Anew Blog Tour: guest post, review and giveaway
We are excited to be today's stop on the Anew Blog Tour hosted by Ink SlingerPR (our first time participating with them-yay!). Author Chelsea Fine has written a fabulous guest post, we have our review and we also have a giveaway. Keep reading to find out more.
ANEW (The Archers of Avalon, Book One) by Chelsea Fine
YA fantasy*paperback (385 pages) & ebook*published December 7th 2011 by Acacia Publishing
(first published December 5th 2011)
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes and Noble |
Two years ago, Scarlet awoke in a forest alone, afraid, and with no memory. Lost and confused, her past was a complete mystery...until she met Gabriel Archer. Intrigued by his voice and its familiarity, Scarlet immerses herself in his life only to stumble on a secret. Gabriel has a brother. Once Scarlet meets Tristan Archer, her life becomes even more muddled. She’s instinctively drawn to both of them and confused out of her mind. She can’t figure out why Gabriel feels so familiar or why she’s so attracted to Tristan. But the Archer brothers have more than just one secret and they know a lot about Scarlet that she doesn’t—including the fact that she’s cursed. They all are.
Anew book trailer:
Guest Post by Chelsea Fine
Why I Write Fantasy Paranormal for YA and
My Favorite Books
I could try really hard to convince you that I write YA fantasy/paranormal for some deep, poetic reason, but let’s be honest here. I write YA paranormal because of Twilight.
Wait. Let’s back up.
Long before Twilight came out, I was reading paranormal books. When I was eight years old, I read Vampires Don’t Wear Polka Dots (the teacher is a vampire? *gasp*) and was immediately hooked to vampires and all other mystical creatures. I’m even one of those peeps who read The Vampire Diaries when it first came out. (By the way, I’m totally Team Damon. Except when I’m Team Evil Stefan. ;)
But it wasn’t until the Twilight books that I decided to write my own breed of paranormal. Maybe it was my age, maybe it was the very boring bank job I had at the time, but after reading Twilight I sat down at my desk at work and started writing a book about superheroes. (I wasn’t a very good bank employee.)
“But, Chelsea, you don’t have any superhero books published.”
Good point.
That’s because my superhero book really sucked.
Epic fail, right there. But I didn’t want to give up. I WANTED to write.
What I needed was some new inspiration. So I read Cassandra Clare’s Mortal Instruments series.
Um, can you say HOLY HOTNESS? Team Jace, baby!
After finishing TMI, I couldn’t stop myself from reading book after book.
Some of my favorites were My Blood Approves by Amanda Hocking, The Vampire Academy novels by Richelle Mead, Unearthly by Cynthia Hand, and Evernight by Claudia Gray.
After this reading spree, I was reenergized and back to plotting my way through a new, less-sucky, series concept. (Since, clearly, superheroes were not my strong suit.)
I knew I absolutely wanted to write Young Adult fiction because YA brings the drama. It’s the dangerous, beautiful love. The life-or-death friendship. The sexual tension with high stakes. And the inescapable broken heart.
YA captures everything adolescence is. And adolescence is essentially what makes us who we are. So I wanted to write about those critical, passionate, tear-ridden years—and maybe throw in a supernatural creature or two. Or three.
But I didn’t want to write vampires—not because I don’t love vampires, I do! I heart fangs—but I wanted to stray from the genre stereotype. So that also meant werewolves were out. (Which was a bummer because werewolves are hot.)
So, no vampires…no werewolves…what to do, what to do….
And then I had it. Two hot brothers who were made immortal by the legendary fountain of youth. Boom.
Thus, my Archers of Avalon series began to take shape.
YA paranormal books rock. My most recent favorites are Divergent by Veronica Roth (best book ever—seriously), Dirty Blood by Heather Hildenbrand (hot werewolves!), and Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout (I want alien love).
I’m completely addicted—not only to reading YA paranormal, but to writing it. Because YA paranormal is what grabbed my attention when I was a little girl, sank it’s teeth into me as a teenager (wink, wink), and has held me captive ever since.
I’m the happiest prisoner in the world. ;)
My Favorite Books
I could try really hard to convince you that I write YA fantasy/paranormal for some deep, poetic reason, but let’s be honest here. I write YA paranormal because of Twilight.
Wait. Let’s back up.
Long before Twilight came out, I was reading paranormal books. When I was eight years old, I read Vampires Don’t Wear Polka Dots (the teacher is a vampire? *gasp*) and was immediately hooked to vampires and all other mystical creatures. I’m even one of those peeps who read The Vampire Diaries when it first came out. (By the way, I’m totally Team Damon. Except when I’m Team Evil Stefan. ;)
But it wasn’t until the Twilight books that I decided to write my own breed of paranormal. Maybe it was my age, maybe it was the very boring bank job I had at the time, but after reading Twilight I sat down at my desk at work and started writing a book about superheroes. (I wasn’t a very good bank employee.)
“But, Chelsea, you don’t have any superhero books published.”
Good point.
That’s because my superhero book really sucked.
Epic fail, right there. But I didn’t want to give up. I WANTED to write.
What I needed was some new inspiration. So I read Cassandra Clare’s Mortal Instruments series.
Um, can you say HOLY HOTNESS? Team Jace, baby!
After finishing TMI, I couldn’t stop myself from reading book after book.
Some of my favorites were My Blood Approves by Amanda Hocking, The Vampire Academy novels by Richelle Mead, Unearthly by Cynthia Hand, and Evernight by Claudia Gray.
After this reading spree, I was reenergized and back to plotting my way through a new, less-sucky, series concept. (Since, clearly, superheroes were not my strong suit.)
I knew I absolutely wanted to write Young Adult fiction because YA brings the drama. It’s the dangerous, beautiful love. The life-or-death friendship. The sexual tension with high stakes. And the inescapable broken heart.
YA captures everything adolescence is. And adolescence is essentially what makes us who we are. So I wanted to write about those critical, passionate, tear-ridden years—and maybe throw in a supernatural creature or two. Or three.
But I didn’t want to write vampires—not because I don’t love vampires, I do! I heart fangs—but I wanted to stray from the genre stereotype. So that also meant werewolves were out. (Which was a bummer because werewolves are hot.)
So, no vampires…no werewolves…what to do, what to do….
And then I had it. Two hot brothers who were made immortal by the legendary fountain of youth. Boom.
Thus, my Archers of Avalon series began to take shape.
YA paranormal books rock. My most recent favorites are Divergent by Veronica Roth (best book ever—seriously), Dirty Blood by Heather Hildenbrand (hot werewolves!), and Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout (I want alien love).
I’m completely addicted—not only to reading YA paranormal, but to writing it. Because YA paranormal is what grabbed my attention when I was a little girl, sank it’s teeth into me as a teenager (wink, wink), and has held me captive ever since.
I’m the happiest prisoner in the world. ;)
About the author:
Chelsea Fine
Chelsea lives in Phoenix, AZ where she spends most of her time writing young adult fiction, painting murals, and avoiding housework at all costs. Her obsessions include: superheroes, coffee, sleeping-in, and crazy socks. She lives with her husband and two children, who graciously tolerate her inability to resist teenage drama on TV and her complete lack of skill in the kitchen.
Review:
In the future when I'm reading a YA novel with a weak or nonsensical love triangle, all I need to do is close my eyes, think back, and remember just how 'great' love triangles can be when they're well-written, aptly described, connect with the reader and make sweet, crazy, and romantic sense. I will think of Anew and how Chelsea Fine handled main heroine Scarlet's love dilemma with two gorgeous brothers, Gabriel and Tristan Archer.
Team Tristan anyone? Heck, I'll start an army for this guy. Luv luv luv him! Add to this cool mix the incredible snark from the best friend every girl should have, Heather, toss in fantastical elements I won't reveal (vampires? nope! werewolves? nope!) and the first book in The Archers of Avalon series is the end result. Highly addictive, fun, sad, really sexy, and intense. I'm a goner.
Amnesia, curses, and a WTF? cliffhanger, Anew is the dream story for many a paranormal/fantasy YA fan to devour. Now excuse me while I go grab a copy of book two, Awry.
Rating: 4.5
Cover comment: I'm a sucker for purple so when I spotted this cover, it was instant love. And check out the font for the title. Cool.
Book source: I received an eArc from the author in return for my honest review during a book tour.
Next stop on the tour:
In Between Writing and Reading
For the complete tour listing, go here.
Giveaway:
We are giving away one brand new paperback copy and 1 ebook copy of Anew, courtesy of Chelsea Fine, to one lucky reader. The first winner chosen will have their choice of either the paperback or ebook version. Enter below. This giveaway ends at midnight on October 13.
For the complete tour listing, go here.
Giveaway:
We are giving away one brand new paperback copy and 1 ebook copy of Anew, courtesy of Chelsea Fine, to one lucky reader. The first winner chosen will have their choice of either the paperback or ebook version. Enter below. This giveaway ends at midnight on October 13.
LOVE this post, a lot of people have been inspired to either read or write because of Twilight which is why I get so defensive when people knock it. It changed EVERYTHING in the YA book world.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree! It made YA "cool" again. (Even though YA has always been cool.)
DeleteThanks for let me guest post on your blog today, Reader Girls! I had so much fun!
ReplyDeleteThank you Chelsea and everyone for coming by today.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the giveaway!!
ReplyDelete