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Author Interview: The Chandler Legacies by Abdi Nazemian

Apr2

Hey everyone! I’m BEYOND excited to have Abdi Nazemian, author of The Chandler Legacies (Out now – Balzer & Bray/Harperteen), here for an interview! So, without further adieu, here’s more about the book:

A novel about the enclosed world of privilege and silence at an elite boarding school and the unlikely group of friends who dare challenge the status quo through their writing.

Beth Kramer is a “townie” who returns to her sophomore year after having endured a year of judgment from her roommate, Sarah.

But Sarah Brunson knows there’s more to that story.

Amanda Priya “Spence” Spencer is the privileged daughter of NYC elites, who is reeling from the realization that her family name shielded her from the same fate as Sarah.

Ramin Golafshar arrives at Chandler as a transfer student to escape the dangers of being gay in Iran, only to suffer brutal hazing under the guise of tradition in the boys’ dorms.

And Freddy Bello is the senior who’s no longer sure of his future but has fallen hard for Spence and knows he has to stand up to his friends after what happened to Ramin.

At Chandler, the elite boarding school, these five teens are brought together in the Circle, a coveted writing group where life-changing friendships are born—and secrets are revealed. Their professor tells them to write their truths. But is the truth enough to change the long-standing culture of abuse at Chandler? And can their friendship survive the fallout?

Goodreads

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And now for the interview! Enjoy!

Describe your book in ten words or less. Go!
Honesty and creativity of writing students challenges boarding school secrecy.

How did the idea for The Chandler Legacies come about? What inspired the story/characters?
I went to boarding school in the 1990s, and the book is directly inspired by my time there. It was an incredibly impactful and complicated experience for me. On the one hand, I started my boarding school years experiencing the worst hazing, abuse and cruelty I’ve ever seen. On the other hand, boarding school is where I met my best friends for life, and where I met mentors who recognized the creative spirit in me. The book is my attempt to make sense of these conflicting emotions toward a place I’m angry at, a place I’m grateful for, a place where the person I am today was born, and a place I can still travel back to when I close my eyes.

What was your favorite scene that got added during edits?
The very end of the book. I won’t describe it since it’s the end, but it wasn’t there in early drafts, and something about writing that ending made everything that came before it feel more personal and complicated. The book is in part about the act of writing, and the end brought that theme into sharper focus.

Craziest thing you’ve had to Google for a work in progress?
Well, I’ve written or re-written my share of true crime movies and I often feel nervous when I’m looking up specifics about these crimes. Anyone looking at my search history when I’m working on those movies would probably run in the other direction. Luckily, my books have tended to lead me down less frightening rabbit holes of information. Though one thing that’s come to light as I’ve researched certain projects is how, despite the vastness of the internet, there is still so much information we don’t have and will never have, especially about queer histories that were always hidden. I’ve been working on multiple projects about queer history, and in many cases, I’ve done as much research as I can and the rest I’ve had to fill in using as much empathy as I can.

What books would you recommend to a reader who loved yours, and wants to read something similar?
Anyone who wants a deeper exploration of Iranian life should be reading Adib Khorram’s Darius books, which are achingly beautiful. I feel a kinship with two Brazilian authors, Vitor Martins and Lucas Rocha. Lucas’ book, Where We Go from Here, deals with three Brazilian teens impacted by HIV / AIDS and is a great complement to Like a Love Story. For anyone who loves The Chandler Legacies, I would recommend the books of E. Lockhart.

What are three must-have items when you sit down to write?
Coffee, very good headphones, a journal.

Are you working on anything new?
Always. I’m currently working on my next young adult novel, which I’m very excited about. I think it’s my favorite thing I’ve ever written, but the editing process hasn’t even begun yet so maybe it’s too early to say that. And I have a short story, Concerto, in the upcoming anthology Out There: Into The Queer New Yonder. I wrote the short story in early pandemic days, and it’s an ode to the power of love and art to triumph over everything, even time.

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About the Author:
 
 
ABDI NAZEMIAN (he/him) is the author of Like a Love Story, a Stonewall Honor Book, and The Authentics. His novel The Walk-In Closet won the Lambda Literary Award for LGBT Debut Fiction. His screenwriting credits include the films The Artist’s Wife, The Quiet, and Menendez: Blood Brothers and the television series The Village and Almost Family. He has been an executive producer and associate producer on numerous films, including Call Me by Your Name, Little Woods, and The House of Tomorrow. He lives in Los Angeles with his husband, their two children, and their dog, Disco. Find him online
 
 

Website

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Author Interview: Sweet & Bitter Magic by Adrienne Tooley

Jul7

Hey everyone! I’m BEYOND excited to have Adrienne Tooley, author of Sweet & Bitter Magic (March 9, 2021 – Margaret K. McElderry Books), here for a special Pride interview! June might be over, but Pride is All Year Long! So, without further adieu, here’s more about the book:

In this charming debut fantasy perfect for fans of Sorcery of Thorns and Girls of Paper and Fire, a witch cursed to never love meets a girl hiding her own dangerous magic, and the two strike a dangerous bargain to save their queendom.

Tamsin is the most powerful witch of her generation. But after committing the worst magical sin, she’s exiled by the ruling Coven and cursed with the inability to love. The only way she can get those feelings back—even for just a little while—is to steal love from others.

Wren is a source—a rare kind of person who is made of magic, despite being unable to use it herself. Sources are required to train with the Coven as soon as they discover their abilities, but Wren—the only caretaker to her ailing father—has spent her life hiding her secret.

When a magical plague ravages the queendom, Wren’s father falls victim. To save him, Wren proposes a bargain: if Tamsin will help her catch the dark witch responsible for creating the plague, then Wren will give Tamsin her love for her father.

Of course, love bargains are a tricky thing, and these two have a long, perilous journey ahead of them—that is, if they don’t kill each other first..

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Goodreads

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And now for the interview! Enjoy!

Describe your book in ten words or less. Go!
A sapphic love story filled with magic, grief, witches, & hope.

What inspired you to write Sweet & Bitter Magic?
At the heart of it, SWEET & BITTER MAGIC is a book about grief and a book about power. Both of these concepts are explored through the eyes of two very different girls. With a dual POV I got to see the world through the eyes of Wren, a girl who feels everything, and Tamsin, who feels nothing (though not by her own volition).

I wanted to look at the past through different lenses. After all, grief and ghosts look different to everyone. How people choose to face their past, how they continue onward even in the face of unbearable loss, is power in its own right.

But beyond that, I wanted to explore the idea of strength and power and how that affects the world and the individual. When being told that strength is good, and weakness is bad, how does that affect the ways a person can grow? How does that affect their relationships? How does that affect their own perceived value? And then, on the flip side, how does a person deal with the consequences of that power? SWEET & BITTER MAGIC offered me a way to attack those concepts head-on.

If Pride month existed in your book’s world, how would Tamsin and Wren celebrate?
Wren would absolutely drag a reluctant Tamsin to a parade or party, dressed in bright colors and glitter. Tamsin would celebrate by doing research into queer history so she could better understand those who paved the way for her.

What about you? Do you have any fun plans for Pride?
I absolutely loved getting to be a part of the inaugural Pride Book Fest (@pridebookfest) and talking with other authors writing queer YA!!

Craziest thing you’ve had to Google for a work in progress?
The first book I ever wrote was about a cult, and I fell down an absolute rabbit hole of research, and for a while cult documentaries were the only thing I watched. I still find myself wildly fascinated by the psychology of cults, and although that first book has since been shelved, I’d love to explore the topic further one day.

What are three must-have items when you sit down to write?
A hot beverage that I will inevitably forget about once I get into the flow and then refuse to drink once its gone cold (usually coffee), headphones so I can listen to my book playlists without having to explain why I’m listening to the same songs over and over again, and a notebook for tracking word count & writing sprints!

What book are you currently reading?
I’ve just started Joan He’s The Ones We’re Meant to Find and Tasha Suri’s The Jasmine Throne!!

Are you working on anything new?
Yes! My second book SOFI & THE BONE SONG is a standalone fantasy about a young musician whose plan for her future falls apart when another girl wins the title she’s been training her whole life for. It’s got magic, music, taverns, an endless winter, sapphic romance, and an exploration and dismantling of the idea that people should suffer for their art. Currently, it’s slated for a Spring 2022 release.

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About the Author

Adrienne Tooley (she/her) grew up in Southern California, majored in musical theater in Pittsburgh, and now lives in Brooklyn with her wife, six guitars, and a banjo. In addition to writing novels, she is a singer/songwriter who has currently released three indie-folk EPs. Her debut novel, SWEET & BITTER MAGIC, is out now. Her second novel, SOFI AND THE BONE SONG, will release in 2022.

Adrienne is represented by Jim McCarthy of Dystel, Goderich, & Bourret.

Website | Twitter | Instagram
 

Author Interview: Blood Like Magic by Liselle Sambury

Jun18

Hey everyone! I’m BEYOND excited to have Liselle Sambury, author of Blood Like Magic (June 15, 2021 – Margaret K. McElderry), here for an interview! This book has been on my radar for quite awhile. It features a diverse cast, LGBTQ+ representation, a magical plot and so much more. So, without further adieu, here’s more about the book:

A rich, dark urban fantasy debut following a teen witch who is given a horrifying task: sacrificing her first love to save her family’s magic. The problem is, she’s never been in love—she’ll have to find the perfect guy before she can kill him.

After years of waiting for her Calling—a trial every witch must pass in order to come into their powers—the one thing Voya Thomas didn’t expect was to fail. When Voya’s ancestor gives her an unprecedented second chance to complete her Calling, she agrees—and then is horrified when her task is to kill her first love. And this time, failure means every Thomas witch will be stripped of their magic.

Voya is determined to save her family’s magic no matter the cost. The problem is, Voya has never been in love, so for her to succeed, she’ll first have to find the perfect guy—and fast. Fortunately, a genetic matchmaking program has just hit the market. Her plan is to join the program, fall in love, and complete her task before the deadline. What she doesn’t count on is being paired with the infuriating Luc—how can she fall in love with a guy who seemingly wants nothing to do with her?

With mounting pressure from her family, Voya is caught between her morality and her duty to her bloodline. If she wants to save their heritage and Luc, she’ll have to find something her ancestor wants more than blood. And in witchcraft, blood is everything.

Goodreads

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And now for the interview! Enjoy!

Describe your book in ten words or less. Go!
A family of Black witches in a near future Toronto.

Which character was the easiest to write/get inside the head of?
I actually find that Keisha, one of my main character Voya’s cousins, is the easiest for me to get into character with because I just have so much fun writing her. She’s truly unafraid to speak her mind or share her opinions which makes for interesting interactions, but at the same time, she has her own insecurities that she’s protecting. I love writing Keisha.

On the flip side, which character was the hardest to write/get inside the head of?
I struggled the most with Voya partly because I was determined to get her right but also partly because when I started, I didn’t have a perfect sense of who she was. It took many revisions for me to understand exactly the sort of character that she is. But once I nailed her in Blood Like Magic, it was very natural to get back into her head for the sequel.

Craziest thing you’ve had to Google for a work in progress?
I don’t think anything I googled was particularly wild or out-there. But it was really interesting to learn how much progress we had made on things like self-driving cars and gender affirming surgery beyond what I already knew, which were things I researched so I could decide how to advance them further in the future.

What are three must-have items when you sit down to write?
The first is something to drink, which I did tea for a long time but I’m trying to drink more water, so now it’s water. I need to have Scrivener which is what I use for my word processing. And I do need complete silence but that’s less of an object and more a state, though I don’t need much beyond those two things. I have a very boring writing routine in that I literally just sit down at my desk and do it so I have very few needs.

What book are you currently reading?
Right now, I’m reading The Witch King by H.E. Edgmon which follows a trans witch who ran away from the fae world, but he’s found by his royal fiancé and basically dragged back into the world he left behind. It’s a contemporary fantasy and it’s honestly unexpected just how funny it is. The characters have so much humor and personality, and yet it still digs into some important topics. Balancing those two things is definitely a skill!

Are you working on anything new?
I’ve been doing a lot of tinkering with an adult horror novel that I’m trying to get going, so that’s what I’m working on in between edits of the Blood Like Magic sequel. It’s a little intimidating to jump into an adult age category after doing young adult for so long, but I’m excited about where that path could potentially lead.

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About the Author 
 
 
Liselle Sambury is a Trinidadian-Canadian author who grew up in Toronto, and her brand of writing can be described as “messy Black girls in fantasy situations.” In her free time, she shares helpful tips for upcoming writers and details of her publishing journey through a YouTube channel dedicated to helping demystify the sometimes complicated business of being an author. She is represented by Kristy Hunter at The Knight Agency.
 
 

Website | Twitter | Instagram

Blog Tour: Warmaidens by Kelly Coon (Author Interview)

Nov30

Hey everyone! I’m incredibly excited to be a part of the blog tour for Warmaidens by Kelly Coon (December 15, 2020 – Delacorte Press)! Today, I have an awesome interview with Kelly to share with you! First, here’s more about the book:

Warmaidens is the dark, action-packed conclusion to the heartwrenching Gravemaidens fantasy duology. Kammani and the maidens are now going to war against the ruler who tried to entomb them.

Just a few moons after escaping the tomb in Alu, Kammani and the other runaway maidens have found refuge in the city-state of Manzazu. There, Kammani has become a respected healer, especially among the warriors she’s brought back from the brink of death. Now that the nightmares of Alu are fading, she can finally decide whether or not to take Dagan’s hand in marriage.

But when an assassin murders a healer he believes is Kammani and attempts to kill the displaced queen of Alu, the maidens realize they’ve been found.

Hungry for revenge, Manzazu’s queen wants to strike back at Alu with her fiercest weapons—her scorpion warrior maidens—but Kammani knows that war harms more than it heals. To save the innocents and any chance of a future with Dagan, Kammani must take down Alu’s ruler before their lives burn up in the flames of war.

Goodreads

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And now for the interview! Enjoy!

Describe your book in ten words or less. Go!
Scorpion warrior maidens! Spies! Midnight kisses! Boatman hauntings! A healer gone rogue! Oops, too many! haha

How was writing the sequel different from writing the first book?
Whew, it was tough! When I wrote Gravemaidens, I was writing in the hopes of landing an agent. No one needed it by any particular time. But when I wrote Warmaidens, I had a deadline! The ticking clock and the expectations of delivering a book better than Gravemaidens added a lot of pressure.

Did you ever have a moment, while editing Warmaidens, where you wished you’d done something different in Gravemaidens because it would have made something in Warmaidens easier?

HA! Such a good question. Heck yes. So many things. If I’d fleshed Nanaea out a little more in book one, it would have been easier to build on her characterization in book two. If I’d included more Boatman lore, I would have had an easier time capitalizing on that here. I think you always have regrets when a book publishes because you spot things you didn’t see before. But I remind myself that I did the very best I could given the resources I had at the time and that’s all I can do!

What scene do you most regret having to cut?
I wrote a heart-wrenching scene between Kammani and a group of war-torn travelers from the north. It helped expand her characterization because she puts all her skills to use and enlists the help of her crew to ensure the travelers are patched up. It also offered some foreshadowing about what they stood to lose if they didn’t stop the scorpion warrior maidens from annihilating Alu. But…it slowed the pace far too much. So, it had to go. I HATED cutting that scene!

How have you been holding up during Covid? How has it effected your writing?
Awww, thanks for asking! I’m okay. I think as a mom, I have to be okay. Nobody else is going to take care of my kids. They look to me and my husband for guidance, so there is no other option than to keep myself together for them.

To do that, I meditate and exercise to keep my mind screwed on right. I keep working to pay for their care and show them that even though times are difficult, we can all do difficult things. In March and April, I had trouble feeling like writing mattered at all! But I forced myself to do just one small writing task every couple of days, and before long, I’d written my eighth novel, a YA thriller!

Are you working on anything new?
Speaking of….yes! I’m jumping into the contemporary arena! I’ve written a YA contemporary with speculative elements and just finished a YA thriller. We’ll be sending those out to editors very soon!!!! I’m so excited to see how I fare in the contemporary space.

Thanks so much for having me today!
XOXO
Kell

Author Interview: Witches of Ash and Ruin by E. Latimer

Feb8

Hey everyone! I’m BEYOND excited to have E. Latimer, author of Witches of Ash and Ruin (March 3, 2020), here for an interview! This book has been on my radar since it was first announced, and I CANNOT wait to read it!!! So, without further adieu, here’s more about the book:

Modern witchcraft blends with ancient Celtic mythology in an epic clash of witches and gods, perfect for fans of V.E. Schwab’s Shades of Magic trilogy and A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES.

Seventeen-year-old Dayna Walsh is struggling to cope with her somatic OCD; the aftermath of being outed as bisexual in her conservative Irish town; and the return of her long-absent mother, who barely seems like a parent. But all that really matters to her is ascending and finally, finally becoming a full witch-plans that are complicated when another coven, rumored to have a sordid history with black magic, arrives in town with premonitions of death. Dayna immediately finds herself at odds with the bewitchingly frustrating Meiner King, the granddaughter of their coven leader.

And then a witch turns up murdered at a local sacred site, along with the blood symbol of the Butcher of Manchester-an infamous serial killer whose trail has long gone cold. The killer’s motives are enmeshed in a complex web of witches and gods, and Dayna and Meiner soon find themselves at the center of it all. If they don’t stop the Butcher, one of them will be next.

With razor-sharp prose and achingly real characters, E. Latimer crafts a sweeping, mesmerizing story of dark magic and brutal mythology set against a backdrop of contemporary Ireland that’s impossible to put down.

Goodreads

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And now for the interview! Enjoy!

Describe your book in ten words or less. Go!
Rival covens team up to stop witch-killing serial killer.

Witchcraft, Celtic Mythology and serial killers… This book has it all!! What inspired you to write it?
I actually started forming the idea for Witches of Ash and Ruin when I finished The Raven Cycle books for what had to be the tenth time. I absolutely adore the whole vibe of Blue’s home and family. I wanted to live in those scenes forever. I have a real love for witchy women and the spaces they inhabit, from the women of Practical Magic, to the magical chaos of Molly Weasley’s kitchen.

I wanted to tap into something like that, which is why the narrative of Witches begins and ends in the coven house, specifically in the kitchen.

What scene do you most regret having to cut?
I had a big kissing scene in the library amongst the shelves, and while some of that is still there I had to cut down on a lot because of pacing.

Craziest thing you’ve had to Google for a work in progress?
Probably the time I spent searching for ‘Irish Serial Killers”. Because there really aren’t any. It was a weird thing to be disappointed by.

What book(s) would you recommend to a reader who loved yours, and wants to read something similar?
Well, to be obvious about it, The Raven Cycle of course. But if you’re looking for something newer or you’ve already read it, The Devouring Gray by Christine Lynn Herman is a fantastically dark and witchy read.

What are three must-have items when you sit down to write?
Tea, headphones and my plot outline.

Are you working on anything new?
Yes! I’m currently working on a book about plant druids, sexy thieves and demon kings.

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So, are you excited for Witches of Ash and Ruin??? Well then, what are you waiting for…??? GO PRE-ORDER IT!

Pre-Order Links:

Goodreads | Books Inc

Indie Bound | Barnes & Noble | Amazon

ALSO, GUESS WHAT?!?!? If you pre-order Witches of Ash and Ruin from Books Inc before March 3rd, you can get a signed, personalized copy and this GORGEOUS witchy enamel pin:

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E. Latimer is a fantasy writer from Victoria, BC. Her middle grade novel, The Strange and Deadly Portraits of Bryony Gray was published by Tundra Books, and was recently nominated for the Red Maple Fiction Award.

In her spare time, she writes books, makes silly vlogs with the Word Nerds about writing, and reads excessively.

Her latest novel, Witches of Ash and Ruin, will be released Spring/Summer 2020.

Website

Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube

 

Blog Tour: Gravemaidens by Kelly Coon (Author Interview)

Oct17

Hey everyone! I’m incredibly excited to be a part of the blog tour for Gravemaidens by Kelly Coon (October 29, 2019 – Delacorte Press)! Today, I have an awesome interview with Kelly to share with you! First, here’s more about the book:

The start of a fierce fantasy duology about three maidens who are chosen for their land’s greatest honor…and one girl determined to save her sister from the grave.

In the walled city-state of Alu, Kammani wants nothing more than to become the accomplished healer her father used to be before her family was cast out of their privileged life in shame.

When Alu’s ruler falls deathly ill, Kammani’s beautiful little sister, Nanaea, is chosen as one of three sacred maidens to join him in the afterlife. It’s an honor. A tradition. And Nanaea believes it is her chance to live an even grander life than the one that was stolen from her.

But Kammani sees the selection for what it really is—a death sentence.

Desperate to save her sister, Kammani schemes her way into the palace to heal the ruler. There she discovers more danger lurking in the sand-stone corridors than she could have ever imagined and that her own life—and heart—are at stake. But Kammani will stop at nothing to dig up the palace’s buried secrets even if it means sacrificing everything…including herself.

Goodreads | Amazon

The Book Depository | IndieBound

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And now for the interview! Enjoy!

Describe your book in ten words or fewer. Go!
Kammani has to heal the king so Nanaea doesn’t die.

THAT WAS DIFFICULT, haha
 
What inspired you to write Gravemaidens?
I’m one of those weirdos who likes to check out graveyards. I’m always wondering who is lying beneath the headstones and what they were like when they were alive. What did they see? Who still remembers them?
 
Before I wrote Gravemaidens, I wondered what it would be like to be told that it was an honor to end up in a cold tomb. To lie with a king to be his bride in the afterlife. I wondered how an older sister might feel if her little sister had been chosen for the “honor” and what she might do to save her.
 
Craziest thing you’ve had to Google for a work in progress?
I once googled how to make flash bangs and fire retardants from nature, and ended up on a website about mussels and their anti-inflammatory properties and probably an FBI watchlist.
 
What books would you recommend to a reader who loved yours, and wants to read something similar?
Oooh, good question. I’d highly recommend Three Dark Crowns (the whole series) by Kendare Blake, Ash Princess (the series) by Laura Sebastian, and Blood Rose Rebellion by Rosalyn Eves.
 
What are three must-have items when you sit down to write?
1). I’m pretty sure I’m about 76% Diet Coke at this point, so I need a caffeine fix, and yes I realize this is terrible for me.
2). I also like to have a notepad near by for jotting commands for Future Kell in case I’m in a writing groove and want a reminder to edit something later.
3). White noise on my headphones. For whatever reason, I associate white noise with writing (and sleeping, which…weird? But that’s kinda how it is.)
 
Are you working on anything new?
I’m always writing something. Right now, I’m writing a contemporary with speculative elements that has one POV in verse and another POV in prose. It’s the most daunting thing I’ve ever written.

Author Interview: Every Moment After by Joseph Moldover (Giveaway)

Apr24

Hey everyone! I’m so excited to have Joseph Moldover here for an interview! First, here’s more about Every Moment After:

Best friends Matt and Cole grapple with their changing relationships during the summer after high school in this impactful, evocative story about growing up and moving on from a traumatic past.

Surviving was just the beginning.

Eleven years after a shooting rocked the small town of East Ridge, New Jersey and left eighteen first graders in their classroom dead, survivors and recent high school graduates Matt Simpson and Cole Hewitt are still navigating their guilt and trying to move beyond the shadow of their town’s grief. Will Cole and Matt ever be able to truly leave the ghosts of East Ridge behind? Do they even want to?

As they grapple with changing relationships, falling in love, and growing apart, these two friends must face the question of how to move on—and truly begin living.

Goodreads | The Book Depository | IndieBound

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And now for the interview! Enjoy!

Describe your book in ten words or less.
The long-term impact of a too-common tragedy.

Every Moment After is about a topic that is very relevant to what’s happening in the real world right now. What inspired you to write it?
The book is definitely a direct response to real-world school shootings, and particularly to the Sandy Hook tragedy. In many ways, it’s less of a reaction to the shootings themselves than to the lack of a really effective preventative course of action in the years after. Although there are some outstanding organizations working hard on gun control and school safety, it feels like as a society we get too overwhelmed by the immediate horror of the incident and before we gain real traction, we turn our attention to other news stories. I wanted this book to follow the story past the immediate aftermath.

While many school shooting books take place during or immediately after the event, Every Moment After takes place eleven years after the shooting. What made you write it from that perspective, that many years later?
I knew that I didn’t want to write about the shooting itself and that I didn’t want to delve into the details of that event. I did want to explore the way that people find the strength to go on in the years after this kind of tragedy, and how they find meaning in their lives after such trauma. By setting the book many years after the shooting, and at the pivotal moment when the survivors are leaving home, I was able to focus on the long-term community impact rather than on the drama and tragedy of that day.

You’re a clinical psychologist. How does that help/hinder your writing?
For a book like this it’s helpful to have some professional background in understanding psychological trauma. I also work with a lot of adolescents and that helps me to stay in touch with the tone and voice I want for my characters. At the same time, it’s important to “turn off” the clinician in me when making some unhealthy decisions on behalf of my protagonists.

Craziest thing you’ve had to Google for a work in progress?
I spent a lot of time googling hot air balloon launch videos for this book. I’m someone who doesn’t love heights, so it wasn’t something I would ordinarily do! I finally wound up cold-calling a balloon company and the owner was very nice about taking me through the details I wasn’t picking up from the videos.

What book(s)s would you recommend to a reader who enjoyed yours, and wants to read something similar?
“After the Shot Drops” by Randy Ribay is an alternating point of view YA novel which deals with male friendship, one of the central topics of my book. Outside of the YA genre, Douglas Coupland wrote a book called “Hey Nostradamus!” several years after Columbine about a high school shooting. It explores the ways in which the tragedy in that book ripples out through the lives of the people in the community, and goes on for decades. Russell Banks’ “The Sweet Hereafter” is a book about a different kind of tragedy, a school bus accident, that takes various perspectives to understand how a terrible event is seen and experienced differently by characters within and outside of the community.

What are three must-have items when you sit down to write?
Coffee; notebook for jotting down stray thoughts before they disappear; and there’s an old sweatshirt I like to wear when I write early in the morning.

Are you working on anything new?
For several years I’ve been trying to write a book about characters with a fictional psychological disorder that makes it very difficult for them to live in their families and communities. Due to their disorder, they are off in a boarding school trying to learn how to cope. It’s been a real world-building challenge to create a unique, believable disorder like that, but I’m hopeful that I’m getting close!

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And now for the giveaway! One lucky winner will receive one copy of the book! Giveaway is US only. To enter, fill out the Rafflecopter below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Spotlight Post: Keep Her Close by Erik Therme (Author Interview)

Dec30

Hey everyone! I’m so excited to have Erik Therme here for an interview! First, here’s more about Keep Her Close:

Someone took your daughter. And nobody believes you…

Then:
Three-year-old Ally was found alone in a parking lot.
She was barefoot and dressed only in a yellow sundress. In the middle of winter.
What kind of person would abandon their daughter?

Now:
Fifteen years later and Ally has a new family.
But her real father has sent her a letter.
And now Ally is missing.

A gripping twist-filled thriller that will have you looking over your shoulder. Perfect for fans of Gone Girl, The Girl on the Train and Teresa Driscoll.

Goodreads | The Book Depository | IndieBound

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And now for the interview! Enjoy!

Describe your book in ten words or less. Go!
Someone took your daughter. No one believes you.

What inspired you to write this story?
When my daughter left for college last year, I found myself in a state of constant worry, and my imagination ran wild at the thought of something terrible happening to her. I knew I was being ridiculous, and I figured writing about it would be a good way for me to address my fears in a safe, fictional environment.

What scene do you most regret having to cut? On the flip side, what was your favorite scene that got added during edits?
The first draft of Keep Her Close had more sequences with a character named Tucker, but my editor thought he was too “quirky” (he carried a fake samurai sword and wheeled around in a wheelchair because of his severe bunions), and we ended up scaling back his tone and presence. In hindsight, it was probably for the best, but I really liked the character, and I would have loved to show more of him.

On the flip side: my editor had me add a flashback scene (detailing an affair with one of the main characters) that I was reluctant to add, but once it was written, it did give good depth to the character and story.

If you could create an “alternate ending” for your book, what – if anything – would you do differently? Why?
I’ve had a lot of readers feel the ending of Keep Her Close is too open-ended (I can’t give specifics without ruining the story), and while I stand by my ending, I could have easily added another paragraph that would have resolved the issue. That said, I’ve always been a fan of ambiguous endings, but they’ve definitely cost me reviews (and readers), so I don’t know what the right answer is.

Craziest thing you’ve had to Google for a work in progress?
The sounds (and smells) of a corpse. I’ll spare you the results.

What books would you recommend to a reader who loved yours, and wants to read something similar?
Joseph Souza and Sarah A. Denzil write thrillers that are similar to mine in substance and style. Souza’s latest—Pray for the Girl—is available for preorder, and Denzil’s newest—Only Daughter—releases in March of 2019.

What are three must-have items when you sit down to write?
Mt. Dew (chilled in the freezer); Mogwai slippers (from the movie Gremlins); and background music (in the form of movie soundtracks). Inspiration is also a bonus!

Are you working on anything new?
I’m currently finishing edits on my fifth novel (untitled), which has a tentative release date of April, 2019.

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And now for the giveaway! Thanks to Erik, we have 10 (!!!) US Amazon Kindle copies of Keep Her Close to give away! To enter, fill out the Rafflecopter below!

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About the Author
 
Erik Therme has thrashed in garage bands, inadvertently harbored runaways, and met Darth Vader. When he’s not at his computer, he can be found cheering on his youngest daughter’s volleyball team, or watching horror movies with his oldest. He currently resides in Iowa City, Iowa—one of only twenty-eight places in the world that UNESCO has certified as a City of Literature.
 
 

Website

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Spotlight Post: Twilight of the Elves by Zack Loran Clark and Nick Eliopulos (Interview + Giveaway)

Oct23

Hey everyone! I’m so excited to have Zack Loran Clark and Nick Eliopulos here for an interview! First, here’s more about Twilight of the Elves:

I should probably start at the beginning, Zed wrote, when things first went wrong?

Zed, Brock, and their friends may have saved Freestone from destruction, but the fight against the Dangers is far from over. No one knows what to expect next from the dark power that forced the elves to abandon their city. And the influx of elf refugees in Freestone strains resources and brews resentment among the townspeople. Things have shifted between best friends Zed and Brock, as well, with their friendship crumbling under the weight of the secrets they’re keeping from each other.
When tensions reach an all-time high, Queen Me’Shala, leader of the elves, approaches the Adventurers Guild with a mission. She wants a small group of adventurers to go behind the king’s back on a covert mission to save her city, and Zed, Brock, Liza, Jett, Micah, and their elven friend Fel join the quest. To face a powerful form of magic thought to be extinct, the adventurers will have to learn how to rely on each other and fight harder than ever before.

Don’t miss this second installment of Zack Loran Clark and Nicholas Eliopulos’s Adventurers Guild trilogy, where the stakes are raised, the action is breathless, and the dangers will stop even the bravest of hearts.

Goodreads | The Book Depository | IndieBound

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And now for the interview! Enjoy!

A note from the authors: Hello, Pandora’s Books readers! We’re Zack Loran Clark and Nick Eliopulos—best friends, unapologetic super-nerds, and authors of the middle-grade fantasy novel The Adventurers Guild and its sequel, Twilight of the Elves—which comes out November 13th! We’re here to talk about elves, books, and our writing process. Thank you for having us!

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Describe your book in ten words or less. Go!
Zack: Knights, wizards, and monsters—but the monsters already won!

Nick: Yikes! (“Yikes” makes ten.)

How was working on book two different from working on book one? Most important thing you’ve learned so far?
Nick: Writing a sequel was tougher than I expected! Book 1 was all about invention—throwing in new ideas, adding new characters, constantly building this world and this story until we got to the big showdown and put a bow on it. With Book 2, we had to do right by the huge cast and detailed world we’d already established—while continuing to add to them and push in new directions.

At the same time, we knew we had to keep some developments in reserve for Book 3. It was a delicate balancing act to tell a compelling and satisfying story that also served as a bridge between the previous and forthcoming books.

Zack: Probably the most important lesson I’ve learned is to be flexible, narratively speaking. So many of our favorite ideas and plot twists weren’t in the outline—or even the first draft. Writing is like adventuring! Sometimes you have to break off the path, because it’s swarmed with undead horrors.

If you could go back to book one, and give ONE character a piece of advice, who would you give advice to and what would the advice be?
Zack: Oh man, so much of storytelling is characters making mistakes, though! Ours certainly make plenty, the consequences of which won’t be clear until even Book 3 in some cases. I’d probably warn Zed to cool it with the sugar at the initiation party, though.

Nick: And I’d tell Brock to enjoy that party while it lasted. Pretty much everything after that point is a parade of nightmares!

Craziest thing you’ve had to Google for a work in progress?
Zack: We’ve searched high and low for monster inspiration, but the most nitty-gritty Googling I’ve done for TAG involves urban planning. Where does a closed-off city like Freestone get its water? How do they tell the time? And would a pseudo-medieval society have a comprehensive filing system? (The answer is yes!)

Nick: Zack is sort of my Google for our own world-building stuff. “Did we say which planar realm slime creatures come from? How is anima different from mana, again? Do we have an elven word for ‘cool’ yet?” I’m pretty sure he’s memorized an encyclopedia’s worth of magic systems from across all media, and I’ve made use of that.

What are three must-have items when you sit down to write?
Zack: Coffee, a comfortable chair, and an outline. (I still like a plan! Even if I end up breaking it.)

Nick: Snacks, an uncomfortable chair, and music. (If I get too comfortable, I doze off as soon as the plotting gets tough.)

What books would you recommend to a reader who loved yours, and wants to read something similar?
Nick: Oh, it’s a great time to be a fantasy reader. Off the top of my head, I’d recommend The Serpent’s Secret by Sayantani DasGupta, which has the balance of thrills and laughs that we strive for. Karuna Riazi’s The Gauntlet is all about a close-knit group of friends thrown into an impossibly dangerous situation, and the sibling dynamic at its heart will resonate with fans of Zed and Brock, I think. And I love Lou Anders’ Thrones and Bones series, which pulls from some of the same sources of inspiration that we do (like tabletop gaming!).

Zack: I edited the Spirit Animals series in my day job as an editor, where each book featured a new author picking up the sprawling fantasy narrative. Nick actually wrote a few stories for me there, which were so popular they got compiled into a book of their own! It has a similar tone and themes to TAG, especially the ensemble cast of great kids. I’m also a big fan of Tui T. Sutherland’s Wings of Fire books, and anything Jonathan Stroud writes.

But like Nick mentioned, if you loved our books, you should definitely check out tabletop adventures like Dungeons & Dragons! They are basically just an exercise in collaborative storytelling.

What’s it like writing a book with your best friend? Do you split the writing 50/50? If not, how do you divide the work up? Who writes what?
Zack: We split the writing between our two viewpoint characters, Zed and Brock, in alternating chapters. Honestly, it’s been a blast. We get instant feedback on our chapters, and then we pass the baton for a while. And having a buddy there to celebrate the wins or air my nerves with has made the experience so much richer. (I’m not sure Nick would agree on the nerves part. I’m capable of great feats of anxiety.)

Nick: My favorite part is the element of surprise that it brings. While Zack and I do plan some plot points out in advance, we tend not to discuss what’s happening chapter-by-chapter. So I never know exactly where things will be when it’s my turn to take the reins. And I enjoy throwing Zack curveball cliffhangers, including some really challenging situations that he has to get the characters out of!

Are you working on anything new?
Nick: As of this writing, we have JUST turned in our first draft of The Adventurers Guild #3. It’s the big finale, where we get to blow everything up! Look for that in late 2019.

Zack: Yeah, wrapping up the story for this trilogy was a surprisingly emotional experience! We’re taking a moment to decompress before we discuss our next adventure. And playing a lot of D&D in the meantime.

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About the Authors:
 
ZACK LORAN CLARK and NICK ELIOPULOS are both editors based in New York. Best friends, they take a coffee break together every day and play Dungeons & Dragons every week. Twilight of the Elves is the second book in their The Adventurers Guild trilogy. Learn more at www.theadveturersguildbooks.com. Visit them on twitter at @zackloranclark and @NickEliopulos.

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And now for the giveaway! Thanks to Disney, one lucky winner will receive one copy of each book! Giveaway is US only. To enter, fill out the Rafflecopter below!

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Author Spotlight: Burning Bright by Chris Cannon (Interview)

Jun1

Hey everyone! I’m really excited to have Chris Cannon, author of Burning Bright (June 4, 2018 – Entangled Publishing, LLC [Teen]), here for an interview. First, here’s more about the book:

Bryn is back for her senior year at the Institute for Excellence, also known as shape-shifting dragon school. She isn’t sure which is scarier, the life-force sucking dragons stalking campus or the fact that she’s officially betrothed to Jaxon, a guy who will never love her. Not that she could ever love him, either… That’s just ridiculous.

Senior year should be fun. Her parents are alive, she’s finally fitting in, and she’s learning how to be a Medic. But what’s with Jaxon giving her strange looks? He runs hot and cold, and he doesn’t even have the excuse of being a hybrid fire-and-ice-breathing dragon like her. One minute they’re having a great time and the next, she wants to blast a fireball at his head. The marriage contract of doom looms over them–unless this match not made in heaven kindles a flame…

Goodreads | Amazon | Kobo

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And now here’s the interview! Enjoy!

Describe your book in ten words or less. Go!
Shape-shifting dragon fights off dragon-pires while falling for her frenemy.

How does it feel, knowing this is the last book in the series? Are you sad to say goodbye to these characters? Any plans for more books in this world?
Saying goodbye to these characters was hard. I honestly wasn’t ready to let go, which is why I plan to write more books set in this world. I want to write a prequel involving Bryn’s parent’s. It would be the story of how they ran away from the secret society of shape shifting dragons to escape arranged marriages, giving up everything they’d ever known…facing banishment or death for true love.

How was working on book one different from working on book five? Most important thing you’ve learned along the way?
When I wrote Going Down In Flames I let my imagination run free. I was creating the world and the rules as I went along. For the rest of the series I had to make sure to abide by those rules which wasn’t always easy.

If you could go back to book one, and give ONE character a piece of advice, who would you give advice to and what would the advice be?
I’d tell Bryn that her grandparents aren’t as bad as they seem. If she gives them time they will warm up to her.

Who would win in a fight: Daenerys Targaryen, Mother of Dragons, or Bryn?
While I have the utmost respect for Daenerys, Bryn is a dragon. She doesn’t have to give a “Dracarys” command, she can blast fire whenever she wants in both human and dragon form. Although I think Bryn and Daenerys would probably be friends. They could hang out and bond over how fragile male egos can be.

Favorite fictional dragon (besides Bryn, of course!)?
I love Smaug from The Hobbit. Of course, that may just be because of my crush on Benedict Cumberbatch.

Craziest thing you’ve had to Google for a work in progress?
When I came up with the idea of dragonsbane, a play on wolfsbane, I researched poisons online and probably ended up on a watch list somewhere.

What are three must-have items when you sit down to write?
Whenever I sit down to write I need a giant cup of coffee, a snack involving some sort of chocolate, and my shitzu Pete.

What books would you recommend to a reader who loved yours, and wants to read something similar?
I’m a huge Cassandra Clare fan. I love her character’s snarky sense of humor and her imaginative worlds. I’d like to think that my series would appeal to her readers.

Are you working on anything new? Now that you’ve done a series about dragons, what’s next (Vampires? Werewolves? Etc)?
Here’s the idea I’m currently working on. I think the characters will either be shape-shifting dragons or some sort of shape-shifting magical creatures:

Zara is a Finder. She helps humans find the things they’ve lost. It’s her job to restore order to the human world while remaining undetected. Finders live by one rule. They are not allowed to keep anything. Everything must be returned to its rightful owner. Sometimes it’s hard to give back the shiny pretty things. At least Zara thinks it is. None of the other Finders seem to have a problem with following the rules so she has to hide the fact that she suffers from temptation. Would it really be so bad if she kept just one ring, or made herself known to the young man she saved from drowning?

If she gave into temptation, turned into a Keeper her family would never forgive her. When her best friend Kane chose chaos over order…chose to become a Keeper she was shocked, but she misses him. Finders and Keepers aren’t supposed to be friends, but she finds herself drawn to Kane almost as much as she’s drawn to the human Jack.

Kane is a Keeper. If the humans really appreciated their place in the world they’d be more careful with their things. It’s his job to relieve them of jewels and gold and anything else they aren’t smart enough to hold onto. If a few humans are hurt in the process then so be it. He’s had his eye on Zara. If he can tempt her into keeping something then she’ll have to switch sides and they can be together again. What Zara doesn’t realize is she already kept something…Kane’s heart.

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About the Author:
 
Award winning author Chris Cannon lives in Southern Illinois with her husband and her three dogs, Pete the shih tzu who sleeps on her desk while she writes, Molly the ever-shedding yellow lab, and Tyson the sandwich-stealing German Shepherd Beagle. She believes coffee is the Elixir of Life. Most evenings after work, you can find her sucking down caffeine and writing fire-breathing paranormal adventures and snarky contemporary romance.
 

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