Welcome to my stop on the 2nd Annual Authors Are Rockstars Tour! I am honored today to be hosting the amazing author Cecily White! Along with meeting the amazing author, I have a really cool guest post from Cecily and an AWESOME giveaway to share with you all!
I had the opportunity to read and review Cecily's debut novel, Prophecy Girl, which is the first book in the Angel Academy series. I was immediately blown away by the incredible writing and evident talent that the book held. The characters were well written and realistic, the world building was believable with vivid details and description, and the paranormal story line was fascinating, witty, and at times downright funny. I mean - you get angels, demons, vampires, magic - what more could you possibly want?! I seriously could NOT believe that this was her first novel! I'm totally stoked that it was just the first book in what I think is going to be a kickass YA paranormal series! I will admit to following (maybe stalking) her in various ways around the net. On top of being a writer, this chick has mad skills (she's a doctor!) that make her even more of a rockstar! Check out her bio and you'll see what I mean!
Let's meet the lady of the day, the author rockstar CECILY WHITE!
Cecily White, Psy.D. makes a habit of avoiding boredom whenever possible. She has
enjoyed careers as a hand model, GAP salesgirl, movie projectionist,
psychotherapist, yoga instructor, university professor, artist, dance
choreographer, eating disorders specialist, psych diagnostician, book
reviewer and copy editor. None of which are as much fun as writing
novels.
When not singing to herself, she spends time creating new worlds and thinking up ways to make this one better...
Angel Academy: Myths, Legends... and Stuff I Made Up
by Cecily White
I know, you thought it was plate tectonics, right? Don't feel badly – lots of people think that. But they're all wrong. It's fiction.
Since the dawn of humanity, people have made up stories – stories to explain the origin of the universe, the clouds, the path of the sun across the sky. Some of them are pretty baked, too. (My favorite is the Chinese myth about the giant dude who basically sneezed out the universe. No, seriously. Look it up.)
My point is, no matter what the story creators were smoking, it doesn't change the fact that humans crave understanding. We need it. So, if something eludes us, we make stuff up. Crazy stuff. Stuff that only makes sense to children and psychopaths. And, of course, YA urban fantasy readers – most of whom ride the happy medium between eternal childhood and raging psychopathy. (Yay, readers!)
The world of Angel Academy follows the same rules – it starts with a myth. The myth passes into legend, the legend becomes a story, and eventually we find ourselves talking about angels and demons as if they sit next to us in bio lab every day. So maybe they do. I don't know.
But let's go back to the myth:
It started at the Book of Enoch, with the legend of the Fallen. Two hundred angels fell to earth, cast out of the heavens. We know from the myth that the Fallen tried to mate with humans. But what grew out of that union – the Anakim – ended up being pretty darned creepy. (Think man-eating, soul-sucking giants, then multiply it times a million. Ugh.) So, seeing what a nightmare this was, God ordered the Anakim destroyed and bound the Fallen angels so they could never canoodle with humans again.
(Except I doubt He said canoodle.)
(And not all of them were destroyed.)
That's where we jump to the Stuff-I-Made-Up part of this story.
In Angel Academy, the Guardians were the species tasked with battling the Anakim, and keeping any cracks sealed after the Fallen were banished. That's the main reason my characters exist, in fact – to keep the Mortal World separate from the Crossworlds.
Mostly, they do a decent job. They work together – Watchers (boys) and Channelers (girls) echo the whole yin/yang, anima/animus balance of the universe. But it's an uphill battle. Too many souls to protect, too few volunteers. Needless to say, a couple of Anakim got away in the original battle, and decided to lay low. They blended in, hid their powers, until even they had forgotten what they were.
That's the ancestry of our heroine, Amelie Bennett. Pure evil. Soul-swallowers. The kind of living dread that gives kids nightmares.
Unfortunately, Amelie's also a pretty nice girl who really just wants to slay bad guys. And Jack, the guy she's recruited as her Watcher, would REALLY prefer not to have to kill her.... At least not before they get to slow dance a few times.
There are aspects of the story that are also drawn from biblical lore, but I can't give them to you because it would spoil a few surprises in Books II and III.
I will say, however, that the themes of the book aren't unfamiliar to normal teen experience: Who am I? Am I bound by my destiny/genetics/circumstance, or am I free to create myself each day? How can I reconcile my good intentions with these weird, hormonal, occasionally-destructive impulses?
Bottom line, people aren't simple. Because they, like the stories that hold our world together, sometimes only make sense to children and psychopaths. And YA readers, happily!
Anyway, I hope I've vagued that up sufficiently for you. If you want to read more about Amelie, Jack, and the Guardians in the Angel Academy Series, you can find them at:
www.CecilyWhite.com
www.facebook.com/AngelAcademySeries
or you can follow me on Twitter: @CecilyWhite
Check out the book:
Prophecy Girl (Angel Academy #1)
Genre: YA Paranormal
Release Date: April 2, 2013
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Description:
Amelie Bennett. . . . Ending the world, one prophecy at a time.
I was born to slay Crossworld demons.
Big black flappy ones, little green squirmy ones. Unfortunately, the only thing getting slain these days is my social life. With my high school under attack, combat classes intensifying, and Academy instructors dropping right and left, I can barely get my homework done, let alone score a bondmate before prom.
Then he shows up.
Jackson Smith-Hailey. Unspeakably hot, hopelessly unattainable, and dangerous in all the right ways. Sure, he’s my trainer. And okay, maybe he hates me. Doesn’t mean I’ll ignore the wicked Guardian chemistry between us. It’s crazy! Every time I’m with him, my powers explode. Awesome, right?
Wrong.
Now my teachers think I’m the murderous Graymason destined to bring down our whole race of angelbloods. Everyone in New Orleans is hunting me. The people I trusted want me dead. Jack and I have five days to solve the murders, prevent a vampire uprising, and thwart the pesky prophecy foretelling his death by my hand. Shouldn’t be too difficult.
Getting it done without falling in love. . . that might take a miracle.
I was born to slay Crossworld demons.
Big black flappy ones, little green squirmy ones. Unfortunately, the only thing getting slain these days is my social life. With my high school under attack, combat classes intensifying, and Academy instructors dropping right and left, I can barely get my homework done, let alone score a bondmate before prom.
Then he shows up.
Jackson Smith-Hailey. Unspeakably hot, hopelessly unattainable, and dangerous in all the right ways. Sure, he’s my trainer. And okay, maybe he hates me. Doesn’t mean I’ll ignore the wicked Guardian chemistry between us. It’s crazy! Every time I’m with him, my powers explode. Awesome, right?
Wrong.
Now my teachers think I’m the murderous Graymason destined to bring down our whole race of angelbloods. Everyone in New Orleans is hunting me. The people I trusted want me dead. Jack and I have five days to solve the murders, prevent a vampire uprising, and thwart the pesky prophecy foretelling his death by my hand. Shouldn’t be too difficult.
Getting it done without falling in love. . . that might take a miracle.
You can read my 4 broom review of the book here: http://adreamwithindream.blogspot.com/2013/03/prophecy-girl-blog-tour-review-giveaway.html
Cecily has generously offered a SIGNED copy of Prophecy Girl + a collectible bookmark for (1) lucky winner! Open to the contiguous US Only!
