Zerina Blossom's Books

Friday, December 9, 2016

Book Tour: Silence Interrupted

Description

Silence Interrupted

by Sania Shaikh

Synopsis:

Two months before Troye Saavedra’s senior year of high school, his father’s drinking problem skyrockets. When Troye’s parents make an impulsive move to Georgia in order to “help” him finish high school on a positive note, he is forced to leave behind everything he knows. Things couldn’t get worse for Troye. That is, until he meets three enigmatic teenagers: Adelaide, an independent violinist with radical ideas; Zaidan, fiercely loyal and always funny; and Arabella, a girl who harbors secret struggles. Together, the four friends try to pick up the jagged pieces of their lives without getting hurt themselves. An insightful tale of perseverance, Silence Interrupted is a young adult novel about the beauty and peril of traversing the world as a teenager.

Buy Link:

Amazon

About the Author

Sania Shaikh is a junior at Cambridge High School. Inspired to write from a young age, she worked on Silence Interrupted, her debut novel, starting in eighth grade.

Connect with the author: Website | Twitter | Facebook

Tour Schedule

Dec 5 - Working Mommy Journal - book spotlight

Dec 5 - FLY HIGH! - book spotlight

Dec 5 - Room With Books - book spotlight

Dec 6 - Turning the Pages - book spotlight

Dec 6 - Books, Dreams, Life - book spotlight

Dec 7 - Rockin' Book Reviews - book spotlight

Dec 7 - 100 Pages A Day - book spotlight

Dec 8 - A Mama's Corner of the World - book spotlight

Dec 8 - Lukten av Trykksverte - book spotlight

Dec 9 - Zerina Blossom's Books - book spotlight

Dec 12 - Shoshi Reads - book spotlight

Dec 12 - Christy's Cozy Corners - book spotlight

Dec 13 - Bound 2 Escape - book spotlight

Dec 13 - Reading Authors - book spotlight

Dec 14 - The Autistic Gamer - book spotlight

Dec 14 - The All Night Library - book spotlight

Dec 15 - Books for Books - book spotlight

Dec 15 - Library of Clean Reads - book spotlight

Dec 16 - Celticlady's Reviews - book spotlight

Dec 16 - Mystery Suspense Reviews - book spotlight

Dec 19 - Book Lover in Florida - book spotlight

Dec 19 - Heidi's Wanderings - book spotlight

Dec 20 - E-News With Jessy - book spotlight

Dec 20 - Outset - Rakhi Jayashankar's Blog - book spotlight

Dec 21 - The Journey Back - book spotlight

Dec 21 - Bookworm for Kids - book spotlight

Dec 22 - StoreyBook Reviews - book spotlight

Dec 23 - Svetlana's Reads and Views - book spotlight

Cover Reveal: The Last Shadow Gate

Friday, November 18, 2016

Book Tour, Guest Post, and Giveaway: The Breedling and the City in the Garden

Description

The Breedling and the City in the Garden

by Kimberlee Ann Bastian

Synopsis:

Absolute obedience, servitude, neutrality.

These were the laws that once governed Bartholomew, an immortal soulcatcher, until one ill-fated night when he was forced to make a choice: rebel against his masters or reveal an ancient, dangerous secret.

He chose defiance.

Imprisoned for centuries as punishment for his decision, Bartholomew wastes away—until he creates an opportunity to escape. By a stroke of chance, Bartholomew finds himself in the human world and soon learns that breaking his bonds does not come without a price. Cut off from the grace that once ruled him, he must discover a new magic in 1930s Chicago.

Armed with only a cryptic message to give him direction, Bartholomew desperately tries to resume the mission he had started so long ago. Relying on the unlikely guidance of the streetwise orphan Charlie Reese, Bartholomew must navigate the depressed streets of the City in the Garden. But in order to solve this riddle, he must first discover if choice and fate are one in the same.

Buy the Book:

Amazon ~ Barnes & Noble ~ Author Website

About the Author

Kimberlee Ann Bastian has a unique love affair with American nostalgia, mythology, and endless possibilities. This melting pot of elements is what prompted the creation of her epic ELEMENT ODYSSEYS series, starting with the reboot of her debut novel now titled THE BREEDLING AND THE CITY IN THE GARDEN.

When she is not in her writer's room, working her current "day job", or consuming other literary worlds, she enjoys hiking and cycling around the bluffs of your Southeastern MN home and catching up on her favorite pop culture.

Connect with the author: Website ~ Twitter ~ Facebook ~Pinterest ~ Instagram

Guest Post

A Historical Soundtrack

For me, music has always been a big part of my life, so when it came time to add some songs to The Breedling and the City in the Garden, I dug through the archives of the late 1920s and ‘30s. To get started, I first turned to the Grammy award winning soundtrack Oh, Brother Where Art Thou for inspiration. Set during the Depression Era, the film had its pulse on the vintage sound I was looking for and though a handful of the songs are original, I knew my story wouldn’t be complete without the 1928 classic Big Rock Candy Mountains by Harry McClintock. The folk song was an easy start to my soundtrack, but I knew I had to diversify, especially since the story takes place in Chicago.

I knew I needed to highlight the city’s timeless jazz/blues sound, and while on the hunt I discovered Fats Waller. Now, one of Waller’s most famous songs, Honeysuckle Rose, didn’t grab me the first time I heard it and I wasn’t even going to consider it, but what really sold me on Waller was his connection to Chicago. According to the late singer’s biography by Maurice Waller & Anthony Calabrese, Fats Waller was kidnapped while leaving a performance in Chicago in 1926. As the account goes, four men bundled him into a car and took him to the Hawthorne Inn, which was owned by Al Capone. Gun to his back, Waller was pushed towards a piano, and told to play. Terrified, Waller did as asked and later discovered he was the "surprise guest" for Capone's birthday party. But it was not just that night Waller played. According to rumors, Waller actually played for three days, upon which, after the third day, he left very drunk, extremely tired, and had earned thousands of dollars in cash from Capone and other party-goers as tips. With a story like that, Fats Waller had to be a part of my soundtrack and so his comical jazz tune made the cut.

For my next selection, I stumbled on the 1933 song, Stormy Weather. Originally sung and recorded by Ethel Waters at the Cotton Club in Harlem. Notably one of the first African American superstars, Ethel’s promising vocal career took her to the stage as well as motion pictures. I choose the song because of its foreshadowing element for the coming of the Black Blizzard. Later in the book, at the speakeasy, the resident Canary sings an unidentified song accompanied solely be a piano. I couldn’t find a specific song to feature in this scene, at least not one I liked, but I envisioned something closely related to Chicago The Musical’s When Your Good to Mama. The additional song the Canary sings in the speakeasy is the haunting Undertaker Blues by Rosa Henderson with The Kansas City Five. Oddly enough I came across the song on a 1920-1930s Halloween playlist just within the last rewrite of the novel. I couldn’t find any history on the song itself, but after listening to it a few times and reading through the lyrics, I knew I needed to feature it in the story.

The two instrumental songs that exist in the book are both played on a single harmonica. The mouth organ or blue’s harp as it is sometimes known, became a character all its own, weaving a tune a regret, wickedness, and a lullaby throughout the story. The first one is the Snake Charmer’s Theme, played by Hades and the other is Jimmy’s Song, played by Charlie and Bartholomew. Both of these songs exist only in my head at the moment as I don’t actually play the harmonica. However, to get an idea of what the haunting sound of Hades’ tune would sound like I gathered inspiration from composer Ennio Morricone’s score The Man with the Harmonica from the film Once Upon a Time in the West, although image it without the added orchestra. For Jimmy’s Song, it is completely an original piece that features the harmonica as a soothing instrument, singing a somber lullaby, and unfortunately has no compatible comparison.

There were dozens of other songs that didn’t make the final cut, but a full listing can be found on YouTube @ https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrMO5LmKGw2LyHwg6-JMZq8vtwYEQxyDJ