Author Interview: Amy Plum

Today, the wonderful Amy Plum has stopped by to chat about her debut novel Die For Me, what we can expect from it's sequel Until I Die and...Willy Wonka.

I absolutely LOVED Die For Me and you can read my review here.

*****

Can you describe Die For Me in three words?
Gothic Parisian romance.

Where did the idea of revenants come from?
It was my attempt to do a mash-up of two mythological creatures: gods and zombies. But as I went further along with the development of their story, I truly had a feeling that they were something that already existed, and that I, as a writer, was charged with discovering. Everything about them makes sense and lives quite comfortably side-by-side with existing mythologies.

Can you share anything about the sequel Until I Die?
Yes. There are a few new characters. I packed in lots of fun new Parisian locations. More of the revenant mythology will be revealed. And now that Vincent and Kate are together, they will be faced with huge questions about how they can actually make a revenant-human relationship work.

Die For Me is going to be a trilogy. Do you already know how the last book will end?
I do know how the last book will end. But I am not quite sure how I will get there!

Excluding Vincent and Kate, do you have a favourite character in Die For Me?
That’s actually a really hard question. Because I am incredibly fond of several of my characters: Jules, Georgia, Ambrose, Charlotte, Mamie...even Gaspard. I feel like I know them all really well, and if I could actually stand in front of any of them, I would throw my arms around them for a big old American hug!

Which fictional character would you like to trade places with?
Any fictional character that can fly and eat everything they want without gaining weight. Because, besides not having those two qualities, I’m pretty happy with my life!

What is your favourite word?
I have been told that I use the word “magical” WAY too much. But I would have to say that the French word “pamplemousse” is my favorite for the way it rolls around in the mouth. That and my daughter’s middle name, Tallulah.

What are some of your favourite YA books at the moment?
I am re-reading Josephine Angelini’s Starcrossed and really enjoying it. She has such an amazing way with words! Just started Cassi Clare’s City of Bones, and know I’m going to devour the series. And I had never read Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy before a friend sent it to me a few months ago. Have read the first two books and LOVE THEM!!!

Who are some of your literary crushes?
Eric Northman. Aragorn. Mr. Darcy (in both Pride & Prejudice AND Bridget Jones’s Diary). And (I know this is really strange) Willy Wonka.

*****

A massive thankyou to Amy for taking the time to answer my questions. I am so excited about Until I Die and am going to try my best to wait patiently for it...although I will probably fail epically.

My review of Die For Me
Amy's website
Amy on Facebook
Amy on Goodreads

Bits and Pieces (2)

Amy Plum's debut book Die For Me has officially been released in Australia. Here is a little clip of Amy trying Vegemite for the first time and thanking Aussie bloggers (including yours truly :D)

The winner of the signed copy of Bite Club is...
*Arielle*
Congratulations Arielle, I have contacted you by email and thankyou to everyone who entered.
So I'm a little bit late with posting this but here is the magical book trailer for Forever, the third and final book in Maggie Steifvater's The Wolves of Mercy Falls series. The trailer features a track written by UK band Jonas & Plunkett, "Summer Girl" - with lyrics from Shiver.
Also, Cassandra Clare, author of the best-selling Mortal Instruments series is due to arrive in Australia this week for ten days. If you live in Sydney or Melbourne there are a number of different events where you can meet her. Click here for details.



And finally, head over to my Coming Soon page were new books by David Levithan, Andrea Cremer and Jay Asher have been added.

Die For Me by Amy Plum

Title: Die For Me
Series: Revenants Book 1
Author: Amy Plum

Release Date: 10th May 2011

My Rating: 5/5

Blurb:

Die For Me is the first of three books about Kate, a sixteen-year-old American who moves to Paris after the death of her parents. It introduces a new version of the undead with revenants, beings who are fated to sacrifice themselves over and over again to save others’ lives. Kate finds herself falling for Vincent, who she discovers is not the typical French teenager he appears: he is something else entirely.

My Review:
Words can not describe how much I love Die For Me.

As you can probably tell from the blurb, Vincent is a revenant, but that is all I will say on the matter. I didn't read the blurb properly before reading the book so what Vincent was, came as a surprise and I preferred it that way. What I will say is that revenants are original and as far as I know, they haven't been done in YA fiction before, especially since Amy Plum created much of the mythology herself.

Die For Me could not have been set in a more perfect city. Paris is romantic, magical and has that delicious feeling of something dangerous hiding amongst it's beauty. Amy Plum's writing swallows you up and I could feel myself being transported back to Paris (where I have been twice). You can actually have a look at the locations in Die For Me on Amy's website where she has marked all the places around Paris that Kate, Vincent and the rest of the characters visit, as well as providing her own photos of the locations. Check it out here.

Die For Me has such a wonderful selection of characters; Kate, Georgia, Vincent, Jules, Ambrose, Charlotte, Mamie, Papy, Jean-Baptiste, Gaspard. You can't help but love them. I really liked Kate. She's been through a lot and even though she is broken (and understandably so) she eventually manages to pull herself out of her misery and become a girl who is mentally strong and mature. She's not kick-ass, but she's not wimpy either. She loves books, museums and art and is the opposite of her care-free, extroverted sister Georgia.

"I wanted a heroine who wasn’t dependent on the man she loved. Self-sacrifice is admirable up to a point, but I wanted someone who was independent and smart – not just intellectually but emotionally."

From Amy Plum's website.

Kate isn't the kind of girl who needs a boy to make herself feel good or to be happy, and she doesn't need Vincent to swoop in and take care of her. But he is certainly blush-inducing with his old school charm and romance. Vincent, Jules and Ambrose all made me swoon, but not at the beginning. They all grew on me as Kate got to know them better and we saw more of who they really were rather than the front they put on. They reminded me of Edward, Emmett and Jasper from Twilight in the way they interacted with each other; joking around and being sarcastic, in a brotherly way.

This is an absolutely fantastic debut with a breath-taking cover. While this will be a series, there is no cliff-hanger and Die For Me could survive as a stand alone novel. I can't wait to read what Amy Plum writes next and to once again get lost in Kate and Vincent's world. I am so in love with this book right now. And did I mention there is sword fighting?!

Die For Me has earned it's place on my All-Time Favourite's list.

Thankyou to NetGalley for this review copy. I will certainly be buying my own hard copy once it has been released.

Die For Me Cover Love

Lately I have been extremely excited about getting my hands on a copy of Amy Plum's debut novel Die For Me. Unfortunately I still have just under two months left until it is released but if I wasn't desperate before, I am now after the stunning new cover was revealed!


Is that not one of the most beautiful covers EVER?! It's rare that I am so impressed with a marketing team. While the original US cover wasn't bad, it didn't grab you like the UK cover did. So now the US gets a pretty cover too. The only thing that is different between them now is the font on the cover. If you want more info about the change, you can find it at Amy Plum's website.

Old US cover

Die For Me
Released 10th May 2011

MY LIFE HAD ALWAYS BEEN BLISSFULLY, WONDERFULLY NORMAL. BUT IT ONLY TOOK ONE MOMENT TO CHANGE EVERYTHING.
Suddenly, my sister, Georgia, and I were orphans. We put our lives into storage and moved to Paris to live with my grandparents. And I knew my shattered heart, my shattered life, would never feel normal again. Then I met Vincent.
Mysterious, sexy, and unnervingly charming, Vincent Delacroix appeared out of nowhere and swept me off my feet. Just like that, I was in danger of losing my heart all over again. But this time I was ready to let it happen. Of course, nothing is ever that easy. Because Vincent is no normal human. He has a terrifying destiny, one that puts his life at risk every day. He also has enemies…immortal, murderous enemies who are determined to destroy him and all of his kind.
While I’m fighting to piece together the remnants of my life, can I risk putting my heart—as well as my life and my family’s—in jeopardy for a chance at love?”