Hiya there guys!! Happy Monday!!
Today I'm more than happy to welcome to the blog one of those very special authors to me because not only I love her books but I also think she's just plain AWESOME!
And so do Dylan, Mini-maug and Morrigan! I'm actually afraid the dragons will smuggle themselves out with her because they want to read her books before anyone else! Check your pockets Paula!
And today Paula doesn't come to the blog alone, she brings Parvati, one of the liars from Liars INC so we can get to know her better! Give them both a proper welcome!! Thank you so much for coming Paula!!
Hi! Thanks to Pili and her dragon and sheep friends for having Parvati and me on the blog. The response to Parvati’s character by people who read Liars, Inc. was fairly mixed. Some didn’t like her because she did thoughtless and reckless things. Some liked her a lot because she did those things without being apologetic. I personally love her. She’s not what you’d call a nice person, but she’s tough and smart and self-sufficient and brave. And she learns from her mistakes, which is probably the #1 thing I look for in a character—how do they grow and change?
A lot of you know I was hoping to write a companion novel from Parvati’s point-of-view. As of right now that isn’t on the table for 2017, though my publisher is willing to consider it for the future. So don’t lose hope completely if you want to read more Parvati. And in the meantime, you’ll probably like Winter from Vicarious (Tor Teen 2016), who shares many qualities with Parvati, but also manages to be a nice person, if a little bit distant.
I have undergraduate degrees in psychology and nursing and a nursing graduate degree, and I use this background to analyze my characters as I write. It’s important for me to know why they do what they do. So today I’m sharing a mini-interview I did with Parvati in order to figure out more about what makes her tick.
Paula: Describe yourself in five words.
Parvati: Ambitious, intelligent, spontaneous, manipulative, lonely
Paula: You have friends and a boyfriend and parents who love you. But you still feel lonely?
Parvati: Yeah. Tragic, huh? I guess it’s because I hide who I am from people most of the time. I spend a lot of time in my own head.
Paula: Is there anyone you feel like you can be yourself around?
Parvati: Preston. And Max, for the most part.
Paula: Tell me about the day you met Preston.
Parvati: I met him the first week of freshman year. We both went to the same private school and there was this big orientation for freshmen. Every night we had a different activity. The first time I saw Pres was on the football field. He was playing in a pick-up game and was really good. Everyone wanted to be on his team. Later in the week there was a dance competition, and then a movie night. Everywhere Pres went, this cloud of people swarmed around him, like satellites orbiting a planet. Normally I would hate someone like that, but then we ended up in the same English class. We were writing poetry and Preston wrote this dark stuff about feeling like an alien and living in his own private hell. It was incongruous with the laid-back popular boy I saw that first week. I figured maybe he felt the same way I did.
Paula: So then the two of you struck up a friendship?
Parvati: Basically. It turned out I was right. Preston was mostly pretending for his parents’ sake. Playing the dutiful senator’s son. Smart. Athletic. Popular. But inside he was messed up, just like me. Misery really does love company.
Paula: What about Max?
Parvati: Max is messed up too, but in a better way. He’s a really good guy. Decent. Trustworthy. Loyal. I don’t feel like I have to impress him, which is nice. But at the same time, I feel like if he knew everything there was to know about me that he might not want to be with me anymore.
Paula: Do you love him?
Parvati: I think so. At first I worried my feelings weren’t about him, that they were just about the way he made me feel. I can be selfish like that sometimes. But now that we’ve spent more time together, I know that I like him for who he is. I wish I were more like him. It sounds cliché, but Max makes me want to be better, you know? I do fewer stupid things now that I’m with Max.
Paula: What do you mean by stupid things?
Parvati: Well, there was this girl at school I didn’t like—I don’t even remember what it was about her, you know how some people just rub you the wrong way? One day I just got sick of listening to her brag about everything—her perfect GPA, her perfect family, her perfect boyfriend. I did some research on her boyfriend and found out he was a math tutor. I paid to tutor me even though I’m great at math. It took a few weeks but I wore him down and eventually we hooked up. He felt guilty about it but I convinced him it was no big deal—it’d be our secret. We talked about it over email and I then I forwarded the emails to her. They broke up.
Paula: How did that make you feel?
Parvati: I know I should say it made me feel terrible—that girl had done nothing to me specifically and neither had the guy. Afterward, the few female friends I had kind of pulled away. But honestly, even though I knew what I did was wrong, I just felt kind of numb about it. I think that was the first time I realized there was something wrong with me.
Paula: What do you think is wrong with you?
Parvati: I don’t know. It’s almost like I have this handful of people that I care about, but other people, whatever, I mess with them because I can. Sometimes just to see if I can. I know that’s screwed up, but that’s what I mean about Max. He started out as one of those strangers I didn’t care about and now I’d basically do anything for him. So maybe I’m getting better…but I’m not sure.
So that ends my mini-interview with Parvati. Fun fact—I actually have a narrative for her and Max outlined through five novels, and both Parvati’s emotional well-being and her relationship with Max have ups and downs and setbacks. They’re definitely an interesting couple to me, but both of them have enough issues that I’m not certain they’d be able to make it last. Hopefully I’ll be able to further explore their dynamic in additional books someday :-)
And now for a giveaway! One lucky person is going to win a hardcover of Liars, Inc. If the winner has a U.S. mailing address, they’ll win a signed book mailed by me. If int’l address, the winner wins a copy of the book from The Book Depository (please check to see if they ship to your country) + signed bookplate mailed by me. Be sure to drop by my blog all month for more chances to win mystery books written by friends of mine, and join my mailing list to stay up on all my upcoming giveaways for Girl Against the Universe and Vicarious.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Liars INC by Paula Stokes
For fans of Gone Girl, I Hunt Killers, and TV's How to Get Away with Murder.
Max Cantrell has never been a big fan of the truth, so when the opportunity arises to sell forged permission slips and cover stories to his classmates, it sounds like a good way to make a little money and liven up a boring senior year. With the help of his friends Preston and Parvati, Max starts Liars, Inc. Suddenly everybody needs something and the cash starts pouring in. Who knew lying could be so lucrative?
When Preston wants his own cover story to go visit a girl he met online, Max doesn’t think twice about hooking him up. Until Preston never comes home. Then the evidence starts to pile up—terrifying clues that lead the cops to Preston’s body. Terrifying clues that point to Max as the murderer.
Can Max find the real killer before he goes to prison for a crime he didn’t commit? In a story that Kirkus Reviews called "Captivating to the very end," Paula Stokes starts with one single white lie and weaves a twisted tale that will have readers guessing until the explosive final chapters.
For more info, check out the official Liars, Inc. website.
About Paula:
Paula Stokes writes stories about flawed characters with good hearts who sometimes make bad decisions. She’s the author of THE ART OF LAINEY, INFINITE REPEAT, LIARS INC., and several other forthcoming YA novels. When she's not writing, she's kayaking, hiking, reading, or seeking out new adventures in faraway lands. Paula loves interacting with readers. Find her online at authorpaulastokes.com or on twitter as @pstokesbooks.
Liars INC | Website | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
Today I'm more than happy to welcome to the blog one of those very special authors to me because not only I love her books but I also think she's just plain AWESOME!
And so do Dylan, Mini-maug and Morrigan! I'm actually afraid the dragons will smuggle themselves out with her because they want to read her books before anyone else! Check your pockets Paula!
And today Paula doesn't come to the blog alone, she brings Parvati, one of the liars from Liars INC so we can get to know her better! Give them both a proper welcome!! Thank you so much for coming Paula!!
Hi! Thanks to Pili and her dragon and sheep friends for having Parvati and me on the blog. The response to Parvati’s character by people who read Liars, Inc. was fairly mixed. Some didn’t like her because she did thoughtless and reckless things. Some liked her a lot because she did those things without being apologetic. I personally love her. She’s not what you’d call a nice person, but she’s tough and smart and self-sufficient and brave. And she learns from her mistakes, which is probably the #1 thing I look for in a character—how do they grow and change?
A lot of you know I was hoping to write a companion novel from Parvati’s point-of-view. As of right now that isn’t on the table for 2017, though my publisher is willing to consider it for the future. So don’t lose hope completely if you want to read more Parvati. And in the meantime, you’ll probably like Winter from Vicarious (Tor Teen 2016), who shares many qualities with Parvati, but also manages to be a nice person, if a little bit distant.
I have undergraduate degrees in psychology and nursing and a nursing graduate degree, and I use this background to analyze my characters as I write. It’s important for me to know why they do what they do. So today I’m sharing a mini-interview I did with Parvati in order to figure out more about what makes her tick.
Paula: Describe yourself in five words.
Parvati: Ambitious, intelligent, spontaneous, manipulative, lonely
Paula: You have friends and a boyfriend and parents who love you. But you still feel lonely?
Parvati: Yeah. Tragic, huh? I guess it’s because I hide who I am from people most of the time. I spend a lot of time in my own head.
Paula: Is there anyone you feel like you can be yourself around?
Parvati: Preston. And Max, for the most part.
Paula: Tell me about the day you met Preston.
Parvati: I met him the first week of freshman year. We both went to the same private school and there was this big orientation for freshmen. Every night we had a different activity. The first time I saw Pres was on the football field. He was playing in a pick-up game and was really good. Everyone wanted to be on his team. Later in the week there was a dance competition, and then a movie night. Everywhere Pres went, this cloud of people swarmed around him, like satellites orbiting a planet. Normally I would hate someone like that, but then we ended up in the same English class. We were writing poetry and Preston wrote this dark stuff about feeling like an alien and living in his own private hell. It was incongruous with the laid-back popular boy I saw that first week. I figured maybe he felt the same way I did.
Paula: So then the two of you struck up a friendship?
Parvati: Basically. It turned out I was right. Preston was mostly pretending for his parents’ sake. Playing the dutiful senator’s son. Smart. Athletic. Popular. But inside he was messed up, just like me. Misery really does love company.
Paula: What about Max?
Parvati: Max is messed up too, but in a better way. He’s a really good guy. Decent. Trustworthy. Loyal. I don’t feel like I have to impress him, which is nice. But at the same time, I feel like if he knew everything there was to know about me that he might not want to be with me anymore.
Paula: Do you love him?
Parvati: I think so. At first I worried my feelings weren’t about him, that they were just about the way he made me feel. I can be selfish like that sometimes. But now that we’ve spent more time together, I know that I like him for who he is. I wish I were more like him. It sounds cliché, but Max makes me want to be better, you know? I do fewer stupid things now that I’m with Max.
Paula: What do you mean by stupid things?
Parvati: Well, there was this girl at school I didn’t like—I don’t even remember what it was about her, you know how some people just rub you the wrong way? One day I just got sick of listening to her brag about everything—her perfect GPA, her perfect family, her perfect boyfriend. I did some research on her boyfriend and found out he was a math tutor. I paid to tutor me even though I’m great at math. It took a few weeks but I wore him down and eventually we hooked up. He felt guilty about it but I convinced him it was no big deal—it’d be our secret. We talked about it over email and I then I forwarded the emails to her. They broke up.
Paula: How did that make you feel?
Parvati: I know I should say it made me feel terrible—that girl had done nothing to me specifically and neither had the guy. Afterward, the few female friends I had kind of pulled away. But honestly, even though I knew what I did was wrong, I just felt kind of numb about it. I think that was the first time I realized there was something wrong with me.
Paula: What do you think is wrong with you?
Parvati: I don’t know. It’s almost like I have this handful of people that I care about, but other people, whatever, I mess with them because I can. Sometimes just to see if I can. I know that’s screwed up, but that’s what I mean about Max. He started out as one of those strangers I didn’t care about and now I’d basically do anything for him. So maybe I’m getting better…but I’m not sure.
So that ends my mini-interview with Parvati. Fun fact—I actually have a narrative for her and Max outlined through five novels, and both Parvati’s emotional well-being and her relationship with Max have ups and downs and setbacks. They’re definitely an interesting couple to me, but both of them have enough issues that I’m not certain they’d be able to make it last. Hopefully I’ll be able to further explore their dynamic in additional books someday :-)
And now for a giveaway! One lucky person is going to win a hardcover of Liars, Inc. If the winner has a U.S. mailing address, they’ll win a signed book mailed by me. If int’l address, the winner wins a copy of the book from The Book Depository (please check to see if they ship to your country) + signed bookplate mailed by me. Be sure to drop by my blog all month for more chances to win mystery books written by friends of mine, and join my mailing list to stay up on all my upcoming giveaways for Girl Against the Universe and Vicarious.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
For fans of Gone Girl, I Hunt Killers, and TV's How to Get Away with Murder.
Max Cantrell has never been a big fan of the truth, so when the opportunity arises to sell forged permission slips and cover stories to his classmates, it sounds like a good way to make a little money and liven up a boring senior year. With the help of his friends Preston and Parvati, Max starts Liars, Inc. Suddenly everybody needs something and the cash starts pouring in. Who knew lying could be so lucrative?
When Preston wants his own cover story to go visit a girl he met online, Max doesn’t think twice about hooking him up. Until Preston never comes home. Then the evidence starts to pile up—terrifying clues that lead the cops to Preston’s body. Terrifying clues that point to Max as the murderer.
Can Max find the real killer before he goes to prison for a crime he didn’t commit? In a story that Kirkus Reviews called "Captivating to the very end," Paula Stokes starts with one single white lie and weaves a twisted tale that will have readers guessing until the explosive final chapters.
For more info, check out the official Liars, Inc. website.
Paula Stokes writes stories about flawed characters with good hearts who sometimes make bad decisions. She’s the author of THE ART OF LAINEY, INFINITE REPEAT, LIARS INC., and several other forthcoming YA novels. When she's not writing, she's kayaking, hiking, reading, or seeking out new adventures in faraway lands. Paula loves interacting with readers. Find her online at authorpaulastokes.com or on twitter as @pstokesbooks.
Liars INC | Website | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
What a fascinating interview Paula & Pili, it definitely shows us more about Pavarti's character. She's a complex girl to get to know and I like hearing the journey of what Paula had planned out for her. Lovely interview and thanks for the giveaway!
ReplyDeleteBest of luck on the giveaway Jeann! And yes, Parvati is such a fascinating and complex character!
DeleteAh! I still need to read this Pili! I've heard such good things, and now I'm super curious about Parvati. I hope we get that book from her POV! Such a fun interview, I love getting to know characters better outside their story:)
ReplyDeleteI hope you'll get to read Liars INC soon-ish Jenny! And yep, I'm doing the pretzel for Parvati getting her POV book after all!
DeleteWell. I personally didn't think Parvati was just plain awesome in Liars, Inc., but hey, these things happen :) That bit about the math tutor is a complete turnoff lol, and I suppose people would say to blame it on her "youth"? Which makes me mad (this is a different matter entirely though). In any case - lovely post, ladies! Not entering, but good luck to all with the giveaway!
ReplyDeleteAlyssa @ The Eater of Books!
Parvati is a fascinating character! Hard to like for sure, but also a very grey character, there's nothing black and white to her and I'd love to get a book from her POV to understand how her head really works, because that girl has issues for days!
DeleteYou'll never hear me using "youth" as an excuse or rationale for her behavior, perhaps partially because I did something not the same but not all that different when I was almost 30 ;)
DeleteNo one's perfect...except Bianca. And Micah! <3 And maybe Maguire and Jordy from Girl Against the Universe. Oh wait, they've also got issues for days. But theirs will probably be easier for a lot of people to accept ;) Also, Alyssa THEY PLAY TENNIS :D
Heh! You have me there at tennis. Such an underrated sport in YA! Though I do love all the soccer mentions in various YA books (besides Lainey). Also yes Micah! :D
DeleteThere is even a tennis court on the cover! #win :D
DeleteI had mixed feelings about Parvati while I was reading, mostly because I questioned her motives for being in the relationship, but we ended on a high note and my opinion of her kept getting better the more I thought about the book. I actually like her precisely because she's unapologetic and because she has such a clearly defined sense of self. I loved the book as a whole so much, too.
ReplyDeleteI agree, Maja! Parvati is who she is and she knows and owns it!
DeleteGreat post, Pili and Paula! PAAARRVAAAATTTIIII!!! I love her and it was definitely insightful to read this interview from her point of view.
ReplyDeleteYESSS!! And we need a Parvati POV book, right Ri??
DeleteI loooooooove character interviews! Even ones about characters I haven't read about. This story sounds wonderful.
ReplyDeleteYou really ought to read this one, Linda!!
DeleteI started reading the interview but then maybe I should read the book first? Bad me haven't read it yet even though I've got it on my shelf :( I need more than 24hrs a day so I can read more!!!
ReplyDeleteOh and I'm super looking forward to meeting Winter from Vicarious!
Read it, read it, read it Eileen! But don't worry, there weren't any spoilers in the interview for the book! ;)
DeleteEven though I wasn't a big fan of Parvati, mostly because I felt like her cultural aspect could have been shown more especially since was a POC character (my personal preferences, really), I did think that she had a unique personality. It was great to finally see a female love interest who wasn't so goody two shoes, and was multifaceted. It's interesting to know more about why her thinking process here and I'd love a spin-off with Parvati as the main character!
ReplyDeleteFaye at The Social Potato
Yeah, I would have loved more about Parvati, but since the book is about Max and from Max's POV, not that much of a chance to show off more than a few things here and there... I really need Parvati's book though!
DeleteSuch a stunning post Pili :D I love how much you adore Paula. <3 She seems awesome :) And this post and guest post is all kinds of amazing. I love it. Thank you for sharing sweet girl. <3 And thank you for the giveaway too :) Fingers crossed ;p As I am curious about this book. <3
ReplyDeletePaula is all sorts of awesome! Best of luck on the giveaway sweetie!
DeleteI loved this book so much! I am just so glad to know someone else is loving it as well, and it is pretty cool to learn more about the characters this way too.
ReplyDeleteYAY! I adored the book too, Olivia! SO glad to hear you did too!
Delete