Blog Tour: Sound (Salvage #2) by Alexandra Duncan

Sound (Salvage #2)
by Alexandra Duncan
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Release Date: September 22nd 2015

Synopsis:

SOUND is the stand-alone companion to Alexandra Duncan’s acclaimed novel Salvage, a debut that internationally bestselling author Stephanie Perkins called “kick-ass, brilliant, feminist science fiction.” For fans of Beth Revis, Firefly, and Battlestar Galactica.

As a child, Ava’s adopted sister Miyole watched her mother take to the stars, piloting her own ship from Earth to space making deliveries. Now a teen herself, Miyole is finally living her dream as a research assistant on her very first space voyage. If she plays her cards right, she could even be given permission to conduct her own research and experiments in her own habitat lab on the flight home. But when her ship saves a rover that has been viciously attacked by looters and kidnappers, Miyole—along with a rescued rover girl named Cassia—embarks on a mission to rescue Cassia’s abducted brother, and that changes the course of Miyole’s life forever.

by Alexandra Duncan

I tend to listen to music when I’m editing, rather than when I’m writing, especially if it’s music with lyrics. I like lyrics, and I end up listening really hard to figure out what they are, rather than writing my own words. Sometimes, though, I’ll have Spotify or Pandora on, or I’ll be listening to the radio in the car, and a song will perfectly resonate with the book I’m writing. When that happens, I make a note of it so that I can listen to it obsessively later. That is what you’ll see below - songs I’ve listened to over and over again while editing, and that I hope you’ll like as much as I do. Here is a link to the playlist on Spotify, as well. 

1) “She Keeps Me Warm,” by Mary Lambert

Do you ever run across one of those songs that’s so beautiful, it makes you cry? This was one of those for me. It’s all about the first blush of falling in love, which is what is happening with Miyole and Cassia in Sound. The music video for this song, particularly the part where the new lovers inch their hands toward each other in the back seat of the taxi, inspired a lot of the sweetness and hesitancy at the beginning of Miyole and Cassia’s relationship.

2) “Neon Gumbo,” by Janelle Monáe

I love Janelle Monáe’s trilogy of Android albums. I play them on repeat all the time in my car. Most of her songs have a very strong narrative element already attached to them, but “Neon Gumbo” doesn’t. Instead, it has this evocative, pulsing, electronic sound that makes me think of radio waves traveling across space.

3) “Sorrow,” by Suffrajett

This playlist needs a few harder rock songs, and this one perfectly captures Miyole’s anger and grief about her mother’s death. Also, it is criminal that Suffrajett doesn’t have more of a following, so now you know about them.

4) “Arms,” by Christina Perri

Sometimes you fall for a song because of a single line. The line in this song, “I hope that you see right through my walls,” was one of those for me. Miyole has a lot of walls up around her. She’s been hurt before and is afraid to get attached to people, but through the course of the book, she reaches out, forms friendships, and falls in love.

5) “Je Pense A Toi," by the Duhks

There are a few quiet moments in Sound, and I feel like this song fits those times. I was driving home from work, when it came on the radio, and I fell in love with it. The band is French Canadian, and while the people of Miyole’s native Haiti speak a separate Haitian creole, there is a heavy French influence on the language. That kind of tangential connection can still be really inspiring when you’re writing or editing.

6) “Little Song Bird,” by Black Prairie

I wanted to include a creepy, solitary song on this list that would bring up the feeling of the abandoned space station Miyole and her friends come across in the middle of their journey. Black Prairie has creepy and solitary down.

7) “Black Rose,” by Eliza Rickman

The slow, driving beat running underneath this song, along with the simple, eerie tinkling make me think of what space travel would be like, especially in an old ship that might fall apart at any moment - beautiful, but unnerving.

8) “Cold War,” by Janelle Monáe

I had to put Janelle Monáe on here twice. Her songs have so many layers of meaning. In Sound, there are recurring themes about holding onto hope and resilience in the face of insurmountable odds and an uncaring world. “Cold War” resonates with those themes. 

9) “Cosmic Love,” by Florence + the Machine

What would a soundtrack be without an epic, tragic love song?

10) “I Will Follow You Into the Dark,” by Death Cab for Cutie

And now for a quiet coda about devotion. No spoilers!

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Alexandra Duncan is a writer and librarian. Her first novel, Salvage, was published April 1, 2014, by Greenwillow Books. Her short fiction has appeared in several Year's Best Science Fiction & Fantasy anthologies and The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. She loves anything that gets her hands dirty – pie-baking, leatherworking, gardening, drawing, and rolling sushi. She lives with her husband and two monstrous, furry cats in the mountains of Western North Carolina. 

You can visit her online at http://alexandra-duncan.com/.

1 winner will receive a signed hardback of SOUND, a signed paperback of SALVAGE, and thiselectronic butterfly in a jar (US Only)

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Blog Tour: The Sound of Us (Radio Hearts #1) by Ashley Poston

The Sound of Us (Radio Hearts #1)
by Ashley Poston
Publisher: Bloomsbury Spark
Release Date: December 19th 2013

Synopsis:

America's favorite pop band, Roman Holiday, is done, dead, and so totally last year. For eighteen-year-old rockoholic Junie Baltimore, this is music to her ears. But when she discovers their sexy ex-lead singer hiding out on the boardwalk, her summer vacation becomes the cover story of the year.

She's willing to keep him a secret, but when a sleazy paparazzo offers her the cash she needs to save the bar her father left behind, could she sell out for the chance to save her future? Who is she kidding? That's a no-brainer...but she never planned on falling head over heels for the lead singer.

by Ashley Poston

What would you find in Roman & Junie’s iPod, bookshelf, and wardrobe? I think I had WAY too much fun with this post…

While she’ll probably tell you she’d rather listen to vinyl than an iPod, she still has one tucked away in her purse for a quick fix. Her iPod is full of classic rock, and a little acoustic. She has entire discographies of Bruce Springsteen and Bon Jovi. She’ll listen to The Eagle’s Hotel California on repeat while mopping the floors at the bar, or hum Def Leopard’s “Pour Some Sugar On Me” while driving home. Her iPod is a Jukebox from the 80s, and plays nothing but the sweet soul-tearing music that is rock and roll.

On the other hand, Roman is a little more lenient with his music. While he definitely has some Bruce Springsteen on there, he also has the Avett Brothers, Matt Nathanson, The Killers, The Rolling Stones, The Format, a little Van Morrison, and a lot of Daft Punk. And maybe just a smidge of Taylor Swift, because despite what everyone thinks he believes she’s a pretty decent songwriter (and he’s secretly waiting for a song about him).

You would find the odd assortment of biographies of rock legends, and most every copy of Rolling Stone since she started collecting them when she was ten. There are a few high school textbooks lying around simply because she forgot to turn them in at the end of the semester, and somewhere on the bottom shelf are hardback copies of Harry Potter. The last one is water-stained because she threw it in her then-boyfriend’s pool when Hedwig died.

His bookshelf is a complete wreck. First off, it’s completely overflowing with sheet music. There is a worn copy of George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire sitting beside the Wheel of Time series. He collects fantasy and science fiction books like other people collect ticket stubs. Most of them he bought at discount stores (he doesn’t believe in purchasing books at full-price), and he has a copy of Twilight he uses as a paperweight.

Instead of describing their wardrobe, here’s the sort of stuff you’d find! :)

Thank you so much, Ashley, for the amazing guest post. I had a lot of fun and hope your readers would like it as well. 

Thank you so much for letting me overtake your blog!

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Having graduated from the University of South Carolina, Ashley Poston interned at Random House Publishers under Kodansha USA, where she edited the Sailor Moon manga and that was really, really, really cool. She wrote a play that won some award, and can quote every Motion City Soundtrack lyric by heart. She currently lives in South Carolina with her cat (aka her soul mate) and a plethora of books. When she's not writing, she's going to the movies (her second favorite past time) or taking extravagant road trips (her third favorite past time).

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