Blog Tour - Closed Hearts (Mindjack trilogy #2) by Susan Kaye Quinn (Review/Interview/G!veaway)

I am so pleased to be able to participate in Susan Kaye Quinn’s blog tour for the sequel to Open Minds, Closed Hearts.

(Book Two of the Mindjack Trilogy)

Author: Susan Kaye Quinn

Series: Mindjack Trilogy
Pages: 

Genre: Young Adult

Amazon: Barnes & Noble

Synopsis 

When you control minds, only your heart can be used against you.

Eight months ago, Kira Moore revealed to the mindreading world that mindjackers like herself were hidden in their midst. Now she wonders if telling the truth was the right choice after all. As wild rumors spread, a powerful anti-jacker politician capitalizes on mindreaders’ fears and strips jackers of their rights. While some jackers flee to Jackertown—a slum rife with jackworkers who trade mind control favors for cash—Kira and her family hide from the readers who fear her and jackers who hate her. But when a jacker Clan member makes Kira’s boyfriend Raf collapse in her arms, Kira is forced to save the people she loves by facing the thing she fears most: FBI agent Kestrel and his experimental torture chamber for jackers.

Now available (released 5/23)!

$2.99 Ebook at Amazon (and Amazon UK) and Barnes and Noble

Paper copies available at Amazon or get signed copies from the author (see sidebar)

Early PRAISE for Closed Hearts

"Closed Hearts was a gripping read and I never knew what would happen next, I was hooked from the moment I started reading." - Michelle Smith, Much Loved Books Blog

"This is really a great followup to Open Minds. It's exciting, it advances the plot, it's heartbreaking, it perfectly sets up the next book, and it pushes Kira into the position of heroine once again ... whether she wants to be, or not." - Rhiannon Frater, author of As The World Dies

"The twists and turns kept me guessing and chuckling in delight; I love to be surprised. Kira is forced to come to grip with some heavy issues in this book, and she has to make hard choices." - Carol Riggs on Goodreads

Looking for more Raf? Try this short prequel to Open Minds from Raf's point of view:

Raf, a regular mindreader, is in love with Kira, the only girl in school who can't read minds. Raf struggles to keep his thoughts about her private, but secrets are something that only zeros like Kira can keep. As he works up the nerve to ask Kira to the mindware Games, his friends have other games in mind for him. 

PRAISE FOR MIND GAMES
"I loved Kira in Open Minds ... but getting Raf's POV in Mind Games was a real treat." -TwiMom101 Book Blogger

Available for $0.99 at Amazon and Barnes and Noble or FREE at Smashwords (which has formats for all e-readers).

Susan Kaye Quinn, Author 

Susan is the author of the bestselling YA novel Open Minds, Book One of the Mindjack Trilogy, which is available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and iTunes. The sequel Closed Hearts was just released 5/23. Susan's business card says "Author and Rocket Scientist," but she mostly plays on Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest.

INTERVIEW

Welcome to Obsession with Books Susan, Are you able to tell us a little bit about your Mindjack trilogy and yourself?

I’m a mom of three boys, engineer, and life-long geek. The Mindjack trilogy isn’t my first novel, but I feel like it’s the first series I’ve written that combines all of my geekiness (in the scifi elements) and my love of action/adventure stories, while still having a couple good kisses in there. :) The story itself is about a future world where everyone reads minds except one girl. She soon discovers she can control minds and is dragged into a hidden underworld of mindjackers.

When and why did you begin writing?

I just began writing fiction in a serious way a few years ago, inspired by the amazing middle grade and young adult stories my kids (and nieces) were reading. I had written a lot of stories as a teen myself, but went on to do serious things like work for NASA and get my Ph.D. in engineering. It’s been a revelation to come full circle to my creative side again.

What is your ideal day as an author?

I get obsessed with my writing. A day of nothing but eat-sleep-write is bliss. I’m having one of those weekends coming up - a writing retreat will a fellow Indelible author (The Indelibles are a group of 25 Indie authors that I’m a member of) - can’t wait!

Do you mind telling us how long it took for you to write Open Mind and Closed Hearts?

Open Minds took 2 years, concept to completion, although I wrote a couple other novels during that time as well. Closed Hearts was 6 months, and that was just about all I did - eat-sleep-write Mindjack#2!

Are you able to describe what your writing process is like?

When I first started writing, I was a pantser - writing by the seat of my pants as I figured out the story. I’m now an avowed plotter. My process continues to evolve, but right now I’m plotting Mindjack#3 with a cork board, pins, and little scraps of paper. I’m very much a tech kind of girl, but I’ve found writing by hand inspires my creativity. Once I have a story plotted, chapter by chapter, I’ll start drafting (on the computer)- then I write very quickly, getting through the first draft as fast as I can. Subsequent drafts can take as long as the first, but serve different purposes (craft, voice, story, etc). I usually go through 4-6 drafts before I’m done.

Is there a book you are reading at the moment? And do you tend to favor a particular genre?

I’m a huge SF fan from my youth, but now I mostly read YA and MG. I’m trying out Barry Eisler’s Rain Fall (an adult novel) next, just to see if I can still enjoy adult stories! I recently read the third book in Holly Black’s Curseworkers series (Black Heart) and just adored it.

If your series was to be made into a movie, who would you chose to play the roles of your main characters Kira and Raf?

I would love to see the Mindjack Trilogy as a movie, but I’m horrific at casting. I will leave that up to the movie people, who surely know what they’re doing better than I do.

What special ability, if you could chose would you have?

I would like to be able to heal people - I think that’s one of the greatest gifts a person can have.

Quick Questions:

Fave band / television series / movie? Green Day/ Big Bang Theory/ Star Trek The Reboot

Coffee or tea? Tea, always. Strong, straight, no sugar or cream. None of that sissy stuff.

E-reader or hardcopy? Usually ereader, but hardcopy if I’m getting it signed!

Cats or Dogs? 2 cats who like to chew my electrical cords.

Ideal travel destination? Italy. Someday I’ll get there. Meanwhile, my husband travels there every year for business, scoping out all the romantic spots he’ll take me to someday. Or at least that’s what he says. :)

Thank-you so much Susan for taking time to talk to us today!

Thank you for having me!

 

REVIEW: 4 out of 5 stars

What a wonderful thrill ride we are taken on in Closed Hearts, the second book in Susan Kaye Quinn’s Mindjack Trilogy.

I was instantly mesmerized by this amazing tale about Kira Moore who is what is known as a Mindjacker, after the events which took place in the first book Open Minds, Kira and her family are now in witness protection with new identities and utilizing her father and her abilities performing mindguard security work for a billionaire.

Kira is a strong character, I love her determination and the way she has now accepted and embraced what she is. She grew for me as a character from the first book and had more of an understanding of what she could actually do; she had her weak moments but considering what she was going through it was certainly understandable.

Kira’s boyfriend Raf plays a bigger role in this book, when he is kidnapped and taken to Jackertown, Kira finds herself working closely with the resistance leader and a unique Jacker known as a Mage, Julian to try to not only save Raf but also Julian’s sister who is being kept in a detention centre.

The Mind Jacking concept is certainly captivating and fresh and the world Ms Quinn has created unique yet scary all in one. We still have our villains from the first book Molloy and Kestrel but added to the mix is Senator Vellus with a political agenda of his own, I am eager to see how everything pans out in the next installment – each of these guys are completely evil and written perfectly.

I literally devoured Closed Hearts, it is a book filled with danger, action, mystery, romance and a great deal of suspense. The ending had me gaping so the next book in the series is a definite must-read for me.

Ms Quinn’s writing is absolute perfection and the world and characters she has created are amazing. Closed Hearts is a sequel that took me on an amazing thrill ride; it’s a gripping read that I didn’t want to end.

I am definitely anxious to get hold of Book three in this trilogy, Free Souls.

GIVEAWAY

Author, Susan Kaye Quinn has kindly offered one very lucky follower a chance to win an ebook copy of her novel, Closed Hearts (or book 1, Open Minds if you have not yet read it) as well as a copy of Mind Games.

The lucky winner will be randomly selected through random.org and announced on Monday 4th June 2012.

This giveaway is open to everyone.

GOOD LUCK!! and thanks again to Susan.