Author Interview with Laura Bickle and Giveaway of The Hallowed Ones (Book lover's Holiday Hop)

Laura Bickle’s professional background is in criminal justice and library science, and when she’s not patrolling the stacks at the public library she’s dreaming up stories about the monsters under the stairs (she also writes contemporary fantasy novels under the name Alayna Williams). Laura lives in Ohio with her husband and five mostly-reformed feral cats. THE HALLOWED ONES is her first young adult novel. 








Hey everyone! Today Laura Bickle, the author of The Hallowed Ones, a new, enticing and a tiny bit spooky YA novel (XD) is stopping at my blog for an interview and giveaway! Thanks so much for being here Laura, and I hope you'll enjoy the interview. I've read The Hallowed Ones a while ago around Halloween and I must say, it was a pretty good Halloween Read! My review will be coming very shortly. Laura is also giving away a copy of The Hallowed Ones. This giveaway is INTERNATIONAL(Yay!) as long as Book Depository ships to you. Thank you so much for this generous donation Laura! Now, let's get on to the fun part:

1. How did you come up with the idea to write The Hallowed Ones?

I live not too far from a large Amish settlement. When I was a child, my parents would take me to visit, and I was fascinated by a world very different than the one I lived in. I’d see Amish girls my age over the fence and wonder what their lives were like.

Some of that curiosity lingered, and I always wanted to revisit it in a story. It popped back into my head when I was writing about a catastrophic contagion. Considering all the incredible self-sufficiency they apply in their everyday lives, it seemed to me that the Amish would be uniquely well-equipped to survive a large-scale disaster.

2. Who was your favourite character to write about in this book and why?

Katie is my favorite. Katie was an interesting character to write because she's very strong in a quiet, enduring kind of way. She struggles to develop her own moral compass, independent of her parents and community. That requires a great deal of fortitude, just as much fortitude as dealing with the evil creatures in her world.

3. Does Katie or any of the characters in The Hallowed Ones resemble/reflect you in anyway? If so, how?

I think that there’s always a little bit of me in every heroine I write. Katie is a quiet observer of people, like I am. But she’s much stronger and more centered than I am. More grounded.

4. What is your favourite genre of books to read?

Definitely fantasy, in all its flavors. I love the whole speculative aspect of it, all the “What if?” questions that the genre allows us to explore.

5. If you had to stay in a dark room with one type of monster, which one would you least want to be stuck with?

Hm. I think I’d least like to be stuck with a vampire.

6. If there's one place in the world you could choose to live in, where would it be and why?

I’d like to live someplace with more forest. Someplace I can hear wind in trees and crickets at night. There’s just something very soothing to me about that.

7. What do you think is important for a young adult book?

I think it’s important for the reader to be able to imagine herself in the protagonist’s shoes – no matter how unusual or different her life may be from the reader’s.

8. If you can choose to be any one character, who would you be and what book are they from?

My all-time favorite book is Robin McKinley’s THE HERO AND THE CROWN. I read it when I was a pre-teen, and fell in love with fantasy ever after. It was the first book I’d read that had a female protagonist, Aerin, who slew her own dragons.

9. What is the most interesting thing you have learnt from writing this series?

In addition to visiting the Amish settlement near my home, I did a good deal of reading as I researched THE HALLOWED ONES. There are a lot of great books out there that look at the Plain way of life from a sociological perspective. National Geographic has also done a number of very good documentaries about the Amish.

I’m really fascinated by the idea of separateness from the outside world in Amish culture. It’s very interesting to me to see what kinds of connections are allowed and which are discouraged. Commerce with the outside world, in many ways, is permitted. Other connections, such as telephone lines and electrical wires attached to the home, are not.  

10. What are the top three country you would love to take an extended vacation in?

I’d love to vacation in Australia, New Zealand, or Japan.

11. Now, I know lots of us are excited about Book 2 The Outside. How far are you from finishing it and could you at least drop a tiny hint to us about a little something in the book?

Thanks so much! The first book left us with something of a cliffhanger, yes….but the second book will deal with how Katie deals with the devastated world beyond her community. Katie’s story comes full circle in THE OUTSIDE.  


Alrighty, onto the giveaway! I'm giving away a paperback copy of The Hallowed Ones (The Hallowed Ones #1) donated by Laura. This giveaway is also part of the Book Lover's Holiday Hop hosted by Kathy from I am a Reader, Not a Writer and Maryann from Chapter by Chapter. To hop to other blogs in this hop, find the list here. This giveaway is international, so anyone can enter! (As long as The Book Depository ships to you) The winner must reply within 48 hours after I've contacted him/her, otherwise a new winner will be selected. I do retain the right to disqualify any entries that are unfit. Anyway, other than that, GOOD LUCK!

The Hallowed Ones

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