Yay For Middle Grade Books! Interview With S.A. Larsen

Today on the blog I'm pleased to present an interview with S.A. Larsen! Ms. Larsen is the author of the MG book Motley Education, and multiple YA novels, including the upcoming Marked Beauty, which releases later this year.

Here's the interview!

The bold writing is the questions I asked, the regular writing is her responses, and the bold italic writing are my comments about her answers.

1. Would you please describe your book, Motley Education, in seven words?
Adventurous, unique, mythology, mysterious, friendship, family, & fun

That sounds good! :)

2. You have a YA book releasing this Spring, would you like to tell everyone a little about it?
Sure! Thanks for asking. The book is entitled Marked Beauty and it's about sixteen-year-old Ana Tate who has the ability to see auras - the life energy we all possess - and she also feels the emotions within those auras. Needless to say, being in high school and feeling her fellow students' fickle and faltering emotions is nauseating. She deals with it by shunning all emotions, especially her own which are weighed down by her mother's abandonment when she was little. But when her gifts intensify after a brush with dark energy that leaves her best friend with an altered aura, she can't ignore he abilities any longer. The only one with answers is Viktor Castle, but he's a more aloof recluse than she is. He even warns her to stay away from him, which, as you'd expect peaks her interest. Or it might be that his gorgeous blue eyes practically melt her on site, and in his presence, her abilities heighten. The real kicker is that Viktor knows why, that it's because of something he did to Ana to help her, but it backfired, drawing a sinister energy near Ana that no one can control. When Viktor decides to sacrifice himself in Ana's place, she is left to unravel truth from lies, and must decide whether Viktor is worth risking her heart, her life, and possibly the eternity of her soul.

(FYI: the release date has been pushed back to late summer/early fall.)

3. Random question! Where is your favorite place to write?
On the lake . . . but that's just in my head. Really, it'd be in my office at home.

4. If you're able to talk about it, what are you working on now?
Sure! I'm working on the second book in the Motley Education series. Think Sleepy Hollow meets Sleeping Beauty, only in middle grade. And there may or may not be zombiefied kiddos.

5. What are some of your favorite Middle Grade Books?
Ooh, there are so many amazing MG books! I'll go with a couple tried and true ones: Because of Winn Dixie and The Tale of Despereaux.

I actually have not read either of those, but have heard amazing things about both! :)

Thank you so much to Ms. Larsen for participating in this event! :)

Author bio: As a little girl, S.A. Larsen believed her closet held secret passageways to magical worlds brimming with all sorts of creepy creatures – her favorite kind. Sheri never did find a ghoul or a goblin in her closet, only a half-eaten fluffernutter that her brother repurposed as a hockey puck. Her debut middle grade novel MOTLEY EDUCATION (Leap Books, 2016) is the first book in this fantasy-adventure series. It was named the New England Book Festival Best Children's Novel of 2016 and received a Bronze Award for Best Juvenile/YA Fiction, 2017 Feathered Quill Book Awards. She’s written young adult stories, community interest newspaper pieces, youth athlete magazine articles, and MARKED BEAUTY her debut YA novel, releasing Spring 2017. She's also a @MixedUpFiles contributor, #MGLitchat co-host, and writing mentor for First Five Pages under Adventures in YA Publishing. When she’s not chasing her characters around a cemetery or antagonizing them with the wonders of young love, she can be found in the land of lobsters and snowy winters with her husband and four children (yes, they all play hockey), a playful pooch, and three kittens.

Here are a few links:

Her Website

Her Twitter

Her Facebook