Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Blog Tour + Giveaway: A Shimmer of Angels


I'm thrilled today to be part of the promotional tour for Lisa M. Basso's paranormal young adult novel, A Shimmer of Angels (releases TODAY from Month9Books). Lisa's temporarily taking over the blog to tell us how two of her angels came to be. Well, to be more specific, how two of her deliciously hot angel boys came to be. *fans self* I like to think of it as swoon-worthy boy week here on the blog. You. Are. Welcome. Before I start drooling uncontrollably, I'll let Lisa tell you all about them!

CAM AND KADE: THE MAKING OF AN ANGEL

Angels are a popular genre in YA books today. When I first started writing A SHIMMER OF ANGELS, I knew my angels had to stand out. To craft two very different boys, I first started with character worksheets. My favorite is from here. It can take a long time to fill something like that out, learning and creating while you go. When I was done, I had gotten to know them pretty well. Therefore, Cam and Kade were born.

Cam. Five feet, nine inches of blond angel hotness. Created as Camael, an angel--specifically a Protector--with white wings and a passionate dedication to his job.

Kade. Not to be outdone, we have Kade, birth name Kasade. He's five foot, ten inches with black wings, since he's already Fallen, and one spicy attitude.

I had the basics down. Problem was, when I started writing and they were introduced into more and more scenes, I noticed I didn't have enough information from them yet to be fully rounded and three dimensional. Solution: it was time to dig deeper. I moved on to a character interview, where I asked them questions. First I hit the tough stuff, I burrowed into their pasts, then we gradually moved forward in time to when they each first meet Rayna in A SHIMMER OF ANGELS. Cam helped me understand the way Heaven works, the complications in his world, the reasons for his choices, and the depths of his personality. Kade exploded off the page during my interview. While Cam was more stoic and reserved, Kade was personable and unpredictable. I peeled back his thorny exterior and dug into his past, getting an opportunity to understand him and almost all his facets. And, boy, are there a lot of facets to that boy.

Both Cam and Kade are strong characters with strong wills, but they are also vastly different in almost every way. Cam was created to Protect humans, Kade was created to battle the demons residing on Earth. Kade was sent to Earth to do his job and never allowed back in. Cam wished he could spend more time on Earth, but resides mostly in Heaven. Cam answers to many tiers of angels above him, while Kade roams the Earth alone, they way he likes it (or so he says).

It isn't just the color of their wings and their past experiences that make Cam and Kade so contrasting. Cam believes in the good of humans, that his life isn't worth half of one of ours. Kade...well, read the book, you'll see. I can't give too much away here. ;) Let's just say Kade doesn't exactly feel the same way Cam does. My words, not his. His words would need much censoring.

Kade has struggled to survive for most of his life, has learned to rely on only himself. Maybe some of that will change when Rayna arrives. And Cam, sweet, loyal Cam. Originally created as a hero, Cam's personality and feelings have changed so much from when I first started writing him. Again, I won't give too much away, but Rayna has had quite the effect on my dear angel boys.

I can't wait for everyone to meet Cam and Kade and be a part of their journeys through the Angel Sight trilogy.

Thanks so much for having me, Jenny! And for those of you interested in picking up a copy of A SHIMMER OF ANGELS, know that a portion of the proceeds will go directly to a suicide outreach and prevention program in San Francisco, California. Not only will you get a great read, but you'll also be helping out a charity that is very near and dear to my heart. :)

Thanks for sharing Cam and Kade with us Lisa! More information on Lisa, A Shimmer of Angels and Month9Books can be found here:

Lisa's Website
Lisa on Facebook
Lisa on Twitter
Lisa on Goodreads
Amazon Buy Link
Month9Books Website
Month9Books on Facebook
Month9Books on Twitter

This tour is chock-full of fun interviews, guest posts, and giveaways, so be sure and check out the full list of participating blogs HERE so you don't miss out on anything! Tomorrow's stop is at The Young Adult Connection.

A SHIMMER OF ANGELS


Month9Books, a publisher of speculative fiction for teens and tweens, announces the release of A SHIMMER OF ANGELS, a debut young adult title from Lisa M. Basso.

Sixteen-year-old Rayna sees angels, and has the medication and weekly therapy sessions to prove it. Now, in remission, Rayna starts fresh at a new school, lands a new job, and desperately tries for normalcy. She ignores signs that she may be slipping into the world she has tried so hard to climb out of. But these days, it’s more than just hallucinations that keep Rayna up at night. Students are dying, and she may be the only one who can stop it. Can she keep her job, her sanity, and her friends from dying at the hands of angels she can't admit to seeing?

Author of THE IRON WITCH, Karen Mahoney, says, “A SHIMMER OF ANGELS has a courageous heroine who finds herself in the middle of two gorgeous angels, a fascinating world, and a story that builds to an exciting climax - I'll be looking forward to more from Lisa M. Basso!"


GIVEAWAY

Lisa M. Basso and the amazing team at Month9Books have put together a fantastic giveaway for this tour, enter below for your chance to win! This giveaway is open to US and Canadian residents only. Good luck everyone!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

23 comments:

  1. It sounds like she worked hard to have well developed characters, that's great cause characters definitely make or break a novel for me. I'm not a big angel person but sometimes they work so I will check out reviews on this!

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  2. Most YA fiction about angels have been either a hit or miss with me, but I'm really interested in meeting these two VERY HOT angels<3 I absolutely cannot wait to start this book :)

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  3. See, sometimes such posts really make the deal.. Even though I love Angel Stories I was a little hesitant to pick this up, but this wonderful post about characters makes me super excited! Thank you so much for sharing!

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  4. Wow! That is some character sheet

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  5. Pretty cover!! You know I hunt my books by cover :) Good angel vs. fallen angel, that's been done, but KILLING humans, hmmm these are mighty dangerous angels! Have to see what these guys are up to. And the proceeds (part) go to a cause near and dear to my heart. Excellent job!

    Heather

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  6. Wow love the insight into these characters! Based on this alone, I think I can safely predict I will love Kade. :-) I'm a sucker for bad boy angels with attitude. I'll definitely have to check this out, thanks for putting it on my radar!

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  7. I love angel novels but a lot of them have been sort of disappointing. Hopefully, this won't be one of them as it sounds like the author took the time to really get to know and develop her characters. I'll try to see if this one is available soon, Jenny.

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  8. I am a little intimidated by that character list. How awesome :)

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  9. Oooh, what an awesome idea to interview your characters! I haven't heard of that before. Love it! most of the authors seem to write as the ideas come, but this solution is different. I approve, theheee. What a lovely guest post!

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  10. Now I am ready to meet Cam and his 5 foot 9 inches of blond angel hotness, as well as Kade with his black wings and spicy attitude :). Loved the guest post. Thanks for the giveaway!

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  11. Ooooh, such a pretty cover. *pets*

    Angels books are so hit or miss for me, mostly the latter. Maybe because of my religious upbringing, but I constantly find flaws in angel myths and novels. Yes, I get there's such a thing as artistic license and it's FICTION, but I can never seem to move past what I've been taught.

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  12. I'm not much of a fan of angel books as they all sound and read the same, but I'm curious about these guys and okay I'll admit, I want to meet this Kade. The author seems to take a lot of time to get to know her characters so that's always a good sign. I'm putting this one on my radar.

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  13. Oh hot angels, seriously I can't get enough of these lately, I love how much depth and research that Lisa had to go to, to fully make her characters shine and come through. I adore this post Jenny! You've definitely left me with a big fat smile on my face! ;)

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  14. Interesting character list. I am also stoked that it helps out a charity! Great pick to showcase, Jenny!

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  15. Angel books can go either way with me, but this one sounds pretty interesting. And how can I say no to that gorgeous cover? ;) I'm looking forward to meeting both Cam and Kade! It sounds as though Lissa put a lot of thought into them.

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  16. This looks like a fun book...Im a little worn on on PNR stuff but Im usually up for a good Angel/fallen angel type story.

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  17. Those two angels sound delicious. Love that they're so different but still have the same physiology. Pretty cover, too! (You know how I like a pretty cover!)

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  18. This is a new to me book, but definitely sounds interesting. I love that the portion of the proceeds go to charity...how wonderful! Thanks for sharing this with us, Jenny and I'll definitely keep my eye out for this book!

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  19. I love that the author mentioned that she dug deeper since that's always a huge factor in determining whether or not I pick up a book. I've read very few good angel books, but I'll have to check this out for sure. Thanks for sharing, Jenny!(:

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  20. That is wonderful that some of the proceeds are going to a suicide outreach program. I like that. I like that she made her angels stand out as well. Thanks for sharing this with me.

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  21. This book looks really good and the cover is AHMAZING!

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  22. I loved hearing how the characters were developed and I love the cover!

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  23. Even though I tend to frown every time someone mentions angels and books in the same sentence, now that I think about it, there were actually quite a few I liked, Angelfall by Susan Ee being one of them. Thank you for bringing this to my attention, it sounds very interesting.
    And goodness, the cover is gorgeous.

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