Interview With Tina Athaide! And a Giveaway!

 

Hi, everyone! Today I'm happy to present an interview with Tina Athaide, author of the MG novel, Orange for the Sunsets, which is out now!

Here's the interview! :)

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

Would you please tell us a little about Orange for the Sunsets?

This novel is my gift to all of the people effected by the expulsion of Asian Indians from Uganda. At the heart of the story is the friendship between an Asian Indian girl and an African Ugandan boy—Asha and Yesofu. That friendship is threatened when the president of Uganda announces that Indians have ninety days to leave the country.

Determined for her life to stay the same, Asha clings to her world tighter than ever before. But Yesofu is torn, pulled between his friends, his family, and a promise of a better future. Now as neighbors leave and soldiers line the streets, the two friends find that nothing seems sure—not even their friendship.

What’s your favorite thing about writing Middle Grade books?

I love this age group. I like to think of the middle grade years as golden years. It is a magical time of highs and lows, contradictions, and challenges as kids develop their own individual identities and form their own ideas. It’s the perfect opportunity to connect my love of storytelling with social and cultural awareness.

Random question! What’s your favorite color?

BLUE. Bright spring and summer blue to fall and winter grayish-blue. BLUE takes me through the whole year.

Blue is my favorite color, too! :)

If you’re able to talk about it, what are you working on now?

I am working on another historical fiction story that goes back to the early 1970s, but this time we go to London, England. At the heart of this story is a spunky, adventurous girl who makes you want to join along as she belts out tunes by the Supremes.

This sounds good! :)

What have been some of your favorite books you’ve read this year?

If you took a sneak peek at my bookshelves, you’ll find well read copies of the following books:

Clean Getaway by Nick Stone

Wink by Rob Harrell

When Stars Are Scattered by Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed

A Place At The Table by Laura Shovan and Saadia Faruqi

When Stars on Scattered is on my TBR list! :)

Thank you so much to Ms. Athaide for letting me interview her!

Now, Ms. Athaide is generously giving away TWO copies of the paperback of her book! Follow the rules below to enter via the Rafflecopter form, and good luck!

Giveaway Rules:

US Only!

TWO winners will each win a signed paperback copy of the book.

Giveaway runs from October 6th through October 20th

After the giveaway is over, I'll contact the winner and get their information for the author.

The winner will have 48 hours to reply. If they do not, I will pick a new winner.

The author is the one responsible to get the prize to the winner.

And no cheating!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Author Bio: Tina Athaide was born in Uganda and grew up in London and Canada. While her family left Entebbe just prior to the expulsion, she has memories of refugee family and friends staying with them in their London home. The stories and conversations she listened to through the years became the inspiration for her book Orange for the Sunsets. Tina now lives in California with her husband, Ron, and their daughter, Isabella.

Represented by Andrea Cascardi at TransAtlantic Agency.

Here Are A Few Links:

Her Website

Her Twitter

Her Instagram