BLOG TOUR: CURED by Bethany Wiggins!

Yesterday on Operation Awesome, Michelle featured and interviewed Bethany Wiggins, author of the new and exciting STUNG companion, CURED! 

Blurb: Now that Fiona Tarsis and her twin brother, Jonah, are no longer beasts, they set out to find their mother, with the help of Bowen and a former neighbor, Jacqui. Heading for a safe settlement rumored to be in Wyoming, they plan to spread the cure along the way--until they are attacked by raiders. Luckily, they find a new ally in Kevin, who saves them and leads them to safety in his underground shelter. But the more they get to know Kevin, the more they suspect he has ties to the raiders. He also seems to know too many details about Jacqui and her family—details that could endanger them all. For the raiders will do anything they can to destroy the cure that would bring an end to their way of life. Bethany Wiggins’s reimagining of our world after an environmental catastrophe won’t fail to stun readers. -from Goodreads

Bethany Wiggins's website

Today Bethany is here at my little blog to answer a few questions. But first I just want to say a few words about the world of STUNG which Bethany has created. When I read STUNG, I was floored by the fast pace and the intense conflict. Lots of that conflict surrounds a sweet boy Fiona has known from childhood who suddenly treats her like she might go zombie apocalypse on him at any moment and she doesn't quite understand why. There's a gritty, raw quality to the dystopia Bethany's created, and it continues in CURED. Fans of THE MAZE RUNNER will find tons to love in STUNG and CURED. I'm very excited to have Bethany with me today. Here's that interview:

Katrina: I always have to ask, will there be a SHIFTING sequel?

Bethany: I won't say no, because there is always the possibility that I will write a SHIFTING 2, but not any time in the near future.  

K: Your books always have unpredictable twists. Are these all plotted out in advance or do you sometimes surprise yourself?

Bethany: Some of them are thought out in advance (but not really plotted) and others surprise me just as much as they surprise the reader. I'll be sitting down, writing a scene, when something totally surprising hits me and I write it down. It's like the story takes on a life of its own. 

K: The truly terrifying thing about these books is the reality in which they are based, the idea that they could really happen. What do you think is the most realistic or true-to-life aspect of STUNG and CURED?

Bethany: I think the most true to life aspect of STUNG and CURED is the possibility of a natural disaster (earthquake, flood, extinction of bees etc.) drastically changing the way we live, and us having to all of a sudden start living our lives in a totally primitive way. Where would we get food and water? How would we stay warm? Who would we trust? We see this all the time around the world. Hopefully it will never happen, but you never know.

K: What's next for you? Any exciting new projects you can tell us about?

Bethany: I am taking a short break from writing because I just had my fifth baby, but there are a few story ideas brewing in my head right now. It is only a matter of time before I start writing one. 

K: Congratulations on the new baby! 

What's one thing you must have with you when you write? A certain snack, music, or a mascot?

Bethany: Music! Music is my most important inspiration.

K: Thank you for answering my questions and for writing books I love to read!

If you all haven't gotten your mitts on either of these books yet, I highly recommend you hightail it to your nearest bookstore or e-reader and get started. Trust me, you won't be able to put it down.

 

F is for Funny, G is for Gritty: Books that keep it light, and books that keep it real

Today I'm celebrating books that keep it light (funny), and books that keep it real (gritty)! 

the challenge

F is for... funny.

My favorite books for laughing:

the challenge

G is for... Gritty

My favorite books that don't sugar-coat it:

D is for Dystopia

the challenge

D is for Dystopia

Dystopian literature holds a special place in my heart. Dystopia is almost synonymous with Utopia since it is impossible to have a utopia without corruption sneaking into the seat of power and turning everything ugly. (See Stephenie Meyer's THE HOST: benevolent alien race still manages to create all kinds of dissonance or the Avatars from WB's CHARMED: supernatural rulers who create utopia by disappearing anybody who causes conflict.)

I think that's the message I get time after time in these books. There is no utopia on Earth. That doesn't mean we should stop being kind. Kindness to strangers is the only thing we can control, can achieve.

Personal charity for the win!

But we can't count on some institution to make everything rosy. Any institution with that much power ends up taking power from somewhere. And where do they get that power? From the people. From taking away individual choice.

I think it's part of the great hubris of mankind that we continue to believe we can construct utopia. That's why these stories come out in so many different stripes and colors. Every author remakes the world with his or her own moral preferences, and utopia turns dystopia with his or her own mortal fears.

Here is a list (not comprehensive) of some dystopias you should definitely check out if you haven't already:

Ender's Game

Memento Nora

Stung

The Hunger Games

The Maze Runner

Possession

The Host

(see my sidebar for links: Dystopias to Devour)

More Love for STUNG by Bethany Wiggins

Follow the blog tour stops

IT'S HERE!~My interview with Bethany Wiggins on Operation Awesome.
And here's some fan art, original photo courtesy the author. I just tweaked it in Pixlr.

Fiona has awakened branded, alone—and on the wrong side of the wall.

STUNG the book on facebook
Le Book Trailer:

IN other news, tomorrow is the day for PITCH MADNESS on TWITTER #PitMad

More details and rules here

Blog Chain: Why I Love Speculative Fiction (in pictures)

Topic from Michelle McLean: 

What elements in your favorite genre make it your favorite? For instance, if your favorite genre is romance, what elements do you like in a romance story? A tortured hero? A spunky heroine? Steamy love scenes? Sweet romance? If your fave genre is sci-fi, what elements do you love the most (the characters, the science, the possibilities?), etc?

My favorite genre is kind of an umbrella genre: 

It's speculative fiction. 

This spans widely between sci-fi, dystopia, fantasy, paranormal, and just a touch of magical realism. What do I love about it?

List time!

• hello, it's magic! Or science stretched to the limits of imagination. Either way, it's a heck of a lot cooler than what generally goes down at the 7-11... or Circle K.

Something is afoot at the Circle K.

• symbolism. Contemporary and literary novels can also have symbolism, and it's done really well by those genres all the time, but nobody does symbols like speculative fiction does. There's just so much freedom to run wild with them (A Wrinkle in Time). Sometimes it's downright allegorical (C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien). Love it!

Wrath of the Ents (Lord of the Rings)

Inner courage and beauty (Chronicles of Narnia)

The Old Ones, wisdom (A Wrinkle in Time)

• larger-than-life conflicts really force me to suspend my disbelief and let me get completely lost in the story.

• unfamiliar settings, often exotic and/or terrifying. The setting also often provides the main source, or an additional source, of conflict (see above).

Peeta Mellark in the Hunger Games arena

Diagram of the ship Godspeed in Across the Universe
(it looks spacious, but you can't ever leave!)

• character diversity - speculative fiction gives us an opportunity to delve into sensitive subjects like racism and other forms of prejudice in a safe place where the reader doesn't feel judged by the author. Many of my favorite books deal with these kinds of war-scale conflicts between groups who hate each other just for one shared trait, like a certain magical power (Beautiful Creatures) or descent (Star Trek, Twilight and Harry Potter), or maybe the district they were born into (Hunger Games).

Statue in the Ministry of Magic (Harry Potter)

Star Trek - know your alien races

• gadgetry! Yes, I'm confessing. I'm something of a gadget geek. Whether it's science fiction, futuristic dystopian, or even steampunk and fantasy, there are often gadgets of some kind or another involved. A holly wood wand with a phoenix feather core (Harry Potter), a pill that erases only traumatic memories that have just been shared (Memento Nora), automatons that may or may not be trying to kill you (Soulless), a well-designed spaceship that doubles as the claustrophobic setting (Across the Universe).

Couldn't resist adding my favorite doctor with his sonic screwdriver

Plush pill (this one won't make you forget)

Holly wood wand with phoenix feather core

These automatons look murderous

These are the main reasons I love speculative fiction, which is why I love working for Month9Books! It's all speculative fiction all the time, and in my favorite categories: MG and YA.

What's your favorite genre, and why?

Next stop by

 Christine Fonseca's blog to see yesterday's blog chain post, 

and check out Demitria Lunetta's tomorrow.

Also don't miss the BLOG TOURS going on right now for Sidekick: The Misadventures of the New Scarlet Knight and Pity Isn't an Option (both tours linked at the top of my sidebar as well). There are giveaways involved!