Monday, August 19, 2013

Straight Chatting from the Library: Merry Brown


Merry Brown is here at The Library to talk with us about books as part of her virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. She's giving a $25 Amazon gift card to one lucky commenter at the end of the tour---you can see other places she's visiting by going here: http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2013/05/virtual-book-tour-gold-manor-ghost.html.

Welcome to The Library, Merry. What is the favorite book you remember as a child?
My mom read The Secret Garden to me when I was a kid. I still think about the images I conjured about the garden and the children.

What are you reading right now?
A Million Suns by Beth Revis.

Do you have any bad book habits?
Yes, I either gobble a book up in two days, or it takes me three months. I wish I could find a happy, reasonable medium!

E-Reader or print? and why?
I’ll read on both, but I prefer print. Why? I like the feel and smell of a book, the weight of it in my hands. I like the art work and the physical reminder of what I have waiting for me.
Though I don’t mind reading on my phone (my preferred e-reading method), physical books resonate with the fact that we are embodied creatures, and not senseless machines.

Dog-ear or bookmark? (don't worry—Librarian Judith won't hold it against you—much)
When I was younger, I admit, I use to dog-ear. But now I bookmark. Anything counts as a bookmark, of course, from bills, to tiny bits of paper, to my kids’ Yu-gi-oh cards.

Favorite book you've read this year?
I’ve read some great books, but I loved The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater.

When do you do most of your reading?
At night, when the kids are in bed and I’m supposed to be cleaning or working on something else!

Favorite genre?
I love YA paranormal romance and dystopian literature.

Do you loan your books?
Another great benefit of physical books! I get geeked-out over loaning books to people. I’m a book pusher. As soon as I get into a book, I can’t wait to finish it and hand it off to a friend.

Re-reader or not?
Absolutely! Even though I’m in the middle of reading A Million Suns, last night I picked up City of Bones to re-read in anticipation of the upcoming movie (though I know it will be disappointing, because, as we are all painfully aware, the book is almost always superior to the movie!).

What would make you not finish a book?
If I really disliked the main character, or the world the author created, or if I see the character making bad choices and I don’t want to wait around for the approaching train wreck. I’m loathe to admit it publicly, but I’m stuck in the middle of Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina because I see where her story is going, and I can’t bring myself to go there with her. Though, there’s a reason Tolstoy has such staying power. I’m amazed by his writing and insight into the human condition.

READ THE BLURB


Anna thought life was going to be awesome. She was right…and wrong.

Won her dream job acting in a hit TV series. Check.

Working with her best friend. Check.

The set’s haunted and she’s in the middle of a supernatural war. Uh, check?

Anna Rose Ellington is sixteen and living in Hollywood, hoping to be a star. Anna just landed a major role on Ghost House, TeenTV’s new fall drama. A show promising to be so hot, Meg Sweet (the reigning teenage diva), signed on for the lead, and Adam Lewis (international rock sensation) is a principal player.

Her dreams are falling into place until she gets on set and begins questioning her sanity. It’s true she has an unusual dream life, where once in a while her dreams literally come true. But it’s been a while. On top of her dreams not staying put in her brain, including the guy she’d been dreaming of for years, the house they’re filming in, Gold Manor, might actually be haunted. But that’s the least of her worries.

MEET THE AUTHOR


Born and raised in Bakersfield, California, Merry Brown now lives in the northwest corner of Tennessee with her husband, three boys, and Daisy the cat. She teaches philosophy at the University of Tennessee, Martin, where she counts it a great privilege and joy to introduce students to perennial questions about the nature of the universe, meaning, morality, and the human condition. Merry Brown's love of philosophy and young adult paranormal and dystopian literature inspired her to write THE KNOWERS, the first book in the Exiled Trilogy. GOLD MANOR GOLD HOUSE is her latest YA paranormal romance book.

Find the author online at http://www.merrybrown.com, twitter: @merryebrown, or Facebook: Merry Brown. Buy the book at Amazon

14 comments:

  1. THE SECRET GARDEN was always a favorite of mine as a child.

    marypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com

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    1. Mary,
      The Secret Garden brings back great memories for me, mostly of my mom reading to me at night in my bed.
      Hope all is well with you!
      Merry

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  2. Oh wow I love Beth Revis and her space ship series! I read the first one when I was in a "book rut" and hadn't found a good one in over a month. One paragraph into it and I was hooked and up and out of my book rut like I'd been shot!

    andralynn7 AT gmail DOT com

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    1. Andra,
      I really enjoyed the first book, and I think I can't get through A Million Suns right now because I feel claustrophobic on that ship! I know I need to push through, because from all accounts, the trilogy is really good.
      Merry
      P.S. If you're looking for a book, last night I picked up Warm Bodies. I saw the movie, but then a friend said I ought to read the book. It's great so far.

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    2. Totally read that! I loved it too! A lot different feel to it in the book form than the movie form...but I liked them both in their own ways!

      Delete
  3. What a fun excerpt. This sounds like a really good story.

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  4. Thanks for the great interview. I agree there is something about the feel of a book that I miss but I tend to prefer e-book just because I consume so many books I don't know what to do with them all after I am done, it is hard to part with a good book. I love that I can store so many books just neatly in one little kindle.


    fencingromein at hotmail dot com

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    1. Shannon,
      Well, you're right, there's the problem of what to do with the physical book. Though I love being sounded by books and bookcases, there comes a point when the books take over. What then? I'm still working through this problem (which is compounded with the fact that my husband buys more books than I do and he will not read ebooks!). The great thing about digital books, as you point out, is that I always have a bunch with me - on my phone's kindle app. I get a lot of reading done while I sit in carline afterschool, waiting to pick up kids!
      Merry

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  5. Enjoyed your interview today. So far, all of your books are in the YA paranormal romance genre. Do you have plans to write in different genre or genres and if so, what would those be?

    kareninnc at gmail dot com.

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    Replies
    1. Karen,
      Thanks! Well, when it comes to non-fiction, I don't see myself in the near future writing anything but YA. I do plan to write a non-fiction book about living through and reaching the other side of a binge-eating disorder (sounds fun, right?). Given I'm in the middle of two YA series, it will take a while until I get to it.
      Merry

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  6. Judith,
    Thank you for hosting Gold Manor Ghost House today!
    Merry Brown

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  7. Great interview, thank you.

    Kit3247(at)aol(dot)com

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  8. Great interview!
    Thanks for the chance to win!
    natasha_donohoo_8 at hotmail dot com

    ReplyDelete