Curling Up With A Good Book: Blog Tour: Blue Hearts of Mars (Nicole Grotepas)

Sunday, March 31, 2013

Blog Tour: Blue Hearts of Mars (Nicole Grotepas)

Blue Hearts of Mars by Nicole Grotepas

Retta Heikkinen knows the unspoken rule of society: love between androids and humans is forbidden. A simple enough edict until Hemingway Koskinen spends an evening charming her with his intense gaze, bewitching smile, and sparkling conversation that hints at so much more than the usual obsessions of high school boys. Rules were meant to be cast aside, especially when love beckons.

If only it were as simple as being in love.

Trouble is brewing, not just for Hemingway--for all androids. Secrets have been kept, lies propagated, and Retta soon discovers that a frightening future awaits thousands of androids if she doesn’t do something to stop it. Worse yet, she will lose the one love she’s ever endangered herself for: Hemingway.

Book praise:

"I love how the author populated Mars . . . so descriptive and comprehensive . . . I could clearly picture everything as if I was seeing the movie &/or was along for the ride. . . . Retta, the main character, is strong, opinionated, and a great champion for her cause." Amazon reviewer

"The main character, Retta, has a wry, funny sense of humor and is very entertaining. . . . I thoroughly enjoyed the images that the descriptions of the cities, the landscapes, moons, trains and other vehicles brought to life for me, they seemed so real to me that I could really visualize them. The book was hard for me to put down so much of the time, and I was sad when I knew it was ending." Goodreads Reviewer

Author Nicole Grotepas

Author Bio:
Nicole wrote her first fantasy novel in 7th grade on her mother's old Brother typewriter. It was never finished but it strongly resembled a Dragonlance plot and she's forever wondered what happened to the manuscript and Tonathan--the handsome elven protagonist. After living in Nashville where she worked as an editor, she returned to the Utah desert where she was raised. Nicole now lives near the Wasatch mountains with her husband. She writes and raises her son and three cats full time.

Top Ten Favorite Books of All Time:

I will probably forget one, but here goes. Oh, I know, you're thinking, if you forget one, is it really a favorite?

Yes. Yes it is.

1. The Eye of the World, Robert Jordan. I've read it several times and I'm always blown away with how dense the story is, but by how quick the read is because of Jordan's skill with words.

2. The Name of the Wind, Patrick Rothfuss. After eight years in college studying English literature and getting full of myself and my opinions, I couldn't read fantasy anymore. Patrick's humor and skillful writing pulled me back to the genre. I'm so, so, so thankful for that.

3. We, Eugene Zamiatin. One of the first dystopian stories ever written (the other is The Iron Heel by Jack London), this story hit me on so many levels. I fell in love with a man who is just a number! D-503 spoke to me.

4. Crossing to Safety, Wallace Stegner. A story about two couples that have known each other their whole lives, somehow it's completely beautiful. The writing is effortless and the lyrical, unpretentious quality of his prose can make me weep.

5. Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte. The greatest love story ever written. Jane has so such honor and courage. Her moral fortitude is completely inspiring.

6. Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger (really, on some of these books I don't know why I'm putting in the author too). Some people hate Holden, some people love him. I love him. He's basically too beautiful for the world. That's his problem. He's trying to be what he should be, not who he is. That's what I think, anyway.

7. The Hero of Ages, Brandon Sanderson. I love fantasy. Brandon redefines it. His endings are always mind-blowing. He entertains you until the very last word and he just keeps getting better. I loved Elantris as well. There's only room for ten on this list, though.

8. The Hobbit, by . . . um . . . Tolkien? Something like that. Everyone loves the Lord of the Rings. I like those books too. They're good. But I love The Hobbit. I love that Bilbo is small but his character is big, and I love that Gandalf sees the truth about him and finds comfort in it. We all need a Gandalf to see what lies beyond our exterior.

9. Ender's Game, Orson Scott Card. This is the first science fiction book I ever read, when I was twelve or something. It was the first book that showed me how the actions of young people can have worldwide consequences. I feel like Card was the first person to depict kids that way (don't know if it's true). It made me feel like we could be important too. I'm also a really big fan of The Speaker for the Dead.

10. Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury. I love Montag. There's so much about this story that moves me. One of the things is how books and ideas make us real. Montag lives in a cocoon until he meets Clarisse and I love how she begins to help him wake up. I also love the 1960s film version of this book by Francois Truffaut.

To purchase on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B0ADUW4

Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/BlueHeartsOfMars

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https://twitter.com/grotepas

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