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Saturday, August 31, 2013

Authors Are Rockstars- The Epic Maria V. Snyder and an awesome Giveaway!



Hey ya’ll Jaime here! Welcome to my stop on the Authors Are Rockstars tour! We’ve saved the best for last or at least in my opinion the best. My author is Maria V. Snyder and she is one of my all-time favorite authors and a really cool person as well! Oh yeah and there's two awesometastic giveaways as well so keep reading and fill out the rafflecopter forms below!!



So why do I think Maria deserves this rockstar status? Quite simply because she does! Maria’s books were introduced to my life when I was reading nothing but Paranormal and Urban Fantasy YA and adult both. When I first grabbed Poison Study I was worried I may not like it because I hadn’t read High Fantasy in a long time! Like since before high school long time. But I shouldn’t have been worried, her world building and beautiful writing grabbed me at page one! Yelena the heroine in the story was so different than any of the others I had read! She jumped off the page and slapped me, hard, and I immediately loved her for it. I also met my #1 book boyfriend of all time in this series Valek. 






My love for her books grew with each one I read. I finished the Study series quickly and jumped right into her Glass series. When those were finished I scavenged her website for her short stories of Sitia and Ixia. I couldn’t get enough of the world and the characters! These are the two series I re-read a lot! And the best news ever came a few months ago when Maria posted on Facebook that there are going to be 3 more Study books!!!!




Maria then wrote a sci-fi/dystopian for the YA crowd Inside Out and followed it with Outside In and I fell for those books too. In my opinion they ended way too early I could have read more of that world. I loved Trella and Riley.



Maria started a new High Fantasy series The Healer books and I devoured book 1, Touch of Power in one sitting and did the same with book 2, Scent of Magic! Now I’m dying to get my hands on book 3, Taste of Darkness which will be out in December! Oh and I’ve also read all of her short stories in any anthology she has been in! And she also has a new Middle Grade Book coming out in October called Storm Watcher!



hathor1309's MVS Healer album on Photobucket






Ok so enough about Maria’s books remember I said she was a cool person? Well while I was scouring her site I found ways to get signed bookplates by answering trivia. And oh boy I sent her email after email with my answers lol do you think she got annoyed? Nope she was awesome even gave me hints when I got a few answers wrong. Then she sent me all my bookplates at one time. We even chat on facebook sometimes even though she isn’t on there much. And oh boy do I wish she had twitter but then I’d probably never leave her alone lol. Oh and her covers are gorgeous right? Well you should check out the foreign versions! Her UK covers are some of my favorites! Check them out in her Cover Gallery!


But enough about why I love Maria. She has an awesome post for me to share with you about the maps in her books so check it out!!!!! And make sure to enter the giveaway below!

Which Came First – The Story or The Map?
Maria V. Snyder


If I answered this question back when I wrote my Study and Glass series books, I’d proclaim, “The story of course!”  When I started writing Poison Study, all the events happened in the Commander’s Castle and as my characters traveled from the castle, they created the map.  I didn’t envision what the Territory of Ixia looked like until I had to for the story.  Then I sketched Ixia in my notebook.  This is what I used while writing  Poison Study:


But as I worked on Magic Study with Yelena’s adventures in Sitia and then Fire Study, where she travels between the two countries, I needed a clearer picture of the world.  And I needed to keep track of how long it took to travel between cites/clans/countries or else I’d be getting irate emails from readers (maybe not irate, but they’d point it out and probably laugh).  So I sketched on a piece of poster board in pencil and colored in with markers and came up with this:


Now you know why I write and am not an artist J.  I was glad to have that map as I worked on Opal’s story in the Glass books.  She traveled throughout Sitia and I added places like The Cliffs on my basic map.  Then came the request from the UK office of my publisher.  They would like a map to put in the front of the UK edition of Poison Study, could I provide one for their art department.  Sure I could!  Since my working map had been drawn on and looked messy, I sharpened my pencil and found my ruler and came up with this:


Not too bad.  I figured the Commander would divide his territory into equal parts, ignoring natural borders like streams and lakes. Plus the art department would fix it and make it look pretty.  Well…they added a few touches, but kept most of what I’d drawn.  Here it is:

What do you think?

Now fast forward to my Healer series. I knew Avry and company would be traveling around the Fifteen Realms so I decided to draw the map first and then write the story.  Why fifteen realms?  My birthday is on the fifteenth, so why not J.  I also knew there would be a rather significant mountain range and I named them the Nine Mountains.  Why nine?  Because Touch of Power, the first Healer book was also my ninth novel.  However the other details remained sketchy ;).  How do I draw 15 Realms when I only had a bare bones plot?

I had just gone on a Baltic Sea cruise with my family and had been enchanted by countries and people living in Russia, Sweden, Finland, Poland, and Latvia.  What if I based my Fifteen Realms on Eastern Europe?  I went to Google maps and printed out a map.  Then I loosely traced out 15 “countries” with a sharpie and then put a white paper on top and traced again.  This is what I ended up with:

It was still vaguely recognizable despite splitting Russia into 3 Realms. And I didn’t want it to look like Eastern Europe.  Enter my talented writer/singer/musician friend, Wim Stolk (a.k.a fantasy author W. J. Maryson, r.i.p 2-2011).  He visited my house during a trip to the US, and told me about a new novel he was working on.  He had taken one of his fantasy maps and turned it 90 degrees and created a new world.  He said only his diehard fans would ever suspect.  It was a great idea so I stole it ;).  Here’s my map turned 90 degrees to the right:


Now the Baltic sea is to the east – except I named it the Ronel Sea after one of my readers who emailed me and I liked her name.  The other names I used for my map are small cities and towns scattered throughout Eastern Europe – gotta love Google Maps!  Once I had the general outline, I colored the map in and wrote in the names.  Like so:
And after I wrote Touch of Power, I sent a copy of my map to the art department and they made it look old and mysterious, while still keeping the basic shapes.  Here’s the final map that went into the book:


Pretty nice – right? 

In conclusion, the needs of your story will determine if you need a map first or a story first.  I’ve done both and it’s worked for me.  Just beware the danger of spending months and months perfecting your map before you write a word down.  You might think you need a detailed, multi-colored, cartographer’s dream map, but you don’t.  You’re just procrastinating.  Big Time.

OK that post just rocks my world I am such a huge fan of the maps in books! Thanks so much Maria for stopping by. Oh and I’m lucky to have two awesome giveaways for you today! Harlequin Teen has donated one of Maria’s books to one lucky winner and Maria threw in a copy of her new Middle Grade book Storm Watcher for another lucky person both giveaways US/Canada only!!!!!! Fill out the Rafflecopter Form and good luck!



a Rafflecopter giveaway

Friday, August 30, 2013

Authors Are Rockstars- Heather Brewer is my Rockstar and check out her Giveaway!


I am so happy to be hosting Heather Brewer today she is the fantastic author of the Slayer Chronicles, the Vladimir Tod Chronicles and also the High Fantasy series the Legacy of Tril which is my personal favorite! Book 2 can't come fast enough!

Why is Heather a rockstar? Why not is the question! She always talks to her fans (they call her Auntie Heather), has awesome giveaways and makes the funniest Vlogs! She also puts up with my constant rambling/complaining about Trill and when book 2 is coming out.

Ok so I'm turning this over to Heather to talk about why she thinks authors are Rockstars!




Authors are rockstars.

I've heard that quite a bit in recent years, Minions. And I've come to really appreciate those rockstar moments. Nothing gets me through a day filled with cat boxes, dust bunnies, and deadlines like the memory of walking into a school gym full of screaming teenagers. Nothing can push away a low self-esteem day like the happy recalling of being asked to autograph a fan's book...or baby (which I'm super proud to admit totally happened). In fact, take away those stardom moments and an author's life can be pretty lonely. Mostly, we stay at home (preferably in jammie pants), and write. It's an existence full of solitude...not that solitude is a bad thing.

But being alone can sometimes mean that we authors get lonely, as any person would. And when we do, we reach out through various means (I loves me some Twitter) to touch someone else, to make a connection, to do something to dispel the loneliness that has befallen us. When I reach out, I largely reach out to my Minions. You guys get me. You understand who I am and what I'm about. And when I need a shoulder, you're always happy to lean over and offer me one. But today I want to talk about the other people that I can count on. Today I want to talk about my fellow YA authors.

You see, I was a lonely child growing up. Never mind that I had four siblings and too many cousins to count, all within about a fifty mile radius. I was lonely. And I was bullied. And I was convinced that I was entirely unlikeable.

Sometimes I am still convinced that I am unlikeable. But that's okay. Because during those moments of loneliness, of low self-esteem, I know that I can pull a book from my bookshelf and lose myself in another world, and that in that journey to another place, I will come to understand a special place in another author's mind. And through that, we will bond. I may never meet them. We may never speak in person or tweet back and forth, but I know that we share a connection. We share a story, and that brings me out of my lonely place and back to thinking that maybe I am not so unlikeable after all. And when I do that--when I read a book and feel a connection with its author--I realize that I am not just an author. I am a reader. I am a fan. And I am not alone.

When I go to events that I am not presenting at, and I see the author walk into the room, I grin. I'm so excited to meet them, so thrilled to know that I will soon have my book autographed by them. It's a magical moment, and I love that feeling. When I meet an author that I truly admire, it makes me feel less lonely in this big, wide world. It makes me feel less like a freak and more like an awesome person--a person who shares a secret with an author, with a rockstar.

Because, yeah, authors are rockstars. But not because of the screaming teens who await their arrival. Not because of the autographs and praise and movies on the big screen. Authors are rockstars because of how they make you feel when you're feeling so unlikeable.


At least, that's what they are to me.

About Heather:
Heather Brewer was not your typical teen growing up. She wore black, danced under full moons and devoured every book in sight.

She hasn’t changed much.

Today, Heather can be found wandering cemeteries, lounging on her coffin couch, devouring every book in sight, and attending renaissance faire in costume (and in character). 

When Heather's not writing, dressing up, or reading, she's hanging out with her 

Minions, whom she adores right down to their lil black hearts.

Heather is the author of The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod, The Slayer Chronicles, and The Legacy of Tril series. She's penned several short stories, consumes entirely too much caffeine, and will not stop until she has achieved world domination in the name of her Minion Horde.

Find Her
Website/Blog/Twitter/Facebook/Goodreads

Also check out Heather's Blog she has an EPIC Giveaway going on right now! And I have a Giveaway for an ARC of Third Strike! Simply comment below with your email address and why you'd like the book and you'll be entered! US Only ends September 6th!


Heather's Books!



hathor1309's Heather Brewer album on Photobucket

Thursday, August 29, 2013

Blog Tour- DESCENDANT by Lesley Livingston Playlist and a Giveaway



I love Lesley Livingston and her books and I love music and so does Lesley so today I get to share a playlist with you for DESCENDANT. And of course I'll embed YouTube videos of my favorite ones and there's a giveaway as well so check below.


Title: Descendant (Starling #2)
Author: Lesley Livingston
Pub. Date: August 27, 2013
Publisher: HarperTeen
Pages: 336

The last thing Mason Starling remembers is the train crossing a bridge. An explosion . . . a blinding light . . . then darkness. Now she is alone, stranded in Asgard—the realm of Norse legend—and the only way for her to get home is to find the Spear of Odin, a powerful relic left behind by vanished gods.

The Fennrys Wolf knows all about Asgard. He was once trapped there. And he’ll do whatever it takes to find the girl who’s stolen his heart and bring her back—even if it means a treacherous descent into the Underworld. But time is running out, and Fenn knows something Mason doesn’t: If she takes up the Spear, she’ll set in motion a terrible prophecy. And she won’t just return to her world . . . she’ll destroy it.


In this pulse-pounding sequel to Starling, Lesley Livingston delivers another electrifying blend of nonstop action and undeniable romance that will leave readers breathless.

Now on to this awesome playlist!

DESCENDANT PLAYLIST

I listen to music a lot when I’m writing. Sometimes it helps to block out the outside world so I can focus on the one in my head, and sometimes it helps to inspire a certain scene. Sometimes, it’s just fun listening to songs my characters might have on shuffle play. Here is a selection from the playlist I have on my shiny purple iPod for DESCENDANT. Enjoy!


1. NEW YORK – U2

This is just the song to get me into the mood to write about the city. A feeling of setting more than anything specific. Plus I love way that it goes from cool and relaxed to frantic and driving in an instant. Kind of like Mason’s world.

2. IMMIGRANT SONG – Led Zeppelin 


Okay, maybe I’m being slightly Captain Obvious here with this choice, but how can I not include the ultimate Viking warrior anthem? Seriously. With a line like “Fight the horde, singing and crying: Valhalla, I am coming!” And those initial screaming Robert Plant vocals sound like approaching draugr to me. And to Fennrys. 



3. PUMPED UP KICKS - Foster the People

This is such a Rory song. It just is. Right down to the attitude. And the bullet.

4. BREATHING UNDER WATER -  Metric

There seem to be an awful lot of things lurking, breathing under water, in the rivers surrounding the island of Manhattan. I thought that maybe they needed their own playlist entry. Mostly because I want them to be nice to me. Nice underwater breathing things… play nice now.

5. DOG DAYS ARE OVER - Florence and the Machine


“Happiness hit her like a train on a track”? It sure did. Poor Mason…


6. ALL THESE THINGS THAT I’VE DONE – The Killers


There’s pretty much something for every character in DESCENDANT in this song. Read the book, then read the lyrics, and then tell me I’m not right. Better yet? Tell Fennrys I’m not right!


7. ELECTRICAL STORM – U2 

A song for Mason and Fennrys. Full of ache and longing… the charged, eerie sensation of a sky filled with lightning. And the particularly fitting lyrics: “You're in my mind all of the time/ I know that's not enough/
If the sky can crack, there must be some way back/ For love and only love…”

8. CUPID - Sam Cooke


One for Heather. An oldie, but a goodie! I can actually picture her cranking this song up in her dorm room and dancing to it all alone. Heather digs irony.

9. CAN’T GET IT OUT OF MY HEAD – Electric Light Orchestra

And one for Cal. Next time an Ocean’s daughter calls your name? Put in ear plugs! Then you won’t have this problem.


10. WORLD ON FIRE - Sara McLachlan

Mason probably hums this one in her sleep. It’s a lovely melodic counterpoint to her nightmares and yet still manages to remind her incessantly about the impending end of the world!

11. THE CHOSEN ONE – Bryan Ferry

This one’s for Roth. Sad and strange and brooding and quiet. A song of foreboding.

12. GOODBYE BLUE SKY – Pink Floyd


A particularly fitting song for an approaching apocalypse, no? Yes!



13. I WILL FIND YOU – Clannad


Because Fenn will find you, Mason. At least, he’d better…




About Lesley:
Lesley Livingston is a writer and actress living in Toronto. She has a master's degree in English from the University of Toronto, where she specialized in Arthurian Literature and Shakespeare. She frequently performs with the Tempest Theatre Group, of which she is a co-founder. She is also the author of WONDROUS STRANGE and DARKLIGHT.
You can visit Lesley online at www.lesleylivingston.com



Giveaway Details:
2 signed sets of STARLING & DESCENDANT Us/Canada Only


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Check out the Tour Schedule!
8/19/2013- The Happy Booker- Guest Post
8/20/2013- Bewitched Bookworms- Interview
8/21/2013- IceyBooks- Review
8/22/2013- Tater's Tall Tails- Guest Post
8/23/2013- [B.O.O.K.L.I.F.E.]- Review
8/26/2013- Fiktshun- Character Interview Fennrys
8/27/2013- Wholly Books- Review
8/28/2013- Book Jems- Review
8/29/2013- Two Chicks on Books- Guest Post

8/30/2013- About to Read- Interview

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Authors Are Rockstars- Featuring Cristin Bishara!


So I have Cristin Bishara featured today on the blog and I think she's a Rockstar because we like the same kind of music (just check out the awesome playlist below and yes I've embeded videos) and she writes a rockin Sci-Fi story! She's a baseball fan too and I even forgive her for being a Rays fan (Go A's lol) Also I believe she may be a beer lover like me because her dog is named Guinness :) 

So I'm going to let Cristin Take it away!


RELATIVITY playlist:

What If • Five for Fighting
RELATIVITY makes you think about the “what-ifs” in life. What if you made a different choice at a key moment? Where would you be now because of that one decision? Who would you be? What if you could step into someone else’s world, and into another life?


We Belong Together • Gavin DeGraw

Ruby is convinced that she belongs with her mother, and with George, and that her parents belong together. It’s what keeps her moving through the multiverse.


Science and Faith • The Script

Perfect lyrics! Ruby has to learn that science can’t always answer everything for her, especially matters of the heart. “You won’t find faith or hope down a telescope / You won’t find heart and soul in the stars / You can break everything down to chemicals / But you can’t explain a love like ours.”


Stubborn Love • The Lumineers

This one is for Kandy (“she’ll lie and steal and cheat”) because she deserves a song, and because it’s my favorite by The Lumineers. 



The Lightning Strike (What If This Storm Ends?) • Snow Patrol

I don’t want to give too much away, but there’s a lot of lightning in this story. (You may have guessed from the cover art.) It’s more than just bad weather, though. Much more.


Cosmic Love • Florence + the Machine

Cosmic: Having to do with the cosmos, which is one of Ruby’s science obsessions. Love: Having to do with everything. “I took the stars from my eyes, and then I made a map / And knew that somehow I could find my way back.” Really, aren’t we all trying to find our way back to somewhere or someone?


The Scientist • Coldplay

There are so many lyrics from this song that fit RELATIVITY perfectly. “Come back and haunt me.” “Science and progress do not speak as loud as my heart.” “I was just guessing at numbers and figures.” Okay, pretty much the ENTIRE song is spot on. Science, puzzles, running in circles. It’s all there.


Welcome Home • Radical Face

I picked this song because Ruby struggles with the definition of “home” and where she belongs. And the music is so good.





Parallel Universe • Red Hot Chili Peppers

Okay, I’ll admit this isn’t my favorite RHCP song, but I couldn’t resist including it!



Nine songs for ten alternate worlds. Something is missing, and I know what it is. I need a song for Ruby’s amazing brother, Patrick. So this is the part where I ask for help from anyone who has read RELATIVITY. If you have an idea for a Patrick song, send me a Tweet. I’m@CristinBishara.


About the Book Title: RELATIVITY
Author: Cristin Bishara
Pub. Date: September 10, 2013
Publisher: Walker Children's
Pages: 288
Find it: AmazonBarnes & NobleGoodreads


If Ruby Wright could have her way, her dad would never have met and married her stepmother Willow, her best friend George would be more than a friend, and her mom would still be alive. Ruby knows wishes can't come true; some things just can't be undone. Then she discovers a tree in the middle of an Ohio cornfield with a wormhole to nine alternative realities.                                                                                                                                       Suddenly, Ruby can access completely different realities, each containing variations of her life—if things had gone differently at key moments. The windshield wiper missing her mother’s throat…her big brother surviving his ill-fated birth…her father never having met Willow. Her ideal world—one with everything and everyone she wants most—could be within reach. But is there such a thing as a perfect world? What is Ruby willing to give up to find out?


 About Cristin:
Before publishing Relativity, Cristin Bishara worked as a professional copywriter, and taught composition and fiction writing at the university level. She has an M.F.A. in creative writing. Cristin lives in Florida with her husband, two girls, and rescued racing greyhound.

Website/Blog/Twitter/Facebook/Goodreads

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Blog Tour- THE BITTER KINGDOM by Rae Carson and a Giveaway!


Hey y'all! Today is an awesome day! Not only do I get to help my dear friend Rae and her wonderful book THE BITTER KINGDOM; she has an awesome guest post about the love of my life Hector! I am so excited to share this with you! Also there is an amazing giveaway!

Title: The Bitter Kingdom (Girl of Fire and Thorns #3)
Author: Rae Carson
Pub. Date: August 27, 2013
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Pages:448
Find it: AmazonBarnes & NobleGoodreads
The epic conclusion to Rae Carson's Fire and Thorns trilogy. The seventeen-year-old sorcerer-queen will travel into the unknown realm of the enemy to win back her true love, save her country, and uncover the final secrets of her destiny.

Elisa is a fugitive in her own country. Her enemies have stolen the man she loves in order to lure her to the gate of darkness. As she and her daring companions take one last quest into unknown enemy territory to save Hector, Elisa will face hardships she's never imagined. And she will discover secrets about herself and her world that could change the course of history. She must rise up as champion-a champion to those who have hated her most.

Now on to the awesome post! 


If Hector Lived on Earth in 2013

Hector has been magically transported from Joya d'Arena to modern day Earth. (Hey, it could happen…) So, what does he think of our world and his new life?

Hector's celebrity crush:
Adele. He has a thing for gorgeous, powerful, full-figured women. (Runner-up: Beyoncé)

Top Destination Vacation:
Sonoma County, California. He loves to go wine-tasting. The rolling vineyards and rugged, tidepool-ridden coastline remind him of his childhood home.

Favorite book:
Architecture: Form, Space, and Order by Francis D.K. Ching. He's a nerd, okay?

Favorite movie:
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2. Hector is quite moved by the themes of friendship and self-sacrifice in this last HP installment.

Hobbies:
Basketball, rock-climbing, AutoCAD design, reading (especially nonfiction).

Favorite TV Show:
He tried to watch Game of Thrones, but he had a bit of a PTSD reaction to some of the memory-inciting violence. So he prefers The Walking Dead, which is still action-adventure but more escapist for him. He thinks zombies are hilarious.

The thing he loves most about our world:
Guns. Even better than the bow and arrow for long-distance defense! He took his first gun (a used Winchester Model 1895 rifle) completely apart and put it back together again, just to see how it worked. He NEVER keeps it loaded.

The thing he hates most about our world:
Corrupt politicians.

Hector's favorite songs:
-When thinking of the events of The Crown of Embers: Too Close by Alex Clare
-When thinking of the events of The Bitter Kingdom: (Everything I Do) I Do It For You by Bryan Adams. Why yes, this IS the cheesiest song ever written. But can you blame a guy who is *that much* in love?


So there you have it. Hector in our world. Hmmm, maybe this would make a good sit-com. We could call it New Boy. Or Modern Guard. The Hector Diaries? Okay, you're right, that's a really bad idea. :)

NO IT'S NOT!!!! I WANT TO BE IN THE SITCOM TOO LOL!

Thanks so much for stopping by today Rae!


Rae Carson is the award-winning author of The Girl of Fire and Thorns Trilogy. She was named a Publishers Weekly Flying Start author for Fall 2011 and was a finalist for the Morris, Cybils, and Andre Norton Awards. Her first novel was named to ALA's Top Ten Best Fiction for Young Adults list.
Rae lives in Ohio with her husband, novelist C.C. Finlay, two stepsons, and two very naughty kitties. She is hard at work on her next trilogy.





Giveaway Details:
A signed set of the complete trilogy. US Only


a Rafflecopter giveaway


Make sure to check out the rest of the Tour Schedule for more amazing posts!
8/19/2013- Ivy Book Bindings- Guest Post
8/20/2013- Magical Urban Fantasy Reads- Interview
8/21/2013- Refracted Light Reviews- Review
8/22/2013- A Backwards Story- Review
8/23/2013- The Starry-Eyed Revue- Interview
8/26/2013- Candace's Book Blog- Review
8/27/2013- Two Chicks on Books- Guest Post
8/28/2013- Citrus Reads- Review
8/29/2013- Hobbitsies- Interview

8/30/2013- Fiktshun- Guest Post

Monday, August 26, 2013

Blog Tour: Deception by C.J. Redwine Playlist and a Giveaway!


I adore this series by C.J. Redwine and I am so excited to have her here today for the DECEPTION Blog Tour hosted by Mundie Moms and Mundie Girls Tours! And you all know how much I love music so I asked C.J. to do a playlist for DECEPTION. I will share some of the YouTube videos as well!

Here's some info on the book and make sure to enter the awesome giveaway below to!


Purchase it fromHarper Teen | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Add it to Goodreads

Baalboden has been ravaged. The brutal Commander's whereabouts are unknown. And Rachel, grief stricken over her father's death, needs Logan more than ever. With their ragged group of survivors struggling to forge a future, it's up to Logan to become the leader they need—with Rachel by his side. Under constant threat from rival Carrington's army, which is after the device that controls the Cursed One, the group decides to abandon the ruins of their home and take their chances in the Wasteland.

But soon their problems intensify tenfold: someone—possibly inside their ranks—is sabotaging the survivors, slowly killing them off. The chaos and uncertainty of each day puts unbearable strain on Rachel and Logan, and it isn't long before they feel their love splintering. Even worse, as it becomes clear that the Commander will stop at nothing to destroy them, the survivors begin to question whether the price of freedom may be too great—and whether, hunted by their enemies and the murderous traitor in their midst, they can make it out of the Wasteland alive.


In this daring sequel to Defiance, with the world they once loved forever destroyed, Rachel and Logan must decide between a life on the run and standing their ground to fight.

And C.J Take it away!

Music is a big part of my writing process. As stories and characters come to life in my head, I slowly build playlists for them. Anyone who follows me on Spotify can see a huge list of playlists under my name … many for books that won’t be written for years. I’m constantly listening to new music, discovering new voices, and when I hear something that fits a story, I add it to that playlist. As a result, many of my finished playlists (like the one for DECEPTION) are pretty long! For the sake of not writing a post that would take nine years to read, I picked a representative cross-section of music from DECEPTION’s playlist to share with you.

My playlists encompass the atmosphere and emotional journey of a story. I can’t use the same playlist twice, even within the same series of books, because the emotional journey and the struggles within that book are unique. For Deception, the theme was tension, fear, depression, and betrayal mixed in with high stakes action scenes. I needed music that captured those elements.

One of my favorite songs to play while I wrote the scenes where Logan and Rachel struggled with each other and with what their lives had become was Stray by The Exies.

 

Another favorite that captured the tension well was Familiar Taste of Poison by Halestorm. 



Before anybody panics, the lyrics don’t always have to match perfectly with the circumstances. It’s the emotion, both in the lyrics and in the music itself, that makes a song right for the playlist. And speaking of emotion, Can’t Live Without You by Bebo Norman is the song that best fit romantic moments between Rachel and Logan in DECEPTION. (See? There’s hope!)



DECEPTION was the first book I’ve written where I actually used more instrumental music on the playlist than singer/songwriter songs. I pulled several pieces from The Dark Knight’s soundtrack: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioQnaB1ijtk along with pieces from the soundtrack to Assassin’s Creed: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6kRdmUnks8  Both of those perfectly capture the atmosphere of growing fear and tension laced with grief that permeates much of DECEPTION. 

The final song I’ll share from DECEPTION’s playlist is Rise With Me by In This Moment because I feel like it perfectly captures the haunting desperation of the book, both Rachel’s inward journey, and the outward conflict as well.





If you want more songs from DECEPTION’s playlist, or are curious about other playlists (including Defiance book 3!), follow me on Spotify and check them out for yourself. And feel free to send songs recs. I’m always looking for the next perfect song!

Thanks so Much C.J!



About The Author

C. J. Redwine lives in Nashville, Tennessee, with her four beautiful kids, an amazing husband, two fairly crazy cats, and a dog. She has books in every corner of her house, an impressive Harry Potter memorabilia collection, and a bunch of really cool friends she doesn't get to see nearly as much as she'd like to. She is also the author of Defiance.

Visit C.J. via her Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Tumblr








The Giveaway: 

Mundie Moms is giving away a signed copy of either Defiance or Deception (winner's choice), and 2 runner up winners will receive a set of bookmarks
a Rafflecopter giveaway


Make sure to follow the tour schedule for more awesome posts! 


8/23- Carina's Books, interview with Rachel
8/23 -  Curling Up With a Good Book, excerpt

8/24- MundieMoms, review

8/26- Two Chicks on Books, playlist (you are here)

8/27 - YASisterhood, review
8/27- Fitshun, interview with Logan

8/28 - Reading Teen, Top 10s List
8/28 -Fangirlish, review

8/29- ExLibris, author interview

8/30- PageTurners Blog, review
8/30 - Emily's Crammed Bookshelf, excerpt


8/31 - PeaceLove Teen, excerpt
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