SBBS: Day 17 ~ Elizabeth Richards

Spring Break Blog Spectacular ~ Elizabeth Richards Interview & Giveaway


Elizabeth Richards debut, Black City, the first book in the Black City Chronicles will be released by Putnam Juvenile on November 13th - I'm so happy she's today's SBBS guest. Not only do I have an interview with her, I also have (thanks to Penguin) a giveaway of Black City open wherever UPS ships!

Interview:


Ideal spring break destination: ski chalet or tropical beach villa?

Tropical beach villa, definitely! I hate the cold and snow, brrrrrr, so somewhere with white sand beaches and turquoise water wins for me every time. Unfortunately, being from England (and thus ghostly pale) I’ll also need a palm tree to sit under, so I don’t burst into flames in the sun.

In high school/college which was more likely spotting you on MTV’s Spring Break or just you and your friends savoring the week off?
I always secretly wanted to be that fun party girl when I was a teenager, but in reality I was the goth kid doing a séance in a cemetery with my friends! As an adult, looking back on those vacations, I’m so glad I spent them with my friends, just enjoying each other’s company in our own, weird and special way.

What was your favorite Spring Break ever (where and/or why)? Or if you didn’t go on Spring Break trips, where did you always want to go?
I was very lucky as a teenager, as my parents took me to some great places in Europe, such as Paris and Rome. But in all honesty, I really didn’t appreciate it at the time. Like most teenagers, I just wanted to be in Tenerife or Ibiza with my friends, somewhere with underage drinking and lots of boys. Everyone always seemed to be having so much more fun than me! However, again, looking back, I wouldn’t change a thing. I loved those vacations with my family, and I’d highly recommend a Spring Break in Rome! It’s a great city.

Fly and have the fun be at the destination or road trip and have the journey be at least half the fun?
Oooh… that’s a good one. Well, if I didn’t have to do any of the driving, then I’d say road trip. I love the romance of the open road, and the freedom of being able to stop anywhere along the way and have an adventure. For me, the best moments in life are the unplanned ones, so a road trip would be ideal for that.

Do any of your characters take Spring Break trips?
No, my story is set in a post-apocalyptic world where a dictator called Purian Rose is controlling everyone’s lives, so there’s no such thing as Spring Break in their world (I know, the man is pure EVIL). As a rich Sentry, Natalie may have enjoyed a week off in Centrum, the nation’s capital, but her every move would have been monitored, so there wouldn’t have been much opportunity to have any real fun! 

Where would their ideal Spring Break destination be? (Together or on their own.)
Natalie would want to go to Athena, the state capital of Golden Sands. Its nickname is the ‘Pleasure City’, so you know you’d have a good time! Natalie loves the sun and is a bit of a party girl at heart, so this would really appeal to her. However, as a half-blood Darkling, Ash would much rather go somewhere dark and cold, so I reckon his ideal holiday destination would be a week in the icy peaks of Mountain Wolf, hunting Lupines.   

Which of your characters (in your recent/upcoming novel or anything you’re working on) would you most have liked to have met on a Spring Break trip?
I would’ve loved to have met Ash. He’s sexy, brooding and dark, but knows how to have a good time and treat a girl with respect, which is just the kind of guy I would have wanted to meet on Spring Break growing up.

Best book to read on Spring Break or a road trip?
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows! You can follow their road trip while you’re taking yours, plus the book is so long there’s less risk of you finishing it before the end of your vacation!


Thank you :-)
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find Elizabeth Richards online here, @theredpenofdoom or on her Goodreads author page

about Black City:

 A dark and tender postapocalyptic love story set in the aftermath of a bloody war

In a city where humans and Darklings are now separated by a high wall and tensions between the two races still simmer after a terrible war, sixteen-year-olds Ash Fisher, a half-blood Darkling, and Natalie Buchanan, a human and the daughter of the Emissary, meet and do the unthinkable—they fall in love. Bonded by a mysterious connection, that causes Ash’s long dormant heart to beat, Ash and Natalie first deny and then struggle to fight their forbidden feelings for each other, knowing if they’re caught they’ll be executed—but their feelings are too strong. When Ash and Natalie then find themselves at the center of a deadly conspiracy that threatens to pull the humans and Darklings back into war, they must make hard choices that could result in both their deaths.

my cover reveal post which includes the first chapter can be found here (note: cover reveal and SBBS not related)

Find Black City on Goodreads, Book Depository or Amazon


Want to win an advance copy of Black City? . . .


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