Ten Books Every YA Fan Should Read
Showing posts with label Robin LaFevers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Robin LaFevers. Show all posts
Blog Tour: Mortal Heart | Robin LaFevers | Interview | Giveaway
Welcome to our stop on the MORTAL HEART blog tour. We are thrilled to once again host the amazing Robin LaFevers and the His Fair Assassin series.
Interview with Robin LaFevers
Author of Mortal Heart
OUaT: Welcome back to Once Upon a Twilight. We are beyond thrilled once again to feature His Fair Assassin series on the site and you of course. Tell us in a quick summary, what has happen since the release of Dark Triumph (book 2) last year until now, which would include the release of Mortal Heart (book 3)?
I’m assuming you mean within the world of the book? (Because in real life, the answer would be a big, fat NOTHING except being (happily!) chained to my computer trying to meet my deadline!)
One of the tricky things about writing about three different heroines is needing to maintain both continuity AND momentum,yet still begin each book where the individual character’s story actually starts.
For Sybella and the start of Dark Triumph, this meant overlapping a bit with the events at the end of Grave Mercy, because that was when the current arc of Sybella’s story began—when she risked herself to warn her friend. The same sort of ‘rewind’ occurs with Mortal Heart—it overlaps in with both Grave Mercy and Dark Triumph. However, it’s not the same events told by another narrator, but entirely new events and interactions that the other narrators did not have access to. What was going on at the convent while the others were out on assignment? What did information did Annith have access to that fueled her hastily written letters to Ismae? What pushed her to make such (seemingly to Ismae, anyway) radical decisions?
OUaT: Im sure if I google any of your past interviews from other sites I would find the question I am going to ask next. But I am hoping you wouldn't mind answering it one more time. What inspired or gave you a cause to write about young girls that were trained to become assassins and serve as handmaidens to Death?
You know, there are just so many different threads that lead into any given story idea, it’s hard to pin it down. One of the things I remember is taking a writing class and having the instructor ask the question: If you were allowed to write only one book for the rest of your life, what book would it be? And I realized if I could only write one book, I would want all my most favorite things to go into it. So then I started thinking about what those would be, and once that ball got rolling, I got the itch to write the book. Plus, I think the instructor made an excellent point—we need to write what we’re most passionate about.
For me, those favorite things turned out to be an epic romance with lives and kingdoms hanging in the balance. I wanted there to be hard, gut wrenching choices and forgiveness and redemption and honor and loyalty and duty and faith. And I wanted to set it against a place where the edges of reality and fantasy seemed to meet—thus the middle ages, when superstitions, folk tales, and the Other were part of the everyday fabric of their existence. Plus, I’ve just always been obsessed with the middle ages.
I also knew I wanted to take a girl who felt utterly powerless and take her on a journey to full empowerment—not just physical strength or skill, but emotional and mental strength as well.
Then I stumbled upon a few things in my general research that crystalized the assassin nun idea. One was learning that some noblewomen preferred joining a convent to their other societal roles because it gave them more freedom and autonomy. Second, was learning that Brittany had a 12 year old duchess who inherited the kingdom and had to try to fend off France, and lastly, that Brittany held on to its pagan roots far longer than other surrounding areas. After that, the idea just sort of gelled.
OUaT: I am a huge fan of the series and still to this day I hear different folks saying that His Fair Assassin series is either historical romance or high fantasy. What would you say is correct genre for your books?
Well, I’m no expert, but I always refer to it as a historical fantasy.
OUaT: Now that Grave Mercy, Dark Triumph and Mortal Heart are out in the real world, tell us from Annith (Mortal Heart), Sybella (Dark Triumph) and Ismae (Grave Mercy), who did you enjoy writing the most? who was the most difficult? who kept you up at night? or what emotions did these girls cause while writing each of their books.
Ismae was the most sheer fun. I loved being able to walk her through that powerless stage and watch her grab on to these amazing gifts and opportunities she’d been given. Then, just when she thought she had life all figured out, I threw Duval at her and watched her mental gymnastics as she tried to restructure her world.
Writing Sybella’s story was a dark and tortured time for both of us; I will not lie. Those were ten of the longest, hardest months I’ve endured. But one of the things that kept me going was knowing the ending I had in store for her. That and getting Beast on the page with her, because he always brought lightness to her life.
Annith’s story was the hardest for me to write though and kept me up many, many nights. I feel I took the biggest risk with her story—not only wanting to meet all the high reader expectations, but in a fresh, unexpected, some might call subversive, sort of way. That felt very risky and scary.
OUaT: As far as the series goes, do you think if it would have been written as an adult book, would much have changed in your writing style or stayed as they are written? Even though they are young adult books, I feel as if the reader goes through some tough situations and scenes as a YA series.
Interesting question! I think they would probably have stayed much the same, although perhaps I would have kept the door open a little longer on some scenes. :-) But yes, there are some very tough situations in these books. But the truth is, there are many, many teens who face these sorts of situations—and worse—every day. I am not one who believes teens should be protected from reading about these situations as I think reading about them can be hugely enlightening and empowering.
OUaT: You shared with us what happen between last year's book release until Mortal Heart's release. But now can you tell us what we can look forward to from Robin LaFevers in the near future?
Well, definitely more books! And most likely, more books about teen assassins in medieval France because I feel like I’ve only just begun to explore that world.
OUaT: Thank you taking the time out to answer these questions and we wish you continue success.
Mortal Heart
His Fair Assassin #3
Author: Robin LaFevers
Release Date: November 4th 2014
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
Annith has watched her gifted sisters at the convent come and go, carrying out their dark dealings in the name of St. Mortain, patiently awaiting her own turn to serve Death. But her worst fears are realized when she discovers she is being groomed by the abbess as a Seeress, to be forever sequestered in the rock and stone womb of the convent. Feeling sorely betrayed, Annith decides to strike out on her own.
She has spent her whole life training to be an assassin. Just because the convent has changed its mind doesn't mean she has...
Robin LaFevers was raised on a steady diet of fairy tales, Bulfinch’s mythology, and 19th century poetry. It is not surprising she grew up to be a hopeless romantic.
Though she has never trained as an assassin or joined a convent, she did attend Catholic school for three years, which instilled in her a deep fascination with sacred rituals and the concept of the Divine. She has been on a search for answers to life’s mysteries ever since.
While many of those answers still elude her, she was lucky enough to find her one true love, and is living happily ever after with him in the foothills of southern California.
In addition to writing about teen assassin nuns in medieval Brittany, she writes books for middle grade readers, including the Theodosia books and the Nathaniel Fludd, Beastologist series. You can learn more about those books at www.rllafevers.com.
Where you can find Robin:
Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Would Love To See As A Movie/TV Show
Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. This meme was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!
Each week we will post a new Top Ten list complete with one of our bloggers’ answers. Everyone is welcome to join. All we ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND post a comment on our post with a link to your Top Ten Tuesday post to share with us and all those who are participating. If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment.
Top Ten Books I Would Love To See As A Movie/TV Show (set in a perfect world...in which movies don't butcher the books we love.)
Angelfall by Susan Ee : I would love to see as a movie. The writing is very detailed and would be perfect for the big screen. A movie based on Angels hasn't been done in a very long time, at least a memorable one. Well this one would be the perfect Angel Apocalypse!
J.R. Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood Series: THIS SERIES WOULD BE PERFECT FOR TV ON SHOWTIME, HBO OR STARZ. Where they can get bloody and have sexy times without getting fined for going over the top. A movie would not be enough time with these characters that we are obsessed with. Each book should be its own season, lol.
House of Night series written by P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast: this series has the right kind of formula to be a good TV series on like the CW network. The teen paranormal angst drama fits what we love about the CW and its current shows.
Molly McAdams' Taking Chances & Stealing Harper : These books were the first books ever to actually get tears to fall from my eyes and not just regular tears, no the ugly kind. So since I'm a visual person and movies always make me cry, I can imagine how these books on the big screen would affect me. I would leave movie theater with the front of my shirt drenched in tears.
Heidi McLaughlin's Beaumont Series : Forever My Girl, My Everything and My Unexpected Forever would work for me on both big screen and TV. If you go with big screen, it can be more about the music and if you go with TV, it can be like a soap type show. Are you kidding real reason is just to see Liam and Harrison!!! Forever My Girl has been optioned, so cross your fingers they go forward with it.
Julie Kagawa's Iron Fey Series : Ive been saying this since I read the first book in the series. THIS SERIES IS PERFECT FOR TV OR BIG SCREEN. If you have read this series, you know why. Its so cinematic when you read it. You want to be a part of the Never Never. Julie writes so poetically vivid, if that makes sense. It would be the year's best Fantasy movie or TV series.
Julie Kagawa's Blood of Eden Series : Yes Julie Kagawa again, her books are that freaking fantastic. It the way she writes. You can easily visualize the story in your mind. Seeing it in my mind is great but even better when its on a movie screen. Blood of Eden is the perfect dystopian paranormal mix for that screen.
His Fair Assassin Series written by Robin LaFevers : I HAVE NO IDEA WHY THIS SERIES HASN'T BEEN OPTIONED YET! It should be! If I had the money I would myself. This series has all the right ingredients to make it a stellar movie. You have historical elements, violence, romance and vivid settings. I hope someone in Hollywood will find this jem and bring it to life!
Miranda Kenneally's Hundred Oaks Series : These books would be a perfect fit for TV. It's based in the same town or high school and has recurring characters you might recognized from a previous book. So they can be read as stand-alones but better in order, so you will recognize that character if they make a cameo. All the characters are great and would be entertaining to watch on a weekly basis. The drama of what happens next in Hundred Oaks. Just imagine getting to watch Jordan play football and show that girls can be as great as boys in sports while falling in love with her competition.
Jenny Han's The Summer I Turned Pretty Series : Again another set of books that just shout out made for TV. I can see this series on either ABC family or The CW network. Its has everything needed to pull in ratings on a nightly basis. Plus its based by the beach, LOVE!
I can literally sit here all day typing every book or series I've read that I'd love to see on the big screen. Pretty much 75% of the books I have read I'd probably say I'd watch if they were optioned and made for TV or film. Who knows, now that its popular in Hollywood to make books into film, it might happen.
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