The Farm: Escape is Only the Beginning Blog Tour & Giveaway!!

Today I'm thrilled to be a part of the blog tour for Emily McKay's The Farm. This book is thrilling and unexpected and just all around awesome. Look for my review to be posted next week. In the meantime, I have a brief Q&A with the author and a giveaway!!!!!

Synopsis: Life was different in the Before: before vampires began devouring humans in a swarm across America; before the surviving young people were rounded up and quarantined. These days, we know what those quarantines are—holding pens where human blood is turned into more food for the undead monsters, known as Ticks. Surrounded by electrical fences, most kids try to survive the Farms by turning on each other…

And when trust is a thing of the past, escape is nearly impossible.

Lily and her twin sister Mel have a plan. Though Mel can barely communicate, her autism helps her notice things no one else notices—like the portion of electrical fence that gets turned off every night. Getting across won’t be easy, but as Lily gathers what they need to escape, a familiar face appears out of nowhere, offering to help…

Carter was a schoolmate of Lily’s in the Before. Managing to evade capture until now, he has valuable knowledge of the outside world. But like everyone on the Farm, Carter has his own agenda, and he knows that behind the Ticks is an even more dangerous threat to the human race...

Amazon / Goodreads

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Amazing, right?! Now, Emily McKay gives us some insight into The Farm's setting and her experience writing both Young Adult and Adult novels...

Q. Is there a specific reason that the story takes place in Texas? Was it a purposeful decision, or a random selection?

A. I live in Austin, Texas, and the landscape of this state—particularly between the major cities—lends itself well to a post-apocalyptic novel.  Also the drive they take out of Texas is a drive I took every summer growing up when I was visiting my family in the Ozarks.

Q. When writing a YA novel, what are the things you are conscious of in terms of language choice, character development, etc? What are some of the differences when writing a YA novel and compared to an Adult novel?

A. I think whether I’m writing a YA novel or an adult novel, my number one focus is on telling a kick-ass story.  And while I edited a little for language and content in the YA novel, I think YA readers are some of the savviest ones out there and I knew I had to bring it if I wanted to impress them.  I hope I did.

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And now, the moment you've all been waiting for. Thanks to the lovely folks at Penguin I have a prize pack to offer to one lucky reader!!!

The prize pack includes a copy of The Farm and a Vampire Apocalypse Survival Kit.

Rafflecopter is being wonky so just leave a comment for Emily and don't forget to include a way for me to contact you (email, twitter, etc.). I'll pick a winner on 1/15/2013!!! If you tweet or facebook about the giveaway, leave a link and I'll give you 2 additional entries.

Good luck and don't forget to check out the rest of the blog tour for more content and more chances to win!!! To learn more about the book or the author, please check out the book's website at: http://www.escapethefarm.com/

BLOG TOUR SCHEDULE 
Nov. 26  ICEYBOOKS  http://www.iceybooks.com/
Nov. 27  THE READING FEVER  http://www.thereadingfever.com/
Nov. 28  READ NOW SLEEP LATER  http://www.readnowsleeplater.com/
Nov. 29  KATIE’S BOOK BLOG  http://www.katiesbookblog.com/
Nov. 30  MY OVERSTUFFED BOOKSHELF  http://myoverstuffedbookshelf.blogspot.com/
Dec. 3    WASTEPAPER PROSE  http://www.wastepaperprose.com/
Dec. 4    CORNUCOPIA OF REVIEWS  http://cornucopiaofreviews.blogspot.com/
Dec. 5    THE READING GEEK  http://thereadinggeek.blogspot.com/
Dec. 6   CHICA READER  http://chicareader.blogspot.com/
Dec. 7   THE READING DATE  http://thereadingdate.com/
Dec. 10  YOUNG ADULT BOOK REVIEWS  http://youngadultbookreviews.com/
Dec. 11  LITERARY ESCAPISM http://www.literaryescapism.com/
Dec. 12  THE LIBRARIAN READS  http://thelibrarianreads.com/
Dec. 13  ACTIN UP WITH BOOKS  http://actinupwithbooks.blogspot.com/
Dec. 14  YA LOVE BLOG  http://yaloveblog.com/
Dec. 17  ADDICTED 2 NOVELS  http://www.addicted2novels.com/
Dec. 18  POISONED RATIONALITY  http://www.prationality.com/
Dec. 19  BREE’S BOOKS  http://www.breesbooks.com/
Dec. 20  GONE WITH THE WORDS  http://www.gonewiththewords.com/