Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Blog Tour: Ondine - Ebony McKenna - Author Interview & Giveaway

Hello everyone, welcome to day two of the Ondine blog tour! The tour stops are all listed at The Teen Book Scene. The tour is stopping over at Brent's blog, The Naughty Book Kitties, next, so don't hesitate to check out his posts. :) 
I had a lot of fun cooking up questions for Ebony, and I absolutely loved her responses. I can't stress enough how awesome Ondine is, and I hope you all enjoy the interview! Giveaway "rules" and information will be placed below the interview. Thank you, Ebony, for being here today! :)

LFWWhat is your favourite line from Ondine?
EM: Oh! Don't make me choose! *grins* My favourite scene is where Ondine and Hamish kiss properly for the first time. I'd had the idea early on and writing the book was a case of building properly towards that scene and giving the reader a satisfying payoff (before things go horrible again).
But I think my favourite line is a footnote, early on in the book. The reason it's my favourite is not because it's the funniest, but because it was a turning point for me. I never intended to write a novel with footnotes, but when I put this line in, just as a joke for me, it set something off in my brain. It made me think I was on to something.

Hamish says: ‘I’m nae rodent, ye bampot', Which lead to me putting in footnote 5:

"Silly person. Daftie. Gets low grades at school and later in life rarely
earns more than minimum wage."

LFW: If you had to choose between breaking a spell on Hamish the ferret, or keeping him as a pet ferret, what would you do, and why?
EM: That's a no-brainer! Hamish as a man in a heartbeat! I mean, he is very usefull as a ferret, but he's altogether more fabulous when he's human. Why? Because I live vicariously through Ondine and she needs him. It wouldn't be fair to break her heart, would it? Plus, he charms all the patrons in the restaurant and earns loads of tips!

LFW: What would the front page headline of a newspaper say about you?
EM: Oh dear! *laughs uncontrollably* Only bad news ends up on the front, doesn't it?
OK, entering fantasy land, it would be awesome to have a front page headline saying:
McKenna wins readers' choice award, spends it on chocolate.

LFW: Was there any specific music that helped you while you were writing? If so, do you have a playlist?
EM: I've been writing for about 13 years (and before that I was a journalist) and I usually had the news radio on or played music while I wrote. I adore Crowded House and Paul Kelly. They were perfect when I wrote science fiction. Love songs are always fabulous when I'm writing romances.

When it came to writing Ondine, I didn't have any music playing. Perhaps because I didn't want any distractions? The characters were so strong in my mind, sometimes I had to race to keep up with them.

There are some songs that make me think of Ondine and Hamish, though. I am a massive fan of the Eurovision Song Contest and the winner last year was a lad with a song called "Fairytale". It is a gorgeous song and made me think it could be Ondine and Hamish's theme song.


I loved this year's winner too - another song about love from Germany. 


Plus, the Kelly Clarkson song where she's crying her heart out and asking 'is it over yet'. That song is perfect for when things get really, really bad in book three. (I'm writing that at the moment. Poor Ondine!)


The song from Cyprus this year, 'Things will be better in spring' also had me thinking about Ondine and Hamish. :-) The singer is a bit cute as well!


LFW: If you had a spell put on you, which animal would you want to be turned into, and why?
EM: These questions are awesome! My first answer would be a domestic cat, because they're lazy and get whatever they want. But they don't live long enough. So I should be an elephant because they live for decades - but it would be hard to type with those big feet! And elephants are pregnant for two years! (Not that I'm having any more babies. But, urgh, two years!)

Hmmm, I'd need to be an animal with at least fingers (if not opposable thumbs - despite being a girl, I'm very good at getting lids off jars!) I could be a cockatoo and type with my beak! They live for decades, they can talk, and they're entertaining! Yes, I'd be a cockatoo.

If someone put a spell on me, the choice wouldn't be mine, though, would it? They'd probably turn me into a ferret to give me a taste of my own medicine.


I absolutely love your answers, Ebony! Thank you for taking the time to answer the questions, and for making this interview process so much fun! I hope things don't get too bad for Ondine and Hamish later on. (I hope things work out eventually!) I think I'm in love with all of the songs too, and agree that "Fairytale" should be their theme song! You have no idea how many times I play these songs, over, and over, and over again... but you get the point. ;) For those of you who haven't read Ondine yet, you need to! Otherwise, you are missing out! 


Giveaway  "Rules"

Ebony has graciously provided a copy of Ondine: The Summer of Shambles for me to give away. Thank you Ebony!

1. Contest is open to residents of the US and Canada only. (Sorry for those who are international!) :(
2. Contest will end September 3, 2010. Contest has ENDED. Thank you to those who participated!
3. Comment on this post to enter. Please leave an email address where I can contact you if you win. 
4. There are no extra entries. Your comment is your entry. Thank you! :) 

21 comments:

Melissa (i swim for oceans) said...

Brilliant interview...Ondine sounds sooo good! Please enter me :)

mel(dot)helmers(at)gmail(dot)com

Eden said...

Interesting songs! Sounds like a great book! Thanks.

xnzkisha17 ta yahoo dot com

Ebony McKenna. said...

Thank you Melissa - good luck with the comp

Ebony McKenna. said...

baddict - I keep playing 'Life Looks Better in Spring' and thinking about how much it could be Hamish thinking the same thoughts. I'm writing book 3 at the moment and it's in winter - and I'm afraid I'm being very mean to them.
So life really will be much better in spring!

Martha Lawson said...

Loved the interview! The book sounds wonderful. Please enter me.

mlawson17 at hotmail dot com

brendajean said...

This book sounds darling and I loved the interview. Please enter me!

bchild5@aol.com

Ebony McKenna. said...

Thank you Martha. This is my very first blog tour and I'm having such a great time.

Ebony McKenna. said...

Thank you Brenda. Good luck with the comp.

Serena said...

Hi Ebs,
It amazes me how much you are into Eurovision - I think they should make you their official ambassador. Ondine is a wonderful book!

Great blog. Thanks for having Ebs on here. (BTW I live in Australia, so not eligible, besides, I already have my own copy of Ondine: The Summer of Shambles)

Hugs
Serena

Ebony McKenna. said...

Love you Serena, thanks for calling by.
Yes, I am a Eurovision tragic. Maybe because Australia isn't in it, I can watch and enjoy, instead of cringe!

Kim said...

This sounds like a really great book. Thanks for the chance to win it. :)
henderkd(at)email(dot)sc(dot)edu

Audrey said...

Thank you so much for the giveaway. This book looks really good.
twigerina[at]hotmail[dot]com

Kieryn said...

kieryn(dot)nicolas(at)gmail(dot)com

:)

Laina said...

Laina1312@gmail.com

Meredith said...

Sounds like a good book!

meredithfl at gmail dot com

Lillie (AliseOnLife) said...

Nice interview! I've been interested in reading Ondine for the past few months, and would like to be entered in the giveaway.

PolarisGreen[at]gmail[dot]com

Nova said...

I love your interview. Ondine sounds like a really cool read!

novapsych674 at aim dot com

Unknown said...

Ondine sounds really good!(:

maddie.mcphail@gmail.com

Joan said...

Great interview! I'm really intrigued by Hamish now and why he's a ferret at times :P

Thanks for the giveaway!
(If I'm international, can I pay the postage... or send it to a friend in the US?)

anbi14 at hotmail dot com

Corrine said...

Hi Joan! That is not a problem. I can always order it through the book depository instead of having you pay shipping! :)

Ebony McKenna. said...

Thanks everyone for coming by and joining in the fun of Ondine.

I've just done the proof edits for Ondine 2 and I'm really working hard on Ondine 3. I need to get the first draft done so I can edit it into something decent!