Welcome to the Chantress Alchemy blog tour! This is actually the second tour in which I'm participating. In the first tour, I shared a swoon excerpt from Chantress Alchemy (and there is a giveaway in addition to this one). In this tour post, I have an exclusive interview with Amy herself! Stick around for the giveaway, and show Amy some love and support! Enjoy!
Meet Amy!
Alyssa: Hi, Amy! Thank you so much for joining me today on my blog! And congratulations on another release!
Amy: Thanks, Alyssa! So nice of you to have me on your blog.
Alyssa: So, let’s get to it, lady! How was writing Chantress Alchemy different from writing Chantress?
Amy: They were night and day! It took me five years to write Chantress, so when I learned that I would only have a little over a year to write Chantress Alchemy, I was a little panicked. Luckily, writing Chantress Alchemy was a completely different experience. It helped that I knew the characters so well already, and it also helped that my daughter started school then. I suddenly had much more time to write, and the story just poured out onto the page.
Alyssa: What do you think of the covers? Do you think Simon and Schuster did an adequate job of representing the books, through their respective covers?
Amy: Authors generally don’t get cover control, and much as I hate to admit it, there’s a good reason for that. Coming up with a good cover is a whole art in itself, and it’s not one most writers – including me – are expert at. If it were up to me, I’d probably cram too much in, and then try to correct it and leave too much out. So I’m lucky that the team at S&S puts so much skill and artistry into the Chantress covers. They start working on them over a year in advance, with meetings and consultations and photoshoots and design mock-ups. If I had to pick out my favorite thing about the covers, it would be the gorgeous title lettering - especially the swirly title for Chantress Alchemy!
Alyssa: Tell us how living in England affects your connection with your readers? I imagine a good fraction of your readers are from the United States.
Amy: Yes, most of my readers are in the US and Canada, a whole ocean away from me. But that’s not such a big problem these days, thanks to the wonders of the internet. People can easily get hold of me through Twitter, my blog, or email. The only real issue there is the time difference: West Coast fans tend to catch me late at night their time, which is early morning for me! My publisher handles most of the US giveaways, which is a big help for me. And when I do my own giveaways, I try to make them international, because I know how hard it is to be excluded from things if you’re not in the US.
Alyssa: If this series were to make it to the little or big screen, which actor and actress would you choose to play Nat and Lucy?
Amy: I've yet to find the actor and actress who match the Nat and Lucy in my head. With some of the supporting characters I have definite ideas, but not Lucy and Nat. A couple of years ago, I was at a local theater production where I almost saw Nat – but then the actor spoke, and the illusion fell apart for me. I guess I’ll just have to keep looking!
Alyssa: Aww! I totally get that though - the voice can make a huge difference O_O What are you currently working on in terms of Young Adult projects – book three? Something new – if something new, anything contracted?
Amy: I've just turned in a draft of the third Chantress book to my editor. Right now, I think it’s my favorite, but I know my editor will have ideas how to make it better, and that should keep me busy through the summer. After that, I have a whole bunch of enticing ideas calling my name, but I don’t yet know what I’ll choose.
Alyssa: YAY BOOK THREE! And ooo, new ideas! I cannot wait to read any and all of them :D And that’s it from me! Thank you so much for stopping by my blog yet another time, Amy! It’s always a pleasure :)
Amy: Thanks so much for having me, Alyssa!
About the Author:
Amy Butler Greenfield was on her way to a history Ph.D. when she gave into temptation and became a writer. Among other honors, her books have won a PEN/Albrand Award, the Veolia Prix du Livre Environnement, and a Beacon of Freedom Award.
Amy grew up in the Adirondack Mountains of New York State and went to Williams College and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. As a Marshall Scholar at Oxford, she studied Renaissance Europe, imperial Spain, and colonial Latin America. She now lives with her family on the edge of the Cotswolds in England, where she writes, reads, and bakes double-dark-chocolate cake.
She loves music, romantic adventure, history, quirky science, and suspense, which explains how she came to write her first YA novel, Chantress. Her next book, Chantress Alchemy, will be published in May 2014.
About the Book:
Chantress Alchemy by Amy Butler Greenfield
Book Two of the Chantress series
Publisher: Margaret K McElderry Books
Publication Date: May 6, 2014
Official Summary:
Lucy races against time and magic in this sequel to the “richly and thoughtfully written” (Publishers Weekly) Chantress.
Lucy is the last Chantress, the only remaining girl who can sing magic into the world. Since she defeated the evil Lord Scargrave, England has changed—and not for the better. With crops failing and the people rebelling, Lucy is called urgently back to King Henry’s court. His Inner Council is convinced that making gold through alchemy will save England. But a critical element to the alchemical process has been stolen. Lucy is tasked with finding it with her magic…or else. And until she succeeds, the castle is on lockdown.
Court too has changed. Scargrave’s brutal Chantress Hunter has become King Henry’s closest advisor. Lucy’s beloved Nat has fallen out of favor and is shunned by his colleagues. Worst of all, Lucy’s magic has deserted her. She can no longer hear the song spells at court, and must find a way to access her powers soon—or be accused of treason.
Amy Butler Greenfield returns to the volatile world of Chantress for an exciting tales that weaves together courtly intrigue, mystery, romance, magic, and music.
Check out the trailer for Chantress Alchemy!
Check out book one, Chantress!
(Click on the cover for Goodreads information)
The Giveaway:
2 Finished copies of Chantress Alchemy from Simon Teen (US Only)
1 signed finished copy of Chantress Alchemy from Amy (International)
Follow the rest of the tour!
Week One:
5/5/2014 - The Eater of Books! - Interview
5/6/2014 - Word Spelunking - Guest Post
5/7/2014 - Reviews By Molly - Review
5/8/2014 - A Dream Within A Dream - Interview
5/9/2014 - Unabridged Bookshelf - Review
Week Two:
5/12/2014 - A Bookish Escape - Review
5/13/2014 - Such a Novel Idea - Guest Post
5/14/2014 - Fiktshun - Interview
5/15/2014 - Fiction Freak - Review
5/16/2014 - Two Chicks on Books - Guest Post
Quite interesting to hear that Chantress Alchemy felt a lil easier to write for Amy than book 1, cause what I've heard from other authors is usually the opposite!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for making the giveaway international, Amy!!
I can't wait to read the first book and the second one looks so good too! I'm actually a UK reader but most of the books I read are by American authors, so it's cool to find a book by a UK author :)
ReplyDeleteI have not read the first book but singing magic sounds interesting. That is a huge time difference in writing the books. I'm glad that the story just poured onto the pages because it shows that you really know your characters.
ReplyDeleteI like the covers, looking forward to reading this series.
ReplyDeletemagic5905 at embarqmail dot com
These look like they are really good reads. I am putting them on my TBR list.
ReplyDeleteI love finding new authors I have not read.
This sounds like a really interesting series and I will have to put them on my TBR list. Thanks for the giveaway!
ReplyDeleteEntered rafflecopter as Alisha Sienkiel
These books sound super interesting! I've heard nothing but good things about this series. :) Great interview, and I can't wait to check out these books!
ReplyDeleteHaha I agree about the whole voice thing. I felt like that at first with Theo James because his voice was so deep that I couldn't imagine him at ALL for Four although maybe it's just because my perception was different from Veronica Roth's lol :) Thanks for sharing! <33
ReplyDeleteThanks for the Giveaway and those are some awesome covers!
ReplyDeleteWhat's next? more to this set or starting on a new one?
ReplyDeleteSo need to read this! :D Ty for the giveaway!
ReplyDeleteMary G Loki
Thank you for the giveaway!!! :)
ReplyDeleteThis book has a pretty cover and I love how it's a mix of fantasy and historical fiction.
ReplyDelete