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: Enchanted Ivy by Sarah Beth Durst

ENCHANTED IVY by Sarah Beth Durst

Pub. Date: October 2010

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing

Format: Hardcover, 320pp

Age Range: Young Adult
Source: Publisher

What Lily Carter wants most in the world is to attend Princeton University just like her grandfather. When she finally visits the campus, Grandpa surprises her: She has been selected to take the top-secret Legacy Test. Passing means automatic acceptance to Princeton. Sweet!

Lily's test is to find the Ivy Key. But what is she looking for? Where does she start? As she searches, Lily is joined by Tye, a cute college boy with orange and black hair who says he's her guard. That's weird. But things get seriously strange when a gargoyle talks to her. He tells her that there are two Princetons—the ordinary one and a magical one—and the Key opens the gate between them. But there are more secrets that surround Lily. Worse secrets.

When Lily enters the magical Princeton, she uncovers old betrayals and new dangers, and a chance at her dream becomes a fight for her life. Soon Lily is caught in a power struggle between two worlds, with her family at its center. In a place where Knights slay monsters, boys are were-tigers, and dragons might be out for blood, Lily will need all of her ingenuity and courage—and a little magic—to unite the worlds and unlock the secrets of her past and her future.

Enchanted Ivy's synopsis intrigued me with gargoyles and magical gates to a different world. The fact that I loved ICE, Sarah's previous novel also had me wanting to see what magical setting Sarah would create next. The setting in this book was fantastical and once again I found myself immersed inside the world that Sarah created. I loved the magical Princeton setting just as much and the mysteries it carried.

Lily gets the shock of her life when she accompanies her grandfather to Princeton for his reunion which also happens to be Lily's dream school. What she thinks is just an ordinary visit soon turns into a chance of a lifetime filled with mystery and magic. As Lily embarks on her adventure at a chance that could earn her automatic entry into Princeton and it's secret club, she has the fate of both worlds in her hands. This book is filled with action, danger and intriguing characters. I loved Lily! She's smart, witty, and she knows how to get out of a bind. Durst has a way of creating lovable and strong heroines that you can't help but love.

Enchanted Ivy is the second novel that I've read by Durst and it won't be the last. Readers who loved ICE will find themselves falling in love with the setting and characters in Enchanted Ivy. Probably enough to want to take a trip to Princeton just to see how magical it is.
 

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Stars

Guest Post: Sarah Beth Durst (Author of Enchanted Ivy)

I'm thrilled to have Sarah Beth Durst on my blog to today where she talks about the setting of her upcoming novel Enchanted Ivy.

Sarah Beth Durst is the author of Ice, an Andre Norton Award Finalist for Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy, as well as Into the Wild and its sequel Out of the Wild. She lives in Stony Brook, New York, with her husband and children. For more information, visit her at sarahbethdurst.com.

Enchanted Ivy hits shelves October 12, 2010!

Location, Location, Location

Enchanted Ivy is about magic at Princeton. So one of the questions that I am often asked is: Why Princeton? I have a bunch of different (and true!) answers to that:

1. I went to Princeton and absolutely loved it, and this is how I express my love: by inserting magic into a place. Also, by kind of destroying parts of it. Sorry 'bout that, Princeton.

2. The whole college application process can become this overwhelming, anxious, exciting obsession. Junior and senior year of high school, it consumed me. So I wanted to write about that.

3. Princeton has gargoyles. Lots of them. A monkey with a camera. An ape in graduation robes. A dragon in chains. They were practically begging to have a story written about them.

Stepping back from Enchanted Ivy... I think those three reasons work well as a guide to choosing a setting for any story: pick a place that is fun to play in, pick a place with emotional resonance, and pick a place with features that either inspire you or fit your plot.

I often choose my setting before I know the story or even the characters. It's that important to me. As they say in real estate... location, location, location!

I'm curious what you guys think about setting... Readers: How important is setting to you? Is it something you consider when you choose what book to read? Writers: At what stage in your process do you choose your setting? What criteria do you use to decide?

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 Enchanted Ivy!