Interview: Sarah Beth Durst (Author of Drink, Slay, Love)

I'm thrilled to have Sarah Beth Durst on my blog to today where she talks about her latest novel.

Sarah Beth Durst is the author of young adult novels ENCHANTED IVY and ICE, as well as middle grade novels INTO THE WILD and OUT OF THE WILD. She has twice been a finalist for SFWA's Andre Norton Award, for both ICE and INTO THE WILD. She is a graduate of Princeton University, where she spent four years studying English, writing about dragons, and wondering what the campus gargoyles would say if they could talk. Sarah lives in Stony Brook, New York, with her husband and children. For more information, visit her at www.sarahbethdurst.com

Drink, Slay, Love hits shelves September 13, 2011!

I love the settings of your previous books, how does the setting in this novel differ?
Thanks! So happy you liked them!

DRINK, SLAY, LOVE is set in a fictional town in Connecticut. Here's a snippet of what it's like:

"Do you know how to drive?" Jadrien asked.

"Sure," Pearl said. "This one is the gas."

The wheels squealed as Pearl spun the steering wheel to the left and zoomed out onto the street. She rolled down her window and let the wind whip into the car. At near dawn, Greenbridge, CT, was nearly dead. Street lamps (every other one out) lit the sidewalks in circles of yellow. Trash rolled down the streets like tumbleweeds. Storefronts -- a deli, a dry cleaner, an antique store -- were dark. The local homeless man slept under a pile of filthy blankets with his shopping cart close beside him. Pearl loved this time of night: just before the cusp of day, when the humans were still caught in their last dream of the night and her kind had one final moment of delicious darkness to drink down.

Your last two previous novels have been standalones, have you considered writing another series?
My first two novels (INTO THE WILD and OUT OF THE WILD) were a duology, but ICE, ENCHANTED IVY, and DRINK, SLAY, LOVE are all standalones. I love both series and standalones, and I plan to write plenty more of each!

What can readers expect from your version of vampires?

My vampires are beautiful, immortal, and deadly. They lack morals, and they love to drink blood. And they don't know that they are being hunted by were-unicorns. (Unicorns are natural vampire hunters, of course. Look at their horns! Built-in stakes!)

Favorite Vampire book? Favorite Vampire Movie?
Favorite vampire book... ooh, how to choose? I adored Bloodshot by Cherie Priest. I also recently read and loved Soulless by Gail Carriger. And I devour the Sookie Stackhouse books by Charlaine Harris.

Favorite vampire movie... I love Buffy the Vampire Slayer (the TV series, though, not the movie).

Is there anything else that you would like to share with your readers? What's next for you?

I'd like to share this box of Raisinets... *holds out box*

DRINK, SLAY, LOVE will be out on September 13th. And I am currently working on a new standalone YA fantasy novel called VESSEL, which will be out in fall 2012 from Simon & Schuster.

Thanks for stopping by Sarah!

For more information about Sarah Beth Durst and her books, please visit her website here.

You can also click here to read an excerpt of Drink, Slay, Love!

Review: Love Story by Jennifer Echols

LOVE STORY by Jennifer Echols

Pub. Date: July 2011

Publisher: Gallery/MTV Books

Format: Paperback , 256pp
Source: Publisher

SHE’S WRITING ABOUT HIM. HE’S WRITING ABOUT HER. AND EVERYBODY IS READING BETWEEN THE LINES.

For Erin Blackwell, majoring in creative writing at the New York City college of her dreams is more than a chance to fulfill her ambitions—it’s her ticket away from the tragic memories that shadow her family’s racehorse farm in Kentucky. But when she refuses to major in business and take over the farm herself someday, her grandmother gives Erin’s college tuition and promised inheritance to their maddeningly handsome stable boy, Hunter Allen. Now Erin has to win an internship and work late nights at a local coffee shop to make her own dreams a reality. She should despise Hunter . . . so why does he sneak into her thoughts as the hero of her latest writing assignment?

Then, on the day she’s sharing that assignment with her class, Hunter walks in. He’s joining her class. And after he reads about himself in her story, her private fantasies about him must be painfully clear. She only hopes to persuade him not to reveal her secret to everyone else. But Hunter devises his own creative revenge, writing sexy stories that drive the whole class wild with curiosity and fill Erin’s heart with longing. Now she’s not just imagining what might have been. She’s writing a whole new ending for her romance with Hunter . . . except this story could come true.

Mini Review
This book took me by surprise. I know it’s a Jennifer Echols book right? I should not be surprised. But, this book was so different. This book immediately captured my attention. The opening of the book starts off with a story that Erin has written for her creative writing class and I was so into it that I didn’t want it to end. All I could think about is how Jennifer should write a historical romance novel. I would definitely buy it. She could write any type of story and I would buy it.

What I enjoyed the most about LOVE STORY was the premise. Here you have a creative writing class with characters writing about each other and through their stories, you learn more and more about them. The fact that some of the stories were quite hot was a plus too. One thing that I can say is that Jennifer writes the best relationships with great male leads. I don’t know how you cannot fall in love with her characters.

I look forward to reading anything this author writes and that says a lot. If you’re huge Echols fan like me then you won’t be disappointed with LOVE STORY.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Stars

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Order LOVE STORY