Interview with Emmy Laybourne + Giveaway!

I'm so excited and honored to introduce to you Emmy Laybourne, author of the popular YA book Monument 14! Thanks for agreeing to answer some of my questions and for providing an audio copy of your book, Ms. Laybourne.

I'll be asking her a few things and at the end of this post - readers, you can enter to win an audio book of Monument 14 - how cool is that?!

Goodreads ~ Website ~ Facebook ~ Twitter

 

Q:

 

Ok, let's get started. Did writing Monument 14 present any specific challenges for you?

 

A:

 

Yes, Monument 14 is about fourteen kids who are trapped in a superstore while civilization collapses outside the gates. It was hard, frankly, to make such a nice cast of kids and then do such rotten things to them. As a mother, half the time I just wanted to tuck them in and have them get a good night of sleep! But of course, that's not the kind of story I was writing. Things were very scary and very serious for the kids in the store - and they continue to be that way in the rest of the series!

 

Q:

 

That would be difficult! What are your plans for the series, other than what you just mentioned? How many books can we expect?
 

A:

Monument 14 Book 2 is called Sky On Fire. It will hit bookstores in June of 2013. I am currently outlining book 3. After I write the third Monument 14 book, I will be ready to start something new! I will be developing a fantasy series, which I'm very excited about!
 

Q:

 

Something to look forward to for all of us! How long have you been writing? Do you think you will continue doing so?

 

A:

I've been writing fiction since elementary school! I wrote a creative thesis in college and even during my early twenties, when I was mostly working as an actor, I was still writing - creating my own material to perform. One of my favorite things that I've ever written is the comedy song that I performed with my brother, Sam, on Comedy Central. It's called, "We Can't Make Love Because We're Related!" You can see it at emmylaybourne.com!
 

"This or That" Time!

 

Q:

 

Night owl or early bird?

 

A:

Early bird all the way! I love to be up before the sun and hit my keyboard at just as the sun comes up over the horizon! I do all my best thinking before 10 am.
 

Q:

 

Past or future?

 

A:

I am thankful to the past, but I pick the sweet, myseterious future!

Dag Hammarskjold, the former UN Secretary General, said it best: "For all that has been - Thank You. For all that is to come - Yes."

 

Q:

 

Loner or social butterfly?

 

A:

Ach - I'm both! I love the solitude of writing, but I am outgoing as well. This is not as rare as some might think - I've met lots of writers and book lovers who share this strange simultaneous intro & extrovertedness.
 

Q:

 

Writer or reader?

 

A:

Double ach - both again!!! I love to write and I love to read in equal measure, though of course, the experiences are very different. Reading is consuming - writing is creating. When I read, I get sucked right into the story. I devour novels for the story - sometimes I skim descriptions of setting and tone to get to the action and dialogue. If I really love a book, I will then re-read it, and get the full experience. Writing is a completely different action. When I am writing, I spend a lot of time walking, actually! I walk and walk until I understand the scene ahead of me and then I sit down and the story pours out of me. Sometimes it coms faster than I can type. I've heard writing (and all creative arts) called "touching the divine" and that is how it feels to me. For moments at a time, I feel like I somehow cease to exist, and I am connected to something bigger, and smarter and all-knowing. Those moments are what I love most about being a novelist.
 

Wonderful answers! I love throwing those hard questions at people (not really but its fun to hear their answers)! Thanks for your cooperation!!

 

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Here is the book description and trailer:

 

"Fourteen kids. One superstore. A million things that go wrong.

In Emmy Laybourne’s action-packed debut novel, six high school kids (some popular, some not), two eighth graders (one a tech genius), and six little kids trapped together in a chain superstore build a refuge for themselves inside. While outside, a series of escalating disasters, beginning with a monster hailstorm and ending with a chemical weapons spill, seems to be tearing the world—as they know it—apart.

 

I hope everyone enjoyed getting to know a little bit more about the author behind Monument 14, thank you for reading and be sure to enter below for a chance to win an audiobook!! May the odds be ever in your favor! A big thanks to Emmy for coming on the blog and for providing an audio book for you readers!

 

Rules and Conditions and Stuff You Need To Know:

 

This giveaway is for ONLY the U.S. and Canada

 

Winner will be picked randomly on New Years Eve (December 31, 2012)

 

Winner has 48 hours to respond or another winner will be chosen

 

Winner's email address will be forwarded to author for shipping purposes only - it will not be shared with anyone else and will be deleted after

 

To enter fill out the Rafflecopter below

 

** Monument 14 Audiobook GIVEAWAY **



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