The Aftermath Blog Tour: Interview + Giveaway

Today I'm beyond excited to be a part of the promotional tour for The Aftermath, a fascinating new game-based novel from Jen Alexander. I'm lucky enough to have Jen joining me on the blog to answer a few questions about the book and her love of gaming, but you're definitely going to want to follow the tour in its entirety as there are some very special guest posts throughout that highlight what to expect should you find yourself a player in The Aftermath. Be sure and check the bottom of the post for all the details on an amazing HarlequinTEEN giveaway, and welcome to Supernatural Snark Jen!

If you were asked to join the design team of any video game currently on the market, which game would you choose and what’s the first suggestion or change you would make?

There are so many amazing games on the market right now, but I would absolutely love to work on the design team of God of War. I’m a huge Kratos fan—he’s an incredibly complex antihero—and it’s so easy to get lost in those games. I think my first suggestion would be to make the current games available on the PlayStation 4 platform (of course, this suggestion is somewhat selfish because I’m chomping at the bit to have the PS4 versions in my hand)!

If you were a Gamer playing The Aftermath, what types of missions would you go on most often and which ones would you stay well away from?

I’m not a confrontational person—and the cannibals scare me—however, I’d probably go on a lot of rescue missions. I love the idea of saving fellow Survivors from flesh-eaters and those type of missions net more points in the game. With that being said, I’d probably stay away from the lower point side-quests (like finding an item or securing a new part of town). Since The Aftermath is a form of treatment, my goal would be to hurry the gaming process so I could resume my normal life!

If you were to join Claudia’s group as a character who’s awake and aware of the game as Claudia is, how do you think you would be most useful to her in terms of surviving or escaping?

I’m great at navigation, and I like to think I can hold my own against the flesh-eaters (meaning I can run pretty fast), but I think I’d be most useful to Claudia as someone to talk to. She’s the only self-aware character in the game, so it gets incredibly lonely for her. She would be ecstatic at the prospect of another sentient—and non-dangerous—character.

Many of the Gamers play for hours at a time day in and day out. What’s the longest period of time you’ve ever spent lost in a video game?

*Blushes* I’m so ashamed to admit this, but I might have played God of War III for close to sixteen hours one day. I knew I was close to the end of the game, and I was desperate to see how the story was resolved. By the time I crawled into bed at the end of the day, I was asking myself, “Did that ending really just happen?” Let’s just say it was an incredible/ frustrating conclusion to the game!

There are certain aspects of The Aftermath of which the public is note entirely aware. If Claudia, having seen the horrors of the game firsthand, could release a single statement to the press about her experience, what would she most want to say?

Claudia is very straightforward, and I think her statement would be the same way.

 “LanCorp International has fooled everyone living in the United Provinces, and I want to clear the air. When you purchase your child a character, you are killing another human. There is no Rehabilitation for the characters who can’t afford the treatment for Warrior gene or AVD Type A or B. There is only darkness and then there’s death. I know this is true beause I’ve seen it. I’ve seen it, and I have lived it.”

Let’s say Claudia, given her rather elite status in The Aftermath, is allowed to choose one character from any other video game to join her and her team on their missions for one week. Who would she most want to work with?

Lightning from the Final Fantasy XIII series. I almost picked Kratos, but then I realized he doesn’t work well with others and that he probably has no problem using Claudia as a doorstop (this was an actual scene from God of War III). On the other hand, Lightning is driven by her desire to save a member of her family. She’s strong and smart and she’s a fighter. Those are admirable traits that Claudia would appreciate.

If the sequel to The Aftermath was made into an actual video game, how would that game’s promotional tagline read?

Trust no one. Not even yourself.

Thanks so much for taking the time to answer my questions Jen!

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THE AFTERMATH

Fighting for survival, battling cannibal hordes and tasked with grueling missions that test her mental and physical endurance, Claudia Virtue learns that her world is not what it seems in THE AFTERMATH, book one of a new series by debut author Jen Alexander.

The year is 2036 and teen Claudia must eke out existence in a nightmarish landscape where food and water are in short supply and danger lurks in every shadow.  Though Claudia is the leader of a scrappy group of scavenging survivors, she can’t control her own dreams, which get more disturbing every night. Claudia soon realizes that there is more to her waking world than she can see – has her mind been taken over by an unseen foe? Are the lives she saves and the formerly-human monsters she destroys all a part of someone else’s twisted game? Perhaps the most frightening realization of all: the more Claudia fights for her life, the less human she feels inside. Can she solve the puzzle of her existence and find a safe, secure place in the world before losing her grip on her sanity and her humanity?

With its fast-paced, high-stakes story, THE AFTERMATH will appeal to gamers, geeks and all fans of The Maze Runner and Ender’s Game. Plus, Claudia is a tough, smart, assertive heroine in the mode of Katniss from The Hunger Games and Tris from Divergent, the kind of character that male and female readers of all ages respond to with overwhelming enthusiasm.

Goodreads • Amazon • B&N • IndieBound • Book Depository

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JEN ALEXANDER

The character of Claudia and the starting point for the THE AFTERMATH  came to Jen Alexander in a dream. She couldn’t shake the disturbing idea of a person trapped inside a live-action video game until finally her husband pressed her to write the story down. A former personal trainer, Jen’s background definitely influenced the physically powerful main character Claudia and the action-packed plot twists.

A native of North Carolina, Jen Alexander spent her childhood with her nose buried in either a book or a video game, and sometimes both at the same time. Jen now lives in North Carolina with her husband and children.

Website • Twitter • Facebook • Pinterest • Google+

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GIVEAWAY

Each tour stop is offering up a copy of THE AFTERMATH, and one winner will receive a fantastic Grand Prize Package including the following HarlequinTEEN titles: 2 copies of THE AFTERMATH as well as copies of GHOST HOUSE, RAIN, LET’S GET LOST, INVISIBLE and DROWNED. Please enter via the Rafflecopter form. Giveaway is open to US/Canada.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Don't forget to follow along with the rest of tour to find out how you'd fare when subjected to The Aftermath!

Monday, August 4th - Two Chicks on Books - Guest Post
Wednesday, August 6th  - Supernatural Snark - Author Interview
Friday, August 8th  - Kimberly Faye Reads - Guest Post

Monday, August 11th  - Good Choice Reading - Guest Post
Wednesday, August 13th –  Nose Graze - Author Interview
Friday, August 15th - Addicted Reader - Guest Post