Author interview: Anne Tibbets

I'd like to thank Anne Tibbets, author of the Young Adult Fantasy novel The Beast Call, for letting me host an interview with her. You can view my review for The Beast Call here. Now, the interview:

1. I loved the setting in The Beast Call, so I'm curious, where did you get your inspiration for it?

Thank you! I tried to picture a medieval time and draw from that. I knew I wanted Dray, to come from a farming community, but I also wanted there to be more exotic locations, when it came time to travel.  I literally chose the characters first, figured out where they would be from, and drew a map on a scratch piece of paper so I could keep track of where everybody was.

2. What was the hardest part about writing The Beast Call? Was it sticking with it all the way through, forming the characters, something else?

The hardest part about writing this particular book was the battle scenes.  I drew up maps, laid them out on a table and used chess pieces to move around the characters so I could visualize how the battle would play out. It turned out to be quite fun!

3. Can you describe your writing in three words?

You know, this is a good question.  It's hard for a writer to think of themselves this way. Ask who I am personally, that's easy, ask about my writing? That depends on the book and the day! The best answer I can give you, is that when I was writing The Beast Call, my writing was: Paced, Dramatic, Musical...Or, at least, that's what I tried to do with it.

4. Did you expect The Beast Call to end the way it did, or did it change as you went along?

I knew from the very beginning where and how it was going to end and where the next book would start.  In fact, at one point I got impatient writing it, I just wanted to get to the end, so I wrote the last battle and put it aside until I caught up to it, so I would stop obsessing about it.

5. What was the best part of writing The Beast Call?

The book I wrote before The Beast Call was a middle grade time travel adventure called "The Amulet Chronicles," and I wrote it with a very dear friend of mine, Erika Ely Lewis.  Even though it was a blast to work with someone else, and the concept of time travel really interested me, I have to admit, writing by myself, for young adult, in pure fantasy was like finding myself. It was like finding THE perfect fitting, best feeling, hottest looking pair of shoes and getting to wear them everyday.  It felt right. That was the best part, finding my true voice. I'd like to think my happiness comes across in the writing.

6. What's in your to-read pile at the moment?

I've just started 'Lor Mandella - Destruction from Twins' by L. Carroll which I'm totally digging. Up next is 'A Dance with Dragons' the 5th 'Game of Thrones' installment by George RR Martin, and after that it's 'Bleak House' by Charles Dickens, because I saw the mini-series on BBC and was quite embarrassed to realize I'd never actually read the book. That's breaking one of my cardinal rules: Always read the book FIRST! Books are always better, don't you agree?

If you haven't read The Beast Call yet, you definitely should try to get your hands on it!  

WoW - July 27th

WoW is a weekly meme I participate in, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.  It stands for Waiting on Wednesday, and the point is to share to the Blogging world what book you're most looking forward to that week.  This week, I can't wait to read Beautiful Chaos by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stoll!

Summary (from Goodreads): Ethan Wate thought he was getting used to the strange, impossible events happening in Gatlin, his small Southern town. But now that Ethan and Lena have returned home, strange and impossible have taken on new meanings. Swarms of locusts, record-breaking heat, and devastating storms ravage Gatlin as Ethan and Lena struggle to understand the impact of Lena's Claiming. Even Lena's family of powerful Supernaturals is affected - and their abilities begin to dangerously misfire. As time passes, one question becomes clear: What - or who - will need to be sacrificed to save Gatlin?For Ethan, the chaos is a frightening but welcome distraction. He's being haunted in his dreams again, but this time it isn't by Lena - and whatever is haunting him is following him out of his dreams and into his everyday life. Even worse, Ethan is gradually losing pieces of himself - forgetting names, phone numbers, even memories. He doesn't know why, and most days he's too afraid to ask.
Sometimes there isn't just one answer or one choice. Sometimes there's no going back. And this time there won't be a happy ending.

Why I want to read it: If you've read Beautiful Creatures and Beautiful Darkness, this one speaks for itself. I can't wait to read the next book in this great series!

What are you waiting on this week? Leave a link in the comments!

The Beast Call

The Beast Call by Anne Tibbets

Publisher: Premier Digital Publishing LLC
Release date: May 4th 2011
Source: For review from author
Summary (from Goodreads): Seventeen year old Dray is no ordinary human. But possessing a magical capability to talk to animals in a land where magic is feared, is dangerous. When Dray's adventure hungry brother leaves the family farm to join a rebel militia, Dray follows him, but as Dray discovers her natural warrior capabilities, and word of her magical talents are discovered by the rebel General, Dray becomes an intricate part of the revolution, and the evil King Nuro would like nothing more than to see her destroyed.

My review:

The beast call was a very interesting take on fantasy, one that was not only refreshing, but also enjoyable.

I love the setting. I'm not sure quite how to describe it. . . Dystopian, probably? But definitely less like books such as Matched and Delirium. If you've read Graceling, the setting reminds me of that, and Graceling was a wonderful book. For those of you who haven't read Graceling, I'd say that it's like it's in a time long ago that never happened. I really hope that makes sense.

I loved Dray, the main character. Not only did her feelings really come through to me, but they also made sense. I've read other books where the main heroine is much stronger than her family, but in them, she never feels bad about it. I think that it's not very realistic like that, so I definitely liked that Dray felt bad about being better at fighting than her brother. She wasn't completely confident in her abilities all the time, but she would always at least try rather than just say that she couldn't do it. I admired her for that.

The only thing that made me take half a star away was the plot. It had an amazing climax and excellent beginning, but in the middle I felt it lagging just a small bit. However, it definitely was not enough to turn me away from it, as I read it all in just a few sittings.

I haven't seen The Beast call around the blogosphere too much, even though I should see it more. If you haven't heard of this one yet, it is one to read, for sure!


My rating:
Characters: 5/5
Plot: 4/5
Originality: 4.5/5
Writing: 4.5/5

Crusade

Crusade by Nancy Holder and Debbie Vigue

Publisher:Simon Pulse
Source: Received as a gift
Release date: September 7th 2010
Pages: 470
Summary (from Goodreads): For the past two years, Jenn has lived and trained at Spain’s Sacred Heart Academy Against the Cursed Ones. She is among the few who have pledged to defend humanity or die trying. But the vampires are gaining power, and the battle has only just begun.
Forced to return home after death takes a member of her family, Jenn discovers that San Francisco is now a vampire strong-hold. As a lone hunter apart from her team, Jenn is isolated — and at risk. She craves the company of her fighting partner, Antonio: his protection, his reassurance, his touch. But a relationship with Antonio comes with its own dangers, and the more they share of themselves, the more Jenn stands to lose.
Then Jenn is betrayed by one who was once bound to protect her, causing her to doubt all she had held as true. To survive, Jenn must find the courage to trust herself — and her heart.

My review:

I honestly don't know how to start, as there is a lot to say.  I have quite a few mixed feelings about Crusade, but enjoyed it overall.

The characters were all really good.  I particularly liked the main character, Jenn, along with all the other hunters on her team.  Jenn was very easy to relate to, because she has such realistic thoughts.  There are so many people in the world that think that they are nothing special next to others, and that's what Jenn is like.  Another hunter in her team is Antonio, and few people know that he is a vampire.  He has trained himself so that he doesn't get injured by holy water and such like other vampires do, and can control his bloodlust.  He has a hatred for other vampires, although he is one himself. I'm not exactly sure how I feel about him, because he is so different.  I can't quite say that I love him as I do other boys in books, but I certainly don't like him, either.

At some points the writing in the book was smooth, almost poetic, and at other points it seemed a bit choppy.  I'm not sure if that was the difference in the two authors or not; it's hard to say.  Most of the time, the description was perfect, not giving too much or too little. The only thing that I had problems with was the plot.  In the beginning, everything was happening really slowly.  There was nothing really in it to bring you on into the story.  I had to push through that until I got to where the plot started getting interesting, and even then it wasn't as good as I thought it would be.  Later on, at the climax, it lasted so long that it started to get boring, and it didn't explain it well enough that I really understood very well what was going on.

Crusade has a really good take on vampires, I found, that was quite original.  Even if you don't like vampire books, I'd suggest picking this one up and giving it a try just for the little twist.

WoW - July 20th

WoW is a weekly meme I participate in, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.  It stands for Waiting on Wednesday, and the point is to share to the Blogging world what book you're most looking forward to that week.  This week, I can't wait to read Possess by Gretchen McNeil!

Summary (from Goodreads): Fifteen-year-old Bridget Liu just wants to be left alone: by her mom, by the cute son of a local police sergeant, and by the eerie voices she can suddenly and inexplicably hear. Unfortunately for Bridget, it turns out the voices are demons – and Bridget has the rare ability to banish them back to whatever hell they came from.

Terrified to tell people about her new power, Bridget confides in a local priest who enlists her help in increasingly dangerous cases of demonic possession. But just as she is starting to come to terms with her new power, Bridget receives a startling message from one of the demons. Now Bridget must unlock the secret to the demons' plan before someone close to her winds up dead – or worse, the human vessel of a demon king.

Why I want to read it: Ooh, sounds creepy.  And I haven't read very many books with demons in them; this sounds like a particularly good one.  I love the cover, too!

What re you wanting on? Leave a link in the comments!