Showing posts with label snow. Show all posts
Showing posts with label snow. Show all posts

Monday, December 11, 2017

FFBC: Welcome to the club, The Evaporation of Sofi Snow (The Evaporation of Sofi Snow #1) by Mary Weber



The Evaporation of Sofi Snow (The Evaporation of Sofi Snow #1)

by Mary Weber
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Release Date: June 6th 2017
Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Dystopia

Synopsis:

Ever since the Delonese ice-planet arrived eleven years ago, Sofi's dreams have been vivid. Alien. In a system where Earth's corporations rule in place of governments and the humanoid race orbiting the moon are allies, her only constant has been her younger brother, Shilo. As an online gamer, Sofi battles behind the scenes of Earth's Fantasy Fighting arena where Shilo is forced to compete in a mix of real and virtual blood sport. But when a bomb takes out a quarter of the arena, Sofi's the only one who believes Shilo survived. She has dreams of him. And she's convinced he's been taken to the ice-planet.

Except no one but ambassadors are allowed there.

For Miguel, Earth's charming young playboy, the games are of a different sort. As Ambassador to the Delonese, his career has been built on trading secrets and seduction. Until the Fantasy Fight's bomb goes off. Now the tables have turned and he's a target for blackmail. The game is simple: Help the blackmailers, or lose more than anyone can fathom, or Earth can afford.


Hello Mary! We are super excited to talk to you about THE EVAPORATION OF SOFI SNOW and to have you in our FFBC tours. 

Awww! So happy to get to chat with y’all – thanks for having me!

Favorite Book?

So far this year, my favorite books have been Dress Codes for Small Towns (love those spunky teens!) by Courtney Stevens, and Maggie Stiefvater’s All the Crooked Saints. Both have such tangible & sweet atmospheric writing - they make me want to live inside the pages.


Favorite TV show?

Oh gosh, at the moment? Stranger Things.



Favorite movie?

All time favorite – Lord of the Rings. This month – probably Wonder Woman. That scene where she steps out of the trench…am I the only person who cried, y’all? So powerful.


Favorite Song? 

I’m going old school with this answer to say - Canon in D. I began playing piano at 7, and it took me YEARS to learn. Such a timeless piece of music that holds every possible emotion within its notes. <3


Favorite Food?

Sushiiiiii!!


Name 3 fictional places you would move to in a heartbeat.

Okay, is everyone’s first answer to this “The Shire”? Because obviously The Shire. Also, Hogwarts. Followed by whichever world Kell (from A Darker Shade of Magic) is currently traveling through.


What were your favorite books growing up?

Aw, I love this question! Everything Nancy Drew, Agatha Christie, Michael Crichton, and The Secret Garden. 


Favorite Quote?

“You were once wild here; don’t let them tame you.” Which also happens to be my current favorite tattoo. ;)



What are your fandoms?

Harry Potter (of course), Howl’s Moving Castle(!), and In the Wick of Time (can I claim fandom for a bookish candle shop? Because I’m totally going to).



Name a recent book you read that you would recommend to our YA fans?

The upcoming Olivia Twist by Lorie Langdon (co-author of Doon). I enjoyed it so much I ended up endorsing it. Such a fun and fantastic female twist on the classic story! 


Could you tell our Book Addicts a little bit about THE EVAPORATION OF SOFI SNOW? 

Sure! The Evaporation of Sofi Snow is basically if Ender’s Game, Ready Player One, and The Hunger Games had a love child. It’s the story of an alien ice planet that’s suddenly appeared beside Earth’s moon, and the genius gamer girl who believes her brother’s been abducted and taken there for experimentation. To find him, she has to convince Miguel, Earth’s young and highly-sought-after ambassador she despises, to get her onto the planet. Except she may not like what she finds when they arrive. 

Basically, it’s a fun, fast-paced geekfest set in our near future. ;)



Can you tell us 3 interesting/random things about Sofi? 

(1) She wears a pair of old school headphones and obsessively listens to music to drown out the background static in her head.

(2) Her belief in the goodness of others can change the world.

(3) She loves her younger brother more than anything else, and to protect him, she might just destroy the world.



Can you tell us anything about the 2nd book in this series (RECLAIMING SHILO SNOW, which comes out 3/6/2018!!!)? 

So, I’m going to say this (even though I think authors aren’t actually supposed to, lol): Reclaiming Shilo Snow is probably my favorite of my books. It’s a mind twist of non-stop emotion and action, wrapped around the heart of everything I’ve wanted to say to the world over the past year and a half regarding our humanity, our hot mess of politics, and our culture as a community. 

As far as a few details – Sofi Snow is the most wanted teenager alive. She found her way to the icy, technologically brilliant planet of Delon to find Shilo, the brother everyone else believes is dead. But the more she and Ambassador Miguel discover of Sofi’s past and the Delonese’s dark plans for Earth, the more Sofi feels herself unraveling—as each new revelation has her questioning the very existence of reality. In this harrowing sequel to The Evaporation of Sofi Snow, Sofi and Miguel must trust each other and discover the secrets locked inside Sofi’s mind as the line between what’s real and what they imagine begins to slip away . . . threatening to take humanity with it. 


What are your fave Sci-Fi TV Shows or Movies? Stranger Things, X-Files, and Super 8! 

What 3 hashtags would you most associate with your book series? (Could be a word or phrase or anything that would instantly make you think of THE EVAPORATION OF SOFI SNOW series). #TaylorSwiftsReadyForItVideo #VirtualRealityMeetsRealityTVGames #GirlsRuleTheWorld 


Tell us your favorite quote from THE EVAPORATION OF SOFI SNOW. 

Because with Sofi . . . She’d somehow managed to make him think he was exactly enough. 

It had scared the vida out of him. So bad that he’d risen from the couch and walked out, and had ever spoken to her again.

It wasn’t until the next morning, though, that he’d woken with the realization of what Sofi had truly done. She’d ruined him for what he’d been. 

I chose the above (from one of Miguel’s chapters) because it’s what I believe about each one of us. We all have the capacity to touch another’s soul and give the gift of freedom – the gift of feeling seen and of being accepted for who we’re becoming rather than just judged for the mistakes and mess we’ve made.


Is there a specific scene that you had the most fun to write? 

I’ll have to go with the scenes between Sofi and her brother, Shilo. <3 I have four brothers as well as a son (who’s turning 12 today!), and I wanted to write a story that surrounds a sibling relationship. It’s something I’ve not seen as much of in the book world – and yet my own relationships and love for my siblings has heavily impacted who I am. The scenes and affections Sofi has are reflective of mine and many others, I suspect. J



If you had to pick one song to be the Theme Song for THE EVAPORATION OF SOFI SNOW– Which one would you pick? 

Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, by the Flaming Lips 




Are there any recommendations you could give your readers to be in the “perfect mood” to read THE EVAPORATION OF SOFI SNOW (specific music, snacks…)? 

A full playlist of electronica songs, three espresso shots, and a cozy coffee shop sofa. 


What’s next for you? 

Reclaiming Shilo Snow comes out in March (eep!), and I’m currently writing a standalone that may or may not be a fantasy for HarperCollins.


Thank you so much for everything, Mary!

Thank YOU!!!!! Sending you all hugs. <3





Mary Weber is the multiple-award-winning author of the bestselling young adult Storm Siren Trilogy, and The Evaporation of Sofi Snow series (all by HarperCollins). An avid high school, middle school, and conference speaker, Mary's passion is helping others find their voice amid a world that often feels too loud. When she's not plotting adventures involving tough girls who frequently take over the world, Mary sings 80's hairband songs to her three muggle children, and ogles her husband who looks strikingly like Wolverine. They live in California which is perfect for stalking L.A. bands, Comic-Con, and the ocean.


Mary's debut, Storm Siren, was featured in the Scholastic School Book Fairs, and her novels have been endorsed by bestselling authors Marissa Meyer, Jay Asher, Wendy Higgins, CJ Redwine, and Jonathan Maberry.

You can also find Mary's fun interviews in the paperback of Marissa Meyer's NYT bestselling, CRESS, and in Jay Asher's 13 REASONS WHY movie tie-in edition. Most recently, you can see her and her family as extras in the NETFLIX Original Series, 13 REASONS WHY.

She gets nerdy at @maryweber.com, FACEBOOK @MaryWeberAuthor, INSTAGRAM @MaryWeberAuthor, TWITTER @mchristineweber, and GOODREADS. Come say hi!!






Tuesday, October 18, 2016

FFBC: Welcome to the club, Blood Red Snow White by Marcus Sedgwick


Blood Red Snow White
by Marcus Sedgwick
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Release Date: October 25th 2016
Genre: Young Adult, Historical Fiction, Russia, Fairy Tales
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Synopsis:

It is 1917, and the world is tearing itself to pieces in a dreadful war, but far to the east of the trenches, another battle is breaking out - the Russian Revolution has just begun... 

Blood Red, Snow White captures the mood of this huge moment in history through the adventure of one man who was in the middle of it all; Arthur Ransome, a young British journalist who had first run away to Russia to collect fairy tales. 

Told as three linked novellas, part one captures the days of revolution but retells the story as Russian Fairy Tale, with typical humour and unashamed brutality. Part two is a spy story, set over the course of one evening, as Ransome faces up to his biggest challenge, and part three is a love story, full of tragedy and hope, as every good Russian love story should be.


Favorite Book? 



Favorite TV show? 

I don't watch TV.


Favorite movie? 

Too many to choose one, perhaps at the moment The Great Beauty.


Your Favorite Song? 

Too many to choose one again! I'll pick “Cotopaxi” by The Mars Volta.



Favorite Food? 

Roast chicken, accompanied by a bottle of Beaujolais.


Name 3 fictional places you would move to in a heartbeat. I presume you mean places found in fiction? 

Nantucket, Royale-les-Bains and Davos. If you mean genuinely fictional places - Gormenghast, Gormenghast and Gormenghast.


Favorite Quote? 

Oh, these questions are so tough! Just one?! Today I will pick “so we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.” Sorry to be obvious.


If you could meet one author, dead or alive, who would it be? 

I'd like to go drinking with Dylan Thomas.


Something to say to our Book Addicts? 

Keep being addicted. It's scientifically proven that reading fiction makes you a better, kinder, more tolerant person. And better looking, too. (One of these may not actually be true).


How did you come up with the story of Blood Red Snow White? 

It's a true story so I didn't have to come up with it, I just had to work out how best to tell it. It's harder than it may seem to tell a true story.


Did you find inspiration in any other story/movie/show and how has this affected your writing? 

In this case, it was the book of Russian fairy tales that Arthur Ransome, the hero of the book, wrote in real life. 


Tell us your favorite quote from Blood Red Snow White. 

"No one's going to shoot a man smoking a pipe."


Is there a specific scene that you had the most fun to write? 

Lots of them, but mostly the opening scenes in which I recast the Russian revolution in the form of a fairy tale.


If you had to pick one song to be the Theme Song for Blood Red Snow White –which one would you pick? 

It would be the title track of the soundtrack to "From Russian with Love" - the second Bond movie.



Is there any recommendations you could give your readers to be in the “perfect mood” to read Blood Red Snow White (specific music, snacks…)?

Google some images of the Russian Revolution - St Petersburg in 1917. Read Arthur Ransome's book of stories: "Old Peter's Russian Tales", and drink some vodka…


Follow the Blood Red Snow White Blog Tour and don't miss anything! Click on the banner to see the tour schedule.




Marcus Sedgwick was born in Kent, England. Marcus is a British author and illustrator as well as a musician. He is the author of several books, including Witch Hill and The Book of Dead Days, both of which were nominated for the Edgar Allan Poe Award. The most recent of these nominations rekindled a fascination with Poe that has borne fruit here in (in The Restless Dead, 2007) the form of "The Heart of Another" - inspired by Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart." Of his story, Sedgwick says, "This was one of those stories that I thought might be a novel originally but actually was much better suited to the tight form of the short story. I had the initial idea some years ago but was just waiting for the right ingredient to come along. Poe's story, as well as his own fascination with technique, provided that final piece of the puzzle."

He used to play for two bands namely playing the drums for Garrett and as the guitarist in an ABBA tribute group. He has published novels such as Floodland (winner of the Branford Boase Award in 2001) and The Dark Horse (shortlisted for The Guardian Children's Book Award 2002).