Interview with Ivy Devlin+Giveaway!

Stopping by to answer some of my questions today is Ivy Devlin, author of the recently released Low Red Moon! Read on and stick around for the end! (there's a giveaway waiting for you!)

Clickables: Ivy's website, Goodreads, Amazon

If there was someone thinking about buying your novel and you’re next to them-what would you say to convince them to buy it? (Of course, you can’t say you’re the author-that’d be cheating!)

I think I'd be so startled that they were looking at my book that I wouldn't be able to say anything at all! But if I could, say, put up a little card for it, I'd write: "Grief, loss, love...and a murder that must be solved no matter what the cost."

You’ve said that you wrote Low Red Moon because of the story of Little Red Riding Hood. What is it about that fable that you love?
Everything! It's just such an odd and interesting story--it's very dark, which most fairy tales are, but it's one of the few that's stayed dark, you know?

Through her flashbacks, you can tell that Avery’s parents were very loving and always involved in her life. Was your relationship with your parents similar to Avery’s?
My parents and I are close, but no, they aren't anything like Avery's parents! I can imagine them living in the house that Avery's parents do, for instance!

I really loved the connection Avery had to the forest and her appreciation for nature; did you grow up with an admiration for nature as well?
I grew up with nature everywhere and I didn't really appreciate it until I was older. (I wanted to live near a mall! Or other people, at least!)

Is there a planned sequel for Low Red Moon? Or is there another project in the works?
I've got a couple of ideas floating around... (I'm hoping for a sequel!)

Want to know more about Avery? Fill out the form here for a chance to win Ivy Devlin's paranormal debut! (Although greatly appreciated, you do not have to be a follower to enter!) This giveaway will run until September 30th. Open to US addresses only! Good luck to those that enter! This giveaway is now closed!

Blog Tour: Interview with Cheryl Rainfield+Giveaway!

Today I'd like to welcome a wonderful author and a truly inspiring person to my blog. Cheryl Rainfield, the author of Scars, has stopped by to answer some of my questions about her novel, her personal reasons for writing it and what she's working on next. Fellow readers, please give a warm welcome for the amazing Cheryl Rainfield!

Links to click: Website, Blog, Twitter 

The cover of Scars is actually a photo of your arms. What does it mean  for you personally to have that image for the cover of your book?
It means a lot to me. It means not hiding my arm or my scars any more, and not being ashamed of them. I spent a lot of years wearing long sleeves. Not hiding my scars, and actually having them be on the cover of Scars is a kind of speaking out, and of saying—this is my history, this is a part of me. I don’t like hiding my scars any more; I refuse to—I think because, being an abuse survivor, I don’t like secrets and shame. Having my own arms on the cover with my scars visible is also a kind of reaching out to others who’ve used self-harm, letting them know they are not alone. I have rarely ever seen anyone else with their self-harm scars visible—maybe twice in my life. To think you’re the only one can feel very lonely, and increase the pain. I want others to know that they’re not alone. I love that WestSide made such a tasteful cover. I was scared that a publisher would make the cover sensationalist, but WestSide was incredibly respectful, and, I think, brave. I think the cover will help reach more people than it would have otherwise; I love that it doesn’t hide the subject, just as my writing doesn’t. It’s breaking silence, and, I hope, encouraging healing.

What has been the most rewarding moment so far since you've gotten this story out there?
The reader letters I keep getting make me feel so good. To hear that a reader who’s been abused and/or used self-harm to cope finds my book real, that she or he deeply identifies with my main character, that she or he wants to share my book with friends so they can understand about self-harm—that is just incredible for me. That is the kind of thing I was hoping for! And then, to hear from other readers who have not been abused or used self-harm to cope, that they couldn’t understand why anyone would use self-harm before they read Scars, but now they “get” it—I was also really hoping for that. I also met two parents whose kids had used self-harm, who both cried when they saw Scars, and I think got some hope. That felt good. Getting blurbs from writers I admire, glowing reviews, and seeing that Scars is selling and really reaching people—all those things have also felt wonderful.

You're not only an author but also a well-known book blogger. :) What's the most recent novel (fictional or non-fictional) that you've really loved?
I’ve been listening to audiobooks the last month and a half instead of reading by sight, since I have a concussion, so that’s been limiting me a bit—but I enjoyed the Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and the sequels (though I wish I’d known how much violence and things reminiscent of ritual abuse there were in the books before I started). The last YA novel I read that stands out to me, that I absolutely loved, was Tanya Egan Gibson’s How to Buy a Love of Reading. It had so much depth and richness, a fantastic story, and such beautiful writing.

I'm always inspired by quotes so I was wondering if you had any particular favorites that you'd like to share?
I love quotes, too. (smiling) Here are some of my favourites:

“We read to know we are not alone.”-CS Lewis

“I will not take a young reader through a story and in the end abandon him. That is, I will not write a book that closes in despair. I cannot, will not, withhold from my young readers the harsh realities of human hunger and suffering and loss, but neither will I neglect to plant that stubborn seed of hope that has enabled our race to outlast wars and famines and the destruction of death.”
- Katherine Paterson , A Sense of Wonder: On Reading and Writing Books for Children

“Write what you want to read. The person you know best in this world is you. Listen to yourself. If you are excited by what you are writing, you have a much better chance of putting that excitement over to a reader.”
- Robin McKinley, author of Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast

“The rule of the writer is not to say what we can all say but what we are unable to say.” - Anais Nin.

“You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection." -The Buddha

“This is my wish for you: Comfort on difficult days, smiles when sadness intrudes, rainbows to follow the clouds, laughter to kiss your lips, sunsets to warm your heart, hugs when spirits sag, beauty for your eyes to
see, friendships to brighten your being, faith so that you can believe, confidence for when you doubt, courage to know yourself, patience to accept the truth, Love to complete your life.” -Anonymous

Are you working on any other projects currently?
Yes. I’m working on two different YA novels (and have others in the works). One is a paranormal fantasy about a teen with telepathy in a society where she can be enslaved for that, so she’s often on the run for her life. The other is an edgy realistic novel about a girl with a port-wine stain who is abducted, and has to face her abductor and free herself, while working through some body issues. All of my manuscripts have bits of abuse in them—pieces of things I’ve been through myself, and woven into fiction. I try to put small pieces of my experience into my fiction so that there’s truth that resonates but hopefully it’s not overwhelming, the way I think it would be if I put everything into one book. I think it’s important for books to have emotional truth in them, as well as to entertain.

I love those quotes! And the sound of those YA novels! Thank you Cheryl for taking the time to answer my questions and I hope everyone was inspired to pick up a copy of Scars. It is such a great book! And thanks to Teen {Book} Scene, one of you will be able to get a signed copy!

 To enter this giveaway, please fill out the form. (While greatly appreciated, you do not have to be a follower to enter this giveaway!) This giveaway will run for two weeks and ends on the 21st. Open to the U.S. only. This giveaway is now closed.

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Blog Tour: Guest post+giveaway with Elizabeth Rudnick!

Today is the last stop for the Tweet Heart blog tour hosted by The Teen {Book} Scene. Liz Rudnick, the author of this adorable debut, kindly answered my less-than-eloquent question about epistolary novels. Read on to see her response and stick around because you'll have a chance to win a Tweet Heart prize pack! Now, let's give a warm welcome to Elizabeth Rudnick! :)

My question went like this: I thought that you could perhaps talk about how books like yours (books told in emails, tweets, instant messages, etc.) will have more impact for readers and in general since everything is digital now.

Check out her awesome site!

Elizabeth: Sometimes I wish I had paid more attention to my literature classes in college! I know that is a random thought to start this guest post but the reason I say that is because I think we can look at this new medium of writing (e-mails, tweets, IMs, texts, etc) as just the next step in writing evolution. In other words, writing changes to reflect the times. We live in a world where EVERYTHING is instant. Or at least, it pretty much can be. You have full meals that take seconds to heat. If you don’t want to watch commercials, you can have a full show at your disposal simply by DVRing it or TiVoing it. People can go on Wikipedia and get an instant blurb about classics like Moby Dick (instead of slogging through all those pages while trying not to fall asleep in the middle of a dark Vermont winter--not that I’m bitter). It’s amazing, really. So the fact that writing and communicating has become as instant just makes sense. It speaks to the times and is a reflection of our world. Just as writing in stanzas and using wild analogies and metaphors was a reflection of the world Shakespeare lived in. Then, the world was full of political upheaval but speaking out against anything was frowned upon--and often penalized severely. Now we have more freedom (well, that depends I guess on where you live but in general) and a deep desire to speak our minds--it is in fact encouraged. People LOVE to hear other people gossip about political figures, complain about the mundane or the deep and people LOVE to hear it as soon as possible. That is why things like Twitter work so well. A thought pops in your head and in an INSTANT you can share your thoughts--with anyone willing to listen. It is pretty remarkable.

It may seem ironic, given that I wrote a book in tweets, but I’d like to think that while tweets and IMs and texts will continue to become more and more prevalent in our society, the actual prose novel will never disappear. Because a novel in tweets, e-mails, and blogs, is just one rung on the evolutionary ladder. There are still all those very successful forms of writing that have come before that made tweeting possible. My hope is that something like Tweet Heart will get people reading, pure and simple. It is fun, simple, and easy to follow. But I wanted it to have heart, and a message--which I think it does. And I think that what it does is speak to my audience directly. Tweets, IMs? That is the language of the younger adult. I truly hope that people who read Tweet Heart will feel like it is a book in “their” language. Something that they can read and understand and embrace. And really, like I said about being just a next step in the writing evolution, Tweet Heart is inspired by a classic novel--Cyrano de Bergerac. So to try and get back to your question, I think the impact is that these types of novels reflect our current world. They speak to an emerging audience and generation that will take them and mold them to fit their needs--instant or not.

Thank you for that insightful response, Liz! I like that you mentioned Cyrano de Bergerac-after reading your novel, I can see how that story would relate with yours. :)

Now, onto the giveaway rules! The prize pack includes: A signed copy of Tweet Heart, a water bottle and a bookmark. This contest is open until August 20th-the winner will be announced the 21st. The best part though? It's INTERNATIONAL! All you have to do to enter is fill out the form. Good luck everyone! I hope you enjoyed this guest post as much as I did! Contest is now closed!

Dracula, My Love Giveaway!

What if you were in love with an immortal being who everyone you knew was determined to destroy?

Syrie James approaches Bram Stoker's classic Dracula with a breathtaking new perspective--as, for the first time, Mina Harker records the shocking story of her scandalous seduction and sexual rebirth.

Who is this young, magnetic, handsome, fascinating man? And how could one woman fall so completely under his spell?

Mina Harker is torn between two men. Struggling to hang on to the deep, pure love she's found within her marriage to her husband, Jonathan, she is inexorably drawn into a secret, passionate affair with a charismatic but dangerous lover. This haunted and haunting creature has awakened feelings and desires within her that she has never before known, which remake her as a woman.

Although everyone she knows fears Count Dracula and is pledged to destroy him, Mina sees a side to him that the others cannot: a tender, romantic side; a man who's taken full advantage of his gift of immortality to expand his mind and talents; a man who is deeply in love, and who may not be evil after all. Soon, they are connected in a way she never thought humanly possible.

Yet to surrender is surely madness, for to be with him could end her life. It may cost Mina all she holds dear, but to make her choice she must learn everything she can about the remarkable origins and unique, sensuous powers of this man, this exquisite monster, this ... Dracula!

Read an excerpt here if you're interested :)  You should also check out the smexy book trailer!

Vampire Lit Tweet-Up:

To find out more about the author and to talk about all things vampire, TLC Tours is having a twitter party on August 13th at 1pm PST/ 4pm EST, hashtag #TLCbookchat. Syrie James will be participating in the chat and copies of Dracula, My Love will be given away every ten minutes!

Intrigued about the story? Fill out the form here to win a copy of Dracula, My Love!  This contest* will run for one week, starting today (August 3rd). Winner will be announced on August 11th. This contest is now closed!

Contest policy/Privacy policy  *For this contest, PO Boxes are not acceptable.

I owe Lisa Munley and TLC Book Tours a huge thank-you for making this fantastic giveaway possible! :)