martedì 12 giugno 2012

Review: Conception + Interview with Jennifer Hartz + Give@way !

Conception
Future savior #1

Author: Jennifer Hartz 
Released: 1st September 2010
Format: eBook
Purchase: Amazon, Desert Breeze Publishing

From Goodreads:
"I do not think it is a question of where, but when." were the words that Charis left my mother with thirty years ago when I disappeared from Meric . . . before I was born.  Shortly after being sent back I've been attacked by man-eating Vaipes. I've learned that my father was a power wielding Guardian. I've discovered that the silvery-blue eyes intriguing me my entire life belong to my Watcher, Shaw who is without a doubt the most handsome man I have ever seen. And somehow I need to stop a war mongering tyrant who can manipulate people's thoughts.  So my question isn't where or when. It is how? How can I help the people of Meric when I can't stop myself from falling in love?
                     
                                                                My review:
How can I start this review? Conception was certainly one of the book I loved the most this month!! I found it so original and full of amazing characters that it was impossible to face a week of exams, having this book waiting for me!

The first original thing that I found was Christina, a THIRTY years old physical education teacher! Maybe this sounds strange to me because I haven't read many books yet in my short life but, she was not the ordinary brave teenager. One day, the day of her thirtieth birthday, while she was having lunch, she's suddenly transported into a new world: Meric. There, she immediately met Shaw, her guardian, who had always protected her during her whole life, and Charis, her real mother's most loyal friend. Yes, I wrote real mother on purpose: infact Christina will be informed that her real homeland had always been Meric,and that she was not the daughter of the family she used to live with in Pittsburgh. Her real mother was the queen of the elfs; she had been teleported to Pittsburgh to protect her from a looming threat, Leticia, who wanted to subjugate the peoples of Meric.But now Meric needs her, the Savior, the only one who can stop Leticia from destroying everything.

I don't think there was actually something I didn't like about this book; it was full-packed with action moments, emotional events and well-developed characters. I was completely stunned by the infinite imagination of the author who created a completely new world, populated by all sorts of imaginary creatures. I don't want to spoiler too much, because this book really needs to be read, but, you really can find everything in it: waterkins, giants, warriors, elves, dwarves and so on!
The most beautiful thing was that the author widely described not only their physical appearances perfectly, but also tried to give us the idea of how each of them lived and the difference between the political/social organisation of these extraordinary creatures.At least one member of each mythological race was part of the protagonist's escort and each one of them had a different personality. At the end of the story you, unconsciously, grow fond of each of them.
Beside the amazing ambientation and the characters I also enjoyed the harshness of the several battles that appear in the book. I noticed that every time there was a fight you could actually feel that something was changing: some of the charaters were forced to grow up, some of them lost their lives to save others and, the worst moment of all, when the battles had ended, the sense of lost for some of the dead characters. I really couldn't imagine I could have been so involved in this book.
Moreover I'm sure everyone will love so far the tough love story between the (too) handsome Shaw and Christina; could he fall in love with the girl he's supposed to protect? Could she fall in love with her guardian? Certainly the hard circumstances won't leave them time to clarify their feelings: they need to fight Leticia, there's no time for love.
I'm sure the ending will leave everyone of you speechless; will Christina remain forever in Meric? I'm afraid not.

Future Savior was a fantastic new discovery for me; I should thank the author a million times for offering me the possibility to get to know this amazing new world. And well, I'm looking forward to see how she will develop this wonderful series and of course, I'll purchase book 2 as soon as possible!!

For those of you who loves fantasy books this is a must read, trust me! ;D
                                                                    
                                                                                            Rated:





                                                      Interview with the author:
Dear Followers, what an amazing day is today! (: Today I have the pleasure to host on my blog the lovely Jennifer, I'm sure you'll love her, and her book. Trust me, she's one of the kindest person I met thanks to the Internet and I couldn't be more happy to promote her amazing book on my blog!

Jennifer Hartz wrote and illustrated her first novel, an epic tale featuring winged fairies losing their magic wands to evil trolls, back when she was six years old. She has been a fan of fantasy and science fiction ever since. From the land of Mordor to a galaxy far, far away, Jennifer loves it all.
Born in Pittsburgh, but currently living in northeast North Carolina with her amazing husband and beautiful son, Jennifer spends her days teaching, reading, and writing.
The Future Savior series is Jennifer’s first crack at a novel since the early days of fairy wand heists and she couldn’t be more thrilled with its quick success.  Be sure to stop by the “Book Reviews” page to see what people are saying about Future Savior, Jennifer, and her writing.

*Can you tell us a little about yourself? When did you realize that you have the passion for writing?
First off, thanks so much for having me on your blog, Sara! Well, I have always loved fantastical stories. I use to write and make up stories all the time when I was a little kid. The first one I can remember was about faeries that got their magic wands stolen by evil trolls! Unfortunately, life takes us on strange trips sometimes and I ended up moving away from writing, but, thankfully, the writing bug found me again. Sometimes I wonder where I would be if I never stopped writing… but I am so happy to be doing it now! Future Savior Book One: Conception was the first novel I ever wrote. I can't believe how people are responding to it! The Future Savior Series has actual REAL fans! How cool is that?!?! These fans really keep me going when I wonder, "Why in the world am I wasting my time writing?" I'm so thankful for my fans!
*Can you tell us a little bit about your book? Where did you get the idea for creating the fantastic world of Meric?
Oh gosh, it's so hard for me to talk about Future Savior without giving spoilers! Basically a young woman, Christina, is mysteriously transported from her normal life to a fantasy world called Meric. There she discovers she has an amazing destiny... she's the prophesied Savior of Meric! She learns that she has unbelievable powers including visions and telekinesis. She also discovers that she has a shape-shifting Watcher (body guard) named Shaw who has been protecting her since before she was born. Plus, Shaw just so happens to be the most breath-taking, handsome, yummy man ever!
How did I come up with Meric?... Wow, that's a tough question to answer. I guess I just have an overactive imagination! I just hope I did a good job of describing for the readers the awesome pictures in my head.

*Are there some books that had inspired you in writing The Future Savior Series? Who are your favorite authors?
The obvious books that inspired The Future Savior Series are The Lord of the Rings and The Chronicles of Narnia. As much as I loved these epic fantasies, I must say that they were lacking in the "epic romance" category. So, I took what I loved from epic fantasy tales, added some MAJOR romance, sprinkled in some sci-fi, and just a touch of "fish out of water tale" to get The Future Savior Series.
My favorite authors are: J.K. Rowling, C.S. Lewis, Lisa T. Bergren, Suzanne Collins, and Stephen King





Kellan Lutz
What would be your dream cast for an eventual film adaption of your book?
Oh fun! (Plus I LOVED how you used the word "eventual" like it WILL happen someday! That makes myd ay!) There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that I would cast Kellan Lutz (Twilight/Immortals) as Shaw! I think if some fancy Hollywood director approached me to make the movie I would say, "Sure… but you MUST get Kellan Lutz or there's no way I'm agreeing to it!" Kellan IS Shaw!

Sarah Bolger


For Christina I must have picked a hundred different actresses and then changed my mind! Currently – and I think I'm sticking with this one – I really like Sarah Bolger (Spiderwick Chronicles) for Christina. Sarah might be a bit young for Christina, but when you get to the end of Conception you'll see why having a slightly younger actress is a good idea.

Here are my picks for some of the supporting characters: I really like Zak Efron (High School Musical) for Prince Jonus. Candace Cameron Bure (Make It Or Break It/Full House) would be an amazing Charis. And I just love Hayden Christensen (Star Wars/Jumper) for Rayliex.

*Is there a character you feel most attached to?
All of the characters really grab a hold of me… It's really neat to see them evolve in ways I didn't originally intend. I think that's the cool thing about writing… sometimes these characters get minds of their own! But if I had to pick one character that I am most attached to it would have to be Rayliex. He is so tortured and has such an amazing arch throughout the series that I can't help but feel for him. He is so purely evil in Conception, but his tale certainly doesn't end there.

* Can we tell there is something about your personality in your protagonist Christina?
Totally! Christina has so much of me in her that it's crazy… of course she's evolved into her own awesome person – she's way cooler than I am! But when I first started to write Conception I tried to use the sage old advice of "write what you know"… well, that doesn't really work when you're writing a fantasy and you have to make up everything! However, I wanted my main character to be as believable as possible since the things happening to her were so very unbelievable. The best – and easiest – way for me to do this was to use my own reactions. If I was being attacked by man-eating Vaipes how would I react? What would go through my mind the first time I met Shaw? I think those kind of exercises really helped to make Christina "real".

What was the hardest part in writing "Conception"?
I think the hardest part of writing Conception was self-doubt. I didn't think I was a very good writer and I didn't think my story was very good. As it turns out, I'm pretty good at this writing thing and people are genuinely freaking out over The Future Savior Series! But when I first started I was certain people would think I was crazy! I'm sure there are some people out there who do think I'm crazy, but there's a fair amount who really LOVE The Future Savior Series. And because of those fans, I am so glad I didn't give up!

Thank you so much Jennifer for taking your time to do this funny interview,
but, you know what? The fun isn't over! The author has generously offered to give
away TWO Kindle copy of her novel: Conception. 
You just have to fill the Rafflecopter form below!
                                                                                
a Rafflecopter giveaway

13 commenti:

  1. What fun. Thanks for the peek into your novel.
    EJ Lane

    RispondiElimina
  2. Sara and Jenn, what a great intervew. Jenn, Shaw could be my guardian any day of the week!

    Smiles
    Steph

    RispondiElimina
    Risposte
    1. *grins* I know, right! Shaw... *sigh* Thanks for stopping by Steph!

      Elimina
    2. Ahah right, mine too. Especially if he's Kellan Lutz!
      x

      Elimina
  3. Your enthusiasm for the book is contagious and makes me want to read it!!

    Thanks for the giveaway!

    RispondiElimina
    Risposte
    1. Oh, Thank you!
      This was exactly my purpose! (:
      Good luck with the contest,
      x

      Elimina
    2. Hey Darlene! Thanks for stopping by and entering the contest :) Good luck!

      Elimina
  4. I just tried to enter and I'm not sure if it went through, as it says 'finish this entry to get 16 more entries', but there's no place to 'finish' it that's posted.

    I'd love to be entered...I really enjoy fantasy. The description of the premise reminds me a lot of the new hit fantasy TV show Once Upon a Time!

    RispondiElimina
    Risposte
    1. Hey Miralee! I'm not sure if your entry went through... hopefully Sara can fix it!

      Elimina
  5. Nice cast, since I am a fan of Kellan Lutz I am going to have to add the book to my reading list and make it a priority LOL.

    Thanks for the great interview/review & giveaway!

    RispondiElimina
    Risposte
    1. Ahah yes, you have to! You won't regret it!
      Good luck and thanks for stopping by! ^^

      Elimina
  6. Oh readingdiva... if you like Kellan Lutz then you must get to know Shaw!!! Thanks for stopping by and entering :)

    RispondiElimina

 
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