Author Of The Week: Chat with Julie Eshbaugh (Ivory and Bone), Plus Giveaway!

Welcome to our weekly special feature post, Author Of The Week!!

Each week we will be interviewing a different YA author and highlighting their upcoming release!

We will also be hosting a giveaway of the book we are highlighting!!

 

 

Introducing Julie Eshbaugh, YABC’s Author of the Week!!

Julie Eshbaugh used to have trouble staying in one spot, having lived in places as varied as Utah, France, and New York City. She eventually returned home to the Philadelphia area, where she now lives in the house she grew up in with her husband and son. Early on, Julie focused her artistic energies on filmmaking and online video. She made two short films and spent several years producing a web series for teens that became an early YouTube hit and received several honors from the Webby Awards. Julie’s debut young adult novel, Ivory and Bone, will be published by HarperTeen in 2016.

 

 

Website * Twitter * Instagram * Facebook

 

 

YABC:  What gave you the inspiration to write this book?

I first thought to write about prehistory on a visit to a museum in London. I was looking at an exhibit that showed the city of London from above. It started in the present, then scrolled backwards through time, eventually showing Victorian London, then Medieval London, then farther and farther back until the image was nothing but an unbroken forest. At first I thought it was completely deserted, until smoke began to rise between the trees—the smoke of hearth fires. I couldn’t help but think about those people. Who were they? How did they live? Who did they love? It was from these questions that IVORY AND BONE was born.

YABC:  Who is your favorite character in the book?

Kol is my favorite character because he’s the person I’ve spent the most time with as I’ve created the story. He’s got a lot of me in him—the best and the worst. He also has a bit of my son, a bit of my husband, a bit of the person I wish I could be! Since the world in the book is so different from the world we live in today, I tried to make Kol a relatable character who readers could identify with.

YABC:  Which came first, the title or the novel?

The novel, but the title refers to something specific in the book. A few early readers have reached out to me as soon as they’ve come to that scene to say, “I just found out what the title means!” I love that. It makes me feel very connected to the reader who is making that discovery.

YABC:  What scene in the book are you most proud of, and why?

The scene I’m most proud of is a scene that felt like it wrote itself. When I read it now, I honestly can’t believe it came from me. It feels as if someone else wrote it.  It’s a scene in which Kol has to deliver a warning, and he needs to travel through a storm on the ocean in a kayak to do it. There’s a lot of danger in the scene, but it’s also the place where Kol begins to confront a lot of his feelings. It’s my favorite scene in the book.

YABC:  Thinking way back to the beginning, what’s the most important thing you’ve learned as a writer from then to now?

I’ve learned to trust myself. I’ve learned to write in my own voice about the things I want to write about. I’ve learned how important it is to tell the story that only you can tell.

YABC:  What do you like most about the cover of the book?

I love the fact that the shattering ring that dominates the cover is so dramatic, and also that it represents something that happens in the book. Like the title, it’s one of those “aha” moments when a reader comes to that scene and learns what the image on the cover is all about.

YABC:  Which character gave you the most trouble when writing your latest book?

Definitely Mya was the hardest character to write. She is the most private and closed off, so she was the most difficult to know.

YABC:  Which part of the writing process do you enjoy more: Drafting or Revising?

I enjoy drafting far more than I enjoy revising. Once I’m revising, I start to feel the pressure to get it right, whereas in the drafting stage there’s a lot more freedom. However, since teaming up with my editor Alexandra Cooper on IVORY AND BONE, I’ve enjoyed revision more. Alexandra has such great insight, and when we start digging into a manuscript together, it’s exciting to see it getting better!

YABC:  Is there an organization or cause that is close to your heart?

I’m so happy to be asked this question! I’m very excited by the work being done by Teen Cancer America. Founded by Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend of the band The Who, Teen Cancer America strives to support teens and young adults with cancer. This is from their website:

Following in the footsteps of the highly developed and successful Teenage Cancer Trust – Teen and Young Adult Cancer Program out of the UK, Teen Cancer America is designed to help hospitals and healthcare professionals bridge the gap between pediatric and adult oncology care.

For more information, visit https://www.teencanceramerica.org.

Thank you so much for having me here!

 

 

Meet, IVORY AND BONE!

 

Debut author Julie Eshbaugh’s sweeping prehistoric fantasy—with allusions to Pride and Prejudice—will enthrall readers with high-stakes survival, blinding betrayal, and star-crossed love.

Hunting, gathering, and keeping his family safe—that’s the life seventeen-year-old Kol knows. Then bold, enigmatic Mya arrives from the south with her family, and Kol is captivated. He wants her to like and trust him, but any hopes of impressing her are ruined when he makes a careless—and nearly grave—mistake. However, there’s something more to Mya’s cool disdain…a history wrought with loss that comes to light when another clan arrives. With them is Lo, an enemy from Mya’s past who Mya swears has ulterior motives.

As Kol gets to know Lo, tensions between Mya and Lo escalate until violence erupts. Faced with shattering losses, Kol is forced to question every person he’s trusted. One thing is for sure: this was a war that Mya or Lo—Kol doesn’t know which—had been planning all along.

With riveting action and illustrative prose that leaps from the page, newcomer Julie Eshbaugh will have readers mesmerized.

 

Amazon * Barnes & Noble * Indigo 

 

 

*GIVEAWAY DETAILS*

 

One winner will win a copy of Ivory and Bone and a swag pack!!

(US Only).

*Click the Rafflecopter link below to enter the giveaway*

 

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