LORI LEE INTERVIEW AND GATES OF THREAD AND STONE GIVEAWAY

Happy Monday Everyone! Can you believe it's August? For me, it means swim season is starting and this is probably going to be one of the busiest months.  We've got pool pride day, our annual informational picnic, two bonding events, a 8 team relay we host, and a U of M concession working day. And of course the girls start swim practice soon. It'll be fun and will feel good to have accomplished it all.

First I have a winner to announce.

The winner of EXTRACTION is Gina Gao!

Congrats! E-mail me your address so I can send you your book. Please e-mail me by the end of Wednesday or I'll have to pick another winner.

Today I’m thrilled to have debut author Lori Lee here to share about her YA fantasy GATES OF THREAD AND STONE that releases tomorrow. I’ve been waiting for this for ages and it was worth it. The world building is fantastic and I loved Kai’s power to manipulate time.

Here’s a blurb from Goodreads:

In the Labyrinth, we had a saying: keep silent, keep still, keep safe.

In a city of walls and secrets, where only one man is supposed to possess magic, seventeen-year-old Kai struggles to keep hidden her own secret—she can manipulate the threads of time. When Kai was eight, she was found by Reev on the riverbank, and her “brother” has taken care of her ever since. Kai doesn’t know where her ability comes from—or where she came from. All that matters is that she and Reev stay together, and maybe one day move out of the freight container they call home, away from the metal walls of the Labyrinth. Kai’s only friend is Avan, the shopkeeper’s son with the scandalous reputation that both frightens and intrigues her.

Then Reev disappears. When keeping silent and safe means losing him forever, Kai vows to do whatever it takes to find him. She will leave the only home she’s ever known and risk getting caught up in a revolution centuries in the making. But to save Reev, Kai must unravel the threads of her past and face shocking truths about her brother, her friendship with Avan, and her unique power.

Hi Lori! Happy Release Day Tomorrow!

1. Tell us about yourself and how you became a writer. 

I sort of equate reading with my intellectual “awakening” lol. And by that I mean I had really terrible grades and trouble understanding school lessons until I discovered a love for reading in second grade. That might not seem like a big deal since it was only second grade, but it might make more sense to know I flunked kindergarten. To be fair, I was three years old when my family relocated to the US, and I probably wasn’t the greatest English speaker yet by the time they put me in school.

Once I discovered how much I loved books and reading, however, everything changed. I began writing in third grade during an after school program, and I haven’t stopped since. I wrote tons of short stories and my first (terrible) book between fifth and seventh grade, totally made up the “essay” about my grandmother in high school, and exchanged notebooks with my friends, filling the pages with letters and thoughts and stories.

2. Awesome how writing changed your life. Where did you get the idea for your story?

Kai developed out of something a writing friend said in passing about time. That, combined with my fascination of mind-controlled super soldiers, was the spark for the plot of Gates of Thread and Stone.

3. I loved the world building and the fact that we get to see more than the world Kai grew up in. Share about your world building process and some of the questions we need to ask ourselves when creating our new worlds.

The details of her world came together in bits and pieces. On the way home from work one day, I was

driving over a bridge and it was so foggy that I couldn’t see the other end. It simply disappeared into the mist. And perched on top of every lamp post on either side of the bridge was a single seagull. This became the spark of an idea that led to one of my favorite places in the book.

When world building, an important thing to focus on is your world’s history, even if most of it never makes it into the book. Your world’s back story is just as important as your characters’, and it’s something I almost always think about first when approaching a new book. Kai lives in the Labyrinth, the worst part of the city, but how did it become that way? Why and how did the Labyrinth form? In what world would such a place exist? These things might not be relevant to the plot, but they’re important to making your world more dimensional.

4. So cool how your world building came in part from every day life. And the questions you share to ask ourselves are really good ones to consider. I read you are a total outliner and can write a 50 page outline. That’s pretty detailed. What was the outline process like for GATES OF THREAD AND STONE and how long did it take to write your first draft?

I made a document for character profiles, a document for world building details, and a document with the overall story structure (e.g. Act I, II, turning point, Act III, climax, etc). Then there was the actual detailed outline, which was 24 pages long. Just preparing to write the book took some time. But once I sat down and began writing, I finished the first draft within four weeks.

5. I wish I could outline like you because maybe then I’d be able to write my first draft quicker. Kai is such a loyal, one-pointed character. Share a bit about her and any struggles you had in developing her as a character.

Like I told a friend recently, Kai has “crazy loyalty issues.” She doesn’t trust easily, but when she does choose to trust someone, she does so implicitly. Loyalty is an admirable quality, but it becomes problematic when it blinds you to the truth. I didn’t have any particular struggles developing her because much of her internal conflict and growth reflects external events, so it happened naturally.

6. Your agent is Suzie Townsend, who sounds like a fantastic agent. How did she become your agent and what was your road to publication like?

Suzie is a rock star. She had sent me the most awesome rejection + notes on a previous manuscript, so she was already familiar with my work when my second manuscript came to her attention. That’s why it’s so important not to burn your bridges. A rejection on one book might turn into an acceptance on the next.

7. Yes, I’d love to have her as my agent. I saw on your website that you’ve already been interviewed a number of times on other blogs. How did these come about and what other plans do you have to spread the word about your book?

A couple of those interviews I sought out on my own, but most of them happened simply because they asked to interview/feature me, which was lovely. My publisher is doing a number of things, but I’m also doing what I can to get into libraries and schools. I’m not having an official blog tour, but the blogging community is wonderful so we’re doing some blogger outreach as well.

8. Getting into libraries and schools is a big key in getting the word out about your book. Share something that’s surprised you in the time from signing your publishing contract to reaching publication release day.

It’s not so much a surprising thing as it is just frustrating—which is that SO MUCH is out of my control. Deadlines and covers and marketing and ARCs. So many things to stress over, but I’ve learned that the best use of my time is simply to work on that next book.

9. That is one of the most frustrating things about this profession. What are you working on now?

Getting the sequel ready for release next Spring, and working on a new fantasy WIP. I’m very excited about it :)

Thanks for sharing all your advice, Lori. You can find Lori at:
Author Links:

Author Links:

Website: http://www.lorimlee.com

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7084159.Lori_M_Lee

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LoriMLee

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LoriMLee
Tumblr: http://lorimlee.tumblr.com/

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/lorimlee/

Purchase Links:

IndieBound: http://www.indiebound.org/book/9781477847206

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Gates-Thread-Stone/dp/1477847200/
Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/gates-of-thread-and-stone-lori-m-lee/1118959476

The Book Depository: http://www.bookdepository.com/Gates-Thread-Stone-Lori-Lee/9781477847640

Lori has generously offered a copy of GATES OF THREAD AND STONE for a giveaway. To enter, all you need to do is be a follower (just click the follow button if you’re not a follower) and leave a comment through August 23rd. I’ll announce the winner on August 25th. If your e-mail is not on your Google Profile, please leave it in the comments.

If you mention this contest on Twitter, Facebook, or your blog, mention this in the comments and I'll give you an extra entry. You must be 13 or older to enter. This is an International giveaway as long as you live where The Book Depository ships for free.

Here’s what’s coming up:

On Wednesday I'm hosting a pick any YA book giveaway to help Martina Boone celebrate the release of her YA debut COMPULSION in October.

Then I’m taking a blog break for two weeks until Monday, August 25th when I have a guest post by Holly Schindler and a giveaway of FERAL, her new YA psychological thriller.

And don’t forget Casey’s Thursday Agent Spotlights.

Hope to see you on Wednesday!