What is this, you may be asking?
This hop is about books you love that not enough other people have found out about. With our busy lives and lengthy 'to be read' lists, sometimes those special books that can truly alter our reading experience slip through the cracks, unnoticed.
And this hop is about making sure you bookworms know about the books worth reading that you might not have picked up yet!
As a part of the Books That Need More Attention Hop run by the amazing Valerie Fink, I'm blogging today to bring to your attention a truly unique & exciting YA series.
The Ondine Quartet by Emma Raveling.
This feature includes a whole lot of excitement - from a fun Q&A with the author, to lots of great giveaways!
So hang on to your hats...and let's get started!
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Whirl (Ondine Quartet #1) Magic. Secrets. Destiny.
Outspoken and independent, Kendra Irisavie has always played by her own rules.
She’s an ondine, a water elemental gifted with the powerful magic of Empath Virtue and trained to be a fighter. Pursued by Aquidae demons, she and her mother remain Rogue, hiding among humans to avoid becoming casualties in an ancient war.
Everything changes when violence erupts on Kendra’s seventeenth birthday. A dark stranger appears, promising answers to her mysterious past and stirring unexpected feelings in her fiercely guarded heart.
But as Kendra uncovers the truth about her heritage and future, she realizes just how deep the lies and deception run.
Now, in the face of unthinkable odds, she will need all her wits, skills, and magic to fulfill an extraordinary prophecy.
The first in a sweeping urban fantasy series, Whirl is the beginning of a young woman’s exhilarating journey for survival, love, and hope as she fights for her place in a world where she doesn’t belong.
Get Whirl today!
“I shouldn’t get involved.”
Rebellious and headstrong, sixteen-year-old Kendra Irisavie doesn’t have much respect for authority. An ondine with the powerful gift of Virtue, she uses her tough attitude and Empath magic to navigate through high school and keep others away.
Because being an ondine also means keeping secrets.
Kendra and her mother are Rogue water elementals in the middle of an ancient war. They hide among humans, their survival constantly threatened by monstrous Aquidae demons.
Along with a rigorous training regimen to mold Kendra into a lethal fighter, her mother has instituted four rules to keep her safe.
Trust no one. Relationships are weaknesses. Emotional attachments are dangerous. Be responsible only for yourself.
But when Kendra witnesses a classmate in trouble, she intervenes and her decision to break the rules comes at a price.
Sometimes, humans could be more dangerous than demons.
Get Ondine today!
***
Both books - in fact, the entire series - are based on some truly original and intriguing concepts. Taking classic myths & re-working them in imaginative ways to make them her own, Emma Raveling shows huge talent in her creation of this series.
Who is Emma Raveling?
Aside from being a literary goddess, of course!
Emma Raveling writes a wide variety of ficition for teen and adults. She is the author of the YA urban/contemporary fantasy series The Ondine Quartet, and Lost Blood, the first installment of the forthcoming YA urban fantasy series, Chancer. She's also working on the first book in her new Steel Magic series for adults.
An avid traveler hopelessly addicted to diet coke and coffee, she currently resides in Honolulu, Hawaii, with her husband and German shepherd.
She's also a fun and amazing woman. Take a look at our 5 Top Fives with Emma, where she gives us an insight into the series' inspiration, its highlights, the life of an author, and Emma Raveling herself.
5 Top Fives
With Emma Raveling
Q: Top 5 books that inspired you to write?
Emma: This was difficult! I ended up choosing six. All had huge influences on me at different stages in my life prior to becoming an author.
Emma: This was difficult! I ended up choosing six. All had huge influences on me at different stages in my life prior to becoming an author.
1.
Stephen
King: The Shining
2.
The
short stories of Ray Bradbury and Thomas Mann
3.
Toni
Morrison: Beloved
4.
Milan
Kundera: Immortality
5.
Gabriel
Garcia Marquez: One Hundred Years of Solitude
6.
JK
Rowling: Harry Potter series
Q: Top 5 tunes you listened to whilst writing the series?
Emma: I need absolute silence while writing. I do, however, listen to certain flavors of music outside of my writing sessions, and the type of music I lean toward changes with each book.
While writing Whirl, I listened to more atmospheric and rhythmic-centric music from Evanescence, Eminem, and the soundtrack of Donnie Darko.
For Billow, a lot of the music was from the 90s: Pearl Jam, Linkin Park, Tori Amos, Alanis Morissette.
For Crest, the music was current pop, mainly selected for their lyrics and mood. There’s a lot of Pink and Eminem, One Republic, and Adele.
Specific playlists for each of my books are on my website.
Q: Top 5 fave funny moments from your series?
Emma:
1. When Cam pretends to be hurt more
than he really is because he wants Chloe’s attention. (Billow)
2. Every time Alex’s hideous outfit
clashes with his general aura of serenity.
3. Whenever Aubrey and Ian outsmart
Kendra. This happens often.
4. And speaking of Kendra’s friends….
they often understand her better than she realizes. I love when they question
her actions or motives and she knows they’re right. Kendra’s attempt to hold on
to the tattered shreds of her pride make her very endearing.
5. Whenever Julian and Kendra bicker. In
those instances, Kendra is to Julian what her friends are to her. She doesn’t
let him get away with any bullshit. :)
Q: Top 5 foods you love?
Emma:
1.
Basil
pesto
2.
Sashimi
3.
Dark
chocolate
4.
Jamón
ibérico
5.
Pizza
(my terrible, guilty pleasure)
Q: Top 5 tips for aspiring authors?
Emma: I don’t believe there’s one way to become a writer. There’s only the way that works for you and every writer ultimately must discover their own style and voice.
That being said, the first two tips are very general advice for anyone considering writing seriously. The remaining three relate more to my approach to a creative life.
1.
Read
a lot in a wide variety of genres
(huge emphasis on the variety part). Reading only one genre (the one you want
to write in) can create a very narrow, limited mindset of what’s possible. I
often think of writing like the art of cooking. Reading is like your taste
palette - the more well-read you are in multiple genres, the better your
palette becomes.
Stretching yourself as a reader will broaden your perspective
of what’s possible with writing.
Understanding the multiple approaches for handling narrative, thematic
construction, and character portrayal will in turn help you better understand
the kinds of stories you enjoy. You’ll become that much stronger in identifying
the type of literary "flavors" you'd like to create in your own
stories.
2.
Write
a lot. Having an excellent palette is not enough if you don't actually practice
execution, which is why writing consistently is so very important. Writing,
like any art form (music, dance, visual arts), requires practice - the more you
do it, the stronger your writing muscles get. Build a daily writing habit
through whatever means you feel most comfortable with - a journal entry, a blog
post, short story, a review, a poem, an essay, whatever. All of it will help
improve the verbal clarity necessary for communicating your ideas.
3.
Live.
Become not just a passive observer, but an active participant in life.
Understand rather than judge. Why do we become the way we are? Why do we act,
think, behave, and feel as we do? How do our actions and reactions, our words
and silences, our experiences, our cultural and societal norms, affect the way
we see ourselves and each other?
This applies not only to those easiest to understand but
especially to those who are the most difficult to relate to. Those who
propagate hate and anger, those who frighten us, those who seem the most
unfathomable and distant from who we are. Why are people driven to a certain kind
of behavior? What are the needs/desires/dreams that motivate every one of us?
How do individual experiences and backgrounds affect our choices and paths in
life?
The depth of your understanding across the entire spectrum of
human nature directly translates into your ability to write nuanced, realistic
characters and multi-layered stories.
Spend time away from the computer. Go outside, breathe
deeply, look up at the sky. Challenge yourself daily to change your
perspective, to see the world anew from someone else’s eyes.
Live.
4.
No
one will care about your writing more than you. Only you can fight for your art
which means it’s up to you to dig deeper with each new work and constantly push
yourself to explore, experiment, and improve.
But just because it’s important to you, doesn’t mean it’s
important to anyone else. Hold on to the reasons why you write and remember
you’re doing this for yourself.
5.
Choose
bravery. Fear is a writer’s (or any artist’s) constant companion: fear of
judgment, fear of ridicule, fear of failure, fear of success.
Your level of fear is directly related to your perception of
what is comfortable and safe. The greater the fear, the more you’re challenging
yourself. It means you’re stretching yourself outside your safe zone and possibly
producing some of your very best work.
The only thing worse than what you fear is giving in to the
fear itself. Be brave. Finish the story and let it go.
Thanks so much for your time, Emma! :)
***
Giveaways & Sales
As a part of this blog hop, I'm featuring a giveaway just for you readers!
There are 3 possible winners in all - 2 winners will get ebooks copies of all the books in the OQ and a swag pack, plus 1 winner will get a signed swag pack. This giveaway is open internationally.
There is also a Kindle Fire giveaway! Follow the link here to enter.
OQ Super SaleFor those of you who are now excited to read this great series, it's a great time to get your personal copies as there's a Ondine Quartet Super Sale on!
All main novels in the series (Willow, Billow, Crest) are just 99 cents for a limited time. Including the Breaker pre-order, the entire series can now be had for less than 4! So be sure to check out the super sale & take advantage of such an amazing opportunity.
OQ series on Amazon
OQ series on ITunes
OQ series on Barnes & Noble
Breaker pre-order
If you're already a huge OQ fan, or you're looking to get the full series, be sure to get in an pre-order your copy of Breaker - the 4th installment in the OQ series.
The special pre-order price if 99 cents! Pre-order now and you'll also receive a post-Breaker short story during Breaker's release week! (see Emma Raveling's website for more details)
Here are the pre-order links:
Amazon (Kindle)
Amazon (Paperback)
Barnes & Noble
ITunes
Kobo
***
A big thank you to Emma Raveling and her lovely assistant Aeicha Matteson, for all their time & for making this blog feature possible.And a big thank you to all of you wonderful readers for taking the time to check this out! I hope you're leaving this post with a great new series on your 'to read' list and maybe even a few cool prizes, too :)
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