Interview with Zoraida Córdova for Incendiary

Incendiary (Hollow Crown #1)

by Zoraida Córdova
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Release Date: April 28th 2020

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy

Synopsis:

I am Renata Convida.

I have lived a hundred stolen lives.

Now I live my own.

Renata Convida was only a child when she was kidnapped by the King's Justice and brought to the luxurious palace of Andalucia. As a Robari, the rarest and most feared of the magical Moria, Renata's ability to steal memories from royal enemies enabled the King's Wrath, a siege that resulted in the deaths of thousands of her own people.

Now Renata is one of the Whispers, rebel spies working against the crown and helping the remaining Moria escape the kingdom bent on their destruction. The Whispers may have rescued Renata from the palace years ago, but she cannot escape their mistrust and hatred--or the overpowering memories of the hundreds of souls she turned "hollow" during her time in the palace.

When Dez, the commander of her unit, is taken captive by the notorious Sangrado Prince, Renata will do anything to save the boy whose love makes her place among the Whispers bearable. But a disastrous rescue attempt means Renata must return to the palace under cover and complete Dez's top secret mission. Can Renata convince her former captors that she remains loyal, even as she burns for vengeance against the brutal, enigmatic prince? Her life and the fate of the Moria depend on it.

But returning to the palace stirs childhood memories long locked away. As Renata grows more deeply embedded in the politics of the royal court, she uncovers a secret in her past that could change the entire fate of the kingdom--and end the war that has cost her everything.

Can you briefly describe INCENDIARY and its characters?

Incendiary is a fantasy novel about a girl with the power to steal memories, who returns to the place of her childhood prison in order to find a weapon created to destroy her people. It’s got romance, political intrigue, and a heroine who will stop at nothing to get her revenge. 

Who would you say is your favourite character from the story and why?

Probably my protagonist, Ren because redemption is one of my favorite themes to explore! Ren’s POV is the toughest one I’ve ever tried to tackle. She has suffered so much and she spends most of her young adulthood feeling guilt over things she couldn’t control as a kid. She was a weapon and she’s still a weapon. In the context of Puerto Leones, this fantasy kingdom, what does it mean when her whole being is suspect? When her own people distrust her? How long must she atone for? Should a child have to atone for the things they did, while under manipulation? It’s all so difficult to answer. Ren’s mind is so dark, and a lot of my other books have so much comic-relief, so this was definitely a challenge for me! But I loved the girl Ren is and the one that she chooses to become.

If you could choose one song to describe your book, which one would it be?

Lost River by Murder by Death, mostly because it’s one of the songs I listened on repeat while I drafted it.

If your book was going to be made into a movie, who would play your characters?

I’m the worst at fancasting! But I’ll give it a shot. 

Renata: Emeraude Tobia 

Castian: Dominic Sherwood-ish

Dez: Luke Pasqualino-ish

What drink and place do you think will go with your book to have a perfect book date?

A glass of cava and an incredible Iberian charcuterie board.

Can you recommend your readers any other books in case they are left hungry for more once they finish INCENDIARY?

Queens of Innis Lear by Tessa Gratton

Furyborn by Claire Legrand

What would you say is the most difficult part of writing a book?

I actually teach workshops on this, so I wouldn’t be able to answer it without going into great detail. The short version is: I use the theory of the cultural iceberg to shape my magical and fantastical civilizations. I don’t think that you can create something from true scratch because everything has an analog. It can be original, but there will still be real world references. Using the cultural iceberg, I think about what is surface culture (the things we see like clothes, food, music) and what is deep culture (the things like values, religion, politics). I talk about it on my podcast, Deadline City, with my co-host Dhonielle Clayton. March 2020 was our “World Building March” and we broke down both our fantasy writing processes. https://deadlinecity.com/2020/03/25/season-2-episode-7-iceberg-inlet/

Zoraida Córdova is the author of many fantasy novels including Star Wars: A Crash of Fate, the Brooklyn Brujas series, and The Vicious Deep trilogy. Her novel Labyrinth Lost won the International Book Award for Best Young Adult Novel in 2017. Her short fiction has appeared in the New York Times bestselling anthology Star Wars: From a Certain Point of View, and Toil & Trouble: 15 Tales of Women and Witchcraft. Her upcoming books include Incendiary, book one in the Hollow Crown duology (Hyperion 2020) and she's the co-editor of Vampires Never Get Old (Imprint 2020). Zoraida was born in Ecuador and raised in Queens, New York. When she isn’t working on her next novel, she’s planning her next adventure.

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Interview with Catherine Linka for What I Want You to See

What I Want You to See

by Catherine Linka
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Release Date: February 4th 2020

Genre: Young Adult

Synopsis:

Winning a scholarship to California’s most prestigious art school seems like a fairy tale ending to Sabine Reye’s awful senior year. After losing both her mother and her home, Sabine longs for a place where she belongs.

But the cutthroat world of visual arts is nothing like what Sabine had imagined. Colin Krell, the renowned faculty member whom she had hoped would mentor her, seems to take merciless delight in tearing down her best work—and warns her that she’ll lose the merit-based award if she doesn’t improve.

Desperate and humiliated, Sabine doesn’t know where to turn. Then she meets Adam, a grad student who understands better than anyone the pressures of art school. He even helps Sabine get insight on Krell by showing her the modern master’s work in progress, a portrait that’s sold for a million dollars sight unseen.

Sabine is enthralled by the portrait; within those swirling, colorful layers of paint is the key to winning her inscrutable teacher’s approval. Krell did advise her to improve her craft by copying a painting she connects with . . . but what would he think of Sabine secretly painting her own version of his masterpiece? And what should she do when she accidentally becomes party to a crime so well -plotted that no one knows about it but her?

Complex and utterly original, What I Want You to See is a gripping tale of deception, attraction, and moral ambiguity.

Can you briefly describe WHAT I WANT YOU TO SEE and its characters?

Sabine is a first year art student getting back on her feet after a horrible year. She lost her mom in the spring and after months of living in her car, she got new friends, and a scholarship that even covers a cozy rented room. But Sabine’s painting instructor, Collin Krell, critiques her work so viciously that she’s terrified she’ll lose her scholarship. Then she meets Adam, a grad student who wants to help and he seems to have the access and insights she needs to deal with Krell. But Sabine makes a not-so-great choice that pulls her into a situation that could demolish the new life she created. 

Who would you say is your favorite character from the story and why?

Sabine, of course. After I spend so much time in a character’s head, I can’t help loving her. She’s smart and determined, and knows she’s talented, but she’s barely holding it together after losing her mom and their home. She’s aching for friendship and love, but she holds herself back because she doesn’t want people to know she was living in her car. She knows they’ll label her that “homeless girl,” and the only label she wants is “talented painter.”

How did the story occur to you? Did you find inspiration anywhere?

I wanted to write a story set in the art world, and I’m obsessed with art crime so it had to be twisty. I remembered a book I’d read where a grad student did something borderline illegal to help a guy she loved, but it took her life apart. I thought what if my character was young and desperate so she crossed a line, but what she was doing wasn’t really hurting anyone….until it sends her world crashing.

If you could choose one song to describe your book, which one would it be?

I always freak a little when I hear the perfect song for the first time. As soon as I heard the opening bars of Smoke by Lucie Silvas, I had to stop and listen because this was Sabine’s song. When Sabine meets Adam, “she knew right from that moment he was too good to resist” and then, “Somebody stop me. I am a danger to myself.” Perfect, right?!!

If your book was going to be made into a movie, who would play your characters?

Sabine’s in her first year at the art institute, so I’d team up with Ariana Grande to produce and play Sabine. Then I’d beg her to cast Avan Jogia to play Adam, because he’s got Adam’s smoldering intensity—and she’d need to cast Matt Bennett as Kevin because he’s got the smile and the curls.

What drink and place do you think will go with your book to have a perfect book date?

For a perfect book date, you’d want to go to The Broad art museum—or any museum of contemporary art, and contemplate a few pieces that really speak to you. Then you’d want to find a grapefruity drink—maybe with vodka—maybe not and soak up some sunshine on the patio of a nearby restaurant while you dip into guac and WHAT I WANT YOU TO SEE. 

Can you recommend your readers any other books in case they are left hungry for more once they finish WHAT I WANT YOU TO SEE?

Art lovers who yearn to live in NYC should check out Piper Perish and Art Boss by Kayla Cagan. LGBTQ readers will fall in love with Kelly Loy Gilbert’s Picture Us in the Light. And if you like your stories twisty, dive into Genuine Fraud by E. Lockhart.

What would you say is the most difficult part of writing a book?

Figuring out why a story isn’t working. It can be painful!!

What’s next for you?

Getting my newest protagonist out of the mess she’s gotten herself into.

Catherine Linka is the author of the young adult novel WHAT I WANT YOU TO SEE as well as the dystopian series A GIRL CALLED FEARLESS and A GIRL UNDONE. A GIRL CALLED FEARLESS was an ABA Indie Next Pick and won the Young Adult Novel Award 2014 from the Southern California Independent Booksellers Association. A frequent speaker at writing and teen conferences, Catherine received her MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts and worked as a young adult book buyer for an independent bookstore for seven years. Prior to pursuing a career in publishing, she studied international politics at Georgetown University followed by a master’s degree in business at the University of North Carolina. Catherine is married and lives with her husband in the San Gabriel foothills. Visit her at www.catherlinelinka.com.

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🖌 G I V E A W A Y 🖌 . . Happy Wednesday, Beautiful Bookish People! Do you have any hidden talents or what talent do you wish you would have? . . Today I am super excited to share with you about an original story about belonging and deceptive expectations. After some tragedies in her life Sabine Reye's has won a scholarship to California’s most prestigious art school. However, things don't turn out to be the way she hoped and she finds herself meeting someone and doing things that could be seen as questionable. Full of passion, attraction and complexity, this story would keep you up all night! . . I have partnered with @letstalkya and @mbc_books to give you the opportunity to win a copy for yourself . . Entries for the giveaway: ▪︎Follow @theffbc & @whatmakespatri ▪︎Follow @catherine_linka ▪︎Follow @letstalkya & @mbc_books ▪︎Comment - Answer my question above ⬆️ #qotd . . Extra entries: ▪︎Tag a friend (each friend will be an extra entry). ▪︎Share on your stories about the giveaway (remember to tag me @whatmakespatri and @theffbc) ▪︎Follow @michellesulk & @artsyreadergirl ▪︎Follow any other FFBC team member participating in the tour (let me know who did you follow): @booking_belle @savingsinseconds @bookishgeekig @ya.its.lit @l.m.durand @sometimesleelynnreads @sincerelykarenjo @bookablereads @shalini_g26 @moonlight_rendezvous @twilightreader1 @adreamindream @kaitplusbooks @kagunderman @laurensliterarylibrary @amysbooketlist #whatiwantyoutosee #letstalkya #catherinelinka #bookshimmy #bookgiveaway #bookgram #yabookstagram #ireadya #booksatgrammer #bibliophile #bookphotography #booknerd #booklover #amreading #yalit #booksofinstagram #bookcommunity #booksbooksbooks

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Spotlight + Giveaway: The Light at the Bottom of the World (Light the Abyss #1) by London Shah

The Light at the Bottom of the World (Light the Abyss #1)

by London Shah
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Release Date: October 29th 2019
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Science Fiction


Synopsis:

Hope had abandoned them to the wrath of all the waters.

At the end of the twenty-first century, the world has changed dramatically, but life continues one thousand feet below the ocean's surface. In Great Britain, sea creatures swim among the ruins of Big Ben and the Tower of London, and citizens waver between fear and hope; fear of what lurks in the abyss, and hope that humanity will soon discover a way to reclaim the Earth.

Meanwhile, sixteen-year-old Leyla McQueen has her own problems to deal with. Her father's been arrested, accused of taking advantage of victims of the Seasickness-a debilitating malaise that consumes people,often claiming their lives. But Leyla knows he's innocent, and all she's interested in is getting him back so that their lives can return to normal.

When she's picked to race in the action-packed London Submersible Marathon, Leyla gets the chance to secure his freedom; the Prime Minister promises the champion whatever their heart desires. The race takes an unexpected turn, though, and presents her with an opportunity she never wanted: Leyla must venture outside of London for the first time in her life, to find and rescue her father herself.

Now, she'll have to brave the unfathomable waters and defy a corrupt government determined to keep its secrets, all the while dealing with a secretive, hotheaded companion she never asked for in the first place. If she fails, or falls prey to her own fears, she risks capture-and her father might be lost forever.

Author London Shah is a British-born Muslim of Pashtun ethnicity. She has lived in Britain's capital city for most of her life via England's beautiful North. When she's not busy re-imagining the past, plotting an alternate present or dreaming up a surreal future, then she's most likely drinking copious amounts of tea, eating all the sweets and cakes, strolling through Richmond Park or along the Thames, getting lost on an evening in the city's older, darker alleyways—preferably just after it's rained—listening to punk rock, or losing herself in a fab SFF book or film. If she could have only one super power, it would be to breathe underwater. THE LIGHT AT THE BOTTOM OF THE WORLD is her debut novel.

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