Interview with Rebecca Schaeffer for Only Ashes Remain

Only Ashes Remain (Market of Monsters #2)

by Rebecca Schaeffer
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
Release Date: September 3rd 2019

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal

Synopsis:

After escaping her kidnappers and destroying the black market where she was held captive, all Nita wants is to find a way to live her life without looking over her shoulder. But with a video of her ability to self-heal all over the dark web, Nita knows she’s still a prime target on the black market.

There’s only one way to keep herself safe.

Nita must make herself so feared that no one would ever dare come after her again. And the best way to start building her reputation? Take her revenge on Fabricio, the boy who sold Nita to her kidnappers. But killing Fabricio is harder than Nita thought it would be, even with Kovit by her side. Now caught in a game of kill or be killed, Nita will do whatever it takes to win.

Can you briefly describe ONLY ASHES REMAIN and the characters? 

Not Even Bones was about Nita, a girl who dissected monsters and sold their body parts on the internet, until she ways betrayed. Only Ashes Remain continues that story, and it focuses on Nita trying to get vengeance on the person who betrayed her. 

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

Ooof, this is a hard one. I love all my characters, and my favourite changes depending on my mood. I really do love Nita, the main character, for all her flaws and mistakes and viciousness, I love that she never gives up, that she’s proactive instead of reactive, and that she’ll do whatever it takes to win. I love Kovit just as much, because I just adore the fact that he’s evil, he knows it, and he enjoys it. Sure, he has issues and his life isn’t great, but he’s not broody about the crimes he commits or the monstrous things he takes joy in. He’s a villain, and he embraces it. 

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

People always ask me where I get my inspiration, and honestly, it’s just everywhere. I can’t really pinpoint one thing that gives me my ideas, it’s usually an amalgamation of things that combine in interesting ways in my head. 

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

This is a hard question! I don’t really make playlists, but I suppose since Nita listens to Disney music while she dissects, I’d have to say this book is summed up best by Scar’s Be Prepared song from The Lion King. 

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

I… have no idea. I can’t think of any actors who really even visually look like my characters. I have some character reference photos, but none of them are really anyone famous, just pictures I found on the web through googling a lot of very specific features XD 

Winter is coming and we love to find cozy places to read. What drink and place do you think will go with your book to have a perfect book date? 

Oh, good question. I think it’d be fun to take the book to the Sedlec Ossuary near Prague. It’s a giant church, and all the decorations are made of human bones. Skull chandeliers, a coat of arms made out of actual arm bones. I think I’d chill there, surrounded by the artistically arrayed dead, and drink something spicy and a little sweet and totally inappropriate for a church, like spiked chilli hot chocolate. 

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

Ohhh, book recommendations, I can always do that! If they liked Only Ashes Remain I’d definitely recommend they check out Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black, Jade City by Fonda Lee, and Cracked by Eliza Crewe. 

What’s next for you? 

The third and final book in the Market of Monsters series! I’m just finishing up edits, and I’m really excited for fans to be able to read the conclusion of this story.

Rebecca Schaeffer was born and raised in the Canadian prairies. Her itchy feet took her far from home when she turned eighteen, and she hasn’t returned for more than a few months here or there since. You can find her sitting in a cafe on the other side of the world, writing about villains, antiheroes and morally ambiguous characters. 

Her debut , Not Even Bones, is about a girl who dissects and sells monsters on the internet. Not Even Bones received a starred review from Booklist, was shortlisted for the Sunburst Award for Speculative Fiction, as well as the Cybilis awards.

The sequel, Only Ashes Remain, comes out September 2019.

Blog Tour: Modern Monsters by Kelley York

Modern Monsters
by Kelley York
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Release Date: 06/02/15

Synopsis:

Vic Howard never wanted to go to the party. He’s the Invisible Guy at school, a special kind of hell for quiet, nice guys. But because his best friend is as popular as Vic is ignored, he went…

And wished he hadn’t.

Because something happened to a girl that night. Something terrible, unimaginable, and Callie Wheeler’s life will never be the same. Plus, now Callie has told the police that Vic did it. Suddenly, Invisible Vic is painfully visible, on trial both literally, with the police, and figuratively, with the angry and judgmental kids at school. As the whispers and violence escalate, he becomes determined to clear his name, even if it means an uneasy alliance with Callie’s best friend, the beautiful but aloof Autumn Dixon.

But as Autumn and Vic slowly peel back the layers of what happened that night, they realize that while the truth can set him free, it can also shatter everything he thought he knew about his life…

One of my favorite things to do with every book release is to share my playlist. Music didn’t play as big a part in Modern Monsters as it did for, say, Suicide Watch, but I still had a blast compiling this. Especially since the romance plays a bigger role than in a lot of my other books, there were a lot of songs I felt accurately portrayed all the things happening between Autumn and Vic, as well as the other main characters. 

All American Rejects – Mona Lisa (When the World Comes Down)

Gavin Mikhail – Brave

Our Lady Peace – All You Did was Save My Life

Bic Runga & Dan Wilson – Good Morning Baby

Trevor Hall – Other Ways

Uh Huh Her – Say So

Vertical Horizon – I’m Still Here

Dashboard Confessional – Vindicated

Jack’s Mannequin – Rescued

Brand New – Seventy Times Seven

Lifehouse – All in All

Follow the Modern Monsters tour by clicking on the banner below. Don't miss any tour stop!

"I like unicorns and cats and games...and stuff..." - quality author quote by Kelley

Kelley York was born in central California, where she still resides with her lovely wife, step-daughter, and way too many cats, while fantasizing about moving to England or Ireland. (Or, really, anyplace secluded.) She has a fascination with bells and animals and Disney. Her life goal is to find a real unicorn. Or to at least write about them. She occupies her spare time with video games,designing covers, playing on Tumblr, and watching anime.

Kelley is a sucker for dark fiction. She loves writing twisted characters, tragic happenings, and bittersweet endings that leave you wondering and crying. She strives to make character development take center stage in her books because the bounds of a person's character and the workings of their mind are limitless.

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Cover Reveal: Modern Monsters by Kelley York

Modern Monsters

by Kelley York

Publisher: Entangled Teen

Release Date: 06/02/15

Synopsis:

Vic Howard never wanted to go to the party. He’s the Invisible Guy at school, a special kind of hell for quiet, nice guys. But because his best friend is as popular as Vic is ignored, he went…

And wished he hadn’t.

Because something happened that night. Something terrible, unimaginable. And now, the victim has told the police that Vic did it. Suddenly, Invisible Vic is painfully visible, walking through halls at school filled with hostility and violence seething just under the surface. Vic is determined to find out what really went down at that party, even if it means an uneasy alliance with the victim’s best friend, the beautiful but aloof Autumn Dixon.

But as Autumn and Vic slowly peel back the layers of what happened that night, they realize that while the truth can set Vic free, it can also shatter everything he thought he knew about his life…

"I like unicorns and cats and games...and stuff..." - quality author quote by Kelley

Kelley York was born in central California, where she still resides with her lovely wife, step-daughter, and way too many cats, while fantasizing about moving to England or Ireland. (Or, really, anyplace secluded.) She has a fascination with bells and animals and Disney. Her life goal is to find a real unicorn. Or to at least write about them. She occupies her spare time with video games,designing covers, playing on Tumblr, and watching anime.

Kelley is a sucker for dark fiction. She loves writing twisted characters, tragic happenings, and bittersweet endings that leave you wondering and crying. She strives to make character development take center stage in her books because the bounds of a person's character and the workings of their mind are limitless.

Cover Reveal Organized by:

Release Day Event: Among Monsters (Red Hill Novella) by Jamie McGuire

Travel back to Red Hill on Halloween! AMONG MONSTERS available on October 31st!

Among Monsters (Red Hill Novella)
by Jamie McGuire
Release Date: October 31st 2014

Synopsis:

Being thirteen has pitfalls of its own, but growing up has never been this hard. 

Jenna had promised her mother that if the worst happened during her dad’s weekend, they would meet at Red Hill Ranch. When she finds seven words spray-painted on her dad’s wall the morning after a deadly outbreak, she makes a promise to herself: to get to the ranch with her seven-year-old sister, Halle, and to get them both there alive. 

Among Monsters is the companion novella to Red Hill, both exploring from different perspectives what many broken families experience every other weekend: What if your children aren't with you when the world ends? What would you do to get to them? What would they go through to get to you? 

For Jenna, seeing her mother again is worth everything. Determined to keep her promise, she is faced with experiences and decisions that force her to leave her childhood behind.

Among Monsters

by Jamie McGuire

“You’re scared. You’re too scared to keep going.”

“Honey,” Dad began.

“You had to walk one day, and you’re scared? You killed a dozen infected and walked away without a scratch. We hit a parked truck at fifty miles an hour and barely noticed. Why are you suddenly opposed to Red Hill?” I was trying to remain calm, but with every point, my tone got higher.

Tavia clasped her hands together. “We’re all scared—”

“Then, stay!” I said, my voice transitioning to a weird chuckle even though I found none of what they were saying funny. “You don’t have to come with us. But our mom is waiting for us at Red Hill, and that is where Halle and I are going.”

“Not today,” Dad said.

“Then, when?” I asked again, emphasizing each word.

“When I say,” he said, sounding final.

I laughed once without humor. “I’m not asking to go to the mall. We’re talking about Mom being alone without us! She’s waiting for us! Do you honestly think I care that you’re”—I used my fingers to make quotation marks in the air—“the dad right now?”

He stomped over to me and leaned into my face, taking me back to a time when my parents had still been married. “You’d better start caring. Just because it’s the end of the world doesn’t mean I won’t whip your ass!”

Tavia pulled him back, and he flipped around, picking up a pillow and throwing it against the wall.

She eyed Dad warily. She was now seeing the side of him that Halle and I were used to, a side that I had been waiting for since this began.

“Andrew, maybe you should take a walk and see if you can do anything more to secure the house.”

Dad turned to her, his face severe. The skin between his brows had formed a crevice, as deep and as dark as his anger in that moment. His hazel-green eyes burned bright against his olive skin. Just when I thought he would start yelling again, he left the room.

Tavia took a deep breath and held her hand to her heart. “That was—”

“Typical,” I grumbled.

“You fight like that with him a lot?”

“We used to but not lately.”

“He gets pretty mad, huh?” she asked, glancing at the closed door.

“He has a temper. He’s working on it—allegedly.”

“Is that why you want to get to your mom so bad?”

My eyebrows pulled in. “What would you do if you were separated from Tobin?”

She blinked.

“She’s my mom. If I scrape my knee, I call for her. If I’m sick, I ask for her. If I’m scared, I cry for her. If there’s an apocalypse, I’m going to the ends of the earth for her.” My eyes and nose burned. The sudden emotion surprised me. I wiped my cheek and sniffed, staring at the floor. “It’s forty miles. We can make it.”

“We…we don’t know if Tobin can make forty miles. Who knows how long that would take on foot?”

“It doesn’t matter if we waste time here. What were you two talking about? How to convince me to stay? For a few days? For a week? Forever?”

“No.” She shook her head. “We’re just worried about the little ones being able to make it that far. We need a car—or at the very least, a way to carry the supplies. I can’t hold Tobin all day long. I can’t run with him. It’s too dangerous to try.”

“I like you, Tavia. I’m not trying to be mean, but no one’s asking you to come with us. If you want to stay here, stay here.”

She was taken aback. “I know, but we can’t do this alone. We need one another.”

“Brad will leave eventually for Shallot. You need my dad to stay.”

“It’s not so different. You need him to leave.”

“But he’s my dad. I’m not going to give up on seeing my mom again because you can’t travel with Tobin.”

Tavia’s sweet smile fell away. She wasn’t being confrontational, but she did have the look of a mother bear protecting her cub. “Halle can’t make the trip either. You would be risking her life if you go, especially if you try something as ridiculous as leaving without your dad. We’re the adults, Jenna. He’ll listen to me.”

I took a deep breath and lowered my chin. Tavia was pretty intimidating. I thought about what Mom would say when I told her about this conversation later. She would want me to fight. She would want me to do anything I could to get Halle and me to Red Hill.

“My dad and I have had our ups and downs,” I said, keeping my voice low and steady. “But if you try to make him pick between you or me, you’ll lose.”

New York Times best selling author Jamie McGuire has penned the Providence series and contemporary romance Beautiful Disaster. She lives in Oklahoma with her husband and three children. She is an RT(R), a graduate of Autry and Oklahoma Northern College, and a full time writer.

Go to Jamie's Facebook Page for a chance to win a signed hardback of Red Hill AND a signed paperback of the new novella, Among Monsters!