AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT + GIVEAWAY: Krista McGee

Welcome to Jenuine Cupcakes!

Today I have Krista McGee on the blog. She is the author of several YA books that feature stories with strong characters and positive messages. 
Her newest release, Luminary, is the second in her Anomaly series. 

When Krista McGee isn't living in fictional worlds of her own creation, she lives in Tampa and spends her days as a wife, mom, teacher, and coffee snob. She is also the author of Anomaly, First Date, Starring Me, and Right Where I Belong. 

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About the Anomaly Series

Luminary (Anomaly #2) 
Publication: January 7, 2014
By: Thomas Nelson 

She was an anomaly with a death sentence. Now she's free.

Thalli was scheduled for annihilation. She was considered an anomaly--able to experience emotions that should have been eradicated by genetic modification. The Scientists running the State couldn't allow her to bring undue chaos to their peaceful, ordered world. But seconds before her death, she is rescued.

Now Thalli is above ground in a world she thought was destroyed. A world where not even the air is safe to breathe. She and her three friends must journey across this unknown land, their destination a hidden civilization. It's their only chance of survival.

Broken and exhausted after an arduous journey, they arrive in New Hope, a town that survived the nuclear holocaust. When Thalli meets the people there--people actually "born" to "families"--her small world is blown wide open.

Soon after their arrival to New Hope, the town comes under attack. She has escaped imminent death, but now Thalli is thrust into a new fight--a fight to save her new home. Does she know enough about this world of emotions, this world of chaos, to save not only herself, but the people she has come to love?

Anomaly (Anomaly #1)

Publication: July 9, 2013

By: Thomas Nelson 

Thalli has fifteen minutes and twenty-three seconds left to live. The toxic gas that will complete her annihilation is invading her bloodstream. But she is not afraid.

Thalli is different than others in The State. She feels things. She asks questions. And in the State, this is not tolerated. The Ten scientists who survived the nuclear war that destroyed the world above believe that emotion was at the core of what went wrong—and they have genetically removed it from the citizens they have since created. Thalli has kept her malformation secret from those who have monitored her for most of her life, but when she receives an ancient piece of music to record as her community’s assigned musician, she can no longer keep her emotions secreted away.

Seen as a threat to the harmony of her Pod, Thalli is taken to the Scientists for immediate annihilation. But before that can happen, Berk—her former Pod mate who is being groomed as a Scientist—steps in and persuades the Scientists to keep Thalli alive as a test subject.

The more time she spends in the Scientist’s Pod, the clearer it becomes that things are not as simple as she was programmed to believe. She hears stories of a Designer—stories that fill her mind with more questions: Who can she trust? What is this emotion called love? And what if she isn’t just an anomaly, but part of a greater design?

Author Interview

1) How did you come up with the idea for the Anomaly trilogy? 
It was a combination of ideas from some of my favorite dystopian novels, like Brave New World, 1984, and The Giver, sprinkled with my own imaginings of what a future world might look like. 

2) Who was your favorite character to write and why? 
In Luminary, it was probably Dallas. He is the most "normal" guy in the book, and he's a lot of fun. My first three books were light-hearted, and I missed being able to write humorous dialogue. Dallas allowed me to do that again.

3) If Thalli had a theme song, what would it be? 
Definitely "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" - that's the song in Anomaly that God uses to speak to Thalli.

4) How do you balance writing with motherhood and life in general? 
It isn't easy, that's for sure! My kids are quite social, though, so I try to write when they are off having fun with friends or family so I don't miss out on regular family time with them. 

5) What is the last book you read and loved? 
I just finished Dear Mr. Knightly and loved, loved, loved it!!

6) If you could have dinner with any author, dead or alive, who would it be and why? 
Jane Austen. I love her stories, the little worlds filled with such rich characters. Ahh, to have tea with Miss. Austen. That would be delightful.

7) How would you finish this sentence... "The book I wish I had written is..." 
Till We Have Faces by CS Lewis. That is, in my opinion, the most brilliant work of Christian fiction ever written.

Thanks, Krista!

GIVEAWAY

1 Copy each of Anomaly and Luminary by Krista McGee
U.S. Only
Must be 13 years old to enter. 
Void where prohibited. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Click the book title to read my reviews.
Anomaly
First Date
Starring Me
Right Where I Belong