On tour with Rockstar Book Tours...
by Robin Lafevers
Hardcover, 400 pages
Expected publication: April 2, 2013 by Houghton Mifflin Books for Children
Premise:
Sybella arrives at the convent’s doorstep half mad with grief and despair. Those that serve Death are only too happy to offer her refuge—but at a price. Naturally skilled in both the arts of death and seduction, the convent views Sybella as one of their most dangerous weapons.
But those assassin’s skills are little comfort when the convent returns her to a life that nearly drove her mad. Her father’s rage and brutality are terrifying, and her brother’s love is equally monstrous. And while Sybella is a weapon of justice wrought by the god of Death himself, He must give her a reason to live. When she discovers an unexpected ally imprisoned in the dungeons, will a daughter of Death find something other than vengeance to live for?
This heart-pounding sequel to Grave Mercy serves betrayal, treachery, and danger in equal measure, bringing readers back to fifteenth century Brittany and will keep them on the edge of their seats.
But those assassin’s skills are little comfort when the convent returns her to a life that nearly drove her mad. Her father’s rage and brutality are terrifying, and her brother’s love is equally monstrous. And while Sybella is a weapon of justice wrought by the god of Death himself, He must give her a reason to live. When she discovers an unexpected ally imprisoned in the dungeons, will a daughter of Death find something other than vengeance to live for?
This heart-pounding sequel to Grave Mercy serves betrayal, treachery, and danger in equal measure, bringing readers back to fifteenth century Brittany and will keep them on the edge of their seats.
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Sybella is the main character in Dark Triumph, and quite honestly, she's... um... scary. Lol. She enjoys
killing and wonders what her problem is that she does. She is acquainted with
abuse and wonders if she's at fault. But that tender side of her is so deeply
hidden. She's so careful not to let anyone see her true emotions, as if they
make her vulnerable.
My dream would be to sit down with Robin LaFevers and talk about Sybella over a cup of tea. I shall try not to slosh it all over because... she's here!!! Squeee!!!
Where did Sybella come from? Did you know her whole story
immediately?
She appeared pretty early on in the writing of Grave Mercy
and was one of the reasons I knew it would be a trilogy—because I needed to
write a book about her. I knew a large part of her story right from the
beginning, that she was damaged and broken and had been ill used all her life,
but the particulars of it unfolded slowly. By the time I finished Grave Mercy
however, I knew her whole story and all that she had been through. What I didn’t know was how I was going to lead
her toward wholeness and healing.
Oh... how daunting! I really love the foreshadowing about Sybella in Grave Mercy. It is so cool to learn how her story unfolded for you.
Do you have a favorite
scene with Sybella?
Pretty much any scene with Beast in it. I loved putting his
joy and light and laughter in her path. The scenes without him, especially
there in the beginning, felt claustrophobic to me and then there he’d be,
giving her something to fight with and fight for.
:-D Yay Beast!
I also loved the scene where she met Mortain face to face
and finally understand her true nature and was showered with forgiveness and
hope and understanding and, most of all, unconditional love. I actually wrote that scene early on simply
because I needed to see it, feel it, know it was there waiting for her at the
end of her painful journey.
Oh, wow. I can see I'm saying "cool" a lot, but that is really cool.
What did it feel like
to write her story? I kept wondering if
she'd find the way out of her darkness... and it seemed the only way out was
through... OUCH!!
Honestly? Writing her story involved eight of the longest,
hardest, darkest months of my life. There is no way—for me at least—to not be
fully immersed in a character without feeling much of what she feels. So yeah,
OUCH.
Oh... I can't really say "cool" to that. I'm so grateful, but that sounds very heartrendingly painful.
Anything else you'd
like to share? Thank you for
visiting!!!!! :-D I really love both Grave Mercy & Dark
Triumph. They gripped me so fast and hard I just wish I could be there, with
Ismae & Sybella!! Are you writing
Annith's story now?! Can I ask
that?! I seriously cannot wait!!!
Thank you so much! It makes me insanely happy that you loved
the books so much. I am working on
Annith’s story right now. She is a being a little more coy than the other two
girls. I think mostly because I saw her through Ismae’s and Sybella’s eyes
rather than being in Annith’s own head. It wasn’t until I began writing her
story that I fully grasped just how many secrets she had of her own—secrets she
hadn’t even shared with Ismae or Sybella…
Oooh... REALLY?! How exciting!! I seriously love how each book is so different and yet interconnected. Annith is so nice to Ismae, I have high hopes for her. Yet her situation is so much more... desperate. She doesn't get the chance to be sent out on an assignment, away from the convent, to discover herself. She has to fight for that. I just can't even imagine where she will go or what she will do. I won't even try to guess. If she didn't tell you until you started writing about her... I shall just have to
Thank you for visiting!
Want to read more about Robin LaFevers, Dark Triumph & Grave Mercy?
See this entire tour below... full of delicious posts and giveaways!
Robin LaFevers was raised on a steady diet of fairy tales,
Bulfinch’s mythology, and 19th century poetry. It is not surprising she grew up
to be a hopeless romantic.
Though she has never trained as an assassin or joined a
convent, she did attend Catholic school for three years, which instilled in her
a deep fascination with sacred rituals and the concept of the Divine. She has
been on a search for answers to life’s mysteries ever since.
While many of those answers still elude her, she was lucky
enough to find her one true love, and is living happily ever after with him in
the foothills of southern California.
In addition to writing about teen assassin nuns in medieval
Brittany, she writes books for middle grade readers, including the Theodosia
books and the Nathaniel Fludd, Beastologist series. You can learn more about
those books at www.rllafevers.com.
Giveaway:
Hardback of Dark Triumph and paperback of Grave Mercy to winner in US or Canada
Bottle of Poison Nail Polish and 2 Necklaces on Tour-wide Giveaway, see rafflecopter for restrictions.
All my rules under the About tab apply. For international copy of Dark Triumph, go HERE!!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Rockstar Tour Schedule:
4/3/2013- Tales of a Ravenous Reader http://www.lushbudgetproduction.com/
Interview
4/4/2013- Books Over Boys http://booksoverboys.blogspot.com/ Interview
4/5/2013- Fiktshun http://www.fiktshun.com/fiktshun/ Guest Post
4/6/2013- Rebecca's Book Blog http://rebeccasbookblog.blogspot.com/ Excerpt
4/7/2013- A Backwards Story http://abackwardsstory.blogspot.com/ Excerpt
4/8/2013- Making The Grade Reviews http://mtgreviews.com/ Guest Post
4/9/2013- Burgandy Ice http://burgandyice.blogspot.com/ Interview
4/10/2013- Two Chicks on Books http://www.twochicksonbooks.com/
Guest Post
