Interview with Samantha Durante + Giveaway

Please welcome Samantha Durante to Short & Sweet Reviews. Samantha Durante is the author of Stitch , which was released on July 31, 2012.

Hi Samantha, thank you for stopping by the blog today! Can you give us the elevator pitch for Stitch? 

Hey Van!  Thanks so much for having me today.  :-)  Sure, Stitch is a young adult/new adult science fiction novel and the first of a trilogy.  It starts out seeming like a paranormal romance between a college girl and a ghost, but it’s actually much more than that… Nothing in Stitch is quite what it seems since it’s got a big dystopian twist that brings something a little different to your typical paranormal read!

How did you come up with the idea for this novel?

I started with the idea of a paranormal romance with ghosts, but I couldn’t seem to figure out a way to get the two main characters together without resorting to time travel.  And as much as I enjoy time travel books, if I’m honest, they always drive me a little nuts… it’s so confusing, and most of the time it doesn’t end up making sense if you really think about it.  Since Stitch was my first book, I wanted an idea that I was really excited about, and time travel just wasn’t it.  So one day this crazy idea of how to resolve that dilemma occurred to me, and it was totally unlike anything else I’d read.  (Sorry, readers, I can’t say too much more without giving away the twist… Van, you know what I mean!)  And I was just super excited about bringing the story that direction, so I knew I had my plot!

I really enjoyed Stitch, and the entire idea beyond the story (readers will have to read the book, no spoilers here!). The book is part paranormal romance- part dystopian. When you started writing Stitch, did you always planned for it to be a dystopian or did it just kind of happened?

Oh, it was DEFINITELY planned… There’s so much backstory that went into Stitch – it would have been REALLY difficult to bring in that aspect after I started writing.  So before I even put down a sentence, I started world-building and planning out all the character histories and timelines and how their society got the way it was, etc.  I think I have probably 50 pages of notes outlining all of it!  So I got all the planning out of the way first, and then I wrote. 

If a movie was made based on Stitch, who can you see playing Alessa, Issac, Janie, and Lizzie?

This is always one of the HARDEST questions for me to answer, because it’s so difficult to find that perfect actor who looks and sounds and behaves just like the character you were envisioning in your head.  So far, the best options I’ve identified are:

 

(From left to right: Emmy Rossum as ALESSA, Alex Pettyfer as ISAAC, Willa Holland as JANIE, and Robbie Amell as JOE)

But if any readers have other suggestions, I would LOVE to hear them

On your website, it says that you use to work as a software engineer at Microsoft and now as a freelance business writer and communications consultant at Medley Media Associates. Can you tell us three interesting things about yourself that readers might not know or isn’t found on your Bio page? 

1 – I love cheese.  Cheese is hands down my favorite food of all times.  (Though I guess if you read Stitch you might have picked up on this… I mention cheese quite a few times, haha.)

2 – I prefer to play contact sports.  After fouling out of most of my basketball games in high school, I moved on to rugby in college and roller derby after college since I can’t get in trouble for playing hard in those sports!

3 – I have a shoe problem.  I think I have somewhere around 40 or 50 pairs, and I’m always on the hunt for my next ones.  You just can’t go wrong with shoes – a good shoe will last forever, will always fit, and can easily take an outfit from blah to brava!

The cover is gorgeous yet simple, who designed the cover?
 

Thank you!  I worked with Damon from Damonza.com – he was fabulous.  (There’s a long post about our design process here in case you’re interested in seeing the behind-the-scenes.)

What other projects can we look forward to reading from you in the future?

I’ve just started on Book 2 of the trilogy, Shudder, so that one will be next!  I’ll be keeping readers up to date on my progress, so swing by my blog or Facebook pages for the latest.  :-) Aiming to release that one in Summer 2013.

Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?

It took me quite a few years to realize that writing was what I was meant to do.  Even though I always loved writing, it never seemed like I could make a living doing it, so I always gravitated towards other fields that were more lucrative.  And now that I’m writing full time, I can tell you that it certainly *is* more difficult to make a living as a writer than as a software engineer, but I can also tell you that it’s totally worth it to spend every day doing something you love.  If you like to write, JUST WRITE, no excuses.  Even if you can’t write full time, set aside a couple hours for yourself each week and stick to it, because there’s no time like now to do what you love.

LIGHTING QUESTIONS!

Coke or Pepsi?  Coke!  Diet Coke, specifically.  I’m addicted.

Twitter or Facebook?  I just got a Twitter account this year, but I joined Facebook back when there were only 7 colleges on it, so I’ll have to go with Facebook. :-)

All time favorite movie? Beetlejuice.  I re-watched it recently with friends and they all thought I was nuts, but I still think it’s amazing.

Physical book or E-reader? Love the convenience of the e-reader, but you just can’t beat that new book smell!

Favorite comfort food? Mac and cheese.  Mmm, I just can’t get enough!

Favorite paranormal creature? I love me ANY good paranormal creature, no discrimination here.  But if I had to pick one, I’d have to go with ghosts – there are just so many possibilities with a ghost.

Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings? Huge fan of both, but Harry Potter definitely holds a special place in my heart.  Thank you, J. K. Rowling, for reigniting an entire generation of readers!

Thanks again for being here Samantha! :D 

Want to learn more about the Stitch Trilogy and Samantha? Check out the following Links!

|WEBSITE|FACEBOOK|TWITTER|

Buy the book on Amazon! 
|Paperback|Kindle|

Samantha has generously offered an e-copy of STITCH to one of Short & Sweet Reviews readers, to enter please fill out the Rafflecopter below. This giveaway is open to everyone (international).

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[REVIEW] Hallowed Circle by Linda Robertson

Title: Hallowed Circle
Author: Linda Robertson
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Series: Persephone Alcmedi #2

Mass Market Paper, 384 pages 

Publication:  December 29th 2009 by Pocket 

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|AMAZON|BOOK DEPO| 

Source: Publisher 

|SUMMARY| 

And you think beauty pageants are scary?
 
Persephone Alcmedi has been persuaded to compete for the position of High Priestess of the Cleveland, Ohio, coven — now that the former priestess, Vivian Diamond, has strangely gone missing. Unfortunately, there are a few small problems with the idea. Not only does Seph know rather more about Vivian's disappearance than the other witches realize, but the epic struggle she's just survived has left her with some highly unusual powers — ones that could be dangerous to reveal. Despite her reluctance, she agrees to participate, if only to prevent snooty Hunter Hopewell, an obnoxious but talented witch, from ending up in the winner's circle. Can Seph hide her secrets — including her connection to the master vampire-wizard Menessos — from the terrifyingly wise judges? Plus, there's her rock 'n' roll werewolf boyfriend, Johnny, and some angry fairies to deal with....
Once the competition begins, a finalist turns up dead. It looks as if one of the contestants is willing to do anything — including murder — to win. Suddenly Seph has even more on her plate than she thought: from solving a murder to working out what her new powers really are...and exactly why they're creating so much havoc in her love life. 

|REVIEW|
Hallowed Circle, the second book in the Persephone Alcmedi series takes place approximately three weeks after Vicious Circle. Seph is trying to balance her life and time between her Wærewolf column, taking care of Nana and her foster daughter Beverly, figuring out her feelings for Wærewolf Johnny, and coming to term with her Lustrata destiny. To add to her ever burdening shoulders, Seph finds out that she was nominated to be a candidate to be high priestess, with Vivan Diamond ‘’missing’’ supposedly running off because she couldn’t handle being Beverly’s guardian.  

This was another solid addition to the Persephone Alcmedi series; I really enjoyed the world and characters that Mrs. Robertson created. With only three weeks separating the events between books, readers can see the characters grow and accept the roles they were given (certain facts about the Lustrata are revealed and the roles that people play regarding the Lustrata).  In the first book Robertson introduced us to witches, Wærewolves, and vampires, and in the second installment readers get to meet some vengeful and scary fairies out to harm Menessos and Seph. The beginning of the book was a bit slow, as Seph goes through the regular motion of her everyday life, the story didn’t get interesting till the high priestess competition. There was a small twist regarding the task given to the candidates and the one murdering the competitors….totally didn’t see that coming and was a fun scene in all the seriousness that was the Eximium.

While not a lot happened, the ending builds a bridge for the coming events in book 3, Fatal Circle. I look forward to seeing how Seph and the other witches handle the upcoming battle between the fairies.

 

[REVIEW] Vicious Circle by Linda Robertson

Title: Vicious Circle
Author: Linda Robertson
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Series: Persephone Alcmedi #1

Mass Market Paperback, 384 pages

Publication: June 30th 2009 by Pocket

Buy the book
|AMAZON|BOOK DEPO|

Source: Publisher

|SUMMARY|  
 A girl's got to do what a girl's got to do....
 
Being a witch doesn't pay the bills, but Persephone Alcmedi gets by between reading Tarot cards, writing her syndicated newspaper column, and kenneling werewolves in the basement when the moon is full -- even if witches aren't supposed to mingle with wolves. She really reaches the end of her leash, though, when her grandmother gets kicked out of the nursing home and Seph finds herself in the doghouse about some things she's written. Then her werewolf friend Lorrie is murdered...and the high priestess of an important coven offers Seph big money to destroy the killer, a powerful vampire named Goliath Kline. Seph is a tough girl, but this time she bites off more than she can chew. She needs a little help from her friends -- werewolf friends. One of those friends, Johnny, the motorcycle-riding lead singer for the techno-metal-Goth band Lycanthropia, has a crush on her. And while Seph has always been on edge around this 6'2" leather-clad hunk, she's starting to realize that although their attraction may be dangerous, nothing could be as lethal as the showdown that awaits them.


|REVIEW|
Persephone ‘Seph’ Alcmedi is a solitary witch and makes her living by writing a column in the papers educating people about Wæres. Seph’s life gets turned upside down when she finds out her friend Lorrie, a Wære is murdered. The following day the local priestess, Vivian Diamond reveals that she know who killed Lorrie, and hires Seph to take care of the guy because human authorities don’t care about any Wære business/problems. Seph reluctantly agrees thinking of Lorrie’s daughter, Beverly, but one crucial fact that Vivian decided to leave out is that the murderer, Goliath Kline is a vampire. Enlisting the help of her Wære friends, Seph is in for a big surprise as she faces a powerful vampire and discovers a power/destiny she never knew she was capable of. 

Vicious Circle is told from the first-person narrative, and takes place in Cleveland, Ohio where all the witches, Wære and vampires are known to the human public. Every group abhors one another, and like the tagline says ‘‘witches and werewolves don’t mix…’’ but Seph is an exception becoming friends with the Wære she kennels on the full moon.  The book moves a pretty constant pace; there weren’t any big crazy revelations or shocking twist/turns. In spite of that, I found myself absorbed in the story and the characters. Seph is a down-to earth type of heroine, relatable and realistic. Readers immerse themselves in Seph’s regular life (problems with her old high school friends and guy problem *ahem* Johnny) and the supernatural side. While Seph isn’t kick-butt like most UF heroines, she has the potential to become one in future books, which is hinted with her supposedly being the ‘Lustrata’, a witch that bring balance to the three groups/walk in all three worlds.

Vicious Circle is the first book in the Persephone Alcmedi series, and is a solid urban fantasy series worth checking out. Although Vicious Circle doesn’t really bring anything new to the urban fantasy genre, Robertson does a great job in captivating readers with her writing and created a world with characters you want to read more about. This first book is just the tip of the iceberg of what we see from the characters and storyline for there is much, much more to Seph, Johnny and Menessos.  I really enjoyed Vicious Circle, and can’t wait to see where Robertson takes this series. 

Stitch by Samantha Durante

Title: Stitch
Author: Samantha Durante
Genre: New Adult + more
Series: Twist-laden trilogy/Stitch #1

Paperback, 314 pages

Publication: August 1st 2012 by Samantha Durante

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|AMAZON|

Source: Author

|SUMMARY| 

Still struggling to find her footing after the sudden death of her parents, the last thing college freshman Alessa has the strength to deal with is the inexplicable visceral pull drawing her to a handsome ghostly presence. In between grappling with exams and sorority soirees - and disturbing recurring dreams of being captive in a futuristic prison hell - Alessa is determined to unravel the mystery of the apparition who leaves her breathless. But the terrifying secret she uncovers will find her groping desperately through her nightmares for answers.

Because what Alessa hasn't figured out yet is that she's not really a student, the object of her obsession is no ghost, and her sneaking suspicions that something sinister is lurking behind the walls of her university's idyllic campus are only just scratching the surface... 

|REVIEW| 

First off, look at that cover! I love it, so beautiful and striking yet simplistic. The cover does a great job at depicting the story and the characters (if you read the book, you'd totally see what I mean ;) ). I should now get on with the review for the book. Wow, this book was something else! It takes a lot to really shock me, and Stitch did exactly that. This book is a mix of genres, and hard to describe without spoiling it for those who still haven’t read it yet. When I first read the synopsis, I was pleasantly surprised that it didn’t give anything of the story away beside Alessa, the main character being a college student. I absolutely didn’t know what to expect when I read this, so when the twist came up it completely floored me. I literally stopped reading and flipped to the back synopsis, and went “What the heck?!”  

Durante was able to mix different genres effortlessly for a unique and mesmerizing storyline.  I never read any book that did what she did, and what’s more astounding is this is her first novel! The novel blends contemporary fiction, paranormal romance, Sci-fi and dystopian genre all into one neat package. You’re probably wondering how is it possible huh? I didn’t think there were such books that can do this till I read Stitch. The characters in this book are about 19 to their early 20’s, and I found most of their situation really relatable, being in college and all. The first 13 chapters are told in Alessa’s point-of-view and then jumps to another character, and from here on it jumps back and forth between the two of them. There are also flash-back scenes halfway through the book, and the structure was a bit hard to follow (scene breaks unclear) but I eventually got the flow of how everything was set up. 

The first third of the book was a bit slow as we follow Alessa through her everyday college life/sorority life (contemporary part), I wasn’t sucked in immediately because ‘contemporary’ isn’t a genre I read. As we got more into the book everything begins to change, and I found myself glued to the pages (this is where the ‘other genres’ come into play).  I know my review is pretty bare, but if I mention even a little bit of the novel, I might spoil it for you guys! I really enjoyed this book, and am looking forward to reading the next book, Shudder. I highly recommend this book to everyone, because like I said it has a little bit of everything (genre wise) for everyone. If you do plan on reading this book (which you should!), don’t read any of the reviews for this book…because most reviews out there will give everything away! Stitch is definitely a book to check out, and if you’re still not sure....the ratings online should say it all (4.4/5 stars on Amazon and 3.9/5 on Goodreads).

**Stop by again during the week because Samantha will be on the blog for an interview & Giveaway!**

Splintered by A.G. Howard

Title: Splintered
Author: A.G. Howard
Genre: Young-Adult, Fantasy
Series: N/A

Hardcover, 384 pages

Publication: January 1st 2013 by Amulet Books

 

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|AMAZON|BOOK DEPO|

Source: Publisher

|SUMMARY|

Alyssa Gardner hears the whispers of bugs and flowers—precisely the affliction that landed her mother in a mental hospital years before. This family curse stretches back to her ancestor Alice Liddell, the real-life inspiration for Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Alyssa might be crazy, but she manages to keep it together. For now. When her mother’s mental health takes a turn for the worse, Alyssa learns that what she thought was fiction is based in terrifying reality. The real Wonderland is a place far darker and more twisted than Lewis Carroll ever let on. There, Alyssa must pass a series of tests, including draining an ocean of Alice’s tears, waking the slumbering tea party, and subduing a vicious bandersnatch, to fix Alice’s mistakes and save her family. She must also decide whom to trust: Jeb, her gorgeous best friend and secret crush, or the sexy but suspicious Morpheus, her guide through Wonderland, who may have dark motives of his own.

|REVIEW|

Splintered is a deliciously dark re-imagined story of the beloved tale of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland. Howard takes the original story, and expands on the idea of what happened after Alice Liddell grew up? Splintered is centered around Alyssa as she jumps down the rabbit hole into the Wonderland to break a curse on her and all the female descendents of Alice. Wonderland is not what most readers remember from the story by Lewis Carroll; it is far more sinister and perilous.

Howard’s debut novel blew me away! Splintered is so beautifully written and detailed that you can’t help but picture the book as a movie on the big screen (or in this case in your mind). I love all the twist and turns throughout the book as we follow Alyssa and her best friend Jeb through wonderland, Alyssa completing a series of eight ‘impossible’ tests to break the curse to free herself and her mother.  All the characters in the real world and wonderland were so realistic, each with their own set ‘baggage’ that enables readers to relate and identify with them to some level (example love and friendship). All the characters from the original novel and (new one) make an appearance, but they aren’t exactly as we remembered.  Like the overall twist on Wonderland, the characters are also twisted and dark but not all are without compassion. While some character’s motivations are questionable, they do what they do because they believe it’s the right thing to do.

The beginning of the book started out a bit slow, but once we entered Wonderland things started to really move and kept me captivated the entire time. This is an amazing debut novel that is beautifully written, and is beyond the most unique take on Wonderland I have ever read.  I loved everything about this book from the vividly dark world-building to the eccentric group of characters that make Wonderland, Wonderland. The last few chapters will have your mind reeling as secrets are revealed, and an ending that leaves a possibility for a sequel (please let there be another book!). I highly recommend this book to all urban fantasy, fantasy and YA fans. Splintered’s spin on the classic Alice novel is not to be missed, an extraordinary story that will linger long after you close the book.