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Monday, October 12, 2015

Blog Tour- ICE LIKE FIRE by Sara Raasch An Interview and A Giveaway!


I am so excited to be hosting a spot on the ICE LIKE FIRE blog tour! I have an interview with Sara to share with you today! And make sure to enter the giveaway for some awesome swag packs!

Haven't heard of ICE LIKE FIRE Check it out!

About the Book:
Title: ICE LIKE FIRE
Author: Sara Raasch
Release Date: October 13, 2015
Pages: 479
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Formats: Hardcover, eBook, Audiobook
It’s been three months since the Winterians were freed and Spring’s king, Angra, disappeared—thanks largely to the help of Cordell. 
Meira just wants her people to be safe. When Cordellan debt forces the Winterians to dig their mines for payment, they unearth something powerful and possibly dangerous: Primoria’s lost chasm of magic. Theron sees this find as an opportunity—with this much magic, the world can finally stand against threats like Angra. But Meira fears the danger the chasm poses—the last time the world had access to so much magic, it spawned the Decay. So when the king of Cordell orders the two on a mission across the kingdoms of Primoria to discover the chasm’s secrets, Meira plans to use the trip to garner support to keep the chasm shut and Winter safe—even if it means clashing with Theron. But can she do so without endangering the people she loves? 
Mather just wants to be free. The horrors inflicted on the Winterians hang fresh and raw in Januari—leaving Winter vulnerable to Cordell’s growing oppression. When Meira leaves to search for allies, he decides to take Winter’s security into his own hands. Can he rebuild his broken kingdom and protect them from new threats? 
As the web of power and deception weaves tighter, Theron fights for magic, Mather fights for freedom—and Meira starts to wonder if she should be fighting not just for Winter, but for the world.


Hi Sara! First I want to say welcome back to Two Chicks on Books! I loved SNOW LIKE ASHES & ICE LIKE FIRE and am so happy that you could stop by for a visit! BTW I can’t wait for book 3!

Yay!! I’m so excited to be here :D

For the readers: can you give us a recap of SNOW LIKE ASHES and the characters?

SNOW LIKE ASHES followed Meira, a sixteen-year-old girl who was one of the last surviving refugees from the Kingdom of Winter. Under the guidance of General William Loren (whom she calls Sir), Meira was trying to help the other refugees free their enslaved kingdom and put Mather, the exiled teenage king, back on the throne. They gained an alliance with the Kingdom of Cordell thanks to a questionable treaty with its king, Noam, and prince, Theron. But Angra, the king of Spring, had some other tricks up his sleeve, and things quickly unraveled—ending with Meira in one of Angra’s Winterian work camps. CHAOS ENSUED.

What can we expect in ICE LIKE FIRE?

More politics. This is the book where Meira really struggles with balancing Warrior Meira and Queen Meira—oftentimes at the expense of sacrificing Warrior Meira altogether.


What about book 3? Do we have a title yet?


We do! Or, well, I do, heh. It’ll be announced this winter!

Who was your favorite character to write? What about your least favorite? Has that changed between the two books?


Favorite character (other than Meira) was probably Ceridwen. She’s just so ANGRY, I love it.


Least favorite: Angra. He’s so MYSTERIOUS. Even to me. It’s like pulling teeth to get this guy to tell me anything about his backstory. 


What is your favorite passage/scene in ICE LIKE FIRE?



The one that first comes to mind is Chapter 9, purely because it’s so emotionally draining. #sorrynotsorry



Was book 2 easier to write than book 1?



HA. Hahahahahahahahaha *falls off chair*


Noooo. Book 2 was stupid hard to write. I actually went through about four or five different drafts before I finally landed on the right opening. Middle books are notoriously hard—they have to be a bridge between places as well as their own thing. I keep telling myself “I will only ever write standalones after this.” Yeah, we’ll see if that happens.


What are you reading right now? Or what do you have on your TBR that you’re dying to read?



I just finished Prince’s Gambit, book 2 in the Captive Prince trilogy, and I am dead from feels. DEAD. This is one of the best, if not the best, books I’ve ever read. The last 40 pages had me in this state of slack-jawed screeching in the middle of the night and IT’S JUST UTTER PERFECTION. (Tho this is not a YA book, so be warned—it’s very much an adult fantasy novel.)



Who is your ultimate Book Boyfriend?



Laurent from, see above, the Captive Prince trilogy. Though, I feel dirty saying that, because he’s so crazy perfect with Damen and I know he’d have zero interest in me. But I’d just want to follow him around and giggle and fawn over him and basically be his groupie. 



What inspires you to keep writing YA?



Meeting teen readers. They are the BEST—so passionate, so excited, and it always invigorates me in a way that nothing else can!



Lightening Round Questions

What Hogwarts House would the Sorting Hat place you in?

Ummm…soooo…I’ve never actually read Harry Potter…*dodges thrown items*

Twitter or Facebook?

TWITTER ALL THE WAY

Favorite Superhero?

Harley Quinn. She counts as a superhero, right? Don’t care, I love her.

Favorite TV show?

At the moment, Leverage. ELIOT MMMMMM

Sweet or Salty?

Both!

Any Phobias?

The ocean. I watched Life of Pi and it scared the sh** out of me. That kind of movie is my ultimate horror film—being trapped in the ocean. On a boat. Nowhere to go. Why people go on cruises BY CHOICE, to RELAX, is beyond me. That’s my hell, right there.

Song you can’t get enough of right now?

“Something I Need” by OneRepublic: https://youtu.be/8_xvWdY6Gr4

Fall Movie you’re most looking forward to?

Okay it’s next fall, technically, but the Assassin’s Creed movie OH MY GOD I CANNOT WAIT



Thanks so much Sara for answering my questions! I can’t wait to read SNOW LIKE ASHES 3!


Thanks for having me!! It was a blast!



About Sara:
Sara Raasch has known she was destined for bookish things since the age of five, when her friends had a lemonade stand and she tagged along to sell her hand-drawn picture books too. Not much has changed since then — her friends still cock concerned eyebrows when she attempts to draw things and her enthusiasm for the written word still drives her to extreme measures. Her debut YA fantasy, SNOW LIKE ASHES, came out October 14, 2014 from Balzer + Bray, and the sequel, ICE LIKE FIRE, comes out October 13, 2015. Neither features her hand-drawn pictures.




Giveaway Details:

2 winners will receive sets of ICE LIKE FIRE Trading Cards/Miniature Bookmarks. International.





a Rafflecopter giveaway


Check out the Tour Schedule!


Week One:
10/5/2015- A Dream Within A DreamReview
10/6/2015- Mundie MomsInterview
10/7/2015- Such a Novel IdeaReview
10/8/2015- Dark Faerie TalesGuest Post
10/9/2015- The Whimsical MamaReview

Week Two:
10/12/2015- Two Chicks on Books- Interview
10/13/2015- Bookish LifestyleReview
10/14/2015- Supernatural SnarkGuest Post
10/15/2015- FiktshunReview
10/16/2015- Once Upon a TwilightInterview



About book 1:

About the Book
Title: SNOW LIKE ASHES
Author: Sara Raasch
Release Date: October 14, 2014
Pages: 432
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Formats: Hardcover, Paperback, eBook, Audiobook

A heartbroken girl. A fierce warrior. A hero in the making. 
Sixteen years ago the Kingdom of Winter was conquered and its citizens enslaved, leaving them without magic or a monarch. Now, the Winterians’ only hope for freedom is the eight survivors who managed to escape, and who have been waiting for the opportunity to steal back Winter’s magic and rebuild the kingdom ever since. 
Orphaned as an infant during Winter’s defeat, Meira has lived her whole life as a refugee, raised by the Winterians’ general, Sir. Training to be a warrior—and desperately in love with her best friend, and future king, Mather — she would do anything to help her kingdom rise to power again. 
So when scouts discover the location of the ancient locket that can restore Winter’s magic, Meira decides to go after it herself. Finally, she’s scaling towers, fighting enemy soldiers, and serving her kingdom just as she’s always dreamed she would. But the mission doesn’t go as planned, and Meira soon finds herself thrust into a world of evil magic and dangerous politics – and ultimately comes to realize that her destiny is not, never has been, her own.





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