Blog Tour- BECOMING JINN by Lori Goldstein and A Giveaway!

Hey y'all! I'm super excited to take part in the blog tour for BECOMING JINN by Lori Goldstein! I have an interview for you today. So check it out and make sure to stick around for the giveaway!
Haven't heard of BECOMING JINNN? Check it out!

Title:BECOMING JINN 
Author: Lori Goldstein

Release Date: April 21, 2015

Hardcover: 384 pages

Publisher: Feiwel & Friends

Find it: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | iBooks | The Book Depository

Forget everything you thought you knew about genies!

Azra has just turned sixteen, and overnight her body lengthens, her olive skin deepens, and her eyes glisten gold thanks to the brand-new silver bangle that locks around her wrist. As she always knew it would, her Jinn ancestry brings not just magical powers but the reality of a life of servitude, as her wish granting is controlled by a remote ruling class of Jinn known as the Afrit. 

To the humans she lives among, she’s just the girl working at the snack bar at the beach, navigating the fryer and her first crush. But behind closed doors, she’s learning how to harness her powers and fulfill the obligations of her destiny. 

Mentored by her mother and her Zar “sisters”, Azra discovers she may not be quite like the rest of her circle of female Jinn . . . and that her powers could endanger them all. As Azra uncovers the darker world of becoming Jinn, she realizes when genies and wishes are involved, there’s always a trick.

Check out an excerpt from the book HERE!

Now on to the interview!

For the readers: can you tell us a little bit about BECOMING JINN and the characters?

First, thank you! I’m delighted to be here!

Becoming Jinn is a modern spin on the traditional tale of wish-granting genies. So there are no lamps or bottles, no flying carpets, and no three wishes. The genies in my book are Jinn, which are spirit beings prominent in North African and Middle Eastern cultures. Becoming Jinn mixes the lore of the genies we know with that of the Jinn and is set in our contemporary world, in my home state of Massachusetts. The story follows my main character, Azra, from the day she wakes up on her sixteenth birthday and receives the magical silver bangle that forces her to start granting wishes. And I say force because the tradeoff of being able to use magic is that she’s now also tied to the Afrit, the dictatorship-like council that rules over the Jinn world. There are five other Jinn girls who Azra’s grown up with who feature strongly in the novel. There’s also Henry, a human and Azra’s next-door neighbor; the two share a past and rekindle their friendship at the start of the novel. And there’s a love interest, Nate, who, despite his underwear model exterior, is as unsure of himself and struggling to find his way as everyone else is.

What about the sequel? Do we have a title yet?

All of those characters and a couple of new ones find their way into the sequel, which was a blast to write. The tentative title is Circle of Jinn, but don’t hold me to it!

       Were any of the characters in the book inspired by people from your real life?

I think I’m like most authors in this that there are bits and pieces of people I know, including myself, in most of my characters, but none of them are exactly this person or that person. Azra loves sweets, much like I do, but she also loves coffee, unlike me. Personality traits or quirks of others manifest themselves in my characters as do names, including those of my grandparents, my sister, even my first pet. These are little Easter eggs that few people besides my immediate family will recognize, but they make it fun as I’m writing.

Who was your favorite character to write? What about your least favorite?

Yasmin is a lot of fun to write. As the “villain,” she gets to say and do things that most of us don’t have the guts to say and do. It’s a departure from normal life to get to live vicariously through her for a bit. My least favorite? Ack, that’s a hard question. I guess if I have to choose, it might be Laila. While I adore her, she’s probably more loyal and forgiving than I am, and so to tap into that and inhabit that for her character was more difficult for me.

What is your favorite passage/scene in BECOMING JINN?

It’s a spoiler so I can’t say, but it comes toward the end of the book when Azra is at a party at the beach and learns something about her past. It breaks my heart still.

What kind of research did you have to do for the story?

I wanted a flavor of Jinn in the book. Because it’s a contemporary fantasy and I mix up the genie tropes we know and toss in some magic, I didn’t want to go completely true to any specific lore or stories of Jinn. But I read through Legends of the Fire Spirits: Jinn and Genies from Arabia to Zanzibar, a very academic examination of Jinn, and pulled bits and pieces to add to the book. The same with a book called Encyclopedia of Spirits, which, completely opposite of the first book, details how to summon particular spirits, including Jinn. While nothing is overt, they both added some backbone to the Jinn history I made up.

What are you reading right now? Or what do you have on your TBR that you’re dying to read?

I’m reading my good friend N.K. Traver’s Duplicity, which released March 17. I read it as a critique partner, and it’s a thrill beyond words to read the finished book. Aside from the fact that it’s simply awesome.

Who is your ultimate Book Boyfriend?

This is a spoiler for below, but I’m going to have to say Damon Salvatore.

What inspired you to write YA?

It was a natural fit for what I like to watch and read. I watch YA shows and read YA books, and that’s the culture I love and wanted to write in and for. Write what you know, right?

Lightening Round Questions

Twitter or Facebook?

TWITTER!

Favorite Superhero?

Wonder Twins. Are they superheroes?

Favorite TV show?

The Vampire Diaries.

Sweet or Salty?

Sweet.

Any Phobias?

Snakes. Bridges. Crowds (I’m short and get buried!).

Song you can’t get enough of right now?

“This Love” by Taylor Swift is my newest obsession.

Fall Movie you’re most looking forward to?

If I don’t say the new Star Wars movie, my husband will make me move out.

Thanks so much Lori for answering my questions! It was a pleasure to have you on the blog!

About Lori:

My debut novel, the Young Adult Contemporary Fantasy Becoming Jinn, is a modern spin on the traditional tale of wish-granting genies. It will be released on April 21, 2015, by Feiwel and Friends, an imprint of Macmillan Children’s. The sequel will follow in Spring 2016. I am represented by Lucy Carson of The Friedrich Agency.

Too much of my day involves chatting books, obsessing over The Vampire Diaries, and perfecting the art of efficient writing through Twitter. Find me at @loriagoldstein and follow my blog at www.lorigoldsteinbooks.com or my Tumblr at http://lorigoldsteinbooks.tumblr.com. Like my author page on Facebook for fun book-related photos, tidbits, and happenings as well as news on Becoming Jinn.

Website | Goodreads | Twitter | Facebook | Tumblr | Instagram

PRE-ORDER GIVEAWAY:

Lori's hosting a pre-order giveaway. Check it out!

All details about the giveaway: http://www.lorigoldsteinbooks.com/2015/03/02/almost/

GIVEAWAY

Details: 3 Prizes

Grand Prize: 1 winner will win a finished signed book, signed bookmarks, and an infinity necklace like the girls in Becoming Jinn (US Only)

First Prize: 2 winners will win a full Jinn swag pack of bookmarks, magnets, plastic bracelets, temporary tattoos and a genie charm (INT)

Second Prize: 2 winners will win bookmarks, magnets, and wristbands (INT)

Giveaway Starts: April 6th, 2015
Giveaway Ends: April 15th, 2015

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Check out the Tour Schedule for more awesome posts!