OTBF 2017 AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT: Martina Boone

It is that time of year...again! Events and places where teens, authors and books meet! For many booknerds and readers alike, we attend many book festivals and author events all over the United States. I am absolutely thrilled to be part of this blog tour for this event! And...I get to host one of the amazing authors that will also be in attendance! You'll find out who I'm hosting soon...after discussing some details about this fun event! My daughter and I was fortunate to go to the very first Teen Book Fest when it all started in Ontario! And, of course, at the end of sharing all this exciting and fun information, there is an awesome Blog Tour GIVEAWAY...at the end of this post! Plus, check out the blog tour schedule!

Well, this coming March 2016, the City of Ontario will be holding their 6th Annual Ontario Teen Book Fest featuring many bestselling authors. Booknerds and fans of all ages are welcome to attend; however, teens are given preferred seating.

When:

March 25, 2017, Saturday

9:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Where:

Colony High School

3850 E. Riverside Drive

Ontario, California 91761

Did I mention that to attend is absolutely FREE and it is NOT ticketed!

Yup! Ontario's Teen Book Fest is completely FREE to attend! For more information on the Ontario Teen Book Fest, go to:

www.ontariotbf.com

Sponsored by:

Once Upon A Time Bookstore

*Books and other stuff will be available for purchase during the event*

Join us as we celebrate teens and books with an amazing lineup of authors! And, of course, there will be signings as well! Yay! To celebrate this upcoming and exciting event, we are having a blog tour spotlighting each of these amazing authors!

Blog Tour Schedule:

March 15th:
Spotlight on Romina Russell - The Consummate Reader
Spotlight on E. Katherine Kottaras - Book You Very Much

March 16th:
Spotlight on Catherine Linka - What A Nerd Girl Says
Spotlight on BT Gottfred - My Fangirl Chronicles

March 17th:
Spotlight on Elana K Arnold - Read Now Sleep Later
Spotlight on Sara Elizabeth Santana - Starkiller Readers

March 18th:
Spotlight on Gretchen McNeil - Adventures of a Book Junkie
Spotlight on Charlotte Huang - A Traveling Book 

March 19th:
Spotlight on KM Walton - Recently Acquired Obsessions
Spotlight on Jeff Garvin - Reading Over Sleeping 

March 20th:
Spotlight on Jessica Brody - A Reader's Antidote 
Spotlight on Aditi Khorana - Read Now Sleep Later

March 21st:
Spotlight on Ann Stampler - Movies, Shows and Books
Spotlight on Nicole Maggi - My Fangirl Chronicles

March 22nd:
Spotlight on Julie Buxbaum - A Traveling Book
Spotlight on Cindy Pon - Book You Very Much

March 23rd:
Spotlight on Martina Boone - Movies, Shows and Books
Spotlight on Mary Weber - What A Nerd Girl Says

March 24th:
Spotlight on Jessica Love - Nite Lite Books
Spotlight on Lilliam Rivera - Starkiller Reads
Spotlight on Robin Reul - I Read What I Want To

Today, I have the great pleasure to spotlight this amazing author, Martina Boone! 

**About the Author**

Martina Boone was born in Prague and spoke several languages before learning English. She's the award-winning author of the romantic southern gothic Heirs of Watson Island series, including Compulsion (October 2014), Persuasion (October 2015), and Illusion (October 2016), from Simon & Schuster, Simon Pulse. Shes also the founder of AdventuresInYAPublishing.com, a three-time Writer's Digest 101 Best Websites for Writers Site, and YASeriesInsiders.com, a sited dedicated to encouraging literacy and reader encouragement through a celebration of series literature. She's on the Board of the Literacy Council of Northern Virginia and runs the CompulsionForReading.com program to distribute books to underfunded schools and libraries.

She lives with her husband, children, shetland sheepdog, and lopsided cat, and she enjoys writing contemporary fantasy set in the kinds of magical places she'd love to visit. When she isn't writing, she's addicted to travel, horses, skiing, chocolate flavored tea, and anything with Nutella on it.

Speaking and Workshops

Martina has created articles and worksheets used by aspiring writers, schools, school districts, and university extension programs around the world. She has hosted contests and workshops that have helped launch the careers of multiple bestselling authors, and she has been a participant in numerous panels at book events, including the ALA Annual Conference, the Baltimore Book Festival, Book Expo America, the Keller YA Book Festival, New York City Teen Author Book Festival, the RT Booklovers Convention (Romantic Times), the Southern Book Festival, the Southern Kentucky Book Festival, the Virginia Children’s Book Festival, and more.

In addition to Skype and in-person sessions about the history, mythology, and themes in Compulsion and the Heirs of Watson Island series, including topics on historical and current bias and loss of information in texts and fiction, bullying and the importance of distinguishing between compulsion and persuasion in our interactions with peers and those weaker than ourselves, she is available for up to 4-hour sessions on a variety of topics.

Please contact Martina Boone through her publicist for rates and additional information. 

Stay connected with Martina Boone

       

Contact Martina Boone:

Email: Martina@MartinaBoone.com

Agent:

Jessica Regel

Foundry Media

(212) 601-9323

Publicists:

Angelle Barbazon

JKS Communications

(615) 476-1367

Shifa Kapadwala

Simon & Schuster

Children's Publishing

(212) 698-1105

Book(s) by Martina Boone:

  

(covers are links to Goodreads)

Coming Soon:

(April 25, 2017)

(cover links to Goodreads)

        

~~~

Praise for Compulsion

SIBA Award Nominee ~ Okra Pick ~ RT Book Reviews Top Pick & Editor’s Best of 2014 ~ Kansas State Reading Circle Selection ~ Goodreads Best Book of the Month & YA Best Book of the Month

“Readers of Sarah Reese Brennan’s The Lynburn Legacy and Maggie Stiefvater’s The Raven Cycle will appreciate the ambiguity—real? or not real?—until suddenly the real feels very very real.” —Sara Hines, Eight Cousins Books

“Skillfully blends rich magic and folklore with adventure, sweeping romance, and hidden treasure . . . An impressive start to the Heirs of Watson Island series.” — Publishers Weekly

“A wonderful addition to the YA paranormal genre… Eight Beaufort is so swoon-worthy that it’s ridiculous. Move over Four, Eight is here to stay!" — RT Book Reviews, Editors’ Best Books of 2014

“A little bit Gone with the Wind, a little bit Romeo and Juliet...Boone’s debut mixes a Southern gothic setting with fantasy and romance.” — School Library Journal

“Even the villains and not-likable characters were just so engrossing. . . I've already put the sequel on my TBR shelf.” — USA Today HEA

"Darkly romantic and steeped in Southern Gothic charm, you'll be compelled to get lost in the Heirs of Watson Island series.” — #1 New York Times bestselling author Jennifer L. Armentrout

“The perfect southern family saga, charming and steamy on the surface, with cold-blooded secrets buried down deep.” — Kendare Blake, author of Anna Dressed in Blood and Antigoddess

“A shivery, delicious Southern Gothic that will draw you in and hold you until the very last page.” — Leah Cypess, author of Death Sworn

“A star-crossed romance, lush gothic plantations, and an island full of intrigue–a heart-pounding race to the finish! A thrilling debut!” — Kimberly Derting, author of The Body Finder series

“A fresh twist on the Southern Gothic — haunting, atmospheric, and absorbing.” — Claudia Gray, NYT bestselling author of the Evernight and Spellcaster series

"A stunningly magical debut with a delicious slow burn to be savored. I want to live in this story world!” — Wendy Higgins, USA Today and NYT bestselling author of the Sweet Evil trilogy

“Beautifully written, with vivid characters and romance that leaps off the page . . . Not to be missed.” — Megan Shepherd, author of The Madman's Daughter

“Mixes dark magic with darker family secrets in a way that’ll make you relieved there are two more books.” — Kat Zhang, author of What's Left of Me

~~~~~

Now that we know a bit more about Martina Boone and her books, let's get to the interview! I definitely got to know more about this amazing author with her response to all of these questions!

*Interview with Martina Boone*

1. Of course, I must start off with the most basic of questions. When/How did you know you wanted to be a writer?

I remember writing when I was in 4th and 5th grade—badly, I’m sure, since I didn’t start learning English until I was in 2nd grade, but still. But my mom is a mathematician and my dad is a nuclear physicist and when I said I wanted to be a writer, they very prudently suggested I might want to do something that actually paid the bills. I didn’t start really writing until my daughter discovered YA books. She had a hard time reading, and so I read the books along with her. That sparked my own ideas, and the next thing I knew, I was writing YA books.

2. When your first book got published, where were you and what were you doing and/or what was your reaction?

My lovely author friend Wendy Higgins told me that the first thing she did when her books came out was to go around to all the stores and pet/sign them. My two close friends had flown in from Florida and Texas for my launch party, and together with Wendy, we drove around to all the Barnes and Nobles, Walmarts, and Targets in the area. A couple places didn’t even have the book out on the shelves, so we had to wait until they got them out of the back. Seeing them out in the world, next to authors whose books I had read and loved, was really surreal and wonderful.

3. I noted from you bio that you love to travel. Where was your favorite place that you have visited? Where would you like to visit next? Why?

I’m Czech, and to me Prague will always be the most beautiful, magical place in the world. I adore the Scottish Highlands, Wales, and Ireland as well, but I have to say that maybe the most interesting place I’ve ever been was India. I absolutely adored it. It’s so beautiful and tragic and exhausting and recharging, all at the same time.

4. Your bio also states that you can speak several languages. Do you have a favorite language? Which language was the easiest and/or most difficult to learn?

English is actually a pretty hard language to learn. I think French is the most beautiful, but I still resort to Czech sometimes because you can express nuances in words so much more easily by adding various endings. Also, they have terms for things that don’t exist in English.

5. I've learned that many authors have varying writing processes that works for them. What writing process works for you?

I always think I want to be a plotter, but for me, the truth is that I have to start with character. Unless I do, the book ultimately falls flat. So I begin with a core idea and a setting, then I built the characters that will populate the book, and then I let it brew until I develop the themes and plot from mixing those things all together. I always write about a third to half of the book, then go back and revise and revise. By the time I’ve written the second half, there’s not as much revision left to do.

6. Since inspiration usually comes from life experiences, people, places, etc., what inspires you when you write?

I love to ask why things happen. Why characters do things, why something is the way that it is.

7. Do you have an all-time favorite author(s) and/or book(s)? If so, why do these stand out with you?

I have books I loved from my childhood, and books that I read years ago, and books that I’ve loved now. I still reread Pride and Prejudice frequently. I love The Night Circus, and I reread that. I was blown away by All the Light We Cannot See. The YA book I wish I had read when I was a child was Maggie Stiefvater's The Scorpio Races. And recently I've loved An Ember in the Ashes and The Star Touched Queen. The common denominator for me seems to be a place that feels real and magical in some way. Setting is a big hook for me. But ultimately, it’s the characters I fall for.

8. What are you working on next? That's if you can talk about it... :)

I have a Celtic legend-inspired romance set in the Scottish Highlands coming out April 25th for adult readers, and I’ve got two YAs in the works, but I’m not sure when those will be out.

9. It looks like the entertainment industry is adapting many books, particularly YA books, to film and/or television. Dream cast! Who would you cast for your characters in the Heirs of Watson Island series? Why?

I could see Maddie Hasson playing Barrie, and maybe Chase Crawford as Eight? One I’d definitely love to see is Idris Elba as Mark.

10. Book adaptations: television (small screen) or film (big screen)? Why?

Small. I think that Watson Island has a lot of stories, and I’d love to see it as an ensemble cast show like Gilmore Girls or Hart of Dixie.

Well, there you go booknerds/fangirls! We found out a little bit more about this amazing author, Martina Boone! Be sure to meet her at this upcoming event!

Thank you Martina for taking time from your busy schedule for this interview!

Blog Tour Organized by