Blog Tour- BRAZEN by Katherine Longshore and a Giveaway!

Today I have my buddy Katherine Longshore stopping by to talk about the music behind BRAZEN! Check it out and make sure to enter the awesome giveaway below! And as always I will have videos for my favorite songs!
Haven't heard of BRAZEN? Check it out!

Title: BRAZEN

Author: Katherine Longshore

Publisher: Viking Juvenile

Pub. Date: June 12, 2014

Pages: 528

Find it: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Goodreads

Mary Howard has always lived in the shadow of her powerful family. But when she’s married off to Henry Fitzroy, King Henry VIII’s illegitimate son, she rockets into the Tudor court’s inner circle. Mary and “Fitz” join a tight clique of rebels who test the boundaries of court’s strict rules with their games, dares, and flirtations. The more Mary gets to know Fitz, the harder she falls for him, but is forbidden from seeing him alone. The rules of court were made to be pushed…but pushing them too far means certain death. Is true love worth dying for?

Now on to the post! I've added some videos and there's YouTube links to the other ones.

BRAZEN Playlist

I love music.  I definitely lean toward a certain tone and genre—something alternative/rock/folk.  I have a distinct love of great guitar and surprising harmonies.  But more than that, I love lyrics.  I’m a word person, so for me the words of a song often matter more than the music and melody behind them.  I don’t often listen to music when I write—I find the words distracting—but listen to my playlists while walking or washing dishes or driving in order to keep my head in the essence and ambience of the story.  All of these songs contributed in some way to how I see the main characters of BRAZEN, and to their actions.

Firework by Katy Perry.  My playlists don’t usually include mainstream pop music, but I wanted to be able to play this song for my narrator, Mary Howard FitzRoy.  She felt buried by her family, by her society, by her situation, and this song is an anthem to overcoming all of that.  This also applies to Raise Your Glass by Pink.  Both songs are pretty brazen, don’t you think?

I’m Just a Girl by No Doubt.  Because being trapped in Tudor England would make me feel like I’ve had it up to here, too.  I’m sure Mary did.

Rumour Has It by Adele.  I love this song--its insistent beat and its twisty ending.  I could totally see Anne Boleyn singing it in the galleries of Hampton Court with Mary and her friends as backup.

Gutless by Hole.  Showing my grunge roots here.  Mary never gets so angry that she would express herself this vehemently, but I could see her mother doing so…

Defying Gravity by Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth.  My even deeper roots go back to theater, and though I could never sing, I love musicals.  Wicked is a brilliant piece of work theatrically and musically, and I love this song about shaking off the past and expectations, and believing in one’s own abilities and desires.

The Rake’s Song by the Decemberists.  This is a song about infanticide and the titular “rake” divesting himself of his troublesome wife and offspring.  Remind you of anyone?  It helped me get a little bit inside Henry’s head.

What a Good Boy by the BarenakedLadies.  This song is in part about the chains of expectation—something both Mary Howard and Henry FitzRoy have to learn to sever, or accept.  But it’s also about bearing those expectations together.

Everything to Everyone by Everclear.  Because both Mary and Fitz try to hard to live up to the expectations placed on them, I figured both of them needed to hear this song.  Especially the line, “You’re blind to the fact that the hand you hold is the hand that holds you down.”

Letters to God by Boxcar Racer.  To me, this sounds like a song of someone who wishes he’d done more with his life—not ready for it to end.  It’s a trigger to inspire my characters to explore beyond the limitations set to them, because none of us wants to die without having really lived.

If I Ever Leave This World Alive by Flogging Molly.  The lyrics of this song speak for themselves.  So romantic, and yet so sad.

And…Ho Hey by the Lumineers.  Like I said at the beginning, I rarely listen to music while writing, but I had a terrible time with a particular scene in this novel.  I was on the fourth draft—reaching the end of what I could do with the book—and I needed inspiration.  I put my headphones on and listened to this song on repeat for almost an hour.  And I got the scene to where it needed to be.

Thanks so much Katy for sharing this playlist! I wanted to share all of the videos because I love your choices but this would have been a looonnngggg post lol!

About Katherine:

Katherine Longshore grew up on the northern California coast. At university, she created her own major in Cross-Cultural Studies and Communications, planning to travel and write. Forever. Four years, six continents and countless pairs of shoes later, she went to England for two weeks, stayed five years and discovered history. She now lives in California with her husband, two children and a sun-worshiping dog.

Where you can find Katherine.

Website/Blog/Twitter/Facebook/Goodreads

Giveaway Details:

1 winner will receive all 3 books signed International.

2 winners will receive signed copies of Brazen US Only

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule

Week One:

6/2/2014- Literary Exploration- Review

6/2/2014- The Anne Boleyn Files- Guest Post

6/3/2014- Romantic Reads and Such- Interview

6/4/2014- Page Turners- Review

6/5/2014- Magical Urban Fantasy Reads- Guest Post

6/6/2014- Parajunkee's View- Interview

Week Two:

6/9/2014- Gone With The Words- Review

6/10/2014- Tales of the Ravenous Reader- Interview

6/11/2014- Bewitched Bookworms- Guest Post and Review

6/12/2014- Two Chicks on Books- Guest Post

6/13/2014- Mundie Moms- Review

6/13/2014- Fiktshun- Interview

Exclusive Title Reveal!!!!!! Book 2 in the Tudor Series from Katherine Longshore

Hey y’all! So I’m super, super excited today!!!!! My friend the amazing author Katherine Longshore author of Gilt; and the rocking people at Penguin Teen have asked me here at Two Chicks on Books to be the exclusive website for the title reveal of book 2 of her Tudor Series! Ooh and I also got to ask Katherine some questions about it so we get to know the main character in the book!!! This is sooooooooooooooooo awesome!!! So without further ado here’s the title!

Tarnish

Want to know what Tarnish is about? So did I! And Katherine wrote a blog post called “Five things about book 2….” I looked at the hints in that post and asked my questions from there.

Hint- "It opens at Greenwich Palace in the spring of 1523."

Jaime- 1523 huh? So I'm guessing if my dates are correct that this will be about Mary Boleyn? Anne's sister?

Katherine- Excellent deduction! But no, though Mary features in the book, she is not the main character.  TARNISH is narrated by a young Anne Boleyn and I try to create a character destined to become the queen we know and love.

Hint- "Henry VIII is much younger and much sexier than he was in GILT.  But is he the main love interest?  You'll have to read it to find out."

Jaime- If Henry isn't the main love interest any hints as to who is? Maybe a description of his looks if not a name???

Katherine- If Anne were a modern teenager, her Facebook status would read “It’s Complicated”.  As far as descriptions go, there is a blond, a redhead and a brunette in her life at different points in the novel.  There is also poetry, music and secret assignations…

Hint- "There will be dancing, hunting, kissing, lies, betrayal, gambling, indifference, mistakes and redemption.  But no beheadings."

Jaime- Awww boo lol. Ok no beheadings but are there stays in the Tower? Will there be lots of travel like there was in Gilt? Ooh and will we get to meet Cardinal Wolsey?

Katherine- No trips to the Tower and little travel, but you will get to see a few of Henry’s palaces and Hever – Anne’s childhood home.  In fact, one of my favorite scenes takes place in one of the bedrooms there…

And yes, we get to see Cardinal Wolsey, hear his voice and feel his influence, but it wasn’t usual for a lowly maid to have much interaction with him.

Hint-"Book 2 is one of the most fun, but also the most difficult book I've ever written (and no, GILT was not the first book I wrote!)"

Jaime- How was the writing process different?

Katherine- Because no one knew Anne would one day be queen, there was very little written about her early years at court – though we know she was one of Katherine of Aragon ’s maids in waiting.  I had less actual history to work with than with GILT, but that proved to be very liberating and exciting.  I also had Anne’s voice in my head from the very beginning – the character very much drove this novel.  This made the writing intoxicating and fun, but also surprising when Anne didn’t follow my outline (she fell in love with the wrong guy!)  I think because I felt so attached to her character I got very emotionally involved.  With history as foresight, this was pretty heartbreaking, though as I said before, there are no executions in this novel.

Hint -"It's scheduled to be published next summer.  I wish I didn't have to wait that long to hear what you think!"

Jaime- Oh I am dying to read it!!! Is there a set release date? What about a cover? When will we get to see the cover is it as gorgeous as Gilt???

Katherine- Right now, the release is June 2013..  And the cover?  Well, I’m waiting for it, too…though I’m sure it will be just as gorgeous as GILT’s, if not more so.  The design team is fabulous!

Ok so how excited are you all for this?!?!? I know I am crazy excited!!!!!! I love this time period and I can’t wait to meet the young and it looks like quite boy crazy Anne Boleyn! Thanks so much Katy for asking me to be the exclusive site for the title reveal you are the best! <333333 span="span">

Haven’t read Gilt yet! Here’s the synopsis go get it!

Gilt (The Tudor Series #1)

Katherine Longshore

Hardcover: 416 pages

Release Date: May 15, 2012

Publisher: Viking Juvenile (Penguin)

ISBN: 0670013994

Goodreads/Amazon/ Barnes & Noble/The Book Depository

In the court of King Henry VIII, nothing is free-- and love comes at the highest price of all. When Kitty Tylney's best friend, Catherine Howard, worms her way into King Henry VIII's heart and brings Kitty to court, she's thrust into a world filled with fabulous gowns, sparkling jewels, and elegant parties. No longer stuck in Cat's shadow, Kitty's now caught between two men--the object of her affection and the object of her desire. But court is also full of secrets, lies, and sordid affairs, and as Kitty witnesses Cat's meteoric rise and fall as queen, she must figure out how to keep being a good friend when the price of telling the truth could literally be her head.

About Katherine

I've always been a writer. I've been writing stories since I learned how to hold a pencil, asking my dad how to spell words while I worked under the bar stools at our kitchen counter.

In my teens, I fell in love with theater. I wanted to act. On the stage. I loved the hush of the crowd, the sticky odor of pancake makeup and the dusty resin of wax on the stage floor. I loved to be able to look out over the audience, the flash of glasses reflecting the stage lights. I loved to hear their laughter. But mostly, I loved losing myself in a character made of words. To make that character live and breathe. Now, that is magic.

I played bit parts (including that of a catatonic in a mental institution—my only line was a scream) and grew into bigger roles on the high school stage. I spent five summers spouting Shakespeare beneath stars and redwoods, hoping one day to play Rosalind in As You Like It.

I got an acting scholarship to a good university and went on to study acting and costume design for two years. But then I traveled on the Semester at Sea—a program on which students study on board a ship and travel around the world, visiting ten countries in one hundred days. It changed my life. I realized I didn't want to spend my entire life in a windowless black box (a theater) but in the greater world.

So I created my own major, planning to use it to be a travel writer. I spent two months traveling Europe by train. I worked for nine months for the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Association on a research boat as a steward (making beds and washing dishes) in order to earn the money to backpack around the world. The ship went to Chile and the Antarctic, and even stopped at Easter Island—one of the most remote locations in the Pacific Ocean. After so long at sea, I needed time on land, so I packed up my sister and her puppy in a beaten-down station wagon and drove across North America.

And then I packed a single bag and flew to Africa. Alone. I spent five months in southern Africa—South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Malawi, Zambia, but primarily Zimbabwe. I saw elephants and rhinos and kudu, was woken up from a dead sleep in a tent by the roar of lions and sat for hours on the banks of the Zambezi watching Victoria Falls. I spent the rest of that year in Southeast Asia—mostly eating coconut curry. After a few restless months at home, I traveled to Australia and New Zealand and completely depleted my travel fund.

And then I went to England, invited by an Englishman I'd met in Zimbabwe. I went for two weeks and stayed for six months—I left the day before my visa expired—and the next year I married him.

I lived in England for five years, in a little town in the county of Kent. I lived within spitting distance of Hever Castle—Anne Boleyn's childhood home. Penshurst Place, once owned by the Duke of Buckingham and Knole House, once owned by King Henry VIII himself were also nearby. I grew to love the English countryside—so different from the forests and volcanic mountains of California. And I came to love English history—so much more violent and colorful and ancient than my own.

In the course of my life, I've worked as a dishwasher, lingerie seller, coffee barista, cake decorator, ship's steward, video rental clerk, freelance journalist, travel agent, waitress, contracts manager, bookseller and Montessori preschool teacher.

But in writing for teens, I've finally found my calling.

And through writing, I am able to encompass all my loves. Becoming a character made of words. Exploring new worlds. And living history.

Where you can find Katherine:

Website/Twitter/Facebook/Goodreads