The Midnight Society by Rhonda Sermon Blog Tour
The Midnight Society (The
Midnight Chronicles #1)
Genre: YA Urban Fantasy
Release Date: May 15th 2016
Summary from Goodreads:
Witness protection has a protocol
for dealing with every situation—except magic.
Fifteen-year-old Cate's life has
been monitored since her new identity was created five years ago. She's spent
countless hours learning how to deal with potential threats and dangerous
situations. None of which is any use when everyone around her is suddenly
frozen like statues at the bus stop.
As Cate attempts to make sense of
the frightening scene, a mysterious group of teenagers appear out of thin air.
They are intrigued she’s not affected, but focus on completing their deadly
mission, using baffling powers before they vanish again.
When the group seeks her out the
next day, Cate is drawn into a world filled with sorcery and time travel. After
she accidentally brings a cheerleader back from the dead, her incredible powers
are revealed. Cate is shocked to discover she has a pivotal role to play in a
centuries-old battle between two mortal enemies which threatens to destroy her
entire world.
With the distinction between good
and evil blurred, she’s faced with the excruciating choice ofwhich side to
join. Cate can save her family or protect thousands of people from death. She
can't do both. Will she risk destroying innocent lives to save the ones she
loves?
The Midnight Society is the first
book in The Midnight Chronicles series of young adult urban fantasy novels. If
you like original butt-kicking heroines, fast-paced urban fantasy action, and
unpredictable time travel twists, then you’ll love Rhonda Sermon’s refreshing,
entertaining series starter.
The Midnight Society was
originally released as Timesurfers. This book has a new name, new cover and additional
content.
Buy Links:
Interview with Rhonda Sermon
To get people hyped for The Midnight Society, can you describe it in one sentence?
It’s the love child of The Mortal Instruments and The Hunger
Games, with time travel
I have to ask the most cliché question of
them all, but how did you come up with the idea for The Midnight Society?
One night I sat down and announced I was going to write a
book. It was when all the hype about Twilight was going on. I wrote an
amazingly awful contemporary fiction novel about a woman making a film
adaptation of a book. It was the book in that novel that became The Midnight
Society. While I was writing about filming the opening scene I thought… now
that’s a book I need to write.
What was your favorite part of writing The Midnight Society?
I loved writing the Grommet Trials scenes. Although I looked
pretty funny while I was trying out all the action moves and working out how
best to describe them. I also loved writing all of Eve’s dialogue. The girl has
serious attitude. (I was also ridiculously excited that she had such an
enormous secret which only I knew about until the very end of the book!)
As a big fan of Urban Fantasy I have to ask,
did you always want to write an urban fantasy novel? How much planning went
into the world building?
Truthfully no. My career had always been in accounting and the
corporate world. I just decided to write a book one night which lead me to
discover a passion for writing and urban fantasy. I was and remain completely
captivated by it. I have an entire notebook with research and details I used to
build my Timesurfer’s world. The Midnight Society has been around for hundreds
of years. To develop why, when and who first formed it and the Timesurfers’ missions
there was significant research into cultures and history to make sure the facts
supported the world I created. Only a small portion of it is explained in the
book, but you need create a complex and rich world that supports your
characters and story. It’s like the foundations of a house. Then there was the
research understanding the nuances of time travel. I can’t tell you how many
times my own rules tripped me up!!!
Do you have a favorite of your own
characters? And, along those lines, do you ship any of your own characters?
I know an author shouldn’t have a favourite character, but Jonah
is mine. He has been my favourite from the moment I started writing The
Midnight Society. I knew exactly how he looked, sounded and how he would deal
with even the most bizarre situations. I’m going to say no to the second question,
because it’s the correct author answer and I can’t break two rules in one
answer.
Does any of your personality ever go into any
of your characters?
I think it’s my friends and family who are at risk of seeing
themselves in my characters! My best friend was the first person to read the
first draft of The Midnight Society and she kept texting me that Cate and Eve’s
conversation felt very familiar to ones the two of us had had over the years.
Other people who know me say that I write the same way that I speak. I’m unsure
if that’s a good or bad thing J.
Do you outline your books before you begin
writing them?
No! Not at all for The Midnight Society. I’m a big ‘pantser’
as they say. I know who my characters are and what their major conflict is
going to be and then start writing until it’s done. I can categorically say
that if I had outlined this book it would have made writing it a billion times
faster. Before I started writing I was an accountant, so for Book 2 and 3 in
this series I used a spreadsheet to list all the scenes I wanted to include.
Do you listen to music while writing? If so,
what bands or genres?
I either listen to my teens iPod or the radio whenever I
write. It helps me to do some dancing and singing to get the creative neurons
firing when my characters are being difficult. (It can also be a big time
waster!!!) I listen to plenty of Taylor Swift, One Direction and 5SOS with a
big sprinkle of Pink, Good Charlotte, Kylie Minogue and Madonna.
Do you have any advice for aspiring authors?
1.
Make sure you write
something that you love!
2.
Read every day.
3.
Don’t only read the genre
you are writing. Read widely.
4.
Don’t just read what
everyone else is reading. Take a risk on different books. (When Alexandria
Bracken first released The Darkest Minds it wasn’t promoted much in Australia.
I found it in a bookstore and read it in a day. Then I kept saying to all my
friends. Read this. Read this!!!)
5.
Sit down and keep writing!
Thanks so much for interviewing me J.
About the Author
Rhonda Sermon lives in the mostly
sunny Perth, Western Australia with her husband and two children.
Her debut young adult urban fantasy novel
Timesurfers was a finalist in the Young Adult category and overall runner up in
the The Strongest Start 2012 Contest hosted by TheNextBigWriter.com.
On the good days, she adores
writing, on the challenging days, it's still awesome. Her two ragdoll cats can
often be found helpfully walking over her keyboard, chasing her mouse or
generally complaining loudly about the lack of priority their needs are being
given. She's a big Harry Potter fan, loves everything the talented Cassie Clare
writes and her fav Aussie author is Jessica Shirvington. Her 11 and 13 year old
children read ALL the time so she isalways on the lookout for new and exciting
books.
Author Links:
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