Two Chicks On Books: Blog Tour- SHADOWLARK by Meagan Spooner and a Giveaway!

Hey y’all! Today I have Meagan Spooner, author of SKYLARK and SHADOWLARK here for an interviewsor the SHADOWLARK blog tour hosted by Step Into Fiction! Also stay tuned because we have some giveaways for you after the post!

Haven’t heard about SHADOWLARK? Check it out!

SHADOWLARK, by Meagan Spooner

Oct. 1, 2013 (Carolrhoda Lab/Lerner Books)

Goodreads/Amazon/Barnes & Noble/ The Book Depostiory

Ever since she escaped the city within the Wall, Lark Ainsley's wanted one thing: to find her brother Basil. She's always believed he would be the one to put an end to the constant fear and flight. And now, hidden underground in the chaotically magical city of Lethe, Lark feels closer to him than ever.

But Lethe is a city cowering in fear of its founder, the mysterious Prometheus, and of his private police force. To get the truth about what happened to Basil, Lark has no choice but to face Prometheus.

Facing her fears has become second nature to Lark. Facing the truth is another matter.

Lark never asked to be anyone's savior. She certainly never wanted to be anyone's weapon. She might not have a choice.

Now on to the interview!

Hi Megan! Thanks so much for stopping by Two Chicks on Books!

How different was it writing the second book in the Skylark Series?

Second books are always tricky. Because they fall naturally in between the start and end of the story, they end up having a sort of “middle” feel that isn’t always what you want. So with SHADOWLARK I had to plan out what was going to happen, a lot more so than I did with SKYLARK. I knew exactly how the book was going to end, so it was almost more of a puzzle, figuring out how to put all the pieces in the right places to lead the reader through the story.

You co-authored a book with Amie Kaufman ALL THESE BROKEN STARS how different was it writing with a partner? Would you do it again?

I love writing with Amie, and would do it again in a heartbeat (and in fact, already did, as we’ve written book two in the Starbound series and are on to book 3!). When you write by yourself, you often reach places where you feel stuck, or where you start doubting your creative abilities. When you’ve got a partner there, they can take over when you start to lose steam--and they can reassure you when you start to doubt yourself.

What has been your favorite place to visit and why?

I absolutely love to travel, but it’s impossible for me to pick just one spot that I love most! Egypt was an amazing place to be, because I’d been reading about and studying Ancient Egyptian culture for most of my life, and used to want to be an archaeologist. Antarctica was astonishingly beautiful, and so foreign—I think it’s as close to being on another planet as it’s possible to be without leaving Earth. But I think, of all my trips, my recent trip to southern Africa was the most memorable. I love wildlife and nature, and being amongst all these incredible animals and landscapes that I’d only ever seen in movies… it was beyond anything I could have imagined.

What are some of your favorite TV shows?

I LOVE watching TV. I’m a big believer that you can be inspired by anything, and so I watch lots of TV and movies, listen to a lot of music, attend the theater often, and--of course--read tons of books. Some of my favorite TV shows include: Firefly, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Doctor Who, Farscape, and Avatar: The Last Airbender/Korra. And I love comedies too, like Arrested Development, Friends, Parks & Recreation, etc.

I see you play guitar what is the hardest song you ever learned to play?

I play guitar, yes, but really only so far as being able to accompany myself while I sing. I love to do creative things that aren’t writing (singing, guitar, drawing) but I wouldn’t actually say I’m GOOD at any of them! They’re great for unwinding after a long day of work. I’d say the trickiest thing I ever learned was a song called Anna by a wonderful musician named Antje Duvekot. It sounds deceptively simple, but I learned the whole thing by ear, including strange retuning of the guitar and nonstandard chords. Then, of course, I promptly forgot how to play it a few months later!

What are some of your favorite books you’ve read recently?

I’ve read a few books that aren’t actually sold/announced yet, so I can’t talk about those! But books that are published… I absolutely loved THE MADMAN’S DAUGHTER by Megan Shepherd. I also just stayed up all night reading BETWEEN THE DEVILAND THE DEEP BLUE SEA by April G. Tucholke, which was a great read!

Did you make a playlist for the Skylark Series? Would you like to share some of the songs?

I don’t usually listen to music while I write, simply because I find it distracting. But I usually have a playlist of songs that I’ll listen to while thinking about the book, or getting into the mood to write. One song that would not leave me alone while I was writing SHADOWLARK was “The Ocean” by The Bravery, because Lark is searching for her brother and the song has this wistful sadness.

Do you have any writing rituals? Like is there a snack you absolutely have to have to write or a lucky pen or anything?

I have writing pants. I know that sounds weird… but whenever I go into a writing session, I change into these lounge-style pants so that I can be super comfortable. It’s not much of a ritual, but it does tell my brain that it’s time to get to work! I’ll also often light a candle on my desk while I work. I find the flame to be a good focal point when I need to stop and think about what comes next… if I look around, I might get distracted.

Thanks so much Meagan!

Meagan Spooner is the author of the Skylark Trilogy; SKYLARK, the first in the series, came out last year and its sequel, SHADOWLARK, will be available from Carolrhoda Lab/Lerner Books Oct. 1, 2013. She is also the co-author of THESE BROKEN STARS, the first in a young adult science fiction trilogy available from Disney-Hyperion Dec. 10, 2013. She's traveled all over the world, and there's a bit of every trip in every story she writes. She currently lives and writes in Asheville, North Carolina, but the siren call of travel is hard to resist, and there's no telling how long she'll stay there.

Website/Twitter/Facebook/Pinterest/Goodreads

Giveaways!

Grand Prize you'll need a password to unlock all the options and each stop has a unique password. My password is OREN

US/Canada residents can win a signed copy of Skylark AND Shadowlark.

International residents can win (unsigned) copies of Skylark AND Shadowlark sent via Book Depository.

The winner will also win either a query critique (if an aspiring author) OR a pre-order copy of These Broken Stars (her new series co-written with Amie Kaufman).

This contest will run from September 23 – October 6 with the winner being chosen on October 7.

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Two Chicks Prize!

1 signed copy of SKYLARK book 1 in the Skylark series and signed swag. US Only

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Tour Schedule

Monday, September 23

· Review - Xpresso Reads

Tuesday, September 24

· Interview - Two Chicks on Books

Wednesday, September 25

· Review - Good Books and Good Wine