Q&A with Brodi Ashton! Everbound Blog Tour Stop AND Giveaway!

About the author!

Blog ★ Twitter ★ Facebook
Goodreads Because of two parents who were Greek myth geeks, I grew up thinking the latest fashion trends were inspired by Aphrodite, and a good conversational opener was, “So, which mythological character do you most resemble?” Despite these social shortcomings, I found a great husband who’s always my first reader. We live in Utah with our two young boys, who still have no idea why I'm at the computer all the time.


About the book!

Nikki Beckett could only watch as her boyfriend, Jack, sacrificed himself to save her, taking her place in the Tunnels of the Everneath for eternity — a debt that should’ve been hers. She’s living a borrowed life, and she doesn’t know what to do with the guilt. And every night Jack appears in her dreams, lost and confused and wasting away.

Desperate for answers, Nikki turns to Cole, the immortal bad boy who wants to make her his queen — and the one person least likely to help. But his heart has been touched by everything about Nikki, and he agrees to assist her in the only way he can: by taking her to the Everneath himself.

Nikki and Cole descend into the Everneath, only to discover that their journey will be more difficult than they’d anticipated — and more deadly. But Nikki vows to stop at nothing to save Jack — even if it means making an incredible sacrifice of her own.

In this enthralling sequel to Everneath, Brodi Ashton tests the bonds of destiny and explores the lengths we’ll go to for the ones we love.

Amazon ★ Barnes & Noble ★ The Book Depository

Me: In Everbound Nikki is at Harry O’s and on a wooden door there is a carving that says LB+TK+FR = AWESOME TRIFECTA. What does that mean?
Brodi: Haha! I’ve gotten this question so many times. I had no idea it would cause such curiosity. I was just thinking it was graffiti about a threesome. Hmmm. Should I have said that?

Me: Bahahaha! That's so funny! Anyways... I absolutely love how you have thrown in some Greek Mythology into your modern story. What gave you this idea? And what kind of research did you have to do to write your Everneath and Everbound?
Brodi: People assume I’ve done all this research, but the truth is I avoided reading too much about myths while I was writing the books. I never set out to write a literal retelling of anything, and I didn’t want to be constricted by the details. I wanted to see where the story and the characters took me, and then figure out how the mythology fit in.

Me: With that being said, what is your favorite mythological story?
Brodi: Oh man. I’ll be super obvious and go with Persephone.

Me: If you could be any greek god, who would it be and why?
Brodi: Hermes! He gets to be invisible.

Me: I’m native of Utah and I just loved Park City. One of the many things I love about reading your books is because of all of the places that the characters go. For example, you talk about the Fiery Furnace, Deer Valley, The Alpine Slide and Harry O’s. Are there any other places in your books that really exist? And, do you have any pictures of the places I’ve named that you would like to share?
Brodi: This first one is a picture of me and my BFF Emily Wing Smith. We were checking out the inside of Harry O’s for research.

Brodi: Here’s a picture of Flanagan’s, across the street from Harry O’s. I changed the name to Mulligan’s. Or something like that. Gosh, what did I call it?

Me: While writing Everneath, did you already have a plan for how the whole trilogy would end?
Brodi I originally wrote Everneath as a stand alone. When I found my agent, and he suggested that maybe I should make it more than one book, I came up with a story arc that would span three books. Once I hit that point, I knew exactly how it would always end. I like to tell people it will end the only way it can end.

Me: I’ve noticed that Nikki’s character changed tremendously from Everneath and Everbound. How easy or difficult was it for you to write her character from the perspective of someone who just came from the Everneath which robbed her of every single emotion, to now having her emotions returning to her and being overly conscious of every single emotion she feels?
Brodi: Ack! Emotions! The bane of my existence. Emotional scenes are the hardest for me to write, and that made it difficult considering every scene in both books is full of emotions. The first book presented challenges because she was supposed to have no emotions at the beginning, and then gradually she got them back. That was tough to write. The second book, it’s no longer just her involved. She is fighting to save the boy she loves. This changes everything about her, how she acts, the decisions she makes... everything. That was challenging too.

I guess what I’m saying is that writing is always challenging. Why am I doing this?

OK! Now for a quick Q&A to get to know you!
Me: Phobia or fear?
Brodi: Huh? Oh. I thought you were asking me to choose between “phobia” and “fear” and I was all, huh? Okay, phobia: fear of the ocean. Fear of big ships. I’m no fun on cruises.

Me: Favorite Food?
Brodi Hi Chews Candy. Grap.

Me: Guilty pleasure?
Brodi: Scandal (television show)

Me: Facebook or Twitter?
Brodi: Both! For different reasons.

Me: Most visited online website?
Brodi: www.utahrealestate.com

Me: Preferred weapon?
Brodi: Cat O’ nine tails. Just because I like the name.

Me: Top 5 authors that inspire you?
Brodi: Cormac McCarthy, Stephanie Perkins, Laini Taylor, Sara Zarr, Sherman Alexie

Me: Favorite TV show when you were a kid?
Brodi: MASH. Still is.

Me: Thank you so much Brodi for stopping by! It's not a surprise that YOU ROCK! Check out my review of the totally awesome Everbound!



Tour Stops!
Week One
Jan. 14th - All Things Urban Fantasy - Character Int. (Nikki)
Jan. 15th - Cuddlebuggery - Author Interview
Jan. 16th - Live to Read - Review
Jan. 17th - Tater's Tall Tails - Character Int. (Cole)
Jan. 18th - Fictitious Delicious - Review
Week Two
Jan. 21st - Making the Grade - Review
Jan. 22nd - IB Book Blogging - Review
Jan. 23rd - The YA Sisterhood - Review
Jan. 24th - Book Loving Mom - Review
Jan. 25th - Magical Urban Fantasy Reads - Author Interview


Brodi Ashton is giving away a signed copy of Everbound and a guitar pick at each blog tour stop! This giveaway is open for US shipping only!
a Rafflecopter giveaway