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Friday, March 5, 2010

Blog Tour Stop: Amelia Atwater-Rhodes, Author of Token of Darkness

TOKEN OF DARKNESS BY AMEDLIA ATWATER-RHODES
Reading level:
Young Adult
Hardcover:
208 pages
Publisher:
Delacorte Books for Young Readers (February 9, 2010)

Cooper Blake has everything going for him—until he wakes from a car accident with his football career in ruins and a mysterious, attractive girl by his side. Cooper doesn’t know how Samantha got there or why he can see her; all he knows is that she’s a ghost, and the shadows that surround her seem intent on destroying her.

No one from Cooper’s old life would understand what he can barely grasp himself. . . . But Delilah, the captain of the cheerleading squad, has secrets of her own, like her ability to see beyond the physical world, and her tangled history with Brent, a loner from a neighboring school who can hear strangers’ most intimate thoughts. Delilah and Brent know that Cooper is in more trouble than he realizes, and that Samantha may not be as innocent as she has led Cooper to believe. But the only way to figure out where Samantha came from will put them all in more danger than they ever dreamed possible.

In Token of Darkness, a car crash leaves high school senior Cooper Blake with the ability to see a brightly clothed teenage ghost named Samantha. Soon he discovers other teens with unusual gifts, such as spell casting and mind reading. If you had the opportunity to try out one of their supernatural abilities for a day, whose would you select and why?

Many of the supernatural abilities in my books are double-edged swords. I know I would not ever like to be a telepath; I don’t want to see behind the curtain, so to speak. I would like to be able to shapeshift and fly (preferably as a large, EPA-protected bird of prey of some sort, so nothing would try to eat me or shoot at me), or to survive under great depths of water so I could explore.

Can you tantalize us with a favorite scene, piece of dialogue or moment from Token of Darkness?

Hmm… I suppose I should pick a new scene every time someone asks me this, so people searching around online are not disappointed. That said…There are a lot of characters in Nyeusigrube who exist, and who I consider canon, but who have very little page-time. Their appearances tend to get cut in revision. They are behind-the-scenes characters, often with a great deal of power, who drive me crazy by refusing to ever get caught in published text. Ryan le Coire is one such character, so I was incredibly excited when he showed up in Token of Darkness.The problem with these characters, of course, is that they all tend to be ridiculous scene-stealers. Ryan le Coire is, hands down, probably the most powerful human sorcerer in Nyeusigrube- and he knows it. He is arrogant, with high standards and little patience. Most of the time, putting him in a story would be like using an uzi to deal with a mouse problem… which is why he was the only guy who could possibly help with the kind of trouble Cooper and company get into.

From the vampires and witches Persistence of Memory to the shape shifters in The Kiesha’ra series, your novels often have protagonists with strong supernatural abilities, tough exteriors and unpredictable pasts. Out of all your characters, who do you think would be the most dangerous to meet up with in a dark alley?

The answer to that would depend a great deal on the circumstances. Many of my most dangerous characters also have scruples; in the right situation, meeting with them would not be dangerous at all. In the wrong situation… well, I’m just a human author. Yes, Aubrey might be ridiculously more powerful than someone like Daryl, or Turquoise, but there is only so dead a human could be and most of my characters could manage that if they wanted to.

Some of your books like Wolfcry and Persistence of Memory explore art and architecture. Can you discuss this with us? Any desire to pursue a course of study in these avenues?

Given an infinite amount of time and money, I would pursue a course of study in almost anything one can study. I took two majors (English and psychology) and almost added a philosophy minor as an undergraduate; I added studio art classes on drawing and painting, a course on relativistic physics, a course on entomology, a course on archaeology, a criminal justice curse on serial killers, a course on ancient Rome, and a course on linguistics. I chose my English major because I decided I wanted to teach and I needed something that would provide a path toward that, and my psychology major because I loved the subject and wanted to study it in depth, but I chose my electives because I wanted to learn everything. Art and architecture are part of that very long list.

As a published author since the age of fourteen, what type of feedback do you receive from readers and aspiring authors your own age? Has there been any one sentiment that really stayed with you in particular?

When I was fourteen and first realized my novel was going to be published, my main thought was, “Cool.” (Okay, it was a lot longer, more incoherent, and excited, but it boiled down to “cool.”) It never occurred to me that my books could have a strong impact on anyone, beyond mere enjoyment.The first time I received a piece of mail saying, “Your book was the first book I ever read cover-to-cover” it rocked my world. People write to me sometimes to tell me that my books inspired them to read, or that my story inspired them to write, and to me that is simply incredible. When Teen People magazine named me a teen who would change the world, I was fourteen, and I thought the idea was fun but a bit silly. I didn’t realize at the time that my books really would have that ability.

And it isn’t just reading and writing- though those are two skills I believe are absolutely crucial vehicles for personal freedom in the modern world. I had someone write to me after reading Midnight Predator; she was an abuse survivor, and had found Turquoise’s triumphs over her former abuser, Daryl, empowering and inspiring.So, what has stayed with me most is the knowledge that I have no way of knowing what my words will mean to someone.

Can you share with us any information about future projects you are working on?

The next project in line for publication is All Just Glass, a long-awaited follow-up to Shattered Mirror. I use the phrase “follow-up” instead of “sequel” because I tend to think of sequels as things that people write because they want to go back and add to a finished story (or just write more because people liked the first one, whether or not there is more to say). Shattered Mirror was never really finished, to me. There was a complete story arc in the book, and it made sense to end the book there, but I have always known there was more to tell… it just took me a long time to figure out how to get it all down on paper.After All Just Glass, I’m planning on another long-time-in-the-works story currently titled Poison Tree, which deals with both SingleEarth and the Bruja guilds- two major organizations, one introduced in Shattered Mirror and one in Midnight Predator, who are polar opposites when it comes to their philosophies. Poison Tree will also teach a little more about Tristes, a breed referenced briefly in In the Forests of the Night and Midnight Predator, but never discussed in detail.After that… well, I have some exciting stories I am playing with, but I have not decided for certain what will happen with them.
Next tour stop: Monday March 8th: Books by Their Covers!

Purchase Token of Darkness HERE.
Read an EXCERPT of Token of Darkness.

Amelia Atwater-Rhodes was born in Maryland in 1984 and grew up in Concord, Massachusetts. Her first novel was written when she was thirteen. She currently attends the University of Massachusetts, where she is studying English.

24 comments:

Tea said...

I would love to win and read this book. I enjoyed the interview too.I'm like the author. I don't want to see "behind the curtain." No way.:)

teakettle58atyahoodotcom

Reading said...

You were a published author at 14! That is so amazing.

lizzi0915 at aol dot aom

Tales of Whimsy said...

This sounds very cool. Great interview.

Jason said...

This book sounds very interesting!

Jase

Lena1xoxo said...

OMG, published at 14? That's intense and amazing! Wow, just wow!

Mary not so Contrary said...

Okay she seems awesome. Published at 14 and she studys everything! Thats so awesome. You can never learn to much. This book sounds awesome! thanks for the great interview on a very intresting girl!

Anonymous said...

great interview. I'm going to have to check out her books. Token of Darkness sounds really good.

Eko0724 said...

Wonderful interview! Thank you for all the info! Looks wonderful, hope to get lucky!

Also twitted about contest:http://twitter.com/eko0724/status/10031769647

Thanks!

Sophie said...

Token of Darkness sounds amazing. I love the mythology used...it sounds so dark and good!!!

Tammy said...

Sounds like a great book! I love the eye catching cover. It made me laugh out loud when Amelia said she would be an EPA protected bird of prey-smart thinking!

Tahmina Urmi said...

Published at the age of 14, now that's an accomplishment. How inspiring :)

Nikki @ Bookizzle said...

Quite an accomplishment to be published at the age of fourteen. And I love her comment about wanting to learn everything. That's how I feel about school and classes as well. Very cool interview!

Linda Kish said...

So young to be so talented.

lkish77123 at gmail dot com

pandoraschoice said...

I'm very excited for a follow-up for shattered mirror. It was one of the books, also Midnight Predator, that would be great to read more about. I love how this author writes completely different books but then uses some of the same characters here and there so you can get more out of the story if you've read them all, but don't miss too much of the story if it's the only book by her that you've read.

Thanks for the great interview!

kat_hartwig(at)yahoo(dot)com

KMichelleC87 said...

I LOVE all of Amelia's books but I haven't had a chance to read this one yet. I'm sure it will be great though.

Anonymous said...

I just... love her. She is so intelligent-sounding in her interviews, and on her website. And it really is true that she inspired people to really READ books, because I'm one of them. Her books were some of the first I ever read about the supernatural and sincerely enjoyed.

I can't wait until the "sequel" for Shattered Mirror. Long-awaited, indeed. ;) And I'm excited to hear that she isn't finished with the world of Midnight Predator because that is probably my favorite book of hers next to Hawksong. All in all, I'm just very happy she's still coming up with stories because she is such a gifted writer.

donnas said...

Great interview. I only recently found out about her books but I am really looking forward to getting the chance to read Token of Darkness.

Anonymous said...

Wow! The author wrote her first novel at age 13. Amazing!

niki nicole said...

I have always loved her. She created my first book crush and was the first author that I specifically followed.

misskallie2000 said...

WOW!! Awesome interview. To be a published author at 14 has to be a fantastic feeling. Congrats to you.
I want to read this book. Thanks

misskallie2000 at yahoo dot com

TexyLivesForFashion said...

Amazing Interveiw!
This book looks pretty great .

Bookie said...

I just recently became familiar with her books. I didn't know she had been writing since such a young age. Impressive!

Emmagan said...

books sounds awesome,
I really enjoy the interview and Amelia sounds like a very cool person. I enjoy reading.

greendaygirl2009(at)gmail(dot)com

Allison T said...

this book loks interesting
i'd like to win it. :D
hyperallison@gmail.com