BLOGOVERSARY: Kasie West with Split Second


Welcome to another feature for my Blogoversary! 

If you've missed any of the other Blogoversary posts, you can find the schedule with links to each one here.

Today I'm welcoming Kasie West to my blog who wrote one of my favorite books from last year, The Distance Between Us (you can see my review here). Today is super special because it's release day for her third book, Split Second, which is the second book after Pivot Point!! Woop! Woop! Kasie has stopped by to answer a few of my questions, so scroll down for that and to enter to win either of the two books in this series.

Split Second (Pivot Point, #2)Split Second
(Pivot Point #2)
by Kasie West 
YA SciFi/Paranormal
February 11th 2014 by HarperTeen


Summary

Life can change in a split second.

Addie hardly recognizes her life since her parents divorced. Her boyfriend used her. Her best friend betrayed her. She can’t believe this is the future she chose. On top of that, her ability is acting up. She’s always been able to Search the future when presented with a choice. Now she can manipulate and slow down time, too . . . but not without a price.

When Addie’s dad invites her to spend her winter break with him, she jumps at the chance to escape into the Norm world of Dallas, Texas. There she meets the handsome and achingly familiar Trevor. He’s a virtual stranger to her, so why does her heart do a funny flip every time she sees him? But after witnessing secrets that were supposed to stay hidden, Trevor quickly seems more suspicious of Addie than interested in her. And she has an inexplicable desire to change that.

Meanwhile, her best friend, Laila, has a secret of her own: she can restore Addie’s memories . . . once she learns how. But there are powerful people who don’t want to see this happen. Desperate, Laila tries to manipulate Connor, a brooding bad boy from school—but he seems to be the only boy in the Compound immune to her charms. And the only one who can help her.

As Addie and Laila frantically attempt to retrieve the lost memories, Addie must piece together a world she thought she knew before she loses the love she nearly forgot . . . and a future that could change everything.

   

Pivot Point (Pivot Point, #1)Pivot Point
(Pivot Point #1)
by Kasie West 
YA SciFi/Paranormal
February 12th 2013 by HarperTeen

Summary

Knowing the outcome doesn’t always make a choice easier . . .

Addison Coleman’s life is one big “What if?” As a Searcher, whenever Addie is faced with a choice, she can look into the future and see both outcomes. It’s the ultimate insurance plan against disaster. Or so she thought. When Addie’s parents ambush her with the news of their divorce, she has to pick who she wants to live with—her father, who is leaving the paranormal compound to live among the “Norms,” or her mother, who is staying in the life Addie has always known. Addie loves her life just as it is, so her answer should be easy. One Search six weeks into the future proves it’s not.

In one potential future, Addie is adjusting to life outside the Compound as the new girl in a Norm high school where she meets Trevor, a cute, sensitive artist who understands her. In the other path, Addie is being pursued by the hottest guy in school—but she never wanted to be a quarterback’s girlfriend. When Addie’s father is asked to consult on a murder in the Compound, she’s unwittingly drawn into a dangerous game that threatens everything she holds dear. With love and loss in both lives, it all comes down to which reality she’s willing to live through . . . and who she can’t live without.

   


Author Interview

Welcome, Kasie, to my blog today in celebration of my Blogoversary and the release of Split Second!

Your debut novel, Pivot Point, came out in February, 2013. It was followed about five months later by your second novel, The Distance Between Us. To get one book published per year is pretty great for most authors, but two is amazing! You also have two coming out this year (Split Second and On the Fence). Will you tell us how that came about?


Not on purpose, I'll tell you that. ;) It mostly happened because I have an awesome agent and a very supportive (and demanding) best friend. When I was querying Pivot Point I was a little out of my mind nervous. So in order to distract myself, I wrote. While writing, sometimes I send my book a chapter at a time to my best friend. Basically just so she can keep my motivation up and tell me I'm awesome. It's a really good system I have going on with her. So anyway, I had written a little over half of The Distance Between Us when I got the email/phone-call from my agent that she wanted to represent me. So I put The Distance Between Us on hold and focused my energy on edits she had for Pivot Point. Then we went on submission for it and then it sold. My energy was focused on Pivot Point doing edits, etc, and I hadn't gone back to TDBU. But when it sold I found out I had 21 months until it came out. That's a long time. My best friend told me that I should finish TDBU while I was waiting. And I was like, why? It's a totally different genre and I'm going to have to sit on it forever because I have Pivot Point and a sequel coming out. What's the point? And she said, the point is, I need the rest of the story so write it. Now. So I did. Then I thought, hmm, I guess I should show it to my agent and see what she thinks we can do with it. Before reading it, her initial thought was that we wait until Pivot Point comes out and then try to sell it. After reading it, and falling in love with it, she said, let's try to sell this now. Well, the rest of the story is short. My editor loved it and wanted it to come out in between Pivot Point and its sequel. And I'm so happy it did. It's been a fun year. Busy, but fun.

Pivot Point (Pivot Point, #1) The Distance Between Us Split Second (Pivot Point, #2) On the Fence

Well, I'm definitely happy about you publishing multiple books each year! :) Why did you choose to write a SciFi story and then a Contemporary story?

Well, good question. Really, I just wrote what I was feeling. I had the idea for Pivot Point and knew I needed to write it because I loved the idea so much. But contemporary is something I've always loved to read. It's probably my favorite genre so I knew I wanted to try my hand at it. I actually wasn't sure if I'd be able to sell in both genres. So when I did I was over the moon happy.

Do you see yourself branching into other subgenres too?

It all depends on the ideas that come to me. I can definitely see myself writing in other areas within the young adult world. I think all of my novels will always have a contemporary feel to them though. That's just kind of how I write.

Let’s talk about Split Second! I think the world that Addie lives in is an interesting place. Is it a world you would like to live in?

It's a world I would like to visit but not live in. It's a world of false fronts. You never know what's real and what's not, so I don't think I'd like that. I would like a mind power that is a part of being a citizen of that community.

I’m always curious about covers because sometimes they aren’t remotely proper portrayals of the book and then other times they are. Addie is on the cover of Pivot Point. Is her friend, Laila, on the cover for Split Second and is that really how she is described to look in the book?

Yes, that's Laila on the cover. And no, it's not exactly how I pictured her. But, I'm a little vague with my descriptions of people on purpose. I like readers to be able to imagine characters how they want. I always imagined Laila as Asian, gorgeous, and confident. I think the only specific mentions of her looks in the books were: dark eyes, dark hair, porcelain skin, full lips, beautiful. So, they did a good job with the cover model.

I haven’t read Split Second yet....Will there be a third book? Do you have a teaser you can share?

There will not be a third book as of now. If there is, it will be a companion. So if you read Split Second, you can know it is the end of Addie's story.

Teaser? How about I tell you that half of the book takes place in Laila's POV. Which means? She gets a boy of her own in this book. Yay for more cute boys. 

I'm all about more cute boys! ;) What is something unique that we may not know about you

See, this is where I normally tell people that I'm a writer, but you all already know that about me. So something else. I love to wakeboard. My husband is 6'8". I can pluck out a few songs on the piano?? Yeah...these are all boring, but it's the best I have. :)
Isla and the Happily Ever After
What book are you most looking forward to reading in 2014?

Isla and The Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins

Good choice! Thanks again, Kasie, for answering my questions and for writing such fabulous books!!!


About the Author


Kasie West says: I write YA. I eat Junior Mints. Sometimes I go crazy and do both at the same time. My novels, published through Harper Teen are: PIVOT POINT, its sequel SPLIT SECOND (Feb 2014), and THE DISTANCE BETWEEN US (a contemporary novel). I also have two more contemporaries, ON THE FENCE coming out July 1, 2014, and THE FILL-IN BOYFRIEND coming out the summer of 2015. My agent is the talented and funny Michelle Wolfson.

You can find Kasie here:
Website - Goodreads - Twitter




The first giveaway is for US Continental entrants ONLY and this is what you can win:
- A copy of Bound by Prophecy and Shifting Fate by Melissa Wright + Prize Pack
- ARC of The Geography of You and Me by Jennifer E. Smith
- Copy of Dear Mr. Knightley by Katherine Reay
- Copy of Meant to be Mine (releasing in April and will be delivered then) by Becky Wade
- Copy of After Hello + Swag
- Copy of Pivot Point or Split Second by Kasie West (winner's choice)
- Signed paperback of Echo in Time by C.J. Hill
- ARC of Friends and Traitors by C.J. Hill
- Signed copy of The Art of Wishing or Signed ARC of The Fourth Wish by Lindsay Ribar (winner's choice)

The second giveaway is for International entrants ONLY.
- One book by a participating Blogoversary author (authors listed on the schedule above) of $15 USD or less from the Book Depository (winner's choice). Book Depository must ship to you for free to be eligible.
- ebook (Kindle or Nook) of Dear Mr. Knightley
- ebook (Kindle or Nook) of Slayers by C.J. Hill

All my usual requirements apply.
Ends February 28th.

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