and collided with Jackie and Lacey on the porch.
Jackie grabbed Sarah’s arm and shook her. "What are you doing? Are you crazy? I never said to go inside!"
Sarah didn’t speak—she just stared blankly at the porch.
Jackie shook her again. "Are you under the Cat Lady’s spell?"
Lacey whimpered. "Hey, Sarah….can you hear me? Sarah?"
"She’s under the Cat Lady’s spell," Jackie said waving her hand in front of Sarah’s eyes.
"Oh my---," Sarah moaned and clutched Jackie’s arm.
"What is it?" Jackie shook her again. "Speak…say something!"
"Th-th-the C-C-Cat Lady, sh-sh-she’s," Sarah stuttered.
"She’s what?" Jackie demanded.
"Sh-she’s dead."

Blurb:


This book opens in a small town in Michigan where fifteen-year-old Sarah Cole is stuck spending the summer at her Aunt and Uncle’s with her sister, Lacey. She’s not happy with the situation until she befriends a girl named Jackie. The three girls stumble upon the ruthless murder of a reclusive neighborhood woman. One of the officers investigating the crime believes the girls are responsible for her death. Fearing that this officer will frame them for the murder, the girls organize their own detective squad. They become the Super Spies and start their own fact-finding mission. The Super Spies can’t understand why anyone would want to murder the "Cat Lady" until they start digging into her past and discover a horrible crime that happened thirty years ago. They uncover a connection between the two crimes and attempt to bring this information to the police, only to be reprimanded for meddling in the inquest. Not only are the girls upset by the admonition, but they also struggle with the fact that their exuberant investigating could provide a legal loophole allowing the killer to go free. To make matters worse, the police don’t even believe them. Frustrated by this turn of events, the Super Spies realize it’s up to them to snare the Cat Lady killer, or die trying…


Buy The Super Spies and the Cat Lady from:


Stalk Lisa:





Check out the rest of the tour:

7th: Book Excerpt @ http://www.nightowlreads.org
9th: Promo & giveaway of an ebook of The Super Spies and the cat Lady @ http://littlepocketbooks.blogspot.co.uk/
10th: Guest & giveaway of an ebook of The Super Spies and the cat Lady @ http://www.imabookshark.com/



 a Rafflecopter giveaway
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Amateur Angel Blog Tour: Author Interview


Author Karri Thompson has stopped by for an interview for the Amateur Angel Blog Tour

Can you tell me a little about yourself and how you got into writing?




I’m a San Diego native, wife, mother, and high-school English teacher. My son will be starting high school in the fall. Unlike a lot of my students, I’ve always loved to read and write, especially write my own stories. I love it when a book takes me to a new place, a new world, and I feel like the main character could be my best friend. Those are the kinds of books I want to write, and I think Amateur Angel does that.



Can you tell us a little about your novel Amateur Angel?


Amateur Angel is about an 18-year-old girl, Ashley, who dies in a car crash. Upon her death, she is taken to the afterlife where she mistakenly enters the wrong line – a line meant for trained guardian angels. Ashley is plummeted back to earth as an untrained guardian angel (G.A.), assigned to protect Cannon Michaels, a famous rock star. Ashley not only has to deal with her own death, but she has to learn how to be a proper G.A. and deal with Cannon’s reckless rock-star behavior.
 
 
 
Where did you get the idea for Amateur Angel?


I wanted to write a book about a girl who gets to meet and know her rock- star crush, which meant it had to be more than just a “meet and greet” at a concert. My first thought was to make her invisible, but then the idea of her being a guardian angel came to mind. This was one way she could get intimately close with someone who was ultimately unreachable. When I was in high school, I had a huge crush on John Taylor from the British pop group, Duran Duran – Google him – he’s still good looking!


In Amuateur Angel Ashley is assigned to be Cannon Michaels guardian angel. Cannon is a "celebrity". If you could be a guardian angel to a famous person who would it be and why?


Wow, this is a great question! Right now I’d have to say Robert Downy, Jr. I just saw him at Comic-Con in July during the Ironman 3 movie panel. I’ve seen him at Comic-Con twice before. Even though he’s a bit cocky (kind of like the character he plays, Tony Stark) he’s so witty and charismatic, the audience can’t help falling in love with him. He leads such an interesting life; he’d be fun to follow around. I’d only like to do it for a month though and then switch to someone else like Henry Cavill and then Channing Tatum.


Is there anything different about your angels compared to other books. Are they typical angels with wings and are all good and loyal etc or is they some unquireness to them that makes them different?


Amateur Angel is different from other angel books because Ashley isn’t a “fallen angel.” Even though she is untrained and a very young soul, she has a good heart, so the story itself is a light, inspiring romance rather than being dark and depressing. It also contains its own rules and regulations when it comes to guardian angelship (G.A.s), which I think is a fun twist on anything else out there. All of the angels in my book are good. They have wings but not halos.


What genre would you class Amateur Angel as?


Amateur Angel is a young-adult, paranormal romance.


Why should we read your book in one sentence?


From page one, Amateur Angel will keep you flipping the pages, wondering how Cannon’s rock and roll antics will affect Ashley’s angel training and how she’s dealing with her own death. There is also a “secret” character, so you’ll need to keep reading to find out who he or she turns out to be.


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Calling all bloggers and authors: Childrens Book Event in September

HELP ME CELEBRATE CHILDRENS BOOKS!
 
 
 
I know many of you reading this post are YA authors or bloggers like myself. However we all started of reading somewhere and that was children's books. To celebrate childrens books I have come up with an event running in September and need your help!
 
 
What I am doing is having a whole month celebrating children's books, with author interviews, giveaways, guest posts and reviews. The children's books will go from 0-11 with fairytales included as well as children's classics, celebrating children's authors such as Enid Blyton, Roald Dahl and Jacalinque Wilson to name a few. I will also be having interviews with children's illustrators as well so a fun event all in. I am doing it to help promote and encourage younger children to read as I loved reading when I was younger as I do now!
 
What I am asking bloggers and authors is to answer five questions that will be posted over the month! You can either send me the answers as part of posts over the week that I will be posting on my blog (Your comment will come with a link to your blog or website) or you can post the questions and answers on a blog post on your blog over each week. If you are going to post on your blog, can you please let me know so I can tell the dates for each week for example you can post about the first topic anytime between September 1st-9th and so forth! Thank you for your time and I hope you can help! The questions are below!
  • The first post will be in week one focusing on these questions:
What is your first memory of reading as a child?
Do you have memories of your parents reading bedtime stories to you, do you think this is important for children to have their parents read to them?
  • The second post will be in week two focusing on this question:
What was your favourite book as a child and why?
  • The third week will focus on this question:
What is was your favourite fairytale or classic book as a child?
  • And finally in the last week the question will be:
Why do you think children should be encouraged to read? What is the importance of reading for young children?
 
If you are interested please comment below and leave an contact email address so I can email you to ask about posting on your blog or answering the questions prior to the event for me.
 
 
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