Today I am honored to be part of the PROMISED Blog Tour. Thank you Macmillan Kids and Caragh O’Brien for this opportunity. Please check out the awesome interview that Caragh and I have have had and visit the other blogs below to catch up on all the PROMISED Blog Tour goodness. Then when you are done please enter the giveaway for all three copies of this series; BIRTH MARKED, PRIZED and PROMISED.

Promised Blog Tour Schedule

Monday 9/24                     The Book Muncher

Tuesday 9/25                     Mundie Moms

Wednesday 9/26                 Ravenous Reader

Friday 9/28                      Two Chicks on Books

Saturday 9/29                    The Book Monsters

Monday 10/1                     A Reader’s Adventure

Tuesday 10/2                     Starting the Next Chapter

Wednesday 10/3              Birth of a New Witch

Thursday 10/4                  The Ninja Librarian

Friday 10/5                    IB Book Blogging

Since earning a master’s in writing at Johns Hopkins University, Caragh O’Brien has been a high school teacher, a published author of romance novels, and now a novelist for teens. Her first young adult novel, Birthmarked, was a Junior Library Guild selection and an American Library Association Best Book for Young Adults, and was nominated for the YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults list as well as the 2010 Amelia Bloomer list.

1) What motivated you to write stories for young adult readers?

First, Nancy, let me say thanks for inviting me by The Ravenous Reader. It’s nice to be here!

I love writing for young adults, but that isn’t what I started out to do. I was trying to write the best novel I could, and it happened to have a teenage protagonist, so it naturally fell in the YA window. I like writing about teen characters with their guts and humor and integrity.  I like trying to nail the pace of a fast adventure.

2) What can you tell me about your upcoming novel, PROMISED?

Promised is the third novel in the Birthmarked trilogy, which involves a teen midwife in a futuristic, dystopian world.  Gaia Stone has become the leader of an exodus, and when she brings her clans back to the Enclave, needing water and resources, she finds the Enclave has become even more cruel than it was before she left. The Protectorat has begun new experiments with surrogate mothers, and the story works a lot like a train wreck, where you can see a crash coming and can do nothing to avoid it. It was fun to write.

3) Gaia is such a strong, fearless and memorable character. Where did you get inspiration for her personality?

I was definitely inspired by teens I knew when I was teaching, and by my own children. If she captures a fraction of the strength in real teens I know, that would be great. 

4) Who is your favorite character of this series and why?

Gaia’s my favorite character, and she frequently surprised me.  I liked writing her because she was choosing who she could become. She could make courageous choices to save others, but she also had to figure out how to survive and how to stay true to herself.  That’s not always simple, and I liked how she made miserable mistakes along the way.  Leon’s a favorite of mine, too.  He’s very uncooperative and difficult to work with.  Together, their relationship has intrigued me.

5) What books are on your nightstand now?

I have a pile: Children of Men by P.D. James, Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo, and Don’t Feed the Boy by Irene Latham. I just finished Toni Morrison’s Home and very much liked how it works in layers.

6) How do you feel about your series ending?

I’m pleased about where Promised ends up, so that’s very satisfying, but I’m also a little sorry to see the project end. It has been fascinating to work on Gaia’s story for four years, and I’ve come to care deeply about my characters.  They are still rattling around in my head a bit, wondering why I won’t play, and I don’t have the heart to tell them I’m finding new friends now.

Thanks again for having me by, Nancy, and thanks for the great questions! THANK YOU! for stopping by.

 

Want to get started on this great series?

You can download the first five chapters of Birthmarked onto your e-reader now, free!

Download and read the short story Tortured, which bridges the gap between Birthmarked and Prized.

Ruled, another short story, will be available on 9/19, and bridges the gap between Prized and Promised.

or you can enter my giveaway for all 3 copies of this series, just fill out the form below.

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