Thursday 29 June 2017

The Sparks and The Flames Blog Tour




The Sparks (The Feud Trilogy #1)
by 
Kyle Prue
Genre: YA Fantasy
Release Date: January 31st 2017
Cartwright Publishing

Summary: 


One teen assassin-in-training must unite three warring supernatural dynasties before death comes to them all…

Find out why USA Today calls The Sparks “a crackling read” that “builds a vivid world (both) otherworldly and relatable.”

Neil Vapros just wants to make his father proud. The sixteen-year-old aspires to serve his family as an assassin, but he nearly dies in the process. As if that wasn’t bad enough, Neil’s family, as well as two rival dynasties, have abandoned an ancient promise to protect their city. An unknown evil has begun hunting all three houses from the shadows…

As Neil’s relatives fall one-by-one, he attempts to unite the three supernatural families against a common enemy. But earning trust after years of assassination attempts could prove impossible. Neil’s fight may involve more than a bloodthirsty empire, as betrayal rears its ugly head… 

The Sparks is the first book in the award-winning Epic Feud trilogy of young adult fantasy novels. If you like captivating characters, inventive world building, and supernatural battles, then you’ll love Kyle Prue’s action-packed coming-of-age tale.


The Flames (The Feud Trilogy #2)
Release Date: April 22nd 2017

Summary:

To survive incredible odds, one teen may have to trust both his former enemies and his fire-forged destiny…

Neil Vapros is one of the last free warriors of the great city of Altryon. He and his brother’s only chance of staying alive involves trusting an uneasy alliance with their former enemies. But in the world beyond his city’s walls, Neil’s life is much more dangerous than he ever imagined possible…

The Emperor has hired a ruthless madman and a vicious pack of assassins to hunt down the last supernatural survivors. As the allies attempt to hide from their enemies, the leader of a rebellion singles out Neil as the answer to a prophecy. Neil isn’t sure he believes he’s been “chosen,” but he knows one thing for sure: their only chance for survival lies in sticking together. While treachery and pain wait around every corner, Neil and his allies may win the day, but victory without casualties could prove impossible…

The Flames is the second book in the award-winning Epic Feud trilogy of young adult fantasy novels. If you like rich fantasy settings, imaginative supernatural abilities, and tough-as-nails characters, then you’ll love Kyle Prue’s electrifying adventure.


About the Author


Kyle Prue is an award winning author, actor and comedian. Kyle wrote The Sparks: Book One of the Feud Trilogy when he was just 16 years old. Kyle has spent the past year on a national book tour visiting over 80 middle and high schools and meeting over 60,000 students. Kyle is now a freshman at the University of Michigan, studying acting and creative writing. He still visits schools and is a keynote speaker for conferences.

Kyle is the founder of Sparking Literacy, a non-profit dedicated to lowering the high school dropout rate by inspiring teens to read, write and follow their dreams. An actor and comedian, Kyle trains at Second City Comedy Club in Chicago, where a number of SNL actors have gotten their start. Kyle currently lives with his family in Petoskey, Michigan.

The Sparks has won numerous national awards including Best Book and Best Fiction for Young Adults 2015. The Sparks was runner up for Best Young Adult Fiction at the Florida Book Festival and won Honorable Mentions at the New England Book Festival, Midwest Book Festival, Southern California Book Festival, the International London Book Festival and won a prestigious Indie Fab award. Kyle also won an International Moonbeam Award for Best Young Author.


Author Q&A

1.    What was your favorite part or chapter to write in The Sparks?

I really, really enjoyed writing the fight between Darius and Jennifer. It’s interesting when you write characters separately, then give them a chance to interact together. Jennifer is one of my favorite characters. Neil describes her as the model assassin so it was really fun to write her in that type of setting.

2.    How did you come up with the title?

The entire book is based on a family feud so that was the reason for the series name, Feud. But the individual titles are The Sparks, The Flames and The Ashes; these are symbolic of the Vapros family motto which is “Victory Lies Within the Ashes.” The Vapros turn a person to ash when they kill them. For them that is a macabre way of saying, “You have to bust a couple of heads to get what you want.” So the titles reveal that there is going to be a lot of bloodshed and a climax to this storyline, which we are building up to in the series.

3.    How did you pick the names of the families?

I based the family names on Latin root words: Taurlum is based on the Latin word for bull, Celerius is the Latin word for swift and Vapros is smoke.

4.    How did you get the idea for the three families?

In the first book, there are three main families and since I have a brother and a sister, I loosely based these families around the three of us—their mannerisms, their traits, resulting in a black-and-white version of us blended with a more honorable, respectable side and a more aggressive, audacious side. So the Taurlum are based off my brother, the Celerius off my sister and the Vapros off me, a little bit.

5.    What can you tell us about the challenges of getting a book published?

It is really difficult to get published as a first time author in the current environment. I went to a writing conference and signed up for “speed dating” with agents. That is how I got my agent. So I recommend any opportunity to meet face-to-face so you have a chance to sell yourself. Even with a great agent the publishing process is ridiculously slow. For The Sparks I decided to go with a small, independent publisher so that I could get it out before college applications. I don’t recommend young people jump into self-publishing unless they are willing to pay for professional editing and other services. There is a certain credibility that comes with being vetted and published so I would try that first.  

6.    Do you have advice for other high school students wanting to write a book?

Yes, write everyday. I started writing 500 words/day in middle school. Now I try and write 1,000 words/day. I think this discipline is important to developing your writing skills. It’s difficult when you're balancing a lot of different activities and homework, but writing should be a release from all that stress. Unplug for a bit and you might be surprised at the extra time that you have to write. Also read lots of different types of materials. Read different genres and authors. It will help you develop your own voice. 

7.    Tell us about the audio book of The Sparks?

Teachers have been begging for the audio book because it is a great tool for struggling readers. I was dragging my feet as I was planning to do the narration myself. Then my team recommended that we get auditions for the narrator. The auditions were fantastic. We have hired a great narrator, Jon Eric Preston, that I think readers are going to love. He reads in an English accent as the book takes place in a pseudo Victorian era and that is how I picture it in my head. But his voices are fantastic. I think fans of the series are going to love hearing the characters come to life. 

8.    Can you tell us a bit about the second book, The Flames?

The second book in the series focuses on the remaining family members (spoiler alert!) and their friends, as they begin to kindle the revolution. It’s a lot about personal growth for the characters, like Neil, Lilly and Darius. It is the book where we start to reach that giant conflict that the characters have been stepping toward in the storyline.

One of the big themes of the second book is about what happens when a person experiences a complete absence of hope. Things will always get better. My best friend from childhood committed suicide and I really want other teens to understand that whatever seems so overwhelming in your life today, won’t be what’s important to you down the road. When my characters experience this loss of hope that is when they gain their advanced powers. Something good can come out of something that in the moment seems so terrible.

9.    Is there anything you would like to say to your readers and fans?

Thank you for sharing this journey with me. The series only gets better and more intense from here and I can’t wait to see what you guys think of it all.

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