UtopYA 2013 Reading Challenge

Since I am attending UtopYA in June, I am taking part in a reading challenge to read as many of the authors who are attending the con. The challenge is for the whole year, and I have chosen to read 20 books, Werewolf level.

Here is the original post from Tara @My Pathway to Books:

Welcome!

I'm sure many of you have heard of the UtopYA Conference and if you haven't you should definitely check it out HERE!!! I went last year and had a blast.  I'm going again this year and before June I wanted to read as many books by the authors that would be there as possible.  

I thought what more fun of a way to read these books than to do it together, so I came up with this reading challenge!  I really hope you do this with me so we can get to know each other and read these books by the wonderful authors!  *note: you do not have to be attending UtopYA con to be a part of the reading challenge*

*this is an unofficial challenge and not affiliated with UtopYA

The challenge is to reach your set goal.  There are 6 different levels to choose from.

Levels
5- Gnome
10- Fairy
15- Mermaid
20- Werewolf
25- Vampire
30- Angel

Challenge Rules
1. The books must be written by an author that is a panelist, exhibitor or attendee of UtopYA Con 2013.
2. The challenge will start on January 1, 2013 and end December 31, 2013 but you may join at anytime.
3. You don't have to have a blog to participate.  Just join in on the fun somehow! P.S. that means authors please participate too! We would love to have you.
4. The books can be in any format (ebooks, paperback, scroll, etc.)
5. To join the challenge
if your a blogger, make a blogpost with the challenge button and tell us what level you've picked and link your post to the linky.
everyone else, tweet/facebook/pin/etc. what level you picked with a link to this post and link the direct link to the linky.

Prizes (prizes are to be determined but they will be awesome)
1. The person that reads the most books by UtopYA authors (books read before the Con will count x2, so if you read 15 books before the Con it will count as a score of 30)
2. Everyone that reaches their goal will be entered to win a prize
3. there will be UtopYA challenges throughout the year so be looking out for those!

Eternal Hope Book Trailer Reveal!

So what do you think?

ETERNAL HOPE by Frankie Rose
Book two in The Hope Series
October 2012

He loves me, he loves me not, he loves me

When your friends go missing and you don’t know if they’re dead or alive; when you tie your soul to the one you love; when you kill to protect and your family suffers, there’s only one thing you can do:

Move to Montana.

Farley Hope is special. She was prophesied to kill the forebears of her bloodline- a race of cold-blooded Reavers, men who steal the souls of the living to gain power. The Quorum had counted on Farley ending her own life in the process, but when Kayden came to her aid and helped save both her and Daniel, he undid their plans. Now the Quorum are displeased, not only with Kayden, but with Farley and Daniel too. Though her father is now dead, Farley’s troubles with the Reavers are far from over. An ancient Immortal, trapped for a thousand years, wants Farley for himself, and he will stop at nothing to claim her.

With secrets that lead to anger and pain, that turn friendship to dust, the group must overcome the problems within their own circle before they have a hope of fighting off the powers that threaten their lives

Interview and Giveaway with Airicka Phoenix!

Today I have one of my favourite indie authors the blog. She is a wonderful person and amazing writer, so I hope you get to know her little more and will think about grabbing a copy of her fantastic books! 

Thanks for stopping by Worlds of Wonderment, Airicka!

Hello Jo-Anne! Thank you so much for having me visit you and your readers! It’s wonderful being here.

Can you tell potential readers about your books? 

Absolutely! I write paranormal Young Adult. My two books out right now are part of the Touch Series, but Touching Eternity is a standalone while Touching Smoke is book one. The Touch Series is about the dark side of love, the shadowy parts that most don’t know exist. It’s about Fallon and the fact that unlike most people, she wasn’t born, but created to destroy, created to be destroyed. Her love will kill.

Since Touching Smoke is part of a series, what can we expect from the Touch series as a whole? 

You expect a lot of twists, a lot of action, suspense and romance. The Touch Series will have something for everyone. I think what most will notice as the series progresses that the Touch Series will hit home. Nothing about this series is supernatural. It’s everything that could happen. Its super powers, abilities that people for generations have claimed to possess. What’s to say that it doesn’t exist or that it couldn’t happen? All it would take is someone taking those abilities and twisting them to suit his purposes, to destroy.

Your paranormal world differs quite a lot from most, how would you describe it? 

I think it has a lot of edge with some seriously dark undertones that keep you guessing and wondering if you should sleep with the lights on. Its modern meets dystopian meets monsters.

How do Isaiah and Amalie (Touching Eternity) differ from Isaiah and Fallon (Touching Smoke)?

Isaiah (Touching Eternity) is very confused. He’s very torn. His loyalties are tested, his boundaries, his self-worth and his courage. While Isaiah from Touching Smoke knows what needs to be done. He has no reservations. He has but one mission, one thought, one desire -- keeping Fallon safe.

Amalie is the polar opposite of Fallon. She’s soft and weak and scared. She’s broken. Fallon is strong and determined. She’s witty and refuses to be taken down without a fight.  

Touching Eternity has some very confronting themes, were they hard to write? 

I can’t speak for other authors, but for me, my characters are like my children. Seeing them hurt, seeing them suffering is pure anguish. There wasn’t a moment in Touching Eternity where I didn’t want to pull Amalie into my arms and protect her. Writing Touching Eternity was emotionally and mentally challenging. It took a great deal out of me.

Do you a have a preferred writing space or time? 

I can write anywhere, but my best ideas usually come to me between 12am-4am. That’s when I do most of my writing.

Was there a specific reason you chose the self-publishing route? 

I tried the traditional path. I sent Touching Smoke to several publishers and always got very polite responses back that it wasn’t a fit or that they didn’t have the space for such a book at the time, etc. So I shelved my desire to publish, thinking I would try again at a later time. Then a friend suggested I go at it myself, which was just terrifying at first. But I did my homework, asked about a million questions and finally decided why not.

What was the last book you read that blew you away? 

I am a huge Rick Riordan fan. I just finished his entire Percy Jackson Series, Heroes of Olympus Series and am now on the Kane Chronicles. I think he’s an utter genius and he always keeps me reeling even after I set the book down.

What are some of your favourite hobbies or interests? 

Reading. I am such a book hoarder. It’s a frightening obsession really. I love gardening, baking and craft making. I also do graphic designs for myself and others. But if I had to pick a single thing that I would pick to do for the rest of my life and that would be the adventures I have with my children. They keep me young and keep my muse hopping.  

Is there anything you are working on that you would like to share? 

I’m actually working on my first ever Contemporary. I’m quite proud of myself, because I don’t normally read or write it and it’s something that just came to me one day. It’s very fun and light which is such a huge jump from Touching Eternity. The book temporarily has no title, but it will be released Feb 14^th, just in time for Valentine’s Day. It’s an action, suspense romance that takes us into the lives of Sophie and Spencer as they embark on a journey filled with broken hearts, new beginnings and a dark evil lurking in the shadows waiting to finish what it had started.

Thank you again so much for inviting me to visit with you. It has been incredible and such a fun journey! All the best to you and your readers!! <3

Airicka Phoenix is the author of TOUCHING SMOKE (Touch Book #1), TOUCHING ETERNITY (Touch 1.5), TORRID, a short story as part of the Whispered Beginnings: A Clever Fiction Anthology and WANTING & INTENTIONS, two stories as part of the Midnight Surrender Anthology. When she's not hammering away at the keyboard, she can be found banishing pirates or crawling through the attic looking for lost treasure with her kids. She loves baking, gardening and reading. She also likes to travel and take pictures of everything she comes across. When asked, Airicka describes herself as a sarcastic basket case that has an unhealthy addiction to chocolate, old movies and really bad jokes. She loves to laugh, make friends and write. If she could have one wish granted, it would be to spend one day as a fly-on-the-wall inside Stephen King's mind. If she could have two wishes granted, she would ask for a castle dedicated entirely to her overwhelming collection of books.

WIN AN EBOOK OF TOUCHING ETERNITY AND TOUCHING SMOKE! LEAVE A COMMENT WITH YOUR EMAIL AND FAVOURITE TYPE OF CHOCOLATE. (You must be 18+ to win both copies, but if you're under 18 you will only receive an ebook of Touching Smoke.)

GIVEAWAY ENDS JANUARY 5TH 2013.

Interview and Giveaway with Julie Kagawa!

I have been a bit MIA lately, but I'm hoping to change that next year. But I have a fantastic interview to help keep me in your good graces. I am beyond excited to have an interview with Julie Kagawa on my blog!! I am quite beside myself. :) Read on for a chance to win one of four copies of The Lost Prince (sorry Aus entrants only)

Thank you for stopping by Worlds of Wonderment Julie!

Thanks so much for having me.

For those people who have been living under rocks and haven’t heard of The Lost Prince, could you give us a quick overview?

The Lost Prince takes place several years after the events of The Iron Fey series, and stars Ethan Chase, Meghan's younger brother.  Now seventeen, Ethan has grown up resenting the fey who took his sister from him, and has vowed never to get involved with their world.  But when a classmate disappears and a strange new type of fey begins harassing him and his friends, Ethan cannot sit by and do nothing.  And so he begins his own adventure in the Nevernever.

I love the idea behind The Iron Fey, how did it come about?

Faeries, the old, ancient fey, not the glittery winged sprites, have always fascinated me. But I wanted to write a book that was different than other faery books. So I began thinking: what are the fey afraid of? The answer, in most ancient mythos, is iron. Faeries can't stand the touch of iron and steel. So, what if there was a new type of fey that had evolved with progress over the years? What if they weren't only immune to iron, their existence was slowly poisoning and corrupting the lands of the traditional fey? And I realized we already have "monsters" in machines: gremlins, bugs, viruses, ect. And from that thought, the Iron fey were born.

Can you tell us a little about Ethan and Kenzie’s relationship?

Ethan was not an easy person to get to know at the start of the book.  He grew up watching the fey hurt the people who got close to him, and has decided that the only way to prevent that from happening again is not to get close to anyone.  So he pushes people away by being rude, unfriendly, and dangerous.  And it works...until he meets Kenzie, the girl who won't take no for an answer, who is determined to see through his facade and find the real Ethan.  Kenzie is nosy, stubborn, and cheerfully relentless, but she has to be to have any hope of getting through Ethan's really high walls.  Still, it will take a lot of chipping away to get Ethan to lower his defences and finally let someone in.

Does the faery world you have created differ from others?

There are some similarities regarding the Summer and Winter courts, and of course the famous faery rulers--Oberon, Mab, Titania--appear in almost every fey-centric story, but I did try to make the faery realm, the Nevernever, unique in the fact that it is beautiful but also very dangerous.  But the biggest difference, the thing that sets it apart from all other faery books, are the Iron fey themselves. 

Are there any books/authors that have influenced your style of writing?

Terry Brooks' The Sword of Shannara series made a huge impact on me when I was younger.  I remember finishing one of his books in tears and thinking I wanted to write stories that could make people cry.  So when I tell my readers: "Your tears feed my Muse," you can thank Mr. Brooks for that.  ;-)

What has been your favourite experience since becoming an author?

Meeting and connecting with fans is still the greatest thing ever.  It's still kind of surreal, to know that there are people out there who have read and loved your books.  Whenever I talk to readers, I'm thrilled and ecstatic and humbled all at the same time, and I never get tired of it. 

What is your all-time favourite book?

I don't have an absolute favourite but a few come very close.  Poison Study, Jayne Eyre, Daughter of Smoke and Bone, 13 Reasons Why, and of course Harry Potter.

If you could choose, which court would you prefer?

Well, I'd love to say Winter because I hate the heat and love the cold, but I can't live without my tech, so I'll have to go with Iron.

Julie Kagawa, the New York Times Bestselling author of The Iron Fey and Blood of Eden series, was born in Sacramento, California. But nothing exciting really happened to her there. So, at the age of nine she and her family moved to Hawaii, which she soon discovered was inhabited by large carnivorous insects, colonies of house geckos, and frequent hurricanes. She spent much of her time in the ocean, when she wasn't getting chased out of it by reef sharks, jellyfish, and the odd eel.

When not swimming for her life, Julie immersed herself in books, often to the chagrin of her schoolteachers, who would find she hid novels behind her Math textbooks during class. Her love of reading led her to pen some very dark and gruesome stories, complete with colored illustrations, to shock her hapless teachers. The gory tales faded with time, but the passion for writing remained, long after she graduated and was supposed to get a real job.

To pay the rent, Julie worked in different bookstores over the years, but discovered the managers frowned upon her reading the books she was supposed to be shelving. So she turned to her other passion: training animals. She worked as a professional dogtrainer for several years, dodging Chihuahua bites and overly enthusiastic Labradors, until her first book sold and she stopped training to write full-time.

Julie now lives in Louisville, Kentucky, where the frequency of shark attacks are at an all time low. She lives with her husband, two obnoxious cats, one Australian Shepherd who is too smart for his own good, and the latest addition, a hyper-active Papillon puppy.

TO WIN ONE OF FOUR COPIES OF THE LOST PRINCE, LEAVE A COMMENT WITH YOUR EMAIL, TELLING ME WHO YOUR FAVOURITE CHARACTER IS FROM ANY OF JULIE'S BOOKS! GIVEAWAY ENDS 31ST DECEMBER 2012. (sorry Australian entrants only)