September is a new month and with it comes a whole new "Author of the Month", now I know that i haven't had the chance to do this feature in a while. However, I recently read a book in July and fell in love with the author's work. So I took a chance and emailed the author right away. She was kind enough to respond and thus making her my September "Author of the Month."
Some of you may have read her most recent book, The Last Magician, but she does have three previously published books as well. ALSO stay tuned till the end of this post because there is a giveaway in store!
My September Author of the Month is....
Lisa Maxwell is the New York Times Best-Selling author of The Last Magician. Her other critically acclaimed books include Sweet Unrest, Gathering Deep, and Unhooked. She has a PhD in English, and when she's not writing books, she's an English professor at a local college. She grew up in Akron, OH, and has lived in lots of other places: Pennsylvania, Illinois, Alabama, and even a short stint in Italy. Currently makes her home near DC with her very patient husband and two not-so patient boys
Connect with Lisa through:
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
Connect with Lisa through:
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
Sabrina: Hello Lisa! It is a real pleasure having you on my blog for this
feature. I just recently read The Last Magician and fell in love with it.
Lisa: Thanks so much for having me! I’m so glad you loved the book <3
Sabrina: Back in July you released a new YA read, The Last Magician. Readers are
transported back to 1900 New York city. Did you find it challenging to stay
true to the time era while writing out scenes?
Lisa: I did a ton of research going into writing the book, so I had a very
clear sense of what New York would have been like at the time. Strangely
enough, the most frustrating and difficult thing about writing in 1902 New York
was the language. I had to constantly look up the etymology of words and phrases—especially
sayings and slang that we take for granted—to make sure that people in the
early 1900s would have used them.
Sabrina: The Last Magician is lead with a strong bunch of characters, who was one
of the more challenging characters to write?
Lisa: I think that Jack Grew was one of the harder characters to get right.
It was way too easy to make him cartoonish, and I wanted readers to understand
that he felt he had legitimate reasons for doing what he did. I wanted the
reader to hate him, but I also wanted the reader to understand him so they
didn’t dismiss him.
Sabrina: How would you describe The Last Magician in two sentences for readers
out there who want to read it?
Lisa: Gangs of NY with Magic: A time traveling thief has to go back to 1902
and stop the Magician from destroying a book that could save magic.
Sabrina: Which two quotes from The Last Magician make you proud to say that you
wrote it and would share them with readers?
Lisa: “Liars make the best magicians, and he happened to be exceptional.”
“She moved with
confidence—it’s own sort of magic, she supposed.”
Sabrina: You’re an author currently of 4 published novels, do you believe any of
your characters would cross and get along well together?
Lisa: I think Rowan from UNHOOKED and Harte from THE LAST MAGICIAN would get
along. Or maybe they would just sit and give each other broody, grumpy stares,
never admitting how alike they really are ;P
Sabrina: If you got the opportunity to have a lunch date with one of your
characters, who would it be and why?
Lisa: Definitely Viola. She’s one of my most favorite characters, and we’d
probably just sit around over a couple of cannoli lamenting the pitfalls of
growing up in an Italian household.
Sabrina: Has your writing process become easier since your debut novel Sweet
Unrest?
Lisa: I don’t think so, no. In fact, I wrote SWEET UNREST so much from
instinct that it felt easy to write. But since then, my plots have gotten more
complex and I’ve done a lot of work on learning theories of craft, so all of
that slows me down and makes things more difficult. I’m a lot more aware now of
when things aren’t right.
Sabrina: Being an author of many settings, where would you want to visit and maybe
live?
Lisa: Always Italy. Always.
Sabrina: How do you balance your time to write, read, and work?
Lisa: I’m not sure that I do balance it. There are times I write like there’s
nothing else in the world, and I’m a terrible mom and wife. There are other
times I let the writing fall to the side, because I need that break. I just try
to focus on what needs to be done and who needs my attention, and I try to be
forgiving of myself for not being
able to be the best mom, teacher, and writer all at the same time.
Sabrina: Thank you so much Lisa for agreeing to join me on my blog today! I look
forward to the sequel of The Last Magician, and I can’t wait to read your
future creations.
Lisa: Thank you! These were such
great and thoughtful questions, and I had an awesome time answering them.
Title: The Last Magician
Author: Lisa Maxwell
Publication Date: July 18th, 2017
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Pages: 512 pages
Format: Advanced Reading Copy provided by Simon Teen Canada
Description: In modern-day New York, magic is all but extinct. The remaining few who have an affinity for magic—the Mageus—live in the shadows, hiding who they are. Any Mageus who enters Manhattan becomes trapped by the Brink, a dark energy barrier that confines them to the island. Crossing it means losing their power—and often their lives.
Esta is a talented thief, and she’s been raised to steal magical artifacts from the sinister Order that created the Brink. With her innate ability to manipulate time, Esta can pilfer from the past, collecting these artifacts before the Order even realizes she’s there. And all of Esta’s training has been for one final job: traveling back to 1902 to steal an ancient book containing the secrets of the Order—and the Brink—before the Magician can destroy it and doom the Mageus to a hopeless future.
But Old New York is a dangerous world ruled by ruthless gangs and secret societies, a world where the very air crackles with magic. Nothing is as it seems, including the Magician himself. And for Esta to save her future, she may have to betray everyone in the past.
Author: Lisa Maxwell
Publication Date: July 18th, 2017
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Pages: 512 pages
Format: Advanced Reading Copy provided by Simon Teen Canada
Description: In modern-day New York, magic is all but extinct. The remaining few who have an affinity for magic—the Mageus—live in the shadows, hiding who they are. Any Mageus who enters Manhattan becomes trapped by the Brink, a dark energy barrier that confines them to the island. Crossing it means losing their power—and often their lives.
Esta is a talented thief, and she’s been raised to steal magical artifacts from the sinister Order that created the Brink. With her innate ability to manipulate time, Esta can pilfer from the past, collecting these artifacts before the Order even realizes she’s there. And all of Esta’s training has been for one final job: traveling back to 1902 to steal an ancient book containing the secrets of the Order—and the Brink—before the Magician can destroy it and doom the Mageus to a hopeless future.
But Old New York is a dangerous world ruled by ruthless gangs and secret societies, a world where the very air crackles with magic. Nothing is as it seems, including the Magician himself. And for Esta to save her future, she may have to betray everyone in the past.
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