Cover reveal: Feral by Holly Schindler

I am so so excited to be a part of the cover reveal for Holly's new book! I loved Playing Hurt, and I am so glad she has a new book coming out! Check out the summary below before you jump straight and check the cover out!

Feral by Holly Schindler
Published by HarperCollins on August 26, 2014.

It’s too late for you. You’re dead.

Those words float through Claire Cain’s head as she lies broken and barely alive after a brutal beating. And the words continue to haunt her months later, in the relentless, terrifying nightmares that plague her sleep. So when her father is offered a teaching sabbatical in another state, Claire is hopeful that getting out of Chicago, away from the things that remind her of what she went through, will offer a way to start anew.

But when she arrives in Peculiar, Missouri, Claire quickly realizes something is wrong—the town is brimming with hidden dangers and overrun by feral cats. And her fears are confirmed when a popular high school girl, Serena Sims, is suddenly found dead in the icy woods behind the school. While everyone is quick to say Serena died in an accident, Claire knows there’s more to it—for she was the one who found Serena, battered and most certainly dead, surrounded by the town’s feral cats.

Now Claire vows to learn the truth about what happened, but the closer she gets to uncovering the mystery, the closer she also gets to discovering a frightening reality about herself and the damage she truly sustained in that Chicago alley. . . .

With an eerie setting and heart-stopping twists and turns, Holly Schindler weaves a gripping story that will make you question everything you think you know.

And here is the lovely cover for FERAL:

Feral by Holly Schindler

Publish Date: August 26, 2014

Published by HarperCollins

Pre-order FERAL here:

About the author:

I can’t remember the last time I left the house without a spiral notebook or some pages folded up in a back pocket. And I don’t think I’ve ever returned without fresh ideas, titles, opening lines, or poetry fragments climbing every one of those pages, racing up the margins, crisscrossing in as many different directions as the highways and interstates on a road map of Missouri (my home state).

I’ve spent my life making those notes in the margins—even as a little girl, my favorite activity was to write books bound by strips of red ribbon…and to scrawl comments next to my paragraphs like the most critical of editors. Lessons learned from this childhood pastime served me well, especially in college—I received a BA and MA in English, and while I was a student, I wrote piles of poetry, literary critique, short fiction, and even attempted my first novel.

After college, I dove headfirst into writing. To pay a few bills, I taught piano and guitar lessons in the afternoons. This time, the margin notes on my back-pocket pages were character sketches, mannerisms, phrases all inspired by my students. It soon became clear to me that in addition to writing for adults, I also wanted to write for the children and teens who filled my home with music. My first two published works, A Blue So Dark and Playing Hurt, were both YA novels. My debut MG, The Junction of Sunshine and Lucky, will release with Dial / Penguin on February 6, 2014, and my next YA, Feral, is forthcoming from HarperCollins.

Even now, as I delight in spreading the news of my publications, I recognize that the steadiest constant in my life has been those illegible margin notes. That blissful inch of space where novels are born and revision plans are hatched, where titles are brainstormed and closing sentences are finalized.

Connect with Holly: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Tumblr | Goodreads

Playing Hurt Blog Tour: Book Settings and Character world building + giveaway!

I am so honored to have Holly on Amaterasu Reads today. My blog is the first stop for the Philippine Book Tour for Playing Hurt and today, Holly talks about her book's setting and how important it is to build a world for a book's characters.

Join me in welcoming Holly to our blog!

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I’m a lifelong Ozarker—a sixth generation Missourian. My roots here run deep—and as a result, both of my published novels have been set, for the most part, in my home state of Missouri. A BLUE SO DARK, my debut, takes place in Springfield—my hometown—and Chelsea, the protagonist of PLAYING HURT, is from Fair Grove, which is a short drive from the city limits of Springfield.

Because I’ve lived in this area so long, the Ozarks are bound to make an appearance— and impact—on my novels. I swear I see the Ozarks not just in the physical setting, but in my characters, as well. I see the Ozarks in Aura’s blunt, straightforward style of narration in A BLUE SO DARK. I see the Ozarks in Brandon’s insistence on serving as Chelsea’s conscience in PLAYING HURT. I see the Ozarks in Chelsea’s incredible work ethic (pre-accident).

World building is a vital part of every book. In most YA, the “world” actually consists of “mini worlds”: your protagonist’s home setting, school culture…How does your character behave in each setting? Always the same? Different? Why? As you’re writing, it’s important to consider the effects of setting on your characters.

For example: Would Chelsea have ever even considered cheating on Gabe if Clint had come to Fair Grove? Maybe not. In a new setting, though, Chelsea is—freer. She behaves a little differently in Minnesota than she might have in Missouri.

The world your characters interact in isn’t merely furniture. It’s another force that helps shape who your characters are, and can often have an impact on how your protagonist behaves…and on the outcome of the book!

Star basketball player Chelsea "Nitro" Keyes had the promise of a full ride to college—and everyone's admiration back home. Then she took a horrible fall during senior year. Now a metal plate holds her together and she feels like a stranger in her own family.

That summer, Chelsea's dad hires Clint, a nineteen-year-old ex-hockey player and "boot camp" trainer, to work with her at a northern Minnesota lake resort. As they grow close, Chelsea finds that Clint's haunted by his own tragedy. Will their romance end up hurting them all over again—or finally heal their heartbreak?

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PLAYING HURT GIVEAWAY!

There are seven stops on the Playing Hurt Philippine Blog Tour, and on each stop you will have a chance to win a copy of Holly's second book!

FILL OUT THIS FORM

Rules:
- Open to EVERYONE
- Ends May 27th
- Must be 13 years old or older
- Extra entries for leaving a comment on the review or the guest post / interview

Philippine Blog Tour Kick-off: Playing Hurt by Holly Schindler (Review)

The rumors are true. Holly Schindler is a great writer.

I wanted to see for myself if everything I've heard, if the reviews I've read really hold some truth in them, and I was delightfully surprised because this book lived up to my expectation and more.

Title: Playing Hurt by Holly Schindler
Pages: 312
Release Date: March 8th 2011
Published by: Flux
Source: Holly (for the book tour!)
Buy: Amazon | Book Depository

Summary (from Goodreads):

Star basketball player Chelsea "Nitro" Keyes had the promise of a full ride to college—and everyone's admiration back home. Then she took a horrible fall during senior year. Now a metal plate holds her together and she feels like a stranger in her own family.

That summer, Chelsea's dad hires Clint, a nineteen-year-old ex-hockey player and "boot camp" trainer, to work with her at a northern Minnesota lake resort. As they grow close, Chelsea finds that Clint's haunted by his own tragedy. Will their romance end up hurting them all over again—or finally heal their heartbreak?

Chelsea's got a bright future ahead of her, she's popular, she's talented, and she's the star of her team's basketball team. She's got a lot of good things going for her, a bright future to look forward to, but all of it changed because of an accident. All of a sudden there's no scholarship in sight, no future, and having taken away the chance to play the sport she loved hurt Chelsea in a lot of ways. She was sent into a boot camp in hopes that she will heal, and she meets Clint, her physical trainer, who suffered devastating loss as well, and of all the things that could have happened to her, Chelsea fell in love.

I was able to relate to the theme of this book better because I'm a big fan of basketball. My older brothers play, and I see my twin brother in Chelsea, both having devastating injuries that just might never heal enough to let them be able to play the sport they love ever again and the pain that comes along with realizing that truth.

The doctors were able to put her back together but Chelsea was more broken and vulnerable than ever. When she was sent to a boot camp she met Clint, and together they formed an unlikely bond, both hurting and dealing with losses and love. Both struggling to fill the void that was left by the painful losses they've suffered and still continue to suffer from.

Through it all they fell in love, but will they be able to survive this added complication to their lives or lose more? Gabe was Chelsea's boyfriend, and she was aware of what she was doing with Clint while she still had Gabe, but I felt that Holly was able to bring out why Chelsea's relationship with Gabe had to stop to make way for Clint, and made the readers understand why it had to end up that way. If anything, Chelsea was being honest. I am not a fan of cheating, nor do I think that "two-timing" is good, but sometimes you need to know the difference of just being in a relationship for the sake of having one and recognizing (and falling) when the right person for you is there.

Told between Clint and Chelsea's alternating points of view, I loved how Holly was able to weave through both Chelsea and Clint's thoughts, letting the readers dive into their emotions and the way they think head on. I was deeply engrossed with the story, felt the tension between both Chelsea and Clint, with steamy scenes that adds to the intensity of their emotions for each other.

I loved how Holly was able to draw out the emotions of the characters and just transform them into words which the readers can almost feel radiating off the pages as they read on further in the story. You can feel Chelsea's pain throughout and that's what made reading this book more memorable for me.

Playing Hurt is a story about loss and moving on, acceptance and healing and of love and it's complexities. Holly's writing style is so beautiful, deep and compelling at times. With multi-dimensional characters and real, honest issues, Playing Hurt is a bittersweet, emotional, yet hopeful story that will leave a mark in us, basketball fans or not. If you are looking for a satisfying, good read, here's a book you should definitely read!

Content (plot, story flow, character):

Stunning: Worthy of a Goddess' Praise!

Book Cover:
Don't be fooled by the cute looking cover!