{Interview & Giveaway} Holly Cupala, author of Don't Breathe a Word

Its almost the end of the WORLD!!! And what better way to kick off our last week then...

Have Holly Cupala stop by and share her answers and some book love with us aye? ;)

(just kidding bout the end of the world stuff fyi! It just made for a good opener hehe ;D)

The Author:

Contact her at: ~Website~Goodreads~Twitter~Facebook~

Holly Cupala wrote teen romance novels before she ever actually experienced teen romance. When she did, it became all about tragic poetry and slightly less tragic novels. When she isn't making art and writing, she spends time with her husband and children in Seattle, Washington. These days, her writing is less about tragedy and more about hope.

The Interview:

1. You write about teens and their struggles in life and finding themselves. Does some of the inspiration come from your teen years?

Thank you for inviting me to your blog, Jaiden! I would say the exact events of my novels are fictional, but the emotions are true. I have vivid memories of my high school and college years, and I tried to draw on them to make the characters and scenes as authentic as I could. My close friends know the secrets, and they’re not telling...

2. How does an author pick the title of their book? Where did you get the idea of Don't Breathe a Word?

Most of the time book titles change before going to publication, for various reasons. The original title for Don’t Breathe a Word was “Street Creed,” which didn’t really have the oooh factor of my first book, Tell Me a Secret. So we did a lot of brainstorming, (some reject titles included “Then I Disappeared,” “The Dangers of Breathing,” “Street of Ashes,”), then the final title woke me up in the middle of the night. Luckily my publisher liked it, too! 

3. What authors have you created bonds with over your years of being authors?

YA authors are a pretty close-knit and friendly group—I’ve been very lucky to get to know many. Too many to name all of them, but some of my dearest author friends are Janet Lee Carey, Martha Brockenbrough, Justina Chen, Heather Davis, Liz Gallagher, Kevin Emerson, Katherine Bond. People who have encouraged me along the way—Ellen Hopkins, Libba Bray, Shannon Hale, Laurie Halse Anderson, Deb Caletti. I’m in awe of all of them.

If you could pick two songs that would be a part of Don't Breathe a Word, what would they be?

I made up a whole playlist for Don’t Breathe a Word (you can find it here: http://pl.st/p/22567607051), but if I were to pick two songs, I would choose Death Cab for Cutie’s “I Will Follow You (Into the Dark)” and Splashdown’s “Need Versus Want,” which is the soundtrack to the DBAW book trailer:

5. Don't Breathe a Word has been called a "sophomore book". Can you explain to us what a "sophomore book is"?

Sophomore is just a fancy way of saying an author’s second novel. My first was Tell Me a Secret, which came out from HarperTeen in 2010.

6. Have you got anything else planned for us? What can you tell us about it if so.

I’m working on another contemporary YA, like my first novels on steroids—very emotionally charged and suspenseful and hopeful. Four voices, four terrible secrets, one explosive murder that will connect them all… 

The Book(s):

Don't Breathe a Word

Release Date: January 3, 2012

by, HarperTeen

Buy at: ~Amazon~B&N~Indie Bound~

Pages: 299

Joy delamere is suffocating.  

From asthma, from her parents, and from her boyfriend, Asher, who is smothering her from the inside out. She can take his cruel words, his tender words . . . until the night they go too far.  

To escape, Joy sacrifices her suburban life to find the one who offered his help, a homeless boy called Creed. He introduces her to a world of fierce loyalty, to its rules of survival, and to love--a world she won't easily let go.

Set against the backdrop of the streets of Seattle, Holly Cupala's power-ful new novel explores the subtleties of abuse, the secrets we keep, and the ways to redemption. But above all, it is an unflinching story about the extraordinary lengths one girl will go to discover her own strength. {Goodreads}

(Click pic for Goodreads page) 

Extra Fun:

Thanks to Holly I got some extra's for you guys! Think of them as a pre-giveaway aye? ;)
*Two Chapter Preview of Don't Breathe a Word*
*Exclusive DBAW graphic novel chapters*
*DBAW Words Have Power, Author Addition*
*DBAW Tour of Seattle*

The Giveaway:

The Prize:

A copy of Don't Breathe a Word

The Rules:

You must be 13 years or older.

Please refrain from leaving any personal information in the comments section

There will be 1 winner (chosen randomly by Rafflecopter).

The winner will have 72 hours to reply to the email/tweet. If not, a new winner will be chosen

This is a US giveaway only!

Giveaway ends January 5, 2013

Have fun!!! <3

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck! 

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Years everyone!! :D

~Jaiden