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Tuesday, May 24, 2016

Meet The Newbies- Featuring Kat Howard and A Giveaway!



I am thrilled to be hosting Kat Howard for the Meet The Newbies Event! ROSES AND ROT sounds absolutely fantastic and I can't wait to read it! I have a Q&A to share with you today! And make sure to enter the awesome giveaway below! 

Haven't heard of ROSES AND ROT? Check it out!

Title: ROSES AND ROT
Author: Kat Howard
Release Date: May 17th, 2016
Pages: 336
Publisher: Saga Press
Formats: Hardcover, eBook, audiobook
Find it: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks
Imogen and her sister Marin have escaped their cruel mother to attend a prestigious artists’ retreat, but soon learn that living in a fairy tale requires sacrifices, be it art or love.

What would you sacrifice in the name of success? How much does an artist need to give up to create great art?

Imogen has grown up reading fairy tales about mothers who die and make way for cruel stepmothers. As a child, she used to lie in bed wishing that her life would become one of these tragic fairy tales because she couldn’t imagine how a stepmother could be worse than her mother now. As adults, Imogen and her sister Marin are accepted to an elite post-grad arts program—Imogen as a writer and Marin as a dancer. Soon enough, though, they realize that there’s more to the school than meets the eye. Imogen might be living in the fairy tale she’s dreamed about as a child, but it’s one that will pit her against Marin if she decides to escape her past to find her heart’s desire. 


Now on to the interview!

Hi Kat! First I want to say welcome to Two Chicks on Books! I am so happy to be hosting you for A Perfection Called Books Meet The Newbies Event! I am dying to read ROSES AND ROT and I can’t wait for my readers to read it!

For the readers: can you tell us a little bit about ROSES AND ROT and the characters?

Roses and Rot is a riff on the medieval Scottish ballad, Tam Lin. It’s set at a modern day artists’ colony in New Hampshire. The two characters at the center are a pair of sisters, Imogen and Marin, who are trying to break away from their past, and make a new life for themselves through their art. Then Faerie gets involved, and things get complicated.

Is it a standalone? If not do you have a title for book 2 yet and if so what are you working on now?

Roses and Rot Is a standalone. I loved spending time with those characters, but that story is finished. I did just turn in a draft of my next novel to my editor, and I hope to be able to share details about it, soon. I’m also working on stories for a collection of my short fiction A Cathedral of Myth and Bone which will be out in 2018.

Were any of the characters in the book inspired by people from your real life?

I wouldn’t say anyone was directly inspired, but I did borrow bits here and there. Probably the one who comes the closest is Imogen’s mentor, Beth Edwards. I had a great relationship with my grad school advisor, Rebecca Krug (she’s in my acknowledgments) and the relationship between Imogen and Beth takes a lot from that.

Who was your favorite character to write? What about your least favorite?

Ah, this is a hard question! Since I have to pick, I would say that I loved writing Ariel the most. I really love her loyalty. And my least favorite to write was definitely Imogen and Marin’s mother.

What is your favorite passage/scene in ROSES AND ROT?

There are two scenes that involve a carousel. Describing the second scene would be HUGELY spoilery, but that is my favorite.

What kind of research did you have to do for the story?

Well, Marin is a very high level ballet dancer, and I am definitely not that. So I watched a lot of ballet, which I love, and I also spoke with one of my very good friends, Megan Kurashige, who is a professional dancer and choreographer (she and her sister run a dance company, Sharp & Fine) and those things helped me get in Marin’s head.

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

Right now, I’m reading the final book in Catherynne M. Valente’s Fairyland series, The Girl Who Raced Fairyland All the Way Home. I love these books.

Who is your ultimate Book Boyfriend?

Probably Gavriel in Holly Black’s The Coldest Girl in Coldtown.

What inspired you to write YA?

Roses and Rot isn’t YA, but I do hope to write YA someday when I find the right story. I love how many possibilities there are.

Lightening Round Questions

If you were to be sorted by the Sorting Hat, which Hogwarts House would you be sorted into?
I’m an ambitious Kat, so into Slytherin I go.

Twitter or Facebook?
Twitter.

Favorite Superhero?
Black Widow.

Favorite TV show?
All time? Alias. Currently? Elementary.

Sweet or Salty?
Sweet.

Any Phobias?
House centipedes.

Song you can’t get enough of right now?
“Wait for It” from Hamilton.

Upcoming Movie you’re most looking forward to?
Rogue One.


Thanks so much Kat for answering my questions!

Thanks so much for asking good ones! 

About Kat:

Author Most to Actually Stab Someone With a Sword 

Nickname: My nephew used to call me "Aunt Halloween" which is honestly the best thing. I was kind of sad when he grew out of it
First Day of School: May 17, 2016
Homeroom: Saga Press
Grade: Fantasy 
Extracurricular Activities: fencing, cross country, hurdles. Which probably means I have a decent shot at surviving the zombie apocalypse. The first day, anyway.
Favorite Class: Shakespeare 

Favorite Quote/Motto: "All manner of thing shall be well" - Julian of Norwich (I love it so much, it's tattooed on my left wrist.
Kat Howard lives in New Hampshire. Her short fiction has been nominated for the World Fantasy Award, anthologized in year's best and best of collections, and performed on NPR. Roses and Rot is her debut novel. You can find her on twitter at @KatWithSword. 

Also, Shane Leonard took her photo, and she's super grateful.



Giveaway Details:

1 Pre-Order or Finished Copy of Any Debut Novel Featured on Meet the Newbies, International (as long as The Book Depository ships to your country)
a Rafflecopter giveaway


Tour Schedule:


April:
  1. Rachel - Scarlett Epstein Hates It Here by Anna Breslaw  - f
  2. Danielle - Save Me, Kurt Cobain by Jenny Manzer
  3. Shannon - Crossing The Line by Meghan Rogers
  4. Alyssa - These Vicious Masks by Tarun Shanker & Kelly Zekas
  5. Rachel - A Study In Charlotte by Brittany Cavallaro
  6. Nori - Love, Lies & Spies by Cindy Anstey
  7. Sarah - Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton
  8. Jess - The Girl Who Fell by Shannon M Parker - f
  9. Rachel - Love & Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch
  10. Eileen - My Kind of Crazy by Robin Reul
  11. Jessica - Beyond The Red by Ava Jae
  12. Crystal - A Fierce and Subtle Poison by Samantha Mabry
  13. Rachel - The First Time She Drowned by Kerry Kletter  
  14. Jaime - Future Shock by Elizabeth Briggs
  15. Nori - Emerge by Tobie Easton - f
  16. Crystal - Stone Field by Christy Lenzi
  17. Shannon - The Abyss Surrounds Us by Emily Skrutskie
  18. Alyssa - Sword and Verse by Kathy MacMillan  
  19. Rachel - Symptoms of Being Human by Jeff Garvin
  20. Shannon - After the Woods by Kim Savage
  21. Jaime - Where Futures End by Parker Peevyhouse
  22. Lisa - Summer of Supernovas by Darcy Woods - f
  23. Rachel - The Star Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi
  24. Alyssa - Arrows by Melissa Gorzelanczyk
  25. Eileen - Dreamology by Lucy Keating
  26. Aentee - Wandering Wild by Jessica Taylor
  27. Nori - Underwater by Marisa Reichardt
  28. Crystal - Into the Dim by Janet B Taylor
  29. Jess - This Is Where It Ends by Marieke Nijkamp - f
  30. Lisa - Summer of Sloane by Erin L Schneider


May:
  1. Jaime - The Crown's Game by Evelyn Skye
  2. Rachel - The Square Root of Summer by Harriet Reuter Hapgood
  3. Liran - The Love That Split The World by Emily Henry --
  4. Nori - Assassin's Heart by Sarah Ahiers
  5. Shannon - Even If The Sky Falls by Mia Garcia
  6. Rachel - Burning Glass by Kathryn Purdie - f
  7. Jessica - Bookishly Ever After by Isabel Bandeira
  8. Lisa - The Year We Fell Apart by Emily Martin
  9. Shannon - The Art of Not Breathing by Sarah Alexander
  10. Rachel - The Mystery of Hollow Places by Rebecca Podos
  11. Kristen - Blackhearts by Nicole Castroman
  12. Danielle - Jerkbait by Mia Siegert
  13. Brittany - Please Don't Tell by Laura Tims - f
  14. Rachel - The Reader by Traci Chee
  15. Lisa - 26 Kisses by Anna Michels
  16. Rachel - Frannie and Tru by Karen Hattrup
  17. Alise - Enter Title Here by Rahul Kanakia
  18. Rachel - The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner
  19. Lisa - The Way I Used To Be  by Amber Smith
  20. Rachel - Suffer Love by Ashley Herring Blake - f
  21. Liran - Firsts by Laurie E. Flynn
  22. Rachel - Kill The Boy Band by Goldy Moldavsky
  23. Danielle - Liars and Losers Like Us by Ami Allen-Vath
  24. Jaime - Roses and Rot by Kat Howard
  25. Kristen - The Girl From Everywhere by Heidi Heilig
  26. Rachel - The Marked Girl by Lindsey Klingele
  27. Eileen - Shallow Graves by Kali Wallace - f
  28. Rachel - Of Blood and Shadow by Kerri Maniscalco
  29. Aentee - Revenge and the Wild  by Michelle Modesto
  30. Rachel - Ivory and Bone by Julie Eshbaugh
  31. Liran - All The Feels by Danika Stone


June:
  1. Shannon - How It Ends by Catherine Lo
  2. Andye - Fear My Mortality by Everly Frost send info
  3. Empty f
  4. Alise - The Killer in Me by Margot Harrison
  5. Sarah - Signs of You by Emily France
  6. Brittany - The Way Back To You by Michelle Andreani
  7. Rachel - How To Hang A Witch by Adriana Mather
  8. Sarah - SLIP by Kara Bietz
  9. Danielle - Timekeeper by Tara Sim
  10. Andye - Genesis Girl by Jennifer Bardsley - f
  11. Rachel - Caraval by Stephanie Garber
  12. Alyssa - Of Fire and Stars by Audrey Coulthurst
  13. Jaime - Fear The Drowning Deep by Sarah Glenn Marsh
  14. Alise - Ripple by Heather Smith Meloche
  15. Rachel - Mirror in the Sky by Aditi Khorana
  16. Nori - Unscripted Joss Byrd by Lygia Day Penaflor send info
  17. Rachel - Girls in the Moon by Janet McNally - f
  18. Kristen - Wintersong by S. Jae-Jones
  19. Shannon - Learning to Swear in America by Katie Kennedy
  20. Danielle - Phantom Limbs by Paula Garner
  21. Rachel - The Cat King of Havana by Tom Crosshill
  22. Andye - Bound By Blood and Sand by Becky Allen
  23. Rachel - Ever The Hunted by Erin Summerill
  24. Shannon - Gemini by Sonya Mukherjee - f
  25. Danielle - Girl in Pieces by Kathleen Glasgow
  26. Jess - The Weight of Zero by Karen Fortunati
  27. Rachel - Flashfall by Jenny Moyer
  28. Empty
  29. Nori - A Song to Take the World Part by Zan Romanoff
  30. Alise - A Shadow Bright and Burning by Jessica Cluess


4 comments:

  1. Great interview! I'm really interested by stand-alones and the concept of this book! Definitely going to be looking out for this read.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I have not been paying attention to this feature and I wish I had. must go back and read all the fun now.

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  3. Fantastic interview. I loved the questions. I too am an ambitious Kat who landed in Slytherin :)This book sounds amazing and I can't wait to read it!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oh this book sounds amazing! I'm already so intrigued about the story! I'm adding it to my TBR right now. Can't wait to read it! Great interview!

    ReplyDelete

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