Blog Tour: A Possibility of Whales by Karen Rivers

Publish date: Mar. 13, 2018
Publisher: Algonquin Young Readers
Available in Canada through Thomas Allen & Son
Series: Stand Alone
Source: ARC from publisher for honest review and participation in blog tour

Goodreads Synopsis:

The story of a girl who—thanks to her friends, her famous dad, and a chance encounter with a whale—learns the true meaning of family.
Twelve-year-old Natalia Rose Baleine Gallagher loves possibilities: the possibility that she’ll see whales on the beach near her new home, that the boy she just met will be her new best friend, that the photographers chasing her actor father won’t force Nat and her dad to move again. Most of all, Nat dreams of the possibility that her faraway mother misses and loves Nat—and is waiting for Nat to find her.
The thing is, Nat doesn’t even know who her mother is. She left Nat as a baby, and Nat’s dad refuses to talk about it. Nat knows she shouldn’t need a mom, but she still feels like something is missing.
In this heartfelt story about family, friendship, and growing up, Nat’s questions lead her on a journey of self-discovery that will change her life forever.

My Review:

Nat has to move around a lot due to her larger than life famous dad, XAN. So she knows that making deep rooted friendships isn't worth the heartache in the end. But when they move to Canada and a chance encounter in the girls bathroom leads to meeting Harry, things turn out to be more complicated than she expected. Nat feels a connection to Harry that she hasn't felt since her BFF Solly in her last hometown, but things are different for Harry, who was actually born Harriet. He's struggling with his parents not accepting that he identifies as a boy, and feels like he'd be better off hanging out with the guys at school then with Nat. Nat doesn't care about any of that, she just wants to be friends with him and share her excitement about the whales that she can see at the beach by her trailer. (Her middle name is Baleine after all).

There is so much to be taken from A Possibility of Whales and I loved every part. Xan (a famous, single dad) had such a great relationship and playful banter with Nat. I enjoyed seeing the single dad take on the role of single-parenting a young girl. We see acceptance and diverse characters and friendship in the strangest of places (Bird). This is definitely and book that young and old alike should read. Part of me wishes that Harrys story came through a little more than it did as I really liked him and wanted more, but I understand this was Nats story!

I loved Karen Rivers writing too, I felt as though I could see the whales she was describing when Nat saw them. There was an ease to the writing and reading. I hope you all get a chance to read it (read to the very end of this post!) and I hope you share with someone who could use a read like this one!  

 

Q & A WITH KAREN RIVERS

Question - There's a lot of words in different languages (Japanese, German) in your book, did you have  to research this beforehand or were they words you knew before? If so, how / why?

Answer - I’ve always been a collector of words. A long time ago, at an estate sale, I picked up a dictionary, which was a collection of words that don’t exist in English.  It had never occurred to me before then just how much language shapes and validates feelings and emotions. By not having words for certain things, they almost don’t exist.  For example, the Japanese have a word for the beauty of aging, imperfection, transience (wabi-sabi) and I think the fact that English is missing such a word is a reflection of how much we cling on to youth as our standard of “beauty”.   I love the depth that these non-existent-in-English words bring. So to answer your question, a lot of the words were words I already knew, but I definitely made use of the Internet to find ones that were unfamiliar to me that fit with Nat’s life, that described things she was experiencing that English lacks the words for.     

Q - Did you feel like this book needed to be written now, more so than ever with the LGBTQ+ community so strong (and becoming stronger) or was this a book you knew you would write regardless?

A - I did not set out to write a book about the LGBTQ community.  I set out to write a book about the complications of puberty in 2018 vs. puberty in 1970 (when ARE YOU THERE GOD, IT’S ME MARGARET came out).  ARE YOU THERE GOD is still a quintessential coming-of-age, puberty book, but it’s very much a cis-gender story; it leaves too many people out. I wanted to write this as both a nod to that book, which meant so much to me when I was 12, and an exploration of how things are also so very different now.  Margaret’s family was “controversial” because her parents were of different religious faiths, but in hindsight, her family looks extremely traditional. Nat has a single dad, who is also famous, a very non-traditional structure. Harry has a more traditional family, but he has to fight for their acceptance of who he is.  At its heart, this is a book about relationships, about acceptance, about self-discovery. So to answer your question, I would have written it regardless. It’s interesting to me that Harry’s story, which is a secondary thread in the book, is the one that I’m getting the most questions about! I love Harry, I’m happy he’s getting the attention, but it also speaks to the fact that there is such a dearth of books for middle grade audiences that feature trans characters at all.   

Q - A Possibility of Whales is a coming-of-age novel, dealing with things such as feelings, love, and becoming a woman. As a woman yourself, you would have dealt with all of this already, why relive it in a novel?
A - When I was growing up, I never really felt okay in my own skin.  I was always an outsider, an observer, one-step removed from what was going on around me.  I want to write books for kids who are like I was, kids who are saying, “Am I okay? I don’t think I’m okay.”  I want to tell them, “You ARE okay. You will be. You are going to be just fine, better than fine. You’re great.  Things will get better and easier.” No one thinks they are “normal” in middle-school. Some people are outwardly different, a lot of people feel inwardly different.  Puberty throws yet another wrench into the whole mix. I write everything I write to say, “I see you. You’ve got this.”

Q - How did you come up with the idea of this book? What were your inspirations?
A - I’m a single parent myself, and my son is 12.  I know firsthand the complications of puberty in a single-parent family when that parent is a different gender than you are.  I was thinking about that, and about ARE YOU THERE GOD ITS ME MARGARET, and how I wanted to take on something similar, but I’d give my “Margaret” a single dad.  It blossomed from there, but I think it’s fair to say that was the seed.

Q - What do you hope kids (or adults) reading A Possibility of Whales will take from it?  
A - I hope they fall in love with it.  This book was a joy to write and I love the characters so much that I want everyone to see them, to love them, to care about them and their journey.   

Q - Why whales? Are they your favourite animal? Is there a deeper / more powerful meaning behind the whales?  (By the way, I love Natalia's middle name!)

A - Whales are very meaningful to me and always have been.   I’m drawn to them, fascinated by them, mystified by them.   They are incredible. In some First Nations’ traditions, the orca symbolizes family, which I love. I have always see whales as harbingers of good things, of luck and love, of connections.   They are our connection to the sea. We are all bound together on this planet.

Q - If you had to describe A Possibility of Whales in one sentence, what would it be?
A - I’d say it was ARE YOU THERE GOD, IT’S ME MARGARET for the new generation, with The Rock playing a supporting role.  ☺

Q - Have you googled yourself?
A - Of course!  I don’t always recommend it.  While it can be wonderful and validating and magical to find comments that kids have left about the books, some of the adult comments can be crushing and demoralizing.   Proceed with caution. This is a job where we lay our souls open; we give away our hearts. When you are writing with everything you have, non-constructive criticism can be more painful than you’d think.
 

Q - What is your super power?
A - Being able to pretend that awkward things didn’t happen.  (Coincidentally, that is also the superpower of the main character in my upcoming YA, YOU ARE THE EVERYTHING.)  

Q - E-books or physical copies?
A - I love e-books.  I travel often enough that having an e-reader has changed my life.  No longer am I hauling 50 pounds of books in my suitcase! I love to read, I’m not fussy about the way the words finds their way into my life.

Q - When you aren't writing, what are you doing?
A - I teach writing at the university in my home town for half the year but I’m mostly ALWAYS writing. I spend a good portion of time taking long walks in the woods, which is also “writing”.  It’s how I work out the details, by stepping away from the keyboard, by simmering the ideas. I’m also a single mum, so I’m hanging out with my kids, who are 10 and 12.

Q - Favourite book of all time?
A - Too hard!  Middle grade?  When I was a kid, I was devoted to A WRINKLE IN TIME.   Now I’d put Rebecca Stead and Kate DiCamillo on the top of my list, anything they write, I will read and love and be amazed by. Tracey Baptiste’s Jumbies books are so magical and compelling.  Kate Messner’s Exact Location of Home was a favourite this year. Ali Benjamin’s Truth About Jellyfish was my daughter’s favourite. Melanie Conklin’s Counting Thyme is lovely. Renee Watson’s Piecing Me Together was one of my favourites.  I’m blown away by the incredible wealth of middle grade books coming down the pipe. Oh, Laurel Snyder’s Orphan Island! I wish these books had all existed when I was a kid.


Q - Chocolate or Candy?

A - Chocolate.  But also gummy bears, they are my revision candy.
 

Q - Read the book first, or watch the movie first?
A - Always the book.  I almost never see the movie.

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About Karen Rivers:
Karen Rivers’s books have been nominated for a wide range of literary awards and have been published in multiple languages. When she’s not writing, reading, or visiting schools, she can usually be found hiking in the forest that flourishes behind her tiny old house in Victoria, British Columbia, where she lives with her two kids, two dogs, and two birds. Find her online at karenrivers.com and on Twitter: @karenrivers.

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Tourwide Giveaway

The winner will receive:

1 signed hardcover copy of A Possibility of Whales by Karen Rivers

Details:

- Canada Only (full rules found in the T&C on Rafflecopter)

- Giveaway ends Mon. Mar. 19th @ 12AM EST

- Winner will be drawn randomly through Rafflecopter, contacted via email and will have 24

hours to claim their prize.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Author Interview - C.K. Kelly Martin

I'm very happy to share with my readers this exclusive interview with author C.K. Kelly Martin here at Stellar Book Blog!

You can read my review of Just Like You Said It Would Be here.

Q #1 - How did you come up with the idea for Just Like You Said It Would Be?

A - The very first young adult book I started writing in 1999 was an attempt at writing the novel that would much later become Just Like You Said It Would Be and was largely inspired by my relationship with Dublin (I fell head over heels for it when I first landed there in 1990 and will never, ever be over it), my excitement for YA fiction and more generally by the incredible feeling of falling in love with someone for the first time, which is so powerful that it almost feels like a revolution.

This picture is from C.Ks trip to Dublin in 1991

Q #2  - Amira, the main character is mixed raced: Egyptian, Irish and Canadian. Some of her best friends are mixed race too. How important was this to you? And why?

A - I’ve written and rewritten so many versions of this story over the years but one thing that never changed was who Amira is. She was always Canadian by birth but of Egyptian and Irish background. From the beginning I thought of her as a typical Toronto girl. In 2016 the BBC declared Toronto the most diverse city in the world (made up of 230 different nationalities and with 51% of residents born outside Canada) but it’s been enormously diverse for quite awhile now and that’s how Amira character came to me, with an Egyptian mother and an Irish father. It’s like I didn’t invent her; she already was who she was. Having living in Ireland and being of Irish ancestry myself that part of Amira’s background was more familiar; I had to do a lot more research into her Egyptian heritage, but also the experience of being mixed race in general. On the one hand, Amira’s mixed background was very important to me because she represents the changing face of both Canada and Ireland. On the other hand, it’s just one aspect of her larger personality and countless different experiences and variables make her who she is. Another aspect of her that struck me as integral from the start was that she was a huge movie fan who wants to go to film school to become a screenwriter.

Q #3  - Music is a huge part of your novel. Does music play a big role in your personal life? What's on your playlist now? Did music help you write Just Like You Said It Would Be?

A - I’m listening to the Niall Horan album, Flicker, as I type this (his song This Town kills me in the best way); but I actually can’t listen to music while I’m writing fiction, I need quiet. Often I listen to music before I get down to writing for the day, though, and there are tons of songs that I associate with this book. Some of the songs or various bands/artists directly referenced in the book include The Kills, Wolf Alice, Sinead O’Connor (who the novel’s title comes from), Radiohead, The National, Bat for Lashes, The Vaccines, I could go on and on. I have a playlist of a whopping 37 songs for this book up at my website here: http://www.ckkellymartin.com/p/justplaylist.html. I think one of the songs that best sum up the overall tone of the book is New Song by Warpaint – those lines “you're a new song baby, you're a new song to me” and “dancing to you all night long.” This is what it feels like to fall in love! Every little thing about the person you’re in love with feels like a wondrous revelation. Their very existence seems to alter reality. 

Q #4 - Do you have any writing rituals or habits? Anything that helps you write that you count on each time?

A - I spend a lot of time thinking about the main character(s) before I get down to writing. Because I usually write in first person I absolutely need a good grasp of who the main character(s) are deep down, what drives them crazy and the things that scare them or things they may secretly want. But I don’t really have any formal process or rituals. I start by just getting lost in my head thinking about the characters and their situations. Then, once I know enough, I start making notes and researching to flesh out the character. The characters seem to have a life of their own and sometimes will do different things than I expect as a book unfolds.

Q #5  - How long did it take you to write Just Like You Said It Would Be?

A - Longer than I’ll likely ever spend writing a single book again! Eighteen years from the very first draft (when it was actually a trilogy and very different than it is now) to when I decided to publish it myself. I rewrote the book on and off between writing other YA books for literally decades; it was the story I kept returning to time again and couldn’t ever permanently put aside. Then, in 2013, I applied for and received a Canada Council grant to work on an entirely new vision of the book from scratch. Having that vote of confidence from the Canada Council meant the world to me, and it’s what led me to the decision to self-publish. It seemed that for Just Like You Said It Would Be to find a home with a traditional publisher it would have to transform from a character-driven coming of age tale wrapped around a love story to something more high concept and hooky. After spending eighteen years with this book (during which I became a much stronger writer) it was of the utmost importance to me to stay true to it, more important than getting a traditional publishing deal. 

Q #6  - When you were growing up, was writing where you thought your life would take you?

A - I started writing and drawing picture books for fun when I was seven years old so the desire to write has always been a part of me but honestly, when I was a teenager I couldn’t envision being a bonafide adult so I didn’t have any practical vision of what I’d do. Back then I was always dreaming of moving to London, England. It’s where I imagined all the real action was happening (in part because so many of my favourite bands growing up were English and I was obsessed). Towards the end of high school I decided to steer towards an English degree because it was my best subject, but around second year at university I was knocked off course by a pull towards film studies courses. For a time I vaguely thought I might write film reviews for a living (my degree is in film studies) but as much as I love thinking about movies my real passion is for writing fiction.   

Q #7 - Do you have a favourite character from Just Like You Said It Would Be? If so, who? Why?

A - I love Darragh to death (he’s sort of a composite of the type of guy me and my friends would’ve been enamoured with in the early 90s in Dublin – picture) but my favourite character has to be Amira. She’s such a loyal friend and it tears her up that she has to go to Dublin during a tough time for her best friend, Jocelyn. I love the relationship Amira has with her sister, Rana, (who died before Amira was old enough to even remember her but who is still with her in a manner of speaking), and I admire Amira’s strength, her creativity, and how much she learns about people and the nature of life in this book because it’s really not just a book about love but of how your understanding of it changes through experience. Amira made Just Like You Said It Would Be such a pleasure for me to write.  

Q #8 - When you aren't writing, what would we find you doing?

A - If I’m not writing I’m usually reading or at the movies. Recently Lady Bird blew me away – it’s so rare to see a coming of age film that staggeringly genuine – and this week I’m hoping to catch Three Billboards Outside, Ebbing Missouri. But I also got a laugh out of Thor: Ragnarok. I’m a big Loki fan and a huge Doctor Who fan. I’m so excited to see Jodie Whittaker as the new incarnation of the Doctor.

Well, that's all for now! Thanks so much for taking the time to answer these questions for me C.K. Kelly Martin. It's always so interesting to come up with these questions and read the answers! Quite fun!

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How do you make something feel finished?

On New Year’s Eve seventeen-year-old Amira texts the Irish ex-boyfriend she’s been missing desperately since they broke up at the end of summer, when she returned to Canada. They agreed they wouldn’t be friends, that it would never be enough. But that was then—back when Amira’s separated parents had shipped her off to relatives in Dublin for the summer so they could test-drive the idea of getting back together on a long haul cruise. Back when Amira was torn away from a friend in need in Toronto only to fall in love with a Dublin screenwriting class and take a step closer to her dream career. And only to fall for cousin Zoey’s bandmate, Darragh, the guy who is first her friend, then her enemy and later something much more complicated—the guy she can say anything to, the guy who makes every inch of her feel wide awake in a way she hadn’t known was possible. The guy she confides in about the dead sister she has no living memories of but who has remained with Amira nonetheless. The guy she might never see again. Or is there, despite the distance, somehow still a chance for them?

Chock-full of movie references and giddy love for Dublin, Ireland, Just Like You Said It Would Be is a frank exploration of the extraordinary highs and shattering lows of first love that will appeal to fans of Jennifer Echols, Tara Kelly, Sarra Manning, Trish Doller, and Kirsty Eagar. 

Book Review: Savor by Megan Duncan and Author Interview!

Publish Date: September 28, 2011
Publisher: Megan Duncan
ISBN: 9781466159211
Pages: ebook, 183
Series: Warm Delicacy. #1
Source: From author for honest review

Goodreads Synopsis:
When Claire Miller turned eighteen all she wanted to do was celebrate her birthday, but after a night on the town with her best friend she awakes to a visitor she never expected. The rulers of her region, a vampire royal family, have chosen her to be turned as their new heir and vampire princess. In a world fueled by the power of blood, Claire quickly discovers the vampire royal family is not what they seem and that she has secrets in her past, she never knew existed.

My Review:
Claire turns 18, goes to donate blood which is the norm when you're governed by vampires. She get's her donor card, and soon realizes that her blood is pure, and she will be reigning over as a princess.
My first thought while reading this, is that Claire is not hesitant at all to become a vampire princess. She totally accepts that she may never see her friends and her mother again and she's fine with that. But then we see that Claire was never really that close to her mother and it makes a bit more sense. But i just couldn't quite comprehend her dropping everything as quickly as she did and starting a new, and very different lifestyle. I think there should have been a little more back story about the relationship Claire has with her mother, or lack of relationship and maybe it would have pieced it together a bit more for me. Claire is not the most up to date with her vampire history either. Admitting that she never paid attention in school. It was hard to imagine her being a princess in the vampire royal family without knowing anything about them. She still believed that vampires had no reflection and they were afraid of garlic, which we soon learn is not the case. I think these two things made me a little apprehensive about the novel at first. I just wished for more background and maybe if Claire was a vampire know-it-all or something, then turned out she was completely wrong abut everything, and faced the horrible truths about the vampire world - but maybe that wouldn't work for the whole series and is clearly not where Megan Duncan wanted the story to go, which is why I'm just a reviewer, not an author.

Once I got passed these minor details, and I accepted that Claire could accept being a vampire princess, I enjoyed Savor. The story line was very interesting, seeing as vampires are the norm and the Rulers, and humans accept them was refreshing to read. Claire is a fun little character, though Robin definitely stood out more to me. She's a fun-loving, kind vampire who would do anything for her friend as we see in her and Claire's developing friendship. Robin knows a lot about the vampire history and is the one who is there for Claire throughout her transformation and gives her the scoop on all the princess duties. We meet Dmitry, a vampire who can literally make you swoon over him . He's a fun, charming vampire with whom Claire immediately falls for, and it's great seeing their relationship develop. Their interactions are easy and he brings out confidence in Claire that she didn't always have.
Near the end of Savor, a lot changes and Megan Duncan reveals that the vampire princess has to go through a ritual that has not been done in ages since it was never deemed necessary, until now. And due to a riot that breaks out and puts the vampire world in danger, this one little notion will change so many things in Claire's new vampire world and I cannot wait to read book #2 to see where things will be headed. 

Author Interview

Hi Megan, thanks so much for coming to my blog and doing an interview with me!

Stellar Book Blog: What inspired you to write Savor?

Megan Duncan: It was actually the main character, Claire. She was the first person that came to mind when I first thought up the series. I wanted to create this realm for a girl, who grew up in a world ruled by Vampires. I didn't want them to live in hiding like they do in most all books. In my mind, Vampires are powerful, and it made sense to me that they would reign over humans; even rule over them as a royal family.

SBB: Why vampires? Have you always wanted to write a vampire story?

MD: Most definitely. I've read tons and tons of Vampire stories and have always wanted to write one, but I held back until I felt I came up with an original idea.

SBB: Describe the Warm Delicacy series in one sentence. Get us hooked!

MD: When vampires rule the world, blood must be shed and when your enemy is immortal; the battle never ends.

SBB: Did you have to do any research for Savor, or is everything straight from your head?

MD: The only research I did was to see if there were any stories like mine out there. My main goal was to create a vampire story that hadn't been told a dozen times over. I wanted, more than anything, for my book to be unique.

SBB: When writing Savor, did you know exactly where your book was headed? Did your characters surprise you in any way and steer you in a different direction?

MD: I started writing Savor on a whim when the idea hit me. I was watching something on TV and the story just popped into my brain, so I grabbed my laptop and started writing. Having only a vague idea of where I wanted to go I just let my characters do their thing, and allowed this new world to grow on its own. It was lots of fun.

SBB: Did you always want to be an author? What would you be if you weren't an author?

MD: Oh yes, I've wanted to be an author since the 4th grade. But, if I weren't, I would want to be a graphic artist. I love the cover design part of being an indie author.

SBB: What do you like most about being a YA author?

MD: I absolutely love hearing back from readers when they tell me how much they love a certain character or story. Getting their feedback really drives me forward and makes what I do all the more rewarding.

SBB: You're a self-published author, was the journey what you thought it would be? Why or why not.

MD: Nope not at all, but I'm still happy I did it. In some ways its harder, and in others it is easier.

SBB: What, if any, are your writing habits? 

MD: My writing habits are strange and tend to change with each book. Since I'm currently writing the next installment in my Dystopia series I am writing at night a lot, mostly in my living room in the dark with either Supernatural on the television or some other scary movie or show.

SBB: Grwoing up, did you read a lot? If so, what were your favourite books?

MD: I read a ton growing up, and my favorite books were by Anne McCaffrey. I love her Dragonriders of Pern series, and Acorna Universe. Simply amazing!

And just for fun, if you could meet anyone, dead or alive, who would it be? 

MD: Anne McCaffrey! Her stories inspired me so much and I'd love to know what inspired her.

Thank you so much for coming to my blog and taking the time out of your busy schedule to answer my questions. I really appreciate  it, and had lots of fun!

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Be sure to check out Megan Duncan's Warm Delicacy series if you're looking for a fun twist on your typical vampire story, or if you're just looking for a good read!

Author Interview - Denise Jaden

In honour of Never Enough, Denise Jaden's new novel which is due on shelves TODAY. I'm excited to say that I have Denise here for an interview.
For those of you who missed my review of Never Enough, you can read it here before reading the interview.

From the author of Losing Faith, a novel about two sisters and the eating disorder that threatens to destroy their family.

Loann’s always wanted to be popular and pretty like her sister, Claire. So when Claire’s ex-boyfriend starts flirting with her, Loann is willing to do whatever it takes to feel special… even if that means betraying her sister.  But as Loann slips inside Claire’s world, she discovers that everything is not as it seems. Claire’s quest for perfection is all-consuming, and comes at a dangerous price. As Claire increasingly withdraws from friends and family, Loann struggles to understand her and make amends. Can she heal their relationship —and her sister—before it’s too late?

Please welcome Denise Jaden to Stellar Book Blog!

1. Was it difficult to write Never Enough because of the bulimia and abuse issues that the characters deal with throughout this novel?

Because I wrote this novel over more than eight years, many of the difficult issues were layered in over time. It was still difficult to write on these subjects, especially because some of them were affecting my life through friends at the time, but I can imagine it would have been more difficult to write during a shorter period of time.

2. What made you feel like the book needed to be written? What inspired you to write Never Enough?

I started writing Never Enough because a good friend of mine was suffering with the ups and downs of a severe eating disorder. I felt like I was always saying or doing the wrong things for her, and so I started writing in order to understand her and what she was going through better. At first, it was more of an exploration than something I aimed to publish.

3. What message are you hoping will get across teens or adults after reading Never Enough? Do you have any advice for someone living in these situations?

I never write with a message in mind, but now that I’m on the other side of writing Never Enough, I would hope that readers would take away a renewed willingness to reach out and to speak up when they see someone who needs them.

Even after spending so long thinking on these subjects and writing about them, I’m not sure that I have any hard and fast advice. All individuals are different, and so it depends on the person, but I would encourage everyone to try to find true friends who you can share your deepest struggles with.

4. When writing your novels, do you have any tricks or habits that help you write?

Not really. Having a young son at home has made writing time fairly limited for me. Usually when I sit down to write, I only have an hour, at the most. So when I have that hour, I get serious right away. I believe in fast-drafting and moving forward, especially with early drafts—not spending any time second-guessing my words, but just letting whatever is in me that day pour out.

5.Just for fun - if you could spend the day with anyone, dead or alive who would it be and why?

It’s kind of an emotional answer, but I’d spend the day with my dad. He died in an accident just over a year ago, and I miss him terribly. One more day with him on earth would be amazing.

Thank you so much Denise for taking the time to answer my questions. And I'm terribly sorry for the loss of your father. That must be a terrible thing to go through. Though congratulations on which will be a HUGE success, the novel Never Enough. It's already word in the blogging and book community that this book is FANTASTIC!

About the author

Denise Jaden's writing has appeared in Mississippi Crow Magazine (Spring 2008), The Greensilk Journal (Fall 2007 - where her story, Locked Away won an Editor's Choice Award)  and The Tidepool Ficton Ezine. Her novels have won various awards through Romance Writers of America. Her first novel for teens, Losing Faith, was released from Simon Pulse/Simon & Schuster in 2010 and her next one, Never Enough will be out in July 2012. She lives just outside of Vancouver, Canada with her husband and son.

For more Denise Jaden, you can visit her:

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Author Interview - Emma Michaels

I'm so excited to have Emma Michaels, author of The Thirteenth Chime here at Stellar Book Blog! I read this book, and I really enjoyed it! You can read my review here, but for now, enjoy my first interview ever!



Thanks Emma Michaels for coming to my blog and having this interview with me. I'm honoured that you are my first author I've ever interviewed! So thanks again, I know you're busy and I really appreciate your time.

Q1 - How did you come up with the idea for The Thirteenth Chime?

A) I was born and raised in California. I was visiting my fiance in Washington state the night I had my inspiration for The Thirteenth Chime. For those of you who know Cali, we don't get many storms, at least not the kind you can experience in Washington.  The storm was so bad it knocked out the power and we went to the neighbors to share a few flash lights to wait out the storm. Thunder shook the house and the wind was howling. Just then, the antique grandfather clock in the house began to chime.

The sounds echoed throughout the house in sync with the thunder and wind. I remember unconsciously reaching out for someone's hand to hold and it was in that moment in time, my heart pounding, that The Thirteenth Chime came to me.

Q2 - When you're writing a book, do you have any special habits or anything that you need to do in order to write? (For example listening to music, being somewhere in total silence, starting to write the end or middle of the novel first, etc)

A) I don't have any real special habits, but I do find that certain things help me. For instance, if I am writing a particularly emotional piece, I find that certain kinds of music will help me to set that mood. I also find that I write better at my own desk and space than I do anywhere else unless I am traveling. And at the end of the day, a small piece of chocolate to reward myself never hurts! *laughs*

Q3 - When writing The Thirteenth Chime, did you know the whole story before you wrote it, or did you write it as you went along?

A) Writing a story is like telling a story - it comes to you. I find that if a writer takes a step back and sits in the passenger seat rather than the driver's seat, allowing the story to tell itself, that the book will come alive. I think in a way that writers are merely observers who are fortunate enough to share. Only we just happen to be observing something that comes from inside of us.

Q4 - What can we expect to see from you with any upcoming novels?

A) Book #2 in A Sense of Truth series is on its way and everyone can expect to see it next year! I also have two additional series I am working on and a standalone novel that I hope to share soon. So you can expect to see many more novels from me as long as you keep reading! 

Q5 - What was your initial reaction when you saw the finished copy of The Thirteenth Chime for the first time?

A) Disbelief. I couldn't believe that what I was seeing. It was a long journey but a worthwhile one!

Q6 - Describe The Thirteenth Chime in one word.

A) Dissimilar.

Q7 - What do you do when you aren't writing?

A) Promoting. *laughs* I think I spend more time out marketing than I do writing, which considering how much I write is something else! But when I am not doing anything along the lines of my books, I'm either working out or reading. I love to read and you will always find a good book near me.

Q8 - Who are your favourite authors and what are your favourite books?

A) Tamora Pierce and Sharon Shinn. You should definitely check out "In the Hand of the Goddess"! Though a lot of the tenners this year have been making it to my favorites lists!

Q9 - Just for fun, if you could be any super hero, or have any super power who, or what would it be?

A) I think Spiderman (or woman, in this case). I would love to have spidey-sense and being able to shoot out webbing to pull a piece of chocolate to me quickly would really come in handy! ;) *laughs* Just kidding. I would love to have the ability to shift things with my mind like the movie Dark City because I can hardly even imagine how many people that could help. Imagine being able to resurrect areas hit by distruction and help crops grow so that the hungry could have food. It would mean everything to be able to help so many people.

Thanks again Emma for coming to my blog, and being my first ever interview-ee, I hope you had fun! I sure did!

I did and thank you so much for having me and to everyone reading!!!

Sincerely,

Emma Michaels

http://emmamichaels.blogspot.com/

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The Thirteenth Chime:

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No one knew of its existence until it was removed from the attic upstairs.

In a beautiful house that overlooks the sea, an antique clock has the power to change the course of their lives.

The power the clock resonates will not only force Destiny and ex-boyfriend David on a journey into the depths of one man's mind long dead, but into the mind of a man filled with hatred and bent on revenge.

With the only clues to the nature of the clock having disappeared into the sea, Destiny and David must retrace the steps the man had taken into the darkness, before they fall prey to the trap he had set in motion over half a century ago. 

Hatred never dies.