Archived- Promotional Q&A's: Q&A with Samantha Durante - CLOSED

[Brianna]

Hi Samantha, I loved the uniqueness of Stitch, and how you blended different genres. Was that hard for you to do, or did you know how it was going to happen from the beginning?
Also, what was your inspiration for Stitch?
Thanks for writing such a great and original story. I can't wait for the sequel. :)

[Laura]

How does Shudder differ to Stitch? Will we see more romance now the characters are no longer seperate?

[Jennifer]

Hey Samantha! Thanks for sharing your time :D I feel the same way about epic series. Which ones were/are your favorites? Do you have a particular author you think influenced you more than others?

[Samantha]

Oh yay, lots of great questions! Thank you guys so much for hosting me! I'm so excited to answer anything at all you'd like. (And sorry I'm a bit late to the party - really busy day here!). Okay, here we go - I'm going to respond in a few different posts for clarity. :-)

[Samantha]

Brianna wrote: "Hi Samantha, I loved the uniqueness of Stitch, and how you blended different genres. Was that hard for you to do, or did you know how it was going to happen from the beginning?
Also, what was your inspiration for Stitch?"

Thanks so much, Brianna! I knew from the beginning that I was going to hide the dystopian under the paranormal - when I thought of that idea, it's actually what got me excited to write the book! I was trying to think of ways to combine things that I liked from different stories, which is how I got the college ghost romance, and when I tried to figure out how to finally get the ghost and the girl in the same place for a happy ending, I thought of one totally out-of-the-box solution (the twist). It was nothing like anything I'd read and I was just sitting there wishing someone would write that story, so I figured, "Well, why not me?" :-)

[Samantha]

Laura wrote: "How does Shudder differ to Stitch? Will we see more romance now the characters are no longer seperate?"

Oh yes, lots more romance! My beta readers went so far as to call it "dirty" (they're a little prude, though... it's still PG-13!). There's also more action, and some new perspectives from other characters. It's a really exciting, suspenseful ride - I'm SO excited to share it with everyone!

[Samantha]

Jennifer wrote: "Hey Samantha! Thanks for sharing your time :D I feel the same way about epic series. Which ones were/are your favorites? Do you have a particular author you think influenced you more than others?"

Oh man, there are so many! My absolute favorite would have to be the Harry Potter series. Others include Twilight, Hunger Games, Eragon, Chronicles of Narnia, and more recently Game of Thrones (which I'm re-reading at the moment), Divergent, and Delirium. I would say that all of these amazing authors influenced
me in one way or another - mainly, if it wasn't for their work, it never even would have occurred to me to try. I just think a story is such an amazing thing to share with people, as a reader or a writer. :-)

[Samantha]

Faith wrote: "What serves as your inspiration to write an original story?"

Ohh, that's a tough one. Actually, inspiration is the hardest part for me, and I hate the idea of doing anything that's not original, but it's SO hard to come up with something new. My trick is I try to take things I've seen before and combine them to find a new angle. Or dreams - I have a LOT of weird dreams!

[Samantha]

I just wanted to say thanks again for hosting me! If you guys think of any more questions, please don't hesitate to post here (while the thread is open), or feel free to comment on my blog (www.samanthadurante.com/blog) or Facebook/Twitter or email me directly at samantha.durante@gmail.com. I always love to hear from readers!

In other news, I am SUPER excited to report that I just finished the first draft of my next book, Shudder (Stitch Trilogy, Book 2) last night. That one will be coming in June (as long as all goes to plan w/ the publication process), so if you're interested, you can add Stitch and Shudder to your TBR here on Goodreads (click the book covers below), and if you'd like, you can sign up for email notification when Shudder is available for purchase at my website (www.samanthadurante.com) on the Contact page. :-)



Thank you again!!
Samantha

[Jennifer]

Samantha wrote: "Jennifer wrote: "Hey Samantha! Thanks for sharing your time :D I feel the same way about epic series. Which ones were/are your favorites? Do you have a particular author you think influenced you mo..."

Absolutely love GoT, though I have yet to read the books. And obviously Harry Potter is like the untouchable supreme epic, lol. But I've never heard of Divergent and Dilerium so I'll have to check those out! Thanks for sharing your favs and your influences. I love hearing what inspires authors! And I just added Stitch to my to read pile in my kindle. It's a long list at the moment, but I'm so intrigued to read it now. Thanks for sharing your vision with us :)

[Samantha]

Jennifer wrote: "Samantha wrote: "Jennifer wrote: "Hey Samantha! Thanks for sharing your time :D I feel the same way about epic series. Which ones were/are your favorites? Do you have a particular author you think ..."

Thanks so much, Jennifer! Haha, yeah, the GoT books are an investment, time-wise... but definitely worth it, b/c there's so much going on in the show you can't really absorb it (in fact, I didn't absorb anything in my first read-through, either!). If you like dystopian, you'll definitely enjoy Divergent and Delirium, both great series. :-) Hope you like Stitch too when you get to it! Take care!!

[Jennifer]

Samantha wrote: "Jennifer wrote: "Samantha wrote: "Jennifer wrote: "Hey Samantha! Thanks for sharing your time :D I feel the same way about epic series. Which ones were/are your favorites? Do you have a particular ..."

I'll deff share my thoughts on "Stitch" as soon as I get the chance to dive into the world you've created! So excited about that. And you can just tell when you watch the show, that there is soooo much backstory and stories within stories. It's so rich and that translates in the show itself. Kind of reminds me a bit of the "Wheel of Time" series, which you should check out if you ever have the chance. :)

[Samantha]

Jennifer wrote: "Samantha wrote: "Jennifer wrote: "Samantha wrote: "Jennifer wrote: "Hey Samantha! Thanks for sharing your time :D I feel the same way about epic series. Which ones were/are your favorites? Do you h..."

I haven't heard of the Wheel of Time series - I'll definitely check it out. Thanks for the recommendation!

[Samantha]

Hey guys! Thanks so much again for hosting me - it was an honor! In case anyone is still following this thread, I just wanted to post a quick link to Stitch below since it's FREE on Amazon for the next 5 days! If you haven't read it yet, now's the time to grab a copy, since the sequel (Shudder) will be launching next week!! More info about the freebie below. :-)

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FREE - Stitch (YA/NA Dystopian/Paranormal Romance) by Samantha Durante - June 7-11th ONLY + $25 GC Giveaway!

A college ghost romance with a SURPRISING dystopian sci-fi twist, Part 1 of this trilogy is sure to keep you on your toes! (And better yet, Part 2 - Shudder - launches on the 15th!) Don't miss this innovative debut novel that will appeal to fans of the YA and New Adult genres.


Stitch (Stitch Trilogy, Book 1)
by Samantha Durante
Genre: YA/NA Dystopian/Paranormal Romance
Get Your FREE Kindle Copy Today! Limited Time ONLY (June 7-11th):
http://www.amazon.com/Stitch-Trilogy-...

Share the news for a chance to win a $25 Amazon Gift Card! (Open Internationally)
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[Amy]

Just downloaded Stitch, Samantha. Looks really intriguing!

[Samantha]

Thanks so much, Amy! Hope you enjoy!

[Samantha]

Hey guys! Just wanted to let you know that Book 2 in the Stitch Trilogy, Shudder, is available today! More info here: http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1... :-)