The V Trilogy #2
by Joanna Wiebe
Release date: January 20th, 2015
Published by: BenBella Books
Genre: Young Adult Paranormal
Format: Paperback, eBook
Format read: Paperback from the publisher.
SUMMARY
Life and death, light and dark, spirit and flesh-on Wormwood Island, the lines are always blurred. For Anne Merchant, who has been thrust back into this eerily secretive world, crossing the line seems inevitable, inescapable, destined.
Now, as Ben finds himself battling for the Big V and Teddy reveals the celestial plan in which Anne is entwined, Anne must choose: embrace her darkly powerful connection to a woman known as Lilith and, in doing so, save the boy she loves...
or follow a safer path that is sure to lead to Ben's destruction at the hands of dark leaders.
Hoping the ends will justify the means, Anne starts down the slippery slope into the underworld, intent on exploring the dark to find the light.
But as the lure of Lilith proves powerfully strong,
will Anne save others - only to lose herself?
INTERVIEW with JOANNA WIEBE
1. Where do you get
your inspiration for the remote island, its natives and the school?
Oooh, well, my inspiration for the island itself comes in part
from the year in which I lived in the very remote, very rugged town of
Kamikawa-cho, in the middle of Hokkaido, Japan. It’s also informed by my home
of Vancouver Island, a glimpse of which is shown here:
As for the people of Wormwood Island, I actually studied
post-colonialist literature and cultural theory during undergrad, which perhaps
makes me partial to wishing to tell the story of those who’ve been displaced by
wealth and power. The Abenaki people of Wormwood Island are forced to do rather
unthinkable things in order to provide for themselves after government policy
removes what little of their culture they had left; in the case of the First
Nations people on Wormwood Island, that is the end of whaling practices.
And the school Cania Christy is inspired by my sheer love of
boarding schools. We have a very well-known and reputable boarding school here
on Vancouver Island called Shawnigan. It loosely informed Cania Christy:
2. What can we expect
to see in The Wicked Awakening? Any new characters?
Yes! While writing, I was super-stoked by how much room I
had in The Wicked Awakening to
develop the existing characters – Anne, Ben, Harper, Pilot – and introduce some
pretty cool new ones. The joy of writing novels in a series is that, outside of
a few situations, you don’t need to spend quite as much time building your
world in books two, three and on, so you can spend more time exploring the
dimensions of each character.
But back to the new characters! In this book, the shamed
Headmaster Villicus is replaced with a decidedly shameless headmaster named Dia
Voletto. He’s tattooed, he says the wrong things, he makes Anne feel totally
different about herself – and I lovvved
writing him.
We also meet the Seven Sinning Sisters. These ladies are
fab. They just so happen to be the seven deadly sins personified, which means
we get to meet people like Superbia, the underworld goddess of pride, and
Invidia, who is envy. Anne’s
interactions with these sisters – and what they teach her about herself – was
impossibly enjoyable to bring to life on the page. I can’t wait to see more of
them in the third book…
3. The V Trilogy, is
dark, twisted and suspenseful. How were you able to get into such a mindset to
write? Do you have "writing rituals" or things that you need to have
in order to help your creativity?
I tend to write in the evenings, alone, with the lights
dimmed a little (as bad as that is for my eyes). I put on music that makes me
feel a little eerie, like any Modest Mouse album or Air. I also think I simply
lean toward darkness for God knows why, so I’m often kinda surprised to read in
reviews that people find the books quite dark and creepy because I don’t feel
I’m laying it on particularly thick. I’m like, “What’s creepy about a girl
raised in a funeral home? Is it that
dark to visit an island run by a devil who exchanges life for things like
tattooing something awful to one’s forehead?” ;)
4. What is one thing
you would have done differently for one of your characters?
Ah, the dreaded question. The regret question. The one thing I would have done differently for
one of my characters is show the other sides of Villicus in the first book. Anyone
who’s read The Unseemly Education
already knows who Villicus really is, so, knowing that, it would have been
possible for Villicus to look quite different than he does. He could have
looked like a celebrity or someone invisible-ish. But that’s not how I saw him.
I saw him as he is on the page, and I think that, unfortunately, maybe that
makes him read as a villain produced from the Villain Mold. (Sure, that’s a
thing.)
So that’s the one thing I might change: I’d make Villicus
perhaps less obviously a bad dude.
5. Can you give us a
sneak peek to what we may expect to happen in book 3?
Oh, how I’d love to... What I can say is that the Seven
Sinning Sisters will be back, and Harper is going to be, um, rather aligned
with them. We’ll get up close and personal with Jeannie Zin, and we’ll see a
side of Ben that, I think, some fans have long expected to see. Pilot will do
as he does: flip-flop between disappointing us and making us proud. Of course,
the tension between Anne and Villicus will come to a head. And Anne will definitely
be her most take-charge self yet, though it’s going to come with consequences
to be sure.
Someone will die for good. Someone will be heartbroken. And
those who had it coming will, at last, get it. At least, that’s where I have
the book right now.
THANK YOU so very much for answering my questions, Joanna!
Book 3 sounds amazing! And I am really looking forward to reading it!!!
MY FAVORITE QUOTES
Oh, God. My name said by his voice.
This is why people have names. This is why people have voices.
~ Paperback, page 28
GIVEAWAY
BenBella Books is generously offering up 15 copies of The Wicked Awakening of Anne Merchant, please enter the Rafflecopter form below for your chance to win!
Giveaway is open to US addresses only.
(Bumbles and Fairy-Tales will not be held responsible for any lost, damaged, unclaimed, etc. prizes.)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR - Joanna Wiebe
The Wicked Awakening of Anne Merchant BLOG TOUR SCHEDULE
Monday, Januray 12th - Reading YA Rocks - Guest Post
Tuesday, Janaury 13th - Literary Meanderings - Interview
Wednesday, January 14th - Such a Novel Idea - Interview
Thursday, Janaury 15th - Of Spectacles and Books - Guest Post
Friday, January 16th - Feminist Reflections - Guest Post
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Monday, January 19th - To Each Their Own Reviews - Guest Post
Tuesday, Janaury 20th - Bumbles and Fairy-Tales - Author Interview
Wedneday, January 21st - Aphonic Book Reviews - Guest Post
Thursday, Janaury 22nd - Her Book Thoughts - Guest Post
Friday, Janaury 23rd - Book Lovers Life - Guest Post
- -
Monday, Januray 26th - Jump Into Books - Interview
Tuesday, Janaury 27h - Bad Bird Reads - Guest Post
Wedneday, January 28th - Addicted Readers - Interview
Thursday, Janaury 29th - Behind the Pages - Guest Post
Friday, Janaury 30th - Curling Up With A Good Book - Interview
