Monday, July 30, 2012

Circle of Silence Tour Stop

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Today I have the fabulous Carol Tanzman over the blog for Circle of Seilence’s Blog Tour. I previously enjoyed her other novel, dancergirl – find my review here – and stay tuned for my review of Circle of Silence later this week! For today’s post, I have an interview with Carol, along with a pretty awesome giveaway šŸ˜‰

Circle of SilenceĀ 
Carol M. Tanzman
Publication date: July 24th 2012
by Harlequin Teen

Ā 

THE BIGGEST STORY OF MY LIFE COULD BE HOW IT ENDS It’s my turn to run a “Campus News” crew, and I’ve put together a team that can break stories wide open. And Washington Irving High has a truly great one to cover, if only we can find a lead.

A secret society has formed in our school. It announced its presence with pranks: underwear on the flagpole, a toilet in the hallway, cryptic notes. A circle of silence keeps the society a mystery. No one knows its members, agenda or initiation secrets-until a student lands in the hospital under “strange” circumstances.

I “will” blow this story wide open and stop others from being hurt…or worse. And while my ex, Jagger, might want to help, I don’t trust him yet. (And, no, not because of our past together. That is “not” important to this story.)

But whether you find me, Valerie Gaines, reporting in front of the camera, or a victim in the top story of the newscast…be sure to watch “Campus News” at 9:00 a.m. this Friday.

Interview with Carol M. Tanzman
Hi Carol! Thanks so much for dropping by!
Q. Circle of Silence is stated as book 2 in the WiHi series, but it doesn’t seem to be a sequel, can you tell us how it relates to dancergirl?

The books are, in essence, companion books. Theyā€™re stand-alones, they come to their own conclusions, and donā€™t have to be read in order. They are however, linked by setting; each book takes place in Brooklyn at the same high school, fictional Washington Irving High or WiHi, as the students call it. The main character in Circle of Silence makes a minor appearance in dancergirl and some of the characters from dancergirl make appearances in Circle of Silence. Since they are both contemporary YA thrillers, it was a way to write separate books while at the same time thereā€™s something to unify them for the reader.Ā 

Q. Circle of Silence deals with secret societies in a high school, did your high school have secret clubs or weird quirks, or was it pretty boring (like mine)?

If my high school had a secret society, it was so secret no one knew about it! Like almost all high schools, however, we had pretty distinct cliques. I was in the theatre clique. Part of what Iā€™m writing about in Circle of Silence is identity and labels. I do think my high experience of being so identified with one group played a major part in the writing of the book.

Q. What was one of the best parts of writing this book?

I loved experimenting with two voices. I wasnā€™t sure that it would work at first, but the second ā€œvoiceā€ ended up adding more tension and depth than I ever could have had with just a single first person point of view throughout.Ā 

Q. What are you working on now?

Iā€™ve just finished writing a quirky tween mystery with comedic touches. A bit of a departure for me but it was a lot of fun to write. Iā€™m also starting another YA ā€”but itā€™s too new to be able to talk about yet.

This or That:

Bookmark or Dog eared? Dog eared. I wish I could say bookmark because I always feel badĀ dog-earring, but itā€™s the truth. Ā 

– Paperback or Hardback? Paperback. Itā€™s the economics of it as both reader and writer. Both Circle of Silence and dancergirl are published in paperback, which makes it very affordable.Ā 
– Coffee or tea? Coffee, coffee, coffee. Cannot live without my caffeine fix!Ā 
– Funny or scary? Scary. I love thrillers!
– Bad boy or good boy? Ah, well, Iā€™ve always been attracted to the bad boy who, it turns out, has a good boy streak hidden inside!
– Simpsons or Family Guy? Simpsons. Been on so long, theyā€™re like family.
– Hunger Games or Harry Potter? Hunger Games. Katniss is an amazing female character!

Thanks so much for having me a part of the tour, Carol! I’m happy that I got to know you! And not only because you love coffee so much šŸ˜€

Ā 
Carol M. Tanzman is an award-winning theatre director and nationally recognized arts educator. Her first YA novel, The Shadow Place, was on YALSA’s Quick Pick List of Recommended Books, the National Council of Teachers of English ALAN List of Best Books, and the CA Collection for Middle & Senior High Schools. In addition to the current Harlequin Teen books dancergirl and Circle of Silence she is a contributing poet to the upcoming Dare to Dreamā€¦Change the World anthology.

This post is a part of:

Full tour schedule:
Monday, July 23rd – Alice Marvel’s
Tuesday, July 24th Book Birthday – Evie Bookish
Wednesday, July 25th – The Book CellarĀ 
Friday, July 27th – Kindle Fever

Monday, July 30th – Xpresso Reads
Wednesday, August 1st – Reading Angel
Friday, August 3rd – Harlequin Blog

Monday, August 6th- Letters Inside Out
Wednesday, August 8th – Chapter by Chapter
Friday, August 10th – I Just wanna Sit here and ReadĀ 

Giveaway
Thanks to Kismet Book Tours and Harlequin Teen, a print copy of Circle of Silence AND a new Nook GlowLight skinned with the beautiful Circle of Silence Cover Art up (picture here) is up for grabs.

Open to US & Canadian addresses only
Use the Rafflecopter below to enter
Note: To enter for the Nook GlowLight, you MUST answer the special question in the Rafflecopter – answer can be found in the Interview šŸ˜‰
a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Canadian blogger, wife, mother, coffee lover, and sarcastic at heart! She has had a love for all things bookish since before Amazon and eReaders existed *le gasp*. You can also find her organizing tours and other fun things at Xpresso Book Tours.

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63 Responses to “Circle of Silence Tour Stop”

  1. Emily

    Wow, this book looks REALLY good. *adds to TBR*
    Great post Giselle, I loved you interview! I would choose The Hunger Games as well :p

  2. Christina K.

    I HAVE to read Circle of Silence and dancergirl – I love YA thrillers, and I really love author interviews:) Glad there are two voices in this one:)

    I too wish my school had a secret society:)

  3. Amy

    What a great interview!! I have not read Dancergirl, but this sounds fantastic. Good to know that it’s a completely different story and I can just read this one if I want. I love dual POV’s too.

  4. Eileen

    Great interview! I had no idea it was the sequel to Dancergirl, and it does sound really awesome with all the high school cliques and labels. šŸ™‚ I need to check this one out soon! šŸ™‚

  5. Mary @ BookSwarm

    I love a good YA thriller and one that involves journalism (since I’m teaching journalism next year) is even better! Great interview–I like the bad boy with a mushy good guy center, too.

  6. Sam

    Lovely interview! I really like the sound of this book and can’t wait to read it. I was always planning to go for Dancergirl first, but if they can be read separately, I guess it’s okay to read Circle of Silence now (as I already have a copy of that one and not the other!) šŸ˜€ Thanks for sharing!

  7. -Ria xo

    I love the This or That questions, they’re so fun! AHHHHH, I hate scary books! They’re so..l scary. Both The Simpsons and The Hunger Games are amazing.<3

    Awesome interview, and thanks so much for the giveaway! Unfortunately I live in the UK, but good luck to anyone entering. (:

  8. Cindy

    I own dancergirl and really want to read it, especially after learning a little more about this one. I had no idea that they were companion novels. Great interview and thanks for the giveaway šŸ™‚

  9. Fiery Na

    My high school never had a secret scoeity or I’m pretty sure it didn’t. I think it would be cool if we had one and I would want to be a part especially if it’s interesting and not too scary.

  10. Born Bookish

    I’ve already added this to my TBR, didn’t realize it was the companion book to Dancergirl, I’ll have to check that one out too! Fun interview by the way! =)

  11. Molli @ Once Upon a Prologue

    What an awesome interview. I love that Carol chose Katniss over HP. (I don’t know if I could choose…) I always love author interviews because they give us, the readers, a chance to get inside the author’s heads a little bit.

  12. Nick

    I read Rachel’s (@ The Readers Den) amazing review and fell in love with the concept of the book. I’m definitely going to read this book.
    Great interview, Giselle. šŸ™‚

  13. Gin Bryant

    Awesome interview! My hubby would agree with the Simpsons and I would choose The Hunger Games also. šŸ™‚ Can’t wait to read this one!

    Thanks for the giveaway!

  14. erin

    Thanks for the fun post and giveaway! This book sounds fabulous I’m running over to check it out more now šŸ™‚

  15. Melissa

    Most of the books I’ve read that have secret societies are books where the characters are in college, so it’s really interesting to note that they are in high school here. This looks like a great book.

  16. Raphael Temple

    Wow, so many giveaways! You must be such a busy girl… and keeping us busy with all these books to read! I’m intrigued with this one, and it sounds fantastic. I love secret socities!

  17. Jenni @ Alluring Reads

    Great interview Giselle! I have had Dancergirl on my TBR for a while now. I like how the two novels tie together but don’t necessarily have to be read in succession. And I am definitely team Hunger Games too! Katniss FTW šŸ™‚

  18. Maggie K

    I added this to my reading pile. I haven’t read a YA thriller before. This could be a great introduction for me.
    Thanks for the giveaway!

  19. Laura

    Sounds like a great read! I’m intrigued by the “two voices” and how that will be to read. Thanks so much for the giveaway!

  20. Rabiah

    Thanks for the amazing giveaway! I loved Dancergirl and can’t WAIT to get my hands on Circle of Silence šŸ˜€ Love the interviewā€“ I love coffee too, but hate scary movies :/ have never been able to sit through one!

  21. Rachel

    What a great interview, Giselle and Carol! I loved Circle of Silence, it had me wildly clicking the pages at the end! Carol, I love a bad boy with a good streak too. Thanks for the awesome giveaway ladies! šŸ™‚

  22. Carol Tanzman

    Thanks everyone for joining the tour! For those who already read Circle of Silence or dancergirl, I am so happy you enjoyed the books! Good luck to all for the giveaway!

  23. Alyssa Susanna

    Hi Ms. Tanzman! I havenā€™t read anything by you, so Iā€™d love to start with Code of Silence! I have to say, I love the cover!!!
    Thank you for the giveaway!!!!

    Alyssa Susanna