Diane’s Book Blog: 2016 Debut Authors Bash Sarah Ahiers: Interview & Giveaway

Assassin's Heart
(Assassin's Heart #1)
by Sarah Ahiers

In the kingdom of Lovero, nine rival Families of assassins lawfully kill people for a price. As a highly skilled member of one of these powerful clans, seventeen-year-old Lea Saldana has always trusted in the strength of her Family. Until she awakens to find them murdered and her home in flames. The Da Vias, the Saldanas’ biggest enemy, must be responsible—and Lea should have seen it coming. But her secret relationship with the Da Vias’ son, Val, has clouded her otherwise killer instinct—and given the Da Vias more reason than ever to take her Family down.

Racked with guilt and shattered over Val’s probable betrayal, Lea sets out to even the score, with her heart set on retaliation and only one thought clear in her mind: make the Da Vias pay.

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Author Bio

Sarah Ahiers has an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Hamline University and lives in Minnesota with three dogs and a house full of critters. She has a collection of steampunk hats and when she’s not writing she fills her time with good games, good food, good friends and good family.

Sarah writes Young Adult and Middle Grade novels and occasionally dabbles in Picture Books. Fantasy is her favorite genre, though she sometimes can be found playing around with Horror and other things that go bump in the night.

Sarah’s debut novel, ASSASSIN’S HEART (HarperTeen, February 2nd, 2016) is a Young Adult Fantasy. In the Kingdom of Lovero, where families of assassins lawfully kill people for the right price, seventeen-year-old Oleander “Lea” Saldana sets out on a path of vengeance against the most powerful assassin family of all.

She is represented by Mollie Glick of Creative Artists Agency.

Photo by Katherine Warde

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Interview

Please welcome Sarah Ahiers to Diane’s Book Blog.

What is your favorite part of the story, ASSASSIN’S HEART?

I have a lot of favorite scenes but one of my favorite ones is when Lea meets her uncle Marcello for the first time, and it goes so differently than she expects. Marcello is kind of an asshole and he’s full of rage and grief and I really enjoyed writing his character.

How long did it take you to write ASSASSIN’S HEART?

It only took me two months to write the first draft, but those two months were split up over a year. So I wrote the first 50K for NaNoWriMo 2011 and wrote the second 50K for NaNoWriMo 2012. Then I spent a year slowly revising it and workshopping it.

What is your favorite book that you wrote?

Pretty much my favorite book is whatever book I’m working on in the moment. I love every single book I write. If I didn’t love them, I wouldn’t finish them. And even when I set them aside for whatever reason, whenever I return to them and read even just a little bit, I’m reminded immediately about why I love them. It keeps me motivated to work on them.

What's your favorite book-turned movie?

HOLES by Louis Sachar. It’s such a great book, and the movie is equally fantastic. It’s, I think, the best book-to-movie adaptation ever done.

What book are you reading now?

I just finished E.K. Johnston’s EXIT, PURSUED BY A BEAR and it was amazing and fantastic. And now I’m reading MEXICAN WHITE BOY by Matt de la Pena and after that I’m hoping to tackle SIX OF CROWS.

What do you prefer paperback, hardcover, or ebooks?

I think there’s a time and place for all three. I’m kind of hard on books, so even though I find trade paperbacks the easiest to hold and read, I prefer hardcovers because they hold up better and also because they look the prettiest on my book shelves. But I also like reading ebooks, too. I like that I can eat and read an ebook at the same time because the book doesn’t need hands to hold it open or turn the page.