Young Adult Giveaway Hop

Young Adult Giveaway Hop

I am giving away Darkness Surrounding by Kat Mellon

Convoluted pasts. Moral conflicts. Zanni Anderson, a strong-willed blonde with wit to boot, discovers she's tangled in something more inexplicable and daunting than she could ever imagine. And she — along with a motley crew of teenage boys — are the only ones who can stop what their ancestors began.

Here's my interview with Kat:

--The Twitter version: tell us about your book in 140 characters or less.

Zanni, a strong-willed blonde with wit to boot, discovers she — along with a motley crew of teenage boys — are the only ones who can stop the subtle chaos their ancestors began. 

And yeah, that was totally five characters over the limit. I feel like a total badass now.

--How did you get the idea for the story?

Most of the characters and events in The Atavists Trilogy came into being while playing basketball in the ol' Glory days of Middle School and early High School. It was a coping mechanism. I was a meek little dork, and writing was my escape from the oh-so-mean girls who made my life difficult on the court. I also conceptualized a lot of the scenes from Darkness Surrounding while working out at the gym with Avenged Sevenfold's Waking the Fallen album blasting in my ears, particularly the epic scene that goes down in chapter eight.

And no, this is not a novel about basketball, so don't click out of this window just yet!

--Which character would you most/least like to have dinner with?

Having dinner with Garr would be awkward, and you'll see why pretty quickly. However, I would love to have dinner with Benny and Todd. I would probably snort soda out my nose from their antics, but it would be so worth it. You'll learn more about them in Streets, which is the second book of The Atavists Trilogy.

--What are some of your favorite books? Do you still have much time to read?

Let's just say I have a good relationship with Sparknotes these days.

Given I'm taking a full load of classes while writing novels and playing the oboe, reading outside of my English classes doesn't really happen. It's sad. I'm going to start plugging my Kindle into the audio jack of my car and using the text-to-speech feature. (Or I could, you know, spring for an audiobook or two and ditch the I-am-an-awkward-robot voice.)

Some books that stuck with me over the years and influenced me one way or another are as follows (in no particular order):

Anthem by Ayn Rand
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
Stormbreaker and Ark Angel by Anthony Horowitz
Lucy's Completely Cool & Totally True E-Journal by Jane Harrington
Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
Just Listen by Sarah Dessen
Valiant by Holly Black
The Flowers in the Attic Saga by V.C. Andrews
The Haunting of Freddy (The Golden Hamster Saga) 

Odd assortment, I'll give you that.

--Do you have any other works in progress? Any teasers or release dates?

I have quite a few projects coming up. Streets, the second book of The Atavists Trilogy, is due for a mid-March 2012 release. Creation, a novella along the lines of Ayn Rand's Anthem and Kazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go, should be out and about in July or August. For a full list of releases, hit up my website (www.katmellon.com).

--If a fairy godmother told you your life could be like a favorite book for 24 hours, which book would you pick and why?

First of all, my head would explode. Then I would sit and ponder. After pondering, I would lament over Pokémon not being an option. Finally, I would settle for the Spot books, 'cause that dog sure knew how to have a good time.

--Do you need anything to write (music, coffee, etc)? Are there any songs on your playlist- songs that inspired you or that were playing while you wrote?

Caffeine helps. Like, really helps. Other than that, a good, heavy dose of the Waking the Fallen album by Avenged Sevenfold gets me going. In fact, that CD inspired this novel from the ground up (with the help of Epica by Kamelot). I'm a very music-driven person.

--If you could have any superpower what would you choose?

To be Limitless, sans addictive pill. You know, the movie with Bradley OMGBLUEEYES Cooper? I'd be spitting out novels left and right. (That should totally count as a superpower.)

--Besides writing, what do you like to do in your free time?

I enjoy running more websites than I can keep tabs open for and reading fashion blogs. I also like to pretend I'm a good singer. I am also known to practice my metal vocals while driving to and from campus.

--Is there anything else you want to add or say to your readers?

Prepare for an odd journey with lots of weird dudes!

Also, fun facts:

• New Mexico is a state in The United States of America. We are not a part of Mexico. No, I do not speak Spanish. No, it does not cost more to ship here. We are as much a state as Texas or New York. Did I just blow your mind? Good.
• Zanni = Annie with a "Z"
• Garr = Rhymes with "Car"
• Atavism = The return of a trait or recurrence of previous behavior after a period of absence.

Facebook: The Atavists Trilogy and my Author Page

Twitter: @ataviststrilogy

Goodreads: Print and Kindle

Amazon: Print and Kindle

Websites: The Atavists Trilogy and my personal website

Smashwords: Even if you don't win, use the code " BF27Y" to purchase my novel for just $.99 from Smashwords! This coupon code is good from now until one week after the end of this giveaway.

Lightning round: this or that?

Vanilla or chocolate? Vanilla.

Edward or Jacob? Jacob.

Hockey or soccer? Hockey.

Ebook or paper? Paper. (But honestly, both have their perks!)

Salty or sweet? Sweet.

Beach or mountains? BEACH. I am so dang sick of the mountains. My back yard is a mountain. I am WATER freaking DEPRIVED.

Phone call or email? Email. I'm anti-social like that.

Early bird or night owl? Night owl. Go to bed at 8 AM, get up at 5 PM. Life is good, brah.

Dog or cat? Cat.

Messy or neat? I prefer neat, but you know how that goes...

Ninjas or pirates? Pirates!

And now the giveaway:

3 ebooks, open internationally

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Feel free to check out my other giveaways (check out top right sidebar)

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The Lucky Boy by Caroline Gerado ends 2/10

 Deluge by SB Sebrick ends 2/12

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Here are the other participating blogs: