A Dream Within A Dream: Bethany Wiggins

March 13, 2014

Cured Blog Tour: Interview

Welcome to my stop on the CURED blog tour! Today I have an interview with the author, Bethany Wiggins, to share with you - I hope you enjoy it!!

Cured (Stung #2)

Author: Bethany Wiggins
Genre: YA Science Fiction/Dystopia
Release Date: March 13, 2014
Publisher: Walker Childrens (Bloomsbury)

Description:

Now that Fiona Tarsis and her twin brother, Jonah, are no longer beasts, they set out to find their mother, with the help of Bowen and a former neighbor, Jacqui. Heading for a safe settlement rumored to be in Wyoming, they plan to spread the cure along the way--until they are attacked by raiders. Luckily, they find a new ally in Kevin, who saves them and leads them to safety in his underground shelter. But the more they get to know Kevin, the more they suspect he has ties to the raiders. He also seems to know too many details about Jacqui and her family—details that could endanger them all. For the raiders will do anything they can to destroy the cure that would bring an end to their way of life. Bethany Wiggins’s reimagining of our world after an environmental catastrophe won’t fail to stun readers.

1. What inspired you to write the series?

Believe it or not, STUNG was primarily inspired by a horrible nightmare I had, about waking up in my childhood home and finding everything abandoned, and then being chased out a window by an insane beast who used to be someone I loved. That nightmare is chapter one! Other parts of STUNG were inspired by the frenzy in the United States to get the flu vaccine when the swine flu was going around, and also, the bees dying off (colony collapse) inspired part if it. CURED is a continuation of that.

2. What do you find the hardest part of writing to be?

There are two hardest parts. Right now, the hardest part is finding time and balance. I'm a new mom--for the fifth time!--and it is really hard to find a spare moment to sit at the computer when laundry is piling up, diapers are needing changing, and kids are hungry. The other hard part is not knowing where a story is going (aka writer's block). How can you write a story if you don't know what is going to happen next?

3. What can we expect from the next book in the series?

I don't know if there will be a next book in the STUNG series. This might be a duology. CURED is written in a way that will give readers closure so that if I don't write more in the STUNG world, people will still be satisfied.

4. How did you become an author? Was there a person or significant event that motivated you?

The reason I started writing is because my older sister thought it would be fun to write a book, and she wanted someone to write one at the same time. So she dared me to do it. I started writing and was shocked by how much I liked it. I wrote and edited a lot of manuscripts--as in thousands and thousands of pages--before I finally got good enough to get an agent (Marlene Stringer) and a publisher. Cured is the tenth or eleventh book I wrote.

5. What's up next for you?

In the immediate future, motherhood. As for writing, I'm kind of funny when it comes to writing books. A story idea has to hit me, sort of like being struck by lightning. I am quietly waiting for that story--I can feel it in my near future. When it hits, I will write it.

Thanks so much for stopping by and chatting today Bethany!

Bethany Wiggins has always been an avid reader, but not an avid student. Seriously! She failed ninth grade English because she read novels instead of doing her homework. In high school, she sat alone at lunch and read massive hardback fantasy novels (Tad Williams and Robert Jordan anyone?). It wasn't until the end of her senior year that the other students realized she was reading fiction--not the Bible

Once upon a time, Bethany's sister dared her to start writing an hour a day until she completed a novel. Bethany wrote a seven-hundred page fantasy novel that she wisely let no one read--but it taught her how to write. Since then she has penned SHIFTING (2011), STUNG (2013), and CURED (2014). (Taken from Goodreads)

Author Links:

http://bethanywiggins.com/

http://www.suzettesaxton.blogspot.com/

@WiggB

April 4, 2013

Stung Blog Tour: Guest Post, Review & Giveaway

Stung
Author: Bethany Wiggins
Genre: YA Dystopian
Release Date: April 2, 2013
Publisher: Walker Childrens
304 pages

Description:

There is no cure for being stung.

Fiona doesn’t remember going to sleep. But when she opens her eyes, she discovers her entire world has been altered—her house is abandoned and broken, and the entire neighborhood is barren and dead. Even stranger is the tattoo on her right hand—a black oval with five marks on either side—that she doesn’t remember getting but somehow knows she must cover at any cost. She’s right.

Those bearing the tattoo have turned into mindless, violent beasts that roam the streets and sewers, preying upon the unbranded while a select few live protected inside a fortress-like wall, their lives devoted to rebuilding society and killing all who bear the mark.

Now Fiona has awakened branded, alone—and on the wrong side of the wall.

My feet slow as I walk toward a telephone pole. The wires lie spaghetti-twisted on the ground below it, and tacked to the front is a piece of paper at odds with this trashed, forgotten neighborhood. The paper is daffodil-yellow—not sun bleached, or water warped, or wind frayed. I take a closer look.

REWARD

1-4 marks ~ 1 oz. honey.

5-7 marks ~ 2 oz. honey

8-9 marks ~ 3 oz. honey

10 marks ~ 8 oz. honey

To claim reward, marked one must be alive.

Payments made Sundays @ Southgate or Northgate.

No payment for dead body.

Sincerely, Governor Jacoby Soneschen

Top 10 Most Influential Books

These ten books have left a deep impression on my life. Some of them are older books, some newer. But they are all fantastic!

The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley--I read this book when I was a kid, and it taught me to believe in magic. It took years for me to finally accept the fact that magic is only in books.

The Changeling Sea by Patricia McKillip--Again, that magic thing! I knew for sure there was magic in the sea after I read this. Now, years later, I still remember how I felt when I immersed myself in this story.

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson--This book is the best example of writing a character who pulls at your heart. I cried when I read this, and then reread it and cried again.

The Chronicles of Narnia By C. S. Lewis--These books taught me to hope that other worlds existed, and I just knew that I was going to go to Narnia one day.

The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan--Any author who can string me along for TWO DECADES has got something going for him.

Dune by Frank Herbert--I don't read hard-core sci-fi much, but this book blew me away.

The Dragonbone Chair by Tad Williams

Divergent by Veronica Roth

Possession by Elana Johnson

Chime by Franny Billingsly

Thanks so much for stopping by and sharing your most influential books with us Bethany!

Stung is a fantastically written and inventive young adult dystopian novel that follows Fiona "Fo" after she wakes up into a new world where zombies run rampant and those that bear the strange tattoo on their right hands - "the mark of the beast" - are hunted down and turned in for ransom. Fiona must figure out what has happened to the world since she fell asleep - what went terribly wrong - and what happened to her family, all while fighting to survive and not getting captured or eaten alive.

This was an original and interesting novel that delves into the idea of what would happen to the world if bees were to become extinct. What entails is a horror novel full of militia, zombies, and death on all levels of life. It's a scary thought that something like this could happen to the world just from bees being eradicated. Fiona was an interesting character - she had a lot to catch up on after missing out on the initial fallout - but she catches on quick. She's stronger than she thinks and is determined to survive, which gives her an edge in the new world she's been thrown into. The writing was enchanting and I was instantly drawn into the world the author created. The book was fast paced and I was reading as fast as I could to see what would happen next. I loved reading about the dystopian setting that the novel is based in and also finding out what happened to cause the world to come to this. Overall, this was a thought provoking and original novel that fans of dystopian fiction will not want to miss out on. Highly recommended!

Bethany Wiggins has always been an avid reader, but not an avid writer. She failed ninth grade English because she read novels instead of doing her homework. In high school, she sat alone at lunch and read massive hardback fantasy novels (Tad Williams and Robert Jordan anyone?). It wasn't until the end of her senior year that the other students realized she was reading fiction--not the Bible.

Once upon a time, Bethany's sister dared her to start writing an hour a day until she completed a novel. Bethany wrote a seven-hundred page fantasy novel that she wisely let no one read--but it taught her how to write. She is the author of SHIFTING, STUNG (April 2013), and CURED (2014).

Find Bethany:

Website: http://bethanywiggins.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/WiggB

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4582548.Bethany_Wiggins

Find Stung: