Wednesday, March 4, 2015

Interview & Giveaway: Infinity Bell by Devon Monk

UFI welcomes Author Devon Monk. Thanks for Joining us!!

What can you tell my readers about yourself that they might not know from looking on your bio or reading in another interview? 

I'm a big fan of the TV show SUPERNATURAL. Love those Winchester boys.

What do you enjoy doing on your down time? 

I like to knit silly things and try my hand at other crafty projects. I have a list of local hikes I'm looking forward to checking off too.

What is your Favorite part of writing? 

I love revisions. Don't get me wrong, there is an exciting flying-without-a-net quality to  drafting a piece which is a lot of fun. But there's something magical about transforming a messy, awkward, crummy first draft into something clear, smooth, and hopefully enjoyable.

Do you have any certain routines you must follow as you write? 

I don't have any rituals or traditions or routines except that I write pretty much every day. I can fit writing into any space or time, chaos or silence, as long as I have something I can use to take notes.

What are some of your Favorite books or Authors in the Urban Fantasy/ Paranormal Genres? 

Ilona Andrews and Patricia Briggs always get my vote for amazing urban fantasy.

How would you pitch the House Immortal Series to someone who has not heard of it before? 

I call it my urban fantasy, near-future, Frankenstein farm girl, gently dystopic, steampunk-light, time travel, save-the-world story. My editor describes it as urban fantasy meets Firefly, and I think that's pretty accurate too.

Can you tell us a little bit about the world that the House Immortal Series is set in? 

It is Earth, a couple hundred years in the future after society has suffered a fall and rebuilt again. Corporations have divided down the lines of resources so that there is one world-wide corporation in charge of water, one in charge of technology, one in charge of agriculture and so on. Those who rule the corporate Houses also own the Galvanized, twelve near-immortals who are body guards, status symbols, and property.  The Houses believe the key to the immortality they each crave can be found in the thirteenth Galvanized, Matilda Case, but she has other ideas about that.

Do you have a favorite scene in Infinity Bell

I have several favorite scenes! Hm. If I had to pick just one?  It's toward the end of the book, and I don't really want to give it away. But it happens in the basement of the farmhouse. That scene had been in my mind for months, and when I finally had a chance to write it, the words flowed in a wild rush. The scene that follows it involves rediscovering a stalwart friend, and that was a delight to write too.

Which character was your favorite to write about? What about the hardest to write about? 

I love writing about all of them, but I have a fondness for Foster First and Welton Yellow's story. I love their history, and the spoken and unspoken friendship between those two.  I don't think there was a hardest character to write about in this book.

Do you think this series is easier or harder to write than your Allie Beckstrom series was? 

They both were challenging in different ways. The Allie Beckstrom series was my first, so I certainly had a lot to learn about writing a series. While I still think I have a lot to learn, the House Immortal series was mostly made more complicated by the time travel aspect that loops through the books. But both series have been so much fun to write!

What Other Projects can we look forward to reading from you? 

The third book in the House Immortal trilogy: CRUCIBLE ZERO will be out September 1st this year, and I think it's available for pre-order now. I'm looking forward to sharing it with readers.

I have a few other projects in the works, but I can't reveal anything about them yet. It is safe to say that I am sticking to the fantasy genre, trying to wrangle some time to write  book #4 in the Age of Steam series and also a few short stories with characters we know and love.  

Thanks so much for having me here!
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Devon Monk is the national bestselling author of two urban fantasy series, Allie Beckstrom (Magic for a Price; Magic Without Mercy) and Broken Magic (Stone Cold; Hell Bent), as well as the author of the Age of Steam steampunk series (Cold Copper; Tin Swift). When she’s not writing, Devon knits silly things and lives in Oregon with her husband, two sons, and a dog named Mojo.



Find Devon and her books
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Infinity Bell
House Immortal #2
Matilda Case isn’t normal. Normal people aren’t stitched together, inhumanly strong, and ageless, as she and the other galvanized are. Normal people’s bodies don’t hold the secret to immortality—something the powerful Houses will kill to possess. And normal people don’t know that they’re going to die in a few days.

Matilda’s fight to protect the people she loves triggered a chaotic war between the Houses and shattered the world’s peace. On the run, she must find a way to stop the repeat of the ancient time experiment that gifted her and the other galvanized with immortality. Because this time, it will destroy her and everything she holds dear.

Caught in a cat-and-mouse game of lies, betrayal, and unseen foes, Matilda must fight to save the world from utter destruction. But time itself is her enemy, and every second brings her one step closer to disaster....
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Review: Infinity Bell by Devon Monk

Infinity Bell
Author: Devon Monk
Release Date: March 3, 2015
Publisher: Roc
ISBN:   045146737X
ISBN13: 9780451467379
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Review Copy Source: Publisher

Return to national bestselling author Devon Monk's heartpounding House Immortal series, where eleven powerful Houses control the world and all its resources. But now, the treaty between them has been broken, and no one—not even the immortal galvanized—is safe....

Matilda Case isn’t normal. Normal people aren’t stitched together, inhumanly strong, and ageless, as she and the other galvanized are. Normal people’s bodies don’t hold the secret to immortality—something the powerful Houses will kill to possess. And normal people don’t know that they’re going to die in a few days.

Matilda’s fight to protect the people she loves triggered a chaotic war between the Houses and shattered the world’s peace. On the run, she must find a way to stop the repeat of the ancient time experiment that gifted her and the other galvanized with immortality. Because this time, it will destroy her and everything she holds dear.

Caught in a cat-and-mouse game of lies, betrayal, and unseen foes, Matilda must fight to save the world from utter destruction. But time itself is her enemy, and every second brings her one step closer to disaster....

Matilda, her brother Quinten, Abraham and Neds are on the run from the houses and trying to get home to save Matilda's Grandmother and fix the time break before it's too late. 

There is a lot of suspense and action in INFINITY BELL. Matilda's group is constantly looking over their shoulder and hoping not to put those helping them in danger. When danger comes, they work together to get everyone to safety. We heard a lot about Quinten in HOUSE IMMORTAL, but didn't really officially meet him until INFINITY BELL. The close relationship between him and Matilda was nice to witness and their sibling banter was entertaining.

The romance between Matlida and Abraham is in full force. They have always had an attraction and they now act on it. They fit well together, they compliment each other and they make each other happy in a time where happiness isn't a given.

I enjoyed the time travel aspect of INFINITY BELL. Matlida wasn't in the past for very long, but the bad guy followers her there and things don't go as she planned. I also enjoyed seeing Foster in his native time before he became a Galvanised. I have to admit I was a little thrown off by the ending. I am sad that Matilda seems to have lost so much because of the twist. I really hope book 3, CRUCIBLE ZERO, brings all of those things back to her.

I gave it 4/5 stars

* This book was provided free of charge from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.