Our Sweet Six: An Interview with Cori McCarthy, Author of THE COLOR OF RAIN

Spaceships, Heartache and Prostitutes...OH MY!

GUYS! Guys, guys, guys!!  I am so excited to introduce you to Cori McCarthy. She's a super cool, incredibly talented debut author who just happens to have written the most intense and exciting book I've read in ages!! Here's the Goodreads blurb:   

If there is one thing that seventeen-year-old Rain knows and knows well, it is survival. Caring for her little brother, Walker, who is "Touched," and losing the rest of her family to the same disease, Rain has long had to fend for herself on the bleak, dangerous streets of Earth City. When she looks to the stars, Rain sees escape and the only possible cure for Walker. And when a darkly handsome and mysterious captain named Johnny offers her passage to the Edge, Rain immediately boards his spaceship. Her only price: her "willingness."

The Void cloaks many secrets, and Rain quickly discovers that Johnny's ship serves as host for an underground slave trade for the Touched . . . and a prostitution ring for Johnny's girls. With hair as red as the bracelet that indicates her status on the ship, the feeling of being a marked target is not helpful in Rain's quest to escape. Even worse, Rain is unsure if she will be able to pay the costs of love, family, hope, and self-preservation.

With intergalactic twists and turns, Cori M. McCarthy's debut space thriller exists in an orbit of its own.

I know, right?! Sleep now, because the moment you get your hands on this bad boy you won't be able to put it down. THE COLOR OF RAIN will be released May 14, 2013, by Running Press Kids. *nods to the best pub in town*  

Now, let's get to know more about Cori. Here are the Sweet Six...

1) Tell us about your book!

My story is a YA space thriller about a girl who goes too far for someone she loves, trading her body to a darkly sexy space captain for a chance to cross the Void and save her brother’s life. 
I sometimes also say its “teen prostitutes in space,” but that’s just for a giggle. (interviewer side note: I LOVE recommending this book to people. It's so fun to say "it's about teen prostitutes in space.")

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

My favorite scene is when Rain and Ben are at the quarry lake in the violet velvet before dawn, swimming and kissing and feeling free. I wrote this book about six times before it found its true plot, but that scene stayed in every version!

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

I love Mr. Rochester. I can’t help it! I know he’s mean and nasty and old, but every time I read JANE EYRE, I get all swoony for him.

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

Just this year, my husband gave me the gift of Star Wars footed, hoodie, zip-up pajamas. Seriously, this product exists! I’d say this is hard to beat on both the memorable/crazy scale.

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

“Resist much, obey little.” –Whitman 

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

Hmm, I do not have a sweet tooth, and I get a little sad when flowers die a few days later…but I do have a big soft spot for potted plants.

Thanks so much for swinging by, Cori. The Valentines wish you all the best with your exciting debut!
You can follow Cori on her blog or over on Twitter.