Q&A with Kiera Crass

During the weekends I sometimes work for this publisher at book sales. This two weeks it is the biggest book fair here in Belgium, more specifically in Antwerp. A lot of local authors and speakers are usually present, and they always manage to get some international people as well.

I honestly never paid much attention to this, as often they are somewhat older and unknown authors to me. But this year we have some really big names like Sophie Kinsella, Cassandra Clare and Holly Black. I even only found out yesterday morning when I was working that Kiera Cass would be speaking, so I had to see this/her (during my lunchbreak).

Since it was during my lunchbreak, which is only thirty minutes, I wasn't able to stay for the entire session. I've managed to take a couple of pictures and video's for the responses. This was just with my phone, so audio quality and image stability might not be the best :p

Best Of YA Books set it up pretty nicely. Kiera Cass was very happy with the bouncy couch and had trouble sitting still :) She was introduced and then the audience got to ask questions, simple as that. After that the promo team had some fluffy princess dresses ready, girls could put on and get pictures of themselves, Prince Maxon and Kiera Cass. Unfortunately I couldn't stay until that part, but it was just pretty cool to see her :) My first experience with an international author!!!

The Antwerp Book Fair went all out! You get to take pics with me AND Maxon! #KCinNL

A photo posted by Kiera Cass (@partylikeawordstar) on Nov 11, 2014 at 5:58am PDT

Q1: Some people find America a frustrating character. Was it frustrating for you to write her?

Q2: How long did it take to write The Selection?

Q3: How did you come up with the idea of The Selection? What inspired you?

Esther (from the Bible) and Cinderella. Kiera Cass first starts talking about Esther.

Q4: Do you ever get embarrassed about awkward/kissing scenes?
Q5: There's this country called Swinley, which countries does this represent?

So that's it for the questions I was able to get on camera. Kiera Cass did say there would be a 4th (The Heir) and 5th book, that she finds the inspiration for her male characters mostly in her husband and that as of now there is nothing official for doing a movie adaptation of the books!

Connect with Kiera Cass:

Website - Facebook - Twitter - Goodreads

For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to escape the life laid out for them since birth. To be swept up in a world of glittering gowns and priceless jewels. To live in a palace and compete for the heart of gorgeous Prince Maxon.

But for America Singer, being Selected is a nightmare. It means turning her back on her secret love with Aspen, who is a caste below her. Leaving her home to enter a fierce competition for a crown she doesn't want. Living in a palace that is constantly threatened by violent rebel attacks.

Then America meets Prince Maxon. Gradually, she starts to question all the plans she's made for herself--and realizes that the life she's always dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined.

The Selection - Reading order and purchase links

    

The Queen: Amazon - Book Depository

The Prince: Amazon - Book Depository

The Selection: Amazon ($2.99) - Book Depository

      

The Elite: Amazon - Book Depository

The Guard: Amazon - Book Depository

The One: Amazon - Book Depository

The Heir: Amazon - Book Depository (pre-order: May 5th 2015)

Interview & Giveaway: Golden Hour (Crescent City #1) by Steph Campbell & Liz Reinhardt

Perfect NOLA date (Caleb’s pov)

Caleb: The perfect date, huh? I guess I’m more a Mid City guy myself. Not many tourists, and a nice mix of every walk of life. I’m pretty blue collar all around, but I have unexpected polish here and there. Now, this is a deep secret I may deny up and down later, but I wasn’t always cruising with good looking girls, looking for cheap beer back in high school. I spent a fair amount of time walking City Park and poking around the NOMA.

Elise butts in: Wait a second. Are you actually trying to convince us that you, the infamous Caleb Warren, spent your deviant youth wandering around the New Orleans Museum of Art?

Caleb: Don’t look so shocked, doll. I’ve been known to get downright moony over a nice Jack Delano photograph. I’d love to take you sometime. When we're done looking at all the respectable New Orleans photographs, there’s a few risque ones. Like a nude photo of a woman with skin that looks like velvet. Makes me think of you.

Elise: Caleb!

Caleb: Sorry, baby, but you know I have some wild Cajun blood running through my veins. Brassaï took pictures of the kind of women I like…sexy and sweet, just like you.

Elise’s whispered aside: Caleb Warren, we can continue this conversation later…in bed!

Elise: So it would really be all high art on your ideal date?

Caleb: Hell no. A nice walk through St. Louis Cemetery # 3, preferably when the sun is setting and the the girl you love is just a tiny bit spooked--

Elise: Ha! Nice try, Warren. I’m born and raised in this city…ghosts don’t bother me even a tiny bit.

Caleb: Couldn’t you pretend? Just to be sweet?

Elise: Sorry, babe. I’m not the shrinking violet type. So you’re ideal date is shocking photography and hauntings?

Caleb: I’d round it out with a gelato from Brocato’s, and then we could pick up an ice cold six pack, find a quiet old live oak to sit under, and drink until the stars came out.

Elise: That actually sounds pretty romantic.

Caleb: Glad you’re all in. The Canal Streetcar is leaving in a few, and I’m ready to experience it all with you. And when we’re done, I’d love to strip you down and have my way--

Elise in a whisper: Caleb, enough! For now, anyway…

In the medical field, the precious moments following a traumatic event in which you have the best chance of saving a life are known as the golden hour.

But being there during the golden hour doesn't mean you'll be able to save the one you love...

New Orleans native and ER nurse, Elise Dupuis knows that fact all too well. There was nothing she could do to save her fiancé, New Orleans police officer Mike Bazanac, when he was brought into her hospital with two fatal bullet wounds.

Now everyone walks around on eggshells when she comes into the room—except her brother Charlie. As Mike's partner, he bears a guilt that's spiraled him into dark pain. Charlie is lashing out, Elise is turning in, and life seems to be falling apart around them.

Caleb Warren knows what it feels like to always be on the losing end of things. A few criminal turns in his youth landed him two crap choices: mandatory service in the armed forces or jail. He chooses to enlist, and just when he finds a commander who has a little faith in him, their truck hits an IED. Caleb's training as a medic isn't enough to save the one person who's ever given a damn about him.

Now back in New Orleans as an EMT, Caleb is bound and determined to drown himself in booze and regrets. But he crosses paths with nurse Elise Dupuis and finds a woman whose passion and courage gets under his skin in a way that wakes him up and makes him want to live again.

Unfortunately, Charlie doesn't think the new EMT is good enough for his sister, and he’ll step outside the lines of the law to prove it to Elise.

Caleb has to figure out what's worth fighting for…and how far he's willing to go for the woman he loves.

Amazon - Barnes & Noble - iTunes - kobo

The Authors 

Liz grew up on the East Coast, and Steph on the West Coast-and somehow they both ended up making their homes with their husbands and children in small, Southern towns. They've been co-writing since 2012 after they each read a book written by the other and contacted each other to gush.

Liz loves Raisinettes, even if they aren't really candy, the Oxford comma, movies that are hilarious or feature Zombies, any and all books, but especially romance (the smarter and hotter, the better), the sound of her daughter's incessantly wise and entertaining chatter, and watching her husband work on cars in the driveway.

Steph has one husband, four children, and a serious nail polish obsession. When she isn't reading, writing or wiping someone's nose, you can usually find her baking something.

Connect with Liz Reinhardt:

Website - Facebook - Twitter - Goodreads

Connect with Steph Campbell:

Website - Facebook - Twitter - Goodreads

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Interview & Giveaway: Bound by Lies (Bound #1) by Hanna Peach

Interview with Mick O’Leary

(“Kitten’s” kickboxing coach and friend)

Athena: Thanks for coming in Mick.

Mick: Let’s just cut the formality and get to it. I don’t have much time.

Athena: Right. So we can get the readers up to speed, can you tell me about your relationship with Kitten?

Mick: I’m her kickboxing coach. Been whooping her ass into shape for 6-7 months now.

Athena: She any good?

Mick: My grandma hits harder than her and her kick is weak as knat’s piss… but she’s got grit that kid does. All and all, she ain’t bad.

Athena: So. *clears throat* It’s been three days since Kitten disappeared. How are you feeling?

Mick: How the f**k do you think I’m feeling? I’m losing my damn mind. Feel as useful as tits on a bull.

Athena: Do you have any idea where or why she’s gone?

Mick: If I did I’d be there lookin’. But ain’t no doubt, it’s got something to do with Caden Thaine.

Athena: Who’s Caden?

Mick: *snorts* Who’s Caden. Nobody knows who Caden is. Not even she does. But I can bet you any money he’s got something to do with her disappearing.

Athena: But I thought they were seeing each other.

Mick: *shakes head* They are… were… I don’t know. I f**kin’ wish I did.

Athena: You sound like you look out for her.

Mick: Somebody’s got to. She usually calls me when she needs… help.

Athena: Help? What kind of help?

Mick: *eyes dart around the room* Help that you can’t ask the cops for, if you know what I mean.

Athena: Just in case she’s reading this, is there anything you want to say to her?

Mick: Yeh. If you’re listening kid, you get on the phone right now and call me so I can yell at you for not calling sooner and putting an old man out of his misery. Some people are worried ‘bout ya or something.

Athena: Okay. Thanks again for coming in Mick.

Our love is on his terms. He contacts me only through notes − unpredictable and untraceable. When we meet, he can touch me, but I’m not allowed to touch him. When we make love, it’s only after I have been bound and blindfolded. It’s the only time I truly feel alive. Which is why I play along with it. For now.

Caden Thaine is the most sinfully beautiful man I have ever seen. But more than that, his touch sets me on fire. And dear God, do I ache for him. I don’t know where he lives or even what he does. But this doesn’t scare me. My only fear is that one day his messages will stop.

I know he’s hiding something. But that’s okay. I am hiding things too. Like my real name and... who I really am. But the deeper I fall for him, the stronger my curiosity becomes.

I could never have imagined just how much our lives are bound. And that pulling at his tangled web of secrets would cause my own dark past to come back to try and reclaim me. Will we survive? Will our love?

The Author

Hanna began to write at the tender age of seven, starting with a daring and questionable autobiography entitled Go Suck a Lemon. Perhaps it was a little before its time.

After leaving school she agreed with everyone who said she needed to get a degree and a real job to become a proper adult. She kept writing as a hobby. After starting (and never finishing) several degrees and switching from multiple careers, she finally decided that being a real adult was overrated. In 2012, she sold everything, moved to Europe and began to write full-time.

Eternally restless, Hanna has lived in Indonesia, Australia, Germany and Scotland. She is currently residing in England.

She is addicted to coffee and chocolate and would one day like to own a dragon.

Connect with Hanna Peach:

Website - Facebook - Twitter - Goodreads

Prizes - Open to US and UK

-Signed copy of Bound by Lies

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Character Interview & Giveaway: Flawed Perfection (Beautifully Flawed #1) by Cassandra Giovanni

Today we welcome the very handsome All-Star hockey player, Bobby Beckerson from Cassandra Giovanni’s Flawed Perfection.

Bobby: Thanks for having me!

So, you’re an all-star hockey player?

Bobby: I was but not anymore. A few years back this guy threw an illegal check and destroyed a few discs in my back. The doctors said I’d never play professionally again, and they were right.

That’s awful! What happened to the guy responsible?

Bobby: Let’s put it this way, he’s not playing either.

What do you do then?

Bobby: I’m the head coach for the hockey team at a local high school. The team does amazing; we’re the best team in New England.

You must be busy with coaching a lot of the time and training. How do you make time for a love life?

Bobby: I’m not much for relationships. I’ve kind of been waiting on my best friend to figure out I’m the one for a while.


How’s that going?

Bobby: I don’t get it. She’s pretty deeply infatuated with my kid brother, Adam. I keep trying to get her to see that I can make her happy, when he can’t.

How do you know he can’t?

Bobby (cracks knuckles and raises an eyebrow): He’s not me.

Are you guys a lot different?

Bobby: You could say that. He’s about five inches shorter and about 70 pounds less muscular. His hair’s a bit darker and his eyes…well, they aren’t blue like these. (Winks)

Are you guys similar in any way?

Bobby: Yeah, I’d say so. He’s a great guy—don’t get me wrong. I just don’t want River to see it, or him to realize she loves him.

Why?

Bobby: Cause he loves her too.

Sounds like there’s a bit of a rivalry over this River girl.

Bobby: You could say that, but I’ve never lost anything to Adam.

What happens if you lose?

Bobby: I won’t.

I guess you can’t argue with that confidence (Bobby gives a breath-stealing smile).

Bobby Beckerson was the American All-Star hockey player--he was the spitting image of perfection to his family. Goofy, sweet and undeniably gorgeous, he had everything but the one girl he wanted: River Ahlers.

River Ahlers is successful in everything but love. She's been in love with Adam Beckerson since they were kids. Worst of all she's stuck right in the middle of the brother's dueling over everything and anything, and she doesn't even know she's the ultimate prize.

Adam Beckerson was a boy with a guitar, a smile that sunk girl's hearts and a stone wall around his own. He was anything but perfect, and no matter how hard he tried he was nothing compared to Bobby. Sweet, damaged, with boyish good-looks, nobody thought Adam loved anyone but himself.

Bobby loved River, River loved Adam and Adam only loved himself--or so everyone thought. Then one night everything changes, and as it threatens to destroy everyone involved a tragedy strikes that will break them all...

Buy book: Amazon - Kindle - Kobo

#2 Pieces of Perfection (May 20) - #3 Broken Perfection (Oct. 21) - #4 Finding Perfection (Dec. 20)

The Author

Cassandra doesn't remember a time when she wasn't writing. In fact, the first time she was published was when she was seven years old and won a contest to be published in an American Girl Doll novel. Since then Cassandra has written more novels than she can count and put just as many in the circular bin. Her personal goal with her writing is to show the reader the character's stories through their dialogue and actions instead of just telling the reader what is happening. In 2012 she became a published Young Adult author, releasing In Between Seasons (The Fall, #1) and the Amazon bestselling thriller, Walking in the Shadows. In 2013 she branched out by using her artistic illustrating talents to publish her first Children's novel, The Adventures of Skippy Von Flippy: Tales of Friendship (Skippy Tales, #1). Cassandra released her first New Adult novel, Love Exactly, which became an Amazon Bestseller overnight in June of 2013. She's currently working on her new New Adult Contemporary Romance, Beautifully Flawed. The first novel in the series, Flawed Perfection is scheduled to be published on March 7, 2014.

Besides being a writer, Cassandra is a professional photographer known for her automotive, nature and architectural shots. She is the owner of Gio Design Studios Photography and Gio Design Studios Publication Marketing . She is currently studying to receive a degree in Marketing. Cassandra is happily married to the man of her dreams and they live in the rolling hills of New England with the other loves of her life their dogs, Bubski and Kanga.

Connect with Cassandra Giovanni :

Website - Facebook - Twitter - Goodreads

**GIVEAWAY**

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour: Interview with Tellulah Darling and Giveaway

1) Why do you like writing YA?

Because I am emotionally stuck at sixteen. Storytelling is drama and conflict and making crazy intense emotional connections and for me, all those things are so characteristic of the teen years. There are so many primal, important issues we’re figuring out about ourselves, and our place in the world. Yet, it’s a time of a wonderful freedom because we don’t necessarily have the adult responsibilities still to come. So we can be childish and playful in a very special way. And in terms of love, the teen years are so passionate. I remember having this incredible sense of immortality and possibility and yet I felt every emotion so profoundly. For both the romance and comedy, I think it’s a wonderful time in a person’s life to explore. Plus smart, mouthy, teen girls rock. See aforementioned emotional stuckness and possible self-fulfillment fantasy.

2) If you couldn’t be an author, what would your ideal career be?

Jazz singer/flapper in the 1920s. I’m guessing my inability to sing is the least of my obstacles on that one.

3) So you’re a former screenwriter... was the transition to author easy to make?

Yes and no. I think my understanding of story, character, structure, theme – all of that was applicable. But novel writing definitely has its own needs. There are a lot more words! Who knew? That said, I love that I can be in my characters’ heads in a novel, in a way that I can’t in a screenplay.

4) When did you write your first book and what was the title?

I may have written a novel’s worth of very bad fanfic when I was a teenager, which I pray was consumed by fire. It had no title. I started another one in university, again, titleless, again, very bad. I thought it was ironic. It was not. So my first novel that got a title was Sam Cruz’s Infallible Guide to Getting Girls.

5) Do you have a writing routine?

Does “obsessing” count? I'm not one of those people who has a set regiment of number of hours or words per day. In the early stages, my process consists of lots of thinking–about plot, character, theme, all that goodness. And scrawling notes on random pieces of paper that pile up. Eventually I turn those into a loose outline. And from there, I begin my first draft. I find the deeper I get into the story, the more my writing time increases until I'm scowling at my family for their audacity in wanting clean clothes and food, because all I want to do all day is write. I also play a lot of Sudoku once I start writing, because it helps me figure out story problems. 

6) Where did the idea for The Blooming Goddess Trilogy come from? 

I’ve always loved the idea of retelling/reshaping classic myths and fairy tales. Playing with them in different contexts. When I started to think about doing that myself, it was Persephone that really spoke to me. I didn’t want to retell the original or simply move the same story to modern day. I wanted her past mostly (with the addition of Kai) as is, and then make it firmly a human struggling to be a goddess. Sophie suddenly has to deal with all these expectations of herself on a global scale. It’s hard enough figuring out who we are as teens, so revealing a goddess identity just threw her into an entirely new pressure cooker. And because I love romantic comedy so much, this whole series, in my head at least, really is a rom-com first and foremost. 

 
7) What’s next?

My Life From Hell, the final book in The Blooming Goddess Trilogy will be coming out in 2014. Once I have this series wrapped up, I want to go back to writing for an older YA crowd. I'm playing around with an idea for a 5 book fantasy romantic comedy series, where each book would have its own set of lovers but with an overarching battle through all the books.

Connect with Tellulah Darling

Website - Facebook - Twitter - Goodreads

There’s bound to be pressure when it takes 2500 years to get to a second date. Which is exactly why Theo Rockman, a.k.a. Prometheus, would rather not go. With his best friend gravely injured and the fate of humanity still on the line, Theo has all sorts of creative excuses to avoid dating swoon-worthy god and love of his life, Hephaestus.

YA romantic comedy gets an epic mythological twist in the free (at select retailers) short story A Date of Godlike Proportions (The Blooming Goddess Trilogy Book 2.5). Being human hasn’t killed Theo, but this date just might.

Buy book: Amazon - iBooks - Kobo (Free)

**GIVEAWAY**

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Total Book Geek

 

Truth Or Dare (12/6)

Truth or Dare is a weekly meme invented by Jenna Does Books. Each week she gives you the choice between a Truth or a Dare. For the brave ones, you are allowed to do both!

TRUTH: If you could kiss any fictional character, who would you kiss?

DARE: Interview a blogger or author. (One question should include the word “MONKEY”.)

Once again I've chosen dare, because they are so much more fun. I was very lucky this week, as somehow 2 awesome authors agreed to the interview.

First up is Jennifer Rush!

1: What is your favourite holiday and why?

A hard question. Hmm...I love Halloween mostly because of the costumes, and the decorations. 

2: What is the one thing you've always wanted for Christmas but never gotten?

A Ford Mustang :D

3: If you could give a stuffed monkey to one of your characters who would it be?

Cas. He's appreciate it more than any of them! He's a goof like that.

4: Do you make resolutions at New Year? And maybe share one?

I have in the past, but I suck at keeping them. Usually they're about staying more organized, exercising more, etc. Nothing exciting! 

About Jennifer Rush

Jennifer Rush lives in a little town on the shoreline of Lake Michigan with her husband and two children. She grew up wanting to be an Egyptologist, but realized she hated the desert and declared herself a writer instead. She won her first writing award in the fourth grade (a Mickey Mouse pencil was the prize) and has been crafting stories ever since. In her free time, she likes to read, Photoshop, and consume large amounts of caffeine.

Her debut YA, ALTERED, released January 2013 from Little, Brown. The sequel to Altered, ERASED, releases January 7, 2014.

Website - Facebook - Twitter - Goodreads

And now the lovely Donna Kauffman!

1: What is your favourite Christmas tradition?

A favorite holiday tradition is going out in the evenings and looking at  the Christmas light displays in and around our area. My dad did this with me and my three sisters, and I did with my two sons, who will now go on to do it with their children. Many great memories from those car rides, both as a child and with my children.

2: If you could give a stuffed monkey to one of your characters, who would you give it to?

Well, I can honestly say I've never been asked this one before! I would give the stuffed monkey to little Miss Lilly Westlake from my Cupcake Club series book, BABYCAKES. As with the endangered sea turtles in that story, Lilly has a fondness for animals in need. I'm sure she would give Mr. Monkey a very good home!

3: What is your favourite cupcake?
My favorite was the recipe that won the national cupcake contest we held in conjunction with Cupcake Club book #3, SWEET STUFF. The Sweet Peach Tea cupcakes suited the series really well, and have surprisingly complex and super yummy flavors. Second runner up would be the Red Velvet cupcakes from Book #1, SUGAR RUSH. (And those recipes are in the backs of their respective books!)

4: Do you make resolutions at New Year? And maybe share one with us?

I do make resolutions! I just leased my dream home in the Blue Ridge mountains, so my New Years resolution this holiday season is to actually have everything unpacked by the end of the year. Seeing all the packing boxes piling up, I'm not sure how successful I'll be!

About Donna Kauffman

USA Today bestselling author of the Cupcake Club Romance series (and brand new Bachelors of Blueberry Cove series!), DONNA KAUFFMAN has seen her books reviewed in venues ranging from Kirkus Reviews and Library Journal to Entertainment Weekly and Cosmopolitan. She lives just outside of DC in the lovely Virginia countryside, where she is presently trying to makeover her newly empty nest into something that doesn’t have to accommodate piles of sports equipment falling out of her coat closet (okay, out of every closet...and under every bed....), size 13 cleats and sweaty uniforms cluttering her foyer (and stairwell, and laundry room, and...), and a kitchen that should have come with a traffic light. And a pantry monitor. (Anyone with a clever idea on how to repurpose lacrosse sticks into matching reading lamps, she’s all ears!) When she’s not stripping paint, varnishing an old auction house find, or trying to avoid bodily injury with her latest power tool purchase, she loves to hear from readers!

Website - Facebook - Twitter - Goodreads

What is your favourite Christmas tradition?

Total Book Geek