Promo + Author Interview - Flight and Wasteland by Lindsay Leggett

Book Promo (of one of my fave series!)

Book One

Title: Flight (Flight, #1)

Author: Lindsay Leggett

Pages: 273

Release date: 1st April 2013

Blurb from Goodreads:

The first rule of survival in the Underground: When you’re outside, keep your eyes on the skies. Ace Harpy Hunter Piper Madden is used to danger, but the death of her brother slams the brakes on her high-torque lifestyle and leaves her broken and confused.

On the run from the dictating Elder Corporation, she’s eventually found in the quiet undergound city of Ichton and asked to work for the Corp on contract to quell a new and frightening Harpy threat.

Enter the discovery of horrifying Corporation secrets, Harpy attacks, and a new friendship with the strange Asher, and Piper’s days become anything but boring.

Then, a chance encounter leaves Piper privy to a dangerous secret, ad as she and Asher team up in an effort to unravel the truth, the secrets they uncover beneath the ancient walls of the dead city will spark their world into a grand-scale war.

  

Goodreads | Amazon UK | Amazon US

Read my five star review here. 

Book Two

Title: Wasteland (Flight, #2)

Author: Lindsay Leggett

Pages: 234

Release date: 7th December 2013

Blurb from Goodreads:

Trapped in a cell and experimented on, Piper Madden's only hope is remembering Asher. Then, Elder Corp President Rupert Elder gives her new orders: to be a leader in a war against the Harpies. Without a choice, Piper must obey Rupert's commands or suffer from paralyzing and painful Nanomachines. But the war is just beginning, and Asher has gone missing. The resistance is slowly building, and the upcoming war will be larger and bloodier than anything seen since the Devastation that ruined the earth. Throughout all of this, Piper remembers the time before she ran to Ichton, when David was alive and her hope in Elder Corp was still strong.

Goodreads | Amazon UK | Amazon US

Read my five star review here.  

Can't wait for Book Three!!!!!!

When did you start writing?

I wrote my first book when I was somewhere around 7. It was about literal "cat" burglars who stole my cat! :)

 

What makes you want to write?

Listening to great music or watching an awesome movie or TV show always gets me going. I love stories and characters, and expressing them!

 

Do you ever get writer's block and what do you do to get over it?

All the time. To get over it I take a notepad and pen and sit somewhere quiet where I won't be disturbed. Then I just write, not caring about the words, as long as I get them down. Usually after a few minutes I'm on a roll.

 

Do you have a special way of going about writing?

I like to write by hand, first. I'm also a plotter. I find if I have my scenes worked out then the writing comes out more organically, if that makes sense

 

What are your hobbies? 

I collect them! Mainly I work with horses, sing and play ukulele, and garden :)

 

How did you choose the character names for the Flight series?

In early incarnations Piper's name was Syrinx (A dryad in Greek mythology) and Asher was Aiden. Eventually the names Piper and Asher just came to me.

 

Who is your favorite character in the Flight series?

That's tough. I really love Piper, of course. She's my main. But maybe my favorite is Asher. He's always been a bit of a complicated character, tragic and beautiful at the same time. Can I swoon over my own character?

 

Where did you get the idea for Flight series?

About 12 years ago, I had a story going about a guy in a post-apocalyptic wasteland who got involved with vampires. Then, I was reading a webcomic called "Arcana" that had Harpies in it, and they were so interesting and beautiful, that I rewrote the entire plot, creating my own Harpies the way I envisioned them. Other visual inspirations included the Underworld movies.

 

What was your favourite part of writing the Flight series?

I think writing the scenes where Piper and Asher just talk, looking at the stars. I loved the way they spoke together, and Asher's poetic nature despite what he is.

 

Do you have any works in progress?

Ah! I have so many! My mains are a Sci-fi romance about Brain-chip con artists, a surrealist "anti-Lolita", and a Cyberpunk book.

 

What are you currently reading?

The Diviners by Libba Bray.

 

What is your favorite book? 

Notes from Underground, by Fyodor Dostoyevski.

 

Who is your favorite author? 

Dostoyevski :)

 

What is your favourite film?

Tough one! My go-to is actually the movie True Romance. I love the juxtaposition of love and violence.

 

What is your favourite TV show?

Cowboy Bebop and Ghost in the Shell are major favorites of mine. I also love LOST and wish it had never ended!


Quick-fire questions:

Chocolate or ice cream? Chocolate!
Paperback or ebook? Ebook
Dogs or cats? Cat-dog? I love both, but I have a cat.
Go out or stay in? Stay in. (Introvert alert!)
Summer or winter? Winter until Christmas. I love when the earth is sleeping.

Trying not to fangirl right now that I've interviewed one of my fave authors!

Go buy these books!

 

Book Blitz + Giveaway - Wasteland (Flight, #2) by Lindsay Leggett

Flight and Wasteland were among my favourite books last year and are two of my all time favourite books.

Read my 5 star review of Flight here.
Read my 5 star review of Wasteland here.

Wasteland by Lindsay Leggett
(Flight #2) 

Published: December 7th 2013
Genres: Science Fiction, Young Adult

Synopsis:

Wasteland, the next book in the FLIGHT trilogy, takes place a few months after the ending of book one.

Trapped in a cell and experimented on, Piper Madden’s only hope is remembering Asher. Then, Elder Corp President Rupert Elder gives her new orders: to be a leader in a war against the Harpies. Without a choice, Piper must obey Rupert’s commands or suffer from paralyzing and painful Nanomachines. But the war is just beginning, and Asher has gone missing. The resistance is slowly building, and the upcoming war will be larger and bloodier than anything seen since the Devastation that ruined the earth. Throughout all of this, Piper remembers the time before she ran to Ichton, when David was alive and her hope in Elder Corp was still strong.

Goodreads

Purchase: 

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Excerpt:

Light shines on me, and I groan as shocks of pain spread behind my eyes. I realize I’m lying in the corner of the cell, curled up into a ball. My hair is knotted and dirty, and almost all of the red dye has now faded. I squint toward the light, seeing only a dark figure smudging its bright rays.
As my eyes adjust, so does the outline of Rupert Elder. His suit is ebony and spotless, and gold earrings capture his ears. He’s alone, and shuts the cell door behind him, leaving us in momentary darkness before the cell’s faint lighting flickers on.
He stares down at me, an arrogant grin across his lips. He has me exactly where he needs me; weak and pumped full of whatever he’s had his techs administering into my system. My arms are covered with tract marks and bruises from the large needles. I hate what he has reduced me to, but I am losing my will to keep moving.
Just remember him. Think of how he is fighting for you. Fight for him.
“Piper Madden,” Rupert drawls. He crouches down to my level and runs his fingers across my cheek. I shudder involuntarily. His hands are cold as ice, and his breath stinks of stale cigar smoke. His many rings glint in the fluorescent light.
“What do you want from me?” I gasp. My voice is sparse; my mouth is dry. I can’t even scream as he lifts me from my armpits and drags me up onto the bench where I usually sleep. He drops me on the far corner and then seats himself, swiping his pants as if he were infected just from touching me.
“I just wanted to show you some of the new initiatives the Hunter program has begun,” he says, his voice shallow and cheerful. He pulls a small tablet from his pocket, presses a button, and it lights up. It’s a portable vid-screen, I realize. Must be new technology. I can’t help but wonder how many citizens now own one, the Corp monitoring their every move, their every transaction.
Rupert slides his thumb along the screen, then presses down. A video pops up onto the screen, and he holds it in front of me for me to watch.
At first I just hear voices; the usual sounds of rush hour in Central, but then the video comes into focus, and the voices turn to chants and vicious shouting. The video was taken at one of the town squares. The area has been cordoned off, and in the middle of the intersection, there were two people chained to large metal posts.
But then the camera zooms, and I realize that the figures are not people; they’re Harpies. Their wings have been pinned around the posts, and their eyes are listless,
broken. One of them looks to be a child. Tears spring to my eyes, pulling from the last dredges of hydration I have left. The young one is a little girl, looking up to the fake sky in search of some kind of rescue. A rescue I know never came.
The chanting grows louder; the people of Central throw bits of rubble at them. Then Rupert appears. In the video he is dressed as he is now, only with a microphone set clipped onto one of his jeweled ears.
“My dear people of Central. In front of you I have brought the enemy. The ones who wish to kill and eat your children. The ones who threaten your lives every day. But we will not let them frighten us. We will show them how strong we are, that we can bring them down. Who is the superior race?” he shouts.
“Humans!” the crowd launches back. My teeth are clenching, but I can’t take my eyes away.
“Let us prove to the Harpies that Elder Corporation has the control of this world. We will rise and take over the planet, just as we were meant to!” he growls. The crowd grows rowdier.
Two Hunters march into the square in full Hunter dress regalia; stiff jackets with the Elder crest. They wear helmets, so I cannot tell who they are, but they look young. New. Malleable. Both are carrying large guns. They stand before the Harpies, who do not protest, who are not vicious or feral, but who tremble with fear.
Then there is fire. Everywhere, flames as the Hunters discharge their weapons. The flames are tinged red, diluted with augmented Hunter blood. After a few moments the Hunters back away, and once the fire subsides, all that is left of the two Harpies is ash.
My stomach turns, and I fight the urge to gag.
“You’re sick,” I spit at Rupert. He raises his eyebrows.
“Oh, really? I was under the impression that you were the one who was sick; your mind, torn apart by anguish and a disgusting affair with a monster. I am a savior to these people, Piper. I protect them. All I’m doing is giving them proof that they are safe,” he says.
And there is nothing that I can even say, because I know that is what the people believe. Everyone believes Elder Corp. What other choice do they have? To them, life is perfect here. They may live underground, but they want for nothing. They have their holo-sky and their Pure Air generators and lab-grown food, and now, they have Harpy executions, to remind them that the only reason they live in this utopia is Elder Corporation.
“Why don’t you just kill me?” I say finally. Rupert furrows his brows for a moment, and then bursts out laughing, his chuckle ringing hollow from the cell walls.
“I would never kill you, Miss Madden. You are far too valuable, don’t you see?” he replies.
I don’t see. What use am I to him trapped and broken?
“What have you done to me?” Fear pervades my voice as I say this, as I look over the bruises from so many needles. He’s been experimenting on me, I know this. But what is his plan? What does he expect me to become?
“You will see, soon enough. Now get up. Your muscles have been wasting away. You look like you’re on your last legs from radiation poisoning. I thought you were stronger than that,” he commands.
I try to stand, but my body is slow to obey me, and my muscles are weak. Rupert stands up and reaches his arms over, forcing me off the bench and onto the ground. My face lands first; blood drips from my nose.
“Now stand, Hunter.”
I try my hardest not to groan as I push myself up. Blood flows from my nostrils over my lips and off my chin. I grit my teeth, the metallic taste of my own blood filling my mouth. Once I’m upright, Rupert pushes me into the cell wall, and I slide down to the floor, the blow causing me to lose my wind.
“Again.”
I refuse to let him beat me. I can hear Asher’s voice in my mind, telling me to be strong, telling me not to break, because I’m better than that.
I stand up, faster this time. I clench my muscles, expecting another blow, but instead Rupert just grins. If I could right now, I’d punch that stupid smile from his mouth.
“You never fail to disappoint, Piper. You shouldn’t even be able to breathe from the amount of drugs in your system. I couldn’t be more proud,” he says.
I glare at him.
“What are you doing to me?” I say again, fiercer this time.
He walks slowly toward me, menacing and somehow comforting at the same time. He lifts his hand to my face, and I turn away, but he strokes my cheek softly, lovingly.
“I’m making you stronger. It might seem like hell now, but when the procedure is over, you’ll be the best Hunter the world has ever seen,” he whispers. His breath on me is toxic.
“After all of this, why me? I’m not a Hunter anymore,” I say. He steps back, only the hint of a smile left on his face.
“I’ve never lost faith in you. You have always been… like a daughter to me,” he says.
He gathers his things, and I keep my body pressed against the wall. Before he leaves, he turns back to me.
“I want you to work on your strength, every day. The stronger you get, the closer you will be toward gaining your freedom.”
The word echoes from his lips and reverberates throughout my body. Freedom. Is there such a thing?
He leaves, closing the door behind me. Soon my next meal will come; I’ve lost count of what time it is, so every meal is the same. Then Evan will come and administer the drugs, and my world will reset.
But what Rupert said doesn’t leave me. I can almost taste fresh air on my tongue; real fresh air, damp and drizzling from the sky.
And even though my body aches and my face is bloody, I start to work it, to gain back the strength I have lost. If it means freedom, I would do anything. But in the back of my mind, I know that this freedom will come with a steep price, and I need to be ready to pay it, or flee.

 

I have one ecopy of the winner's choice of Flight or Wasteland to give away.

This giveaway is international!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

AUTHOR BIO:

Nearly every writer struggles to put together information about themselves, perhaps because we’re so used to detailing the lives and ways of others. For the most part I am a writer, editor, photographer, and all-around artist living in the wilds north of Toronto, Ontario. I thrive on the juxtaposition of beauty and grit, enjoy urban crawls, indie everything, and time well-spent in the woods.

Author Links:

Website / Goodreads / Twitter

Review - Wasteland (Flight, #2) by Lindsay Leggett

Blurb from Goodreads:

Wasteland, the next book in the FLIGHT trilogy, takes place a few months after the ending of book one.

Trapped in a cell and experimented on, Piper Madden’s only hope is remembering Asher. Then, Elder Corp President Rupert Elder gives her new orders: to be a leader in a war against the Harpies. Without a choice, Piper must obey Rupert’s commands or suffer from paralyzing and painful Nanomachines. But the war is just beginning, and Asher has gone missing. The resistance is slowly building, and the upcoming war will be larger and bloodier than anything seen since the Devastation that ruined the earth. Throughout all of this, Piper remembers the time before she ran to Ichton, when David was alive and her hope in Elder Corp was still strong.

Goodreads

Amazon UK

Amazon US

Read my 5 star review of Flight the first book here.

My Review:

5/5 stars

Wasteland begins with Piper Madden back in Elder Corp's evil clutches and locked in a cell. After experimenting on Piper, Rupert Elder, Elder Corp President, releases her but Piper isn't truly free - Nanomachines in her blood ensure that she does as she is told otherwise she will endure painful paralysis.

During her struggle for freedom, Piper learns that war is already here but there are those on both sides that want peace. She also uncovers terrible secrets.

I LOVE this book.

It is a fantastic sequel that switches from the present to the past, giving an insight into how Piper and Asher first met as well as how Piper found out that Elder Corporation was not what it seemed.

Characters from the first book return as well as characters (Rassler and Essa) from the two prequels (Case 501 and Huntrix) to the first book, Flight. I was glad to see more of Rassler and Essa and enjoyed finding out more about them.

Wasteland is well-written (apart from the odd spelling mistake) and never dull. It also left me wanting more but also dreading the end - I don't want to say goodbye to Piper and Asher.

I can't wait to see where their journey takes them next.



Review - Flight by Lindsay Leggett

Flight by Lindsay Leggett.

5 fangirling, glitter covered stars!

Wow.
What. A. Book!

My first harpy book and I loved it!
Definitely my favourite read of the year so far!
The setting, the characters and the plot were all amazing.
I love the post-war world that Leggett has created.
Piper was such a fantastic kick-ass protagonist! So strong and determined.
And Asher, well...

During the last ten per cent of the book I went from this...

To this...

I still feel as if my heart was ripped out and trampled over.
YOU HAVE TO READ THIS BOOK!
I'm seriously tempted to read it again right now.
I love it so much!