The Best Reader:
amanda ashby

1. You write YA and MG titles. Which do you find to be more difficult?

Oh, great question! I find MG books a lot harder to write, which was a real surprise since I wasn’t expecting it! I love writing YA books and I never have to force them but with MG I felt really restricted. It was a lot harder for me to get my heroine out of the house and away from the protection of her family. Plus, it probably doesn’t help that my daughter is almost 12 and I keep freaking out at the idea that she might get up to the same things my heroine does!!!

2. What can you tell us about Demonosity?

Cassidy Carter-Lewis inadvertently becomes the guardian to an ancient alchemist treasure called the black rose and is forced to fight a horde of medieval demon knights. Along the way she also meets two demon brothers and learns that while not all demons are bad, not all of them are good either and soon the battle is a lot more personal than she ever expected.

There are so many things that I love about this book, not only my tortured demon knights but also Cassidy’s best friend Nash who is a total hottie! I also love Cassidy herself and she is going through a lot of personal struggles that I could really relate it. It’s definitely my favorite book so far!

3. What are your writing habits? Have you developed any new ones over the years?

My writing habits were actually a lot more structured before I sold a book. It was because my children were babies and so I only had specific times when I could sit down and write. However, now that they are in school I tend to flit around a lot more and then write in bursts (normally about ten minutes before they are due home!)

4. Do you have any special Halloween traditions?

We don’t really celebrate Halloween in Australia, though my kids always try and convince us to take them out Trick-or-Treating, which can be embarrassing since most doors they knock on are answered by grumpy people who don’t have any candy!

Fairy Bad Day by Amanda Ashby Publisher: Speak (June 9th, 2011) Reading Level: Young Adult Paperback: 336 pages
While most students at Burtonwood Academy get to kill demons and goblins, fifteen-year-old Emma gets to rid the world of little annoying fairies with glittery wings and a hipster fashion sense. She was destined to be a dragon slayer, but cute and charming Curtis stole her spot. Then she sees a giant killer fairy — and it's invisible to everyone but her! If Emma has any chance of stopping this evil fairy, she's going to need help. Unfortunately, the only person who can help is Curtis. And now, not only has he stolen her dragon-slayer spot, but maybe her heart as well! Why does she think it's going to be a fairy bad day?

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HOW THE TOUR WORKS Each day of The Crossroads Blog Tour, a new research question will be revealed on The Crossroad Blog Tour main page: http://judithgraves.com/events/the-crossroads-tour/crossroads-2012/ and each day the answer to that question will be found within one of the different blog posts by Crossroads Tour authors. Your job is to get the question, read the blog posts, and collect all answers by the end of the tour.
Answers are to be emailed to judithgraves @ ymail dot com by October 28th at MIDNIGHT. Winner of the grand prize will be announced on OCTOBER 31st – HALLOWEEN.
The GRAND PRIZE you’re vying for? A brand new KINDLE, preloaded with a title from each of the participating Crossroads Blog Tour Authors. That’s right folks, a free KINDLE and 13 free EBOOKS!

This year we have 23 authors that I'll be featuring over 7 days and each day you'll have a chance to enter to win! There's also a scavenger hunt going on, so be sure to check out The Crossroads Tour Post to see what questions will be asked, what blog you'll be able to find the answer on and enter to win!
Today I am featuring Christine Fonseca, Dawn Dalton, and Amanda Ashby. Be sure to check out the rafflecopter giveaway, too!

1. Can you tell us 3 little-known facts about Nesy, from your Requiem series?

Three facts about Nesy? Sure…
1) Nesy loves classical choral music. She often visited churches when she was a younger warrior, sitting in the back just listening to the music. Something about it felt so sacred, so pure. She said it was the way humans remembered their angelic nature.

2) Nesy often wishes she choose a different order. I know, shocking considering how much she loves being a Sentinal. But, she tires of the pressure at times, the need for perfect control of her feelings. In those moments she fantasizes about being like Cass, one of the Anointed, healing others instead of killing them.

3) Nesy may be great with a sword, but she is even better with her bare hands. In fact, she’s disarmed many UnHoly with nothing more than her hands. She is pretty bad-ass.

2. If you could have one super power, what would it be and why?

I’d totally want to be an empath. Absolutely. I mean, being able to feel another’s emotions, know what they are hiding deep in the dredges of their soul—THAT is pure power. And like any power, it can be used for good… or evil.

1. Of all the characters you have written, which one has been the most challenging for you to write?

Probably Emma Jones from Fairy Bad Day. She had a lot of rage and it took me a long time to calm her down and stop her from arguing with everyone she came across in the book! Thankfully she also had a big sword and some killer fairies to do battle with, which helped with some of her anger issues!

2. Celeste and Cassidy are two very different characters in Demonosity. Are they based off of any of your high school acquaintances?

None of my characters are ever based on real people but Cassidy was definitely influenced by my time in college. It was the mid-eighties and there were a lot of cool gothic punks walking around the campus! As for Celeste, I basically wanted to make Cassidy’s job as hard as possible so having to be the guardian for a girl who was such a snob, seemed pretty funny! Well, funny to me, I’m not sure that Cassidy would agree with me!!

1. Can you tell us a little about the school Hope enters in Killer’s Instinct?

It’s awesome. That is all.

Just kidding. The monsters in Killer’s Instinct are different than your typical pop culture fare, which means our young hunters require some additional skills. At Le Manoir, the recruits are put through a series of mental and physical drills to help hunt – and if necessary, take down – 52 of the most wanted baddies, including the likes of Frankenstein. But as Hope and her crew find out, not everything is what it seems at Le Manoir.

2. If you were to have a chance to enter any special school like that, what skills would you want to learn the most?

Glamour immunity! I know myself, and if I ever met a handsome vampire in a back alley, I’d be easily seduced by his charm. Especially if he looked like Alexander Skarsgard. All of that acrobatic, ninja, weapons training stuff is cool and all, but if I didn’t have the ability to deflect some vampire seduction, I’d be hopeless as a real monster hunter.

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1. Your book, Zombie Queen of Newbury High, is about a girl who tries to do a love spell. Have you ever tried a love spell, and if not, what would be in your “love spell”?
I haven’t tried a love spell before, but if I was to do one I think it would have to include household ingredients so that I didn’t have to go to the bother of visiting a speciality spell shop. So I’m thinking flour, baking powder, sugar, cocoa, some milk, butter and a couple of eggs. That way, even if the spell doesn’t work, at least you will get some nice muffins for all of your effort!!!!

3. Can you tell us a few ways we can be sure someone is a Zombie? Can’t ever be too careful!
I find the easiest way to tell if someone is a zombie is if they start licking your arm. Oh, and when their eyes keep falling out—that’s another dead giveaway (see what I did there with the ‘dead’ giveaway pun?!)
4. Where did you get your interest in Zombies and the paranormal?

5. When you first began writing, what kept you motivated to keep going?

Zombie Queen of Newbury High by Amanda Ashby Publisher: Puffin (March 5th, 2010) Reading Level: Young Adult Paperback: 224 pages Quiet, unpopular,non-cheerleading Mia is blissfully happy. She is dating super hot football god Rob, and he actually likes her and asked her to prom! Enter Samantha--cheerleading goddess and miss popularity--who starts making a move for Rob. With prom in a few days, Mia needs to act fast. So she turns to her best friend, Candice, and decides to do a love spell on Rob. Unfortunately, she ends up inflicting a zombie virus onto her whole class, making herself their leader! At first she is flattered that everyone is treating her like a queen. But then zombie hunter hottie Chase explains they are actually fattening her up, because in a few days, Mia will be the first course in their new diet. She's sure she and Chase can figure something out, but she suggests that no one wear white to prom, because things could get very messy.

Find Amanda Ashby Amanda Ashby / Blog / Twitter / Goodreads

Purchase Zombie Queen of Newbury High Amazon / Barnes & Noble / The Book Depository