Interview with Ally Carter!

I am super excited to introduce the lovely Ally Carter, author of the Heist Society and Gallagher Girls series. The third novel in the Heist Society series (Perfect Scoundrels) just came out in the UK this month. If you haven't read her books yet, what have you been waiting for?!

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Ally Carter. Source: Ally's Facebook page.

Hi Ally! First off, I let me just say that I love your Heist Society series and Katarina (and not just because she shares my name!).

Yay! I dearly love writing about Kat, so it’s a joy to hear that she has fans.

Talk me through your writing a Heist novel: do you start thinking about a particular character or about the final heist?

Each book is a little different. I’m always trying to think about what I did last time and where I can go next. How do I push the characters? Where should their journeys take them? And perhaps most importantly, how can I write a very different book that gives the reader a very similar experience? That is one of the hardest things with series—making people feel like they are reading something totally fresh and new but still letting them feel like they’ve come back to a world and writing style that is familiar.

For Perfect Scoundrels, the story started with Hale. I’ve always known that Kat and her crew had it easy because of Hale and his vast resources. So I wanted to know what would happen if those resources went away. What would that do to the crew and how they operated? And, most importantly, what would it do to Hale and how would Kat cope with those changes?

I love how your novels have female characters taking on roles that are typically male. Did you set out to counteract the stereotype?

Probably not intentionally. I just don’t know any other way. I’m a woman. Most of my readers are girls and women. I certainly don’t think there is anything about my books that men and boys wouldn’t enjoy if they’d give them a chance, but I know how the world works. From this point forward in my career I will be known as a “girly” author, and so I will probably always write about girls. As to why I give the girls the fun jobs? Well…why wouldn’t I? It wasn’t a feminist statement. It was just the way I think it should be. Your main character should be the hero or heroine of his or her own journey, and that’s what I intend to write for the remainder of my career.

Will there be more books in the Heist series after Perfect Scoundrels?

I certainly didn’t set out to end the Heist series with Perfect Scoundrels, so if you see any reports of it being the third and final book in the trilogy, don’t believe them. That was never my intent. I’ve always seen the Heist series as being quite episodic. Maybe there will be three books. Maybe there will be thirty. I can say that I don’t have any more under contract at this time, but that certainly doesn’t mean the series is over. It just means I haven’t written a fourth one…yet. Will I? Only time will tell, but I’d really like to do that eventually.

I am hesitantly excited about the Heist Society movie (especially knowing that Drew Barrymore has signed on - amazing). Do you have any more news on the film front?

No. I’m afraid there’s nothing to talk about right now. Maybe there never will be anything to talk about. Or maybe a huge story will break tomorrow. That’s the way Hollywood works, I’m afraid.

You write books filled with espionage and white collar crime... you must get your inspiration somewhere! What are your favourite heist and spy books/movies/shows?

I’ve long been a fan of heist and con movies, going all the way back to watching The Sting with my father when I was a girl. I grew up on To Catch A Thief and How to Steal a Million. More recently, I’ve loved all the Ocean’s movies, The Thomas Crown Affair and The Italian Job. And what’s not to love about Leverage and White Collar? And there was a UK show called Hustle that I really enjoyed on DVD even though it never aired in the States (to my knowledge).

Thank you for answering my questions, Ally. :) 

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All about the author

Ally Carter writes books about spies, thieves, and teenagers. She is the New York Times Best-selling author of Heist Society, Uncommon Criminals, and the popular Gallagher Girls series, including I'd Tell You I Love You but Then I'd Have to Kill You, Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy, Don't Judge a Girl by Her Cover, and Only the Good Spy Young. She lives in the Midwest where her life is either very ordinary or the best deep-cover legend ever. She'd tell you more, but...well...you know...

Website ⎟ Twitter ⎟ Ally's Blog

Interview with Julianna Scott + Giveaway (US)!

Today, I'm happy to be part of Julianna Scott's blog tour for her debut young adult novel, The Holders. The book hits the shelves on March 5th in the US and March 7th in the UK.

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Julianna Scott

First off, congrats on the publication of The Holders. It's tough out there for a debut novelist!

Thanks so much! Yeah, it’s definitely rough out there, but my fabulous agent, Carly Watters, smoothed the process considerably. :-)
 
Could you tell me where your idea for The Holders came from? Were you lead there by a character or by the idea of the mythology?
Both actually. And a jewelry website. I’d had all this random idea for a story floating around in my head for awhile and I came across a Celtic jewelry website one day, and everything just sort of fell into place.
 
Are the "holders" based on existing lore or mythology?
I took some creative license of course, a good majority of it is actually based on several different Celtic legends and characters of Celtic lore.
 
Ireland is one of the main "characters" in your book; the atmosphere, the culture, even the language are key elements of The Holders. What was it about Ireland made you want to feature it so heavily? Do you think the book would have "worked" set elsewhere?
It is possible that it could have worked elsewhere, but that would have largely depended on the lore and mythology of the area. A lot of the lore in The Holders comes directly from Celtic Mythology, so that was a large reason Ireland worked so well. That, plus I have always found something beautifully mysterious about the atmosphere and the language that is almost as haunting as it si welcoming, and I knew I wanted that feel incorporated in my story.
 
Is The Holders part of a trilogy, or do you think you'll be exploring this world across a number of books?

It is planned for four books, but we’ll see what happens. :-)
 
What authors or novels have influenced your writing most? And, if you could pick just one, what writer (living or dead!) would you want to have as your beta?
Oh wow, that’s a hard one. As far as influenced so, I would have to say Richelle Mead. She has such an amazing talent for creating awesome characters. As for a beta, that one is really tough as I am so intimidated by other writers. I have what you might call an inferiority complex when it comes to writing. That isn’t to say I’m not confident in my work, because I am. It’s just that when I think of myself as ‘being a writer’ it is always subconsciously followed by ‘but I’ll never be a writer writer, like (fill in name of successful writer here). I would LOVE to have the chance to meet Jane Austen, and the Bronte sisters, and—to bring it to the modern day—Robin McKinley, as I love and admire their work, but I don’t think I could ever actually let any of them read or critique my stuff.

And, finally, as a debut novelist yourself, what advice would you give to aspiring authors out there?
Write. Seriously, just write. Don’t worry about telling the rest of the world that you are a writer, or getting followers on Twitter, or having everyone you know to ‘Like’ your author Facebook page, or chatting on writing forums, or starting a blog, or any of the other things that so many ‘writers’ spend their time doing. That stuff may make you feel like a writer, but the only thing that makes you a writer is writing. There will be more than enough time for the rest later, trust me. Spend your time writing, not ‘being a writer’.

Thank you for the great answers, Julianna!

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All about the author

Julianna was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and spent the majority of her educational career convinced she would be a musician. However, after receiving her music degree from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, she realized that she'd been born in the wrong era for her dreams of singing jazz to adoring fans clad in zoot-suits and flapper dresses to come true, and began to wonder if her true calling might be elsewhere.

While Julianna had always excelled in writing throughout school, she'd never considered it career possibility until about three years ago, when she'd gotten her first story idea and decided to go for it. She grabbed her laptop, started typing away, and has never looked back.

Website ⎟ Twitter ⎟ Holders Facebook Page

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Giveaway

Julianna is giving away some amaaaaazing prizes to celebrate the launch of The Holders. If you are in the US or Canada, click away!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Author Interview: Saci Lloyd talks tech, teens and the "big issues"

Today, I'm thrilled to be introducing Saci Lloyd, author of the Carbon Diaries series, Momentum and, her newest release, Quantum Drop. I am a big fan of this self-described "activist", and think her ability to address serious, global issues in her novels should not only be lauded, but emulated.

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Saci Lloyd. Photo by Emli Bendixen.

First off, what inspired you to write Quantum Drop? Where you lead to the book by a character or by a concept?

Oh, this book came from a lot of different angles. At the heart of it, for me is an exploration of the way human beings live on the planet. I’m fascinated by our strange minds, how we make up insane systems and then live by the weird rules we made up. No other animal does this. I also wanted to write it from the point of view of a bunch of very extraordinary ‘ordinary’ young people. Anthony is named after the Belle and Sebastian song – Lord Anthony – and the lines ‘Anthony bullied at school, get your own back now you are cool’ are an essential part of how I perceive this character.

Your YA novels incorporate serious, real-life issues into them (climate change, the financial crash) - do you consciously set out to tackle these themes, or are you just inspired by current events?


I’m drawn to write about the big issues of the day. What could be bigger than climate change and the financial crash that bankrupted us all? I’m also enraged on behalf of the younger generation, that they’ve had their future world messed up by shortsighted politicians and corrupt financiers. Sometimes I wish I was drawn to writing about goblins, but I just can’t do it somehow.

Quantum Drop was one of the first books I've read in a while to be narrated from a boy's point of view. What made you opt for a male POV and how was it different to writing the Carbon Diaries?



Anthony felt very natural to me. He’s a pretty sensitive soul in his own messed up way, so it wasn’t like I had to create some super macho figure. Having said that, I did interview a lot of boys before starting to write – as I wanted to make sure I was getting the tone right. Anyway, I really enjoyed it, Anthony is very real and alive to me in exactly the same way that Laura Brown is in the Carbon Diaries. That’s when you can tell if a character is working – when they start to act up and invade your mind off the page. Anthony and Laura were both a total pain in the ass.

I feel like the teenagers of 2012 are more "plugged in" than any other generation - technology is just so natural to them. Do you think these teens will have a different appreciation for Quantum Drop than the rest of us?

The pace of technology is speeding up all the time. When I first wrote Momentum and Quantum Drop I used to have to wave my arms a lot while I explained how a visor or a laser beamed onto a retina might work. Now I just point to Google glass and it’s easy. The next stage will surely be some kind of hook up to the optic nerve. Terrifying really, when you think how dumb we are with our little screens. No, but seriously, I don’t think there’s anything to be worried about with technology as long as it’s us using the tech and not the other way around.

Final question: what's next on your agenda? Do you have any other books in the works and, if so, what will they be about?

Yeah I do. I’m working on a novel called 50% Banana, set in a parallel earth run by Californians. It’s a comedy. I’m really enjoying writing it.

OK - that sounds awesome. Thank you for answering my questions, Saci! Check out my review of Quantum Drop here.

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All about the author

Before becoming an internationally-acclaimed author and activist, Saci has held down a bewildering variety of non-jobs, including being a storyboard artist, a cartoonist, a singer in a band, an animator and a script editor for Camouflage Films. She recently stepped down as Head of Media at NewVIc, but continues her association with the East London college. Saci's first novel, The Carbon Diaries 2015, was shortlisted for the Costa Book Award and is in development with the BBC and Momentum has attracted a great deal of studio interest in LA. Her newest book, Quantum Drop, will be out in stores 7 February 2013.

Website ⎟ Twitter ⎟ Facebook

Guest Post: Julie Kawaga talks about sacrifice (in books!)

Julie Kagawa is the best-selling author of the Iron Fey series - the latest installment of which (The Iron Knight) is out now in the UK. I asked her what authors and books inspired her to become an author in her own right, and here's what she had to say! (BTW, Julie? Your teenage years sound an awful lot like mine!)

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Julie Kawaga

In middle school and all the way through high school, all I did was read.  I read on the way to class, I read after class, I read in class with novels hidden behind my textbooks (my teachers were not appreciative of this).

And while many of the books and authors sort of blended together in that time (I read nothing but fantasy), a couple do stand out as books that have influenced me as a reader and an author.  One was The Scions of Shannara series by Terry Brooks.  It had all the essential fantasy plotlines: a great, stirring evil, a band of unlikely heroes, a race to save the world.  But what I remembered most about the series were the characters, particularly one character's storyline where he fell in love with a mysterious girl, journeyed with her to stop a rising evil and, as she had been sent to do from the start, watched her sacrifice herself in the end to save them all.

Readers of my books and blog know my love of Ultimate Noble Sacrifice endings.  Well, I think it began right here, with Morgan Leah and Quickening, and their star-crossed love story.  I remember thinking, while tears were pouring down my face, that I wanted to do this someday; write a novel with characters that could make you laugh, fall in love with them, and sob your heart out.  So, thank you, Mr. Brooks, for your wonderful series and characters, and for making me cry at beautiful, tragic love stories.  I only hope my characters can inspire the same.  :)

~ Julie Kawaga

For more about Julie and her Iron Fey series, check out her fantastic series website for info, extras and even quizzes!

Interview with Rachel Vincent (If I Die Blog Tour)

This is the third time I've had the pleasure of interviewing Rachel Vincent here on Dead Book Darling - a testament to a) her awesome blogosphere presence, and b) how much I friggin' love her work.

Readers should note that most of this Q&A deals with post-If I Die issues. That said, if you haven't read the book you won't be truly spoiled by reading this interview. But if you have read it, the answers will make a lot more sense!

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Rachel Vincent

Interview with Urban Fantasy and YA author Rachel Vincent

Q. I have always been a big fan of Tod's, so If I Die was an absolute treat for me. But I can't help but wonder, did you always plan for Tod to go from being a side character to having a staring role?

A. No. Tod (much like Sabine) kind of grabbed his part and squeezed everything he could from it. Like a child born for the spotlight. He’s irrepressible, and I love finding new things out about him as I go.


Q. Nash seems to have changed a lot in the course of the series - are we seeing the "real" him now? Or is this "just the frost" that's talking?

A. At this point, I’m not sure that even Nash knows what the “real” Nash looks and feels like. I didn’t realize how complicated and tragic a path I was putting in front of Nash until I got to the end of My Soul To Keep and realized there was no turning back, without taking a copout ending (having Kaylee forgive and forget, which would have been unhealthy for her, and having Nash miraculously cured). And I don’t do copouts. So I had to admit that the only way out of this mess for Nash was the long way. The truth is that an addict is never cured. The cravings are always there, and the best you can really hope for is the strength to fight them. And to keep fighting. So there’s definitely hope for Nash, but that hope lies in continued strength, not in a miracle cure.


Q. While I am in love with what you've done to Nash, Tod, and Kaylee, I wonder if I am alone in my feelings. Have you received much positive/negative fan reaction to If I Die?

A. You know, it’s been interesting. And if anything, the reader reaction to If I Die has reiterated for me that there’s no way to please everyone with one book. Once people had read My Soul To Steal and realized that Tod had feelings for Kaylee, but that she didn’t know it, I started finding lots of reviews (many were actually comment threads) containing ultimatums. In fact, on Goodreads there was a pair of reviews only one or two apart that made me laugh out loud. Then want to cry. One said that if I put Tod and Kaylee together, she’d never read another one of my books again. Two reviews later, another reader wrote that If I didn’t put Tod and Kaylee together, she’d never read another one of my books.

Overall, I have to say I’m thrilled that people are attached to the characters enough to care that much what happens to them. I consider that a success. But sometimes it’s really hard to remember that the world is big, and every reader is different. Some are going to love a book for the very same reason others hate it, and there’s nothing I can do about that. Which is good, because I can’t possibly craft a story to please its potential audience. All I can do is write the story the way I see it, staying true to the characters, even if that means making some of the readers mad. I can’t afford to wimp out (or copout) just because someone won’t like that ending. Someone will always dislike every ending.

Q. With If I Die being such a game-changer of a book, I can only imagine that Before I Wake is going to be very different to the rest of the series. Am I right? And if so, how did that change how you went about writing the book?

A. Yes. That’s inevitable. Without giving too much away, pretty much everyone’s changed at the end of If I Die, but the most difficult transitions are for Nash and Kaylee. Before I Wake is the sloth book (My Soul To Take was vanity, My Soul To Save was greed, My Soul To Keep was gluttony, My Soul To Steal was envy, and If I Die was lust.) which presented a unique challenge from the very beginning. How can you write a sloth-themed book and keep it fast-paced and exciting?

In the end, the answer to that came from the characters’ natural personal progression. I’m illustrating sloth as depression, but the book is really about fighting depression—and fighting evil. Among other things. Both Kaylee and Nash are wrestling with things they’ve never felt before, and they’re both having trouble dealing. They both have a good support system, but they’re also kind of in the media spotlight at the moment, because the things that happened at the end of If I Die have drawn real-world attention, which is the last thing either of them needs.

On the surface, however, for a more accessible answer to your question, Before I Wake involves the consequences of what Tod did for Kaylee in If I Die. In the Netherworld, no good deed goes unpunished. ;)


Q. Finally, can you give us a few teasers about what to expect from Before I Wake?

A. Um…battling evil. Friendship. Loyalty. Growing up, even if your dad isn’t ready for that to happen. Living with consequences. And kissing. ;)


As always, thank you Rachel for answering my questions. I absolutely cannot wait for Before I Wake! Check back in tomorrow for my review of If I Die (my favourite Soul Screamers book yet).

Interview with author Rachel Vincent

I am super excited to be introducing the brilliant Rachel Vincent. I am a big fan of both her Werecats Urban Fantasy series and her Soul Screamers YA series. The fourth in her YA series, My Soul to Steal, has recently been released in the UK. (Check out the amazing animated cover!)

So, without further ado... here's Rachel!

Q. First off, how many books are you planning for the Soul Screamers series? Do you have a particular ending in mind, or will you just stop when you run out of ideas? (Not that I want them to end, of course!)

I’m contracted for seven. I have tons of ideas for this series. The world building really leaves plenty of room for good conflict. However, whether or not I write beyond the seventh book depends on dull business factors like sales. Writing is an art. Publishing is a business.

Q. One of the things I really like about your YA series is how you don't shy away from certain issues. You deal with sex and addiction, but keep the series firmly rooted in YA. Was that a conscious choice on your part?

Yes. Sex and drugs and other such decisions and dangers are very real presences in teenage life—that much hasn’t changed since I was in high school. Ignoring that in the books just made no sense to me. It’s very important to make sure that the reality-based parts of a paranormal novel are accurate and well grounded, otherwise, it’s nearly impossible to get readers to suspend disbelief for the fantasy elements.

Q. Talk me through your creative process: do you start thinking about a particular character or about the overall plot?

With the Soul Screamers books, I start with a theme—one of the seven deadly sins. They aren’t part of an obvious structure in the story; they’re just my starting point. For instance, the theme of My Soul To Steal was envy, so I asked myself how envy might manifest in Kaylee’s world, and in her life. What would it take to make Kaylee truly envious of someone? Who might be envious of her? Enter Sabine… ;)

Q. You've published 12 books since 2007, a number which I find rather astonishing. Besides having to actually come up with ideas, how do you actually find the time to write that much? Your daily writing schedule must be packed.

My work schedule is kind of crazy, yes. But I know many writers who write faster than I do and put out more books a year. For me, it’s an issue of impatience. If my hands and mind are idle, they will start a new book, whether it’s contracted or not. My publisher has been kind enough to indulge me by publishing them as fast as I can write them, which is nice, because now they’ve stopped piling up. ;)

Q. And here's a tough final question: what are you Top 5 Desert Island books? They don't have to be YA or Fantasy, but the ones you would be happy reading over and over for the rest of life...!

• The Stand by Stephen King
• Swan Song by Robert R. McCammon
• It by Stephen King
• And at least one paranormal and one contemporary YA

But honestly, if I were stuck on a desert island and I got sick of reading my five allotted books, I’d just make up my own stories. That’s kind of what I do anyway. ;)

Thank you for answering my questions! 

Hope you all enjoyed the interview.I'll be reviewing both My Soul to Keep and My Soul to Steal next week, so keep an eye out for those. In the meantime, you can read my reviews of the first two books in her YA series: My Soul to Take and My Soul to Save. Or you can check out my reviews for the first three books in her Werecats series (note: it took me 3 books to really love them!): Stray, Rogue, and Pride.

Crossed Blog Tour: A Day in the Life of a Touring Author!

I am excited to be hosting Ally Condie, author of Matched and Crossed, to share the hour-by-hour experience of being an author on tour. Enjoy!

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A Day in the Life of An Author: On Tour/Traveling

I’m writing this before I go on tour, so this is a record of my most recent travel day prior to the tour—October 12:

8:00 a.m. - Wake up in Providence, Rhode Island, where my publisher has sent me for a bookseller’s convention (NECBA). It’s 6:00 a.m. back home so I’m kind of tired. Debate going for a run but decide time would be better spent working. When do I ever have a full day like this to write?

8:00-9:00 a.m. - Shower, eat breakfast.

9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. - Write, pausing now and then for phone calls to and from home answer questions for husband, remind husband about things, schedule doctor appointment for youngest child, talk to kids before they go to school.

12:00-1:00 p.m. - Eat lunch, finish getting ready.

1:00-3:30 p.m. - Write and work on presentation. Call home to make sure everyone remembered that there is an appointment this afternoon for one of the boys, and a field trip coming up which requires an extra permission slip in addition to the usual ones. Find out from my husband that it appears insurance WILL cover the cost of the minor accident my mom had today while driving my kids around while I’m gone. Also find out that a medical report on one of the kids came back— we’ve been waiting anxiously for it. All looks fine. Breathe enormous sigh of relief.

3:30-4:30 p.m. - Go down to the ballroom of the hotel to sign 150 books that will be given away to conference attendees. Make sure presentation works on conference computer/audio visual equipment. It does. Hooray!

Loren Long, Ally Condie and Brian Selznick.

4:30-5:30 p.m. - Back up to hotel room, write a little, feel nervous because the other presenters are Loren Long and Brian Selznick.

5:30-6:30 p.m. - Pre-dinner mingling and cocktail hour downstairs in the ballroom. Meet many lovely booksellers and librarians.

6:30-10:00 p.m. - Dinner at NECBA. Give speech in between Loren Long and Brian Selznick, who are both talented, charming, extremely kind, and truly invested in storytelling, art, and children. They both say things that make me tear up and feel grateful to be a writer and to be in this room at this moment. Talking with the booksellers has the same effect—they all want to change communities and put books into children’s hands.

10:00-10:45 p.m. - Pack up and climb into bed for 4:00 a.m. wakeup call (my publisher kindly booked me on the earliest flight of the day at my request, so that I can get home as soon as possible to see the kids).

This was a really lovely travel day. Most days on tour are school visits all morning and afternoon, then a signing at night, and then either a late night or early morning flight to the next location. Which is also awesome, but a lot more hectic than this day was!

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All about Ally Condie

Ally Condie is the author of the international bestseller Matched, and its newly-released sequel, Crossed. Matched was chosen as one of YALSA’s 2011 Teens’ Top Ten, named as one of Publishers Weekly’s Best Children’s Books of 2010, selected as the #1 Pick on the Winter Kid’s Indie Next List, and received starred reviews from Kirkus and Publishers Weekly. In a starred review for the sequel, Crossed, Kirkus called the Matched series an “addictive, layered dystopic trilogy.”

A former English teacher (who still keeps her license current, just in case!), she lives with her husband and three sons outside of Salt Lake City, Utah. She loves reading, writing, running, and listening to her husband play guitar.

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Thank you Ally for taking us through your day! I for one am super excited to read Crossed. I just finished Matched yesterday (read my review here) and was surprised by how much I enjoyed it!

For those of you in the USA, check in tomorrow to win a finished, hardcover copy of Crossed!

Rachel Vincent Interview + Review of My Soul to Take

My Soul to Take by Rachel Vincent
Bookdepository / Amazon UK / Amazon US
Librarything / Goodreads

Genre: Paranormal Young Adult

Rating: 4 stars
Pages: 368

Summary: Something is wrong with Kaylee Cavanaugh.

She doesn't see dead people, but...

She senses when someone near her is about to die. And when that happens, a force beyond her control compels her to scream bloody murder. Literally.

Kaylee just wants to enjoy having caught the attention of the hottest guy in school. But a normal date is hard to come by when Nash seems to know more about the need to scream than she does. And when classmates start dropping dead for no apparent reason, only Kaylee knows who'll be next...

Thoughts: I really enjoyed My Soul to Take.  It had characters that I genuinely liked, a universe that I adored, and a focus on family that I found very realistic.

In fact, the entire book I found extremely realistic.  For example, there was a great scene where Kaylee decides to Google her supernatural powers and comes to the conclusion that she has a brain tumour.  How fantastic is that?  I mean, honestly, that is the most logical answer.  The idea that she would immediately assume she had inhuman abilities is just silly! As soon as I read that, I knew Kaylee and I were going to get on just fine.

You see, I'd read two of Rachel Vincent's werecat series (Stray and Rogue) and while I had liked her writing style, I really disliked the main character.  It made me apprehensive about starting My Soul to Take, as I was afraid I'd just be in for some more of the same.  But I'd needn't have worried, because Kaylee is fantastic.  She stands up for what she believes in, but not to the point where she is making too-stupid-to-live decisions. My Soul to Take proved to me that Vincent can write a main character that I could enjoy - it has made me hopeful for the rest of the werecat series too!

While I liked Kaylee's boyfriend Nash, I was most intrigued by Tod the teenage grim reaper.  Now really, just the phrase "teenage grim reaper" should be enough to get you into this series.  I am hoping to see more of him (and Kaylee's BFF Emma) in the rest of the books.

Bottom Line:  An original take on (what has become) the standard paranormal YA action/romance.  Great writing, a unique universe and fantastic characters make this book a must for YA readers.

❤ ❤ ❤

Interview with Rachel Vincent


Rachel was kind enough to answer a few of my questions about the Soul Screamers series and her upcoming literary plans.  Here's what she had to say:

Q. First of all, I am very excited to have your YA series released in the UK. What do you think of the UK jacket covers?

I love them! I think the UK covers are gorgeous, and I love that they capture a different aspect of the books than the US covers do. Both fit the series, but in different ways. ;)

Q. Any chance of a tour in the UK?

Oh, that depends entirely on my publisher. I’ll go wherever they want me to, but to my knowledge, there’s currently no plans for me to go overseas. Travel is expensive...

Q. A lot of Urban Fantasy authors have crossed over into the YA market - with great success. What do you think of this trend, and what inspired you to write a novel aimed at young adults?

I think any trend putting good books into the hands of teens who might not otherwise be reading is a good trend. As for why I’m writing YA, I write it because I like to read it. I love being taken back to a more fantastic, exciting version of my own youth.

Q. Could you introduce the Soul Screamers series to UK readers, new to the books?

The Soul Screamers books are about a sixteen year old high school junior who discovers that she’s a bean sidhe (banshee) who knows when someone near her is going to die. Along with her boyfriend, Nash, Tod the rookie reaper, and a growing and assorted cast of friends/family, she saves lives, returns souls, and battles evil hellions bent on owning her, body and soul. Also, there’s kissing. Lots of kissing. ;)

Q. With your werecat series at an end, will your be Young Adult series become your main focus or do you have something else in the works?

I have a new adult series debuting in the fall in the US, and I’ll be splitting my focus between them for as long as I’m fortunate enough to have both on my plate.

Q. What were your favourite reads as a teen? What YA reads have you recently enjoyed?

Oddly enough, as a teen, I read adult books. I was a huge fan of Stephen King, Robert R. McCammon, and Patricia Cornwell. Now, I read adult urban fantasy and YA paranormal and contemporaries. Recently I loved Matched by Ally Condie and Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers. Both are well-worth importing, if they aren’t shelved in the UK.

Thanks Rachel!

Guest Post + Giveaway - Christine Johnson talks Wolves and Weres

Christine Johnson, author of
Claire de Lune

I am thrilled to introduce Christine Johnson, author of Claire de Lune, as she shares her thoughts on wolves and werewolves.

Warning: This post contains *extremely minor* spoilers. If you’re very, very sensitive tothat sort of thing, hurry and read the book before you look at this post.

So, when Kay suggested that today’s Claire in the UK Week guest post be about my thoughts on werewolves/real wolves, I knew immediately that I wanted to write about exactly that. I’ve had a lot of opportunity to talk about why the wolves are a female-only species, and the particular lore that plot-twist engenders, but I haven’t really gotten to discuss how the pack acts in their wolf form.

A few people have commented to me that there seemed to be a lot of actual wolf behavior in Claire de Lune and they’re absolutely right. When I wrote about the wolves - especially during the scenes when the pack is together - I relied heavily on information about grey wolf behavior. In fact, it was most common for me to be working on Claire de Lune with three windows open on the computer. One word processing document for the actual novel, one Internet page with grey wolf behavior and a lunar phase calendar. For the wolf-stuff, I have several sites I really like - one has diagrams of physical postures used by wolves, a couple of others described pack interactions and behaviors. There were books and articles that were really helpful for creating a base knowledge, but for quick reference, the Internet was definitely my friend.

Wolf Pack

In Claire’s world, the werewolves communicate non-verbally when they’re in their wolf-forms, the same way that grey wolves would in the natural world. I tried to anchor the pack’s “conversations” and interactions in real wolf behavior, elaborating and embroidering from there. Ear positions, body postures, snarls and tail position stand in for dialogue tags. No one can “say” anything if the communication is non-verbal, but bared teeth or a lowered, cowering posture have just as much impact. For me, keeping the werewolf’s behavior rooted in actual wolf behavior kept the pack’s interactions and decisions feeling honest. Fitting the magic into the empty spaces made it seem smooth to me - made the Claire’s world feel internally logical and consistent, which is so critical in a paranormal novel.

Part of what makes paranormal so interesting, so evocative, is the possibility that it *could* be happening. It’s the “normal” part of paranormal. It’s not something that takes place on Kronos 9, it takes place here. With humans. It explains the mysteries and oddities that science hasn’t neatly slotted away. Paranormal novels peek at the shadows under the beds. They have a more interesting explanation for that odd, middle of the night noise on the roof. But it all starts with the real, solid, known world. And that’s what I wanted to do with the werewolves in Claire’s world. I wanted them to be a real animal species that was *more*. That was beyond. That was literally - Para. Normal.

It made sense to me that if wolves and dogs are related species that share many of the same behaviors (trufax, both of those,) then perhaps werewolves would be a sort of bridge species that would have characteristics of both wolves and humans, plus some magic thrown in, because, really, who can resist that? So, in their wolf form, they behave much as wolves do, and in their human form, they act like any other person, and the ability to switch back and forth between those forms creates the opportunity - the need - for magic, which opens the door for things like the ability to create fire from nothing, or the special talent of hearing humans who are miles and miles and miles away.

UK Cover

US Cover

Part of writing is trusting your instincts, I think. Researching and searching and thinking until you come across something that just fits into the story, and then building around that. Stacking the next “right” stone on top of the first one until you’ve got a novel built. (Then, of course, you have to tear the whole thing down and rebuild - aka revisions - but that’s another story.) Putting real grey wolf behavior into Claire de Lune was one of those perfect stones, for me.

♥ ♥ ♥

Thanks so much for sharing, Christine!  I thought the wolf-detail in Claire de Lune was spot on and, as a wolf-lover, was really impressed.  I also love the idea of werewolves as a kind of intermediary species between wolves and humans - never thought of it that way before.  ♥

If you want to know more about Christine and her books, check out her website here!  Also check out some of the other Claire in the UK blog tour stops - Christine has done a bunch of fab guest posts this week.  I will be reviewing Claire de Lune this Saturday, so check back for that.  In the mean time, I shall be giving away some SWAG!

Giveaway - Signed Claire de Lune Swag!

Christine kindly donated some signed bookplates and bookmarks (above) - and I will be giving away sets (one of each) to THREE winners!  Yep, that's three chances to win, so just fill out the form below!

The contest is open internationally until Thursday October 14th (23.00GMT).  I will email the winners the next day to let them know if they've won.  You do not need to be a follower (although I am sure you'd enjoy it around here) to enter - not do you have to leave a lovely, thoughtful comment for Christine (but please do so anyhow!).