Interview with Rebecca Schaffer, author of Not Even Bones and the sequel, Only Ashes Remain, with US giveaway of an advanced copy of Only Ashes Remain!

Dear Readers:

Super excited to introduce this next author, Rebecca, who wrote one of my unexpected favorite reads in 2018, Not Even Bones, which is a YA gender bent Dexter. It's so much more than that too, but hopefully that's enough to get you running to grab a copy! HMH has generously agreed to give away a copy of the sequel, Only Ashes Remain, which just gives you a chance to binge read this worthy series.

Goodreads description: After escaping her kidnappers and destroying the black market where she was held captive, all Nita wants is to find a way to live her life without looking over her shoulder. But with a video of her ability to self-heal all over the dark web, Nita knows she’s still a prime target on the black market.

There’s only one way to keep herself safe.

Nita must make herself so feared that no one would ever dare come after her again. And the best way to start building her reputation? Take her revenge on Fabricio, the boy who sold Nita to her kidnappers. But killing Fabricio is harder than Nita thought it would be, even with Kovit by her side. Now caught in a game of kill or be killed, Nita will do whatever it takes to win.

Review: 4 couches. I very much enjoyed this new installment of the Not Even Bones series. We launch right back in where we left off and the pace doesn't let up. We see some old faces and my favorite characters (other than our feisty main character) made a very prominent showing, so I was ecstatic. The way the book ended made me clamor for more and it will be a long wait until I get to read the bloody end of this terrific trilogy.

A little more about our author:
Rebecca Schaeffer was born and raised in the Canadian prairies. Her itchy feet took her far from home. You can find her sitting in a cafe on the other side of the world, writing about villains, antiheroes, and morally ambiguous characters. She is the author of Not Even Bones, the first in a dark YA fantasy trilogy.

Links
www.rschaefferbooks.com
Twitter: @rrschaeffer
Instagram: @rebecca_schaeffer

Interview

1. Now that you've written a sequel... which book did you enjoy writing more? Why? What was most difficult about writing a sequel?

Which did I enjoy writing more? Definitely the first one. Book one had no stress and no expectations attached to it. I was free to do what I wanted and no one cared. Once I sold it though, suddenly book two I had deadlines, and expectations, and the pressure definitely messed with me for a while. So book two was a lot more stressful, but I’m really happy with the finished book.

2. Nita and Fabricio with their game of cat and mouse are fascinating. Almost like Dexter's last season. I remember one of my fiction writing teachers telling us to throw two interesting characters in a closet and see what happens. Can you tell us your process of developing these characters and how they evolved over time?

I love cat and mouse stories, and I like forcing interesting characters to be at odds with each other. Whenever I’m developing two characters who are going to be at odds, I try and make them foils of each other. I give them one major personality trait that’s the same, and then one major one that’s the opposite, so that they can play off each other in interesting ways. There’s nothing quite as fascinating as seeing warped reflections of ourselves in others.

3. If the main characters could be sorted into houses at Hogwarts, which house would they go to? What is your Hogwarts house? (you can ignore this question if you haven't read Harry Potter)

I’m a Slytherin, through and through. My characters however, I think are in a variety of houses, but they’re all a little evil. I love to think of them as the dark side of each Hogwarts house. I think Nita is a Ravenclaw (or a Slytherclaw, if we can do hybrid houses), Kovit is a Hufflepuff (Hufflepuff can be evil too!), Fabricio and Adair are both Slytherin, and Diana is a Griffindor.

4. Are you excited about writing the last book? Sad? Why or why not?

It’s a strange feeling! I wrote the first chapter of Not Even Bones the summer of 2015, so by the time the third book comes out in 2020, I’ll have been working on and off on it for five years. It’s been a huge part of my life, and I’ll be sad to leave the characters behind, but I’m also excited to go in new directions and let other stories take the spotlight for a little bit.

5. Can you tell us about your writing process? Do you have a playlist? Do you write in a certain spot? Do you require certain items when you write? Do you schedule specific times of day?

Nope, no writing process! I move around a lot, and I’ve written everywhere from cafes, to airplanes, to hotel rooms, even on my phone while getting my hair done for a wedding. I always schedule time to write, but I leave myself flexible if things come up.

7. What is your favorite TV show? What media has inspired you?

This is a hard one! Honestly, I’m not sure. I don’t even know that I have a favourite TV show—recently I enjoyed Killing Eve and Russian Doll. There’s a lot of things in media that have inspired me—specific characters or world building or subplots. But there’s not a lot that as a whole I can point to and say ‘this is my one true inspiration.’ 

8. What do you have planned after you finish the trilogy?

It’s a secret ;)

And now, enter the giveaway! Good luck!

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