GIVEAWAY & INTERVIEW w/ MARY E. PEARSON

- Win a copy of THE SECRET LIFE of COPERNICUS STRINGFELLOW (Ends 7/30) 
- Win a ROCK OF IVANORE T-SHIRT!
- Win a copy of TRACING STARS by Erin Moulton (Ends 7/17)
- Win a copy THE SINISTER SWEETNESS OF SPLENDID ACADEMY (Ends 7/23)

On Friday I posted a review of an awesome YA science fiction novel called THE FOX INHERITANCE, which is the sequel to THE ADORATION OF JENNA FOX. I loved both books and am really looking forward to the third book in the series FOX FOREVER.

Today, author Mary E. Pearson joins us for an interview. I first met Mary at a writer's conference in Los Angeles a couple of years ago. What impressed me the most was how "normal" she was (is). She's a middle-aged mom who loves to write, is genuine and down to earth. And she is a phenomenal writer.

To make this extra special, Mary has provided 4 signed bookmarks and matching wristbands to GIVEAWAY! Just leave a comment with your email address below or on the review post HERE.

INTERVIEW:

1.  Your first few novels were contemporary YA. But then The Adoration of Jenna Fox took you in a different direction. What drew you to write science fiction?

To be honest, I wasn't even aware when I began writing that it was science fiction, at least it wasn't my intent to write in that specific genre.  I was simply following the story that was speaking to me, and since it was a very near future book and so much of the science seemed plausible and imminent to me it just didn't seem to fit the typical parameters of science fiction.  I was just writing a story about a girl and her family in the aftermath of an impossible choice.

2.  At the end of Adoration, we are led to believe Locke and Kara are gone forever. When did you know you would bring them back?

Shortly before The Adoration of Jenna Fox came out, a question about the story began eating at me. It was a "what if" sort of question but I put it out of my mind, finished the edits on my next book, and then started a new novel except that the question kept circling back--it wouldn't go away--so I did what I never allow myself to do.  I set the other novel aside for "just one afternoon" and wrote a first chapter to get it off my chest.  But instead of getting if off my chest, just the opposite happened.  The voice exploded in my head.  From that moment I knew I had to write Locke's story.  It was his turn.

3.  Could you give us a little glimpse of the next book in the series, Fox Forever?

This final book is again written from Locke's perspective.  One thing that's been interesting for me is to see how this trilogy has organically unfolded.  I was surprised to see that all three books are about the enormous bonds of love. The first book is about the first kind of love we encounter--parental love.  From there we discover our next kind of love--peers and friendship which is at the heart of the second book.  And finally we search for the lasting kind of love, romantic love and life partners, which the third book explores.  But there is also a darker, grittier side to this story too as Locke is drawn into an underground world--both literal and figurative--that he didn't know existed.

Here's the description my publisher wrote about Fox Forever:

Locke Jenkins has some catching up to do. After spending 260 years as a disembodied mind in a little black box, he has a perfect new body. But before he can move on with his unexpected new life, he’ll have to return the Favor he accepted from the shadowy resistance group known as the Network.

Locke must infiltrate the home of a government official by gaining the trust of his daughter, seventeen-year-old Raine, and he soon finds himself pulled deep into the world of the resistance—and into Raine’s life.

Mary E. Pearson brings the story she began in The Adoration of Jenna Fox and continued in The Fox Inheritance to a breathtaking conclusion as Locke discovers that being truly human requires much more than flesh and blood.

4.  What is your writing schedule like?

I've been taking some much-needed time off for the summer, but usually I write everyday for a few hours.  I like to get at least a thousand words written a day.  My most productive time is usually in the late afternoon into early evening.  By then the creative juices I got going in the morning seem to be going at full speed. Because of this, we sometimes eat dinner very late by most people's standards, maybe nine or ten at night.  I tell myself I'm just eating on Paris time.

5.  What were some of your favorite books as a teen? Did any of them influence you as a writer?

I loved a lot of books, The Outsiders, The Good Earth, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, A Farewell to Arms, Alice in Wonderland, and many more. I was a very eclectic reader.  I also consumed poetry by the armful, especially Dickinson, Millay, Cummings, Frost, Whitman--I could go on and on.  Without a doubt, they've all influenced me and I think the  poetry especially gave me a great appreciation for writing concisely and searching for just the right word.

Thank you so much for having me at your blog!

Thank you, Mary! 

Don't forget to leave a comment w/ your email address below

 for a chance to win a signed bookmark and wristband!