Bookish Lifestyle: Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch (Interview + Giveaway)

I am thrilled to be a stop on the book tour for Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch, hosted by Rockstar Book Tours! I have a interview for your reading pleasure, but be sure to check out the tour schedule below to read reviews, guest posts, and more! Don't forget to enter the giveaway!

Title: Snow Like Ashes
Author: Sara Raasch
Series: Snow Like Ashes #1
Release Date: October 14, 2014
Publisher: Balzar + Bay
Pages: 432
Genre: Fantasy, Romance, Science Fiction
Find it: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

A heartbroken girl. A fierce warrior. A hero in the making.

Sixteen years ago the Kingdom of Winter was conquered and its citizens enslaved, leaving them without magic or a monarch. Now, the Winterians’ only hope for freedom is the eight survivors who managed to escape, and who have been waiting for the opportunity to steal back Winter’s magic and rebuild the kingdom ever since.

Orphaned as an infant during Winter’s defeat, Meira has lived her whole life as a refugee, raised by the Winterians’ general, Sir. Training to be a warrior—and desperately in love with her best friend, and future king, Mather — she would do anything to help her kingdom rise to power again.

So when scouts discover the location of the ancient locket that can restore Winter’s magic, Meira decides to go after it herself. Finally, she’s scaling towers, fighting enemy soldiers, and serving her kingdom just as she’s always dreamed she would. But the mission doesn’t go as planned, and Meira soon finds herself thrust into a world of evil magic and dangerous politics – and ultimately comes to realize that her destiny is not, never has been, her own.

About the author

Sara Raasch has known she was destined for bookish things since the age of five, when her friends had a lemonade stand and she tagged along to sell her hand-drawn picture books too. Not much has changed since then — her friends still cock concerned eyebrows when she attempts to draw things and her enthusiasm for the written word still drives her to extreme measures. Her debut YA fantasy, SNOW LIKE ASHES, the first in a trilogy, comes out October 14, 2014 from Balzer + Bray. It does not feature her hand-drawn pictures.

Interview

Welcome to Bookish, Sara! I'm so excited to have you here with us today!

Thanks—I’m excited to be here!

In tweet form (140 characters or less), how would you describe the story of Snow Like Ashes ?

A refugee soldier fights to free her kingdom with a magic locket, a sexy king, a sexy prince, an overbearing father-figure, and a chakram.

What was the inspiration for this story?

I wish I had a good answer for this question, but the truth is…I don’t remember. I started working on SLA back when I was a preteen, and I don’t remember much about its origins other than I wanted to write a story where winter was portrayed as a “good guy.” So often it gets the bad rep for being evil and cold and harsh, and I wanted to depict the side of winter that I saw—beautiful and gentle and picturesque.

I absolutely LOVE this cover! How much input did you have into its creation?

I had a little say in it, but overall, it was up to the designer. Luckily, she is FABULOUS, and the cover is everything I could have hoped for. I’m madly in love with it and so, so excited to see the whole trilogy!

What is your writing routine once you start writing a book?

I’m a HUGE planner. Maps and charts and graphs and spreadsheets and notes and scribbles. It gets a little out of hand, actually, how intensely I plan things. And once I get over that stage and feel prepared to draft, the planning only continues. Things pop up in-draft that I didn’t foresee, no matter how much I plan, and those maps and charts and lists only grow as the book does. My hard drive is PACKED with documents of notes and world building data!

What are some of your literary inspirations? Favorite books/authors?

I LOVE Sharon Shinn, particularly her Twelve Houses series. It’s adult fantasy and SO. GOOD. If I could escape into any literary world, I’d pick hers. The characters are so rich, the culture and world so detailed—reading those books is like coming home for me.

How did it feel the first time you saw your book for sale? Or in this case, available for pre-order?

Exciting! And kind of a whirlwind, heh. I don’t actually remember what I did, but I’m pretty sure I sent the link to my entire family, and then linked it all over my blog/Twitter.

I'm addicted to . . . Lost Girl. It’s my current TV obsession, and I am DYING because the fandom is SO SMALL online. So I spread the word anyway I can. EVERYONE NEEDS TO WATCH THIS SHOW.

If I could live in any TV/movie/book universe, it would be . . . I sort of answered this up above, but I’d live in Sharon Shinn’s Twelve Houses world of Gillengaria. It’s a kingdom split into twelve “houses” (or states, kind of), and the world is populated by mostly human people and some who are born as mystics, with various abilities (one woman can call fire, one can shape-change, etc). I sound lame explaining it, because it’s so rich and detailed that I’d need pages and pages to fully express why this world is so cool, so I’ll save you the pain of me babbling by just saying READ IT.

If I could tell the world just one thing, it'd be . . . It’s going to be okay.

If Snow Like Ashes had a theme song it would be . . . Shattered by Trading Yesterday—the whole mood of the song captures so many important aspects of the book, and I listened to it to exhaustion while writing.

The last book I bought was . . . Trust Me, I’m a Ninja by Natalie Whipple. It’s the second in a YA trilogy about ninjas living in San Francisco. If that doesn’t hook you, dude. NINJAS. I mean really.

Thanks for having me!

You are quite welcome! And I don't know about you guys, but I definitely need to check out this Twelve Houses series now. Maybe take a peek at Lost Girl, too! :)