Ash: A Destined Novelby Shani Petroff & Darci Manley
Publisher: Polis Books
Release Date: March 17th 2015
Synopsis:
Destiny is pre-determined. It is strictly monitored. It is unchangeable.
Or is it?
Madden’s life is a whirlwind of privilege and perks. Born into the elite Purple ring, she is fated to be a Minister of the Seven. Although her position comes with the burden of great responsibility, she’s nothing if not confident in her future. After all, Destiny Specialists have determined how she will fulfill her life's purpose, and they are never wrong.
Her classmate Dax, an Ash, is clinging to the opposite end of the spectrum. While everyone around her knows what destiny awaits them, Dax’s fate is…missing. Isolated and ignored, she refuses to let her lack of status define her.
After a stunning twist of fate, Dax and Madden’s paths intertwine in ways neither could have possibly imagined. The two are forced to question their own past, present and future as they realize who they are is not necessarily who they were meant to be.
ASH, the first book in the Destined series, is an unforgettable journey into an alternate future which will leave readers wondering just how much we can control our own fate.
Destiny is calling. Will you fight for yours?
Darci Manley: At the moment, I’m watching a lot of Elementary and Agents of Shield. If I could turn back time and extend Firefly by a few more seasons, it would have been The One.
Shani Petroff: I can’t pick just one! When I was little it was everything Judy Blume, Beverly Cleary, Babysitter’s Club and even Sweet Valley High. I still love all of them, but my list has grown. Harry Potter will always be a favorite. And it seems every week I discover another great book and author that I can add to that list!
Darci Manley: Oh man – I can’t pick one. I’ll try to keep it short though! My favorite children’s book is The Phantom Tollbooth. But I’ve always loved series of books – as a kid I was obsessed with Narnia, Oz, and a lesser known series, but one of my all-time favorites, The Dark Is Rising. My current favorites are Scott Lynch’s Gentleman Bastard books and Patrick Rothfuss’ Kingkiller Series. I think Robin Hobb is a genius. Brandon Sanderson is my all-time writing hero.
Shani Petroff: TV is definitely a guilty pleasure of mine. Currently, some of my favorite shows are Breaking Bad, Once Upon a Time, Supernatural and Grey’s Anatomy.
Shani Petroff: Rom coms and action movies are my favorite!
Darci Manley: My favorite children’s movies were Labyrinth and The Princess Bride. I watch a lot of action flicks these days. If Jason Bourne or James Bond were looking for an apprentice, I would be first in line.
Shani Petroff: It varies depending on my mood! There are songs I listen to when I need cheering up, some for when I’m excited to go out, some for the gym, some for when I need an extra boost of inspiration, and so on!
Shani Petroff: Ice cream. I have a big sweet tooth. My favorite flavor is mint chocolate chip.
Shani Petroff: Hogwarts, Shangri-la, and while I don’t know if I want to move there, I’d love to visit Wonderland.
Shani Petroff: Noah Calhoun from THE NOTEBOOK. (As long as I was his Allie). He’s a good guy who never gave up on their love, there’s a ton of passion, and they stick together through goods times and bad.
Darci Manley: Jamie Frazier is so my book boyfriend. And, you know, Mr. Darcy. But then you’ve got Darci and Darcy, which is just awkward.
Shani Petroff: "Shoot for the moon and if you miss you will still be among the stars."
Darci Manley: "Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better." - Samuel Beckett
Shani Petroff: So many things! My favorite writers, books, actors, and other creative people!
Darci Manley: Geek culture. Writers. Ahem… Brandon Sanderson.
Shani Petroff: There are so many I’d like to meet, but I’m going to pick the one that had the most influence on me while I was growing up—Judy Blume. I always loved her books, and I still do!
Darci Manley: I don’t think I would. Is that crazy? The thing is, if I met a favorite writer, and didn’t like that person, I might not like their books any more. The possible gain isn’t worth the risk to me.
Shani Petroff: Thank you so much for hosting this blog tour! I’m so excited to take part and let everyone know about ASH!
Darci Manley: Thanks for having me! Thrilled to be taking part in this.
Hello Shani & Darci! We are super excited to have you in our FFBC tours.
We’re happy to be here! Thank you for hosting this tour!
We’d love to! It’s a world where everyone’s destiny is discovered at birth—and it’s illegal to try to change or stop it. It’s what keeps society running. We follow two girls, Madden and Dax. Madden has the best destiny imaginable, Dax the worst. But circumstances bring the two of them together, and they have to decide just how far they’re willing to go, and how much they’re willing to risk, for the people that they love.
We met in a writing class and become friends, and continued to get together regularly after the class. Both of us were working on other projects, but then we got to talking one night about the concept of destiny – not in a cheesy, new-age kind of way. But really what it might be like to know what you were destined to do. If it would be a good or bad thing. A story grew around that “what if” conversation, and the next thing we knew we were outlining a book together. We both are big readers and watch a wild variety of TV and movies – there wasn’t one thing that affected our writing, but when you look at all of the things we collectively love, there are probably hints here and there. Nothing intentional, though.
It’s a society dictated by destiny. Who you are, who you can become – it’s all figured out for you from day one. There are seven color rings that separate the different classes of destinies, and those colors have become a kind of uniform for people to classify themselves by. The rules of society are stringent, and at times even brutal, but there’s a reason for it. No one wants another Event on their hands.
We don’t want to give away any spoilers, but the end of what we consider Act 1 was fun to write. Both of our leads discover something huge, and it changes everything for them. It was great to get to write those moments, our fingers seemed to fly over the keys—and it felt exciting!
We’d love to play Madden and Dax,! ;) They’d be a blast to play, but since we’re a little too old for the parts—there are some others we’d love to see! There are some great people on Pretty Little Liars and a bunch of the CW shows we think would do a great job in ASH!
The sequel to ASH – ULTRAVIOLET!!
Thank you so much for everything, Shani & Darci!
Thank you!
“Petroff and Manley have created a world where fate is terrifyingly unpredictable when entrusted to the wrong hands. Addictive and fast-paced, ASH will pull readers along for the ride and leave them anxious for the next installment.”
-JOELLE CHARBONNEAU, New York Times bestselling author of THE TESTING trilogy
“ASH is a breakneck thriller filled with action and romance. Destined for bestseller lists, it’s perfect for fans of Divergent and The Hunger Games.”
-MICHELLE GAGNON, author of the PERSEFONE trilogy
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Petroff and Manley live in New York City. They were destined to write a book series together.
Shani Petroff is the author of the Bedeviled series, which includes Daddy’s Little Angel, The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Dress, Careful What You Wish For, and Love Struck. She also writes for television news programs and several other venues. You can reach her at ShaniPetroff.com or on twitter: @shanipetroff.
Darci Manley works as a creative director, writing and designing for a NYC advertising agency. She is also the author of A Defender's Tale, a personalized, interactive Choose Your Own Adventure tale for the iPad. You can reach her at DarciManley.com or on twitter: @darcimanley.
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