Shudder by Samantha Durante 2013 Blog Tour - Interview!

Back in March I wrote a short review (click to read synopsis) on Stitch. I recommend this series - the plot line is amazing, and just keeps getting better. If you like zombies, post-apocalyptic stories, politics, suspense, little bit of romance, adventure, and a strong young woman protagonist, then this is book is for you. So if you haven't read the first book in the series, you can check it out on :Amazon and Goodreads.  Just $0.99! 

I recently got the opportunity to interview the author on the release of the second book in the Stitch trilogy - Shudder! I am so excited about this!

Hi Sam! How are you today?

Hey Pree!  I’m doing well, very excited to be here!  :-)

I just finished reading Shudder last night. :-D  it was so intriguing I want to ask you what Stuck is going to be like, but aaah! I know you won’t tell me.

Glad you liked it!!  I actually couldn’t tell you about Stuck even if I wanted to, since I haven’t started writing it yet, haha.  However, I will tell you that there’s still plenty of excitement in store for Alessa and the gang, including some big setbacks that will require them to think creatively about how to take down Paragon...

 

Ah! But you did write the epilogue, and that was pretty intense as it is!

Yes, the epilogue definitely sets the stage for some major conflict coming in the third book...

I was wondering if you could give our readers a small synopsis as to what Stitch leading to Shudder is about?

Sure, for anyone who’s not familiar, the Stitch Trilogy is a YA/NA dystopian series with some romance and paranormal elements mixed in.  Stitch starts out seeming like a college ghost romance, but there’s a BIG sci-fi twist in store for our protagonists - I can’t say too much without ruining it - but suffice it to say, nothing the characters think is going on is real.  Shudder is the continuation of their story and reveals a lot more about the background of their world and is more of an action-packed thriller with lots of surprises for our characters!

So Shudder was very different – stylistically- from Stich. Can you explain? I loved both, but Shudder definitely shows how you have matured as a writer. Which means Stuck can only be super awesome.

Haha, well hopefully I haven’t set the bar *too* high!  But thanks for the compliments.  :-)  Stitch was my first book, and due to the nature of the twist, it’s more of a slow burn - there’s a lot of build-up as you get to know the characters and their backgrounds, until eventually you’re knocked over the head with this huge revelation right along with Alessa.  The book pretty much takes off at lightning speed from there, and Shudder picks up right where Stitch leaves off.  So in Book 2, it was easier to keep the pace high since all the world-building and character introductions had already been taken care of in Stitch.  And of course, I’m always listening closely to reader feedback, so I tried to tailor Shudder to what readers were looking for - more action, more romance, more interactions between the characters, etc.  Naturally, the genre-bending twist in Stitch was hard to top, but I think Shudder does a good job of keeping the story engaging by filling in all the details and dropping a few new bombshells.

What inspired the story behind Stitch? What inspired the ideas?

The idea for Stitch came from my attempt to give a happy ending to a ghost romance.  How could I get the ghost and the girl in the same place at the same time, given that he’s been dead for 100 years?  The solution I came up with was a *little* out-of-the-box, but the more I thought about it, the more excited I became about the story.  I just kept wishing someone would write this book, so eventually I realized that maybe I should do it, lol.  And from there on out, I just looked at different stories that I’d enjoyed and tried to borrow elements I loved and piece them all together to create something new.

That makes so much sense...  :)

Are you a fan of apocalyptic, post-apocalyptic, zombie, science fiction, supernatural, psychological, thrillers?

Yes, yes, yes, and more yes!  I love ALL of these genres - hence the ginormous mash-up of all these genres in the Stitch Trilogy.  :-)  I couldn’t choose just one!

What are some of your favorite sci-fi books? Fantasy books? Adventure/horror books? Your favorite books as a teenager?

I became a fan of the dystopian genre in middle/high school when we read classics like The Giver, Fahrenheit 451, Brave New World, etc.  I also got into sci-fi kind of young with A Wrinkle in Time, which was kind of mind-blowing as a kid.  Some more recent favorites include The Hunger Games, the Divergent and Delirium series, and on the fantasy side, Twilight, Game of Thrones, the Eragon series, plus classics like Harry Potter and The Chronicles of Narnia.  I actually haven’t read too much horror, which is surprising b/c I’d consider that one of my favorite genres - I definitely watch a lot of horror movies, but in terms of reading, it’s mostly been short stories.  I guess I’ll have to add some more to my TBR!

I've never read "a wrinkle in time" but I think I saw the movie...

Hmm, I don’t think I’ve seen the movie - I can’t even imagine how they’d film some of that stuff!  I’ll have to check it out.  :-)

If you could be a character from Game of Thrones who would you be? (random question) and why?
Game of thrones Spoiler alert :-P

I would be Daenerys Targaryen, because she’s so goddamn FIERCE.  And she’s kind and fair and a good leader.  I hope she marries Jon Snow and takes it all - Westeros, Beyond the Wall, everything over the Narrow Sea -  in the end.  That would make me SO happy.

I love Dany too. She isn't too exciting in book 2 but I hope it picks up in book 3. I can see you as Dany.

Aw, thank you!  I’d have to get a lot blonder though, lol.

In this book we are introduced to the people that run Paragon. Are they the “ruling class”?

Shudder brings you up close and personal with the Engineers, the previously faceless leaders behind the “Ruling Class.”  While they’re definitely part of that class, there *is* an important distinction to make - whereas most members of the Ruling Class are generally good citizens who have just gone a little wrong by abusing their privileges, the Engineers are another story.  They’re the masterminds behind the whole scheme of Paragon, and while they might think they’re trying to do good towards the people of Paragon, I think most readers would agree that they have an interesting way of showing it.  So even though the Engineers are the de facto rulers of Paragon, I wouldn’t lump them in with the Ruling Class as a whole.  They definitely have their own motivations and agenda, beyond what the Ruling Class is trying to achieve.

The Developer, the Engineer, the Economist and so on. In one of the chapters they are explained in detail. Is there a reason they are all male? Can you tell us more about these guys, their qualifications, their ideas and what makes them the expert in their field (ie. who were they before paragon?).

Check out this guest post (an Engineers “Cheat Sheet” if you will) from earlier in the tour for a full run-down of who each of the Engineers are and where they come from.  As far as why they’re all male (and white, I might add), that’s because who else would come up with such a barbaric idea as Paragon besides rich white men who think they know better than everyone else?  I’ve never met a woman with little enough empathy or compassion to ever consider doing something this extreme, and unless you’ve spent your entire life under a cloak of privilege like white males in our society generally do, you would never even conceive of the kind of ideas that the Engineers have enacted.  I know that’s generalizing - and there’s always an exception to the rule - but at its core, the Stitch Trilogy is about one powerful class of people oppressing everyone else.  And in the real world, let’s face it, it’s usually men doing the oppressing.

Amen sister! :)

Personally I found these guys intriguing because they essentially, like you say in the book, play god. Their arrogance is what really moves me, cause like Phoenix, I am somewhat brainwashed too.

Yeah, that was something that was important to me to dissect a bit in Shudder - I didn’t want the bad guys to just be evil for the sake of evil.  I wanted to explore how evil is really perpetrated, even by otherwise normal people who might even believe they’re doing good.  Passion and arrogance are a very dangerous combination.  We see it all the time with religious extremists, whether they’re Muslim terrorists or over-zealous Christians hating on gay people (or pretty much anyone who’s different than that they consider “normal”).  Anyone who believes so strongly in their own viewpoint that they refuse to acknowledge others’ - and especially anyone who can communicate well enough to win new believers over to their side - is a threat to all of us.  There can be no peace without tolerance, and there’s no tolerance when you think everyone else’s opinions are invalid.

I totally agree with you... So well said.

Thank you.  :-)

Question for Janie- Janie do you hope to meet a real nice guy soon? I understand that now is not the time or place to look for a boyfriend, but do you hope? Also describe your ideal man.

Thanks so much for inviting me along today, Pree!  Of COURSE I’d love to meet a good guy.  Like you said, Paragon is not exactly an ideal dating pool, but hey, love happens - I’m certainly keeping my eye out.  I don’t have a “type” necessarily, I just want someone fun and trustworthy, someone who makes me laugh.  You know, the usual.  :-)

The usual? You're a special girl Janie! But I hear you def someone as energetic as you! Where do all the characters work out at?

Haha, if mandatory labor counts as working out, then Paragon is a very effective fitness program!

Janie- do you resent Alessa sometimes for 1-escaping 2-being happy with Isaac? I know she’s your sister, but there is sometimes sisterly rivalry. I was just wondering how the events have affected your relationship with Less.

Well, naturally, I love my sister and I want what’s best for her.  It wasn’t easy to stay behind and let her go, but I knew the rebellion needed her, so I did what was asked of me.  And Isaac is amazing, but yes, I certainly feel like a third wheel around them sometimes...  Less and I fight like any other siblings, but in the end, I know she’s always trying to protect me, so I try to let stuff go.  She’s the only family I’ve got left, after all.  She’s a pain sometimes, but she means well.

Third wheel sucks! But as a sister you get used to it... I know from experience!

Janie- what do you hope for the future of paragon? The rebels? And you?

 I just hope that someday we can all get along and live happily ever after!

Janie- if a movie was made about your life who would you have play you?

 Willa Holland, but she’d have to get a good bob.

She acts in Arrow the TV show. I love that show- guilty pleasure! Do you watch it? Almost dystopian...

Ohh, I haven’t seen it, I’ll have to update my DVR!

We’ve seen a lot from Alessa’s perspective, Isaac, Nikhil, and Lizzie, but will we see anything from Janie’s perspective next book?

(This is Samantha answering again!)  We’ll definitely see a lot more Janie next book, but I’m not 100% positive yet if I’ll write any chapters from her POV.  It’s definitely not off the table, but I try not to bring in extra POVs unless the story warrants it.  We’ll have to see how things go.  :-)

I'd love her perspective... although similar to Alessa, her character has grown to a personality of her own.

Questions for Phoenix- what was it like when you faced the various founders of paragon? Were you scared, awestruck?

I was definitely a little freaked out.  I couldn’t remember who I was, and with all the injuries I’d sustained, I was having trouble processing everything... Information overload!

I  was scared they were going to physically hurt you more... As in...

Phew, yeah, luckily I was too out of it mentally to even consider that possibility... otherwise I would have been a lot more worried!

Phoenix- how can you knowing what you know, think what you think is superior to those of experts, ie the founders of Paragon? They are obviously older, more educated, experienced than you are, how does knowing that make you feel what you think is right? (I hope this question is clear) :-P

I think I get what you’re saying.  Well, I guess the short answer is I think everyone’s entitled to an opinion.  You should certainly take what the experts say into account, but it’s impossible to agree with everyone, so sometimes you just have to go with your gut.

What's the long answer? Or is that for Stuck? ;-)

Let’s save the long answer for Stuck  ;-)

Phoenix- if a movie was made about your life who would you have play you?

Katheryn Winnick! 

What did she act in? I def saw you as a Regina from mean girls... But Ms. Winnick is quite on the dot too...

I think Katheryn Winnick is best known for her role on the TV show Vikings. Oh wow, Rachel McAdams is gorgeous so that’s quite a compliment!  But she’s very thin - I’ve got a little more going on in the curves department.  :-)

Samantha- seeing this book is for young adults, would you ever expose them to the brutal reality of 1-politics 2-loss and death (especially of characters we’ve grown to love) 3-heartbreak?

Absolutely - these things are part of life, and experiencing them through characters we love is part of how we learn how to cope with these things in our own lives.  Young adult or not, we all need to face these hardships at one point or another.  Reading can be cathartic in its own right.

Oh no now I'm going to be worried...should I be? Please not Janie. :(

(Janie butting in) PLEASE NOT JANIE!!!

Where is Paragon? is it in USA? or is this left unknown on purpose? I like it like that but would love to see maps someday!

I didn’t want to tie Paragon to any one real place so that I could have total freedom in setting up the geography/history, etc., but Paragon and the surrounding area is based on the Northeast US (NY/NJ/CT/PA) where I grew up, since I know that area best.  I do have a very rudimentary map that I whipped up in PowerPoint to help me measure distances and make sure that Isaac and Alessa’s timelines were realistic while traveling outside Paragon, but it’s not pretty.  I would need to hire an artist or something if you wanted a real map!

I love that you did that. I'd totally help you do a map! I am a cartographer/geographer! let me know.

Oh awesome!

If you have to pick one character to be in Shudder, who would you be and Why!?!?

Alessa, because she’s already a lot like me, so it’d be an easy transition!

This makes sense, I can almost see the similarities... so are you an empath too?

Haha, NOT quite... but I do like to think I’m pretty intuitive and good at reading others’ feelings.

Thanks so much for doing this Sam! I hope to do more author interview with you, or if you would want to do a guest blog sometime about motivation, writing, women entrepreneurs, leadership etc. I’d love to have you guest write!

Thanks so much for hosting today!!  I’d love to come back for a guest post sometime!

Lots of Love!

-Pree

Author Samantha Durante

About Sam:

Samantha Durante lives in Westchester County, New York with her husband, Sudeep, and her cat, Gio. Formerly an engineer at Microsoft, Samantha left the world of software in 2010 to pursue her entrepreneurial dreams and a lifelong love of writing. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania’s Jerome Fisher Program in Management & Technology, Samantha is currently working full time for her company Medley Media Associates as a freelance business writer and communications consultant. The Stitch Trilogy is her debut series. Learn more about Samantha at www.samanthadurante.com.

Length: ~80,000 words (348 pages)

Sample Chapters: Ch1-4 (31 pages)

Release Date: June 15th, 2013

Links
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LibraryThing: Stitch | Shudder | Author Samantha Durante
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Breathe!