Q&A with bestselling author Philippa Gregory on her new YA novel Changeling

The lovely folk over at Simon & Schuster were kind enough to put together a Q&A with bestselling author Philippa Gregory talking about her latest novel and first venture into YA Changeling for us bloggers to share with our readers. Seems as I’m doing a giveaway for this book at the moment I thought now would be an ideal time to share it with you guys for anyone who may want to know more about the book. I’ve heard amazing things for Philippa’s adult books and am really excited to read Changeling soon!

Synopsis 
The first book in the thrilling YA sequence, Order of Darkness. The year is 1453, and all signs point to it being the end of the world. Accused of heresy and expelled from his monastery, handsome seventeen-year-old, Luca Vero, is recruited by a mysterious stranger to record the end of times across Europe. Commanded by sealed orders, Luca is sent to map the fears of Christendom, and travel to the very frontier of good and evil. Seventeen-year-old Isolde, a Lady Abbess, is trapped in a nunnery to prevent her claiming her rich inheritance. As the nuns in her care are driven mad by strange visions, walking in their sleep, and showing bleeding wounds, Luca is sent to investigate and all the evidence points to Isolde's criminal guilt. Outside in the yard they are building a pyre to burn her for witchcraft. Forced to face the greatest fears of the medieval world - dark magic, werewolves, madness - Luca and Isolde embark on a search for truth, their own destinies, and even love as they take the unknown ways to the real historical figure who defends the boundaries of Christendom and holds the secrets of the Order of Darkness.

 Q&A with Philippa! 

Philippa Gregory 2011 c Johnny Ring

How was writing a book for teens different from writing a book for adults?
I don't think there is any difference for me in terms of the craft of writing. I think that the quality and enjoyment of the novel should be at least equal to a book for adults.

Do you have a favourite character in your new teen series?
I created the two principal characters of Luca and Isolde and liked them so much, but then I was amazed to find that the servant character of Frieze just jumped off the page. He is funny and full of common sense, wonderful with animals and has a great loving nature. His role just grew through the story as I came to like writing about him more and more. He is very important in book 2, and I think I will end up with a cast of 4 principal characters rather than 2. 

When you are writing a multi-book series, do you work from an outline (know all the beats) or do you work toward an ending (know how it all ends)?
This has been the first series that I have written that is not anchored completely by the historical record, so I have revelled in the freedom of it and have worked on each novel quite independently. I know where the whole series ultimately ends, but I don't know yet how I will get there. It's a truly creative process, I feel as if I am making it up as I go along and loving this.

Why did you set your new teen series in the 15th century?
The date of 1453 is such a key one - people really believed that it was the end of the world. It is this belief that means that Luca has his job in exploring the "end of days" and also means that there are so many manifestations of the supernatural that people report.

How is it working with fictional characters rather than real historical figures?
It has been a real holiday from the demands of accuracy and research. It has set the novelist in me free for the first time in a long time. I love discovering and researching the historical characters, but to be able to create characters from imagination has been a real treat.

End 

Sounds great right? For your chance to win a copy if you live in the UK fill out my Past, Present, and Future giveaway form here, and if you live internationally fill out my Book of YOUR choice up to the value of £10 or under form here to be in with a chance of winning Changeling, good luck!

Many thanks to the publishers Simon & Schuster for putting this interview together!

Review for The Calling by Kelley Armstrong

WARNING 
This is a review for the second book in the Darkness Rising series and so may contain spoilers from the first book in the series.

The Calling by Kelley Armstrong
Publisher: Atom
Release Date: 5th April 2012
Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal, Romance
Rating: 4.5/5 stars
Source: Received from the publisher for review

Amazon Summary:
"Maya Delaney's paw-print birthmark is the sign of what she truly is - a skin-walker. She can run faster, climb higher, and see better than nearly anyone else. Experiencing intense connections with the animals that roam the woods outside her home, Maya knows it's only a matter of time before she's able to Shift and become one of them. And she believes there may be others in her small town with surprising talents including local bad boy Rafe, with whom she shares a dangerous, powerful secret.

Now, Maya and her friends have been forced to flee from their homes during a forest fire they suspect was deliberately set. After a terrifying helicopter crash, they find themselves stranded in the Vancouver Island wilderness with nothing but their extraordinary abilities to help them get back home. But can Maya really trust her friends? And can she learn how to control the frightening new gift she has discovered before it controls her?"

Review 
The Calling has to be my favourite of Kelley Armstrong’s Young Adult books so far. I loved her Darkest Powers trilogy and enjoyed the first book to this new companion series The Gathering just as much, but this second instalment to the Darkness Rising series had everything I loved about Kelley’s previous books and more. I picked this up and had it finished under 24 hours later it was such a page turner of a read with constant action and suspense. I think after reading this book my love for the Darkness Rising series might just have over taken my love for the Darkest Powers books.

The book begins where The Gathering left off and straight away we’re thrown back into the action. During the first chapter in the helicopter all hell breaks loose with shocking revelations, powers unleashed and even deaths of characters to really get the ball rolling! After that explosive first chapter the book doesn’t let up for a second and only gets more urgent and intense as the book goes on. It felt like I read The Calling in a total frenzy I was that immersed in Maya’s world. This book grips you and refuses to let go till the final world, a quality that all of Kelley Armstrong’s books have, this one in particular.

The Calling is a real survival story. With Maya and her friends stuck in the wilderness with an increasingly dangerous group after them for their unusual powers, not only do they have to survive in the forest, try to avoid being captured or worse killed all whilst trying to find out what happened to their home, dealing with loss and figuring out who they can trust, they also have to deal with their powers starting to manifest at the same time, testing out how strong they are, and working out what extinct and rare supernatural creature they might be.

These books have a certain sinister chill to them with the supernatural powers not being achieved by magic but by actual scientific engineering, the corporations that Maya and Co have as enemies are scary and powerful ones that whilst may want to capture them for impure purposes might also be the only people who have answers and can help them control their powers.

As with the first book in this series I really loved Maya as our heroine and felt that this book gives us chance to get to know some of the other characters a little better too. If you’re a fan of Kelley’s books then you’ll know that her characters are always strong and likeable and that her writing and plot development seems so easy and natural that it seems effortless on her part and is compulsively readable. This book had a fantastic ending with enough left unresolved that I’m dying for the next book without it being a torturous cliff-hanger. I particularly like what Kelley was hinting at for what’s in store in the next book and find it an exciting direction she’s leading us in. Overall The Calling was a fantastic sequel and my favourite from Kelley Armstrong yet. If you’re a fan of this series this latest instalment isn’t going to disappoint.