Friday, June 19, 2015

The Designed blog tour: Author Q&A + giveaways

The Designed by Kate Tailor
(The Designed Series #1)
Publication date: 26 January, 2015
Genres: New Adult, Science Fiction

Synopsis:
What if the next new drug was you? Raleigh’s body produces a drug that could define the future of medicine if the dangerous world surrounding it doesn’t kill her first.
Eighteen-year old Raleigh Groves can sense disease in others and is suffering from her own unexplained illness as well. After years and dozens of doctor visits, she has given up hope of ever finding a cure, let alone a diagnosis. Then she meets a man who explains that her talent and curse are linked. Her body produces a drug, Lucidin, which allows her to sense others. She’s rare, and the drug she makes is coveted.

Rho has spent the last few years on the run. The Lucidin that is racing through his system makes him a target. Surrounded by addicts and dealers on one side and scientists and doctors on the other, he has to rely on his wits and his team to stay one step ahead. So far he has stayed afloat, but some of his brothers haven’t been as lucky.

As Rho and Raleigh collide they must face the perilous world of Lucidin together. Nothing is black-and-white and Raleigh must decide where her alliances lie. Sometimes the hardest heart to sense is your own.



Questions by Nadaness In Motion as part of the blog tour for The Designed. Enjoy!
About Kate Tailor:

1.      What are you favourite and least favourite reading genres?
Kate Tailor: My favorite is probably Science Fiction. I really don’t like to read westerns.

2.      What countries are on your list of places to visit? (Would Egypt be among them/Can I interest you in Egypt?
KT: I love to travel. Right now I think I would be most interested in visiting China. I know quite a few people who grew up there and it sounds like a fascinating place. I’ve been able to visit Europe quite a bit and would love to explore other continents. I think Egypt would be fun, I took a course on their ancient history in College and would love to see some of the history up close.

3.      How many languages do you speak and what are they?
KT: Language has never been one of my strengths. I hail from a long line of linguists and regrettably am the dunce in the group. English is my first and really only language, although I do know a bit of Spanish.

4.      How do you deal with writers block?
KT: I work on two different books at once. When I’m stuck at one I move to the other. I also belong to a writer’s group and they are inspiring.

5.      Apart from science fiction, what other genre would you be interested in experimenting with?
KT: I would really like to write a comical non-fiction account of my life someday. When I’ve lived a little bit more life.

About The Designed



6.      How did the idea of The Designed come to you?
KT: I was in pharmacy school and we were learning how some of our medications used to be taken from animals (and some still are). It got me to wondering what would happen if a vital drug only could be made in a human model and not synthesized. Would we design people to specifically make it? From there I thought up a cool drug and put together the book.

7.      How many parts are you planning for the series?
KT: It is going to be a four book series.

8.      Have you decided what the title for second installment will be? Could you give us a sneak peak on the possible titles you’ve had in mind for both The Designed and book 2?
KT: I’m currently writing the second book and the title is The Synthetics and as the name implies it lands the characters from the first book into the precarious world of synthetic Lucid.

9.      How many drafts did you have to go through before the final version of The Designed came out?
KT: Four drafts. The first two were focused on the plot and the second two on editing and flow.

10. Apart from the second book in the series, do you have any other works in progress?
KT: Yes. I’m dabbling with writing a book about people who are haunted by their memories.

On Publishing and Writing

11. Tell us about your experience with publishing? Have you had to make sacrifices before getting your book out?
KT: Publishing has been a learning process. I started by attempting to go the traditional route and wrote to a few literary agents. Ultimately, I struggled to find any that felt like a good fit, my book is not really like any others. One of my writer friends asked if I had considered indie publishing, and I thought I would give it a shot. Now the challenge is getting the book into people’s hands.

12. Have you taken part in NaNoWriMo? Has it helped your writing? Will you be taking part in the upcoming season? (NaNoWriMo = National Novel Writing Month)
KT: Not officially, but I did the challenge a few years ago when a cousin did it. I tend to write fast, and liked the idea. It was great at getting me to sit down and write, but at the same time sometimes my work felt forced. Now I try to write all year long, and tend to produce a lot when the muse hits me.

13. Do you take part in any online writing challenges?
KT: Not yet, but I hope to soon. They seem like a great way to meet others in the writing community.

14. How much research did you have do/go through in order to write The Designed? (Was there a lot of medical information you had to go through, meet with people…etc?
KT: I have an undergraduate degree in molecular biology and genetics. I’m a pharmacist and have my doctorate in that. So the research wasn’t really something I had to do. The book was actually a little bit too technical. The challenge was trying to make it more understandable to a wider audience. My husband, a non-scientist, had to spend a lot of time watering it down with me. I think the end product has enough to make me excited about the science that remains, without being daunting to someone who doesn’t have a medical background.


GIVEAWAY TIME

As part of this blog tour via Xpresso Book Tours and as courtesy of the author, I'm hosting an international giveaway for ONE ebook copy (PDF format) of The Designed. The winner will receive their prize after 17 July.

How to win? Like Nadaness In Motion on Facebook by using the Rafflecopter widget below OR share this post and paste the link you share it in the comments below along with your contact details.
This giveaway ends on 10 July.

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There is also another international blitz-wide giveaway for a $50 Amazon gift card.

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Purchase via Amazon & Barnes and Noble

About the Author:
Kate Tailor lives in Boulder, Colorado. She has a background in molecular biology and pharmacology. Writing has been a passion of hers since she was young.

Author links:

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