Hey everyone! I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the blog tour for GOLDEN SKIES by Juan Zapata!
I have an interview with Juan to share with you today! And make sure to enter the giveaway below!
Haven't heard of GOLDEN SKIES? Check it out!
A man-god and his army of religious zealots swarmed the South nine years ago. As a child, Malik watched severed heads falling, blood spurting onto concrete, and his dear grandfather run through by a black sword.
But there’s peace…somewhere. At least that’s what Malik tells himself as his body is ripped apart by whips at a religious conversion camp. That’s what his best friend whispers as he frantically creates new force jetpacks to rescue Malik.
Yet when war bursts through the skies, and the sky troopers, assassins, and heroes fall—when the world comes crashing down—Malik Zzoha stands strong amidst the sands, infidel of the state number one.
Golden Skies is the first book in the The New Order trilogy.
Now on to the interview!
Hey Juan!! First I want to say welcome to Two Chicks on Books I’m glad
you could stop by for a chat! GOLDEN SKIES sounds
AWESOME and I can’t wait for everyone to read it!
For the readers:
can you tell us a little bit about GOLDEN SKIES and the characters?
Hey! Thanks for having me on! I really appreciate it!
Golden Skies…well, it’s about a guy
named Malik who’s trying to free his hometown from his
religious, tyrant father. Their country is ruled by a “divine” emperor that’s
the source of all the atrocities. Malik tries to kill his father (governor of
their hometown), but fails and gets sent to a religious conversion camp he
barely manages to escape. The major supporting characters are Malik’s genius
best friend and sister. You’ve got foreign soldiers called sky troopers
involved, force shields, jetpacks, assassins, etc.
What are you
working on now?
Right now, I’m working on Book 3, Final Ascension, the
conclusion to my trilogy. I’ve got six thousand words done. It’s been slow
going, but I have to do this carefully and I have plenty of time haha.
Were any of the
characters in the book inspired by people from your real life?
Hmm. Just one. Henry, one of the sky troopers, is
loosely similar to a police officer I know due to the mentor role.
Who was your
favorite character to write? What about your least favorite?
That is a hard question. I would have to say Eliza
because I enjoyed making her a really caring and loving sister. I wish I had a
sister. My least favorite would have to be either Tiran or Cyrus simply because
they’re not as pivotal or juicy.
What is your
favorite passage/scene in GOLDEN SKIES?
I would have to say a major fight scene between the
best assassins in the story. It happens in some underground tunnels. Don’t
wanna give it all away haha.
What kind of
research did you have to do for the story?
I had to research translations to Latin for certain
words I used as names. The fighting forms are a prime example. Other names, I
used translations from Farsi unless I already knew it off the top of my head.
Fun fact: Mamnoon (a country on the Southern map) means thank you in Farsi, but
I thought it sounded cool in general so I used it haha.
Who is your
ultimate book boyfriend/man crush?
In general? It’s gotta be Darrow from Red Rising haha.
From my story? Hands down Kafed.
What inspired you
to write YA?
Oh! Golden Skies is adult Sci-Fi. I had to choose this age
group due to how grisly and gory it is. Plus, the characters swear an enormous
amount like I do in real life, so I had to go for an R rating haha.
Lightening Round
Questions
What are you
reading right now? Or what do you have on your TBR that you’re dying to read?
Iron Gold by Pierce Brown! I finished reading his Red
Rising Trilogy recently and it is freaking fantastic! Better than the Hunger
Games in my opinion.
What Hogwarts
House would the Sorting Hat place you in?
Probably Gryffindor! J
Twitter or Facebook?
Facebook! Never got into Twitter all that much.
Favorite
Superhero?
The Flash! The one from the CW show haha!
Favorite TV show?
Game of Thrones or Outlander.
Sweet or Salty?
Sweet!
Any Phobias?
I absolutely do not like heights.
Song you can’t get
enough of right now?
Fiction by Apollo ft. Liam Schwisberg
2018 Movie you’re
most looking forward to?
Well, after seeing Infinity War
and Deadpool 2, I got my wishes granted! But! That new Jurassic World movie
looks decent.
Thanks so much Juan for answering my questions! I can’t wait for
everyone to read GOLDEN SKIES!
Thank you for everything! I hope
you guys like it!
About Juan:
I'm a presidential scholar,
residential assistant, and senior at Alabama Agricultural & Mechanical
University. I endeavor to become a police officer and join a federal agency in
the future.
When I'm not writing I like
to play For Honor and pretend I'm a knight, laughing with happiness at my
victories and then almost having aneurisms when defeated. Challenge me to a
duel anytime :D
Giveaway Details:
Tour Schedule:
Week One:
6/11/2018- Mythical Books- Guest Post
6/12/2018- Kati's
Bookaholic Rambling Reviews- Excerpt
6/13/2018- RhythmicBooktrovert- Spotlight
6/14/2018- BookHounds- Interview
6/15/2018- FUONLYKNEW- Spotlight
Week Two:
6/18/2018- Book-o-Craze- Excerpt
6/19/2018- Two
Chicks on Books- Interview
6/20/2018- Parajunkee- Excerpt
6/21/2018- Sincerely Karen Jo- Excerpt
6/22/2018- Jaime's
World- Spotlight
Sounds like a good read.
ReplyDeleteThis book sounds really good and frighteningly relevant.
ReplyDelete