Monday, December 29, 2014

Straight Chatting from the Library - Gone by Anna Bloom



This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Anna will be awarding a $50 Amazon GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour, and a signed copy of GONE and the author's back catalogue of ebooks to a randomly drawn host. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

READ THE INTERVIEW


What is the favorite book you remember as a child?

This is a tricky question because as a child I was a prolific reader. I guess if I was to have to pin down a book that had the biggest impact it would be Enid Blyton’s Mallory Towers series. It was when I read them at eight years old that my love for reading caught fire and I first lost myself in another world that someone had created.

What is your favorite book today?

My favourite book today and of all time is Persuasion by Jane Austen. The older I get, the more it hurts to read.

Tell us about your current book in 10 words.

Lost souls finding a future free from a dark past.

What are you reading right now?

Lord of the Rings Trilogy – Currently at the end of The Two Towers, it’s the second time I’ve read them.

What books do you have on hold at the library?

I have a guilty secret that I buy all the books I read. I loved the library as a child, but quickly found out that I like to keep all the books I read, giving back a book I love is painful. My house is filled with books that I can’t say goodbye to.

Do you have any bad book habits?

I can no longer read at night, I’m a bit of an insomniac and I can’t sleep on an unfinished story.

I now have to read during the day if I can because otherwise I don’t go to bed, which is not great when you have to get up the next day.

E-Reader or print? and why?

Both. I love print books but as already mentioned I like to keep all the books I read, this drives my husband crazy. When we move house he moans about my extensive library as I carefully pack up and then unpack as soon as I can the other side. E-reader has helped this a little. Although I must admit, if I truly love a book on my e-reader then I have to buy it in paperback as well.

One book at a time or multiples?

Only ever one book, I have to immerse myself in the world I am reading about.

Dog-ear or bookmark? (don't worry—Librarian Judith won't hold it against you—much)

I dog ear my own books, I quite like it the next time when I re-read them (I always read a book twice). It makes me feel like I’m hanging out with old friends if I can see where I’ve stopped before.

Least favorite book you've read this year?

I don’t think I can say. There was a book that was the end of a series. I loved the first; I loved it so much I read it three times in a row. The second I was vaguely disappointed by and the third just broke my heart, I no longer had any respect left for the characters. I was so upset I kept telling my husband about it for a week afterwards.

Favorite book you've read this year?

This is hard, because I actually took time out this year when I had my reading breaks to re-read some of my favourites. I think I would have to say Shadow of the Wind, because it never fails to pull me in no matter how many times I’ve read it before.

When do you do most of your reading?

It used to be at night, as I said earlier, but now I try and snatch some time during the day. It means I don’t read as much as I used to because I also have two children to look after.

Favorite place to read?

In bed, snuggled under my duvet. If not that then somewhere sunny and quiet.

Favorite genre?

I don’t have a favourite genre. If I like a book, I just like a book no matter the genre, I like to keep my tastes varied. I do enjoy YA literature though, but no set genre within that age range. I like paranormal and dystopian as much as I like contemporary.

Do you loan your books?

Yes: But I hound until I get them back! I’ve recently lent out a series of mine, and I am only too aware of the gapping hole on my bookshelf.

Favorite book to recommend?

Discovery of Witches and Shadow of the Wind, both totally different, but ultimately my favourite reads of the last few years.

How do you keep your books organized?

Vaguely by genre, but the kitten or the children normally destroy any order I have. I do normally always know where they are though, and all hell breaks loose if one should be missing.

Re-reader or not?

Definitely – multiple times. If I fall in love with characters then I find it very hard not have them in my life anymore.

What would make you not finish a book?

It would be something very rare for me not the finish a book. The most recent was the simple fact I struggled with the third person narrative. I might give it another go at some point though. It takes a lot for me not to finish, and if I do but still don’t like it then I would never give it a one star rating, if I’ve liked it enough to make it to the end then there must have been something there that kept me reading. Not every author can write a book that everyone likes. I’ve learnt that fact the hard way.

Keep books or give them away?

Keeeeeeepppppp!!!

READ THE BLURB



Rebecca Walters is haunted by past tragedies and the names that people call her. When her parents take her to Cornwall for two weeks and she meets local artist Joshua Adams, Rebecca starts to understand that her future is what she can make it. But when her past secrets start to catch up with her will Rebecca fight to remain the girl she's found or will she run from a past that won't stay Gone.



READ AN EXCERPT

For the first time in a long time I want to do more than just graze my lips against another shoulder.

I can’t though.

While she is technically not a holiday maker and therefore hasn’t fallen in my ‘Not to be Approached’ criteria, I know she is not staying. And if she is not staying I know we will never do more than walk down a beach holding hands. I don’t do goodbyes of any description.

Last night as we sat on the moonlight flooded beach we told each other everything, but at the same time nothing. She is eighteen, to my twenty. Her family have moved here so her sister can have a life not in the middle of London.

The girl who looks like she is made of the sun is leaving in two weeks to go to university. But that’s not all I found out. Without knowing it, she hinted at all the stuff she doesn’t want anyone to know. As we sat on the dark sand I found all the answers to the things she wasn’t telling me. They were hiding in every moment of silence that hung between us in the night air. She is lonely, frustrated, confused, all of these things and something else. There is something else there. It’s in the way she holds her body, and it’s in the way her fingers absentmindedly graze over the bangles adorning her wrists.

Something, or someone.

Something that she thinks defines her. She does not want anyone to know it. She does not want me to know it. And to be honest I’m not sure if I want to know either. Well at least I thought I didn’t until we reached her gate last night, and instead of giving her a good bye wave I stepped right into her space, holding myself back from kissing her and asked instead if she would like a surf lesson.

MEET THE AUTHOR

Anna Bloom is a contemporary romance writer with the sole writing ambition of writing about life as it happens. Dedicated to real characters, real problems and real romance Anna writes tales to stir your heart and head. Combining a busy schedule of looking after two young children, working in a local school and writing swoon worthy romance for Mature Teen readers, she also spends a lot of time imagining kissing hot guys and talking to the voices in her head- all in the name of her art.

@annabloombooks https://www.facebook.com/AnnaBloomBooks www.annabloomwrites.com http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00M68A16M http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00M68A16M
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13 comments:

  1. It's an intriguing excerpt!

    Trix, vitajex(At)Aol(Dot)com

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  2. Thank you for taking part in the tour and the great interview questions!

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  3. Great excerpt! This book sounds really good. ;)

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  4. Great excerpt, sounds like a really great book. Entering under the name of Virginia

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  5. The excerpt is good

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  6. I like the book excerpt, Thank you!

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  7. Great interview!

    @Anna - I too have an extensive e-book library, but I want my very favorite books in paper. Because I re-read them, sometimes multiple times. My hubby doesn't get this - he keeps reminding me that the books are free at the local library. :0

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  8. I like the blurb, then the excerpt. Thanks

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  9. I liked the excerpt best and then the interview. This book sounds like an interesting read. I will totally have to add this book to my "to-read" list.

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