Let It Snow Books: Interview with Maria V. Snyder + Giveaway

Welcome to Day 11 of Let it Snow Books 2012, where for the next two weeks you have the chance to read some really fun holiday posts from some of your favorite authors, both here and at Ex Libris.

Today, we welcome author Maria V. Snyder here at Books to Brighten your Mood with a festive post and you will have the chance to win a copy of Scent of Magic.Maria and her work need no further introduction from me. Even if you have read only one book written by this amazing author you instantly fall in love with her characters and incredibly intricate world building. At least I know I was, from the very first book I read of hers. So, it doesn't really come as a surprise that her latest release, Scent of Magic, is among my favorite reads for the year.
Read on for a taste of my review of Scent of Magic:

Maria V. Snyder just can't write a story that isn't amazing! Simple as that. This author is plainly brilliant and by each book of hers that I read she proves that over and over again. Scent of Magic is brilliant!
After reading and absolutely loving... Read the rest of the review here.

-Since this whole event is about the Best Books we read in 2012, could you share with us some of your favorite titles you read this year?
Maria:  Well I don’t know if these books were published in 2012, but I read them in 2012 J I really enjoyed listening to On the Edge, by Illona Andrews – it reminded me of the Yelena and Valek / Avry and Kerrick dynamics and I liked Rose – a strong and smart heroine. I also listened to Heartless, by Gail Carriger – it’s the fourth book of her Parasol Protectorate series and it’s wonderful and hasn’t gotten old. Again another strong and practical protagonist. I’m listening to Timeless the fifth book right now. The Restorer by Amanda Stevens is an unique urban fantasy about a woman who restores cemeteries. The Maze Runner, by James Dashner is excellent, The Farm, by Emily McKay is an unique YA post-apocalyptic, which is hard to do considering the amount of them flooding the market. And I’m still loving Rachel Caine’s Morganville Vampire series – I read Last Breath and Black Dawn back to back.

-Is there anything special you usually do for the holidays?
Maria: Bake cookies and a pie – I never bake any other time of the year J We drive around and look at x-mas lights and we hide a few of our kids’ presents and give them clues to find them on x-mas morning.

-Do you have any favorite holiday themed stories (movies or books)?
Maria: All time favorite is The Grinch! I love that green guy. He has a dog – how bad could he really be??

-Could you share with us your favorite holiday meal/dessert/candy?
Maria: Growing up, my grandmother made home-made spaghetti – yup, she mixed the dough, rolled it out in a sheet and hand cut every single strand!! Then she made the gravy (what we called tomato sauce) from scratch and put in beef, veal, meatballs, and hot and sweet Italian sausages to cook in it all day. Yum! And the leftovers tasted even better – no lie!

-What’s one of the best gifts you ever received/gave for Christmas?
Maria: One x-mas I printed out a bunch of pictures of my children from our various vacations and trips around the world and put them in an album for my mother – I made it a story with captions – it starts out with my kids looking bored and wanting to go on a trip and they try and think of a place they haven’t been. Each page is of a place they have been and, by the end of the album, I have pictures of them sleeping, worn out from remembering so many trips. It took some time to put together, but my mother LOVED it.

-You’re holiday shopping, name a few things you’ll buy this year.
Maria: My son was just accepted to Penn State University! So I’m buying lots of PSU sweatshirts/T-shirts for him and for his proud grandparents. I’m also big on buying books so my daughter is getting a nice stack.

-Let’s say you have the chance to spend the holidays with a fictional character, who would that be and what would you be doing?
Maria: I would like to spend some time with Ari and Janco from my books. They’re lots of fun and I think we’d just hang out, talk and drink some beers.


-We all love Christmas holidays, but I was wondering if there’s anything about them that you find annoying?
Maria: What I find annoying is seeing x-mas decorations in the stores in September, and hearing x-mas music before Thanksgiving. And now my local gym is playing x-mas music at a fast beat so I’m working out to Oh Holy Night at 160 beats/minute!

-What would you ask Santa to bring you this year?
Maria: I would ask for a beach house!

-What would be your (bookish or not) New Year’s resolutions?
Maria: To stay on top of my deadlines! With my new contract, I have to write 4 books in 3 years, so I need to stay on top of things or it’ll be a stressful nightmare. Also to not over commit to non-writing/non-family events.

Thank you for stopping by Maria and Happy Holidays!

About the author

Maria V. Snyder switched careers from meteorologist to novelist when she began writing the New York Times best-selling Study Series (POISON STUDY, MAGIC STUDY and FIRE STUDY) about a young woman who becomes a poison taster. Born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, Maria dreamed of chasing tornados and even earned a Bachelors of Science degree in Meteorology from Pennsylvania State University. Unfortunately, she lacked the necessary forecasting skills. So she worked as an environmental meteorologist until boredom and children drove her to write down the stories that have been swirling around in her head. Writing, proved to be more enjoyable than meteorology, and Maria returned to school to earn a Master of Arts degree in fiction writing from Seton Hill University. Unable to part company with Seton Hill and its wonderful writing program, Maria is currently a teacher and mentor for the MFA program.

Visit Maria

Website  ~ Blog ~ Goodreads

About the Book:
Title: Scent of Magic
Author: Maria V. Snyder
Series: Healer, #2
Publisher: Harlequin MIRA
Length: 400 pages
Release Date: December 18th 2012
Purchase Info: Book Depository, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Goodreads

Hunted, Killed—Survived?

As the last Healer in the Fifteen Realms, Avry of Kazan is in a unique position: in the minds of her friends and foes alike, she no longer exists. Despite her need to prevent the megalomanical King Tohon from winning control of the Realms, Avry is also determined to find her sister and repair their estrangement. And she must do it alone, as Kerrick, her partner and sole confident, returns to Alga to summon his country into battle.

Though she should be in hiding, Avry will do whatever she can to support Tohon’s opponents. Including infiltrating a holy army, evading magic sniffers, teaching forest skills to soldiers and figuring out how to stop Tohon’s most horrible creations yet; an army of the walking dead—human and animal alike and nearly impossible to defeat.

War is coming and Avry is alone. Unless she figures out how to do the impossible ... again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~GIVEAWAY~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Maria has generously offered a copy of Scent of Magic to one lucky commenter (Open Internationally.)All giveaways end on January 5th.

~Fill the form below to enter ~

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