2nd Anniversary Celebration Featuring: Sarah Beth Durst (giveaway)

For our last author today we have a little Q&A with the fabulous Sarah Beth Durst.

1. What inspired you to write your first book?

Sheer love of books.  I think books are magic.  They have the power to transport you to another life, another time, another place... to make you care about things that don't exist and never happened... to touch your heart and invade your mind and heal your soul.  I've always wanted to be a part of creating that magic.

2. Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?

The middle of the first draft is always challenging.  It's like being in the middle of a marathon, except you're not sure whether the road up ahead is smooth or whether it drops into a massive chasm filled with spikes and fire-breathing dragons and skunks.  Later drafts are more fun because there's less fear of death by skunks.

3. How do you come up with the titles?

Sometimes it's easy; sometimes it's hard.  I must have brainstormed a hundred different titles for DRINK, SLAY, LOVE, my vampire girl and were-unicorn book.  (And in fact, I think it was my husband who thought of the final title.)  But for VESSEL... That was the title I thought of before I'd written even the first line.  Liyana, the main character, is a "vessel," a human destined to sacrifice herself so that her goddess can inhabit her body and summon the magic that her clan needs to survive.

4. If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in your latest book?

Honestly... no.  :)  I poured everything I could into that book.  I can't wait for readers to meet Liyana, and I hope they love her as much as I do.

5. What books have most influenced your life most?

I'd have to choose the books that I read when I was ten, the ones that made me say, "I want to do this.  I want to be part of this magic!"  They include ALANNA by Tamora Pierce, DEEP WIZARDRY by Diane Duane, DREAMS UNDERFOOT by Charles de Lint, THE BLUE SWORD by Robin McKinley, THE DARK IS RISING by Susan Cooper, DRAGONSINGER by Anne McCaffrey, ARROWS OF THE QUEEN by Mercedes Lackey, and HOMEWARD BOUNDERS by Diana Wynne Jones.

6. Are there any new authors that have grasped your interest?

Yes.  I love Laini Taylor's writing.  Her prose is gorgeous.  I also can't wait for the next RAISED BY WOLVES book from Jennifer Lynn Barnes.  Such a great protagonist and great worldbuilding!  And I just finished the UNNATURALISTS by Tiffany Trent and adored it.  It’s brimming with coolness.

7. What book are you reading now?

I'm actually in between books right now.  Any recommendations?

8. Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?

Thank you for reading!!!

Here is a little bit more about Sarah: 

Sarah Beth Durst is the author of young adult novels Vessel, Drink, Slay, Love, Enchanted Ivy, and Ice from Simon & Schuster, as well as middle grade novels Into the Wild and Out of the Wild from Penguin Young Readers. She has twice been a finalist for SFWA's Andre Norton Award, for both Ice and Into the Wild.
Sarah was born in Massachusetts as Sarah Angelini and grew up in Northboro, a small town in central Mass that later became the setting for her debut novel.
At the age of ten, she decided she wanted to be a writer. (Before that, she wanted to be Wonder Woman, except with real flying ability instead of an invisible jet. She also would have accepted a career as a unicorn princess.) And she began writing fantasy stories.
She attended Princeton University, where she spent four years studying English, writing about dragons, and wondering what the campus gargoyles would say if they could talk.
Sarah lives in Stony Brook, New York, with her husband, her two children, and her ill-mannered cat. She also has a miniature pet griffin named Alfred. Okay, okay, that’s not quite true. His name is really Montgomery.

Where to stalk her:
Facebook
Twitter

 Liyana has trained her entire life to be the vessel of a goddess. The goddess will inhabit Liyana's body and use magic to bring rain to the desert. But Liyana's goddess never comes. Abandoned by her angry tribe, Liyana expects to die in the desert. Until a boy walks out of the dust in search of her.

Korbyn is a god inside his vessel, and a trickster god at that. He tells Liyana that five other gods are missing, and they set off across the desert in search of the other vessels. For the desert tribes cannot survive without the magic of their gods. But the journey is dangerous, even with a god's help. And not everyone is willing to believe the trickster god's tale.
The closer she grows to Korbyn, the less Liyana wants to disappear to make way for her goddess. But she has no choice: She must die for her tribe to live. Unless a trickster god can help her to trick fate -- or a human girl can muster some magic of her own.

Thank Sarah much for stopping by today!
Sarah wants to give 1 person a copy of Vessel.
Sorry but this is for US only. If you are International but have a US address you can use then please enter.
All giveaways this month end on October 7th.




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