Blog Tour: Premonition by Leigh Walker- Author Interview & Giveaway

Welcome to the Blog Tour for Premonition by Leigh Walker thanks to YA Bound Book Tours! Yesterday my four star review of Premonition went live and today I have an author interview with Leigh Walker and a giveaway to share with you.

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When Riley heads off to boarding school for a summer work-study program, she knows it'll be demanding. What she doesn't expect? To be thrust into an intense physical training program described as special, exclusive and worst of all--top-secret. She signed up for tuition assistance, not to be held in a secret government facility for boot camp...

Welcome to The Division, the government agency that's so classified, most United States senators have never heard of it.

The Division wants Riley bad, but she can't figure out why. Skeptical of what she's being told, Riley's determined to uncover the truth. Boot camp is intense, physically and mentally draining. The upside? One of her new teammates is the cutest boy ever. Watching Finn hit the gym wearing a tank top doesn't suck--although sometimes his brooding attitude does. But when training forces Riley to confront her tragic past, even Finn's big biceps aren't enough to make her want to stay...

Beware: The Division isn't something you just walk away from. You better run.

Riley realizes her capabilities and strengths are greater than she'd ever imagined. But she also learns she wasn't just chosen for this special program...

She was made for it.

Add on Goodreads or check out my review!

Purchase:

Amazon

INTERVIEW WITH LEIGH WALKER, AUTHOR OF THE DIVISION SERIES

Q: Wow, you re interviewing yourself ... how pompous!
Right? It s to tell people more about the series, lol. Although I should admit that I normally talk to myself a lot , so this isn't much of a departure.

Q: Tell us about The Division – it s a bunch of teenagers with psychic powers, right? How did you get inspired?
Everyone on the team has psychic powers, yes. I was watching Stranger Things on Netflix and I WAS SO PSYCHED they were testing poor Eleven for psychic powers. But I was also like , YEEHAW! Because I LOVE psychic powers, and I can't remember the last time I saw or read something that included them. I've always been obsessed by the concept, and there s so many variations of powers, so many incarnations it can take... Anyway, after watching that show and having that reaction, I thought, other people must love t his stuff, too, I can't be the only one. So I wanted to give us all more!

Q: Tell us about the main character, Riley Payne.
Riley is a normal girl dealing with a lot. Her father and sister died in a car accident and her mother started drinking heavily after it happened. She just wants to get out of her house and go to boarding school, but she gets more than she bargained for when she abruptly gets recruited into a secret agency...

Q: The secret agency is The Division, correct?
Yes. It s a secret cell of teenagers who were genetically engineered with psychic gifts. They work for the American government to combat domestic terrorism.

Riley thinks they're nuts, of course. Until she unlocks her powers, then she s blown away by what she can do.

Q: As the series goes on, you get into genetic engineering, fated love, eco-terrorism, loyalty, isolation, human nature, climate change ... some pretty heavy themes. But would you describe the series as a difficult read?
I don t think so, but certainly some parts were hard to write – like about Riley missing her dad and her sister. I still cry when I read those parts. And in the second book, an eco-terrorist is introduced, and some terrible things happen in the book. So yeah, there's definitely a heaviness to some of what the characters are dealing with. But they're teenagers, and their youth is sort of a tonic against everything they're dealing with. They still care about their friends. They's till want to hang out, tell stories, joke around. They are still very interested in falling in love. I think my writing style is naturally light and breezy, so it s sort of a counterpoint to the storyline. If that makes sense, lol.

Q: What s your favorite part of this series?
Riley and Finn's relationship. They have so much on their plates, and they're so young, but they genuinely care for each other in a way that makes me ache.

Q: What do you do when you're not writing? 
I have three large, unruly boys who like to play every sport and eat as much food as possible. When I'm not at my computer, I'm busy carting them around and grocery shopping. But I also love to relax with a great book or television show – I am currently completely obsessed with Riverdale, OMG!!!

Thanks for having me! Happy reading!!!

I loved this interview with Leigh. It was so insightful and fun :)

Leigh Walker lives in New Hampshire with her husband and three children. She has a degree in Journalism and a law degree. She's never been to the Naval Shipyard prison in Kittery, ME, but she's driven by it...and boy, is it creepy! Leigh has lots of books planned for The Division Series.

She loves to hear from readers, so feel free to email her at leigh@leighwalkerbooks.com. 

Visit Leigh: 

Website | Goodreads | Twitter | Facebook 

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Australian Blog Tour: A Quiet Kind of Thunder by Sara Barnard

Welcome to the Australian Blog Tour for A Quiet Kind of Thunder by Sara Barnard thanks to Pan Macmillan Australia! Releasing today, A Quiet Kind of Thunder is a love story about the times when a whisper is as good as a shout.

Hopefully you checked out my four star review of A Quiet Kind of Thunder which I posted yesterday---A Quiet Kind of Thunder was a really beautiful YA contemporary read.

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Steffi doesn't talk, but she has so much to say.
Rhys can't hear, but he can listen.
Their love isn't a lightning strike, it's the rumbling roll of thunder.

Steffi has been a selective mute for most of her life - she's been silent for so long that she feels completely invisible. But Rhys, the new boy at school, sees her. He's deaf, and her knowledge of basic sign language means that she's assigned to look after him. To Rhys, it doesn't matter that Steffi doesn't talk, and as they find ways to communicate, Steffi finds that she does have a voice, and that she's falling in love with the one person who makes her feel brave enough to use it.

From the bestselling author of Beautiful Broken Things comes a love story about the times when a whisper is as good as a shout.

Add on Goodreads or check out my review!

Purchase:

Bookworld | Booktopia | The Book Depository | Amazon

Was there a specific inspiration that brought A Quiet Kind of Thunder into life, or was it a multitude of things?
A few years ago I watched a documentary that featured a young girl with selective mutism, which was something I’d never come across before. The documentary showed all the work that the school and the girl’s parents were putting in to try and help the girl, and it made me wonder what would happen to a child who didn’t have that level of support. What would become of them when they became a teenager? That’s where Steffi came from.

What do you believe were the most important moments in A Quiet Kind of Thunder?
I think Steffi meeting Rhys’s family was a turning point for her and their relationship, and also when she goes to the Halloween party with Tem and actually manages to enjoy herself. And of course the Thing That Happens near the end is very important!

What is some advice that you would give to aspiring authors?
Make sure your primary reason to write is for the joy of it. Everything else can spring from that, but love for it has to come first. It’s natural to feel like getting published is the ultimate goal, but there’s an awful lot that comes after that that isn’t joyful (rejection, bad reviews, taxes, deadlines), so having that love for what you are writing/have written will help carry you through that. Being an author is a career, and it doesn’t end at publication; it begins. So make sure you love it!

 

Sara lives in Brighton and does all her best writing on trains. She loves books, book people and book things. She has been writing ever since she was too small to reach the “on” switch on the family Amstrad computer. She gets her love of words from her dad, who made sure she always had books to read and introduced her to the wonders of secondhand book shops at a young age.

Sara is trying to visit every country in Europe, and has managed to reach 13 with her best friend. She has also lived in Canada and worked in India.

Visit Sara:

Website | Goodreads | Twitter | Intstagram

 

 

Congrats to Sara Barnard on A Quiet Kind of Thunder's release into the world! A Quiet Kind of Thunder is published in Australia by Pan Macmillan and is now available online and in all good bookstores. Be sure to get yourself a copy of this arresting tale!

 

 

Blog Tour: Moon Chosen by P.C. Cast- Interview & Giveaway

Thanks to Pan Macmillan Australia today I'm participating in the Australian Blog Tour for Moon Chosen by P.C. Cast, the first novel in Cast's new Tales of a New World series!

Yesterday I posted my review for Moon Chosen and today I have P.C. briefly on the blog as well as one paperback copy of Moon Chosen to give away to one lucky Aussie follower!

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#1 New York Times bestselling author, P.C. Cast, brings us a new epic fantasy set in a world where humans, their animal allies, and the earth itself has been drastically changed. A world filled with beauty and danger and cruelty…

Mari is an Earth Walker, heir to the unique healing powers of her Clan; but she has cast her duties aside, until she is chosen by a special animal ally, altering her destiny forever. When a deadly attack tears her world apart, Mari reveals the strength of her powers and the forbidden secret of her dual nature as she embarks on a mission to save her people. It is not until Nik, the son of the leader from a rival, dominating clan strays across her path, that Mari experiences something she has never felt before…

Now, darkness is coming, and with it, a force, more terrible and destructive than the world has ever seen, leaving Mari to cast the shadows from the earth. By forming a tumultuous alliance with Nik, she must make herself ready. Ready to save her people. Ready to save herself and Nik. Ready to embrace her true destiny…and obliterate the forces that threaten to destroy them all.

More info on Goodreads or check out my 4 star review!

Purchase:

Bookworld | Booktopia | The Book Depository | Amazon

1.       Who are your favorite authors and/or what are your favorite books?
 

•        PC: Kristin’s books, of course!  AMBER SMOKE, SCARLET RAIN, and in October THE SCENT OF SALT AND SAND (co-authored by me!).

•        Anything Anne McCaffrey has written – her PERN books are my special favorites.

•        THE OTHERS Series by Anne Bishop.

•        IMMORTALS AFTER DARK Series by Kresley Cole.

•        LORDS OF THE UNDERWORLD Series by Gena Showalter.

•        Any of David Mack’s STAR TREK books.

•        Christopher Moore is one of the funniest, most brilliant authors living.  I devour all of his books.  FOOL is one of my favorites.

•        Pat Conroy is an incredible author.  I’ve read everything he’s written.  THE PRINCE OF TIDES is fabulous, but also check out THE WATER IS WIDE, MY LOSING SEASON (boys/young men will love this one), BEACH MUSIC, and of course, THE GREAT SANTINI.

•        Dean Koontz is awesome.  I love his books.  WATCHER is my favorite.

•        I think everyone should read Bradbury’s FAHRENHEIT 451 and Harper Lee’s TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD.

•        I also love Sara Donati’s INTO THE WILDERNESS Series. 

Diana Gabaldon’s OUTLANDER Series is my obsession. 

2.       Which literary character would you most relate to?

PC: Lessa from Anne McCaffrey’s DRAGONRIDERS OF PERN

P.C. Cast is a #1 New York Times and USA Today Best-Selling author and a proud member of the Oklahoma Writers Hall of Fame. Her novels have been awarded the prestigious Oklahoma Book Award, YALSA Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers, Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Award, the Prism, Holt Medallion, Daphne du Maurier, Booksellers' Best, and the Laurel Wreath. Her mega-hit young adult series, The House of Night, co-authored with her daughter, Kristin, has more than 20 million copies in print and appeals to readers of all ages. Her young adult, paranormal romance, and fantasy series have been published in forty-two countries. Ms. Cast lives in Oklahoma with an assortment of dogs, cats, horses, and one precocious burro.

Visit P.C.

Website | Goodreads | Twitter | Facebook

a Rafflecopter giveawayPublished by Pan Macmillan, Moon Chosen is a thrilling start to a promising new fantasy series and is available online and in all good bookstores!

Book Blitz: The Reader by M.K. Harkins- Interview & Giveaway

Welcome to the Book Blitz for The Reader by M.K. Harkins thanks to YA Bound Book Tours. Today as part of the blitz I have an interview with the author to share with you as well as the tour wide giveaway. Enjoy :)

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Hunted, shot, and without her memory, eighteen-year-old Ann Baker wakes in shallow water on a deserted Pacific Northwest island. She is soon approached by two young men claiming to be her friends. Something isn’t right, but when gunshots sound, Ann is left with little choice but to allow Devon and Archer to help her escape. Soon she finds herself in their North Bend mountain compound, where the higher evolved humans claim to be mind-readers. While Ann heals, she realizes they believe her to be one of the last and most powerful of all – The Lost One.

She’s welcomed by most with opened arms, but not everyone is happy about her arrival. A jealous adversary has plans for Ann, which spirals the entire Reader community into chaos.

As lies, murder, and betrayal threaten to rip apart the once harmonious mountain dwellers, Ann is thrust into making a decision that could save or devastate not only The Readers, but all of mankind. But there’s just one glitch: by doing so it may require her to make the ultimate sacrifice.  

Add on Goodreads!

 

Purchase:

Amazon | Barnes & Noble

 

When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?

I know the exact date – February 3rd, 2013.  I ran out of reading material on my Kindle. I stared at the wall, for what seemed like hours. It was then that I had a light bulb moment.  I thought “Well, if I can’t find anything to read, I’ll just write something!”  The “something” became my first novel, Intentional. 

 

Do you have a routine that you use to get into the right frame of mind to write?

Yes and no.  I need uninterrupted time (I’m not one of those authors who can write for an hour per day) Give me four hours, and I’m good to go.  I do my best writing in the parking lot waiting for my daughter to finish her basketball practice.

 

Where did you get the idea or inspiration for The Reader?

I have absolutely no idea!  When I sat down to write it, the words, plot, dialogue literally flew from my fingers to the keyboard.

 

What books have most influenced your life?

The first book I remember reading was Exodus. I was in the 7th grade and I couldn’t put it down. Although I can’t remember all the details, I’m sure it has made me more compassionate.

 

The next book would have to be Slammed by Colleen Hoover. I know these two books are polar opposites, but nonetheless they both left their mark.  With Slammed, I was introduced to a simple, yet complex love story. It brought out all my dormant feelings of first love. My heart raced, my palms became sweaty – all of those feelings came back in a rush. If it were not for Colleen Hoover, and her wonderful writing, I would not have written my first book. That’s a pretty big influence!

 

What do you like to do when you are not writing?

When I’m not writing, I like to think about writing.  When my fingers are not on my keyboard, my brain is batting around dialogue.  I think it’s called “Voices in my Head” but for writers, it means creativity, not craziness (I think - lol)

 

Any future writing news you would like to share?

Yes!  I am currently working on Famous by Default (another YA book).  Also, if I get enough requests, I’ll continue with The Reader Series :)  (So email me!)     

MK has always been a voracious reader. After hitting a dry spell of reading material, she decided to write the kind of book she'd like to read. This resulted in the creation of her debut novel, Intentional. (Award for Best Sweet Romance - eFestival of Words- August 2014)

Unintentional, her second book, is based on the life of one of the characters in Intentional. Unintentional was written as a stand-alone book.

Breaking Braydon and Taking Tiffany have both been released. Available on Amazon.

The Reader is MK's latest project, due out 2016.

When she's not writing novels, she likes to spend her free time traveling the world, splashing in mud puddles (She lives in Seattle, what can she say?), watching movies and reading (!)

MK also runs her own business in her current hometown of Mercer Island, Washington.

Visit MK:

Website | Goodreads | Twitter | Facebook

 

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Interview with L.A. Weatherly

I'm excited to welcome author L.A. Weatherly to the blog today to talk about her latest release Broken Sky which hit bookstores on March 1st.

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You’ve previously found success with your Angel trilogy, but Broken Sky marks a whole new project for you. How does it feel for you beginning something new after Angel?
Very exciting! I've actually been writing this series for a while now, so apart from my editors and a few friends who've read it, I've been on my own with this world. So I’m really looking forward to finally seeing what readers think of it!

Broken Sky is set in a distorted 1940’s America and sounds really different. What can readers (like myself!) who are looking to jump into the book expect to find within the story?
An adrenalin-fuelled story with teenage fighter pilots, corruption, betrayal and a cool 1940s vibe. (Oh, and maybe some romance!)

Where did the idea of Broken Sky actually come from? The idea of a perfect world sounds pretty, well….perfect. How much work went into creating your world?
I genuinely don’t know; the concept literally just popped into my head one evening when my husband and I were having dinner. I have the writing fairy to thank for this one, I guess! The ‘perfect world’ bit is just propaganda put out by a particular leader, though – none of the characters think their world is perfect, though they do think they live in a society that’s successfully eradicated war.

Lots of work went into creating the world of Broken Sky, which has a historical feel but is actually set in the far future. My editors were amazing; they helped me spot any inconsistencies (of which there were legion!).

Can you describe your Broken Sky heroine Amity in one sentence?
Amity is a gutsy, idealistic young fighter pilot who blurts out whatever she’s thinking, is afraid to get close to others for fear of losing them, and is a bit too trusting of the organisation she serves.

What do you think would happen if Amity and Willow [From the Angel trilogy] ever met?
Oh, I love this question; it’s made my mind bend a little. Wow. They are SO different. I think if they had to work together to solve a problem, they’d make a phenomenal team. But if they just encountered each other at a party, they might struggle a little. Amity doesn’t do small talk very well, and Willow’s not into any of the things that interest Amity. If they could get beyond that, though, I think they’d really like and respect each other.

Let’s talk a little bit about the writer behind the story. What’s something readers might be surprised to discover about you?
Given the big, epic storylines I write about, readers might be surprised to know that unlike my characters, I do not, in fact, know how to fix cars, shoot a gun, fly a plane or save the world. I do make very nice omelettes, though.

Growing up did you always know you wanted to write?
Yes, always. One of my earliest memories is writing and illustrating a story when I was around five or six. I was very determined to get it published. (Alas, to have one’s hopes crushed at such a young age..!)

Who has been your biggest inspiration throughout your life?
No one particular person, really. I always find biographies of other writers or people in the arts inspiring. It’s comforting to realise that we’re all mad as snakes, and it’s not just me!

If you would meet anyone, living or dead, real or fictional, who would you want to meet and why?
I’m going to be very boring and say my parents. My mother passed away five years ago, and my father when I was twenty. Seeing them both again would be incredible. My father died before I was published, so I’d especially like to show him some of my work. I think he’d be really proud.

Even though Broken Sky is yet to hit stores, what can readers expect from the rest of the trilogy? Are you going to keep us on our toes?
I certainly hope so! Book 2 in particular goes to some very dark and perhaps unexpected places, and then book 3 has some tricks up its sleeve as well. (Checks inside book 3’s sleeve. Yep!)

Thanks again for taking the time to chat with me today. I have previously read and loved Angel, and I’m looking forward to reading Broken Sky—it sounds seriously good!
Thanks so much for the great questions! I hope you enjoy Broken Sky when you read it, too.

Note: I want to point out that since sending these questions to Lee, I have actually read Broken Sky and very much enjoyed it. I've heard mixed things about it, which surprised me, but I personally found Broken Sky to be really intriguing and unexpected, especially at the end.

Lee Weatherly was born in 1967 and grew up in Little Rock, Arkansas, USA. She lives with her husband in Hampshire, England, where she writes, goes on walks, tries out new recipes and has a cat named Bernard.

L.A. Weatherly is the pseudonym for Lee Weatherly.

Visit L.A:

Website | Goodreads | Twitter | Facebook

Welcome to a ‘perfect’ world.

Where war is illegal, where harmony rules.

And where your date of birth marks your destiny.

But nothing is perfect.

And in a world this broken, who can Amity trust?

From the bestselling author of the Angel trilogy comes Broken Sky – an exhilarating epic set in a daring and distorted echo of 1940s America and first in a new trilogy.

Add on Goodreads or check out my 4 star review!

Purchase:

Bookworld | The Nile | The Book Depository | Amazon

Congrats to L.A. Weatherly on the recent release. Published by Harper Collins, Broken Sky is available now online and in all good bookstores. Be sure to grab your copy!

Blog Tour: A Tangle of Gold by Jaclyn Moriarty- Author Interview

I'm really excited to participating in Australian Blog Tour for the third, and final novel in Jaclyn Moriarty's The Colours of Madeline series, A Tangle of Gold thanks to Pan Macmillan!

This series has been a spectacular addition to the YA genre thanks to an Aussie author who I'm thrilled to be interviewing on the blog today :)

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Cello is in crisis. Princess Ko's deception of her people has emerged and the Kingdom is outraged: The Jagged Edge Elite have taken control, placing the Princess and two members of the Royal Youth Alliance under arrest and ordering their execution; the King's attempts to negotiate their release have failed. Color storms are rampant, and nobody has heard the Cello wind blowing in months.

Meanwhile, Madeleine fears she's about to lose the Kingdom of Cello forever. Plans are in place to bring the remaining Royals home, and after that, all communication between Cello and the World will cease. That means she'll also lose Elliot, now back in Cello and being held captive by a branch of Hostiles. And there's nothing he can do to help his friends unless he can escape the Hostile compound.

Worlds apart and with time running out, Madeleine and Elliot find themselves on a collision course to save the Kingdom they love, and maybe even save each other.

Add on Goodreads or check out my 5 star review!

 

Check out my reviews of A Corner of White and The Cracks in the Kingdom too!

Hi Jaclyn and congrats on the release of A Tangle of Gold! I know this must be a very exciting and busy time for you, so I’m grateful to you for taking the time to answer a few questions of mine today.

Let’s get started, shall we?

I know I’ve already said it, but congratulations once more on the release on the third and final novel in the series, A Tangle of Gold. What’s the experience been like for you; releasing the final novel as opposed to the first? Have you found the process is that much different?
Thank you! Well, with first book, I decided that I wanted a book launch party, and imagined various things at the party (colourful cupcakes and cocktails! ocean views! champagne, lanterns, fireworks! opera singers, cello players, tango dancers! and so on), and then began to wonder exactly where and how I would hold this party, and then became uneasy about the extravagance of the party, and uncertain about where my dreams ended and reality began, and I wound up having pizza at home to celebrate. With this book, I am still at the stage of wanting a book launch party and imagining the trapeze artists! the jugglers! the lions! the coloured paints for everyone to splatter each other! (guests will have to wear some sort of protective clothing?)––and I am sensing a similar outcome.

For those who haven’t yet read the series, can you describe it in one sentence?
A girl who lives in Cambridge, England, begins writing letters to a boy who lives in the farming province of the Kingdom of Cello, through a crack between dimensions that opens up in a parking meter. Oh, I’ve used up the sentence and I haven't come close to encapsulating the series. But that’s a start.

In the lead up to this tour, I’ve been reading the series from beginning to end myself and though I’m a latecomer to Madeline and Elliot’s adventures, I am absolutely loving it! Do you find you have a bit of a mixed base of readers? Those who are just discovering The Colours of Madeleine as opposed to those who have been there since the beginning? [Note: I’ve actually taken real pleasure in starting the series late--all the books having been released which means I can finish one and then jump STRAIGHT into the next ;) ]
Thank you so much! I’m so happy to hear you’re enjoying it. And yes, definitely there are a mixture of readers. I know some readers prefer to wait until all three books are out before they start the first so they don’t get frustrated and impatient waiting. And I know other readers who are feeling frustrated and impatient as this third book took longer than I expected. I saw that a reader had commented on somebody else’s post on Instagram, ‘Why is the third book taking so long? I guess the author’s just sitting around taking her time,’ and I wrote back, “HEY!!! NO, I’M NOT, I’M TRYING REALLY HARD!’ or something like that. I probably scared them.

Where did the inspiration for the Colours of Madeleine series actually come from? There are so many unique concepts throughout the three books—where did these ideas come to you?
A long time ago I was living in Montreal, Canada, and I went to a cafe to work on my latest book. I took along a notebook that a friend had given me - it was covered in soft red suede - and, when I opened it, I discovered a row of small coloured pencils in little pockets on the inside cover. This was a snowy day in Montreal, and I had a chocolate croissant and good coffee, and something about all this, and the surprise of the coloured pencils, made me decide to draw pictures of a kingdom. That became the Kingdom of Cello. I drew a lot of pictures that day and many of those concepts ended up in the book (including the butterfly child and the Lake of Spells), but the idea of the Colours came to me years later when a friend asked me about monsters in Cello. A lot of other ideas came to me while I was reading science books.

If you had the chance to visit the Lake of Spells, what three spells would you want to take home? [Note: For those who have yet to read the series, the Lake of Spells is a lake where children of Cello can go and catch spells.]
A spell that would make me fly; a spell that would organise my entire apartment, including throwing away all the junk, arranging documents in beautiful filing systems, tidying my wardrobes, cleaning out the fridge and kitchen cupboards etc,etc; and a spell that would send compassion, generosity, kindness and rationality flying through the world. That last spell occurred to me a bit too late: I should have started with the world-changing spell. All three spells would have to be extremely powerful and would be really tricky to catch. But you may as well aim high.

There are SO many amazing characters in this series. Are there any you enjoy writing about just a little bit more than the others?
Thank you! I liked all the characters in these books, and felt close to them all. But I always enjoy writing characters with powerful personalities, especially when they also have strange speech patterns. So I think my favourites might have been Samuel, Princess Ko, Sergio and little Corrie-Lynn.

Let’s talk about the plot twists and developments in this series. Now I’m not going to give anything away, but there are some real game changers revealed. Did you set out writing the series with these in mind, or did they come to you as you progressed through each book like it seems to happen to a lot of authors?
A little bit of both. I planned this trilogy more comprehensively than most of my other books, so I knew a lot of the twists before I started. But some just happened and took me by surprise
And certainly your readers.....

What’s something readers might be surprised to learn about you?
I had two horses when I was a teenager, named Jagger and Roy, and loved them, and spent a lot of time talking to them every day, even though I am extremely allergic to horses and had to run inside and put my head under a cold tap every ten minutes or so.

If you could pick your own Royal Youth Alliance and make it up of three people, real or fictional, dead or alive, who would you choose and why?
Jane Austen, Mark Twain, Einstein. Because they’re all bright, funny and fascinating, and because those are the first three names that occurred to me and if I don’t use them I’ll take days trying to decide.

With Colours of Madeline concluding, what’s next in the cards for you? Could readers maybe see a spin-off series in the future, perhaps featuring Corrie-Lyn? Or do you have something completely different planned next?
How did you know that I wanted to write a spin-off series featuring Corrie-Lynn?! That’s exactly what I had in mind. I love Corrie-Lynn and I know she wants to have adventures. However, that will all happen in the future: at the moment I am working on four different books. One is about a girl whose parents ran away to have adventures with pirates; one is about a woman who joins a self-help course which claims it will teach her to fly; one is a new Ashbury-Brookfield book about Emily’s younger brother; and one is about time travel. Also, I want to write a book about my great-grandmother and have been interviewing my Great Aunty Ivy about her - Aunty Ivy grew up in an orphanage and has an amazing memory for detail.
Yay! A Corrie-Lynn spin-off! I'm super excited about this prospect--I think Corrie-Lynn has a lot of stories and adventure in her! 

Thanks again for chatting with me! I've loved reading The Colours of Madeleine series and I look forward to trying some of your other novels in the future too! 
Thank you for the kind words and the great questions! J x

Jaclyn Moriarty grew up in Sydney's north-west and studied Law and English on three continents - at Sydney University in Australia, Yale in the US and Cambridge in England. She spent four years working as a media and entertainment lawyer and now writes full-time so that she can sleep in each day. She lives in Sydney.

Visit Jaclyn:

Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter

Don't miss the rest of the tour!

 

 

Blog Tour: Crystal Kingdom by Amanda Hocking- Author Interview

I'm super excited to be taking part in the Australian Blog Tour for Crystal Kingdom by Amanda Hocking, the third and final book in the Kanin trilogy thanks to Pan Macmillan Australia! I recently read the whole series in anticipation of the tour and absolutely loved it! Yesterday I shared my review of Crystal Kingdom and today I'm chatting with Amanda Hocking herself :)

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Hi Amanda and thanks so much for taking the time to chat with me and answer a few questions I have. I’m very excited to be a part of the Australian Blog tour for Crystal Kingdom, the third and final book in your Kanin Chronicles and I’m very excited to be talking to you today.

First off, congrats on Crystal Kingdom’s upcoming release! I can only imagine how busy it must get for you when a new story is about to be released out into the world. Is it still something that gets you wildly excited, or are you a bit used to it how having released a few books already?
I still get excited. Releasing the final a book in a series – like Crystal Kingdom – is always the most nerve-wracking. I’ve spent several books building it up and getting readers excited, and I’m always terrified I’m going to let them down with the ending. So far, the reader response for Crystal Kingdom has been some of the best I’ve ever gotten, so that’s very exciting for me.

I’m gonna be honest, I was a latecomer to your Switched series and now the Kanin Chronicles, but boy do I love them! How does the ongoing reader response make you feel? Even now, you must get new fans like myself who find unexpected gems in your books……
I wrote Switched six or seven years ago, so it’s always fun to hear from people just diving into for the first time. I think sometimes, as a writer, I get so focused on release dates, and it’s easy to forget that books have an eternal shelf-life. It’s crazy to think that people might still be picking up one of my books for the first time, ten or twenty years from now.

For those who haven’t read the Kanin books yet, tell us a little bit about your heroine Bryn.
Bryn is strong, but she has a huge chip on her shoulder. She’s of mixed heritage in a kingdom that all about lineage and the hierarchy that comes with that. She refused to let anything stand in the way of her goals, sometimes her detriment. Since she has spent so much of her life being shut out by the society she loves, she has a hard time letting people in. But she does, she is fiercely loyal and will do anything to protect those she cares about.

All your covers are so incredibly stunning, from pretty much all your books, self-published or professionally published. How much say do you have, if any, in choosing the covers?
It varies. Sometimes I know exactly what I want on a book cover. Like for Tidal, the third book in the Watersong quartet, I knew exactly what I wanted, and that’s how the cover looks. But for the Kanin Chronicles, I really didn’t have any idea. I did give them descriptions of Bryn and suggestions for her clothing, but that was about it. The rest was the art department at St. Martin’s, and when they showed me the covers for the first time, I was like, “These are perfect. I love them.”

Though I was new to your Trylle world not so long ago, I have read your Watersong Quartet and I have to ask…what do you think would happen if Wendy, Bryn, Harper and Gemma ever met? Would the girls get along?
That’s interesting. I think they would mostly get along. Gemma is the youngest – and the wildest, so she’d probably get annoyed with everyone else bossing her around. But I think that Harper and Wendy would definitely bond over feeling like they have to be responsible for everyone. Bryn is slow to warm up to people, but I think she’d like them.

If you could meet anyone, living or dead, real or fiction, who would you want to meet and why?
Jim Henson. He’s my hero. Not just because of the creatures he creates or the imagination he inspires, but the way he lived his life. He understood the importance of kindness and silliness, and that’s something that I have to remind myself of all the time, especially when I’m stressed out. Being nice and having fun are important, too.

I know for a lot of authors their books are like their children, but do you have a favourite by any chance? One that has special meaning over the others?
My favourite book is usually the one I’ve just finished writing. As an author, I constantly strive to improve myself and my writing, and I always hope that each book I write is better than my last. But I would say that I do feel particularly proud of Crystal Kingdom. I took some risks I normally shied away from, and I am very happy with how the book turned out.

Who has been the biggest inspiration in your life? Both as an author and as a person….
I would say Jim Henson and my grandma. My grandma was British, and she had the quickest wit. She was so funny and so full of love, and that is something that I strive for. Even though Jim Henson wasn’t exactly an author (he wrote mostly for television and film), his creativity and the worlds he created are constant inspiration to me.

What’s next for you now that the Kanin Chronicles have concluded? Any hints as to what reading brilliance we can expect next?
The next book I have coming out is Freeks. It’s a standalone YA paranormal romance novel set in the 1980s that follows a travelling sideshow. I pitched it as Pretty in Pink meets The Lost Boys (minus the vampires). It should be out sometime in 2016.

6 Quick Questions:
1. Summer or Winter? Winter
2. Cats or Dogs? Both?
3. Favourite movie? Labyrinth or The Dark Knight
4. Lucky number? 13
5. Favourite ice-cream flavour? Vanilla
6. Physical books or Ebooks? Physical books, preferably paperbacks

Thanks again for taking the time to answer my questions Amanda. I’ve loved reading the Kanin Chronicles and can’t wait to read whatever you release next!
Thank you for having me :)  

 

With help from the Trylle clan, Bryn tries to clear her name and discover who was really responsible for the Skojare King's murder.

Then, while she's still trying to make sense of it all, Ridley tracks her down while she's on the run for a crime she didn't commit. He refuses to abandon her, so she finally decides that she wants to be with him and that they do belong together. Together, they return to the Kanin capital and rally other trackers and the King's Guard to defend their kingdom from the villain within. But in the process, Bryn learns a startling truth about her former enemy. Brynn's loyalty is still to her kingdom, but will she be rewarded with a place in the royal guard -- and who will ultimately win her heart?

Add on Goodreads or check out my 5 star review!

Purchase:

Bookworld | The Nile | The Book Depository | Amazon

Amanda Hocking is a lifelong Minnesotan obsessed with Batman and Jim Henson. In between watching cooking shows, taking care of her menagerie of pets, and drinking too much Red Bull Zero, she writes young adult urban fantasy and paranormal romance.

Her New York Times best-selling series the Trylle Trilogy has been optioned for films. She has published fifteen novels, including the Hollows and the Watersong series. Frostfire and Ice Kissed - the first two books in her newest trilogy, The Kanin Chronicles - are out now, and the final book Crystal Kingdom will be out August 4, 2015.

Visit Amanda:

Website | Goodreads | Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest | Instagram

I want to say a big thank you to Alana and the team at Pan Macmillan Australia for putting this tour together and Amanda Hocking for chatting with me today. Crystal Kingdom and the rest of the Kanin Chronicles are available now, online and in all good bookstores! Be sure you snag your copy--you won't me sorry!

 

Akarnae by Lynette Noni- Interview & Giveaway

I've got Lynette Noni, Australian author of fantasy novel Akarnae on the blog today chatting about her debut novel, and what we can expect from the series next! Having just released in February this year, Akarnae will enchant fans of Harry Potter and Narnia and take hold of your imagination--trust me, I've read it, rated it 5 stars and am already dying for the next book!

Enjoy my interview with Lynette, and if you're Aussie, don't miss you chance to win a paperback copy of Akarnae!

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With just one step, sixteen-year-old Alexandra Jennings's world changes--literally.

Dreading her first day at a new school, Alex is stunned when she walks through a doorway and finds herself stranded in Medora, a fantasy world full of impossibilities. Desperate to return home, she learns that only a man named Professor Marselle can help her... but he's missing.

While waiting for him to reappear, Alex attends Akarnae Academy, Medora's boarding school for teenagers with extraordinary gifts. She soon starts to enjoy her bizarre new world and the friends who embrace her as one of their own, but strange things are happening at Akarnae, and Alex can't ignore her fear that something unexpected... something sinister... is looming.

An unwilling pawn in a deadly game, Alex's shoulders bear the crushing weight of an entire race's survival. Only she can save the Medorans, but what if doing so prevents her from ever returning home?

Will Alex risk her entire world--and maybe even her life--to save Medora?

Add on Goodreads or check out my 5 star review!

Purchase:

Bookworld | The Book Depository | Amazon | Akarnae Website
 

 

Hi Lynette and welcome to The Rest Is Still Unwritten! I'm super excited to have you answer some questions and talk to you about your debut novel Akarnae......

First off, congrats on getting Akarnae out into the world! I know it must be a very exciting time for you right now; how does it feel having your novel out there for people to read?
It’s such an incredible feeling—very surreal! To be honest, there are days when I still wake up in the morning and wonder if it’s all just a dream; an incredible, impossible dream! Then it hits me that it’s real and I feel ecstatic—and also a little bit terrified!

If you had to describe Akarnae to someone who hadn't read it in one sentence, what would you say?
AKARNAE is about a sixteen-year-old girl who becomes stranded in a fantasy world where she attends a school for teenagers with extraordinary gifts while she waits for an opportunity to get back home.

Medora is one of those amazingly unique worlds where you never know what will happen next.....What was your inspiration for this incredible place?
I think it is very much inspired by wishful fantasies. Medora is the kind of place that I would absolutely love to go to. Because of that, it’s a bit of a mixture of all my favourite places I’ve read about and watched from other fantasy books and movies, all mashed up together—with a few aspects unique only to this series.

Lyndsy Fonseca AKA Alex Jennings.....

If Akarnae was ever made into a movie, what actress would you want to play Alex?
Oooh, that’s such a tough question! For me, Alex is more than just a face, so it’s difficult to imagine her as anyone specifically. But if I had to pick, maybe someone like Lyndsy Fonseca. She was totally awesome in Nikita and I think she’d kick butt in the high action scenes—especially in Combat!

Alex is pretty awesome in Akarnae, but so are many of the other characters, Jordan, Bear, Darius, D.C. and so many more....is there anyone who has a special place in your heart?
I think I’ll always have a soft spot for Jordan. In the original version of AKARNAE, he was the first person to meet Alex after she arrived in Medora (before Aven, and Bear wasn’t with him) and the bond that formed between the two of them was instant and, well, beautiful. I love writing every scene that he’s in—because, let’s face it, he’s just so much fun!

Kaiden and Declan are also huge favourites of mine, and I’m stoked that they get a lot more screen time in the second book. And speaking of the second book, this is kinda cheating for this question, but there are a few people we get to meet in RAELIA who I absolutely adore beyond words. You’ll just have to wait to see who, though! (*sneaky grin*)

I CAN'T wait to meet these individuals! Many of the people of Medora are gifted with amazing abilities. If you yourself could have a gift like theirs, what one would you want and why?
Another hard question! Since the second book introduces a heap more gifted humans and their abilities, I don’t want to give any cool gifts away by accident, so instead I’ll just say that I’ve always wanted to be able to fly. I love the idea of such complete freedom while soaring through the air currents and seeing the world from a different perspective. I can’t imagine that I’d ever want to come back down to the ground!

Though there is plenty of friendship in Akarnae, there's not really any romance. Although, there is a certain young man who I have my fingers crossed may be a love interest for Alex in later books. Any chance we may see some of this down the line? Do you think Alex may just need a push?
I’ve always had a bit of a pet peeve when it comes to stories that start out as epic adventures, but then they fizzle out and become all about the insta-love. It’s so disappointing when a story hooks you in with a super cool plot but then as soon as the main character meets their love interest, the rest of the book/series becomes all about the relationship and less about the adventure. I absolutely LOVE it when an author can find a perfect balance between the two—keeping the story alive while realistically developing a relationship. So, fingers crossed, that’s my aim for Alex and… the person she ends up with.

I love those kinds of romances too! Your heroine Alex finds herself literally in a new world when she opens a door to Medora. If you could visit anywhere, real, fiction, past, present or future where would you want to visit and why?
To be a total walking cliché, I’d be lying if I didn’t say Hogwarts. I travelled on the train from London to Edinburgh a few years ago and I remember looking out at the snow-capped craggy mountains in the distance and all the other scenery along the way, and I seriously felt as if I was on the Hogwarts Express. It was the most magical feeling ever!
Otherwise, I’d love to visit any of my favourite fantasy places, like Middle Earth (I’m talking Rivendell or Loth Lorien, not Mordor!), Narnia, Oz, or even Neverland. Oh, and the lost city of Atlantis would also be pretty awesome, I think! 

What's something readers might be surprised to discover about you?
I’m a bit of an open book (pun intended!) so there’s nothing hugely mysterious about me. That leaves a whole heap of little tidbits… So I’ll give you a random one: The only movie I have ever cried in is Marley & Me. And they weren’t pretty tears, either. I’m talking, huge, hulking, impossible-to-draw-breath sobs. It was downright embarrassing. I made it through The Notebook without any problems and I’m pretty sure I was okay even in the devastating Mufasa scene from The Lion King. But give me a cute puppy and I become so emotionally invested that all dignity flies out the window.

Obviously you can't give away too much, but what can readers expect in the next Medoran Chronicles book, Raelia?
A whole heap of action and a stack of new characters to fall in love with!
While AKARNAE really is an introduction novel where we meet Alex and her friends and get to know the world of Medora, RAELIA branches out to new realms of impossibilities. The plot becomes so rich, so complex, so intriguing, that it is very much a go-go-go journey full of ups and downs, happiness and heartache. RAELIA allows The Medoran Chronicles to shuffle out from under the ‘Narnia’ and ‘Harry Potter’ umbrella that readers are pulled into through AKARNAE, and the series turns into something completely different, something entirely unique. I can’t wait for people to further embrace the wonder of Alex’s journey as her story continues!

I'm really grateful you've taken the time to chat with my Lynette! I adored Akarnae and can't wait to devour the rest of The Medoran Chronicles as they're released! 
It was my absolute pleasure! Thank you so much for your delightful questions! 

Lynette Noni grew up on a farm in outback Australia until she moved to the beautiful Sunshine Coast and swapped her mud-stained boots for sand-splashed flip-flops. She has always been an avid reader and most of her childhood was spent lost in daydreams of far-off places and magical worlds. She was devastated when her Hogwarts letter didn’t arrive, but she consoled herself by looking inside every wardrobe she could find, and she’s still determined to find her way to Narnia one day. While waiting for that to happen, she creates her own fantasy worlds and enjoys spending time with the characters she meets along the way.

Visit Lynette:

Website | Goodreads | Twitter | Facebook 

Thanks to the amazing team over at Pantera Press I have a PAPERBACK copy of Akarnae to give away to one lucky Australian resident! As someone who has read and loved this book I can guarantee whoever wins this will LOVE the story as much as I have!

I'm going to keep this really simple; To enter, simply comment on this post with a way to contact you, letting me know how you follow The Rest Is Still Unwritten :)

+1 entries for sharing on Facebook or Twitter!

Giveaway will run from today and end on April 5th. Open to Australian residents only--sorry international peeps!

I want to take this opportunity to thank Lynette Noni once more for being on the blog today. Akarnae is a great addition to the fantasy genre and I can't wait for the rest of the series to be released!

 

WINNER:

Glen Woods--congrats!