Recap of Rules
Everyday that you participate in the giveaway of the day, you are eligible to win a brand new kindle.
How to participate
a) Subscribe via email, so you can get the author & prize of the day sent directly to your email.
b) Like the author of the day on facebook
c) Follow the author on Twitter
d) Read any of the author's books
e) Answer the occasional quiz on author's interview
f) Scroll to the bottom of each interview and enter the raffle (you'll have to unlock the raffle with your email first)
That's it- then enter the kindle giveaway!
All giveaways will be sent out by the 7th day in April. Good Luck.
Featured Book
Laying hands upon the injured and dying, Avry of Kazan absorbs their wounds and diseases into herself. But rather than being honored for her skills, she is hunted. Healers like Avry are accused of spreading the plague that has decimated the Fifteen Realms, leaving the survivors in a state of chaos.
Stressed and tired from hiding, Avry is abducted by a band of rogues who, shockingly, value her gift above the golden bounty offered for her capture. Their leader, an enigmatic captor-protector with powers of his own, is unequivocal in his demands: Avry must heal a plague-stricken prince—leader of a campaign against her people. As they traverse the daunting Nine Mountains, beset by mercenaries and magical dangers, Avry must decide who is worth healing and what is worth dying for. Because the price of peace may well be her life….Interview with Maria Snyder
Hello Maria,
Thank you so much for participating in 31 books in 31 days. We are so happy to have you. I would first like to gush. I loved your poison study series. I found the first one in a bookstore in the airport. Read the whole book on a flight from California to New York. It was incredible.
MVS: Hello! Thank you for inviting me on your blog. I’m happy to hear you enjoyed my book.
Now that I’ve made myself sound like such a fangirl , let’s get to some questions.
MVS: Nothing wrong with being a fangirl – you should have seen me when I met Barbara Hambly, one of my favorite authors!
When you were a child, who was your favorite author? Why?
MVS: When I was little, I enjoyed books by Leo Lionni – Frederick was one of my favorites books since the main character was like me -- a daydreamer. Then I really enjoyed reading Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys mysteries. My mother read nothing but mystery novels and I copied her. Plus I enjoyed the suspenseful element and trying to figure out “whodunit.”
What is your favorite part of reading?
MVS: I think my favorite part is getting to know new characters and getting lost in new worlds. When I start a new book, I pause around page 30 and ask myself these questions, “Do I care about the main protagonist? If he/she were to die on page 31, would I be upset?” If the answer is NO, then I close the book and find another. If I don’t care about the main protagonist then I’m not going to finish the book no matter how clever the plot or fascinating the world.
I read in another interview that you liked Dick Francis who was a mystery writer. Do you have any
fantasy or young adult authors that you enjoy? If so, what made their books stand out for you?
MVS: I really enjoyed the Morganville Vampire series written by Rachel Caine. The reason those books stood out is that the main protagonist, Claire is smart and she’s interested in science (which is rare in YA books). There is no “insta” love in the books and her roommates are all interesting and engaging characters. I also liked The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins. Again because of the main character.
When you think of the main plot—kids killing kids for entertainment—that’s a horrific idea, yet the book
is more about Katniss and her sacrifice and doing what it takes to survive. Unfortunately I didn’t enjoy
the next two books as much because the plot moved away from that and focused more on the
revolution.
What was the last book that had an impact on your life? What was significant about it?
MVS: The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak. What an excellent book! The writing, the characters, the
subject all so well done! The significance to me was that it made me realize that the German people
were also victims of Hitler and his terrible politics. I knew about the concentration camps, ghettos, and
other atrocities, but never thought of those people who were just trying to live their lives and do the
best they could in a horrible situation. I also recommend I am the Messenger also by Markus Zusak, it’s
completely different than The Book Thief, but also excellent!
If you could jump into the pages of any book, which book would it be?
MVS: I always wanted to be a dragonrider in one of Anne McCaffrey’s Dragonriders of Pern series.
Riding a dragon and having a mental connection/bond with one just appeals to me .
If you could be any fictitious character from any YA book who would you become?
MVS: I’d be Lessa from Dragonflight (the first Dragonrider book) – she bonds with the Queen of the
dragons.
Tell us a little about your latest novel. What makes your book different from other books in its genre?
MVS: My latest novel is Shadow Study and it’s the fourth book in my Study series of books. I think one
of the reasons my books are unique is that I focus on the characters and the story plots naturally flows
from their choices and wishes. I also like to end each chapter with a mini-cliffhanger so the books are
hard to put down at the end of a chapter. I’ve had many readers email me in the middle of the night,
“yelling” at me for doing this and “making” them stay up all night to finish my book. And I’m not sorry
about that at all! Another thing is with fantasy some writers build these beautiful complex worlds with a
deep history and many creatures and cultures like Lord of the Rings. While these fantasy books are
wonderful, they’re not my style. I’ve told potential readers my books are more like fantasy lite – there’s
magic and a fictional world, but they’re not as dense as those others.
Thank you so much for participating!
MVS: Thanks again for hosting me! If your readers would like more info about me and my books, I have
the first chapter of all my books on my website as well as a number of free short stories (including ones
with Yelena and Valek) they can read. Here’s the link: http://www.mariavsnyder.com. My Facebook
page is where I’m the most active with updates and news. Here’s the link:
http://www.facebook.com/mvsfans
Other Books By Maria Snyder
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Never, ever cry. . . . Eureka Boudreaux's mother drilled that rule into her daughter years ago. But now her mother is gone, and everywhere Eureka goes he is there: Ander, the tall, pale blond boy who seems to know things he shouldn't, who tells Eureka she is in grave danger, who comes closer to making her cry than anyone has before.
But Ander doesn't know Eureka's darkest secret: ever since her mother drowned in a freak accident, Eureka wishes she were dead, too. She has little left that she cares about, just her oldest friend, Brooks, and a strange inheritance—a locket, a letter, a mysterious stone, and an ancient book no one understands. The book contains a haunting tale about a girl who got her heart broken and cried an entire continent into the sea. Eureka is about to discover that the ancient tale is more than a story, that Ander might be telling the truth . . . and that her life has far darker undercurrents than she ever imagined.
From the Hardcover edition.
When Milton and Marlo Fauster die in a marshmallow-bear explosion, they get sent straight to Heck, an otherworldly reform school. Milton can understand why his kleptomaniac sister is here, but Milton is—or was—a model citizen. Has a mistake been made? Not according to Bea “Elsa” Bubb, the Principal of Darkness. She doesn’t make mistakes. She personally sees to it that Heck—whether it be home ec class with Lizzie Borden, ethics with Richard Nixon, or gym with Blackbeard the pirate—is especially, well, heckish for the Fausters. Will Milton and Marlo find a way to escape? Or are they stuck here for all eternity, or until they turn eighteen, whichever comes first?
A riveting portrait of life after abuse from an award-winning novelist.
Sixteen-Year-Old Jace Witherspoon arrives at the doorstep of his estranged brother Christian with a re-landscaped face (courtesy of his father’s fist), $3.84, and a secret.
He tries to move on, going for new friends, a new school, and a new job, but all his changes can’t make him forget what he left behind—his mother, who is still trapped with his dad, and his ex-girlfriend, who is keeping his secret.
At least so far.
Worst of all, Jace realizes that if he really wants to move forward, he may first have to do what scares him most: He may have to go back.
Ellen Hopkins's semi-autobiographical verse novel, Crank, reads like a Go Ask Alice for the 21st century. In it, she chronicles the turbulent and often disturbing relationship between Kristina, a character based on her own daughter, and the "monster," the highly addictive drug crystal meth, or "crank." Kristina is introduced to the drug while visiting her largely absent and ne'er-do-well father. While under the influence of the monster, Kristina discovers her sexy alter-ego, Bree: "there is no perfect daughter, / no gifted high school junior, / no Kristina Georgia Snow. / There is only Bree." Bree will do all the things good girl Kristina won't, including attracting the attention of dangerous boys who can provide her with a steady flow of crank. Soon, her grades plummet, her relationships with family and friends deteriorate, and she needs more and more of the monster just to get through the day. Kristina hits her lowest point when she is raped by one of her drug dealers and becomes pregnant as a result. Her decision to keep the baby slows her drug use, but doesn't stop it, and the author leaves the reader with the distinct impression that Kristina/Bree may never be free from her addiction. In the author's note, Hopkins warns "nothing in this story is impossible," but when Kristina's controlled, high-powered mother allows her teenage daughter to visit her biological father (a nearly homeless known drug user), the story feels unbelievable. Still, the descriptions of crystal meth use and its consequences are powerful, and will horrify and transfix older teenage readers, just as Alice did over 20 years ago. --Jennifer Hubert
