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Friday, June 9, 2017

Blog Tour-JULIA DEFIANT by Catherine Egan An Interview & Giveaway!


Hey everyone! I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the blog tour for JULIA DEFIANT by Catherine Egan!

I have an interview to share with you today! And make sure to enter the giveaway below!


Haven't heard of JULIA DEFIANT? Check it out!

Title: JULIA DEFIANT (Witch's Child #2)
Author: Catharine Egan
Pub. Date: June 13, 2017
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers
Pages: 464
Formats: Hardcover, eBook
Find it: AmazonB&NTBDiBooksGoodreads
Fans of The Rose Society, Graceling, and Six of Crows will thrill to the masterful world-building and fiercely flawed heroine in this heart-pounding follow-up to Julia Vanishes, book two in the Witch's Child trilogy.

Adventure, murder, romance, intrigue, and betrayal with a 16-year-old heroine that is both fierce and flawed at the same time. Hypable.com

Julia and a mismatched band of revolutionaries, scholars, and thieves have crossed the world searching for a witch. But for all the miles traveled, they are no closer to finding Ko Dan. No closer to undoing the terrible spell he cast that bound an ancient magic to the life of a small child. Casimir wants that magic will happily kill Theo to extract it and every moment they hunt for Ko Dan, Casimir's assassins are hunting them.


Julia can deal with danger. The thing that truly scares her lies within. Her strange ability to vanish to a place just out of sight has grown: she can now disappear so completely that it's like stepping into another world. It’s a fiery, hellish world, filled with creatures who seem to recognize her and count her as one of their own.


So . . . is Julia a girl with a monster lurking inside her? Or a monster wearing the disguise of a girl?

If she can use her monstrous power to save Theo, does it matter?


In this riveting second book in the Witch s Child trilogy, Catherine Egan goes deep within the heart of a fierce, defiant girl trying to discover not just who but what she truly is.


Praise for Julia Vanishes: 


Egan’s debut novel sparkles. A beautifully rendered world and exquisite sense of timing ensure a page-turning experience. Publishers Weekly, starred review


Readers will find themselves immediately immersed in the narrative and invested in the fate of Julia, who is both feisty and flawed. Booklist, starred review


Julia’s a wonderful, fully realized heroine. . . . For those readers waiting for the sequel to Marie Lu’s The Rose Society, a well-realized page-turner in the same vein. Kirkus


Now on to the interview!
Hey Catherine!! First I want to say welcome to Two Chicks on Books I’m glad you could stop by for a chat! JULIA DEFIANT was freaking AWESOME and I can’t wait for everyone to read it!

Thank you so much! I’m thrilled that you liked it and I can’t wait for people to read it either J.

For the readers: can you tell us a little bit about the events leading up to JULIA DEFIANT and the characters?

Julia is a 16-year-old thief and spy with the ability to step out of sight while in plain view, in a city where all forms of magic are illegal. When the series opens, Julia is posing as a maid in the household of the wealthy and eccentric Mrs. Och and reporting to a mysterious client. The more Julia finds out about both the client and the people she’s spying on, the more she suspects she’s on the wrong side, and that she is getting tangled up in a conflict far bigger and more dangerous than she’d imagined. Backed into a corner, she does something terrible to save her own skin and discovers that her ability to vanish goes much deeper than shed realized.

Book 2 is about trust and atonement (and monsters, magic, and revolution!) and brings the question of why (and how far) Julia can vanish to the forefront. She’s sworn to protect the little boy she almost got killed in the first book, and to do so she has to work with the people she betrayed, as well as her ex-lover, who betrayed her.
All the relationships from the first book get pushed a little farther here Julias brother Dek finds real happiness in another country, while she only longs to go home; her ex, Wyn, wants her back; she doesnt like or trust her boss, Mrs. Och, who demands obedience; she’s struggling with her guilt while forging authentic bonds with Bianka and Frederick, the people most betrayed by her actions in JULIA VANISHES.

So do we have a title for book 3 yet?

Not official yet! So I’ll keep the current title sekrit ;).

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

Hah! No. (But would it be safe to admit it if the answer was yes?)

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

Pia, the creepy super-powered woman contracted to Casimir, who is hunting Julia & co. across the world. The Pia-Julia bond took over a little more with each book. I just couldn’t get enough of her. I also loved writing the stumbling friendship between Bianka and Julia its a situation where a friendship should be impossible, and yet both of their instincts push them to trust one another.

I don’t think I can point to a least favorite character. If I don’t care about a character, they don’t end up in the book.

What is your favorite passage/scene in JULIA DEFIANT?

Tough choice between two scenes. I loved writing the closing scene in the book and I’m still very happy with it. A close second would be Julia & co. visiting the Imperial Library, which is carved into a mountainside, and her encounter with a super creepy witch I just adore.

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

Yongguo (where JULIA DEFIANT is set) takes a lot of elements from Qing dynasty 
China. This isn’t a historical fantasy, it is straight-up fantasy, but even so I did a lot more reading about furniture and the layout of traditional courtyard houses than I’d expected.

Who is your ultimate book boyfriend?

Jonathan Strange.

What inspired you to write YA?

I think it was something that was trying to push its way into my writing for a long time before I became aware of it. I spent my twenties writing short fiction and one terrible novel, ostensibly for adults, but the experiences and perspectives of teenaged girls were always in some way central to whatever story I was working on.
I don’t know I think about this a lot, because lately I’ve been having all these ideas for books that would center on adults or younger kids, and so maybe I’ll find I’m branching out. I don’t think I’ll ever be done with YA though. My own teenage years were very intense and fraught and I think there’s just something there the desperation and terror and joy of it, the emerging-from-childhood-and-perching-on-the-edge-of-the-rest-of-your-life thing that Ill never get tired of writing about.

Lightening Round Questions

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

China Mieville’s THREE MOMENTS OF AN EXPLOSION. I am dying to read everything in my TBR pile, but Kiersten White’s AND I RISE and Cindy Pon’s WANT will jump the line the instant they’re released.

What Hogwarts House would the Sorting Hat place you in?

Slayer ;)

Twitter or Facebook?

Both, in small doses.

Favorite Superhero?

Buffy.

Favorite TV show?

Right now totally hooked on The Americans.

Sweet or Salty?

Salty.

Any Phobias?

Flying.

Song you can’t get enough of right now?

My kids and I have been singing the Hamilton soundtrack for a year straight, basically. Also rediscovering Veda Hille (Vancouver-based singer songwriter) - listening to her album Spine and old fave One Hot Summer while I clean.

2017 Movie you’re most looking forward to?

The Last Jedi! And I hope Blade Runner 2049 is good.

Thanks so much Catherine for answering my questions! I can’t wait for everyone to read JULIA DEFIANT!


THANK YOU!!!


About Catherine: 
My superpowers: high-kicking, list-making, simultaneously holding two opposing opinions
My weaknesses: fear of flying, over-thinking and then making bad decisions, excessive list-making
My allies: my made-for-walking-in black boots, Mick, the English Language
My enemies: decaf, low blood sugar, the passage of time

My mission: the coexistence of ambivalence and joy.

photograph by Isabel Chenoweth www.icportraits.com


Giveaway Details:


3 winners will receive a finished copy of JULIA VANISHES & JULIA DEFIANT, US Only.


a Rafflecopter giveaway




Tour Schedule:

Week One:
6/5/2017- The Cover Contessa- Interview
6/5/2017- BookloveReview

6/6/2017- Don't Judge, ReadExcerpt
6/6/2017- Here's to Happy EndingsReview

6/7/2017- Novel Novice - Guest Post
6/7/2017- Read. Eat. Love.Review

6/8/2017- Fiction FareSpotlight
6/8/2017- Take Me Away To A Great ReadReview

6/9/2017- Two Chicks on BooksInterview
6/9/2017- Seeing Double In Neverland- Interview

Week Two:
6/12/2017- Wandering Bark BooksGuest Post
6/12/2017- A Dream Within A DreamReview

6/13/2017-  Tales of the Ravenous ReaderExcerpt
6/13/2017- Smada's Book SmackReview

6/14/2017- Crystal's Chaotic ConfessionsSpotlight
6/14/2017- Page Turners BlogReview

6/15/2017- Wishful EndingsInterview
6/15/2017- Bibliobibuli YAReview

6/16/2017- Book BriefsReview
6/16/2017- BookHounds yaReview



Haven’t started the series? Make sure to grab the Paperback of JULIA VANISHES!



2 comments:

  1. Ohh great covers this book looks and sounds absolutely amazing I already added both books to my long tbr pile! lol :D Thank you so much for the great giveaway:

    ReplyDelete
  2. This series looks really exciting. Thanks for intro. Great cover.

    ReplyDelete

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