Lunar Giveaway Blog Hop, Featuring Mila 2.0 by Debra Driza

2nd Annual
Lunar Love Giveaway Hop

March 8th to 13th

Hosted by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer & Bookworm Lisa

This hop features books with paranormal, supernatural, science fiction or space travel element or books that have something to do with the moon or have a moon on their cover.

I'm so excited to introduce a book that's just come out-- Mila 2.0 by Debra Driza!

Goodreads Book Description: Mila 2.0 is the first book in an electrifying sci-fi thriller series about a teenage girl who discovers that she is an experiment in artificial intelligence.

Mila was never meant to learn the truth about her identity. She was a girl living with her mother in a small Minnesota town. She was supposed to forget her past —that she was built in a secret computer science lab and programmed to do things real people would never do.

Now she has no choice but to run—from the dangerous operatives who want her terminated because she knows too much and from a mysterious group that wants to capture her alive and unlock her advanced technology. However, what Mila’s becoming is beyond anyone’s imagination, including her own, and it just might save her life.

Mila 2.0 is Debra Driza’s bold debut and the first book in a Bourne Identity–style trilogy that combines heart-pounding action with a riveting exploration of what it really means to be human. Fans of I Am Number Four will love Mila for who she is and what she longs to be—and a cliffhanger ending will leave them breathlessly awaiting the sequel.

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Author Blurb:
Debra Driza is the owner of the messiest purses of the planet and a former practicing physical therapist, who discovered tormenting her characters was infinitely more enjoyable. These days you can find her at home in California, adding random colors to her hair and wrangling one husband, two kids, and an assortment of Rhodesian Ridgebacks (most of them naughty). When she grows up, she wants to be Veronica Mars.

Author Interview

1. I love hearing stories about how people became authors, especially ones that started with a different occupation. You started as a physical therapist. Can you tell us a little about your journey from there to becoming a YA author?

My first attempt at writing a book was a Harlequin Romance. I’d read them for years and figured, “hey, this will be CAKE!”  Um, not so much. Unless your idea of cake involves writing an incredibly bad Harlequin Romance.

I didn’t start writing again until my son was born. I had been working in a very lifting-intensive field of physical therapy and managed to injure my back, so after that, I decided to give writing another try. By then, I’d become enamored with reading YA (I found that my attention span diminished a ton, post-kids—shocking, right?) and stuck with it this time. Since, you know, sitting at a desk all day is so wonderful for your back!  *cough*

2. Mila 2.0 has a gorgeous cover. Did you have any say in it? Tell us a little about the production of a cover.

Oh dear, this will be a short tutorial!  Pretty much the only say I had in the MILA cover was, “WOO HOO—I LOVE IT!”  Oh, and the eye color—the girl on the cover originally had brown eyes and I got them changed to green (impressive, right?).  Honestly, I know next to nothing about cover production, beyond the fact that I think my cover producers are GENIUSES.

3. I absolutely love great characters, and your book definitely has those in spades. Which character was your favorite to write and why? Did any of your characters surprise you?

Oh, thank you so much!  Lucas is my favorite character to write—I just want to smoosh him!  And, oh yeah, characters definitely surprised me, and then some. But that’s a story best saved for once the entire trilogy is out, so I don’t spoil anything and give my editor heart palpitations.  : )

4.  I think everyone needs a great crit partner, but even more, a great cheerleader to get through this process. Who was your greatest cheerleader and why?

Wow, that’s a tough one. I’m very lucky, because I feel like I had so many people cheering me on through this process. My husband was definitely one—there’s virtually no way I could have finished this book without his enthusiastic support. Also, so many of my writer friends in the LB forum—KRAKEN, FTW!—and the WN forum (PEDO-WOLF!—um, don’t ask).  Kathleen Peacock, also—she’s there like 24/7 to answer my angsty emails with Youtube randomness. And of course, my agent, Taylor Martindale. If she started charging per pep talk, I’d be in serious trouble.

5. What is your favorite YA book of all time, and what is your favorite YA year over the past year?

Such a tough question, especially when you consider I’m the most indecisive person EVER.  I enjoyed a ton of YA books last year, but a few of my faves off the top of my head are SHADOW AND BONE by Leigh Bardugo, THE SEA OF TRANQUILITY by Katja Millay, HEMLOCK by Kathleen Peacock and THE GIRL OF FIRE AND THORNS by Rae Carson. 

6. What is your favorite TV show?

Right now?  Awkward!, Girls, and The Good Wife. All-time?  Definitely Buffy, Veronica Mars, and Firefly.

7. How many drafts did you go through before the final copy of Mila 2.0? Can you tell my aspiring writers a little about the process?

Officially, I went through three fully revised drafts, but if I had been saving all my drafts by number along the way, it probably would be more like 152.

My process for book one (wait, I was supposed to have a process?) went something like this: 

1.     Write really crappy first draft

2.     Angst about crappy first draft

3.     Revise; write marginally less crappy second draft

4.     Angst about marginally less crappy second draft

5.     Consider All The Things and wait for light bulb to blink on—write getting-closer-but-still-not-quite-there third draft

6.     Angst about getting-closer-but-still-not-quite there third draft.

7.     Have copy edits moved up and expedited—revise major scenes in under a week.

8.     Eat lots of chocolate

9.     Mark up first pass pages so much that publisher probably weeps

10.  FINISH ALL THE EDITS, YAY!  Feel good for a few days, and then angst about next book.

8. Can you tell us a little about the sequel to Mila 2.0? Do you have anything else on the horizon? 

Ah, the MILA sequel. Or, as I fondly refer to it: The Book That Tried to Eat My Brain.  I’m not sure how much I’m allowed to say about the sequel, but there will definitely be more action, some resolution of loose threads from Book One, and romance. I’d say it’s more of a quest book than the first one.

MILA is actually a trilogy, so I have a third book in the works. Apart from that, I have a few contemporary WIPs that I’m anxious to get going on. The majority are upbeat, silly, and romantic—which I think will make a nice change of pace.

9. I hear there are murmurings of a movie already. Can you tell us a little about that?

The film rights to MILA were acquired by Shondaland ( headed by Shonda Rhimes, of Grey’s Anatomy and Scandal fame) and the pitch was sold to ABC, so it’s currently in development to become a TV series.  From what I gather, the process is long and laborious and requires much hoop jumping (and luck!), so I’m just keeping my fingers crossed that everything works out.

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