It is with great pleasure that I am able to host Natasha Deen's "True Grime" tour. There were times I wondered if this stop wasn't going to happen. The book got lost and I saved my questions for Natasha in my drafts instead of sending them. But because of such wonderful people behind the scenes, this post is actually going up on time! Thank you Natasha and Molly - you guys are the best.
Make sure you read Natasha's interview. You can see she has an amazing sense of humor and will give you an idea of how much fun "True Grime" is to read! Think you'll love it like I do? Well, now you have a chance to WIN it! Natasha is offering an e-book of "True Grime" to one lucky reader. Details are below.
Author: Natasha Deen
Publisher: Blueberry Hill
Paperback , 276pp
ISBN: 9780986741913
Genre: Young Adult Urban Fantasy/Mystery
Also available in e-book format
Purchase: Amazon BarnesAndNobl
About the Book
Grime cop and teen fairy Pepper Powder lives for one thing: protecting the human species from magical zealots who seek to eradicate them with Violent Illness of Unusual Resistance and Strength (humans call them “viruses,” but their mistake is understandable. The very young often get their words wrong.). When a terrorist leader releases a necrophage bomb, it not only decimates Grime headquarters, it turns Pepper into the magical world’s first fairy amputee—but she’s not going to let a little thing like a missing leg stop her. To catch her criminal, and prevent him from unleashing a VIURS in one of the human world’s biggest shopping centers, West Edmonton Mall, she goes undercover as a human. But once Pepper's theories of humanity collide with the reality of bullies, cliques, and environmental destruction, will she still believe humanity's worth saving?
Author Interview:
Tell us a little about yourself.
Things you should know about me: I have to eat chocolate with nuts when writing; when I hit writer’s block, I’ve been known to sing show tunes to my cats & dogs; when the writing’s not going well, I grab chocolate, lay on the floor of my study, eating & moaning.
In one sentence, describe "True Grime".
A fairy cop must go undercover in the human world if she’s to save them from magical terrorists bent on their destruction.
What inspired you to write this novel?
The answer is simple but multi-faceted: I wrote the book because the BP Oil scandal made me wonder if we’d ever stop destroying the environment. I wrote it because I remembered the Exon Valdez oil spill and realized that we were getting better at dealing with global catastrophes. And I wrote it because I work in the schools and I had something to say about bullying, and I wanted to talk of the things we tell kids (and ourselves) about what it means to be a boy or a girl.
Who or what was your biggest influence in your decision to become a writer?
My husband, because he’s the one who said, “Got for it.”
Dead person: my grandfather. He used to tell my mom I was sick and couldn’t go to school, then he’d take me to Fish Creek Park for the day and after, we’d stop by the Mac’s and get chocolate. I really miss him and his way of looking at the world (the first time he saw downtown Calgary, AB at night, he grabbed my hand and said, “It’s a fairyland! It’s magic! Look at it! Look!” I wish I could have him back for a day, so he remind me to see magic in the world. As for living people, it’s my friends and family, and I take every chance to hang with them…I guess I could pick someone famous, but I don’t know them…I do know my friends & family, their struggles and triumphs, and they are my living heroes.
I know some authors have strange rituals when they write. Some have to have a certain food, lock themselves in a room, only work at night, etc. What's yours?
I think the chocolate eating is a ritual…as is the fact I’ll do lunges down the hallway or touching my toes when I need an infusion of creativity (someone told me that touching your toes—crossways, so left hand to right toe, etc.—triggers cross-wiring in the brain…of course, he may have said that because I’m totally gullible, but still, I figure it works…
How does writing work with family life?
I get up early and shut down around 6 or 7 in the evening. Plus, I try really hard to keep the weekends for family time…sometimes, when I have a tight deadline, I have to choose work over movie-watching, but because I don’t like having to do that, I try to do extra work, write a little more—get a bit more done so if things some up and I want to be spontaneous, I have the padding to do so…for example, right now, it’s NaNoWriMo and I should be at 23,338 words. I’m at 25k, but that’s so if things go sideways or (like today when I’m down with allergies), I’m still okay for productivity.
What things do you enjoy doing when you aren't writing?Reading and watching TV, hanging with friends, and spending time with my family.
Would you share one thing most people don't about you?
Little known facts about me: I can go from woman to Chicken Little in 0.003 seconds; When I was growing up, I had friends whose homes I couldn’t go to because I was colored and their parents didn’t like that; I have an extra vertebrae, and rainy days are my favorite kind of weather.
Tell us about your next project.
I am currently slogging my way through Grime 2.
Thank you, Natasha, for taking time out of your busy schedule. It has been a real pleasure talking with you.
Thank you so much for hosting me. I had a lot of fun!
About the Author:
When
I was little, there was only one thing I wanted to be: a superhero. But
there came a day when my dreams were broken, and that was the day I
realized that being a klutz was not, in fact, a super power, and my
super weakness for anything bright and shiny meant a magpie with
self-control could easily defeat me in a battle of wills. I turned to
writing as a way to sharpen my mental super-hero skills. I don’t get to
orbit the earth in a space station (and thank God, because I get sick on
merry go round), but I do get to say things like: “Stand aside! This is
a job for Writing Girl!!”
Connect With Natasha on:
My Thoughts:
This book was so much fun to read! With a flavor for the unusual, this book is a combination of mystery, suspense, fantasy, sci-fi, and environmental crime. The main character, Pepper Powder (the short version of her name) is one tough Grime Cop that is both saucy and and extremely dedicated to her partner Harley. Oh - did I also mention they are both fairies?
Nothing will keep Pepper down - not even the loss of her leg. She was the first fairy to receive an artificial limb and that leg would rival anything that James Bond might have had! She and her partner go on assignment to pose as students in a high school in Canada. There they go undercover to stop the environmental bad guys.
This book is packed with wit, humor and lots of page turning action. I loved the humor but more than that, I loved the originality of the story. It is such a fun read, and with no sexual content, this would be a great book for both teens and adults.
I can't wait for the next in the series to come out. I need to know what happens next in Pepper's life!
Giveaway:
Natasha has been so kind to offer an e-copy of her book "True Grime" to one lucky reader. All you have to do is fill your name and email in the form below to enter. Good Luck! Giveaway ends 11/29.
I received an e-copy of "True Grime" to read and honestly review for this tour.
Hee hee--yes, it was quite the adventure getting to this stop, wasn't it? Thank you for all the effort in hosting & interviewing me--and THANKS for the awesome review of Grime!
ReplyDelete