Please welcome author Stephanie Amox on her tour with Bewitching Book Tours today for her paranormal YA series, The Lumina Saga.
Thanks for stopping by and answering some of my questions!
Why YA fiction? What draws you to it?
I have always been a big fan of YA. The conflicts and struggles are felt across the board at this age. While adult conflicts vary widely by where you live, what you do for a living, married, not married, etc. At the middle school, high school and even college level, you are frequently dealing with the same issues: cliques, teachers/professors, relationship struggles – you are still trying to figure out who you are and how you fit into the world.
What’s your favorite sweet treat?
This is really a tricky one. I am a serious chocolate freak. Milk chocolate, dark chocolate – I love them all. I think one of my all-time favorite candies is Kit Kat. However, it’s really hard to beat a good mint chocolate chip ice cream.
What would you write in a letter to your teen self?
Oh wow. I actually think about this a lot. What if I could go back, knowing what I know now – what would I change? The first thing I would have to tell my teen self is DO NOT let other people define you. Don’t allow someone else to tell you who YOU are. If you are afraid to be yourself because people might not accept you – then you are hanging out with the wrong people. You should NEVER change who you are to please someone else – especially a guy. The things that sometimes seem so devastating in high school will NOT matter at all once you graduate. You will talk to the people you care about and can wipe all the others from your memory. There’s a quote from Eleanor Roosevelt that I absolutely love “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” I would make sure she had that quote on her bathroom mirror and in her locker at school.
What superpower would you love to have? Why?
This is actually a really funny question as my husband and I have discussed this before. He’s a big fan of invulnerability, while I think invisibility and the ability to walk through walls could be epic. Then again, flying would be really cool and cut down on the costs of my vacations significantly.
Hunger Games or Twilight? Why?
Honestly I liked both books, but for completely different reasons. Hunger Games had a MUCH stronger heroine and I’m big on that. I always taught my own daughter that you don’t have to have a boyfriend to be happy – and if you DO have one, make sure you still spend plenty of time with your friends. Co-dependency is not high on my list. Girls should be able to stand on their own two feet. Twilight was appealing because of the supernatural aspect. It had a creative twist on vampires and had them able to walk in the sun and they had a conscience – the ability to choose how/what they fed on.
Ideal summer vacation.
This one is really hard. I have two favorite places to vacation – Disney World in Orlando and Maui. The Grand Wailea, as described in the books is real and absolutely every bit as magical in real life. If there is truly a Heaven on Earth – The Grand Wailea is the closest I’ve ever seen. The scenery can’t be beat and the hotel grounds are lush and amazing. I’ve never been so relaxed in my entire life. Now on the other hand, I never grew up. I love to go to Disney World, and so do my kids. My husband is great about accommodating us and tagging along. I ride absolutely everything and have a great time – EVERY time. The chocolate covered pineapple wedges in the new Fantasyland are NOT to be missed. I’m just as likely as my kids to jump in a picture with the characters. One of my favorite pictures on my desk is of me and my daughter with Phineus and Ferb.
Playlist for your current book.
Each of the books has a playlist based on either what I was listening to when I wrote it or a song that reminds me of a particular piece of the story. You’ll see that my music tastes are all over the boards. Here are a couple of the playlists:
For Painfully Ordinary:
Bless the Broken Road – Rascal Flatts
Bodies – Drowning Pool
Pray - Disturbed
Breaking the Habit – Linkin Park
Kissing in the Rain – Toby Keith
Chicken Fried – Zac Brown
Her Eyes – Pat Monahan
You Found Me – The Fray
Given Up – Linkin Park
Hero – Chad Kroeger
You know I’m No Good – Amy Winehouse
I Run to You – Lady Antebellum
So Far Away – Stained
At Last – Etta James
Marry Me – Train
For New Beginnings:
Tell Me I’m a Wreck – Every Avenue
Freak Like Me – Halestorm
Too Close – Alex Clare
A Warrior’s Call – Volbeat
Just the Way You Are – Bruno Mars
Don’t you Wanna Stay – Jason Aldean
Come Back to Me – David Cook
Ring of Fire – Social Distortion
I Can’t Wait – Runner Runner
Break In – Halestorm
Chicken Fried – Zach Brown Band
You Found Me – The Fray
Home – Phillip Phillips
A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes – Ilene Woods
Once Upon A Dream – Bill Shirley
So Far Away – Staind
Numb – Linkin Park
Given Up – Linkin Park
Nothing Else Matters – Metallica
At Last – Etta James
Painfully Ordinary
The Lumina Saga Book OneStephanie AmoxGenre: Young AdultPublisher: CENADate of Publication: Jan 2013ISBN: 148194780XNumber of pages: 225Word Count: 86,175Cover Artist: Photography by Nikki Nichols PhotographyBook Description:Two teenager's lives become not so ordinary...
Caitlin and Leah are content with the slow and steady pace in their small Texan town. They have the typical challenges of any American high school - evil girl cliques and oppressive ex-boyfriends. They see themselves as painfully ordinary...but that soon changes. The arrival of two newcomers at school sets Caitlin and Leah on an explosive path of magic, betrayal, secrets and forbidden love. The discovery of Caitlin's true identity causes tremendous upheaval in her painfully ordinary life. Caitlin must learn to embrace her birthright and trust in her friends or she risks endangering them all.
Family Secrets
The Lumina Saga Book TwoStephanie AmoxGenre: Young AdultPublisher: CENADate of Publication: Jan 2013ISBN: 1481956841Number of pages: 232Word Count: 65,120Book Description:Wailea, Maui would be a paradise by just about anyone’s standards. Caitlin and Leah are no different. They are living like rock stars with Talon and Jace in one of the poshest hotels on the island. Just when they think things can’t possibly get any better—everything falls apart. Their short lived paradise is ripped out from under them. Once again, they are on the run.
A mysterious man appears and attempts to drive a wedge between Caitlin and Talon. He whisks her away to an ancient world where she is treated like a princess yet held completely against her will. She is shown events, consequences and affairs she never dreamed possible. Will the secrets of her family destroy her happiness, or will she rely on her instincts to find a way back to the life she found with Talon?
New Beginnings
The Lumina Saga Book ThreeStephanie AmoxGenre: Young AdultPublisher: CENADate of Publication: Jan 2013ISBN: B00AX0L2L8Number of pages: 312Word Count: 83,740Book Description:What happens when the extraordinary fades into ordinary?
Caitlin awakens to find herself back in the normal life she shares with her best friend, Leah, in their small Texas town. Caitlin has no memory of the fantastic events of the last several months save a mystery man who haunts the shadows of her dreams. Constantly taken aback by strange occurrences: the sudden attention of the two most popular guys in school; Caitlin’s toe-to-toe showdown with Tami; and the constant coincidental run-ins with two mysterious strangers, keeps Caitlin’s nerves raw and on edge. Will she solve the mystery behind the strange events, or will the dreams be all that remains?
About the Author:
Stephanie
Amox attended the University of Texas at Arlington, where she met her husband.
Her life did an about-face in January 2009 and the future of her career looked
bleak. Her husband encouraged her to follow her dream and finally write the
story which had been buzzing around in her head for a number of years, thus The
Lumina Saga was born.
These
days she spends her time in Flower Mound, Texas with her husband, two children
and a couple of crazy Jack Russell Terriers. When she's not writing she enjoys
spending time watching her son play hockey or visiting her daughter at Oklahoma
State University.
