Guest Post: Karen Akins, author of the Loop Series

I'm so excited to have Karen Akins, author of the Young Adult LOOP Series, stopping by today with a fun character interview guest post...

TWIST

(Loop #2)

by Karen Akins

4/7/15

St. Martin's Press

The unbelievably thrilling sequel to the time-travel YA novel Loop.

Bree Bennis finally has it all—a non-comatose mother, an uber-hot (albeit anachronistic) boyfriend named Finn, and a new-found mission to protect the timeline from those who would skew it for their own gain. But when she leans over one day to smooch said boyfriend, her lips meet those of her arch-nemesis Wyck instead. The timeline has been altered, and Bree is caught in the crosshairs. But when she goes back to repair the damage, she is stopped by none other than her Future Self, who delivers an urgent message: Someone is kidnapping Shifters from the distant past. It’s up to Bree to stop them. But first, she has to figure out who... and why.

To follow the trail of chronocrumbs, Bree reluctantly accepts her new undercover gig as Wyck’s girlfriend. Everything goes spiffy until Finn shows up in the 23rd century on the eager arm of a gorgeous fellow Shifter, Blark. Even as Bree struggles with jealousy, she battles the nagging dread that Finn might be better off with someone less chronologically complicated. Her worst fear is confirmed when Finn becomes the kidnapper’s next victim. As Bree zeroes in on the culprit, they unravel her life one timeline-change at a time. She realizes that she alone has the power to save herself and everyone she loves. But to do that, she may lose Finn forever.

goodreads / amazon / b&n / indiebound

Loop

(Loop #1)

by Karen Akins

10/21/14

St. Martin's Press

At a school where Quantum Paradox 101 is a required course and history field trips are literal, sixteen year-old time traveler Bree Bennis excels... at screwing up.

After Bree botches a solo midterm to the 21st century by accidentally taking a boy hostage (a teensy snafu), she stands to lose her scholarship. But when Bree sneaks back to talk the kid into keeping his yap shut, she doesn't go back far enough. The boy, Finn, now three years older and hot as a solar flare, is convinced he’s in love with Bree, or rather, a future version of her that doesn't think he’s a complete pain in the arse. To make matters worse, she inadvertently transports him back to the 23rd century with her. 

Once home, Bree discovers that a recent rash of accidents at her school are anything but accidental. Someone is attacking time travelers. As Bree and her temporal tag-along uncover seemingly unconnected clues—a broken bracelet, a missing data file, the art heist of the millennium—that lead to the person responsible, she alone has the knowledge to piece the puzzle together. Knowledge only one other person has. Her future self.

But when those closest to her become the next victims, Bree realizes the attacker is willing to do anything to stop her. In the past, present, or future. 

Praise for the Loop Series

"Emotional at times, hilarious at times, action-packed almost the entire ride, LOOP is a page-turning adventure with some brilliant and original twists to the time travel genre." —Julie Cross, TEMPEST series

"An intriguingly mindbending time travel tale in which both past and future must be mined for clues. A feisty, witty heroine and quirkily hot hero make for a duo you can’t help but root for, while snappy dialog and imaginative worldbuilding keep the pages turning."—National bestselling author Sophie Littlefield

"Hilarious and suspenseful with a delicious dash of romance, LOOP is a mind-bending good time!" —Melissa Landers, ALIENATED series

"Witty and inventive, LOOP is a time travel treat!" -Lenore Appelhans, author of THE MEMORY OF AFTER

"With flawless worldbuilding, the perfect balance of humor, angst, dire stakes, romance, and action, and a main character you can't help but root for, LOOP is a fresh and exciting addition to the time-slip genre. Highly recommended for fans of the time-travel romance in Myra McEntire's HOURGLASS and the breathless pace and high stakes of Veronica Roth's DIVERGENT. I absolutely loved it." - Leigh Ann Kopans, ONE and TWO

"LOOP is a wild romp through time with an epic mystery brimming with romance. We couldn't put it down!" - Lisa & Laura Roecker, authors of THE LIAR SOCIETY series and THIS IS W.A.R.

"So. Much. Fun. Bree Bennis belongs on the list of Most Awesome Time Travelers Ever, right alongside the Doctor and Marty McFly. And Akins belongs on the list of Writers You Must Read ASAP." - Carrie Harris, author of Demon Derby, Bad Taste in Boys, and Bad Hair Day

by Karen Akins

Georgie: Hi, this is Georgie Masterson, and I’m here today to interview my big brother Finn’s girlfriend Bree.

Bree: Wait. What? I thought you said we were just catching up with each other.

G: We are. In front of these blog readers.

B: What’s a blog?

G: Okay, you’re kind of showing your twenty-third centuryishness right now. So just, umm, shhhh.

B: Georgie! No one is supposed to know I’m from the future.

G: Oh. About that. We’re kind of talking about time travel issues, so…

B: …

G: You’ll probably need to—

B: Did you just say we’re talking about time travel issues? As in, people know that I’m a Shifter?

G: Well, that is why we were invited to do this interview, so I’m going to go with…yeah.

B: You know that no one is supposed to know about our ability.

G: It may have slipped out.

B: Slipped out, like you accidentally told a single close and trusted friend?

G: Slipped out as in I told a woman who decided to write a novel about it.

B: WHAT?

G: She’s really nice. I think you’d like her. Her name is Karen, and she loves Nutella as much as you.

B: You take that back.

G: I will not.

B: I can’t believe you sold my story to this Karen person.

G: I never said I sold it…for money.

B: What did she pay you with?

G: (((illegible mumbling)))

B: What was that?

G: SHERLOCK FAN FIC. Are you happy now? Anyway. We’re here today to talk to people about the second part of your story. The part where things get a little twisty and all heck breaks loose and…you go all lip-a-palooza on Wyck.

B: Seriously? You’re going to bring the kiss up?

G: People are worried it’s a love triangle.

B: It’s not.

G: Well, it looks bad.

B: I love your brother. Two hundred years isn’t going to change that.

G: But he—

B: No spoilers, Georgie!

G: I thought you were upset it had been made into a novel.

B: …

G: You want to read it, don’t you?

B: Where does the story start?

G: When you met Finn.

B: And where does it end?

G: ((whispers in Bree’s ear))

B: Yeah, okay. I want to read it.

Thanks so much for having me on your blog! I hope everyone has fun reading TWIST!!

Thank you for stopping by today Karen. Georgie, and Bree!

website * goodreads * twitter * facebook

Karen Akins writes humorous, light sci-fi for young adults and the young in spirit. When not writing or reading, she loves lightsaber dueling with her two sons and forcing her husband to watch BBC shows with her. 

Karen has been many things in her life: an archery instructor, drummer for the shortest-lived garage band in history, and a shockingly bad tic-tac-toe player.