{Interview/Giveaway} Sherry Thomas, Author of THE PERILOUS SEA

Week One:

9/8/2014- A Book and a Latte- Interview

9/9/2014- Such a Novel Idea- Review

9/10/2014- Fiktshun- Guest Post

9/11/2014- The Irish Banana Review- Review

9/12/2014- Bewitched Bookworms- Interview

Week Two:

9/15/2014- Two Chicks on Books- Guest Post

9/16/2014- A Backwards Story- Interview

9/17/2014- Carina's Books- Guest Post

9/18/2014- Nerdophiles- Review

9/19/2014- Candace's Book Blog- Review

Stop back tomorrow for my tomorrow for my review of 
THE PERILOUS SEA!

You can see my review of Book 1,
THE BURNING SKY,
right now!!!

THE BURNING SKY is only $1.99 right now on
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo
WHAT A GREAT DEAL!!!

Happy Book Birthday to 
THE PERILOUS SEA
by Sherry Thomas!

Sherry Thomas is one of the most acclaimed romance authors working today. Her books regularly receive starred reviews from trade publications and are frequently found on best-of-the-year lists. She is also a two-time winner of Romance Writers of America's prestigious RITA® Award. 

English is Sherry's second language—she has come a long way from the days when she made her laborious way through Rosemary Roger's Sweet Savage Love with an English-Chinese dictionary. She enjoys digging down to the emotional core of stories. And when she is not writing, she thinks about the zen and zaniness of her profession, plays computer games with her sons, and reads as many fabulous books as she can find. 

Sherry’s next book, THE PERILOUS SEA, volume two of her young adult fantasy trilogy, will be available fall 2014. Author photo by the lovely and talented Jennifer Sparks Harriman at Sparks Studio. 

Author Links:

Website | Blog | Twitter | Facebook

An interview with 

Sherry Thomas

What has been your favorite scene to write in the trilogy? The hardest?

The most difficult thing to write in the trilogy has been the very beginning—I stopped counting after the 10th or 12th version. The opening of the story should give readers a fairly accurate idea of what to expect—to let them know whether they are to read a sweet contemporary love story or an epic set in a different galaxy altogether. 

And that’s where I had a problem. I needed to lay sufficient groundwork to establish how and why Iolanthe, my girl protagonist, brought down the bolt of lightning that started it all. But that would give readers the mistaken impression that the story takes place in a setting completely separate from our world, and that couldn’t be further from the truth, what with my mages attending a boys’ boarding school that still stands today and all the fun of Iolanthe passing herself off as one of those boys. 

So after many, many different drafts, I wrote something of a little foreword, basically telling readers what they are going to read, i.e., young mages overthrowing the dark lord from a muggle school. That snippet is a personal favorite. 

The epilogue of THE BURNING SKY is another scene I really enjoy.

How did you come up with the various types of magic and their uses when developing your world?

I think the balance, in this case, is not terribly tricky. The trilogy feels historical because part of it is set in Victorian England, and that is history to us. But the mage realms are urban and highly organized, with very fast travel and fairly instantaneous communication—more like the developed nations of the 21st century and not at all medieval or agrarian. 

My mages do not think like medieval folks either. They are accustomed to such things as cultural diversity and gender equality. Titus pulled his hair out for a moment when he found out that the elemental mage he’s been waiting for is a girl, but not because he doesn’t believe girls could be powerful enough, but simply because he didn’t know what to do with a girl given that he lives at a school for boys. 

Good world-building, to me, is the sense that this setting has a greater history, richness, and dimensions than can be explored in the pages of one book. In my books I use footnotes, but basically any kind of well-chosen detail can give reader an interesting peep into the depths of your world.

If you were stranded in a desert with a tote full of survival goodies, what would you make sure to have on-hand?

Oy, a desert is tough. I guess I would have that tote be packed full of bottled water, plus a couple pounds of calory-dense food like chocolate, and a mirror that I can flash in all directions, hoping to alert someone to my presence and be rescued before my water runs out!

How did you come up with the idea of The Crucible? I would love jumping around from fairy tale to fairy tale, dangerous as it may be. Is there any one realm within the book that you love the most?

The Crucible is my take on the Construct from The Matrix, i.e., the virtual reality place where Neo goes to train in martial arts, where he and Morpheus have that cool hand-to-hand combat. And since I write fantasy, well, fairy tales serve as pretty good training grounds, since a lot of them are pretty darn dangerous, full of dark woods and terrible creatures. 

Let’s see, my personal favorite. In THE PERILOUS SEA, I mention a made-up story in the Crucible called “The Queen of Seasons.” The queen has a summer villa that is flat-out fantastic, because I based it on Villa Balbianello on Lake Como. (You have seen the villa—it has been used in Star Wars Attack of the Clones and Casino Royale, the James Bond origin story.)

What made you transition from writing adult romance to YA fantasy? Did anything change when it came to your writing style or process?

I haven’t transitioned--I am still publishing historical romances and will still be writing more books for the adult market in the future—so it’s more like I added to my repertoire. Which makes me happy, because I enjoy doing different things. 

I don’t think anything changed when I wrote my YA books. I am still the one who have to read the darn thing a dozen times, so I am still writing to satisfy myself first and foremost. The stories are different, but the process and the style remain the same.

Okay, this is a question that's pretty spoilery, but...2015 is so very, very far away. Can you whisper any secret tidbits to tide us over for the next year? ;)

Ummm, there might be a hot air balloon somewhere? ^.~

 ~*~

O F F I C I A L   I N F O:

Title: THE PERILOUS SEA

Author: Sherry Thomas

Release Date: Sept. 16, 2014

Publisher: Balzer + Bray / HarperCollins
Received: For Review

SUMMARY:

After spending the summer away from each other, Titus and Iolanthe (still disguised as Archer Fairfax) are eager to return to Eton College to resume their training to fight the Bane. Although no longer bound to Titus by a blood oath, Iolanthe is more committed than ever to fulfilling her destiny—especially with the agents of Atlantis quickly closing in. 

Soon after arriving at school, though, Titus makes a shocking discovery, one that makes him question everything he previously believed about their mission. Faced with this devastating realization, Iolanthe is forced to come to terms with her new role, while Titus must choose between following his mother's prophecies—and forging a divergent path to an unknowable future.

~*~

****Giveaway*****

Ready to check out
THE BURNING SKY
and its brand-new sequel
THE PERILOUS SEA?

Enter to win...

For First Place 
(US Only):

1 winner will receive: 

The Burning Sky, The Perilous Sea, and The Hidden Blade and a handmade solid lotion bar and some homemade face scrubs, plus a burning sky bag. 

Runners Up: 
(US Only) 
2 winners will receive The Burning Sky, The Perilous Sea, and The Hidden Blade. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway