Double Vision: Code Name 711 Blog Tour {Interview and Giveaway}

I'm so excited to have the Double Vision: Code Name 711 Blog Tour stopping by today with my interview with author F.T. Bradley and a giveaway for both books in the series..

Code Name 711

(Double Vision #2)

by F.T. Bradley

10/15/13

Harper Collins

Washington, DC. Where spies are everywhere.

Lincoln Baker is just a regular kid. Okay, so he had this one undercover mission in Paris and, sure, he might have saved the world, but that's ancient history. He's done being a junior secret agent for Pandora.

The trouble is, Pandora isn't done with him. They've received a threat on the president's life from an agent named Dagger. Now they want Linc to go to Washington, DC, to protect the first daughter, Amy. As if that's not enough, George Washington's legendary coat, rumored to make its wearer invincible, is missing. Pandora needs to find it before Dagger does. Unfortunately for Linc, his by-the-book agent nemesis, Ben Green, is already on the case.

With Amy's help, Linc will have to dig deep into the history of America's first spies to beat Ben at his own game and stop Dagger before it's too late.

Find the book: Goodreads / Amazon / B&N / IndieBound

Watch the book trailer

What three words best describe your book Double Vision: Code Name 711?

Washington, spies, adventure.

Can you give us your one sentence pitch to convince readers, especially reluctant readers, to give this series a try?

The Double Vision series is fun(ny), fast-paced, and full of codes and spy stuff--it's like a cool movie, but on paper.

 Grab a copy of Double Vision: Code Name 711 and answer the following:

Favorite chapter? 

Chapter 42--it's when Linc is just plain awesome. 

Favorite page? 

Page 135, when Linc finds a new use for a blow-up boat... :-)

Favorite character? 

Linc--he's just a riot. Henry is a close second, and Grandpa too.

Flip to a random page and give us a 1-2 sentence teaser: 

Page 58: "It's just CIA folklore," Andrea added, straightening a little. "But if I was looking for a secret George Washington hid, I would look for the Culper Ring."

You state on your website that history and thrillers go hand-in-hand and you incorporate some fun history in Double Vision: Code Name 711…what is it about history you love so much? Can you tell us a bit about the history you explore in Double Vision: Code Name 711?

When you read a history book, or watch a documentary, you mostly get the facts: dates, events, names, and (as Linc would say) the blah blah boring stuff. It isn't until you scratch below the surface and look at the people behind all those events and facts that you get the real story.

Take George Washington. He looks a little boring (no offense to our first president...) in the images we know (the dollar portrait, for one). But when you look at his past, his accomplishments, and the risks he took as a spy in the Culper Ring, you get a three-dimensional picture that's much different. George Washington had a lot of guts at a most uncertain time in American history.

For Double Vision: Code Name 711 in particular, I loved finding ways to connect a regular kid like Linc to a historical figure of George Washington's caliber. Like Washington, Linc has to go with his gut--follow his moral compass, without knowing the outcome. That excites me about history: finding that personal connection to bring a contemporary story to life in a way that's relevant for middle-grade readers.

Since your character Linc is a spy, I gotta ask- what would YOUR spy name be? And what kind of spy mission would you love to go on?

Hmmm, that's tough... I'd go with Jane Fisher as my spy alias (totally made that up on the spot). 

Some overseas mission would be cool, like in Rome, or Athens--a place where the food is good (I'm all about the food). And I'd be on the hunt for a mysterious historical artifact, like Linc. 

Why do you think middle-grade lit is so important? What do you love most about writing and reading MG?

Middle-grade lit, if done well, will capture readers, and will make them readers for life. If we lose readers, it's at this age--which is why it's so important that there are fun, adventurous books for reluctant readers. Award-winning lit is great and vital, but it's the fun books that will help MG readers continue to read into YA and beyond. 

I love writing and reading MG because it's smart, fun, and bright--much like the kids a meet during school visits. It's the best age, I think.

THIS or THAT?

-Print Books or Ebooks?

 Print. I like to sit in a comfy spot and hold a book--I'm old-school.

-Food Fight or Water Balloon Fight 

Food fight! Unless it's good food, that's wasteful.

- Falling for the Hero or Falling for the Villain

I like a good hero myself...

- PJ’s or Dressing Up 

PJ's any day, with a book. I'm not much for dressing up.

- Starting a book or Finishing a book

 Starting--finishing is so bitter-sweet if it's a good book.

 Fill in the blanks:

I’m really awesome at ___. 

Dry-walling. It's an odd talent, I know.

I’m really embarrassed to admit that ___. 

still have a basic cellphone without a camera. I'm a dinosaur.

The last great book I read was ___.

 Anthony Horowitz's RUSSIAN ROULETTE, the latest Alex Rider--it had me at the edge of my seat, honest.

If you were to create and bake a cupcake inspired by Double Vision: Code Name 711 what would it look and taste like, and what would you call it?

It would be vanilla cake, with dark-blue frosting (like George Washington's coat), golden sprinkles, and a surprise (top-secret) chocolate center. I would call it the 711 Spy. Man, I'm hungry now...

F.T. Bradley is the author of Double Vision (Harper Children's, Oct. 2012), the first in the middle-grade adventure series featuring Lincoln Baker and Benjamin Green. Her husband's Air Force career has F.T. and their two daughters moving all around the world, but for the moment the family lives on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. 

To find out more about F.T. and Double Vision, visit her website or www.doublevisionbooks.com, or follow her on Twitter. She likes to make new friends

Win a copy of both 

Double Vision and Code Name 711!

Thanks to Harper Collins I have a print copy of both books to give away to one winner.

DETAILS

-US ONLY

-will end 11/1

-must be 13+, one main entry per person

-winner will be emailed and must claim prize within 48 hours

-I am NOT responsible for lost, damaged, or stolen prizes

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