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BLACKBIRD SUMMER
A Blackbird Summer Series Novel
Em Shotwell
Releasing April 5th, 2016
City Owl Press
In the cornerstone of the rural south, Brooklyn, Mississippi, no one dares make eye contact with the strange Caibre family. Until the rewards are worth the cost. The townsfolk come, cash in hand, always at night, to pay for services only a Gifted can provide.
No matter the Gifts prevalent in her family, at twenty-one, Tallulah is expected to follow the path laid out for her: marriage, babies, and helping her mama teach the family home school program. She’s resigned to live the quiet life and stay out of trouble…until she meets Logan.
An outsider and all around rebel, Logan doesn’t care about her family’s reputation. Yet after a tragic loss wreaks havoc on the crumbling relationship between the Caibres and the townsfolk, Tallulah must decide if love and freedom are worth risking everything.
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Em’s characters will bless your heart between sips of sweet tea- but be warned! There is often more to them than meets the eye. She loves to craft stories around outcasts and weirdos with a spark of magic and a penchant for finding trouble.
She lives in South Louisiana with a husband who spoils her and two mini-superheroes who call her mom. When she isn’t writing about misfits and oddballs, she enjoys spending time outdoors hiking, and debating Doctor Who facts with her obsessed ten year old.
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Q&A with Deal Sharing Aunt
Where are
you from?
Originally I am from a small town in
Mississippi with a name that most people cannot pronounce, however I have
called Louisiana home for longer than anywhere else.
Tell us
your latest news?
My debut novel, BLACKBIRD SUMMER is
available! It is getting good reviews and I will be at RT Convention in Las
Vegas signing! If anyone is going to the convention—come and see me at the
giant book fair on Saturday or the Reader Roundup on Sunday!
When and
why did you begin writing?
My parents are story tellers. My Dad
wrote me funny poems and stories when I was a little girl. My mom wrote songs
and stories for me and my sisters, and we would beg to hear them over and over.
It wasn’t long before we were making up our own, and like most sisters, we
tried to one up each other with who could tell the best tale. I guess that is
where it started, and it just never stopped—the stories grew into books.
When did
you first consider yourself a writer?
It’s weird because I consider anyone
who writes, no matter if their work is ever published or not, to be a writer.
But sometimes I still feel strange calling myself a writer. It is a title that
I am growing more confident in every time someone reads Blackbird Summer and
likes it.
What
inspired you to write your first book?
Blackbird Summer is my debut
novel—and long before I buckled down and got serious about writing a book, I
had an idea about two sisters who lived in a mean little town on the wrong side
of the tracks. I even outlined that story. However, once I got started, magic
worked its way into the tale, changing everything! At its heart, Blackbird
Summer is still about sisterhood and family—only now with a zip of magic woven
through the storyline.
Do you have
a specific writing style?
I’m not sure—but I adore my
characters. Crafting them is my favorite part of writing. A common thing readers
have told me about Blackbird Summer is that the voice is great and the
relationship between the characters—especially Tallulah and her sister Delia—is
a favorite part. So I guess I focus on getting my characters “right” before
anything else.
How did you
come up with the title?
Oh Gosh! The title! The book was
finished, edited, and ready to query and I still didn’t have a title. I
actually read the finished product through from beginning to end twice before
coming up with a title. But now, Blackbird Summer feels like the perfect title
for the story. I can’t imagine calling it anything else.
Is there a
message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?
Blackbird Summer is about magic and
love, sure. But at its heart I feel that the story is about the complicated relationship
between family and that special bond shared between sisters.
Blackbird Summer is also about finding
a place in a world that may not want to make a place for you at all.
How
much of the book is realistic?
Well…the book and
characters are pretty extreme, however I grew up with sisters, so I hope that
the relationship between Tallulah and Delia is realistic. They are polar
opposites, but love each other fiercely and always have each other’s back, no
matter what.
I also think that the
“first love” experienced between Tallulah and Logan is pretty realistic.
Falling for someone for the first time is amazing and scary and there is
nothing like the first time you feel that rush just by being near another
person.
Are
experiences based on someone you know, or events in your own life?
Not really. I moved a lot growing
up. Like—a LOT lot. So I am sure that the different places I lived and people I
met influenced me and therefore influenced the stories I tell, but the
characters and town and plot is all straight from my imagination.
What books
have most influenced your life most?
There are so many! The first book that
I remember reading and truly seeing myself in a character
was “A Wrinkle In Time,” by Madeline L’Engle. Most of the books I read back
then that featured girl protagonists were about girly-girls doing girly type
things. And that is great—but it wasn’t me. Meg Murray was tough, and smart.
She didn’t care what she looked like. She was a tom boy and a protective
big-sister who didn’t really “get” other people. She didn’t do well in school
and loved her family fiercely. AND she had these amazing adventures. She felt
like my kindred spirit and read my copy of A Wrinkle In Time until it was
tattered.
What would
you like my readers to know?
First- I want to say thanks for
reading this interview about my book! I poured my heart into Blackbird Summer
and I hope that you enjoy it. It is available online at all major book sites.
And if you like the book, and want to
read a short story that ties into the world of Blackbird Summer, you can sign
up for my newsletter at www.EmShotwell.com and receive a free copy of the short
story, “The Chans.”
Thank you for featuring Em Shotwell today!
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