Deviant Blog Tour: Character Profile + Giveaway

Today I'm excited to welcome author Helen FitzGerald to the blog as part of the promotional tour hosted by Precious Gem Book Tours for the release of her newest book, Deviant. Helen is here to share some insight into main character Abigail, and don't forget to check the bottom of the post for the full list of participating blogs and all the giveaway details!

My main character is Abigail. She started life on a hippy commune in Western Scotland. She was happy in her caravan by the loch (Lake in Scottish!), alongside the other anti-nuclear protestors and the wonderful Nieve, who’d cared for her since her Mum abandoned her.

At the age of nine, Nieve dies and Abigail is taken into care. For the next seven years, she’s in and out of children’s homes, and shunted from foster carer to foster carer. She’s had to learn how to survive on her own: being ready to adapt to new environments, and never getting too close to anyone.

So when, at the age of sixteen, she discovers that her mother has just died, leaving her a letter which says she has a father and a sister who live in LA, Abigail puts up her usual defences. She’ll fly to America to check them her new family, but she won’t get too excited, and she won’t let her guard down.

All good strategies, as it turns out. Because what she finds is far more sinister than the constant rain and intermittent foster carers of Glasgow.

I loved writing Abigail. She comes across as serious, organised, and icy, but in fact she’s a very kind girl. She’s never hurt anyone, or done anything she’d be ashamed of. She’s also awkward and funny – characteristics I’m drawn to in a friend!  If I needed someone’s help, I’d ask Abigail.

Another character I loved writing was Billy. I knew someone like him when I worked at a hostel for homeless young women in Glasgow. He’d visit the new arrivals, befriend them, show them a good time, and buy them things. Then he’d offer them drugs, get them hooked, and set them to work on the streets. In the book, this is exactly what Billy does at Abigail’s hostel, where she lives at the start of the story. He’s an ugly character – heartless and dangerous. Luckily, he’s no match for Abigail.

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DEVIANT

When 16-year-old Abigail's mother dies in Scotland--leaving a faded photo, a weirdly cryptic letter, and a one-way ticket to America--she feels nothing. Why should she? Her mother gave her away when she was a baby, leaving her to grow up on an anti-nuclear commune and then in ugly foster homes. But the letter is a surprise in more ways than one: Her father is living in California. What's more, Abigail discovers she has an eighteen-year-old sister, Becky. And the two are expecting Abigail to move in with them.

After struggling to overcome her natural suspicions of a note from beyond the grave (not to mention anything positive) Abigail grows close to her newfound sister. But then Becky is found dead, the accidental victim of an apparent drug overdose. As Abigail wrestles with her feelings and compiles a "Book of Remembrance" of her sister's short life, she uncovers a horrifying global plot aimed at controlling teen behavior: one that took her sister's and mother's lives, with vast implications.

Amazon • B&N • Indiebound

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HELEN FITZGERALD

Helen FitzGerald is the second youngest of thirteen children. She grew up in the small town of Kilmore, Victoria, Australia, and studied English and History at the University of Melbourne. Via India and London, Helen came to Glasgow University where she completed a Diploma and Masters in Social Work. She worked as a probation and parole officer for ten years. She’s married to screenwriter Sergio Casci, and they have two children.

Website • Twitter • Goodreads

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BLOG TOUR + GIVEAWAY

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Week 1: 
June 10: Hafsah at Icey Books--Guest Post 
June 11: Ruby at Ruby's Reads--Guest Post
June 12: Jess @ Jessabella Reads--Author Interview
June 13: Stephanie @ Bookworm 1858--Review
June 14: Lisa @ Dizneeee's World of Books--Guest Post

Week 2:  
June 17: Mary @ The Book Swarm--Review 
June 18: Jenny @ Supernatural Snark--Character Profile  
June 19: Jessie @ Jessie's Book Place--Review 
June 20: Ash @ Smash Attack Reads--Guest Post 
June 21: Jess @ Gone with the Words--Review