Series: The Sparkstone Saga, #1
Publisher: Faery Ink Press
Publish Date: May 13th, 2013
Source: ARC
Goodreads
About the book: Burn hot and cold.
Read minds.
Disappear at will.
Dream your own death.
Welcome to Sparkstone University, where some students are more gifted than others.
When Ingrid learns she’s been accepted at the hyper-secretive Sparkstone University, she is sceptical. It’s an honour to attend, apparently, and yet barely anyone has ever heard of the place.
And everyone seems a little too happy that she’s there: especially when she meets Sunni and her group of friends. They seem to already know Ingrid. As if she was expected. Expected to save Earth from an imminent alien invasion. Like she has superpowers or something.
As if magic and mutations exist. As if aliens are really planning to attack.
That just sounds ridiculous. There’s no such thing.
…right?
Wrong.
-Goodreads
Thoughts: I’m only partially through Stars in her Eyes so far (I know, bad blogger!) so my full review will come a bit later, but I did want to take a little time to tell you all how much I’m enjoying this book so far. Not only does it combine the “magic school” concept with a Canadian landscape, but the writing and story are both so, so good. Added bonus: The school is actually a University, which opens up a whole new set of possibilities for characters and stories.
Check back soon for my full review. Or…
Purchase Stars in her Eyes
@Amazon (US) @Amazon (CAN) @Faery Ink Press
Interview with Clare Marshall:
SnarkyBird: From concept to completion, how did Stars In Her Eyes take you to write?
Clare: I had the concept for the Sparkstone series as a whole about three years ago. Back then, I was thinking it would be a good story to write as a screenplay for a television series. So I wrote about three “episodes” and then put it away for a while.
After I’d published The Violet Fox (October 2012), I was looking for my next project, something that I could publish quickly to sustain my momentum, but also something that I would enjoy re-writing and publishing, something that would fit with the Faery Ink Press catalogue. So I turned to my novellas, and decided that it was time for the Sparkstone series to make its debut. So from October 2012 to May 2013, I re-wrote and re-wrote the first “episode” of Sparkstone, which became Stars In Her Eyes, had it edited, got a cover designed, and laid out the book, and presto! Here we are.
Kellie: Ooo, I can see it having been awesome as a TV show! Next question… without giving anything away, what was your favorite scene to write?
Clare: A scene near the end, with Professor Jadore (main villain) and Ingrid (the protagonist). I wasn’t even planning on having things turn out the way they did, but my characters are too clever to be in the dark for long. This will only make things much more intriguing (to say the least) for Book 2!
Kellie: What inspired you to start Faery Ink Press?
Clare: I’ve always been a writer, but as I researched alternative methods of publishing, I found that with persistence, patience, the right knowledge, and enough resources, I could publish myself, and create books comparable to any small press. Also, there aren’t too many publishers in Canada that publish genre fiction, and young adult books.
It’s taken me 5-6 years to get from my decision to start a small press to where I am now, but I think I’ve accomplished a lot in that large span of time, and I only plan to grow and perfect my publishing process—including, expanding my distribution across the country.
Kellie: What has been the most difficult thing about publishing your own titles, so far?
Clare: Definitely the distribution. People always ask me, where can I buy your books? Right now I’m in a handful of bookstores across Canada, and I’m on Amazon and Smashwords and I sell direct through my website. But it’s difficult to explain to people why I’m not in Chapters-Indigo yet (big-box bookseller here in Canada), or more specifically, why I’m not in the Chapters-Indigo nearest to them! It’s a process though. This kind of distribution doesn’t happen overnight. Because I am self-distributing (ie, I am approaching bookstores and booksellers myself) it can be even slower to get a book to where I want it to go, especially when I have so many other things on my plate. Having a distributer isn’t in my interest at the moment, as they can take 20% of the pie—too much considering for the small print runs/print on demand printing I’ve been doing, especially when booksellers can take at least 30-40% of a sale on top of that. As you can see, bookselling is more complicated than it looks!
Kellie: The best part?
Clare: Best part is setting my own schedule and being in control of the process. I enjoy discussing cover design with my partner and getting edits back from my editor. While all of what I do is a lot of work, it’s extremely satisfying in the end (and a little scary!) to create something that I hope other people will want to read.
Kellie: What has been your favorite 2013 YA read so far?
Clare: I’m still catching up on my 2012 reads, lol! Best book I read recently was Across the Universe by Beth Revis.
Kellie: What’s next for you?
Clare: I’m working on a sequel to The Violet Fox, my YA fantasy I published late last year. It will be titled The Silver Spear. I’m also working on a sequel to Stars In Her Eyes, called Dreams In Her Head.
This year I’m also doing quite a bit of promoting. I’ll be attending three conventions in Canada, and that can only lead to good things! I also hope to expand my distribution.
Kellie: Thanks so much Clare! I can’t wait to see what’s next for you and Faery Ink Press.
Find Clare Marshall Online: @Facebook @Twitter @Goodreads @Her Website
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