Silver Dagger Book Tours
  • Welcome!
  • Current Tours
    • Book Tours
  • Book a Tour
  • Open Sign Ups
  • Contact
  • About
  • Welcome!
  • Current Tours
    • Book Tours
  • Book a Tour
  • Open Sign Ups
  • Contact
  • About
Silver Dagger Book Tours

 

A Wild and Unremarkable Thing - Book Tour and Giveaway

1/8/2018

7 Comments

 
Picture
Picture

A Wild and Unremarkable Thing
by Jen Castleberry
Genre: YA Fantasy

Picture
Fifteen years have passed since a Fire Scale scorched Cayda’s village. Fifteen years of beatings, of bare kitchen cupboards and sloppy swordplay. Fifteen years of biting her lip for her father’s cane while her younger sisters did the same for the grimy patrons of the village brothels. Fifteen years of staring steadfastly after beauty in an increasingly ugly world.

Now, with hair shorn and breast bound, Cayda marches into the Summer Alps as Cody, a hopeful Champion seeking a dragon-slayer’s reward, with the full weight of her family’s survival on her shoulders.

But the road between poverty and prosperity is rife with beasts, betrayals, and baser temptations. Sensible Cayda soon discovers that she is not the only Champion with her eye on the prize, or the only one wearing a disguise.
With monsters, gods, and royalty hot on her heels, Cayda must ask herself if victory is worth sacrificing her identity for – or her life.

A Wild and Unremarkable Thing pits girl against dragon in a stunning blend of Greek mythology and medieval lore. Readers will not quickly forget the diverse cast or the thrilling, sexy ride!



Add to Goodreads
Amazon * Parliament House Press

​

Picture
Picture
Picture
Jen Castleberry resides in Virginia Beach with her husband and pets. Her background is in Communications and Animal Welfare. All of her pets are named after superheroes!

Website
* Facebook * Twitter * Instagram * Goodreads

​

Picture
Tell us about a favorite character from A Wild and Unremarkable Thing.
By far, my favorite character to write was Fares. He’s this bright, sparkly guy with a devil-may-care wit that really lights up a scene. Sometimes I wished he would just pop off the page and exist, you know? As the comforts of a privileged life are stripped away from him, we get to see what a good heart he really has, and that was especially satisfying to write.  So many of my closest friends are very Fares-like – snarky and flirty and wildly inappropriate. The life of the party, but if you’re in trouble, they’ll come through every time.  So I felt like I was writing my favorite kind of friend when I was writing Fares.


Describe your writing style.
I’ve been told I have a very poetic voice. That’s a word I hear over and over again in reviews – poetic, and I love that.


What makes a good story?
That’s a loaded question! There are so many factors, and everyone has different tastes when it comes to art. I think a good story has to have a mission – some honest endeavor tucked beneath the layers, something profound that the author wants to express. Some belief about humanity that sews all her pretty words together. In AWAUT, I wanted to talk about people living in the grey, people who don’t feel especially defined by any particular label, who are good and bad, masculine and feminine, shaped and innate. That was one of the major themes that existed in the undertow of the entire story.  Many people are empowered by labels and that can be a wonderful thing, but there are lots of people, myself included, who have never felt like we fit neatly and naturally into a specific category.  This is a truth I understand intimately, something I knew I could express and explain honestly through the medium of storytelling.  I think a good story requires honesty and a sense of purpose on the part of the author.


What's a piece of advice you would give to new authors?
Finish what you start.  Stick with your first drafts, see them through to completion.  The tendency to write a few chapters and get stuck, to lose faith in a story, to be distracted by an exciting new idea – it’s a cycle unending for so many talented writers.  Completing full drafts is a skill that gets easier with time.  Even if you’re a third in and 100% sure what you’re writing is terrible, just finish it.  One, first drafts are always terrible.  Two, you might surprise yourself and write something worthwhile.  And three, if all else fails, writing a terrible draft is never a waste of time, because it’s practice.  Get in the habit of finishing things.  You can always make a bad story better, but you can’t edit a blank page.


What is something unique/quirky about you?
All my pets are named after X-Men! I’ve got an Akita named Gambit, a Maine Coon named Psylocke, and a Basset Hound named Anna Marie Rogue.


What can we expect from you in the future?
I’ve got a few projects in the works, all of them Fantasy – that’s sort of where I like to live.  But I’m a big advocate for taking risks as an artist.  A Wild and Unremarkable Thing was unlike anything I’d written before.  I was playing with technical aspects that were outside of my wheelhouse – tight, novella construction and a third-person, present POV.  It was fresh and fun and different for me as an author.  I firmly believe that – as an artist – you should strive to entertain yourself first; if you’re not engaged, your readers aren’t likely to be engaged either.  For me, that means playing around, trying new things, running with scissors.  Regardless of what I put out next, you can expect a creative shift.  Something readers haven’t seen from me before.




Picture
Follow the tour HERE for exclusive excerpts, guest posts and a giveaway!

Jan 8
kickoff at Silver Dagger Book Tours
La Libreria di Beppe
Susan Heim on Writing
The Aconite Cafe
Jazzy Book Reviews

Jan 9
Jamie Marchant, Fantasy Author
A Tome Gnome
Bookworm For Kids
Triple A
Book Bangers Blog
The Authors Blog

Jan 10
Pillar of Salt Books
The Bookworm Lodge
Spunky N Sassy
Belle's Book Blog
T's Stuff
The Books You Read

Jan 11
Always Love Me Some Books
Books Dreams Life
Bound 2 Escape
Book Review Virignia Lee
Tales of A Wanna-Be SuperHero Mom
The Blackwood Blog

Jan 12
Queen of All She Reads
Celebrating Authors
Book Reviews and Giveaways
BookwormBridgette's World
Teatime and Books
The Book Town

Jan 13
Laurie's Paranormal Thoughts and Reviews
3 Partners in Shopping, Nana, Mommy, &, Sissy, Too!
Brianna Remus Books
The Bookworm Chronicles
The Pen and Muse Book Reviews

Jan 14
The Avid Reader
Cali Book Reviews
Girl with Pen
Mello & June
The Reading Spot

Jan 15
AC Squared Book Blog
Books a Plenty Book Reviews
Fantasticando sui libri
Meghan's Mindless Mutterings: Reviews & Giveaways
Triquetra Reviews

Jan 16
411 on Books, Authors and Publishing News
Loves Great Reads Blog
nanasbookreviews
Rabid Readers Book Blog
Twirling Book Princess

Jan 17
A Mama's Corner of the World
Home for Book Lovers
Momma Says: To Read or Not to Read
Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer
YA Book Divas

Jan 18
Jbronder Book Reviews - REVIEW
Laurisa White Reyes, Author
Rambling Reviews
Sylv.net
Yah gotta read this

Jan 19
Port Jericho - REVIEW
Lukten av Trykksverte
Authors & Readers Book Corner
Sapphyria's Book Reviews
Stormy Nights Reviewing & Bloggin'

Jan 20
Books and Ladders - REVIEW
books are love
Lisa-Queen of Random
Teatime and Books
Kimmie Sue's Book Reviews & More

Jan 21
Chloe Michael's Reads - REVIEW
Readeropolis – GUEST POST
BooksandTea247 – REVIEW
Writers and Authors
Yearwood La Novela


a Rafflecopter giveaway
Picture
7 Comments
calvin
1/8/2018 12:10:48 pm

A neat uplifting book

Reply
Dale Wilken
1/8/2018 04:13:24 pm

Sounds great.

Reply
Siddhi Shailendra
1/11/2018 10:58:13 am

Great blurb and thanks for the giveaway

Reply
Lisa Brown
1/12/2018 05:13:31 am

congrats on the tour and thanks for the chance to win :)

Reply
Amber Cummings
1/18/2018 07:34:51 am

Sounds interesting.

Reply
Gwendolyn Jordan
1/21/2018 03:05:08 pm

Sounds great

Reply
Jerry Marquardt
1/21/2018 11:40:17 pm

I would like to give thanks for all your really great writings, including A Wild and Unremarkable Thing. I wish the best in keeping up the good work in the future.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture

    **NEW** Subscribe to the Silver Dagger Reader Newsletter to stay up to date on new tours!

    * indicates required

    Categories

    All
    Action
    Activity Book
    Adventure
    African American
    Alt History
    Anthology
    Apocalyptic
    Audiobook
    Australian
    Bdsm
    Billionaire Romance
    Biography
    Chick Lit
    Childrens
    Christian
    Coloring Book
    Comedy
    Coming Of Age
    Contemporary Fiction
    Contemporaryromance
    Contemporary Romance
    Cookbook
    Cozymystery
    Cozy Mystery
    Crime
    Cyberpunk
    Dark
    Dark Romance
    Drama
    Dystopian
    Educational
    Eroticromance
    Erotic Romance
    Fairytale
    Fantasy
    Financial
    Giveaway-hop
    Gothic
    Health And Wellness
    Historical
    Historicalromance
    Historical Romance
    Holiday
    Horror
    Humorous
    Inspirational
    Legal Thriller
    Lgbtq
    Literaryfiction
    Mafiaromance
    Mafia Romance
    Magicrealism
    Magic Realism
    Mcromance
    Mc Romance
    Memoir
    Menage
    Middlegrade
    Middle Grade
    Military
    Mystery
    Newadult
    New Adult
    Nonfiction
    Paranormal
    Paranormalromance
    Paranormal Romance
    Parenting
    Pets
    Poetry
    Postapocalyptic
    Pulp-fiction
    Reverseharemromance
    Reverse Harem Romance
    Rockstarromance
    Rockstar Romance
    Romance
    Romanticcomedy
    Romantic Comedy
    Romanticsuspense
    Romantic Suspense
    Satirical
    Sciencefiction
    Science Fiction
    Scifi
    Scifiromance
    Scifi Romance
    Selfhelp
    Shortstories
    Short Stories
    Speculativefiction
    Speculative Fiction
    Sportsromance
    Steampunk
    Supernatural
    Suspense
    Sweetromance
    Thriller
    Timetravel
    Time-travel
    Urban
    Urbanfantasy
    Urban Fantasy
    Western
    Womensfiction
    Womens Fiction
    Ya
    Youngadult
    Young-adult
    Youngadultya
    Young Adult Ya

    Archives

    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016

© 2021 Silver Dagger Book Tours