August 5, 2013

Authors Are Rockstars: Introducing Dan Wells + Giveaway



About Dan Wells!


Dan Wells is the author of partials and the hollow city as well as the John Cleaver series: I Am Not a Serial Killer, Mr. Monster, and I Don't Want To Kill You. He has been nominated for both the Hugo and the Campbell Award and has won two Parsec Awards for his podcast, Writing Excuses. He plays a lot of games, reads a lot of books, and eats a lot of food, which is pretty much the ideal life he imagined for himself as a child.


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About his books!


The First Book!
Click on the cover to see my review!
Publisher's Summary: The human race is all but extinct after a war with Partials—engineered organic beings identical to humans—has decimated the population. Reduced to only tens of thousands by RM, a weaponized virus to which only a fraction of humanity is immune, the survivors in North America have huddled together on Long Island while the Partials have mysteriously retreated. The threat of the Partials is still imminent, but, worse, no baby has been born immune to RM in more than a decade. Our time is running out.

Kira, a sixteen-year-old medic-in-training, is on the front lines of this battle, seeing RM ravage the community while mandatory pregnancy laws have pushed what's left of humanity to the brink of civil war, and she's not content to stand by and watch. But as she makes a desperate decision to save the last of her race, she will find that the survival of humans and Partials alike rests in her attempts to uncover the connections between them—connections that humanity has forgotten, or perhaps never even knew were there.

Dan Wells, acclaimed author of I Am Not a Serial Killer, takes readers on a pulse-pounding journey into a world where the very concept of what it means to be human is in question—one where our humanity is both our greatest liability and our only hope for survival.

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Newest Release!
Click on the cover to see my review!
Publisher’s summary: Kira Walker has found the cure for RM, but the battle for the survival of humans and Partials is just beginning. Kira has left East Meadow in a desperate search for clues to who she is. That the Partials themselves hold the cure for RM in their blood cannot be a coincidence—it must be part of a larger plan, a plan that involves Kira, a plan that could save both races. Her companions are Afa Demoux, an unhinged drifter and former employee of ParaGen, and Samm and Heron, the Partials who betrayed her and saved her life, the only ones who know her secret. But can she trust them?

Meanwhile, back on Long Island, what's left of humanity is gearing up for war with the Partials, and Marcus knows his only hope is to delay them until Kira returns. But Kira's journey will take her deep into the overgrown wasteland of postapocalyptic America, and Kira and Marcus both will discover that their greatest enemy may be one they didn't even know existed.

The second installment in the pulse-pounding Partials saga is the story of the eleventh hour of humanity's time on Earth, a journey deep into places unknown to discover the means—and even more important, a reason—for our survival.

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Coming Soon!

Expected publish date:
March 11, 2014

There is no current official summary for this book yet, but I couldn't wait to post this! I love Dan Wells' previous two books to this one! And I can hardly wait for this one!!!



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The Other Books!


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What I have to say about Dan Wells!


Me: Hey folks! I'd like to introduce you to the totally awesome, extremely talented Dan Wells. But be careful to not piss him off cause he’s a doctor…and he just might diagnose you with RM. Let me explain how I know this! In Dan Wells Partials series, the majority of the human population has died because of a weaponized virus called RM. Well, when I found out that Dan Wells would be in SF (finally!) for a signing for Fragments (book #2 in the series), I found out too late and knew that I wouldn’t be able to make it, and I was super upset I couldn't go. So I was on twitter asking Jaime (Two Chicks on Books) and Nancy (Ravenous Reader) if they’d get me a signed copy of Fragments…and this is what went down! So make sure you follow Dan Wells and pay attention to his tweets!!!

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Nancy ‏@RavenousReadr
@arnoldjaime13 are you going to the @thedanwells event at @borderlands_SF on the 10th
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Jaime Arnold@arnoldjaime13
@RavenousReadr @thedanwells @borderlands_sf didn't know there was one! Maybe. I wonder if @bookluvrmindy can get away from church.
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Dan Wells@TheDanWells
@arnoldjaime13 @ravenousreadr @borderlands_sf @bookluvrmindy I am totally worth missing church.
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Bookluvr Mindy@bookluvrmindy
@TheDanWells LOL! I totes wish I could go! But I've got a class of 8yr olds that rely on me. @arnoldjaime13 @ravenousreadr @borderlands_sf
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Nancy@RavenousReadr
@bookluvrmindy I'm bummed that you can't go. @TheDanWells @arnoldjaime13 @borderlands_sf
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Jaime Arnold@arnoldjaime13
@RavenousReadr Me too :/ @bookluvrmindy @thedanwells @borderlands_sf
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Bookluvr Mindy@bookluvrmindy
@arnoldjaime13 @ravenousreadr @thedanwells @borderlands_sf U ladies need to get my copies of Fragments signed. I already have Partials signd
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Jaime Arnold@arnoldjaime13
@bookluvrmindy @ravenousreadr @thedanwells @borderlands_sf totes can do!
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Dan Wells ‏@TheDanWells
@arnoldjaime13 @bookluvrmindy @ravenousreadr @borderlands_sf Unless I refuse to sign it...
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Bookluvr Mindy@bookluvrmindy
@TheDanWells noooooooooooooo that would be terribly mean! @arnoldjaime13 @ravenousreadr @borderlands_sf
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You can find this string of tweets HERE


Me: After those tweets, Jaime and Nancy did attend the signing and Dan Wells did sign my book, but as punishment Dan wrote in my personalized copy of Fragments, “I signed this even though you did not come”…and then he wrote me up a doctor’s note diagnosing me with RM (see pic below). So, I guess I’m dying!!! See???
LOL Isn’t this guy awesome?!?!?!?

Here's some pics from the event I missed!
Photo 1- Jaime trying to get book 3 hints from Dan.
Photo 2- Jaime and Dan posing with FRAGMENTS
Photo 3- Dan being introduced by the lovely Borderlands Books Employee.
Photos 4 & 5- Dan discussing his books. He didn’t feel like doing a reading lol.


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Well…here’s...

Dan Wells!


Mindy: Hey Dan! Have you learned anything about survival from writing Partials? If you knew the end of civilization was about to go down (in the exact same way as the Partials world)…what would you do to prepare yourself for that life, and what would you include in your survival plan?

Dan: If I knew the world was about to end in a plague, the first thing I'd do is take my family far away from everything else. I assume in this scenario that I'm immune, but my family is not, so getting them clear of anyone contagious is the top priority. And then keeping them clear of anyone contagious, which might mean that we stay out in the wilderness for a while. This would be a lot easier if I'm back in Utah when this happens, because Germany has a higher population density without the same volume of backwoods wilderness. Over time, though, I'd want to migrate south, to the most temperate climate I could find, to escape the extremes of weather, especially winter.

(Which is a good time to point out that PARTIALS and FRAGMENTS have covered almost 15 months of time between them, and nobody's ever mentioned winter. Does that seem ominous to anyone? It should....)

Avoiding civilization would mean we couldn't scavenge for food the way people do in PARTIALS, so we'd need to procure our own; the first obvious choice is fishing, with a lesser reliance on small-game traps and an even lesser reliance on bow-hunting—using bows because they're more reusable than firearms. After about three months, though, it would be relatively safe to come back to civilization; with a death rate as mind-numbingly large as the one in PARTIALS, any smaller population center will be completely empty within six to seven weeks, so there'd be no one to infect us. We could gather food and clothes, find a vehicle, and head south to look for a more permanent place to stay. The ideal area would be isolated, temperate, with a good supply of fresh water and the remnants of a farm or ranch with some livestock. I don't have any experience with animal husbandry, but I bet I could learn some basics pretty quick if the alternative was starvation.

Of course, this is all assuming I could save my family. If I couldn't, and it was just me surviving the apocalypse by myself? I'd find the biggest library I could and just move in. It'd be awesome.

Mindy: Can you tell us some totally random things about yourself?

Dan: I have visited ten different countries, and lived in three. When I was 5 years old I got autographs from both Darth Vader and Mr. Rogers. I own more than 250 board games. I memorize poetry for fun. I was diagnosed with hypochondria as a child, but it's mostly gone now. I will eat pretty much anything at least once. I collect ugly ties. I am terrified of needles, mediocrity, and senile dementia. When I die, my wife has specific instructions to play Michael Jackson's “Don't stop 'til you Get Enough” at my funeral.

Mindy: In your tweets (above) you state, “I am totally worth missing church”. Can you give us a list of reasons why you are “totally worth missing church” for?

Dan: Everything I said in the second question also applies to this one. Mindy: Thank you so much Dan for stopping by Magical Urban Fantasy Reads. I thought that for sure, with all the Dystopia/Post-apocalyptic books I've read, that I'd know just what to do to survive in an apocolypse. I think I'm reconsidering my thoughts! Yours are better!




- This giveaway is hosted by Magical Urban Fantasy Reads
- 1 Winner will receive a copy of both Partials and Fragments!
- Open International Shipping
a Rafflecopter giveaway

28 comments:

Roxy Kade said...

Thank you for this giveaway!!

I've been wanting to read Partials for some time now!! It looks and sounds amazing :)

I enjoyed the author interview. Always love getting into authors' minds and finding out more about them! And the signed book was awesome! It's so great that Dan has such a wonderful sense of humor :)

Vivien said...

I really enjoyed Partials when I read it. I still need to read Fragments though. I've heard excellent things so I cannot wait!

Unknown said...

I haven't read Partials, but it's high on my TBR list:) It sounds awesome!

Natalie @ Book Lovers Life said...

I havent read any of his books but they are on my wishlist for ages now. :)

May said...

Love the interview! :) I haven't read his books yet.

erin said...

thanks for the fun post and interview! I'm *dying* to read this series!!!!

Jaime said...

LOL that was a fun day! Still sad you missed it!

Hugs,
J

ArtemisG said...

I haven't read his books yet. Very beautiful post!!!

Thank you for the giveaway!
Raffle name: Artemis

bn100 said...

Haven't read them yet. Enjoyed the post

sarah said...

I have read Partials and loved it. I can't wait to read the next one and continue the story.

Kathy L. said...

I haven't read these books yet but have wanted to for awhile. The premise sounds so interesting. Plus I love authors that interact with their readers and give them a personal experience.

Unknown said...

I haven't read his books yet. I would like to. They sound very good. Thanks for the giveaway. Please enter me. Tore923@aol.com

Unknown said...

I have read Partials twice and still love it. I have been wanting to read the sequel but haven't got a chance. Love the world he has created :).

Jessica Hansen said...

Partials was amazing! I am dying to read Fragment!!

Unknown said...

Awesome guest post!! He seems really funny. I only read Partials and loved it.

Diamond Cronen said...

I have not read any of his books :( I'd like to though! Partials looks really good! That cover is amazing too.

Great guest post too, btw! :D

Kelly said...

I've read Partials and loved it. I still have to read Fragments though; I hope it's as amazing (or even better) than Partials was. :D

Mary Preston said...

I haven't had a chance to read any of them yet. I hope to soon.

LisaILJ said...

I own Partials, but I haven't read it yet. I really enjoyed the interview. I totally appreciate that he will eat something at least once.

books first love said...

I did not read any of his books yet, but I want to :)
Thanks for the giveaway.

Ana Lucía said...

I haven't read his books but I really want to. Partials sounds fantastic.

Kat said...

I've read Partials although I just might re-read it since I wasn't much into reviewing like I am now. I have Fragments and I was going to read it but other books came first.
This post was defintaly funny and Mindy too bad you couldn't go to his event but that was nice of the Rx Doctor note's

Chenise Jones said...

I've been dying to read both his series as I've heard nothing but great things about them!

Anubha said...

I haven't read any of his books but Partial has been on my TBR for a long time now and it really does sound very interesting :)

Unknown said...

I loooove Dan Wells and his books! He's coool! *fangirls*

Dianne said...

First, this is so cute! Dan is so funny! I haven't read any of his books but I've been wanting to, especially the Partials series!

Holly Letson said...

I haven't read his books. I love how he signed your book, though....hilarious.

Denise Z said...

This post is marvelous. Thank you so much for sharing with us. I have had Partials on my wishlist for a very long time and so want to read this series.

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