Blog Tour: The Fearless by Emma Pass (Author Interview)

Fearless banner 
Hey everyone! I’m so, so excited to be on the blog tour for The Fearless by Emma Pass (April 14th 2015, Delacorte Books for Young Readers ). This book looks amazing and I’m so excited to have Emma on my blog for an interview! First, here’s more information about the book:

Fearless cover For fans of The Hunger Games, Matched, Divergent, and The Fifth Wave, this fast-paced futuristic thriller tells the story of seventeen-year-old Cass and her fight to protect her younger brother from an unimaginably terrifying enemy.

The Deadliest Enemy feels no fear.

When the Fearless invaded, they injected everyone in their path with the same serum that stripped them of humanity.

Life became a waking nightmare.

Cass has the invasion seared in her memory. Seven years later, she and her brother, Jori, are living on Hope Island in a community of survivors. No one can enter, and no one can leave.

It’s the only way to stay safe.

But when Hope Island’s security is breeched and Jori is taken by the Fearless, Cass will risk everything to get him back.

Goodreads

Amazon | Barnes & Noble

And now here’s the interview! Enjoy!

Question: The Fearless will be out in stores very, very soon. How does it feel?
Answer: Amazing! It already came out in the UK last year so to think it’s coming out in the US (in a beautiful hardcover, nonetheless) is very exciting.

Question: Describe your book in your own words. As a challenge, see if you can describe it in ten words or less!
Answer: That’s a hard one! How about… A terrifying enemy invades – the world we know disappears forever.

Question: The Fearless sounds amazing! Where did the idea for it come from?
Answer: Before my first novel, ACID, was bought by a publisher, I attended a writing workshop where the author was talking about getting book ideas from newspaper headlines. She handed some out, and the one I was given was about a drug that could stop people feeling fear. I wondered what would happen if such a drug were to fall into the wrong hands, and it grew from there.

Question: What scene was the hardest to write? The easiest? What scene do you most regret having to cut? What was your favorite scene that got added?
Answer: The hardest scene: when Cass, Myo and the people they’re travelling with meet a strange character called the Ragged Man who has someone with him Cass recognises… it wasn’t a hard to write because I didn’t know what was going to happen, but hard emotionally.

The easiest: when Jori is kidnapped by the Fearless. I could see it all so vividly, it was playing like a film in my head as I wrote.

The scene I regret having to cut: Part of the book is set in an underground bunker. I originally had much more of the book set there, and had included a VERY emotional scene between Cass and Myo, but it had to be cut as the book was getting too long! And no, I can’t say what happened – it would spoil the book!

Favourite scene that got added: Where Cass and Myo are talking about the food they used to eat when they were kids, before the Fearless invaded. It was a very sweet and nostalgic scene to write!

Question: Craziest thing you’ve had to Google for a work in progress? (Can be for The Fearless or for Acid or a current WIP)
Answer: Hmm… well, for the Fearless, it was probably ‘How long does it take for a body dropped in a river to float to the surface?’ (Answer: it depends on the time of year.) I’m probably on several watch lists for the stuff I had to google for that book!

Question: Early reviews have praised The Fearless, calling it “awesome from start to finish.” One reviewer said it was, “quite a fresh take on the whole ‘zombie-apocalypse.’ Another reviewer called it a, “a post-apocalyptic thriller with a scarily plausible premise.” How does it feel to know so many people already love your book?
Answer: You can’t beat that feeling you get when you read a really good book, and it makes me really happy to think that one of my books is making readers feel that way.

Question: According to your bio, you tried to write, “all sorts of stuff, from short stories to crime and everything in between … As soon as I started my first YA novel, I knew this was what I wanted to write.” What was it about YA that pulled you in? Do you ever see yourself writing a Middle Grade novel? What about New Adult or Adult?
Answer: I first discovered YA after attending a weekend course run by a YA author. After that, I started reading more and more of it, and then I decided to try writing the novel I was working on at the time – which was an attempt at adult literary fiction, with a teenage main character – as a YA novel. As soon as I started it, it felt right.

I honestly can’t see myself writing NA or adult novels, but I’d love to try MG. I read a lot of MG and it’s so much fun! So – watch this space…

Question: Your bio also says that you work in a library. Does your job aid in your writing in any way? What’s it like being surrounded by books and eager readers all day long?
Answer: Actually, I don’t work there any more – I left last year to concentrate on writing and running writing workshops in schools, which I do a lot of and really enjoy. But it was the perfect job while I was trying to get published. Being surrounded by books was awesome and I also got to help out at loads of writer and reader events, which were always fun!

Question: What books would you recommend to a reader who loved yours, and wants to read something similar?
Answer: For dystopian fans: the thrilling dystopian romance DARK DAYS by Kate Ormand, and the kick-ass DUALED and DIVIDED by Elsie Chapman.

For post apocalyptic fans: IN THE AFTER by Demitria Lunetta, which is one of my favourite post-apoc novels ever!

Question: Are you working on anything new?
Answer: *Mysterious face* I could be… all I can say, though, is that it involves time travel and rock music. I’d tell you more, but then I’d have to kill you… Mwahahaha.

~*~*~*~

Emma & The HoundAbout the Author:
 
I grew up at an environmental studies centre in South East England, where my sister and I had free range of the centre grounds and the fields and woods surrounding them. It’s probably not surprising, then, that when I was 13, I decided to write my first ever novel (you can read more about it, plus an extract, on my blog here). I wrote most of it in maths lessons with my notebook hidden under my work, and as a result, I still have to count on my fingers if anyone asks me to add anything up.

After I escaped school, I went to university to study art. But I never stopped thinking about my stories, and after I graduated, I decided to pursue writing as a career. I tried all sorts of stuff, from short stories to crime and everything in between, until I eventually decided to have a go at writing for teenagers. As soon as I started my first YA novel (now relegated to the back of a wardrobe), I knew this was what I wanted to write.

Now, I live in the North East Midlands with my husband, the artist and printmaker Duncan Pass. As well as writing books, I work at a library, where I support two writing groups and help out at as many reader and author events as I can. Not a bad day job for a writer! From 2009-12, we were lucky enough to share our lives with The Hound (pictured above), a very special ex-racing greyhound, and although he’s no longer with us, we’ll never forget him. You can read more about him on my blog here.

Now, I’m minion to G-Dog (pictured below), who ‘helps’ me write by snuggling up to me on the sofa and plonking his head on the keyboard. He also has amazing ears!

G-Dog

Website

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THE FEARLESS BLOG TOUR SCHEDULE

4/20 – Addicted Readers – Interview
4/21 – My Book Muse – Review and Signed Giveaway
4/22 – Xpresso Reads – Playlist Post
4/23 – A Dream Within A Dream – Review and Signed Giveaway
4/24 – Chapter by Chapter – Review and Top Favs Interview
4/27 – Pandora’s Books – Interview
4/28 – The Irish Banana – Guest Post
4/29 – SciFi Chick.com – Guest Post
4/30 – Dark Faerie Tales – Review and Dream Character Casting
5/1 – Mundie Moms – Guest Post
5/4 – Supernatural Snark – Guest Post
5/5 – Ex Libris – Guest Post
5/6 – Step Into Fiction – Review and Signed Giveaway
5/7 – IceyBooks – Quote Candy
5/8 – A Life Bound By Books – Interview

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