Welcome to our stop on Vengeance Road tour for Erin Bowman. This tour is hosted by Rockstar Book Tour.
Vengeance RoadAuthor: Erin Bowman
Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Historical Fiction
Released: September 1st 2015
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
When Kate Thompson’s father is killed by the notorious Rose Riders for a mysterious journal that reveals the secret location of a gold mine, the eighteen-year-old disguises herself as a boy and takes to the gritty plains looking for answers and justice. What she finds are devious strangers, dust storms, and a pair of brothers who refuse to quit riding in her shadow. But as Kate gets closer to the secrets about her family, she gets closer to the truth about herself and must decide if there's room for love in a heart so full of hate.
In the spirit of True Grit, the cutthroat days of the Wild West come to life for a new generation.
Interview
Congratulation on your new book! As a fan of the Taken series, can you tell us how Vengeance Road is different from your previous series?
Thank you! This book is wildly different than the Taken trilogy. While that series was sci-fi and set in the future, Vengeance Road is historical fiction, taking readers back to 1877 Arizona. It’s also written in a dialect, meaning Kate’s voice is very strong on the page. Readers who liked my trilogy’s fast pacing and plot twists will find both in Vengeance Road though, so maybe they’re not quite so different after all… ;)
So I've been a fan of your covers, this one is no exception... Seriously, I LOVE them all! Have you had any say in your covers?
With Vengeance Road I was a bit more involved. My editor and I had a joint pinterest board to brainstorm ideas and share aesthetics, and once Design had a few comps to share, I was invited to weigh in on those. My favorite was a heavily typographic and illustrated direction, and luckily, everyone at HMH was in favor of that approach as well. Things were then quiet for a few months as my publisher found an illustrator for the job and she worked her. When I saw the final art I literally gasped out loud. I love, love, LOVE this cover.
When coming up with your title, was this something you came up prior to writing the story, during writing the story, or after?
I’d written about one hundred pages when I started brainstorming titles. I had a list going, and words like “gold” and “greed” showed up a lot, along with a couple other titles that spoke to the bloody, lawless setting. But in the end, this is a book about revenge and justice, and I thought Vengeance Road, hinted at that (plus the journey aspect of Kate’s story) best.
What is one "writing must have", you need when writing?
I have two: coffee and music. I can’t write without listening to what I like to call “epic” music—film scores and video game soundtracks that are strictly instrumental and match the mood of my manuscript. And of course, coffee, because caffeine is my friend.
In less than 140 words, how would you promote Vengeance Road on twitter?
Gold, kickass girls, and cowboys! YEEHAW!!!! You need Vengeance Road in your life!
Or, if I was trying to be more professional, I’d go with my handy one-line pitch:
VENGEANCE ROAD follows Kate Thompson as she seeks to avenge her father's murder, only to find herself entangled in a bloody quest for gold.
Thank you! This book is wildly different than the Taken trilogy. While that series was sci-fi and set in the future, Vengeance Road is historical fiction, taking readers back to 1877 Arizona. It’s also written in a dialect, meaning Kate’s voice is very strong on the page. Readers who liked my trilogy’s fast pacing and plot twists will find both in Vengeance Road though, so maybe they’re not quite so different after all… ;)
So I've been a fan of your covers, this one is no exception... Seriously, I LOVE them all! Have you had any say in your covers?
With Vengeance Road I was a bit more involved. My editor and I had a joint pinterest board to brainstorm ideas and share aesthetics, and once Design had a few comps to share, I was invited to weigh in on those. My favorite was a heavily typographic and illustrated direction, and luckily, everyone at HMH was in favor of that approach as well. Things were then quiet for a few months as my publisher found an illustrator for the job and she worked her. When I saw the final art I literally gasped out loud. I love, love, LOVE this cover.
When coming up with your title, was this something you came up prior to writing the story, during writing the story, or after?
I’d written about one hundred pages when I started brainstorming titles. I had a list going, and words like “gold” and “greed” showed up a lot, along with a couple other titles that spoke to the bloody, lawless setting. But in the end, this is a book about revenge and justice, and I thought Vengeance Road, hinted at that (plus the journey aspect of Kate’s story) best.
What is one "writing must have", you need when writing?
I have two: coffee and music. I can’t write without listening to what I like to call “epic” music—film scores and video game soundtracks that are strictly instrumental and match the mood of my manuscript. And of course, coffee, because caffeine is my friend.
In less than 140 words, how would you promote Vengeance Road on twitter?
Gold, kickass girls, and cowboys! YEEHAW!!!! You need Vengeance Road in your life!
Or, if I was trying to be more professional, I’d go with my handy one-line pitch:
VENGEANCE ROAD follows Kate Thompson as she seeks to avenge her father's murder, only to find herself entangled in a bloody quest for gold.
She studied web design (and minored in Creative Writing because she couldn’t stay away from stories) at the Rochester Institute of Technology in upstate New York. After several years working in advertising and designing websites for various brands, she moved from Boston to New Hampshire, where she now lives with her family and writes full-time.
When not writing, Erin can often be found hiking, geeking out over good typography, and obsessing over all things Harry Potter. She drinks a lot of coffee, buys far too many books, and is not terribly skilled at writing about herself in the third person.
She is represented by Sara Crowe of Harvey Klinger, and is the author of the Taken Trilogy (available from HarperTeen) and Vengeance Road (HMH Books for Young Readers).
Posts
I can't wait to read your book. I read all winter while I hibernate...I hate the cold!
ReplyDelete