Wednesday, August 26, 2020

Blog Tour + #Giveaway: Ironspark by C.M. McGuire @SeeEmMcGuire @XpressoTours


Ironspark
C.M. McGuire
(Swoon Reads)
Publication date: August 25th 2020
Genres: LGBTQ+, Paranormal, Romance, Young Adult

A teen outcast must work together with new friends to keep her family and town safe from murderous Fae while also dealing with panic attacks, family issues, and a lesbian love triangle in C.M. McGuires’s kick-butt paranormal YA debut, Ironspark.

For the past nine years, ever since a bunch of those evil Tinkerbells abducted her mother, cursed her father, and forced her family into hiding, Bryn has devoted herself to learning everything she can about killing the Fae. Now it’s time to put those lessons to use.

Then the Court Fae finally show up, and Bryn realizes she can’t handle this on her own. Thankfully, three friends offer to help: Gwen, a kindhearted water witch; Dom, a new foster kid pulled into her world; and Jasika, a schoolmate with her own grudge against the Fae.

But trust is hard-won, and what little Bryn has gained is put to the test when she uncovers a book of Fae magic that belonged to her mother. With the Fae threat mounting every day, Bryn must choose between faith in her friends and power from a magic that could threaten her very humanity.



Interview with C.M. McGuire

For those interested in exploring the subject or theme of your book, where should they start?
I think the major themes of Ironspark would be relationships and mental health. Because of the ever-changing nature of our understanding of both these areas, it’s hard to advise one place to look to learn more, though I can say I found Rewire Your Anxious Brain to be deeply informative. If you want to learn more about the Fae, I’d say go and look up the old myths or academic anthropological articles (and wait to form opinions until you’ve read a few because academics love nothing more than to disprove each other). I know. It sounds dull but you can learn so much.

How did you become involved with the subject or theme of your book?
I think a lot of the reason I wound up writing heavily about mental health and relationships had to do with where I was when I conceived, wrote, and revised the novel. I first started planning the book at 19. I was ready to leave home but also felt conflicted and guilty about how eager I was to do so. Since high school, I’d felt distant from a lot of friends and was struggling to understand those changing relationships. These issues continued to evolve as I wrote and revised, and at those times I was also becoming increasingly aware of my own struggles with anxiety and depression and the effect they could have on those relationships.

What were your goals and intentions in this book, and how well do you feel you achieved them?
I think I wanted to say that it’s okay to be vulnerable, to let yourself in, and to value yourself beyond what can do for others. I wanted to show kids that sometimes, even with the best intentions, you screw up. The plan doesn’t work, and you pay the price. I don’t know how well I achieved these goals. I suppose time will tell.

Anything you would like to say to your readers and fans?
I’ll be honest, the idea of readers and fans makes my head spin. All I could think to say is thank you. Over and over and over. Thank you thank you thank you.

What did you enjoy most about writing this book?
I loved and hated the whole process, but I think my favorite was the night the A/C went out. I was working on an intense scene so I always removed myself to a semi-isolated area where my roomies could access me. At the time, my ritual involved lighting a candle. But no A/C in August in Texas meant it was hot as hell, so I turned off the overhead light to keep it cooler in there.

There I am, headphones on, listening to scary Halloween music while I work on an especially intense scene. In the dark. Lit by only a candle and my laptop screen. And suddenly a hand grabs me.

I screamed and nearly knocked the candle over (and you KNOW there’d be no getting your security deposit back in that case.) Turns out it was one of my roommates letting me know she was heading to bed.

I wish I could say this only happened one time this week. I cannot.

Can you tell us a little bit about your next books or what you have planned for the future?
It’s hard to say for sure because you never really know what is or isn’t going to take off or get picked up. I’ve been working on a graphic novel and a few high concept fantasies and science fictions ranging from middle grade to adult fiction.

How long have you been writing?
My mother will say I started young because she got tired of me talking her ear off and told me to write my stories down. I would say that I really started in fourth grade. Our teacher gave us a short story assignment. I remember planning that story all night. I think my adventure in the taiga with a polar bear and an arctic fox (chock full of scientific facts) was my first novel. It was very fun the next day when she called on me to share my story plan. She had no idea.

Later, when she was reading a different assignment, I remember her being annoyed because she had to wear her glasses to read my handwriting, then jumping up and squealing reading my story. I thought I was in trouble. It turns out it was because it was good and she was surprised.

So I suppose the way to get started as a young writer is to over-write and annoy your fourth grade teacher.

Can you tell us a little bit about the characters in Ironspark?
I suppose the best way to go about this would be the three things format for my main four.

Bryn: Cagey, Loyal, Strong heart

Jasika: Bright, Unstoppable, Firm moral center

Dom: Filled with love, Enthusiastic, Needs some better coping mechanisms

Gwen: Gentle, wise, will never be gluten-free

If you could spend the day with one of the characters from Ironspark who would it be? Please tell us why you chose this particular character, where you would go and what you would do.
I don’t know who I’d want to hang out with because…I am not nice to any of them. Maybe the shadelings? Give them a jar of jelly and they’ll forgive you anything.



Author Bio:

I am a storyteller at heart, and my poor mother was grateful when I started writing. It gave her ears a break. I write primarily science fiction and fantasy intended for the young adult and middle grade audience. Presently, I live in Texas with my two cats.






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1 comments:

Giselle said...

Thanks for being on the tour! :)