Interview with Tracy Wolff for Crave

Crave

by Tracy Wolff

Publisher: Entangled: Teen

Release Date: April 7th 2020

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal

Synopsis:

My whole world changed when I stepped inside the academy. Nothing is right about this place or the other students in it. Here I am, a mere mortal among gods…or monsters. I still can’t decide which of these warring factions I belong to, if I belong at all. I only know the one thing that unites them is their hatred of me.

Then there’s Jaxon Vega. A vampire with deadly secrets who hasn’t felt anything for a hundred years. But there’s something about him that calls to me, something broken in him that somehow fits with what’s broken in me.

Which could spell death for us all.

Because Jaxon walled himself off for a reason. And now someone wants to wake a sleeping monster, and I’m wondering if I was brought here intentionally—as the bait.

Can you briefly describe CRAVE and its characters?

Crave is a lot of fun! I like to think it has something for everyone—romance, angst, adventure, angst, humor, angst, sarcasm, angst, and a bunch of paranormal creatures all thrown together in a boarding school in Alaska. Oh, and did I mention it’s got a little ebit of angst?

Grace is an every girl kind of heroine. A bunch of bad stuff has happened to her--which is how she lands at this boarding school in Alaska-- but she manages to keep a sense of humor as she works through it all. She’s also pretty kickass, if I do say so myself.

Jaxon is … complicated. His issues have issues, but he has a really good heart. One reviewer called him a giant marshmallow of a vampire and I have to admit, I love that description sooooo much.

Flint is a charmer through and through. He’s fun, sexy, loaded with charisma and he knows how to show a girl a good time. Of course, there’s a lot buried under the surface with him, but you’ve got to dig a little to get there. 

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

This is a hard one for me, because honestly, I love Grace, Jaxon, Flint and Macy all for very different reasons. But if I have to choose one, I’m going to go with Grace (even though Jaxon is a super close second). But there’s a lot of me in this book, and a lot of me in Grace specifically, so I’m going to pick her. But if you ask me tomorrow, I’ll probably say Jaxon because he makes me swoon …

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

Honestly, I’ve always loved vampires. Dracula, The Lost Boys, The Black Dagger Brotherhood, The Carpathians, The Farm, Boys that Bite, Twilight, Morganville … I’m here for them all! I never thought I’d write a vampire series, though, because I didn’t want to write one unless I had an original take on vampires. But when Jaxon’s world came to me (much of which will be revealed in books two and three of the series), I knew I wanted to write it. Once I had him and Grace and Flint fleshed out, the story just kind of poured out of me :)

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

Gods and Monsters by Lana del Rey. It was running through my head a lot as I wrote Crave.

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

Ooooh! I am actually really horrible at dream casting, but I’ll give it a shot, just for you J

Grace: Joey King

Jaxon: Douglas Booth

Flint: Shameik Moore

Macy: Chloe Grace Moretz

Lia: Kiko Mizuhara

What drink and place do you think will go with your book to have a perfect book date?

Umm, blood. Obviously ;) But if you’re not an actual vampire, I suggest you grab a cold Dr. Pepper (it’s Grace’s favorite) and curl up in a super comfy arm chair because it’s a really looong book.

Can you recommend your readers any other books in case they are left hungry for more once they finish CRAVE?

If they’re looking for vampires, I’m going to go a little old school and recommend a couple of my faves. Emily McKay has an amazing vampire trilogy called The Farm that I absolutely love. And Rachel Caine’s Morganville Vampires is my favorite vampire series ever. 

If they’re looking for something different, Sherry Thomas’s The Magnolia Sword (a retelling of the Mulan story) is out now and absolutely amazing. And We Walked the Sky by Lisa Fielder is a beautiful book.

What would you say is the most difficult part of writing a book?

The American short storyist, Dorothy Parker, says writing is the art of applying the ass to the seat. And I have to say, she’s right. For me, the hardest part of writing is making myself sit down at the computer when I know I have to write a difficult scene. Not difficult like I can’t write it, but difficult emotionally, like I know I’m going to have to open up a vein and bleed all over the page (metaphorically speaking, of course). Some scenes mean touching on my own pain so the characters’ emotions feel real and resonate with the reader. Some days that’s okay and other days that’s really, really hard.

What’s next for you?

More Crave, actually. I’m currently working on Crush, the second book in the Crave series, and I’m so excited to be back in Grace and Jaxon’s world.

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Tracy Wolff wrote her first short story—something with a rainbow and a prince—in second grade, around the same time she forayed into the wonderful world of girls lit with her first Judy Blume novel. By ten she’d read everything in the young adult and classics sections of her local bookstore, so in desperation her mom started her on romance novels. And from the first page of the first book, Tracy knew she’d found her life-long love. A one-time English professor with over fifty novels to her name, she now devotes most of her time to writing romance and dreaming up heroes. She lives in Austin, Texas, with her family.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Interview with Courtney Alameda & Valynne E. Maetani for Seven Deadly Shadows

Seven Deadly Shadows

by Courtney Alameda & Valynne E. Maetani
Publisher: HarperCollins
Release Date: January 28th 2020

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal

Synopsis:

Kira Fujikawa has always been a girl on the fringe. Bullied by her peers and ignored by her parents, the only place Kira’s ever felt at home is at her grandfather’s Shinto shrine, where she trains to be a priestess.

But Kira’s life is shattered on the night her family’s shrine is attacked by a vicious band of yokai demons. With the help of Shiro—the shrine’s gorgeous half-fox, half-boy kitsune—Kira discovers that her shrine harbors an ancient artifact of great power . . . one the yokai and their demon lord, Shuten-doji, will use to bring down an everlasting darkness upon the world.

Unable to face the Shuten-doji and his minions on her own, Kira enlists the aid of seven ruthless shinigami—or death gods—to help stop the brutal destruction of humankind. But some of the death gods aren’t everything they initially seemed, nor as loyal to Kira’s cause as they first appeared.

With war drawing nearer by the day, Kira realizes that if this unlikely band of heroes is going to survive, they’re going to have to learn to work together, confront their demons, and rise as one to face an army of unimaginable evil.

Can you briefly describe SEVEN DEADLY SHADOWS and its characters?

COURTNEY: SEVEN DEADLY SHADOWS is loosely based on Akira Kurosawa’s immortal film, SEVEN SAMURAI. It’s about a young woman named Kira Fujikawa, who works as a miko, or shrine maiden, at her family’s ancestral Shinto shrine. 

One night, the Fujikawa shrine is attacked by a band of yokai demons, monsters who are searching for an ancient sword that once belonged to the Sun Goddess, Amaterasu. When they are unable to locate the sword, the monsters promise to return during the rise of the next full moon. With her ancestral shrine in shambles and the shadows closing in around her, Kira teams up with the shrine’s kitsune guardian, Shiro, to seek help in Tokyo . . . only to find hope in the unlikeliest of places.

VALYNNE: Seven Deadly Shadows is a retelling of an old, classic film by Akira Kurosawa, Seven Samurai, a movie of which Courtney and I have always been fans. In the original story, a village is being attacked by bandits. The villagers end up hiring seven samurai to help defend their homes. Our saga replaces the bandits with monsters and demons from Japanese folklore. Shinigami, death gods, are used instead of samurai. 

Kira, the protagonist, is a young teenage girl who is subject to all kinds of metaphorical demons before she is forced to face actual monsters. Seven Deadly Shadows depicts a character who must learn how to form relationships in order to navigate a world filled with adolescent issues as well as the fantastical world that surrounds her.

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

COURTNEY: For me, it’s probably Lady O-bei. The scene in which she and Kira meet is one of the best things I’ve written thus far; I remember feeling utterly transported while writing it! 

VALYNNE: My favorite character is Kira’s grandmother. I don’t want to give too much away, but I think you have to have a dark sense of humor to appreciate this character. She is abrasive, not afraid to say exactly what she thinks, and does not possess the kind nature usually associated with grandmothers.

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

COURTNEY: If I recall correctly, it started with a tweet. Valynne and I had been talking about writing a novel together for years; and during a Twitter conversation about SEVEN SAMURAI, someone mentioned yokai and shinigami and it was all downhill from there.

VALYNNE: The idea was Courtney’s. She pitched the story to me, and I immediately fell in love. My inspiration came from many Japanese samurai movies I watched growing up, and then Japanese folktales that were told to me as a child. We both have a love for anime and manga, so those influenced the writing as well.

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

COURTNEY: Hmm, that’s a great question! I’m really into K-pop at the moment, so I’d say that Red Velvet’s PEEK-A-BOO fits the mood, Twice’s BREAKTHROUGH fits the theme, and ONEUS’s VALKYRIE adds a nice dose of epic!

VALYNNE: For me it would be Panic Room by Au/Ra. I think the song and lyrics embody someone plagued by fear and the feeling of being surrounded by demons.

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

COURTNEY: Honestly, I’d like to see SEVEN DEADLY SHADOWS as an animated film; especially since the book drew so heavily on anime and manga like BLEACH and DEATH NOTE.

VALYNNE: For Kira, or any Japanese female character, I always say Kimiko Miyashima because she is like my little sister. I like Haruma Miura as Shiro, Kento Nagayama as Ronin, Ken Watanabe as Shimada, and Rinko Kikuchi as Roji.

Can you tell us a fun/interesting fact from SEVEN DEADLY SHADOWS?

COURTNEY: While I was in Japan researching SEVEN DEADLY SHADOWS, I spotted an enormous black butterfly in the middle of an empty shrine path. It launched itself into the air as I approached, circled a few times, and disappeared into the shrine’s gardens.

I like to think that one of Shimada’s spirits stopped by to say hello! 

VALYNNE: In the first draft, Ronin wasn’t even a character in the book.

What drink and place do you think will go with your book to have a perfect book date?

COURTNEY: Ooh, perhaps matcha tea in a lovely Japanese garden. Or if you aren’t a fan of tea, get a Ramune soda!

VALYNNE: I am a Diet Coke girl. Everything goes with Diet Coke. As for the place, I always like curling up in bed.

Is there anything we need to know before we start reading SEVEN DEADLY SHADOWS?

COURTNEY: The finished novel contains both a Fujikawa Shrine map and a Japanese glossary to help you acclimate yourself to Kira’s world.

VALYNNE: I think sometimes it is hard to understand just how important honor and duty are in the Japanese culture. That alone is reason enough to motivate a character to risk his/her life.

What is it like to be a co-author and what would be the most difficult part of writing a book for you?

COURTNEY: Co-writing a novel in one voice is difficult, but not impossible. In general, I’d first draft the odd-numbered chapters, and Valynne drafted the even ones. I’d revise the even-numbered chapters, and she revised the odd. 

We had a verbal framework for the first draft—we’d meet weekly to discuss where we wanted the novel to go; but by the second draft, we needed a hard outline to make it all work. I’m not a great outliner, but I learned!

VALYNNE: Being a co-author is good because you have two people bringing ideas to the table as opposed to one. It’s also more difficult because you have to make sure the voice of the characters is consistent despite different writing styles.

Can you recommend your readers any other books in case they are left hungry for more once they finish SEVEN DEADLY SHADOWS?

COURTNEY: Go read Kat Cho’s WICKED FOX! It’s set in Korea, rather than Japan, but features a nine-tailed gumiho that needs to consume the energy of men to survive. It’s fantastic! 

What’s next for you?

COURTNEY: I’m currently researching a historical horror set in Paris during the Belle Epoque; developing a YA sci-fi world and mythos for [redacted—sorry, if I told you I’d have to kill you!]; and writing a feminist adult fantasy novel. I’m also working on a new comic. In short, I like to stay busy!

VALYNNE: I am hoping to finish two more companion books for the Ink and Ashes series.

Courtney Alameda

A veteran bookseller and librarian, Courtney Alameda now spends her days writing thriller and horror novels for young people. Her debut novel, SHUTTER, was nominated for a Bram Stoker award and hailed as a "standout in the genre" by School Library Journal. Her forthcoming novel, PITCH DARK (Spring 2017), is a genre-blending science fiction/horror novel in the vein of Ridley Scott's 1979 film ALIEN.

Courtney holds a B.A. in English literature with an emphasis in creative writing. She is represented by the talented John M. Cusick of Folio Literary. A Northern California native, she now resides in Utah with her husband, a legion of books, and a tiny five pound cat with a giant personality.

Valynne E. Maetani

Valynne E. Maetani (pronounced Vuh-lin Mah-eh-tah-nee) grew up in Utah and obtained a Bachelor's degree from the University of Pennsylvania. In a former life, she was a project manager and developed educational software for children with learning disabilities. Currently, she is a full-time writer. She is a member of the We Need Diverse Books team and is dedicated to promoting diversity in children's literature because every child should grow up believing his or her story deserves to be told. Her debut novel, Ink and Ashes, is the winner of the New Visions Award 2013, a Junior Library Guild 2015 selection, and Best Fiction Book in Salt Lake City Weekly’s Best of Utah Arts Award for 2015. She lives in Salt Lake City.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Interview with Kim Chance for Seeker

Seeker (Keeper Duology #2)

by Kim Chance
Publisher: Flux
Release Date: September 10th 2019

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal

Synopsis:

Lainey’s normal, bookworm life no longer exists. With her family murdered by the Master, she joins forces with a group of Supernatural rebels. But as she struggles to cope with her new role as Keeper and the uncontrollable power it gives her, Lainey realizes that magic does indeed leave a mark—but it’s not always physical.

Ty isn’t one of the good guys. He’s done terrible things, and he won’t stop until he gets what he wants. Even if it hurts. Even if it means betraying the girl he loves…again.

For Maggie, all her comic book dreams have come true, and her new life as a Shifter is just beginning. But with war closing in, is it truly a dream or a death sentence?

In the ultimate battle for power, Lainey, Ty, and Maggie must face-off against the Master, and work together to discover the greatest weapon of all.

Seek and you will find.

Can you briefly describe the series, the characters and what’s happening in SEEKER? 

Seeker is actually the sequel to my debut novel, Keeper. [Symbol] Here’s a brief little synopsis of both books: 

KEEPER: When Lainey Styles, an SAT whiz and bookworm, discovers she’s a Keeper—a witch with the exclusive ability to wield a powerful spell book that has been stolen by a malevolent wizard—she is forced to leave her life of college prep and studying behind to prepare for the biggest test of all: stealing back the book. 

SEEKER: With her family murdered by the Master, Lainey Styles must join forces with a group of Supernatural rebels and learn how harness her uncontrollable magic. In the ultimate battle for power, Lainey and her friends must face-off against the Master, and work together to discover the greatest weapon of all. Seek…and you will find. 

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

Oh gosh! That’s like asking me which one of my children I love more! Hmmmm…. Lainey, the main character, is pretty near and dear to my heart, but I think my favorite character would have to be Maggie. Maggie is Lainey’s best friend, and she definitely provides the comic relief. She’s a big comic book nerd, and she’s constantly throwing out Marvel and other nerdy references. She’s also fiercely loyal, and I think she is the true heart of the story! She’s a lot of fun to write! 

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

I knew I wanted to write a story about witches, and I was heavily inspired by a lot of the paranormal shows I watched growing up: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Sabrina the Teenage Witch and Charmed. I was brainstorming one day, and I randomly got a really cool idea. I can’t tell you what it was because a huge spoiler for the end of the first book, but after that, I just kept asking myself “what if” questions and crafting characters and the world around that idea. I like to think both Keeper and Seeker give a nice little nod to my inspirations! I can pretty much draw inspiration from anywhere, but those shows were a huge influence over me growing up and also greatly influenced my story. 

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

That’s a toughie! I’m heavily inspired by music, so there’s so many I could name. If I have to pick just one though, I’d say the song that sums up both Keeper and Seeker is “Do or Die” by Thirty Seconds to Mars. 

Between KEEPER and SEEKER, which book would you say was the hardest to write about and why? 

Both books were challenging, but Seeker was hands down the hardest to write. I think my deadline was a big factor, but I also struggled with imposter syndrome and self-doubt quite a bit. I wrote Keeper in a bubble over a ten year period. With Seeker, however, I had a six month deadline to write and polish the entire thing. Plus, I felt like there was a lot of pressure on me and a whole bunch of expectations. I let those things mess with my head and my creative process. Once I got past that, I was able to create a book I’m super proud of, but the drafting process was incredibly draining. 

I think sophomore novels are always harder to write and sequels even more so—or at least that’s been my experience so far! 

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

First of all, if my books were ever made into movies, I think I would die of happiness! That would be so amazing! 

I actually put together two videos where I share my ideal dream cast for both books. You can check them out here:

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

Such a fun question! I think a nice mug of hot spiced apple cider with a cinnamon stick would be perfect! And as for the perfect place, I’d say anywhere where you can cozy up with a nice snuggly blanket! 

Can you recommend your readers any other books in case they are left hungry for more once they finish SEEKER? 

Oooh yes! I love giving book recs! If you’re looking for something in the same vein as Keeper and Seeker, I recommend Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins, Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr, Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick, and Wings by Aprilynne Pike. These are all oldies, but definitely goodies! 

What’s next for you? 

Hopefully more books! I’m going to take a little time off to re-charge my batteries and spend some much needed quality time with my family, but then I’m going to dive back into writing! I guess we’ll see what happens!

Kim Chance is an English teacher from Alabama, currently residing in Michigan with her husband and three children. When not writing, Kim enjoys spending time with her family and two crazy dogs, binge-watching Netflix, fangirling over books, and making death-by-cheese casseroles. Keeper is her first young adult novel. Kim is also a YouTuber who loves connecting with other writers. She posts videos at www.youtube.com/kimchance1 and is the creator of the #Chance2Connect chat on Twitter.

a Rafflecopter giveaway