Pages

Showing posts with label Ruth Warburton. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ruth Warburton. Show all posts

Tuesday, 13 November 2012

UK Appreciation Month; Ruth Warburton - Interview + GIveaway


1)            Please tell us a little bit about yourself?
Well, I live in London. I work as a book publicist by day and a writer by night (and sometimes by day too, when I get the chance!) In between I love to cook, read and gossip.

2)            At what age did you write your first book?
My first book-length story was probably when I was about 13 or 14. It was set in Portugal and the heroine was called Paris. It was pretty bad! But I wrote lots of stories before that - this one was the first one that was more than about 60,000 words.

3)            What was your inspiration for writing your book(s)?
The core inspiration behind the Winter trilogy was listening to a radio programme about romance, but there were lots of other elements too. My love of language and early English legends definitely crept in there, and there are some surprisingly autobiographical bits, particularly the flood at the end of the first book. My home town of Lewes was very badly flooded while I was still living there, and my dad's house was totally swamped. I've been that girl in wading boots throwing out waterlogged books, and it wasn't fun.

4)            Are there any parts of the story you feel particularly close to?
Maybe the flood scenes, for that reason. And perhaps the scene where Seth climbs in Anna's window. My boyfriend did that on a few occasions (usually while very drunk) - like Seth, he survived!

5)            How can our followers connect with you?
Come visit me at my website! www.ruthwarburton.com

UK related Questions:

1)      Where is your favourite place?
Lewes - where I grew up. It's the ideal town, small enough to walk from side-to-side, big enough so not everyone knows your business all the time. It has a castle, a ruined priory, an outdoor swimming pool (and an indoor one) and some very good bookshops. It also has a serious obsession with high explosives. What more do you need?

2)      What is your favourite thing about living in the UK?
Cheddar. I lived in Paris for a while and had to have it sent over at regular intervals. I also missed marmite, but I can go without that at a pinch. Not cheddar though.

3)      Is there one place you would like to visit, that you haven’t yet?
I've never been to the Tower or London or any of the Scottish islands - I'd love to do both.

4)      Do you have a favourite British band?
Yes, lots. It's very hard to pick one - everything from David Bowie, to Blur, to Fairport Convention... more recently, I've just discovered Bellowhead and can't stop humming New York Girls.

5)      Do you have a favourite British movie?
It would probably be a toss-up between Train Spotting and Billy Elliot (very different, I know!)

6)   Do you have a favourite British actor/actress?
Not one in particular - it tends to change all the time depending on what I've just seen. I recently watched Lawless and was very impressed with Tom Hardy - it made me want to watch Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, which I haven't seen.

8)      When you think of Britain, what’s the first thing you think of?
Home.

9)    Which place in Britain would you most like to live other than where you do live?
Edinburgh

10)  What's your favourite British saying?
Oh tits.

A Witch in Winter (Winter Trilogy, #1)A Witch in Winter

Anna Winterson doesn't know she's a witch and would probably mock you for believing in magic, but after moving to the small town of Winter with her father, she learns more than she ever wanted to about power. When Anna meets Seth, she is smitten, but when she enchants him to love her, she unwittingly amplifies a deadly conflict between two witch clans and splits her own heart in two. She wants to love Seth, to let him love her – but if it is her magic that's controlling his passion, then she is as monstrous as the witch clan who are trying to use her amazing powers for their own gain.

Although a perfect fit for the paranormal romance genre, A WITCH IN WINTER avoids fangs, excessive body hair and submissive female leads, and tells the heart-wrenching story of a couple meant to be together, but being forced apart. Seth is utterly irresistible and Anna is an empowered, proactive young woman with unimaginable magic inside her. This is fast-paced, sensuous writing with believable incantations inspired by Warburton's research into witchcraft legend and old English.

How would you like to win a copy of A Witch in Winter?
- Just fill in the form below. One free entry plus a ton of extra entries.
- UK/IRE only
- Ends 30th November 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Author Bio: 
I was born and brought up in Sussex on the south coast of England, and I spent most of my childhood in the town of Lewes; a small town with a long history.

At university I studied English Language and Literature at the University of Manchester, and the course included Old English and Middle English texts. While I was researching A Witch in Winter I found myself returning to them, in particular to Beowulf and Le Morte D’Arthur. Seeds from these mixed with ancient Mesopotamian demons, Voodoo spells, Tudor superstitions and 15th century witch-hunting guides to create the Winter Trilogy.

Now I live in North London in a house full of boys, and I work as a publicist in the day, and a writer by night. A Witch in Winter is my first book.

Find out more about Ruth
on Facebook
on Twitter
FOLLOWERS:  
Don't forget to stop by Misty's blog today to see Belinda Rapley's post.
Click on the button below.

Thursday, 15 December 2011

A Review for A Witch in Winter ( Witch in Winter #1) by Ruth Warburton

Posted by Donna
Expected Published Date: January 3rd, 2012
Finished Date: December 14th, 2011
Publishers: Hodder Children's Books
Source: ARC Copy for Review
Format: Paperback
Pages: 304
<
The Blurb from Goodreads: Anna Winterson doesn't know she's a witch and would probably mock you for believing in magic, but after moving to the small town of Winter with her father, she learns more than she ever wanted to about power. When Anna meets Seth, she is smitten, but when she enchants him to love her, she unwittingly amplifies a deadly conflict between two witch clans and splits her own heart in two. She wants to love Seth, to let him love her - but if it is her magic that's controlling his passion, then she is as monstrous as the witch clan who are trying to use her amazing powers for their own gain.


The Review: A Witch in Winter is one of them novels that you can lose yourself in straight away. From page one British author Ruth Warburton has created an engrossing and captivating novel that is Young Adult Paranormal Romance at its best. 

The story follows the life of Anna Winterson, a young girl who moves into the small town of Winter with her father. The house they move into is known amongst the town people as a witches house but Anna is quick to shake it off, well that is until she finds a mysterious book hidden in the house. Anna soon finds out that it’s a Grimoire; a witches spell book. One night while having a sleepover with her friends Anna tries a spell but everything backfires when the hottest bad boy at school dumps his girlfriend and claims he is now in love with her. What can Anna do? All she knows is she needs to reverse the spell that she put on Seth and fast because she soon starts to fall for him and she doesn't want to become as monstrous as the witch clan that are using their magic for their own gain. 

I love British authors mainly because I'm British but most books I read are American authors and I do love them too but I just love reading books that are by British authors because they make me feel at home. The UK compared to the USA have so many different rules from the drinking age to the school years but A Witch in Winter sticks true to us British people. It was great reading about our characters going to Sixth Form and having girlie moments with her friends over a bottle a wine. It was so much fun because I could relate to it that much more. 

The story itself was fun, exciting and easy to read. One that I will look forward to reading more about. Anna was a great character and I really felt I connected with her and all her drama. She is thrown into a whole different situation that she has no control over and I believe she handled things very well. She quickly learns that she's a witch and she knows from the start that she doesn't want to do bad things with her magic, so she works hard at trying to right her mistakes. Her journey was enjoyable and emotional because you can see her battling with her feelings with for Seth. She honestly doesn't know how he feels and it was easy to get wrapped up in their romance. I'm so eager to see more. 

I also really enjoyed the backstory with the Witches and how Ruth bought in the Old English language. It was something new and refreshing and I think she did an great job with it. The ending was tied up nicely however we know it's not the end of Anna's journey so I'm super excited to find out what happens next. 

Overall, A Witch in Winter was a great debut by author Ruth Warburton. Any fans of Witches and Paranormal Romance will love this and I highly recommend it for 2012.


Thank you to Hodder Children's Books for providing me with an advanced readers copy for review. 
 
Design by Imagination Designs
Graphics by Octopus Artis