Sarah Fine's Blog, page 4

DEVIANTS by Maureen McGowan

Today I'm happy to welcome Maureen McGowan, author of DEVIANTS, to the blog! Here's a brief description of the book:

In a post-apocalyptic world, where the earth is buried by asteroid dust that’s mutated the DNA of some humans, orphaned, sixteen-year-old Glory must hide and protect her younger brother. If their Deviant abilities are discovered, they’ll be expunged—kicked out of the dome to be tortured and killed by the Shredders. Glory would give anything to get rid of her unique ability to kill with her emotions, especially when Cal, the boy she’s always liked, becomes a spy for the authorities. But when her brother is discovered, and she learns their father, who was expunged for killing their mother, is still alive, she must escape the domed city that’s been her entire world.
Outside in the ruins, they’re pursued by the authorities and by sadistic, scab-covered Shredders who are addicted to the lethal-to-humans dust now covering the planet. Glory’s quests to transport herself and her brother to safety make up the thrilling and fascinating first volume of The Dust Chronicles.
"A deliciously dark, harrowing world, brightened by dazzling characters and sparkling prose." --Kelley Armstrong
"A tense thriller with a strong, beating heart at its center. Glory and her impossible choices will keep you glued to the page. I'm still trying to catch my breath!" --Diana Peterfreund
“Exciting…McGowan keeps the suspense throbbing…” Kirkus Reviews When I was at BEA earlier this year, I was able to snag an ARC of DEVIANTS. It's a super fast-paced book with a kick-ass heroine, some seriously creepy-scary characters both inside and outside the domed city, and a complex and slow-developing romance (my favorite kind). I invited Maureen here today to answer a few of my questions about the book!
1. The domed city of Haven is a very well-defined dystopian setting, and it seems to have a distinctly corporate feel to it. From your bio, it seems like you might know the corporate world pretty well. How did you draw on that knowledge to create Haven?
 When I first had the idea for Deviants, I wasn’t thinking of it as a dystopian novel at all—more futuristic suspense with a little horror and romance thrown in for good measure. But as soon as I started imagining how this particular group of people survived the “apocalypse”, the idea that corporations would take control—versus governments—instantly made sense to me.
 Not that decisions get made quickly in either governments or big corporations (LOL), but I thought that, in a crisis where immediate action was required, I could easily imagine that the CEOs of big corporations would do whatever it took to ensure their own survival. Instead of asking for permission or being “fair”, I figured they’d procure whatever materials, supplies and manpower they needed—and get rid of those people whom they didn’t deem essential. Once I made those decisions, the dystopian world of Haven, the domed city in Deviants, developed naturally.
 I’ve written a short story, “Out of the Ashes”, which was published in Canada by McGraw-Hill Ryerson as part of an anthology for high school English classes. That story is set while they’re building Haven and hiring the original employees. “Out of the Ashes” will be available for readers (beyond Canadian high school students) sometime soon—probably as a special offer before the release of Compliance (The Dust Chronicles #2), which comes out May 21, 2013. (Canadian teens: ask your teacher or librarian to get it for your class now.)
 To me, Deviants isn’t about the dystopian society, but it is an important part of the setting. It was fun to imagine how a city might run if everyone in it was an employee—from birth—and imagine which departments and people would have the most power. To do that, I definitely drew on my experience from the corporate world. I began my (first) career as an auditor, and most of my clients were large corporations, so to me it was hilarious (and obvious) to have the audit, or compliance department rule the roost. They’re the ones who’d make sure everyone followed the rules. I figured the HR department would have a lot of power too, because they’d be responsible for training (aka school) and assigning the jobs. In Compliance (The Dust Chronicles #2), the Health & Safety department’s role will become clearer. And it’s not pretty.
 2. Glory's brother, Drake, who happens to be paralyzed from the waist down, is such an interesting character to me. I'm looking forward to seeing more from him in the sequel. Can you talk a little about him and his relationship with Glory--like how he thinks about it?
Great question! Both Glory and Drake had to grow up way too soon. I think that’s true of all “employees” of Haven, but so much more so for them.
At the beginning of the story, Drake is completely dependent on Glory for his survival. He recognizes everything she’s done for him and, later in the novel, Glory discovers how much he’s been doing for her. Drake and Glory love each other unconditionally and would do anything to protect each other.
Given his situation and everything that’s happened, Drake could be surly and angry, resenting his sister’s relative freedom—a typical bratty little brother—but Drake is someone who sees the best in people and the positive in situations. He’s hopeful. And he knows how difficult life is for his sister.
Drake won’t play a big part in Compliance (The Dust Chronicles #2) but he’ll never be far from Glory’s mind, and he will be a major player in the third book—and might have a romance storyline of his own.
 3. Deviants are people with unusual or special abilities. How did you come up with the "deviations"? So many of them seem to be manifestations of psychological/emotional experiences, like something abstract made tangible. How do you think about them?
 I wanted to explore the idea of strong emotions being dangerous and especially how teens would feel if expressing their emotions posed a danger to people they loved. (Hmmm... What does that say about me? Are you psychoanalyzing me now?)
The teen years are a time of heightened emotions—a time when we learn to deal with new emotions that can feel out of control and dangerous, so I liked the idea that the Deviant abilities were triggered by emotions. I also wanted to explore what might happen if the out-of-control-rage or passion that some teens experience manifested in a dangerous way.
As for the specific Deviances, they came from imagining how the human body might adapt to protect itself in a new and dangerous world—imagining what powers or abilities might prove useful if the asteroid dust could mutate humans’ genes in any way.
 Bio:
 Maureen McGowan always loved writing fiction, but side-tracked by a persistent practical side, it took her a few years to channel her energy into novels. After leaving a career in finance and accounting, she hasn't looked back.
Aside from her love of books, she's passionate about films, fine handcrafted objects and shoes.

She lives and writes in Toronto, Canada where she attends the Toronto International Film Festival each year.

DEVIANTS came out a few weeks ago--check it out!

Making Your Stomach Churn ... somewhere else.

I know, I know. I'm hardly ever here anymore! That will slowly change over the next several weeks, but some of you have invited me to your online homes, and there's no way I'll turn that down! Today I'm at Jessica Bell's blog, The Alliterative Allomorph. I respect Jessica immensely and was honored that she was willing to have me. My post is about using description of physical setting to augment the emotional tone of the story, and I hope you'll check it out!

Interview at Get Lost in a Story: High school, fall-back plans, and love.

Today I'm being interviewed by Maureen McGowan (whose fabulous book DEVIANTS will be featured here next Monday) at Get Lost in a Story, where I talk about what I was like in high school, what I'd do if I couldn't write anymore, and what it means to love someone. There will be a giveaway of a signed hardcover of Sanctum there as well, so please enter if you're interested!

BUT BEFORE YOU GO:

Congratulations to Ruby97, who won the $20 gift card from last week's "What I used to believe/What I know now" giveaway!

Happy Monday, everyone!

NEW PRIDE by Laura Diamond

Please help me congratulate Laura Diamond on the release of her novelette, NEW PRIDE!   "New town, new love, new terror. It’s here! My prequel novelette, NEW PRIDE, releases today. I’m SO stoked for it to run wild in the world. 

NEW PRIDE was born from my upcoming novel, SHIFTING PRIDE (coming December 7, 2012!). In SHIFTING PRIDE, the main character, Nickie, searches for her missing father, Richard…and NEW PRIDE is all about Richard’s journey to independence and new love."

 A shape-shifter without a pride, Richard Leone strikes a tenuous friendship with power hungry, Derek, from an unstable, rogue group. On a hunt in the forest, they encounter a gorgeous brunette, Molly, partying with friends around a campfire. Derek tells the rogue pride and they bristle at humans trespassing on their territory. Richard risks life and tail to protect his secret and the humans—especially Molly—while simultaneously trying to win her heart. When Molly is kidnapped, he faces taking on the rogue pride alone, but quickly finds he has to put his trust in Derek, not only to rescue his new love, but to ensure the rogue pride doesn’t wreak havoc on his new town.


Author Laura Diamond:
Laura Diamond is a board certified psychiatrist and author of all things young adult paranormal, dystopian, horror, and middle grade. Her short story, City of Lights and Stone, is in the Day of Demons anthology by Anachron Press (April 2012) and her apocalyptic short story, Begging Death is in the Carnage: Life After the End anthology by Sirens Call Publication (coming late 2012). Her debut young adult paranormal romance, SHIFTING PRIDE, is coming December 2012 by Etopia Press. When she's not writing, she is working at the hospital, blogging at Author Laura Diamond--Lucid Dreamer, and renovating her 225+ year old fixer-upper mansion. She is also full-time staff member for her four cats and a Pembroke Corgi named Katie. 
How to find Laura Diamond on the web:Blog: http://lbdiamond.wordpress.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/diamondlb
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/laura.diamond.52
Facebook Author Page: http://www.facebook.com/AuthorLauraDiamond
Website: www.AuthorLauraDiamond.com
Amazon.com Author Page
NEW PRIDE on Amazon

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Dark City Survival Guide

This post--my "dark city survival guide"--went up yesterday on the Amazon Kindle blog, but I was kind of wrapped up in shuttling my children from place to place post-Sandy to post it here! (we're fine, by the way, just lost power for ~30 hours or so)

I hope all of you had a fun Halloween and that you made it through Sandy okay, too.

It's my party and I'll do a giveaway if I want to

Today's my birthday. I don't like to celebrate it much these days, because I'm at that stage where birthdays are just reminders that I'm traveling away from youth at nauseating speed. However, I do think it's a great opportunity to reflect. Especially because, three years ago, my birthday became forever entwined with something else: the anniversary of my birth as a writer.

Three years. My birthday was on a Friday that year, I think, and that weekend, with zero creative writing experience and no previous desire to do so, I dived headfirst into writing my first novel.

That act has changed the shape of my entire life--mostly in good ways.

To acknowledge all of that, I was hoping you'd join me in a little exercise:

What I used to believeWhat I know now 
I'll take a few turns, and then maybe you can join in? One commenter today will get a $20 gift card (because hey, it's my birthday, and I can celebrate however I want to!).

What I used to believe: Writing is something only Writers do--the ones with MFAs and stints in the Iowa Writers' Workshop.

What I know now: Writing is something everybody who feels the urge can and should do.



What I used to believe: It's all about THIS novel! I will not abandon this story! I can't! It's a matter of loyalty!

What I know now: Not every story is viable or worthy. I will not abandon writing, but I might move on from a project, even if I love it. There are more words and ideas where that one came from.



What I used to believe: I am a special, special snowflake for writing a novel.

What I know now: I am one of thousands and thousands. If I want to be successful, I have to have a lot more than raw talent. I have to work my tail off.


What I used to believe: Writing is a purely artistic and creative process. When the magic is there, I write, and when it's not, I take it easy.

What I know now: I am a professional, and I need to act like one. Some days I may not feel like getting up and going to work, but that doesn't mean I don't have to show up.


What I used to believe: Writing is a solitary endeavor.

What I know now: Writing is a team sport.



I could go on and on. Like I said, a lot has changed in the last three years. I've learned so much. I've made so many friends. I am so grateful.

Now--your turn! Give it a whirl: What you used to believe ... and what you know now. It totally doesn't have to be about writing, by the way. It can be about anything important in your life. GO!

Oh, and on Wednesday, Halloween, I'll be guest posting at the Amazon Kindle blog--a Dark City Survival Guide. I'll link to it from here and hope you check it out. It was a pretty fun post to write. And on Friday, I'll be celebrating something else: the release of Laura Diamond's novella NEW PRIDE! What a week!

Winner of the gift card will be announced next Monday!

SANCTUM's at the SAMOVAR

Ah, you guys, I'm in such a good mood today. You see, I'm visiting a good friend of mine, Kristen Wixted, at her blog: Don't Forget the Samovar. She asked me a few questions, including where I'm from, my favorite color ... and Malachi's. Please visit me there--and follow Kristen if you aren't already. She's awesome.

How I am responding to negative reviews. Every single one of them.

Today we have a break from the Sanctum blog tour, and the last week has passed in this huge blur, so I wanted to take this post and reflect on something.

Sanctum has received its first negative reviews.

And now that I know how it feels, HERE IS HOW I RESPOND:

First, allow me to introduce my brains:
SMART BRAIN
  SNEAKY BRAIN

(for the purposes of this dialog, please picture them 100% more brain-like)
Sneaky Brain: OMG someone left a critical review. This is awful. So awful. It’s the worst thing ever.
Smart Brain: Whoa whoa whoa. Catastrophizemuch? First, WTH are you doing, reading every single review? Haven't we talked about this? And second, what's so awful about it?
Sneaky: Okay, well, I was curious about how the book would be received. AND NOW I KNOW AND IT IS AWFUL. I'll bet more and more of these negative reviews will come pouring in. The floodgates are opening!
Smart: Um. You're overgeneralizing. Breathe. I'm going to ask you some questions, 'k?
Sneaky: I don't exactly have lungs here.
Smart: Jeez. You know what I mean. Anyway, did you actually expect that every member of the reading public would like your book?
Sneaky: Well, I hoped--
Smart: You are a brain, are you not? You might have hoped, but you know there's not a book on this planet that has 100% 5-star reviews ... unless those reviews are fake. Do you want people to think your reviews are fake?
Sneaky: *horrified gelatinous shudder*
Smart: And next: When other authors' books get a few 1- and 2-star reviews, do you decide their books are bad?
Sneaky: Well, that would be stupid. Of course not. I mean, THE HUNGER GAMES has close to 25,000 1- and 2-star reviews. And that book is awesome. As indicated by the approximately one million 4- and 5-star reviews it has. But SANCTUM will never have that many reviews. So this isn't the same.
Smart: Oh, hello double-standard. And wait. What proportion of Sanctum's reviews are positive?
Sneaky: *checks the latest GR stats* Over 80% so far? But I've always been a straight-A student. You know that.
Smart: So if your performance isn't perfect, you're a failure? That's some excellent polarized thinking right there.
Sneaky: Well--have you read those reviews? One of them called the book a waste of money!
Smart: And here we go with filtering. Are you going to ignore over 80% positive reviews and only pay attention to a few negative ones?
Sneaky: No, I'm just saying those negative reviews stick out to me. Like a needle. In my tender, succulent brainself.
Smart. You're minimizing the importance of those fabulous reviews. That's sad. Because lots of smart people have said awesome things about Sanctum, and you're giving their voices less weight than those of the few who didn't like it. That's a bit disrespectful, don't you think?
Sneaky: Hey! I don't mean sound that way. It's just: those negative reviews give me a bad feeling. If I had a stomach, I'd feel like I'd been punched there. How did this all go south so quickly? I thought things were going well!
Smart: So if you're feeeeeeeeling bad, that means things really ARE bad? Emotional reasoning FTW! Or should I say: FTL.
Sneaky: Yes, but it's hard to stay positive when someone says your main characters were boring and annoying, and that your dialogue is poorly written. They basically said I'm a bad writer! I can't believe I screwed up this book so completely! I brought this on myself! I knew I should have stuck with my day job!
Smart: GAH with the personalization. Once again I'll remind you that lots of other folks have said the opposite about your characters, dialogue, and writing, and they've also said your book touched them deeply. Also: this isn't the last time others will say bad stuff ... but that doesn't change the book or what you've accomplished. Nothing can change that now.
Sneaky: But I want everyone to love me! I want to be perfect!
Smart: I say this with love, but: you deserve to be eaten by a zombie.
 And there you have it. Smart Brain wins on points. Moving on. [If you want to read more about the Sneaky Brain and the Smart Brain--how one trips you up and the other can save you--take a moment to read this post. And maybe this one. Or just ... have a nice day, okay? I like you.]

Sanctum Blog Tour: Deeper into the dark city

Hey folks:

First, for those more interested in the content of Sanctum, Reading Teen, who posted an amazing review a week or so ago, asked me to respond to a few in-depth questions about the world within the pages of the book. Amy read the book six times, so I figured she deserved some answers! In addition, I revealed a few little spoilers for the series, so if you're interested, check it out!

Next up, for those more interested in my experience in writing Sanctum, there's an interview at The Book Muncher, and another chance to win the book.

Tomorrow we have a break from the tour, then a final few stops before we're back to our regularly scheduled programming. I hope you'll come back, though, because my post for tomorrow is possibly my favorite of all the ones I've ever written and involves a topic that's been buzzing in the writing/publishing world since the beginning of the year at least.

Until then ...

SANCTUM giveaways, a request, and a treat

Hey! Today for the Sanctum blog tour, I'll be at My Bookish Ways to present my ideas for a cast of characters were it ever to be made into a movie or television series, but that post's not up yet, so I'll post the link as soon as it's live.

So I wanted to give you a rundown of active giveaways for the book (starting with those than end soonest):

Tynga's Reviews.

Good Choice Reading (not totally sure when this one ends, but it posted last Friday).

Book Brats.

Reading Teen.

Rainy Day Ramblings.


Now, I have a humble request for those of you who have read Sanctum: If you could leave an honest review of the book at the website of a retailer of your choice, be it Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble or wherever else, I would be so grateful.

And now, I present you with a treat for the morning. Meet Sanctum's youngest fan:


Unfortunately, my guess is that you are now dead from acute cuteness overload. Sorry about that.