Leave a comment Posted on June 23, 2017 by tawney13 Pre-Pub Adventure

Pre-Pub Adventure: June

Today we are excited to have a new author joining us for Pre-Pub Adventure and another authors who has her book out in the world!

Every third Friday of the month we follow authors on their publishing adventure. Have you ever wondered how authors prepare for a book release or what they are working on while also getting ready to publish a new book? How do they multitask? What is publishing like? Find out on Pre-Pub Adventure as we follow authors to publishing their books.

Let’s welcome S. A. Chakraborty!

S. A. Chakraborty

1. Welcome to the publishing adventure! Please tell us a little about yourself.

Thanks for the welcome, and thanks for having me! I have my official bio over here but in short, I’m the author of The City of Brass, a historical fantasy coming out this November from Harper Voyager. It’s my debut novel – and the first book I ever wrote! I got into writing fiction through my interest in history – it seemed a good way to put to use all the hours I spent pouring over manuscripts in Cairo and DC. I’m from the Jersey shore originally…

(yes, I know: I’ve heard all the jokes), and while I’m still proud to call it home, I’ve been living in New York for about ten years where I’ve found an excellent writing family in the Brooklyn Speculative Fiction Writers. I have a toddler who keeps me on my toes, a husband whose brain I unabashedly pick for all the medical elements in my work, and three deeply lazy cats. In the little spare time I can cobble together, I like to run and read. Besides science fiction and fantasy, I have a soft spot for historical fiction; my favorite authors are Naguib Mahfouz and Amitav Ghosh.

2. Tell us about your book? How did you come up with The City Of Brass? The cover is gorgeous by the way!

Thank you! I was literally speechless when I first saw the cover!

The City of Brass is a historical fantasy that takes place in the 18th century about an Egyptian con artist who gets a bit more than she bargained for when one of her schemes ends up dragging her into a brewing magical war. It actually started not as a novel, but as sort of a passion project/exercise in world-building that I never intended to show a soul! I’m a big history buff and with The City of Brass I wanted to recreate some of the stunning worlds I’d read about while also exploring traditional beliefs about djinn. A bit contrary to Western lore, djinn are said to be intelligent beings similar to humans, created from smokeless fire and living unseen in our midst—a fascinating, albeit slightly frightening concept, this idea of creatures living silently among us, dispassionately watching the rise and fall of our various civilizations.

It’s also a concept that offers a great opportunity to imagine how djinn might have built their world, mimicking the ways of their human neighbors. So in The City of Brass, there’s a djinn version of Baghdad’s great library, filled with the ancient books humans have lost alongside powerful texts of magic; they battle with weapons from Achaemenid Persia (enhanced by fire of course); the medical traditions of famed scholars like Ibn Sina have been adapted to treat magical maladies; dancers conjure flowers while singing Mughal love songs; a court system based on the Zanzibar Sultanate deals justice to merchants who bewitch their competitors… not to mention a cityscape featuring everything from ziggurats and pyramids to minarets and stupas. I also pushed a little further with the idea of the unseen, imagining a world of enchanted creatures created from other elements passing through ours: marid raising rivers into great serpents, peris whipping the air into tornados, djinn conjuring maps of smoke and racing birds of fire. And then, of course, there’s scheming con artists, irritatingly handsome ancient warriors, and rebellious princes to round things out!

3. What is your writing quirk?

I’ve heard enough other authors confess to this to know I’m not alone, but I love writing to soundtracks. And not just any soundtracks, but the ridiculously over-the-top music for things like Pirates of Caribbean and Game of Thrones. And then, like, the orchestral re-mix version to make it even more epic. It just sets the mood!

Follow S. A. : Twitter * Blog

Congrats to Kayla for the release of The Sandcastle Empire!

Kayla Olson

1. How does it feel to have your book out in the world?

It’s been so exciting to have The Sandcastle Empire out in the world—people have been so wonderfully supportive, friends and strangers alike, and it’s been fun seeing everyone’s reactions. I was on deadline for my second book at the same time my debut hit shelves, and while it was emotionally/physically taxing to flip between YAY DEBUT and ACK, MUST REVISE, it was incredibly encouraging to receive so many messages from friends and family who’d already finished the book and were ready for another one.

2. How has your book tour been going?

The book tour has been so much fun!! We sold out of books at both BookPeople in Austin *and* Brazos Bookstore in Houston, and had an amazing turnout at every single stop—it’s been so excellent to connect with family and friends, and to meet new readers. I also had the opportunity to participate in a teen day + author panel at the South Irving Library, which was really fun; not only did I get to hang out with five other brilliant, talented authors, but the reader turnout was fantastic! The library staff was wonderful, too, and made these GIANT stand-up posters of all our book covers. It was pretty amazing.

3. What’s next for you?

I just turned in my second book to my editor, so right now I’m taking a few weeks just to read and rest and brainstorm some other projects I’ve had in mind for a while! Hopefully I’ll get to share more details about that second book soon…! 🙂

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Nic Stone

1. You just recently went to Bookcon and Book Expo in May, how was it?

Oh man. It was like my own personal version of heaven. Books and people everywhere! I met SOME of my heroes/heroines (like as in more than three of them), did lots of fun author-y things like sign books and read aloud and sit on/moderate panels, went to fancy dinners and a fun party, spent some quality time with friends over food… it was incredible! Can’t wait to do it again one day (hopefully, lol!).

2. What’s it like going as an author and signing your book?

Surreal, I think would be the best word. I’m still blown away by the fact that I HAVE a book, so the fact that people are willing to stand in a line and wait for me to sign it was unreal. By the end of the second signing (I had THREE. What is even happening??) I’d perfected what I put in the book, so now I’m ready for the next round. **cracks knuckles**

3 .What was your favorite part?

Definitely the meeting-new-friends-and-connecting-with-people-I-only-knew-online part. Like I got to meet some of my favorite bloggers (Like CJ @sarcasmlemons, and Joey @afterthoughtAn, and Shelly @shellysrambles, and Mishma @chasingfaes, and Vee @findmereading–those are their Twitter handles and you should follow them all), some fellow debuts (Stephanie Garber, Chelsea Sedoti, Jeff Giles, Karina Yan Glasser, Jake Burt, as well as some 2018 debuts like Samira Ahmed), and some cool agents and editors (like Matt Ringler from Scholastic. Follow him [@doesntmattr] on Twitter, too. He’s hilarious!).

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S.F. Henson

1. What have you been up to since last we checked in?

Editing, editing, editing. Pretty sure this was my response last month too! I’m working hard to make sure this book is the best it possibly can be, though. And I can see the finish line! I’m soooo close. Then I can start planning my launch party!

2. What book do you wish you could have written?

This is a tough one because there are SO many. My first impulse is to say Harry Potter (I mean, who doesn’t wish they could’ve written HP??) but if I’m being honest, I wish I’d written A Wrinkle In Time by Madeleine L’Engle. It’s the first book I remember reading as a kid that I couldn’t get enough of. The way L’Engle crammed so many world-building and characterization details into such a small space, gahh. I envy that so hard.

3. What are you working on now?

Well, technically still my debut, but I have a WIP drumming its fingertips impatiently. It’s about a girl who travels across the world to find her missing brother. There’s complicated family relationships, mental illness, a forest fully of mysteries, and coming to terms with the things that hold you back and push you forward. I can’t wait to dive back in.

Follow S.F. Henson: Twitter * Goodread *Facebook

Amanda Foody

1. You just recently went to Bookcon and Book Expo, how was it?

BookExpo and BookCon were amazing! Since I got some of my start in blogging, I’ve been waiting to attend for years, but college and conflicts always got in the way. I was able to connect with so many friends from Twitter, and I came home with several bags full of ARCs! Absolutely magical!

2. What’s it like going as an author and signing your own book?

It was definitely surreal. My signings were in the morning, so when I first arrived at BookExpo, I was dumbfounded to see the line circling around the Harlequin TEEN booth for DAUGHTER. We were out of tickets almost immediately, and we had no copies to spare! I cannot being to describe how much I appreciate that enthusiasm and support. I spent my afternoons waiting in signing lines for other authors, so I feel like I got to attend as both author and reader.

3. What was the most memorable moment there?

Probably meeting and introducing myself to some of my favorite authors. I almost collapsed several times when a few of them had already heard of me and DAUGHTER. So many of these authors are ones who I loved as a teenager, who are still huge names in YA, and it would be so fun to tell my 17yo self that in a few years, my favorite author would know who I am because I’m also an author. I pinched myself several times.

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Leave a comment Posted on June 21, 2017 by tawney13 Book Review

Bad Romance Review

Hardcover: 368 pages
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR) (June 13, 2017)
Language: English

Grace wants out. Out of her house, where her stepfather wields fear like a weapon and her mother makes her scrub imaginary dirt off the floors. Out of her California town, too small to contain her big city dreams. Out of her life, and into the role of Parisian artist, New York director―anything but scared and alone.

Enter Gavin: charming, talented, adored. Controlling. Dangerous. When Grace and Gavin fall in love, Grace is sure it’s too good to be true. She has no idea their relationship will become a prison she’s unable to escape.

Deeply affecting and unflinchingly honest, this is a story about spiraling into darkness―and emerging into the light again.

Amazon

Tawney’s Review: This book moved me completely.

This was a tough read as the book opens into an abusive relationship that’s ending. Grace starts off by telling the reader what happened to this bad romance with her boyfriend Gavin.

It’s real, it’s raw and it will leave you heartbroken. From Gavin’s manipulation to Grace becoming an echo of herself, this book brings to light a tough subject on a toxic relationship. It was told in the second point of view of Grace writing a letter to Gavin. You could feel every pain, every heartbreak that she suffered.

Demetrios does a wonderful job at showing how the abuse escalates and the repercussions of such a relationship. You root for Grace all the way through the train wreck. It was a very addictive book but one that was a rough to read.

Should you read it? Yes! This was an emotional brutally honest book about an abusive relationship that everyone should read.

Leave a comment Posted on June 1, 2017 by tawney13 Book Review

Royal Bastards Review

Being a bastard blows. Tilla would know. Her father, Lord Kent of the Western Province, loved her as a child, but cast her aside as soon as he had trueborn children.

At sixteen, Tilla spends her days exploring long-forgotten tunnels beneath the castle with her stablehand half brother, Jax, and her nights drinking with the servants, passing out on Jax’s floor while her castle bedroom collects dust. Tilla secretly longs to sit by her father’s side, resplendent in a sparkling gown, enjoying feasts with the rest of the family. Instead, she sits with the other bastards, like Miles of House Hampstedt, an awkward scholar who’s been in love with Tilla since they were children.

Then, at a feast honoring the visiting princess Lyriana, the royal shocks everyone by choosing to sit at the Bastards’ Table. Before she knows it, Tilla is leading the sheltered princess on a late-night escapade. Along with Jax, Miles, and fellow bastard Zell, a Zitochi warrior from the north, they stumble upon a crime they were never meant to witness.

Rebellion is brewing in the west, and a brutal coup leaves Lyriana’s uncle, the Royal Archmagus, dead—with Lyriana next on the list. The group flees for their lives, relentlessly pursued by murderous mercenaries; their own parents have put a price on their heads to prevent the king and his powerful Royal Mages from discovering their treachery.

The bastards band together, realizing they alone have the power to prevent a civil war that will tear their kingdom apart—if they can warn the king in time. And if they can survive the journey.

Amazon *BN * Book Depository

Tawney’s Review: Coming off of a Game of Thrones very long lull I thought this book would be the perfect thing to take my mind off of swords and dragons and winter coming.

This was a fantasy with swords, betrayal and mystery. It was a dark, edgy story with a band of misfit characters. Tilla is the bastard daughter of a Lord who ignores her now that he has a real proper family. When a visiting princess needs help it’s up to Tilla and her unlikely band of misfits. Almost like the Breakfast Club for fantasy.

The pace was fast and the book had lots of action that kept the reader occupied. My main problem with the book was the modern language. It felt out of place in a fantasy world that left me a little distracted. But not so much so that I couldn’t read further. After a few chapters I got use to the language and it didn’t seem as important.

I didn’t really connect with the characters but the ending was great. It was a different type of fantasy that really didn’t grasp my love but I did like it. Tons of action and fantasy to keep you occupied.

Should you read it? Yes, even though I found some faults it may just be the fantasy you are looking for with tons of action and mystery.

Thank you Disney-Hyperion for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review!

Leave a comment Posted on May 25, 2017May 25, 2017 by tawney13 Book Review

I Believe In A Thing Called Love Review

I love Korean Dramas. I binge watch them obsessively.

Today’s book incorporates that love into a wonderful fun story you just can’t put down. This had to be one of my favorite books this year.

Desi Lee knows how carburetors work. She learned CPR at the age of five. As a high school senior, she has never missed a day of school and has never had a B in her entire life. She’s for sure going to Stanford. But—she’s never had a boyfriend. In fact, she’s a disaster in romance, a clumsy, stammering humiliation-magnet whose botched attempts at flirting have become legendary with her friends. So when the hottest human specimen to have ever lived walks into her life one day, Desi decides to tackle her flirting failures with the same zest she’s applied to everything else in her life. She finds her answer in the Korean dramas her father has been obsessively watching for years—where the hapless heroine always seems to end up in the arms of her true love by episode ten. It’s a simple formula, and Desi is a quick study. Armed with her “K Drama Rules for True Love,” Desi goes after the moody, elusive artist Luca Drakos—and boat rescues, love triangles, and fake car crashes ensue. But when the fun and games turn to true feels, Desi finds out that real love is about way more than just drama.

Amazon * BN * Book Depository

Tawney’s Review: This book came at the best possible time. With the world in turmoil I Believe In A Thing Called Love brought great humor and wonderful characters that immersed me in a world full of Korean Dramas. It was just the lighthearted thing I need right now. It just made me feel so damn good!

Desi Lee is fantastic at everything except boys. She can’t flirt. In fact she has epic disasters. So one with a plan Desi uses her Father’s K-Dramas for guidance. Let the over the top drama ensue!

And after a binge marathon of K dramas Desi created a list called “K Drama True Steps to True Love.” I love step #1: “You are the living embodiment of all that is pure and good.” Which if you ever watched a K Drama most of the heroines in the story are pure, sweet and oh so innocent. See K Drama The Moon Embraces the Sun. I also love #4: “Let the guy get to you with annoyance or obsession. It does seem that all the K Drama heroines have this issue. See Boys Over Flowers. And the best one #20: “You are not allowed to be happy until the very last possible minute.” See Rooftop Prince. All K Dramas seem to have this issue and it can be quite annoying but you watch anyway. You need to see the couple win!

The book is humorous, just like K Dramas, and Desi is such a strong heroine with complex feelings and you just root for her to get the guy. And like any K Drama she gets hurt, tries her best but it just ends in disaster, hurts others, and it’s so frustrating that you can’t understand why she does some of the things she does…cue K Drama characteristics!

Oh the glorious torture of waiting for the couple to get together. Definitely K Drama step #20. K Dramas always have this torture that makes a binge worthy weekend. The ending to the book was perfect. It brought a smile to my face. Desi and Luca are the embodiment of a K Drama couple. Every mistake and misstep Desi makes was hilarious and it enhanced the story. As watching a K Drama you groan, you smile, you balk and then you laugh. So many emotions flowed while reading this.

Should you read it? Yes even if you have never watched a Korean Drama you will easily fall in love with the story and characters. I Believe In A Thing Called Love is one of my favorite books of 2017! I highly recommend it and you may just also fall in love with K Dramas too.

About the Author:

Maurene Goo grew up in a Los Angeles suburb surrounded by floral wallpaper and piles of books. She is the author of Since You Asked… and I Believe in a Thing Called Love and has very strong feelings about tacos and houseplants. You can find her in Los Angeles with her husband and two cats–one weird, one even more weird.

Leave a comment Posted on May 23, 2017 by tawney13 Book Review

Wildman Review

Hardcover: 336 pages
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion (June 6, 2017)
Language: English

“How can a total stranger understand you better than the people you’ve known your entire life?”

When Lance’s ’93 Buick breaks down in the middle of nowhere, he tells himself Don’t panic. After all, he’s valedictorian of his class. First-chair trumpet player. Scholarship winner. Nothing can stop Lance Hendricks.

But the locals don’t know that. They don’t even know his name. Stuck in a small town, Lance could be anyone: a delinquent, a traveler, a maniac. One of the townies calls him Wildman, and a new world opens up.

He’s ordering drinks at a roadhouse. Jumping a train. Talking to an intriguing older girl who is asking about his future. And what he really wants. As one day blurs into the next, Lance finds himself drifting farther from home and closer to a girl who makes him feel a way he’s never felt before-like himself.

This debut novel by a remarkable new talent explores the relationship between identity and place, the power of being seen, and the speed at which a well-planned life can change forever.

Pre-order

Tawney’s Review: A unique coming of age story with some mystery and romance.

Lance was suppose to be with his girlfriend at a graduation party but instead he’s in a town with strangers doing things he never thought he would do. His old car broke down and it was a gift from an absent father so he won’t leave it. This is how Lance comes to hang with locals such as the eccentric Dakota and only answers to Wildman. The story feels real with Lance’s conflicts among himself and others. The teen angst could be a little annoying at times but teens have drama.

Gieger does a wonderful job at the struggles the characters go through and peeling back their flaws, especially Lance’s, to finding out who they really are. There is the right amount of humor and twists that keep the pages turning.

Should you read it? A wonderful read with such a bittersweet ending!

Leave a comment Posted on May 19, 2017May 19, 2017 by tawney13 Pre-Pub Adventure

Pre-Pub Adventure: May 2017

It’s that time again where we check in with our authors and see what they’re doing on their publishing adventure!

Every month we follow authors on their publishing adventure. Have you ever wondered how authors prepare for a book release or what they are working on while also getting ready to publish a new book? How do they multitask? Find out on Pre-Pub Adventure as we follow authors to publishing their books.

To the adventure!

Kayla Olson

You just received your first hardcover finished copy of The Sandcastle Empire, what was that like?

It was so incredible to see the finished copy! I hadn’t actually seen the back cover yet, with the beautiful blurb from Beth Revis on it, so that part was fun. One of the first things I did was to take a peek at the book without its jacket—the spine is seriously beautiful, with shiny green text! The very best part, though, was when I got to show my husband and little boy their names in the dedication/acknowledgment sections. I’d kept those parts a surprise, and I’m glad I did.

2. As a writer do you write every day and aim for a set amount of words or pages a day?

Usually, I’ll set a time goal rather than a word count one—I’m a very slow writer, so it’s better for me to aim for a set amount of focused time (especially in this season when I have a lot going on and am easily distracted; I like using apps like Flat Tomato and Forest to keep me on track!). I usually do set mini-word count goals for each sprint, though, which gives me small goals to aim for. If I do enough sprints, my small word count totals start to add up!

3. What have you been up to since last we checked in?

So many things!! I took a trip out to West Hollywood and Santa Monica in late April, and I got to spend time with so many wonderful people. It was also my first time in attendance at YallWest, which was a ton of fun—I even got to meet some readers/sign some ARCs! Ever since coming home to Texas, I’ve been in the revision cave, working diligently on my second book with HarperTeen. (That one’s scheduled for Fall 2018—more on that as soon as I can share!) I’ve also been nailing down details for book events in June—we’ll likely be adding to the list of dates/locations, but for now, if you’re in Texas (Austin / Denton / Irving / Houston), I’m coming your way! Details on my website’s events page here!

Fun question for this month! Have you ever put someone you didn’t like in your book as revenge?

Not in The Sandcastle Empire…but…in another project, yes. 😉

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