Come Meet Wesley Ayers of THE ARCHIVED!

Today on Tangled we are talking about books that release in 2013 that we can't wait to read!! Mine is one I've already read, and tomorrow you can read it too!! To celebrate and tell you a little about the book, have a special guest. We are thrilled to welcome the one and only Wesley Ayers, from Victoria Schwab’s THE ARCHIVED. 

Hellllllllo, Wesley! Let’s get started…

If you were a dish at a Mexican restaurant, what would you be & why?
--Burrito. Lots of different things inside, all wrapped up so you can't see. Looks simple to eat until you try and then it's messy.

Describe yourself in five words or less. 
--Sarcastic guyliner-wearing (guylined? guylinered?) badass. Oh, and tall.

Name one thing you just cannot live without. 
--My ring. Well, I mean, I could live without it, but life wouldn't be nearly so enjoyable with everybody's noise in my head. (Also you totally thought I was going to say Mackenzie, didn't you? Come on I'm not that sappy. Also she would hit me.)

Okay....Boxers or briefs? 
--Briefs.

What's your favorite smell?
--Rain.

What was your first impression of Mackenzie when you met?
--Dangerous. I should have known better. Hell, I did know better, but I still let her in.

Where do you think you'll be in 10 years?
--Alive. I hope.

Have you ever had a spiritual/religious/awe-inspiring experience?
*SPOILER*
--The first time I ever stepped into the Archive. It was so...vast. Infinite. How do you take something infinite, and give it walls? It's a mindtrip, being there, surrounded by so much life. So much death.

What is the grandest romantic gestures you've ever made?
--I told the truth.

What's one trait you have that Mackenzie finds annoying?
--I don't always take everything so seriously. But I mean, I do, it's just, this job will tear you up. You can't really go through life and have a shred of a chance at being happy unless you learn to find the light in it.

What is the one thing you'd never admit your significant does better than you?
--Whoa now. Not significant others. Partners in crime. And she's a better liar. Most of the time, I wish she weren't.

If you could change anything about Mackenzie what would it be?
--I wish she'd smile more. She has a wonderful smile.

If you had a superpower, what would it be and why?
--I already have one ;)

Want more Wesley? (I know I do!) THE ARCHIVED will be in-stores and shipping online TOMORROW! Pre-order your copy on Amazon, at Barnes & Noble, or at your local indie to make sure you don’t have to wait to get your hands on Wesley…I mean, this book! And visit author Victoria Schwab here to see her upcoming events! 

 

THE ARCHIVED

Imagine a place where the dead rest on shelves like books.

Each body has a story to tell, a life seen in pictures that only Librarians can read. The dead are called Histories, and the vast realm in which they rest is the Archive.

Da first brought Mackenzie Bishop here four years ago, when she was twelve years old, frightened but determined to prove herself. Now Da is dead, and Mac has grown into what he once was, a ruthless Keeper, tasked with stopping often-violent Histories from waking up and getting out. Because of her job, she lies to the people she loves, and she knows fear for what it is: a useful tool for staying alive.

Being a Keeper isn't just dangerous-it's a constant reminder of those Mac has lost. Da's death was hard enough, but now her little brother is gone too. Mac starts to wonder about the boundary between living and dying, sleeping and waking. In the Archive, the dead must never be disturbed. And yet, someone is deliberately altering Histories, erasing essential chapters. Unless Mac can piece together what remains, the Archive itself might crumble and fall.

In this haunting, richly imagined novel, Victoria Schwab reveals the thin lines between past and present, love and pain, trust and deceit, unbearable loss and hard-won redemption.

(Source: Goodreads)

About the Author: Victoria Schwab

Victoria is the product of a British mother, a Beverly Hills father, and a southern upbringing. Because of this, she has been known to say "tom-ah-toes", "like", and "y'all". She lives in Nashville, TN when she is not wandering in search of buried treasure, fairy tales, and good tea. You can find her online at her website and on Twitter (@veschwab).

Have you read THE ARCHIVED? I've been waiting for months to be able to talk about this AMAZING book, so please come back after you've read it and let me know what you thought!

 

A Little Eli Anyone?

Name: Eli Evans

If you were a dish at a Mexican restaurant, what would you be & why? 

Hmm…I’d have to say I’m most similar to the nachos. You know that moment when you take your first bite of nachos covered in cheese and sour cream and guacamole and pico de gallo and you feel like you’ve died and gone to heaven? Yeah…that.

Describe yourself in five words or less. 

Deliverer of the dead. Do I get points for keeping it under five? I know some of these other guys struggled with that.

Name one thing you just cannot live without. 

My tikari. Seriously.

Okay....Boxers or briefs? 

Well, see, the answer to this question depends on a lot of things. When I was younger, you know, back in the 1800’s, the underwear I wore wouldn’t fall under either of those categories. And today? I’m afraid if I told you the truth it might kill you, and honestly, my job is busy enough.

 What's your favorite smell? 

Shampoo. Girl shampoo. Even more specifically Karina’s shampoo. I don’t know what kind she uses, and I’ve never told her this, but it’s like a drug. By the way, this is just between you and me, right?

Where do you think you'll be in 10 years? 

There’s really no way to know where I’ll be, but I can tell you where I won’t be. New Hampshire. I mean, it’s kind of pretty in the Fall, but I could do without the snow.

Have you ever had a spiritual/religious/awe-inspiring experience? 

Every single day of my life.

What is the grandest romantic gesture you've ever made?

Does cooking dinner count? I did that for Karina and I think she liked it. But then again, her mother is a professional chef, so I'm not sure I could ever compete with that. Actually, now that I'm thinking about it, I could really use some pointers on being romantic. I'm a little rusty.

What's one trait you have that Karina finds annoying? 

I’m pretty flirtatious. She hates that. Oh, and she’s also not a fan of my sudden appearances and disappearances. I do that a lot.

What is the one thing you'd never admit your significant does better than you? 

Karina does almost everything better than me, but have you seen her photographs? Amazing. 

If you could change anything about Karina what would it be? 

I wish I could make it easier for her to forgive herself. She’s really hard on herself for the mistakes she made, and I know that’s really painful for her.

If you had a superpower, what would it be and why?

You mean besides what I can already do? If you ask me super powers are overrated. Don’t get me wrong, I love what I can do, but sometimes it’s just nice to be normal. Or at least pretend to be.

Tangled Boys Take Over: Valentin of SEKRET!

I'm so excited to share this first look at Valentin with you guys! He's from my debut novel, SEKRET, a YA historical thriller set in 1960s Soviet Russia where psychic teenagers are forced to spy for the KGB. SEKRET won't be out till early 2014 from Roaring Brook/Macmillan Kids, but I hope Valentin will pique your interest!

Name:

Valentin Borisovich Sorokhin. Uh…  sorry, it’s Russian. You can call me Valya.

If you were a dish at a Mexican restaurant, what would you be and why?

I’ve never had this “Mexican” food. Given the nature of my psychic abilities, though, I’d be whatever dish scrubs your insides out. Oh—that’s most of them? There you go.

Describe yourself in five words or less.

Intense, musical, passionate, determined, silent.

Name one thing you cannot live without.

The out-of-tune baby grand piano in our prison. Well, it’s not technically a prison, but it might as well be. Playing piano keeps me grounded; it orders my thoughts so I don’t hurt anyone unintentionally. I’d gladly give up that piano to escape, though. Preferably to somewhere that also has pianos.

Okay… boxers or briefs?

Whatever the KGB brings for us that given week. Trust me, there’s nothing sexy about Soviet underwear, regardless of the style.

What’s your favorite smell?

The salty air coming off the Black Sea, back when I lived on the coast. In the evenings, my mother would throw open every window in the house and we’d play piano duets while waiting for Papa to come home.

What is the grandest romantic gesture you’ve ever made?

I’d have to let Yulia tell you all the details—it’s not mine to share—but I took all the wonderful thoughts in her head and turned them into her own song. I, ah… [Furious blushing.] I wanted her to hear the beauty that I heard whenever I looked at her.

What’s one trait you have that the MC finds annoying?

Perhaps “annoying” isn’t the right word, but she is not much of a fan of the way I warp the thoughts of those around me. The first time she got caught in that crossfire and realized what I’d done, she nearly pushed me out a window.

What is the one thing you’d never admit your significant other does better than you?

She’s much better under pressure than I am. I wouldn’t be afraid to admit this to her, though I think sometimes if I act more confident than I feel, that gives her the courage to do what she needs to do.

If you could change anything about the girl MC, what would it be?

I would take away her anger and hurt. She’s right to be furious about our situation, but I’m afraid it will make her do something dangerous.

If you had a superpower, what would it be and why?

I do have a superpower, and believe me, I’d be rid of it in an instant if I could. I don’t like causing such pain. I suppose if I have to choose another one, I’d choose invisibility, so I could slip away from everything.

Tangled Boys Take Over: Here's Ben!

Come meet Ben! 

(Ben is from a contemporary manuscript I am currently writing with a working title: The Girl with the Broken Wings. The tagline for the MS is: Seventeen-year-old Amy’s life is a mess. Her mom’s a workaholic. Her dad’s an alcoholic. And she’s left somewhere in the middle of their divorce, taking care of her eight-year-old brother with autism.)

(Cute, right?! I don't remember who this model is, but all the credit goes to him and appropriate photographers, et al.)

Name: Benjiro Sampson. But everyone just calls me Ben.

If you were a dish at a Mexican restaurant, what would you be and why?
I'd have to go with a dessert like bunuelos. I've got a killer sweet tooth. Seriously, just ask Amy. I make her try all of my "crazy candies." So, slather some bunuelos in chocolate sauce and I'm in heaven.

Describe yourself in five words or less.
I'm like a daifuku treat. (They're these Japanese confections that are stuffed with a sweet filling. There's more than meets the eye to them and me...I might be kind of hungry if I'm comparing myself to desserts. But they're delicious. Man, now I really want one.) 

Name one thing you just cannot live without. 
My truck. She might groan and look a bit beat up, but I worked hard to buy her. 

Okay....Boxers or briefs?
Well that's kind of personal. Is this Amy's revenge because I might have, accidentally, completely not on purpose seen her in her underwear and a small tank top kind of shirt? I mean, you can't blame a guy for noticing what walks right in front of them. *sigh* I'll let you have this win, Amy. I mean, I win so many of our bets, why not? It's boxer briefs. Does that satisfy your burning desire to know about my unmentionables? You're imagining me in them right now, aren't you?

What's your favorite smell? 
Fresh cut grass on a summer night.

What is the grandest romantic gestures you've ever made? 
Sometimes Amy needs a break from everything--her family, ex-boyfriend (the idiot), and not so friendly friends--so one night, I stole her away. I took her to this field where you can see a ton of stars. We laid out in the back of my trunk on a bunch of blankets and looked at the stars, talked, and ate too much candy.  

What's one trait you have that the MC finds annoying?
I tend to say the wrong thing a lot. I mean, I don't think it's the wrong thing at the time, but Amy does. I've realized I have to really think about my wording when talking about certain subjects with her.

What is the one thing you'd never admit your significant other does better than you? 
She handles situations with her family that I can't even imagine being in. I'd crash and burn if I were her. 

If you could change anything about [girl MC] what would it be? 
This is a tricky question because there might be things I'd want to change about Amy, but if I did, then she wouldn't really be the Amy I liked, would she? So I could say, it'd be nice if she didn't take some of things I said as being bad and realized that I might not know the right way to say what I want to. But then she wouldn't have the fire and fierce protectiveness about the people she loves which is one of the things that draws me to her. And I'd much rather have that than an Amy that doesn't care. 

If you had a superpower, what would it be and why? 
I always thought it would be awesome to fly. How cool would it be to feel the summer sky on your face at night and see lights twinkling above and below you? Plus, I could take Amy with me. I think she'd love that. I'd get a pair of costume wings and make her wear them. Haha. She'd probably refuse to wear them, but she'd look cute with a pair of wings. 

Tangled Boys Take Over: Come Say Hi to Carter!

We have a treat for you! You know how everyone loves a boy with swoon? Well, we are no exception. And to celebrate hot boys with swoon, we are interviewing our fantastic MALE MCs. All the Tangled girls asked some questions, and each of us will answer them with one of our boys. So get ready...the boys are taking over.

Name: Carter Trent

My hot boy is from the project that I'm currently querying, so I really can't say anything about it. But I have no doubt that Carter will enjoy telling you all about himself. Seriously.

If you were a dish at a Mexican restaurant, what would you be and why?
A tamale, because you have to be brave if you want to handle this spice.

Describe yourself in five words or less. 
I'm a lover and a fighter. (Yes, that's six words, but libraries leave out "A" and "And" in the card catalog so it doesn't really count and I only used three words. Ha! I get two more: kick ass. "I'm. Kick. Ass. Lover. Fighter." Do with that what you want.)

Name one thing you just cannot live without. 
Salt. 

Okay....Boxers or briefs?
Briefs. There's more support. *laughs* But really, there's just something more classy about briefs. Sometimes I wear boxer briefs, but only on special occasions.

What's your favorite smell? 
Freshly baked pies, crusts, cakes, breads. Anything you put in the oven because the smell lingers forever and you can taste it before it touches your mouth. The anticipation is unlike anything else. Except that first kiss.

What is the grandest romantic gestures you've ever made? 
I'm not really a kiss and tell kind of guy, definitely not with Pen, but there was once when she was having a really crappy couple of days and she almost got killed by these demons, and I had messed up bad and I wanted her to know how much I cared about her. I let her re-live one of her memories, and I won't say what it was, but it was a turning point for us. 

What's one trait you have that the MC finds annoying?
She really hates when I call her nicknames: Felt Tip, Nelly, Penny Sue. Or she used to. She doesn't complain much anymore about Pen. I pick on her a lot, but it's only because I love her. I think she secretly likes it. 

What is the one thing you'd never admit your significant other does better than you? 
She takes action. I always thought I was acted before thinking, but then I met Pen. She's stubborn and she knows what she wants. I always worry that one day she's going to run into a room of demons to save someone without thinking it through and get herself killed. I'd do the same, especially for her, but she does it for anyone. 

If you could change anything about [girl MC] what would it be? 
Penelope's not very easy on herself. She never really thought she was good enough--even after she's proved herself over and over again. There's a lot of pressure to be a certain way; sometimes I want to tell her that she's perfect, but I know how hard that is to believe in our community. Witches are supposed to be one way, and anything different is scary. I wouldn't change her being different. I'd change her mindset that different is a bad thing. 

If you had a superpower, what would it be and why? 
I'm a witch. I have superpowers every single day. Although, I don't have a cape. Maybe I need a cape...and a mask! Pen and I can get matching ones. She would look good in Spandex. 

And that was Carter. Wow, I'm a little embarrassed. I don't even know what else to say.

Hey, listen--don't tell Pen I said that bit about the Spandex. She'd probably smack me, and I don't really want to deal with that.