Dark Days Wrap-Up and Giveaway!

I was fortunate enough to be the blogger for the Anderson's Dark Days tour stop.  I loved hearing the authors read from and speak about their books.  I never knew Dan Wells had such a great sense of humor or that Kimberly's Derting's inspiration comes, in part, from her husband.  Jill Hathaway confirmed that there would be a sequel to the wonderful Slide!

Dan Wells was a riot.  The first thing I noticed, besides the awesome copies of Partials next to him, was his hat.  He admits to being identified by his hat, and I can see why! I can also commiserate with his hat sadness over a lost precious hat, the same thing happened to me a day before the signing! When I asked him what the inspiration behind his book was, I have to say I never would have guessed his answer.  He stated that he looked at his own children and realized that some high school students may not even remember 9/11 or acknowledge its huge impact on our nation.  In initially creating the world behind Partials, he never truly explains the events leading up to the dystopian world (now he said there will be a novella coming this Fall that will!).  He felt that the disconnect between society and certain extreme events that affected that society was an interesting concept to write about.  He mentioned that he wrote the last line of the book first; to me, that seems like an impossible thing to do, but the more I think about the meaning behind the last line, the more sense it makes.  To all the romance fans out there, Dan Wells has good news!  There will be more romance in the next book!  One of the most interesting explanations concerning Partials' characters was how Dan Wells approached writing from a girl's perspective.  Originally, he said he experienced difficulty writing from Kyra's perspective, but then realized that he needed to write about Kyra as a person, not just "some girl in a novel."  Overall, I loved talking to Dan Wells, he has to be the funniest author I've met. 

Kimberly Derting amazed me.  She writes so many books in such a short time.  As for fans of the Body Finders series, you will all be happy to know that there will be a fourth in the series!  Although the third book is titled The Last Echo, fans will be able to enjoy another book from this wonderful series.  I have always wondered how authors create their main characters.  Kimberly Derting explained that the main character in the Body Finders Series was most like her oldest daughter.  Kimberly admitted to being more like Chelsea, the best friend from the series.  Anyone wondering about the inspiration behind the series?  Kimberly Derting's husband pitches ideas to her which she takes into consideration.  One of those ideas turned into the Body Finders!  When I further probed the inspiration for the series, Kimberly's answer really surprised me.  Her husband had found one of the Green River killer's victims. His idea for a "thirteen year-old boy who can find bodies" may have originated from that experience.  I can see how everything ties together, but never would have guessed that that real experience would be the inspiration!  Anyone dying to read the next book in the Pledge series?  The second will be called The Essence!  The author says she has always been fascinated by language and how it can be such an effective barrier between people.  She was interested in the Indian caste system and began to think of Pledge's plot, in part, from that idea.  One of the most difficult transitions from The Body Finders series to the Pledge series was when the author had to transition from writing in the third person to the first.  I loved meeting Kimberly Derting and hope I will see her at another convention or signing soon!

I loved finally talking to the author of Slide, one of my favorite debut novels!  Jill Hathaway is a teacher as well as an author.  Although she completed the manuscript for Slide in roughly 4-6 weeks, the book took a couple of years to come together.  I wanted to know how she decided upon her characters' names, some were so unusual while others seemed to have a story behind them.  For Silvia, Jill stated Silvia Plath was a large influence.  Zane's name was interesting because he was originally a "Gabe," but Jill decided that Gabe was a name that kept popping up in books and preferred a less common name.  Archibald Rowlings although unusual, made my day.  The author admitted to reading Archie comics and chose Archibald partially because of that (I love the Archie comics too, yay!).  Rowlings was more from J.K. Rowlings.  Looking for the next in the series?  Jill confirmed there will be a second, and it will be titled Impostor!  The inspiration behind the series was more of a unique idea.  Jill liked the idea of someone being able to touch an object that was cared for or particularly special and experience memories and emotions from that person.  The character who had this ability had to have a great deal of empathy.  A trait I think shines through in the main character of Slide.  Wondering about the love interest?  He wasn't created from Jill's past, but from her head; an interesting idea that grew into the love interest in the series.  I can't wait for Impostor, I loved Slide so much, and the idea of touching objects and feeling their history holds such excitement and mystery behind it! 

How about all you readers.  Do you have any questions for these authors or anything to say about these awesome books!?

Now for the giveaway!  One USA winner will receive the three Dark Days book above!

a Rafflecopter giveaway