Blog Tour: Interview with Emily Casey

Today I am lucky enough to have Emily Casey, the author of The Fairy Tale Trap, here on the blog today for an interview!

KBB: Why did you decide to write a novel for young adults?

EC: Honest? I just can’t imagine writing anything else.

Adults are kind of boring. (Sad, but true.) They have to worry about grown-up things and forget to live through the good parts of life. Teens are still figuring out who they are and what they like. They have so many choices ahead of them, so I think it’s more interesting to write about them.

KBB: What do you think makes your book stand out in today’s market?

EC: Ivy. She’s the best main character I’ve ever written. She says exactly what’s she’s thinking and it gets her into trouble most of the time. Ivy is put into a familiar setting—I mean, who hasn’t heard of Beauty and the Beast?—but the way she handles it is what makes this story so fun.

KBB: Do you have any must-haves while you are writing?

EC: I need to be alone when I write. I hate having other people in the room. Other than that, I don’t think I have any absolute necessities. Sometimes I write by hand, sometimes I’m on my laptop. Every once in a while I’ll write with music in the background. It depends on my mood, I guess.

KBB: What kind of books do you read in your spare time? Do you read the same genre that you write?

EC: I love fantasy (especially urban fantasy, but I’m not picky), but I also read outside the genre. I occasionally pick up a good sci-fi or zombie book. I even picked up a thriller recently. Who knew?

KBB: Can you tell us anything about what you are currently working on?

EC: Book 2, of course! I’ve included some good stuff about The Fairy Tale Twist at the end of The Fairy Tale Trap. The most exciting thing: Ivy *might* have a love interest.

I’m also writing some short fiction, to keep my writing muscles limber. I’m in the middle of Cinderella and Zombies, which is SO much fun to write!

KBB: What is one young adult book that you would recommend?

EC: Wow. Well, if you like Ivy’s voice, Rachel Hawkins’ Hex Hall series is really good. But that last book I read that I just couldn’t put down was Rot & Ruin by Jonathan Maberry. It surprised me. I didn’t think I liked zombies, but obviously it made an impression on me.

KBB: Thanks so much for taking the time to answer my questions.  =)

Readers, if you would like to find out more about Emily Casey and The Fairy Tale Trap here are some places to find her around the web.

Goodreads

Twitter

Website

Also, check out more about Emily Casey and The Fairy Tale Trap on Lisette Manning's blog and Sally Stephenson's blog for the blog tour!

Wings Of The Wicked (Angelfire #2) by Courtney Allison Moulton

Title: Wings Of The Wicked (Angelfire #2)
Author: Courtney Allison Moulton
Release date: January 31, 2012
Publisher: Katherine Tegan Books
Pages: 528
Source: Publisher

Life as the Preliator is harder than Ellie ever imagined.
Balancing real life with the responsibility of being Heaven’s warrior is a challenge for Ellie. Her relationship with Will has become all business, though they both long for each other. And now that the secret of who she really is has come out, so have Hell’s strongest reapers. Grown bold and more vicious, the demonic threaten her in the light of day and stalk her in the night.

She’s been warned.
Cadan, a demonic reaper, comes to her with information about Bastian’s new plan to destroy Ellie’s soul and use an ancient relic to wake all the souls of the damned and unleash them upon humanity. As she fights to stay ahead of Bastian’s schemes , the revelations about those closest to her awaken a dark power within Ellie that threatens to destroy everything—including herself.

She’ll be betrayed.
Treachery comes even from those whom she loves, and Ellie is broken by the deaths of those who stood beside her in this Heavenly war. Still, she must find a way to save the world, herself, and her love for Will. If she fails, there will be hell to pay.

Angelfire was a fabulous start to this trilogy but Wings Of The Wicked really sealed the deal.  This book has everything readers could possibly want: romance, action, angels, demons, reapers, and one serious badass main character.  Ellie is my girl!  =)

Ellie's life has changed a lot since Will came back into her life but Ellie hasn't changed much.  She is just a normal girl trying to save the world from demonic reapers.  No biggie!  In this book Ellie faces even more challenges than in Angelfire and my heart broke for her more than once.  Things aren't at all easy for Ellie but she fights through it and Will never leaves her side.  Now that is one seriously devoted boy.  Will also faces quite a bit in this book but he is still his dark and moody self.  The boy needs some happy pills.  (I still love him though.)

The action in this book is seriously non-stop.  I never knew when some reaper was going to pop up out of nowhere and try to kill Ellie and Will.  Sadly some of the fight scenes in this book had devastating consequences and I did tear up a little. I truly love all the characters in this book and seeing any of them hurt broke my heart.  Courtney Allison Moulton did a great job of making me feel for the characters.

Overall, Wings Of The Wicked is a spectacular sequel to Angelfire.  The book may be over 500 pages but by the end up will be wishing it was longer.

Rating: A++

Angelfire (Angelfire #1) by Courtney Allison Moulton

Title: Angelfire (Angelfire #1)
Author: Courtney Allison Moulton
Release date: February 15, 2011
Publisher: Katherine Tegan Books
Pages: 453
Source: Publisher

First there are nightmares.
Every night Ellie is haunted by terrifying dreams of monstrous creatures that are hunting her, killing her.

Then come the memories.
When Ellie meets Will, she feels on the verge of remembering something just beyond her grasp. His attention is intense and romantic, and Ellie feels like her soul has known him for centuries. On her seventeenth birthday, on a dark street at midnight, Will awakens Ellie's power, and she knows that she can fight the creatures that stalk her in the grim darkness. Only Will holds the key to Ellie's memories, whole lifetimes of them, and when she looks at him, she can no longer pretend anything was just a dream.

Now she must hunt.
Ellie has power that no one can match, and her role is to hunt and kill the reapers that prey on human souls. But in order to survive the dangerous and ancient battle of the angels and the Fallen, she must also hunt for the secrets of her past lives and truths that may be too frightening to remember.

Courtney Allison Moulton's debut novel introduces a world of reapers, angels, and one seemingly human teenage girl. The story is probably one of the most unique stories I have read and I was hooked from the beginning.

Ellie was a bit of a wimp at first but that quickly changed.  I had heard that she was a great heroine but I didn't know how true that was until I read the book.  Ellie was badass!  She was fierce, brave, protective, and courageous yet she still had her scared and vulnerable moments.  She was very real.  Will was dark, mysterious, and a but moody but he quickly grew on me.  He was just as fierce as Ellie and they were great together.  Neither of them overshadowed the other.  Kate, Nathaniel, and Lauren were also fabulous characters.  Yay for best friends who don't backstab you!

The plot of Angelfire was extremely fast-paced.  Ellie is thrown into this world of reapers and she doesn't get a training period.  These guys are out to get her and they are EVIL!  There is a ton of action and I really think this book could appeal to both guys and girls because of that.  =)

Overall, Angelfire is a must-read, in my opinion.  I'm kicking myself for waiting so long to read it!

Rating: A

Blogger Interview: Nicole from Word For Teens!

Today I have the fabulous Nicole from Word For Teens!  I always go to her for good high fantasy recommendations (although I still don't read enough high fantasy.)

What are you like outside of blogging?
I live in this gorgeous castle. But this giant turtle like creature keeps kidnapping me and dragging me off to the center of these weird castles which are filled with prisons and lave pits. Luckily, a plumber and his brother keep coming to rescue me, sometimes with the help of a little green dinosaur.

What book changed your life?
Anne McCaffrey's Dragonflight. It really got me into the world of science-fiction, high fantasy and dragons. Mostly dragons. Why aren't dragons real?

Though I suppose if you're looking for the life changing story, it would be Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson, as it saved my best friend's life. I won't rehash the whole sob story here, though you can read it if you'd like. (http://www.wordforteens.com/2011/06/thoughts-on-wsj-article-ya-saves-and-ya.html)

What made you decide to start your blog?
I was a rabid Twilight fangirl (shut up, I was 13 and stupid) and I kept ranting to my mother about how much I loved Edward Cullen. (Again, shut up.) She told me to stop talking and to start a blog because she didn't want to hear it but the internet might.

I wish I was joking when I say that's how WORD started. But it's not. That's legitimately what happened. I talked to much and my mother told me to take it to the internet.

What blogs/bloggers inspire you?
Kristi from The Story Siren, because I have no idea how she manages to find time to read and run her blog and pet her dog and kiss her husband and work and sleep and exist. Donna from Bites, for the exact same reason. But Donna has more dogs.

What are your goals for your blog in the future?
Just to keep it running, really. I love where it's at right now, and I'm just having fun with it. I know I won't be able to run it forever - especially as I want to become a publicist! - so I'm just going to have the most fun while it lasts.

Do you love or hate your mailman?
I actually never see him, because they deliver the mail to my house and I'm at college nine months out of the year. But since I've never heard of any incidents with him and a dog, I suppose he's a good sort of chap.

Favorites:

-Book of all time
I can't pick just one, so I'm abstaining. (Meyer's Bloody Jack, Carriger's Soulless, Bray's Beauty Queens, Bronte's Jane Eyre, Barron's The Lost Years of Merlin, McCaffrey's All The Weyrs of Pern… I can't pick just one!)

-New release
Thief's Covenant by Ari Marmell. Loved the world, loved the characters, love love love.

-Genre
High fantasy.

-Place to Read
Wherever is comfortable.

-TV show
Doctor Who. No, Merlin. No, Castle. … damn it.

-Candy
Symphony bars.

-Drink
Tea.

See why I love Nicole?  She is just as indecisive as I am!  Check her out at Word For Teens and on Twitter!

In My Mailbox 141 (week of February 4)

In my mailbox is a meme created by Kristi at The Story Siren and inspired by Alea at Pop Culture Junkie. It is a list of what books you have received over the previous week, either for review, from the library, from the bookstore, or from trades.

Bloggers mentioned:

-Willa from Willa's Ramblings

-Meredith from Mint Tea and A Good Book

-Em from Sash and Em

-Lindsay from Lindsay Writes

Gifted:

-The Lost Crown by Sarah Miller

-172 Hours On The Moon by Johan Harstad

-Perfect Escape by Jennifer Brown

Won:

-Angel Burn (Angel #1) by L.A. Weatherly

-Angel Fire (Angel #2) by L.A. Weatherly

For review:

-Fallen in Love by Lauren Kate

-The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily M. Danforth

-Cloaked by Alex Flinn

-Bewitching by Alex Flinn

Bloggers: Made Of Awesome!

Lately I have read a lot of posts and tweets about bloggers.  Most of the stuff I have read has been negative.  I could understand if people were talking about a specific blogger who has proven to be a bad blogger (bad behavior online,not reviewing,etc.) but these people have decided that it is okay to lump bloggers into one big group.  That is not okay with me.

I know for a fact that I have never pushed, shoved, pinched, bitten, pulled hair, or anything of that manner at a conference and it really does bother me to be put in a group with people who have done that.  I consider myself a very professional person, both online and in person.  I would never want someone to think otherwise just because they read a post saying that all bloggers were rude and grabby.  Everyone deserves to be judged based on their own actions, not those of others.

So what I really want to talk about today is the good things about bloggers.  Once again, we can't all be lumped into a group but these good things are based on the bloggers that I have come into contact with over the past three years (and even before then!)

First, my favorite thing about bloggers: their kind words and encouragement!  This actually goes back to my last discussion post about showing appreciation for bloggers.  Comments here on my blog and on Twitter honestly make blogging worth it to me.  When I am having a bad day and consider giving up blogging all I have to do is look at the comments on my blog and I totally change my mind.  Honestly, if it weren't for other bloggers I would not have the confidence I do today.  My blogger friends are always there to encourage me to go for something that may be totally out of my comfort zone.  Some of these suggestions have helped shape me to be the person I am today.  =)

Second: their generosity!  Bloggers do not have to giveaway books, gift cards, kindles, etc.  That is their choice!  I know that in my case, most of the books that I giveaway are from my own personal library and that shipping money comes out of my paycheck.  I'm sure it is the same with most other bloggers.  Bloggers may get "free" books from the publishers but they definitely know how to share. Speaking of sharing, BLOG TOURS/ARC TOURS.  A lot of the time those books are donated by other bloggers just so they can share them.

Third: their love of books!  In real life I know very few people who love books as much as I do.  Online, I know hundreds (that I talk to.)  I can watch an IMM vlog and see how excited a blogger is about a book.  They didn't just request it to have it collect dust on their bookshelf.  I also love to see that in a review.  It doesn't come across quite like a video but you can really see the love when you read a thought out, well-written review. Bloggers don't just start their blogs for the heck of it, they start them because they love books and they want an outlet to share that love.

Honestly, I could go on for days about how much I love bloggers and how wonderful they are.  My life would not be as awesome as it is without my blog and my blogger friends.  I hate to see those friends being hurt by nasty comments and rude blog posts (and yes, I am hurt by it too.)  I know this may not do anything to change what people think but at least now it is out there!

So here is my suggestion for the day: go comment on a favorite blog of yours (or Twitter) and let the blogger know how awesome you think they are!  You'd be amazed what one comment like that can do!