Colorimetry: RT #Interview with @LauraSebastian on tour LADY SMOKE @RockstarBkTours

Please welcome Laura Sebastian to Colorimetry!! Have you read Ash Princess, yet? What a vibrant, cruel new world... "darkly enchanting" indeed!! And now... here comes Lady Smoke...

Title: LADY SMOKE (Ash Princess Trilogy #2)

Author: Laura Sebastian

Pub. Date: February 5, 2019

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Formats: Hardcover, eBook, Audiobook

Pages: 512

Find it: Goodreads,Amazon,Audible,B&N,iBooks,TBD

The sequel to the instant New York Times bestseller that was "made for fans of Victoria Aveyard and Sabaa Tahir" ( Bustle ), Lady Smoke is an epic new fantasy about a throne cruelly stolen and a girl who must fight to take it back for her people.

The Kaiser murdered Theodosia's mother, the Fire Queen, when Theo was only six. He took Theo's country and kept her prisoner, crowning her Ash Princess--a pet to toy with and humiliate for ten long years. That era has ended. The Kaiser thought his prisoner weak and defenseless. He didn't realize that a sharp mind is the deadliest weapon.

Theo no longer wears a crown of ashes. She has taken back her rightful title, and a hostage--Prinz Soren. But her people remain enslaved under the Kaiser's rule, and now she is thousands of miles away from them and her throne.

To get them back, she will need an army. Only, securing an army means she must trust her aunt, the dreaded pirate Dragonsbane. And according to Dragonsbane, an army can only be produced if Theo takes a husband. Something an Astrean Queen has never done.

Theo knows that freedom comes at a price, but she is determined to find a way to save her country without losing herself.

"A darkly enchanting page-turner you won't be able to put down." --Bustle on Ash Princess, Book 1 in the Ash Princess series

About Book 1:

Title: ASH PRINCESS(Ash Princess Trilogy #1)

Author: Laura Sebastian

Pub. Date: April 24, 2018

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Formats: Hardcover, eBook, Audiobook

Pages: 432

Find it: Goodreads,Amazon,Audible,B&N, iBooks,TBD

Theodosia was six when her country was invaded and her mother, the Fire Queen, was murdered before her eyes. On that day, the Kaiser took Theodosia's family, her land, and her name. Theo was crowned Ash Princess--a title of shame to bear in her new life as a prisoner.

For ten years Theo has been a captive in her own palace. She's endured the relentless abuse and ridicule of the Kaiser and his court. She is powerless, surviving in her new world only by burying the girl she was deep inside.

Then, one night, the Kaiser forces her to do the unthinkable. With blood on her hands and all hope of reclaiming her throne lost, she realizes that surviving is no longer enough. But she does have a weapon: her mind is sharper than any sword. And power isn't always won on the battlefield.

For ten years, the Ash Princess has seen her land pillaged and her people enslaved. That all ends here.

Interview with Laura:

Thank you so much for stopping by Colorimetry on this tour. I love ASH PRINCESS. What was your inspiration for this series?

I love reading epic fantasy, but I always felt like if I were thrust into these worlds, I would die in the prologue. I’m not someone who’s tough or snarky or knows how to use a sword and for so long when we heard the term “strong female character” there was only one type of strong we were talking about. So I wanted to write about a girl who shouldn’t have survived the prologue, but was still strong in a different way. Theo might not be able to wield a sword, but she’s strong. She’s smart. She’s conniving. She sees what people expect from her and she knows how to use it against them. And with those skills, she manages not just to survive but to thrive.

Lol. I guess I might not survive the prologue, either. Theo is wonderfully strong in a new way. Your favorite character, then, would be?

It’s hard not to say Theo because I’ve been living in her head, for better or for worse, since 2015 and she feels like such a part of me at this point. Beyond her, though, I love Artemisia and specifically, I love writing the two of them together.

Hm... interesting. What about your favorite scene to write?

In ASH PRINCESS it’s the first scene with Theo and the Kaiserin. There are just so many layers to it and their dynamic was so fascinating to write. The Kaiserin in general was just a really interesting character to explore.

In LADY SMOKE it’s a bit lighter—there’s a scene I like to call my ‘genderswapped Princesses on Parade’ scene, which if you’ve seen the animated Swan Princess movie, should be burned into your memory. It was a lot of fun to write and I loved getting to write about all of these different countries and their various rulers.

Wow, fun, ok... best motivational quote from Lady Smoke?

“You don’t need to look like a queen—you already are one. Show them the girl who was brilliant enough to escape from under the Kaiser’s nose, who’s fierce enough to protect her people with her life, who’s strong enough to stand on her own two feet, even with the weight of the world one er shoulders. You are a queen, Theo, and they would be mad not to follow you.”

Woohoo!!!!

One more questions, how do you like to set up your writing space?

Now that I’ve started juggling drafting one project and editing another, it’s become important for me to do each job in a different space. Normally, I’ll go to a local coffee shop to draft—I’m not too picky about how busy or loud it is, just as long as it’s not home. Editing I do in my apartment, though. It’s NYC so I don’t have room for a desk, but I spread out over my dining table, with my laptop, a printout of my manuscript, my editor’s edit letter, and a bunch of different pens and highlighters and sticky notes and index cards. It looks a bit like a serial killer’s lair when I’m in the thick of things, but it helps me get the job done.

So flexible!

Thank you so much for coming to Colorimetry today, Laura. Gotta say, I absolutely love your name. :-D you're welcome back any time.

Laura Sebastian was born and raised in South Florida (the Redlands and Key Largo) and has always loved telling stories–many apologies to her little brother who often got in trouble because of them. No copies of her first book, a Cinderella retelling about angels circa 2nd grade, remain. Thankfully.

After getting her BFA from Savannah College of Art and Design, she moved to New York City thinking that she would stay for a couple of years before going somewhere better suited for a small-town, sun-loving girl. Five years later, she’s still here and madly in love with it.

When Laura isn’t writing, she’s probably reading, baking cookies or cupcakes, buying more clothes than her overstuffed closet can fit, or forcing her lazy dog Neville to take a walk.

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Giveaway Details:

3 winners will receive a finished copy of LADY SMOKE, US Only.

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