Interview and Giveaway: Deborah Dunlevy, author of The Book of Sight

I'm excited to have author Deborah Dunlevy stopping by today to chat about her middle-grade book, The Book of Sight! Plus, you can win a copy of your own...

The Book of Sight

(#1)

by Deborah Dunlevy

3/22/13

Madison House Publishing

A book can be a wonderful gift.

When Alex received an unexpected package, she never dreamed the book it contained would change her life forever. After all, the words inside were gibberish. She had no idea the places that book would take her, the friends that book would help her make or the wonders that book would reveal. She had no clue the trouble that book would bring, either.

A book can be a dangerous gift.

Goodreads / Amazon Kindle / Amazon Paperback

What three words best describe The Book of Sight?

Wonder

Adventure

Friendship

Can you give us your best one sentence pitch to convince readers, especially reluctant readers, to give The Book of Sight a try?

Everyone and everything in The Book of Sight has personality and life, so the whole experience is more like making new friends than just reading a story.

Grab a copy of The Book of Sight and answer the following:

favorite chapter? Chapter 18 “A Brother’s Hand”

favorite page?  Page 185

favorite place/setting? The Gylf Forest

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

“Practically crying with relief, Adam and Dominic both pulled on the rope and slowly, hand over hand, dragged Logan toward them.  They couldn’t see him, but they heard his oof of surprise when he hit the bank.”

What inspired The Book of Sight? How did the story come to be?  

When my oldest daughter was just a baby, the idea for this series came to me.  It started with the thought that it would be so amazing to discover a magical land that wasn’t some place you had to travel to but rather something that was already around you, only you needed your eyes opened to see it.  Once I started imagining such a world, all the rest came flowing quickly after.

Can you tell us a bit about your heroine Alex? What makes her special?

Alex is not modeled after a specific person, but she is similar in personality to my husband and my best friend, which means that I really, really like her.  The most remarkable thing about her is that she is deeply intuitive, so she has a way of sensing what’s important in any situation.  That’s something that will come in handy in the adventures she and her friends will have.

Can you give us any tidbits about what’s to come in future books in this series?

In this first book, the five friends meet and experience a whole new world with the Book of Sight.  They are still left with lots of questions at the end, though.  The Broken Circle (Book 2) focuses on their learning to trust each other and introduces an enemy who wants to break them apart.  The Secret Source (Book 3) brings along some creatures who can answer many of their questions, but they will have to get rid of the network of stones that runs under their town, which their enemy is using to spy on them.

If you could switch places with any literary character for one day, who would you choose and what would you do in their life?

There are so many that it’s almost impossible to choose!  Strange to say, I think in the end I would have to go with being a member of the Swiss Family Robinson, on the first day of their arrival on the island after the shipwreck.  I’ve always been fascinated with the idea of trying to survive in an unfamiliar environment, and I’d like to try my skills at problem solving with so much at stake.

What has been the most rewarding aspect of being an author?

Having an excuse to spend hours in my own imaginary world!  

Fill in the blanks:

I’m really awesome at sleeping.  I can do it any time and any place.

I’m really embarrassed to admit that even though I taught high school English, I’ve never actually read Julius Caesar. (I’m more of a Midsummer Night’s Dream kind of girl.).

The last great book I read was A Tale Dark and Grimm by Adam Gidwitz.

If you were to create and bake a cupcake inspired by The Book of Sight, what would it look and taste like, and what would you call it?

Let’s see…a vanilla cupcake, because those are plain, with a surprise glob of chocolate cream in the center (something wonderful you didn’t know was there).  I would frost it to look like grass on top, with little purple flowers.  You’ll have to read the books to find out why!  I actually do love to make cupcakes, so I think maybe I’ll try this one out now.

Thanks so much for stopping by, Deborah!

website * goodreads * twitter * facebook

Deborah Dunlevy was born in Indiana and grew up everywhere else. Even moving every year or two couldn't satisfy her desire for adventure, so she learned how to read and started taking trips into other people's lives. Eventually she grew up and went to college and got a respectable job as a teacher. Then she ditched that to go live on the other side of the world, where she had a few kids and learned what adventure was really about.
Deborah now lives in Indianapolis with her husband, Nate, her three kids, and an Argentine hound dog. She spends her time making up stories and sometimes writing them down on her blog tellmeastorymommy.com.

Win a copy of The Book of Sight!

Deborah has generously offered up 2 copies of her book for two winners in their choice of paperback or ebook.

DETAILS

-US/CAN only

-ends 9/6

-there will be two winners who will each win 1 copy

-must be 13+ to enter

-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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