Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Dark Eden Blog Tour: Interview + Giveaway!

Welcome to the official Dark Eden blog tour! Halloween is just around the corner and to celebrate the publication of Dark Eden, available everywhere November 1st, this month author Patrick Carman will be visiting blogs to share spooky guest posts and sneak peeks from his brand new book and app. I reviewed this book and loved it, you can check out my review here.

Welcome, Patrick! You are undoubtedly the innovator in multi-media/interactive novels and I love the DARK EDEN app! Why does DARK EDEN work so well with multi-media?
Thank you! The truth is, I never know how the multimedia aspect of a project is going to work until I get pretty deep into the woods (publisher cringes). I wrote DARK EDEN twice –once as a straight up book, again as an immersive multimedia app – and then re-wrote the app as we moved through development. Many things come into play: what the app will look like and how it will operate, hiring actors, editing scenes, recording audio diaries – there’s just so much that goes into these things. Along the way my team helps me make the right choices, many of which are made only days before sections of the app go live. We’re dialing this thing in right down to the last second!

What led you to start developing stories in this non-traditional way?
School visits top the list of reasons why some of my projects include multimedia. I’ve visited over 1,300 schools in the past decade, and every year students get more and more distracted. It’s a highly entertaining world they live in, and for a lot of readers, they need a lifeline back to books. Projects like DARK EDEN are designed to blend in with the technological world many teens have become immersed in. My hope is that DARK EDEN is an opportunity for some of our most jaded readers to build some confidence about reading, then move on to a more traditional book.

I read that there will be an enhanced e-book version of DARK EDEN for Nook and Kindle. Will the e-book experience differ from reading the printed book in conjunction with using the DARK EDEN app?
Actually, the DARK EDEN book is a total stand-alone and does not interact with the app version. DARK EDEN (both the printed novel and the ebook) is designed for a traditional reader, words only (and some amazing illustrations). The app is the same story told in a multimedia format (words, videos, maps, audio diaries). The Nook will have the full app version of DARKEDEN. The enhanced ebook will include around seven of the 100+ multimedia elements, and some other exclusive content at the end.

What other projects are you working on at this time?
DARK EDEN 2: Eve of Destruction! Also, a teen trilogy I’m not at liberty to talk about yet, and the second FLOORS book, my current middle-grade series for Scholastic. And if you want something really different, check out www.315stories.com, the short story re-imagined for modern teens.

I am so happy to hear that there will be a sequel to DARK EDEN! In honor of Halloween, tell us your best/scariest Halloween memory.
We used to play this old record on a turntable with all kinds of scary Halloween sounds, then hand out candy and terrify all the kids who came by. We were moderately famous for it in our old 1970’s neighborhood. That was some fun!

Thank you, Patrick. Sounds like you guys definitely had the cool Halloween house on the block!

About the book:
When Will Besting approaches Fort Eden for the first time, he knows something isn't right. With more terrifying secrets at every turn he discovers a hidden fear deep inside himself, a dark mystery a thousand years in the making, and the unexpected girl of his dreams. But can he save everyone from the dangers of Fort Eden before it's too late?

Do you dare to face your fears? Take the Dark Eden Fear Test. Follow Patrick Carman on Twitter. Visit the Official Dark Eden Website.

Be sure to check out all the stops on the Dark Eden blog tour
October 4th: The Reader Bee
October 5th: Novel Novice
October 6th: The Bookworms
October 7th: Girls in the Stacks
October 10th: Between the Pages
October 11th: Dark Readers
October 12th: Letters Inside Out
October 13th: The Book Faery
October 14th: Books Complete Me
October 17th: Two Chicks on Books
October 18th: Starry Sky Books
October 19th: Great Imaginations
October 20th: Once Upon a Twilight
October 21st: Me, My Shelf and I
October 24th: Fiktshun
October 25th: PageTurners
October 26th: Icey Books
October 27th: Truly Bookish
October 28th: Stuck in Books

Ready to win a copy of this awesome book and fabulous swag? As a part of my Halloween Queens Book Giveaway week, one grand prize winner will receive: an ARC of Dark Eden, one “Fear is the Cure” t-shirt, a lanyard, one copy of The Fear Test CD ROM and a bookmark. Nine additional winners will receive one copy of The Fear Test CD Rom! That’s 10 winners you guys! To enter, just follow the Rafflecopter instructions and good luck.







Thank you to HarperCollins and Patrick Carman for the awesome prizes!

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Dark Eden is now at the top of my TBR list! Just that little bit you posted captured my attention and now I must read this book!
mom1248(at)att(dot)net

Unknown said...

Great post! I am so excited for this book!! I want the App so I'm going to check it out Thanks so much!!

SupaGurl

Read.Breathe.Relax. said...

Thanks for this AWESOME giveaway!! Woo hoo!!!

Unknown said...

Ooh, what an interesting and fun post, this book has just soared up to the top of my to be read pile. lol. I am virtually ecstatic about this. Thank you for the chance to win. :)

Suz @ A Soul Unsung
My WoW!
My Surprise Halloween Giveaway!
susanhaugland@att.net

baugh40272 said...

Dark Eden look to be a real thrill to read. My name is Susan Baugh and esbaugh@yahoo.com is my email address. I hope to win a prize.

LisaILJ said...

Thanks for the great week of giveaways!

Pabkins said...

I must read this - I care not that my dear and lovely Rie didn't like It - I know I will *sings a crazy little tune*

Pabkins @ Mission to Read

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