Sunday, May 12, 2013

Children's Book Week Giveaway Hop + Author Interview with Erin JadeLange (SIGNED BOOK GIVEAWAY!)



AHHH YOU LUCKY, LUCKY U.S. PEOPLE!!! You all have the chance to win a SIGNED COPY OF BUTTER BY ERIN JADE LANGE as part of the Children's Book Week Giveaway Hop! To repeat, that's BUTTER, one of the THE biggest, best, débuts of the year, and SIGNED no less. Seriously, guys, this book is mind-blowingly amazing, whoever doesn't enter is seriously silly! To say we, mere aussie girls, are jealous is probably the understatement of the year (We hate you shipping fees!). We were however, lucky enough to interview Erin who sheds some light on both Butter and her next novel, Dead Ends.



To start, can you tell us a bit about yourself?
I was born and raised in the Midwestern U.S., but now that I’ve had a taste of sunshine and year-round warm weather, I’ll probably never be able to survive another winter. These days, I live in Arizona, where I work as a TV News Producer, a job that gives me a lot of inspiration for my books.

For our curious readers, could you describe your book in three words.
Dark, funny, real. (at least I hope it’s all of these!)

We loved the depth of your characters, how they aren't pigeon-holed to being just the bullies and the bullied, for example, Butter is a bit of both which is something we don't often see in YA fiction. What inspired you to write the novel from the first person perspective of a morbidly obese teenager?
The character of Butter came to me in a flash one day, but I know that flash came from years of covering news stories about childhood obesity, teen suicide and internet bullying. Those stories sort of gathered in the back of my mind until they exploded out in this singular character. At first, I had a pretty simplistic idea of this funny and likeable guy, but the more I wrote, the more he showed me he was dark and complicated as well.

Which character from Butter do you relate to the most, either now or back when you were in high school?
At different stages in my life, I would have related to different characters. In junior high, it absolutely would have been Butter. By high school, I might have identified more with the characters who try but fail to reach Butter. And as an adult, I just hope I’m half as cool as The Professor.

We noticed that you recently did a cover reveal for your next book. Can you tell us a bit about it?
I’d love to! DEAD ENDS is the story of a bully about to get kicked out of school and a younger teen with Down Syndrome who is looking for his missing father. They form an unlikely alliance as they go searching for that father – following their only guide: an atlas full of riddles that lead to obscure towns and a lot of dead ends… until one riddle reveals a secret that could change the course of their journey entirely.

Now onto the miscellaneous portion of the interview, if you had to have a last meal, what would be on the menu?
I think about this all the time! My mom’s spaghetti, hot & sour soup, eggs benedict, Whitey’s chocolate peanut butter revel malt, and Cheez-Its.

Do you think you could win the Hunger Games?
Only if I had Katniss looking out for me, because I would be like Peeta and become an expert in hiding!

Which Hogwarts house would you want to be in? Which do you think you'd be put in?
Ravenclaw!

If you were stranded on a desert island, which three things would you want to have?
A boat, a compass, and the expert ability to sail. (I have no intention of staying on this island!)

And finally, because our blog is called Looking for the Panacea, if you had to choose some Panacea Candidates, what would they be?
I think there is really only one candidate. HARRY POTTER has to be the Panacea of children’s books. It not only brought kids back to libraries and bookstores, but it opened up children’s literature to adults and ushered in a new era of reading. I don’t think we will see that again in our lifetime.

Giveaway Details
  • The giveaway is open to US ONLY
  • There will be one winner. This person will win a signed copy of Butter by Erin Jade Lange
  • You must be a follower of this blog to enter (by GFC)
  • You must be 13 or older to enter, and have your parent's permission if you are younger than 18
  • Giveaway ends on the 21st May.
  • Winners will be notified by email and will have 48 hours to respond before a new winner is chosen.
  • We are not responsible for any packages lost or damaged in the mail.
  • ALL ENTRIES WILL BE CHECKED. So don't cheat. Yeah, we're watching you....
Onto the giveaway!

11 comments:

  1. Great interview! Wow! I can't WAIT to read this! I love that cover, too ; )
    I wonder what kind of events or people inspired the author while writing this book!?
    Thanks for the giveaway!
    mestith at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  2. This books sounds dark but compelling. Popularity is such a scary thing no matter where you fall on the spectrum. Great interview.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Great Interview! She is going to be an author that i am going to follow because I love her writing style. I cannot wait to read this book! It sounds great. Thank you for the amazing interview I always enjoy getting to know the author's behind the books.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I absolutely loved this interview! I really like that she takes really unexpected characters and makes them three dimensional. That's always something I look for in a novel. Also, I love both the question and answer to the question about the Hunger Games :-)

    Thanks for this great book and generous giveaway!

    Christina @ Ensconced in YA

    ReplyDelete
  5. Loved the interview! I really did enjoy reading it. And the book sounds like it will be a great read. I'm adding it to my wish list and looking forward to reading it!! Thank you for this awesome interview!! Thank you so much for your generous giveaway prize!! Thank you so much for a chance to win and for being a part of this fun and awesome blog hop!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I loved Butter! Such a good book. I am fascinated by highschool stories. I agree with Erin -- I don't think we'll see another Harry Potter phenomenon in our lifetime. So glad we have it!

    (Also, yes to the cheez-its being on the menu for the last meal. Best crackers ever!)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Cool interview, the book sounds so intriguing. Great Giveaway. I am hopping over from the KidLitGH. Have a great book week.

    ReplyDelete
  8. i am jealous that she lives in arizona! i want to go there, sun and better air! :)

    rafflecopter name nicole krutz

    ReplyDelete
  9. After reading your review, I would love to read Erin Jade Lange's books. Her answers show she has a great sense of humor which will probably be revealed through her writing.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I love that the book takes a more serious approach, but still seems like a fun read. Seeing that your next book is also somewhat about bullying, what kind of bullying experiences do you have in your life?

    ReplyDelete
  11. I liked her sense of humor. I like reading about new authors as I have trouble picking out new books.

    daveshir2005@yahoo.com
    fb/ shirley greenawalt zolenski

    ReplyDelete