Friday, March 22, 2013

Mortality Release Tour Guest Post & Giveaway!!! (Zombies, People)


Guest Post by Kellie Sheridan, the author of:
After surviving a deadly plague outbreak, sixteen-year-old Savannah thought she had lived through the very worst of human history. There was no way to know that the miracle vaccine would put everyone at risk for a fate worse than un-death. 

Now, two very different kinds of infected walk the Earth, intent on nothing but feeding and destroying what little remains of civilization. When the inoculated are bitten, infection means watching on in silent horror as self-control disappears and the idea of feasting on loved ones becomes increasingly hard to ignore. Starving and forced to live inside of the abandoned high school, all Savannah wants is the chance to fight back. When a strange boy arrives with a plan to set everything right, she gets her chance. Meeting Cole changes everything. Mere survival will never be enough.


Moving to Ireland Helped Fuel My Writing Career

A couple of years ago now, after I finished my first college program, I was stuck. I was working fulltime at a pet store, which was fun but all of my creativity and drive was slowly ebbing away. I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life, and needed to find some inspiration. So, with very little warning, I decided to take a gap-year, albeit after college instead of before. People do it all the time, right? Take time out from “real life” to figure out what’s next. I had some money saved up, and so I moved to Ireland.
It ended up being exactly what I needed.
For eight months, I lived on the West Coast of the Emerald Isle in a city called Galway. In theory, I was there on a work visa, but I spent a lot more time reading and travelling than I did serving coffee. I fell in love with Irish locations and Irish people. That country (and Galway specifically) woke me up!  Another bonus, it’s a lot cheaper to visit other European destinations while living in Ireland than it is from here in Canada.
I’m sure one day I’ll end up writing a book that involves Irish locations and characters, because everything about that country just oozes personality. Or maybe because I want an excuse to go back and visit. I miss travelling so much, but I think breaking into publishing is going to be adventure enough for me for awhile.
So, did I get home, pick up a pen and start writing my first novel? Unfortunately, no. I was writing, but it was still just for me. What I did do was get a job at a bookstore, which led to my starting up a book blog, which led to a whole bunch of other forays into the publishing world. Now, I’m publishing my first novel, running a book blog, reviewing for an online magazine and working with three different publishing houses. Things might have gone very differently if I’d decided to stay put and stick it out in a job I wasn’t happy with. I’m not saying everyone needs to pack their bags and move to a different continent in order to find their dream job. But sometimes, if you’re ever feeling stuck, mixing it up can go a long way towards helping you figure out what’s really important.


Writing Belle's Review: 

This book is a good old fashioned zombie adventure novel with a kick of romance. The synopsis is posted above, so let me sum it up for you: zombies take over the world. Girl is trying to survive in said world. Girl meets boy. People get killed. Things are epically messed up, as evidenced by the fact that zombies are roaming around everywhere. 

I absolutely LOVED the fact that this book had so much action! It's YA, so the romance is a lot less steamy than what you're going to see in Upper YA or New Adult books - which I liked very much. I like reading about the everyday teenage crush - especially if it's set in a post-apocalyptic environment. I also really loved the fact that we follow the stories of two characters during different timelines: Savannah and Zarah. I think Zarah was my favorite lead - I just felt for her situation more deeply than I did for Savannah's, probably because I got to get in her head before and after the zombie apocalypse hit. Her losses and emotions seemed more profound because I knew a little more about her upfront. I felt like Alex was kind of a jerk (okay...a big jerk!), but I can see where he's coming from. I mean, you try surviving the zombie apocalypse without getting stressed out over it. In all, I found this to be a very satisfying read and I think it reaches a broad age group, despite the fact that it's YA. Now excuse me while I go lock my windows and doors...you never know when zombies might take over. 


Kellie is generously offering up an e-copy of her zombie-inspired novella, END DAYZ for one lucky winner! Enter on the form below - and good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

5 comments:

  1. Thank you so much for hosting this tour stop, and for your great review!

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    1. absolutely!! And thanks so much for letting me read it - I loved!!! <3

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  2. Zombies are scary awesome. They just keep on coming. Thanks for the giveaway and your book sounds great Kellie.

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  3. I love all things zombies! From a safe, safe distance :) Thanks for the great post and giveaway!

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Get fictional - it's fun! Thanks for stopping by, and I hope to see you again soon!