Of Sea and Stone
by Kate Avery Ellison
Genre: YA Fantasy
Release Date: February 2014
Summary:
Aemi lives in a village carved from stones and surrounded by sea. She wins spear-throwing competitions in disguise and earns slaps from her spoiled mistress by talking back. She hates being a slave. She survives by remembering her mother's tales of home, a paradise called Perilous.
Aemi intends to find it.
But then, black ships rise from the sea in the night. Aemi is captured and taken to Itlantis, an underwater world of cities and gardens encased in glass, dazzling technology. and a centuries-long war.
She is determined to escape, even if it means conspiring with fellow prisoner Nol, who fills her with equal parts anger and desire. Even if it means impersonating her mistress. Even if it means fleeing into the territory of the Dron, the bloodthirsty barbarians of the deep.
But when Aemi witnesses firsthand an attack by the Dron, she realizes not all is as it seems below the sea.
And Perilous might be closer than she thinks.
by Kate Avery Ellison
Genre: YA Fantasy
Release Date: February 2014
Summary:
Aemi lives in a village carved from stones and surrounded by sea. She wins spear-throwing competitions in disguise and earns slaps from her spoiled mistress by talking back. She hates being a slave. She survives by remembering her mother's tales of home, a paradise called Perilous.
Aemi intends to find it.
But then, black ships rise from the sea in the night. Aemi is captured and taken to Itlantis, an underwater world of cities and gardens encased in glass, dazzling technology. and a centuries-long war.
She is determined to escape, even if it means conspiring with fellow prisoner Nol, who fills her with equal parts anger and desire. Even if it means impersonating her mistress. Even if it means fleeing into the territory of the Dron, the bloodthirsty barbarians of the deep.
But when Aemi witnesses firsthand an attack by the Dron, she realizes not all is as it seems below the sea.
And Perilous might be closer than she thinks.
Add to Goodreads
Buy Links:
Interview with Kate Avery Ellison
What inspired you to write OF SEA AND STONE?
My previous series, The Frost Chronicles, was set in this frozen wasteland world populated by monsters that came out only at night. I wanted to write something entirely different, and the tropics and underwater cities was pretty much the opposite. I’ve always been intrigued by the idea of hidden underwater cities fueled by steampunk technology, and I had the idea of this village chiseled from white stone and what it might be like to live in that isolated, sun-soaked setting with this whole secret empire existing beneath the waves that those in the world above knew nothing about. So I started with the setting and brainstormed ideas until I was struck by the one that became the book.
Can you tell us a little bit about what you have planned for the future?
I’ve just released the fourth book in my YA fantasy series the Kingmakers’ War, A Circle of Flames! It’s a young adult “sword and sorcery” fantasy with dragons, airships, clever princes, and handsome spies. Perfect for fans of Game of Thrones and Sarah J. Maas (Throne of Glass), Rae Carson (The Girl of Fire and Thorns), or Sabaa Tahir (An Ember in the Ashes). As always, I’m interested in blending the old (like magic and dragons) with the new (airships and steampunk in an 18th century setting).
Can you tell us a little bit about the characters in OF SEA AND STONE?
Aemi, the main character, is brash and ambitious. She’s a slave, but she has all these memories of her mother and the stories she used to tell of a world called Perilous where her mother was free. She is determined to be free one day. She has a rivalry with Nol, the second son (and therefore not the heir) of the village chief. Nol starts out as a bit of a jerk to Aemi, but he matures throughout the story. My favorite secondary character is named Tob. He lives in Itlantis (the world below the sea) and although he’s an indentured servant, his dream is to become a “shock cook,” a type of chef that designs these surprising and weird dishes that rich Itlanteans dine on for the shock value as much as the taste. He is always thinking up new ideas, like tarts with a blowfish poison glaze or squid cooked in whale’s milk. I had fun coming up with all of his crazy ideas.
You know I think we all have a favorite author. Who is your favorite author and why?
It’s really hard for me to pick favorites, because I love different authors for different reasons. But I deeply love and revere Megan Whalen Turner for her subtle and brilliant fantasies. Ditto for Melina Marchetta—she writes such complex and surprising characters and worlds. And I adore Rainbow Rowell for her contemporary fiction. Everything she writes is a love letter to girl nerds everywhere.
If you could time-travel would you travel to the future or the past? Where would you like to go and why would you like to visit this particular time period?
Definitely the future, because I love science and technology. The past has smallpox and polio, and no tampons or Kindles. I was recently in a Best Buy for the first time in about five years and it was like visiting the future. They had a hair dryer that was just a sleek black ring with a handle. It was awesome. Specifically, I would like to go about 10 years into the future and then binge-watch all of the Star Wars and Marvel movies that haven’t been released yet.
Do you have any little fuzzy friends? Like a dog or a cat? Or any pets?
I have two cats—a giant male orange tabby with a floofy feather duster of a tail named Gizmo, and a smaller, fatter dilute calico female named Sansa. They are both lazy, fussy babies and I love them. If any small magical creatures in my books do something funny, it’s probably based on their antics.
Thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule to visit with us today.
Thank you for having me!
About the Author
I'm the author of the Frost Chronicles, an Amazon bestselling series and source material for the adventure app game Frost by Delight Games, as well as numerous other fantasy and science fiction novels. I love putting a dash of mystery in everything I write, an ode to a childhood spent reading Nancy Drew, Agatha Christie, and Sherlock Holmes. I can’t resist adding a good twist in the story wherever I can.
I wish I could live in a place where it’s always October, but until that’s possible, I make my home in humid Atlanta with my husband, children, and two spoiled cats.
Author Links:
Blog Tour Organized by:
0 comments:
Post a Comment