Between the Lives Blog Tour – Author Guest Post: Jessica Shirvington + Giveaway

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Hi Treasured Tales followers.  I am so excited to have Jessica Shirvington visiting the blog today as part of the Between the Lives blog tour.  I recently read Between the Lives and I loved it.  You can check out my review here.  Jessica has written a guest post about Sabine and dealing with big issues as a storyteller.  Thank you for the awesome guest post, Jessica.  Also,thank you to Amanda from Harper Collins Australia for arranging the blog tour.

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Dealing with big issues – and a bit about Sabine’s story.

Okay, so there are some pretty confronting issues/scenes that come up in this book and in many ways they are even more confronting than the big “end-of-the-world” problems because they are focused on the state of mind of one girl, Sabine. The issues that come up are not ones I envisioned myself, as a writer, necessarily tackling. But when I had the initial idea for Between the Lives, the story quickly took on a mind of its own.

So many elements of Sabine’s dual realities are linked to normal life experiences of any teenager who feels like they need to be the person that is expected of them rather than taking a step back to discover who they really are to themselves.

Most people, at some stage, go through a bit of a dark stage and every single person responds differently. When writing Sabine’s story about the choices that she faces, it was never about those dark days being dominated by the dangerous experiments she begins, but rather the spiral of her mind and emotions that push her so far that she considers ending everything.

Despite how it might appear, Sabine’s story is not death. Just the opposite. It is one girl’s intense desire to live fully. She is exhausted by her existence but she never gives up hope for more. And it is in this quest for more that she loses her way. As a writer these were the elements that made this story so interesting to tell.

Another big issue that is explored in Between the Lives is what can happen when one person’s view of the world becomes entirely, dangerously, insular. Sabine is dealing with extreme problems but at the same time, she becomes so obsessed with making everything right in her world (worlds) that she fails to see the very serious things going on around her in both of them – and the consequences for that carry a very high price.

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Between the Lives is definitely a must read.  I could not stop reading.

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More information about Jessica Shirvington and Between the Lives:

website ~ blog ~ facebook ~ twitter ~ goodreads

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Between the Lives by Jessica Shirvington

Book description (from Goodreads) –

Above all else, though I try not to think about it, I know which life I prefer. And every night when I Cinderella myself from one life to the next a very small, but definite, piece of me dies. The hardest part is that nothing about my situation has ever changed. There is no loophole.

Until now, that is…

For as long as she can remember, Sabine has lived two lives. Every 24 hours she Shifts to her ′other′ life – a life where she is exactly the same, but absolutely everything else is different: different family, different friends, different social expectations. In one life she has a sister, in the other she does not. In one life she′s a straight-A student with the perfect boyfriend, in the other she′s considered a reckless delinquent. Nothing about her situation has ever changed, until the day when she discovers a glitch: the arm she breaks in one life is perfectly fine in the other.

With this new knowledge, Sabine begins a series of increasingly risky experiments which bring her dangerously close to the life she′s always wanted… But just what – and who – is she really risking?

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Giveaway

Thanks to Harper Collins Australia, I have two copies of Between the Lives to give away.  Here’s how to enter:

Just fill out the entry form below.

You must be an Australian resident to enter, and you must also be a blog follower to enter.

Extra entries are available:

+2 entries for commenting on this post

+3 entries for commenting on my review of Between the Lives

+3 entries for liking the Treasured Tales for Young Adults facebook page

Please read the competition policy (found here) before you enter.

The competition is open from now until Monday 20th May, 2013 11:59pm Australian EST.

There will be two winners who will be chosen using random.org.  Winners will be notified by email.

Good-luck

Entry Form

Name(required)

Email(required)

Are you an Australian resident?(required)

Are you a blog follower? How do you follow the blog? (If you follow the blog via email, you must activate your subscription before you will be considered a blog follower via email.)(required)

Did you comment on my review of Between the Lives? (+3 entries) Yes No

Are you a Treasured Tales for Young Adults facebook fan? If so, what is your username? (+3 entries) Yes No

Did you comment on this post? (+2 entries) Yes No

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Check out the next stop on the tour:

May 8th – Novels on the Run

Shadowed Blog Tour – Guest Post by Sarah Alderson (Locations)

Hi Treasured Tales followers.  *waves hello*  Today, I would like to welcome author Sarah Alderson back to Treasured Tales.  Sarah has written a guest post about some of the locations that feature in the novel Shadowed, the third and final novel in the Fated series.

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Locations

Shadowed is set mainly in LA, though it does start off in Riverview, Evie’s hometown.

I set the Fated series in California because I was there when I first started writing it. I love California. It’s one of my favourite places in the world. Riverview was based on some of the towns we drove through on our way to San Francisco and Yosemite. It’s so beautiful, really rural with lots of orchards. We went swimming in this stunning swimming hole, which inspired the location for the swimming hole in Fated.

When it came to trying to think of a good location for the way through/Gateway I was inspired by the movie Blade Runner which was filmed at the Bradbury Building. When I started researching it I thought that it would be perfect because it does in actual fact house the LAPD’s Internal Affairs department, which I thought would be hilarious. The fact that the police are sitting above it was kind of funny.

http://trespassparade.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/BradburyBuilding.jpg

http://www.greatbuildings.com/gbc/images/cid_1160284087_Bradbury_Building_01.jpg

Can you not just imagine a kickass fight scene happening in here with Thirsters baying for blood and Vero wielding a flamethrower?

I took some liberties with the parking lot out the back and added some fast food restaurants too in order to help the plot along. I also completely invented the Costume Shop in the basement. As far as I’m aware there is no costume shop in the basement hiding a secret doorway through to other realms.

The house where Victor is living in West Hollywood I based on the house I stayed in when I was there. It was actually the house used in a Steve Martin movie “LA Story” and it was perfect – and I liked the incongruousness of it.

At one point in Shadowed they head to the Getty Museum, which is one of my favourite places in LA. It’s this incredible art museum on top of a hill overlooking LA with sweeping views across the city.

http://www.u.arizona.edu/~sandiway/blog/getty/getty1.jpg

http://www.palosstudioblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/los-angeles-getty-engagement-1(pp_w860_h573).jpg

I also thought it would be funny to have The Originals hanging out in Beverly Hills. I mean if you were a thousand year old Thirster who could choose where to live, you’d probably choose a mansion in BH too, right? Though there are other reasons too.

Imagine them all walking down a street like this, armed to the teeth with blades and flame throwers.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c4/Beverly_Hills11.JPG

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Thank you so much for the guest post, Sarah.

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Wasn’t that an awesome guest post about the locations that feature in Shadowed?  Have you read the Fated series?

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Check out the Fated trilogy:

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Author bio (from Goodreads) -

Having spent most of her life in London, Sarah quit her job in the non profit sector in 2009 and took off on a round the world trip with her husband and princess-obsessed daughter on a mission to find a new place to call home. After several months in India, Singapore, Australia and the US, they settled in Bali where Sarah now spends her days writing by the pool and trying to machete open coconuts without severing a limb.

She finished her first novel, Hunting Lila, just before they left the UK, wrote the sequel on the beach in India and had signed a two book deal with Simon & Schuster by the time they had reached Bali.

More information about Sarah Alderson and the Fated series:

website/blog ~ goodreads ~ twitter

Escape Publishing Blog Hop: Guest Post

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Today, is Treasured Tales for Young Adults stop on the Escape Publishing Blog Hop.  I am very excited to welcome the Managing Editor of Escape Publishing, Kate, to the blog.  In Kate’s guest post, she shares with us what it is like to be an editor.  Welcome to Treasured Tales, Kate.

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Hi Alishia. Thanks for inviting me to your blog today.

You asked, ‘what’s it like to be an editor?’ That’s a hard question to answer, because there are all sorts of different editors across all sorts of different media. However, I’m very happy to tell you what it’s like to be Managing Editor for Escape Publishing – that is, me.

First, generally, if you’d like to become an editor, you should probably take some qualifications. I have a Honours BA in Comparative Literature, and a Master’s in Writing, Editing, and Publishing. Luckily in Australia, there are a number of different courses at a number of different universities, so you should be able to find a university near you that offers the right course.

I’ve worked in a number of different fields, from kids’ books to exercise DVDs, corporate media to academic journals. But by far my favourite job has been the one I hold now.

As Managing Editor, Escape Publishing, it is my job to choose which titles we acquire and publish. I am also responsible for representing Escape Publishing to the world – whether it is at events or conferences or via social media and blogs. I don’t get to do very much hands-on editing any more, but I still work with a couple of authors to keep my skills up.

Generally I start my day checking emails. I get a fair few come through from our signed authors, potential authors, marketing, IT, bloggers – any number of people. If I don’t stay on top of my email, I tend to get buried in it.

At the moment – as you may know – I’m on the biggest blog tour ever, so I will spend probably an hour or two a day putting together upcoming blogs. I’m also editing – there are two authors on our list that I work with personally, and one has a book coming out soon, so I’m busy working with her to make it the best it can be.

I’m also responsible for answering submission enquiries, and, of course, reading through the  submissions that come through. We offer a very fast turnaround time of only two weeks, so I spend a great deal of time reading. Tomorrow, for example, is blocked out entirely for reading submissions.

Once a week I will send out acceptances or rejections, and this normally happens in the evening or on the weekends (there’s no reason for that – it just sort of works out that way).

And throughout the day I’m on Twitter and Facebook, and also our author forums, sharing news or ideas or even what I’m reading so readers have an idea of what they can expect from Escape.

Then, at night, I’ll take a full submission to bed with me!

It’s a lot of work, but it’s great work – and I get to read all of the Escape Publishing books before anyone else, so you won’t catch me complaining!

Thanks so much for inviting me along, Alishia. You can find out more about Escape at our website, www.escapepublishing.com.au, including all the books we have available!

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Kate with some of the Escape Publishing authors.

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Wow, isn’t Kate’s job amazing.  Thanks for the guest post, Kate.

Escape Publishing is an amazing opportunity for authors.  Do you have a book you are writing?  Escape Publishing may just be for you.

Shine Light Blog Tour – Author Guest Post & Shine Light Extract

Hi everyone.  Today, is Treasured Tales for Young Adults‘ stop on the Shine Light Blog Tour.  I am very excited to share with you author Marianne de Pierres’ guest post about the character Liam, as well as an extract from the third and final book in the Night Creatures trilogy – Shine Light.  A big thank you to Dorothy from Random House Australia and Marianne de Pierres for including Treasured Tales in the Shine Light Blog Tour.

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Liam’s character fills me with heartbreaking sadness. Such ill luck has plagued him from the moment he left Stra’ha. Ixion was meant to hold a future for him and Suki – a place where no one would know their secret. No one would judge them for it and the laws of the tribe would not be in play (can’t tell you what that secret is, in case I get to explore it in further stories!).

In some ways Liam harks back to characters I wrote in my first ever SF series – Nylon Angel, Code Noir, Crash Deluxe. In that series I was obsessed with humans who had been partially biologically transformed into something else. With Liam, his tentacles are seen as a deformity. What he doesn’t know yet is that he’s part of a new species – genetically altered to be part Night Creature, part Human. This subset of “mistakes” has profound ramifications for the future of the world. But again, that’s something to be explored in the future time, though I’m sure your imagination can run with it.

Living in Grave, scraping for food, spying for Lenoir is the most miserable time in Liam’s life. Only because of his desire to see Suki again does he survive it. For those of you who are wondering what happens to him and Suki after SHINE LIGHT finishes – then you should know that they continue to cross paths but life takes them on opposing courses, testing their feelings for each other beyond what is fair and reasonable. Their go-forward story is a fascinating one; the human warrior queen and the alien hybrid. Sounds like a movie! Give plenty of love to Liam, he needs and deserves it.

Break each code at the end of every blog post on the tour and your name will go in the draw to win a**super mystery prize** basket. Email your answers to marianne@mariannedepierres.com

7. “O VOSS HKGZTEZ NGX QSVQNL.” LXAO ZG SOD.

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Shine Light Extract

She wet her lips. ‘I don’t think the bead worked,’ she whispered.

Ruzalia shrugged. ‘We passed into the spiral hours ago. Get up. We have things to plan.’

Shaking off the fogginess that clung to her mind, she righted herself and faced the others, who congregated around the table sipping hot sugar drinks under the glow of the interior lamps. Other than Naif, Emilia had fared the worst with the transition, her face pale with shock, hands trembling uncontrollably. Jarrold and Markes sat close on either side of her, keeping her upright.

To Naif’s surprise, Charlonge spoke first.

‘There are books in Vank that tell of the beginnings of Ixion. If I can get to them, they may help us find a way to revoke the badges and to fightthe Ripers.’

Ruzalia nodded her approval. The pirate’s ease with the idea suggested they had discussed this already while Markes and Naif had been on Grave.

‘How would you get in there? You would be recognised. And so would Markes and I,’ said Naif.

‘I could help her,’ said Jarrold. Other than an unusual flush to his cheeks, the transition didn’t seem to have affected him much.

‘His face would be fresh to the Ripers and hence invisible,’ said Ruzalia.

‘You told me once that you came to Ixion for the books,’ Naif said to Charlonge.

She nodded. ‘On Lidol-Push I read the story of a monk who travelled many places. He spoke of the charts and history books that he’d seen on an island – books about the world and the Tri-Suns. I used his reckoning figures and worked out that they had to be here.’

‘The books were hidden?’ asked Jarrold with a tinge of excitement in his voice.

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~ What happens next? Visit thekylieverse.com to find out. ~

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Ready for your next fix?  Meet Clash at thekylieverse.com

Did you miss the feature on Jarrold?  See speconspecfic.com

For the full listing see burnbright.com.au

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Check out books one and two in the Night Creatures trilogy:

Burn Bright        //          Angel Arias

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Author bio (from author’s website):

Marianne de Pierres is the author of the acclaimed Parrish Plessis and award-winning Sentients of Orion science fiction series. The Parrish Plessis series has been translated into eight languages and adapted into a roleplaying game.

She’s also the author of a teen dark fantasy series [Night Creatures trilogy]. Marianne is an active supporter of genre fiction and has mentored many writers. She lives in Brisbane, Australia, with her husband, three sons and three galahs.

Blood Storm Blog Tour – Review: Blood Song

Today, is Treasured Tales for Young Adults’ stop on the Blood Storm Blog Tour.  As part of the tour, I will be sharing with you my review of Blood Song, book one in the Lharmell series.  A big thank you to Rhiannon Hart for inviting me to be a part of the tour.

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Blood Song by Rhiannon Hart (Lharmell #1)

Book description (from Goodreads) –

I wanted to turn but I was held captive by the song on the wind. I’m coming, I told the voices. Please, wait for me.

When her sister becomes betrothed to a prince in a northern nation, Zeraphina’s only consolations are that her loyal animal companions are by her side – and that her burning hunger to travel north is finally being sated.

Already her black hair and pale eyes mark her out as different, but now Zeraphina must be even more careful to keep her secret safe. Craving blood is not considered normal behaviour for anyone, let alone a princess. So when the king’s advisor, Rodden, seems to know more about her condition than she does, Zeraphina is determined to find out more.

Zeraphina must be willing to sacrifice everything if she’s to uncover the truth – but what if the truth is beyond her worst nightmares?

Review

Dark and gothic, mystical and intriguing, Blood Song blends fantasy, fairy-tale, and the supernatural together to create a spellbinding story from beginning to end.

Some stories grab your attention from the very first sentence, and Blood Song is one of these.  I was instantly intrigued by Zeraphina and her story.  Zeraphina knows that there is something different about her.  Her once auburn hair is now black, her once green eyes now pale, pale blue; the side-effects of a childhood illness.  But what no-one knows, what Zeraphina has kept hidden for years, is that she has a deep persistent craving – for blood.

Along with this craving is an urge – a need – to leave her home and travel north.  Hearing whispers that call her to the north, Zeraphina believes that if she could just make it to the north her questions about why she is different would be answered.

As a sixteen year old princess, Zeraphina just can’t leave her home, so when her older sister, Lilith, receives a marriage proposal from a prince who lives in the north, Zeraphina sees this as her one and only opportunity to go to the place that she longs to visit.  If Lilith goes to the north, Zeraphina will go with her.

After Zeraphina, Lilith and their mother, Queen Renata, arrive in Pergamia (the prince’s home), Zeraphina begins to wonder if she made the right choice.  Should she be in the north?  Someone who has the answer to that question is Rodden Lothskorn – the king’s advisor and the prince’s best friend – who believes that Zeraphina should return home.  He seems to take an instant dislike to Zeraphina, and she has no idea why.  One thing is for certain, Rodden is hiding something and Zeraphina is determined to find out what it is.  Soon Zeraphina is learning about the country Lharmell, a country that she seems destined to visit.

I loved the mystery that surrounded the characters Zeraphina and Rodden.  Both are keeping secrets from people, and while the reader is made aware of Zeraphina’s blood craving secret straightaway, not all of Rodden’s secrets have been revealed, making him a very intriguing and mysterious character.  Rodden is always brooding, he’s moody, puzzling, and Zeraphina feels that he is, at times, quite odd; but, at the same time, there is chemistry between them.

I love it when two characters banter with each other, and Zeraphina and Rodden do just that.  They are sarcastic with each other, are often trying to outsmart one another, and sometimes Rodden will say something to Zeraphina simply to annoy her.  I loved, loved, loved their conversations.  It was one of my favourite things about the novel.

Zeraphina, just like Rodden, is an intriguing character.  She is funny, smart, at times stubborn, brave, a skilled archer, and is determined to find out why she is different, and why she is being drawn to Lharmell.  She has two pets: a cat, Leap, and an eagle, Griffin.  Zeraphina loves Leap and Griffin; and they her.  They are so loyal and would follow her anywhere.  I thought that they were a lovely addition to the story.

As Zeraphina discovers more and more about Lharmell and the Lharmellins, Rodden becomes more and more determined to keep her in the dark.  He believes the less she knows the better.  At one point during the story (and I won’t say why. No spoilers.) Rodden and Zeraphina team up, and I thought they made a fantastic team.  I would love to see a romantic relationship develop between them.

Rhiannon Hart is a descriptive, clear, and vivid writer.  Her descriptions of the Lharmellins were so vivid.  They are creepy creatures and that creepiness translates from the page to the reader effortlessly.

Lying between the pages of Blood Song is a mysterious fantasy, rich in action, adventure, and intrigue.  I can’t wait to read the sequel, Blood Storm.

4.5/5

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Published by: Random House Australia
Release date: September 2011

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More information about the Lharmell series and Rhiannon Hart:

blog ~ goodreads ~ facebook ~ twitter

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Read the first chapter of Blood Storm, here.

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Check out tomorrow’s stop on the Blood Storm Blog Tour:

Ticket to Anywhere