Stitch Blog Tour Post! Interview and Review

Samantha Durante lives in New York City with her fiancé, Sudeep, and her cat, Gio. Formerly an engineer at Microsoft, Samantha left the world of software in 2010 to pursue her entrepreneurial dreams and a lifelong love of writing. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania’s Jerome Fisher Program in Management & Technology, Samantha is currently working full time for her company Medley Media Associates as a freelance business writer and communications consultant. Stitch is her first novel. 

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1)         Tell us something unusual about you.

Hmm, I don’t know if I have anything *too* unusual, but here are some things that are notable:

Basketball is my favorite sport.  In high school, I played with my two best friends Diane and Mel, and every game at least 2 out of the 3 of us would foul out!  Since then, I’ve taken up more full-contact sports (rugby, roller derby, coed football) where I don’t get in as much as trouble for playing hard…

In addition to be being a bit of a jock, I am also a nerd.  I was valedictorian of my high school, I love videogames and anything sci-fi/fantasy, and I have a degree in systems engineering.  People always seem surprised to learn that – I guess I do a good job of concealing my dorky side!

2)         What gave you your start as a writer?

People who were willing to take a chance on me.  I started writing professionally a few years out of college, after I’d been working in technology for a few years.  I studied engineering and business in school, so I had absolutely zero writing credentials – it was just something I loved to do and knew I could do well, so I decided to see if I could make a career of it.  I was lucky to be introduced to a few business associates of my dad’s who happened to be looking for a freelance writer to help them with blogs, marketing materials, etc.  I volunteered and they were kind enough to give me a shot, and since then these people have become the core clients of my business writing company.  So huge thanks to them for being willing to try out an untested writer and enabling me to achieve my dream of working for myself!

3)         What has been your favorite part of writing in this genre?

The memories!  Writing YA fiction forces me to think back about what I felt and thought and did when I was younger, and putting myself in Alessa’s shoes has helped me to reconnect with my younger self and brought back a lot of really great times with my friends in high school and college. 

Writing science fiction is also really fun because I have to do a bit of research to make things realistic, so in the course of writing Stitch, I learned more about a lot of subjects that I’m interested in but haven’t had time to really delve into, like metaphysics and relativity, pandemics, ghosts, etc.

4)         What was your goal in writing Stitch?

I wrote Stitch mainly for my own enjoyment, to come up with a story unlike anything I’d seen before but which I would really love to read.  I shared the initial draft only with close friends and family, and when they turned out to be very receptive to it, I decided to share it with other readers.  I certainly didn’t set out to write the next staggering work of literary genius – I wanted Stitch to be a fun story that would surprise readers and give them a new world to think about and explore.

6)         If you were suddenly in a dystopian society would you choose to become a rebel?

This is a GREAT question.  You know, I really think it would depend.  If it was truly a dystopia – someplace that seemed good on the surface but was actually hurting people – then yes, I would like to think I would have the courage to rebel.  But of course it depends on the circumstances.

For me, the safety and wellbeing of my loved ones is always paramount, so if I felt that they would be better served by me keeping quiet, then I would suppress my feelings and do what was necessary to protect them.  I know that’s selfish – I would certainly feel bad if I knew other people were being exploited and I didn’t do anything about it – but if I had to choose between helping people in general and taking care of my family, if I’m being honest, I would have to admit that I’d choose my family every time.  I think that’s only human.

But if my family and friends were threatened in any way by whatever was going on – which I think is likely to be the case in any dystopian society – then I’m fairly certain it would make me angry enough to do something about it, even if it meant putting myself in danger.  After all, what’s the point of living without the people you care about?  If someone took them from me, I would definitely go down fighting.

7)         What has been your greatest challenge while writing?

I think the hardest part is finding a balance between world/character-building and action, and also making sure you’re revealing the right stuff at the right time.  For me, half the fun of a series like the Stitch trilogy is getting to know the characters and the world they live in, so it was important to me to build a rich world which the reader could really see and feel.  But at the same time, you never want to drown the reader in too much description, so finding the right balance is difficult.  In the end, I landed somewhere I felt comfortable with, but reader opinion has varied – most reviews I’ve seen have been appreciative of the vivid description as they’ve said it helped them to really connect with Alessa’s experience, but a handful of people have said it was too much for them.  So I guess it’s impossible to please everyone, but based on this feedback I do plan to jump into the action more quickly for Book 2.

In addition, with Stitch in particular there’s a LOT of back story that includes incredibly important events which are still affecting the characters today, but these flashbacks needed to be revealed slowly in order to avoid spoiling the twist.  So it was a challenge to bring all that history in in such a way that there was just enough to pique the reader’s interest but without revealing everything all at once.  I tried to scatter just enough flashbacks in the early part of the story to remind the reader that there is more going on here than what it first seems and saved most of the history for after the reveal, which is why the second half of the book moves so much faster than the first.  Luckily, in the sequel I won’t have this problem since readers already know what’s going on, so I’ll be able to delve into more details about the characters’ history right from the start.

8)         What do you snack on while writing?

At almost any other time of the day I am an enthusiastic and voracious eater, but I’m actually not much of a snacker while I write.  I think I just get too “in the zone” and I forget that I’m hungry until I’m done!  Though that’s not to say that my writing curbs my fiancé’s appetite, so I *have* been known to scarf down a couple slices of pizza from my favorite pizza shop, Big Nick’s on Broadway in Manhattan’s Upper West Side, while finishing up a chapter of Stitch or two (if my fiancé couldn’t wait any longer to order it).  J

9)         What advice do you have for aspiring YA authors?

This is advice not just for aspiring YA authors, but for anyone who’s aspiring to anything: GO FOR IT.  The most important thing is that you’re doing what you love, and once you’re doing that, everything else – money, in particular – will follow.  So don’t let fear or uncertainty hold you back.

Now that I’m five years out of college, I’m watching all of my friends go through the same thing I did, which is slowly realizing that we’re not happy doing what we’re doing but at the same time being paralyzed by worry over what would/could happen if we actually did something about it.  And living like this – being anything less than happy – is no way for anyone to spend their life.

I always tell my friends: what’s the worst that could happen if you go for your dream and fail?  You’re NOT going to die.  But you will die – on the inside, slowly, every day – if you devote your life to doing something that doesn’t make you happy because other people expect it of you or you feel like people will judge you for doing what you really want.  Yes, people WILL judge you (I got a LOT of blank stares when I told people I was leaving my cushy corporate job to take at least a 50% pay cut and become a freelance writer), and yes, you may not meet everyone else’s expectations, but WHO CARES?  It’s about what YOU want and doing what’s right for YOU.  So pick the life you want and just do it, no excuses.

10)       If you had to pick a literary figure that has been the most influential to you who/what would it be?

I have to go with Jane Austen.  I think I’ve read Pride & Prejudice more times than any other book ever put on this planet, and it’s better and better every time.  I don’t know if I can say Ms. Austen actually influenced my writing style or anything like that, but she’s definitely inspired a love of reading in me and the desire to write something someday that someone will love as much as I love her work.

11)        What can you tell us about your works in progress?

There’s still A LOT to come in the remaining two installments of the Stitch trilogy, so I can’t give *too* much away, but I will tell you this: expect more action, more romance, and a few big twists that leave you itching to finish the fight with Alessa.

If you’d like to be notified when Shudder (Stitch Trilogy, Book 2) is available, you can follow my blog at www.samanthadurante.com as I make progress on the book (there’s also a sign-up form there where you can elect to get an email when the release date is announced), or you can find me and Stitch on our Facebook pages where there will be plenty of updates and announcements as well!

"Her heart races, her muscles coil, and every impulse in Alessa’s body 

screams at her to run… "

Still struggling to find her footing after the sudden death of her parents, the last thing college freshman Alessa has the strength to deal with is the inexplicable visceral pull drawing her to a handsome ghostly presence. In between grappling with exams and sorority soirees – and disturbing recurring dreams of being captive in a futuristic prison hell – Alessa is determined to unravel the mystery of the apparition who leaves her breathless. But the terrifying secret she uncovers will find her groping desperately through her nightmares for answers.

Because what Alessa hasn’t figured out yet is that she’s not really a student, the object of her obsession is no ghost, and her sneaking suspicions that something sinister is lurking behind the walls of her university’s idyllic campus are only just scratching the surface…

The opening installment in a twist-laden trilogy, Stitch spans the genres of paranormal romance and dystopian sci-fi to explore the challenges of a society in transition, where morality, vision, and pragmatism collide leaving the average citizen to suffer the results.

~ MY REVIEW ~ 

I LOVED this book! It has one of the best dystopian settings I have read. Samantha Durante is an extremely talented writer who has written an impressive debut novel. Stitch keeps you on your toes. The premise is original and thoroughly immerses you in it's structure.  I would have loved this book even if it had remained strictly a paranormal love story. Of course the transition into a society under the oppression of a ruling class makes this story one of a kind. There are many dystopian books out there right now, but Stitch was definitely not what I was expecting. It was full of twists and turns. I was hooked from page one. 

The character and world building throughout this story are impeccable. Everything unravels at exactly the right time and the story progresses flawlessly. I was swept up in Alessa's story  and her love for Issac. I'm a sucker for a story line that acknowledges that soul mates do exist! Alessa is a strong female lead. I enjoyed her determination and heart. She is thrown so many curve balls yet seems to continue on without loosing sight of what she needs to achieve. The idea of a 'ruling class' drugging my food or 'stitching' my brain gives me the willies. Samantha Durante has really created an intriguing and horrific society. I liked the concept of the TV dramas and how they paralleled Issac's story with Alessa's. 

I could gush about this book all day, but i'll keep it to a minimum. The ending to Stitch is full of tension and leaves you with that, " WOW," feeling. If you are a fan of dystopian, science fiction and romance you will LOVE this book. I highly recommend it! I am going to be counting down until the sequel comes out. I can not wait to see where Alessa and Issac's journey takes them next. 

STITCH is available for purchase from:

AMAZON / SMASHWORDS / BARNES & NOBLE