I would like to welcome JOSEPHINE ANGELINI author of STARCROSSED, to Novels On The Run and thank her for taking the time to answer some questions for our interview and for writing such a gorgeous book. I highly recommend 'Starcrossed', the combination of Greek mythology in modern day times, a gorgeous boy and a romance that The Fates , can not allow , makes for a wonderful read. Click on left sidebar to read my review.
INTERVIEW
MICHELLE: Congratulations Josephine on your debut novel, ‘Starcrossed’. Where is the first place you will go on May 31st 2011 to see your book on the shelf for sale to the public?
JOSEPHINE : Thank you, Michelle! On May 31st, I fully intend to haunt every bookstore in Southern California. I’m going to start at the Barnes and Noble at the Grove and go from book seller to book seller, asking them if anyone’s bought a copy yet!
MICHELLE: Have you anything planned special to do on the day 'Starcrossed' is officially released?
JOSEPHINE: Once I get back from pestering all the local bookstores I’ll probably just sit at home and vibrate, although I think my husband has different plans. I noticed he recently bought a bunch of tranquilizer darts. He said they were for bears, but I don’t know….
MICHELLE: I personally had not heard of ‘The Iliad’. You made me curious to find out about this book and Greek mythology in general. How does it ‘feel’, to know you have possibly awoken the Gods and Greek mythology within YA readers who are curious to know more , like myself.
JOSEPHINE: I certainly hope I inspire a lot of YA fans to read the old Greek myths. They’re so exciting and dark, but above all, they’re just great stories.
MICHELLE: ‘Dreamless’ is book # 2 in the ‘Starcrossed’ series. Are you able to give the readers a short teaser quote from, ‘Dreamless’.
JOSEPHINE :“Don’t waste a perfectly good act of heroism with a bad one of your own! You don’t have to out-valor everyone, you know.”Orion
MICHELLE: Orion is a new character you will be bringing to ‘Dreamless’, are you able to give me 5 words that describe Orion?
MICHELLE:Thanks for that teaser quote Josephine..ooo .. Orion sounds nice. * waggles eyebrows*
MICHELLE. How does it ‘feel’, seeing blogs around the world, reading, reviewing, chatting about Starcrossed and its characters with enthusiasm?
JOSEPHINE:Amazing! Because I get just as excited about books I love, too. I know what it feels like to get attached to characters and want everyone in the world to know how great a story is. To know that STARCROSSED is making other people feel like that is humbling. I feel very lucky.
MICHELLE:My father is one of 8 kids, he being the youngest , just like yourself, so I know big families and all the kids, grandkids and funny moments that come with it. Do you have a memorable response from any of your family members when you told them you had a 7 figure 3 book deal?
JOSEPHINE:Big families are a trip, right? My family has been so supportive of me through all of this. My sisters and my brother have all been cheering me on, telling all their friends to go out and buy a copy as soon as it comes out. They aren’t the best at giving criticism, because I’m the “baby” and to them, everything I write is brilliant, but that’s just fine with me!
MICHELLE:Will you keep a scrapbook or keepsake of your debut of ‘living your dream’, for one day your family to be able to read about their mum or show your nephews and nieces?
JOSEPHINE:That’s a really good idea. I should do that. I think I will keep a digital scrapbook now—thanks for the suggestion, Michelle!
MICHELLE: I hope you all enjoyed the interview as much as I enjoyed chatting with Josephine. She has a wonderful sense of humor. Marissa and I wish Josephine all the success with 'Starcrossed', not that she needs it, as, WOW!!!
I can't wait for 'Dreamless', book # 2 in the , 'Starcrossed', series, due for release in 2012.
Have a look at these vids of Josephine being interviewed.
By : Josephine Angelini Published By : HarperTeen Release Date : May 31st 2011 Details : Netgalley Ebook , 310 Pages
RATING : 4.5 LUCAS STARS!!!
Book Blurb : Taken From Goodreads
How do you defy destiny?
Helen Hamilton has spent her entire sixteen years trying to hide how different she is—no easy task on an island as small and sheltered as Nantucket. And it's getting harder. Nightmares of a desperate desert journey have Helen waking parched, only to find her sheets damaged by dirt and dust. At school she's haunted by hallucinations of three women weeping tears of blood . . . and when Helen first crosses paths with Lucas Delos, she has no way of knowing they're destined to play the leading roles in a tragedy the Fates insist on repeating throughout history.
As Helen unlocks the secrets of her ancestry, she realizes that some myths are more than just legend. But even demigod powers might not be enough to defy the forces that are both drawing her and Lucas together—and trying to tear them apart.
BOOK REVIEW:
I simply loooovvvved this book. Josephine Angelini has given great attention to detail with her Greek Gods Mythology , Trojan War, The Three Fates, demigods aka Scions. I thought this was a very clever and original book . Josephine really wove the Greek Mythology into her story of starcrossed lovers, really well. She does a lot of world building in this book, it’s not overwhelming, it’s at a good steady pace.
Visually in my mind there were some great scenes in this book. For a debut author , Josephine has written a stunning book.
I loved Lucas’s character, his strength, passion and loyalty to the ones he loves. His self control would be hard on any hot blooded teenager. Lucas has a wheelbarrow full of struggles that he must try to overcome, if the Fates will allow it. The thing is the Fates have a theory, ‘blood for blood’, this doesn’t bode well for Lucas.
Helen, the socially awkward nearly 17 yr old teenager who wanted nothing more than to blend into the scenery, to be Claire’s bff and she was happy enough with that. Her whole world, which in her case is the Island of Nantucket, is completely rocked with the Delos family moving onto the island, from her wanting to kill Lucas, to wanting nothing more than to be free to love him. Will the Fates allow this?
Her mother left her father Jerry, to raise Helen, disappearing leaving no proof of her existence, apart from Helen. The Helen at the start of the book is very different to the Helen at the end of the book. Her character is forced to grow and discover the Helen she should be.
Claire aka Giggles , I really loved her honesty, loyalty and her willing to never give up on Helen, no matter what secrets Helen kept from her . Claire is one smart, intuitive cookie. I did laugh out loud several times at Claire’s recollection of her childhood with Helen.
Hector, he comes across as the grouchy, ready to battle cousin, but I feel a love there for Helen. Not necessarily the love triangle type love, but a growing respect for her. Hector is a protector and throws himself into keeping his family safe. I think his pet name of ‘Princess’ finally stopped when Helen earned his respect. He doesn’t hold back, even if you are a girl when he trains , he will pound you unless you fight back. He will show you humility if you need to be shown. I really loved Hector’s character.
The healing twins Ariadne and Jason , Lucas’s cousins, I really liked. Ariadne seemed the most relaxed out of the families. The sister type character to Helen. Jason was always available to step up and protect or defend his family when they are in need.
Cassandra, the youngest , only 13 years old, yet years ahead of her time was the most serious. She has a great burden to carry at such a young age.
‘Starcrossed’ , carried me away from start to finish. Every page words were not wasted. The story has depth and the characters are solid. I love a good twist as I am reading, thinking I am a smarty pants and know where the story is going, then curve ball, away we go in a surprising twist, then ....curve ball...away we go again.
Josephine keeps adding to her story, keeping the reader entertained. I liked the ending as this is a series of books, well you need the story to go somewhere for book # 2 titled ‘Dreamless’ and , she sure did that. Another struggle for the Delos family and Helen is about to unfold in ‘Dreamless’. A terrible heart wrenching lie has been told to Helen, I can’t wait to see how she handles it.
A big thankyou to Netgalley and HarperTeen for this arc read.
FAVE QUOTE:
“Is that how tall you are without those ridiculous shoes? “ he said derisively. “I think I was born bigger than that.”
“I bet you were. Five feet of fat head and two inches of ass,” Claire muttered, standing up.
