Conjure Blog Tour: Author Interview / Giveaway

 I'm thrilled to be one of three stops to be kicking off today's Conjure blog tour hosted by Entangled Publishing. Be sure to check out the entire blog tour, as there are a lot of awesome giveaways, reviews and author interviews happening over the next two weeks.

Hi Lea! Welcome to Mundie Moms. I was hooked with you book based on the synopsis alone. What inspired your story?

Wow! Thanks! I’m so pleased to hear that. You may find this hard to believe but the story idea came from a Chick Fil A kid meal bag. I swear. We’d just gone through the drive through and my daughter was reading the little educational factoids they print on the bags. Her little voice floated up from the back seat. “Mommy, did you know pirates used to send messages in a bottle?” No, I’d never heard that. As I drove down the road I wondered, why would a pirate need to send a message in a bottle? Then an answer came to me: He must be in trouble. Maybe his ship and crew was cursed. From there, the story snowballed and before I knew it, I had to set aside the novel I’d been planning to start to write this one instead. Needless to say, I’m very happy my daughter read the bag!

I love the message in a bottle element. Have you ever found a message in a bottle? If you did, what would you do with it?

I wish I had! I grew up on Long Island in a house that overlooked the Long Island Sound. Every summer I would scan the beach hoping to find a bottle with a secret message inside. Unfortunately I never found one, but I had a very impressive seashells and sea glass collection instead.

What's one thing you came to admire about your main character Emma?

I love Emma’s inner strength and conviction. She does everything possible to save the people she loves the most, including facing down some truly terrifying obstacles. I also love how she develops throughout the story. Emma starts off pretty shy and a loner, someone who’s more comfortable with her art supplies than hanging out with a bunch of kids. But over the novel she finds her voice and asserts herself in pretty surprising ways. I can’t wait to see how she develops over the rest of the series.

Cooper Beaumont sounds like a character readers are going to love. Can you tell us a little about him?

Ah, Cooper. If you were here right now you’d see the goofy smile on my face. I have to admit I’ve got a little innocent crush on him. Like a true Southern Boy, he’s brave and gallant, willing to put himself in harm’s way for Emma and his best friend, Jack. But he’s also sweet and caring and very respectful of Emma’s talent and abilities. Plus he’s got wide, strong shoulders, amazing biceps and killer abs. In other words, he’s the total package.

What element of you story did you enjoy writing the most, the adventure, the paranormal aspect, the romance or the mystery?

This is a tough one because I really adore every distinct element and loved watching how they came together. This story took on a life of its own, asserting its action-adventure personality early on. Then Emma and Cooper’s romance developed, adding irresistible texture and emotional complication. And who can resist the incredibly cool Gullah hoodoo magic and mythology? These elements knit together, feeding into one another, to propel the plot forward. A few of the mysteries are solved in book one, but there are plenty left to answer in the remaining two books in the series. I can’t wait for readers to see how everything shakes out!

Thank you for stopping by Mundie Moms today Lea!
Thanks so much for having me! I love this blog and am thrilled to have had a chance to visit with you!

~Lea

You can learn more about Lea on her website, on Facebook, Twitter and on Goodreads. CONJURE is available at both Barnes and Noble and Amazon.

About the Book:

Title: Conjure (The Hoodoo Apprentice, #1)

Author: Lea Nolan

Publisher: Entangled Publishing

Genre: Young Adult

Length: 400 pages

Release Date: October 16, 2012

ASIN: B009NY42GM

Print ISBN: 978-1620610978

Purchase from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound | The Book Depository

Add it to Goodreads

Be careful what you search for...

Emma Guthrie expects this summer to be like any other in the South Carolina Lowcountry--hot and steamy with plenty of beach time alongside her best friend and secret crush, Cooper Beaumont, and Emma’s ever-present twin brother, Jack. But then a mysterious eighteenth-century message in a bottle surfaces, revealing a hidden pirate bounty. Lured by the adventure, the trio discovers the treasure and unwittingly unleashes an ancient Gullah curse that attacks Jack with the wicked flesh-eating Creep and promises to steal Cooper’s soul on his approaching sixteenth birthday.

But when a strange girl appears bent on revenge, demon dogs become a threat, and Jack turns into a walking skeleton, Emma has no choice but to learn hoodoo magic to undo the hex, all before summer—and her friends--are lost forever.

Praise for CONJURE:

“Richly filled with exquisite imagery, a compelling story, and a strong, smart heroine. Conjure will keep you up way past your bedtime.” --Trinity Faegen, author of The Mephisto Covenant series

About the Author:

Lea Nolan couldn’t read until the third grade. After a lot of hard work she finally got the hang of it and devoured any book she could find with a shiny Newberry Award sticker on the cover. She writes the kinds of stories she sought as a teen—smart paranormals with bright heroines, crazy-hot heroes, diabolical plot twists, plus a dose of magic, a draft of romance, and a sprinkle of history. She’s holds degrees in history and women’s studies concentrating in public policy and spent fifteen years as a health policy analyst and researcher. She lives in Maryland with her heroically supportive husband and three clever children. Her debut YA novel, CONJURE, book one in The Hoodoo Apprentice Series is a new release from Entangled Publishing under the Entangled Teen imprint

Follow Lea via: her Website | Twitter | Facebook | Blog 

The Giveaway:

I have two giveaways today! Thank you to Entangled Publishing I have an exclusive CONJURE charm bracelet I'm giving away, as well as an e-copy of CONJURE.

The 1st: To enter to win an e-copy of CONJURE, please leave a comment along with your email address below. This giveaway will end at midnight TONIGHT. 

The 2nd: to win this exclusive CONJURE charm bracelet today on MM's, please fill out this form below.

Comment to win the copy and fill out the form below to win this fabulous charm bracelet. The book is open internationally and the charm bracelet is open to residents in the US only.

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