Day Twenty-One - All About Taken + Giveaway

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Book Profile

Name - Taken (Goodreads)
Author - Erin Bowman
Genre - Sci-Fi
Release Date - April 16th 2013 

There are no men in Claysoot. There are boys—but every one of them vanishes at midnight on his eighteenth birthday. The ground shakes, the wind howls, a blinding light descends…and he’s gone.

They call it the Heist.

Gray Weathersby’s eighteenth birthday is mere months away, and he’s prepared to meet his fate–until he finds a strange note from his mother and starts to question everything he’s been raised to accept: the Council leaders and their obvious secrets. The Heist itself. And what lies beyond the Wall that surrounds Claysoot–a structure that no one can cross and survive.

Climbing the Wall is suicide, but what comes after the Heist could be worse. Should he sit back and wait to be taken–or risk everything on the hope of the other side?

Available - The Book Depository | Fishpond | Amazon | Barnes and Noble

The Insider's Scoop

1. I listened to a lot of film scores while writing the novel, but John Powell's work for all three Bourne movies saw the heaviest rotation. 

2. Gray was the first part of the story to materialize for me. He walked into my head practically fully formed, voice crystal clear. I knew he was stuck in an isolated town and that he feared his approaching eighteenth birthday, but I didn't know why. I couldn't get his voice out of my head, though, so I started typing and he showed me the plot. 

3. I found this photo while browsing flickr one day and it inspired a scene in the book. Chapter five, to be exact. ;) 

4. My first piece of "fan art" came from an old co-worker who read an extremely early draft of the novel. When I sold the book he gave me a congratulatory card with a doodle of Gray inside. I have it propped up on my desk and look at it whenever I need a pick-me-up. 

5. Post-it notes took over my office wall during the revision process so that I could keep track of the timeline, different colors representing key characters/locations/etc. It was very "unique" wall art. 

6. I have what I call a "Character Bible" that I continue to add to as I write the series. It's basically a folder in Scrivener full of details on everyone in the story--their birthday, appearance, habits/quirks, history, wants, dreams, you name it. (I'd be lost without these notes.) 

7. I never set out to write a trilogy. But after drafting about half of TAKEN I realized the story I was telling was much bigger than Gray himself. It's been amazing to discover that greater story alongside him.

~Giveaway~

Erin is giving away an ARC of Taken + Swag Pack!

Rule of Entry -

- US ONLY

- Ends 21st of January

- Must be 13 or older

- Optional Entries :

   * Leaving comment on either of Erin's posts +1 each

   * Follow Me on Twitter +1

   * Follow Erin on Twitter +1

   * Tweeting Giveaway +1

   * Follow Badass Bookie via GFC/Linky or RSS +2

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Badass Bookie xx

Read More

Day Twenty - All About Erin Bowman ( Taken)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Debutante Profile

Name – Erin Bowman

Debut - Taken

Genre – Sci-Fi

Website– HERE

Blog -  HERE

Twitter - HERE

Erin Bowman used to tell stories visually as a web designer. Now a full-time writer, she relies solely on words. Erin lives in New Hampshire with her husband. When not writing she can often be found hiking, geeking out over good typography, and obsessing over all things Harry Potter. TAKEN is her first novel. You can visit her blog (updated occasionally) or find her on twitter (updated obsessively).

Dream Debutante Dress -  This Monique Lhuillier gown Julia Stiles is wearing is gorgeous (colors, silhouette, material), but it also looks ridiculously comfortable. (As someone who spends most of her days writing in yoga pants and a hoodie, comfort is key.) And although the colors are quite different, the ombre effect reminds me of the drastic gradient on TAKEN's cover. I think this makes it my perfect debutante dress. :)

Notes from a YA Debutante

I am a big fan of lists, but only odd-numbered ones. (Even numbers make be twitchy.) So here are 11 random truths about me: 

1) I have never died my hair. Ever. Not even a single highlight. 

2) As a child, I used to think that my dad took me on errands because my name was Erin. Similarly, when he took my sister Kelsy along, they were going on Kelsys. (This makes perfect sense in the mind of a five year old.) 

3) Autumn is my favorite season. The leaves, pumpkins, apples, sweaters, boots, scarfs, tea, temperatures, hiking, etc. 

4) I used to work as a web designer, which is really just another form of story telling, in my opinion. The only difference now is that I obsess over word choice and comma placement instead of colors and fonts. 

5) I am a gigantic Harry Potter nerd and proud of it. My favorite of the series is hands down The Prisoner of Azkaban. ("Mischief managed!") 

6) The Disney Princesses were my world growing up. And fairy tales in general. (Who am I kidding. This is all still true.) 

7) I have 24 first cousins. I think. I've started to lose track. 

8) When it comes to setting an alarm, I avoid using "rounded-off" times. Instead, I wake up at: 6:27, 7:03, 5:49. (I told you I had an issue with even numbers.) 

9) I floss every night. Even on vacation. 

10) Without a doubt, some of the best smells in the world are: fresh cut grass, laundry/dryer sheets, pine trees, vanilla, campfires, the spine of a book, and the house I grew up in. 

11) I have the greatest job in the world. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bookie's Note: DENTAL HEALTH FTW! Erin, Disney Princesses are *still* my world. I'm still looking for my own Prince Eric and I plan to lure him with my version of "Part Of Your World" which sounds very much like the original except I have incorporated some dubstep into it (i.e. off key, distorted singing). That's so fascinating that you don't like even numbers, for most people it's the other way around!

Make sure to come back tomorrow for the second half of Erin's feature! We have some juicy secrets lined up and a fantastic giveaway! 

Badass Bookie xx

Read More

Day Nineteen - All About The Madman's Daughter + Giveaway

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Book Profile

Name - The Madman's Daughter (Goodreads)
Author - Megan Shepherd
Genre - Gothic Thriller
Release Date - January 29th 2013 

In the darkest places, even love is deadly.

Sixteen-year-old Juliet Moreau has built a life for herself in London—working as a maid, attending church on Sundays, and trying not to think about the scandal that ruined her life. After all, no one ever proved the rumors about her father's gruesome experiments. But when she learns he is alive and continuing his work on a remote tropical island, she is determined to find out if the accusations are true.

Accompanied by her father's handsome young assistant, Montgomery, and an enigmatic castaway, Edward—both of whom she is deeply drawn to—Juliet travels to the island, only to discover the depths of her father's madness: He has experimented on animals so that they resemble, speak, and behave as humans. And worse, one of the creatures has turned violent and is killing the island's inhabitants. Torn between horror and scientific curiosity, Juliet knows she must end her father's dangerous experiments and escape her jungle prison before it's too late. Yet as the island falls into chaos, she discovers the extent of her father's genius—and madness—in her own blood.

Available - The Book Depository | Fishpond | Amazon | Barnes and Noble

The Insider's Scoop

Whenever I pick up a finished book from a bookstore or library, it seems so…complete. I have a hard time imagining all the little (and big) hiccups that happen along the way. So I thought I’d let you guys in on a little sneak peak behind the making of The Madman’s Daughter.

1) The cover shoot was done in England on a beautiful sunny day in front of a lake filled with cute ducks. Through the magic of digital editing, the cover now has a creepy, historical, timeless feel. 

2) Though The Madman’s Daughter is based on HG Wells’ classic The Island of Doctor Moreau, I was first inspired to write the book from the TV show LOST. I very strongly considered including a polar bear on the island in Madman’s Daughter as homage to LOST, but sadly it didn’t make the final cut.

3) One of the hardest things to research was nautical terms. Part of the book takes place on a ship, so I had to calculate the course they would have taken to sail halfway around the world, which ports they would have stopped at, how long the voyage would have taken, in addition to the nuts & bolts of running a ship. For example, who knew that ships used to have brick chimneys?!

4) I had a 9-to-5 day job while writing The Madman’s Daughter, so most of the book was dashed out in lunch breaks at a coffee shop near my office, and lots and lots of Saturdays.

5) One of the biggest thrills was learning that The Madman’s Daughter was going to be optioned for a film by Fake Empire/Paramount Pictures. I’m a huge movie buff, so getting to talk to producers and screenwriters is so much fun. I’m keeping my fingers crossed it will happen!

~Giveaway~

Megan is giving away a Pre-Order of The Madman's Daughter!

Rule of Entry -

- International

- Ends 19th of January

- Must be 13 or older

- Optional Entries :

   * Leaving comment on either of Megan's posts +1 each

   * Follow Me on Twitter +1

   * Follow Megan on Twitter +1

   * Tweeting Giveaway +1

   * Follow Badass Bookie via GFC/Linky or RSS +2

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Badass Bookie xx

Read More

Day Eighteen - All About Megan Shepherd ( The Madman's Daughter)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Debutante Profile

Name – Megan Shepherd

Debut - The Madman's Daughter 

Genre – Gothic Thriller 

Website– HERE

Facebook -  HERE

Twitter - HERE

Megan Shepherd grew up in her family's independent bookstore in North Carolina. An avid reader and world traveler who spent several years in the Peace Corps, Megan now lives with her husband in Asheville, North Carolina. The Madman's Daughter is her first novel. You can visit her online at www.meganshepherd.com. She is represented by Adams Literary.

Dream Debutante Dress -  I grew up in the South, so you would think I knew all about debutante culture. But my town was more “rural Appalachia” than “high-society old world South”, so I didn’t really understand what debutantes were until I saw an episode of Vampire Diaries. I chose this Victorian-inspired dress because I did lots of historical research for The Madman’s Daughter, and am so jealous of the beautiful clothes women wore back then!

Notes from a YA Debutante

Ten Facts about me: 

1. I have a zombie apocalypse escape plan. It involves a motorcycle, an island, and a lot of beef jerky. I can’t tell you anything else, because then I won’t have an edge. 

2. I got a perm in high school, and I’m still emotionally scarred from it. 

3. While working in Senegal, West Africa, I lived in a mud hut for two years, where I discovered scorpions had made a nest in my straw mattress. 

4. The first story I ever wrote was a picture book about colony collapse disorder in bees. It didn’t sell. 

5. I have a phobia of sleepwalkers. Just the thought of people walking around while they’re unconscious makes me break out in sweat. 

6. I worked one summer as a park ranger in Glacier National Park, Montana. If I wasn’t a writer, this would be my dream job. 

7. Patchouli is the worse smell imaginable. 

8. I was an extra in The Hunger Games movie. It was filmed just outside of my town. You can see me in the movie but I’m reeeeeeally little. 

9. I grew up in a bookstore, literally. My crib was behind the counter of my parents’ independent store. 

10. I’m married to the most amazing man alive.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bookie's Note: Megan, I just got a perm two weeks ago and I tried to wash it out now it's only curly on the bottom but I don't think I'll ever recover. Perms are just AWFUL. Never EVER again! I think that's so KEWL that you were an extra in The Hunger Games, I know Sasha @ Sash and Em was an extra in the movie too! I really should start thinking about my Zombie Apocalypse plan, since the world is ending in 4 days and everything...

Make sure to come back tomorrow for the second half of Megan's feature! We have some juicy secrets lined up and a fantastic giveaway! 

Badass Bookie xx

Read More