J.A. SOUDERS is the author of the Elysium Chronicles and lives in the land of sunshine and palm trees with her husband and two children where she spends her time writing about the monsters under the bed, day dreaming about living in an underwater colony, and failing miserably at playing video games.
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Six weeks after her arrival on the Surface, Evelyn Winters is no closer to unlocking the memories lost in her subconscious than she was when she first came. Isolated in a strange new society, Evie has only Gavin Hunter to remind her of who she once was.
But even with a clean slate, it’s easy to see that Evie doesn’t fit in on the Surface. And as her differences make her feel more and more alone, she can’t help but yearn for that place she doesn’t remember: the isolated city hidden in the depths of the ocean. Elysium. Home.
But she can’t exactly tell Gavin what she’s feeling. Not when he’s the one who helped her escape Elysium in the first place, and has the scars to prove it. Though the doctors say otherwise, Gavin believes that Evie just needs time. And if her memories don’t come back, well, maybe she’s better off not remembering her past.
But the decision may be out of their hands when Evie’s ever-elusive memories begin to collide with reality. People and images from her past appear in the most unlikely places, haunting her, provoking her…and making her seem not only strange but dangerous.
Evie and Gavin can’t wait around for her memories to return. They’ll have to journey across the Outlands of the Surface to find help, and in the end, their search may just lead them back to the place it all started…
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Thank you so much for having me on your blog today and for being the first stop! I can’t believe the 2nd book in the series is coming out in about a week! It’s kind of surreal! A year ago I was panicking over RENEGADE coming out and now I get to panic over the 2nd one. ☺
REVELATIONS itself was a lot harder for me to write then RENEGADE. If you’ve read it, then you know I sort of wrote myself into a corner at the end of it. *sheepish grin* So, of course, I had to figure a way out of it. Plus second books are just harder period, especially in a trilogy because you have to avoid the dreaded middle book syndrome.
As far as the characters though and which ones were easier to write than the others, none of the main, main characters were easy to write. There really isn’t a clear-cut villain. Mother is still, of course, very much a threat, but there’s an addition of a new one who while much quieter about his “evil” ways, he’s much more cunning.
Evelyn is an extremely complicated character by herself. She always has, and probably always will be, the hardest character I’ve ever written. And now, she’s especially so with all the new problems she has to face being in an unfamiliar world while essentially having to learn who she is all over again.
And Gavin, well, he’s just as complicated as her. We didn’t really get to see a whole lot from him in RENEGADE. But in REVELATIONS he’s a much more up front and center character with his own set of issues and obligations and everything else that he has to deal with it now that we’re in “his” world that weren’t there in RENEGADE. In fact, he was so complicated and so vocal about his story this time around, I had to give him his own POV, so REVELATIONS will have dual POVs.
As far as easiest character to write, though, I’d have to say it’s the new character I’ve introduced in REVELATIONS named Asher. In RENEGADE Evelyn was pretty much a loner due to her job responsibilities and Mother’s handiwork. Gavin on the other hand, hadn’t always been. In his past, he had friends and, of course, he has a large family, but somewhere along the line there was something that happened that made him change. To want to be a loner. To not trust anyone but himself and Asher is a big part of that reason.
And while Asher is complicated character himself with his own secrets, his story just flowed so easily onto the page. He knows exactly who he is and what he wants. He’s a perfect foil for Gavin and someone Evie can not only relate well to, but connect with. (However, no love triangle will be there. Promise. *wink*) He’s also someone I easily related to while writing him because he reminds me a lot of the “Southern Gentlemen” I’ve come across living in the South and I wanted to capture some of that elegance, manners, way of speaking, and general charm that they all exude and I think he does that perfectly.
While Gavin will always hold a special place in my heart, I absolutely adore Asher and love writing him and his story.
Elysium Chronicles #1
Since the age of
three, sixteen-year-old Evelyn Winters has been trained to be Daughter of the
People in the underwater utopia known as Elysium. Selected from hundreds of
children for her ideal genes, all her life she’s thought that everything was
perfect; her world. Her people. The Law.But when Gavin Hunter, a Surface Dweller, accidentally stumbles into their secluded little world, she’s forced to come to a startling realization: everything she knows is a lie.
Her memories have been altered.
Her mind and body aren’t under her own control.
And the person she knows as Mother is a monster.
Together with Gavin she plans her escape, only to learn that her own mind is a ticking time bomb... and Mother has one last secret that will destroy them all.
Elysium Chronicles #0.5
An Elysium Chronicles short story: the beginning.
There is only one place forbidden to the people of Gavin's village; the island just off the shore, rumored to be haunted. Cursed.
All who venture to the island disappear.
But Gavin doesn't believe in such things. He is a hunter; since his father's death, he is the only one who can provide for the family. Silly rumors of ghosts aren't going to stop him from crossing the dark waters to the island in search of fresh game...
Tour-wide giveaway
US Only!
Grand Prize - 1 Signed set of Renegade and Revelations, 1 scrabble tile pendant with covers of both books, and a $25 gift card to Amazon or B&N!
Second Place - 1 Signed set of Renegade and Revelations and 1 set of scrabble tile pendants with covers of both books.
Third Place - 1 set Revelations themed swag
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Week One:
Oct. 28th - Magical Urban Fantasy Reads - Guest Post
Oct. 29th - Katie's Book Blog - Interview
Oct. 30th - The Book Life - Review
Oct. 31st - Curling Up With A Good Book - Guest Post
Nov. 1st - That Artsy Reader Girl - Review
Week Two:
Nov. 4th - Bookish - Interview
Nov. 5th - Two Chicks on Books - Guest Post
Nov. 6th - Supernatural Snark - Interview
Nov. 7th - Book Haven Extraordinaire - Review
Nov. 8th - Jenna Does Books - Review
Thanks for sharing the guest post. I'm excited to know we get see more of Gavin this time around. :)
ReplyDeletethe novels look great,, thank you for a chance to win :)
ReplyDeleteI am SO bloody eager to read Revelations. Eep :) Congrats!
ReplyDeleteSo exited that it's almost here!!
ReplyDeleteThank you J.A. Souders for the great giveaway! I remember seeing the cover of Renegade a while back ago and I knew I wanted to read this book when I had the chance. It kind of left my mind since then but now I know I can try reading this series again! I hope I can read this one soon :)
ReplyDeleteCongrats to J.A. on the upcoming release! Looks and sounds awesome!
ReplyDeleteOoohh, happy that part of REVELATIONS is from Gavin's POV!
ReplyDeleteI just put these books on my wishlist!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the awesome giveaway!!
ReplyDeleteThese books looks and sounds awesome thanks for the great giveaway!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the chance.
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to read this book. It sounds really good. Thanks for the giveaway. Tore923@aol.com
ReplyDeleteThe novels sound amazing. Thank you for this giveaway. - cindy c.
ReplyDeleteSounds great, thank you!
ReplyDeletesounds like a awesome book! Thanks for the giveaway.
ReplyDeleterounder9834 @yahoo.com
This sounds like such a good book! Very excited to read it. Thanks for the giveaway!
ReplyDelete-Jayne
I'm intrigued! Thanks for the chance to win these books :)
ReplyDeleteThank you J.A. for the awesome giveaway!!!! I have been wanting these books so bad and would love to win Renegade and Revelations signed, please pick me!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteSounds like a great series, looking forward to reading them. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteI would love to win this interesting series. Thank you very much for the opportunity and have a wonderful weekend.
ReplyDeleteI haven't read Renegade yet, but it's been on my TBR for a while. The cover is B-E-A-UTIFUL!
ReplyDelete**Rachelle**
This sounds like a great series, I can't wait to check it out.
ReplyDelete