Lesley has a new book out--the first of a new series, yay!--called Starling and I am lucky enough to be one of the stop on her blog tour!
So let's jump right it!
Hi Lesley! Nice to have you here. What? Oh yes, I am looking lovely today, thanks for noticing. Oh, I look brilliant and thin besides? Your eyes are clearly working very well. But enough about me, for the moment, we're here to talk about you. And your book!
It's looking quite lovely today too.
So I'm just going to jump right into setting, which
most people think is boring, but not when it's New York City. This is your
second series set in NYC (which I am completely in support of.) I just wondered
if there was a reason you are so drawn to that area. Other than the subway
which, in my opinion, is borderline magical.
The
subway is a magical mystery tour,
isn’t it? I’m always a bit mystified—and pleasantly surprised—when I actually
arrive at the destination I intended by that method. It’s all terribly esoteric
and (I suspect) involves travel between dimensions.
As for
the city? Ah… You know what they say Aprilynne (aside from saying you really are looking quite lovely today—which is
true!). “New York, New York…” It really is
a hell of a town. Which, for the purposes of this particular series, is enormously useful. With the WONDROUS
STRANGE series, during my research phase I would routinely stumble across real,
historical details of the city that struck me with wonder and awe. With STARLING,
my research filled me with… well, eerie tingles and foreboding (and wonder and
awe). The history of the city is crammed with obscure factoids and tangled
tales that make it such fertile ground for telling the kind of stories that I
do—especially when I manage to unearth (quite literally, in some cases) real
historical details that lend themselves nicely to the idea that a kind of
arcane mystical “Bermuda Triangle” exists right in the heart of the city! Very
handy!
So let's talk about Mason. I actually see a lot of you
in her--maybe that's just because I am lucky enough to personally know you. Or
maybe I see similarities where they don't actually exist.;) In what ways do you
feel similar to Mason and conversely, how are you different?
You must
mean my staggering good looks, yes? Why thank you! I do see a slight resemblance… the sparkling blue eyes… um… the…
raven hair… the… tall… er… personality! Yes! The tall, plucky,
quiet-yet-intuitive, subtle-witted, determined, do-or-die personality. Or maybe
it’s just the fact that we both really like to play with swords *evil grin*.
And on to our brave hero. Tell us how hot Fenn is. I
mean, tell us what you think makes him a great compliment to Mason.
Oh. Um.
Do you mean, like, in Scoville Units?
*waits
here while readers unfamiliar with spicy pepper terminology take to the
google-nets*…
I’m gonna
say “Ghost Chile” hot!
*waits
for more google-pedia-ing*…
Now, I
might be somewhat biased but, then, I also have an advantage. The Fennrys Wolf
tends to hang around in my head a lot so I’m fairly familiar with his hotness
factor. But I think the thing that makes him a great match for Mason is, for
one thing, he respects her—her skill and her spirit. He also appreciates her
dry, quiet sense of humor (it’s a good match with his own) and her willingness
to go out on a limb to help a (naked) stranger. Fenn might not remember much
about his past, but he does know he’s previously screwed up in the relationship
arena—that much he remembers (vaguely)—and he’s determined not to jeapordize
his tenuous bond with Mason in the hopes that it could develop into something
more. Of course… they both have to stay alive long enough for that to happen…
Norse mythology. It's just an area of mythos that we
don't see often in the mainstream. Or if we do, it's been very European-ized,
if you know what I mean. So it's fun to see it come to life in Starling. What
is it that drew you to the Norse mythology and what is your favorite part of
it?
I do know
what you mean! And I’m glad you enjoyed STARLING’s take on it! There’s
something so intriguing to me about Norse mythology’s cheerful fatalism. It’s
the spiritual embodiment of a people that clearly reveled in life and living
but lived in a very harsh and unforgiving environment. It’s Life and Death,
hand in hand, whistling and skipping along (and hacking the heads off anything
in their way!), and it’s bizzarely alluring in that respect. The fact that it
celebrates and, at the same time vilifies a guy like Loki—and never really lets
you know which one is the real deal—intrigues me. Also, if you’ve ever seen
pictures from those Icelandic volcanic eruptions, the ones where the sky is
literally exploding with fire, ice, thunderclouds, lightning and the Aurora
Borealis all at the same time, you can begin to understand where a lot of the
imagery of these tales comes from.
I just
spent a few days north of the Arctic Circle here in Canada and the landscape is
so evocative. The Northern Lights are bewitching and the sky is full of ravens
the size of pterydactyls. It’s easy to begin to grasp the origins of these
myths in a place like that. But what was really fun for me was being able to
take those primal, muscular tales and transmute them and filter them through
the lens of a thoroughly sleek and modern setting like New York City.
And last but not least, and I mean that quite
literally--let me take a calming breath first--Lesley, the ending. Seriously?
Are you trying to kill me? Do you at least feel bad for torturing me? And, at
the very least, can you tell me when the second book will be coming out so I
get my hot little hands on it?
Oh. Uh… oh yeah. Sorry, Aprilynne. I
really really feel… dreadful. For
that. Sorry. What? I am not grinning
diabolically. It’s… uh… face yoga. All the rage.
Is August 2013 soon enough? How
about if I smile charmingly when I say that…? And give you a cookie…
It’s a good cookie…
It’s chocolate…
It had better be one seriously good cookie. Good. Cookie.
While Lesley is off baking the best darn cookie ever, you can win a copy of STARLING!!! Super-duper easy (because I am doing a bunch of traveling and don't have much time, eeep!), please comment with some rendition of "This is my entry for the contest" below. You have until Sunday night at midnight (because that is when i am getting home from Las Vegas, not seriously, it will be about midnight . . .) to enter and I will ship this baby internationally, so it is open to everyone!
Lesley, is that cookie done yet?
Ciao!
It had better be one seriously good cookie. Good. Cookie.
While Lesley is off baking the best darn cookie ever, you can win a copy of STARLING!!! Super-duper easy (because I am doing a bunch of traveling and don't have much time, eeep!), please comment with some rendition of "This is my entry for the contest" below. You have until Sunday night at midnight (because that is when i am getting home from Las Vegas, not seriously, it will be about midnight . . .) to enter and I will ship this baby internationally, so it is open to everyone!
Lesley, is that cookie done yet?
Ciao!
42 comments:
This is my entry for the contest! I really want to read this book! :)
Count me in! I want to read this book, too. Thanks! :)
Thanks for the Q&A and giveaway! (:
AnimeAngel1016(at)yahoo(dot)com
Is the cookie included if I win? :) Tis the season to eat lots of cookies.
This is my entry! :D
This is my entry!!! :)
This is my entry!!!! :)
Thank you for the lovely interview and giveaway! :D Please, count me in! :)I would love to win a copy of Starling. It sounds fantastic!
Giada M.
fabgiada (at) gmail (dot) com
Okay, contest entry coming right up!
WOW!! I have honestly never heard of Lesley Livingston....what have I been missing?? I love Norse mythology! And cookies. It is so awesome tht you get to hold a contest giveaway!! Good luck everyone!
Thanks for the lovely interview and giveaway. It was a lot of fun to read. This is my entry into the epic contest :)
Thanks for the Q&A! I'd love to read a copy of Starling!
nvoss4940@llcc.edu
Ooh, nice interview! I loved Wonderous Strange and noticed Lesley's penchant for NY. Thanks for addressing that topic. Please count me in the giveaway. Thanks!
Love the interview! I am always on the look out for a new book to read so this is my entry :D
This is my entry for the contest. :)
This is my entry! smiles[dot]101[at]hotmail[dot]com
This is my entry!
vlvetterl@yahoo.com
I would love to read this book!
This sounds really interesting!
That sounds really interesting, I hope I win!
I'm entering! :)
madi-13@live.com
Sounds amazing. I liked her first series and am excited to read her next, so yes, I totally want a copy!
This is my entry for the contest!
This book sounds amazing! I can't wait to get my hands on this! :D
This contest sounds absolutely amazing! I love books that are entwined with mythology, and detailed reality. It's always so magical, and creative as I am sure the book is!! :) This is my entry!
Here is my e-mail: geenagross19@gmail.com
I would love to read that book!
This is my entry into the contest.
Awesome interview.....and this is my entry :)
Count me in pretty pleaseee!
ilepachequin(at)hotmail(dot)com
Hah! I got to meet Lesley at Word on the Street in Toronto, she's super! Thanks for the giveaway, would LOVE to win Starling! Am ready Once Every Never right now and am lovin it.
Loie xo
hmm... would love to read it!
This is my entry for this lovely contest :)
Would love to win Starling. Count me in!
I'd like to win the book! :)
I'm entering the contest!!
I love it! I want it! This is my entry :)
So this is my entry for the contest! Can I enter for a delicious cookie too? Can't wait to get my hands on this book! :D
Here's my entry. So want to read this series!
Kate M.
-mergekat@charter.net
Well this is exciting!! Count me in - I'm excited :)
This is my entry! :)
Starling sounds fantastic! This is my entry for the contest!
Starling sounds amazing, this is my entry for the contest!
This book sounds awesome! I love mythology! :)
This sentence is a slightly different rendition of words which might possibly count me in as entering this giveaway :D
Thanks for this interesting post and opportunity! :D
*Insert comment about entering into the book contest here* ;) Starling sounds amazing! I want to read it so bad!
I'll take a contest entry. Thank you very much!
Entering for the contest c;
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