Book Spotlight: The Forgotten Ones by Laura Howard

I have a special post today *grins*

On the blog today is the stop for the book spotlight of Laura Howard's debut The Forgotten Ones!!!

Keep reading for an exclusive author interview + giveaway :D

The Forgotten Ones by Laura Howard

Publication Date: May 15, 2013

Genre: New Adult Paranormal Fantasy Romance

Book Description:

Allison O'Malley just graduated from college. Her life's plan is to get a job and take care of her schizophrenic mother. She doesn't have room for friends or even Ethan, who clearly wants more. 

When Allison's long-lost father shows up, he claims he can bring her mother back from the dark place her mind has sent her. He reveals legends of a race of people long forgotten, the Tuatha de Danaan, along with the truth about why he abandoned her mother.

The Forgotten Ones GR page: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16288155-the-forgotten-ones

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Author Bio:

Laura Howard lives in New Hampshire with her husband and four children. Her obsession with books began at the age of 6 when she got her first library card. Nancy Drew, Sweet Valley High and other girly novels were routinely devoured in single sittings. Books took a backseat to diapers when she had her first child. It wasn’t until the release of a little novel called Twilight, 8 years later, that she rediscovered her love of fiction. Soon after, her own characters began to make themselves known. The Forgotten Ones is her first published novel.

Author Links:

Blog: http://laurahoward78.blogspot.com/

Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/LauraHoward78

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Laura-Howard/185825048120124

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6653788.Laura_Howard

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Author Interview

Questions About the Book

I know that writing a book requires a lot of research, and The Forgotten Ones has Irish roots as well as having a character that has schizophrenia; how did go you about your research? Did you travel to Ireland? (I've always wanted to go to Ireland :DDDD)

For the Irish aspects, I read A LOT of Irish Folklore and there are a wide variety of websites that are about the Tuatha de Danaan. Even before I had decided to write about them, I had a keen interest in Irish mythology and folklore, so this research was very enjoyable.

As for the schizophrenia, it was much the same. I found YouTube to be a great place to find videos of actual case studies, which was hard to watch at times. But, it helped me connect with what happens when someone has serious mental illness.

You mentioned co-authoring fan fiction before two particular characters took form in your mind - was there any particular fan fiction that gave you the inspiration to write The Forgotten Ones?

No, The Forgotten Ones wasn't inspired by Fan Fiction. It was inspired by the Modern Faerie Tales by Holly Black, The Sevenwaters Series by Juliet Marillier, Wicked Lovely series by Melissa Marr and the Books of Faerie by Maggie Stiefvater.

The Forgotten Ones has been labelled New Adult Paranormal Fantasy Romance - what's your take on the new adult genre that seems to have sprung up last year? And what makes The Forgotten Ones NA - is it the age of the characters or the themes (or both?)

I love the concept of New Adult. When I first started writing TFO, I didn't know that publishers weren't interested in characters in their early twenties. I just wrote the story that made sense to me. Self-Publishing has given me the freedom to write what I want and I'm glad traditionally published authors are now being given the same freedom. 

My characters are New Adult  because of their ages. It's not a really steamy read, like some other NA books. It's more about the situations they're in and that the way I write doesn't feel "Adult". I guess that is because I have a deep love of Young Adult novels.

Questions About You

I grew up reading Sweet Valley High too :) Did you prefer Elizabeth or Jessica? Have you also read the ending? I was a bit shattered when I read about how the series officially ended :(

I preferred Elizabeth. I am not much of a bad girl, even though sometimes I do take extra marshmallows on my Lucky Charms. ;)

I don't think I read the finale, I probably would remember it if I had... We'll have to discuss this further, I'm intrigued in how it wraps up.

What other "girly" books did you grow up reading?

My sister handed down a series called The Girls of Canby Hall. I was the resident book nerd-- whenever we had book orders, I would always have the biggest stack when they came in. I liked  Lurlene McDaniels and Beverly Cleary books, Anne of Green Gables, Little House on the Prairie, any of the books that had some sort of teen love story were devoured. I also loved going to the book swap store in my town when I finished a bunch of books, so that I could trade them in for more!

You seem like a real coffee addict :P How many cups of coffee did you go through a day when writing The Forgotten Ones? And how many cups a day do you consume normally? (I personally am a tea person hehe)

I don't really drink THAT much coffee, but I don't do well if I don't have 2 cups of coffee with my Hazelnut Coffeemate! As a special treat my hubby will sometimes bring me Mochaccino from Starbucks!

Other than writing and taking care of people, what do you like to do in your spare time?

I love to READ. I have been known to read a book a day when I'm really on a roll. But, that hasn't happened since my revisions started. I love a good book!

Ever since I was a kid, my love of books had me dreaming of becoming published (well I need to write a book first but yeah haha). Were you like that as well or did the desire to have your book on a shelf in the bookstore come later in life?

I think it was always a dream. One of those things that I just didn't believe would ever happen. After reading so many stories about writers receiving rejection letters, it was even more disheartening. But, I started writing The Forgotten Ones for myself, with the dream still lurking in the back of my mind whispering What if??

Thank you for your time Laura <3

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And now for the giveaway!

a Rafflecopter giveaway