hello all!! i’m so excited to have the one and only Evelyn Skye on the blog today! she’s the author of The Crown’s Game series and the newly released Circle of Shadows. here’s some more info on the book:

Circle of Shadows by Evelyn Skye
Published by HarperCollins on January 22, 2019
Genres: Young Adult Fiction, Fantasy, General, Romance, People & Places, Asia
Pages: 464
Amazon||The Book Depository
Goodreads

Sora can move as silently as a ghost and hurl throwing stars with lethal accuracy. Her gemina, Daemon, can win any physical fight blindfolded and with an arm tied behind his back. They are apprentice warriors of the Society of Taigas—marked by the gods to be trained in magic and the fighting arts to protect the kingdom of Kichona.

As their graduation approaches, Sora and Daemon look forward to proving themselves worthy of belonging to the elite group—but in a kingdom free of violence since the Blood Rift Rebellion many years ago, it’s been difficult to make their mark. So when Sora and Daemon encounter a strange camp of mysterious soldiers while on a standard scouting mission, they decide the only thing to do to help their kingdom is to infiltrate the group.Taking this risk will change Sora’s life forever—and lead her on a mission of deception that may fool everyone she’s ever loved.

Love, spies, and adventure abound as Sora and Daemon unravel a complex web of magic and secrets that might tear them—and the entire kingdom—apart.

now onto the interview!

where did the idea of circle of shadows come from?

I’ve always been interested in ninja lore, and I was also fascinated by spy stories, especially since I studied a lot about the Soviet Union and the KGB in college (part of my major). I thought it would be fun to write a story that mashed those two genres together, and that’s how I came up with Sora, a brilliant, magic-wielding ninja, who discovers that something’s gone very wrong in her kingdom. But no one believes her, since she’s just an apprentice, and she has to infiltrate the enemy in order to destroy them. It’s not all gloom and doom, though, because Sora and her friends are known for mischief, so there is definitely some fun that’s had along the way. 

what was your favorite part of writing this book?

In every book that I write, there always seems to be a character who starts out as just a minor side character but then, through rounds of revision, blossoms into someone with a larger role and a big personality. In this series, that character is Fairy. She initially had a small role as Sora’s roommate, but she just insisted on being something more. She’s an unabashed flirt (she “collects boys like some girls collect seashells”) and she’s a fierce fighter who will beat you in a sparring match and laugh at you (good-naturedly) afterward. In fact, I love Fairy so much that writing more of her character is one of the things I’m looking forward to the most in Book 2!

when did you know you wanted to be a writer?

Unlike a lot of authors, I didn’t know from childhood that I wanted to be a writer. I’ve always enjoyed writing, but never considered it as a career until I was much older. I majored in Russian history & literature in college, but even then it never occurred to me to be a writer “when I grew up.” Instead, my first career was as a corporate lawyer (mergers & acquisitions and intellectual property licensing). It was only when I had a baby and needed a job that was more flexible that I gave writing a try.

I fell head over heels in love with writing then. I’d been a good lawyer, but I didn’t have a passion for it. In fact, there were many days when I absolutely hated law. But writing… I woke up every morning excited about getting to sit in front of my computer and dream up new worlds and characters and stories. I realized that this was what people meant when they talked about having a job they loved. 

I knew it would be a long and hard road to get to publication of a book, and it took me eight unpublished manuscripts before I finally wrote something that was published (The Crown’s Game), but it was all worth it, and I still love this career and wouldn’t trade it for anything else.

is there anything you can reveal for book two? 👀

Oooh, this is nearly impossible without giving away spoilers. I guess all I can really say is the stakes are higher, the magic is bigger, and the characters learn even more about themselves and what they can do. Is that vague enough? 😜

a fantasy book you would recommend?

I loved THESE REBEL WAVES by Sara Raasch, which came out last year, and DARK OF THE WEST by Joanna Hathaway, which will be released later this year. Both are fantasies with a lot of political intricacies and backstabbing, as well as characters you fall in love with. They remind me of Marie Rutkowski’s WINNER’S CURSE series, which is one of my all-time favorites.

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now the giveaway!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

other blog tour stops

• January 21st – Bookish Lifestyle – Top 5 Reasons to Read Circle of Shadows and Tote Design Reveal
• January 22nd – The Reader and the Chef –  Places To Visit in Circle of Shadows
• January 23rd – The YA Book Traveler – Author Interview
• January 24th – Alexa Loves Books – Gift Guide
• January 25th – YA and Wine – Review 
• January 28th – Twirling Pages – Author Interview 
• January 29th – MTMC Tours – Quotes from Circle of Shadows
• January 30th – Paperfury – Feature
• January 31st – It Starts at Midnight – Feature
• February 1st- The Books Buzz – Transforming into a Taiga