Dark Days of Winter 2013 Lauren Oliver Interview

Thank you so much for answering some of our questions, Lauren!  We've always admired the beauty of your writing.   All your books read like poetry, and sometimes we are concerned that you have actually almost starved to death, been shot at, and almost died multiple times for your descriptions to be so realistic.  Since this is the Dark Days of Winter tour, and your third and final book in the Delirium series, Requiem is coming out soon, we have some questions we would love answered.

The 3rd a final book in your Delirium trilogy, Requiem, is soon to be released. Can you tell us a little about what we can expect?

Requiem takes place from two points of view: Lena’s and also Hana’s. Lena has thrown in her lot with the resistance, and Hana is living as a cured in Portland and anticipating her wedding to the new mayor. Over the course of the novel, their storylines converge in a pretty explosive way (literally and figuratively). I can also say there will be super sweet bonus material released in the Requiem hardcover edition!

What do you have planned now that you are finished with the Delirium series?  Can you tell us a little about it?

I’ve just completed a realistic YA book called PANIC. It’s about teenagers in a small town in Oregon who get involved in a very deadly game over the summer, and it’s my first YA book that has both a male and female POV, so I’m really excited about it.

Let's just gets this out there, no one does cliffhanger endings like you do! I still haven't recovered from either of the last 2.  Do you usually have your ending in mind before you start or does it come to you as your writing? Basically, are you a plotter or a pantser?
Ha! Thanks! I’m a plotter to a certain degree. I actually usually write the first and last chapters of a book at the very beginning of the process. I like to know where I’m going before I start out, I guess. J And I try to structure the story broadly before I dive into writing, but my outline often gets revised as I go.

I think this goes a little with the last question, but for readers that are new to this series, where did the idea of the Delirium series come from?
Several years ago, I started thinking deeply about the way that fear gets communicated from the media to the people, and how difficult it is to receive unbiased information from the news. At the time there was a lot of talk about the “global pandemic” that might decimate our world: a virulent flu or virus that would spread from country to country, killing everyone. Most of the fears about the materialization of such a disease (swine flu, bird flu) proved unfounded. Then I started thinking about how easy it would be to convince people of the imminent threat of some other kind of disease—and I realized that the symptoms of romantic love had much in common with the kind of psychiatric disorder we currently treat with medication. The ideas just sort of combined in my head.

You have books across genres and grade levels.  What is that transition like, to completely do something different and even change your audience?

It’s scary, but it’s not something I really feel I have control over. Books come to me and grab me and I have towrite them. I don’t feel I have much choice, ultimately, over the material I pursue and which audience I write for. And of course as a writer I’m so interested in challenging myself and getting better, and I think that only comes from attempting different things.

Now we would love to do a little this and that, to learn a little about your personally.

80's hair bands or 90's grunge bands? OMG. 90s!! I’m so a child of the 90s.
Snack pack flavors: pudding or jello? Pudding.

Contemporary or Paranoramal/Fantasy (book wise, what do you prefer reading): Ready for your mind to be blown? Contemporary mixed with fantasy. J

Movies or TV? TV.

Better to have love and lost or better to never love at at all? The former, but only if you get to love again. If you don’t…I’ll choose not knowing what I’m missing!

Alex or Julian (haha, just joking) Yeah, right. I’m not saying a word, sister!

Thanks so much, Lauren!!! BTW- LOVED REQUIEM even though I am now on blood pressure medicine after reading it! jk:)

HAHA THANK YOU!!!

They have tried to squeeze us out, to stamp us into the past.

But we are still here.

And there are more of us every day.

Now an active member of the resistance, Lena has been transformed. The nascent rebellion that was under way in Pandemonium has ignited into an all-out revolution in Requiem, and Lena is at the center of the fight.

After rescuing Julian from a death sentence, Lena and her friends fled to the Wilds. But the Wilds are no longer a safe haven—pockets of rebellion have opened throughout the country, and the government cannot deny the existence of Invalids. Regulators now infiltrate the borderlands to stamp out the rebels, and as Lena navigates the increasingly dangerous terrain, her best friend, Hana, lives a safe, loveless life in Portland as the fiancée of the young mayor.

Maybe we are driven crazy by our feelings.

Maybe love is a disease, and we would be better off without it.

But we have chosen a different road.

And in the end, that is the point of escaping the cure: We are free to choose.

We are even free to choose the wrong thing.

Requiem is told from both Lena’s and Hana’s points of view. The two girls live side by side in a world that divides them until, at last, their stories converge.

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Dark Days of Winter 2013 Tour

Leg 2

Blog Tour:

Feb 8      Fragments @ Emily's Reading Room

Feb 12    Requiem @ YA Sisterhood

Feb 14    Spellcaster @ Two Chicks on Books

Feb 19    Mind Games @ IB Book Blogging

Feb 21    Mila 2.0 @ Addicted 2 Novels

Feb 26    Fragments @ Emily's Reading Room

Feb 28    Requiem @ YA Sisterhood

Mar 5     Spellcaster @ Two Chicks on Books

Mar 6     Mila 2.0 @ Addicted 2 Novels

Mar 7     Mind Games @ IB Book Blogging

 

 

Tour Stops:

Mar 6     Provo Library, Provo, UT                                                7PM

Mar 7     University Books, Seattle, WA                                        6:30PM

Mar 8     Barnes & Noble, Clackamas, OR                                    6:30PM

Mar 9     Tualatin Library, Tualatin, OR                                        10AM

Mar 9     Eugene Library, Eugene, OR                                         4PM

 

http://www.pitchdark.com/blog/the-dark-days-are-back/

Dark Days of Winter: REQUIEM by Lauren Oliver Review & Giveaway

Requiem by Lauren Oliver (Delirium #3)
Harper Teen
Release date: March 5th, 2013
Reviewed by: AmyG (big sis)
Sister's Say: A Resiliant,  Rebellious and Remarkable conclusion to the trilogy!

Now an active member of the resistance, Lena has been transformed. The nascent rebellion that was under way in Pandemonium has ignited into an all-out revolution in Requiem, and Lena is at the center of the fight.

After rescuing Julian from a death sentence, Lena and her friends fled to the Wilds. But the Wilds are no longer a safe haven—pockets of rebellion have opened throughout the country, and the government cannot deny the existence of Invalids. Regulators now infiltrate the borderlands to stamp out the rebels, and as Lena navigates the increasingly dangerous terrain, her best friend, Hana, lives a safe, loveless life in Portland as the fiancée of the young mayor. Requiem is told from both Lena’s and Hana’s points of view. The two girls live side by side in a world that divides them until, at last, their stories converge.

**SPOILERS FOR DELIRIUM AND PANDEMONIUM LIE AHEAD! READ AT YOUR OWN RISK IF YOU HAVE NOT READ THOSE YET!**

Welcome to the 2nd leg of Dark Days of Winter Blog Tour.  These have indeed been Dark Days, not only with winter looming upon us, but also in the Delirium series.  Lena's life is on the cusp of complete fall out.  The revolution is at hand, but the cureds are not going to "go gentle into that good night." (Dylan Thomas)  Regulators are everywhere even in the Wilds just waiting to pick off the rebels.  Lena is also torn between 2 boys, Alex and Julian, her past and her present.  Everything around her physically and emotionally is crumbling.  Lauren's writing is poetically beautiful, and no one but her could bring to life the heartbreak and turmoil that Lena is facing not only inside herself but in the physical world around her.

This is the 1st novel, where we get to see Alex and Julian together with Lena.  The dynamic is very interesting, but we only get to see it from Lena's point of view.  We get to experience her heartbreak and uncertainty, but also try to understand what is going on in the boys head also.  I wonder how the story would have been different seeing the tension and seething of jealousy right below the surface from a different prospective?  We see all of Lena's thoughts but none of the boys.  It takes awhile to actually get to really see anything between them, but then how was Ms. Oliver chooses to unleash the final showdown in the love triangle is perfect and poignant.  And, I know basically what all of you really want to know is did she choose Alex or Julian.  Well, I will tell you she chose.... nah....just joking! Seriously, you have to read it to find out!

I would be remiss in not mentioning Hana who has just as big a role in this book as Lena.  The POV is split between her and Lena.  Hana offers a unique perspective.  We actually get to be inside the mind of  a cured.  We also see her stuggling with her past and how she remembers it.  We also find out some secrets that aren't to easy to digest.  We are able to see the corruptness of the government and it's leaders from the inside.  It honestly made me more sympathetic toward the rebels.  I wanted them to succeed all the more after seeing the absolutely evil of the ruling parties.  It mentions in the blurb, that Lena's and Hana's fates finally cross paths.  And let me just say, it is explosive!  

Now, I have to say a little about Lauren Oliver's writing.  Her writing is one of my favorites in the YA genre.  If you want to know what it feels like to be torn between 2 loves, slowly suffocate from a swarming fire, or have bullets rain down all around you without ever truly being in danger?  Then read this series by Lauren Oliver.  She will make you feel like you are right next to her characters in the midst of the action and at any moment your life could be snuffed out.  This was an amazing series, and I'm so sad to have it come to an end.  It's hard to say goodbye to characters that I have grown to know and love.  The conlusion of this series left me on the edge of my seat, heart pounding in my chest and begging the characters to just stay alive!   Lauren Oliver a remarkable writer, and I'm so excited to see what she has coming next! 

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DARK DAYS TOUR LEG 2

Leg 2

Blog Tour:

Feb 8      Fragments @ Emily's Reading Room

Feb 12    Requiem @ YA Sisterhood

Feb 14    Spellcaster @ Two Chicks on Books

Feb 19    Mind Games @ IB Book Blogging

Feb 21    Mila 2.0 @ Addicted 2 Novels

Feb 26    Fragments @ Emily's Reading Room

Feb 28    Requiem @ YA Sisterhood

Mar 5     Spellcaster @ Two Chicks on Books

Mar 6     Mila 2.0 @ Addicted 2 Novels

Mar 7     Mind Games @ IB Book Blogging

Author Twitter Chat:

Feb 26    #PitchDarkDays     8:30PM EST

Tour Stops:

Mar 6     Provo Library, Provo, UT                   7PM

Mar 7     University Books, Seattle, WA           6:30PM

Mar 8     Barnes & Noble, Clackamas, OR       6:30PM

Mar 9     Tualatin Library, Tualatin, OR           10AM

Mar 9     Eugene Library, Eugene, OR             4PM

http://www.pitchdark.com/blog/the-dark-days-are-back/

Giveaway of a SIGNED COPY OF REQUIEM by Lauren Oliver from Harper Teen!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Pitch Dark Days Revealed

The Dark Days of Winter are here again!!! And we are representing an amazing author!  She's faster than the Regulators, more powerful than the DFA and able to leap genres in a single bound.  She's  Katniss.  She's Hermione. No she's LAUREN OLIVER!!!!  Yahoooooooo!!!! We were so excited to receive her as our author!!!! And this is what we have been doing for days, days I say!!!

Ms. Oliver's writing is one of kind.  We at the Sisterhood adore her and are envious of her writing super powers.  After reading her works, we are pretty sure that in real life, she has almost starved to death, has had gun shots raining down on her and has led a resistance in some foreign land.  Her writing is precise, vivid and full of imagery.  To open up one of her novels truly means to visit another land.  We are truly, truly honored to be hosting her for this years Dark Days of Winter.  We also have a special little treat for you, a video from Lauren herself!  She's here to share a little about her final installment Requiem from her Delirium Trilogy.  Let me just say, guys, it is AMAZING!!!

Requiem by Lauren Oliver Final Book in the Delirium Trilogy

Published by Harper

Release Date: March 5th, 2013

Now an active member of the resistance, Lena has been transformed. The nascent rebellion that was under way in Pandemonium has ignited into an all-out revolution in Requiem, and Lena is at the center of the fight.

After rescuing Julian from a death sentence, Lena and her friends fled to the Wilds. But the Wilds are no longer a safe haven—pockets of rebellion have opened throughout the country, and the government cannot deny the existence of Invalids. Regulators now infiltrate the borderlands to stamp out the rebels, and as Lena navigates the increasingly dangerous terrain, her best friend, Hana, lives a safe, loveless life in Portland as the fiancée of the young mayor. Requiem is told from both Lena’s and Hana’s points of view. The two girls live side by side in a world that divides them until, at last, their stories converge.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Lauren Oliver comes from a family of writers and so has always (mistakenly) believed that spending hours in front of the computer every day, mulling over the difference between “chortling” and “chuckling,” is normal. She has always been an avid reader. 

She attended the University of Chicago, where she continued to be as impractical as possible by majoring in philosophy and literature. After college, she attended the MFA program at NYU and worked briefly as the world’s worst editorial assistant, and only marginally better assistant editor, at a major publishing house in New York. Her major career contributions during this time were flouting the corporate dress code at every possible turn and repeatedly breaking the printer. Before I Fall is her first published novel.  You can find out more information about Lauren at Lauren Oliver Books.

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Be sure to visit the Pitch Dark Days page to find out everything you need to know about the dark days of winter.

Also check out today's other big Dark Days Reveal over at Emily's Reading Room.

Yesterday's reveals at My Over Stuffed Bookshelf and Me My Shelf and I.

And, tomorrow's big reveals at 2 Chicks on Books and I Be Book Blogging.

And, a special thanks to Harper Collins and all their people for putting together the Pitch Dark Days!