I am thrilled to be hosting Kat Howard for the Meet The Newbies Event! ROSES AND ROT sounds absolutely fantastic and I can't wait to read it! I have a Q&A to share with you today! And make sure to enter the awesome giveaway below!
Haven't heard of ROSES AND ROT? Check it out!
Author: Kat Howard
Release Date: May 17th, 2016
Pages: 336
Publisher: Saga Press
Formats: Hardcover, eBook, audiobook
Find it: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooksImogen and her sister Marin have escaped their cruel mother to attend a prestigious artists’ retreat, but soon learn that living in a fairy tale requires sacrifices, be it art or love.
What would you sacrifice in the name of success? How much does an artist need to give up to create great art?
Imogen has grown up reading fairy tales about mothers who die and make way for cruel stepmothers. As a child, she used to lie in bed wishing that her life would become one of these tragic fairy tales because she couldn’t imagine how a stepmother could be worse than her mother now. As adults, Imogen and her sister Marin are accepted to an elite post-grad arts program—Imogen as a writer and Marin as a dancer. Soon enough, though, they realize that there’s more to the school than meets the eye. Imogen might be living in the fairy tale she’s dreamed about as a child, but it’s one that will pit her against Marin if she decides to escape her past to find her heart’s desire.
Now on to the interview!
Hi Kat! 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 am dying to read ROSES AND ROT and I can’t wait for
my readers to read it!
For the readers:
can you tell us a little bit about ROSES AND ROT and the characters?
Roses and Rot is a riff on the
medieval Scottish ballad, Tam Lin. It’s set at a modern day artists’ colony in
New Hampshire. The two characters at the center are a pair of sisters, Imogen
and Marin, who are trying to break away from their past, and make a new life
for themselves through their art. Then Faerie gets involved, and things get… complicated.
Is it a standalone?
If not do you have a title for book 2 yet and if so what are you working on
now?
Roses and Rot Is a standalone. I
loved spending time with those characters, but that story is finished. I did
just turn in a draft of my next novel to my editor, and I hope to be able to
share details about it, soon. I’m also working on stories for a collection of
my short fiction – A
Cathedral of Myth and Bone – which will be out in 2018.
Were any of the
characters in the book inspired by people from your real life?
I wouldn’t say anyone was directly inspired, but I did borrow bits here
and there. Probably the one who comes the closest is Imogen’s mentor, Beth
Edwards. I had a great relationship with my grad school advisor, Rebecca Krug
(she’s in my acknowledgments) and the relationship between Imogen and Beth
takes a lot from that.
Who was your
favorite character to write? What about your least favorite?
Ah, this is a hard question! Since I have to pick, I would say that I
loved writing Ariel the most. I really love her loyalty. And my least favorite
to write was definitely Imogen and Marin’s mother.
What is your
favorite passage/scene in ROSES AND ROT?
There are two scenes that involve a carousel. Describing the second
scene would be HUGELY spoilery, but that is my favorite.
What kind of
research did you have to do for the story?
Well, Marin is a very high level ballet dancer, and I am definitely not
that. So I watched a lot of ballet, which I love, and I also spoke with one of
my very good friends, Megan Kurashige, who is a professional dancer and
choreographer (she and her sister run a dance company, Sharp & Fine) and
those things helped me get in Marin’s head.
What are you
reading right now? Or what do you have on your TBR that you’re dying to read?
Right now, I’m reading the final book in Catherynne M. Valente’s
Fairyland series, The Girl Who Raced
Fairyland All the Way Home. I love these books.
Who is your
ultimate Book Boyfriend?
Probably Gavriel in Holly Black’s The
Coldest Girl in Coldtown.
What inspired you
to write YA?
Roses and Rot isn’t YA, but I do
hope to write YA someday when I find the right story. I love how many
possibilities there are.
Lightening Round
Questions
If you were to be
sorted by the Sorting Hat, which Hogwarts House would you be sorted into?
I’m an ambitious Kat, so into Slytherin I go.
Twitter or
Facebook?
Twitter.
Favorite
Superhero?
Black Widow.
Favorite TV show?
All time? Alias. Currently? Elementary.
Sweet or Salty?
Sweet.
Any Phobias?
House centipedes.
Song you can’t get
enough of right now?
“Wait for It” from Hamilton.
Upcoming Movie
you’re most looking forward to?
Rogue One.
Thanks so much Kat for answering my questions!
Thanks so much for asking good ones!
Author Most to Actually Stab Someone With a Sword
Nickname: My nephew used to call me "Aunt Halloween" which is honestly the best thing. I was kind of sad when he grew out of it
First Day of School: May 17, 2016
Homeroom: Saga Press
Grade: Fantasy
Extracurricular Activities: fencing, cross country, hurdles. Which probably means I have a decent shot at surviving the zombie apocalypse. The first day, anyway.
Favorite Class: Shakespeare
Favorite Quote/Motto: "All manner of thing shall be well" - Julian of Norwich (I love it so much, it's tattooed on my left wrist.
Kat Howard lives in New Hampshire. Her short fiction has been nominated for the World Fantasy Award, anthologized in year's best and best of collections, and performed on NPR. Roses and Rot is her debut novel. You can find her on twitter at @KatWithSword.
Giveaway Details:
Tour Schedule:
April:
- Rachel - Scarlett Epstein Hates It Here by Anna Breslaw - f
- Danielle - Save Me, Kurt Cobain by Jenny Manzer
- Shannon - Crossing The Line by Meghan Rogers
- Alyssa - These Vicious Masks by Tarun Shanker & Kelly Zekas
- Rachel - A Study In Charlotte by Brittany Cavallaro
- Nori - Love, Lies & Spies by Cindy Anstey
- Sarah - Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton
- Jess - The Girl Who Fell by Shannon M Parker - f
- Rachel - Love & Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch
- Eileen - My Kind of Crazy by Robin Reul
- Jessica - Beyond The Red by Ava Jae
- Crystal - A Fierce and Subtle Poison by Samantha Mabry
- Rachel - The First Time She Drowned by Kerry Kletter
- Jaime - Future Shock by Elizabeth Briggs
- Nori - Emerge by Tobie Easton - f
- Crystal - Stone Field by Christy Lenzi
- Shannon - The Abyss Surrounds Us by Emily Skrutskie
- Alyssa - Sword and Verse by Kathy MacMillan
- Rachel - Symptoms of Being Human by Jeff Garvin
- Shannon - After the Woods by Kim Savage
- Jaime - Where Futures End by Parker Peevyhouse
- Lisa - Summer of Supernovas by Darcy Woods - f
- Rachel - The Star Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi
- Alyssa - Arrows by Melissa Gorzelanczyk
- Eileen - Dreamology by Lucy Keating
- Aentee - Wandering Wild by Jessica Taylor
- Nori - Underwater by Marisa Reichardt
- Crystal - Into the Dim by Janet B Taylor
- Jess - This Is Where It Ends by Marieke Nijkamp - f
- Lisa - Summer of Sloane by Erin L Schneider
May:
- Jaime - The Crown's Game by Evelyn Skye
- Rachel - The Square Root of Summer by Harriet Reuter Hapgood
- Liran - The Love That Split The World by Emily Henry --
- Nori - Assassin's Heart by Sarah Ahiers
- Shannon - Even If The Sky Falls by Mia Garcia
- Rachel - Burning Glass by Kathryn Purdie - f
- Jessica - Bookishly Ever After by Isabel Bandeira
- Lisa - The Year We Fell Apart by Emily Martin
- Shannon - The Art of Not Breathing by Sarah Alexander
- Rachel - The Mystery of Hollow Places by Rebecca Podos
- Kristen - Blackhearts by Nicole Castroman
- Danielle - Jerkbait by Mia Siegert
- Brittany - Please Don't Tell by Laura Tims - f
- Rachel - The Reader by Traci Chee
- Lisa - 26 Kisses by Anna Michels
- Rachel - Frannie and Tru by Karen Hattrup
- Alise - Enter Title Here by Rahul Kanakia
- Rachel - The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner
- Lisa - The Way I Used To Be by Amber Smith
- Rachel - Suffer Love by Ashley Herring Blake - f
- Liran - Firsts by Laurie E. Flynn
- Rachel - Kill The Boy Band by Goldy Moldavsky
- Danielle - Liars and Losers Like Us by Ami Allen-Vath
- Jaime - Roses and Rot by Kat Howard
- Kristen - The Girl From Everywhere by Heidi Heilig
- Rachel - The Marked Girl by Lindsey Klingele
- Eileen - Shallow Graves by Kali Wallace - f
- Rachel - Of Blood and Shadow by Kerri Maniscalco
- Aentee - Revenge and the Wild by Michelle Modesto
- Rachel - Ivory and Bone by Julie Eshbaugh
- Liran - All The Feels by Danika Stone
June:
- Shannon - How It Ends by Catherine Lo
- Andye - Fear My Mortality by Everly Frost send info
- Empty f
- Alise - The Killer in Me by Margot Harrison
- Sarah - Signs of You by Emily France
- Brittany - The Way Back To You by Michelle Andreani
- Rachel - How To Hang A Witch by Adriana Mather
- Sarah - SLIP by Kara Bietz
- Danielle - Timekeeper by Tara Sim
- Andye - Genesis Girl by Jennifer Bardsley - f
- Rachel - Caraval by Stephanie Garber
- Alyssa - Of Fire and Stars by Audrey Coulthurst
- Jaime - Fear The Drowning Deep by Sarah Glenn Marsh
- Alise - Ripple by Heather Smith Meloche
- Rachel - Mirror in the Sky by Aditi Khorana
- Nori - Unscripted Joss Byrd by Lygia Day Penaflor send info
- Rachel - Girls in the Moon by Janet McNally - f
- Kristen - Wintersong by S. Jae-Jones
- Shannon - Learning to Swear in America by Katie Kennedy
- Danielle - Phantom Limbs by Paula Garner
- Rachel - The Cat King of Havana by Tom Crosshill
- Andye - Bound By Blood and Sand by Becky Allen
- Rachel - Ever The Hunted by Erin Summerill
- Shannon - Gemini by Sonya Mukherjee - f
- Danielle - Girl in Pieces by Kathleen Glasgow
- Jess - The Weight of Zero by Karen Fortunati
- Rachel - Flashfall by Jenny Moyer
- Empty
- Nori - A Song to Take the World Part by Zan Romanoff
- Alise - A Shadow Bright and Burning by Jessica Cluess
Great interview! I'm really interested by stand-alones and the concept of this book! Definitely going to be looking out for this read.
ReplyDeleteI have not been paying attention to this feature and I wish I had. must go back and read all the fun now.
ReplyDeleteFantastic interview. I loved the questions. I too am an ambitious Kat who landed in Slytherin :)This book sounds amazing and I can't wait to read it!
ReplyDeleteOh this book sounds amazing! I'm already so intrigued about the story! I'm adding it to my TBR right now. Can't wait to read it! Great interview!
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