Giveaway: Some Fine Day by Kat Ross

You may remember SOME FINE DAY from last year, when I reviewed the title. Well, shortly after SOME FINE DAY  was released, the YA Angry Robot imprint Strange Chemistry got shut down, and SOME FINE DAY had to find a new home. I'm so pleased to tell you that Kat's book was just released by Skyscape on Tuesday, with a fun new cover.

Here's the scoop on SOME FINE DAY in case you need a refresher:

A generation ago, continent-sized storms called hypercanes caused the Earth to flood. The survivors were forced to retreat deep underground and build a new society.

This is the story that sixteen-year-old Jansin Nordqvist has heard all of her life.

Jansin grew up in a civilization far below the Earth’s surface. She’s spent the last eight years in military intelligence training. So when her parents surprise her with a coveted yet treacherous trip above ground, she’s prepared for anything. She’s especially thrilled to feel the fresh air, see the sun, and view the wide-open skies and the ocean for herself.

But when raiders attack Jansin’s camp and take her prisoner, she is forced to question everything she’s been taught. What do her captors want? How will she get back underground? And if she ever does, will she want to stay after learning the truth?

Revised edition: This edition of Some Fine Day includes editorial revisions.

Jenn's thoughts

Purchase: Amazon

 

Kat is giving away a bunch of prizes to some lucky readers:

Grand Prize: Kindle Paperwhite with custom cover, preloaded with SOME FINE DAY

Second Prize (2): Signed copy of SOME FINE DAY

Third Prize (2): CD audiobook of SOME FINE DAY

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Read More

by Tynga at Sunday, February 22, 2015

 Amazon Publishing, giveaway, Kat Ross  1 Person left their mark

✎

"When I'm not writing" with Kat Ross

I'm incredibly excited about today's guest because I've just finished reading her book and it blew my mind! Kat Ross is a Strange Chemistry author who has created an amazing post-apocalyptic (or maybe during-apocalyptic) setting with one of the best YA heroines I've read in a long time. Without further ado, heeeeeere's Kat!

 

Since I moved out of the city a few years ago, I've come to love riding my bike. My favorite route is about fourteen miles and runs along the edge of a giant reservoir. It's a rutty old dirt road, and in spring there are these amazing clouds of butterflies that like to hang out in the potholes after it rains. I've solved a lot of plot problems and come up with new story ideas just daydreaming on that road.

Let's see…I'm a total yoga geek. When I do a handstand, I feel like I'm ten years old again.

I adore maps, old and new, real and imagined. I have one of the Pacific Ocean from the National Geographic Society hanging over my desk that shows all the undersea mountain ranges and fracture zones and super-deep trenches. It's something cool and mysterious to stare at when the words don't come so easily.

My garden also beckons when I'm struck by the realization that I've been sitting in front of my computer for like six hours and my brain has turned to sludge. Just puttering around out there for little while is like a reset button. It was all lawn when I moved in, but I ripped a bunch of it out and planted things that make the bees happy. I also planted a giant catnip bush, which my cat enjoys sleeping on so it always looks half-squished. (He got mad and ran away when I tried to take this picture)



I read every day. A good book is truly one of the greatest pleasures in life. I'd take even a crappy book over TV anytime (Walking Dead excepted…)

I meditate for a few minutes when I first wake up in the morning, which might sound boring but is actually kind of interesting in the sense that you get a glimpse of all the crazy stuff that runs through your head on a constant basis. I find it so hard to stay in the present moment, even when I'm actively trying to, and sometimes I wonder if writer types are especially distractable because we live so much in our own imaginations. Creativity is a beautiful thing, but so is the real world. You just have to pay attention.

———————————

Thanks so much for visiting us, Kat!

For more information on Kat and her books, check out the following links:

Website| Facebook | Twitter

———————————

Here's the scoop on SOME FINE DAY:

Sixteen-year-old Jansin Nordqvist is on the verge of graduating from the black ops factory known as the Academy. She's smart and deadly and knows three things with absolute certainty.

1. When the world flooded and civilization retreated deep underground, there was no one left on the surface.

2. The only species to thrive there are the toads, a primate/amphibian hybrid with a serious mean streak.

3. There's no place on Earth where you can hide from the hypercanes, continent-sized storms that have raged for decades.

Jansin has been lied to. On all counts.

Jenn's thoughts

Purchase: Amazon | Book Depository

 ———————————

Do you guys have suggestions for who you’d like to see featured on the blog? If so, you can make your suggestions on this page. No guarantees that your favourite authors will be able to participate but we’ll try!

Authors, would you like to visit  us? Please email me at jenn (at) tyngasreviews (dot) com and we’ll set it up!

Read More

by Tynga at Tuesday, June 03, 2014

 Angry Robot, Kat Ross, When I'm not writing  2 People left their mark

✎

Some Fine Day by Kat Ross

SOME FINE DAY is a post-apocalyptic thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Ross has created a very scary world for SOME FINE DAY. Humans have moved underground after the surface began to be ravaged by hypercanes, these gigantic storms that rage uncontrolled across the face of the planet. It's a nice change from all of the zombie apocalypse stuff I've been reading and I think it has a nice touch of realism, though we're a ways away from it at this point. As you can imagine, life underground is quite regimented because of the limited resources. There are different city states, some of which cooperate and others that are more hostile. Despite the challenges, the human race has adapted and is trying to get make the best possible life out of the terrible situation they find themselves in.

Our heroine, Jansin, is a 16-year-old super agent in the making, on the cusp of graduation, when she learns that her family will be taking a vacation on the surface during a calm spell. It's a terrifying and exciting prospect because Jasnin's never felt the sun on her face, or breathed in fresh air, and Ross does a commendable job of showing us how these experiences affect Jasnin, even when she knows there's a high possibility of danger, either from the hypercanes or from the toads (part-human, part-amphibian creatures who developed on the surface). This vacation opens Jansin's eyes to the possibilities of life on the surface and to the realities of her own life (like her by-the-books not-very-interesting boyfriend Jack). And when she's taken hostage by a band of survivors, she's forced to learn a whole new way of living, one without the comforts or privileges of her underground life. And she's a better person for it. This is one of the things I loved about SOME FINE DAY. Jasnin has to confront the lies that the underground society has been built upon and she discovers a lot about herself in the process. There's nothing better than a story that knocks the hero(ine) down only to build him or her back up into a more fully realised and aware person and that's what we get with Jansin's journey: a true coming-of-age in the face of enormous odds, in which she needs to make hard decisions and face terrifying enemies.

One of the things that give SOME FINE DAY an epic feel is that Ross shows us all the different ways that people can react to crises and survival situations. There are people who take advantage and jockey for power, there are others who are bent on survival whatever the cost, still others who are determined to retain their humanity. There are moments of extreme brutality and unexpected kindness. All of these elements make Jasnin's world feel very real and progressively scarier as she delves deeper and deeper into the dark side of her world. I would definitely recommend SOME FINE DAY to anyone who likes strong storytelling and lots of character development. The book ends fairly abruptly and you'll definitely be left wanting more -- in the best way possible! SOME FINE DAY is a remarkable debut and I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I did.

Read More

by Tynga at Tuesday, June 03, 2014

 Angry Robot, Dystopian, Kat Ross, Netgalley, Review, young adult  Leave your mark

✎