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Albert Camus

Don't walk behind me; I may not lead. Don't walk in front of me; I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend.

Tuesday, September 1, 2015

Superstition by Lucy Fenton

Sixteen-year-old Arden St. John’s life takes a strange turn when she finds an unusual animal injured near her new house on the south east coast of Australia. When she takes it to the local vet, a terrible truth is inadvertently exposed to her. 

Description:

Published: August 3rd, 2015

What happens when your childhood nightmares of being bitten by strange creatures in a dark wood aren’t just dreams?

Sixteen-year-old Arden St. John’s life takes a strange turn when she finds an unusual animal injured near her new house on the south east coast of Australia. When she takes it to the local vet, a terrible truth is inadvertently exposed to her. 

She discovers a secret underworld, where witches are commonplace and trolls masquerade as queen bees, terrorising the other students with impunity. A world where vampires traffic in the lives of children, draining their bodies once they reach maturity. Where adults auction their own children to extend their lives.

Arden finds out she’s one of those kids, her life traded by the mother she never knew. Now she’s caught up in this ancient and corrupt economy operating just below the surface of modern society. She’s a hot commodity, and it’s only a matter of time before the vampire who bought her comes to claim his prize. 

But Arden’s not going down without a fight.

AUTHOR's INTERVIEW

This is the first young adult book you’ve written. Why change genres? 
I wanted to write a book that my kids would eventually be able to read. My other books are novels for adults and no matter how old they are, I’d never be comfortable with the thought of them reading it! I also really enjoy reading young adult books too, so it’s not a huge departure. I particularly love dystopian novels, and I was going to make “Superstition” one too, but it wasn’t working out, so was scrapped in an early draft. 

What inspired you to write “Superstition”? 
I re-read “The Romance of the Forest” by Ann Radcliffe, which was the start of the popular late 18th century trend of gothic novels, and wondered how the traditional gothic novel would translate to a modern setting and to take it even further, I decided on not only a modern, but a beach setting. 

How did you come up with the title? 
I often find myself noticing situations where superstitions could change my actions, such as a black cat sitting on a footpath, a broken mirror or walking under a ladder. I don’t change my behaviour, but I still notice them. Well apart from the ladder one, which I think is just common sense. 

It started to get me thinking about the things that we dismiss as old wives tales and how modern life would change if they were real. The book did end up differently to how I initially imagined it would, focussing more on the elements of a gothic novel, but I’m thinking of making it into a series and so that idea may become more dominant.

Are experiences based on someone you know, or events in your own life? 
Some - I changed school for my final two years and know the feeling of isolation that comes from going to a new school and not knowing anyone. Everyone else knew each other really well and I felt like an interloper for several months until I made friends. Especially as a teenager, when everything is excruciating anyway, it was fairly brutal.

What are your current projects? 
I’m finishing off the sequel to my first book then I’m going to see how I go writing a sequel to “Superstition”. I have three other manuscripts in various stages, so I’m never out of things to work on.

About the author:
L. C. Fenton lives in Sydney, Australia with her husband and two children. In addition to her cake- making business, she works as a freelance copywriter and pens occasional articles for various online magazines.

Not being one of those people who had a burning desire to be anything in particular, L. C. worked her way alphabetically backwards through the available degrees at Sydney University. Surprisingly, given the amount of fun she had at school, L.C. finally managed to graduate with a completely unemployable degree in Philosophy. A Law degree soon followed, however, simply to make it possible for some organization to hire her.
After ten soul-destroying years wandering aimlessly in the corporate wilderness, L. C. threw it all in and reassessed. Deciding to bring the "one day I will write a book" idea to the present, she started and hasn't stopped. As a huge fan of the romance genre, she writes the kinds of books that she enjoys to read.
In her spare time, L. C. Fenton...actually she has no spare time. She sleeps or reads copious amounts of romance novels instead of sleeping.


Author's Giveaway
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5 comments:

Audrey Stewart said...

I'm glad you are finally doing what you want. Writing is such a talent. I read that you decorate cakes? When I was growing up, our mother took a cake decorating course, and we ate the most decorated cakes every week.

Jan Lee said...

I guess I would say I am superstitious but I won't claim it, hahaha Wow an underworld... that would scare the you know what out of me. I might read this book in the daytime, but not at night, lol :)

Stephanie LaPlante said...

This book sounds awesome. I love supernatural stories.

Unknown said...

Hello! I had to give up the cake business, but I still love to do it for family and friends. My kids ate too much left over cake when I was baking all the time and now have no interest in it! Probably a good thing.

I hope you all like the book - it's not that scary, I don't think. I read a lot of Stephen King when I was younger and it's nothing on any of his!

Good luck if you've entered the giveaway - the earrings are awesome. I wish I could enter it myself!

Jo said...

just discovered you and your book sounds so like the kind of books I love to read