Hello & Welcome to today's The Queen's Choice blog tour, hosted by Kismet. I'm so thrilled to have author Cayla Kluver on the blog today. Before I share my guest post from Cayla, I'd love to tell you a little bit about the book:
About The Book
Magic was seeping out of me, black and agonizing. I could see it drifting away. The magic that would let me pass the Road to reach home again.
When sixteen-year-old Anya learns that her aunt, Queen of the Faerie Kingdom of Chrior, will soon die, her grief is equaled only by her despair for the future of the kingdom. Her young cousin, Illumina, is unfit to rule, and Anya is determined not to take up the queen's mantle herself.
Convinced that the only solution is to find Prince Zabriel, who long ago disappeared into the human realm of Warckum, and persuade him to take up his rightful crown, Anya journeys into the Warckum Territory to bring him home. But her journey is doomed to be more harrowing than she ever could have imagined….
Find out more about The Queen's Choice
- Heirs of Chrior tumblr
- Add it to your Shelf: Goodreads
- Get a Copy: Amazon | Barnes &Nobles | Indie Bound | BookDepository
3 Characteristics that all YA Heroines Should Possess
The label “young adult” encompasses a huge market, one comprised of people who are growing physically, emotionally, and professionally. To write for this market is to recognize a responsibility to aid in that growth. That’s not to say all YA books have to be preachy or upbeat (I’d be out of a job), but rather that they should open doors and new avenues of thought. Not to diminish the struggles of their counterparts, young women in particular are fighting an uphill battle in today’s world. This places extra weight on the shoulders of heroines in the YA genre. I’ve drawn up three fail-safes that, in my opinion, all young adult heroines should possess.
- Uniqueness. Every reader is different. Every person in the world has traits that make them stand apart, and a character in a book should be no different. In the formative years of life, it’s alienating to read about a heroine who seems like a cardboard cutout.
- Insecurity. No one goes through life without insecurities, and a lot of times, those insecurities develop, and either gain or lose strength, in the young adult stage. It’s comforting to pick up a book and meet a kindred spirit within the pages. Sometimes that experience helps readers gain perspective on their own worries, and maybe even let them go.
- Honesty. I don’t mean that a character should never tell a lie. I mean that if your heroine is a big fat liar, she should lie often and loudly. If she suffers from depression, we should learn what that means, how it feels, what her real struggles are. If she’s deluded, let us in on her delusions. If she’s successful, let us see the joys and heartaches of fighting her way up the ladder. If she’s brave, readers want to know how she bolsters herself and masters her fear. Let her be a whole person.
About The Author
Cayla Kluver is the author of the Legacy Series (Legacy, 2011; Allegiance, 2012; Sacrifice, 2012). Her new book The Queen's Choice will be published by HarlequinTEEN in winter 2013/ spring 2014.
The Giveaway
Each tour stop is offering up a copy of The Queen's Choice, and one winner will receive a fantastic grand prize package including the following Harlequin Teen titles: 2 copies of The Queen's Choice, a copy of White Hot Kiss and Grim, a signed copy of Heartbeat and a complete set of The Legacy trilogy from Cayla Kluver.
Giveaway is open to US/Canada.
Tour Schedule Monday
March 17th - YA Bibliophile
Wednesday, March 19th - Mundie Mom's
Friday, March 21th - Two Chicks on Books
Monday, March 24th - Melissa's Eclectic Book Shelf
Wednesday, March 26th - Refracted Light Reviews
Friday, March 28th - Such A Novel Idea
Posts
omg this is such an awesome giveaway!!! thank you so much :)
ReplyDeleteThis book sounds awesome and I love the heroine already!
ReplyDeleteI really like the sound of this. The fact that she's trying to do what she thinks will be best for the kingdom and not taking control is great. I hope the Prince proves worthy.
ReplyDeleteThis book sounds great!
ReplyDeleteLove love the cover!
ReplyDeleteThe books sounds like a fun adventure to read and the cover is gorgeous
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree! I can't stand it when books have a perfect character or a carbon copy of stereotype! It's way more interesting and easy to connect to a realistic, flawed character.
ReplyDeletethis looks and sounds fantastic! Thanks for sharing ;)
ReplyDeleteI like a YA heroine who can be kick-ass without actually having to physically kick an ass.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the giveaway! I can’t wait to read this. : ) What was your inspiration for this book?
ReplyDeleteThere were two elements I really wanted to explore. First, the idea of someone privileged (with magic, influence, beauty, etc.) who has everything taken away from her. I wanted to explore how she would cope, what she would cling to in order to keep going, and if/how she would recover. Second, I wanted to create a juxtaposition between two worlds that, on the surface, look like perfect examples of heaven and hell. The Faerie Realm is pure, nature-focused, and seems to engender happiness and contentment, while the human world suffers corrupt politicians, cruel laws, pollution, and everything rough-and-tumble. But nothing is ever that simple, and I created these worlds so that I could strip away the layers of each of them and show their cores. This is a process I’m planning to continue through all three books, and that hopefully will leave readers to draw their own conclusions!
DeleteThe cover is beautiful and the story sounds like it is going to be really good. I love the fae so I'm always looking for new reads on them. Can't wait to read this one!
ReplyDeleteHeather @ Ya Fantasy Book Junkie
Beautiful cover and I can't wait to read it
ReplyDelete