Blog Tour: Interview, Excerpt + Giveaway - The Galahad Legacy

I am very excited to be a part of the blog tour for the release of The Galahad Legacy by Dom Testa! Dom was gracious enough to answer a few questions plus I have an excerpt of the final book in the series, The Galahad Legacy, and a giveaway of the entire series!

About the author: DOM TESTA has been a radio show host since 1977. He is currently a co-host of the popular "Dom and Jane Show" on Mix 100 in Denver. A strong advocate of literacy programs for children, Dom began The Big Brain Club to help young people recognize that Smart Is Cool. More information on Dom Testa, his books and educational work can be found here at www.DomTesta.com.
Follow Dom: Website | Blog | Twitter | Facebook | YouTube

Welcome Dom! Tell us about The Galahad series and your latest novel, The Galahad Legacy.

First, NC, thanks for the opportunity to be a part of Truly Bookish. I appreciate your passion about young adult books!

I've been hosting writing workshops and assemblies with schools for about 20 years, and decided to craft a series for middle school and high school students that focused on some of the best and brightest young people from around the world. Rather than the standard YA template of making the protagonist a "troubled" or "rebellious" teen, I wondered how high-achieving young people would fare when thrown into a desperate situation.

The characters in the Galahad series are far from perfect, and that's obvious right away. But they're also sharp, talented teens who are bold and curious, and willing to take on the biggest challenge in human history. I loved the idea of discovering how teenaged characters would learn to rely on themselves and each other in order to overcome catastrophe.

The Galahad Legacy is the sixth and final installment in the award-winning series, and ties up most of the threads that began back in The Comet's Curse, the first book. Note that I said "most" of the threads... Ha ha!

Where did the inspiration for the series come from? Why science fiction?

The original idea was to explore how young people fared in a difficult situation with no adults around. So, although the plan wasn't necessarily to create a science fiction series, it turned out to be the best vehicle for what I was writing. And that's fine with me, because some of the most inspiring and thought-provoking books I read as a kid were science fiction. I cut my teeth on Arthur C. Clarke, Isaac Asimov, and Michael Crichton (his VERY early days).

Which one of the books in the series was your favorite to write and why?

Tough question, but I'll go with this last episode, The Galahad Legacy. I had a total blast writing this story, trying to wrap up a variety of story lines, and (hopefully) satisfying the most ardent Galahad fans.

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

I wear a lot of hats, including hosting the top-rated morning radio show in Denver, as well as overseeing a non-profit education foundation (more on that later). But I also visit schools and help young people to discover their own creative spark. It was a natural for me to create a story specifically for those students. As for how it started: Sitting in my office in my basement with a legal pad and pen. I still have the original notes that I scribbled that day.

What is your favorite thing about writing?

It's similar to hosting the radio show, because in both instances I get to live a fantasy life for a brief time before checking back in with the real world. It's an escape, but a healthy one (usually). ;)

What are you currently reading?

Right now I'm reading two books. One is Man's Search For Meaning, by Viktor Frankl. I'm also reading the final book in Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars trilogy, Blue Mars. I've had that trilogy for more than 15 years and have just NOW finally read them. Sorry, Kim! But it's been worth the wait; they're fascinating books.

I love the idea behind the Big Brain Club! Tell us about it and why programs like this are so important to students.

We talk a lot in America about the various forms of peer pressure that young people struggle with, like alcohol and drugs and sex. But, in my opinion, one of the most devastating and most suffocating forms of pressure that kids face is academic peer pressure. Millions of kids intentionally dumb down because society and pop culture have continually told us that smart kids are nerds or dorks or geeks. Hollywood and television have made billions by portraying smart kids as socially awkward and inept, and young adults are incredibly sensitive to that stereotyping. Therefore, they blow off their education in order to impress their friends with how "cool" they are.

Then, when they walk out of high school, they find that they're hosed. They've wasted some of the most important years of their life trying to fit into some ridiculous notion of what's "cool." My foundation, The Big Brain Club, isn't about straight A's or honor rolls (although we like those); our mission is to help young people become the best versions of themselves. We help students visualize what REALLY matters going forward, and how what they do in a classroom today has a cascading effect on the rest of their lives.

We not only visit schools in person and through Skype presentations, but we provide technology to school libraries and classrooms, and we publish the creative writing of middle school students. More info (and a chance to donate to this registered non-profit foundation) can be found at: www.BigBrainClub.com.

Thanks for asking about that, NC

Now that the Galahad series is complete, what other projects are you working on?

Two things. I've just finished a non-fiction book about the problem that my foundation, The Big Brain Club, is addressing. The book is called Smart Is Cool.

I've also finished the first book in a new mystery series for young adults, and I'm working on the second one right now. I'll finish at least the first two before I sell the series.

Thanks again for this opportunity, NC, and thanks for all you do in the world of teen literature. All the best. Dom

Thank you, Dom!

Excerpt: Triana was quiet a moment, again gathering her thoughts. “But I don’t think I passed out because of anything physical. I think it was my mind’s way of coping with the sudden change, shutting down rather than attempting to process what was going on around it. A defense mechanism, maybe. I don’t know. But I was out.
“When I came to—and I have no idea how long that could have been—I was back in what appeared to be normal space.”

“So,” Gap said, “you have no idea how long it took to travel through the wormhole. Roc, any thoughts on that?”

Please visit Kid Lit Frenzy for the next excerpt from the second chapter of The Galahad Legacy and fill out the Rafflecopter form below to will all six books in the series!

Book Review and Blog Tour: Pure

I am thrilled to be a stop on the blog tour for Pure by Jennifer L. Armentrout hosted by Valerie at Stuck in Books!

Title: Pure by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Release Date: April 3, 2012
Publisher: Spencer Hill Press
Pages: 329 pages
Genre: Mythology, YA Urban Fantasy
Buy: Amazon, B&N, Book Depository

Goodreads Summary: There is need. And then there is Fate... Being destined to become some kind of supernatural electrical outlet isn't exactly awesome--especially when Alexandria's "other half" is everywhere she goes. Seth's in her training room, outside her classes, and keeps showing up in her bedroom--so not cool. Their connection does have some benefits, like staving off her nightmares of the tragic showdown with her mother, but it has no effect on what Alex feels for the forbidden, pure-blooded Aiden. Or what he will do--and sacrifice--for her.

When daimons infiltrate the Covenants and attack students, the gods send furies--lesser gods determined to eradicate any threat to the Covenants and to the gods, and that includes the Apollyon... and Alex. And if that and hordes of aether-sucking monsters didn't blow bad enough, a mysterious threat seems willing to do anything to neutralize Seth, even if that means forcing Alex into servitude... or killing her.

When the gods are involved, some decisions can never, ever be undone.

Jennifer L. Armentrout has made a name for herself in the YA urban fantasy market and with good reason. Her books have this exciting, unputdownable quality to them that I love. Pure is no different. Plus, I’m a mythology junkie and with furies, oracles, Greek gods and demi-gods, I devoured this book and can’t wait for the next in the series.

Pure picks up shortly after Half-blood (read my review of Half-Blood here) with Alex attending school at the Covenant and playing catch up with her training. In addition to Alex being trained by her off-limits crush, Aiden, she now has to spar with Seth, the Apollyon and the one she is ‘fated’ to be with. The world of these demi-gods is more fully explored in Pure and we get to see the politics of their society. We also see the segregation between the Pures and the Half-bloods and it eye-opening. I really hoping that at some point in the series, there will be a slave revolt and the Half-bloods, especially the ones in servitude, will rebel and lay the smack-down on the Pures. The Pures so have it coming to them.

Ever at risk of being thrown into servitude herself, Alex continues to be hot-headed, impulsive and snarky although we do see her maturing quite a bit throughout the book, especially when she considers the consequences of some of her actions. Alex has a huge destiny to fulfill, one that she does not fully understand. She also has a lot of enemies and people working for her to fail. I’m looking forward to seeing the character grow throughout the series and really take control of her destiny especially when so many are trying to dictate it for her.

There is a love triangle in the book with Alex caught between Aiden and Seth. Seth is like the male version of Alex but he is even more hot-headed and impulsive than she is. Aiden is the opposite of Seth: he is calm, sensible, rational, even tempered and it’s obvious that he cares deeply about Alex. I know a lot of you may disagree but since I usually go for the good boy over the bad boy, I’m Team Aiden all the way!

Pure has exciting fight scenes, hot romance, a main character that you love and root for and enough Greek mythology to make me happy. I cannot wait for the third book in the series, Deity, which is scheduled for Nov. 2012.

Content: Kissing, sexual situations, profanity, underage drinking and violence.

My Rating: Really Good!

GIVEAWAY TIME!

Want to win a copy of this exciting book? To gain an entry in either/both of the tour giveaways for Pure, leave a comment here and then go to StuckInBooks and/or A Cupcake and a Latte with this link to complete your entry.

Waiting on Wednesday: Crewel

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine and spotlights upcoming novels we can't wait to read. This week’s choice is:

Title: Crewel by Gennifer Albin

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux Books for Young Readers
Publish Date: Oct. 16, 2012
Genre: Fantasy

Goodreads Summary: Incapable. Awkward. Artless. That’s what the other girls whisper behind her back. But sixteen year-old Adelice Lewys has a secret: she wants to fail.

Gifted with the ability to weave time with matter, she’s exactly what the Guild is looking for, and in the world of Arras, being chosen as a Spinster is everything a girl could want. It means privilege, eternal beauty, and being something other than a secretary. It also means the power to embroider the very fabric of life. But if controlling what people eat, where they live and how many children they have is the price of having it all, Adelice isn’t interested.

Not that her feelings matter, because she slipped and wove a moment at testing, and they’re coming for her—tonight.

Now she has one hour to eat her mom’s overcooked pot roast. One hour to listen to her sister’s academy gossip and laugh at her Dad’s stupid jokes. One hour to pretend everything’s okay. And one hour to escape.

Because once you become a Spinster, there’s no turning back.

Why am I waiting on Crewel? The summary sounds very original and the time weaving element sounds fantastic. I’m really excited to read this! What books are you waiting on?

Multi-Cultural Book Challenge - March Guest Post and Giveaway

March’s Multi-Cultural Book Challenge guest post and giveaway is being hosted by KM at One Page At A Time. Click on over there to read the awesome guest post by Ashley Hope Perez, author of What Can’t Wait, and enter the giveaway to win a copy of the book!

Book to Big Screen: The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists

This is a feature where I highlight books that upcoming movies are being based on. Today, I’m highlighting The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists, a humorous book by Gideon Defoe that the new movie, The Pirates! Band of Misfits, is partially adapted from.

Title: The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists by Gideon Defoe

Publish Date: Oct. 2004
Publisher: Pantheon
Movie Title: The Pirates! Band of Misfits
Movie Release Date: March 27, 2012
Genre: Comedy, Adventure

Goodreads Summary: Not since "Moby-Dick." No, not since "Treasure Island." Actually, not since Jonah and the Whale has there been a sea saga to rival "The Pirates In an Adventure with Scientists," featuring the greatest sea-faring hero of all time, the immortal Pirate Captain, who, although he lives for months at a time at sea, somehow manages to keep his beard silky and in good condition.

Worried that his pirates are growing bored with a life of winking at pretty native ladies and trying to stick enough jellyfish together to make a bouncy castle, the Pirate Captain decides it's high time to spearhead an adventure.

While searching for some major pirate booty, he mistakenly attacks the young Charles Darwin's Beagle and then leads his ragtag crew from the exotic Galapagos Islands to the fog-filled streets of Victorian London. There they encounter grisly murder, vanishing ladies, radioactive elephants, and the Holy Ghost himself. And that's not even the half of it.

After receiving a bad tip from another pirate, the Pirate Captain takes his crew south to the Galapagos Islands where they attack the Beagle, a ship they believe carries gold. Instead, they badly damage a scientific vessel with no gold but instead carries Charles Darwin. Darwin is on a mission to find and train a monkey to behave like a man, in essence, creating the first man-panzee. Feeling poorly for destroying Darwin’s ship, the Pirate Captain offers to take Darwin back to England, help get Mister Bobo (Darwin’s man-panzee) accepted into Victorian high society and rescue Erasmus, Darwin’s brother, who is being held captive by the evil Bishop of Oxford.

I usually don’t read comedy but maybe I should more often. I had no expectations of this book but it actually had me laughing out loud a couple of times. The Pirates! is one of those books this is not politically correct but the storyline is so over the top, it’s hard to be offended.

The Pirate Captain is portrayed as the suave, player type whose beard is always silky and well groomed. Darwin, on the other hand, is a geeky scientist who wants to be a success so he can attract ladies and he annoys other scientists with his theories. The villain of the story is the Bishop of Oxford who, by holding a large stake in P.T. Barnum’s Circus of Freaks, wants no competition from Darwin and Mister Bobo. In addition to holding Erasmus hostage, the nefarious Bishop is up to other unsavory activities as well.

The Pirates! Band of Misfits movie is actually based on Defoe’s first two books in the series (The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists and The Pirates! In an Adventure with Ahab: The Novel). I only read the first. Since this is an animated movie about pirates, I’m guessing the movie makers will forgo some of the more adult content (reference to the Pirate Captain being exhausted after entertaining a lady in his cabin for hours; the scarf wearing pirate hoping a girl will put out for him; the Bishop’s illegal activities; people getting run through with cutlasses; a pirate putting on a sheet pretending to be the Holy Ghost and performing wrestling moves) and while this content is mild, it is still not appropriate for younger children. 

As I mentioned before, The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists is surprisingly funny. While I wouldn’t recommend it for children, more mature teens and adults will find it a quick, laugh-out-loud read. I will be checking out the movie review for The Pirates! Band of Misfits at Plugged In before deciding if I will take my kids to see it.

Have you read either book that the movie is based on? What did you think? Do you plan on seeing the movie?

Content: References to adult situations and violence.

Giveaway: The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa!

I am so excited about The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa! She is one of my favorite authors and if you have not picked up her books in the Iron Fey series, you absolutely should! They are fantastic! Because Ms. Kagawa is so awesome, I am very happy to giveaway a copy of her latest book. Just fill out the Rafflecopter form below and good luck!  

 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.

Winners!

The winner of the Lucky Leprechaun Giveaway Hop is Bookworm Lisa and the winner of On The Flip Side is Jade. Both winners were chosen by Random.org and have been contacted. I still giving away a signed ARC of Partials by Dan Wells and I have more giveaways coming up soon. Congrats to all the winners and thank you to everyone who participated!