Guest Post & A Giveaway: Alma Katsu Visits!

The Taker Trilogy 

by Alma Katsu

A question and answer of an unusual nature

Earlier this week I posted my review of The Reckoning by Alma Katsu. If you have read that review, you know that  I loved it. Which I was thrilled about because I also really loved The Taker, which I reviewed last summer. 

I have had a blast chatting with Alma about the series and telling her how much I loved it, and have the pleasure now of having her on the blog to answer some of those burning questions about The Taker and the upcoming sequel The Reckoning. 

*Rules for the giveaway are at the end of this post*

Just Let Me Say This About That

Between promoting the trade paperback release of The Taker and the upcoming hardcover release of the second book in the trilogy, The Reckoning, I’ve been writing a lot of guest posts and Q&As lately. So, I thought I’d do something a little different for Sara and ask myself questions that I think some readers would like to ask me, if only they weren’t afraid I’d bite them. Here goes!

Why aren’t there any vampires in your book? Vampires are a tried-and-true part of the landscape of Gothic fiction, but they’re a known commodity. You know their limitations, you know their strengths. I wanted the darkness in the book to come from an unknown place. The villain in the book, Adair, is cut from the same cloth as his Gothic counterparts: he is a representation of our primitive, emotional inner psyches, the people we would be if we weren’t constrained by society and our own consciences. But with Adair, you don’t know where his power comes from and so you don’t know how to stop him. There’s something familiar about him, but at the same time you have no idea where his boundaries are, and there’s something thrilling about that, I think.

I don’t like Jonathan (this really isn’t a question). Good for you. You’re not supposed to like Jonathan. He’s not the hero. He’s a prince who’s not so charming. He’s the guy who catches all the breaks and always lands on his feet and is proof that life isn’t fair. He’s not actively bad, but he has no interest in being nominated for sainthood. He’s not going to deny himself in order to make you happy—like rather a lot of people you meet in life.

Why couldn’t Lanny get over Jonathan? What I’d hoped to convey about Jonathan is that he is unusually attractive. Irresistibly attractive. More than just handsome: he is magnetic. There are people like this is real life and until you’ve stood in the presence of one it might be hard to appreciate. So imagine, say, George Clooney or Johnny Depp times ten, and then imagine further that he is not a movie star but that he is your friend and what’s more, he’s not above toying with your heart like a yo-yo. (Unfortunately Jonathan is also manipulative, just as Mr. Clooney and Mr. Depp were probably not above being manipulative once upon a time.) Can you blame a girl for thinking she can prevail in this situation?

If you liked my sassy-pants answers, I hope you will read my debut novel, The Taker. You should be warned that it’s not for the faint of heart (and I’m not the only one who’s said that). You can find the first chapter, a reading group guide and lots of lovely things people have said about it here: http://www.almakatsu.com/taker.php

The second book in the series, The Reckoning, will be out on June 19^th and you can find out more about it here: http://www.almakatsu.com/reckoning.php

We’re giving away a NOOK tablet and other goodies for The Reckoning’s release! For details on the giveaway, please visit my website: http://www.almakatsu.com

The Giveaway!! 

Alma was amazing and offered a lovely prize pack for a couple lovely winners. Initially I thought I would make it one grand prize. But upon further thought, and my desire to spread the word. I decided to split it into first prize and second prize. 

First Prize:

-A SIGNED finished copy of The Taker- Which has the most beautiful cover EVER!!

-A SIGNED bookmark, a pen, a sticker and The Taker post-it notes- which are very handy!

Second Prize:

-The Taker dust jacket

-A SIGNED bookmark, another bookmark, a pen, a sticker, and two post-it note pads. 

The Rules:

-Fill out the Form!! That's the only rule.

But...

-If you want an extra entry, please TWEET this giveaway! I would love for everyone to read The Taker and The Reckoning and I want to spread the word, so please TWEET, and you'll get ONE extra entry. 

-Contest is open internationally, I'll ship anywhere! If you have a blog, I ask that you post a review once you've read the book. Spread the word! 

-The Contest will run from today until June 18th, and I will email the winners straight away. They will have 48 hours to get back to me, if they don't I will chose a new winner.

  

The Form

CLICK THE LINK!

That is it. Thank you SO much to Alma for stopping by, and for providing these wonderful prize pacts.

~Good luck and Happy Reading Everyone!