Author Interview & Giveaway: Jessica Day George

We're excited to welcome Jessica Day George to Reading Lark today to discuss her upcoming novel, Silver in the Blood.

Andrea @ Reading Lark: Where did you get the idea for this book? 

Jessica: I was watching a really lame movie that was set in Romania, based on a really good book that is set in the United States. There was absolutely no reason for it to be set in Romania, and I kept thinking, if I were going to set a story in Romania, I would make better use of the setting! I’d been toying with the idea of writing a book that was entirely letters between two cousins who were visiting Europe from America, and decided to set it in Romania instead of Germany (as I’d originally planned) and it just escalated from there. 

Andrea @ Reading Lark: What sort of research did you do for the historical components? 

Jessica: I did some reading, lots of cultural history type books, but then I actually went to Romania with my husband on a private guided tour. We spent two weeks with a very knowledgeable guide, exploring all the castles and monasteries and the mountains, learning about 19th century Romania! 

Andrea @ Reading Lark: Romania always makes me think of vampires so I am intrigued that this one has a wolf connection. Why did you choose Romania as your setting? 

Jessica: As I mentioned before, it was because Romania was so wasted in this movie I saw, and then once I started doing a little reading, I realized just how complex the history of Romania really is. In the late 19th century, Bucharest was one of the stops on the Orient Express. It was called Little Paris, and was the hot vacation spot for many Europeans. But right alongside these fashionable ladies with their parasols, you have people who still dressed very traditionally, who lived on farms where wolves would steal the sheep at night, and where they feared monsters and witches. And looming over it all, the Carpathians, where the first vampire legends were born, and were the REAL Dracula once ruled. Romania is hardcore. There’s a lot going on there. 

Andrea @ Reading Lark: If this novel was a cupcake, what kind would it be? 

Jessica: Red Velvet with cream cheese frosting and dark chocolate curls. 

Andrea @ Reading Lark: Who are three of your favorite authors? 

Jessica: Diana Wynne Jones, Guy Gavriel Kay, and J. K. Rowling 

Andrea @ Reading Lark: (It's a tradition to close with this one) - What is your favorite bird? 

Jessica: Owls. I really want a little burrowing owl as a pet.

About Jessica Day George

Jessica Day George earned a BA in Humanities/Comparative Literature from Brigham Young University, where she enjoyed classes in Pottery and Old Norse, and dutifully forced herself to take Algebra and Biology. Originally from Idaho, she now resides in Salt Lake City, Utah, with her husband and three young children.
 

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SILVER IN THE BLOOD 

Author: Jessica Day George 

Pub. Date: July 7, 2015 

Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens 

Pages: 358 

Formats: Hardcover, eBook 

Find it: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Goodreads 

A New York Times bestselling author brings dark secrets to life in a lush new YA perfect for fans of Libba Bray or Cassandra Clare. 


Society girls from New York City circa 1890, Dacia and Lou never desired to know more about their lineage, instead preferring to gossip about the mysterious Romanian family that they barely knew. But upon turning seventeen, the girls must return to their homeland to meet their relatives, find proper husbands, and—most terrifyingly—learn the deep family secrets of The Claw, The Wing, and The Smoke. The Florescus, after all, are shape-shifters, and it is time for Dacia and Lou to fulfill the prophecy that demands their acceptance of this fate . . . or fight against this cruel inheritance with all their might. 


With a gorgeous Romanian setting, stunning Parisian gowns, and dark brooding young men, readers will be swept up by this epic adventure of two girls in a battle for their lives.

Tour Schedule: 

Week One: 

6/29/2015- Reading Lark- Interview 

6/30/2015- Katie's Book Blog- Review 

7/1/2015- Magical Urban Fantasy Reads- Guest Post 

7/2/2015- Dark Faerie Tales- Review 

7/3/2015- Adventures of a Book Junkie- Interview   

Week Two: 

7/6/2015- Frannie in the Pages- Review 

7/7/2015- Once Upon a Twilight- Guest Post 

7/8/2015- Alice Marvels- Review 

7/9/2015- Two Chicks on Books- Interview 

7/10/2015- Bookhounds YA- Review

* US ONLY

* 2 Copies of Silver in the Blood

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