FFBC: Welcome to the club, Half in Love with Death by Emily Ross

Half in Love with Death
by Emily Ross
Publisher: Merit Press
Release Date: December 18th 2015
Genre: Young Adult, Historical Fiction

Synopsis:

It's the era of peace and love in the 1960s, but nothing is peaceful in Caroline's life. Since her beautiful older sister disappeared, fifteen-year-old Caroline might as well have disappeared too. She's invisible to her parents, who can't stop blaming each other. The police keep following up on leads even Caroline knows are foolish. The only one who seems to care about her is Tony, her sister's older boyfriend, who soothes Caroline's desperate heart every time he turns his magical blue eyes on her. 

Tony is convinced that the answer to Jess's disappearance is in California, the land of endless summer, among the runaways and flower children. Come with me, Tony says to Caroline, and we'll find her together. Tony is so loving, and all he cares about is bringing Jess home. And so Caroline follows, and closes a door behind her that may never open again.

Inspired by the disturbing case of Charles Schmid, ‘the Pied Piper of Tucson’, Half in Love with Death is a heartfelt thriller that never lets up.

Hello Emily! We are super excited to host you in our FFBC. 

Favorite Book?

I have so many it’s hard to choose, but Mystic River by Dennis Lehane is one of my all time favorites. It’s so sad and dark with such moving and unforgettable characters. And it’s also a tight page turning mystery.

Favorite TV show? 

Mad Men. I’m really bummed that the series ended.

Favorite movie?

It’s a tie between Edward Scissorhands and Silver Linings Playbook.

Your Favorite Song?

The Water (Johnny Flynn and Laura Marling)

Favorite Food?

Mac and cheese, preferably with Buffalo Chicken.

Who is your perfect fictional boyfriend? 

I hate to admit this but it’s Heathcliff, even though I also kind of hate him. 

Favorite Quote?

“To hell with tomorrow. To hell with all problems and barriers. Nothing matters but the Spectacular Now.”  ― Tim Tharp, The Spectacular Now 

What do you find yourself “Fangirling” over?

Kit Harrington. Jon Snow can’t be dead! 

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

I would love to meet F. Scott Fitzgerald. The Great Gatsby was one of the first books that made me realize I wanted to me a writer. Something about Fitzgerald’s lyrical style makes me want to put words on a page, and I bet he was a really cool dude.

What authors are auto-buys for you? 

I’ll buy anything by Gillian Flynn or Tana French. 

For those who have read not the book yet, can you tell us a little about Half In Love With Death? 

Half in Love with Death is a young adult thriller that takes place in Tucson in 1965. It’s the time of peace and love, but nothing is peaceful in fifteen-year-old Caroline's life. Since her beautiful older sister Jess disappeared, Caroline might as well have disappeared too. She's invisible to her parents, who can't stop blaming each other. The police keep following up on foolish leads and assume Jess is a runaway. The only person who pays any attention to her is Jess’s boyfriend Tony. Every time she turns around, he’s looking at her with startling blue eyes, telling her how they can find Jess together, how anything is possible if you believe it. 

Tony is convinced that the answer to Jess's disappearance is in California, the land of endless summer, among the runaways and flower children. Come with me, Tony says to Caroline, and we'll find her together. Tony is so loving, and all he cares about is bringing Jess home. And so Caroline follows, and by the time she learns the difference between truth and illusion, it may be too late.

Half in Love with Death is inspired by the case of Charles Schmid, ‘the Pied Piper of Tucson’.

If you could describe Caroline in 5 words, what would they be? 

Intelligent, curious, romantic, lovely, idealistic 

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

I really liked writing the scene where Caroline is in the car with Tony and Debbie Frank for the first time. Debbie’s snarky dialogue with Tony in this scene came very easily. I just had to step back and let her talk. And I had fun with Caroline as she sort of fumbles with her notes and tries to be a detective. 

What was more difficult to write, the historical aspects or the mystery? 

The mystery was much harder for me than the historical aspects. I had fun researching sixties references and looking at fashion and listening to the music from that era. But figuring out the mystery, planting clues, and figuring out the ending was a challenge. In fact I resisted working out the ending for a long time, and until I did that I couldn’t really make the mystery work. After I finally wrote the end, I had to go back to plant clues and to make sure all the threads hung together. It’s not the ideal way to write a mystery, and the next time I write one I will do more planning up front.

Follow the Half In Love With Death by Emily Ross Blog Tour and don't miss anything! Click on the banner to see the tour schedule.

Emily Ross's YA mystery/thriller HALF IN LOVE WITH DEATH is forthcoming from Merit Press(12/2015). She received a 2014 MCC Artist Fellowship finalist award for fiction, and is a graduate of Grub Street's Novel Incubator program. When not writing she works as a web developer and is the mother of two millennials. Find out more at http://www.emilyrosswrites.com/ or https://twitter.com/emilyross816.

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Blog Tour: Tarnished (Perfected #2) by Kate Jarvik Birch

Tarnished (Perfected #2)

by Kate Jarvik Birch

Publisher: Entangled Teen

Release Date: 2015

Synopsis:

Freedom comes at a cost...

Ella was genetically engineered to be the perfect pet—graceful, demure...and kept. In a daring move, she escaped her captivity and took refuge in Canada. But while she can think and act as she pleases, the life of a liberated pet is just as confining as the Congressman’s gilded cage. Her escape started a revolution, but she’s trapped, unable to get back to Penn—the boy she loves—or help the girls who need her.

Back in the United States, pets are turning up dead. With help from a very unexpected source, Ella slips deep into the dangerous black market, posing as a tarnished pet available to buy or sell. If she's lucky, she'll be able to rescue Penn and expose the truth about the breeding program. If she fails, Ella will pay not only with her life, but the lives of everyone she's tried to save...

Kate Jarvik Birch is a visual artist, author, playwright, daydreamer, and professional procrastinator. As a child, she wanted to grow up to be either a unicorn or mermaid. Luckily, being a writer turned out to be just as magical. Her essays and short stories have been published in literary journals including Indiana Review and Saint Ann’s Review. She lives in Salt Lake City, Utah with her husband and three kids. To learn more visit www.katejarvikbirch.com

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Book Blitz + Giveaway: Choices by Alexander Patterson

Choices
by Alexander Patterson

Publication date: December 8th 2015
Genres: Fantasy, Historical, Young Adult

Synopsis:

Richard Örlendr died over a thousand years ago. He lived in Norway during the Germanic Iron Age and trusted in the judgement of the gods. That is not to say he did not question them when they gave him a dragon, nor did he blindly follow their orders when they told him to go to war. But, when one god told him to kill another, Richard was unable to rely on their wisdom. He had to turn to the Norns.

The Norns guide fate. They shape it past, present, and future; however, it is not set in stone. A hero can change his fate. A hero can chose his destiny. The Norns can weave a new life, but what happens if the Norns are dead? Do heroes have greater freedom? Or are they locked into their destiny since there is no one left to weave?

What made you want to write this?

I had been tinkering with the idea of a story revolving around a hatchling for about a year when I had the first of many surreal dreams. I walked out of a subway station, it was dark and the streets were deserted. Within half a dozen steps, I was attacked by a man. He demanded my money and as I fumbled for my wallet, the gun went off. I collapsed to the ground and experienced an Assassin’s Creed-esque conversation. Everything melted away save me and a small, blue dragon. He whimpered and begged me not to die. He told me if I died, then he would die with me. All my doodles, little scratches on math notes, everything that he was would disappear. No one would read about him. It would be as if he never existed. Then, I woke up and immediately went to my computer. It has been three years since that first dream, and I am relieved to say if I die now, at least my blue dragon will have the chance to live in the imagination of others.

What inspired you?

I cannot possibly list all of my inspirations here. Dozens of books, movies, and artists have captured my imagination and allowed me to create this work in turn. My largest inspirations, however, are songs. I followed the swells of John Powell through the crests of chapters, lay in beautiful melancholy with Ólafur Arnalds, and relieved stress with Taylor Swift and Imagine Dragons. And on top of these wonderful artists are dozens more. From Peter Hollens to Aeralie Brighton, each contribute to the world in ways I know I can never do. They create beauty from nothing but their imagination and talent. They are my inspiration.

Why are some of the names modern while the rest are Anglo-Saxon or Old Norse inspired?

Two of the characters, Richard and Aiden, have modern names. Truth be told, Richard and Aiden are not their real names, though I doubt I will ever talk about what those are. Choices is told as if it were Richard telling the story to a modern audience. Because of this, Richard is an unreliable narrator. He wants people to like him, and thinks he will be more relatable with a modern name. Everyone else can have their real name as they do not need to be likeable.

Why does Sweden not exist in your novel?

This is one of those cases where the short answer and the real answer are actually the same: the story works better without it. To be technical, Norge is a microcosm for the world if the Old Gods were real. It is a depiction of how I believe the world would work if monsters stalked the forests, and supreme deities imposed their will upon us. Thus, keeping Norge isolated from everything else helps me to create this setting. To be blunt though, Sweden simply does not have a role to play in the story and in a story where I go into enough frivolous detail it is far better to have a land simply not exist than to shoehorn in reasons for Sweden to not get involved. This decision was one of the many things which inspired me to write the Author in as a character.

Are you the Author?

Yes and no. I am the author in that I wrote Choices and in that I dreamed of the dragon ‘Aiden’ before writing Choices; however, I do not have any doubts about both the character of Richard and the falsity of the story. The Author in Choices is my way of looking into how writers develop stories. I do not mean this in a pretentious, ‘my writing is a philosophical inquiry into the nature of writing,’ sort of way –in fact Choices is far from a philosophical inquiry. What I mean is I thought it would be fun to explain my writing decisions to myself in a canonical format.

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Book Blitz + Giveaway: Between the Notes by Sharon Huss Roat

Between the Notes
by Sharon Huss Roat
Publisher: Harper Teen
Release Date: 06/16/15

Synopsis:

When Ivy Emerson’s family loses their house—complete with her beloved piano—the fear of what’s to come seizes her like a bad case of stage fright. Only this isn’t one of her single, terrifying performances. It’s her life.

And it isn’t pretty.

Ivy is forced to move with her family out of their affluent neighborhood to Lakeside, also known as “the wrong side of the tracks.” Hiding the truth from her friends—and the cute new guy in school, who may have secrets of his own—seems like a good idea at first. But when a bad boy next door threatens to ruin everything, Ivy’s carefully crafted lies begin to unravel . . . and there is no way to stop them.

As things get to the breaking point, Ivy turns to her music, some unlikely new friends, and the trusting heart of her disabled little brother. She may be surprised that not everyone is who she thought they were . . . including herself.

Debut author Sharon Huss Roat crafts a charming and timely story of what happens when life as you know it flips completely upside down.

by Sharon Huss Roat

I learned recently that R.L. Stine, author of the Goosebumps books, starts writing ONLY after he is inspired by a great title. As someone who always struggles to find the perfect title, I’m more than a little jealous. Here’s a look at some of the titles I threw out there in the process of naming BETWEEN THE NOTES. Thankfully, none of them stuck.

1) IVY’S TOWER – This was original title, which I thought was a clever play on the term “Ivory Tower”—a nod to Ivy’s fall from affluence that also referred to the very skinny, tall, apartment house where her family moves. Alas, my publisher thought it sounded too young. I was asked to submit other ideas. Hence:

2) A GIRL, HER BEST FRIEND, TWO BOYS, AND A SONG - A longer version of this title might’ve included “A PIANO, HER DISABLED LITTLE BROTHER, A GIRL WITH A CLARINET, THAT DUSTY UKELELE, HER PARENTS, A BICYCLE…” Yeah. Listing everything and everyone in the book does not a title make.

3) IVY DOESN’T LIVE HERE ANYMORE - Nope. She moved. And the story is about what happens in the new place, not in the place she doesn’t live anymore. So, never mind. 

4) HOW TO RUIN PRETTY MUCH EVERYTHING - This is the title you come up when you’re pulling out your hair out trying to capture in a few words what the book is about and… you fail.

5) PULLING SECRETS FROM A SHELF - When you’re thinking about the part of the story where someone is leaving secret notes for Ivy on a shelf, and then the song “Pulling Mussels from a Shell” gets in your head, and isn’t this the most brilliant title ever? No? FINE.

6) MUCH ADO ABOUT GATSBY AND PONY BOY - There’s some Shakespeare in the story, and The Great Gatsby makes an appearance, as well as The Outsiders. So, OF COURSE the perfect title would somehow combine all of that. Right? WRONG.

7) DISCOMPOSING IVY - Work with me, here. Ivy composes music to calm herself, but has to leave her piano behind and she’s kind of falling apart. She’s… discomposing? Ew, that sounds like DECOMPOSING, doesn’t it? And this is not a zombie story. Nobody’s earlobes are rotting off.

8) OPUS DISASTEROUS - Music theme? Search musical terms and try to rhyme them with words that vaguely describe what your main character is facing, and… TA DA! *Slinks back into cave where horrible title-writers live.

9) UNTANGLING IVY - One of many titles I came up with that tried to capture Ivy’s struggle as if Ivy, the plant, was actually strangling her. (TWISTING IVY, TURNING IVY, THROWING IVY, anyone?)

10) BAD BOY NEXT DOOR - Refer to rejected title Number 2, except pick just one character. The hottest one, preferably. But, what about that other hot boy? BAD BOY NEXT DOOR AND THAT TOTALLY SWOONY OTHER GUY. Too long? Dang.

In the end, my friend and fellow HarperCollins author Hilary T. Smith (WILD AWAKE, A SENSE OF THE INFINITE) suggested “In Between the Notes.” I added it to the list, my editor shortened it to BETWEEN THE NOTES, and a title was born. (And lived!)

Sharon Huss Roat lives in Delaware with her husband and two kids. When not writing books for young adults, you might find her reading (YA of course), planting vegetables in her backyard garden, or sewing costumes for a school musical. BETWEEN THE NOTES is her first novel.

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