Midnight Bloom Reads: Jo Treggiari

Giveaway

Ashes, Ashes and Once Every Never Giveaway WINNERS!

12:08 PM

2011 Debut Author Challenge

Review + Giveaway: Ashes, Ashes by Jo Treggiari

11:56 PM

Author Interview

The ASHES, ASHES Plague and Pestilence Blog Tour! Author Interview with... Jo Treggiari

9:00 AM

I'm incredibly honoured to be helping kick off The ASHES, ASHES Plague and Pestilence Blog Tour today with an author interview with the one and only... Jo Treggiari! The Canadian author's YA novel, Ashes, Ashes, was released earlier in the month and it's a post-apocalyptic adventure you definitely don't want to miss!

1) You're traveling underground on the subway when the ground seems to awaken and shudders beneath the rails. The train suddenly sways and screeches to a halt. There is a loud rumble as the lights overheard flicker and sputter before completely dying. Was it an earthquake? Did a building collapse above? You don't know yet. How do you get to safety once again?

You know I was living in the Bay Area in 1989 when we had the big, big earthquake. A freeway collapsed pretty close to my house in Oakland and I remember riding my bike down and looking at those tons of concrete and the crushed cars as the fire department tried to dig people out. I worked in San Francisco and used to take the subway to work (the train went under water for most of the twenty-five minute journey) but it was at least a year before I could force myself to get on that train again. So my answer is: I don’t like subway trains and usually find alternate methods of transportation.

However if I had to, I would crawl out through the emergency window and then make my way along the tunnels to safety. I would of course have a high powered flashlight in my purse, a cell phone and a large knife in case of subterranean zombie attack.

2) Who was your favourite character to write about in Ashes, Ashes?

It’s a toss-up between Grammalie Rose and Del. I mean, I love Lucy and Aidan too, and Sammy and Henry and Leo (obviously) but writing about an elderly woman was really fun. Grammalie has lived a long time. She’s fierce and sarcastic and she has an amazing spirit. And Del is interesting because she is strong-minded and loyal but conflicted too. I felt sorry for her having to make some really difficult choices when she knew they would not win her any friends.

3) If you had a playlist for the novel, what songs would definitely be on it?

China Town by Jets to Brazil
Sea Anemone by Jets to Brazil
The Cave by Mumford & Sons
My Body is a Cage by Arcade Fire
It’s Oh So Quiet by Bjork
All is Full of Love by Bjork
Lust for Life by Iggy Pop
Speak, Oh Heart by American Steel
The Blood Gets Everywhere by American Steel
Ball and Biscuit by The White Stripes

4) In the book, Lucy is able to save a survival guide and her old yearbook. If you were living in a post-apocalyptic world, what two novels would you try to save at all costs?

That’s a hard question for me to answer. My house is filled with shelves and shelves of books, but I guess I would say The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell and When Will There Be Good News by Kate Atkinson.

5) When I first saw the cover for Ashes, Ashes, I'm sure my jaw must have dropped because it's so stunning! What was your reaction when you first gazed your own eyes on it?

I loved it! I don’t know if many of you know, but the author of the book doesn’t really have any say in what the cover looks like. My editor is awesome and she kept me in the loop and asked my opinion but it comes down to the publisher to make the decision. I think it’s unique and really stands out. And I like that Lucy and Aidan look equally strong and purposeful.

6) What do you have in store for your readers next?

I just finished a punk rock, road trip, coming- of -age book set in 1983 California featuring two amazing teen girls, and I’m working on a fish-out-of-water urban fantasy with great white sharks, and of course I have a ton of ideas for another book set in the Ashes, Ashes world.

*****

Thanks so much to Jo Treggiari for stopping by! My review of Ashes, Ashes will be posted tomorrow and there may just be a giveaway for a copy too for my fellow Canadians... so I'm sure you won't want to miss out on that!

Here is the full schedule for The ASHES, ASHES Plague and Pestilence Blog Tour organized by the lovely folks at Scholastic Canada:

Midnight Bloom Reads - June 14

Rayment's Readings, Rants and Ramblings - June 14

Lavender Lines - June 15

21 Pages - June 16

Geek Girl's Book Blog - June 16

The Moody Teenager - June 17

Dreaming of Books - June 17

YA Book Shelf - June 17

Shelf Elf - June 18

SMS Book Reviews - June 19

The Crazy Bookworm - June 19

In The Next Room - June 20

Lost in the Library - June 20

He Followed Me Home... Can I Keep Him? - June 20

Book Madam YA - June 21

Each stop on The Plague and Pestilence Tour will involve, in some form, asking Jo Treggiari what she would do when faced with a natural or unnatural disaster so I think it will be tons of fun to see what answers she'll come up. Plus, I'm sure you'll be able to find more Q&A's, reviews and giveaways too!

Looking for more ways to learn about Jo Treggiari and Ashes, Ashes? Why not visit her website, "like" her facebook page, or follow her on Twitter! Or you can listen to the first chapter of the Ashes, Ashes audiobook or an author interview on YouTube.

Allison van Diepen

Mark Your Calendars Canadians! June Edition

11:24 PM

To my fellow Canadians, are you ready to mark your calendars? Here are some upcoming YA events to look forward to in June!

Allison Van Diepen

Allison Van Diepan will be celebrating the release of her latest novel, The Vampire Stalker, at Kaleidoscope Kids' Books in Ottawa, Ontario on Friday, June 10 at 7 p.m.

Jo Treggiari

Jo Treggiari will be celebrating the release of her post-apocalyptic YA novel, Ashes, Ashes, with 3 author appearances in Nova Scotia! Below are the dates and locations, which have been taken from the News portion of her website:

June 18 from 11 a.m. - 12 p.m. ~ Woozles Children's Bookstore: 1533 Birmingham Street, Halifax, NS.
June 18 from 2 p.m. - 3 p.m. ~ Chapters Bayers Lake: 188 Chain Link Drive, Halifax, NS.
June 24 at 7 p.m. ~ Fables Club: 259 Main St., Tatamagouche, NS.

Lesley Livingston

Lesley Livingston will be celebrating the release of her latest novel, Once Every Never, with a book launch at Dominion on Queen, Restaurant and Pub in Toronto, Ontario on Tuesday, June 21 at 7 p.m. According to the Facebook event page that has been created, the party/event will end at 2 a.m. and there will be music, prizes and readings!

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Those were all the YA events I could find for this month, but that's okay because I feel fortunate enough that I could attend two book signings in May. I'm not sure if I'll be attending the book launch for Lesley's Livingston's Once Every Never yet but that's the only possible event I would be attending this month.

And while I still have your attention (hopefully), I thought I'd give you a heads up in case you didn't already know that Maggie Stiefvater will be in Ontario for a couple book signings on Saturday, July 16. One will be midday at Chapters Oshawa and another will be later in the evening at Indigo Yorkdale. There will also be a signing on Sunday, July 17 at Chapters South London. I will, of course, post the details again in the July edition!

Well, I think that's everything. Will you be attending any of these events?