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Showing posts with label Snow Like Ashes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Snow Like Ashes. Show all posts

Thursday, September 22, 2016

Blog Tour- FROST LIKE NIGHT by Sarah Raasch An Interview & Giveaway!


I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the blog tour for FROST LIKE NIGHT by Sarah Raasch! I freaking adore this series and am sad to see it end!  I have an interview with Sara to share with you today! And make sure to enter the awesome giveaway for a finished copy of the book!!


Haven't heard of FROST LIKE NIGHT? Check it out!

Title: FROST LIKE NIGHT
Author: Sara Raasch
Pub. Date: September 20, 2016
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Pages: 496
Formats: Hardcover, eBook
Angra is alive, his Decay is spreading—and no one is safe.

Meira will do anything to save her world. With Angra trying to break through her mental defenses, she desperately needs to learn to control her own magic—so when the leader of a mysterious Order from Paisly offers to teach her, she jumps at the chance. But the true solution to stopping the Decay lies in a labyrinth deep beneath the Season Kingdoms. To defeat Angra, Meira will have to enter the labyrinth, destroy the very magic she’s learning to control—and make the biggest sacrifice of all.

Mather will do anything to save his queen. He needs to rally the Children of the Thaw, find Meira—and finally tell her how he really feels. But with a plan of attack that leaves no kingdom unscathed and a major betrayal within their ranks, winning the war—and protecting Meira—slips farther and farther out of reach.

Ceridwen will do anything to save her people. Angra had her brother killed, stole her kingdom, and made her a prisoner. But when she’s freed by an unexpected ally who reveals a shocking truth behind Summer’s slave trade, Ceridwen must take action to save her true love and her kingdom, even if it costs her what little she has left.

As Angra unleashes the Decay on the world, Meira, Mather, and Ceridwen must bring the kingdoms of Primoria together…or lose everything.

Now on to the interview!

Hi Sara! First I want to say welcome back to Two Chicks on Books! FROST LIKE NIGHT was absolutely fantastic and I can’t wait for everyone to read it! And am so happy that you could stop by for a visit!

Thanks for having me! I’m so excited to be hereparticularly for the LAST book in the SLA series! Bittersweet!

For the readers: can you tell us a little bit about FROST LIKE NIGHT and the characters? Or give us a series recap?

FROST LIKE NIGHT picks up right after the end of ICE LIKE FIRE. It’s hard to tell too much without divulging spoilers, but know that in FLN, all the loose ends are tied up and everyone comes together in sometimes surprising, sometimes dreadful ways. Also, not everyone survives. Of course.

So now that the series is over what are you working on? And how does it feel to have a complete series under your belt?

My next series is a YA pirate fantasy, which I’m SUPER excited about because PIRATES! It still hasn’t sunken in yet that SLA is really over, so I’m not yet sure how it feels. It’ll probably hit me in a few months and I’ll start crying.

Were any of the characters in the book inspired by people from your real life?

I named two characters after people in my real lifeMelinda DeFiore, Therons mother, was named after my sister; and the Langstone River was named after my high school friend.

Who was your favorite character to write? What about your least favorite?

I always love any scene with Ceridwen or Shazi. But I also love writing Mather’s POV because he’s just so fantastically devoted to Meira and it breaks my heart in the best way. As for least favoritevillains are always hard for me to wrap my brain around, so those scenes tend to be more difficult.

What is your favorite passage/scene in FROST LIKE NIGHT?

I love love love Ch 21. Lets just say I read a LOT of smutty Zutara fanfiction to get in the right mindset to write that scene, hehe.

What kind of research did you have to do for the story?

For FROST LIKE NIGHT, not much, since the world was already built and the plot was more or less in place. I usually do quite a bit before a series starts though, reading books on different cultures for inspiration or plotting for structure.

Who is your ultimate book boyfriend?

Damen from the Captive Prince trilogy. I’d have to fight Laurent for him, and I’d totally lose, but mmmmm Damen.

What inspired you to write YA?

I love the possibility of itits a time in peoples lives when anything is open to them, so it leaves the world up for grabs!

Lightening Round Questions

What are you reading right now? Or what do you have on your TBR that you’re dying to read?

Right now I’m rereading Sharon Shinn’s Elemental Blessings series to get ready for the next book out in November. Her world building is AMAZING!

What Hogwarts House would the Sorting Hat place you in?

Okay soI never was that into Harry Potter*ducks thrown items*

Twitter or Facebook?

TWITTER SO MUCH OMG

Favorite Superhero?

I love Iron Man’s snark.

Favorite TV show?

Warehouse 13

Sweet or Salty?

Both!

Any Phobias?

The ocean

Song you can’t get enough of right now?

Stolen by Dashboard Confessional

Fall Movie you’re most looking forward to?

Assassin’s Creed!

Thanks so much Sara for answering my questions! I can’t wait for everyone to read FROST LIKE NIGHT!


Thanks so much for having me!




About Sara:
Sara Raasch has known she was destined for bookish things since the age of five, when her friends had a lemonade stand and she tagged along to sell her hand-drawn picture books too. Not much has changed since then her friends still cock concerned eyebrows when she attempts to draw things and her enthusiasm for the written word still drives her to extreme measures. Her debut YA fantasy, SNOW LIKE ASHES, came out October 14, 2014 from Balzer + Bray, and the sequel, ICE LIKE FIRE, comes out October 13, 2015. Neither features her hand-drawn pictures.




Giveaway Details:


3 winners will receive a signed copy of FROST LIKE NIGHT, US Only. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule:


Week One:
9/12/2016- Young Adult at HeartInterview
9/13/2016-  Reviews from a BookwormReview
9/14/2016- FiktshunGuest Post
9/15/2016- Tween 2 Teen Book ReviewsReview
9/16/2016- The Cover ContessaInterview

Week Two:
9/19/2016- QuartzfeatherReview
9/20/2016- Writing My Own Fairy TaleGuest Post
9/21/2016- Bookish Lifestyle- Review
9/22/2016- Two Chicks on BooksInterview
9/23/2016- Mundie Moms- Review

Go back to where it all started! It's a great time to start the series if you haven't!

Monday, October 12, 2015

Blog Tour- ICE LIKE FIRE by Sara Raasch An Interview and A Giveaway!


I am so excited to be hosting a spot on the ICE LIKE FIRE blog tour! I have an interview with Sara to share with you today! And make sure to enter the giveaway for some awesome swag packs!

Haven't heard of ICE LIKE FIRE Check it out!

About the Book:
Title: ICE LIKE FIRE
Author: Sara Raasch
Release Date: October 13, 2015
Pages: 479
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Formats: Hardcover, eBook, Audiobook
It’s been three months since the Winterians were freed and Spring’s king, Angra, disappeared—thanks largely to the help of Cordell. 
Meira just wants her people to be safe. When Cordellan debt forces the Winterians to dig their mines for payment, they unearth something powerful and possibly dangerous: Primoria’s lost chasm of magic. Theron sees this find as an opportunity—with this much magic, the world can finally stand against threats like Angra. But Meira fears the danger the chasm poses—the last time the world had access to so much magic, it spawned the Decay. So when the king of Cordell orders the two on a mission across the kingdoms of Primoria to discover the chasm’s secrets, Meira plans to use the trip to garner support to keep the chasm shut and Winter safe—even if it means clashing with Theron. But can she do so without endangering the people she loves? 
Mather just wants to be free. The horrors inflicted on the Winterians hang fresh and raw in Januari—leaving Winter vulnerable to Cordell’s growing oppression. When Meira leaves to search for allies, he decides to take Winter’s security into his own hands. Can he rebuild his broken kingdom and protect them from new threats? 
As the web of power and deception weaves tighter, Theron fights for magic, Mather fights for freedom—and Meira starts to wonder if she should be fighting not just for Winter, but for the world.


Hi Sara! First I want to say welcome back to Two Chicks on Books! I loved SNOW LIKE ASHES & ICE LIKE FIRE and am so happy that you could stop by for a visit! BTW I can’t wait for book 3!

Yay!! I’m so excited to be here :D

For the readers: can you give us a recap of SNOW LIKE ASHES and the characters?

SNOW LIKE ASHES followed Meira, a sixteen-year-old girl who was one of the last surviving refugees from the Kingdom of Winter. Under the guidance of General William Loren (whom she calls Sir), Meira was trying to help the other refugees free their enslaved kingdom and put Mather, the exiled teenage king, back on the throne. They gained an alliance with the Kingdom of Cordell thanks to a questionable treaty with its king, Noam, and prince, Theron. But Angra, the king of Spring, had some other tricks up his sleeve, and things quickly unraveled—ending with Meira in one of Angra’s Winterian work camps. CHAOS ENSUED.

What can we expect in ICE LIKE FIRE?

More politics. This is the book where Meira really struggles with balancing Warrior Meira and Queen Meira—oftentimes at the expense of sacrificing Warrior Meira altogether.


What about book 3? Do we have a title yet?


We do! Or, well, I do, heh. It’ll be announced this winter!

Who was your favorite character to write? What about your least favorite? Has that changed between the two books?


Favorite character (other than Meira) was probably Ceridwen. She’s just so ANGRY, I love it.


Least favorite: Angra. He’s so MYSTERIOUS. Even to me. It’s like pulling teeth to get this guy to tell me anything about his backstory. 


What is your favorite passage/scene in ICE LIKE FIRE?



The one that first comes to mind is Chapter 9, purely because it’s so emotionally draining. #sorrynotsorry



Was book 2 easier to write than book 1?



HA. Hahahahahahahahaha *falls off chair*


Noooo. Book 2 was stupid hard to write. I actually went through about four or five different drafts before I finally landed on the right opening. Middle books are notoriously hard—they have to be a bridge between places as well as their own thing. I keep telling myself “I will only ever write standalones after this.” Yeah, we’ll see if that happens.


What are you reading right now? Or what do you have on your TBR that you’re dying to read?



I just finished Prince’s Gambit, book 2 in the Captive Prince trilogy, and I am dead from feels. DEAD. This is one of the best, if not the best, books I’ve ever read. The last 40 pages had me in this state of slack-jawed screeching in the middle of the night and IT’S JUST UTTER PERFECTION. (Tho this is not a YA book, so be warned—it’s very much an adult fantasy novel.)



Who is your ultimate Book Boyfriend?



Laurent from, see above, the Captive Prince trilogy. Though, I feel dirty saying that, because he’s so crazy perfect with Damen and I know he’d have zero interest in me. But I’d just want to follow him around and giggle and fawn over him and basically be his groupie. 



What inspires you to keep writing YA?



Meeting teen readers. They are the BEST—so passionate, so excited, and it always invigorates me in a way that nothing else can!



Lightening Round Questions

What Hogwarts House would the Sorting Hat place you in?

Ummm…soooo…I’ve never actually read Harry Potter…*dodges thrown items*

Twitter or Facebook?

TWITTER ALL THE WAY

Favorite Superhero?

Harley Quinn. She counts as a superhero, right? Don’t care, I love her.

Favorite TV show?

At the moment, Leverage. ELIOT MMMMMM

Sweet or Salty?

Both!

Any Phobias?

The ocean. I watched Life of Pi and it scared the sh** out of me. That kind of movie is my ultimate horror film—being trapped in the ocean. On a boat. Nowhere to go. Why people go on cruises BY CHOICE, to RELAX, is beyond me. That’s my hell, right there.

Song you can’t get enough of right now?

“Something I Need” by OneRepublic: https://youtu.be/8_xvWdY6Gr4

Fall Movie you’re most looking forward to?

Okay it’s next fall, technically, but the Assassin’s Creed movie OH MY GOD I CANNOT WAIT



Thanks so much Sara for answering my questions! I can’t wait to read SNOW LIKE ASHES 3!


Thanks for having me!! It was a blast!



About Sara:
Sara Raasch has known she was destined for bookish things since the age of five, when her friends had a lemonade stand and she tagged along to sell her hand-drawn picture books too. Not much has changed since then — her friends still cock concerned eyebrows when she attempts to draw things and her enthusiasm for the written word still drives her to extreme measures. Her debut YA fantasy, SNOW LIKE ASHES, came out October 14, 2014 from Balzer + Bray, and the sequel, ICE LIKE FIRE, comes out October 13, 2015. Neither features her hand-drawn pictures.




Giveaway Details:

2 winners will receive sets of ICE LIKE FIRE Trading Cards/Miniature Bookmarks. International.





a Rafflecopter giveaway


Check out the Tour Schedule!


Week One:
10/5/2015- A Dream Within A DreamReview
10/6/2015- Mundie MomsInterview
10/7/2015- Such a Novel IdeaReview
10/8/2015- Dark Faerie TalesGuest Post
10/9/2015- The Whimsical MamaReview

Week Two:
10/12/2015- Two Chicks on Books- Interview
10/13/2015- Bookish LifestyleReview
10/14/2015- Supernatural SnarkGuest Post
10/15/2015- FiktshunReview
10/16/2015- Once Upon a TwilightInterview



About book 1:

About the Book
Title: SNOW LIKE ASHES
Author: Sara Raasch
Release Date: October 14, 2014
Pages: 432
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Formats: Hardcover, Paperback, eBook, Audiobook

A heartbroken girl. A fierce warrior. A hero in the making. 
Sixteen years ago the Kingdom of Winter was conquered and its citizens enslaved, leaving them without magic or a monarch. Now, the Winterians’ only hope for freedom is the eight survivors who managed to escape, and who have been waiting for the opportunity to steal back Winter’s magic and rebuild the kingdom ever since. 
Orphaned as an infant during Winter’s defeat, Meira has lived her whole life as a refugee, raised by the Winterians’ general, Sir. Training to be a warrior—and desperately in love with her best friend, and future king, Mather — she would do anything to help her kingdom rise to power again. 
So when scouts discover the location of the ancient locket that can restore Winter’s magic, Meira decides to go after it herself. Finally, she’s scaling towers, fighting enemy soldiers, and serving her kingdom just as she’s always dreamed she would. But the mission doesn’t go as planned, and Meira soon finds herself thrust into a world of evil magic and dangerous politics – and ultimately comes to realize that her destiny is not, never has been, her own.





Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Top Ten Tuesday (18)- Top Ten Favorite Heroines From Books, Movies and TV


Hi and welcome to my Top 10 Tuesday post! 

Thanks to the lovely ladies at The Broke And The Bookish for creating this weekly meme!

Here's this week's topic.

February 24: Top Ten Favorite Heroines From Books (Or you could pick movies/tv)

I'm going to mix it up so there will be books. tv,and movies!


1. Celaena Sardothien from Sarah J. Maas's THRONE OF GLASS Series.

2. Buffy Summers from BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER.

3. Sydney Bristow from ALIAS.

4. Marguerite Caine from Claudia Gray's A THOUSAND PIECES OF YOU!

5. Anne Elliott from both Jane Austen's book PERSUASION and the movie!

6. Yelena from Maria V. Snyder's STUDY, SOULFINDER, and GLASS Series.

7. Agent Peggy Carter from AGENT CARTER.

8. Meira from Sara Raasch's SNOW LIKE ASHES.

9. Alexa from Sara B. Larson's DEFY Series.

10.  Daenerys Targaryen from GAME OF THRONES. I haven't read the books but I love her character in the show!




So this is my list. What about you? What are your top ten bookish problems?

And come back next week for my Top Ten Books I Would Classify As ALL TIME FAVORITE BOOKS from the past 3 years! I'm not sure what I'll do but it should be fun!

Hugs,
Jaime

Friday, October 17, 2014

Blog Tour- SNOW LIKE ASHES by Sara Raasch and a Giveaway


Hey y'all I'm so excited to have Sara Raasch here today to talk about the map in SNOW LIKE ASHES!! This book is one of my absolute favorites of 2014 it's an amazing high fantasy with a badass MC and swoonworthy boys! Plus Sara is an awesome writer and I have a feeling I'll be adding this series to my list of top 10 high fantasies of all time! Oh and make sure to stick around and enter the giveaway! 

Haven't heard of SNOW LIKE ASHES? Check it out!



Title: SNOW LIKE ASHES
Author: Sara Raasch
Pub. Date: October 14, 2014
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Pages: 432
Formats: Hardcover, audio, eBook

A heartbroken girl. A fierce warrior. A hero in the making.

Sixteen years ago the Kingdom of Winter was conquered and its citizens enslaved, leaving them without magic or a monarch. Now, the Winterians’ only hope for freedom is the eight survivors who managed to escape, and who have been waiting for the opportunity to steal back Winter’s magic and rebuild the kingdom ever since.

Orphaned as an infant during Winter’s defeat, Meira has lived her whole life as a refugee, raised by the Winterians’ general, Sir. Training to be a warrior—and desperately in love with her best friend, and future king, Mather — she would do anything to help her kingdom rise to power again.


So when scouts discover the location of the ancient locket that can restore Winter’s magic, Meira decides to go after it herself. Finally, she’s scaling towers, fighting enemy soldiers, and serving her kingdom just as she’s always dreamed she would. But the mission doesn’t go as planned, and Meira soon finds herself thrust into a world of evil magic and dangerous politics – and ultimately comes to realize that her destiny is not, never has been, her own.




Now on to the post!


Today, I would like to share with the lovely readers of Two Chicks on Books a behind-the-scenes trip into one of my favorite parts of SNOW LIKE ASHES:

The map!

The lovely map you see in copies of SLA today was not always so lovely. It, like the book, evolved over many drafts.

The first one came when I was a wee authorling authoring the first draft of SLA. I was INTO IT in an intense, over-the-moon obsessed way. I spent HOURS drawing pictures, sketching maps, constructing castle layouts, etc.

Thus, this first map is DETAILED. And really, really wrong for how the world is laid out now. Like the only thing similar to how Primoria actually is are a few of the kingdoms and the positions of the bodies of water.



The next attempt came once I started rewriting SNOW LIKE ASHES a few years back. I had to rework the map, and as such, a better attempt at a map was born…


And by better, I mean...only slightly. This is what happens when you take someone who thinks they have graphic design skill and give them Microsoft Paint.

LOOK AT MY BLOBBY TREES. I'm sorry, but those are the most realistic blobby trees I've ever seen.

And, for the final map...*drum roll*

Somehow, out of all that craziness, the amazing artist Jordan Saia created this work of gloriousness that made me tear up just as much as my cover.



Okay, okay, his trees are WAY better. Really, his everything is way better. I MEAN LOOK AT IT.

Thanks Sara for the awesome post! I love the backstory for the map the final product is gorgeous!






About Sara:

Sara Raasch has known she was destined for bookish things since the age of five, when her friends had a lemonade stand and she tagged along to sell her hand-drawn picture books too. Not much has changed since then — her friends still cock concerned eyebrows when she attempts to draw things and her enthusiasm for the written word still drives her to extreme measures. Her debut YA fantasy, SNOW LIKE ASHES, the first in a trilogy, comes out October 14, 2014 from Balzer + Bray. It does not feature her hand-drawn pictures.

Find Sara Online:



Giveaway Details:

4 Winners will receive SNOW LIKE ASHES swag packs Two post cards, two bookmarks, SLA buttons, and a bag of instant snow.





a Rafflecopter giveaway




Check out the Tour Schedule for more awesome posts!

Week One:
10/6/2014- BookishInterview
10/7/2014- Magical Urban Fantasy Reads- Review
10/8/2014- Bewitched BookwormsGuest Post
10/9/2014- Fictitious DeliciousReview
10/10/2014- Adventures of a Book Junkie- Interview

Week Two:
10/13/2014- Fiction FreakReview
10/14/2014- Dark Faerie TalesInterview
10/15/2014- FiktshunGuest Post
10/16/2014- IceyBooksReview
10/17/2014- Two Chicks on BooksGuest Post




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