Part I Interview with Jodi Meadows and International Giveaway of Incarnate OR pre-order of Asunder

Welcome back, everyone! Apparently, I am not very good about waiting. So I'm posting the first part of this interview NOW. I'm thrilled to have Jodi Meadows on board for an interview. She has written the wonderful book, Incarnate, and soon, the sequel, Asunder, will also be out.

Goodreads Book Description:

Ana is new. For thousands of years in Range, a million souls have been reincarnated over and over, keeping their memories and experiences from previous lifetimes. When Ana was born, another soul vanished, and no one knows why.

Even Ana's own mother thinks she's a nosoul, an omen of worse things to come, and has kept her away from society. To escape her seclusion and learn whether she'll be reincarnated, Ana travels to the city of Heart, but its citizens are afraid of what her presence means. When dragons and sylph attack the city, is Ana to blame?

Sam believes Ana's new soul is good and worthwhile. When he stands up for her, their relationship blooms. But can he love someone who may live only once, and will Ana's enemies—human and creature alike—let them be together? Ana needs to uncover the mistake that gave her someone else's life, but will her quest threaten the peace of Heart and destroy the promise of reincarnation for all?

My rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Amazon review: Incarnate Review 

About Jodi:  
Like many writers, I’ve always wanted to do this professionally. You know, after I decided against being an astronaut. Unlike many writers, I didn’t skip straight from picture books to adult novels. I have fond memories of going to Bookstop every month for the latest Baby-Sitters Club (which I kept reading, even after I realized they were never going to let the paranormal elements be real), and even fonder memories of hanging out in my middle school library. The librarians probably knew exactly what they were doing when they suggested book after book and discussed them with me at length. I, of course, had no clue they were turning me into a book addict, but it worked out for the best. Once I found the books where magic and other fantastic elements were real, I was hooked.

When I was twenty, I met a boy, moved 1,500 miles, and married him all within six months. I now realize that was crazy and dangerous, but it seemed natural at the time and, again, worked out for the best. Not only did we stay madly in love, he worked full time at a hard job so I could stay home to write books and, hopefully, one day get published. The other crazy thing we did was fall in love with ferrets. They have their own bedroom.

My hobbies, aside from spending all my money on books and Kippy/ferret treats, revolve around yarn. I love crocheting, knitting, and spinning. In addition to several handspindles, I share my living room with a spinning wheel named Bob.

Every Sunday I blog about spinning and other yarn things here. Ferret pictures can be found here.

Author Interview Part I.

1) Tell us a little bit about your journey to writing Incarnate. I know you wrote some previous novels-- can you tell us a little bit about them?

INCARNATE was actually my seventeenth finished manuscript, but it was one of my earlier ideas. 

The idea for INCARNATE came in 2006. I loved it. But . . . I didn't know how to write it. It was intimidating, and I didn't think I was ready for the challenge. Over the next three years, I wrote more, I got an agent and left that agent, and finally over the summer of 2009, I was just so depressed about writing and publishing in general, I decided there was no point in avoiding a challenging story like INCARNATE. I wasn't going to try to get it published. I just needed to write it. It needed to be for me.

Then . . . well, you know the rest. New agent who loved the story. Editor who loved the story. Ta da! 

My previous manuscripts are either waiting for a hefty revision, or being used for parts. I still love them all, and I'm glad I wrote them. They all taught me something important about writing.

2) I absolutely loved Sam (and I'm not really someone who gets into the romantic relationships in books). Did you have an inspiration for this character? Who was your favorite character and why?

Oh yay! I love when people like Sam. Good Boys need love too. :) 

None of my characters are based on anyone (though I frequently name them after friends). Sam, I knew, needed to be patient and kind and open-minded in order to be a good partner for Ana, but that's really as much planning as I did for his character. I got to know him right alongside Ana. 

I can't pick favorites. :)

3) One of the aspects that really drew me to the story was the wonderful passages on music. I grew up playing violin and piano and felt like this part of your novel was very authentic. Are you a musician? Did you have a playlist for this book?

Thanks! I do play music. I started playing the flute in sixth grade; I still practice sometimes, but not like I used to. (I like playing music with friends. By myself is kind of lonely. Plus, my cat always runs when I pull out my flute. She's not very good for my ego.) 

I didn't want to rely on my music experience, though. I know how to play the flute and I know how music makes me feel, but music as a job . . . I didn't know much about at all. Fortunately I have a friend who answered all my questions and more. She read through the manuscript and offered a lot of wonderful suggestions to make the musical aspects more authentic. 

Here’s a playlist for Sam and Ana on Spotify.

The playlist is missing a couple of songs since Spotify doesn’t currently have them. You should mentally add OneRepublic’s “Hearing Voices” as the third song, and Snow Patrol’s “In The End” as the second to last song.

Tune in tomorrow for the rest of this awesome interview!

Enter this great international giveaway to win either Incarnate OR pre-order Asunder AND a signed bookplate (shipped by Book Depository)! Two other lucky winners will get signed book plates!
As long as TBD ships to your country, you are eligible for this giveaway!
Which countries does The Book Depository ship to? Click here.

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Can't wait and want to buy Incarnate or Asunder? Click on this link to get to Amazon!
Incarnate
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Don't forget to sign up for these other great giveaways!
1. International Giveaway of Signed and personalized hard back copy of Venom by Fiona Paul
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2. International Giveaway of TWO Shardwell Prize Packs- Both books signed by both authors and swag OR $10 Amazon GC
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