Friday, June 24, 2011

Author Interview with BRODI ASHTON (ARC giveaway!!!)

A couple of weeks ago Harper Collins (Balzer Bray) contacted me (squee!!) and offfered me an interview with the hilarious Brodi Ashton, author of the upcoming Everneath (released Jan 2012). Of course I did a little happy dance and promptly wrote the nice gentleman, Michael, and told him I'd be thrilled and honored. So dear friends you're in for a treat!


ABOUT EVERNEATH:
EVERNEATH is partially based on the Greek myth of Persephone: a 17-year-old who's been banished to the underworld escapes to her former earthly existence with her family and boyfriend. The catch is that she only has six months in the real world before being sent back to Hades, this time forever.

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ABOUT BRODI:
Lives in Utah with her husband and two young boys, who still have no idea why she's at the computer all the time.

She received a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism from the University of Utah and a Master’s degree in International Relations from the London School of Economics.

She blogs several times a week and always manages to make me laugh out loud. I have often been heard referring to her blog as my morning comic strip.



Q&A

-What was your favorite part about the journey of writing Everneath?

I loved exploring a different voice in the narrator Nikki. If you read my blog, you know I don't take things very seriously and I like to laugh, usually at myself. But Nikki's story would not have been well-served by that voice. I had to stretch myself as a writer. I couldn't think, "What would I do in this situation?" I had to put myself in Nikki's shoes. It made her come alive for me.

-Is there a particular scene that you loved writing or just gave you that feeling like, 'yes, this is why I love writing!'? Can you reference it enough without spoiling it so that we can know when we read it later?

Yes, I can reference my favorite scene! It was the first scene I wrote, in Chapter 1, where a girl returns to school after she's been in this horrible place. The rumor mill is going full swing, but she still chooses to go back to her school, and face the people she left behind. The tension in that scene was what drew me to the story, and despite several rounds of revisions, very little has changed in that scene.

-What's been one or two fun things you've gotten to do since/because of signing on with a publisher?

I got to go to New York and have lunch with my agent and editor! The whole time, I nodded and pretended I was listening to the conversation, but really I was thinking, I'm having lunch with my agent and my editor. This is the life.

Okay, I may have said it out loud a few times too. I was all, "This is my agent. And my editor." and the waiter was all, "Umm... I asked what you wanted to drink."

-What was your favorite book you read in the last year?

Oh man, that's a tough one. How about WHERE SHE WENT, DIVERGENT, BACK WHEN YOU WERE EASIER TO LOVE... to name a few.

-You've got a pretty hilarious sense of humor. Have you always been funny? or To what do you credit it? (it's just how you grew up? your family? your friends? you found it during college)?

It was these strange "magic beans" I bought from a door to door salesman in 1997.
Okay, that's not very funny. People are going to read this, and be all, "Seriously? That's not funny. Say something funny, harpy! Make me laugh!"

-What would be better, eating lunch with Rafa or hitting the NYT bestsellers list? :)

Eating lunch with Rafa! And then getting a text that I hit the NYT list. Just kidding. I really can't think about stuff like that. It would make me crazy. So, definitely, lunch with Rafa. And perhaps some afternoon delight. Just kidding, Sam. I love you.

Thanks for the chat Brodi! I'm looking forward to this winter when I can get my hands on a copy of EVERNEATH!


EVERNEATH ARC GIVEAWAY!

Brodi has kindly offered up one of her coveted ARC's for Windy and I to giveaway so pay attention to the rules folks so you can make sure to enter.

Here's what to do in a nutshell:
**Get the part 1 tweet from me (below) and part 2 from windy and tweet it. Everything else is just extra pudding. :)



Mandatory entry:
Have a Twitter account? Good. No? Better get one, or else you're gonna miss a chance to win your very own Brodi Ashton-signed ARC of EVERNEATH! Here's all you've gotta do:

Take the first half of the "OFFICIAL Brodi-approved #everneathARC tweet" from below:

Part 1: "I can't wait to read @BrodiAshton's EVERNEATH in January, but"

Go get the second half of the "OFFICIAL Brodi-approved #everneathARC tweet" from Windy's blog.

Go ahead, I'll wait for you to collect both pieces.

Back? OK. Now, put them together and go TWEET IT!!

Easy-peasy right? Of course it is!

Extra entries:
Now, if you want some extra chances to win ... there's a few things you can do, and NO, you do NOT have to keep track of your points or come back to us with an email or anything like that. If you just do any of the following things, we'll take care of all that hard math, counting and adding and stuff for you!

+1 following either of our blogs (+2 if you follow both) - new and old followers, same number of points.
+1 commenting on either of our #everneathARC blog posts (+2 if you comment on both)
and the big one ...
once the cover is revealed and available on the PageTurners blog you can get
+5 for changing your Twitter avatar over to the EVERNEATH cover and leaving it up for the next week! (we'll be spot checking - no work necessary from you other than the switch over)

And don't think the ARC is all we've got up for grabs! If that's not enough for you, there's an awesome second prize as well containing oodles of EVERNEATH-y goodies! You won't be disappointed!

This contest is open to all US residents only (sorry international friends) through Thursday, June 30 and we'll be announcing the winners on our blogs Friday, July 1.


*For more EXCLUSIVE! (part 2) Q&A with Brodi check out Windy's blog.

*For the official cover launch stop by Page Turners blog (It's soooo pretty)!

35 comments:

Brodi Ashton said...

Thank you, Debbie! This contest is in good hands!

Sakira said...

Brodi not funny? That's not funny. You're very funny, Brodi!! I love your sense of humor, and I love that you love Divergent. I LOVE that book too :D And I know I'm going to love Everneath too. Seriously. Author humor is very important. Plus, the story sounds amazing!!

Rachel+Co said...

Sweeet! I am totally changing my twitter avatar. Awesome contest, Debbie. How was I not already following your blog?

melissa @ 1lbr said...

Oh, I am so excited for this book! And I love me some morning comic relief with Brodi :)

Kristen Harmon said...

Changing my avatar right now... I'll proudly display that totally GORGE artwork! Way to go Brodi, so proud of my cuz!

Krispy said...

Thanks for the interview and the cool giveaway. This is the first I've heard of Everneath, but it sounds intriguing! Looking forward to it!

Chen Yan Chang said...

Haha, I love how funny Brodi is. I'm been following Brodi on twitter and blog for a while now and I can't wait for Everneath to come out. Brodi is such a Rafa fan, but she'll probably be peeved that I'm a Nole fan myself :D

I'm going to list my various screen names for twitter/GFC/whatnot b/c it's kinda different each time. Okay, totally different.

GFC follower: cyc
Twitter: @nodizzies

Shell said...

I'm so freakin' excited to read this book! So pretty! So awesome! NEED BADLY!

here's all my info for the extra entries:

twitter: @WulfLuva93
GFC: either oreo_93 or WulfLuva

oreo_93 at hotmail dot com

Greg and Kimberly ... said...

Look at you, movin and groovin w/the cool literary folks! :) Brodi always makes me laugh, and I can't wait to read her book.

Anonymous said...

FUN! FUN! FUN! I would love to win this arc. What a cool storyline and the cover...oh. my. heavens. :) Great interviews by both you and Windy!!!

Jenni Elyse said...

Awesome! I don't mind changing my avatar to that cover! It's GORGEOUS and my favorite ever!

Tanya Hanamaikai said...

YAY! Cannot wait for this book in print, even if I do get my hands on an ARC. This is a fun contest too, and I'm looking forward to following your blog!

eden said...

Yea for Brodi and for your great blog! You got me to finally tweet my first tweet.

Unknown said...

If I change my avatar on Sunday or Monday, is that too late? Hard to change that sort of thing on a borrowed computer in Wyoming.

Overlook Building said...

The cover is gorgeous!! I am very excited about this book and the Q&A was a lot of fun!

Anonymous said...

So tweeted. So want it. So dying to get my hands on it.

Aydrea said...

The book sounds so good, can't wait to read it!

Jessica G. said...

Interesting! Unfortunately, I don't have a Twitter account but I'm gonna add the book to my TBR pile anyway.

Brynne said...

The cover is gorgeous! I'm very excited for this book.

Mariya said...

The cover is beautiful and I love the synopsis. I am dying for this book. Thanks sooooo much for the giveaway =DDDDDDDDDDDD

Andrea said...

Im so excited! thanks for hosting this giveaway! I can't wait to read this book and the cover is beautiful!

Christy said...

So much fun! What a great idea to break up the tweet!

I tweeted it, and I'm a follower of both blogs.

Can't wait to read Everneath.

Hermana Maw said...

Great interview! You guys rock. Thanks for sharing!

Anonymous said...

Too bad it's US only. I'm really looking forward to this.

Jennifer A said...

Awesome!! I can't wait to read this book. Thank you so much for such a great giveaway!

Pokadots1121 said...

I am so looking forward to this one. I know I can't wait till Janurary so I'm hoping to read it now.

Olivia Carter said...

Such a great interview. Brodi basically ROCKS! And that cover is just gorgeous. I blogged about pretty covers & included hers on the list because, come on, it's just so darn pretty!

abby mumford said...

the more i learn about the book and the woman who wrote it, the more intrigued i become.

i wonder if one can become too intrigued? if so, what's the side effect? do i turn all wrinkly and dry like a raisin? oh well, for EVERNEATH, i'll risk it.

Momo (Books Over Boys) said...

Wow! I've never heard of Everneath until the cover reveal and all the twitter icons changing, lol! And now I know why! Doing it right now! :)

Thanks so much for the giveaway!

Anna said...

I now follow the blog! Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee, and this is a comment so, that's 2. :D

peachandblue2@aol.com

Jessica M said...

I'm a new follower -- and this is a totally awesome contest! Thanks for the chance to win.

Oh, and since my usernames aren't the same everywhere, I thought I'd put them here:

GFC: Jessica M.
Twitter: @crazylilcuban

Patricia's Particularity said...

What a fun giveaway for a very good sounding novel! I can't wait for it!!

Brenda Sills said...

Love the interview! Thanks! And I would love, love, love to have Brodi's book!
And I'm so glad to meet you too - I love how you said, "Nice to meet you." beneath your profile photo! Unique and wonderful!

Heather Helene said...

OMG! I've been seeing so much about Everneath! I can't wait to read it.

New Follower Blog & Twitter.

I Tweeted -> @Simone7304
(If I can figure out how to change my avatar I will.)

Unknown said...

I cant wait for this book!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!