FFBC: Welcome to the club, A Matter of Heart by Amy Fellner Dominy

A Matter of Heart
by Amy Fellner Dominy
Publisher: Delacorte
Release Date: May 2015
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Sports

Synopsis:

Readers will happily sink into this emotionally grounded, contemporary young adult novel about the sudden end of one girl's Olympic swimming dreams and the struggles she endures before realizing there are many things that define who we are.

Sixteen-year-old Abby Lipman is on track to win the state swim championships and qualify for the Olympic trials when a fainting incident at a swim meet leads to the diagnosis of a deadly heart condition. Now Abby is forced to discover who she is without the one thing that's defined her entire life.

It’s a toss up between Lord of the Rings, Pride & Prejudice, and Watership Down.

The Walking Dead

The Princess Bride 

This week it’s Take Your Time by Sam Hunt

Does red wine count? :) Salt and vinegar chips are high on the list along with fresh-baked rosemary bread with butter. Yum. 

1. The world of Westeros in Game of Thrones. Though I don’t like the cold, I’d head for The Wall. Jon Snow needs me. 

2. The world of Graceling because I want to be graced with a secret talent. 

3. Middle earth, because I’ve already spent so much time there in my imagination. 

Jamie Fraser from Outlander. 

“If you want to succeed, double your failure rate.” Thomas J. Watson 

Waving hello to all the Book Addicts. Glad to be here among others who love books as much as I do. Thanks for letting me share your day! :)

A MATTER OF HEART is the story of Abby Lipman, a sixteen-year-old swimmer who is three weeks away from competing in the Olympic trials when she discovers she has a heart condition. If she swims, she could die. 

Abby’s greatest strength is her determination. She’s willing to do whatever it takes to be the best swimmer in the world. 

That focus is also Abby’s greatest weakness. By only seeing one thing she risks losing everything else—including her life. 

This is such a tough question, but here goes: Breathless, Heartbreaking, Hopeful, Romantic, Compelling.

When my kids were teenagers, I got an email from their high school about a heart test for student athletes. I learned that a former football player from their high school, Anthony Bates, had died from a heart disease that often goes undiagnosed. My kids were both athletes so I brought them to the school to be tested. That was the day I met Sharon Bates, Anthony’s mom. I was so struck by her story and by the foundation she’d created to bring heart tests to schools, that I knew I had to write about it. That’s how Abby, and this story, came to life. And that’s why I’m donating a portion of sales to The Anthony Bates Foundation. 

Uh oh. I’m going to have to admit to one of my crazy writing quirks here: I have a fear of reading my books once they come out. I mean, what if I find an error? A typo? A passage I think I could have made better? A new idea, a missed detail…. you get the idea. All of which means I can’t give you a favorite quote. But maybe you can answer this one for me, and email me with any favorite quotes. Then I’ll know how to answer this question in the future! :)

There’s a scene in the book where Abby is running through the desert and Alec comes after her. There was something magical and romantic and revealing about that scene for me. I felt like I escaped into the night with them. 

The song that comes to mind is Firework by Katy Perry. And really, it’s the determination of the chorus that feels like Abby to me. The feeling of showing them what you’ve got, of making them watch, and acknowledge that you are something. That you’re a firework ready to shoot across the sky. That’s how Abby wants to go out, I think, live or die.

Follow the A Matter of Heart by Amy Fellner Dominy Blog Tour and don't miss anything! Click on the banner to see the tour schedule.

Amy Fellner Dominy worked as a copywriter in the advertising business before leaving to earn her MFA in playwriting. Her plays for adults and children have been staged in various cities around the country. Amy's novels for teens include OyMG (Walker, 2011) and AUDITION & SUBTRACTION (Walker, 2012.) Amy's next book is a contemporary YA coming Spring, 2015 from Random House. It's called A MATTER OF HEART.

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Blog Tour: A Matter of Forever (Fate #4) by Heather Lyons

A Matter of Forever (Fate #4)

by Heather Lyons

Publisher: Cerulean Books

Release Date: May 15th 2014

Synopsis:

It all comes down to this . . .

Chloe Lilywhite has struggled for years to find her footing in a series of dangerous and demanding worlds. Creator, first tier Council member, and one of the most powerful Magicals in existence, she was little more than one of Fate’s pawns. But now, Chloe is back home and ready to call the shots. She knows what she wants and who she wants to be.

Except the Elders never got the memo.

Annar and Magical-kind are under attack. The lives of Chloe’s loved ones, and life as they know it, are at stake. Chloe's the key to taking the Elders down, but they won't go quietly into the night.

This time, neither will Chloe.

And don’t miss the first books in the Fate Series!

A MATTER OF FATE (Fate Series #1) Just $.99 right now! 

BEYOND FATE (Fate Series #1.5) Just $.99 right now!

Hi Heather! I'm beyond happy to have you in my site for the tour of the fourth book in the Fate series.

Hi! I’m so glad to be over here at the Unofficial Addiction Book Fan Club!

In a nutshell, the Fate series follows Magical and Creator Chloe Lilywhite’s journey as she navigates a complicated love triangle as well as trying to save the world (and become the person she wants to be).

I’m a mythology junkie and always liked the idea of: just what if the ancients were onto something—what if there were beings who influenced the way the world works? Once I got that ball rolling, I came up with the Magicals. And from there I saw a confused, young girl who had the weight of the worlds on her shoulders, being one of the most powerful Magicals—and if that wasn’t enough, she was dealing with falling in love with two men who just happened to be identical twin brothers.

Haha. This is hard. Hmm…

With the worlds & loved ones in danger, Chloe risks everything to take down the Elders and finally find her forever. 

There are seven planes of existence in the Fate series: Human, Elvin, Dwarven, Goblin, Faerie, Gnomish, and Annar (the plane reserved just for Magicals). Magicals are a group of people made up from all the races that influence the courses of events on these planes, from weather to emotions to politics to health. The most powerful of Magicals either serve on the Council or the Guard (which is like a military unit).

As for Creators . . . they have the ability to build up and destroy civilizations (i.e. Atlantis) and celestial objects (i.e. stars, planets, etc…) via Council decree, although they are often used to create much smaller, less important objects, such as the development and closing of portals. Considered extremely valuable and important, Creators are automatically assigned to the Council upon birth and work with Guard during much of their tenure. At the most, there will only ever be two Creators in existence at the same time, and even then, the overlapping time is small. There are three things a Creator cannot make, however: money, food, and water.

While being a Creator and daughter to an important Council member, Chloe grew up pretty much ignored by her parents and ignorant to a lot of issues that most Magicals know. So in the first book, she’s resentful due to that as well as how Magicals’ lives and destinies are pretty much preordained from birth. Throughout the books, though, Chloe fights to control her own destiny as well as take on the overwhelming expectations the Council has for her, not to mention deal with a group of beings hell bent on destroying Magicals.

As for the twins . . . Jonah and Kellan Whitecomb are Emotionals and are considered to be very powerful. Jonah and Chloe met in their dreams when they were little; and while they have been in love with one another for much of their lives, neither was prepared for what would happen when Kellan and Chloe met. Let’s just say that the love triangle between the three of them is quite complicated.

Oh, wow. You’re right—that is tough. Book wise, I’d have to say . . . A Matter of Truth. I really, really like Chloe’s journey in that one. But I’m going to cheat and say I’m also pretty partial to Beyond Fate, which is a companion novella to the series. 

As a major music junkie, I cannot write without very detailed book playlists. So yes! I have playlists built for each of my books I write. You can find abridged playlists, alongside links to posts where I talk about them, over on my blog: http://www.heatherlyons.net/p/extras.html

Oh, this is so, so hard, because there are so many songs that represent the books to me. But here are five that I think overall fit the themes of the books.

A Matter of Fate (#1): Chemicals Collide by Cloud Cult

Beyond Fate (#1.5): Byegone by Volcano Choir

A Matter of Heart (#2): Hem Me In by Amy Seeley

A Matter of Truth (#3): Poison & Wine by The Civil Wars

A Matter of Forever (#4): Vivere Sul Tuo Collo by Erica Mou

On a side note, a friend sent me In Sleep by Lissie after I’d already written A Matter of Fate. And I gotta say, even though I never wrote a single word to that song, it’s pretty spot on for the first book.

There’s a quote from A Matter of Fate that I think rings true for the entire series:

“Love isn't always clean and pretty--sometimes it's messy, cruel, and confusing. And sometimes, it doesn't turn out the way you want it to. But then, the beauty of love is that it's very strong, and when it's real, it's worth it.”

Ages not withstanding . . .

I’ve always seen Imogene Poots as Chloe. Always. As for Jonah and Kellan, for much of the first couple books, I saw Ben Barnes. But then a bunch of readers kept telling me that Colton Haynes was pretty spot on, and the more I looked at him, the more I thought, actually, yeah. He does. As for the other major characters . . . Will would be Trevor Donovan, Karl Channing Tatum. And Callie? I’ve never found an actress that works well, but I did find some models (I think?) over on Pinterest that worked, but I have no idea what their names are. 

I am currently finishing up a romantic comedy and will be getting to work on an urban fantasy for the fall that I’m very excited about. And of course, it’s a love story—because I can’t help but write about love. 

Thank you so much, Heather, for this amazing interview. Hope to have you again, soon, in my site :)

Thanks so much for having me here!

Heather Lyons has always had a thing for words—She’s been writing stories since she was a kid. In addition to writing, she’s also been an archaeologist and a teacher. Heather is a rabid music fan, as evidenced by her (mostly) music-centric blog, and she’s married to an even larger music snob. They’re happily raising three kids who are mini music fiends who love to read and be read to.

            

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