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 😉
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. They’re stand-alones, they come to their own conclusions, and don’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 there’s something to unify them for the reader.
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 I’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 wasn’t sure that it would work at first, but the second “voice” ended up adding more tension and depth than I ever could have had with just a single first person point of view throughout.
Q. What are you working on now?
I’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. I’m also starting another YA —but it’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 bad dog-earring, but it’s the truth.
– Paperback or Hardback? Paperback. It’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.
– Coffee or tea? Coffee, coffee, coffee. Cannot live without my caffeine fix!
– Funny or scary? Scary. I love thrillers!
– Bad boy or good boy? Ah, well, I’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, they’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 😀
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 Dream…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 Cellar
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 Read
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 😉
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