Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Author Interview: J. Anderson Coats

Please Welcome J. Anderson Coats!


J. Anderson Coats debuts today with her historical fiction book The Wicked and the Just. Her book is described as, "YA historical fiction chockful of name-calling and violence." How cool does that sound?! Sure in real life I'm all about niceness, but in books? Bring on the backstabbing—literally and figuratively!

J was kind enough to stop by today to answer all of my very important questions


Q: Which one of your characters would you most want to kiss?

A: Dafydd, because he knows when to fish and when to cut bait, although Gruffydd is a close second because he’s loyal and pragmatic.


Q: Which one of your characters do you most want to slap or give a verbal tongue lashing to?

A: Definitely Cecily. She’s used to getting her own way, and sometimes she just needs to shut her piehole.

Q: If you were transported into your book, which scene would you most want to reenact?

A: The first Michaelmas fair. It would be something else to see a town-wide party. Of course, this is assuming I was English.

Q: Which one of your character’s brains would you want to pick the most?

A: Mistress Tipley. I’d like to know how she got through the first ten years in north Wales after the English showed up.

Q: Which scene do you think will surprise readers the most?

A: The second Michaelmas fair.

Q: What is one piece of advice you would give your main character?

A: It will get better.


Readers should add The Wicked and the Just to their To Be Read list if they like...

Books about:
     Snarky girls, power struggles, justice, cruelty, comeuppance, and a body count.

Books/movies like:
     Books like BLOODY JACK by L.A. Meyer, THE SECRET DIARY OF ADRIAN MOLE, AGED 13-3/4 by Sue Townsend, and CATHERINE, CALLED BIRDY by Karen Cushman.

     Movies/TV shows like Horrible Histories, Braveheart, The Messenger, Gone with the Wind, and the Cadfael mystery series.

Main characters like:
     Emer Morrisey in A.S. King’s THE DUST OF 100 DOGS or Nell in THE MINISTER’S DAUGHTER by Julie Hearn.


About The Wicked and the Just:

Cecily’s father has ruined her life. He’s moving them to occupied Wales, where the king needs good strong Englishmen to keep down the vicious Welshmen. At least Cecily will finally be the lady of the house.

Gwenhwyfar knows all about that house. Once she dreamed of being the lady there herself, until the English destroyed the lives of everyone she knows. Now she must wait hand and foot on this bratty English girl.

While Cecily struggles to find her place amongst the snobby English landowners, Gwenhwyfar struggles just to survive. And outside the city walls, tensions are rising ever higher—until finally they must reach the breaking point.


Author bio:

J. Anderson Coats has dug for crystals, held Lewis and Clark’s original hand-written journal and been a mile underground. She has a cool surgery scar unrelated to childbirth, she reads Latin, and she's been given the curse of Cromwell on a back-road in Connemara. On a clear day, she can see the Olympic mountains from her front window. On the foggy ones, she can smell the Puget Sound.

J writes historical fiction set in the middle ages that routinely includes too much violence, name-calling and petty vandalism perpetrated by badly-behaved young people.


Thank you so much for stopping by, J!

Ha, yes Cecily totally needs a good slapping (but ssshh, don't tell her because it will only inflate her ego, but it's fun being in her wicked little head!) I, too, would love to sit down and have a good long chat with Mistress Tipley. I imagine she has a lot of useful bits of wisdom stored up.

Now, of course, I cannot wait to get to both Michaelmas fair scenes! And if that wasn't motivation enough to read faster, J's answer to the "Books about..." section seals the deal. I LOVE all of those things!

Have you read The Wicked and the Just?
How would you answer these questions?
(Remember, no spoilers please!)


The Wicked and the Just is released today!
Add it to your Goodreads!
Buy it on Amazon! 




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9 comments:

  1. I was originally kind of intimidated that this book was set during the middle ages as a long time lover of Regency romance. Earlier is not as familiar. But I love the sound of snarky girls and I do enjoy power struggles so I think I may just have to pick this up!

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  2. I'd definitely love to learn more about Mistress Tipley. I'd love to have a good conversation with Gryffin too. While I often wanted to slap Cecily, ultimately she's not the villain here. The adult men are - and the horrific ways they treat the Welsh.

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  3. I love Gryffin too! I was also curious how Mistress Tipley survived those 10 years. It's incredible how all the books/movies Ms. Coats listed are what I thought as I read the book, which is definitely an eye opener!

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  4. It sounds terrific, I think I'm gonna put it on my wish list, just for fun.
    :)
    Thanks for the lovely interview :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. I wouldn't think a book compared to The Dust of 100 Dogs would be anything you'd be interested in. You are going to have to do some major character reviews for us! Can't wait to see who you'd have a slumber party with, if anyone!

    Great author interview. I always love to hear what scene they'd like to live in their books. And who they'd kiss.
    I hope you're reading this one because I really, really want to see your detailed review of it. I want to know if Cecily is as spoiled as she sounds and if Gwenhwyfar is as downtrodden as she sounds.

    Great, great, great!!
    Heather

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  6. Great interview!! I added her book to my TBR list. I'm a new follower and just wanted to drop by and say hi :)

    Feel free to check out my blog & follow too!!

    -Riya (The Teen Book Guru)

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  7. I was a little hesitant about this one, Small, but after seeing your enthusiastic reaction to the book and reading the author's thoughts, I have to admit I'm extremely intrigued. Thanks so much for hosting this--great interview!

    Wendy @ The Midnight Garden

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  8. Thanks so much for this great interview! I'm going to start it very soon. I look forward to reading your full review! :D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh my gosh I could scream! I just went on to download it from the computer onto my Nook (hoping I wasn't too late because I was out of town) and I discover that I hadn't even downloaded it onto the computer and it'd been archived by the publisher!!! >:( So sad. but I will read it. And where there's a will, there's a way!

      Delete

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