Deep Blue Blog Tour {Interview & Giveaway}

I'm so excited to have the Deep Blue Blog Tour stopping by today! Author Jennifer Donnelly is here for an Interview, plus you can win a copy of Deep Blue...

Deep Blue

(Waterfire Saga #1)

by Jennifer Donnelly

5/6/14

Disney Hyperion

The first in a series of four epic tales set in the depths of the ocean, where six mermaids seek to protect and save their hidden world.

Deep in the ocean, in a world not so different from our own, live the merpeople. Their communities are spread throughout the oceans, seas, and freshwaters all over the globe.

When Serafina, a mermaid of the Mediterranean Sea, awakens on the morning of her betrothal, her biggest worry should be winning the love of handsome Prince Mahdi. And yet Sera finds herself haunted by strange dreams that foretell the return of an ancient evil. Her dark premonitions are confirmed when an assassin's arrow poisons Sera's mother. Now, Serafina must embark on a quest to find the assassin's master and prevent a war between the Mer nations. Led only by her shadowy dreams, Sera searches for five other mermaid heroines who are scattered across the six seas. Together, they will form an unbreakable bond of sisterhood and uncover a conspiracy that threatens their world's very existence.

Goodreads / Amazon / B&N 

Grab a copy of Deep Blue and answer the following:

favorite chapter?

Chapter One. And Chapter Twenty-eight. Forty-two. And forty-seven! 

favorite page?

Page 2, because that’s where the story starts. It should be Page 1, but the epigraph is there.  

favorite setting/place?

The Duca’s underwater palazzo in Venice.

flip to a random page and give us a 1-2 sentences teaser: (It’s a little longer than 2. Okay, a lot longer. What can I say? I’m a more is more kind of gal.)

Vraja cut her off. “A moment ago, I said that stories tell us who we are. There is something behind this door, and its story will tell you who you are. Before I open it, be sure you truly want to know.”

No one turned back. Vraja nodded, then swung the door open. As she did, the sound of chanting grew louder. A scream of rage echoed off the thick stone walls. The water was heavy with the scent of fear.

“Oh, gods,” Serafina whispered as she looked into the room. In front of her eyes, a nightmare came to life.

There are some memorable characters in Deep Blue...do you have an absolute favorite to write and explore? Did any of your characters end up surprising you with how they turned out?

I love them all. Every major and minor character. I love Serafina, the main character, and Lena, a crazy-lady mermaid who has a house made of garbage that humans have thrown into her river, and way too many catfish. I’m very curious to see exactly who the angry, enigmatic Astrid – a mermaid from the icy arctic realm -  will turn out to be.

What sets your merpeople and their world apart from traditional and popular mermaid lore and myth?

My mermaids aren’t sitting on rocks combing their hair all day, or luring sailors to their deaths. They’re not interested. They have lives. They’re typical teenagers – studying, working, worrying about school, arguing with their parents, experiencing first love, navigating tricky friendships, and wondering what they’re going to be when they grow up. They’re not terribly fascinated by humans and not one of them would wish to trade their tails for legs. They actually pretty wary of humans, whom they view as careless and brutal. And though they can be influenced by their human neighbors – some of them like to use human slang, for example -- they’re rooted firmly in their own aquatic culture. They adore their home – the seas and lakes, rivers and ponds – and when it’s threatened by the return of an ancient evil, they fight to the death to save it.

Fill in the blanks:

I’m really awesome at Digging up cheapie finds at rummage sales. Just this weekend I found a vintage necklace for 50 cents, a silver starfish pin for 75 cents, and cookbooks from the 1930s and 1950s for 25 cents each.    

 I’m really embarrassed to admit that I don’t know how to spell amenome. Anenome.   Amemone.  Anemone.

The last great book I read was The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater.

If you were to bake and create a cupcake inspired by Deep Blue, what would it look and taste like, and what would you call it?

I love this question! My cupcake would look like a nautilus shell, and it would have a shimmering, pearly pink frosting. It would have a small microchip imbedded deep inside, playing wave music, so that when you held it to your ear, you’d hear the ocean. Then you’d tip it over your plate, and all this blue custard with a meringue topping would come pouring out like a huge wave! And gummy sharks and dolphins would be frolicking in it. And sour patch starfish and lobsters would be floating in it. You’d have to be careful not to tip it while you were still listening or you’d get custard all over your head. You’d also have to be careful not to eat the microchip. It would taste of chocolate, even though it’s sea-themed, because who wants a shrimp-flavored cupcake? I would call it the Naughty-lis, because there would be a lot of sugar and butter and custard and candy involved. It would be a really fantastic cupcake, or a total disaster. All depends on the execution.   

website * goodreads * twitter * facebook

Jennifer Donnelly is the author of five novels - Revolution, A Northern Light, The Tea Rose,The Winter Rose and The Wild Rose - and Humble Pie, a picture book for children. She grew up in New York State, in Lewis and Westchester counties, and attended the University of Rochester where she majored in English Literature and European History. 
Jennifer’s first novel, The Tea Rose, an epic historical novel set in London and New York in the late 19th century, was called “exquisite” by Booklist, “so much fun” by the Washington Post, a “guilty pleasure” by People and was named a Top Pick by the Romantic Times. 
Her second novel, A Northern Light, set in the Adirondacks of 1906, against the backdrop of an infamous murder, won the Carnegie Medal, the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, the Borders Original Voices Award, and was named a Printz Honor book. Described as “rich and true” by The New York Times, the book was named to the Best Book lists of The Times (London), The Irish Times, The Financial Times, Publishers Weekly, Booklist and the School Library Journal. 
Revolution was named a Best Book by Amazon, Kirkus, School Library Journal, and the Chicago Public Library, and was nominated for a Carnegie Medal. The audio edition was awarded an Odyssey Honor for Excellence.
Jennifer lives in New York's Hudson Valley with her husband, daughter, and three rescue dogs. 

Win 1 of 2 copies of Deep Blue!

The awesome peeps at Disney Hyperion have offered up two copies for two winners.

DETAILS

-US/CAN only

-ends 5/10

-there will be two winners who will each win one book

-must be 13+, one free entry per person

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

-Word Spelunking is not responsible for lost, damaged, or stolen prizes

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