Guest Post: Threats of Sky and Sea by Jennifer Ellision (Blog Tour & Giveaway)

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Welcome to the Threats of Sky and Sea Blog Tour. I am kinda into fantasy right now and this book sounds pretty awesome to me. And that cover! Beautiful! I hope you guys enjoy the guest post below where Jennifer Ellision reveals some secrets behind her book. The last on about killed me! And don't forget to enter the giveaway too.

Threats of Sky and Sea by Jennifer Ellision
(Threats of Sky and Sea #1)
Publication date: May 20th 2014
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult
Find It: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository

Summary
Sixteen year-old Breena Perdit has spent her life as a barmaid, innocent to her father’s past and happily free from the Elemental gifts that would condemn her to a life in the Egrian King’s army. Until the day that three Elemental soldiers recognize her father as a traitor to the throne and Bree’s father is thrown in jail—along with the secrets from his last mission as the King’s assassin. Secrets that could help the King win a war. Secrets he refuses to share.

Desperate to escape before the King’s capricious whims prove her and her father’s downfall, Bree bargains with him: information for their lives. It’s a good trade. And she has faith she’ll get them both out of the King’s grasp with time.

But that was before the discovery that she’s the weapon the King’s been waiting for in his war.

Now, time is running out. To save her father’s life and understand her own, Bree must unravel the knot of her father’s past before the King takes his life– and uses her to bring a nation to its knees.

“The Secrets Behind Threats of Sky and Sea”

by Jennifer Ellision

Like many books, Threats of Sky and Sea changed a great deal from inception to first draft to final version. Here’s a look “behind the scenes” at some of those things that most readers will never know!

1) Threats of Sky and Sea was originally titled Apparent, a title I was happy to be rid of as it never sat right with me. Why Apparent, though? I settled on it at first because I thought it alluded well to one of the book’s themes: that things are not always as they appear. There was another reason as well, but… spoilers.

2) The opening scene changed around five times. I introduced my primary antagonist too early in one draft. The love interest showed up too soon and was too “insta-lovey” for my tastes in another. I think the later introductions for those characters work much better. Other openers were too slow, too boring. But I was finally happy with the opening chapters I created.

3) Almost every character’s given name changed, but Bree jumped into my head as Bree and stayed that way. It was only reinforced when I happened upon the full name: “Breena.” It couldn’t have been a more perfect fit.

4) Bree’s middle name is Rose, making her Breena Rose. Does this remind you of anyone?

…

Disney fans who answered “Briar Rose,” thank you! There are actual, legitimate plot reasons as to why this became Bree’s name, but at first, it was because Sleeping Beauty and Threats of Sky and Sea shared one common theme—finding out there’s more to your past that you ever knew.

5) In an early draft, Ardin and Katerine were known largely by their aliases: Hecate and Artemis—I did away with those aliases for a couple reasons. Explaining them got a bit clunky and their ties to our world were a little too overt. But Hecate and Artemis were both goddesses of the moon, which was meant to speak to Ardin and Katerine’s secret work for the king, often done under the cover of night.

6) Other things changed as well; Caden was initially named Edric and Princess Aleta was Alanna. A pivotal fact and important scene about Bree was in the first few chapters. Plot points were added to increase the tension, scenes and characters were deleted

7) But to me, the biggest change; the biggest “secret” is that the first scene that I ever imagined in Threats of Sky and Sea—the one that inspired the rest of the novel and made me want to write this story?

It didn’t make it into the final draft.

…Talk about killing your darlings.

Author Bio

Jennifer Ellision spent a great deal of her childhood staying up past her bedtime with a book and a flashlight. When she couldn’t find the stories she wanted to read, she started writing them. She loves words, has a soft spot for fanfiction, and is a master of the fangirl flail. She lives in South Florida with her family, where she lives in fear of temperatures below 60 Fahrenheit.

Threats of Sky and Sea, a young adult fantasy, is her first novel.

You can find Jennifer online at www.jenniferellision.com, or on twitter @JenEllision.

 

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