Tynga's Reviews: Bethany Griffin

Saturday, March 31, 2012

PAF: Interview with Bethany Griffin + giveaway!

Paranormal April Fools

Today's guest is the lovely Bethany Griffin. She's here to promote her exciting new book, MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH, a post-Apocalyptic reimagining of Edgar Allan Poe's horror story with the same name. Sounds cool, no?

Read on to learn all about MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH and enter to win a copy of your very own, and some awesome swag from Bethany!

---------------------------------

Hello, Bethany, and welcome to Paranormal April Fools’ at Tynga’s Reviews!

MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH is very different from your debut novel HANDCUFFS. How did you find switching from a present-day setting to a historical post-apocalyptic steam-punk world?

I found it a fairly natural transition, in that I read all sorts of different stories. Also, sometimes it’s easier to write something totally different than to keep rehashing the same sorts of stories. I found I didn’t have another realistic story to tell, but I had a lot of other stories I wanted to try.

Were there any special challenges when writing a re-imagining of another author’s work, especially one as well known as Edgar Allen Poe?

The re-imagining part was fun. The part that I don’t particularly look forward to are the different opinions on how well I did! While I did take on Poe’s world, I tried to make it my own and create my own characters. Sure, there’s always intimidation, because Poe was a genius, but I really never tried to compare my work to his, I just used his as inspiration.

Which other authors inspire you?

Wow, I’m inspired by so many authors, I love to read much more than I love to write. I’m inspired by Stephen King, and by Sylvia Plath’s poetry, and by Anne Rice, and by Tolkien, I’m mostly listing authors I read as a kid because there are so many contemporary books that I enjoy, but I’d consider the ones I read years ago as the most inspiring, the books I’ve read in the last few years were pleasure reading.

Did you have a soundtrack for writing MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH? What was on it?

I need to actually make a playlist, I do have songs that I listen to regularly or that remind me of the book…

The Fragile – Nine Inch Nails
Machine Gun- Portishead
Plainsong- The Cure

MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH is the first in a duology. Can you tell us a little bit about what’s to come in the next book?

A Masquerade ball? Some romance, some treachery, and lots more dead bodies?

And now a couple April Fools’-related questions:

Is there a trick you fall for every time?

I don’t know, I don’t think I deal very well with tricks. I overthink things and end up irritated of baffled.

Which of your characters would be the most difficult to prank?

Most of my characters are fairly cynical and suspicious, so it might be hard to prank any of them! But I think Elliott would be the most difficult to prank

Thanks very much for taking part in our event, Bethany! We’re looking forward to MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH!

---------------------------------

Want to know more? Check out the gorgous cover and blurb for MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH, which hits bookshelves on April 24:

Everything is in ruins.

A devastating plague has decimated the population, and those who are left live in fear of catching it as the city crumbles around them.

So what does Araby Worth have to live for?

Nights in the Debauchery Club, beautiful dresses, glittery makeup...and tantalizing ways to forget it all.

But in the depths of the club—in the depths of her own despair—Araby will find more than oblivion. She will find Will, the terribly handsome proprietor of the club, and Elliott, the wickedly smart aristocrat. Neither is what he seems. Both have secrets. Everyone does.

And Araby may find not just something to live for, but something to fight for—no matter what it costs her.

Read Tynga’s Review

Pre-order: Amazon | Book Depository

---------------------------------

We have two different giveaways today! They have different mailing restrictions so please read the instructions below carefully.

Giveaway #1: Bethany is offering a lovely giveaway: three (3) bookmark + leather bracelet sets for our readers!

Note: Bookmark may not be exactly like this one and you only get one (1) bracelet (your choice of colour).

Open internationally.

Giveaway #2: The kind folks at HarperCollins are offering one (1) copy of MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH to a lucky reader!

US only.

To enter the giveaways, fill out the Rafflecopter form below.

Ends Sunday, April 15, 2012
(like all of our Paranormal April Fools’ giveaways)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

---------------------------------

Bethany Griffin teaches high school English and creative writing outside Louisville, Kentucky. She loves Poe, and creepy stories in general. Masque of the Red Death is her second published novel, but the first could be considered Speculative History, Dystopian, Steampunk, or whatever else you'd like to call Masque. She has two well-behaved children and 5 poorly-behaved cats.

Website | Twitter

by jenn at Saturday, March 31, 2012

Bethany Griffin, Dystopian, giveaway, Harper Collins, Interview, Paranormal April Fools', young adult 52 People left their mark

Masque of Red Death by Bethany Griffin

Masque of the Red Death Masque of Red Death by Bethany Griffin

Book Stats:
Reading level: Ages 14 and up
Genre: Historical / Dystopian / Steampunk
Hardcover: 336 pages
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Release date: April 24, 2012

Series: Masque #1

Source: eARC from Harper Collins

Reviewed by: Tynga

Purchase: Amazon | Book Depository

Everything is in ruins.

A devastating plague has decimated the population. And those who are left live in fear of catching it as the city crumbles to pieces around them.

So what does Araby Worth have to live for?

Nights in the Debauchery Club, beautiful dresses, glittery make-up . . . and tantalizing ways to forget it all.

But in the depths of the club—in the depths of her own despair—Araby will find more than oblivion. She will find Will, the terribly handsome proprietor of the club. And Elliott, the wickedly smart aristocrat. Neither boy is what he seems. Both have secrets. Everyone does.

And Araby may find something not just to live for, but to fight for—no matter what it costs her.

In the 19th century, Araby’s town was hit by a terrible disease. People are dying by the dozen and the town was forced to establish a system of corpse collectors to gather the victims bodies. The disease is thought to travel in the air and Araby’s father invented masks to keep the population as safe as possible, unfortunately Prince Prospero took control of the invention, selling masks at a ridiculously high price, leaving the poor unprotected. Araby’s twin brother Finn was a victim of the plague, and life has never been the same since. She tries to forget herself night after night using drugs and alcohol, hanging with her friend April in a club called Debauchery Club. Little did she know that two boys destined to change her life forever would also be regulars of the club, will their reunion be for better or for worst?

The Masque of Red Death is an highly original story. Inspired by Edgar Allen Poe’s short story, Bethany created a magical, yet terrible, world for her characters to evolve in. It’s not easy to set this story in place and time because it’s all fictional. The little town featured is set near the water, and has a port. We also understand from different story elements, such has steam carriages and muskets, that the story is set in the 1800s. Also, the lack of understanding of the plague increases this historical feeling. I guess you could describe this novel as historical dystopian (if such thing exist?) with steampunk elements. However you want to describe the genre, the important part to remember is that this book is awesome.

Araby’s little town has been isolated by this contagion and they don’t know if there’s any one left alive on Earth. All the citizens live in fear of the all mighty, and particularly mean, Prince Prospero and a rebellion is brewing. Bethany did a fantastic job of portraying the citizens despair, constant fear of the disease, and the escalating violence was very believable. The atmosphere is thoroughly glooming and menacing, murderers are walking the streets and rebels are setting fire to buildings. Nobody is safe and after meeting Elliot, the Prince’s rebel nephew, Araby wants to try and make a difference.

Araby’s character was really intriguing. At first, she acts like she doesn’t have a care in the world. Going out to parties, taking unidentified drugs for oblivion’s sake, living on the edge, but what you discover with time is that she’s trying to drown her pain. She is still grieving her twin brother and she can’t manage the hurt. She even took a vow to never experience something her brother would never get to do, pushing her own life out of reach. Her pain was sometimes hard to bear, but her slow evolution was a work of wonder. Will, a pretty and caring young man, will help her see the better side of life, pushing her to live for her dead brother instead of slowly killing herself. Their relationship was really sweet, though far from perfect, and it surprised me in many ways.

Bethany Griffin tailored a very mysterious storyline and it worked perfectly. The entire time you follow the main characters and wonder where this will all lead. Sickness, conspiracies, kidnapping and murders, nobody is who they seem in this twisted and wicked world and the truth hit you like a truck when all is revealed. Everything flows seamlessly, and the non-stop suspense will keep you glued to the pages.

Masque of Red Death is only the peak of the iceberg and the main plot doesn’t come to a conclusion in this book. Griffin set the table for what I think will be an extremely interesting second book now that all the players have been given a role, all awaiting for the showdown.

Dark, gritty and amazingly entertaining, Masque of Red Death isn’t for the faint of heart. It is a young adult title, but I wouldn’t recommend for 15 years old or lower as the sheer number of death and graphic description of the sickness is sometimes down right gruesome. If my love of this book isn’t obvious by now, let me tell you that you don’t want to miss this unique story, its worth every single penny you’ll spend to read it. Oh and on a side note, how amazing is this cover? I mean, really! And totally in line with the story.

Read an excerpt