Mundie Moms

Monday, October 8, 2012

The Shadow Society Blog Tour: Author Interview / Giveaways


Back in June I had the privilege of revealing the cover to Marie Rutkoski's debut, The Shadow Society, and today I'm thrilled to be kicking off MacTeen's The Shadow Society blog tour! Today's tour stop includes an interview with author Marie Rutkoski, as well as a giveaway!



Hi Marie! Welcome back to Mundie Moms. Congratulations on the upcoming release of The Shadow Society. How would you describe your book in 5 words or less?

Thanks, Katie! I’m thrilled to be here.

Five words or less? Eek!
Overcoming a dark legacy. Love. Forgiveness.
(I’m not counting the article)

Which character did you enjoy getting to know the most? Were your surprised by any of your characters in terms of the direction they took in The Shadow Society?

I feel closest to Darcy, my main character. This is in part because so many details of her world spring from my teenage years (I have vivid memories of collecting junk by the railroad tracks with a friend for an art project, and my mom has a silver spoon collection). I also admire Darcy’s resilience. Her ability to survive is rooted less in physical strength than in intelligence, care for others, and her willingness to let new experiences change her. Without giving anything away, I can say that Darcy changes into someone able to stand up for herself and for other people.   

I was surprised by Jims, one of Darcy’s friends. He was so much fun to write. I wish he existed and we could hang out and be silly together. Sometimes I couldn’t believe the stuff he was saying—even though I was writing it!

What element of your story did you enjoy creating the most (the storyline, the intrigue/suspense, the characters etc.)?

Probably the invention of a new paranormal creature, Shades. I have loved many novels about creatures from our collective mythology: fairies, vampires, werewolves, angels, etc. But…I didn’t want to write about any of them. I wanted to make something from scratch.

I knew the Shades’ most important power as soon as I had the idea for the book. Other aspects of them came later—like the fact that they are visually identifiable. When you see a Shade, you know it (so long as you know what one is). This makes Shades different from a lot of other paranormal creatures, who usually can pass as human. For me, a thrilling thing about writing this book was thinking through the consequences of Shades’ physical differences from humans—how would these differences shape the Shades’ society? How would it influence their hopes and fears? The relationships they form?

I like the concept of the Shadow Society. What inspired you to write about Darcy's story?

Thank you! The original seed of the novel was in a story a friend of mine told me about how, when he was in high school, his mom threw a knife at him.

But what inspired me to write The Shadow Society (what sustained me through the long endeavor of writing a novel) was homesickness. I love where I live (New York City, usually. This year it’s Paris), but I’m also far from where I grew up (a suburb of Chicago). I wanted to write about what it means to find a home, love it, leave it, and come back changed.   

Can you tell us about any future projects you're currently working on?

Sure! I’m working on a new YA trilogy unrelated to The Shadow Society. The first novel is called The Winner’s Curse, and will be out in either Fall 2013 or early in 2014. It’s about a girl who is aristocratic member of an empire that conquers and enslaves. I don’t want to say too much, but the novel has duels, balls, risky gambles…and a brewing rebellion.

*******

Thank you Marie for stopping by Mundie Moms today! I'm looking forward to finding out more about The Winner's Curse.

About The Book:


Published by: Farrar, Straus & Giroux (MacMillan)
To Be Released on: October 30th, 2012
Pre-Order from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble 
Add To: GoodReads

Darcy Jones doesn’t remember anything before the day she was abandoned as a child outside a Chicago firehouse. So she isn’t surprised that she doesn’t recognize Conn, the new boy at her high school, even though he seems to know her—or at least know something about her.
What does surprise her is how quickly she comes to trust Conn, and that he makes her feel both desire and desired in a way she hadn’t thought possible. But his interest in her is confusing. It doesn’t line up with the way he first looked at her.

As if she was his enemy.

When Conn betrays Darcy and she is arrested, she realizes that she can’t rely on anything—not Conn, not herself, and not even the laws of nature. Because this world isn’t the only one. Darcy belongs in an alternate world where the Great Chicago Fire never happened, and deadly creatures called Shades terrorize the human population.

Darcy needs some answers.

And she hates that the person most able to help her get them is Conn. -quoted from the publisher

About the author:
Marie Rutkoski is the author of the YA novel The Shadow Society, about a girl who discovers that she's not human and that her kind are terrorists in an alternate world where the Great Chicago Fire never happened. The Shadow Society will be published October 30, 2012. Marie has also written the children's fantasy series The Kronos Chronicles, including The Cabinet of WondersThe Celestial Globe and The Jewel of the KalderashThe Cabinet of Wonders, her debut novel, was named an Indie Next Kids' List Great Read and a Bank Street Best Children's Book of the Year, among other honors. 

Rutkoski grew up in Bolingbrook, Illinois (a suburb of Chicago), as the oldest of four children. She attended the University of Iowa. After graduating, she lived in Moscow and Prague. Upon receiving her Ph.D. from Harvard University, she held dual appointments as a lecturer there in both English and American Literature and Language, and History and Literature. Rutkoski is currently a professor at Brooklyn College, where she teaches Renaissance Drama, children's literature and creative writing. She lives in New York City with her husband and son.


To learn more about The Shadow Society please be sure to visit Marie via her Website | follow her on Twitter

Fierce Reads:






Be sure to check out the rest of the blog tour here:

Monday 10/8                     http://mundiemoms.blogspot.com/
Tuesday 10/9                     http://www.pocketfulofbooks.com/
Thursday 10/11                 http://christinareadsya.blogspot.com/
Friday 10/12                       http://www.goodchoicereading.com/
Monday 10/15                   http://www.bookswithbite.net/
Tuesday 10/16                   http://www.thebookmonsters.com/
Wednesday 10/17           http://cuddlebuggery.com/
Friday 10/19                       http://thebookmuncher.blogspot.com/
               
The Giveaway:

To enter to win a copy of The Shadow Society, please fill out this form below. Good Luck!



2 comments:

  1. Good post! It sounds like a great read.
    Thank you for a chance to win it!
    DeAnna Schultz

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'll be visiting a Fierce Reads stop in PA, I can't wait!

    ReplyDelete

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