Saturday, July 28, 2012

Around the World K!ndle F!re Blog Hop

In celebration of the Summer Olympics authors Courtney Vail and J.L. Campbell are hosting the Around the World Blog Hop!! There are so many great authors, books and locations to discover, as well as prizes to be won, so hop around. If you collect all the various locations featured, you can enter them into the rafflecopter for an extra 25 entry points to win your very own Kindle Fire. And there are only 16 blogs, so it shouldn't be too overwhelming.I am also giving away a $5 Amazon Gift Card and 3 eBook copies of my novel Songbird.


As part of the blog hop I am hosting an interview with Jeanne Bannon, author of Invisible. I have my copy of Invisible on my Kindle and am getting ready to start reading! Don't forget to enter both rafflecopter drawings and check out the other blogs participating in the hop!


Invisible by Jeanne Bannon

Synopsis
Lola’s not pretty. Lola’s not popular. Lola wishes she could disappear … and then one day she does just that...

For seventeen-year-old Lola Savullo, life is a struggle. Born to funky parents who are more in than she could ever be, Lola’s dream of becoming a writer makes her an outsider even in her own home. Bullied and despised, Lola still has the support of her best pal Charlie and Grandma Rose.

Not only is she freakishly tall, Lola’s a big girl and when forced to wear a bathing suit at her summer job as a camp counselor, Lola’s only escape from deep embarrassment seems to be to literally vanish. Soon after, she discovers the roots of her new “ability”. 

Slowly, with Charlie’s help, Lola learns to control the new super power. The possibilities are endless. Yet power can be abused, too…

Then, when tragedy strikes, Lola must summon her inner strength, both at home and at school. She has to stand up for herself, despite the temptations and possibilities of her newfound super power. 
What gave you the idea for the book?   
  
Invisible is about bullying and overcoming it. While in grades 7 and 8, I was bullied. I suppose a lot of the emotional aspects of the book came from my experiences. It was easy to write for that reason.  
 
Invisible is not autobiographical but I did put a lot of how I felt at the time of my being bullied into the main character, Lola Savullo. Lola, however, is much more courageous than I ever was.   
 
Who are your main characters?  
 
My main characters are seventeen-year-old, Lola Savullo, her eighty-year-old grandmother, Rose, her androgynous friend Charlie, her secret crush, Jon and the school bully, Nino.
 
Who is your favorite character and why?     
 
My favorite character is Lola. She’s the main character and the book is written in first person through her eyes. I love Lola for her courage and fighting spirit as well as her depth of character. She’s a teenage girl but in many ways she’s more mature than those around her including her own parents.     

 What was your biggest challenge writing this book? 

 Writing Invisible was really quite easy. I look at it as a gift of sorts. I’m writing another book now and I’m certainly not having as easy a time as I did when writing Invisible. It only took four months to complete. A feat I know I could never repeat.    

Where do you live?   

I live in a small town outside of Toronto, called Bolton. I’ve lived here for twenty years.     

Tell us a little about an interesting landmark in your country.   

 Toronto is home to the CN Tower. In 1995, it was classified as one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World. It was built in 1976 by the Canadian National Railway Company. At 553.33 m (1,815 ft, 5 inches), it is the world’s tallest Tower.    

Since the Tower opened, Canadians and tourists from around the world have made the trip to Toronto to celebrate this marvel of civil engineering. Besides serving as a telecommunications hub, the Tower provides world-class entertainment and a wide range of unique attractions, exhibits and food and beverage venues. 

 What's the most well known city in your country and why?     

Canada has many well known cities, but I imagine Toronto is the most well known. It’s a large city with a great deal of diversity in terms of ethnicities and cultures. It’s also home to the Toronto Blue Jays, The Raptors and our beloved Maple Leafs.     

What's a little known fact about where you live?   

 Canada is the largest country in the Western hemisphere. How large? 9,910,610 square kilometres, and stretching 5,500km from Pacific to Atlantic. That's how large! Nearly 800,000 sq.kilometers of Canada's land is covered by bodies of fresh water such as lakes and rivers, making Canada the largest source of fresh water in the world. Also, the coastline extends approximately 244,000 km.     

Name two famous people who've been sighted in your corner of the world.     

There are many famous people born in Toronto. Norman Jewison lives somewhere near me, though I have no idea where, lol. Also, Jim Carrey, David Cronenberg, Martin Short (who I’ve met and is a wonderful man) and Howie Mandel are all Canadian, to name just a few. I know, I can’t count. You’d asked for only two.     

What's your favorite restaurant and what type of food do they serve?     

My favorite restaurant is a little place here in town called Caruso’s. It’s an Italian restaurant and the food is made with fresh ingredients with no compromises. I’ve also met and become friends with a fellow writer who works there, named Vanessa Grillone.     

What are you giving away on you blog?     

I will be giving away an ecopy of Invisible.    

Who is the author you are highlighting on your blog?     

Leslie DuBois, author of The Queen Bee of Bridgeton
 
Where can readers connect with you?
a Rafflecopter giveaway a Rafflecopter giveaway

3 comments:

  1. Hi! Thank you for the awesome hop and the great giveaway! :)
    shadowluvs2read(at)gmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  2. May i ask who the winners were? Thanks!

    ReplyDelete