Interview with Sara B. Larson for Sisters of Shadow and Light

Sisters of Shadow and Light (Sisters of Shadow and Light #1)

by Sara B. Larson
Publisher: Tor Teen
Release Date: November 5th 2019

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy

Synopsis:

From the acclaimed author of DEFY, Sara B. Larson, SISTERS OF SHADOW AND LIGHT is a timeless and fantastical tale of sisterly love and powerful magic

"The night my sister was born, the stars died and were reborn in her eyes…".

Zuhra and Inara have grown up in the Citadel of the Paladins, an abandoned fortress where legendary, magical warriors once lived before disappearing from the world―including their Paladin father the night Inara was born.

On that same night, a massive, magical hedge grew and imprisoned them within the citadel. Inara inherited their father’s Paladin power; her eyes glow blue and she is able to make plants grow at unbelievable rates, but she has been trapped in her own mind because of a “roar” that drowns everything else out―leaving Zuhra virtually alone with their emotionally broken human mother.

For fifteen years they have lived, trapped in the citadel, with little contact from the outside world…until the day a stranger passes through the hedge, and everything changes.

Can you briefly describe SISTERS OF SHADOW AND LIGHT and its characters?

SOSAL is the story of two sisters, Zuhra and Inara, who grow up trapped behind a sentient, magical hedge. They live in an abandoned citadel with their mother, who is emotionally broken from their father’s disappearance the night Inara was born—the same night the hedge grew, trapping them there. The citadel was once inhabited by the Paladin, a race of magical beings—the same magic that Inara inherited from their father, the last Paladin in their world. Without anyone to teach her how to harness and control her power, she ends up trapped in her own mind. They have little hope of escape…until the day the hedge lets a stranger through for the first time, and everything changes. 

Zuhra, the older sister, is fiercely loyal and protective of Inara. She’s loving and strong-willed, but stifled by their entrapment and her mother’s rules—which include refusing to let her investigate any rooms the Paladin once used, beyond the few ones they inhabit. Inara is gentle and kind, but can rarely communicate because of the power that creates a roar in her mind, trapping her even more fully than the hedge. There are some other amazing characters in this book, but I don’t want to spoil anything! 

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

The sisters are definitely my first favorites…I love both Zuhra and Inara so much. I am the oldest of five girls, so I can definitely relate to Zuhra and her desire to protect Inara and her deep love for her sister. But I do have a few other favorites, too…I just can’t say much because I don’t want to spoil anything! 

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

It started with Inara and Zuhra first. I saw a picture of a girl with glowing blue eyes and it ignited this little idea I’d had sparking inside for a while. Then I saw an image of a citadel on a cliff with a waterfall that ran out from underneath it, and I thought—what if a huge hedge grew around that—trapping a family there? And from there, the rest of it blossomed into the story you now have!

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

Oof, that’s a hard question! I’m not sure it describes it necessarily, but one song I listened to on repeat for certain scenes was Breathe by Fleurie. 

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

I have such a hard time with this honestly…but I think Mackenzie Foy would be a lovely Inara (with glowing blue contacts, of course), or the model Bogdana from Russia reminds me so much of her from the pictures I saw on pinterest…as for Zuhra, I think Marie Avgeropoulos would do a great job! 

Fall is here, and we love to find a cosy place to read our favourite books. What drink and place do you think will go with your book to have a perfect book date?

I love hot chocolate on a brisk fall day (or night, or morning), and I have to say curling up in a cozy blanket by a fire is my perfect place to read a book when it’s cold out! 

Can you recommend your readers any other books in case they are left hungry for more once they finish SISTERS OF SHADOW AND LIGHT?

There are so many great books out there, it’s incredibly hard to narrow them down to a few recommendations. Some of my favorite recent reads have been the CARAVAL series, BONE CRIER’S MOON (comes out in March), and THE MUSE OF NIGHTMARES. Also, if they haven’t read my two other series, they could always go back and read those while they wait—the DEFY trilogy, and the DARK BREAKS THE DAWN duology.

What’s next for you?

I’m working on the sequel to SOSAL, and a few other secret projects!

Sara B. Larson is the best-selling and critically acclaimed author of the YA fantasy DEFY trilogy (DEFY, IGNITE, and ENDURE) and the DARK BREAKS THE DAWN duology. Her next YA fantasy, SISTERS OF SHADOW AND LIGHT, comes out November 5th from Tor Teen. She can’t remember a time when she didn’t write books—although she now uses a computer instead of a Little Mermaid notebook. Sara lives in Utah with her husband, their four children, and their Maltese, Loki. She writes in brief snippets throughout the day and the quiet hours when most people are sleeping. Her husband claims she should have a degree in “the art of multitasking.” When she’s not mothering or writing, you can often find her at the gym repenting for her sugar addiction.

October 30th

The Unofficial Addiction Book Fan Club - Welcome Post

October 31st

BookCrushin - Tell Your Story in 3 or 5 GIFs

Library of a Book Witch - Review

L.M. Durand - Review

The Clever Reader - Review + Favourite Quotes

Gwendalyn’s Books - Review

November 1st

NovelKnight - Story Behind The Cover

Moonlight Rendezvous - Review + Favourite Quotes

Utopia State of Mind - Review + Favourite Quotes

Write, Read, Repeat - Review

Book Briefs - Review

November 2nd

Bookish Looks - Character Playlist

Here's To Happy Endings - Review

The Boozy Reader - Review

Book Slaying - Review + Favourite Quotes

Becky’s Book Blog - Review

November 3rd

books_andpoetrii - Mood Board/Book Style

Musings of a (Book) Girl - Official Playlist

Shalini's Books & Reviews - Review

Adventures and Reading - Review

Novelishly - Review

November 4th

Kait Plus Books - Top 10 List

Artsy Draft - Review + Favourite Quotes

Novel Nerd Faction - Review + Playlist

Jrsbookreviews - Review

Fictitiouswonderland - Review

November 5th

Sereadipity - Video Interview

A Court of Coffee and Books - Review + Favourite Quotes

Sometimes Leelynn Reads - Review + Dream Cast

Wishful Endings - Review

Story-eyed Reviews - Review

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Interview with L. Penelope for Whispers of Shadow & Flame

Whispers of Shadow & Flame (Earthsinger Chronicles #2)

by L. Penelope

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Release Date: October 1st 2019

Genre: Fantasy, Romance

Synopsis:

The Mantle that separates the kingdoms of Elsira and Lagrimar is about to fall. And life will drastically change for both kingdoms. 

Born with a deadly magic she cannot control, Kyara is forced to become an assassin. Known as the Poison Flame in the kingdom of Lagrimar, she is notorious and lethal, but secretly seeks freedom from both her untamed power and the blood spell that commands her. She is tasked with capturing the legendary rebel called the Shadowfox, but everything changes when she learns her target’s true identity.

Darvyn ol-Tahlyro may be the most powerful Earthsinger in generations, but guilt over those he couldn’t save tortures him daily. He isn’t sure he can trust the mysterious young woman who claims to need his help, but when he discovers Kyara can unlock the secrets of his past, he can’t stay away.

Kyara and Darvyn grapple with betrayal, old promises, and older prophecies—all while trying to stop a war. And when a new threat emerges, they must beat the odds to save both kingdoms.

Can you briefly describe the EARTHSINGER CHRONICLES and its characters and what’s going to happen in this second instalment, WHISPERS OF SHADOW AND FLAME?

In the Earthsinger Chronicles, two countries have been at war for five hundred years. One country’s people have magic, the others don’t, and the two sides struggle to end the long war and overcome centuries of hatred. Whispers of Shadow & Flame is a parallel story to the first book in the series, Song of Blood & Stone. They take place at the same time in different countries, and in Whispers, we follow an assassin who’s been sent to capture a notorious rebel. 

Kyara wields a very rare type of magic called Nethersong, which allows her to control the energy of death. As a child, she was forced to become an assassin and use her dangerous power for the benefit of the tyrant king called the True Father. Now, Kyara is known as the Poison Flame, famous and feared for her deadliness. 

She’s sent to capture the Shadowfox, a powerful Earthsinger whose power threatens the True Father. But both hunter and prey hold secrets, and when Kyara discovers the Shadowfox’s true identity, she realizes she can’t harm him. 

It’s a magic filled, adventurous, love story with consequences that will ripple through this world, leaving no one untouched. 

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

While I’m not sure I have a favorite character, Kyara, the Poison Flame, is very near to my heart. She struggles with the things she is forced to do; she never wanted to become an assassin and the guilt eats away at her. She’s afraid of herself and her power and is searching for an out. Writing her experiences and backstory were really emotional for me. To a certain extent, all of my main characters are struggling with their identities and places in the world, and none more than Kyara who’s been forced to kill and doesn’t believe she’s good for much else. Her entire story arc in this book and the books to come probably hits me the hardest and touches me the most.

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

This story was inspired by a character who is only talked about, but not seen until the epilogue of the first book in the series. Though he’s barely on the page in Song of Blood & Stone, Darvyn—the Shadowfox—has a large impact on the story and on the future of the series. After I finished Song, I began loosely plotting the rest of the series and knew that Darvyn needed to have his story told. 

Another big inspiration came from an unusual place. I’m a fan of the Writing Excuses podcast, which is a fantasy and science fiction focused show on writing. On one episode about worldbuilding, they talked about how if you wrote about a city in the desert, you’d better have a good reason for it being there. I think it may even have been a “homework” assignment of the episode. The reason being that all too often writers include wild fantastical settings that make no sense. How does a city in the desert support itself? Where does the water come from? The food? 

I took that challenge to heart. I already knew that the land of Lagrimar is a desert wasteland, but it does have at least one large city. I wanted to explore different parts of the world in this book than were shown in the previous one, and so I created a couple of impossible places created and sustained with magic and made sure my characters went to visit them.

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

I discovered the song “Bad Dreams” by Faouzia a few months ago and the whole vibe and sound immediately made me think of Kyara. Her voice is amazing and there’s so much emotion in that song that just puts me back into the desert with my characters battling their demons. 

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

Although Kyara doesn’t need a samurai sword to kick ass, I think that Shaina West, a.k.a. The Samurider would be perfect for her. Check out her sword wielding badassery on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/B1oR5n4FQ9H

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A post shared by Samurider (@thesamurider) on Sep 1, 2019 at 11:44am PDT

As for Darvyn, this may be a little bit of nepotism, but I think my brother, Paul James would be perfect. He’s a professional actor who’s starred on TV shows such as Greek, The Last Ship, and The Path among others and he was actually on the cover of Whispers when it was originally self-published (you can see this version of the cover on Goodreads). 

Can you recommend your readers any other books in case they are left hungry for more once they finish WHISPERS OF SHADOW AND FLAME?

If you’re looking for more of my writing, I have a contemporary paranormal series that starts with Angelborn about a half-angel searching for his soulmate on earth.

If you’re in the mood for more female assassins, Robin LaFevers’ His Fair Assassin series is wonderful. And The Wolf Queen by Cerece Rennie Murphy is a terrific epic fantasy set in a unique and multicultural world.

What’s next for you?

I’m currently hard at work on the fourth full-length book in the Earthsinger Chronicles, and the third novella in the series. There are novellas between each full-length release and they’ve been a ton of fun to write. After that’s all done, I’ll be looking forward to my next fantasy series which features dragons!

Leslye Penelope has been writing since she could hold a pen and loves getting lost in the worlds in her head. She is an award-winning author of fantasy and paranormal romance. 

She was born in the Bronx, just after the birth of hip hop, but left before she could acquire an accent. Equally left and right-brained, she studied Film at Howard University and minored in Computer Science. This led to a graduate degree in Multimedia and a career in website development. She's also an award-winning independent filmmaker, co-founded a literary magazine, and sometimes dreams in HTML. 

Leslye lives in Maryland with her husband and their furry dependents. Sign up for new release information and giveaways on her website: http://www.lpenelope.com.

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Interview with Coco ma for Shadow Frost

Shadow Frost

by Coco Ma
Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
Release Date: October 1st 2019

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy

Synopsis:

IN THE KINGDOM OF AXARIA, a darkness rises.

Some call it a monster, laying waste to the villagers and their homes. 

Some say it is an invulnerable demon summoned from the deepest abysses of the Immortal Realm. 

Many soldiers from the royal guard are sent out to hunt it down.

Not one has ever returned. 

When Asterin Faelenhart, Princess of Axaria and heir to the throne, discovers that she may hold the key to defeating the mysterious demon terrorizing her kingdom, she vows not to rest until the beast is slain. With the help of her friends and the powers she wields — though has yet to fully understand — Asterin sets out to complete a single task. The task that countless, trained soldiers have failed. 

To kill it. 

But as they hunt for the demon, they unearth a plot to assassinate the Princess herself instead. Asterin and her companions begin to wonder how much of their lives have been lies, especially when they realize that the center of the web of deceit might very well be themselves. With no one else to turn to, they are forced to decide just how much they are willing to sacrifice to protect the only world they have ever known. 

That is, of course… if the demon doesn’t get to them first.

From young author Coco Ma comes a dazzling new tale of adventure, power, and betrayal, weaving together a stunning world of magic with a killer cast in an explosive, unforgettable debut.

Can you briefly describe SHADOW FROST and its characters? 

One task: killing a demon that cannot die. Nine magical powers based on the elements. Seven people willing to sacrifice anything to save the world as they know it. Some of them are secretly royals, but you’ll have to read the book to find out who!

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

I keep changing my favourite character every time I get asked this question, so my default answer from now on is going to be Lux. He’s a very temperamental horse with a mind of his own and I will always adore him.

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

I’ve always been enamored with fairy tales and fairy tale retellings, so I definitely think Shadow Frost (and subsequent books) are an homage to that love. The sequel is inspired by quite a few myths and tales, but Shadow Frost itself definitely gravitates to one in particular, with a few subtle nods here and there to other stories.

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

Wow, that’s such a hard question! I literally spent the last ten minutes scrolling through my Spotify playlists and couldn’t find a good answer. So I’m just going to go with bad guy, or all the good girls go to hell, or basically any other Billie Eilish song because I love her. WAIT, NO. GO THE DISTANCE FROM THE DISNEY HERCULES SOUNDTRACK. YES.

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? 

As a general aesthetic, spiced apple cider, afternoon walks in the forest once the leaves start falling so you can crush them under your feet, and warm fuzzy sweaters! ʕ □□□ ʔ *:･ﾟ✧

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

The first three books I’m going to be reading after I finish revising the sequel are Serpent & Dove, Gideon the Ninth, and The Priory of the Orange Tree! Not to sound like I don’t enjoy revising, but I cannot wait to read something that I did not write myself!!!

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

Reworking plot points that you did not plan out properly or forgot existed, haha.

What’s next for you? 

Sequel to Shadow Frost! Make sure to read all the way to the end of the book to catch a sneak peek! ;) I’m also heading to YALLFest in November, which I’m crazy excited about!

Coco Ma is a Canadian-Chinese author and pianist. She wrote her first novel, Shadow Frost, at the age of 15. Since she began playing the piano at the age of five and a half, she has also performed on some of the world's greatest concert stages and graduated with a pre-college diploma in piano performance from The Juilliard School in New York City. Currently, she studies at Yale University. When she isn't practicing piano, writing, or studying, you might find her bingeing Netflix or eating cake. Lots of cake.

Follow Coco on Twitter @shadowfrost2019 and Instagram @CakeForCoco or visit her website at Coco-Ma.com!

Blackstone Publishing is giving away to the first 150 entrants (1) signed bookplate, (1) Shadow Frost bookmark, (1) Shadow Frost button, and (1) Blackstone Publishing tote bag.

All you need to do is, pre-order Shadow Frost (links above) and fill out the form (click on this link).

Shadow Frost pre-order prize pack, sponsored by Blackstone Publishing, will open September 12th, 6 AM PST and close on October 1st 11:59 PM PST. The first 150 entrants will be selected and notified by email by October 22nd, 2019.

US and Canada residents only. Must be 13 years of age or older to enter. By entering the pre-order prize pack, you agree to sign up for the Blackstone Publishing Newsletter.

For more information go to Blackstone Publishing (https://www.blackstonepublishing.com/shadowfrost).

The giveaway will start on October 1st!

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