Interview + Giveaway with Zoë Marriott, Author of Shadows on the Moon

 

I am thrilled to welcome Zoë Marriott, author of several YA novels including the wonderful Shadows on the Moon, one of my favorite books of the year! You can read my review here. Welcome Zoë!

Me: Tell us about Shadows on the Moon.

ZM: Firstly, thank you so much for inviting me to take part in the MCBC! I'm very excited about it!

Shadows on the Moon is a retelling - or maybe it's more accurate to say reimagining - of the classic fairytale Cinderella, set in my version of a fairytale Japan. It's mostly based on the answers I came up with when I asked myself how anyone human *could* be as passive, sweet, patient and apparently without ambition or anger as Cinderella is supposed to be, after everything the character is put through. And I decided that no one human could, which made me wonder just what was going on under that sweet, passive facade. The book deals with revenge, and betrayal, and love, and most of all illusions, both the ones other people have about us, and the ones we have about ourselves. Shadows is also a sort of love letter from me to Japanese culture.

Me: Shadows on the Moon is such a wonderfully written and beautiful story. Where did you get the idea for it?

ZM: Thank you! I'm so glad you liked it. The idea for Shadows on the Moon came to me in three parts, actually. That's the way most story ideas work for me - they're made up of a bunch of different inspirations that come together to form something greater than the sum of the parts.

The first was a result of doing creative workshops in schools with young people. My first book, The Swan Kingdom, is based primarily on the Hans Christian Anderson story The Wild Swans, and so one of the exercises I did with the kids was to show them how to 'retell' fairytales themselves by deconstructing and digging down to find the interesting, hidden parts. I'd ask for suggestions as to which fairytale I should use as an example, and when the hands shot up the first one was always Cinderella. It drove me slightly mad, because I've long thought of Cinderella as a wimp - and what's more, a heroine who is rewarded for her passivity and wimpiness. So for my own satisfaction I'd turn the story on its head for my young writers, saying 'what if Cinderella isn't a romance story? What if it's about Cinderella using the Prince? Maybe there's something else she wants from him?'

This idea stuck in my head and eventually I began to wonder if what Cinderella wanted might not be revenge, because after all, the story starts with the death of her father. And that made me think about the Count of Monte Cristo and all the transformations the character has to undergo for his revenge, and the toll they take on him. This seemed a perfect sort of story for Cinderella, which is after all a fairytale about transformations and illusions, and the way people see each other.

All this was rolling around my head when one Sunday I was re-watching one of my favourite films, 'Memoirs of Geisha' and everything came together in my head with a bit of a thunderclap of inspiration. Just as Cinderella and revenge felt like a natural match, so Cinderella and historical Japanese culture, with its deep reverence for beauty and the proper way of doing things, and its quite rigid social structure, seemed to slot together as if they'd always been meant to be.

Me: I’m a character driven reader so I always ask authors about characters in their books. Where did you get the inspiration for the characters? Which character from Shadows on the Moon is your favorite?

ZM: Suzume grew up very naturally from the sorts of questions I was asking myself about the original fairytale. If all the things about Cinderella that we traditionally know - her sweet, uncomplaining nature, inability to act on her own behalf, patience and lack of anger - were fake, then that meant my character had to be bitter and full of regret, highly active, naturally impatient and raging. Traditional Cinderella skims over the surface of emotion and only really gets upset when she's denied the chance to wear a pretty dress and dance with the Prince. My Cinderella would be full of dark and vulnerable emotions that she was forced to hide, and wouldn't care less about prettiness or dancing for their own sake. Traditional Cinderella shines with natural beauty that is unmarked by the abuse heaped on her others. My Cinderella would be scarred and broken, and her beauty a carefully constructed illusion. She really couldn't be any other way, in order for the story to have emotional truth.

Then, because I wanted my Cinderella to find - and reject - love, I had to ask myself, what sort of person would value and come to care for a girl like this? What sort of person would she be forced to value and care for in return? And the answer, of course, was someone who was in many ways her opposite. A sweet natured and patient person, full of natural happiness and with a unique beauty of their own that only the heroine would see - a person unafraid of scars because he wore his own proudly and openly. Otieno formed in my mind as Suzume's perfect match. Someone outside her own culture, who would have the vision to perceive her as she really was without misconceptions, and change her perception of herself in the process.

I must confess though, that my absolute favourite character in the book is Akira. She appeared in the story on cue and just took over, one of those characters who warp every scene around themselves with the strength of their personality. Believe it or not, she was originally supposed to have a fairly small role - as a bitter, cold, emotionally unavailable woman who would serve to the heroine as a warning about living in the past. Her humour, warmth and vitality took me completely by surprise, and I fell in love with her!

Me: Shadows on the Moon is set in a fantasy version of ancient Japan and I see that your new series, The Katana Trilogy, will feature characters from ancient Japan as well. Why do you feel drawn to this culture and time period? How familiar were you with this culture and time period before writing the books? Was a lot of research required?

ZM: I've been fascinated with Japan since I was quite a young child, and I happened to see Hayao Miyazaki's 'Laputa: Castle in the Sky' on TV one rainy Sunday afternoon. I should say that I love Japanese culture in general, not just ancient Japan - but being a fantasy writer means that I tend to draw on myth and folklore from Japan, and things and people from history, because they fit so easily within my genre.

Shadows on the Moon did take a huge amount of research. Soon after I realised that I just had to set my story in a fantasy version of Japan I began to realise that being a manga and anime addict and reading books or watching films made by Japanese writers and directors wasn't really the same thing as actually being Japanese (bummer, right?) and I was likely to make some truly offensive mistakes if I didn't knuckle down and do the work. I applied to the Society of Authors here in the UK for a work-in-progress grant to help with buying reference books, and I was incredibly lucky to be selected to receive the Sasakawa Prize, which meant I could afford to do crazy things like import an authentic Kimono and paraphernalia and learn to dress as a traditional Japanese woman might have, walk and move as she might have. I bought a Japanese tea set and ingredients online - I bought Japanese music - I built up a small but extremely expensive reference library. It was wonderful, and gave me the opportunity to make the book much better, much more real, than it could otherwise have been.

With Katana, the inspiration for the story came from a poem called The Bedpost by Robert Graves. But I decided straight away that instead of being trapped in a bedpost (not exactly glamorous or active!) my hero should be trapped in a sword; and what kind of sword is more magical than a Katana, a Japanese longsword? Urban fantasy and paranormal stories have had an explosion in popularity in recent years and we've seen every variation on Western mythology that there is - everything from Greek Gods to angels and demons to werewolves to fairies and pixies to vampires. I think there's been sense lately that it's all been done, that no one wants to see another vampire or another angel (although people still come up with new takes now and again that can surprise us). But one of the most wonderful things about Japan is that, because their culture was so isolated from the Western world for so long, there's this amazing wealth of truly unique, unknown stuff to discover. Stories and archetypes and myths and monsters which just have no equivalent in the stories we all know so well - but still have that amazing sense of depth and history. Researching Japanese monsters, myths, fairytales and Gods for this series was pure fun and still is!

Me: Why do you think it’s important to write young adult novels featuring multi-cultural and multi-ethnic characters?

ZM: Because young people are multi-cultural and multi-ethnic. They live in a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, diverse world. That's just the reality. And that is a wonderful thing! Yet mainstream mass media presents it as some kind of a problem, a dirty secret that needs to be whitewashed away by sterile casts of skinny, homogeneous white characters - who are nearly all always straight, able-boded and cisgendered too - in books, films, advertising campaigns. That sad, colourless version of 'reality' has nothing to do with reality at all. It not only excludes the vast majority of young people, but it deprives even the ones who fit that into that vision of the chance to see people as the beautiful, difficult, flawed, complex and above all unique creatures they are. It tells young people: 'Conform. Fit in. Be what we want you to be - or be written out of history'. How devastating for young adults to look at the world and see that they have already been judged and found unworthy due to ethnicity, gender-identification, religion, sexuality or physical status! How sickening to realise that you will be silently but irrevocably IGNORED, probably all your life. I hate it. If any one of my books can make even one young person feel less alone, more included, or one young person think 'Maybe being different is cool...' then I will die a happy author.

Me: Do you read the same genre as you write? What are you currently reading?

ZM: Oh yes! Ravenously! I love YA - it's daring and colourful and vibrant in a way that few other publishing categories are, and fantasy is my favourite thing of all. At the moment I've got an eARC of Tessa Gratton's The Blood Keeper (sequel to Blood Magic) and I'm dying to start that. I've also got Unravelling by Elizabeth Norris which I've just started and am loving, and I've also stared Bryony Pearce's Angel's Fury, which is great - I'm switching backward and forward between those when they get too intense. These are all on my eReader. The physical book on my nightstand right now is The Sharing Knife: Horizon, an adult fantasy by Lois McMaster Bujold, one of my all-time favourite writers. I'm trying to make it last because it is ssssoooo good.

Me: What other projects are you working on at this time?

ZM: Well, I'm about halfway through the second book in the Katana Trilogy right now. The Katana Trilogy will be launched in 2013 with the first book The Night Itself. It's about Mio Yamato, an average British-Japanese teenager who decides to steal her family's priceless katana from the attic of her parent's house to spice up her costume for a Christmas party. Not a great decision in the first place - but unknown to her, the katana is far more than just an antique sword. She only figures this out when monsters from her grandfather's bedtime stories about Japan begin turning up and trying to take it from her, and the point is underscored when a mysterious warrior boy appears just in time to save her. The sword's mysterious powers begin to change her almost at once, and her family and friends all get sucked into her quest to discover just what the katana is and how to save London from the consequences of her reckless actions.

The next project I'll be looking at after this will also have a Japanese twist. I intend to revisit the setting of Shadows on the Moon - Tsuki no Hikari no Kuni - in order to retell another fairystory; Beauty and the Beast this time. Once again I'm doing a pretty radical reimagining, sending a tough young peasant girl hunting the legendary Beast through the deep dark forests of her mountain home. Hopefully that will be out some time in 2015. You can see inspiration boards for all my current and future projects here on Pinterest.

Me: Thank you, Zoë!

ZM: Phew! Thanks again for inviting me to be part of this, Novia :)

About the book:

Title: Shadows on the Moon by Zoe Marriott
Release Date: April 24, 2012
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Pages: 464 pages
Genre: Fantasy
Buy: Amazon, B&N, The Book Depository
Contact the author: Website - Twitter - Pinterest

Goodreads Summary: A powerful tale of magic, love, and revenge set in fairy-tale Japan.

Trained in the magical art of shadow-weaving, sixteen-year-old Suzume is able to re-create herself in any form - a fabulous gift for a girl desperate to escape her past. But who is she really? Is she a girl of noble birth living under the tyranny of her mother's new husband, Lord Terayama? Or a lowly drudge scraping a living in the ashes of Terayama's kitchens? Or is she Yue, the most beautiful courtesan in the Moonlit Lands? Whatever her true identity, Suzume is destined to use her skills to steal the heart of a prince in a revenge plot to destroy Terayama. And nothing will stop her, not even the one true aspect of her life- her love for a fellow shadow-weaver.

And now for the giveaway. As a part of the 2012 Muti-Cultural Book Challenge, Candlewick was wonderful enough to offer a finished copy of Shadows on the Moon for giveaway. If you take part in the challenge, you will have more entries in the giveaway. You can sign up for the challenge here. Just fill out the Rafflecopter form below and good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Interview + Giveaway with Charlotte Bennardo and Natalie Zaman

I am very happy to welcome Charlotte Bennardo and Natalie Zaman, authors of the two books in the Sirenz series. Welcome ladies!

About the Authors

Natalie ZamanWhen not playing with pointed objects, Natalie Zaman is usually writing. She lives in central New Jersey with her family and several fine looking chickens. Visit her on her website or on her blog.
Charlotte Bennardo
Lover of sparkly things, Char doesn't have as many shoes as she'd like, but wouldn't have time to wear them anyway with her three boys, husband, cat with issues, demented squirrels and insistent characters all demanding her time. She is represented by Natalie Lakosil of the Bradford Literary Agency and is hoping to get all her characters into print just so they'll be quiet. Visit her on her website or on her blog.

Me: How did you two become writing partners?

Nat: Serendipity.

Char: Picture book flopped. Next project- a YA book.

Me: How did you come up with the idea for the Sirenz Series?

Nat: Started feeling a little nostalgic for Xena Warrior Princess (<3 Ares--before Ian Somerhalder, that's who was on my mind...)

Char: First it was vampires, but everyone doing vamps. "Sirens' popped into head.

Me: Where did you get the inspiration for the characters?

Nat: Loved the idea of the mythology being fun, somewhat modern, and a bit campy--LOVE camp!

Char: Hades, Persephone, etc. all from Greek myth, we added the twist.

Me: What can we expect from Sirenz Back In Fashion?

Nat: Look for some new characters and different issues...

Char: More hot Hades, more laughs, more romance. And more trouble.

Me: Why do you write young adult novels for and how did you get started?

Nat: Teens have a lot of potential and power--it's a great age and a challenge to try to write about and for.

Char: Started in PB but I talk too much. Work in MG & YA so I don't have to count words.

Me: How familiar were you with Greek mythology before writing Sirenz? Was a lot of research required?

Nat: There were things I thought I knew, but research showed there are many nuances, many versions to the myths we learned in school!

Char: Knew the basics from literature, but had to research about sirens, lesser known tales of gods.

Me: How did you get your first publishing deal and how did that feel?

Nat: It's still kind of surreal...

Char: We sold Sirenz without an agent, just submitting wherever we could/it fit. The neighbors heard us screaming.

Me: What is your favorite part of the writing process? Least favorite?

Nat: Easy--REVISIONS!!!

Char: I LOVE starting a new project, writing that first draft. HATE numerous edits/revisions.

Me: What is your favorite thing about writing? Least favorite?

Nat: Who said "I hate writing, but love having written" or something like that. Yes--that sums it up!

Char: I love the characters coming to life, when it all flows. HATE having to re-envision a story.

Me: What is your favorite book and what are you currently reading?

Nat: I have no all around favorite--it's whatever I'm into at the moment, and I usually have multiple spines cracked. Today: Chime, The Vintage Tea Party Book, My Favorite Dress

Char: The Lord of the Rings is all-time fave- has everything. Reading: Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (J Foer), Underworld (M Cabot) and Innocent Darkness (S Lazear). (Depends where I'm sitting.)

Me: What other projects are you working on at this time?

Nat: Am planning revisions for a YA Victorian Fantasy out on sub, and finishing the draft of a somewhat historical, paranormal reaper tale :)

Char: I have a MG animal fantasy out on submission, and am working on 2 YA's; a scary ghost story and a paranormal/reincarnation story.

Me: Thank you, Natalie and Charlotte!

About the books, Sirenz (Amazon, B&N, Indiebound) and Sirenz Back In Fashion (Amazon, Indiebound):

 

Two frenemies and roomies, Meg and Shar, find to-die-for designer shoes--with tragic consequences. Only Hades, seductive Lord of the Underworld, can get the girls out of a terrible situation, but for a price... They must become his sirens, and complete a task before they kill each other- or have to go back to school.

In Sirenz, boarding school roomies Meg and Shar learned the hazards of making a deal with Hades, Lord of the Underworld. The wearing of a Tiffany's diamond ring in Sirenz Back In Fashion reactivates their contract, they find themselves back in his employ as sirens. And things are a little different this time; Shar is whisked off to the Underworld to play hostess as the dark god attempts to win her affections, while Meg is stuck topside, obligated to send spoiled rich girl Paulina Swanson to the Underworld. Hot gods, mere mortals and the Underworld have their secrets. Will Meg and Shar ever ditch Hades, and keep their wardrobes and souls intact?

And now for the giveaway! Just fill out the Rafflecopter form below and good luck!

Interview + Giveaway with C.J. Omololu, Author of Transcendence

I am very happy to welcome C.J. Omololu, author of the YA novel, Transcendence. I reviewed Transcendence yesterday, click here to read my review.

C.J. OMOLOLU majored in English at U.C. Santa Barbara because she liked to read, not because she liked to write. She later discovered that the voices in her head often have interesting things to say. Her YA novel, Dirty Little Secrets, is about hoarding and family secrets, came out in early 2010 and her most recent novel, Transcendence, is out now. Visit her online at www.cjomololu.com.

Me: Welcome to the blog, C.J.! Tell us about your latest novel, Transcendence.

C.J.: Transcendence is a book about a group of people who remember all of their past lives and how that changes what you do in this one. It’s a love story, but also a story about fate and destiny and looks at the question of changing them.  Just as my main character realizes that she’s becoming one of these people (called Akhet) she also finds that someone might be out to right a wrong that they felt she did to them in a past life. Mostly, it’s a lot of fun.

Me: I’m a character driven reader so I always ask authors about characters in their books. Where did you get the inspiration for the characters? Which character from Transcendence is your favorite?

C.J.: Me too – I always get the characters first.  The first character I had was Griffon. He’s named after a friend’s son who died a few years ago, and my thoughts about his death and the point of it all were what started me on the topic of reincarnation in the first place. The rest of them just basically appeared out of thin air, although my good friends tend to pick out characteristics that either have things in common with me (I hate tomatoes – it comes up in the book) or things they do.  My favorite character…I’m probably a little in love with Griffon, because I think you have to be in order to write a realistic romance. Of course, I adore my main character Cole, but she does things that irritate me sometimes. I really like her best friend Rayne because she’s fun, supportive and a little ditzy – all things that I want in my own best friends.

Me: I love that you feel this way about this way about your characters!

Me: I saw on your blog that you are working on a sequel to Transcendence. How many books are planned for the series?

C.J.: Two for sure. We’re just finishing up the second book and I have to say I really, really love it – it was my first time doing a sequel and it was so great to get back with these characters again. I end the books with a hint of what might come next, but there are no major cliffhangers. I hate those, and people seem to appreciate that. If people like the books enough, we may do a third – that possibility is always out there.

Me: Why do you write novels for children and young adults? How did you get started?

C.J.: My first published book was actually a picture book about time zones. One of my critique partners started writing young adult novels and it looked like so much fun that I gave it a try. Turns out, I have a pretty natural young adult voice, but that may mean I’m stunted in my emotional development around the age of 16.  It’s such a great time of discovery and starting to figure things out – I can’t imagine writing for any other group now. Plus the other young adult authors are insanely supportive. I’m a little afraid of adult authors.

Me: Why do you think it’s important to write young adult novels featuring characters of color?
 
C.J.: Because that’s who’s out there. My husband is black and we have two teenage sons, so for me it was natural to write a love interest that wasn’t white because honestly, that’s what I was attracted to at that age. I like to say that Transcendence is an interracial love story that isn’t an interracial love story. Cole is white and Griffon is biracial, but the story isn’t about race at all – in fact, one aspect of being Akhet is that you are reborn crossing gender, race and economic lines all the time.  I think there is a definite need for stories about racism and discrimination, but I love stories that include characters of color or characters who are gay ‘just because’ and don’t make it a thing of it in the text. My publisher got Griffon exactly right and I’m beyond thrilled they decided to put him on the cover. He’s so cute.

Me: I love the cover of Transcendence! Both Griffon and Cole look just like how they are described in the book and yes, Griffon is very cute!

Me: Do you read the same genre as you write? What are you currently reading?

C.J.: I pretty much read nothing but YA these days. I’m finishing Holly Black’s Black Heart and Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler right now. Next up is Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers and I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga, although my son says it’s too scary for me. I’m a wimp.

Me: What other projects are you working on at this time?

C.J.: We’re putting the final touches on the sequel to Transcendence (we don’t have a firm title yet) and I’m also working on a super secret project that I love. Kind of a contemporary thriller, but that’s all I can say right now.

Me: Thank you, C.J.!

About the book:
Title: Transcendence by C.J. Omololu
Release Date: June 5, 2012
Publisher: Walker & Company
Buy: Amazon, B&N, IndieBound

Goodreads Summary: When a visit to the Tower of London triggers an overwhelmingly real vision of a beheading that occurred centuries before, Cole Ryan fears she is losing her mind. A mysterious boy, Griffon Hall, comes to her aid, but the intensity of their immediate connection seems to open the floodgate of memories even wider.
As their feelings grow, Griffon reveals their common bond as members of the Akhet - an elite group of people who can remember past lives and use their collected wisdom for the good of the world. But not all Akhet are altruistic, and a rogue is after Cole to avenge their shared past. Now in extreme danger, Cole must piece together clues from many lifetimes. What she finds could ruin her chance at a future with Griffon, but risking his love may be the only way to save them both.

And now for the giveaway. As a part of the 2012 Muti-Cultural Book Challenge, Bloomsbury was wonderful enough to offer a finished copy of Transcendence for giveaway. If you take part in the challenge, you will have more entries in the giveaway. You can sign up for the challenge here. Just fill out the Rafflecopter form below and good luck!

Interview with Kimberly Reid, Author of the Langdon Prep Series

I’m very happy to welcome Kimberly Reid, author of My Own Worst Frenemy (Langdon Prep #1) and Creeping with the Enemy (Langdon Prep #2), to the blog!

Kimberly Reid grew up in Atlanta where she lived some of the same experiences Chanti Evans does in the Langdon Prep series: she attended a prep school where she did not fit in, her mom was a police detective and she always wanted to help her solve crimes. Like Chanti, she has lived most of her life around law enforcement types.

But that's about where the similarities end. Kimberly is way too conflict-averse (scared) to be a detective although she did give her two cents on some of her mother’s cases whether asked or not.

She now lives in Colorado, which is why she has Chanti solving crimes in the beautiful city of Denver. It’s a lot like any other big city except the mountains make it feel like you’re home but also on vacation.

Q: Tell us about Creeping with the Enemy. 

A: It’s the second book in a mystery series about fifteen-year-old Chanti Evans, the daughter of an undercover cop who has been offered a scholarship to Langdon Prep, an elite private school on the other side of town from her tough neighborhood. She doesn’t want to go, but her mom thinks it’s the best way to keep Chanti out of trouble. It turns out there is more scandal and intrigue at Langdon than back home, and Chanti needs to use detective skills learned from mom to keep herself and her friends out of danger. In Creeping with the Enemy, Chanti has to figure out secrets her friend Bethanie is keeping, including her new boyfriend, before she gets hurt in more ways than a broken heart.

Q: How did you come up with the idea for The Langdon Prep Series? 

A: I was watching an episode of Veronica Mars and realized how similar her TV life was to my real life when I was in high school, minus all the crime-solving. My mother was a police detective and I learned a lot about crime-solving from her, but I never had a chance to put it into practice. This series gives me a chance to play detective. As for the Langdon Prep part, that also really happened to me. I grew up in a so-so neighborhood but won a scholarship to a private school way across town. Compared to me, I thought all those kids were living like the Kardashians and I felt out of place. So basically I ripped off my life and added more than a dash of drama and danger.

Q: Where did you get the inspiration for the characters? 

A: Since I got the basic premise from my real life, Chanti and her mom were inspired by my mother and me, though the book is not autobiographical and the characters are quite different than us. Chanti’s mom is a lot stricter than mine was, and I was more practical and sensible than Chanti – I had to grow up before I found my sense of adventure. Marco, Chanti’s love interest, was inspired by all the boys I crushed on in my teens who didn’t know I existed. Bethanie – I’m not quite sure where Bethanie came from – I guess I just conjured her up. I had great friends as a teen, but ex-juvenile delinquent MJ is the friend I never had but wish I did – there never would have been a dull moment and I’d always have good backup in a fight. 

Q: Which character from the series is your favorite? 

A: Probably MJ. I think I can have a lot of fun with her character as the series goes on.

Q: What do you have in store for The Langdon Prep Series? How many books do you have planned? 

A: In Creeping with the Enemy, I introduce an ongoing story – a mystery about Chanti’s family – that will provide a backdrop to the new case Chanti will work in each book. As her detective skills grow, she’ll use them to solve the bigger family mystery. When I first thought up the series, I wanted to take Chanti into college because I was working on a college campus at the time and figured I could use that experience in the book. But as slowly as I’m progressing through her junior year, I think that would take more than the six or seven books I had originally planned. But so much of how long a series lasts is driven by how long the readers want to keep reading it.

Q: On Truly Bookish, I highlight YA books written by ethnic minorities or featuring ethnic minorities as main characters. I love the idea that your main character is a 15-year-old sleuth and a girl of color! Why do you think it is important to have characters of different backgrounds and ethnicities in YA fiction? 

A: I was a big reader as early as I can remember, and read just about anything I could get my hands on, but rarely did those books have characters of color. I still enjoyed reading them, but wondered why I didn’t see faces like mine in my early picture books, or later, why kids like those I saw every day in my neighborhood didn’t show up in fiction. Were we not interesting or pretty or smart enough to be part of the story? So I want to give young readers of color a chance to read stories that aren’t about race or cultural history and identity but do include characters of color experiencing the same fun/angst/tragedy/romance/fear that white characters get to in YA books. Kids everywhere, no matter their race or cultural perspective, have to deal with the same issues on the way to growing up.

Q: Do you read the same genre as you write? What are you currently reading?

A: I like to read in all genres of fiction, adult and YA, as well as nonfiction and poetry. As a reader, it’s just more interesting to read around. As a writer, it keeps me from getting tunnel-vision if I read outside my genre, and the diversity helps me improve my writing skills. Right now, I’m catching up on Lee Child’s Jack Reacher series and I’ll be starting Toni Morrison’s new book. Upcoming YA books I want to check out include Angela Johnson’s A Certain October, Kekla Magoon’s 37 Things I Love, and Malin Alegria’s Crossing the Line. So many books, so little time.

Q: What other projects are you working on at this time?

A: I’m working on the third book in the Langdon Prep series, which will be out next year.

Thank you, Kimberly!

About Creeping with the Enemy

Title: Creeping with the Enemy by Kimberly Reid

Release Date: May 1, 2012
Publisher: Kensington
Buy: Amazon, B&N, Books-A-Million

Goodreads Summary: Using skills learned from her mom, an undercover cop, Chanti Evans has already exposed lies and made enemies at her posh new school, so she’s no stranger to the games people play. But she’s learning the hard way that at Langdon Prep, friends can play more dangerous games than any enemy.

There’s nothing like having someone in your corner when you’re the new girl in school, but Chanti can’t help suspecting that everything about her new friend, Bethanie, is a lie—especially once she starts skipping classes and blowing Chanti off for her mysterious crush, Cole. Chanti really doesn’t need the trouble of finding out the truth. She’s busy enough trying to convince her almost-boyfriend Marco that her amateur sleuthing won’t come between them again. But when Bethanie disappears with Cole, Chanti has only one chance to find her—even as her investigation puts her love life, and everything else, at risk….

Interview + Giveaway with Andrew Fukuda, Author of The Hunt

I’m thrilled to welcome Andrew Fukuda, author of The Hunt, to the blog! I reviewed The Hunt yesterday, it is so good and you can read my review here. Welcome to the blog, Andrew!

Born in Manhattan and raised in Hong Kong, Andrew Fukuda is half-Chinese, half-Japanese. After earning a bachelor's degree in history from Cornell University, Fukuda worked in Manhattan's Chinatown with the immigrant teen community. That experience led to the writing of Crossing, his debut novel that was selected by ALA Booklist as an Editor's Choice, Top Ten First Novel, and Top Ten Crime Novel in 2010. Before becoming a full time writer, Fukuda was a criminal prosecutor for seven years. He currently resides on Long Island, New York, with his family.

Me: In the spirit of Twitter, tell us about The Hunt in 140 characters or less.

AF: Don’t get eaten. #RunForYourLife

Me: The combination of humans being hunted to extinction and the nature of the hunters in The Hunt is unique and exciting! How did you come up with the idea for the story?

AF: The Hunt likely began while watching Adam Lambert’s performance of Tears for Fears’ Mad World on American Idol. The following lyrics made an impression, and stayed with me for days afterwards.

Went to school and I was very nervous
No one knew me, no one knew me
Hello teacher tell me what's my lesson
Look right through me, look right through me.

From those lyrics, a single image popped into my head: of a boy sitting in a classroom, desperately lonely despite the many students around him, wanting to be ignored. This boy had a secret, I came to see, one so awful that if it were ever made known his otherwise civil classmates would--in a split second--kill him. I pondered what that secret might be. When it came to me, I literally jumped out of my seat: the boy was the only surviving human in a world filled with vampire-like creatures. No existence could be lonelier or scarier than that.

Me: Now that is a cool way to come up with an idea for a story!

Me: I read in your bio that your debut novel, Crossing, was inspired by your work in Manhattan's Chinatown with the immigrant teen community. What were your inspirations while you were writing The Hunt?

AF: There were many inspirations while writing The Hunt, but I feel particularly indebted to Edward Hopper, a painter who once stated that he had a “propensity for solitude.” His work Morning Sun was a painting I returned to time and again, especially during dry spells in my writing. Something about the stark loneliness of the woman on the bed despite (or because of) the sunlight captured the solitude and isolation with which I wanted to fill the pages of this book. I feel indebted to this painting for the way it spoke of loneliness in a manner that was both nuanced and powerful. Hopefully, this layered kind of loneliness came through in the protagonist Gene of The Hunt.

Me: What do you have in store for the series and how many books will there be?

AF: I can’t get into specifics but there are some mind-blowing revelations to come. The Hunt is a trilogy, so two more books to come.

Me: Why do you write novels for young adults and how did you get started?

AF: I’m not sure I ever planned to be a YA author. I’ve always written simply for myself. In fact, while writing The Hunt, I wasn’t aware I was penning a YA book. I simply wrote in a way which came natural to me. My wife likes to tease that deep down, I’m a perpetual (wait: did she say petulant?) teenager; I prefer to think there’s an eternal fountain of youth in me.

Me: What is your favorite thing about writing?

AF: I love the creation and exploration of completely new worlds of my own imagining. Somebody once said that the art of creation is a sacred act, and there are times – when I’ve written the perfect sentence/paragraph/chapter – that I’d tend to agree.

Me: What are you currently reading?

AF: The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey. Her writing is some kind of wonderful. It curls my toes and makes me want to hug myself.

Me: Thank you, Andrew!


About The Hunt

Title: The Hunt by Andrew Fukuda

Release Date: May 8, 2012
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin
Genre: Dystopia, Horror
Buy: Amazon, B&N, Book Depository

Goodreads Summary: Don’t Sweat. Don’t Laugh. Don’t draw attention to yourself. And most of all, whatever you do, do not fall in love with one of them.

Gene is different from everyone else around him. He can’t run with lightning speed, sunlight doesn’t hurt him and he doesn’t have an unquenchable lust for blood. Gene is a human, and he knows the rules. Keep the truth a secret. It’s the only way to stay alive in a world of night—a world where humans are considered a delicacy and hunted for their blood.

When he’s chosen for a once in a lifetime opportunity to hunt the last remaining humans, Gene’s carefully constructed life begins to crumble around him. He’s thrust into the path of a girl who makes him feel things he never thought possible—and into a ruthless pack of hunters whose suspicions about his true nature are growing. Now that Gene has finally found something worth fighting for, his need to survive is stronger than ever—but is it worth the cost of his humanity?

And now for the giveaway. As a part of the 2012 Muti-Cultural Book Challenge, St. Martin’s Griffin was wonderful enough to offer a finished copy of The Hunt for giveaway. If you take part in the challenge, you will have more entries in the giveaway. You can sign up for the challenge here. Just fill out the Rafflecopter form below and good luck!

Interview with Julie Kagawa, Author of The Immortal Rules!

I am thrilled to host a Q&A with New York Times Best Selling Author Julie Kagawa! Julie is one of my favorite authors and I am ecstatic about the books she has coming out this year. Welcome to the blog, Julie!

Q: After writing the Iron Fey series for so many years, how difficult was it to immerse yourself in a futuristic world filled with vampires, rabids and an enslaved human race?

A:It was...very different. I think the hardest thing for me was the fact that this story does take place in the real world -- a futuristic, vampire-infested world, but the real world nonetheless. Things had to make sense, for example: how far can a large group walk in a single day if there were no roads, they were going through thick woods, and there were children in the group? I had to have logical reasons for everything; I couldn't just make something work "because of faery magic," lol.

Q: Just like Meghan Chase in the Iron Fey series, the main character in The Immortal Rules, Allison Sekemoto, is a “take charge and kick butt” kind of girl. Is this intentional? What woman – real or fictional, alive or deceased – do you look up to or admire?

A: Yes, Allison comes from a very different world than Meghan Chase. Meghan's upbringing was pretty normal; Allison grew up among vampires and monsters, where every day was a fight to live, so she couldn't afford to be weak. While Meghan had to learn to "take charge and kick butt," Allison's first impulse is stab first, talk later.

As for female role models, the first that comes to mind--when it comes to kicking vampire butt, anyway -- is Buffy Summers. Thank you, Joss Whedon, for making me love feisty, snarky, heroines who can dust all sorts of nasties but who also look good in a cheerleading outfit. ;)

Q: You mention in your acknowledgements in The Immortal Rules that at the beginning of your writing career you promised yourself you wouldn’t write a vampire book. What changed your mind?

A: Well, there were already so many really good books about our favorite bloodsuckers, so many stories and ideas, I thought I didn't have anything new to add to the masses. I was actually toying with a post-apocalyptic YA novel when my agent mentioned I might want to try writing a vampire series. I wasn't intrigued with the idea at first, but then I thought about combining vampires with the post-apocalyptic novel and then rest sort of fell into place.

Q: Allison claims she hates vampires and believes they are monsters yet when faced with a choice of die or become one, she becomes a vampire. Would you have made that same decision?  

A: Me personally? No. I'm like Zeke in the belief that there is something better waiting for me beyond this life, and I just have to do my best until it’s time for me to go. Besides, I love pizza and Mountain Dew too much to give it up.

Q: Who do you think the most complex character is in The Immortal Rules?

A: Probably Kanin, Allie's sire. He's a vampire who has made his peace about being a monster, yet chooses to live by his own set of moral rules. He warns Allison about getting too close to humans, yet he does not kill unless he absolutely has to. He is tormented about something in his past that he refuses to share with anyone. He is certainly the most mysterious of all the characters, if not the most complex.

Q: How many books will be in the Blood of Eden series? When will the next book be coming out?

A: At the moment, there are three books planned, with the second coming out sometime next spring, after the release of the new Iron Fey series this fall.

Q: Before you starting writing full time you were a professional dog trainer. Do the professions share any similarities?

A: Lol, well you have to think on your feet a lot. And some of the small dogs could be compared to tiny snapping goblins, but writing requires less dodging skills, though perhaps the same amount of creativity and problem solving.

Q: When starting a new series, like Blood of Eden, do you have the entire series mapped out in detail or do you let the story develop book by book?

A: I have a high point that I write toward in each story; I know this and this has to happen, but getting from point A to point B usually develops as I go along.

And for the speed round:

Q: What book have you read and re-read, and read yet again?

A: Any of the Harry Potter books.

Q: Favorite song to play when writing a fight scene?

A: My "favorites" change daily. Right now its "Awake and Alive" by Skillet.

Q: Worst job?

A: Working a kiosk in the mall during Christmas. It sold glass figurines, and the maneuvering space around the hundreds of very breakable merchandise was quite small. I was like a bull in a china shop.

Q: Best vacation spot?

A: Walt Disney World

Q: Sweets or salty?

A: Sweet.

Q: One thing most people don’t know about you – and would never guess!

A: I used to play the flute when I was a kid. I was really good at it too, but my instructor stopped teaching to have a family, and I never went back to it.

Thank you stopping by, Julie! Here is some additional information about The Immortal Rules and the awesome book trailer:

Title: The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa

Release Date: April 24, 2012
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Pre-order: Amazon, B&N, Harlequin, Indiebound

Goodreads Summary: In a future world, vampires reign. Humans are blood cattle. And one girl will search for the key to save humanity.

 Allison Sekemoto survives in the Fringe, the outermost circle of a vampire city. By day, she and her crew scavenge for food. By night, any one of them could be eaten.

Some days, all that drives Allie is her hatred of them. The vampires who keep humans as blood cattle. Until the night Allie herself is attacked—and given the ultimate choice. Die… or become one of the monsters.

Faced with her own mortality, Allie becomes what she despises most. To survive, she must learn the rules of being immortal, including the most important: go long enough without human blood, and you will go mad.

Then Allie is forced to flee into the unknown, outside her city walls. There she joins a ragged band of humans who are seeking a legend—a possible cure to the disease that killed off most of humankind and created the rabids, the mindless creatures who threaten humans and vampires alike.

But it isn't easy to pass for human. Especially not around Zeke, who might see past the monster inside her. And Allie soon must decide what—and who—is worth dying for.

Author Interview: Jaime Reed, Living Violet

I very happy to welcome Jaime Reed, author of the YA novel, Living Violet and The Cambion Chronicles series. I reviewed (and loved!) Living Violet yesterday, click here to read my review.

Me: Welcome Jaime. How did you come up with the idea for LIVING VIOLET

JR: It’s a lot of things, actually. I can’t really pinpoint one specific burst of inspiration. I just remember thinking about supernatural creatures and how normal people would react if they came across one, as oppose to what you usually read about. The creature mentioned in the story actually came from my love of vampires and their origins, and it kinda snowballed from there. As far as settings and world building, it’s a collection of life experiences and living in my home town.

Me: Where did you get the inspiration for the characters?

JR: Life. I love to people-watch and study nuances of a person’s personality. But most of the characters are bits and pieces of people I know, friends, and family. It’s funny when they come to me after reading the book and try to guess which character they are. They find it flattering.

Me: Which character from the book is your favorite?

JR: I don’t really have a personal favorite, but I do have a strange crush on Robbie Ford. He has the smallest role in the entire story, but I’m in love with him. I have no idea why. He’s kinda pervy.

Me: I see the attraction. Boys who are master hackers and can throw epic parties dressed only in a silk bathrobe and boxers fascinate me. I hope we see more of him in the sequel.

Me: What do you have in store for The Cambion Chronicles? How many books are planned for the series?

JR: I signed on with my publisher for three books, so it’s definitely going to be a trilogy, but you never know. Stranger things have happened.

Me: I read in your bio that you try to create characters who are people of color. Please tell us more about your motivation behind the decision and why it’s important to have characters of different backgrounds in YA fiction.

JR: Oh, that’s a tough one. Well, simply put, there are hardly any people of color in the genre. There are some in contemporary YA fiction; they even have their own sub-category, but none in the paranormal arena. My question is ‘why?’ Why the segregation? Does the supernatural only happen to those of a certain ethnicity? Why can’t a person of color be the hero instead of a side character with little to no purpose? Good and evil comes in all shades and I believe in equal- opportunity monsters. I want to even things out a bit and introduce different cultures to a wider audience. I wanted to write a book where my twelve-year-old niece could read it and say “Wow, she’s just like me.”

Me: Do you read the same genre as you write? What are you currently reading?

JR: It’s so weird. When I was a teenager, all I read were adult books, but now that I’m in my 30’s, all I seem to read these days are teen books. I could play it off and say it’s for research and inspiration, but that would be only half true. I’m not really reading anything right now, but I have a list of debut novels that I plan to dive into around February.

Me: What other projects are you working on at this time?

JR: I have a contemporary YA piece on the back burner and another paranormal series on hold. But for the time being, I’m focusing solely on The Cambion Chronicles. Once I finish with that, I’ll be open to just about anything.

Me: Thank you, Jaime!

Contact Jaime on Twitter, her blog, or on Facebook.

Living Violet is an awesome book and it is our January giveaway for the Multi-Cultural Book Challenge. Make sure you sign-up and participate for a chance to win.