Hi Everyone!

Welcome to my stop on the 2nd Annual- Authors are Rock Stars Tour! I am so excited to be a part of the tour this year, featuring one of my all time favorite YA Authors, Michelle Gagnon! Eeeek!!! You guys may remember that last year I read Don't Look Now and couldn't stop gushing about it. It turned out to be one of my favorite books of 2012 and I've been obsessed with Michelle's work ever since! I am so addicted to the Persefone series, it's unreal! Michelle has a brilliant way of writing epic stories full of heart racing action, adventure, heart stopping romance, and chilling suspense, which is why she is a ROCK STAR in my book!

Today Michelle has graciously answered a few questions so let's get right to it!

The Princess of Storyland: I was absolutely blown away by Don't Turn Around. Computer hackers in a YA suspense/thriller. Heck yes! It was amaze-balls! How did you come up with such a unique idea for this series?

Michelle Gagnon: Oh, yay!!! Thanks so much, I’m beyond thrilled to hear that you enjoyed it! An editor and I actually brainstormed the initial idea together. At the outset, we knew that Noa would wake up on an operating table with no memory of how she got there, and that Peter would have his house broken into after hacking a website. But from there, it really progressed in fits and starts. I’m not an outliner, so one idea just led to the next. When I sat down to write every day, I rarely knew how Noa was going to get out of her latest predicament unscathed—for me, that’s always the fun part (and also the most terrifying!) 

The Princess of Storyland: You are quite an accomplished author in adult fiction. Were you nervous about crossing over into the YA world?

Michelle Gagnon: I was a little nervous, but one day when I was having lunch with a friend of mine (who also happens to be a book editor), she pointed out that nearly all of my adult novels feature a teenager who has a POV and a major role to play in the story (in fact, THE GATEKEEPER kicks off with the kidnapping of a fifteen year-old girl who ended up becoming one of my all-time favorite characters). She urged me to go for it, and I’m so glad I did; I swear, DON’T TURN AROUND practically wrote itself, I finished the rough draft in less than eight weeks.

The Princess of Storyland: In the series, Noa and Peter are very talented hackers! Are you a bit of a hacker yourself or has that always been a fantasy of yours?

Michelle Gagnon: I wish! I’m actually pretty computer illiterate (I’m still trying to figure out tumblr!) It’s such a fantasy of mine, though: I want to be a hacker AND a pool shark, that would be super cool. The irony is that I suffered a total computer meltdown during the writing of EACH book in the trilogy. I’m calling it the PERSEF0NE curse!

The Princess of Storyland:  Are there any future projects in the works?

Yes! First of all, the next book in the trilogy comes out on August 28th (next week!) DON’T LOOK NOW picks up a couple of months after the end of DTA, and shows how Noa and Peter have taken their fight against Project Persephone to the next level.
And I’m just finishing up the final book in the trilogy (DON’T LET GO); it’ll be released next summer.

Plus, I’m about to pitch another YA book idea, but at the moment we’re keeping that hush-hush (so shhh!)

The Princess of Storyland:  Don't Turn Around is one of my all time favorite books!!! What are some of your favorites?

Michelle Gagnon: Let’s see…definitely THE BOOK THIEF and EVERY DAY. But I’m such a huge YA fan, I just devour series: Divergent, Under the Never Sky, the Knife of Never Letting Go, anything by Cassandra Clare, Dust Lands, Shadow and Bone, Delirium, Maze Runner…I really could go on and on. I’m always interested in series recommendations, so if you have any let me know!

A huge thank you to Michelle for stopping by and answering our questions! 

Michelle has generously offered a paperback copy of Don't Turn Around for one lucky winner! Eeek! I hope you will love this book as much as I did!

One lucky winner will be chosen at random. The winner has 48 hours to respond or another winner will be selected. Prizes can only be shipped to a US address.

Comment below with your email address or twitter handle (this is how I will contact you about the prize) for one entry. Follow Michelle on twitter @Michelle_Gagnon for an additional entry. 

For more information about Michelle Gagnon, as well as her current books and upcoming projects, check out her website HERE

Review: Unbreakable (Legion #1)

Unbreakable (Legion #1) by Kami Garcia

Release Date: October 1, 2013
Publisher: Little Brown Books for Young Readers
Source: Arc Tour
Format: ARC
Pages: 320
Amazon  |  Goodreads

Supernatural meets The Da Vinci Code in this action-packed paranormal thriller, the first book in a new series from New York Times bestselling author Kami Garcia.

I never believed in ghosts. Until one tried to kill me.

When Kennedy Waters finds her mother dead, her world begins to unravel. She doesn’t know that paranormal forces in a much darker world are the ones pulling the strings. Not until identical twins Jared and Lukas Lockhart break into Kennedy’s room and destroy a dangerous spirit sent to kill her. The brothers reveal that her mother was part of an ancient secret society responsible for protecting the world from a vengeful demon — a society whose five members were all murdered on the same night.

Now Kennedy has to take her mother’s place in the Legion if she wants to uncover the truth and stay alive. Along with new Legion members Priest and Alara, the teens race to find the only weapon that might be able to destroy the demon — battling the deadly spirits he controls every step of the way.

Suspense, romance, and the paranormal meet in this chilling urban fantasy, the first book in a new series from Kami Garcia, bestselling coauthor of the Beautiful Creatures novels.

Trust me when I say, I am really not into ghost/paranormal stories, so I was pretty hesitant about this book. I finally decided to give it a shot because it sounded interesting and very different from a lot of the YA books that are out right now. I was wildly surprised by Unbreakable. It was such a thrilling ride!!!

I braced myself for the utterly creepy, prepared for the grotesque. But honestly, I had nothing to be worried about! I think this book is the perfect amount of creepy, and suspenseful without being too over the top and alienating the more squeamish readers.

It felt like a ghastly treasure hunt with huge odds at stake! It was such a well written book and I loved it immensely! The pacing was fast and kept my attention the whole time. It is a fantastic start to a series and I look forward to many more!