The Long Wekkend - Author Interview & Giveaway.

The Long Weekend by Savita Kalhan

Sam knows that he and his friend Lloyd made a colossal mistake when they accepted the ride home. They have ended up in a dark mansion in the middle of nowhere with man who means to harm them. But Sam doesn't know how to get them out. They were trapped, then separated. Now they are alone. Will either of them get out alive? This gripping and hypnotic thriller will have you reading late into the night.

From Goodreads

The Trailer



Interview with Savita Kalhan



1. In between writing and reading, what do you like to do?
Both writing and reading involve a lot of sitting down, so I try to get to the gym most days. I also have an allotment and grow my own vegetables, and there’s always a ton of digging and weeding that needs doing! I love tennis and play as much as my creaky knees allow me to!

2. Describe your novel Twitter style. 140 Characters or less. GO!
The Long Weekend - a tense thriller about two boys who are abducted by a psychopath. This book will get inside your head and under your skin

3. In the Long Weekend, Sam and Lloyd make a wrong decision and are abducted after school and find themselves fighting to survive. Many people in the real world can go through a situation like this, and I think we usually tiptoe around these subjects. Nobody wants to imagine what could happen. What made you go into this subject and make it a novel?
A frightening warning went round the local schools about a man trying to get kids into his car. Something about it struck a chord with me. It’s actually scarily easy for a kid to make a mistake and get in the wrong car given the right circumstances. As I began to think about it, the main two characters of the book appeared, and I knew I had to write their story. I did keep in mind the fact that younger teenagers might pick up the pick to read, so much of the tension and the scary stuff is not explicitly described. I’ve heard readers say that imagining it actually makes it even more scary...

4. Would you say it was hard to write this book? And if so what was the toughest part?
Much of the book was very easy to write because I had Sam, the main character, inside my head. His voice propelled the story forwards. Yes, there were some hard bits to write. In The Long Weekend there are some difficult scenes, heart-breaking scenes, that were hard to write. The toughest scene was when Sam is hiding under the bed. I won’t say any more about it...

5. What have you seen that readers take from your book? What do they learn or what impression do they end up with?
That all depends on the age of the reader. Younger teenagers read the book like a thriller: some of them don’t even realise the full significance of what has happened to Lloyd. That’s fine because they still take so much away from the book – about loyalty and survival, and about thinking before they are invited inside a car that isn’t driven by one of their parents. The book is actually far scarier for older teenagers, young adults and adults. They know what has really happened and they find it devastating. But whatever the age of the reader, they all devour the book – usually in one sitting, and that makes me really happy!

6. What makes The Long Weekend different to other thrillers?
There are very few thrillers published for teens and young adults, fewer still with serious themes of abuse at their core, and even fewer where the book is a thriller that can read by a very diverse group of people, from the very reluctant secondary school reader, to young adults, to older adults, and parents. It crosses all boundaries and age groups and 99% of its readers have said that they would highly recommend it! I’m not going to argue with that.

7. Since Valentines Day is coming: Name a YA book you have a crush on (or character)
Ooh, that’s a really hard one! There are two characters that I’ve had a crush on – Conal and Seth MacGregor from Gillian Philip’s Firebrand and Bloodstone. I highly recommend you check them out!

8. Between You and Me, what’s in store for the future?
Lots more books, I hope! I’ve got a couple of things in the publishing pipeline, but I can’t say anymore about them just yet. You’ll have to watch this space...
Or follow me on Twitter @savitakalhan and check out my Facebook page for news  http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Long-Weekend-Savita-Kalhan/117223691628538?sk=wall
I’ve got a website too –  http://www.savitakalhan.com

This is the first time I use Rafflecopter, so lets see how it goes :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Long Weekend by Savita Kalhan
Published by Andersen Press
www.savitakalhan.com

The Long Weekend book trailer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14TfYyHgD6Y

The Poet, a short story by Savita Kalhan

Published in Even Birds are Chained to the Sky, by Fine Line Publishing

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Even-Birds-Chained-Other-Tales/dp/0956761054/ref=pd_rhf_dp_p_t_1

Interview with Jody Kihara

About Jody:

 I'm an author of mid-grade and young adult novels. I also have a couple of chapter books that I'd love to find an illustrator for!
You can check out my website (http://www.jodykihara.com) or preview my books via the Amazon Kindle store (http://amzn.to/jkhas) or Smashwords (http://bit.ly/jksm). I'd also love to also chat with you on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/jodykihara) ...and here, of course!

I'm an avid reader, and NEVER tire of discussing books!

From Goodreads

1.-As a Writer, what has been your newest discovery?
Jody Kihara: My most fun discovery was how important my critique friends have become, not just to my writing, but to my life. They crack the whip when I need to do my editing, and rescue me when I’m feeling down. Some have become true BFFs. If you’re a writer, start getting critique partners ― you’ll learn more critiquing each others’ work than you will through any course. And you’ll make some lifelong friends!

2.-Convince me to buy your book Twitter Style. 140 Characters or less. GO!
Witch! Ghost! Ghost-of-witch! Cemetery, nightmares, scary dog, drowning… Shaya has to solve a 13-year-old mystery before Halloween.

3.-Would you be so kind as to unlock the treasures of White Witch Pond
Here’s the official blurb. (Side note: don’t you just hate the word ‘blurb’? You’d think writers and publishers could come up with a better term!)
Shaya Solen’s walk home from school takes her past an eerie pond, where one day she finds an old bracelet made of raven feathers. Soon, strange events begin to unfold: a shadowy figure across the water, ominous nightmares, and rumours of a witch who once drowned in the pond. With the discovery of a strange family connection to the witch, Shaya is drawn into a mystery that looks like it must be solved before the approaching Halloween… which is the thirteenth anniversary of the witch’s death.
(then cue music: dah-dahnnn!)

4.-How is it that you came up with the story for White Witch Pond?
I was having one of those magical creative streaks, in which I drafted 3 books in a 6-month period. (One was a chapter book, so it’s not like they were super long… but still!). The other two books are quite goofy, so I was in the mood to write something with some atmosphere. Most of my book ideas come from me suddenly ‘seeing’ one of the scenes in my head, and for White Witch Pond it was the opening scene, in which Shaya finds the witch’s bracelet. From there, the story just came to me… and White Witch Pond was my fastest ‘write’ ever! Which is possibly why the story is so fast-paced!

5.-Shaya – main Character of White Witch Pond – was just the perfect character for the story, she was real and held the perfect combination of everything, she was the cherry on top of the cake. Where you like Shaya as a kid? Did she come completely from your head or was there more inspiration?
Most of my characters arrive fully-formed, so I don’t really have to ‘think them out’. I love characters so much (mine and others), and I’m fascinated by psychology, so ‘inventing’ a character is the one thing I don’t have to struggle with. I think there’s a bit of Shaya in me… although it’s Devin who’s taken from real life - he’s based on my older brother (shh!) And all the family bickering scenes are definitely taken from childhood, LOL!

6.-Now that I think about it… Ailishaya is not the most ordinary name. Where did that one came from?
When I decided I wanted a name connection between Shaya and the witch, I needed a name that ‘Shaya’ could be a shortened version of. I know a girl called Ailish, so I simply put the two together. It is a cool name, come to think of it!

7.-I think you are an author with so much potential and with a really good writing style that I would describe as flawless, Any suggestions for us aspiring writers?
First of all – thank you!
Advice for writers:
1. Critiquing, as I mentioned before. You’ll learn as much from critiquing other people’s work as you will from having your own critiqued. A great website for this is Critique Circle, because you get input from several different people at once, and they’ll all notice different things: logic, pacing, character development, grammar, and writing style.
2. Grammar – learn it! The one thing you have to be careful of with critiquing is that there are many people out there with a rather, er, shaky grasp of grammar. This is one thing you should learn from a book or school and NOT the net… unless it’s a site you can trust, like Grammar Girl or OWL at Purdue (http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/section/1/5/). But many writers and bloggers give writing advice that is NOT correct, so make sure you’re thoroughly grounded in it!
3. Keep at the writing. Most of us take a break in late highschool or university because we’re busy studying, and sometimes you have to take that break ― just make sure you get back to writing soon, because like any skill, it’s a ‘use it or lose it’ deal! I had to take a long break once because my day job was so busy, and when I went back to writing, I was shocked by how much my skills had backslid!
4. When you’re drafting a novel, try taking a break from reading other books. You want to keep your mind receptive to YOUR ideas. If you do read while you’re drafting, read something in a similar writing style, because it’s surprising how much another author’s writing style can influence your own without you realizing it!

8.-Tell us a secret ;)
A writer’s secret weapon: chocolate and tea.
(Wait, that’s two weapons…)

9.-Last but not least, what doors are next to unlock?
I’m releasing two more books this summer, one Young Adult historical fiction and one chapter book. Then I have a stack of drafted novels waiting to be edited.
It would be nice to see book sales taking off. In the meantime, I’d like to unlock the door to a bank vault. J

Thank You So Much to Jody Kihara for giving me the chance to review your Book White Witch Pond and for being so kind in answering this interview witch, according to Miss Jody Kihara, was a bit of a challenge
  :)

Other Books By Jody Kihara: