Underneath Book Tour: interview & giveaway
Welcome to our blog. Today is our stop on the Underneath Book Tour hosted by Bewitching Book Tours. This urban fantasy series really surprised me (my review of book one is going up later today) and we were able to interview author Jes Young. We are also able to have a giveaway to offer one reader both e-books in Tab Bennett's series.
Underneath: Princess of Twilight and Dawn Book Two by Jes Young
Urban fantasy*310 pages
Purchase: Amazon
Six months ago, when her long-hidden heritage came to light, Tab Bennett reluctantly let go of her past and embraced her future as an Elvish princess on the cusp of her gifts and the edge of her destiny. She never wanted a fairy tale life, but as the daughter of the Dark King and the Light Queen, that’s exactly what she got.
Raised in exile away from the kingdom of the Inbetween, Tab has never even met the parents who ruined her life. Her mother is dead, but Tab’s father, Daniel, is alive and well, the mad ruler of the kingdom of the Underneath. He’s made it clear he wants to meet her and now that she knows all the sadness and heartache in her life can be traced directly to the Dark king’s door, Tab wants to meet him too. After all, it's because of him that the first twenty-five years of her life were a lie. It’s his fault she gave her heart to Robbin when she should have been saving it for Alex, the prince who is destined to be her Homecoming. But, most importantly, King Daniel is the one responsible for her mother’s suicide and her sisters’ murders.
Now Tab wants justice – but she’ll settle for revenge and Finnegan Blackthorn, an Elvish warrior with secrets of his own, is going to help her get it. Together, they’ll embark on the dangerous journey to her father’s stronghold in the kingdom Underneath. Once she's there, far away from the Light in which she was raised, Tab will be forced to confront the seductive nature of Darkness and her own potential to truly become her father’s daughter.
Six months ago, when her long-hidden heritage came to light, Tab Bennett reluctantly let go of her past and embraced her future as an Elvish princess on the cusp of her gifts and the edge of her destiny. She never wanted a fairy tale life, but as the daughter of the Dark King and the Light Queen, that’s exactly what she got.
Raised in exile away from the kingdom of the Inbetween, Tab has never even met the parents who ruined her life. Her mother is dead, but Tab’s father, Daniel, is alive and well, the mad ruler of the kingdom of the Underneath. He’s made it clear he wants to meet her and now that she knows all the sadness and heartache in her life can be traced directly to the Dark king’s door, Tab wants to meet him too. After all, it's because of him that the first twenty-five years of her life were a lie. It’s his fault she gave her heart to Robbin when she should have been saving it for Alex, the prince who is destined to be her Homecoming. But, most importantly, King Daniel is the one responsible for her mother’s suicide and her sisters’ murders.
Now Tab wants justice – but she’ll settle for revenge and Finnegan Blackthorn, an Elvish warrior with secrets of his own, is going to help her get it. Together, they’ll embark on the dangerous journey to her father’s stronghold in the kingdom Underneath. Once she's there, far away from the Light in which she was raised, Tab will be forced to confront the seductive nature of Darkness and her own potential to truly become her father’s daughter.
When did you want to be a writer?
I’ve always wanted to be a writer. Looking back, I don’t really remember a time when I wasn’t making up stories and people and worlds for them to occupy in my head. When I was a kid, make believe games with complicated plot lines were my outlet for that. As I got older, I turned to writing.
How do you go about your world building?
How do you go about your world building?
I’m not really a planner in my writing—or in my life at all, actually—so I prefer to let the world take shape organically. I find that once it starts, layers just suggest themselves and the world falls into place. Once the story is told, I’ll go back in and make sure that the world makes sense to itself and that the rules or order I set up have been followed. When I’m wrestling with that cleaning up part of it, I think of someone like George R.R. Martin with his Song of Fire and Ice series and wonder how he does it. I’m guessing not the haphazard way I do.
How did Tab's story come about?
How did Tab's story come about?
I started writing about Tab because I thought it would be a nice break from the “serious novel” I was working on. But the deeper I got into it, and into urban fantasy in general, the more I recognized my literary home among the elves and fairies and shifters of this genre.
Since this is a series, can you give us a peek into what readers can find in future installments?
Since this is a series, can you give us a peek into what readers can find in future installments?
The plan is to wrap up Tab’s story in a third book and then to write stand alone books for some of the side characters. Tab’s got a lot family and friends around her and I think there are definitely stories to tell there. Plus, it gives me an excuse to hang around a little longer. I love them too much to leave them.
What are you working on now?
What are you working on now?
I’m working (quite feverishly) on Here & There, which will probably be the last Princess of Twilight & Dawn book. I’ve promised that I’ll have it out on May 1, 2013. As a side project, I’m also trying to finish my failed National Novel Writing Month project, which is about Tab’s sister. If—no, when it comes together, it’ll be the first of the aforementioned Twilight & Dawn world stand alone books.
Any thoughts on the state of publishing today?
Any thoughts on the state of publishing today?
I think the many routes to publication make this an exciting and terrifying time to be a writer. I think self publishing is a blessing and a curse. I think Publishing (by which I mean the big guys) needs to rethink and revise a little, but will always be around. Even though I don’t have one, I think literary agents play an important role. I wish us all a lot of luck.
Do you have any writing tips for aspiring writers?
Do you have any writing tips for aspiring writers?
The only advice I can give anyone who wants to be a writer is Just Keep Writing. If you love it, if you have stories to tell, if you want to share those stories with the world, sit your butt down at your desk and write. Write everyday. Write even when you don’t want to. It’s the work of writing that makes you a writer, not publication. (I tell myself this very thing all the time.)
About the Author:
After graduating from Emerson College with a BFA in creative writing, Jes Young was a copywriter at Random House (Ballantine Books and Crown Publishing Group) for nearly ten years. Currently she is the development manager of a small non-profit and the mother of two children under the age of ten. Her writing is done primarily between the hours of 11 p.m and 3 a.m.
Next up on the tour:
December 18: Tynga's Reviews
December 19: Marsha Moore
December 20: The Creatively Green Write at Home Mom
December 21: Roxanne’s Realm
Giveaway:
We are giving away an ebook set of Tab Bennett's two books: Tab Bennett and the Inbetween and Underneath: Princess of Twilight and Dawn.
I have always been a way-outside-of-the-box thinker, but I come from a small town, and everyone still knew me as that "weird girl" from high school so I tried to reign it in as much as I could! Once I moved away, I embraced it. Let my freak flag fly, as they say. As a writer, my originality and unique way of seeing things is a plus!
ReplyDeleteIt depends on what I'm thinking about. Sometimes, I can think way outside the box. Other times, my mind is stuck in a rut.
ReplyDeleteI can think out of the box when I feel it's called for.
ReplyDeleteVery much so.
ReplyDeletesometimes
ReplyDelete