Dance of the Red Death Blog Tour: Interview with Araby!

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Dance of the Red Death (Masque of the Red Death #2)

Bethany Griffin continues the journey of Araby Worth in Dance of the Red Death—the sequel to her teen novel Masque of the Red Death.

In Dance of the Red Death, Araby’s world is in shambles—betrayal, death, disease, and evil forces surround her. She has no one to trust. But she finds herself and discovers that she will fight for the people she loves, and for her city.

Her revenge will take place at the menacing masked ball, though it could destroy her and everyone she loves…or it could turn her into a hero.

With a nod to Edgar Allan Poe, Bethany Griffin concludes her tragic and mysterious Red Death series with a heroine that young adult readers will never forget.

LINKS: Goodreads/Amazon/Barnes & Noble/The Book Depository

About Bethany:

Bethany Griffin is a high school English teacher who prides herself on attracting creative misfits to elective classes like Young Adult Literature, Creative Writing, and Speculative Literature. She is the author of Handcuffs & MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH (April 2012). She lives with her family in Kentucky.

LINKS:  Website/Twitter/Facebook/Goodreads

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CHARACTER INTERVIEW WITH ARABY!

Today, I have a very special guest here on Burning Impossibly Bright! Araby Worth from Masque of the Red Death is here with us, and here is our interview:

**Note: I've bolded Araby's replies in the interview. :)

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Welcome, Araby! When we saw you last things were starting to look a little bleak. I hope things are looking up for you and that your shoulder’s feeling better!

 

The last few years have been incredibly rough, and the plague has made life very different than what most are used to. Do you remember what it was like before the plague spread?

The main thing I remember before the plague was horses. Instead of steam carriages, our carriages were pulled by horses. The streets were much louder and more crowded, and of course, no one wore masks. My brother and I used to wander around the University campus while our father was working in the lab. The main difference was that people felt hope. You saw ships in the harbour and could imagine travelling the world. You could imagine a future. Now, it’s hard to imagine a positive future.

The plague has been intertwined with your life for quite some time. Your father made the masks that save people from catching the plague, and you also lost your brother to it. How do you feel when you see those on the street suffering from the plague?

The only way to live, is the not “see” the people on the street. To notice something else. You can’t save them, they are already infected. If you felt the pain of everyone who is infected, you’d go mad. I’m proud of Father for creating the masks, but he didn’t make them in time, did he? Finn died. So, there’s always a sort of blame that hovers around Father. It’s difficult, he’s a hero, and yet, he couldn’t save his own child.

Your friendship with April is based on you wanting to escape and forget. Do you think you’d be friends with her if the plague wasn’t around and people were able to live as they did before?

If the plague hadn’t happened, I probably would never have met April. Her family was wealthy before, her father was mayor. My family was poised on the edge of poverty, with Father spending most of our money on his experiments. If the plague happened she would have had friends of her own social station. Rich girls who lived lives of leisure.

Can you tell us a bit about your impression of the Debauchery Club? And what initially attracted you to it?

The club itself is very elegant, gleaming floors, Persian carpets, heavy mahogany furniture. A generation ago men would have gathered there to gamble and drink. Now, I suppose some members gamble, but the drinking has eclipsed that…as well as other pursuits. It isn’t wise to look into the dark corners, and of course there are rooms where April and I don’t go. Elliott has his own apartment in the club, as do some other wealthy young men.  What I love about the Debauchery Club is that it is the perfect place to be alone in a crowd. It’s better than huddling in my apartment, but I don’t necessarily have to socialize. 

Since I’ve asked about the club and April, I just have to mention the boys. You’ve gotten close to both Will and Elliott, do you think that you could have a relationship with either of them in the future? And how will you ever choose between them?

I try not to think about relationships. Relationships suggest a future where we are all still alive, and that’s a dangerous hope. Right now I have to think about saving April, and about helping Elliott overthrow the city, and about surviving the Red Death. I don’t let myself think about either of the boys except when I can’t help it, like when I’ve got to work closely with one or the other of them, then the feelings are more difficult to contain.

You’ve faced a lot recently, and now there is a new plague spreading, one called the Red Death. Are you worried about it?

The Red Death is a problem, particularly because it spreads so fast. No one is immune to it, and there are no masks to protect against it. If our society is to survive at all, we have to figure out something to do about the Red Death.

We last saw you on board of a steamship and you were trying to figure out what to do next. Can you give us a hint on what we can expect in Dance of the Red Death?

We were leaving the city to regroup, but the steering mechanism is damaged so we have to crash land. The story is based around a search for my father and finding a way to cure April, as well as battling Prospero and Malcontent. Prospero is inviting everyone to a huge masked ball, retiring to his palace. Malcontent wants the city, but everything is rapidly going up in flames. We have to find a way to recover hope, or recovering the city won’t mean much.

Thank you for stopping by Araby. Good luck!  

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Giveaway 

Details: US/Canada Only

Grand Prize- Poe Nail Decals, Masque of The Red Death inspired bracelet, Hardcover of Masque of the Red Death, bracelet, and a bookmark!

3- Hardcover of Masque of the Red Death, bracelet, and a bookmark!

TO ENTER FILL OUT THE RAFFLECOPTER BELOW:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule:

6/3/2013              Fiktshun                                           Guest Post

6/4/2013              Two Chicks on Books                      Guest Post

6/5/2013              Katie's Book Blog                              Interview

6/6/2013              The Starry-Eyed Revue                    Guest Post

6/7/2013          Burning Impossibly Bright    Character Interview

6/10/2013            Coffee, Books and Me                      Guest Post

6/11/2013            Shelfspace Needed                                 Review

6/12/2013            Shortie Says                        Character Interview

6/13/2013            Lust For Stories                                      Review

6/14/2013            The Bookish Brunette                            Review

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Well, it certainly sounds like Araby and her friends have a lot going on right now, and I definitely can't wait to read about it in Dance of the Red Death! 
 What about you? 
Have you read Masque of the Red Death yet? 
Are you majorly excited for Dance of the Red Death like I am??