Blog Tour & Giveaway: THE FARM by Emily McKay

The Farm: Escape is Only the Beginning
by Emily McKay
Published by Berkley
Publication Date: December 4, 2012
Goodreads   /  Amazon  /    IndieBound

  

Life was different in the Before: before vampires began devouring humans in a swarm across America; before the surviving young people were rounded up and quarantined. These days, we know what those quarantines are—holding pens where human blood is turned into more food for the undead monsters, known as Ticks. Surrounded by electrical fences, most kids try to survive the Farms by turning on each other…

And when trust is a thing of the past, escape is nearly impossible.

Lily and her twin sister Mel have a plan. Though Mel can barely communicate, her autism helps her notice things no one else notices—like the portion of electrical fence that gets turned off every night. Getting across won’t be easy, but as Lily gathers what they need to escape, a familiar face appears out of nowhere, offering to help…

Carter was a schoolmate of Lily’s in the Before. Managing to evade capture until now, he has valuable knowledge of the outside world. But like everyone on the Farm, Carter has his own agenda, and he knows that behind the Ticks is an even more dangerous threat to the human race...

Q & A with Emily McKay

It’s interesting that the THE FARM features both traditional vampires as well as vampire-like creatures. How did you come up with the idea for the ticks? Are they based on traditional folklore like vampires?

I wanted to read a story where vampires were scary again.  I am all for a sexy vampire hero, but I also think Bram Stoker got it right all those years ago and nothing creeps me out more (in a good way) than a scary vampire bent on murder and mayhem.  

As for the ticks, I imagined what a human would become if you kept the most important human characteristics and added to them some of the most frightening characteristics of other animals (like the jaw strength of a gorilla and the flesh-tearing teeth of a lion).

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The Farm sounds like the perfect book to read when I need to step away from all of the contemporary young adult that I read. With a tagline: Escape Is Only The Beginning you just know that the characters are in for a terrifying experience. It's been a really long time since I've read a book that really scared me and it is something that I'm looking forward to. And it's told in multiple points of view, my favorite! 

The Farm blog tour continues tomorrow with a stop at YA Love Blog. Make sure to stop by to discover more exciting details to Emily McKay's apocalyptic thriller.

I have the pleasure of offering a copy of THE FARM with a “Vampire Apocalypse Survival Kit” to one lucky reader. (US addresses only). 

To enter, you must be 16 years or older and fill out the Rafflecopter below. 

Many thanks go to Berkley/NAL, Penguin Group for sponsoring this giveaway.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Book Club Discussion: Dark Lover by J.R. Ward

Not yet, but there will be spoilers. You have been warned.

Provisions and Paperbacks, my IRL book club, recently read Dark Lover by J.R. Ward. As I said in my previous post (you can read it here), I want to share some thoughts and ideas brought up during the book club and bring my blog readers into the discussion.

  
Dark Lover by J.R. Ward
 Published September 6th 2005 by Signet Eclipse
393 pages

In the shadows of the night in Caldwell, New York, there's a deadly turf war going on between vampires and their slayers. There exists a secret band of brothers like no other-six vampire warriors, defenders of their race. Yet none of them relishes killing more than Wrath, the leader of The Black Dagger Brotherhood.

The only purebred vampire left on earth, Wrath has a score to settle with the slayers who murdered his parents centuries ago. But, when one of his most trusted fighters is killed-leaving his half-breed daughter unaware of his existence or her fate-Wrath must usher her into the world of the undead-a world of sensuality beyond her wildest dreams.

There will be spoilers. You have been warned.

Here are some thoughts shared during our book club discussion after reading Dark Lover:

• Selecting this book as our monthly read is a perfect example of why I love my book club. Dark Lover is not a book that I would typically pick up - I would have shrugged it off as just another series that I don't need to get caught up in.
•  One member mentioned she read this book (and the series) before because we always share the books that we've read along with discussing our book club book. I all but yelled at her wanting to know why she didn't push this book on me sooner and harder. We all loved it!
• I was the first to admit that I skipped ahead to read all of the racy sex scenes. I was that girl and I'm not ashamed to admit it. I did read the entire book and not just the naughty parts.  
• Enjoyed the mythologies of the Black Dagger Brotherhood - their histories and how they all answer to a higher power
• It was weird to learn that the vamps survival relied on drinking the blood of other vampires - this was a new take on the ritual of drinking blood
•  Beth was pretty kick-ass. Smart, witty, self-reliant, and confident. Overall a great character who we wanted to read about. She was self-assured and wouldn't take crap from anyone. 
• Thank goodness no one sparkled in the sunlight and that storyline stuck to the belief that vamps couldn't go out in the sun (with some slight exceptions)
• The names were really cheesy -Wrath, Phury, Rhage, Zsadist - normally this alone would have convinced me not to read the books
• Wrath said that his name - first and last was only Wrath - but that doesn't fit with the storytelling because the vampires were not always vampires and went through a transition period. Before that they would have had normal lives, normal names. Maybe this will be revealed in later books of the series.
• There were a lot of spelling errors in my edition of the book. I think that after so many printings, this would have been noticed and corrected. Even though this isn't part of the story, I had to bring it up because it was distracting.
• I tweeted a few times about reading Dark Lover and someone commented that Zsadist was their favorite of the Brotherhood (from other books in the series). This comment made me read his character from a different perspective and allowed me to pick up on subtleties that maybe, just maybe Zsadist isn't as bad as the other brothers believe him to be.  
• We kept picturing the sensei, Mr. X, as the sensei from The Karate Kid (1984) but sometimes he seemed kind of weasel-y too. It was difficult to get a clear picture because he was evil, but at the same time you could imagine making fun of him because he was so lame.
• We wondered what exactly is the Omega? Not the devil, but is it kind of like The First from Buffy the Vampire Slayer?
• Impressed by the powers of the vampires, not just the typical strength associated with vampires, but their special "superhero-like" powers (or curses)
• Who could play Wrath in the movie version of Dark Lover? Hugh Jackman - maybe. 
• Why does Wrath have to have a widow's peak because really, does that make him more attractive? The consensus was no. 
• Did Darius know his fate and intentionally set Wrath and Beth up so they would be together? Did he know what Wrath and Marissa were not a couple? Or did he really just want to make sure that Beth made it through her transition?

This book offered so much to talk about and it was a nice change of pace to step away from all of the young adult books that we've read for the book club recently. It is safe to say that now we are all fans of the Black Dagger Brotherhood and plan to read more books in the series.

I'd like to invite anyone to join in on the discussion and share your thoughts on Dark Lover BUT I do ask that you only make comments on this specific book in the series and that you don't reveal any spoilers for future books in the series. Please and Thank you!

Up next for Provisions and Paperbacks

 

 

Spotlight On and Giveaway: Of Light and Darkness by Shayne Leighton

Of Light and Darkness: The Vampire's Daughter

by Shayne Leighton

Published by Decadent Publishing

Available August 2011

When one human stands before an army of impossible obstacles, the likelihood of overcoming them in this coming-of-age modern fairytale may result in war between light and darkness.

Abandoned as an infant in Prague, naive and strong-willed Charlotte Ruzikova was raised by one of the last Vampires left alive. As a human, she knows no other home than the one nestled deep in the woods of Eastern Europe, where Witches drew spells of enchantment, Phasers threw tea parties, and Elves are the closest in kin. Charlotte has lived her life in the dark with her Guardian, content to having him to herself and reveling in his attention, until she's realizes she wants more...

Resident medical doctor and Vampire, Valek Ruzik fears the day his ward would come of age and blossom into a fine woman, and he is forced to confront his own motives as time is of the essence once his past catches up to him, and their lives become endangered...

As genocide and war threatens their secret society, the dictator in power is ready to wipe out Valek's race, but Charlotte will not allow that to happen. Fighting for the only one she's ever loved and truly believed in, she will do whatever it takes to save their love...before the sun comes up and light takes over.

OF LIGHT AND DARKNESS is also in development to become a feature film starring Michael Welch (Twilight), Cassie Scerbo (Make It or Break It, Teen Spirit), Johnny Pacard (Make It or Break It), J LaRose (Saw III) and others. 

Amazon: http://amzn.com/1613330316

GoodReads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9969698-of-light-and-darkness

Facebook: http://facebook.com/OfLightandDarknessSeries

Book Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcAog5nEa4k

Official Website: http://OfLightandDarknessSeries.com

 

Shayne has generously offered a copy of her novel Of Light and Darkness: The Vampire's Daughter to one of my blog. To enter for a chance to win, all you have to do is fill out the form below.

Contest Rules:

Must be at least 13 yrs or older

Open to US Residents only
Following is NOT required

One entry per person

Contest ends October 15th 2011 11:59 EST