Blog Tour Guest Post with Hafsah Laziaf, Author of Unbreathable (and GIVEAWAY!)

Welcome to the Unbreathable tour! Today, I'm sharing a guest post by the lovely author herself, Hafsah Laziaf! And don't forget to enter the giveaway at the end of the post!

***Please note that due to me scheduling posts and disliking more than two posts scheduled for one day, my review of Unbreathable will be posted shortly after the tour ends***

Hafsah Laziaf - On Names

Names are a tricky thing. They're so simple, yet so defining. They mean a lot to me. Especially in books, they're an important aspect in terms of world-building and overall enjoyment for me.

Naturally, when I get an email addressed to my name - Hafsah - and not IceyBooks, Icey, Hafash, Hasfah, or something generic, I am ecstatic. And I always make sure to actually *read* that email and respond.

My name is an unusual one. Pronounced 'huff-suh' (like duh), Hafsah is Arabic for lioness or lion cub. While I'm not Arab myself - though I SO wish I was - I love the name.

But it's so difficult to spell and pronounce, so why didn't I go with a pseudonym? This is a question I've asked myself in the past. Something I should have thought of back when I started blogging in 2010. While it crossed my mind back then, I didn't think too much on it. I certainly didn't think I'd be a writer and then an author. But now, to use a pseudonym solely for publishing UNBREATHABLE would mean starting afresh. I considered it, but I'm glad I decided to announce it under my own name and IceyBooks, because the support and response has been amazing.

Would I choose a pseudonym if I had a chance? No. I'm glad I've gone as Hafsah, as who I am, rather than hiding behind a more common name, such as Katie or Anna (no offense to all the Katie's and Anna's out there!). It may be hard to pronounce and hard to spell, but I love when someone takes the time to spell it right and address me when they really don't have to.

In the end, Hafsah is who I am and who I'll be. I wouldn't have it any other way.

About the Author:

Hafsah Laziaf was born on the east coast on a hot summer day in 1993, raised on the west coast and is now stuck in the middle – in Texas – with more books than she can read. She’s the designer behind IceyDesigns and the blogger behind IceyBooks.

UNBREATHABLE is her debut novel.

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About the Book:

Unbreathable by Hafsah Laziaf

Book One of the Unbreathable series

Publication Date: October 29, 2013

Official Summary:

One hundred and fifty years ago, Earth was destroyed, and the remaining humans fled to the dusty red planet of Jutaire, where the only oxygen is manufactured, food is scarce, and death strikes often. 

When Lissa's father discovers Earth still exists, she accidentally inhales the toxic air of Jutaire, and in one breath, discovers she isn't quite human. 

Her father hangs for his discovery, and Lissa knows the Chancellors will come for her, for she saw the Earth that night too. With nothing to lose, she sets out to expose the truth. It isn't long before she meets Julian, a beautiful boy who can breathe the toxic air like she can - and shows her that the Jute, the original inhabitants of the planet, are more tangled in their lives than she knows.

But the Chancellors are only pawns in a greater game - one where the Jute control everything. Worse, the Jute plan to leave Jutaire for Earth, but to get there, they need her. And they'll stop at nothing until Lissa is in their clutches, even if they kill every human in the process. 

The race for Earth has begun.

The Giveaway:

One copy of Unbreathable (+swag)  and one Ebook of Unbreathable are being given away! PLEASE NOTE that the physical copy is US only. Ebook is open internationally.

a Rafflecopter giveaway