Girls*Heart* Books: November Author Appreciation: Spotlight on Kristen Day & Giveaway

First off, Lana and I wanted to let you guys know we realize we are way behind in our monthly author appreciation duties, but in our defense, we have been insanely busy. We're ready to make it up to you guys though. This month, we are dying to tell you all about an author we both absolutely adore. Kristen Day, author of the Daughters of the Sea trilogy, is one of our new favorite authors and we were lucky enough to snag an interview with her to share with you guys!

Kristen Day hooked me from the very first line of Forsaken (Book 1 in the Daughters of the Sea trilogy) and she hasn't let me go yet. I am now eagerly awaiting the final book in the series. Her storytelling is enchanting and her characters are completely captivating. I dare you to read these books and not fall in love with them and their brilliant author.

Now without further ado, I give you our interview with Kristen Day!

Thank you so much for taking the time to chat with us, Kristen. We really appreciate it!

*Can you start by telling us a little about yourself? I’m 34 years old, but my soul is approximately 1,270 years old. I live in North Carolina and graduated from Appalachian State University with a degree in Marketing. I have an unhealthy obsession with Sharpies, scrapbook paper, buttons, old books, and most recently Hobby Lobby. I love painting, jewelry making, sewing, and just about anything else I can create with my hands. I’ve been writing my entire life, only to keep my works hidden (until now). The written word has always been my outlet and reading has always been my escape. Those worlds collided when I decided to write the Daughters of the Sea trilogy and it’s been a terrific ride thus far!

*Where did you get the inspiration for the Daughters of the Sea series?
It’s a beautiful marriage of my true passions: the beach and history, or more specifically, mythology. I started by doing a TON of research about the different sea gods and goddesses. I knew I wanted to have a boarding school with different ‘types’ of students. That’s where the research came in. Depending on the different qualities I wanted each ‘type’ to have, I was able to choose a god or goddess for them to be descended from. I love symbolism, so the traces and stones were a no-brainer. The story just continued to grow and grow. Before I knew it I had an entire notebook of characters, a foundational plot, and plenty of scene ideas!

*If you attended Lorelei, which Sea God or Goddess would you want to be descended from?
If I attended Lorelei, I would want to be descended from Charon, however being that there are no Daughters of Charon, that’s not really an option. So my second choice would have to be Amphitrite. She is extremely pure and wise, but also very powerful. She’ll be introduced in Chosen. *wink, wink* (don’t you HATE it when I do that!? GAH.)

*If you could spend a day with any character from the literary world, who would you choose and what would you do? Well, every sizzling, sexy male character (Patch) from every series (Lucas) I’ve ever read (Four) just popped into my head (Daniel), but in an effort to keep this PG13, I’ll refrain from using them as my answer. With that in mind, I would have to choose Minny from The Help. It might sound like an odd choice, but she is the epitome of strong women who has seen a great deal in her lifetime. I’d love to go to church with her, chat about her life, and then have her show me how to cook that mouthwatering comfort food!

*Are any of your characters based on people you know, or are they completely made up? Actually Stasia and her roommates are all little chunks of my own layered (and slightly weird) personality. I pulled from my sarcastic side to create Carmen, my airheaded gullible blonde childlike side for Phoebe, and my dreamy, idealistic side for Willow. Stasia was pulled from my logical, strong side. So as you might imagine, coming up with conversations sometimes sounds like the different voices in my head on a daily basis. Nadia was actually inspired by a real person from my past (she-who-must-not-be-named) and Finn has many uncanny similarities to my own husband… And finally, Kira was inspired by my mom - she lives by the beach, loves to laugh, and is infinitely supportive.

*If you could only recommend one book to us, which book would you choose? Why Men Marry B*tches. No, seriously. As a southern lady who was taught to be sweet, tolerant, and utterly selfless; this book had a profound effect on how I viewed myself, my husband, and my relationships as a whole.

*Do you have any advice for aspiring authors?
I would to tell aspiring authors to write ONLY because they love, love, love to write. Not because they want to make money, not because they want to see their name on the front of a cover, not because they want their book to become the next Twilight Franchise, but because they have an obsessive and undeniable need to put their thoughts into words. That passion can be felt by your readers and its absence speaks louder than any critic.

*Is there any chance of a spin off from Daughters of the Sea series? One that maybe focused on one of Stasia’s roommates?
There is a very good chance of this, but I’ve decided to wait until Chosen comes out so that I can get some feedback on who everyone would like to know more about. And I still have to decide if I want to write more of a prequel or a true spin-off. So, stay tuned!

*Lana and I both have an obsession with really good cheesecake; is there a dessert you can’t turn down?

If you would have asked me this question a year ago, I would have said, without a doubt, apple crumb pie (my grandma’s recipe of course), but there has been a new contender in recent months that rivals even the best crumbly, sweet, cinnamony (that’s right, cinnamony) apple pie straight from the oven. This little slice of heaven is called strawberry shortcake cheesecake; also known as the best dessert *in my best nasally Taylor Swift voice* like..EVER. I discovered it at Epic Chophouse in Mooresville, NC. It begins with a graham cracker crust, one layer of cheesecake, a thin layer of strawberry yumminess, a layer of shortcake, and topped with a layer of strawberry mousse. DELISH!

Thank you again, Kristen!! We cannot wait for Chosen!!

And because Kristen ROCKS, she's having a giveaway with the Awaken Blog Tour! You can see some of the goodies being given away below! Enter NOW and Good luck everyone!