Author Interview & Book Giveaway: Silver Smoke by Monica Leonelle

Welcome to Author Monica Leonelle!

Bio:

Monica Leonelle is a 27-year old writer living in Chicago with her husband and her Westie dog. She is the author of Silver Smoke, the first book in the Seven Halos series. When she is not writing about Brie, Rykken, and Pilot, she is working on a young adult cyberpunk trilogy.

Website http://monicaleonelle.com/
Book Preview http://sevenhalosseries.com/

Interview:

What is one book everyone should read?
Right now, I'm incredibly impressed with The Hunger Games. I know it's already a popular series, but those books really made me think. I tell everyone to read them--I've probably sold a good 20 reluctant readers on those books.

If you could have any superpower what would you choose?
The ability to see the future! It could be a bad thing at times but overall I think it would be useful.

What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast?
Eggs and veggies. Usually together in an omelet.

Night owl, or early bird?
I'm a night owl, but I'd love to be both. I have a friend who is both a night owl and an early bird and he gets a ton of extra writing done!

Please tell us in one sentence only, why we should read your book.
You should read the book because it's so character-driven, though the plot in Silver Smoke is fun too.

Any other books in the works? Goals for future projects?
More books in the Seven Halos series, plus a new cyberpunk trilogy. I haven't started working on the latter yet.

What is your dream cast for your book?
I am not too picky about Brie and Rykken, but I am dead set on Drew Roy for Pilot and Sasha Pieterse for Sirena. They are perfect! Especially Drew Roy. I really like Boo Boo Stewart (a little older than he is now) for Rykken, but he is in the later Twilight movies, so he might be a bit busy in the future!

If you could be one of the Greek Gods, which would it be and why?
Athena, because she is the goddess of wisdom and strategy. I love smart girls who can figure out puzzles, and hopefully that shows in my characters!

Who are your favorite authors of all time?
I love C.S. Lewis. I read the Chronicles of Narnia several times when I was a kid. He's been a huge inspiration for me as a writer.

Can you see yourself in any of your characters?
Yes! All of them. They all have a bit of me in them, even those pesky villains that cause so much drama.

What movie and/or book are you looking forward to this year?
Several. Right now, I Am Number Four, Beastly, and Sucker Punch. I'm an Alex Pettyfer fan.

What was your favorite children's book?
One that I don't see mentioned often is The Girl With Silver Eyes. I barely remember the plot, but I remember how the book made me feel. I loved that story when I was a kid.

How do you react to a bad review?
It's not easy. I typically try to respect that the person has an opinion and the right to voice it (especially because they paid for a product that didn't deliver they way they wanted). Also, if there's any way to incorporate their constructive feedback, I do.

Which authors have influence you most and how?
So many. Lots of modern YA authors brings something different to the genre in their books, and I look to each of them for different things. Examples: JK Rowling builds incredible detail into her worlds. Suzanne Collins is the queen of cliffhangers. Holly Black does these intense and not entirely pleasant (but extremely realistic) characterizations. In White Cat, my favorite part is where Cassel is listing his morning routine and mentions that he “pissed.” As a girl, I thought, “Okay, TMI.” Girls pee when they need to, but guys include pissing as part of a checklist, and Holly is so smart to know that.

Silver Smoke by Monica Leonelle
15-year old Brie van Rossum wants to know what caused her mother’s death, but she’s trapped in Honolulu under the watchful eye of her rock star father James, her overprotective older brother Pilot, and the relentless paparazzi who would love to capture her breaking down on film.


A clue about her mother’s death finally comes in the form of four teenage girls--or at least, that’s what Brie thought they were when she met them on the first day of high school. The girls are not normal teenagers, but Hallows--descendants of archangels and humans--with supernatural powers that allow them to manipulate matter and cross miles of beach in seconds. Brie learns that she is a Hallow too, just like her late mother.

But Brie’s family has enemies--specifically the New Order, a group that killed most of Brie’s family before the last survivors went into hiding one hundred years ago. Brie's new friends don’t think the New Order killed Brie’s mother, but that begs the question--who did?

Now, Brie faces a choice--she can follow the clues her mother has left behind, and risk exposing her family to a death sentence from the New Order; or she can stay on Honolulu and keep her family safe, but miss the opportunity to stop the New Order from terrorizing the entire Hallow race.




Giveaway Details:
3 Winners will each recieve a copy of Silver Smoke
Open Internationally
Ends 4/3/11

Optional Extra Entry:
+ 2 Like Monica on Facebook