The Lovely Reckless Blog Tour: Interview with Cover Designer Natalie C. Sousa

Welcome to my stop on The Lovely Reckless Blog Tour! Author Kami Garcia was so nice as to ask all participating bloggers what type of content they'd most like to feature, and since cover design is such a point of interest for me (and I know so many of you as well), I asked if it would be possible to ask the designer a few questions. To my delight, Natalie C. Sousa, Creative Director at Imprint (Macmillan) and the cover designer for The Lovely Reckless, agreed to an interview and let me pick her brain about her overall process. I hope you guys enjoy!

How does a cover design typically start for you? Do you begin with sketches? Idea boards?

Natalie Sousa: I start by sketching concepts as thumbnails, and take it in stages. Usually I begin just after reading a summary. This puts me in the same mental space a consumer might approach the book from. I sketch some more ideas half way through reading the manuscript, and again once I've processed the ending. There have been times where the ending really changed the way I felt about a story, and I like to capture all of those reactions.

With The Lovely Reckless, did you have a specific concept or concepts going in? And if so, how did those change as you started designing?

Natalie: Erin Stein, the publisher of Imprint started the process with Kami before I was hired. They knew exactly the energy and style they wanted to convey from the very beginning. I love when designs work out to follow someone's original vision. When I started at Imprint this cover was in its sketch stage. From there we were playing with the chemistry between the couple and deciding what, if any, other elements would help to tell more about the book.

What stage of the design process is typically the most challenging for you (deciding on a design direction, image or font selection, first comps, revisions, etc.)?

Natalie: It used to be deciding on a direction, because what I visualize, or an editor envisions, or an author wishes, and a sales team needs for a cover are usually different. Erin and I have developed a close working relationship, and we're always talking about our books. That kind of dialogue helps me have very clear direction.

If you could tweak any one of your already published covers, which would you most like to get your hands on one more time?

Natalie: Recently I got to chat with Brenna Yovanoff and told her how I'd love to go back and place a hand rising from the baby carriage on her book, The Replacements. Although that cover is probably creepy enough as is!

Can you share a couple early versions of The Lovely Reckless and tell us what about them worked or didn’t work?

Natalie: Here is an early sketch from Loui Jover, the artist. We were missing some chemistry in this earlier sketch. Showing the characters full length helped because the body language said a lot more.

This is an early cover comp from Liz Casal, an incredibly talented designer. She had a clever solution to indicating the car by lighting the brick wall with “headlights”. That element was dropped because it didn’t quite work with the final color palette and title design.

QUICKFIRE QUESTIONS

Favorite font?

Font you wish you’d never have to see again?

Favorite cover you’ve done?

It does not exist yet.

All-time favorite cover?

A Wrinkle In Time

Cover designer who inspires you?

There are many, but Kristin Smith, an Art Director at Penguin, inspires me with her designs and her friendship! Back in our shared Penguin days we used to make elaborate costumes for Halloween and Coney Island's Mermaid Parade together. Kristin always inspired me to get into the details of a costume. Her book design for Danielle Vega's The Merciless is also one of my all time favorite book designs! I cannot resist a hot pink bible.

Favorite color?

My preference often changes, so I’ll say it’s the rainbow.

Must have when designing (food, music, etc.)?

Definitely music! I like to create playlists inspired by the stories I'm designing for. My favorite so far has been for Marcie Colleen's Super Happy Party Bears. Kami Garcia's next book is already inspiring a playlist; first couple songs on there have been Special by Garbage and Bulletproof by La Roux.

If you weren’t a designer you would be . . .?

Here’s my "card".

Number of projects you’re currently working on?

More than I have fingers and toes.

Next cover of yours you’re most excited to reveal?

Blind Item by Kevin Dickson and Jack Ketsoyan. Kevin and Jack are two Hollywood insiders writing a fictional tale with real-life scandals! It’s a super fun read. I got a really strong reaction to the cover from the Macmillan team and I'm curious to see how the public responds. 

Thank you so much Natalie! 

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

THE LOVELY RECKLESS

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Kami Garcia, a contemporary romance full of loss, love and redemption…

Seventeen year-old Frankie Devereux would do anything to forget the past. Haunted by the memory of her boyfriend’s death, she lives her life by one dangerous rule: nothing matters. At least, that’s what Frankie tells herself after a reckless mistake forces her to leave her privileged life in the Heights to move in with her dad―an undercover cop. She transfers to public school in the Downs, where fistfights in the halls don’t faze anyone and illegal street racing is more popular than football.

Marco Leone is the fastest street racer in the Downs. Tough, sexy, and hypnotic, he makes it impossible for Frankie to ignore him . . . and how he makes her feel. But the risks Marco takes for his family could have devastating consequences for them both. When Frankie discovers his secret, she has to make a choice. Will she let the pain of the past determine her future? Or will she risk what little she has left to follow her heart?

Your own heart will race with each page turn of this heart-stopping star-crossed love story.

Buy The Lovely Reckless 

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

KAMI GARCIA

Photo Credit: Vania Stoyanva

Kami Garcia is the #1 New York Times, USA Today & international bestselling coauthor of the Beautiful Creatures and Dangerous Creatures novels. Kami’s solo series, The Legion, includes the instant New York Times bestseller UNBREAKABLE, and the sequel UNMARKED. Her forthcoming YA contemporary romance THE LOVELY RECKLESS releases on October 4, 2016, followed by THE X-FILESORIGINS: AGENT OF CHAOS, a novel about a teenage Fox Mulder, in January 2017, both from Imprint (Macmillan).

Kami was a teacher for seventeen years before co-authoring her first novel on a dare from seven of her students. If she isn’t busy watching Supernatural, Kami can teach you how to escape from a pair of handcuffs or bake a Coca-Cola cake. She lives in Maryland with her family, and their dogs Spike and Oz (named after characters from Buffy the Vampire Slayer). Visit Kami at www.KamiGarcia.com and on Twitter and Instagram @kamigarcia.

Kami's Website 

Mechanica Blog Tour: Interview + Giveaway

Welcome to my stop on the Mechanica Blog Tour! I'm thrilled today to have author Betsy Cornwell popping in to answer a few fun questions about tiny metal animal companions, inventions, royal balls and more, so I hope you guys get excited about this one and add it to your lists. Be sure and check the bottom of the post for all the details on a fantastic giveaway as well as the list of participating blogs so you don't miss out on any Mechanica awesomeness!

If you could pluck one of Nicolette’s inventions from her world and bring it into ours, what of hers would top your list?

Nicolette’s tiny metal horse, Jules, is technically her mother’s invention, so I don’t think I can say him! But she also makes a mechanical glass carriage to get herself to the royal family’s Exhibition of Art and Science. I need a new car, but ‘glass steampunk carriage’ would definitely be my dream vehicle if I had my choice.

What are three books we might find on the shelf in the secret cellar workshop Nicolette discovers?

Ooh, cool question! Nicolette’s a pretty omnivorous reader, so even though she lives in a fantasy world I would open a magic portal to slip her a collection of Christina Rosetti’s poetry (especially “Goblin Market,” which helped inspire the Night Market in Nicolette’s world), Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, and Ada Lovelace’s work on the Analytical Engine. All of those brilliant women would be kindred spirits for Nicolette, and I know she’d fall in love with each of them.

I would personally love a tiny metal horse of my very own (come live with me Jules!).  If you could make yourself a tiny metal companion, what type of animal would you choose and what would his/her name be?

Jules pretty much became my favorite character as I wrote the book, and I think a tiny steampunk horse with great fashion sense would be an ideal companion. Especially after seeing this amazing fanart by Laya Rose, I’d have to bring him to life if I had the chance!

However, I love this question, and if I could have a tiny metal companion who wasn’t in the book, I would make a rattlesnake named Vivian who could slither around my house and eat dust and clutter in hard-to-reach corners, and maybe rest on my feet while I write (I’m always cold, and steam-powered metal animals must stay pretty warm).

What’s one modern-day dance you think would liven up a typical royal ball?

I am suddenly picturing royal ball-goers dancing to The Jacksons’ “Blame It on the Boogie,” and now I can’t give any other answer.

Nicolette doesn’t necessarily want the standard fairy-tale happily ever after. If you could choose one book that doesn’t have a happy ending and change things around, what book would you choose?

Okay, spoilers ahead if you haven’t read this children’s classic: I have always loved Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt, but when I first read that ending it broke my heart. Of course, I was eleven, but all I wanted was for Winnie and Jesse to be together. I couldn’t fathom why she made the choice she did. I mean, you could live forever with a guy that cute?

I hate to tell my eleven-year-old self this, but now I think the ending of Tuck Everlasting is perfect. Winnie made exactly the right choice, and I can see Jesse’s flaws much more clearly now (even though I still think he’s a wonderfully drawn character). That’s the book that sprang to mind right away, but I actually love when a story’s ending kind of beats me up, so I can’t think of any that I would really want to change.

. . . Wait, there is one. If Will and Lyra were real, I would let them be together at the end of the His Dark Materials trilogy. Pullman’s ending is transcendently good, but I still ugly-sob when I think about those two sitting alone at their bench every year.

Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my questions Betsy!

• • • • • • • • • •

MECHANICA

Nicolette’s awful stepsisters call her “Mechanica” to demean her, but the nickname fits: she learned to be an inventor at her mother’s knee. Her mom is gone now, though, and the Steps have turned her into a servant in her own home.

But on her sixteenth birthday, Nicolette discovers a secret workshop in the cellar and begins to dare to imagine a new life for herself. Could the mysterious books and tools hidden there—and the mechanical menagerie, led by a tiny metal horse named Jules—be the key to escaping her dreary existence? With a technological exposition and royal ball on the horizon, the timing might just be perfect for Nicolette to earn her freedom at last.

Gorgeous prose and themes of social justice and family shine in this richly imagined Cinderella retelling about an indomitable inventor who finds her prince . . . but realizes she doesn't want a fairy tale happy ending after all.

Amazon • B&N • iBooks • Goodreads

• • • • • • • • • • 

BETSY CORNWELL

Hi! I'm Betsy Cornwell, an American writer and teacher living in a stove-heated cottage in west Ireland, together with my horse trainer spouse, a small herd of dairy goats, and an increasing number of other animals. I write fiction and nonfiction and blog about Irish folklore, travel, wild food, goats (of course!), homesteading, and growing up.

Website • Twitter • Facebook • Goodreads • Tumblr

• • • • • • • • • • • 

GIVEAWAY

• 1 winner will receive a finished copy of MECHANICA and a beautiful watch necklace from this etsy shop! US Only.
•  2 winners will receive a finished copy of MECHANICA. US Only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

WEEK ONE

8/17/2015- Fangirlish- Interview  
8/18/2015- Uncreatively Zoey- Review  
8/19/2015- Two Chicks on Books- Guest Post  
8/20/2015- A Backwards Story- Review  
8/21/2015- Dark Faerie Tales- Guest Post

WEEK TWO

8/24/2015- Fiktshun- Interview

8/25/2015- Bookish Lifestyle- Review

8/26/2015- Supernatural Snark- Interview

8/27/2015- Bookhounds ya- Review

8/28/2015- Me, My Shelf and I- Guest Post

Interview: Camille DeAngelis + Bones & All

Today I have the pleasure of welcoming author Camille DeAngelis to the blog to answer a few questions about her newest release, Bones & All. Bones & All is a slightly strange but intriguing tale of a teen cannibal, something I've never read about before, so I was excited to have a chance to pick Camille's brain (in a distinctly non-cannibalistic type of way, obviously). I hope you all enjoy the interview!

Maren is a highly unusual young woman given her desire to cannibalize anyone who shows her affection. If she had to describe herself to those who have yet to experience her story, what three words might she say are most fitting?

I'm sure Maren would employ the same words we'd all tend to use when journaling about ourselves at age sixteen, when the tempestuousness of our feelings magnifies every disappointment and every failure: words like trapped and hopeless and desperate. I have never eaten another person and I haven't been a teenager for a good fifteen years now, but I still recall those feelings of frustration and helplessness; and as disconcerting as it may sound, that was all I needed to write a good monster.

One of my recurring nightmares always involves getting eaten–mostly by sharks–but now thanks to this book, humans are joining the list ;-). What’s one thing you weren’t necessarily scared of before that a piece of fiction made absolutely terrifying?

I recently read Pet Sematary, which was my very first Stephen King novel—crazy, right??—and I kept putting myself in the little girl Ellie's shoes, having all these prescient nightmares in the days before my whole family falls apart. That novel made me afraid of evil, an ancient and completely unfightable kind of evil, precisely because the author nailed all the mundane domestic details. I would read a line of dialogue from one of his child characters—the breathless excitement and impatience, so perfectly captured—and think “even if I didn't already know this guy had kids, I'd know it from reading this book.” We're conditioned for stories in which good wins out in the end, so it chills you to the core to realize that the hero and his family really do not have a snowball's chance.

If you suddenly found yourself face to face with a cannibal bent on making you their next meal, what would the first words out of your mouth be to convince them otherwise?

Wouldn't you rather find someone with a bit more meat on them?

If you could choose one author, past or present, to write a retelling of Bones & All, whose version of this story would you most like to read?

Ooh, this is a great question! I'd have to say Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, the Anglo-Irish gothic writer best known for his story collection In a Glass Darkly. His vampire tale, “Carmilla,” predates Dracula by about twenty years, and I admire it partly for the lesbian undertones. It feels so ahead of its time. I like to think of Le Fanu as one of my literary godfathers (I can have more than one, right?), so it's only fitting that I should choose him. (You can read about Le Fanu's tragic real-life ghost story on my blog.)

http://www.cometparty.com/2009/11/yet-more-spookery/

What’s one thing about the way Maren’s story unfolds that, had a future version of you popped back in time to tell you about it once all was said and done, would have thoroughly shocked the you currently staring at a blank page?

At the Bones & All “click” moment—the everything-slotting-into-place epiphany that needs to happen pretty close to the start of a project—I was taking a shower and Maren began to talk to me, and I hurried out of the tub and started scribbling. But in that first exhilaration of a new story it did not occur to me that I wouldn't ultimately be able to provide Maren with some sort of redemption. Her curse isn't like an addiction—it can't be battled through and overcome. It is literally in her genetics.

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

• • • • • • • • • • • 

BONES & ALL

(available now from St. Martin's Press)

Maren Yearly doesn’t just break hearts, she devours them.

Since she was a baby, Maren has had what you might call "an issue" with affection. Anytime someone cares for her too much, she can’t seem to stop herself from eating them. Abandoned by her mother at the age of 16, Maren goes looking for the father she has never known, but finds more than she bargained for along the way.

Faced with love, fellow eaters, and enemies for the first time in her life, Maren realizes she isn’t just looking for her father, she is looking for herself. The real question is, will she like the girl she finds?

Amazon • Goodreads • B&N 

• • • • • • • • • • • •

CAMILLE DeANGELIS

Camille DeAngelis is the author of Bones & All (St. Martin’s, 2015), Petty Magic: Being the Memoirs and Confessions of Miss Evelyn Harbinger, Temptress and Troublemaker (Crown, 2010), and Mary Modern (Crown/Shaye Areheart, 2007), as well as a first-edition guidebook, Moon Ireland (Avalon, 2007). She is a graduate of New York University (B.A. in Fine Arts, minor in Irish Studies, 2002) and the National University of Ireland, Galway (M.A. in Writing, 2005). Her fourth novel, tentatively titled Immaculate Heart, will be published by St. Martin’s Press in 2016. She is a board member of the Writers’ Room of Boston.

A longtime vegetarian, she went vegan in April 2011, and in June 2013 became a certified vegan lifestyle coach and educator through Victoria Moran’s Main Street Vegan® Academy. She is also planning to receive her yoga teacher training in 2015.

Originally from New Jersey, Camille now lives in Somerville, Massachusetts.

Website • Facebook • Twitter

Hook's Revenge Blog Tour: A Trio of Interviews

Today I have the pleasure of welcoming a trio of people to the blog to answer a few questions about Hook's Revenge, a new middle grade fantasy adventure that released from Disney Hyperion earlier this month. Thanks to the amazing Mary Ann at Disney, I get to share with you short interviews with author Heidi Schulz, illustrator John Hendrix and editor Rotem Moscovich, so I hope you all enjoy!

• • • Q+A WITH AUTHOR HEIDI SCHULZ • • •

What interesting facts or research did you learn when writing Hook’s Revenge?

I learned quite a bit about crocodiles. For instance, they make noise! They hiss and growl, snort and snarl. If you want to hear some, this soundboard has some great examples. Some crocodiles can jump, others can climb trees, and one wild crocodile in the African country of Burundi seems to have developed near supernatural abilities.

Gustave, as he has come to be known, has been estimated to be about 25 feet long, and at roughly 60 years old, is still growing. He has at least three scars from bullets and one large, healed gash on his shoulder. Worst of all, it is rumored that he has killed over 300 people!

Sadly, in all my research, I have been unable to determine if he also sounds like a ticking clock.

When writing a sequel, how do you keep track of events that already happened? Did you ever have to reread your first book?

It was several years from the time I had the idea for Hook's Revenge until it was finished. As such, I became really familiar with the story. I haven't needed to reread to remember events, but I have reread sections to reacquaint myself with voice and tone. Good news though: even after all this time, I still love it.

I also kept post-it notes on my desk with the names of Jocelyn's crew and Peter Pan's lost boys so I didn't accidentally leave anyone out of the sequel.

Did you ever feel like your characters were taking on a life of their own and you had to rein them in?

Jocelyn's pirate crew are real characters in every sense of the word. Early on they tried to take over the story, and acted even sillier than they do now. I had to threaten to clap them in irons and send them to Davy Jones in order to get them to behave. Or at least, try to behave.

Walk the plank or sword fight to the finish?

Walk the plank! I learned to do a diving board backflip when I was twelve. I'd love to give it another try.

What would be your ultimate pirate treasure find?

I'd love to find a treasure chest with Hermione's Time-Turner. I'd use it to give myself extra hours for writing, for having fun, for sleeping-in, but most especially for reading. I'm afraid it will take a Time-Turner for me to get through the ever growing stack of books I really want to read!

• • • Q+A WITH ILLUSTRATOR JOHN HENDRIX • • •

What was the process for your creation of the Hook’s Revenge cover and interior artwork?

Every drawing starts out with tiny doodles and some great visual inspiration. So I looked at some classic pirate artwork, like N.C. Wyeth's images from Treasure Island. Then I start making lists of words that describe the characters and the boat and use that to start creating the visual look of the story.

What was the most challenging and fun part of the process?

I really enjoyed drawing Captain Hook himself, when he appears in ghostly form at the end (SPOILER ALERT!). A wonderful challenge to take such a classic character and put your spin on him.

Your typography is amazing, how many styles did you do before you got the right look you wanted?

The type is, in some ways, way harder to find than the character. I think I figured out what I wanted Jocelyn to look like on the second drawing. But the type to at least a dozen small sketches and tiny brainstorms to get just the right typographic gesture for the title.

If you were a pirate what would your name be?

Easy: Johnny BlackInk

Hook, peg leg, or eyepatch?

Eyepatches are very dashing.

• • • Q+A WITH EDITOR ROTEM MOSCOVICH • • •

What stood out to you after initially reading Hook’s Revenge that made you want to publish this book?

Aside from the adventure (which held me from the get-go), I fell in love with Jocelyn and her discovery of what it means to be a strong girl. She doesn’t have to be frilly, but she also doesn’t have to be awful and mean. Heidi did such a good job showing Jocelyn finding her way. All this, with a hilarious and snarky narrator. What’s not to love?

From an editorial perspective, did you enjoy character development or world-building within the story?

Ooh, tough to choose. Clearly I loved Jocelyn’s character development, but the Neverland is such a rich place, and getting to know its strange ways and its varied and magical inhabitants was pure joy. Getting a chance to see the fairy society from their eye-level, meeting Peter and the Lost Boys from an outsiders point of view, watching Jocelyn artfully outwit the cannibals . . . each was a delight. And now that I think of it, the world of the Neverland posed challenges and opportunities that steered Jocelyn in her character development. So I don’t have to choose, right?

Do you have any scenes that you particularly love?

The scene where Jocelyn meets the mermaids is lovely and unexpected (you imagine them as nice, don’t you? Well, don’t be fooled), and I cannot contain my glee when Jocelyn uses table manners to outwit cannibals who are planning to have her for dinner. Literally.

Besides Jocelyn, who was your favorite character in the book?

I have a soft spot for Smee. He just wants approval in the WORST way, and you’ll know what I mean when you read how Jocelyn orders him around. He’s an absolute mush at heart, and loyal beyond measure. Smee’s the one for me!

What would your pirate name be?

Red Sheers Rotem.

• • • • • • • • • • • 

HOOK'S REVENGE

Twelve-year-old Jocelyn dreams of becoming every bit as daring as her infamous father, Captain James Hook. Her grandfather, on the other hand, intends to see her starched and pressed into a fine society lady. When she's sent to Miss Eliza Crumb-Biddlecomb's Finishing School for Young Ladies, Jocelyn's hopes of following in her father's fearsome footsteps are lost in a heap of dance lessons, white gloves, and way too much pink.

So when Jocelyn receives a letter from her father challenging her to avenge his untimely demise at the jaws of the Neverland crocodile, she doesn't hesitate-here at last is the adventure she has been waiting for. But Jocelyn finds that being a pirate is a bit more difficult than she'd bargained for. As if attempting to defeat the Neverland's most fearsome beast isn't enough to deal with, she's tasked with captaining a crew of woefully untrained pirates, outwitting cannibals wild for English cuisine, and rescuing her best friend from a certain pack of lost children, not to mention that pesky Peter Pan who keeps barging in uninvited.

The crocodile's clock is always ticking in Heidi Schulz's debut novel, a story told by an irascible narrator who is both dazzlingly witty and sharp as a sword. Will Jocelyn find the courage to beat the incessant monster before time runs out?

Goodreads • Amazon • B&N

Editor Interview: Sara Sargent + Cruel Beauty

Today is a very exciting day for me because I'm joined on the blog by Sara Sargent, the editor of a book that simply fascinated me, Cruel Beauty. Sara is my very first editor interview, and I'm hugely thankful to her for taking the time to answer my questions about this darkly unique debut. I was lucky enough to have Rosamund Hodge on the blog recently as well because I just can't stop talking about this book, so be sure and check out that interview if you missed it. Welcome to Supernatural Snark Sara!

What’s one book you grew up with, studied in school, or read just for fun that you would have loved to have gotten your hands on from an editing standpoint, if for no other reason than to say you worked on it?

The Giver by Lois Lowry. That book has stuck with me for twenty years, and editing it would have given me an excuse to read it over and over again.

What would you say, for you personally, is the highlight of the relationship between editor and author?

The process of actually building that relationship. It’s about discovering how you can be helpful and supportive to this particular person, and what she needs to be her most successful self. Sometimes that’s as simple as a silly tweet, and sometimes it’s a phone call or a thoughtful email. You’re becoming a part of that person’s life forever, and she’s becoming a part of yours—it’s a wonderful thing, and it’s different with every new author and project.

How would you describe the feeling you get just before you read the first page of a new manuscript?

Whether I’m on the subway or in bed or at my desk, turning on my iPad and selecting a new submission to read has this delicious anticipatory quality. I have no idea what’s waiting for me inside that file: every manuscript has the potential to be the next manuscript I fall head-over-heels for. The feeling is excitement, but it’s much more than that. It’s my future and someone else’s future and limitless possibility.

You wake up tomorrow and suddenly find yourself in the dark, twisted forest of what is clearly a fictional world. You don’t know how you know, but you’re instinctually aware that someone is writing a story with you in the starring role at that very moment. Name one author you would desperately hope is in control of penning your story’s outcome.

Might sound like pandering, but I would be perfectly pleased to wake up in one of Rosamund’s stories. It’s a dicey choice because there are some very evil people and creatures in her novels, but I’d likely end up kissing someone very dashing, which would make it worth the risk.

If you could have asked Rosamund to write you into Cruel Beauty, where would you have best fit and what role might you have played?

We never meet any of Ignifex’s previous wives, but considering I’ve fallen madly in love with him, I imagine he and I would have been married at some point. (Though if that were the case, preferably I wouldn’t have ended up dead…)

Rosamund beautifully combines elements of Greek mythology with her Beauty and the Beast retelling. If you could choose one other Greek myth or fairytale for Rosamund to put her own spin on, which one would you most like to see her to write?

I would love to see her write Sleeping Beauty from the point of view of Maleficent because she’s so good at making flawed characters relatable. And what better way to do that than making a classic villainess into a protagonist?

What one word would you use to describe the original manuscript of Cruel Beauty? What word would you use to describe the final version?

Original: unputdownable. Final: beyond.

• • • • • • • • • • •

CRUEL BEAUTY

Since birth, Nyx has been betrothed to the evil ruler of her kingdom-all because of a foolish bargain struck by her father. And since birth, she has been in training to kill him.

With no choice but to fulfill her duty, Nyx resents her family for never trying to save her and hates herself for wanting to escape her fate. Still, on her seventeenth birthday, Nyx abandons everything she's ever known to marry the all-powerful, immortal Ignifex. Her plan? Seduce him, destroy his enchanted castle, and break the nine-hundred-year-old curse he put on her people.

But Ignifex is not at all what Nyx expected. The strangely charming lord beguiles her, and his castle-a shifting maze of magical rooms-enthralls her.

As Nyx searches for a way to free her homeland by uncovering Ignifex's secrets, she finds herself unwillingly drawn to him. Even if she could bring herself to love her sworn enemy, how can she refuse her duty to kill him? With time running out, Nyx must decide what is more important: the future of her kingdom, or the man she was never supposed to love.

 

Find Rosamund:

Website • Facebook • Twitter • Goodreads • Amazon

Crash Into You Blog Tour: Interview with the Bewitched Bookworms + a Giveaway

I'm beyond thrilled today to be a part of the promotional tour hosted by Kismet Book Touring for Crash Into You, the third book in Katie McGarry's amazing contemporary young adult series. I'm an enormous fan of all things Katie McGarry, I think she writes extraordinary characters–something I always look for first in any book–and I simply can't say enough complimentary things about Katie or her books to do either of them justice. Love. That is all.

As something a little fun and different, the ladies at Kismet organized a series of blogger interviews between me, the fabulous Rachel at Fiktshun, and the Bewitched Bookworms themselves wherein we all interview, and are interviewed by, one another. I was interviewed by Rachel first, the Bookworms interviewed Rachel next, and today I get to share my interview with my dear friends the Bewitched Bookworms.

The Bookworm ladies were the very first bloggers I met in person and I couldn't love them more if I tried. I'm so pleased to welcome Danny, Pushy and Heather to the blog to answer a few questions about Crash Into You, and don't forget to check the bottom of the post for the full list of participating blogs as well as giveaway details!

Isaiah has a number of tattoos, all of which he wears oh-so well. Aside from him, who is your favorite tattooed hero?

Heather: I’m drawing a blank here, so I’ll let Danny and Pushy answer.

Pushy: *thinks* Hmm... while I do love Four from the Divergent series, I'm going to go with Perry from Under The Never Sky. I LURV me some Perry! *sigh* 

Danny: Ohhh I love my tattooed boys, and I also love reading about them. So, I love Reyes from the Charley Davidson series and of course my all time favorite Barrons!!

If Isaiah and Rachel’s story could only be described to readers in terms of car models, what type of car would it be? 

Heather: Katie McGarry really did her research and picked a great car for both Isaiah and Rachel to drive when she picked the Ford Mustang, especially the model years that she picked. Isaiah’s older Mustang is a bit beat up on the outside like he appears to be, but looks can be deceiving when it comes to what’s under the hood (and inside his head). Rachel’s Mustang is in near mint condition even though it isn’t brand new. The powerful stock engine gives her strength and control when she’s behind the wheel that she doesn’t have in the rest of her life.

Pushy: *crickets* Umm… I know NOTHING about cars, so I'm going to second Heather's opinion. :)

Danny: Heathers answer is just perfect, how could I ever add anything here? ;)

In addition to fantastic protagonists, Katie McGarry always writes fascinating secondary characters as well. Which of the secondary characters in Crash Into You grabbed your attention most and why?

Heather: I loved Isaiah’s friend Abby. While she tried to stay on a neutral side between Eric and Isaiah on the surface to outsiders, she always had Isaiah’s and Rachel’s back. She doesn’t make friends easily, but she decided that Rachel will be her best friend almost right from the start. She’s bold, daring, smart, and calculating, and that’s something that has kept her safe while she’s lived the dangerous life that she’s been forced to lead.

Pushy: I could not agree more! Katie ROCKS the secondary characters! I can't help wondering what's going on with all of them!!! And I love when we get a peek inside, like with Lila's novella, Crossing The Line. Abby's definitely a great choice but I'm also interested in Rachel's brothers. There's SO much going on with that family and I feel like we just scraped the tip of the iceberg with Rachel's story.

Danny: That's what I loved most about Crash Into You: Rachel's family full of wonderful über protective brothers. I'm not kidding when I say, that I loved West so much and when I heard that he would be our hero in the next book, I was ecstatic!!! But I also love Rachel's twin Ethan and I hope we might also get a story on this own.

Let’s say you find your way into a street race against another first-timer like yourself. What would you say your odds are of winning?

Heather: If I was my twenty-one year old self again, my odds are good. My husband built me a fast car when we were dating as part of his school (he’s an automotive technician), and I definitely had a much faster vehicle than most of the guys I knew. Back then, all of our friends had huge motors and loud stereos. Plus, I know how to drive a manual transmission. It’s something that a lot of people can’t do these days.

Pushy: If it was all based on the ability to handle speed, very good chances for me. Heather and Danny can attest to my love to drive fast. :) However, unlike Heather, I don't drive stick, so I think that probably overall my chances would just be fair.

Danny: Ha!!! Pretty good I'd say. In Germany we mostly drive stick and I love fast cars so much. And I have to admit, I got a speeding ticket or two already, so I love to drive fast.

If you were able to sit down for a face-to-face interview with either Rachel or Isaiah, what’s the first question you would ask them?

Heather: I’ll let Danny and Pushy answer this one. Can’t come up with anything deep or insightful.

Pushy: Heather, I’m not going to even bother with insightful. *turns to Jenny* If I could be face to face with these two? I want to know, what happens next?!?!?! The ending of Crash Into You isn't really a cliffhanger but GAH!!! Where do they go from there? I want to continue to bask in their HEA, so if they could expand upon that for me, that would be quite nice!!

Danny: I'd ask Isaiah if Beth disappeared the minute he kissed Rachel, and when exactly he realized that the love for Rachel is something else completely and much more real and genuine and intense than anything he ever felt for Beth.

I think most of the fans of this series initially expected Isaiah and Beth to end up together. What’s one thing about Rachel you think makes her a better fit for him?

Heather: It’s quite simple: they both love fast cars and working on them.

Pushy: For me it's that from Beth's story, we see how she loved Isaiah like a brother, but not more. And Isaiah absolutely DESERVES his one, perfect, shining love. *sigh*

Danny: I think they make each other stronger, they so strongly believe in each other, that it makes the other stronger, braver. Isaiah always needed someone he could take care of, and at the same time someone who can be strong on her own, without casting him aside. Beth always pushed him away, Rachel doesn't. I just love them together.

Katie writes some beautiful and emotional contemporary romances. If you could beg her to write something in a different genre just for you, what genre would it be?

Heather: I would love to see Katie tackle a paranormal romance. She has the romance part perfected, so I’d love to see what she could dream up next.

Pushy: I'd like to see her tackle a thriller! With the amount of detail she puts into every part of her story, I bet she's whip up a SERIOUSLY SCARY, keep-you-guessing-til-the-end thriller!

Danny: I'm with Heather, paranormal romance!! But also, please Katie go and write New Adult, I know you can do steamy and even more sexy!!

Before reading Crash Into You, what aspect of the story would you say you were most looking forward to? Were your expectations met?

Heather: I really wanted to see the origins of Isaiah and what his background was. And boy, were my expectations exceeded!

Pushy: I wanted to see if Katie could make me fall in love with ANYONE for Isaiah other than Beth (I have hoped Beth would realize that she really did love Isaiah and then they could couple off). And she did. Oh, sweet Jesus, did I fall in love with Rachel and Isaiah!!!!! *ENORMOUS SIGH*

Danny: I wanted to see Isaiah's heart healed. He suffered so much and his heart was so damaged and broken, that I just wanted him to find love and happiness!!!

A huge thank you to Danny, Pushy and Heather for taking the time to answer my questions! I'm sure almost all of you are familiar with these wonderful women, but just in case you're not, here's where you can find them:

Blog • Facebook • Twitter

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CRASH INTO YOU

The girl with straight As, designer clothes and the perfect life-that's who people expect Rachel Young to be. So the private-school junior keeps secrets from her wealthy parents and overbearing brothers...and she's just added two more to the list. One involves racing strangers down dark country roads in her Mustang GT. The other? Seventeen-year-old Isaiah Walker-a guy she has no business even talking to. But when the foster kid with the tattoos and intense gray eyes comes to her rescue, she can't get him out of her mind.

Isaiah has secrets, too. About where he lives, and how he really feels about Rachel. The last thing he needs is to get tangled up with a rich girl who wants to slum it on the south side for kicks-no matter how angelic she might look.

But when their shared love of street racing puts both their lives in jeopardy, they have six weeks to come up with a way out. Six weeks to discover just how far they'll go to save each other.

Releases November 26th from HarlequinTEEN

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

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KATIE MCGARRY

Katie was a teenager during the age of grunge and boy bands and remembers those years as the best and worst of her life. She is a lover of music, happy endings, reality television, and is a secret University of Kentucky basketball fan.
    

Katie is the author of the full-length Young Adult novels PUSHING THE LIMITS and DARE YOU TO, and the e-novella CROSSING THE LINE. Her debut novel, PUSHING THE LIMITS, is a 2012 Goodreads Choice Finalist for YA Fiction and an RT Book Reviews 2012 Reviewer’s Choice Awards Nominee for Young Adult Contemporary Novel. 

Writing has given Katie an excuse to pursue her passions. Research for her books has provided her with the amazing opportunity to train with baseball players, ride along in a drag car at ninety-six miles per hour and experience boxing and mixed martial arts. The most memorable moments for Katie are when she speaks to groups of teenagers about her research, writing and the truth that no dream is out of reach. Katie would love to hear from her readers.

Goodreads • Website • Facebook • Twitter

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GIVEAWAY

Thanks to HarlequinTEEN I have two fantastic giveaways to share with you guys today! The first is the chance to win a copy of Crash Into You. The second is a Grand Prize Package including a Harlequin TEEN tote bag full of bookish goodies: 2 Copies of Crash Into You, as well as Pawn, Hooked, Speechless and an ARC of Heartbeat. Please enter using the Rafflecopter form below. Giveaways are open to US/CAN only.

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TOUR SCHEDULE

Don't forget to check out the rest of the tour stops for more Crash Into You fun!

Tuesday, Nov. 5th - Fiktshun
Thursday, Nov. 7th - Swoony Boys Podcast

Tuesday, Nov. 12th - Bewitched Bookworms
Wednesday, Nov. 13th - Harlequin Blog
Thursday, Nov. 14th - Xpresso Reads

Tuesday, Nov. 19th - Supernatural Snark
Thursday, Nov. 21st - Paper Riot

Interview and Giveaway: Jennifer Estep + Heart of Venom

Jennifer Estep is one of my auto-buy authors and I'm beyond excited to welcome her back to the blog today to talk about my very favorite elemental assassin, Gin Blanco. Gin is about as badass as they come, but she's also surprisingly insecure when it comes to friendships and relationships, making her an intriguing combination of soft and hard that I just can't get enough of. I'm reviewing Heart of Venom tomorrow, so be sure and check back as it was one of my favorites of the series thus far!

Looking back at all the books in the Elemental Assassin series, is there any particular one that gave you more trouble than the others above and beyond the challenges that come with writing any story?

In some ways, SPIDER’S REVENGE was the most challenging for me. I really wanted to deliver on the Gin-Mab arc in that one for readers, especially when it came to the final Gin-Mab battle in the book. So I really tried to think about how I could write those scenes and the overall book in a way that would be most satisfying for readers. Hopefully, folks enjoyed how that arc ended and the adventures that Gin has had since then.

If you were to join Gin, Bria and Roslyn’s book club and it was your month to choose a book and host, what book would you pick for the group to read and what snacks would you make when you all got together?

Good question! I sort of do this in every book when I’m deciding what Gin is reading at the time. I always try to pick something that ties in with the plot or what Gin is going through in some way.

At the end of DEADLY STING, Gin and Bria are talking about the book club, and Bria mentions that she wants to read THE MALTESE FALCON by Dashiell Hammett because of the events that happened in DEADLY STING. Since Ashland is such a corrupt city, and Gin spends so much time dealing with the underworld bosses, I think a book like that would be right up her alley.

But if I were choosing, I would probably pick something like REDWALL by Brian Jacques, which is about a mouse who becomes a hero and saves his friends. I think that sort of story would also appeal to Gin.

For the snacks, I like to bake, so I’d probably make lots of desserts, like some chocolate brownies, that would satisfy everyone’s sweet tooth. That’s sort of what Gin does in a scene in HEART OF VENOM for a day at the beauty salon with Bria, Roslyn, Sophia, and Jo-Jo.

Gin hasn’t had an easy time of it in the love department. If she wanted to take a break from her own sometimes-troubled romance and experience the sweetness or drama of another couple, what book or movie might she treat herself to?

Gin’s love life has definitely had its ups and downs, so I think that Gin would choose a movie that would be a fun escape for a few hours. So I could see her watching something with a lot of action and adventure, like THE PRINCESS BRIDE or PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL. I could also see her watching something a little darker and grittier and with a little more angst, like CASINO ROYALE or THE BOURNE IDENTITY.

Sophia has always been a personal favorite of mine from the very beginning. What new or surprising things did you learn about her character given her more prominent role in Heart of Venom?

As I’ve been writing the books, I always knew that Sophia had been through something really traumatic that shaped her into the character that readers meet in the series. I can’t give out spoilers, but I will say that as I was writing HEART OF VENOM and really exploring Sophia’s backstory, that it definitely got a lot darker than I anticipated, as did some of the scenes in the book.

If Fletcher could see the woman and fighter Gin has become since his death, as her mentor and teacher, what advice, criticism/compliment, or instruction would he have for her?

I think that Fletcher would be proud of how Gin always manages to survive, no matter how much danger she finds herself in. But I think he would be even prouder of how she’s slowly lowered her own emotional defenses and opened herself up to people like Bria and Owen.

Back in the beginning of the series, Fletcher told Gin that he wanted a normal life for her, part of which included letting herself care about other people. So I think that he would be really happy with the circle of friends and loved ones that she’s slowly built for herself as the series has gone along.

Happy reading, everyone!

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JENNIFER ESTEP

I’m a Southern gal through and through. Sassy, sarcastic, and just a tad crazy.

I spent my formative years doing the usual kid things – playing, hanging out with my friends, and making up wild stories in my head.

It’s the last one that’s gotten me into trouble.

I don’t remember the first book I read. Or the second. Or even the third. But somewhere along the way, I fell in love with books and reading. Fairy tales, fantasies, adventure stories, mysteries, romances, westerns. As a kid, I read every book that I could get my hands on.

My mom, bless her, encouraged this obsession by taking me to the library every week. It’s one of my favorite childhood memories. Most folks think penicillin, indoor plumbing, and the Internet are the world’s best inventions. Not me. The greatest thing ever created was a library. Indoor plumbing is a close second, though.

The more I read, the more I thought about writing my own stories. I penned a few poems and short stories over the years, mainly for class assignments. Somewhere along the way, I realized that I wanted to write books for a living.

In college, I majored in English because of my love of books. But what can you do with an English degree? I didn’t know. One semester, I got a job with the college newspaper and discovered you could write stories and make a respectable living. Since that light-bulb moment, I’ve earned a bachelor’s degree in English and journalism, and a master’s degree in professional communications. Currently, I’m an award-winning features page designer for a daily newspaper.

Now, after many, many years of toil and trouble, I’ve achieved my dream of being a bona fide, published, fiction author. I plan to keep on keeping on – writing, dreaming, making up wild stories in my head.

And getting myself into trouble.

Website • Blog • Twitter • Facebook • Goodreads • Amazon

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HEART OF VENOM

When I say you’re a dead man, take that literally.

To me, killing people is like a day at the salon: cut and dry. Well, more like rinse and repeat when you moonlight as the assassin the Spider. But my last spa day ended redder than my freshly painted nails after a twisted Fire elemental and his goons kidnapped my close friend Sophia Deveraux and nearly killed her sister Jo-Jo in the process.

Up Ashland’s most dangerous mountains, and deep into the heart of its blackest woods—I’ll track these thugs no matter where they take Sophia. It doesn’t matter what kinds of elemental magic they try to throw at me, my Ice and Stone powers can take the heat and then some. I will get Sophia back, over their dead bodies.

Because anybody that hurts Gin Blanco’s family becomes a body.

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GIVEAWAY

Thanks to Jennifer, I have one print copy of Heart of Venom to give away on the blog today. To enter, please just fill out the Rafflecopter form below. Giveaway is open to US residents only. Good luck everyone! 
 
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