Mundie Moms

Wednesday, January 20, 2016

ZERO DAY by Jan Gangsei / Blog Tour: Guest Post & Enter To WIN!



Hello and welcome to today's ZERO DAY blog tour stop! I'm so thrilled to have author Jan Gangsei on the blog today to talk about her newest release. First, here's a little bit about ZERO DAY, which was released last week from Disney Hyperion

ABOUT THE BOOK



By: Jan Gangsei
Published by: Disney Hyperion
Released on: January 12th, 2016
Purchase from: Amazon | B&N | Indiebound | iBooks | The Book Depository
Add it to Goodreads

Eight years ago, Addie Webster was the victim of the most notorious kidnapping case of the decade. Addie vanished—and her high-profile parents were forced to move on.

Mark Webster is now president of the United States, fighting to keep the oval office after a tumultuous first term. Then, the unthinkable happens: the president’s daughter resurfaces. Addie is brought back into her family’s fold, but who is this sixteen-year-old girl with a quiet, burning intelligence now living in the White House? There are those in the president’s political circle who find her timely return suspicious.

When the NSA approaches Darrow Fergusson, Addie’s childhood best friend and the son of the president’s chief of staff, he doesn't know what to think. How could this slip of a girl be a threat to national security? But at the risk of having his own secrets exposed by the powerful government agency, Darrow agrees to spy on Addie.

It soon becomes apparent that Addie is much more than the traumatized victim of a sick political fringe group. Addie has come with a mission. Will she choose to complete it? And what will happen if she does?



AUTHOR GUEST POST




Hello Jan! Thank you for stopping by Mundie Moms! Let's talk location. Location, location, location. We'd love to know how you brought the city of DC to life.


Yes, DC! My adopted city! I had sooooo much fun setting ZERO DAY here. I like to think of location as basically another character in a story—complete with its own personality, quirks and motivations. It was super important to me that the book’s setting felt authentic (because my DC friends would definitely call me out on it if it didn’t!). So, some of the ways I tried to do this were:


  • Showcasing the architecture – There are so many amazing buildings, monuments and landmarks in DC! I tried to include a lot of examples in the story: Darrow’s brick Georgetown Row House, the EEOB with its grand French Second Empire design, the stately Smithsonian buildings that line the National Mall, and of course, the White House).
  • Using authentic locations – almost all of the book’s scenes occur in real places, such as the White House (obviously :), the Pavilion Room at the Reagan Center, George Washington University, the Air and Space Museum, the National Mall, Shake Shack in Dupont Circle, the Foggy Bottom Metro Station, and many others. Even the fictional places (Cabot Friends School, the safe house where Addie is kept), were based on real locations. It was really important to me to get the details right, so I spent a lot of time driving the beltway, roaming around town, and consulting with friends, maps and Google!
  • Featuring true-to-life people – of course, much of what makes this city tick are the people who live here! DC is at its heart a government town, and I really worked to make sure the characters were true to the people I’ve befriended over the years. Let’s just say after living here for a decade and-a-half, I’ve gotten to know a lot of General McQueens and Harpers and Darrows and Agent Alvarezes (and have even had the great fortune to meet a couple of presidents, if just for a handshake and photo op!). So, I hope I represented them well, because the people of DC are amazing!

And I hope I painted an authentic, true-to-life picture of Washington, DC—and that you enjoy reading about it in ZERO DAY. Thank you so much for having me on Mundie Moms today. It has been an honor!


ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jan Gangsei grew up in small-town Vermont, reading Nancy Drew mysteries, putting on backyard shows with her best friend and dreaming about exploring the world. After college, she landed a job as a newspaper reporter covering politics and the police beat, and was astonished to discover she could actually get paid to write and tell stories. Since then, she's lived in Key West, New York City, DC and Barbados. She's now settled with her family in northern Virginia, where she writes full time with a cup of hazelnut coffee in one hand and a Jack Russell terrier named Watson curled under her legs. Her debut young adult novel, ZERO DAY, publishes with Disney-Hyperion in January, 2016.

Some random facts about Jan:
* Soon after she learned to walk she was stuck on a pair of skis (Vermont law), which she promptly removed and watched as they slid down the mountain solo -- likely explaining her future love of physics (and staying safely in the lodge).

* She's a graduate of the DIA's attache program for spouses, where she learned how to properly set a table, wear an evening gown, and disable an attacker with a few well-placed kicks. She suggests you don't ever sneak up on her in a dark alley, especially if she's wearing heels.

* She has tons of favorite authors, but some of her biggest influences growing up include: Judy Blume, Margaret Atwood, Edith Wharton and Kurt Vonnegut. (Also, whoever wrote the copy for the back of her Cheerios box, which she's pretty sure she'd memorized by third grade.)

* She loves meeting new people, and interacting with other readers and writers. Drop her a note and say hello here or on Twitter!



ENTER TO WIN!

Thank you to Disney Hyperion, fans can enter to win 1 of 3 copies of ZERO DAY! Enter to below (US residents only).

  a Rafflecopter giveaway

TOUR SCHEDULE

Week 1:

Week 2
1/22: Beauty and the Bookshelf - Q&A

Binge Read The Mortal Instrument Series with Riveted (formerly known as Simon Teen) & Enter To WIN!



Who's ready to read Lady Midnight? We are! While Lady Midnight won't be out for a few more weeks, Riveted (formerly known as Simon Teen) is counting down it's release with a binge read of The Mortal Instruments series! Check out their announcement about it here. Trust me, you'll want to check it out, because it also includes a GIVEAWAY of a box set of the TMI series! I've also included the announcement below, along with the TMI series binge reading schedule. 


The Mortal Instruments
Binge-Read and #FlashbackFriday


Lady MidnightLady Midnight,Available March 8
Lady Midnight won’t be available until March 8 but we’ve got a lot planned to help pass the time and get ready for it! For starters, we’re binge-reading The Mortal Instruments series – wanna join us? Each week, we’ll be reading one book in the series and every Friday from now through March 18, we’ll be broadcasting live on the Riveted YouTube channel, discussing our feels, throwing out trivia questions, and just generally fangirling and fanboying out! Read along with us with #TMIBingeRead on Twitter and be sure to tune in Fridays at 6:00 PM EST! Then, we’ll also be having some fun with #FlashbackFridays – we’ve been looking back through the history of The Mortal Instruments and each Friday, we’ll be posting something fun from the ghost of Mortal Instruments past. And finally—you’ll be able to enter to win some amazing stuff! Each week, we’ll be putting up a sweepstakes to win Mortal Instruments books and Shadowhunter swag! So be sure to join us every Friday to join in all the excitement.


TMI Binge-Reading Schedule: 
  • Friday, January 22: City of Bones
  • Friday, January 29: City of Ashes
  • Friday, February 5: City of Glass
  • Friday, February 12: City of Fallen Angels
  • Friday, February 19: City of Lost Souls
  • Friday, February 26: City of Heavenly Fire, Part 1
  • Friday, March 4: City of Heavenly Fire, Part 2
  • Friday, March 11: Lady Midnight, Part 1
  • Friday, March 18: Lady Midnight, Part 2

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