Meet The Newbies Featuring Evelyn Skye & A Giveaway!

I am thrilled to be hosting Evelyn Skye for the Meet The Newbies Event! THE CROWN'S GAME is one of my favorite books of 2016! I have a Q&A to share with you today! And make sure to enter the awesome giveaway below! 

Haven't heard of THE CROWN'S GAME? Check it out!

Title: THE CROWN’S GAME

Author: Evelyn Skye

Release Date: May 17^th, 2016

Pages: 416

Publisher: Balzer+Bray

Formats: Hardcover, eBook

Find it: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks

Vika Andreyeva can summon the snow and turn ash into gold. Nikolai Karimov can see through walls and conjure bridges out of thin air. They are enchanters—the only two in Russia—and with the Ottoman Empire and the Kazakhs threatening, the Tsar needs a powerful enchanter by his side.

And so he initiates the Crown’s Game, an ancient duel of magical skill—the greatest test an enchanter will ever know. The victor becomes the Imperial Enchanter and the Tsar’s most respected adviser. The defeated is sentenced to death.

Raised on tiny Ovchinin Island her whole life, Vika is eager for the chance to show off her talent in the grand capital of Saint Petersburg. But can she kill another enchanter—even when his magic calls to her like nothing else ever has?

For Nikolai, an orphan, the Crown’s Game is the chance of a lifetime. But his deadly opponent is a force to be reckoned with—beautiful, whip smart, imaginative—and he can’t stop thinking about her.

And when Pasha, Nikolai’s best friend and heir to the throne, also starts to fall for the mysterious enchantress, Nikolai must defeat the girl they both love . . . or be killed himself.

As long-buried secrets emerge, threatening the future of the empire, it becomes dangerously clear . . . the Crown’s Game is not one to lose.

Now on to the interview!

Hi Evelyn! First I want to say welcome to Two Chicks on Books! I am so happy to be hosting you for A Perfection Called Books Meet The Newbies Event! I freaking LOVED THE CROWN’S GAME and I can’t wait for my readers to read it!

Thank you so much, Jaime! I am so happy to be here, and thank you for the enormously kind words about THE CROWN’S GAME!

For the readers: can you tell us a little bit about THE CROWN’S GAME and the characters?

THE CROWN’S GAME is a story of two enchanters, Vika and Nikolai, fighting a magical duel in lush, Imperial Russia. The book is full of surprising—and very dangerous—magic spectacles, as every move that Vika and Nikolai make pushes them one step closer to death.

New York Public Library called it “GAME OF THRONES for the younger set,” and others have said that fans of RED QUEEN, SHADOW AND BONE, and AN EMBER IN THE ASHES would really get into the book’s mix of magic, high-stakes action, and romance. Just being named with all those incredible series gives me goosebumps!

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

It’s in the progress! There’s a working title, but nothing official yet. We’ll announce it when it’s ready!

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

Hmm… yes and no. There’s a little part of me in each of the characters, but other than that, I didn’t model any of them on people I knew in real life. I tend to make up my characters from scratch—or sometimes, they just appear in my head—much like I make up the magic in my stories.

Who was your favorite character to write? What about your least favorite? I can say that I ADORED Nikolai ;)

You’re on Team Nikolai! It’s so interesting to me; I get a lot of tweets from readers who are in love with Nikolai or with Pasha. I didn’t mean to set it up like that, but people seem to feel passionately about which boy they love more.

I can’t choose a favorite character, though, are you crazy? I love them all! But how about we pretend you asked me which character was easiest to write and which was hardest? J

Nikolai came easily. Of all the characters, I am the most like him, so I understood his feelings—his wants and needs--from the start.

Vika was harder. She’s audacious and doesn’t follow the rules, and I’m not. I wrote her, in part, as an aspirational character for myself. Sometimes now when I’m in a situation where I don’t know what to do, I ask myself, “What would Vika do?” (It doesn’t always lead to the right choice for me, but it gives me an extra dose of pluck, which can come in handy.)

What is your favorite passage/scene in THE CROWN’S GAME?

Again, making me choose favorites! Jaime, you’re killing me.

Ahhhhhh. Okay. I’m going to cheat and give you the top three, without being spoilery:

3. Pasha and Nikolai’s “Romeo and Juliet” scene, which is the quintessence of their friendship.

2. The ball

1. The last chapter (and the last line of the book)

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

As you know, THE CROWN’S GAME is set is an alternate (but largely historically-accurate) Imperial Russia. The settings are almost all real, and some of the characters and events are, too.

Luckily for me, I have a degree in Russian literature and history, so a lot of my research was actually done years ago during college, before I even knew that all that work would one day become a book. When it came to writing THE CROWN’S GAME, much of what I’d studied just came flowing back. I had to do some research to check up on facts here and there, and I did do additional research on the Kazakhs and their complicated relationship with the Russian Empire, because I hadn’t studied much about that subject in school, and I wanted to make sure I understood Nikolai’s past, as well as the political tensions in Russia, properly.

For the history buffs out there, I have an Author’s Note at the end of the book that goes into more detail about my research, and what is and isn’t real in the book.

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

I actually run a big YA book club for writers (it’s a little different from a normal book club, because we analyze each book we read in terms of craft and try to improve our own writing based on what we’ve learned), which means I get to impose my TBR list on the members. J These are some of the books we have on slate for this year:

THE SACRED LIES OF MINNOW BLY by Stephanie Oakes

SYMPTOMS OF BEING HUMAN by Jeff Garvin

WINK POPPY MIDNIGHT by April Genevieve Tucholke

THE WINNER'S KISS by Marie Rutkoski

THE ROSE AND THE DAGGER by Renee Ahdieh

THE RAVEN KING by Maggie Stiefvater

Obviously there are lots of other books I want to read, too! But this was the easiest TBR to pull… my brain doesn’t work half the time these days, because I’ve got Book Launch Brain!

Who is your ultimate Book Boyfriend?

Gansey from The Raven Cycle series!! I lovvvvvvvvve Gansey…

What inspired you to write YA?

The teen years were some of my favorite years. I felt so alive, and everything was exciting (and terrifying, too). The truth is, who I was at 17 was closer to my real soul than who I became in my 20s, although I didn’t know it when I was 17.

I got a little lost in my 20s, trying so hard to be “an adult” and liking things I thought I was supposed to like, and striving for goals I thought I was supposed to strive for. And then I hit my early 30s and it was suddenly clear that I was unfulfilled, and that I needed to get back to the Evelyn-at-17. So I started reading a ton of YA, and also writing it, and that is how it all began. With the side benefit that I now feel more comfortable in my skin again.

Lightening Round Questions

If you were to be sorted by the Sorting Hat, which Hogwarts House would you be sorted into?

Pottermore put me in Slytherin, so…

Twitter or Facebook?

Twitter!

Favorite Superhero?

Black Widow

Favorite TV show?

So You Think You Can Dance

Sweet or Salty?

Sweet. ALWAYS.

Any Phobias?

I am terrified of ghosts! Also, spiders. (Oh, god, spider ghosts…!!!!)

Song you can’t get enough of right now?

DNCE’s “Cake by the Ocean”

Upcoming Movie you’re most looking forward to?

“Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them”

Thanks so much Evelyn for answering my questions!

About Evelyn:

Author Most Likely to Have You Over to Her House for a Dessert-Filled Dinner Party Nickname: Harvard First Day of School: May 17, 2016 Homeroom: HarperCollins/Balzer+Bray Grade: YA Fantasy Extracurricular Activities: Champion Cookie Eater, Wannabe Hip Hop Dancer, Captain of the Tennis Team Favorite Class: 19th Century Russian Literature Favorite Quote/Motto: If at first you don't succeed, order pizza.

Evelyn Skye was once offered a job by the C.I.A., she not-so-secretly wishes she was on "So You Think You Can Dance," and if you challenge her to a pizza-eating contest, she guarantees she will win. When she isn't writing, Evelyn can be found chasing her daughter on the playground or sitting on the couch, immersed in a good book and eating way too many cookies. THE CROWN'S GAME is her first novel. Evelyn can be found online at www.evelynskye.com and on Twitter @EvelynSkyeYA.

Website | Twitter |Facebook | Goodreads | Tumblr | Instagram

Giveaway Details:

1 Pre-Order or Finished Copy of Any Debut Novel Featured on Meet the Newbies, International (as long as The Book Depository ships to your country)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule:

April:

1. Rachel - Scarlett Epstein Hates It Here by Anna Breslaw  - f
2. Danielle - Save Me, Kurt Cobain by Jenny Manzer
3. Shannon - Crossing The Line by Meghan Rogers
4. Alyssa - These Vicious Masks by Tarun Shanker & Kelly Zekas
5. Rachel - A Study In Charlotte by Brittany Cavallaro
6. Nori - Love, Lies & Spies by Cindy Anstey
7. Sarah - Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton
8. Jess - The Girl Who Fell by Shannon M Parker - f
9. Rachel - Love & Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch
10. Eileen - My Kind of Crazy by Robin Reul
11. Jessica - Beyond The Red by Ava Jae
12. Crystal - A Fierce and Subtle Poison by Samantha Mabry
13. Rachel - The First Time She Drowned by Kerry Kletter  
14. Jaime - Future Shock by Elizabeth Briggs
15. Nori - Emerge by Tobie Easton - f
16. Crystal - Stone Field by Christy Lenzi
17. Shannon - The Abyss Surrounds Us by Emily Skrutskie
18. Alyssa - Sword and Verse by Kathy MacMillan  
19. Rachel - Symptoms of Being Human by Jeff Garvin
20. Shannon - After the Woods by Kim Savage
21. Jaime - Where Futures End by Parker Peevyhouse
22. Lisa - Summer of Supernovas by Darcy Woods - f
23. Rachel - The Star Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi
24. Alyssa - Arrows by Melissa Gorzelanczyk
25. Eileen - Dreamology by Lucy Keating
26. Aentee - Wandering Wild by Jessica Taylor
27. Nori - Underwater by Marisa Reichardt
28. Crystal - Into the Dim by Janet B Taylor
29. Jess - This Is Where It Ends by Marieke Nijkamp - f
30. Lisa - Summer of Sloane by Erin L Schneider

May:

1. Jaime - The Crown's Game by Evelyn Skye
2. Rachel - The Square Root of Summer by Harriet Reuter Hapgood
3. Liran - The Love That Split The World by Emily Henry --
4. Nori - Assassin's Heart by Sarah Ahiers
5. Shannon - Even If The Sky Falls by Mia Garcia
6. Rachel - Burning Glass by Kathryn Purdie - f
7. Jessica - Bookishly Ever After by Isabel Bandeira
8. Lisa - The Year We Fell Apart by Emily Martin
9. Shannon - The Art of Not Breathing by Sarah Alexander
10. Rachel - The Mystery of Hollow Places by Rebecca Podos
11. Kristen - Blackhearts by Nicole Castroman
12. Danielle - Jerkbait by Mia Siegert
13. Brittany - Please Don't Tell by Laura Tims - f
14. Rachel - The Reader by Traci Chee
15. Lisa - 26 Kisses by Anna Michels
16. Rachel - Frannie and Tru by Karen Hattrup
17. Alise - Enter Title Here by Rahul Kanakia
18. Rachel - The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner
19. Lisa - The Way I Used To Be  by Amber Smith
20. Rachel - Suffer Love by Ashley Herring Blake - f
21. Liran - Firsts by Laurie E. Flynn
22. Rachel - Kill The Boy Band by Goldy Moldavsky
23. Danielle - Liars and Losers Like Us by Ami Allen-Vath
24. Jaime - Roses and Rot by Kat Howard
25. Kristen - The Girl From Everywhere by Heidi Heilig
26. Rachel - The Marked Girl by Lindsey Klingele
27. Eileen - Shallow Graves by Kali Wallace - f
28. Rachel - Of Blood and Shadow by Kerri Maniscalco
29. Aentee - Revenge and the Wild  by Michelle Modesto
30. Rachel - Ivory and Bone by Julie Eshbaugh
31. Liran - All The Feels by Danika Stone

June:

1. Shannon - How It Ends by Catherine Lo
2. Andye - Fear My Mortality by Everly Frost send info
3. Empty f
4. Alise - The Killer in Me by Margot Harrison
5. Sarah - Signs of You by Emily France
6. Brittany - The Way Back To You by Michelle Andreani
7. Rachel - How To Hang A Witch by Adriana Mather
8. Sarah - SLIP by Kara Bietz
9. Danielle - Timekeeper by Tara Sim
10. Andye - Genesis Girl by Jennifer Bardsley - f
11. Rachel - Caraval by Stephanie Garber
12. Alyssa - Of Fire and Stars by Audrey Coulthurst
13. Jaime - Fear The Drowning Deep by Sarah Glenn Marsh
14. Alise - Ripple by Heather Smith Meloche
15. Rachel - Mirror in the Sky by Aditi Khorana
16. Nori - Unscripted Joss Byrd by Lygia Day Penaflor send info
17. Rachel - Girls in the Moon by Janet McNally - f
18. Kristen - Wintersong by S. Jae-Jones
19. Shannon - Learning to Swear in America by Katie Kennedy
20. Danielle - Phantom Limbs by Paula Garner
21. Rachel - The Cat King of Havana by Tom Crosshill
22. Andye - Bound By Blood and Sand by Becky Allen
23. Rachel - Ever The Hunted by Erin Summerill
24. Shannon - Gemini by Sonya Mukherjee - f
25. Danielle - Girl in Pieces by Kathleen Glasgow
26. Jess - The Weight of Zero by Karen Fortunati
27. Rachel - Flashfall by Jenny Moyer
28. Empty
29. Nori - A Song to Take the World Part by Zan Romanoff
30. Alise - A Shadow Bright and Burning by Jessica Cluess