Interview with Nancy Richardson Fischer for The Speed of Falling Objects

The Speed of Falling Objects

by Nancy Richardson Fischer
Publisher: Inkyard Press
Release Date: October 1st 2019
Genre: Young Adult

Synopsis:

From the author of When Elephants Fly comes an exceptional new novel about falling down, risking everything and embracing what makes us unique. Don't miss this compulsively readable novel about the most unlikely of heroes.

Danger "Danny" Danielle Warren is no stranger to falling. After losing an eye in a childhood accident, she had to relearn her perception of movement and space. Now Danny keeps her head down, studies hard, and works to fulfill everyone else's needs. She's certain that her mom's bitterness and her TV star father's absence are her fault. If only she were more-more athletic, charismatic, attractive-life would be perfect.

When her dad calls with an offer to join him to film the next episode of his popular survivalist show, Danny jumps at the chance to prove she's not the disappointment he left behind. Being on set with the hottest teen movie idol of the moment, Gus Price, should be the cherry on top. But when their small plane crashes in the Amazon, and a terrible secret is revealed, Danny must face the truth about the parent she worships and falling for Gus, and find her own inner strength and worth to light the way home.

Can you briefly describe THE SPEED OF FALLING OBJECTS and its characters? 

Danger “Danny” Danielle Warren is no stranger to falling. After losing an eye in a childhood accident, she had to relearn her perception of movement and space. Now Danny keeps her head down, studies hard, and works to fulfill everyone else’s needs. She's certain that her mom’s bitterness and her TV star father’s absence are her fault. If only she were more—more athletic, charismatic, attractive—life would be perfect. 

When her dad calls with an offer to join him to film the next episode of his popular survivalist show, Danny jumps at the chance to prove she’s not the disappointment he left behind. Being on set with the hottest teen movie idol of the moment, Gus Price, should be the cherry on top. But when their small plane crashes in the Amazon, and a terrible secret is revealed, Danny must face the truth about the parent she worships and falling for Gus, and find her own inner strength and worth to light the way home. 

Danger Danielle Warren, nicknamed Danny, is a timid young woman who sees herself as defective, inferior and an embarrassment based on an accident that caused her to lose one eye, childhood teasing, and her father’s abandonment. Her journey through THE SPEED OF FALLING OBJECTS forces her to question the past, discover her unique abilities and redefine herself in order to love herself, allow others to love her, and become the hero of her own life’s story. 

Cougar Warren is a charming, handsome, TV survivalist. His past has created his needs and persona and the plane crash in the Amazon will uncover many of his amazing abilities and terrible flaws. Whether he will recognize the latter and reconnect with the daughter he abandoned is uncertain. 

Gus Price has been a famous actor since childhood. He supports his mother and three brothers, is on autopilot in terms of work, and allows others to shape his image. The plane crash, loss, and tragedies in the rainforest will set him on a journey to question who he wants to be in the future and whether that future will include Danny. 

Jupiter Jones is the sound tech for Cougar’s TV show. He’s the product of a tough single mother’s love, knows who he is and what’s most important to him. He overflows with kindness, especially toward Danny. 

Who would you say is your favourite character from the story and why? 

My favourite character is definitely Danny. She has an incredible journey from a scared young woman to a fierce, one-eyed warrior, who faces hard truths and buried secrets yet still finds empathy and compassion for those who have hurt her, and maintains the ability to be kind while struggling to survive in the Amazon rainforest. 

How did the story occur to you? Did you find inspiration anywhere? 

First, I am a HUGE fan of survival stories whether they’re on the high seas, atop remote mountains, or in jungles or deserts. People under intense physical and emotional pressure truly discover who they are, at their core, and can become heroes if they have what it takes. 

Second, I wanted to dig into the idea of how we define ourselves. Many of us, myself included, use the past, which contains tragedies, stories, misperceptions, and even lies to create who we believe we are. The idea, with Danny, is to take a young woman who defined herself as defective and allow her to understand that the building blocks of the persona she created aren’t true. Once Danny realizes that, she’s free to create the person she wants to be… if she’s brave enough to try. 

If you could choose one song to describe your book, which one would it be? 

When I wrote this novel I listened a fair bit to the A Star is Born soundtrack. Something about the lyrics from Shallow resonated with me and made me think of Danny. The plane Danny was on has crashed in the Amazon. Some are dead, others injured. Everything in the rainforest terrifies her. And yet, as the story progresses and Danny faces her many fears and comes to terms with the past, she becomes so much more than she ever dreamed, and she starts to metaphorically fly. The danger of flying is hitting the ground, but in Danny’s case, if she believes enough in herself, she’ll soar. And, perhaps, Gus will find the strength to eventually soar with her. 

Below are the verses from Shallow that I loved… 

I'm off the deep end, watch as I dive in 

I'll never meet the ground 

Crash through the surface, where they can't hurt us 

We're far from the shallow now 

If your book was going to be made into a movie, who would play your characters?

Cougar: Bradley Cooper 

Danny: Elle Fanning 

Gus: Ansel Elgort 

Sam: Reese Witherspoon 

Jupiter: Daniel Kaluuya 

Fall is here, and we love to go out and find the perfect cosy spot. What drink and place do you think will go with your book to have a perfect book date? 

I’d say an iced tea and anywhere without bugs, snakes scorpions and tarantulas, so that you can feel peaceful while immersed in the terrifying atmosphere of the Amazon rainforest. 

Can you recommend your readers any other books in case they are left hungry for more once they finish THE SPEED OF FALLING OBJECTS? 

Day Zero by Kelly deVos for an edge-of-your-seat ride. The Guest Book by Sarah Blake for a gorgeous story about identity. The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell for a thought provoking read. The Black Witch series by Laurie Forest for an epic fantasy adventure.

What’s next for you? 

My next novel is called THE STORY COLLECTOR. It’s about twins, Hugo and Kat, who live in the same house but couldn’t be more different. Kat is driven, goal oriented, and certain. Hugo is rudderless, attends tons of concerts, and does his share and more of drugs. On their 18th birthday Hugo attempts suicide and as he teeters between life and death, Kat learns that she’s his medical proxy, responsible for making the decision of whether to terminate life support. But Kat barely knows Hugo or what he’d want. The Story Collector is about her journey to truly understand her brother before she makes this decision, by attending a fire sculpture and music festival he loved. Over three days she faces the past and deeply buried secrets in order to know her brother, herself, and to embrace an uncertain future.

I'm a published author with children's, teen and adult titles including: The Golden Globe, Lyric's World and Promises (Junior Jedi Knights Trilogy) for LucasFilm (Berkeley Press), Feel No Fear, The Power, Passion and Politics of a Life in Gymnastics (Hyperion), Monica: From Fear to Victory (HarperCollins), A Journey: The Autobiography of Apolo Anton Ohno (Simon & Schuster), Nadia Comaneci: Letters to a Young Gymnast (Basic Books), and Winning Every Day with Shannon Miller (Bantam Books). 

I've written for a circus, a graduate school, tried my hand at waitressing (I was terrible!), baking carrot cakes (I was messy but good!), and been lucky enough to ultimately do what I love - write.

I live in the Pacific Northwest with my husband and our mostly wonderful (but sometimes vorpal) Vizsla. When I'm not conjuring a story, I love to kite-board, bike, ski or plan adventures with my two guys, who both make me laugh for different reasons and are the best partners in fun a gal could ever imagine.

If you want to learn more about my latest novel, When Elephants Fly (publication date September 04, HarperCollins/Harlequin Teen), please visit my website: www.nancyrichardsonfischer.com

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Book Blitz + Giveaway: Falling for Shakespeare by Erin Butler

Falling for Shakespeare
by Erin Butler
Published by: Swoon Romance
Publication date: September 8th 2015
Genres: Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult

Synopsis:

Katie thought she knew where her life was going. She was dating the captain of the football team, had a BFF for life, and everyone at school wanted to be her. But then her pregnant teen sister’s pregnancy changes all that. Everyone dumps her, including her friends and boyfriend.

Hey, Katie, welcome to life at the bottom of the high school food chain. This is how the other half lives.

Then there’s Nick. He’s a straight-A student and self-professed geek who’s had a thing for her since middle school. He needs a date for the winter formal, and Katie needs something to keep her busy. Nick’s plight becomes her personal pet project. She will help him get over his insecurities and get a date. Besides, she was popular once. She knows how to get dates.

But Nick has other plans. He’s going to use these “dating” lessons as a way to win Katie’s heart.

Chapter One

Katie

A cry pierced the five-second silence that could’ve raised the hackles on a cute baby seal. If cute baby seals had hackles … I didn’t know. Pulling the worthless, spongy ear plugs from my ears, I jotted down a note on an empty page in the notebook I’d left open the night before. To Google: Do baby seals have hackles? What exactly are hackles anyways?

The lined notebook paper was hard to see in the dim light of my room, let alone the soft pencil marks I was scribbling. Hoping I’d be able to read the quick, exhausted lines in the morning when the world stopped punishing me, I pushed it aside and sat up.

Fluorescent teeth glared at me like a lighthouse beam from the corner of the room. As the peacefulness of sleep retreated further, a ghost of a face appeared around the mouth along with the rest of the lanky but fit, and relaxed yet somehow staged form. More bodies came into focus next to him with equally radiant, ten-minute, glow-in-the-dark smiles.

It was a poster of a boy-band I couldn’t even remember the name of anymore. Pretty sure I was in love with the boy in the middle once upon a time, but that had to have been at least two years ago. His name started with an H. Henry, maybe? No. Harry. No. Horny? Yes. That was it. Had to have been Horny.

The poster was a pre-niece poster. Pre-sixteen-and-pregnant episode going on right in my own house. The only thing I’d never have to write down in my musings notebook: Should I have a kid?

Second of all, my mom would probably disown me, but first of all—the biggest first ever—I would never find out if my mom was that heartless because I’d never let it get that far. I was never getting pregnant. Like never. Because what came from a pregnancy? Babies. Or hell spawn. Or schizoid minions, if you wanted to be exact about it.

Sure, babies could be cute at times. However, I was convinced my niece had horns that slid out of her blond curls in the middle of the night. Hanna had this thing where she liked to scream her head off at the most inappropriate times. Mostly sleeping times. Like right now. The clock confirmed it was only four thirty in the morning. Four thirty! Alicia wasn’t even home from work yet, which meant Mom was most likely trying to calm the baby down in the baby/Alicia’s room. My sister gave up all rights to her own room when she allowed herself to get knocked up.

I picked up a rolled sock at my feet and threw it at Horny’s happy-go-lucky face. I’d be happy too if I was rich and hung up in every adolescents’ bedroom for them to fawn over … and didn’t have a sister who couldn’t keep her legs closed … and could ace school without the necessary hours of sleep.

A shrill scream from the other room punctuated my thoughts with a gigantic exclamation point. My own house was a sideshow. No need to travel to Nowhere, Ohio to see oddities like the Biggest Ball of Yarn. A quick drive down Clamberry Lane would do.

Untangling my legs from the sheets, I stood and tiptoe-ran from the room. The soles of my bare feet allowed the cold from the hardwood floors to seep through my skin and ice its way from my chipped toe nail polish all the way to my mousy brown hair. There was no time to put slippers on even if I could remember where my puppy ones were, or remember where anything was lately. If Mom and I wanted any more sleep tonight, we had to put Hanna back to bed. Immediately.

The door to Alicia/Hanna’s room was slightly ajar. Before pushing it open, I took a huge breath. What was supposed to calm me did the exact opposite. The smell of baby powder only served as a reminder that I wouldn’t get a full night’s sleep until I left for college in another year and a half. Distracted, and now thoroughly annoyed, I pushed the bedroom door open.

Mom stood in the middle of the room doing this bopping up and down swinging thing she thought Hanna liked, never once realizing it hadn’t ever put her to sleep since day one. She turned, her wild, snaky hair knotted around her face, her eyes a mix between sadness, exhaustion, and relief. It was always the relief that bothered me.

“I got her,” I said.

She plopped the devil-crier into my arms. Hanna looked up for a brief second and I thought her wails might subside, but no, she was just gearing up for another ear-piercer. Why was it she always looked so good, even when she was ensuring I’d need hearing aids when I was sixty? Sure, she was red from screaming and snot was dripping from her nose, but it was always Mom and me who looked like we were dragged through thorny bushes and tossed into a manure patch to wilt. Hanna always looked adorable. Angelic. Her tousled curls perfectly framing her face.

I made soothing noises and leaned down to sniff her head. She smelled awesome too. Not fair. I wanted to be mad at her but it was just so dang hard when she was so perfect.

Mom put her hand on my shoulder and squeezed. “Thanks—”

I flinched away. “Just go to bed, Mom. Get some sleep.”

She dropped her head to the side. A flicker of wanting to say more shone in her eyes. I’d noticed the look more often lately. Thoughts were rising to the surface and threatening to spew out. They were practically on her lips, but I didn’t want to get into it. Not right now. Not ever.

“Go to bed.” I said, patting Hanna’s back. “You’re going to make her start crying again.”

Her eyes widened, more from hurt than surprise. Slowly, she turned and I watched numbly as she walked away, her plaid pajama pants twisted oddly around her waist. She must have been too tired to balk at my attitude. Though we did kind of have this unspoken agreement that when we were woken up in the wee hours of the morning, we were allowed to be moody.

Alicia and Hanna’s room matched the décor of the rest of the house, which could only be described as baby dump. It was like a parenting magazine threw up in every room. Except mine. Never mine. I barred anything baby from being in my room except the actual baby.

Several Sippy cups sat on the dresser and toys dotted every available horizontal surface, and some vertical ones too. They were everywhere. Just everywhere. Unbelievable places I wasn’t even sure Hanna could get at. A pink-tongued snake half slithered its way from behind the dresser mirror. Hanna was too small to put that there, she couldn’t even reach the top of the dresser let alone the dresser mirror.

The cooing noised I’d been making seemed to work. Her lungs stopped expelling bloody murder and turned to soft cries. But her tiny little fists? They still gripped my tank top and wouldn’t let go.

There was a time when I wanted to be just like my sister. Up until she got pregnant, I tried to follow in her high school footsteps. That seemed like eons ago now. Plush snake heads and baby alarm clocks were not my idea of a good time.

 Apparently, the baby in my hands never got the message. When Alicia started working nights, I was the only one who could calm Hanna down. I basically took over all Mommy functions when my sister wasn’t around, which was at opposites with still trying to have a normal life and bringing my grades up.

Good grades and a decent SAT score were essential to me getting into college. Unfortunately, my pre-niece self had been more interested in boys and parties and best friends than thinking about college. I needed good grades so I could get out of here. This lack of sleep thing wasn’t helping, though.

I lifted Hanna from my shoulder to stare at her. Her eyelashes were wet and spiky. They fluttered and then, bam, she was out again.

Just call me the baby whisperer.

I laid her down, zombie-walked back to my room, and threw myself in bed again. A half hour later, Alicia came home. Her car thrummed in the driveway, her key clicked in the lock, and her exhausted feet stomped to her now-cohabitated bedroom. With her arrival, a heavy, acrid, black cloud fell over our house.

I was a miniscule white dot in a sea of dark, and, not for the first time, wished my sister would take her poor decisions and wasted dreams and leave.

Erin Butler is lucky enough to have two jobs she truly loves. As a librarian, she gets to work with books all day long, and as an author, Erin uses her active imagination to write the kinds of books she enjoys reading. Young Adult and New Adult books are her favorites, but she especially loves the ones with kissing scenes.

Erin lives in Central New York with her very understanding husband, a stepson, and doggie BFF, Maxie. She prefers to spend her time indoors reading and writing, but will venture out for chocolate and sunshine. She is the author of BLOOD HEX, a YA paranormal, HOW WE LIVED, a contemporary New Adult novel, and FINDING MR. DARCY: HIGH SCHOOL EDITION, a contemporary YA.

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Cover Reveal + Giveaway: Life After Falling by Alyssa Rose Ivy

We are head over heels for the Cover of Alyssa Rose Ivy's LIFE AFTER FALLING! LIFE AFTER FALLING is a Contemporary Romance set to be released on October 15, 2015!

Life After Falling

by Alyssa Rose Ivy

Release Date: October 15th 2015

Cover designed by Najla Qamber Designs

Synopsis:

One tangled cassette tape. Two tangled lives. 

Cassidy snaps. She quits her job and fiancé all in the same day and ends up on her parents’ doorstep. In the midst of everything she is determined to fix a broken cassette tape that she thinks holds the key to rediscovering happiness.

On her quest to fix the tape she meets Leo, a guy as down on his luck as she is lost. What starts with curiosity leads to something resembling a relationship and maybe a chance at love.

Alyssa Rose Ivy is a New Adult and Young Adult author who loves to weave stories with romance and a southern setting. Although raised in the New York area, she fell in love with the South after moving to New Orleans for college. After years as a perpetual student, she turned back to her creative side and decided to write. She lives in North Carolina with her husband and two young children, and she can usually be found with a cup of coffee in her hand.

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Book Blitz + Giveaway: How to be a Mermaid (Falling in Deep Collection) by Erin Hayes

How to be a Mermaid (Falling in Deep Collection)
by Erin Hayes
Release Date: July 7th 2015

Synopsis:

All Tara ever wanted was to be a mermaid. 

So she takes a year off between high school and college to don a fake tail and tour aquariums across the country in a professional mermaid troupe.

Everything's great until she meets a gorgeous real-life merman named Finn. Suddenly, what she thought was a dream turns out to be a nightmare -- she's turning into a mermaid herself. For real.

Yet when she returns to the sea to seek out Finn and reverse her transformation, she finds herself in the middle of an impending war between the land and sea. Tara may have always wanted to be a mermaid, but now it's sink or swim. In order to survive, she has to learn how to be one, too.

***

Summer 2015, award-winning, and best-selling authors will bring you romantic tales of mermaids, sirens, sprites, and other creatures of the deep! Keep in touch as we reveal each title in our collection!

What is your favorite mermaid story or myth?

I’ve always loved Disney’s The Little Mermaid, but when I read the original Hans Christian Andersen tale, I fell in love with it. It’s a dark, sad tale that still gives me chills. If you haven’t read it, you should pick it up and read it! You’ll never watch the animated movie the same way ever again.

What was the inspiration for How to be a Mermaid?

I stumbled upon the Weeki Wachee mermaids, a professional mermaid troupe based out of Florida. I wondered what would happen if one of those mermaids ever met a real-life merman and the story flourished from there.

Cast your characters. If How to be a Mermaid was made into a movie, who would play your main characters?

Tara: Katie McGrath is a bit older than Tara in the book, but I think she’d be perfect. I’ve seen her in comedy and I’ve seen her act, and she looks the part too! She’s been in a few things, but I imagine we’re going to see a lot more of Katie McGrath in upcoming movies.

Finn: Liam Hemsworth. Sighs. Imagine him with a mer tail and that’s him!

What was most challenging thing writing about mermaids? 

The most challenging part, actually, was trying to get a behind-the-scenes perspective of professional mermaids. I went to the Georgia Aquarium to see the Weeki Wachee mermaids in action and did a backstage tour to see how the aquarium worked. After that, I was able to incorporate what I saw into the story. 

Ursula or Ariel? 

Ursula. Sea witches always have more fun. 

What else should we know about How to be a Mermaid? 

Pay attention to the character Jordyn – her character is getting her own story coming up!

by Erin Hayes

Below is a list of songs that I listened to while writing How to be a Mermaid. Each of these songs helped to get me into the right mindset in order to pretend that I was a mermaid! 

1. Go – Grimes featuring Blood Diamonds

2. Can’t Hold Us – Macklemore & Ryan Lewis

3. Never Let Me Go – Florence and the Machine

4. What the Water Gave Me – Florence and the Machine

5. Start a Riot – Jetta

6. Believe – Mumford and Sons

7. I Will Wait – Mumford and Sons

8. Dirty Paws – Of Monsters and Men

9. Anything Could Happen – Ellie Goulding

10. Part of Your World – Jodi Benson from The Little Mermaid ß No mermaid soundtrack would be complete without that song!

Sci-fi junkie, video game nerd, and wannabe manga artist Erin Hayes writes a lot of things. Sometimes she writes books, like the fantasy mystery novel Death is but a Dream, the sci-fi middle grade book Jacob Smith is Incredibly Average, and the Her Wolf paranormal series.

She works as an advertising copywriter during the day, and she moonlights as an author. She has lived in New Zealand, Texas, and now in Birmingham, Alabama with her husband, cat, and a growing collection of geek paraphernalia.

You can reach her at erinhayesbooks@gmail.com and she'll be happy to chat. Especially if you want to debate Star Wars.

Blitz-wide giveaway (INTL):

A mermaid care package to help you be the best mermaid:
A signed copy of How to be a Mermaid
Tara's necklace
Two Mermaid Mix soaks
A mermaid mirror compact
Six starfish hairpins
A mermaid wallet
Mermaid perfume
Mermaid Tail Nail Polish
A mermaid makeup bag
Four Little Mermaid Buttons
And one mermaid handbag to carry all your dinglehoppers

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