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Monday, June 28, 2010

Guest Post & Giveaway with Andrea Cremer

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I am very happy to have the amazing debut author Andrea Cremer by my side today! The first  novel of her trilogy, Nightshade, will release in October 2010 and let me tell you, this is one amazing book! I was lucky enough to receive an ARC, so you can read my review here if you want more details! Andrea created a rather unique werewolf love in her book, and I asked her to tell us a bit more about it!

 

 

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Calla Tor has always know her destiny: After graduating from the Mountain School, she’ll be the mate of sexy alpha wolf Ren Laroche and fight with him, side by side, ruling their pack and guarding scared sites for the keepers. But when she violate her masters’ by saving a beautiful human boy out for a hike, Calla begins to question her fate, her existence, and the very essence of the world she has known. By following her heart, she might loose everything- including her own life. Is forbidden love worth the ultimate sacrifice?

 

Something Wolfish This Way Comes

Thanks so much, Tynga, for the invitation to share some thoughts about wolves and writiheight=264ng. This post will be part confession, part discussion.  First: confession.

I’ve lived long in the realm of paranormal/fantasy proudly bearing my badge of vampire girl. That’s right: I came on board as a fan of vamps, not werewolves. I was Team Edward during Twilight. I prefer Bill and Eric to Sam in Tru Blood. But before you start throwing tomatoes, let me tell you why.

Friends who knew I was a vampire girl presumed that meant I love ALL forms of paranormal, so they’d push werewolves at me enthusiastically. I wasn’t interested, and I couldn’t figure out why. After all they were fierce, strong, magical – all things I liked. So what was the problem? And then it hit me – I didn’t like werewolves because I love wolves.

That’s right – I’m a wolf girl, but a real wolf girl. I grew up so far North in Wisconsin that it’s practically Canada. Wolves roamed the forests of my homeland. I also loved National Geographic specials even more than cartoons. So by age 9 I could rattle off biological and ecological info like a pro. Wolves to me were beautiful, intelligent, social, and graceful.

Werewolves seemed to be none of these things. The werewolves I’d encountered on page and screen were hideous – half man/half beast, usually ugly, often unintelligent, driven only by rage or bloodlust. height=169

And worst of all: they didn’t want to be wolves. Lycanthropy occurs as a curse, or a disease. The endgoal of most werewolf tales was to kill the wolf or free the affected person of the wolf curse. height=249

I couldn’t come to grips with that idea. If someone asked me – hey wanna turn into a wolf? I’d say “heck, yeah!” Wouldn’t you rather be a wolf? From what I know of wolves, the answer is indisputably YES.

Nightshade’s Guardians are my way of coming to terms with my love of wolves and my trouble with classic werewolf tales. Calla – the alpha female who narrates Nightshade – is powerful and revels in her life as a wolf.

Her troubles arise not from her ability to shift, but from the ways in which her masters try to limit her power, to restrain her freedoms.

Wolves also inspire me because of their sociability.

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height=232Pack relationships offered a wonderful way to explore a world of friendship, servitude, loyalty, and betrayal. While Nightshade is about Calla’s journey, it’s also the story of her pack. The other wolves in the book play key roles throughout the trilogy. Wolves offered a wonderful framework around which to explore relationships, love, fear, and rivalry.

I still love vampires, but I have to say I think I’m switching teams. Wolves carry a magic and mystery to me that captured my heart and hasn’t let go. It was just a matter of finding my own way to tell their story.

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Thank you very much Andrea for sharing with us =) It’s true that werewolves are offend portrayed as violent and impulsive creatures and the lore you created for Nightshade was quite refreshing!

Now to give you a taste of what you can expect from Nightshade, here are the very first sentences of the book!

I'd always welcomed war, but in battle my passion rose unbidden.
The bear's roar filled my ears. Its hot breath assaulted my nostrils, fueling my bloodlust. Behind me I could hear the boy's ragged breath. The desperate sound made my nails dig into the earth. I snarled at the larger predator again, daring it to try to get past me.

Convinced yet? Yeah, that’s what I thought!

Andrea generously offered and ARC of Nightshade and a wolfish surprise (a calendar, stuffed animal, or postcards, something like that) to a lucky reader!

Why is it a surprise? Well surprises are way cool, but Andrea hasn’t decided yet lol so whoever wins, please let me know what you received lol I’m a curious little think!

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Open Worldwide (Thank you Andrea!)

to enter, Please FILL THE FORM

Ends July 4th, 2010.

Tynga is a 32 years old mom of two, from Montreal, working as a lab technician in an hospital specialized in heart disease. In her free time, she enjoys reading all things Paranormal and photography.

Follow Tynga on: Facebook | Twitter

29 People left their mark' :

  1. Hm, I'd not heard of this one before.

    Great post! Off to add it to my wishlist, I love anything with werewolves!

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  2. Nightshade! The cover is awesome! I can't wait to read this book! Werewolves!

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  3. Thanks for making this international, Andrea! :) Thank, Tynga!

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  4. Great post! And thank you for making this awesome giveaway international! I can't wait to read Nightshade!

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  5. Thanks for the fantastic giveaway :)

    http://www.geekybloggersbookblog.com/2010/06/hidden-wives-by-claire-avery-give-away.html

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  6. Thanks so much for the giveaway! I just love the premise (& cover) of this book. : )

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  7. I can't wait to get my paws on this book.

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  8. Love the cover. Sounds like a good book. Thanks for the giveaway.
    Sue B

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  9. Nightshade sounds like a wonderful story, can't wait to read it.

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  10. 100% agree with you Andrea. I was a vamp girl myself before moving on to weres :)

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  11. great contest and nice interview with Andrea--love the cover.

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  12. I have always been and ALWAYS WILL BE a wolf-girl at heart! I enjoy all of the other supernaturals, but werewolves are my absolute favorite to read about!

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  13. This book looks fantastic! Thanks for the contest!

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  14. I love her take on wolves!!! Thats awesome!! Thanks for the great giveaway!!

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  15. I really want to read this one.

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  16. Great post! Thanks for the giveaway :)

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  17. Loved the post. I want this book so bad!!! GRR :) Thanks for having the contest.

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  18. I reeeaaally want this book! Thanks for the great giveaway!

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  19. This sounds like a great book , thanks for the giveaway!!!

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  20. Yes, Yes, Yes!!!!=)

    I agree! I am definitely a big Werewolf or Shifter lover. And I love when the character embrace and love their inner wolf, tiger, snake, bird, or whatever the inner animal.

    I am elated when I can find a novel that doesnt view being a were as a curse but more so a blessing or a privileged?

    This post is perfect and hits a rather large nail on the head. It all makes sense to me and I am excited to have read it!=)

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  21. I've been dying to read this ever since I saw it in an WoW post! The cover is gorgeous and the story sounds amazing! Thank you so much for hosting this giveaway!

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  22. i'm dreaming to read this book! it sounds so great and the cover is just beautiful
    thanks for this international giveaway 8D

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  23. I really want to read this. Thanks for the post.

    dorcontest at gmail dot com

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  24. Thanks for the giveaway. I love the cover!

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  25. This book sounds great giveaway thank you!

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  26. This one looks awesome - thanks!

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  27. This is one of those books that I get more and more excited about the more I read about it (and the cover is just amazing, too!). And reading that about the wolves made me somehow even more eager to read it & I wasn't sure that was possible. (That second wolf pic is a bit like one I have on my wall.)

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  28. Hi Tynga.
    I won the paranormal summer fest contest for an ARC of Nightshade. It arrived last Thursday and I finished it on Sunday. It was an amazing book! I loved it, i loved the characters and I loved the world that ANdrea Cremer has created.

    BTW this is my very first ARC and it is a treasure I will always keep!


    You wanted to know what the surprise was? The only thing that arrived was the book, but honestly, the surprise was how much I loved it.

    Thank you for the give away!

    mollypmormon@gmail.com

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  29. Molly - oh maybe Andrea forgot, she seems crazy busy right now.

    I'm glad you loved the book!

    & thanks for letting me know ^^

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