Book Tour & Giveaway: The Hearts We Sold by Emily Lloyd-Jones

Publication Date: August 8th 2017
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Pages: 400
Format: Hardcover, ebook, Audiobook 
Amazon ~ Goodreads ~ TBD ~ B&N ~ iBooks

Synopsis: When Dee Moreno makes a deal with a demon—her heart in exchange for an escape from a disastrous home life—she finds the trade may have been more than she bargained for. And becoming “heartless” is only the beginning. What lies ahead is a nightmare far bigger, far more monstrous than anything she could have ever imagined.

With reality turned on its head, Dee has only a group of other deal-making teens to keep her grounded, including the charming but secretive James Lancer. And as something grows between them amid an otherworldy ordeal, Dee begins to wonder: Can she give someone her heart when it’s no longer hers to give?

Interview with Emily

Hello Emily, and welcome to Angelic Book Reviews. It is so wonderful to have you here and to pick your brain about the book. I absolutely loved The Hearts We Sold and I could not put it down. It was definitely a 5 star read for me.

My first question for you, is how did you select the names of your characters? Were they based off real people?

Most of my names are picked with specific themes involved. In the case of THE HEARTS WE SOLD, I had an obvious theme—hearts. The main character, Deirdre, was picked because I once saw the name listed as “broken-hearted” in a baby names book. The same went for Cora.
James was picked because I liked the regal sound of it—as for his last name, that was an inside joke. The “lancer” is a storytelling trope—a person who provides a role as second in command, often with a differing personality and viewpoint of the main character. So I went ahead and gave the lancer of the group… the last name Lancer.
Gremma’s was a mash-up name—a combination of “Gregory” and “Emma” because I thought it would be just like her to have a name that was solely hers.
The characters themselves are always fragments of my imagination.

What was the hardest scene to write?

Chapter 24. I won’t spoil it, but let’s just say that chapter was draining to write.

Was there anything you edited out of the book?

There were scenes not of a person, but of a place.
As I sketched out my demons, I imagined them as business tycoons: Sleek, in control, well aware of what they have to offer people, and picky about the offers they take. Some demons would likely have specializations. Some might prefer arms, others legs, and as for My Demon, as I began to think of him, he would only accept hearts. But where would a person find him?
There would be the usual locations to find a demon, I decided. Casinos, bars, and nightclubs.
But none of those locations quite fit for Portland, Oregon. Where would an Oregonian go to trade a limb for a wish, I thought. And the answer came to me: a farmer’s market.
It’s funny, but it’s totally true.
There were originally more scenes of that farmers market—called Mephisto Market. But they had to be cut for pacing reasons.

Have you ever considered writing under a pseudonym?

I have considered it, actually. But there are some logistical issues with pseudonyms, and if I ever decided to go through with it, it would be because I’d be writing in another genre and would want to keep my two audiences separate.

In your bio, you mentioned that you fear sheep. Can you tell us the story behind that?

First off, forget any stories you’ve heard about sheep being lovely, fluffy animals. Well, they can be, but most of the time they’re loud and hungry and perfectly willing to trample a six-year-old girl who just
wants to walk across the sheep field to get to the good rope swing in the forest. And some of them were quite territorial. After being repeatedly charged by one in particular, I developed a healthy fear of sheep.
Today, I’m not so much afraid of them as respectful of their boundaries. Also, I come armed with a handful of fresh greens to distract them.

Thank you so much for joining me today Emily, and answering all of my questions. I can't wait till everyone gets a chance to read your book, so I have more people to talk about it with.

About Emily:
Emily Lloyd-Jones grew up on a vineyard in rural Oregon, where she played in evergreen forests and learned to fear sheep. After graduating from Western Oregon University with an English degree, she enrolled in the publishing program at Rosemont College just outside of Philadelphia. She currently resides in Northern California, working in a bookstore by day and writing by night. Illusive is her debut novel.

Website ~ Twitter ~ Facebook ~ Instagram ~ Goodreads

Giveaway

3 winners will receive a copy of The Hearts We Sold

US Only

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Check out the rest of the Tour
Week One: 
8/7/2017- Owl Always Be Reading- Excerpt
8/8/2017- When Books Defy Gravity- Review
8/9/2017- YA Books Central- Interview
8/10/2017- Take Me Away To A Great Read- Review
8/11/2017- Angelic Book Reviews- Interview


Week Two:
8/14/2017- The Layaway Dragon- Review
8/15/2017- Two Chicks on Books- Guest Post
8/16/2017- Book Briefs- Review
8/17/2017- Adventures of a Book Junkie- Interview
8/18/2017- Stories & Sweeties- Review