Defiance by C.J. Redwine – Blog Tour

I’m so stoked to be a part of the blog tour of Defiance by C.J. Redwine! What an epic book. Check out this interview with the author herself, and be sure to stop by the other blogs on the tour, which are linked at the bottom of the post!

Amazon | Goodreads | Author Website
Author Twitter | My Review Within the walls of Baalboden, beneath the shadow of the city’s brutal leader, Rachel Adams has a secret. While other girls sew dresses, host dinner parties, and obey their male Protectors, Rachel knows how to survive in the wilderness and deftly wield a sword. When her father, Jared, fails to return from a courier mission and is declared dead, the Commander assigns Rachel a new Protector, her father’s apprentice, Logan—the same boy Rachel declared her love for two years ago, and the same boy who handed her heart right back to her. Left with nothing but fierce belief in her father’s survival, Rachel decides to escape and find him herself. But treason against the Commander carries a heavy price, and what awaits her in the Wasteland could destroy her.

At nineteen, Logan McEntire is many things. Orphan. Outcast. Inventor. As apprentice to the city’s top courier, Logan is focused on learning his trade so he can escape the tyranny of Baalboden. But his plan never included being responsible for his mentor’s impulsive daughter. Logan is determined to protect her, but when his escape plan goes wrong and Rachel pays the price, he realizes he has more at stake than disappointing Jared.

As Rachel and Logan battle their way through the Wasteland, stalked by a monster that can’t be killed and an army of assassins out for blood, they discover romance, heartbreak, and a truth that will incite a war decades in the making. – Goodreads

C.J. Redwine, author of Defiance

What’s been your favourite part of being a debut author?

Wow, this is a hard question to answer. :) It’s been amazing to finally see my dream of seeing my book in the hands of readers come true. I’ve also really, really enjoyed the collaborative process of working with my editor. It’s fabulous to have someone who *gets* my story and knows how to draw the best out of me.

Just by reading the first few lines of Defiance summary, it’s kind of obvious Rachel is going to be a badass. Who are some of your other favourite badass female protagonists?

Katniss, of course, for embodying the survivor who managed to repeatedly rise out of the ashes of her life. And Hermoine (What, you didn’t think she was a badass? She totally is!) because she embraced who she was, kept a clear head, stood up for what she believed in, even when the odds were overwhelming, and showed constant courage in the face of danger. Also, Lucy from the Narnia books. She went through harrowing times and she kept her heart wide open even when it hurt. That’s pretty badass.

I’ve always wondered how authors of fantasy choose names. Where did the inspiration for Baalboden come from?

First, I got to know the character of Commander Jason Chase, who rules Baalboden. He is an angry, controlling man with a voracious hunger for power to the point that it blinds him to any power that doesn’t come from inspiring fear in others. It’s a blind spot that my hero and heroine exploit. And once I knew him, and knew that his pride and his desire to play god over everyone was his weakness, it reminded me of the story in the Bible about the prophets of Baal. They also were blinded by pride and a desire to play god … so much so that they challenged God to a showdown and then lost horribly. I decided naming his city Baalboden was a little shoutout to the Commander’s Achilles heel.

If you could be the author of any already published works, which would it be and why?

Literally, twenty titles just popped into my head! There are soooo many published books that I admire with deep, fanatical devotion, but I’m going to have to say Harry Potter because COME ON. What author wouldn’t want that incredible world to come out of the recesses of her brain?

Do you have any plans once you’ve finished the books in the Defiance series? Are you going to explore other genres?

I have plans! *evil cackle* My writing usally falls under the speculative fiction genre (basically because I like to mix genres), so I’ll be writing more mixed-genre books. None of the ideas I currently have in development look anything at all like the Defiance series, which is fun. I like to mix it up. :)

August 20 – Good Choice Reading
August 20 – Bookalicious
August 21 – Xpresso Reads
August 24 – Hypable
August 25 – One Minute Books
August 26 – Books with Bite
August 27 – Girls in the Stacks
August 28 – Mundie Moms
August 28 – YA Books Central
August 29 – Myra McEntire
August 30 – YA Bibliophile
August 31 – Good Books and Good Wine
September 01 – Page Turners
September 02 – Once Upon a Twilight
September 03 – Readiacs
September 04 – Teens Read & Write
September 05 – Reading Teen
September 06 – The Story Siren
September 07 – Supernatural Snark

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