2015 Most Anticipated ...... Blood and Salt

The next selection for my 2015 Most Anticipated Event is one that's been on my radar for quite a long while. Blood and Salt has been called Romeo and Juliet meets Children of the Corn and I basically want to read this immediately.

Read this Goodreads synopsis and you'll be rushing to add this to your own 'to be read' list. It sounds dark, sexy, romantic, and (did I already mention) DARK.

“When you fall in love, you will carve out your heart and throw it into the deepest ocean. You will be all in—blood and salt.”

These are the last words Ash Larkin hears before her mother returns to the spiritual commune she escaped long ago. But when Ash follows her to Quivira, Kansas, something sinister and ancient waits among the rustling cornstalks of this village lost to time.

Ash is plagued by memories of her ancestor, Katia, which harken back to the town’s history of unrequited love and murder, alchemy and immortality. Charming traditions soon give way to a string of gruesome deaths, and Ash feels drawn to Dane, a forbidden boy with secrets of his own.

As the community prepares for a ceremony five hundred years in the making, Ash must fight not only to save her mother, but herself—and discover the truth about Quivira before it’s too late. Before she’s all in—blood and salt.

Kim was kind enough to answer some questions about the book, design some ice cream, and explain why she thinks Romeo and Juliet and Children of the Corn pair well together.

1 Describe Blood and Salt in Twitter format (140 characters or less)

Romeo and Juliet meets Children of the Corn.

2 If someone were to make an ice cream flavour for your book, what might be included?

I'll let the title speak for itself. But for decency sake, let's say-- red velvet cake and sea salt.

3 Can you share a secret about your book (either it's world, it's characters, or something that helped inspire the story)? 

The setting is loosely based on the place I grew up in rural Kansas (Quivira). I couldn't wait to get out of there, but it's in my blood--my soul. It's possible to hate something and love it all at once. That's the main theme of Blood and Salt-- the destructive force of love--on every level.

4 "Romeo and Juliet meets Children of the Corn" is an unusual pairing. What prompted you to mix those two together?

I love horror and romance, especially together. I find in all great horror there's an element of seduction and in all great romance there's a whiff of death.
  
5 If you could travel to anywhere, in any time period, when and where would you want travel?

I'd like to wander the plains of the midwest in the summer of 1541--just like Coronado when he traveled to Quivira,Kansas. The prairie grass was so high and vast, people got lost in it-- lost their minds. I probably would've died in the first twenty minutes-- my eyesight is godawful-- I would've walked right up to a herd of buffalo thinking they were cute little doggies. But it would've been thrilling-- the sound of the wind moving through the crops--the scent of wild honeysuckle and fertile earth--not knowing what was around every corner. 

6 What three things do you need while revising?

1) Vats of iced green tea. 2) A restroom-- see answer #1 (lady bladder) 3) Advil.
I can easily lose an entire day revising. That never happens to me when I'm drafting.

7 If possible, please share the first line of Blood and Salt. (only answer if not too spoilery).

The dead girl hung upside down over our kitchen table.

I want to thank Kim for taking the time to answer these questions. It's made me even more excited to read this book! The opening line already sets a particular tone and I cannot wait!

Blood and Salt is released Fall 2015 and no pre-order links are available yet but you can add it to your Goodreads account in the meantime.

Be sure to check back later on during the event for a chance to win Blood and Salt (or any one of my featured titles!).

You can follow Kim Liggett on Twitter, visit her official website, and learn more about the book from the publisher website.

Do you scary stories? What about ones that mix in a little romance? Let me know in the comments.