Day Twenty-One - All About Taken + Giveaway

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Book Profile

Name - Taken (Goodreads)
Author - Erin Bowman
Genre - Sci-Fi
Release Date - April 16th 2013 

There are no men in Claysoot. There are boys—but every one of them vanishes at midnight on his eighteenth birthday. The ground shakes, the wind howls, a blinding light descends…and he’s gone.

They call it the Heist.

Gray Weathersby’s eighteenth birthday is mere months away, and he’s prepared to meet his fate–until he finds a strange note from his mother and starts to question everything he’s been raised to accept: the Council leaders and their obvious secrets. The Heist itself. And what lies beyond the Wall that surrounds Claysoot–a structure that no one can cross and survive.

Climbing the Wall is suicide, but what comes after the Heist could be worse. Should he sit back and wait to be taken–or risk everything on the hope of the other side?

Available - The Book Depository | Fishpond | Amazon | Barnes and Noble

The Insider's Scoop

1. I listened to a lot of film scores while writing the novel, but John Powell's work for all three Bourne movies saw the heaviest rotation. 

2. Gray was the first part of the story to materialize for me. He walked into my head practically fully formed, voice crystal clear. I knew he was stuck in an isolated town and that he feared his approaching eighteenth birthday, but I didn't know why. I couldn't get his voice out of my head, though, so I started typing and he showed me the plot. 

3. I found this photo while browsing flickr one day and it inspired a scene in the book. Chapter five, to be exact. ;) 

4. My first piece of "fan art" came from an old co-worker who read an extremely early draft of the novel. When I sold the book he gave me a congratulatory card with a doodle of Gray inside. I have it propped up on my desk and look at it whenever I need a pick-me-up. 

5. Post-it notes took over my office wall during the revision process so that I could keep track of the timeline, different colors representing key characters/locations/etc. It was very "unique" wall art. 

6. I have what I call a "Character Bible" that I continue to add to as I write the series. It's basically a folder in Scrivener full of details on everyone in the story--their birthday, appearance, habits/quirks, history, wants, dreams, you name it. (I'd be lost without these notes.) 

7. I never set out to write a trilogy. But after drafting about half of TAKEN I realized the story I was telling was much bigger than Gray himself. It's been amazing to discover that greater story alongside him.

~Giveaway~

Erin is giving away an ARC of Taken + Swag Pack!

Rule of Entry -

- US ONLY

- Ends 21st of January

- Must be 13 or older

- Optional Entries :

   * Leaving comment on either of Erin's posts +1 each

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