YADP Post: City of a Thousand Dolls by Miriam Forster

Young Adult Debut Promotions (YADP) is a post I do to help out debut authors, and to get them noticed.  My posts will definitely include a feature of the book, a feature of the author, and a giveaway, with an interview, guest post, or excerpt optional.  If you would like more information about YADP click here and scroll down until you come to the section talking about it.

Today I am featuring...


Miriam Forster
And she will be doing an excerpt, interview, and giveaway!

~The Book~

City of a Thousand Dolls
by Miriam Forster
Pages: 361
Release Date: February 5, 2013
by HarperTeen

Goodreads / Purchase

An exotic treat set in an entirely original, fantastical world brimming with deadly mystery, forbidden romance, and heart-stopping adventure.Nisha was abandoned at the gates of the City of a Thousand Dolls when she was just a child. Now sixteen, she lives on the grounds of the isolated estate, where orphan girls apprentice as musicians, healers, courtesans, and, if the rumors are true, assassins. Nisha makes her way as Matron’s assistant, her closest companions the mysterious cats that trail her shadow. Only when she begins a forbidden flirtation with the city’s handsome young courier does she let herself imagine a life outside the walls. Until one by one, girls around her start to die. Before she becomes the next victim, Nisha decides to uncover the secrets that surround the girls’ deaths. But by getting involved, Nisha jeopardizes not only her own future in the City of a Thousand Dolls—but her own life.

*A copy was provided by Harper for review purposes*

I’m not really a huge fan of mystery books because I feel like most of the time it’s too easy for the main character to figure out “who done it” and all that stuff (by the way, if you’re looking for an awesome mystery, check out Murder on the Orient Express.  I never, in a million years, would have guessed the murderer).  ANYWAY!  Back to City of a Thousand Dolls!  I really enjoyed this book.  I really liked how Forster got right into to the book and explained the characters and setting and story very quickly and efficiently.  The world that this book was set in was, quit honestly, kind of disturbing, because girls were literally being trained to be sold to the highest bidder.  Now, usually, I would go on a long rant about how that is sooo totally not a good setting and is offensive to women and blah blah blah - but I liked it in this book because the characters realized it wasn’t a good situation and tried to fix it, so it ended up adding to the story.  I liked the writing, although sometimes it was choppy, and Forster would jump Nisha to different places quickly and sloppily.  I also kind of liked/disliked the mystery.  It wasn’t a badly written mystery, but it wasn’t really that complex either.  I thought it was an average mystery, and it was kind of easy for Nisha to find the clues.  Also, I felt like the clues weren’t actually that awesome or convincing.  However, I NEVER, EVER would have guessed the killer.  I loved that Forster wrote another character so that it looked like she was the murderer (those of you who have read this book know who I’m talking about) because it really threw me off.  However, even though the killer came out of the blue, I liked the motive and the reason for the killings.  It was a very unique problem, the motive, and I loved that because it added to the story.  Also, I liked how, at the end of the book, the story came together and all the loose ends were tied up in a very thrilling, exciting way.  Also, there was another twist that I never saw coming at the end.  Half-way through the book Forster introduced a new guy character and I thought “Oh crap, she’s going to make a love triangle!”.  BUT DON’T WORRY, that’s not what she did!  I was kind of frustrated because I didn’t see the point in introducing a new character who, it looked like, would have nothing to do with the story.  But was I ever wrong!  When I found out what the character REALLY was, I literally yelled “OH MY GOD!”  and my dad heard me and was like “Em, what’s wrong?” and I was just like “My book” in a strangled voice because I COULD NOT BELIEVE WHAT HAD JUST GONE DOWN!  And I can usually see stuff like that coming, but I was completely blind-sided – twice – in this book.  So props to Forster for completely stunning me.

It’s not very often that the supporting cast is a group of animals – to be more specific, cats – and I’ve never read a book like that, but I must admit, I really liked the cats in this story.  Jerrit was, obviously, my favorite, and I like how much personality Forster gave to him and the other cats.  Plus, cats are freaking cute!  I also really liked Nisha, and how she had such a difficult past, yet persevered to become one kick-ass fighter.  She was smart, cunning, pretty darn kick-butt, strong, and awesome…so…yeah…I like Nisha :)

Even though this book had an average mystery and occasionally choppy writing, the ending of this book, the twists, and Nisha – and especially the cats – really made me like this book…a lot!

4 pink flowers

~Author Interview~

1. Why did you decide to become a writer?

I didn’t originally want to be a writer, not for a living. Everyone kept telling me, “you’re going to be a writer, you should be a writer, you never shut up about this book you’re writing,”  but I wasn’t listening. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do, but I thought writing would surely just be a hobby. Until one day I woke up and thought, “I’m a writer.” I signed up for a writing class and the rest was history.

2. Who were your biggest influences?

In fantasy, it would probably be Mercedes Lackey and Tamora Pierce. I’ve always loved the way that they play with different cultures and people groups in their books. In mystery, I’m very old school. Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories and anything by Agatha Christie are my favorites. 

3. Where do you like to write?

Anywhere where there’s a flat surface, little interruption and lots of coffee. I’ve written at a desk, a dining room table, and lots and lots of coffee shops. As long as I have headphones in and music going, the surroundings don’t really matter.

4. Do you have a special routine you like to do before you write?

Lately my routine has been “Get coffee, put in headphones, obsessively check Tumblr.” But it doesn’t lead to much writing. Usually the better one is “Get coffee, put in headphones, close web browser, open word file.” That one works much better. J

5. When and how did you get the idea for CITY OF A THOUSAND DOLLS?

I got it at work actually, when I was working at a coffee shop. I was cleaning something and letting my mind wander and I remembered this line about “being groomed” for someone that I’d come across in the book I was reading. Something clicked and suddenly I had this whole idea in my head of a place where girls would be groomed for different fates. I even had a name for it, the Houses of a Thousand Dolls. (We later changed the name to City of a Thousand Dolls for various reasons.) I didn’t have a story or a world or anything at that point, but I had a setting and it was a start.

6. Is there another book in the works? If so, what can we expect?

Yes there is! It’s a companion book to City of a Thousand Dolls, and will share some of the same characters. There’s more, but I can’t tell you yet.

THIS OR THAT

1. Jelly or peanut butter?

Peanut butter! With chocolate or honey. 

2. Dark chocolate or milk chocolate?

Milk chocolate! Dark chocolate gives me lemon face. J

3. Cats or dogs?

Both! But since I seem incapable of writing a book without cats in it…cats. 

4. Hardcover/ paperbacks or ebooks?

Paperbacks. Hardbacks are too heavy and I’m still exploring ebooks. But paperbacks go anywhere and fit in your coat pocket.

~Excerpt~

A very still girl in red silk lay sprawled on her back next to the wall. Her asar was finer than Nisha had ever seen on anyone outside of Tanaya--a thin, fluttering fabric woven with gold that wrapped several times around the girl's broken body. Her eyes had the glassy stare of a painted figurine and her head was tilted at an extreme angle, her limbs flung around her. If it hadn't been for the dark blood matting her light hair, she could have looked like a doll thrown by an angry child.

Nisha swallowed the bile that suddenly burned in her throat.

~Giveaway~

~There will be one winner

~Giveaway ends on February 16, 2013 @ 12:00 A.M.

~This giveaway is INT

a Rafflecopter giveaway

~Get to know Miriam Forster~

Bio:

Miriam Forster learned to read at the age of five, wrote her first story at the age of seven and has been playing with words ever since. Her debut novel, CITY OF A THOUSAND DOLLS is being published by HarperCollins.In her daily life, Miriam is a wife, a terrible housekeeper and a dealer of words at the local bookshop. In her internal life, she imagines fight scenes, obsesses about anthropology, nature shows and British television, and reads far too many books. 

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