Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Blog Tour & GIveaway: Hell's Hollow by Summer Stone

When Seraphina was younger, she healed her best friend's injured hand. Terrified by the inexplicable cure, the girl shunned her. From that day on, Seraphina found herself without friends, a freak and an oddity. And so she obeyed her mother’s rule to refrain from using her innate ability, heeded her mother's warning that its use could land her in the local mental health facility alongside her aunt and grandmother.

But when sixteen-year-old Seraphina finds a mysterious, wounded boy hiding in the hollow in the woods behind her house, she can't hold out against the overpowering urge to help him. She is drawn to him each night, and as they come to know one another, their irresistible attraction blooms.

She longs to uncover his secrets — where he comes from and why he's hiding and how he came to be so wounded — and to share her own, though she knows it's forbidden. And while her healing touch seems to be helping him, it's hurting her. When the symptoms of psychosis — experienced by the women in her bloodline who used their powers — begin to plague Seraphina, she is faced with the unbearable choice of saving her sanity or the boy she’s come to love.

Here are five fun facts about Hell's Hollow. They're hidden secrets or information that we wouldn't know about the book or writing process. A lot more goes into the writing than we think!!

1. I did a ton of research for this book on many different topics. The most fascinating to me was learning more about psychosis and schizophrenia. I watched hours of video and read many articles to get a better understanding of these types of mental illnesses so I could accurately portray them through the characters of Seraphina's aunt and grandmother.

2. Usually when I write, I feel like the main character guides the process, carries me through the story. But with Hell's Hollow, I felt like the story itself was guiding me. I'd meet my husband for coffee and say things like, "You're not going to believe what happened today!" And I'd tell him some new plot point that I didn't see coming, and he'd get all excited about it. It was super cute :)

3. In the book, Sera's mom is the town baker, and Zach, who is forbidden to eat sweets has a serious sweet tooth. This allowed me to write about food :) I, too, have a serious sweet tooth, and I loved describing the baked goods Sera's mom made. And I loved choosing the treats Seraphina brought to Zach.

4. While I was writing the book, I went up to the Sierra Nevada foothills, where it takes place. I spent time sitting by the giant trees that populate the area and really immersing myself in the setting. I even brought home a piece of bark from a giant sequoia to help remind me what it's like there.

5. One of the things I love about this book is the relationship between Sera and Zach. I love how it builds from strangers to friends to something more. I love the ways in which they care for one another. I really enjoyed watching their relationship grow from one day to the next, and I especially loved the way some of their issues surprisingly overlapped.

Thanks so much for having me!

Hell's Hollow is on sale for 99 cents at the moment!! Make sure to grab it while you can!

 photo barnes_noble_2_zps146a433b.jpg
Summer is giving away 3 ebooks of HELL'S HOLLOW at each stop. Please leave a comment and your email address to be entered in the giveaway. Thanks and good luck!!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love the review. Can't wait to read.
mdd324@live.ca

Maria D. said...

This sounds like a really interesting story! Fun five facts about the writing of the book. Thanks for the giveaway!

Susy said...

Thanks for the chance!!
susy.rivera1@gmail.com

Jess (A Book Addict's Bookshelves) said...

This sounds like a great book.
Thanks for the giveaway!
jessicawatkins(at)windowslive(dot)com

Pam said...

Sounds interesting!
pjmillion(at)comcast(dot)net

Sandy Borrero said...

It sounds unique. It sounds like not the run of the mill love story. It sounds like the I must read it! Thanks for the giveaway.

Sandy Borrero said...

Sorry. Forgot my email smilee3939@gmail.com

erin said...

Congrats Summer on the new release! It sounds awesome :)

efender1(at)gmail(dot)com

Mikki D said...

Sounds like a great read! Thank you for introducing us to Summer Stone.

mikki_dicampo(at)hotmail(dot)com

Summer Stone said...

Thanks for all the sweet comments! :D

andieleah said...

Sounds really good...would love to win a copy. Thanks for the chance...good luck everyone!

andieleah78@gmail.com

Arely ZPerez said...

Sounds like a good book!!

amzpar[at]gmail[dot]com

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...