Author Interview: Amanda Sun (Author of the Paper Gods series) + Giveaway!

Hey guys! It's been long since we've had someone drop by our blog, and when we say "someone" we actually mean "a super duper cool author". So we're really excited to have the very lovely AMANDA SUN stopping by! Yaaaay!!

Amanda Sun was born in Deep River, a small town where she could escape into the surrounding forest to read. An archaeologist by training, she speaks several languages and will write your name in Egyptian Hieroglyphics if you ask. Her debut novel, INK, is the first in the Paper Gods series and is inspired by her time in Japan, with a paranormal twist. She loves knitting, gaming, and cosplay, and lives in Toronto with her family. You can stalk and chat her up at her blog, Twitter and Facebook, as well!

Check out her books: INK, the first book of the Paper Gods series, will be out this June 25th! But while you're all waiting for it to come out, INK's prequel, Shadow, an eNovella will be out on June 1st. That's the 24-day gap! Both books are being published by Harlequin TEEN.

And we are so very excited to have Amanda Sun here with us today!

Check out our interview with her:

Hi Amanda! Welcome to The Soul Sisters, we are so excited to have you over! (Louisse: *creepy laugh*)

Hi Louisse! Thank you so much for having me here. ^_^ *hears creepy laugh* Um... *strained smile* I'll...I'll just sit here and answers questions, shall I? <_< >_>

Amanda, why don't we talk about your book for a minute. May you give our readers a brief introduction/summary of your debut novel, INK?

Sure, I'd love to! After the death of her mother, sixteen-year-old Katie Greene moves to Japan to live with her English-teaching aunt. There she crosses paths with Tomohiro, the kendo star at her new school. His drawings come to life in dangerous ways in dangerous ways, and Katie and Tomo find themselves on the run when the wrong people notice--both the Yakuza, the Japanese mafia, and a darker, unknown group, with ties to the ancient gods of Japan.

Dun, dun, dun. ^_~ There's also kissing, Japanese life, and lots of Japanese food. :D

What is it about Japan that made you want to set a novel in it? How were you able to capture the essence of Japan's culture?

As long as I can remember, I'd wanted to live in Japan. I think it started with a Hello Kitty doll I had growing up, and then took over as I started into anime, manga, and gaming. I lived on exchange in high school in Osaka, and later hosted students from Japan in between visits there. I had written short fiction set in Japan before, but I knew I wanted to turn my experiences there into something more. So, I ended up combining my love of Japanese culture with my love of YA, and poof! INK was born. I really wanted to make Japan accessible to everyone, and I hope that comes across when you read INK. :)

How did you first discover the Kami? And what enticed you to write about them?

Growing up, I had a beautiful children's encyclopedia of myths (actually, I still have it.) That's where I learned about the kami Izanami and Izanagi, as well as stories about Amaterasu. Those early myths started an interest in Japanese mythology that carried into my university courses in Asian history and culture.

Believe it or not, INK started out as a YA contemporary. It wasn't until I was watching Tomo draw one day in my head that I saw his sketches move on the page. I was shocked, and slowly he explained to me who he really was. Everything he said started to connect to the mythology I'd locked away in my memories, and then I researched from there. All the details fit, and the fact that kami means "paper" and "god" was the final piece. ^_^

There are a lot of significant Kamis that the Japanese recognize right now, such as Amaterasu, Hachiman, Tsukuyomi and others. (Louisse did her research. Haha!) If you were to be a Kami, what kind of deity would you want to be?

Wow, you really did research! Nice work! ^_^ I grew up in a very small town surrounded by lush forests. I used to escape into the woods to read, picking blackberries as I went. So if I were a kami, I'd like to be one of a forest, I think, with a nice little waterfall and shrine or something like that. And foxes. I love foxes. :)

Why did you decide to characterize Tomohiro as an artist? Did you base that off of his "gift"? And would you consider yourself an artist?

I've always wanted to be able to draw, but sadly I can usually only sketch stick people. As I mentioned, Tomohiro as a character appeared in my head one day, and I kept seeing him sitting in a grassy field, sketching all kinds of things in a notebook. He wanted to be an artist, but his dad was pressuring him to be a doctor or a banker. I think it was more the idea that he wanted to create, to be any kind of artist, then the sketching itself that I identified with. His sketches were his own personal dream of what he wanted his life to be, and his escape. That's something I really understood. :)

If you were you describe INK in just three words, what would they be and why?

I'm actually going to pull a quote from the book for this: Such terrifying beauty.

I like to think of INK as having those two sides. There's beauty to the drawings, but there's also danger, and to Tomohiro as well. I think it speaks to the fact that what we want to reach for in life, what we want to hold close to our hearts, is often frightening to reach for. We don't want to mess up or fail, but we still long to attain the dreams we see in front of us. Life *is* terrifying beauty, but we won't give up, and I hope that feeling is at the core of INK for both Katie and Tomohiro.

If either Tomohiro or Jun were to become real people... would you want to date them or run for the metaphorical hills?

Um, yes, yes I would. <_<   >_> But I think it should that be way. If I don't love my characters, then how can I hope readers will? And yes, I like mysterious, angsty artistic guys with spiky hair. There, I said it. No regrets! (o^_^o)

If you were to advertise your book to people, how would you go about it?

Oh, gosh. Well, it's kind of a Japanese drama crossed with a YA paranormal so if you like either of those, I think you might like INK. And it's the most affordable mini vacation to Japan you'll ever have! One of the reasons I wrote INK is because I wanted to share the experience of living in Japan with those that might not have the chance to go on exchange or visit. That's part of the reason it's written in 1st person, and from an outsider's point of view.

So yes. INK: It's Cheaper than Airfare!

They should put that on the cover.

Was easy or difficult writing in dual POVs for Shadow? Especially when your other protagonist is male? And whose POV was more fun to write from?

I loved writing two POVs for SHADOW. It was kind of necessary, since during SHADOW Katie isn't in Japan yet. I wanted to show how she came to terms with the huge changes in her life as she moved to Japan, but I also wanted to show what was going on with Tomo and the ink before Katie arrived. So in that sense, it was a lot of fun because I was still getting that normal life/crazy ink nightmares balance going on that I would get from INK's single POV.

I really love writing male protagonists. My other short published fiction is mostly from male POVs. And it was really exciting to get inside Tomo's head and see things the way he sees them. But it's pretty bleak in there, and his nightmares freak me out, so if anything it made me feel a lot more sympathy for him. He's even stronger than I realized to fight against that side of himself all the time!

And now for the fun part, the quickieeees!

Matcha or coffee? Matcha :D Unless you're talking iced milk coffee. Then the coffee.

Pegasi or unicorns? Unicorns :D I wrote a short story about a deformed horse/unicorn called "Fragile Things" in the anthology Tesseracts Fifteen.

Drama or comedy? Drama. I'm a sucker for angst.

White or dark... chocolate? White chocolate! Nom.

Left or right? Right.

Light or dark? Dark.

Blue or black ink? Pink of course!

TV shows or movies? TV shows. Namely, Asian dramas. :D

Vampires or werewolves? Vampires.

Egg or chicken? Egg.

Jun or Tomohiro? (Hehehe...) SO MEAN. Um. Jun. But I know more about him than you do...yet. ^_^ No wait, Tomo. AGH my brain. Okay, really? I have to say Tomo, because I'm so drawn to his spirit. He fights so hard against what he is to become what he wants to be.

Thank you so, so much for doing this interview with us, Amanda! Stay awesome! (And write even awesomer books!)

Thank you so much for having me! I had a great time, and I hope you all enjoy INK. ^_^

And now for a super extra special treat...

Since I have an extra copy of INK, we'll be giving it away! Yaaay! This is an INTERNATIONAL giveaway. Be sure to check out the Term and Conditions below before entering.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck and thanks for reading our interview! :)

Blog Tour: Author Interview: Liesel K. Hill (Author of the Interchron series)

Hello y'all! Geraldine and I are lucky to be a part of the Persistence of Vision blog tour. We're also very excited to have the lovely Miss LIESEL K HILL for an interview to talk about her book and other things. 

Liesel K. Hill graduated from Weber State University with a degree for Creative Writing. She writes three types of genre: sci-fi/fantasy, historical fiction and crime drama. Liesel is also  the author of the Interchron series and the first book of the installment entitled "Persistence of Vision" is out now. You can find out more about her HERE. You can stalk follow her through these sites:

Website / Blog / Facebook / Twitter / Goodreads Author Page

Buy her book:

Amazon / Barnes and Noble

In a world where collective hives are enslaving the population and individuals have been hunted to the verge of extinction, Maggie Harper, and independent 21st Century woman, must find the strength to preserve the freedom of the future, but without the aid of her memories.

After experiencing a traumatic time loss, Maggie is plagued by a barrage of images she can't explain. When she's attacked by a creep with a spider's web tattoo, she is saved by Marcus, a man she's never met, but somehow remembers. He tells her that both he and her creepy attacker are from a future in which individuals are being murdered by collectives, and Marcus is part of the rebellion. The collectives have acquired time travel and they plan to enslave the human race throughout all of history. The flashes Maggie has been seeing are echoes of lost memories, and the information buried deep within them is instrumental in defeating the collective hives.

In order to preserve the individuality of mankind, Maggie must try to re-discover stolen memories, re-kindle friendships she has no recollection of, and wade through her feelings for the mysterious Marcus, all while dodging the tattooed assassins the collectives keep sending her way.

If Maggie can't fill the holes in her memory and find the answers to stop the collectives, the world both in her time and in all ages past and future will be doomed to enslavement in the grey, mediocre collectives. As the danger swirls around her and the collectives close in, Maggie realizes she must make a choice: stand out or fade away...

(Image provided by author and summary taken from Goodreads)

Why don't we start out interview? *smiles*

Hi Liesel, thank you so much for stopping by our blog!

No problem! Thanks for having me here!

Why don't we talk about your book for a minute. May you give our readers a short summary about your book, Persistence of Vision?

Sure thing. This is the tale of Maggie Harper, a woman from our time who, while on a trip to Vegas with her brother, experiences a disturbing time loss incident. A year later, a man she saw just prior to that incident, shows up, saves her life, and takes her into the future: a dystopian world where most of the world’s population is enslaved in collective minds, and individuals have been hunted to the verge of extinction. Thus begins Maggie’s adventure.

Thank you for that, Liesel. What made you want to write a New Adult novel as opposed to Young Adult or older YA?

You know, for me it wasn’t really a conscious decision. I had a story in mind and this was just how old the characters were. I wrote it as it came. It wasn’t until after it was written and I started trying to categorize it, that I realized it fit nicely into the NA genre.

What inspired you to write your story? Did it come as a dream or have you always had it as an idea, or something? And was it easy or difficult for you to write it?

The very beginning where Maggie has her time-loss experience in Vegas is actually based on a true story. It was a tourist trap one of my sister’s old co-workers walked into. No one was hurt, thank goodness, but it was still disturbing for those involved. Being a writer, my imagination just sort of took off. Other, more sci-fi-ish aspects of the story came from my own reading, and specifically from a literary science fiction class I took my final semester in college. While I already had the story in mind at that point, I encountered concepts in that class that helped me round it out.

What was your favorite part of the writing process?

My favorite part is definitely the imaginative part. I have to experience the story in my own mind, really feel it and develop a passion for it and a love for the characters in order to be able to buckle down and get it written. People always ask me about the emotions I feel while writing, but the truth is, I don’t feel them while I’m actually doing the writing. I feel them when I’m imagining the story—probably why it’s my favorite part—but the actual act of getting the words onto the screen is much more scientific for me.

Who's your favorite character in your book? Are you similar to him/her in any way? And was it easy for you to write that character and his/her dialogues?

That’s such a difficult question for me to answer! I love all my characters equally. Maggie is the most like me. She isn’t me, but she has a lot of my qualities, so I identify with her a lot. David is probably the most interesting. He’ll be the most dynamic character in the series and have one of the most pivotal roles. Karl’s the most fun to write because of his comedy. While he may be the most fun, I’m not naturally the most funny person in the world, so in a lot of ways he’s also the most challenging. I have to stop and think of funny things for him to say. Luckily, I have lots of goof-ball brothers, so I can draw from their humor.

What is your advice for aspiring writers?

Always keep learning and never give up. The only difference between a published and unpublished writer is persistence. Just keep at it and you’ll get there. Of course, that doesn’t mean keep doing the same thing over and over again. Keep learning and honing your skills. Every time you learn something new, go back and re-edit your manuscript. If you’re humble enough to learn and tenacious enough to keep going, you’ll succeed by default. There’s no way you can’t.

Thank you so much for stopping by, Liesel!

Of course! Thank you so much for having me here. I had fun!

Much success to you, Liesel and stay awesome!

Author Interview: Alma Katsu (Author of The Taker trilogy) + Giveaway!

Hey guys! It's that time of the week again... We're having another author interview! I, personally, am a big fan of her work so I'm very excited to present to you the talented... ALMA KATSU!

Alma Katsu is the author of the Taker trilogy. She currently lives in DC with her husband and is working on the third book of the trilogy, The Descent. Her debut, The Taker, a Gothic novel of suspense, has been compared to the early work of Anne Rice and Elizabeth Kostova's The Historian. The novel was named a Top Ten Debut Novel of 2011 by the American Library Association and has developed an international following. You can contact and chat her up at her blog, Facebook and Twitter as well!  

Check out her books: The Taker and The Reckoning, the first and second book of the The Taker trilogy! (Click HERE for my review of The Taker. Which I LOVED.)

And watch out for her third and the final book of the trilogy, The Descent, coming out 2013.

And we're so very happy to have here today with us for an interview!

Here it is:

Hi Alma! Thanks so much for taking the time to do this interview with us!

It's my pleasure. I love connecting with new readers through book blogs. Book bloggers have really helped get the word out on my two books, The Taker and The Reckoning, and I'm extremely grateful.

What inspired you to portray immortality the way you did in your books?

It was definitely a way to up the ante. In The Taker, the villain Adair gives immortality to people who have done something spectacularly bad. They don’t know it at the time, but they’re being punished. If your punishment was to be tied to this terrible man, imagine how much worse it would be if you were tied to him forever, with no hope of escape, not even death? I guess I’m a fan of the Faustian bargain, of making a deal with the devil. (I blame my Catholic upbringing for this.) Only in The Taker, the heroine Lanny manages to get the better of the devil, though she still doesn’t get what she wants. By the end of the book she understands that it’s because she doesn’t deserve it.

If you were to describe your books in only three words, what would they be and why?

Realistic, original and dark.

Realistic: Quite a few reviews have said that The Taker was one book that made the supernatural feel possible, which I take as a great honor. I think it’s because the characters are very realistic. They’re complex, with complex reactions to the extraordinary situations in which they find themselves.

Original: The most common reaction from readers has been that the story was nothing like what they expected—for which I’m very happy! It doesn’t have vampires or angels, none of the horror/supernatural tropes that we’ve come to expect. Readers have also said they’ve never read a book like it and couldn’t put it down.

Dark: Let’s put it this way: Thomas Hardy is one of my favorite authors. Edgar Allan Poe is another. We all have a dark side (some people more than others). People are more interesting in their reactions to tragedy than they are when they are happy.

Were there parts in your books that were harder to write than others? And why?

The scenes where Lanny is being brutally emotionally honest were the hardest to write—for instance, the scene the morning after she has brought Jonathan to live in Adair’s house. By ‘hardest’ here I mean technically difficult. I had to rewrite them over and over to get the tone just right. And of course, the scenes of brutality or violence are always hard to write, not so much imagining what would happen and getting it all down, but dealing with the feelings of unease afterwards.

What is your favorite part in the writing process? I heard those edits can be a demon...

I much prefer writing the first draft to revision. The first draft is the time of discovery; it’s like when you’re just falling in love. Everything is new, there are all these possibilities, you find your characters utterly fascinating and want to spend all your waking moments with them. Revision is the hard work; you’re yoked to this story and you must do whatever is necessary to make it work, preferably without sucking the joy out of it.

Which of your two published books was more fun/easier to write? If you could change anything in either, would you?

Even though The Taker took ten years to write, it was the easier of the two. I only had about twenty months to write The Reckoning. It went through many, many revisions. Both Adair and Lanny had to go through this incredible emotional transformation, and it was difficult to pull off. And yes, there are things I would change in both books, probably more so in The Reckoning. But readers have told me they enjoy it more than The Taker, so I guess I got some things right.

Quick Questions:

Angels or Demons?

Demons. I find the bad sorts more interesting.

Vampires or Werewolves?

Vampires. They’re sexier.

Fruit juice or soda?

Soda. Regular coke (I’m allergic to Aspertame).

Comedy or Horror?

Real horror is hard to pull off, I think—but horror.

Vanilla or Chocolate?

Mmmm, vanilla in most things, but I love milk chocolate.

Fiction or Non-Ficition?

Fiction. Non-fiction feeds the intellect, but fiction feeds the soul.

Thank you so much for stopping by our blog, Alma! Keep writing awesome books!

Thanks so much for your time, Sisters, and the vote of confidence. Just a little reminder, the last book in the trilogy, The Descent, is scheduled for publication May 2013. To stay up on the latest news of releases, contests (we give away monthly prizes) and other stuff, I encourage readers to join my mailing list at http://www.almakatsu.com/contact.php#mailing-list.

Yup! You are definitely reading right! We're hosting another giveaway! (YAAAY!) Since I loved this book so much, I decided to give away my...

SIGNED copy of The Taker by Alma Katsu

Yes, I love you guys THAT much. I've only had this book for about a week or so and since I already had a copy, I thought that I might as well give away my extra copy and spread (the) The Taker love. :)

DETAILS:

~ REQUIRED: You MUST be a follower for you to enter.

~ Must be 13 years old or older.

~ Open INTERNATIONALLY.

~ Winners have 48 hours to respond to our e-mail else we'll be forced to pick new ones.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck and well wishes! :)

Author Interview: Josephine Angelini (Author of the Starcrossed trilogy)

Hey guys! We have a very special person on visiting our blog today! We're so very excited to have her with us today... and we're seriously trying to hold in our fangirling. Without further ado, presenting the very lovely JOSEPHINE ANGELINI!

Josephine Angelini is the International bestselling author of the Starcrossed trilogy. She was born in Nantucket and can totally drive a badass tractor. You can contact and chat her up at her blog, Facebook and Twitter as well!

Are these covers gorgeous or what?

Check out her books: Starcrossed and Dreamless, the first and second book of the Starcrossed trilogy! (Both which we've reviewed: Geraldine's review of Starcrossed, my review of Dreamless.)

And watch out for her third and the final book of the trilogy, GODDESS, coming out May 2013.

And we're so very happy to have her here today with us for an interview!

Check it out:

Hi Josie! Welcome to The Soul Sisters and thanks for agreeing to do this interview with us!

Hi Louisse!  I'm so happy you asked me.  If I answer all the question really, really good, can I get honorary Soul Sister status? (<-- Why yes, yes you may.)

What inspired or made you choose Greek mythology as the basis of your first book series? Did you originally have trouble picking out what to base your books on?

I studied classical theater at NYU (yes, that is an actual major) and so I was familiar with all the Greek plays.  The most common advice for new writers is, "write what you know" and Greek tragedy is something that I felt comfortable using as a jumping off point for my first book.  I've also always loved fantasy and science fiction.  I grew up reading a lot of Greek mythology so I had already done most of my research-- which was very convenient!

So far, I haven't had any problem picking what to base my books on but check back with me in about three or four years and I may have a different answer!

Do you ever feel like you need to change anything or fix parts of Starcrossed and Dreamless? And which of the two is your favorite or made you the most satisfied?

Neither books are perfect, but I am so grateful that I got published in the first place that I can't help but think I wouldn't change a thing.  I think all writers look back on their work and think, "who wrote that unbelievably cheesy book?" at some point, but just to have something published is something to be proud of.

Of the two books, I think Dreamless is more satisfying because of the ending.  I'm really pleased with how that turned out. 

Is it weird seeing your books in bookstores or when random people see you and scream, "OMGODS!! IT'S JOSEPHINE ANGELINI!! CHASE HER!!!!"?

I get really shy when I see my books in stores.  I know I'm supposed to introduce myself to the bookstore staff and ask if can sign the stock, but most of the time I chicken out.  I always think they'll be like, "who are you?  No, you're not important enough" and I end up slinking a side door.

I haven't been followed by rabid fans just yet, but when I do will you be my Penguin bodyguard? (<-- The answer to this is yes. I'll totally bust out my ninja moves too!)

Can you give us any hint on what might happen in Goddess? Like, we dunno... if Helen were to ditch Lucas for Orion? Just a suggestion. ;)

Helen and Orion get their moment.  You'll just have to wait and see.  ;)

If Lucas were to go on a smackdown with either Edward Cullen or Percy Jackson, who do you think would come out victorious? And if shirtlessness were involved, who'd be the hottest? Ooooh.


The best part about writing about Greek gods is that the phrase "most beautiful man EVER" is totally applicable.  If Lucas were to take off his shirt while fighting, he'd win.  He'd blind the competition with his hotness.  On top of that, I've never really seen Edward as a fighter--he's more of a brooder, don't you think?  Now, if Lucas were to fight Percy I think we'd have a bit of a stand off for a sec, but Lucas would eventually win.  He's older and bigger than Percy.

Do you enjoy it when readers tell you you're evil and that you made them cry because of a certain part of a book? Because a little birdie did tell me that authors feed on their reader's tears...

Yes, I really enjoy hearing that I've made readers cry/stay up all night reading/made them a book junkie.  And yes, authors do feed on you tears.  They're like literary Red Bull.  They make us type faster.
Whenever you write, are there times when you feel like your characters don't always agree with you? Are there times when you just want to hit them on the head and choke them to death but you know you can't 'cause they're important or are they usually agreeable and you get your work done easily?

My characters never wander away from my outlines-- or at least they never wander far, although I do tend to build on them as I go.  There are characters that I love to hate, though.  But even the evil ones are sort of dear to me because I understand why they're doing what they're doing.  There is one character that I really enjoyed killing, though.  I don't want to ruin it for any new readers, but I get him really good at the end of Dreamless.  

Quick questions:

Sweet or Spicy?  Spicy

Coffee or hot chocolate? Coffee

Comedy or Horror?  Probably comedy.  Wait, what kind of horror?  I'm not into slasher movies.  I love movies like 28 Days Later, Alien-- action based horror with really good directing.  The problem is that I secretly love horror, I just get wicked nightmares and usually chicken out, but when I watch them I want to see them over and over.

Left or Right?  Left

Up or Down? Up up up.

Lucas or Orion? (Just had to put that there. LOL)  Lucas.  Although Orion is pretty tempting.

Cats or Penguins? (O.o)  Aw Penguin!  I'm going to have to go with cats.  

Any books you'd like to recommend to your readers? :) 

 Lately I've been telling everyone to read Eve by Anna Carey. But I think they already have. :D

Thank you so much for dropping by and we hope you continue to make swoon-worthy and heart-poundingly awesome books! :)

Me too!  :D  Thanks so much for the interview.  Big Hug from LA!