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Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Interview and Giveaway: author Cassandra Marshall


I'm excited to have Cassandra Marshall stopping by today for an interview and giveaway! Cassandra is the author of the YA steampunk fantasy The Stars Fell Sideways. Be sure to read my review...

The Stars Fell Sideways
Cassandra Marshall
10/1/12
MolliPup Press
Alison Arroway takes a lickin’ and keeps on tickin’. She has to, or she won’t get paid. Alison is a stunt double for pampered teen actress Pomegranate and when the director takes the shoot to Portugal, Alison is anything but thrilled to be rooming with Pom. But getting to hang around teen hearthrob Erik? Now that’s a plus.Erik invites both girls on a sunset boat trip and Alison manages to have a decent time. Until the storm hits and the boat is shipwrecked on a small island, leaving Erik missing and the boat captain dead. In the morning light, Alison and Pom find themselves on the lost island of Atlantis. Only one problem: now that the girls know the secret of the island, the Atlanteans don’t want them to leave. They're stuck with corsets, full-skirted dresses, and the strange steam-driven contraptions that are just a way of life for the islanders.When a plot by the ruthless army Captain to take over the island and declare himself General over all emerges, an underground group promises to return the girls to the mainland if they can help stop him. They'll go through a mountain, literally, to find the Book of Blue, a book that will explain how to make ‘the stars fall sideways' in order to save the day and earn their freedom.



WS: What three words best describe THE STARS FELL SIDEWAYS?
CM- Islands, Atlantis, & fun!

WS: In one sentence, can you give us your best pitch to convince readers that they MUST read your book?
CM- It's a fun and quick read that includes a steampunk twist on the Atlantis legend and hot boys!

WS: Where did the idea or story behind THE STARS FELL SIDEWAYS come from? Why Atlantis?
CM- I have no idea where the idea come from! :(  I wrote a straight contemporary for NaNo and wanted something completely different and next thing I knew I was writing a fantastical steampunk-infused kick-ass teen stunt double story.

WS: Grab a copy of THE STARS FELL SIDEWAYS and answer the following:
Favorite chapter?
CM- Seven!
Favorite page?
CM- 166
Favorite Character? What do you love about them?
CM- Pom. She was a lot of fun to write. While I love Alison and her take-no-prisoners adventurous personality, the totally clueless and mega-actress personality of Pom was a lot of fun to write.
Flip to a random page, choose one or two sentences and give us a little teaser please.
CM- "There was a roaring sound that started out small but quickly grew in intensity until we couldn’t hear anything. Erik pulled us up the small stairs to the deck and when we turned to lookat the captain, all that was there was broken wood. The entire top half of the boat was missing." 

WS: Is there a sequel planned for THE STARS FELL SIDEWAYS (I really hope there is!)? If so, can you share anything about what may happen next?
CM- Yep! There's a sequel planned! Alison and Corben will be reunited and more secrets about the island are revealed!

WS: Your character Alison gets stranded with Pomegranate, a very famous actress... what actress or actor would you love to get stranded with?
CM- Preferably one that is smart enough to keep us alive until help arrives... Benedict Cumberbatch is nice to look at and maybe his Sherlock smarts have rubbed off? Or there's also Nathan Fillion! For a bestie, it'd be fun to hang out with Emma Watson or Anne Hathaway for a while!

WS: In THE STARS FELL SIDEWAYS, the lost island of Atlantis is divided into different small cities where the people perform certain jobs...which city would you live in and what job would you hold if you resided in Atlantis?
CM- I'd love the views of Aeddlist, being on top of the mountain, and I'd like to think I ran a bookshop or maybe a haberdashery! 

WS: In THE STARS FELL SIDEWAYS, Alison works as a teen stunt double (which is so cool!) and there are a lot of movie references throughout the book, so I gotta ask, what's YOUR favorite movie? And what's the last awesome movie you watched?
CM- I'm a movie junkie! I have lots of favorites but I think my top top three are The Family Stone, The Little Mermaid, and Jurassic Park! The last awesome movie I watched was Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. It was panned by the critics, but I thought it was pretty neat!

WS: Fill in the blanks:
I'm really awesome at  crafting things, like making my own version of things I see that I like. I can crochet, paint, sew, and build but sadly I'm not a genius at any of them.

I'm embarrassed to admit that 
I'm terribly afraid of the dark. Like I won't even walk 100 ft in the night to get the mail from the mailbox. I'll wait until morning.

My first literary crush (character or author) was Henry Tilney from Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey, which is funny because my current WIP is a retelling of Northanger Abbey but in SPACE!

The last fantabulous book I read was  For Darkness Shows The Stars (which is also an Austen retelling!).

I'd love to write a book about  Something I can't experience myself, like Regency England or spaceships.

WS: If you were to create and bake a cupcake inspired by THE STARS FELL SIDEWAYS what would it look and taste like and what would you call it?
CM- I'd have blue-tinted cream cheese frosting over a half vanilla with sprinkles in, half carrot cake base. And maybe a sugar or dark choco shaped gear on top? What would I call it... Um, maybe a "Mollie Treat" because my pup would be staring at me wanting a bite!

Thank you so much Cassandra for answering my questions!

Connect with the author: Site / Goodreads / Twitter / Facebook
Cassandra Marshall is a freelance YA editor, lit agency staff, YA writer, and loves to play with her dog Mollie. She dreams of having a shelf full of books she has written and has helped others to write. She can be found in Emmett, MI,camarshall.com for writing, editorcassandra.com for editing, and on twitter @CA_Marshall. Her book can be found at thestarsfellsideways.com

Purchase The Stars Fell Sideways:
Paperback: Amazon | Createspace | Indiebound
Ebook: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Smashwords Apple iBooks Kobo | Sony 


Win a The Stars Fell Sideways prize pack or ebook copy!!!
Cassandra has generously offered two prize packs and two ebook copies for four lucky cupcakes:
2 Prize Packs (US only): print copy of The Stars Fell Sideways and other goodies (book box, bookmarks, sea glass, etc).
2 Ebook Copies (INT only): two INT winners will win an ebook copy
DETAILS
-Will run from 11/28 - 12/7 
-There will be four winners: 2 US and 2 INT
-Must be 13+, One main 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 in the mail
Fill out the appropriate Rafflecopter form...

US GIVEAWAY


INT GIVEAWAY







5 comments:

The Shadow Realm said...

Thanks for the giveaway! This sounds like an interesting read.
Hmm if I was stranded with a famous person I would love to be stranded with Stephen Fry. He is just so fascinating and I love listening to him and I'm sure he would have loads of interesting stories to tell :)

~ Yvonne

Mary Preston said...

I'll have Hugh Jackman thank you. Easy on the eyes and a sweetheart by all accounts.

Unknown said...

If I was stranded, I'd choose to be stranded with Bill Nye the Science Guy. I know that sounds weird but let me explain: Dude is smart so we'd find a way to survive and get help plus he's known to be such a nice guy.

If that's not weird enough I'd choose Neil Tyson as my second choice.

...yeah, I'm a science nerd but at least I'd live and get off the island! LOL =)

Jax's Book Magic said...

It would have to be Josh Duhamel just because I've always liked him and think he would be fun to be around.

Unknown said...

LOL what a hard question to answer....if Dora the Explorer counts as someone famous she is my 'go-to' answer when asked anything about being stranded...why? because she has EVERYTHING in that backpack! If she isn't an option then I'd pick Robert Sheehan....dude is cheeky and would have me distracted with laughing. <3