Ten creepy covers to keep you company this Halloween. :)
Showing posts with label Dawn Kurtagich. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dawn Kurtagich. Show all posts
Blog Tour: And the Trees Crept In by Dawn Kurtagich | Interview | Giveaway
Welcome to our stop on the And the Trees Crept In tour for Dawn Kurtagich . This tour is hosted by Rockstar Book Tour.
Author: Dawn Kurtagich
Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Released: September 6th 2016
Review Source: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
A stunning, terrifying novel about a house the color of blood and the two sisters who are trapped there, by The Dead House author Dawn Kurtagich
When Silla and Nori arrive at their aunt's home, it's immediately clear that the "blood manor" is cursed. The creaking of the house and the stillness of the woods surrounding them would be enough of a sign, but there are secrets too--the questions that Silla can't ignore: Who is the beautiful boy that's appeared from the woods? Who is the man that her little sister sees, but no one else? And why does it seem that, ever since they arrived, the trees have been creeping closer?
Interview
We are big fans of The Dead House, but why do you like writing creepy, spooky and psychologically sinister YA fiction?
Thank you! That’s wonderful to hear. There are limitless, unfathomable answers to why I love writing YA horror, but I’ve realized that there really are three main reasons, and only one of them pertains to YA in particular.
I love scaring people, and I love reading scary books (i.e I enjoy being scared too). I think it’s just one of those fundamental things that humans crave, like excitement, love, release in sadness, etc. So I do it because I love it (I suppose I’m a bit of a masochist and a sadist!).
Horror allows us to explore the lesser-understood areas of life. The little spaces between logic and reality, where there are no answers is where horror exists, and we explore that because we’re curious by nature. If you tell someone not to peek inside a secret room . . . most of us will!
And YA in particular? Because I love a good bildungsroman story; I exist in that area and horror is the perfect place to test limits while someone is developing. It’s a way to stretch characters to their limits and see who they are on the other side. Young people are intriguing because they can withstand so much, yet they take horrors on board with such innocence.
How is And The Trees Crept In different from your other stories? How does this novel stand out from others?
The Dead House was a found-footage thriller horror, very contemporary with a lot of “jump cuts” for lack of a better literary word. And The Trees Crept In is a gothic novel, still within the horror genre, but perhaps a little more poetic, a little more affecting, and more atmospheric. It’s the book you read in bed at night, rather than the book you read on the way to school/work in the morning.
Without giving too much away can you describe your favorite scene in the book?
Instead of telling you my favorite scene, I’ll tell you the one that creeps me out the most. Partway through the novel, when food is running low and Silla is running out of hope, she finds her little sister, Nori, in one of the rooms on the upper floor (which is derelict), crouched low and eating something. When she gets closer, she realizes that Nori is eating the dried-out husks of wasp bodies. Still chills me. (And this room, which is covered with husks, exists in REAL LIFE!!!)
What’s the most interesting/exciting thing you’ve done in the name of research?
My Google searches are pretty interesting, and with most other YA authors, I think I’m definitely on some kind of “list”. A dream of mine is to travel to some very remote islands for research—perhaps next year! This year, I am lucky enough to have access to the mountainous area where my third novel is set!
Can you tell us about your challenges you faced writing this novel?
The biggest challenge came from learning to write when people were expecting the book. Writing with the world looking, as it were. It was something to get used to, and now I very much enjoy it. A second difficulty was the emotional side of the book—there are some terribly sad moments, and I needed to live through them.
What are you afraid of?
Everything. ;) Or nothing…. Hm.
Can you name some of your favorite horror movies as well as novels?
I’d be delighted to!
The Books of Blood—Clive Barker
House of Leaves—Mark Z. Danielewski
The Pricker Boy—Reade Scott Whinnem
Asylum—Madaleine Roux
Bird Box—Josh Malerman
The Winter People—Jennifer MacMahon
Sepulchre—Kate Mosse
And many, many more! In terms of films:
A Tale of Two Sisters
Ju-On
Strange Circus (j-horror)
Hansel and Gretel (K-horror)
Shutter (K-horror)
The Conjuring
Insidious
In the Mouth of Madness
Prince of Darkness
It Follows
Martyrs
Livide
Event Horizon
Silent Hill
Absentia
Anti-Christ
Excision
The Skin I Live In
Session 9
The Abandoned
By the time she was eighteen, she had been to fifteen schools across two continents. The daughter of a British globe-trotter and single mother, she grew up all over the place, but her formative years were spent in Africa—on a mission, in the bush, in the city and in the desert.
She has been lucky enough to see an elephant stampede at close range, a giraffe tongue at very close range, and she once witnessed the stealing of her (and her friends’) underwear by very large, angry baboons. (This will most definitely end up in a book . . . ) While she has quite a few tales to tell about the jumping African baboon spider, she tends to save these for Halloween!
3 winners will receive a finished copy of AND THE TREES CREPT IN, US Only.
FOLLOW THE TOUR
9/5/2016- Pretty Deadly Reviews- Review
9/6/2016- Ohana Reads- Guest Post
9/7/2016- Such a Novel Idea- Review
9/8/2016- Bookish Lifestyle- Interview
9/9/2016- A Dream Within A Dream- Review
Top Ten Tuesday: Ten Book I Enjoyed Recently That Weren't My Typical Genre
Ten Books I Enjoyed Recently (last yearish) That Weren't My Typical Genre
Trailer Thursday: The Dead House by Dawn Kurtagich
The Dead House
Author: Dawn Kurtagich
Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Horror - Mystery
Released: September 15th 2015
Publisher: Little, Brown Young Readers
Debut author Dawn Kurtagich is dead on in this terrifying psychological thriller!
Over two decades have passed since the fire at Elmbridge High, an inferno that took the lives of five teenagers. Not much was known about the events leading up to the tragedy - only that one student, Carly Johnson, vanished without a trace... ...until a diary is found hidden in the ruins. But the diary, badly scorched, does not belong to Carly Johnson. It belongs to Kaitlyn Johnson, a girl who shouldn't exist Who was Kaitlyn? Why did she come out only at night? What is her connection to Carly? The case has been reopened. Police records are being reexamined: psychiatric reports, video footage, text messages, e-mails. And the diary. The diary that paints a much more sinister version of events than was ever made publicly known.
Need a #WickedRead? Then get ready to be CURSED with #TheDeadHouse!
We can’t get enough of this haunting story…
Today, we’re channeling our addiction to scary stories, shock factor, and chills on chills on chills. Things are definitely getting creep-tastic around here…and we LOVE it. Hey, sometimes, you just need a Really. Good. Scare.
Real talk though: is there anything better than huddling with that scary story adrenaline during a spooky thunderstorm? We didn’t think so. And we’ve got the perfect, brilliant, psychological horror story for you. It’s one you won’t be able to stop obsessing/thinking/talking about… and it’s EPIC. Let’s just say you are in for a seriously chilling ride… We recommend grabbing a sweater or a blanket. And reading with the light on.
Innocent Carly gets the day. Sinister Kaitlyn has the night. The catch? They’re the same person. Mind blown? That’s just the beginning of this mysterious, juicy, dark, twisty, hair-raising, epically cool story that we can’t help talking about nonstop. Our brilliant rockstar author dawnkurtagich will suck you in and haunt your dreams. This book will give you ALL the feels (creepy ones included). Not gonna lie, we may have had to hide this book outside our bedrooms and keep the lights on for a solid couple hours after reading…
Read Andy's review for The Dead House!
Blog Tour: The Dead House {Mirror} by Dawn Kurtagich
Welcome to THE DEAD HOUSE MIRROR TOUR! We’re thrilled to be the official US blogger! This tour is a bit different, two different blogs (one in the US, one in the UK) will be sharing content the same topic! Hence, the mirror... So our "mirror" is Book Club Forum/Tales of Yesterday. They will share Dawn's content from Carly’s point of view. So check it out!
The Dead House Author: Dawn Kurtagich
Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Horror
Released: September 15th 2015
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Debut author Dawn Kurtagich is dead on in this terrifying psychological thriller!
Over two decades have passed since the fire at Elmbridge High, an inferno that took the lives of three teenagers. Not much was known about the events leading up to the tragedy - only that one student, Carly Johnson, vanished without a trace...
...until a diary is found hidden in the ruins.
But the diary, badly scorched, does not belong to Carly Johnson. It belongs to Kaitlyn Johnson, a girl who shouldn't exist Who was Kaitlyn? Why did she come out only at night? What is her connection to Carly?
The case has been reopened. Police records are being reexamined: psychiatric reports, video footage, text messages, e-mails. And the diary.
The diary that paints a much more sinister version of events than was ever made publicly known.
Famous Horror Scenes: What Would KAITLYN Do?
“During the battle between good and evil, the demon inside Regan shows its power by twisting the child's head in a complete 360. When Karras catches the demon in a lie, its response is to projectile vomit pea soup on the Priest.” ~ quote
Kaitlyn: Oh, God that is hilarious!!! I can completely see why people were freaked out about this whole scene when it came out, but right now it’s just so damn funny, I literally can’t stop laughing!
Scene 2: Alien’s Chest-burster
“Poor Kane (John Hurt) has had a rough day. Until very recently he's had a horrific spider-lookin' alien parasite stuck to his face -- but things are looking up. Kane's up and around, joking with his shipmates before bedding down for a long trip back to Earth ... and then the coughing starts. At first it's no big deal, but then the poor man is overwhelmed by shocking convulsions, his chest starts to buckle outwards, and then we realize what that horrific spider-lookin' alien parasite was doing on Kane's face: it was laying an egg.” ~ quote
Kaitlyn: Hell. No. An alien stuck to your face, essentially laying its larvae inside of you? Excuse me while I vomit. But the ending result is classic, you can’t deny it. Fine and dandy and then BOOM!!! Exploding gut syndrome. Would be an awesome add for Pepto-Bismol.
Scene 3: Carrie’s Blood Shower
“After the girls at school traumatize Carrie in the locker room when she gets "the curse of blood," Sue has a moment of regret and offers up her man as Carrie's boy toy for the evening to make nice. At the prom, Carrie finally relents to Tommy's advances and a magical evening is had by all. That is, until Carrie's nemesis Chris (Nancy Allen) and her meatball of a boyfriend Billy (John Travolta) dump a bucket of pig's blood on her head when Carrie is named prom queen. Much to everyone's surprise, Carrie's been practicing her telekinesis and decides to open up a can of whoop ass on everyone at prom for revenge.” ~ quote
Kaitlyn: This moment is perfect. Fuck yeah, go Carrie! It’s about time too. Taking that crap from those airheads was bad enough, without her crazy, controlling, abusive mother on top of it. This is the moment where Carrie accepts her power, her strength and takes her rage out on those who deserve it! It’s a shame about the teacher, but she looked down on Carrie, anyway. KILL ‘EM ALL CARRIE!!! #Awesome
By the time she was eighteen, she had been to fifteen schools across two continents. The daughter of a British globe-trotter and single mother, she grew up all over the place, but her formative years were spent in Africa—on a mission, in the bush, in the city and in the desert.
She has been lucky enough to see an elephant stampede at close range, a giraffe tongue at very close range, and she once witnessed the stealing of her (and her friends’) underwear by very large, angry baboons. (This will most definitely end up in a book . . . ) While she has quite a few tales to tell about the jumping African baboon spider, she tends to save these for Halloween!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
