Blog Tour + Guest Post + Giveaway - Dauntless by Elisa A. Bonnin

 

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Dauntless by Elisa A. Bonnin
Published by: Swoon Reads
Publication date: August 2nd 2022
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult

A teen girl must bring together two broken worlds in order to save her nation in this lush, Filipino-inspired young adult fantasy novel from debut author Elisa A. Bonnin.

 

“Be dauntless, for the hopes of the People rest in you.”

Seri’s world is defined by very clear rules: The beasts prowl the forest paths and hunt the People. The valiant explore the unknown world, kill the beasts, and gain strength from the armor they make from them. As an assistant to Eshai Unbroken, a young valor commander with a near-mythical reputation, Seri has seen first-hand the struggle to keep the beasts at bay and ensure the safety of the spreading trees where the People make their homes. That was how it always had been, and how it always would be. Until the day Seri encounters Tsana.

Tsana is, impossibly, a stranger from the unknown world who can communicate with the beasts – a fact that makes Seri begin to doubt everything she’s ever been taught. As Seri and Tsana grow closer, their worlds begin to collide, with deadly consequences. Somehow, with the world on the brink of war, Seri will have to find a way to make peace.

 

“Dauntless captures the best parts of every action-packed fantasy—breathtaking scenes of power and victory that push the limits of human tenacity. This is a triumphant tale of courage and self discovery that will make you believe in your own strength.” —Kyllie Lee Baker, author of The Keeper of Night

 

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My Publishing Journey

 

I still remember the day I decided I wanted to be a published author. I was eight years old, and I had just finished writing my first "book" ever. It was about twenty pages long, mostly made up of drawings, and I was written on notebook paper and held together by tape and yarn. It was the story of a fairy princess who had gotten trapped in the human world and was trying to find her way back, and I decided I wanted to publish it.

 

From that day on, becoming a published author became my dream. I wrote many more stories about Elena, the fairy princess, all through elementary school. In high school, I started trying to write longer works of fantasy. I took every opportunity to write as a child and teenager, and by the time I was seventeen, I was regularly writing 100,000 word drafts of fantasy novels and querying agents. I was determined to become published.

 

I wish I could say that from that point on, my publishing journey was straightforward, but it actually wasn't. Because although I started writing so early, I didn't get a book deal until I was twenty-eight, two whole decades after that first short story, and more than a decade after I finished my first "polished" novel draft. In that time, I've been rejected hundreds of times, written at least ten manuscripts that I ended up shelving, and just about gave up on the whole thing. I wasn't having any luck getting an agent, and when I submitted Dauntless and Stolen City to Swoon Reads' crowdsourcing platform, I was so used to rejection that I truly didn't expect anything to come of it, and just wanted to take a productive break from querying while I moved to Germany.

 

Imagine my surprise when those were the two books that ended up getting published.

 

It's been two years since them, and I couldn't be happier about the way my life has changed. I'm so excited to be able to hold my  book in my hands, and I'm excited and terrified to share my work with all of you. But it's been a long and winding road, and if it has taught me anything, it's that you have to find a way to enjoy the process of writing. If I had written my books just to get them published, I probably would have quit a long time ago. But I wrote my books because I enjoyed them, because I enjoyed the act of creating them, and although getting published was still the goal, having this mindset helped me keep writing.

 

I’ve heard people say that if you write what you enjoy, readers will be able to pick up that enjoyment in your books and I think that’s true. I hope that you enjoy reading Dauntless and Stolen City, and I hope to keep writing many more books to come.

 

Author Bio

 

Elisa A. Bonnin was born and raised in the Philippines, after which she moved to the United States to study chemistry and later oceanography. After completing her doctorate, she moved to Germany to work as a postdoctoral scientist. A lifelong learner, Elisa is always convinced that she should “maybe take a class in something” and as a result, has amassed an eclectic collection of hobbies. But writing will always be her true love. Publishing a book has been her dream since she was eight years old, and she is thrilled to finally be able to share her stories. Dauntless is her first novel.

 

 

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Blog Tour + Guest Post + Giveaway - Roots of Ruin (Garden of Thorns #3) by Amber Mitchell

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Roots of Ruin (Garden of Thorns #3) by Amber Mitchell

Publication Date: August 16, 2021

Publisher: Entangled Teen

They did the impossible, but their problems are far from over…

After freeing the Delmarion empire, Rose and Rayce must go to Varsha, the desert home Rose fled when she was a child—the country she’s meant to rule.

Rayce is the new emperor of Delmar, Varsha’s longtime enemy, but that won’t stop him from assisting the girl he loves. Armed with the brute force of Rayce’s military, Rose sets out to free her people from the oppressive rule of the usurper king who killed her father.

But even if they win, how can she be queen to her homeland and in love with the man ruling its bitter enemy? With her loyalties split between heart and crown, Rose must find a way to do the impossible again…unite two kingdoms at war, or sacrifice half of herself to save the other.

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Other Books in the Series

 

After seven grueling years of captivity in the Garden—a burlesque troupe of slave girls—sixteen-year-old Rose finds an opportunity to escape during a performance for the emperor. But the hostage she randomly chose from the crowd to aid her isn’t one of the emperor’s men—not anymore. He’s the former heir to the throne, who is now leading a rebellion against it.

Rayce is a wanted man and dangerously charismatic, the worst person for Rose to get involved with, no matter what his smile promises. But he assumes Rose’s attempt to take him hostage is part of a plot to crush the rebellion, so he takes her as his hostage. Now Rose must prove where her loyalties lie, and she offers Rayce a deal—if he helps her rescue the other girls, she’ll tell him all the Garden’s secrets.

Except the one secret she’s kept for seven years that she’ll take to her grave if she must.

Goodreads

 

 

Like flowers denied water, people are wilting under the emperor's tyranny.

Rose will not rest until the Gardener is dead. But there are bigger battles to fight, and Rayce—leader of the rebellion and the only man Rose has ever loved—believes their best chance at winning the war is to join forces with her sworn enemy.

Saving innocent people is more important than her quest for revenge. But their new ally can’t be trusted—and he knows her darkest secret. One betrayal could leave the war and Rayce’s life hanging in the balance, and Rose will need to make the ultimate sacrifice to save them all.

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The World of The Garden of Thorns series

To be honest, if I was given the choice, I would rather not live in the world I created for my main character Rose. While some of the food sounds absolutely delicious and I would love to try Rayce’s honey crisps, it is altogether a harsh place. Famine is wide spread in Delmar, which is where the first two books take place. Though it would be interesting to roam the flowing plains that surround the castle and see the gigantic blue wall that surrounds the main city, it is a wild place.

Varsha, Rose’s homeland, is plagued with its own set of problems. I would love to see the city she is from, piled like layers of a cake on top of each other in the middle of the harsh desert. Water flows from rivulets all through the city, down onto the next layer in tiny blue ribbons, and at night the natural crystal that grows there glows blue through all of the buildings. But the city is plagued with its own set of problems.

Though there are whispers of magic throughout the lands, those in the know understand that it’s actually science disguised as magic. Using the natural minerals that glow green in Delmar, Rose, Rayce and their crew have developed weapons that can stun their enemies in a flash of green light. There are an array of other nifty gadgets as well.

While there are glimmers of hope among the harsh realities of these two kingdoms, I think I’d be much happier writing about them than trying to survive within them!

About the Author

Amber Mitchell was born and raised in a small town in Florida. After briefly escaping small town life by attending the University of South Florida where she earned her degree in Creative Writing, she decided to ditch traffic jams and move back to her hometown. There she writes Young Adult novels, usually with a bit of magic in them, rolls D20s with her friends on Thursday nights and enjoys hanging out with her husband and four cats. Her other job involves crafting cardstock in to 3D art and has allowed her to travel all over the US vending at comic conventions which has only increased her love for fantasy and fandoms. She is represented by Nikki Terpilowski of Holloway Literature.

 

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Blog Tour + Guest Post + Giveaway - It Goes Like This by Miel Moreland

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 It Goes Like This by Miel Moreland
Published by: Feiwel & Friends
Publication date: May 18th 2021
Genres: Contemporary, LGBTQ+, Young Adult

In Miel Moreland’s heartfelt young adult debut, It Goes Like This, four queer teens realize that sometimes you have to risk hitting repeat on heartbreak.

Eva, Celeste, Gina, and Steph used to think their friendship was unbreakable. After all, they’ve been though a lot together, including the astronomical rise of Moonlight Overthrow, the world-famous queer pop band they formed in middle school, never expecting to headline anything bigger than the county fair.

But after a sudden falling out leads to the dissolution of the teens’ band, their friendship, and Eva and Celeste’s starry-eyed romance, nothing is the same. Gina and Celeste step further into the spotlight, Steph disappears completely, and Eva, heartbroken, takes refuge as a songwriter and secret online fangirl…of her own band. That is, until a storm devastates their hometown, bringing the four ex-best-friends back together. As they prepare for one last show, they’ll discover whether growing up always means growing apart.

 

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5 Things I Researched

1. The music industry.

That’s a given, right? I started my research on Tumblr, when it was just “being a fan” and not formal research at all. Of course, the elements I paid the most attention to—the “business corner of fandom,” in which Eva plants herself in the novel—became foundational. Then, for a year or so, every time I was on a plane I was assiduously taking notes while listening to music podcasts. Finally, I read books about the industry, most notably, All You Need to Know About the Music Business. My research spanned everything from record contracts and pop music history to fan charity efforts. I didn’t write off my 2018 Niall Horan ticket on my taxes, but there’s absolutely a moment in the book’s reunion concert that was inspired by a fan initiative during his tour.

 

2. Songwriting.

I didn’t want to assume I knew how to write a song just because I was a music fan, so I did some research here, too. I am by no means an expert songwriter now, but I learned some key tips along the way. The podcast Switched On Pop, along with the book Writing Better Lyrics, were go-to resources.

3. Previous flooding in Duluth.

This was far less enjoyable to research than Tumblr tagging conventions, but more important to get right. In the time between the initial idea and final edits, there was actually another significant flood in Duluth. Since the novel’s timeline was bumped from 2017 to 2021, I had to make a change to reflect this.

4. Minnesota driver’s license rules.

The band has Steph’s sixteen-year-old brother chauffeur them, and getting his personal timeline to match with the rules regarding non-family passengers was trickier than expected! The logistics of passengers vs. length of license was one part of my teenage life I had definitely forgotten.

5. California real estate.

Eva has a home in the Los Angeles area, and I needed to make sure her house and neighborhood felt accurate for her ex-pop-star status. (Yes, I have watched every season of Selling Sunset.)

Author Bio

 

 Miel Moreland was born and raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota. With time spent in California and France, she has a Midwestern heart but wandering feet. When not making pop music references and celebrating fandom, she is likely to be found drinking hot chocolate and making spreadsheets. She currently resides in Boston, where she works in higher education. It Goes Like This is her debut novel.

 

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Blog Tour + Guest Post + Giveaway - We Are the Fire by Sam Taylor

 

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We Are the Fire by Sam Taylor
Published by: Swoon Reads
Publication date: February 16th 2021

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult

 

 As electrifying as it is heartbreaking, Sam Taylor’s explosive fantasy debut We Are the Fire is perfect for fans of An Ember in the Ashes and the legend of Spartacus.

 

 In the cold, treacherous land of Vesimaa, children are stolen from their families by a cruel emperor, forced to undergo a horrific transformative procedure, and serve in the army as magical fire-wielding soldiers. Pran and Oksana―both taken from their homeland at a young age―only have each other to hold onto in this heartless place.

Pran dreams of one day rebelling against their oppressors and destroying the empire; Oksana only dreams of returning home and creating a peaceful life for them both.

When they discover the emperor has a new, more terrible mission than ever for their kind, Pran and Oksana vow to escape his tyranny once and for all. But their methods and ideals differ drastically, driving a wedge between them. Worse still, they both soon find that the only way to defeat the monsters that subjugated them may be to become monsters themselves.

 

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A Funny Thing That Happened on the Way to Publication

 

By the time I’d received my book deal for We Are the Fire, I’d written five fantasy manuscripts, and all were standalones… except WAtF. Originally, I’d always envisioned this book as a duology. I knew there was more about Oksana and Pran’s story that I needed to share with readers.

And my editor, Emily Settle, agreed. But the answer wasn’t a sequel. She challenged me to wrap up Oksana’s and Pran’s story in a single volume.

*****Panic time*****

Once I stopped freaking out about how I’d wrap up a complex, dual POV fantasy story in one book, I made myself sit down and get to work. I read through WAtF again—my first time looking at that story in nearly five months. I’d sensed the manuscript had some pacing issues and would benefit from tightening. There was plenty of stuff from the first part of the story I could cut, leaving me with room to see Oksana and Pran to their story’s conclusion.

So I grabbed a stack of index cards, and wrote down, from memory, scenes I must have for the story to make sense. Spoiler alert: It was far less than Early Drafting Sam was sure were needed.

Revising Fire for publication became an exercise in simplifying my storytelling—a useful challenge for a writer who often overcomplicates her plots. As I created a new outline for the book I pushed myself to identify the simplest solutions to story events. And I ended up with a plan for a much more concise book that’s tight on tension.

Revising the first chunk of the story (my original “Book One”) was surprisingly quick. Once I stopped being precious about my work, it wasn’t hard to streamline the story into a fast-paced opening. But then I hit the second part: what came after the original ending, scenes I had barely explored in an uncompleted rough draft.

While revising the first part had been instinctual, the story sometimes knitting itself back together before my eyes, when it came to Part Two, I struggled for every. single. word. And I hated all of them. Some days, I could barely stand to work on the book. This story that I’d believed in for years—I kind of hated it. I didn’t see how I could turn it into anything other people would want to read.

“What on earth is going on with me?!” I wondered.

One afternoon, it hit me—I was going through Second Book Syndrome. With my debut novel. Because I was working on what I’d always envisioned as the second book.

Having words for what was happening helped get me over the hump. That, and the looming deadline for my revision. Since becoming a mom, my writing time is much more limited. I had to make what time I did have count.

So every day that I sat down to work, I pushed myself to write something. I had to create new words each session, because once Little T woke from his nap, writing time was over. So I wrote, even if it was only part of a scene, or snippets of dialogue. Each time, I'd get something down. Scene by scene, word by word, I chipped away at the intimidating Part Two.

After a few weeks, when I finally typed the climactic scenes, I looked through everything I’d written... and realized that not only had I accomplished the impossible—creating a new ending for this story—I absolutely loved what I’d come up with. WAtF was complete, and it was fierce. This was a book I’d be thrilled to share with readers.

With the help of two of my most trusted critique partners (an excellent writing community is essential!!) I cleaned up the manuscript into something I was proud to send back to my editor. And all that work paid off. My editor’s response to the new manuscript: “Holy crap on a cracker, this revision is so damn good!!!!”

Could I get that for a blurb, please??

 

About the Author

 

Sam Taylor grew up in Arizona’s deserts and now lives among Connecticut’s trees. She spends her days writing, being mom to the world’s cutest boys, whirling through dance workouts, and baking too many cakes. She does not possess fire magic, but does have one fire-colored cat. We Are the Fire is her debut novel.

 

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