Blog Tour of Airel ~ Interview + Giveaway

On tour is Airel by Aaron Patterson and Chris White.  Look at the cover.  It is absolutely gorgeous.  Makes me want to get right into it!  (I am currently reading it and enjoying it so far.)

I am very excited to have Aaron Patterson, one of the authors of "Airel", stopping by today to give us a little more info about the book.  I thank him for taking the time to answer some questions.

  Why did you decide to set your book in Boise, Idaho?
I live here and wanted to base a story in my home town. I always thought it was cool to read a book set in the same town as where I lived. It did make the research much easier.

Airel is a YA book.  I noticed that Aaron has written Adult thrillers and Chris picture books. Why did you decide to change genres ?
 I had a lot of teens read my adult thrillers and I love reading YA. Chris has another YA novel in the works. I plan to do a ton more writing as YA is so mush fun!

How did you come up with the plot for Airel and why did you decide to have a co-writer?
 The story came from a two verse Bible story in Gen. 6:1,2. It always made me think and there is so much missing my imagination took over from there. As to the co-author, I met Chris and work with him and his writing was so amazing but I never thought to have a co-author. A friend in my local book club mentioned that we should write a book together and I was done with the first draft of Airel and the rest as they say, is history.

Airel is written from a female perspective.  Was it hard to write?
 Not really. I am a little of a "in touch" kind of a guy. I had a lot of girls I knew look it over as i wrote it to make sure it sounded right as well as a woman editor. I did not want to mess it up. Things like making her not want to get mixed up with boys and falling for one hard and just the mixed up way she wants one thing and does another was all a part of making her real. I think it worked but it is still a learning process.

Is there anything in particular that you would like to share with us about your book?
 I want everyone to enjoy the novel and really dig into the Kreios parts as they do build to something important. I find in most YA novels they are all from one point of view and I wanted to do something different and fresh. And I am a little ADD so it kept me writing and hopefully you reading.

Is Airel a stand alone book or do we have more to look forward to?
 It will be a 5 part series and maybe more depending how the story comes to me. There is a lot to see and tell so you never know. Michael is book 2 and Kreios is book 3. Thanks for the interview, Cheers.

Book Description:

All Airel ever wanted to be was normal, to disappear into the crowd. But bloodlines can produce surprises, like sudden mysterious illness. Then there’s Michael Alexander, the new guy in school, who is impossibly gorgeous…and captivated by her. Somewhere in the back of her mind she can hear the sound of pages turning, and another, older story being written. It is the story of an ancient family, of great warriors, of the Sword of Light, and the struggle against an evil so terrible, so far-reaching, that it threatens everything she hopes for even now. Airel knew change would be inevitable as life went on. But can she hold on when murder and darkness begin to close in and take away everything she loves? Will she have what it takes when the truth is finally revealed?

Meet the Authors: (From Pump Up Your Book)
Aaron Patterson is the author of the bestselling WJA series as well as a  two Digital Shorts 19 and The Craigslist Killer. He was homeschooled and grew up in the west. Aaron loved to read from a small child and would often be found behind a book and would read 1-3 a day on average. This love drove him to want to write but never thought he had the talent. He wrote Sweet Dreams the first book in the WJA series in 2008. Airel is his first teen series and plans for more to come are already in the works. He lives in Boise Idaho with his family, Soleil, Kale and Klayton. His daughter had an imaginary friend named She.
His latest book is Airel.  You can visit his website at StoneHouse Ink or connect with him on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1462837115.


Chris White has an award for reading 750 books in one school year—from the 3^rd grade. So yes, he’s more of a nerd than Aaron. Chris loves history, Sherlock Holmes, and anything that’s not virtual, like old motorcycles and mechanical typewriters. He recently celebrated 9 years of marriage with his wife, April, and has two boys: Noah, age 7, and Jaden, age 2, who inspired the illustrated kid’s book series of Great Jammy Adventures. Chris is working on a short story called The Marsburg Diary that will further explore the prologue to Airel, and he is finishing up his first novel, entitled K, due out in 2011. Chris has a major crush on Audrey Hepburn, who is now dead. His wife is okay with all of this.
Chris’ latest book is Airel.  Connect with him at Facebook at www.facebook.com/whatnorthbetrue.


You can read an excerpt from the book at Pump Up your Book... here!

We are lucky enough to have a giveaway.  Yay!!  Who wouldn't want to win this book, right?

Please leave a comment with your email address to enter.  You must be over 13.  The contest will run until July 15th.  One winner will be selected using Random.org.  You will only be entered once even if you leave more than one comment, there will be only one entry per comment.  There will be one winner.  The winner will be notified by email and more info will be requested at that time. I will forward the info of the winner to Pump Up Your Book who will get it to the right person.