Author Interview: The Last Namsara by Kristen Ciccarelli

Series: Iskara #1
Publication Date: October 3rd 2017
Publisher: HarperTeen
Genre: YA, Fantasy 
Amazon ~ Goodreads ~ TBD

Synopsis: In the beginning, there was the Namsara: the child of sky and spirit, who carried love and laughter wherever he went. But where there is light, there must be dark—and so there was also the Iskari. The child of blood and moonlight. The destroyer. The death bringer. 

These are the legends that Asha, daughter of the king of Firgaard, has grown up hearing in hushed whispers, drawn to the forbidden figures of the past. But it isn’t until she becomes the fiercest, most feared dragon slayer in the land that she takes on the role of the next Iskari—a lonely destiny that leaves her feeling more like a weapon than a girl.

Asha conquers each dragon and brings its head to the king, but no kill can free her from the shackles that await at home: her betrothal to the cruel commandant, a man who holds the truth about her nature in his palm. When she’s offered the chance to gain her freedom in exchange for the life of the most powerful dragon in Firgaard, she finds that there may be more truth to the ancient stories than she ever could have expected. With the help of a secret friend—a slave boy from her betrothed’s household—Asha must shed the layers of her Iskari bondage and open her heart to love, light, and a truth that has been kept from her.

If you haven't yet, check out my review of this book here.

Interview with Kristen 

Hello Kristen, thank you so much for joining me here on Angelic Book Reviews. I'm so excited to ask you a few questions about The Last Namsara, I've just recently finished it and I absolutely loved it!

My first question for you, is how did you select the names of your characters?

It depends. Sometimes, a name just comes to me. It just feels right. Like Roa. Or Lirabel. Sometimes it hints at something about the character like Dax. And sometimes something has been a name for a character for so long (like Torwin) I can't even remember how or why I chose it.

How did you come up with the idea for The Last Namsara?

I spent a good chunk of my life being ashamed of myself and the things I love most: creativity, imagination, and storytelling. So when I started writing The Last Namsara, I wanted to give that shame to my protagonist. But in order for her to be deeply ashamed of the old stories she tells, I needed here to be a concrete reason for why these stories were dangerous. So I decided that they would lire deadly dragons!

I had no idea this book had such a deep meaning for you, it makes me enjoy it so much more! 
Has the story changed since you started writing?

It's changed quite a lot. I started writing a very early version of this story when I was 17! That version is completely different from what it is now, though. The biggest difference is that while there were dragons in that version, Asha didn't hunt them.

Who was your favourite author, and why?

Patricia McKillip. I grew up in a time where YA wasn't really a category yet, so I read a lot of adult fantasy. Her book, The Forgotten Beasts of Eld, is my most read book. I've probably read it more than a dozen times, and every time I love it as much as the first time. Also: she's totally mysterious. She isn't only, nor does she have author photos in the backs of any of her books. I love that.

That sounds amazing. I've never read her work, but I love how she's managed to keep sort of an anonymous profile.
For our last question, can you tell us what we can expect in the upcoming books?

You can expect more Asha, more dragons, but also way more of two supporting characters: Roa and Safire. The Caged Queen comes out next fall and picks up right where The Last Namsara leaves off, only from Roa's point of view. So you get to finally lean who this mysterious character is and why she does what she does in book one.

That description has made me so excited to read book two. I absolutely adore Safire, and I'm really excited to find out more about Roa.
Thank you so much for joining me today Kristen, and answering all of my questions. Congratulations f publishing The Last Namsara, I can't wait to continue reading this series.

About Kristen:

Kristen Ciccarelli hails from Ontario’s Niagara Peninsula where she grew up on her grandfather’s grape farm. She spent her childhood running wild with her cousins, adventuring in the woods, building forts in the barn, and obsessing over books, dragons, and girls wielding really cool weapons. Visit her at kristenciccarelli.com.

Book Blitz & Giveaway: Premonition by Leigh Walker

Premonition
Leigh Walker
Series: The Division #1
Publication date: July 19th 2017
Genres: Romance, Science Fiction, Young Adult

Synopsis: When Riley heads off to boarding school for a summer work-study program, she knows it’ll be demanding. What she doesn’t expect? To be thrust into an intense physical training program described as special, exclusive and worst of all–top-secret. She signed up for tuition assistance, not to be held in a secret government facility for boot camp…
Welcome to The Division, the government agency that’s so classified, most United States senators have never heard of it.
The Division wants Riley bad, but she can’t figure out why. Skeptical of what she’s being told, Riley’s determined to uncover the truth. Boot camp is intense, physically and mentally draining. The upside? One of her new teammates is the cutest boy ever. Watching Finn hit the gym wearing a tank top doesn’t suck–although sometimes his brooding attitude does. But when training forces Riley to confront her tragic past, even Finn’s big biceps aren’t enough to make her want to stay…
Beware: The Division isn’t something you just walk away from. You better run.
Riley realizes her capabilities and strengths are greater than she’d ever imagined. But she also learns she wasn’t just chosen for this special program…
She was made for it.

Goodreads / Amazon

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INTERVIEW WITH LEIGH WALKER

Q: Wow, you’re interviewing yourself…how pompous!
Right? It’s to tell people more about the series, lol. Although I should admit that I normally talk to myself a lot, so this isn’t much of a departure.
Q: Tell us about “The Division” – it’s a bunch of teenagers with psychic powers, right? How did you get inspired?
Everyone on the team has psychic powers, yes. I was watching “Stranger Things” on Netflix and I WAS SO PSYCHED they were testing poor Eleven for psychic powers. But I was also like, YEEHAW! Because I LOVE psychic powers, and I can’t remember the last time I saw or read something that included them. I’ve always been obsessed by the concept, and there’s so many variations of powers, so many incarnations it can take… Anyway, after watching that show and having that reaction, I thought, other people must love this stuff, too, I can’t be the only one. So I wanted to give us all more!
Q: Tell us about the main character, Riley Payne.
Riley is a ‘normal’ girl dealing with a lot. Her father and sister died in a car accident and her mother started drinking heavily after it happened. She just wants to get out of her house and go to boarding school, but she gets more than she bargained for when she abruptly gets recruited into a secret agency…
Q: The ‘secret agency’ is The Division, correct?
Yes. It’s a secret cell of teenagers who were genetically engineered with psychic gifts. They work for the American government to combat domestic terrorism.
Riley thinks they’re nuts, of course. Until she unlocks her powers, then she’s blown away by what she can do.
Q: As the series goes on, you get into genetic engineering, fated love, eco-terrorism, loyalty, isolation, human nature, climate change…some pretty heavy themes. But would you describe the series as a difficult read?
I don’t think so, but certainly some parts were hard to write – like about Riley missing her dad and her sister. I still cry when I read those parts. And in the second book, an eco-terrorist is introduced, and some terrible things happen in the book. So yeah, there’s definitely a heaviness to some of what the characters are dealing with. But they’re teenagers, and their youth is sort of a tonic against everything they’re dealing with. They still care about their friends. They still want to hang out, tell stories, joke around. They are still very interested in falling in love. I think my writing style is naturally light and breezy, so it’s sort of a counterpoint to the storyline. If that makes sense, lol.
Q: What’s your favorite part of this series?
Riley and Finn’s relationship. They have so much on their plates, and they’re so young, but they genuinely care for each other in a way that makes me ache.
Q: What do you do when you’re not writing?
I have three large, unruly boys who like to play every sport and eat as much food as possible. When I’m not at my computer, I’m busy carting them around and grocery shopping. But I also love to relax with a great book or television show – I am currently completely obsessed with Riverdale, OMG!!!
Thanks for having me! Happy reading!!!

Author Bio:
Leigh Walker lives in New Hampshire with her husband and three children. She has a degree in Journalism and a law degree. She's never been to the Naval Shipyard prison in Kittery, ME, but she's driven by it...and boy, is it creepy!

Leigh has lots of books planned for The Division Series. Sign up for her mailing list at www.leighwalkerbooks.com to be notified of the next release in the series! You can also find her on The Division's FB page: https://www.facebook.com/divisionbookseries/

Website / Facebook / Twitter

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Book Blitz + Interview & Giveaway: Under a Million Stars by Rita Branches

Publication Date: August 8th, 2016
Genre: YA, Contemporary
Amazon ~ Goodreads ~ B&N

Synopsis: Can a beating heart bleed from the shattered pieces? 

Her heart cracked when her best friend walked away; it completely shattered when she lost her family in a tragic accident.

Now orphaned at seventeen, Charlotte Peterson is forced to live with her former best friend, Jacob Parker. Charlie, a talented pianist, desperately wants their loving friendship back, but something is holding Jake back. The more she spirals into the darkness of depression, the more she needs him.

Jacob vowed to stay away from her—no matter how much he still loved her. Armed with secrets that would have destroyed both of their families, he chose to end their friendship and walk away, which nearly killed him. As he watches the girl he once knew begin to fade away, however, he realizes that their relationship is more important than the truth he's hiding. 

Now it's up to Jacob to put the pieces of Charlie's broken heart back together—even if it means revealing the secrets he so desperately wants to protect her from. 
Will Jacob find a way to bring back the carefree, talented girl he once knew, or is it too late for both of them?

About the Author

Rita Branches is an independent YA (young adult) author who enjoys spending every free moment (when she´s not reading) writing emotional stories.

Interview

When or at what age did you know you wanted to be a writer? 

I always loved to read and build up stories in my mind, but I started writing in high school. 

What is the earliest age you remember reading your first book? 

My mother always read to me, since I can remember, I suppose I started reading those children’s books as soon as I was able to. In English (my first language isn’t English, for those of you who don’t know), it was Harry Potter. I couldn’t wait for the next book to be available in Portuguese, so I bought it in English and realized it was easy to understand, so I started reading more and more in English. 

What genre of books do you enjoy reading? 

Right now, it’s New Adult and Young Adult (which is what I write) but I read almost anything. 

What is your favorite book? 

It’s difficult to say. I went to my goodreads’ favorite’s bookshelf for this question and I have 67 books there and I try to be selective with the books I put there. The firsts that come to my mind are: Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma (really depressing but beautiful), 

The Host by Stephenie Meyer (like the whole concept of that world), A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks (it’s Nicholas Sparks, I don’t need to mention it’s depressing). Harry Potter, of course. 

But the most well built and that I felt was not understood, was Hunger Games, I think it’s much deeper than people think, I watched the last movie (I read the books long ago) and kept linking the story to what’s happening now in the world, with the refugees, with the world leaders… and I think the public didn’t understand what was under the romance (which is next to nothing and very well done, realistically speaking). 

You know I think we all have a favorite author. Who is your favorite author and why? 

It’s the same with favorite books, it’s hard to say. I think J. K. Rowling is brilliant, and for the reasons I stated above, Suzanne Collins is as well. 

If you could travel back in time here on earth to any place or time. Where would you go and why? 

Have you watch documentaries on the health problems? The lack of hygiene? I’m kidding - but not really. I like to visit historic places and imagine what it would be like to live there in the past, but I can’t say I would like to live in the past - I’m more curious about the future. 

When writing a book do you find that writing comes easy for you or is it a difficult task? 

It depends on the day, there are days I can’t write a sentence that sounds right. When I finished Under a Million Stars, I wrote 10k words in one day and it came out perfectly (even though I went to bed with sore eyes). 

Do you have any little fuzzy friends? Like a dog or a cat? Or any pets? 

Two amazing dogs, both rescued from the street. 

What is your "to die for", favorite food/foods to eat? 

I love sushi and pasta. 

Do you have any advice for anyone that would like to be an author? 

Write, write, write, the more you write, even if it isn’t a story you wish to publish, writing, like with everything in life needs practice. You’ll get better with each paragraph. Then take a chance and publish it. Don’t get stuck on the idea that no one wants to read your stories.

Website ~ Twitter ~ Goodreads ~ Facebook

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Book Blitz + Giveaway: Transformed by E.V. Fairfall

Transformed by E.V. Fairfall
Publication Date: January 1st 2014
Genre: YA, Paranormal, Romance
Amazon ~ Goodreads ~ B&N

Synopsis: Since the beginning, two entities have had complete, unquestioned control over Thea: the Earth and God.

But when Thea suddenly figures out that the Earth has  trapped her within a forest, she discovers that the only way to set herself free is to break God’s one rule; she must forsake her animal form and become human.

The result is nothing she could ever have expected. Lost within the torrent of human emotions, Thea starts to lose who she is and even begins to fall in love with the one thing she always hated: a hunter.

As her act against God proves more problematic than anticipated, it is only a matter of time before her punishment may prove to be worse than Earth’s entrapment.

About the Author

I love to write just as much as I love to read. I try to read a book per week, which doesn't always work out, but it's the thought that counts. Aside from all that I am a huge animal person.


Transformed is my first novel, but it isn't my first publication; I've had several short stories published over the last two years. My main goal as a writer is to explore humanity and to give people something fun to read.

~Goodreads~

Interview with E.V.

What makes Transformed a unique story? 

Well, let me first ask you this: how often have you read a book in which God and Mother Earth are siblings? Or a book in which Earth itself is an entity of its own, and prevents God from doing anything he wants? How often have you read a book in which Mother Earth is able to take any form except for that of a human because it is forbidden? Though Transformed is a story about finding one's self, it also explores the foibles of being human and the value of all life. It is about making mistakes and finding a solution, even if that solution isn’t what was originally intended. 

Where does the story take place? 

Transformed takes place in a small mountain town in Colorado. This fictitious town resides next to a forest and is green and lush (Colorado can get very dry), and because of its high elevation, it has strange weather patterns. 

How important are names to you in your books? Do you choose the names based on the way they sound or the meaning? Do you have any name choosing resources you recommend? 

Names! Names are so important to me, mostly because I can’t actually write a character without first knowing their name. I can have the perfect scene in my head but until I find a name that I know fits the character, I just can’t write them in. I don’t pick names based on the sounds, but sometimes I pick a name because of its meaning. Mostly I just know when a name works for my character. As for resources, I tend to use lots of baby naming websites.

Who is your favorite character from Transformed and why? 

Oh gosh, I’m going to say Cricket. I love Chamber of course, but Cricket is just so fun. Cricket is a girl who Thea turned into a squirrel because she needed to borrow her apartment while she was human. Even though Cricket is now a squirrel, she insists on taking special care of the clothes that she reluctantly let Thea borrow—more like take. Thea, who doesn’t understand why Cricket cares about the clothes, tends to leave them wherever she might drop them. Here is a quick excerpt from the book: 

“'You have a squirrel in your sweater.' Brice cocked his head to the side. 'Actually, I think it’s stealing it.' 

Thea looked over her shoulder to see the little squirrel dragging the sweater across the floor toward the closet. If Brice saw a squirrel put a sweater on a hanger, she would never hear the end of it. She shook her head toward the squirrel, causing the ball of fur to stop and glare before continuing to drag the sweater out of sight. If Thea didn’t start hanging up the squirrel’s clothes, she had a feeling the little rodent would attempt to kick her out."

Give us some insight into your main character. What does she do that is so special? 

       Thea is God's sister and has spent her life filling the role of Mother Earth, creating the plants and animals and serving as their guardian. Alongside her brother God, the two siblings used their light to create for hundreds of years. She doesn’t understand humans, and she likes them even less. It isn’t until she takes a human form that she begins to understand what she has been missing out on, and ultimately she gains a deeper understanding of her brother and what it means to be a part of a family. 

Did you have a specific song or playlist that you listened to when you were writing Transformed?

I actually can’t listen to music when I write. I wish I could. Sometimes a song will inspire me or motivate me, but while writing I need quiet. Of course, that never really happens because I live in an apartment with paper thin walls—but that is part of the adventure. 

What writing advice do you have for other aspiring authors?

Never give up, and go to writers conferences! I wish I had gone to a writers conference earlier. They open your mind to a side of book writing that you normally wouldn't consider. You can meet people who love what you love, and it is a great chance to break out of your shell and read some of your work out loud. Not only that but you will meet other writers who will help you through the hard times. 

What can readers who enjoy your book do to help make it successful? 

Reviews! Social media posts on Facebook, Tumblr, Goodreads and so on. Word of mouth is huge for any author. There are so many great books in the world that people haven't discovered, but they only need to be pointed in the right direction. 

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