Connected by Kat Stiles Blog Tour and Giveaway!

Connected
by Kat Stiles
Release Date: 06/03/15
Wild Child Publishing
305 pages

Summary from Goodreads:

High school is hard enough, Em knows. Her freshman year introduced her to all the cliques, annoying teachers, and tough homework assignments. But discovering you have super powers and not knowing how to control them is a whole new level of complicated.
Thankfully, Em isn't alone. Her best friend Roz starts having unusual dreams that come true, and Tommy, Em's secret crush, can hear the softest whispers in class.
A romance blossoms with Tommy. But just as things are looking up, people start dropping like flies. A telepathic serial killer is on the loose and only Em and her friends have a hope of stopping him.
Or do they? If they don't figure out the killer's identity soon, one of them could be next.​

Buy Links:

Amazon│Barnes & Noble│Kobo Books

Author Interview:

Q: What was your inspiration for Connected?
I guess I’m a super hero geek at heart. I grew up watching Spiderman, X-men and Superfriends cartoons, and I loved the idea of having super powers. The superhero movies that came out delighted me, even the bad ones were still so much fun. And I remember wishing the series, “Heroes” would go on forever. With Connected, I tried to keep the abilities as organic as possible – something just a little beyond what a normal human can do. I’ve met some pretty incredible people in my life, and my experiences greatly influenced the writing of Connected. 

Q: Do you have any other genre you’d like to try your hand at?
Horror, my first love. Though I think a horror/comedy would be much more fun to write than a serious one. Something along the lines of David Wong or Christopher Moore. Or maybe something non-fiction, really there are endless possibilities. 

Q: Does Em share any of your characteristics?
It’s no coincidence that Em backwards is “me.” Certainly my teenage self was very much like her...it would be easier to list the differences. Let’s see, I really loved my English classes growing up, I didn’t have a gorgeous, popular best friend, and I had a very loving relationship with my mother.

Q: Do you have any favorite authors in YA Paranormal Romance? Or ones that have influenced you more than others?
Oh boy there are so many... Stephenie Meyer, Suzanne Collins and Veronica Roth definitely all influenced me. Amanda Hocking and Abbi Glines in particular also inspired me. Love the Cinder series by Marissa Meyer, though I’m not sure that’s YA Paranormal Romance, maybe more sci-fi. Indies I like in the genre are Chanda Hahn, Lori Brighton, and Keary Taylor. 

Q: Do you have anything else in the works?
Yes, I’m almost done with the second book in the Connected series. I also have some ideas for a series of novellas I’m excited about, which may tie into the Connected world. 

Q: What about writing life/being an author took you by surprise?
The amount of work it takes, to edit and make a book readable for other humans. I always wonder if it’s different for other writers, if they’re able to just clean up their manuscripts in a couple of drafts and be ready. For me, even after all the edits I’ve done, I still wonder if there’s something I missed, some better way to convey an emotion or draw out a scene. 

Now for some fun questions:

Q: What one modern technology do you think you could live without? (Not that you’d like it, but you could if you had to.)
Cell phones, believe it or not. I remember when I was growing up, when you were out, you were out – no way for anyone to reach you short of coming to the restaurant or calling it and having someone page you. Now it seems everyone is texting or playing some game all the time, it’s like we’ve forgotten how wonderful it is to just be with each other. 

Q: If you could sit down and have dinner with anyone, living or dead, what would it be and what would you eat?
Oooh I think it would have to be Joseph Heller (Catch-22 is my favorite book). Either him or David Wong (John Dies at the End is a close second). My cuisine choice would undoubtedly be calzones, at an amazing Italian restaurant that cooks Jersey style. 

Q: Chocolate, bacon, chocolate with bacon, or none of the above?
That’s an easy one, chocolate. White chocolate to be specific, which I know isn’t technically chocolate, but it’s delicious nonetheless. 

Q: Is there one talent you wished you had (besides writing)?
More musical talent, I think. I have this gorgeous string bass, and it’s been so long since I’ve played, I’d have to take lessons to remember how! I admire people who can play by ear, I’ve always needed the sheet music. 


Q: Any last words? 
Um, for the interview, that is. (grin)IT’S A COOKBOOK!! Sorry, I’m a bit of a Twilight Zone geek. I guess my last words are simply this – Readers: please reach out to me, let me know how you enjoyed Connected. My links are below, I’m thrilled to actually get to connect with people and hear what they think of the book or chat about whatever, as long as you’re not a stalker after a body part.

About the Author

Kat Stiles is a super hero geek at heart. She grew up watching Spiderman, X-men and Superfriends cartoons, and she loved the idea of having super powers. The superhero movies that came out delighted her; even the bad ones were still so much fun. And she remembers wishing the series, “Heroes” would go on forever. With Connected, she tried to keep the abilities as organic as possible – something just a little beyond what a normal human can do. She’s met some pretty incredible people in her life, and her experiences greatly influenced the writing of Connected.

Author Links:

Website│Goodreads│Twitter│Facebook

GIVEAWAY:

a Rafflecopter giveaway