Special Guest Post with Sarah Alderson

 

Hi everyone today I have the lovely Sarah Alderson on the blog, as you probably know I am a huge fan of her books, she's the best at creating suspenseful scenes, hot unforgettable characters, and books which you never want to put down! So I'm thrilled to have Sarah on the blog today sharing with you guys what she's been up to! 

Jasprit: Hi Sarah welcome to The Readers Den, being such a huge fan of your work I am thrilled to have you on the blog! 

Sarah: Thanks so much for having me. 

Jasprit: With two successful series out (Lila and Fated) and The Sound set for release in the US this May, you must have a super busy schedule! How do you keep on top of your writing? 

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Sarah: I actually have three books coming out over the next three months. The Sound in the US, Out of Control in the UK and my new adult book Come Back To Me (published by Pan Macmillan) out in June. It's funny you ask how I'm coping because it recently became apparent that I was totally burning out. So I've just stopped. I've wiped everything off my plate and am just taking some time out - doing a few interviews but no writing for a couple of months. I've written 14 books in 5 years plus half a dozen short stories and a screenplay. I feel totally drained. I've forgotten how important it is to replenish the well so now I'm focusing on that.

The UK version of The Sound on the left which was released in the UK last year and the US version on the right, which will be released this May. (Click on books for more info).

Jasprit: Seriously I adore everything that you have written so far, what do we have to look forward from you next?

Sarah: Thank you! I have three more young adult thrillers lined up, starting with Out of Control. The next two are titled: Close Proximity and Proof of Life. I'm also hoping to write another New Adult. I really enjoy writing in different genres. 

Jasprit: Writing an Adult novel can be a huge step (especially as you've written YA books in the past), did you find this cross over to Adult with Come Back to Me difficult compared to your previous books that you had written? 

Sarah: Actually I found it much easier because it's not a thriller. Thrillers are so much more challenging as there are so many plotlines to fit together. Come Back To Me is a romance. It's about falling in love for the first time and what happens when circumstances force you apart. I laughed and cried a lot while writing it but generally found it really easy to write.

Jasprit: To me you are the Queen of creating hot unforgettable characters, so I can't wait to see what you have to offer in Come Back to me. Can you share a little teaser with us? 

Sarah: So to frame this scene a little, Kit is a Marine Embassy Guard. He's home on leave and has started secretly dating his best friend's sister, Jessa. He's just taken her on a first date to the beach where he produced a home-made picnic of yummy things. Turns out he's amazingly talented in the kitchen as well as the bedroom. Jessa's asked him to teach her how to cook... ;) and this scene is written from Kit's POV.

I drive like there’s a demon on our tail but halfway home I glance across at Jessa, sitting with her bare feet propped on the dash, legs coated in sand, and wonder if I’m running ahead of myself. What happened to taking it slow and enjoying the anticipation? By the time we get back to my place I’m back in control and planning on just giving her a baking demonstration, that’s all. Just cooking. No making out.

I open the back door and lead her into the kitchen. Jessa’s been to my house before but not for a while and I feel nervous, self-conscious, as she stands there looking around. And all I can think about is how it looks like I’ve brought her back here so I can sleep with her, which isn’t true, but which automatically makes me think about sleeping with her, which in turn makes me picture her naked, which makes me then picture us making love on the kitchen floor. Fuck. Think about something else instead. I try to banish the thoughts but still they flood in thick and fast, taunting me. Focus on the baking, I tell myself tersely. That’s what you brought her here for. Baking. Not sex.

‘Let me check I have all the ingredients,’ I say, moving quickly to the cabinets and starting to pull down the flour, eggs, sugar and baking powder.

‘Kit?’ Jessa says.

I stop, holding the weighing scales in one hand and a baking tray in the other and look at her. She’s standing in the middle of the kitchen, still barefoot, her hair hanging down her back and her T-shirt sticking to her with sand and salt-water.

‘I don’t want to bake,’ she says.

‘You don’t?’ I ask, trying to stay cool.

She shakes her head, a small and mischievous smile playing on her lips.

Oh fuck it. I toss the things I’m holding onto the side, not even caring when I hear something clatter to the floor. I stride towards Jessa and pull her into my arms. ‘Works for me,’ I say, kissing her.

Jasprit: And what about Out of Control, will I be likely to be adding another fictional crush to my top ten list? 

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Sarah: I hope so! Jay is the lead character in OOC. He's 19, born in Queens in New York. He's grown up on the streets, he's got plenty of smarts and a ton of chivalry. He's just gorgeous. And funny. 

Jasprit: You recently described Out of Control as a fast paced and sexy thriller which tackles the very real and shocking issue of human trafficking. What inspired you to focus on this issue? 

Sarah: I'm not comfortable using the word sexy and human trafficking in the same sentence. To be clear, while human trafficking is the conspiracy in the book, the story is not about a victim of trafficking. I could never do justice to that story and there are many authors and victims themselves who have written hard-hitting books on the topic and I recommend many of them in the back of my book for a real insight into the issue. Liva the main character in Out of Control is the daughter of a man who is the head of a government task force tackling human trafficking. That's the link. The story is about Liva and Jay going on the run from two people who are hunting them down. I wanted to write a story that had something to say beyond 'hot boy meets cute girl, they kiss, the end'. I wanted it to have some substance. I write thrillers. I'm known for my hot romances and action and Out of Control is no exception, in fact it is probably the most fast-paced, action packed book I've written. I saw this as an opportunity to raise awareness among my audience and readers of a very real topic. 

Jasprit: From your two upcoming books which scene did you have the most fun writing? 

Sarah: There's a scene in Out of Control. It's just before Dawn and Liva and Jay are on the Brooklyn Bridge and they're having a big conversation about life and about what it means to live and confront certain truths. He tells her how living means accepting both the good and the bad, the pain and the hurt as well as the love and the laughter, because you can't have one without the other. And she's struggling to accept that. So he kisses her of course and that helps change her mind!!! But then I also really enjoyed writing about Jessa and Kit in Come Back to Me especially the scenes where they're apart and emailing each other. 

Jasprit: And what does your typical writing day entail? 

Sarah: I start work at 7.30, usually spend an hour answering fan emails and tweets and other work related emails and then I start writing, usually until around 4pm when my daughter's home from school.

Thank you so much Sarah! Who else is excited about Sarah's upcoming releases? I for one will definitely have to pre-order Out of Control (I can't wait to meet Jay!) and Come Back to Me (I need some sexy times!)

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 almost a year spent wandering around India, Singapore, Australia and the US, they settled in Bali where Sarah now spends her days writing 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, Losing Lila, on the beach in India, and had signed a two book deal with Simon & Schuster by the time they reached Bali. 

Since then she has published a further four novels and several short stories. Her latest novel The Sound, will be published in the US in May 2014. 

As well as Young Adult fiction, Sarah writes New Adult fiction for Pan Macmillan under the pen nameMila Gray. Her first novel Come Back To Me will be out in summer 2014. Sarah has co-written the Hunting Lila screenplay, an adaptation of her upcoming YA novel Out of Control, and is working on several other books and screenplays (multi-tasking is one of her favorite things).

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Special Guest Post: Easy by Tammara Webber

Hello everyone today I have a very special post to share with you. Last month you all voted Easy by Tammara Webber as the book I should read this month, and can I just say thank you to all of those who voted for this book, as it was exactly what I needed! So instead of just giving you a post with my review, the lovely Siiri over at Little Pieces of Imagination who is a huge fan of this book, you can read her review here came up with the idea of doing a question and answer post. Siiri came up with some wonderful questions, which I had a lot of fun answering, before our post here's a bit about the book. 

When Jacqueline follows her longtime boyfriend to the college of his choice, the last thing she expects is a breakup two months into sophomore year. After two weeks in shock, she wakes up to her new reality: she's single, attending a state university instead of a music conservatory, ignored by her former circle of friends, and failing a class for the first time in her life. Leaving a party alone, Jacqueline is assaulted by her ex's frat brother. Rescued by a stranger who seems to be in the right place at the right time, she wants nothing more than to forget the attack and that night - but her savior, Lucas, sits on the back row of her econ class, sketching in a notebook and staring at her. Her friends nominate him to be the perfect rebound. When her attacker turns stalker, Jacqueline has a choice: crumple in defeat or learn to fight back. Lucas remains protective, but he's hiding secrets of his own. Suddenly appearances are everything, and knowing who to trust is anything but easy.

Guest Post with Siiri! 

Siiri: I know I basically forced you into this reading book. Plus, it won with a huge lead in front of the others in your poll on what to read next. What kind of expectations did you have prior reading Easy? Did you feel an obligation to love it? The hype is a dangerous thing sometimes…

Jasprit: I normally hate going into a book which has had so much hype especially more so now because the last couple of books I’ve gone with have been really disappointing. But with Easy it was different. I knew everyone loved it and I was incredibly happy to see so many readers vote for it in my poll, but I decided to go into it with no expectations whatsoever. I didn’t even read the blurb beforehand. But at the back of my mind, I had the small hope that Easy would deliver something different from the NA genre that I hadn’t been enjoying very much lately.

Siiri: Throughout the book, for me, Jacqueline grows a lot. By the time you finished the book, had your thoughts on her character changed from how you saw her at the beginning? How so? 

Jasprit: I think that break from Kennedy, despite it being so heart breaking at the time for Jacqueline, is exactly what she needed. It was like being with Kennedy and his friends Jacqueline wasn’t really being her true self. Without him she was able to find more time for what things mattered to her the most like focusing on being a bassist. Before she decided to do things because of Kennedy, go to this college because of him, but now she was able to think for herself and not feel bad about it. I liked how by being “independent”, (without Kennedy) she was able to meet new people she wouldn’t have normally chatted too. But most of all stand her ground on a lot of things she felt important about. I’d always appreciated Jacqueline’s character in the beginning, I guess by the end I appreciated the direction which Jacqueline decided to go.

Siiri: Girl talk!!! I L-O-V-E a good friendship between girls. That’s hard to find and one of my favourite relationships in this novel was Erin and Jacqueline. How do you feel about their relationship? 

Jasprit: I love a good friendship between girls too, it’s always hard to find one in a YA or NA books these days for me. For me a decent best friend will always have her friends back no matter what and that’s exactly what Erin did. She always wanted what was best for Jacqueline, she rooted for her   relationship with Lucas and she even decided to drop people that mattered a lot to her who questioned Jacqueline’s accusations. Erin was a sweetheart through and through, she would push Jacqueline to go for something which she knew in her heart was right, and she was able to bring light and fun whenever Jacqueline was feeling low.

Siiri: OK. So.. You know that guy Lucas who appears repeatedly in this novel? On the scale of 10, how much did you like him? I think for me it was about 12. You know... that smart brain of his, witty remarks, art skills and of course there is the material arts stuff. What’s not to like! How big of an influence do you think he make on Jacqueline’s growth? 

Jasprit: I simply adored Lucas he would definitely get about a 9 or 10 from me. I love a guy who doesn’t beat around the bush; he was clear from the beginning how he felt about Jacqueline. I also loved how honest he was about how he had felt about Jacqueline before he knew her. He knew it could make her feel awkward around him, but he did it in such a sweet way. I think Lucas being around did contribute significantly to Jacqueline’s growth. She still wasn’t properly over her ex, but indirectly Lucas began helping Jacqueline out of her shell without her realising it. He was the one that helped her when she needed him most, but most of all he continued to give her a helping hand afterwards. Lucas was one heck of a talented guy and definitely one of my highlights of this book.

Siiri: The way attempted rape and rape were included in this novel was portrayed in a really realistic way. We saw reactions from different personalities and also from both genders. What do you think of Kennedy and his influence on Jacqueline’s decisions regarding these incidents? 

Jasprit: Kennedy really left me conflicted, I honestly thought he was a decent guy, okay his decision for breaking with Jacqueline was one of the stupid ones ever. But when she needed him he did come through for her and I thought that his interference would help in a big way. But then at other times I just wanted to slap him upside the head. All the end of the day I think Kennedy was just out for his own interests. (He reminded me a lot of Waver from the film Legally Blonde!).

Siiri: What did you make of the writing style? I think the daily struggles Jacqueline goes through were written in such a relatable way that I felt like I was a friend of Jacqueline and the cast rather than an observer from the outside. 

Jasprit: I definitely agree with you on this Siiri, at times I was so caught up in the story and the characters that Webber had created that I forgot that I was reading an actual book. I love it when an author totally sweeps you into a book that you find yourself continually thinking about the characters and what could happen next in your every spare moment, and this is exactly what happened with Easy. Webber created a story in Easy that I’m sure my individuals could relate to. A story which was raw, honest, but most of all heartbreaking beautiful.

Siiri: Describe easy with 4 words which first letters put together make the word Easy.

Jasprit:

Emotional
Alluring
Strength
Yearning

A big thank you to Siiri for doing this wonderful post for me! If you haven't read Easy, I highly recommend that you do so right away, you can read my review for this gorgeous book here.

Guest Post: Kate Avelynn author of Flawed

Today I’m pleased to welcome author Kate Avelynn to the blog. Kate’s debut novel Flawed is set to release next month, it’s a dark contemporary YA romance and in Kate’s own words it’s a book which blends “first love, betrayal and danger”. I remember when I first read the blurb I just knew that I had to read this book. Today Kate will be sharing her playlist for Flawed.

*note you may find that the Youtube videos won't play in Firefox, it's been playing up for some reason for the last few days, so please try a different browser in order to view the videos

Flawed by Kate Avelynn 

Publisher: Entangled Teen  
Publication Date: July 2012 (tbc)

Sarah O’Brien is alive because of the pact she and her brother made twelve years ago—James will protect her from their violent father if she promises to never leave him. For years, she’s watched James destroy his life to save hers. If all he asks for in return is her affection, she’ll give it freely.

Until, with a tiny kiss and a broken mind, he asks for more than she can give.

Sam Donavon has been James’s best friend—and the boy Sarah’s had a crush on—for as long as she can remember. As their forbidden relationship deepens, Sarah knows she’s in trouble. Quiet, serious Sam has decided he’s going to save her. Neither of them realize James is far more unstable than her father ever was, or that he’s not about to let Sarah forget her half of the pact…

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Thank you for having me on The Reader’s Den today, Jasprit!

Music is a major part of my life and factors hugely into my writing. I’ll be driving down the road with the stereo blaring when an awesome lyric I’ve never heard before catches my attention, and then BAM—the entire vibe of a new book hits me upside the head. Resident Hottie is used to me careening into the nearest parking lot and scrambling for a pen and a scrap of paper to write it down before the song—and the idea—float away. From there, I dash home and build a playlist so I can plot out what I’m seeing in my head. It’s complete musical chaos until the book is written.

FLAWED has an angry, haunting vibe, so the playlist reflects this. It’s hard to imagine the book feeling any other way once I read the lyrics to You Are My Sunshine? This is a story of obsession, betrayal, and how easy guilt and misplaced loyalty can destroy your life. While Sarah is the narrator, for me, this has always been James’ story. That might explain why so many of the songs on the playlist are about him and how his life spirals out of control.

The first song is Lie to Me by 12 Stones. The acoustic version of this song is James’ anthem in the beginning of the book and reflect his sadness. So many lines in this fit what he’s going through when his sister, the girl he destroyed his life to save, starts to pull away. He doesn’t know how to stop what’s happening and would rather believe the lie than face reality, however twisted his reality may be. 

I gave my soul to you

You cut me from behind

Nowhere to run and nowhere to hide

You’re scared of the truth, I’m tired of the lies

‘Cause who I am is where you wanna be

You said you were there for me

You wouldn’t let me fall

All the times I shared with you

Were you even there at all?

So lie to me once again

And tell me everything will be alright

You left me broken and betrayed

It’s s the same old story

Second is Lithium by Evanescence. This is Sarah’s song. She’s desperate to break free of the hell she’s been living, but she’s trapped by guilt and tied to her brother out of the fierce love and loyalty she feels for him. 

I wanna stay in love with my sorrow

Oh, but God I wanna let it go

Come to bed, don’t make me sleep alone

Couldn’t hide the emptiness, you let it show

Drown my will to fly

Here in the darkness I know myself

Can’t break free until I let it go, let me go

Darling, I forgive you after all

Anything is better than to be alone

And in the end I guess I had to fall

Always find my place among the ashes

Next is Passive by A Perfect Circle. This song inspired two specific scenes in the book—one between James and Sarah, the other between Sarah and her mother. When you read the book, I wonder if you’ll catch which ones!

Wake up and face me

Don’t play dead ‘cause maybe

Someday, I’ll walk away and say

“You f-ing disappoint me

Maybe you’re better off this way”

Leanin’ over you here

Cold and catatonic

I catch a brief reflection

Of what you could and might have been

It’s your right and your ability

To become my perfect enemy

Why can’t you turn and face me?

And finally, Lies by Seven Wiser. If Lie to Me is James when he’s hurting and only just beginning to see what’s happening between Sarah and Sam, Lies is James once he’s snapped. None of their lives will ever be the same.

I’m the one that was there for you

When you cut yourself and started to bleed

I’m the one that would dry your tears

Every time you’d come crying to me

Sick of the games that you played on me

So I walk alone and suffer in need

You’re the one that will cry the tears

When you see what you’ve created of me

Additional songs that made the FLAWED playlist include I Stand Alone by Godsmack, Closer by Burn Season, Regret by Seven Wiser, and Together Again by Evanescence (which is like my closing credits song—so extremely creepy!).

So that’s what it’s like from the author’s perspective. I’d like to know whether you, as a reader, like having access to an author’s playlist, or if you prefer to associate your own songs to the story you’re reading. I know I’ve been jarred by some of the songs on playlists in the past—what about you?

Author Bio: Kate Avelynn lives in Central Oregon with her husband, whom she fell in love with at eighteen after realizing he shared her obsession with music, sports, and psychoanalysis. When not devouring Stephanie Perkins and Jennifer Echols novels, holding down her editing gig, or attempting to coax life out of the weed patch she calls a “garden,” Kate writes dark, young adult romance that blends first love, betrayal, and danger. 

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Thank you so much for your awesome post Kate! I seriously can’t wait to get my hands on Flawed. I definitely like having access to an author's playlist, I can't wait to see how this playlist fits in with the book. Who else is excited for this book? 

Pretty Amy Blog Tour and Guest Post

Today I have the lucky opportunity of having the lovely Lisa Burstein on The Readers Den as part of the Pretty Amy blog tour. For today's guest post Lisa will be sharing with us some of her inspirations behind her debut novel Pretty Amy.

I was always a girl who loved words. When I was in high school I wrote in a diary and spewed out terrible poetry. Very melodramatic stuff that rhymed. Mostly because I had all these feelings of inadequacy and defectiveness inside me that I didn't know how else to get out. So I wrote poems with titles like Pain and my parents read them and asked me if I was okay. And, I always said yes, because how could I explain?

How could I tell them that their little girl who used to love reading and horseback riding was finding it hard to find things she loved anymore? How could I tell them that being thrust into the world of high school had turned me into a shy, scared, loser? I couldn't.

But that girl who loved words and knew she had things to say about the world, her world, even though she was afraid no one was listening, is the one who was inside me when I was writing PRETTY AMY.

High school was not easy for me. When I was a freshman there were a lot of days I came home crying. Not because I was bullied, but because I was ignored. Made to feel like it didn't matter if I existed or not. That is its own kind of mental bullying. When you keep being ignored, it starts to turn you into someone who just feels need all the time. Who just feels lost all the time. You just want validation that you are normal. It's a scary place to be.

Because of that, you try so desperately to be friends with someone, anyone. You feel yourself just wanting a friend to pick you. To say, yes, I like you, let’s sit together at lunch, like a puppy looking through glass just wanting to be taken home and hugged.

You walk through the halls at school and try to find anyone willing to give you a chance, but chances are hard to come by in high school. That was all I wanted back then, someone to give me a chance. And, in PRETTY AMY it's all that Amy wants.

It was a book I knew I had to write, certainly for all the girls out there who feel and felt like me, but also for myself. I knew I had to make those years of hopelessness and emptiness into something. I knew I had to take all those feelings and put them somewhere and I guess I was lucky enough to be able to put them in a novel.

The thing is I know there are so many girls like Amy, so many girls who just want someone, anyone to listen to them. Who try so hard to make sense of their lives that it hurts.

I know what it is like to be this kind of girl and I also know that all you want is a place to spill all your feelings like a bucket full of dirty mop water, which is why I created The Pretty Amy Project. I am asking teens and adults who used to be teens to Read PRETTY AMY and tell their story.

As Amy says:

"I’d wanted the words to be perfect. It seemed like they should be profound or something for as long as everyone had been waiting to hear them, but all I could say was yes. I guess sometimes saying what you mean is enough."

I know there are a lot of Amy's out there. I was an Amy and I had no one who really understood. I understand. I want to listen. I want other people to listen. I am asking readers to tell us how you've felt like Amy. How you got over it. How you are getting over it. How you are embracing it. Tell us anything you've been too afraid to tell before.

I know sometimes that just saying and reading the scary and hard things can make you feel better. I know that because that's what finally did it for me.

Thank you so much for stopping by and sharing your inspirations with us Lisa! There are still a few more tour stops left in this blog tour, you can check the rest out here. And also read what I thought about Pretty Amy in my review here.