Thursday, January 2, 2014

Blog Tour (Interview & Giveaway): Taste of Darkness by Maria V. Snyder


Taste of Darkness Tour Schedule

Welcome to my stop on the Taste of Darkness Blog Tour, brought to you by Rockstar Book Tours. Today I will be featuring an interview with Maria V. Snyder about her writing, and there will be a tour-wide giveaway at the end of the post!



Title: Taste of Darkness (Healer #3)
Author:
Maria V. Snyder
Publisher: Harlequin MIRA
Tour Organizer: Rockstar Book Tours
Release Date: December 31, 2013

She's fought death and won. But how can she fight her fears?

Avry knows hardship and trouble. She fought the plague and survived. She took on King Tohon and defeated him. But now her heart-mate, Kerrick, is missing, and Avry fears he's gone forever.

But there's a more immediate threat. The Skeleton King plots to claim the Fifteen Realms for his own. With armies in disarray and the dead not staying down, Avry's healing powers are needed now more than ever.Torn between love and loyalty, Avry must choose her path carefully. For the future of her world depends on her decision.


Author Interview

1. What has been the most fun part of writing the Healer series?

I had a ton of fun writing the interactions between the main characters. When Kerrick, Avry, Flea, Belen, Loren, and Quain are all traveling together and joking around, that was a blast. I also enjoyed writing Kerrick’s POV in Scent of Magic, it was something different for me and I had some fun with it.

2. Has there been any aspect of these (or any of your novels) that surprised you as you wrote them?

As a seat-of-the-pants writer, there is always something in each of my books that surprises me. The Commander’s secret in my first book, Poison Study shocked me. In the Healer series, Flea’s death was a surprise and Tohon’s dead soldiers arrived without any warning. These plot twists make sense once I think about it. Tohon is a life magician, but at the time, I was just as much caught off guard as Avry. There are many drawbacks to being a pantser, but those unexpected surprises make up for it every time!

3. Do you have any book that you've written that is especially close to your heart?

I have to say Poison Study. It’s my first book and I spent over five years writing and revising and sending it to publishers and agents. I experienced lots of emotion as rejections came back and then finally an acceptance. We’ve been through a lot together. :-)

4. When do you get most of your ideas for what you write?

I get my ideas from everywhere. Books, movies, TV, magazines, newspapers, my kids, my travels, the people I meet, etc… I never know when something is going to spark an idea so I keep an open mind. I tell my writing students, “Life is fodder,” because it’s so true. I don’t lack for ideas, I lack the time to write all the stories I want!

5. Finally, a question from my favorite Maria V. Snyder fanboy - is it likely that you'll ever write a prequel to the Study series about the rise of the Commander?

Right now, I don’t have any plans to write a prequel, however that can always change. I am working on a new Study book with Yelena and Valek and the gang. This book has chapters from Valek’s POV and I do multiple flashbacks to how he became an assassin and how he met the Commander. I hope that might appease your fanboy. It’s tentatively set for a January 2015 release, with book 2 coming out 9 months later.

Thanks so much for stopping by, Maria, and I can't wait to see what you come out with next!

Book Trailer



Buy Links
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo



About the Author

Maria V. Snyder changed from being a meteorologist to a novelist in 1995, when she began writing to keep her sanity while raising two children. Since then, she has published numerous freelance articles in magazines and newspapers, and teaches fiction-writing classes at the local college and area libraries. The classes give her the wonderful opportunity to encourage fellow writers, and to keep improving her craft.

Born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Maria always had a fascination with big storms. Dreaming of chasing tornadoes, Maria earned a bachelors of science degree in meteorology at Penn State University. But she discovered, much to her chagrin, that forecasting the weather wasn't one of her skills. In order to chase tornadoes, you had to predict where they might from. Creating fantasy worlds where she has complete control of the weather was more agreeable to her.

Maria's research on food-tasting methods with an expert chocolate taster, her husband, turned out to be a delicious bonus while writing Poison Study.

Maria has a brown belt in Isshinryu Karate, and enjoys playing volleyball and the cello. Traveling in general and via cruise ship in particular are her biggest distractions from writing. Maria has traveled to Belize, Canada, China, Costa Rica, Europe, Mexico, the Caribbean and through the Panama Canal.

Maria lives with her husband, son, daughter and yellow lab, Hazelnut, in Pennsylvania where she is at work on more LUNA novels. She is also pursuing a master's degree in writing popular fiction from Seton Hill University.

Readers are welcome to contact Maria at the following email address: maria@mariavsnyder.com.

Links
Website | Blog | Facebook | Goodreads



Follow the Tour

Week One:

Dec. 30th - Read Now, Sleep Later - Interview
Dec. 31st - Tynga's Reviews - Guest Post
Jan. 1st - Fiktshun - Guest Post
Jan. 2nd - Bibliophilia, Please - Interview
Jan. 3rd - Snowdrop Dreams of Books - Review

Week Two:

Jan. 6th- Parajunkee - Guest Post
Jan. 7th - Moonlight Gleam - Review
Jan. 8th - The Cover Contessa - Interview
Jan. 9th - Two Chicks on Books - Guest Post
Jan. 10th - Kindle and Me - Interview

Blog Tour Giveaway

There is a tourwide giveaway for ten (10) copies of Taste of Darkness that is US only and two (2) copies of Taste of Darkness that is open internationally.

Ends at 12:01am EST on

a Rafflecopter giveaway

10 comments:

  1. I love her books so much! So excited for Taste of Darkness! :)

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    1. I know this tour is for the Healer series, but Maria's answers made me even more excited for the Study series!

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  2. Thanks for being a part of my blog tour! I had fun answering the questions :)

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    1. Thank you so much for your time, Maria! Your answers made me a very happy lady!

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  3. That trailer was pretty darn awesome. I'm gonna have to see the series other ones now. Great Interview as well!

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  4. I loved Touch of Power and have Scent of Magic waiting for me to read. Now that book 3 has been released I really need to catch up with Avry and the gang! :)

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    Replies
    1. I hope you enjoy the second and third books as much as Touch of Power!

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  5. This book sounds great! Looks like a series I could really get into!

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  6. Thanks so much for this, can't wait to pick this up!

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You are going to put words in my box?! *squeezes you* Now I shall stalk YOUR blog!