BANISHED by Kimberley Griffiths Little - Excerpt and Giveaway

Banished
by Kimberley Griffiths Little
(Forbidden #2)
Published by: HarperCollins
Publication date: February 2nd 2016
Genres: Historical, Romance, Young Adult












She thought she’d lost everything . . .

After spending months traveling the harsh, unforgiving Mesopotamian desert, Jayden reunites with a broken, injured Kadesh. Although everyone was convinced the violent and unpredictable Horeb, Jayden’s betrothed, killed the handsome prince, Jayden knew in her heart that her love was alive and safe. But their reunion is short-lived, as they learn Horeb is on their trail and determined to take back the girl he has claimed. Soon, the two star-crossed lovers are on the run toward Sariba, Kadesh’s homeland, where, as heir to the Kingdom, he plans to make Jayden his princess.

But the trek to Sariba is fraught with heartache and danger. After narrowly escaping being stoned to death for a crime she didn’t commit, and learning that her sister has disappeared, Jayden’s only solace is her love for Kadesh. But even he is keeping secrets from her . . . secrets that will change everything.

This gorgeous and enchanting sequel to Forbidden, is full of love, danger, and heated passion that will leave readers breathless.

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Sequel to:

Booklist Review:

“This sequel to Forbidden (2014) picks up with desert girl Jayden, distraught that the young man she loves, Kadesh, might have died. But, of course, he hasn’t. Scarred and missing an eye, yes, but he’s escaped the clutches of Horeb, Jayden’s malicious betrothed. Traveling bravely through the desert, Jayden finds him. But that perilous trip is only the first of the dangers to come. Gathering an army, Kadesh is determined to return to his faraway home, where the valuable frankincense grows, and introduce Jayden as his future bride. First, however, they must face betrayal, danger, and a waiting evil. Jayden achieves almost superhero status here, moving from adventure to adventure—not even a near-death stoning can stop her. Little’s descriptions of the landscape are evocative in both desolation and in beauty. Just as good is her pacing, which gets the blood pumping for both characters and readers. Far more than a bridge book, this will heighten anticipation for a no-doubt exciting conclusion."

EXCERPT:

A dirty, callused hand slapped down over my mouth and the stale breath of a man hissed in my ear. “Don’t move or I’ll slit your pretty, little neck.”
I clawed at the stranger’s cloak, trying to push him off, but he was too heavy. A moment later, I realized my ankles were tied together. I couldn’t run, couldn’t even move. Shrieks gurgled in my throat as if I was drowning, his hand cutting off my air.
Only one day into my journey to find Kadesh and I was already dead.
The sharp tip of a blade pressed against my neck, and I whimpered.
“Give me the frankincense of the stranger we killed.” The man’s foul breath dragged across my face. He was referring to Kadesh, the boy I loved, who’d been murdered by Horeb, the prince of my tribe.
With myself as a witness, I’d watched Horeb plunge his sword into Kadesh and then order his soldiers to drag his body off.
Shock flooded me when I realized who my attacker was. I wrenched his fingers away from my mouth and with a raw voice, said, “Gad? What are you doing lurking about the cliffs of Mari?”
This man was a childhood friend of Horeb’s and one of my own tribesmen. His body pressed against mine, and I writhed in disgust.
There was only one reason Gad was in the foothills of Mari, far from the oasis of Tadmur where my tribe camped for the summer. He was a member of Horeb’s army.
Horeb, my betrothed. The man who’d attacked and scarred me. Blackmailed me for the murder of his father to hide the fact that he’d killed his own father so he could steal the tribal crown.

Author Bio:
When I was a kid I read a book a day, scribbled stories, and dreamed about having my very own book on the library shelf. I grew up in San Francisco, but now live in an adobe house on the banks of the Rio Grande with my husband and sons. I think I've drunk so much Land of Enchantment water that some of that ancient magic got into my blood and now spurts out my pencil--I mean ergonomic keyboard. I adore anything old and musty with a secret story to tell.
I'm the author of 10 award-winning middle-grade and Young Adult novels with Scholastic and Harpercollins and I make way too many cookies when I'm writing - and I've got the best book trailers in the universe - for reals! Check them out here: www.kimberleygriffithslittle.com. Please find me on Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, and Youtube.

Awards: Southwest Book Award, Whitney Award for Best Youth Novel, Whitney Award Finalist and Association of Mormon Letters of Art Award, Bank Street College Best Books of 2011, 2013, and 2015, a Crystal Kite Finalist, and New Mexico Book Award Finalist. 

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Blog Tour - INTO THE DANGEROUS WORLD by Julie Chibbaro, Guest Post and Giveaway

INTO THE DANDEROUS WORLD Blog Tour is in full swing and today I'm hosting author Julie Chibbaro. Julie collaborated with her husband JM Superville Sovak on this illustrated novel. Find out how they work together, then enter to win a Into the Dangerous World print, shirt, and swag.

INTO THE DANGEROUS WORLD

by Julie Chibbaro

Art by JM Superville Sovak

Publication Date: August 18, 2015

Published by Viking/Penguin

Pages: 352

Source: Publisher

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Synopsis

Ror lives to draw—to her, it’s like breathing; it’s how she understands life. Raised on a Staten Island commune, she’s never attended a day of school, and knows little of the outside world. When her paranoid father burns down the commune with himself inside, Ror, her mother, and sister end up in a homeless residence in Manhattan. There, she runs into trouble—and love—with Trey, the leader of Noise Ink, a graffiti crew. 

On the city’s streets, and in its museums and galleries, Ror finds herself pulled in different directions. Her father wanted her to make classic art. Noise Ink insists she stay within their lines. Her art teacher urges her to go to college. But what does she want? Ror’s soul-searching—expressed in remarkable drawings and sharp-edged prose, set in the gritty Manhattan of 1984—is cinematic in its scope, and its seamless blend of text and art makes Into the Dangerous World a groundbreaking event in young adult fiction.

CHECK OUT MY REVIEW

“How We Work Together” 

by Julie Chibbaro

When I told my friend Sandra that I was working on a novel with JM, my artist husband, her eyes opened wide. She said, “I could never work on something with Steve,” her partner. “We’d end up killing each other.” We nearly have, I wanted to tell her. Instead, I kept my mouth shut and smiled, letting her think the collaboration was seamless. That was the front he and I had agreed on.

Frankly, I had never successfully written a book without the help of many people, JM being my first reader, always. And I knew the same was true for him – he never spent too long in the studio without asking my opinion on something. Because no one creates in a vacuum. Always, we hurt each other, because who doesn’t want to believe their creation is perfect. Those harsh words, “It’s not there yet. I don’t understand what you’re doing,” were more easily ignored before we started working on Into the Dangerous World, our first really big project together.

This time, we had the book, and everyone who believed in us, our editor, our agent, on the line. Our fights were awful.

“That scene is NOT ridiculous! You don’t know what you’re talking about!” I would cry, when he dismissed the fight between Frankie and Trey, two boys in opposing crews. Frankie was physically larger than Trey, and I logically had him pounding the smaller guy.

“You’re not being true to your characters,” JM said, exasperated with my drama.

“Of course I am. I know my characters.” I had written out character studies, spent hours researching their backgrounds, matching pictures to what I imagined they looked like.

“Trey is quicker, both mentally and physically. He would whip around Frankie, and outsmart him. Frankie could never beat Trey.”

I pouted, but secretly, I knew he was right. And I knew he had found just the right reason, the one that made sense for the book. So when it came time for me to critique him, I withstood his evil eye. Then, I found just the right words to explain what I felt was wrong with his drawing, in relation to the book.

That, it turned out, was the key to us working well together. Being able to find what was true to the novel, and taking away the personal element resulted in us insulting each other personally less often. The more we could turn to the text, and our characters, the better our answers became.

Here are three rules we followed when working together:

If you’re going to make a statement, give proof in the text.

Be a whiny baby, but get over it.

Be willing to ask and answer questions relating to the story.

In other words: Keep the drama in the work, where it belongs.

All in all, it’s been a great experience working with my husband, and now that we know our boundaries, we just may do it again!



Julie Chibbaro and Jean-Marc Superville Sovak are the husband and wife duo behind Into the Dangerous World (Viking 2015).

Julie Chibbaro was born into a family of artists, and also married one. She grew up in NYC during the explosion of graffiti art. She has written two historical novels, Redemption, which won the American Book Award, and Deadly, which won the National Jewish Book Award. JM Superville Sovak is half-Trini, half-Czech, half-Canadian. His fourth half is spent making art, for which he earned his M.F.A. from Bard College in NY.

They both live in Beacon, NY.

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