Feral Blog Tour: Guest Post + Giveaway

I'm really excited today to be a part of the tour for the newest YA release from Holly Schindler, Feral. I always love getting behind the scenes information from authors, so when I had the opportunity to ask Holly about one aspect of this book in particular, I had to pick her brain a bit about the significance of cats to the overall storyline. I hope Holly's response piques everyone's interest, and those of you who haven't had a chance to pick this one up yet add it to your lists!

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF CATS IN FERAL

It’s actually odd that my book features such a wild, almost ferocious depiction of cats. I grew up with two cats I completely adored: Tuffy and Peter. Tuffy was, as her name suggests, born feral. She was adopted by my parents shortly after they got married—a litter of kittens wasn’t far behind. Mom found good homes for three of the kittens and kept Peter. I was adopted by Peter—he was part of the family before I was, and I think he decided I’d been brought home for him. 

I was born in the winter, and Peter spent those first few months staying inside and keeping an eye on me. We were pretty much inseparable as I grew up. Though I have a completely spoiled Pekingese right now, I absolutely love cats—and have incredibly fond memories of the two cats I grew up with.

As I sat down to write FERAL, I didn’t initially intend to include feral cats. Actually, the book started out as an MG mystery. The book got increasingly darker during revision, though, and I knew the book needed to be bumped up to YA—which meant brainstorming a new, older protagonist. 

As I brainstormed, I discovered Claire’s backstory: that she survived a brutal gang beating in Chicago. At that point, I knew I wanted the book to become a psychological thriller, rather than a straight mystery, or even straight horror (as I’d thought about doing when I bumped it up to YA).

Like classic psychological thrillers, FERAL features elements of mystery, horror, and paranormal genres, but the emphasis is on the “psychological” rather than thriller / action. The novel features a Hitchcockian pace and focus on character development…Actually, every aspect of FERAL is used to explore Claire’s inner workings—that even includes the wintry Ozarks setting. The water metaphor is employed frequently in psychological thrillers to represent the subconscious, and here is incorporated in the form of a brutal ice storm (that represents Claire’s “frozen” inner state). The attempt to untangle what is real from what is unreal (another frequently-used aspect of the psychological thriller) also begins to highlight the extent to which Claire was hurt in that Chicago alley.  Even the explanation of the odd occurrences in the town of Peculiar offers an exploration into and portrait of Claire’s psyche. Ultimately, FERAL is a book about recovering from violence—that’s not just a lengthy or hard process; it’s a terrifying process, too. The classic psychological thriller allowed me to explore that frightening process in detail. 

To a large extent, we find out about where Claire is mentally through her reaction to and attempt to deal with the similarities between Chicago and Peculiar. The ice storm, the fact that the schools in both cities require uniforms, even the news of a missing girl all make Claire feel as though Peculiar is no escape at all, as she’d initially hoped it would be. I knew I wanted a gang to stalk Claire throughout Peculiar—and, as a lifelong Missouri resident, I also knew how quickly the feral cat population can explode in rural areas. The feral cat aspect also allowed me to explore another mirror-image: I’m getting close to being a bit spoilery here, but I’ll just say that the gnarled old feral cat I brought in allowed me to depict, in a visual way, how Claire feels about herself, post-beating.

…The only things that the feral cats DON’T mirror are my feelings about cats.  Especially the once-feral cat who used to curl up in my lap and purr contentedly…

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FERAL

The Lovely Bones meets Black Swan in this haunting psychological thriller with twists and turns that will make you question everything you think you know.

It’s too late for you. You’re dead. Those words continue to haunt Claire Cain months after she barely survived a brutal beating in Chicago. So when her father is offered a job in another state, Claire is hopeful that getting out will offer her a way to start anew.

But when she arrives in Peculiar, Missouri, Claire feels an overwhelming sense of danger, and her fears are confirmed when she discovers the body of a popular high school student in the icy woods behind the school, surrounded by the town’s feral cats. While everyone is quick to say it was an accident, Claire knows there’s more to it, and vows to learn the truth about what happened.

But the closer she gets to uncovering the mystery, the closer she also gets to realizing a frightening reality about herself and the damage she truly sustained in that Chicago alley….

Holly Schindler’s gripping story is filled with heart-stopping twists and turns that will keep readers guessing until the very last page.

Amazon • B&N • Goodreads

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HOLLY SCHINDLER

Holly Schindler is the author of the critically acclaimed A BLUE SO DARK (Booklist starred review, ForeWord Reviews Book of the Year silver medal recipient, IPPY Awards gold medal recipient) as well as PLAYING HURT (both YAs). 

Her debut MG, THE JUNCTION OF SUNSHINE AND LUCKY, also released in ’14, and became a favorite of teachers and librarians, who used the book as a read-aloud.  Kirkus Reviews called THE JUNCTION “...a heartwarming and uplifting story...[that] shines...with vibrant themes of community, self-empowerment and artistic vision delivered with a satisfying verve.” 

FERAL is Schindler’s third YA and first psychological thriller.  Publishers Weekly gave FERAL a starred review, stating, “Opening with back-to-back scenes of exquisitely imagined yet very real horror, Schindler’s third YA novel hearkens to the uncompromising demands of her debut, A BLUE SO DARK…This time, the focus is on women’s voices and the consequences they suffer for speaking…This is a story about reclaiming and healing, a process that is scary, imperfect, and carries no guarantees.”

Schindler encourages readers to get in touch.  Booksellers, teen librarians, and teachers can also contact her directly regarding Skype visits.

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GIVEAWAY

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Cover Reveal: Feral by Holly Schindler

I don't think I'm divulging anything about myself you guys don't already know by saying I absolutely love book covers and all the gorgeous photographs, illustrations, type and design work that goes into them, so I'm incredibly excited today to share with you the cover for Feral, the newest young adult release from Holly Schindler.

I think it's gorgeously creepy (creepily gorgeous?), but would love to know your thoughts in the comments!

FERAL

(releases August 26th from HarperCollins)

It’s too late for you. You’re dead.
 
Those words float through Claire Cain’s head as she lies broken and barely alive after a brutal beating. And the words continue to haunt her months later, in the relentless, terrifying nightmares that plague her sleep. So when her father is offered a teaching sabbatical in another state, Claire is hopeful that getting out of Chicago, away from the things that remind her of what she went through, will offer a way to start anew.
 
But when she arrives in Peculiar, Missouri, Claire quickly realizes something is wrong—the town is brimming with hidden dangers and overrun by feral cats. And her fears are confirmed when a popular high school girl, Serena Sims, is suddenly found dead in the icy woods behind the school. While everyone is quick to say Serena died in an accident, Claire knows there’s more to it—for she was the one who found Serena, battered and most certainly dead, surrounded by the town’s feral cats.
 
Now Claire vows to learn the truth about what happened, but the closer she gets to uncovering the mystery, the closer she also gets to discovering a frightening reality about herself and the damage she truly sustained in that Chicago alley. . . .
 
With an eerie setting and heart-stopping twists and turns, Holly Schindler weaves a gripping story that will make you question everything you think you know.

Goodreads • Amazon

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HOLLY SCHINDLER

I can’t remember the last time I left the house without a spiral notebook or some pages folded up in a back pocket. And I don’t think I’ve ever returned without fresh ideas, titles, opening lines, or poetry fragments climbing every one of those pages, racing up the margins, crisscrossing in as many different directions as the highways and interstates on a road map of Missouri (my home state).

I’ve spent my life making those notes in the margins—even as a little girl, my favorite activity was to write books bound by strips of red ribbon…and to scrawl comments next to my paragraphs like the most critical of editors. Lessons learned from this childhood pastime served me well, especially in college—I received a BA and MA in English, and while I was a student, I wrote piles of poetry, literary critique, short fiction, and even attempted my first novel.
   
After college, I dove headfirst into writing. To pay a few bills, I taught piano and guitar lessons in the afternoons. This time, the margin notes on my back-pocket pages were character sketches, mannerisms, phrases all inspired by my students. It soon became clear to me that in addition to writing for adults, I also wanted to write for the children and teens who filled my home with music. My first two published works, A Blue So Dark and Playing Hurt, were both YA novels. My debut MG, The Junction of Sunshine and Lucky, will release with Dial / Penguin on February 6, 2014, and my next YA, Feral, is forthcoming from HarperCollins.
   
Even now, as I delight in spreading the news of my publications, I recognize that the steadiest constant in my life has been those illegible margin notes. That blissful inch of space where novels are born and revision plans are hatched, where titles are brainstormed and closing sentences are finalized.

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Interview: Holly Schindler

I'm thrilled to welcome Holly Schindler to Supernatural Snark today, she was kind enough to answer a few questions about her newest young adult release, Playing Hurt, which is available now!

Instant attraction is a pretty prominent theme in young adult literature at the moment; what would it take, either physically or personality-wise, for someone to grab your immediate romantic attention?

Humor’s big with me. If I’m laughing, you’re an instant hit.

You are a big fan of taking notes and scribbling in margins; can you share with us one of the notes scribbled during the writing of PLAYING HURT?

I initially drafted PLAYING HURT in about ’04 or ’05. And in ’09, I re-read the manuscript…At the time, Chelsea was a girl who went on vacation and fell in love with one of the resort guides in a way she’d NEVER fallen for her boyfriend back home (and she learned, during that vacation, the true difference between loving someone and being IN love with someone). But I knew something was missing. As I re-read, I remember circling things like fishing, hiking…And I remember writing at the top of one of the pages, “Chelsea=ATHLETE.” A few pages later, I wrote, “Chelsea WAS athlete.”

At that point, the sports subplot was born!

If you could excel at any one sport as Chelsea does at basketball, what sport would you choose to show off your mad skills?

I think I’d probably be better off with an individual sport, rather than a team sport…I’d really like to play golf, I think…

If Clint were asked to describe his favorite moment in PLAYING HURT, what might he say?

I think he’d initially think of the waterfall scene…But then I also think he’d remember the first time he saw Chelsea, the first time he kissed Chelsea, and I think he’d remember buying those hockey skates…

Both PLAYING HURT and A BLUE SO DARK have beautiful, well-designed covers. If you could pick one book cover (other than yours) that you wish your name was on for purely aesthetic reasons, which book would it be and why?

Man, this is tough. There are just so many great covers out there. At this point, I love anything that sticks out, that’s different—so one cover I actually like is Lauren Oliver’s DELIRIUM. Just blue, with the title on it. That cover also shows the power of Lauren Oliver’s name, just two books into the game, which is really impressive. That publisher doesn’t need fancy cover art—just the Oliver name. That’s really incredible, when you think about it…

Favorite moment: writing the first sentence of a book or the last?

I FAR prefer revision to drafting. (Revision is really when a book stops feeling like a bunch of typed pages and begins to feel like a cohesive NOVEL.) There is an excitement with the first sentence—and also a slight twinge of fear, as you wonder how you’re going to pull the whole thing off. AND, there’s an enormous feeling of success, but also a slight twinge of sadness, associated with the last sentence.

Say you’re having a bad day—what’s the one book you can pull off the shelf to read and instantly feel better?

I rarely re-read books…BUT one book I just love and have often pulled off the shelf to look at again is THE PAPER BAG PRINCES…It’s a picture book I discovered in my children’s lit course in college…And it introduces young girls to the idea that sometimes, the happy ending DOESN’T involve a prince.

I know for me personally, reading books for school was always more of a chore than an enjoyable activity, and I had absolutely no interest in what happened other than remembering key facts for test purposes. I think if I were to read them again outside of a classroom context, I would have a very different reaction to them. Is there one book in particular you can remember not caring for in school but really enjoy now?

I’m an old lit major, so I actually did enjoy reading for school. I do remember that when I was in high school, there were certain works—the poetry of Emily Dickinson, or THE SCARLET LETTER, for example—that I was a little ho-hum about…But by the time I go t to college, and re-read them, I absolutely fell in love with them!

…These days, I spend so much time reading new releases, it would actually be a bit like a vacation to read a classic…a little Jane Austen, maybe…

Thanks so much for stopping by Holly! For more information on Holly and her books you can find her here:

Website
Blog
Twitter
YA Outside the Lines (a blog Holly writes along with some other fabulous young adult authors, be sure and check it out!)

PLAYING HURT

Star basketball player Chelsea “Nitro” Keyes had the promise of a full ride to college—and everyone’s admiration in her hometown. But everything changed senior year, when she took a horrible fall during a game. Now a metal plate holds her together and she feels like a stranger in her own family.

As a graduation present, Chelsea’s dad springs for a three-week summer “boot camp” program at a northern Minnesota lake resort. There, she’s immediately drawn to her trainer, Clint, a nineteen-year-old ex-hockey player who’s haunted by his own traumatic past. As they grow close, Chelsea is torn between her feelings for Clint and her loyalty to her devoted boyfriend back home. Will an unexpected romance just end up causing Chelsea and Clint more pain—or finally heal their heartbreak?