The Burning Sky Blog Tour: Character Interview with Iolanthe + Giveaway

Today I have the enormous pleasure of welcoming author Sherry Thomas and protagonist Iolanthe to the blog as part of the promotional tour for Sherry's new YA fantasy release, The Burning Sky. This book was one of my most anticipated reads of 2013 and it didn't disappoint in the least, I loved everything about Iolanthe's story and am not at all ashamed to admit the wait for book two may give me a stress-induced ulcer I want it so badly. *stares longingly at calendar* On a more positive note though, Iolanthe is here on the blog to answer some questions about the changes her life undergoes in The Burning Sky (and maybe a few about Titus too). 

The amazing team at Rockstar Book Tours has planned a fabulous tour full of reviews, interviews, guest posts, and giveaways, so be sure and check the bottom of the post for the full schedule and giveaway details!

You have to spend a great deal of time masquerading as a boy in order to stay by Titus’s side in the human world. What is the single hardest part of fitting in at an all-boys school?

That there are only boys’ bathrooms. Granted, there are stalls with doors that close, but who wants to deal with the sight of a dozen boys standing before a big trough to get to those stalls?! That is something I have to be very careful about. Also—and this is not mentioned in the book—but I have a couple of other places around town where I can both have some privacy and not have my eyeballs assaulted on the way to that privacy.  :)

Titus is a very different person when he’s in front of people as Prince Titus (as he has to be) than he is when it’s just the two of you. If you had to assign an animal (magical or otherwise) to represent his public face and one to represent his private one, which animals do you think best embody his two personalities?

The best equivalent might be the wolf. He can seem very snarly and standoff-ish at times, but in truth he can be both playful and affectionate.

Let’s say that instead of attending school in London, you and Titus are both enrolled in a school in Domain. What class do you think you would excel at? Which one would cause you to struggle?

I have never been that good at archival magic—magic that is no longer practiced but which are taught as part of the curriculum. (And unfortunately, the higher you go in school, the more archival magic you have to study.)

I am, however, a pretty decent potionmaker—so confident that I volunteered to make silver light elixir for a wedding. (You might read about a clarifying potion that I have trouble concocting, but unbeknownst to me, one of the key ingredients has lost all potency—the reason my efforts kept failing.)

There are some spectacular magical creatures in the Realm. If one of them were to cross over into the human world, which do you think would fascinate or terrify us the most?

The colossal cocatrice would do the trick nicely. It is not called colossal for no reason—the beast is taller than castle walls! Not to mention, the fire produced by a coupled pair of colossal cocatrice is one of the hottest substances known to magekind. That ought to send nonmages scurrying. 

If you could return to the moment right before things went awry with the elixir and give that Iolanthe a short message, what would it be?

Don’t panic.  :)

What’s one small thing about Titus you know that the rest of the Realm doesn’t?

He is an excellent tailor. 

My uniforms must fit me, you see, but before I came along, Titus had no idea what kind of height or girth he would be dealking with. So he learned a slew of tailoring spells. That way, he could alter the uniforms he had already prepared so they would look as if they had been made to measure.

If we were to ask Titus what he thought made you such a great partner in your fight against the Bane, what do you think he would say? Would you agree with him?

He would say my courage. And I would have to disagree. I am not courageous at all. If there is a dangerous mission, I’d rather someone else undertook it. However, I do hate to fail. If I have committed to a perilous task, then I will see it through come hell or high water. 

(The tough part, as you might guess, is getting me to agree to such tasks.)

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THE BURNING SKY (Elemental Trilogy #1)
Available now from Balzer + Bray

It all began with a ruined elixir and an accidental bolt of lightning…

Iolanthe Seabourne is the greatest elemental mage of her generation—or so she’s being told. The one prophesied for years to be the savior of The Realm. It is her duty and destiny to face and defeat the Bane, the greatest mage tyrant the world has ever known. A suicide task for anyone let alone a sixteen-year-old girl with no training, facing a prophecy that foretells a fiery clash to the death.

Prince Titus of Elberon has sworn to protect Iolanthe at all costs but he’s also a powerful mage committed to obliterating the Bane to avenge the death of his family—even if he must sacrifice both Iolanthe and himself to achieve his goal.

But Titus makes the terrifying mistake of falling in love with the girl who should have been only a means to an end. Now, with the servants of the Bane closing in, he must choose between his mission and her life.

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SHERRY THOMAS

Author photo by the lovely and talented Jennifer Sparks Harriman at Sparks Studio.

Sherry Thomas is one of the most acclaimed romance authors working today. Her books regularly receive starred reviews from trade publications and are frequently found on best-of-the-year lists. She is also a two-time winner of Romance Writers of America’s prestigious RITA® Award.

English is Sherry’s second language—she has come a long way from the days when she made her laborious way through Rosemary Roger’s Sweet Savage Love with an English-Chinese dictionary. She enjoys digging down to the emotional core of stories. And when she is not writing, she thinks about the zen and zaniness of her profession, plays computer games with her sons, and reads as many fabulous books as she can find.

Sherry’s next book, THE BURNING SKY, volume one of her young adult fantasy trilogy, will be available fall 2013.

Website • Blog • Twitter • Facebook • Goodreads

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BLOG TOUR AND GIVEAWAYS

  
For First Place:

1 Hardcover of THE BURNING SKY a tote bag, and handmade balm, scrub, and bath tea.

Runners Up:

 3 Hardcovers of THE BURNING SKY and a tote bag.

3 runners up will get swag packs (stickers, bookmarks, signed bookplates)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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