Blog Tour Interview with Mindee Arnett, Author of Avalon (and GIVEAWAY!)

Welcome to day seven of the Avalon blog tour! I'm honored to be a part of this tour, and even more honored to host the lovely author herself, right here on my blog! Stick around for an interview with Mindee Arnett, book information, and the epic giveaway!

Read my review of Avalon HERE.

Meet Mindee!

Alyssa: Hi, Mindee! Thank you so much for joining me today on my blog!

Mindee: Thanks for having me. I’m thrilled to be here!

Alyssa: So, let’s get to it. Name another science fiction (or better yet: space-related novel), recent or not, that you really enjoyed and/or influenced you or your book? 

Mindee: I recently read and enjoyed Redshirts by John Scalzi. It was hysterical and fun. I tend to like my sci-fi novels on the humorous side. I’m a huge fan of Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.  

Alyssa: I'll have to look it up! Both sound interesting. How did you choose character names in Avalon? Jethro is commonly known as a Biblical name, for example.

Mindee: Actually, you hit the nail on the head. I did try to use some Biblical names. Mostly because the ship was originally called Eden before we changed the name to Avalon. With all my names, I try to embed hidden meanings. Milton, for example, is named after John Milton, the author of Paradise Lost. There’s a theme in the book about losing paradise, so it’s a bit of a nod to that. A little trivia about the names in Avalon concerns the ships. Except for Avalon, all the ships are named after race horses. I’m not sure why I did this, other than I love horses and because it was a fun convention to employ. 

Alyssa: Research well done, in my opinion! Hmm. What’s the shiny pretty thing on the cover? It would make a great keychain LOL!

Mindee: It would, wouldn't it? What you’re seeing there is a creative interpretation of a metagate and more specifically, metaspace. Metaspace is what makes faster-than-lightspeed travel possible. Ships are able to enter metaspace either through metadrives installed on the ships or through metagates, which are like tunnels through space. 

Alyssa: How do you like your romance? Are you a fan of “love triangles”?

Mindee: I’m a fan of whatever works. If the love triangle is awesome and helps push the story along, great. Mostly, I like my romance on the side. I don’t want it to be the driving force of the story. My favorite romance theme is unrequited lover, especially when it involves star crossed lovers. A perfect example of this is in the second season of Dark Angel. The two main characters are in love but they are physically unable to touch one another. It’s completely heart breaking and I love it.

Alyssa: Ooo, wow. I've never seen that show, but I'll take your word for it! What can we expect in book two? More debts to be paid? Mysterious worlds? Glow-in-the-dark aliens? *hushes so she won’t spoil anything*

Mindee: I think you must be psychic. All of those things are in the sequel in one way or another, or at least symbolically. Seriously though, the sequel starts off with Jeth and the crew in a hard place and facing an even more threatening villain than the ones in Avalon. 

Alyssa: Ha! It's been known to happen ;) What are you currently working on in terms of Young Adult projects - something new? Anything contracted? 

Mindee: Yikes. Contracted. That’s a scary word. Right now I’m starting on book 3 of the Arkwell Academy series. I've also got a YA high fantasy that I’m hoping to work on soon as well as a new standalone paranormal. There’s also the possibility of an Avalon spinoff, but I can’t say more since so much of it is tied up in the events of book 2.

Alyssa: And that’s it from me! Thank you so much for stopping by my blog, Mindee!

Mindee: Thanks again!

About the Book:

Avalon by Mindee Arnett

Book One of the Avalon series

Publisher: Balzer + Bray

Publication Date: January 21, 2014

Official Summary:

A ragtag group of teenage mercenaries who crew the spaceship Avalon stumble upon a conspiracy that could threaten the entire galaxy in this fascinating and fast-paced sci-fi adventure from author Mindee Arnett.

Of the various star systems that make up the Confederation, most lie thousands of light-years from First Earth-and out here, no one is free. The agencies that govern the Confederation are as corrupt as the crime bosses who patrol it, and power is held by anyone with enough greed and ruthlessness to claim it. That power is derived from one thing: metatech, the devices that allow people to travel great distances faster than the speed of light.

Jeth Seagrave and his crew of teenage mercenaries have survived in this world by stealing unsecured metatech, and they're damn good at it. Jeth doesn't care about the politics or the law; all he cares about is earning enough money to buy back his parents' ship, Avalon, from his crime-boss employer and getting himself and his sister, Lizzie, the heck out of Dodge. But when Jeth finds himself in possession of information that both the crime bosses and the government are willing to kill for, he is going to have to ask himself how far he'll go to get the freedom he's wanted for so long.

Avalon is the perfect fit for teens new to sci-fi as well as seasoned sci-fi readers looking for more books in the YA space-and a great match for fans of Joss Whedon's cult hit show Firefly.

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes and Noble | The Book Depository

About the Author:

Mindee Arnett lives on a horse farm in Ohio with her husband, two kids, a couple of dogs, and an inappropriate number of cats. She’s addicted to jumping horses and telling tales of magic, the macabre, and outer space. She has far more dreams than nightmares.

Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter

The Giveaway:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Follow the rest of the tour:

Week One:

1/13/2014- IceyBooks- Interview
1/14/2014- Word Spelunking- Guest Post
1/15/2014- Fantasy Book Addict- Interview
1/16/2014- Falling For YA- Review
1/17/2014- Whimsically Yours- Review

Week Two:

1/20/2014- Such a Novel Idea- Review
1/21/2014- The Eater of Books!- Interview
1/22/2014- Bewitched Bookworms- Guest Post
1/23/2014- Nerdophiles-Review
1/24/2014- The Irish Banana Review- Guest Post