Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Sweet Six Squared: Meet the Sparkies!


Jen here. I'm so excited for today's post. I've got not one, not two, but SIX amazing authors here with me to answer our Sweet Six questions.  These lovely ladies are my Bloomsbury Spark pub sisters, and they dropped by today to celebrate the launch of our books in just two days!  You will swoon for these diverse YA and NA titles, and I hope you love these girls as much as I do. Without further ado, I give you...


Frankie Brown, author of UNTIL WE END; Christine Duval, author of POSITIVELY MINE; Jenny, Kaczorowski, author of THE ART OF FALLING; Cat Kalen, author of PRIDE'S RUN; Marie Langager, author of BEYOND OUR STARS; and Ashley Poston, author of THE SOUND OF US.

1) Tell us about your book!

Frankie: My book tells the story of Cora, a seventeen-year-old girl from the deep south whose little brother goes missing after the world ends. She meets a guy named Brooks who knows how to get her brother back, but Brooks says it'd be a suicide mission. Cora doesn't care. But Brooks can't let her go...

Christine: Positively Mine is a NA novel about a girl who goes off to her freshman year of college, discovers she is pregnant, and keeps it a secret the entire pregnancy. 

Jenny: Seventeen-year-old Bria Hale knows exactly who she is - the militant vegan, purple-haired queen of the art room - until she kisses the high school quarterback. 

Cat: Eighteen-year-old Pride is a tracker with a hunger for blood. Taught to trick, seduce and to lure, she is the perfect killing machine. Kept leashed in the cellar by a master who is as ruthless as he is powerful, Pride dreams of freedom, of living a normal life, but escape from the compound is near impossible and disobedience comes with a price. When she learns her master intends to breed her she knows she has to run. Pride soon learns if she is to survive in the wild, she must trust in the boy who promises her freedom, the same boy she was sent to hunt.

Marie: Fleeing a destroyed Earth, Hope has become a young leader for the people who remain, and when she is the only one who can withstand the tests of the natives on their new planet she is about to become their last chance for survival.

Ashley: It's a story about two young people who have both lost the person they love the most, and how they learn to stand again with a little help from their friends. And maybe a small dash of classic rock.


2) What scene in your book do you LOVE the most?


Frankie: I love the opening scene where the reader meets Cora and finds out how she's survived for nine months without leaving home. I had to do a lot of research to figure out how that'd be possible, and it was such a fun puzzle.

Christine: There are a couple but so I don't reveal the ending, I'll say my favorite is when my MC Laurel goes to visit her friend Audrey from her young mother's pregnancy support group. Audrey has everything Laurel doesn't. She's married to the father of her baby, has a huge loving family, and is on her way to finishing her degree. But in this one particular scene, Laurel realizes that Audrey is actually jealous of Laurel's independence. I really like their exchange. It made me cry when I was writing it.

Jenny: The almost-kiss in the shower, where Ben & Bria compare their scars. (Note from Jen: I LOVE this scene, too!!)

Cat: My absolute favourite scene is during the night of the full moon, when the boy she was sent to hunt, takes her into a cave, and uses distraction to keep her mind off her hunger! 

Marie: Ohh, the angry-kissing scene, the I'm-mad-but-I-can't-resist-you scene.

Ashley: Isla Lona. That's all I'm going to say. Isla. Lona.


3) If you had to pick a character you LOVE (and not your own!), who would you pick and why?


Frankie: A character that I haven't written? Well, if you follow me on Twitter, you know I'm a die-hard Sherlockian. So I have to pick Sherlock, of course! :)

Christine: Hazel from The Fault in Our Stars because she is just so strong for someone so young facing more than most ever face in a lifetime.
Jenny: Merrin Grey from ONE by Leigh Ann Kopans. She's small yet mighty, stubborn and fragile all at once. Everything I love in a YA heroine - and she made me cry the first time I read her story. 
 
Cat: Katniss Everdeen, Hunger Games!  She is fierce!

Marie: Captain Jean-Luc Picard! Indiana Jones! d'Artagnan! Too many options, I can't choose. 

Ashley: Gosh, this is hard... but Sophie from Howl's Moving Castle. I absolutely adore her gumption. Diana Wynne Jones always had a way of making fantastical characters believable and heartfelt, and I aspire to do that someday, too!




4) What's the craziest/most memorable valentine you've ever received?

Frankie: The most memorable valentine I've ever gotten was a hot stone massage followed by a five-course brunch. Maybe I'll treat myself to that this year!

Christine: An engraved Tiffany bracelet from a grown man when I was only twelve years old! Yup. It was kinda creepy and very Humbert Humbert.

Jenny: Our second year of marriage, after swearing we wouldn't do gifts, my husband bought me flowers, which we totally couldn't afford. 

Cat: Years ago, when I was pregnant and had strange cravings, for Valentines my husband brought me home a big sack of potatoes! LOL.  I was eating like 5 lbs. of potatoes a day! It was funny and thoughtful!

Marie: It involved a path of rose petals leading to a candle lit dinner of Chinese take-out with Boys II Men blasting in the background. I married him.

Ashley: Eeeek, well, I can honestly say I've never had a valentine. But the most memorable/craziest gift I've ever received was a Scrooge McDuck piggie bank, and every time you put money in it Scrooge would say, "AAH, THE MONEY. LOOK AT ALL THE MONEY!" Highlight of my childhood.

 

5) If you were a Brach's Heart, what phrase would be written on you?

Frankie: Kiss me.
Christine: Be True
Jenny: You Rock
Cat: Naughty...
Marie: <3's Magic
Ashley: Probably ALL THE FEELS.








 

6) The all-important choice: flowers or candy?

Frankie: CANDY. Of course candy! Anything with chocolate.
Christine: Flowers.
Jenny: Flowers. I buy my own chocolate ;)
Cat: Candy for sure!!
Marie: Sugarrrr!! My answer is candy. Preferably chocolate.
Ashley: Haha! Um, candy for sure! Can I say strawberries dipped in chocolate? Oh-hoho those are my favorite.


Thanks so much, ladies! Congratulations on the launch...I’m sure we’ll all be celebrating with candy, flowers, AND streamers on Thursday!

Connect with Frankie:
Twitter

Connect with Christine:

Connect with Jenny:

Connect with Cat:

Connect with Marie:

Connect with Ashley:





5 comments:

  1. EEEPS! So much awesomeness on this page! Congrats to all of you!

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  2. These books sound so awesome!! Thanks for stopping by!

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  3. This group interview was absolutely fun. Great job, Jen, and congrats on your debuts, ladies! Just added a bunch to my TBR list.

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  4. Great interviews! I love how different all of these books are! Congrats to everyone on their debut.

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  5. Thanks for hanging out with the Valentines y'all! I want all of y'alls books RIGHT NOW. *packs TBR list* Plus a special Sparky candy heart pack with all of y'alls awesome slogans.:)

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