Guest interview with YA fantasy author Cathi Shaw

Today I'm featuring a guest interview with young adult fantasy author Cathi Shaw.

She's talking about her newest novel, Five Corners: The Marked Ones. During her tour, Cathi will be awarding a $50 Amazon or Barnes & Noble gift card to a lucky commenter. To be entered for a chance to win use the form below. To increase your chances of winning, feel free to visit other tour stops and enter there, too.

Bio:

Cathi Shaw lives in Summerland, BC with her husband and three children.  She is often found wandering around her home, muttering in a seemingly incoherent manner, particularly when her characters have embarked on new adventure. In addition to writing fiction, she teaches rhetoric and professional writing in the Department of Communications at Okanagan College and is the co-author of the textbook Writing Today.

Blurb for Five Corners: The Marked Ones:

Growing up in a sleepy village untouched by distant wars and political conflicts, it was easy for Thia, Mina and Kiara to forget such horrors existed in the Five Corners. That is until the dead child is found; a child that bears the same strange birthmark that all three sisters possess. A Mark their mother had always told them was unique to the girls.
Kiara’s suspicions grow as their Inn is soon overrun with outsiders from all walks of life. Strangers, soldiers and Elders who all seem to know more about what is happening than the girls do.
After Mina barely survives an attack in the forest, the sisters are faced with a shattering secret their mother has kept from them for years. As danger closes in around them, the sisters are forced from their home and must put their trust in the hands of strangers.  With more questions than answers, Kiara finds herself separated from everyone she loves and reliant on an Outlander who has spent too much time in army. She doesn’t trust Caedmon but she needs him if she has any hope of being reunited with her sisters and learning what the Mark might mean.



Excerpt:

"It's not a dream this time, Thia."

"I know," she admitted in a whisper. "But how is this happening?"

Teague shook his head at her, his hair falling forward over his forehead. "I know you're shocked. I was, too, when I first saw you. Then I realized that what we thought were only dreams, were just forays into a different reality." Excitement lit up his features. "A reality that, at times, feels more real than this one, don't you agree?"

Thia opened her mouth to deny what he was saying, even as a dozen memories burst to life in her head.

For the first time Thia noticed he was taller than in her dreams. Not as tall as her sisters but certainly taller than she.

He looked down at her, his eyes unreadable in the fading afternoon light.

And yet the essence of him was so familiar. Before she could stop herself Thia instinctively reached out to touch his forearm, wanted to feel the warm muscles above his gloves, to reassure herself that he was real.

Teague jerked away before she could reach him and Thia felt an inexplicable sense of hurt flood through her.

"I'm real, Thia," he whispered aloud, his breath stirring the hair on her forehead. "But you can't touch me. I can't explain right now but please don't try."

What is your favorite quote and why?

My favorite quote is by Helene Cixous and is refers to the pain involved in writing. The quote is: “The only book that is worth writing is the one we don’t have the courage or strength to write. The book that hurts us (we who are writing), that makes us tremble, redden, bleed. It is combat against ourselves, the author; one of us must be vanquished or die.” It’s my favorite because it’s true. If your writing doesn’t hurt you and make you feel, then it’s not genuine.

What is your favorite ice cream flavor?

This is weird but I don’t really like ice cream. When I was a kid I had a serious intolerance to dairy products and as a result I never really ate ice cream. But I’ve never tried a type of chocolate I didn’t like.

Which mythological creature are you most like?

Eurale, the Gorgon, because my kids say my scream could really kill. Hahaha!

What are four things you can’t live without?

Coffee, books, my iPhone, and my family. Not necessarily in that order.

What is your favorite television show?

I don’t watch TV but I do have a Netflix subscription. My favorite show of all time is definitely Star Trek: The Next Generation. A close second is Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Ways to connect with Cathi:

Twitter | Facebook | Tumblr 

Buy links for book:

Publisher | Amazon | Barnes and Noble   

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