Saturday Spotlight: Gennifer Albin

Bet you guys didn't see me doing a Saturday Spotlight this week, did you? I'm so sorry for my semi-hiatus, but sometimes school has to come before reading, writing and blogging! 

Fortunately for me, I got the chance to ask Gennifer Albin a couple questions before mid-terms about her YA books, Crewel and Altered! 

Here's my Saturday Spotlight interview with the Gennifer! Enjoy!

1) Welcome! I'm so happy to have you here Gennifer! You are one of my favourite authors! What inspired you to write the Crewel series?

I was thinking of a painting by Remedios Varo where girls are sitting in a tower embroidering and the fabric is becoming the world. I wanted to write a story about one of the girls who doesn’t want to be there.

2) Gender discrimination is a HUGE theme in this book. Was this something that your were expecting to happen while writing the story, or something that came along after?

I didn’t expect it. It developed very naturally on its own, and I had to be careful not to get on a soapbox about it. I wanted the idea to feel organic to the story so that readers would want to think about and ask their own questions about what it means to be a girl in that world.

3) The Crewel series is a book set in a future dystopian, and your character, Adelice, has a lot to deal with. How do you think she differs from other YA characters set in the same genre?

At the heart of most YA books is the search for identity, but what sets Adelice apart is her world and how she perceives herself as part of it. I think she copes by using humor and wit, which I hope sets her apart as well.

4) Maela, Pryanna, and Adelice all have different personalities, but similar abilities. Why do you think Maela and Pryanna have succumbed to the 'idealism' of Spinsters? (e.g being bossy, mean, spoiled and power hungry?).

There’s a good deal of nature vs. nurture going on with all of these characters, but I think some of these characters will surprise you by the end of the series. Each of them is looking out for her own interests, and I think that each girl does that in different ways according to how she sees her role in that world.

5) Was the process of developing the characters and the world of Arras a difficult one?

The characters came fairly easily, although some of them were added in later drafts. Building the world was much harder and required a lot of layering in of detail. I found myself thinking a lot about what the reader needed to know to understand this world, which meant lots of fine tuning and a fair bit of creativity.

6) On your Wattpad page, the first 6 chapters of ALTERED are up there, along with a (mini) prequel to the book. I've read the first couple chapters of Altered, and am DYING to get my hands on it! What can we expect from the characters (Adelice, Jost and Erik) while they're on Earth?

Secrets, fighting, lying, kissing. They’re going to find themselves in danger a lot, which forces them to confront their relationships with one another. Everyone is going to make tough decisions in Altered, which prepares them for the even tougher issues they deal with in book three.

7) Will we finally learn the story of Erik leaving his town, his rift with Jost, and what's happening with Sebrina and Amie?

You’ll learn a lot about all of that, and I think some of the revelations will surprise you. Erik really comes to life in this book.

8) Can we trust Dante? And is Kincaid another version of Cormac? Or is he like Al Capone?

Can you trust anyone? A far as Kincaid, he reminds me more of William Randolph Hearst crossed with Al Capone.

9) Is it weird writing both in the YA and Adult genres? Are very similar or really different?

Very different, but very fulfilling. It’s hard to switch modes sometimes, but it’s like a mental work-out.

SPEED ROUND QUESTIONS:

10) I saw a CREWEL photoshoot picture on your Twitter. Are the covers going to be redesigned?

No. The new designs will be sticking.

11) Do you think time and space can be weaved? If so, would you want to have Spinster powers?

I hope not, and no (except to maybe warp a spot of peace sometimes).

12) What book are you currently reading? And would you want to be that character?

I’m reading the Outlander series, and I don’t think I would want to be Claire, although she fascinates me.

13) Are any of the CREWEL characters based on anyone you know?

I tend to think Jost and Erik are modeled on my husband a bit, which embarrasses him.

14) What is one BIG pet-peeve that you have?

People who don’t use turn signals.

15) Do you have an organized writing process or is it all over the place? (Like mine).

Depends on the book. I don’t think there’s a one-size-fits-all process.

16) Who has influenced you the most in your writing?

I honestly don’t know.

ABOUT GENNIFER:

Gennifer Albin is a recovering academic who discovered she could write books of her own, and people would actually read them.  She lives in Kansas with her family, but escapes daily to the world of Arras and other fantastical lands.

 

She appreciates strong coffee and bold imaginations, prefers her heroines with sass, and searches continuously for her next big adventure.

She is the author of the YA Crewel Series (which currently consists of Crewel and Altered), and the author of the adult series, Good Girls Don't.

For more information about Gennifer, check her out in these places bellow:

TWITTER: @GenniferAlbin

WEBSITE: genniferalbin.com

BLOG: genniferalbin.blogspot.ca

TUMBLR: midnightinarras.tumblr.com

GOODREADS: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4906436.Gennifer_Albin?from_search=true

Throwback Thursday

It's Halloween! 

This year, I went as a Spinster (from Gennifer Albin's Crewel)/ Guardian (from Richelle Mead's Vampire Academy). I originally was going to be a glam 50s chick, but then I decided to be a Spinster. Then I heard about the Vampire Academy costume contest. Somehow that morphed me to a Spinster Guardian!

That's me up there in my 'Spinster' costume. All the Spinsters are describe to have the best clothes and makeup, and that's lil ol'me trying my best to be my sharpest! I guess I was trying to channel Maela (despite the fact that I HATE her), because I always imagined her being so sharp and en pointe when it came to fashion! I tried my best intimidating her 'sharp' features with the makeup, but I ended up looking a little doll from the1950's overall:

 

As you can see, makeup isn't my strong suit! And I had a little trouble with not rubbing my eyes!

Since I was also participating in the Vampire Academy photo challenge, I just really wanted to go all out! (Without breaking the bank). They (the people running the contest) said that we could just submit a photo of ourselves in our costume! But I just wanted to do something more- especially since Dominic Sherwood, the actor playing Christian Ozera, and Zoey Deutch, the actress playing Rose would be judging!

So I decided to morph my Soinster outfit into a St. Vlad's uniform from the movie!

That's Lissa ( aka Lucy Fry, left) and Rose (aka Zoey Deutch, right) in their St. Vlad uniforms! All Vampire Academy fans know that Rose is a huge rule breaker, so I thought why not beat her in her own game by doing my own version of the VA uniforms?

But before dressing up as my favourite book characters, I, like most little girls, had a princess phase!

This picture is from first grade when I went as Cinderella! :) It was also the first year my mom let me go trick-or-treating, and the first year to realize that Halloween in Toronto is pretty cool, pretty weird and very scary! No joke! I got soooo scared that night that my mom had a hat to cover my eyes whenever I saw any scary masks! On the bright side, I got A LOT of candy from people who felt sorry for me ;)

Anyway, what did you go as this year? And what was your favourite childhood costume? 

Jost's Journal Entry

Instead of Fangirl Friday, I decided I would share with you guys my little take on a scene found in Crewel by Gennifer Albin! Hope you guys enjoy it! Altered will be released October 29th!

NOTE: Will Contain Minor Spoilers. Proceed with caution.

Jost POV

I wasn't angry. I wasn't upset. I was just very disappointed at her. If I was mad at anyone, it was with him.

She was laughing. Laughing. Erik had never been funny in his entire life! I really just wanted to punch that easy-going smile off his face.

There was a time where I probably would've laughed at his lameness too. But that was a long time ago, where I thought nothing could ever separate-

"How do you two know each other?" Adelice asks, snapping me out of my malaise.

I freeze and stare at her wide eyed. No, there's no way she could know. She couldn't possibly know that we-

"You said he sent you..." She trails off, looking between the two of us, and I could practically hear the gears turning in her head.

Say something idiot! My head screams. But I can't. I'm stuck. She knows- "Jost is the head valet," Erik informs loudly. He looks at me briefly, but I could see his anger- and his fear. "When I couldn't come to your cell, I asked him to attend to you."

Adelice nods and Erik quickly changes the subject. If I wasn't so shaken up by her near-revelation, I would've listened with awe at how effortlessly he changed the subject. 

But, I have been living with him for three years now. I'm so used to him being swift and smooth with other things, what's a little change in conversation? 

Adelice, a voice whispers. It's Adelice.

Yes, it was her. She's the reason why I had any particular interest with their exchange. She's smart, she's different. She doesn't deserve a pretty lap dog that doesn't even know the meaning of loyalty.

I wanted to scream at the top of the lungs. I wanted to tell her she didn't deserve him, that she shouldn't be anywhere near him. He's no good, he doesn't care- he didn't even go home to check on his family when his mother died.

I was shaking with anger and jealousy, my fear now forgotten, as he escorts her to her cabin at the rebound station. But as I look at the two of them, I see her relax as he guides her. She looks safe, she looks sure. I almost feel guilty for being upset with him.

Almost.

When I enter the cabin, I slump in my chair and close my eyes. My serene state only lasts for a few minutes as I hear him come in, followed by the stewardess. After being strapped in, she leaves us together. It was a good thing we were both tied down in chairs.

"You messed up out there," he said after a few moments of silence. "Why?"

It takes me a few moments to answer him. "I don't know," I reply honestly. "I really don't."

He stares at me with haunting blue eyes similar to my own. "It's okay you know," he reassures me, and suddenly, I feel like I'm five again. I bite my lip and give him a distainful look. Who was he trying to fool? 

Erik let's out a sigh. "Jost," he says slowly. "It's alright. She doesn't know."

"You sure?" I snapped.

He nods, but his face looks troubled. "For now," I say his unspoken thought. 

"For now," he repeats silently to himself. "But, if it makes you feel any better she caught me off guard too."

I snorted. "Yeah, I know, you had that same look on your face when you found out that I'd put your hair in pigtails when we were ten."

He frowns, but I can hear the amusement in his voice as he says, "Well, you looked like you had just peed your pants in front of Rozenn all over again."

Usually, I would've been upset over the mention of her name, but I found myself laughing. I was even more amazed as he started laughing with me.

"Thanks for saving my ass out there," I tell him silently. "I really appreciate it bro."

He gives a ghost of a smile. "Don't mention it," he replies. "Literally."

And around us, the room begins to shimmer and fade, along with this moment.

#JoinTheAgenda: Final Challenge

SOOO, Altered, the sequel to the awesome book, Crewel will be out October 29th, but before that Gennifer Albin is doing ONE LAST challenge to win a signed copy of either books, an Altered swag pack, a spot with the Agenda leaders, and much more.

One of the challenges is sharing a quote from Crewel via Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook or Pintest, using the hashtag #JointheAgenda.

The other challenge? Write a journal entry from someone's POV from Crewel and share it on Facebook, Twitter or Tumblr using the hashtag #JointheAgenda. Pretty cool huh?

I'll be participating in this challenges and will be writing a scene from Jost's POV, and I'll be posting it here on my blog!

Other exciting news? Gennifer Albin HERSELF will be featured on my blog's Saturday Spotlight on November 9th!

And did you guys know that UK YA Author, Eve Edwards, will be featured in this weeks Saturday Spotlight?

Have a great Wednesday everyone!

#JoinTheAgenda: Lie to Me lyrics

Hey guys! It's Thanksgiving weekend here in Canada (which means I have 4 days off, yay!). I was going to do my review of Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare and post it today, but I spent the whole afternoon shopping with my family that came from Alberta. I got a lot of new clothes! :D Unfortunately, I was banned from buying any books so...yeah. No book haul this week :(

But, I decided that instead of spending my evening writing my review and ignoring my homework and my 10 other books I have to read (yeah, I'm totally behind), I would post the lyrics to Lie to Me.

Lie to Me is a song I wrote inspired by Gennifer Albin's Crewel. I was planning to record the song as well, but unfortunately, I haven't gotten around that yet :( I've been super busy... and my dad is very wary letting me near his nice recording stuff. He thinks I'll break it (I probably will though. I broke his guitar once :/).

So hear it is, Lie to Me by yours truly :) Hope you like it, and hopefully I'll be able to record this thing! (Eventually).

Lie to me

Lie to me

Tell me it'll be okay

Promise I'll be safe

That we'll live to see another day

Stay with me

Pull me a little close

Keep me forever

And promise to never let go

This is all a dream

Nothing is what it seems

You might speak useless things but it means the world to me

I've seen the truth

I've been fed lies

But it's your useless things 

That help me sleep at night

So lie to me

Your so against the world

Please come back to me

Love may be cruel

But reality is crueler you see, that

I have no power

Without out you

Give me your strength

And fight with me, stay with me, please lie...

This is all a dream

Nothing is what it seems

You might speak useless things but it means the world to me

I've seen the truth

I've been fed lies

But it's your useless things 

That help me sleep at night

So lie to me (X3)

(Lie to me) Tell me this'll stop

(Lie to me) Tell me you believe in me

(Lie to me) Tell me your still my friend

(Lie to me) Tell me that this world won't end...

Lie to me

Tell me it'll be okay

Promise I'll be safe

That we'll live to see another day

Lie to me

Give me words of comfort and strength

I don't care if it's for a little while

Just lie, lie, to me

Fangirl Friday: Jost Bell

I haven't done a Fangirl Friday in a really long time! Wow! Today we Fangirl over Jost Bell from one of my new favourite books, Crewel.

Unfortunately, unlike my other Fangirl Friday post, I can't go into much detail since I don't own a copy of the book (I borrowed it from the library). I'm still trying to convince my mom to take me book shopping, so bare with me!

Jost Bell is a main character from Crewel World series which currently consists of, well, Crewel and Altered (to be released on October 29th, 2013).

The series revolves around Adelice Lewys, a sixteen year old girl living in a world (literally) above ours called Arras. In her world, girls go through an intensive month of tests to see if they have any special abilities to be an Eligible. In her world, Eligibles have the possibility of living a luxurious life as a Spinster, someone that can weave matter to help sustain Arras's existance. Adelice, however, is neither: yes, she can bend time and space but she can do it without having to use a loom-she can just reach out and manipulate her surroundings. She isn't an Eligible Spinster. She is the next Creweler, the person who (literally) keeps the world of Arras from falling appart at the seams (no pun intended).

But the world of the Spinsters isn't as glamorous as the media or the Guild (that's the government in Arras) made it out to be: it's a world full of vicious, competitive, power-hungry and vain women. To help weave her way through the 'privileged', dangerous and secretive world of the Spinsters (again, no pun intended), Adelice allies herself with her mentor Enora, the dutiful assisstant of Maela, Erick, and of course the mysterious servant, Jost Bell.

Together, with Jost and the others, Adelice will find herself in the middle of a conspiracy that will alter (okay, pun intended) her life and the lives of those she loves.

The sequel to Crewel will be released later this month (I'll be doing a Waiting on Wednesday dedicated to Altered, featuring a lot of crazy theories and ideas. And fangirling. Lots and lots of fangirling), and right now, the story and the characters are hanging on a thread.

Although Crewel left us with a very open ending that will lead into a lot of action packed moments in Altered, one thing is for certain: Jost Bell is only going to make the story much more complicated (and hotter).

Chris Mason as Jost Bell

So here are a some facts about Jost Bell:

• He is nineteen years old
• He has shoulder length, wavy dark hair
• He has blue eyes
• He is muscular
• He is from Sussex, South Sector, Arras

What makes Jost worthy of this week's Fangirl Friday? Other than be insanely good-looking and the nicest person (other than Enora) in the book, Jost is his own person. I mean, he works; he doesn't drink, he doesn't kill. He makes a modest living as the head valet/the head of all servants in the Coventry (that's where all the Spinsters live; it's like a palace you can never leave), and he's a good man ready to help those that are loyal and kind-hearted.

I totally ship Adelice and Jost. I like Erick, because he can just banter with Adelice easily, but Jost is the guys for me Adelice. It's too early in the series to see who she'll chose (especially with the way things ended in Crewel) and we haven't really seen much in the romance department for Adelice or any of the guys since they were too busy, you know, trying to survive.

But here's the thing that makes Jost so fangirl worthy/ amazing/ perfect for Adelice: he doesn't care for his own feelings, he cares about how others around him feels. He doesn't care about safety, he cares about the safety of those he loves. And overall, he doesn't live for himself, he lives for those that are important to him.

That's it for Fangirl Friday, and I hope I've persuaded you enough to pick up Crewel! It's really worth the read!

Crewel by Gennifer Albin: Review

Author: Gennifer Albin
Page Count: 357 pages
Release Date: October 16th, 2012
Status: Book 1 in the Crewler Trilogy
Received From: My public library :)

Synopsis (from Goodreads):

Incapable. Awkward. Artless.
That’s what the other girls whisper behind her back. But sixteen-year-old Adelice Lewys has a secret: She wants to fail.

Gifted with the ability to weave time with matter, she’s exactly what the Guild is looking for, and in the world of Arras, being chosen to work the looms is everything a girl could want. It means privilege, eternal beauty, and being something other than a secretary. It also means the power to manipulate the very fabric of reality. But if controlling what people eat, where they live, and how many children they have is the price of having it all, Adelice isn’t interested.

Not that her feelings matter, because she slipped and used her hidden talent for a moment. Now she has one hour to eat her mom’s overcooked pot roast. One hour to listen to her sister’s academy gossip and laugh at her dad’s jokes. One hour to pretend everything’s okay. And one hour to escape.

Because tonight, they’ll come for her.

**MAY CONTAIN SOME**

 

Jumping into the story with the knowledge of it being dystopian, I already knew that there was going to be a lot of story building, new terms and words, but Albin is able to create a story and a narrator that is able to keep the reader informed and in the know of what's going on.

The story is about Adelice Lewys, a girl from the Western Sector of Arras. In her world, everything is ruled by the Guild, and when a girl turns sixteen, she is to undergo training for a month and is tested to see if she has the ability to become a Spinster, a person that can weave time. Adelice has been demonstrating these abilities since she was about eight years old, but she worked with her parents to hide her abilites for her testing.

Unfortunately, she slips up and ends up weaving her surroundings without the use of a loom, and knows that she is to be taken away to live a privileged (yet lonely) life in the Coventry, the home of the Spinsters. She decides to play it cool and not tell her parents, but the Guild comes barging into her home, causing her family to execute an escape plan that (sadly) fails, leaving her parents dead, her sister reassigned to another family, and her being taking away to the Coventry to begin her life of glamour, restrain and solitude.

There, she meets the arrogant, sketchy and somewhat alcoholic Cormac Patton, who seems to have some crazy plans and radical ideas; the crazy Eligble trainer, Maela, who wears everything on her sleeve; her kind but secretive mentor, Enora; Maela's handsome yet confusing lapdog, Erik; a fellow Spinster named Pryanna, the not-so-team player; the blue-eyed head valet, Jost Bell; and the Creweler herself, Loricel.

Adelice tries her best to avoid using her gift, but when Malea and Pryanna start playing dirty, her mentor Enora dies, and Cormac (who was also the leader of her Retrieval and the person behind her parent's execution) still has the power to manipulate her by using her newly reassigned sister against her, Ad learns that their interst to keep her alive is due to the fact that she is the next Creweler.

She makes a lot of mistakes and refuses to be put in her place, she makes her final decision that changes the lives of her loved ones, but leads her to a place that no Creweler can ever manipulate, Reality.

After reading the book, I was left completely lost for words. The end of the book just was....WOW! It was already 11:30pm-ish when I finished and I had sacrificed studying for my French test today (which I know did not turn out well), so I wasn't really able to grasp my emotions and figure out how I was supposed to feel.

But now, reeling from yesterday's emotional events and re-reading the parts of the book that I either dog-earred or book marked (which was pretty much the entire book!).

I loved how Albin was able to create a dsutpian world with it's own background and orgins. Yes, sometimes I did find several of the terms misleading, but Albin has this amazing ability to use her character, Adelice, to make us part of her journey.

Unliike most books, she isn't completely clueless in the beginning. She's a little bit of Rose Hathaway from the Vampire Academy series in the sense that all the information is already with her and she knows the ins-and-outs of the world. Adelice knows the world of Arras and understands that living a life of a beautiful Spinister will leave her sacrificing a lot more. She knows how the world works, but at the same time, she doesn't know how the lives of those in the Coventry work. And that's where she learns how to grow as a character.

I love Adelice as a character, and I love her interactions with Cormac, especially their banter.

"Miss me?" he asks.

"It hasn't been that long," I remind him.

"I'm sure it's felt like a lifetime," he says, running his

eyes down me. "Adelice, you are looking... malnourished."

"Cormac, you're looking overdressed."

"Good," he sneers. "Now the hair matches the attitude."

-Crewel, page 122

 

There are times when she is very scared and she is unable to process her emotions (like when she drank a bottle of wine by herself), but it is understandable with all the loss she's experienced. But then there are moments like her conversations with Cormac that her personality is just perfect.

Another thing I liked from this book are the villans. Ooh! They just got under my skin so much, but in my opinion, any antagonist that makes me want to throw a book across the wall is just brilliant. But the anatagonists in this book come from all different forms, so I was pretty much going crazy the entire book.

Loricel is the Creweler in the book (aka, the Spinster with the power to weave without a loom), and whenever Adelice was with her, I was either really upset that she was so cryptic or really interested with the information she was giving Adelice. My favourite thing about her was that she reminded me a lot like Hannah's grandma from Pretty Little Liars (or was that just me?).

AND THE BOYS! OH IT'S THE BOYS *coughs* (sorry, That's So Raven reference).

Jost and Erick are so...I...they were just AMAZING, let's put it like that. I can't even tell you how I'm supposed to feel with them. Ablin doesn't make the love triangle like a typical one, and there was A LOT of plot twists in it. I was able to figure the Jost-Erick thing pretty early on in the book, but Jost's little story in chapter thirteen just threw me off so bad. Like:

But what I liked the most about this book was the plot. THE PLOT IS AMAZING GUYS! Unlike most first books that just drag on and on with story building and information, the plot is really fast pase, and you find yourself trying to figure out what's going to happen to Adelice after something bad happens. There are times when Adelice is in such a bad situation, you just don't know what she'll do. I actually thought she'd crack under the pressure, but she proves she's tough.

There is SO much restriction in this book, it makes the Giver, the Chrysalids and the Hunger Games look like jokes. The world that Albin builds is a world that has been woven from matter and the fabric on time, and sits above our Earth. Everyone and everything belongs to that overall weave, so if you misbehave, those Spinsters can remove you from the world by cutting your string and then reweave everyone's memories to make them forget you. Or they kill you. Or, they can reweave you and make you forget who you are, which is what is usually chosen instead of death.

It's an amazing world, and an amazing book! I give this book a 4.5 out of 5 stars, because although the characters are amazing, the world is nicely built and the plot is structured nicely, the terms will have you going back and forth alot, trying to make sense of what's going on. BUT IT'S WORTH THE READ, SO GO GET IT!

And I can't wait to get my hands on Altered, available October 29th, 2013!