Character Interview with Finn + Signed Born Wicked + Swag Pack Giveaway!

Hi everyone! You’re probably looking for more books to win, right? So this is your chance. This is the last book up for grabs before the Apocalypsies Prize Pack. Make sure you stick around for my character interview with Finn Belastra from Born Wicked and for the lovely (read: worth it) giveaway later.

Can you introduce yourself to us?

Certainly. Pleased to meet you, miss. I'm Finn Belastra. I'm a bookseller at my mother's bookshop, and a gardener at the Cahill estate, and a classics scholar in my limited spare time. 

What's your dream girl like?

Clever. Brave. Beautiful. The Brothers think women should be subservient, meek, follow their husbands in all things. That's not what I want. A wife like that would be a dead bore. I grew up with a mother who was educated and strong, and I wouldn't want anything less in a wife. (grins) To be clear, I'm describing a particular girl. Pointy chin. Stubborn. Hint of red in her hair. 

Before you worked as a gardener for the Cahill family, what did you think of Cate?

I thought she was a bit stuck-up. She always seemed in a rush to get out of the shop, like we were beneath her. I know now how wrong that was.

What do you think of Paul, honestly?

Logically, he's a better choice for Cate than I am. He could provide for her. He has money and steady work and a good reputation. I've got nothing to offer but myself. But I don't think anyone could love her more than I do. And McLeod may say he wants a girl with spirit -- but would he understand Cate's secrets? I'm not certain he's as progressive as he thinks. 

Can you tell us about your most unforgettable experience?

The worst: when I came home from school to find my father dead. He was a great man. Principled, clever, loyal. I knew right away my life would be different, going forward; I'd have to help Mother run the shop and make ends meet instead of going away to university. 

The best: well, that would be a spoiler, wouldn't it? But it involves Cate.

Do you regret anything?

No. No matter what happens with Cate, whether we can find a way to be together or no, I'll never regret my time with her. 

Giveaway: Signed Copy of Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood + Swag!

Last month, I reviewed Born Wicked. If you’re still undecided whether to read Born Wicked or not, let me convince you with my review.

Add BornWicked in Goodreads

"Blessed with a gift..."cursed" with a secret."

Everybody knows Cate Cahill and her sisters are eccentric. Too pretty, too reclusive, and far too educated for their own good. But the truth is even worse: they're witches. And if their secret is discovered by the priests of the Brotherhood, it would mean an asylum, a prison ship - or an early grave.

Before her mother died, Cate promised to protect her sisters. But with only six months left to choose between marriage and the Sisterhood, she might not be able to keep her word . . . especially after she finds her mother's diary, uncovering a secret that could spell her family's destruction. Desperate to find alternatives to their fate, Cate starts scouring banned books and questioning rebellious new friends, all while juggling tea parties, shocking marriage proposals, and a forbidden romance with the completely unsuitable Finn Belastra.

If what her mother wrote is true, the Cahill girls aren't safe. Not from the Brotherhood, the Sisterhood - not even from each other.

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After graduation, she moved to Washington, DC. I got my M.A. in Theatre History & Criticism at Catholic University while she interned in literary management at a few different DC theatres. Eventually she realized that she loved theatre, but not enough to make a career out of it. It was a scary thing to admit. She coped by rereading all of my favorite books from childhood. L.M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables and Emily of New Moon books led her to reading some of the brilliant YA that's being published now. In 2007, she started writing her own YA fantasy, Inheriting Garolass, about a portrait-painting girl who discovers her family's link to a world where artists are considered enemies of the state. This manuscript helped her snag her awesome agent, Jim McCarthy at DGLM. Unfortunately, Garolass didn't sell—but the next book did, in a pre-empt from Penguin for the whole trilogy. 

Now she lives in a hipster neighborhood in Washington, DC with her brilliant playwright husband and a very cuddly cat named Monkey, and she is a full-time author.

Connect with Jess: Twitter | Goodreads | Site

*photo credit to Anne Chan