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I am so excited. It’s time for another giveaway! Today you have a chance to win one paperback copy of Wormwood or one of five e-book copies that D.H. Nevins has graciously supplied. There will also be my review and an interview with the author. After I am finished telling you about this book, you are going to really want it bad.

Details for entering the giveaway are posted after the review and interview, but make sure you read my review and the interview first. You don’t want to miss anything.

I am trying something new lately. When I start a new novel, I do not read the book blurb on the back flap. Many of the books I review are sent by the authors and they also send the book blurb and links to the reviews. By the time I start reading the book, the blurb is only vaguely in my memory. As for reviews, I do not read a books reviews until AFTER I have written mine.

I did a post on my blog asking for help choosing which two books I should read and review next. I had several other reviews and some giveaways to do first. You can go here http://wp.me/p27ipo-cL to see which books were selected.

I am now ready to review the first book that was selected.

As I stated, I did not read the back flap before I started reading Wormwood. I had also received another book in the mail that day and mistakenly thought this was the book about aliens. Boy,  was I surprised.

The first chapter introduces you to Kali. She is a trail guide at Pinecrest National Park. A quiet hike up to her favorite spot, Lookout Peak, starts out normally enough, but a light breeze quickly becomes a tree snapping gale. The once clear skies have turned a heavy grey-black, the clouds tumbling over each other as they race towards her.

This would not be so bad if the woods had not suddenly gone silent. Not a sound could be heard. The winds had stopped and all was still. Not even a bird song was heard. Into this silence came a rumbling that turned into a roar. The ground began to vibrate under her feet and she could see something was coming. The trees started to shake and then to fall, the ground began to roll. Kali ran.

The earth twists and buckles as she tries to reach the safety of Lookout Peak.  Trees and shrubs reach out as if to grab her. She sees her goal and rushes forward. Stillness. All around her the earth is raging. Great rents appear, lava flows up from below, the skies open up and rain and hail lash down, but from her vantage point all she feels is a mild tremor under her feet. How can this be?

Kali wants to move out from under the overhanging rocks and edges around them to a clear space. The rocks could fall at any moment.  There is a campfire burning. She is not alone up here. A quick look around reveals a figure standing on the cliffs edge, his arms stretched out towards the devastation that is still raging below.

Tiamat.

I tell ya, I was not prepared for this.  I was exhausted from the tension I experienced following Kali’s mad dash to safety. My description is just a wee bit of what she goes through.

I am so excited just thinking about what I want to tell you. This happened and that happened! And what? I have never read a story quite like this. There is so much going on. The story raced to its conclusion, leaving me stunned.

At times I was scared. Other times I was so mad. And at one part, I realized I was crying, and it hurt.

D. H. Nevins has written a fantastic story of the end of the world and the last survivors. Perhaps this description is too simple, but I hesitate to tell much of the story. I want you to read it like I did. Unprepared and wide-eyed.  I want you to get to know each character and discover just what is really causing all the destruction.

I hope when you read Wormwood, you’ll tell me how it made you feel. Did you experience it like I did?

A huge Thank You to the author for an extremely well written story in which to immerse myself.

Beyond 5 STARS

And now lets welcome D. H. Nevins

Hello Danielle. Thank you for taking the time to answer a few questions.

D. It’s my pleasure. I’m thrilled to be here, Laura! Thanks so much for having me.

L. From the first idea to the day it was published, how long did it take to write Wormwood?

D. I pretty much shelved Wormwood for a year before publishing it, so that made the whole process take a lot longer. Wormwood is something I wrote for myself, and at the time, I honestly didn’t have the nerve to publish it. But I’m so happy that I finally did! So in total, it took three years: almost two years of planning, research and writing, one year of letting it chill, and the final few months to publish.

L. Is there a favorite place you like to write and are there any must haves for your writing process?

D. Oh yes. We are lucky enough to live in the woods on a lake, and I enjoy taking my laptop down to the dock to write. The only problem is that I seem to do really cruddy writing down there! It’s true! I write best when I’m in this dismal little office we have, and there aren’t any distractions. As for must haves, I always set the mood by listening to music first. I’ve made a gigantic Wormwood playlist just for that purpose, and it always does the trick!

L. Do you have a favorite genre you read?

D. I’m all over the place. I had a historical fiction craze for the longest time, but now I lean towards paranormal, urban fantasy, fantasy, dystopian and some YA.

L. You mentioned a sequel to Wormwood. Is there anything you can tell us about it, maybe when we might expect it?

D. I’d love to tell you about it!  Here are some certainties:

1) The sequel takes place exactly where Wormwood left off.

2) There will be three books in the series. So if you liked Wormwood, especially the end of it, I think the next two will be even better! Kali and Tiamat were just getting started in the first book.

3) Wormwood originally had a prologue that told of Tiamat’s unusual birth. I loved the scene, but pulled it from the book because I wanted to use it as a basis for a prequel instead. So once I’ve done the three books for the Wormwood series, I’ll write the prequel about Tiamat’s very strange childhood. I’m planning to call it Monster.

As for when book 2 will be finished, a lot of that depends on how busy I am with work. I estimate about a year. If I’m lucky it’ll be sooner.

L. How did you select your cover art for Wormwood?

D. My husband was a big help with that. He’s a fan of Gustave Dore, an illustrator from the mid 1800’s, and he suggested we use something from one of Dore’s angel etchings, and while he also illustrated Dante’s Inferno,  we chose this etching by Milton. The mood of his illustrations is quite dark, and I felt that would be perfect for Wormwood. The one I used was taken from an illustration titled Nine Days they Fell,

which appeared in Milton’s Paradise Lost. Unfortunately, I’m finding out that the look of an illustrated cover seems to turn some readers off, so I’m considering an alternate. Perhaps you wouldn’t mind if I asked you and your readers for your opinions?

L. Please, ask away!

D. Awesome. Thanks, Laura! I’m thinking of replacing the cover with an image like this.

It’s something I’ve been playing with, so the image isn’t refined, and the titles been plunked on simply to get an idea of the overall look. But those things aside, what do you think? Which cover do you like more?

L. I, myself like them both, but I think I like the Dore etching better. Maybe it’s because I love the book and don’t want you to change a thing!

L. Would you like to share anything else with us today?

D. I’m presently working on a video trailer for Wormwood. It’s pretty intense! It should be ready in the next few weeks!

L. I can’t wait to see it! I love book trailers and this one should be very interesting.

Now, lets do a few fun shorts!

1. Riding a horse or a motorcycle?  Well, I own a motorcycle(I’ve named it Grendel), so motorcycle it is!

2. Margarita or martini?  Margarita.

3. Snow skiing or water skiing?  Snow skiing(or preferably, snowboarding.)

4. Potato chips or pretzels?  Miss Vicki’s Salt & Vinegar chips hands down.

Thanks so much for sharing with us today Danielle. I can’t wait for the sequel to Wormwood.

You’re most welcome, Laura! And thanks to you too. I really appreciate this opportunity to talk about my book. Hopefully, I’ll have the sequel ready soon!

Now for the Giveaway!  Danielle is offering 5 ebooks and 1 paperback of Wormwood. This is open to U.S. and Internationally so no one is left out!  The giveaway ends at midnight on August 4th.

While it is not required, it would be appreciated if you followed me on twitter and my blog. Also show some love and follow Danielle at the link/links provided below.

If you like this post, don’t forget to hit that tweet button. That always makes me smile!

Please leave your email address along with a comment for Danielle about which cover art you like the most! Easy peasy!

About D. H. Nevins: D. H. Nevins was born in Toronto and currently lives in a relatively remote area of Ontario, surrounded by forests and lakes. By day she is a personable, friendly school teacher. By night, she silently chuckles as she writes about angels destroying the world. When she isn’t writing, she enjoys hiking, camping, flying around on her motorcycle or dabbling in live theatre.

She loves to connect with others and can be contacted or followed a number of ways:

Website: http://www.dhnevins.com

Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/dhnevins

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/133020440053518/

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5158514D_H_Nevins

To buy Wormwood just click on the image at top of post.

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