Best I've Read 2010 Day 4

Day four of Best I've Read 2010 is here and with it some more fabulous featured authors! Today we have Julie Kagawa, Kirsten Miller, Lee Nichols, Elizabeth Eulberg.

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Julie Kagawa
Author of the Iron Fey series and the lady who gave us Prince Ash (forgive me while I swoon a little...

Okay I'm better now.)

Iron Queen
by: Julie Kagawa
Published by: Harlequin Teen
Release Date: 2-1-2011

Summary: I thought it was over.That my time with the fey, the impossible choices I had to make, the sacrifices of those I loved, was behind me. But a storm is approaching, an army of Iron fey that will drag me back, kicking and screaming. Drag me away from the banished prince who's sworn to stay by my side. Drag me into the core of a conflict so powerful, I'm not sure anyone can survive it.

This time, there will be no turning back. (from Goodreads.com)

I had the good fortune to interview Julie, it was great to get a little insight into how she created her world and especially whether Iron Queen would be the last we'd see of Meghan Chase (and Ash)

How did you come up with the idea for the Iron Fey?
Faeries, the old, ancient fey, not the glittery winged sprites, have always fascinated me. But I wanted to write a book that was different than other faery books. So I began thinking: what are the fey afraid of? The answer, in most ancient mythos, is iron. Faeries can’t stand the touch of iron and steel. So, what if there was a new type of fey that had evolved with progress over the years? What if they weren’t only immune to iron, their existence was slowly poisoning and corrupting the lands of the traditional fey? And I realized we already have “monsters” in machines: gremlins, bugs, viruses, ect. And from that thought, the Iron fey were born.

The Iron King and The Iron Daughter are both full of details about the Fairy world. What sort of research did you do?
Mostly online. There's so much stuff about faeries floating around out there, it was a landslide of information. I also researched some Grimm and Shakespeare, but stayed away from other faery novels like Holly Black's Tithe and Melissa Marr's Wicked Lovely, because I didn't want to unconsciously copy their mythology. But once Iron King was done, the first thing I did was read Tithe, and I loved it.

Did you find it hard to weave the Iron Fey into the existing fey mythology?
With the way The Iron King's mythology is set up, it was almost natural to slip them in. The idea that the fey came from mankind's dreams and fears made it very easy to add a new kind of fey to the mix, one born from our thirst for technology and progress.

Do you have a favorite character from the Iron Fey series?
I will have to go with Ash, because I have a thing for dark, broody bad boys who can wield sharp pointy objects. But Grimalkin runs a very, very close second.

We know that the Iron Queen is coming out this February. Will this be the final book in the Iron Fey series?
No, actually. It was just recently announced that there will be a fourth book, THE IRON KNIGHT. I can't say much about it except this: if you've ever wondered what goes on in Ash's head, you're in luck. THE IRON KNIGHT is Ash's story.

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Elizabeth Eulberg
Author of The Lonely Heart Club and Prom & Prejudice
Fellow SU alum and cheesehead (i.e. made of awesome)
Side note- Eulberg is one of my favorite authors- and not just because she is a cheesehead. Her books are fabulous and provide some really important messages about being strong and being yourself at a time in your life (i.e. High School) when it's so easy to lose track of yourself.

The Lonely Hearts Club
By Elizabeth Eulberg
Published by Point
Released December 29, 2009
http://www.elizabetheulberg.com/

Love is all you need... or is it? Penny's about to find out in this wonderful debut.

Penny is sick of boys and sick of dating. So she vows: no more. It's a personal choice. . .and, of course, soon everyone wants to know about it. And a few other girls are inspired. A movement is born: The Lonely Hearts Club (named after the band from Sgt. Pepper). Penny is suddenly known for her nondating ways . . . which is too bad, because there's this certain boy she can't help but like. . . .



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Kirstin Miller
Author of The Eternal Ones

The Eternal Ones

by Kirsten Miller
Publisher: Razorbill/Penguin
Release: August 2010
http://www.theeternalones.com/
http://www.kikistrike.com/

Book Summary (from Penguin): Haven Moore can’t control her visions of a past with a boy called Ethan, and a life in New York that ended in fiery tragedy. In our present, she designs beautiful dresses for her classmates with her best friend Beau. Dressmaking keeps her sane, since she lives with her widowed and heartbroken mother in her tyrannical grandmother’s house in Snope City, a tiny town in Tennessee. Then an impossible group of coincidences conspire to force her to flee to New York, to discover who she is, and who she was.
In New York, Haven meets Iain Morrow and is swept into an epic love affair that feels both deeply fated and terribly dangerous. Iain is suspected of murdering a rock star and Haven wonders, could he have murdered her in a past life? She visits the Ouroboros Society and discovers a murky world of reincarnation that stretches across millennia. Haven must discover the secrets hidden in her past lives, and loves, before all is lost and the cycle begins again.
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Lee Nichols
Author of Deception

Deception
By: Lee Nichols
Published by: Bloomsbury USA Children's Books
Lee Nichols' website: www.leenicholsbooks.com


Book summary (from goodreads.com):

When Emma Vaile's parents leave on mysterious business trip, it gives her the perfect excuse to be a rebellious teen. Throw some parties, get a tattoo (or maybe just a piercing), and enjoy the first few weeks of her junior year. Then her best friend stops talking to her, the cops crash her party, and Emma finds herself in the hands of a new guardian—her college-age "knight in J.Crew armor," Bennett Stern—and on a plane to his museum-like mansion in New England.

After enrolling at Thatcher Academy, Emma settles in by making friends with the popular legacy crowd. But she can't shake the strange visions that are haunting her. She has memories of Thatcher she can't explain, as if she's returning home to a place she's never been. Emma doesn't trust anyone anymore—except maybe Bennett. But he's about to reveal a ghostly secret to Emma. One that will explain the visions . . . and make Emma fear for her life.

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Giveaway time!!! Today we have one package and it's a good one. It's open US only- but have no fear international fans there will be mroe contests for you coming up. Simply fill out the form below for your chance to win the following:

• Signed Julie Kagawa book plates
• 1 copy of The Eternal Ones by Kirsten Miller
• 1 copy of Deception by Lee Nichols
• 1 copy of The Lonely Hearts Club by Elizabeth Eulberg