After the Fear Blog Tour: Interview with Rosanne Rivers + Giveaway!

This week, I’ve had the pleasure of interviewing Rosanne Rivers about her debut YA book and ask her a few personal questions. AFTER THE FEAR is her first book and she’s doing a month long blog tour in order to promote her book. Please join me in welcoming Rosanne to Tynga's Reviews!

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In our world, many people's lives are centered around social media sites like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. In AFTER THE FEAR, you more or less replaced these social media sites by creating Debtbook. Personally, do you think we’re becoming too dependent on such sites? Why did you decide to create Debtbook in the first place?

Yes, I think social networking is becoming very strange. Mainly, Facebook. It has so much power, it scares me! It owns everything you write, post or share on there. Most children born since 2010 will already have an album or two of them on their parents’ Facebooks. Can those children really agree for those pictures to be published onto a website? I’m not having a go at social networking because it obviously has lots of merits, but we need to be wary of what we are sharing on the internet. Debtbook is a manifestation of everything I’m afraid of happening with social networking... basically, it becoming mandatory.

The trigger cameras in your book are a way to monitor people in public and in their own homes. Truthfully, we are constantly being monitored online, through our financial transactions and in public. How far from reality do you think these trigger cameras actually are?

Not far at all! You’re right in that our movements are always being monitored, but because we’re told that it’s nothing sinister we don’t do anything about it. In fact, trigger cameras are a reality in one city in the UK, they are said to “detect threatening language or screams” and activate upon hearing it. The only leap in After the Fear is that these are installed in every household instead of on the streets.

You mention religion a few times in AFTER THE FEAR. In the book, every religion has been banned by the new England and Ireland "reform". Do you really think, by banning religion, people would be more malleable to a new way of life? Or do you think it would just create more revolts and problems?

That’s a great question. Banning religion could possibly create more of a backlash than the Demonstrations themselves as it’s such a huge part of life. But in After the Fear, the government has almost taken the place of religion, which I don’t think is too far from reality. The Shepherds are presented as faceless saviours, which is why it’s so strange for Sola when she meets one.

With the world's economy being as it is, do you think some countries will come up with drastic measures to get out of debt? Do you think the Demonstrations (or something similar that doesn't include killing) are a good way for countries to pay back their debt?

A very topical question! Take what’s happening in Cyprus this week; a freeze on taking any money out and up to a 10% tax on any savings people have in the bank... We are certainly going to more drastic measures to pay back our national debts. I think a big event which people enjoy paying for would be a great way of taxing everybody without just ripping them off. Something like football matches but instead of the money going to individuals, it could go into making the economy stronger. Obviously, Demonstrations would be awful though!!

Was it difficult for you to write a YA book with dark matters such as fighting to the death? Did you have to rewrite scenes because they were too dark or gruesome for YA?

I didn’t really worry about the genre as I was writing because I wanted to write the book true to how it should be. I also believe lots of YA readers are 18+. The only time I reigned myself in was when I thought ‘would I have wanted my little sister reading this when she was 13/14?’ If the answer was ‘no’ then it was probably wasn’t right for the book anyway.

If you had the choice, what weapon would you choose in a tryout or in a Demonstration?

If I was really good at fighting with them, then a trident and a net! To try and survive though, a dagger would be best.

Do you plan on writing more books?

Yes! I’m currently working on a YA fantasy centred around an all-female organised crime group, then I will start on the sequel to After the Fear.

Do you prefer to write on a computer, or with pen and paper? Do you have any odd writing habits?

Well my handwriting is really spaced out and I can only fit four words on a page.... which makes any writing impossible on paper, unless they’re notes. So I’m a computer girl!

What are you reading right now?

Game of Thrones! It’s taking me so long but I love it.

Thank you Rosanne, for stopping by and answering all my questions!

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Here’s a little bit about AFTER THE FEAR:

You have not attended a Demonstration this month.

In Sola’s city, everyone obeys the rules. Stay away from the trigger cameras and regularly update your Debtbook, and you just might survive. But having to watch the way criminals are dealt with—murdered by Demonstrators in the Stadium—is a law Sola tries to avoid. When a charming Demonstrator kisses her at a party, however, she’s thrust into the Stadium and forced into the very role she despises.

Armed with only natural resourcefulness and a caring nature, Sola narrowly survives her first bout. Her small success means she’s whisked off to a training camp, where she discovers a world beyond the trigger cameras and monitoring—a world where falling in love with a killer doesn’t seem so terrible.

Yet life as a Demonstrator has no peace. Sola must train her way through twenty-five more Demonstrations before she can return home to her father. At the end of each battle, only one survivor remains.

Sola could face anyone in the Stadium . . . even a loved one.

Purchase: Amazon 

My thoughts

You can also check out the rest of the tour stops here.

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Here’s your chance to win an e-copy (1) of AFTER THE FEAR!

Open internationally!

To enter the giveaway, obey the Rafflecopter!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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About the author

Rosanne lives in Birmingham, UK and considers it one of her favourite cities, second only to Rome. She delights in writing for children and young adults and hopes to bring readers to an unfamiliar yet alluring setting. Rosanne was inspired to write when she read the Harry Potter books, and at age fourteen, she wrote romance fanfiction on just about every pairing you could dream up from the HP series. She currently lives with her partner and two bunny rabbits and is working on a post-apocalyptic adventure book for middle grade readers.

Twitter | Goodreads | Blog

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